Chapter 85 "I love you".
The two sides were locked in a standoff, each wanting to gain the upper hand. But fighting against fate is indeed difficult.
But Ling Shu couldn't afford to delay any longer. Demonic energy swirled around her, slowly dissipating; if she dragged it out any longer, she would expose her weakness to the enemy.
"I'll pay."
Ling Shu gripped the five-colored censer tightly and slowly handed it over. The Emperor's brush landed on the three characters "Zhuang Jin Fu" and slowly descended. As the five-colored censer reached the Emperor's hand, the jade brush drew a stroke on the three characters, and all the black aura dissipated.
Zhuang Jinfu's crimes have been absolved.
The next step is to hear the seal.
Feng Zhuangjinfu is the head of all the immortals in the Upper Clarity Realm.
Ling Shu released the Five-Colored Furnace and turned to walk towards the South Heavenly Gate.
The Empress said, "You're not going to listen? Don't say I lied to you later."
A sudden chill swept through the air, and a familiar voice called out to her from afar, "Shu'er!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Shu sped up and ran out, not wanting Zhuang Jin Fu to find out... She had broken through the limitations of using demonic magic, and her demonic power was running rampant. Zhuang Jin Fu had almost exhausted his entire life's cultivation in one night to save the lives of the people, and she didn't have any extra immortal power to help her resolve it.
The Five-Colored Furnace was no longer in use, and the sky was covered with rosy light. Standing on the clouds, Ling Shu did not look back and leaped towards the mortal world.
Zhuang Jinfu chased after him without hearing the verdict. Only at this moment did she realize that no matter whether she was judged or not, Ling Shu's love for her would never waver.
She stormed the Heavenly Court for her, and broke her shackles for her.
There is only one true heart in heaven and earth.
Once lost, it's gone forever.
"Shu'er!"
She saw Ling Shu leap into the air.
Why should I avoid her?
Why should I sacrifice myself for her to this extent?
Zhuang Jinfu chased after her, but was stopped by the Emperor. "She's out of control. Do you still want to go after her?"
"Let me go!"
In the distance, lightning struck, blasting a hole in the celestial barrier. Several more bolts of lightning followed, splitting many palaces in two.
The Emperor's eyebrows furrowed in anger: "I promised her the position of the head of all immortals in the Shangqing Realm, and I will give it to you. But if you continue to pursue this matter now, I will not only not give you the position of the head of all immortals, but I will also remove you from your position as the guardian immortal of the realm."
"Let me go, I want to get down."
With another resounding crash, the celestial spiritual vein was cleaved open by a sword, revealing a large, ugly crack.
A celestial soldier came up and reported to his commander, and another batch of celestial soldiers descended to earth.
The Emperor gripped her wrist tightly and pressed, "I'll ask you one more time, do you want the immortal throne or that demon?"
"She is not a demon. Without her help, many more people would have died in this natural disaster. She is the savior of the Shangqing Realm."
The Emperor was taken aback. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Absolutely true."
The Emperor loosened his grip on Zhuang Jinfu's wrist and said to the celestial official beside him, "Quickly summon all the heavenly soldiers and generals back!!!"
Zhuang Jinfu forcefully shook off his hand.
He jumped into the mortal world without a second thought.
She kept replaying the three sentences Ling Shu had said to her in her mind and praying repeatedly.
"You must not be harmed. Shu'er, your master will be there soon..."
As she was being punished by heavenly lightning, Ling Shu, amidst the jeers of the crowd, resolutely came to her side and shielded her from the lightning. Ling Shu first knelt down with her, gently stroking her dejected face, and with deep affection and solemnity, said:
"Please bestow all the infamy upon me."
"People need faith."
"Goodbye, Master."
Then Ling Shu broke through the lightning barrier, placed a knife against her shoulder in front of everyone, and asked the accusatory question: "Who do you love?"
Immediately afterwards, Cang Luo jumped out and accused Ling Shu, and the crowd changed from insulting her to insulting Ling Shu.
Ah, can there be such a thing as a coincidence in this world?
Last night, when the natural disaster was being dealt with, Cang Luo was also there and must know the truth. It was a cataclysmic event that even gods and Buddhas could not save. Ling Shu did not use the Five-Colored Furnace to do evil, but instead did his best to save the people in the disaster.
Whether or not there are spiritual techniques to disturb her Dao heart, Zhuang Jinfu could not save this natural disaster. Whether she had worldly desires or not, whether her ruthless Dao heart was stable or not, it doesn't matter anymore. In the face of absolute natural power, everything is illusory.
