Chapter 66
Deep in the woods stood a two-story wooden cabin. In the open space in front of the cabin, a white-haired man sat at a stone table, on which tea and snacks were prepared.
Zhou Xuan's master, Yunzhou, couldn't figure out this person's methods either, but since he had already come, he naturally wanted to hear what the other party had to say.
Upon seeing the newcomers, Sui Fu stood up. "Please, both of you, have a seat!" he said, pointing to the two empty seats opposite him.
"Why did you invite us here, sir?" Zhou Xuanzhi could tell the strength of the person in front of him. He and Shi Yunzhou were no match for him. Who knew if there was any formation on this stone bench?
“Of course it’s related to you.” Sui Fu sat down and poured himself some tea. “For example, it’s about Shi Wanqing.”
After hearing this, Zhou Xuanzhi stopped thinking about the danger. He sat down on the stool, drank the cup of tea in one gulp, and then praised, "Good tea. I didn't expect to find such a good taste here."
After listening, Sui Fu poured Zhou Xuanzhi another cup. Zhou Xuanzhi sat down and drank the tea. As his junior brother, Shi Yunzhou couldn't refuse the other's kindness, so he also sat down.
"Does the master know me, sir?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked directly.
Sui Fu looked at Zhou Xuanzhi, as if thinking about something, "When I first gained consciousness, I was taken in by a villager after being injured. The people in this village were very kind, simple and hardworking. Some of the children would catch fish, rabbits and birds for me, and they would often come to see me. Influenced by them, my cultivation went very smoothly. Over time, they also learned that I was a demon, but they were not afraid of me, nor did they ask any cultivators to kill me. They continued to treat me well as always. Later, those children grew up, and their children's children also grew up."
"Of course I will help them too. There are no rats or insects in the villages and fields, and no little demons or wandering ghosts come to bother them."
Shi Yunzhou smiled and said, "Of course, they were all chased away by the teacher."
In a sense, this Sui Fu was also worshipped by the villagers. Such spirits usually don't have much demonic energy, and it's only a matter of time before they cultivate into immortals. But this Sui Fu has a strong demonic aura. If what he said is true, then something must have happened.
“I did encounter some unforeseen circumstances. More than six hundred years ago, the demon race entered the human world. Although the immortal sects have been resisting, demons still managed to reach the heart of the Central Plains. I couldn’t just watch these villagers be killed by those demons, so I took up my sword and went into battle.”
“There were too many of them. At first, I had the upper hand, but then they saw that there was no demonic energy in my inner core, so they set their sights on it.” Sui Fu’s smile was somewhat forced. “They succeeded.”
"I had no other choice but to flee back to the village. When the villagers found out about what happened, they gathered herbs to heal my wounds. But the demons still came after me; they wanted to kill me."
Sui Fu seemed to be recalling something sad. He closed his eyes for a long time before continuing, "The villagers hid me, and when the demons couldn't find me, they killed them all."
"When I woke up, I saw that the entire village had been burned down. It was the karmic fire of the demons." The karmic fire of the demons cannot be extinguished by water in the mortal world, and it can burn mortals to the point of their souls being scattered.
"I gathered my strength and later went to Songzhou, where I fought against the demons with the cultivators. It was during that time that I met your master. After your master learned about my situation, he tried to help me recover."
"So you can be considered to have a grudge against the demons." Shi Yunzhou hadn't expected that this monster would have such a story.
“What do you mean ‘also’? I have a blood feud with the demons.” He looked at his hands and said, “They don’t even spare newborn children. Not a single person in the village survived. And I originally had a chance to become an immortal.”
It's ironic that someone who had the potential to become an immortal is now imprisoned in Guancheng, a city where demons are kept.
The Ten Directions Barrier was torn open by the demons, who broke through the immortal sects' defenses in the "Three Continents" and marched straight into the Central Plains. Countless mortals were killed, some demons volunteered to serve the demons in order to survive, and some were persecuted and turned into demons.
War raged across the land, with constant fighting. The indiscriminate killing of their own kind led to the spread of resentment and malevolence, which provided the perfect nourishment for the demons. This vicious cycle continued for over a decade.
Although the Immortal Sect achieved victory, it was a Pyrrhic victory.
"You weren't born then, so you don't know how miserable the human world was back then. Your master's spiritual palace was shattered because he was fighting against the demons."
"The book describes the human world in only one sentence: 'It's like being in purgatory,'" Zhou Xuanzhi said.
Sui Fu seemed to have calmed down. "Yes, you know nothing. If I could, I would also hope that you would never know or witness such a tragedy until you die."
"Sir, did you invite us here because you were bored and wanted someone to chat with?" Shi Yunzhou sympathized with the man's previous experiences, but the man had said he wanted to talk to him about his master.
"Of course not. I know why you're here."
"Why do you want to help us?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked.
"Because of your master. Although I wasn't by Shi Wanqing's side when she passed away, I know that your master did indeed die because of a ruptured spiritual palace."
How could that be? They were all illusions. Only the illusions were by Master's side at that time!
Seeing the grief and indignation on their faces, Sui Fu continued, "Because your master sent me a letter before he died." As he spoke, he placed the letter in front of them; the yellowed paper contained some information.
Zhou Xuanzhi picked up the letter; the handwriting on it was indeed his master's.
"It's as if your master knew her death was imminent; she cast a spell on this letter. Once she dies, this letter will immediately reach my hands."
"They said that her two disciples had caused trouble and killed a cultivator who had been chosen to undergo tribulation tens of thousands of years ago. They asked me to find a way to take care of the female immortal. They also said that her spiritual palace could no longer hold on and that I should not go to see her off, but let her leave peacefully."
Shi Yunzhou wanted to tear the letter to shreds, but then stopped, remembering that it was a memento from his master. "How can you be so sure this was given to you by my master?"
“Didn’t you confirm it yourself?” Sui Fu pointed at the letter and said, “If it were fake, you would have torn it up just now.”
Master could have held on for much longer. If it weren't for removing the demonic energy from his body, and if he hadn't caused such a disaster during his training, Master wouldn't have died. For the first time, Shi Yunzhou felt utterly useless. How much better it would have been if Master hadn't taken him back to Tianyu Mountain.
"So what does it mean to be chosen to undergo tribulation?" Zhou Xuanzhi tried his best to regain his composure; he had not forgotten why he had come to Guancheng.
"After performing exceptionally well and experiencing all kinds of emotions, pain, wealth, and so on in the human world, you can ascend to heaven and become a god!" Sui Fu said with a smile as he looked at the two of them.
When Shi Yunzhou heard this, he thought of everything he had seen in Gu Qingci's dream. So that's how it was.
"She was indeed thrown into Guancheng, and the reason she got out was because of the bracelet on her wrist. You all saw that bracelet, didn't you?"
"What does that bracelet have to do with Master?" Shi Yunzhou folded the letter and put it away.
Sui Fu shook his head and said, "Your master didn't tell me this, so naturally I don't know. But there are people on your mountain who know. You can go back and check."
"Why are the demons hunting down Gu Qingci? Even if she is a deity undergoing tribulation, she is still a mortal now, and there's no guarantee she'll be a mortal in her next life. She doesn't have anything of value on her."
Sui Fu shook his head and said, "I'm not a demon, how would I know so much? The current master of the demon race is Chonghua, and no one knows what he's thinking."
"Is there anything unusual here?" Zhou Xuanzhi still wanted to ask.
“Guancheng is so big, it’s impossible for me to know everything.” Sui Fu’s answer did not satisfy Shi Yunzhou, but he had no choice but to believe him.
Seeing Zhou Xuanzhi's less-than-ideal expression, Sui Fu said, "Why don't you try to figure out how these demons got in? The Ten Directions Barrier hasn't been torn apart again. Also, why is this Immortal Alliance Conference being held at the Exorcism Bureau in the capital?"
Holding the Immortal Alliance Conference in the capital was probably the emperor's idea; he wanted to control the world, including the immortal sects.
"So, many people knew about the Demon Clan's unusual activities before the conference?" Shi Yunzhou asked.
Sui Fu sighed helplessly, "I've been in Guancheng for over two hundred years, how would I know what the immortal sects know? It's all just my guess."
"Are you trying to sow discord between us?" Shi Yunzhou still didn't believe the person in front of him.
"You, a mere disciple and a young master who has yet to assume any real power in the Illusionary Sea, are you trying to sow discord between you and the Immortal Sect? Besides, I never said the Immortal Sect was bad. If it were me, I wouldn't have done much better either."
Who knows what this emperor of the mortal realm is thinking? But at least staying here means I can learn more. If Master were still here, he might resort to some underhanded methods. Compared to Master, the sect leader is quite upright.
"Why are you telling us this, sir?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked, puzzled.
"Because this is what I owe Shi Wanqing, and now I can only repay it to you." Looking at the two people with very different personalities, Sui Fu smiled helplessly, "You really can't tell that Shi Wanqing taught you your personalities."
"Although my master's teachings have lasted less than twenty years, I have benefited greatly from them." Zhou Xuanzhi didn't know why this person would say such a thing.
“You don’t know much about Shi Wanqing either.”
Hearing Sui Fu constantly mention his master, Shi Yunzhou felt somewhat uncomfortable. Could this person have some kind of ailment? "I wonder why you keep mentioning your master, sir."
"Just think of me as getting old and being nostalgic."
There's been no movement in Guancheng for a long time, so it seems that this Sui Fu is a demon who can keep Guancheng in check.
"Sir, you are so powerful, and you know my master. Logically speaking, you shouldn't be the kind of person who would enter this place, right?"
Sui Fu suddenly remembered that Shi Wanqing had once said that neither of his two disciples was simple. Shi Yunzhou trusted no one but himself; while Zhou Xuanzhi seemed approachable, but in reality, he maintained a certain distance from everyone and was not someone who could easily trust others. Today's conversation made him realize that these two hadn't changed much in two hundred years.
"Guancheng can't hold me; I've come here to find some peace and quiet."
...
"Let's not talk about me anymore. After all, we're just catching up. Don't you want to know more about your master's story?" Sui Fu asked.
“No interest,” Shi Yunzhou stood up. “We won’t disturb your peaceful retreat here any longer. Farewell.”
Although Zhou Xuanzhi didn't say it aloud, his thoughts were the same as Shi Yunzhou's. They opened the exit of Guancheng and left without looking back.
Looking at the empty courtyard, Tu Liusui sighed helplessly, "Two hundred years have passed, why is it so difficult to find someone to talk to?"
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