Even so, should we still criticize Ling Shu?
There's no need to go to such lengths.
There is only one possibility: Cang Luo's criticism of Ling Shu was at Ling Shu's behest.
I'll risk everything to protect her.
She never imagined that Ling Shu's feelings were this deep.
Zhuang Jinfu parted the clouds and jumped into the mortal world, but what she saw chilled her to the bone.
She saw that the Heavenly Court's barrier was mostly broken, many palaces in the heavens were smashed to pieces, and the Heavenly Court's spiritual energy veins were severed, leaking down to the mortal world.
Between heaven and earth, an overwhelming array of swords descended upon the mortal realm, and between long, thin lines of magical energy, a person was suspended.
Her hands were bound in the air by countless magical threads, stretching upwards. Her feet were tied together. A hole pierced through her body at her heart. Her clothes had countless inch-long cuts, and blood soaked through the entire lotus-pink dress. It was a dress that Ling Shu had given her herself, which she loved very much and often wore.
On her left wrist was an imperial green bracelet, and on her waist hung a lotus-patterned jade pendant, the tassels fluttering gently in the wind, with bloodstains embedded between the lotus petals.
His head drooped lifelessly, and a drop of blood dripped from his mouth onto the Heaven-Slaying Sword on the ground.
Not far away, dust billowed by, stirring up a wisp of purple clothing.
Zhuang Jinfu severed all the magic lines, and the person, now free, fell downwards. She leaped up, caught him steadily, and stopped in mid-air, clearly seeing Ling Shu's face.
This face, which was usually rosy, was now ashen and bloodless.
"Shu'er!"
A piercing scream shattered the sky, startling birds into flight.
"Shu'er, Master is late, Shu'er, wake up, Shu'er..." No matter what he said, he could not wake the person in his arms.
"Shu'er, I..."
"I..." The words Ling Shu wanted to hear were stuck in her throat. She tried again and again, and finally, Zhuang Jinfu heard her own voice.
"I love you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a white bolt of lightning struck.
The revered immortal, the first person to ascend to immortality in three hundred years, the guardian immortal of the Upper Clarity Realm, the Pure Breath Immortal, Zhuang Jinfu.
Ruthlessly exposed.
——
As Ling Shu jumped down to the mortal realm, she heard a voice chasing after her. Knowing it was Zhuang Jinfu, she quickened her pace and descended to the mortal realm.
As soon as she stood still, hundreds of heavenly soldiers and generals surrounded her. Ling Shu scolded, "The old emperor is untrustworthy!"
Fighting against fate is indeed difficult.
Without saying a word, Ling Shu drew her sword and attacked, her demonic power surging wildly within her body. She knocked out each opponent with a single move, thinking that perhaps unleashing this chaotic demonic power would be effective. So she did just that, and to her surprise, it had some effect. The bright and majestic Shangqing Sword Technique was imbued with the essence of Drunken Fist when she unleashed it.
They outnumbered her and she was too weak and alone. So she thought that since they belonged to the Heavenly Court, the spiritual energy they used must be from the Heavenly Realm. Cutting off the Heavenly Realm's spiritual veins would sever their source of magical power.
Taking advantage of this brief moment of advantage, they quickly went to find the location of the celestial vein. Zhuang Jin gave her this sword, which was forged from Nine Heavens Profound Iron and was sensitive to the spiritual energy of the celestial realm. So, guided by the Heaven-Slaying Sword, they went to the location of the celestial vein.
What is she going to do?
"Oh no, she's going to sever our spiritual veins!"
The heavenly soldiers and generals unleashed a massive sword formation, attacking her. Every time the damage reached her, it was blocked by a cold barrier adorned with ice flowers.
With a precise eye on the spiritual vein, Ling Shu raised her sword and severed the celestial spiritual vein.
The Heaven-Slaying Sword truly cleaved the heavens.
In an instant, the spiritual energy leaked out, and the heavenly soldiers and generals lost most of their magical power, rendering them unable to fight anymore.
Ling Shu fled into the forest.
But they encountered a person dressed in purple.
"You bastard, you're trying to kill me too!"
Wang Lifu held his sword, his face grim, and remained silent.
Heavenly reinforcements will arrive soon.
A flying sword came toward Ling Shu's back.
Wang Lifu suddenly rushed over, his toes barely touching the ground. He grabbed Ling Shu with one hand and used his other hand to grasp magical power, blocking the sword and slamming it to the ground.
Ling Shu was stunned.
The next moment, Wang Lifu stuffed a pill into her mouth. She heard Wang Lifu say, "Hidden Qi Pill, keep going north to Taoyao Village." Before Ling Shu could reply, she was slapped away by Wang Lifu's palm. A golden sword flew out from under her feet, with two characters engraved on its blade: "Zhongcheng." It was Wang Lifu's sword.
“Then you…” Ling Shu turned around and saw three layers of densely packed heavenly soldiers and generals pressing down from the sky. Wang Lifu, dressed in purple, stood below them, empty-handed, looking so insignificant. She turned her head slightly and looked over, revealing a kind and warm smile.
This was the first time Wang Lifu had shown her the smile a mother would give her for her daughter.
Before Ling Shu could even utter the words "What to do?", he was already carried far away by Zhong Chengjian.
Ling Shu was filled with a myriad of thoughts and mixed feelings. Wasn't that bastard hoping she would die? Why did he risk his life to save her? Wasn't Wang Lifu only in love with the Shangqing Emperor and power? Why did he come? Why did he even come?
Could it be...? Could it be...? Wang Lifu...
Ling Shu had never been so astonished.
She had no time to think. This time, she had completely offended the Heavenly Court, which was determined to eliminate this "demon." Since her body had not been found, they would certainly continue their pursuit.
Thinking about it this way, Ling Shu came up with a plan.
The thousand-year-old demon core had been inside her for a long time and had long since become similar to her aura. Only those close to her who were familiar with the demon core could distinguish the real from the fake. In this way, she could pull off a clever escape.
She immediately spat out the demon core, transformed into human form, took off her clothes and put them on the substitute, then took out another set of clothes from her storage bracelet and put them on herself. Afraid of being exposed, she put her mother's imperial green bracelet on the substitute's hand and hung the lotus-patterned jade pendant given by Zhuang Jinfu on it as well, so that "she" could ride the Heaven-Slaying Sword back to be Wang Lifu's helper. However, she probably wouldn't be able to help much, after all, it was just a demon core and a substitute.
The first-grade superior-level Qi Concealing Pill took effect; the heavenly soldiers passed overhead without noticing her, and with the Lingju technique concealing her aura, it was even more difficult to detect her.
Ling Shu walked through the forest. Before long, when she looked back, her double was already suspended high in the air. A sword light pierced through the double's heart, and "Ling Shu" was dead.
Ling Shu patted her chest lightly, feeling extremely relieved.
Thank goodness we escaped quickly! I'm so sorry, Demon Core Darling!
Now no one is tracking them anymore.
Ling Shu casually plucked a blade of grass, enlarged the sword, lay down on it, crossed his legs, twirled his toes, and, with the grass in his mouth, looked up at the sky.
From now on, the mountains are high and the seas are vast, and I can come and go as I please.
Just now, when she removed the demon core, she actually took away most of the restless magic power. The remaining power can be resolved slowly by her. It's not a big problem. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt her light body. She felt a cool magic power in her body, which seemed to be soothing her restless and chaotic magic power.
This is……
Zhuang Jinfu forcibly switched places during their previous dual cultivation, and the cultivation level he achieved after combining it with her immortal power—did Zhuang Jinfu... already know all along...?
She would break the limitations of demonic power to save the day from disaster, so even if she had to use force, she would have to draw out her original cultivation and add the cultivation imbued with her immortal power. This was so that when Zhuang Jinfu was unable to help her calm the rampaging demonic power, she could have this immortal power fused with her cultivation to calm the rampaging demonic power within Zhuang Jinfu's body, thus saving her life.
Ling Shu removed the dog's tail from her mouth, sat cross-legged, and carefully sensed it. Sure enough, there was a magical force within her body calming the rampaging demonic power.
No wonder she fought for so long and was exhausted, yet she didn't explode and die.
"Alas, we were destined to meet but not to be together."
Ling Shu heard the entire judgment in Heaven. Zhuang Jinfu had fallen in love with someone. She had someone she liked. She recalled the night before the earthquake, when they met at the city gate. She asked Zhuang Jinfu if she had someone she cared about for many years before she cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness. Zhuang Jinfu did not answer.
To avoid the topic is to say, yes, there is.
That's all.
This time, I should repay Zhuang Jinfu for saving my life.
It's unknown whether the Emperor broke his promise, but it's alright if she didn't become the head of all the immortals in the Upper Pure Realm. The sins that were placed on Zhuang Jinfu have been washed away, and other gods have shared the burden of protecting the realm. From now on, the Immortal Venerable should be living the life she wanted most.
Ling Shu thought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
