Estranged - Chapter 101

Proofread by Snake

“I’m leaving,” was what Yun Weisi said.

No matter how Changming tried to close the distance between the two of them, they were still standing apart.

Everything around them was pitch-black, without a single shining star, as if light would never break through this endless night.

“Where are you going?” Changming asked.

“Where I should go,” Yun Weisi was leaning to the side, and it was difficult to say whether he was looking at Changming or somewhere behind Changming.

Yun Weisi’s expression was vague, and his robes were fluttering formlessly in the air as well, as if he was about to drift away from the seas and the mountains of the world.

Changming could guess what his intentions were, but he could not say it out loud. As if the words he wanted to say had been blocked by a silencing technique, he could only say—

“I’ll go with you.”

Yun Weisi shook his head, his line of sight stopping at Changming, carrying with it a trace of grief and determination.

The Yun Weisi from Changming’s memories had never worn an expression like this. Changming even suspected that he was dreaming and was not sure of what was happening, but he still felt anxious, as if he had forgotten a very important detail.

“You can’t go,” Yun Weisi sighed. “Shizun, I have never regretted my decisions. Even if my Demonic heart is causing trouble, and demonic qi has entered my body, tormenting me at every moment, I’ve never regretted entering the Nine Layers of the Abyss back then to find the cause of your death, and the truth about the collapse of the Liuhe Zhutian Formation. Although I was never satisfied, it has nothing to do with my own decisions. At first, I thought that since you came back to life, we still have a lot of years ahead of us, and I will…”

His voice kept getting lower, and finally he paused, and only smiled faintly.

“It doesn’t matter. I have to go. Shizun, I wish you to break through your barrier as soon as possible, and reach the pinnacle of strength again, annihilating all evil and acting as you please.”

He stopped talking and turned around to leave without hesitation. His silhouette was slowly disappearing into the darkness, turning into a vaguely discernable white point.

No matter how Changming struggled to catch up to him, he still could not move a step further. His heart was beating fast. He wanted to call for the Sifei Sword subconsciously, but it did not show up. It was only then did he recall that the Sifei Sword had shattered itself during the battle in the Wanlian Buddhist Temple to save its master. The spirit of the sword had dissipated, and there would be no Sifei Sword in this world again.

The Wanlian Buddhist Temple… Then Yun Weisi?!

Bits of a conversation reached his ears. The conversation sounded neither close by nor far away, as if it was impeded by a layer of fabric.

“What kind of trap?”

“The master of the Wanjian Immortal Clan wants to use the whole world to set up a Liuhe Zhutian Formation, thus integrating the Human World with the Darkest Abyss. However, the Wanlian Buddhist Temple was destroyed, so his grandiose plan was delayed. Now, Yun Weisi has turned into a demon, so the enemy will surely contact him.”

“Daozun Yun wants to use himself as bait?!”

“You can’t catch a tiger cub unless you enter the tiger’s den.”

“Then why would he need the life soul of Clan Master Zhou?”

A sharp pain pierced Changming’s chest. His breath was hot, and his spiritual power was bound by invisible restrictions—he could not even move a finger.

When Changming had heard the two of them talking, he wanted to open his eyes. But a sweet taste rose up in his throat instead, and blood started to drip slowly from the corners of his mouth.

Sun Buku did not have to answer this question. Changming already knew the answer.

Yun Weisi had asked him.

He said, Your life, or Zhou Keyi’s life soul—choose one.

Yun Weisi had wanted Changming to choose the second option, because Zhou Keyi was already dead, and his soul would be enough to get the master of the Wanjian Immortal Clan to place his trust in Yun Weisi.

But, contrary to Yun Weisi’s wish, Changming had chosen his own life.

He had let Yun Weisi use the Sifei Sword and put himself in grave danger as the price to win over that trust.

Yun Weisi had asked him twice, but Changming’s answer had never changed.

They had looked at each other, and Yun Weisi had understood Changming’s resolution.

So he took action.

Swords had souls as well.

When they had first reunited, Yun Weisi’s memories had been damaged, and he had wanted to kill Jiufang Changming with the Sifei Sword. But this had proved unfeasible. The Chunzhao Sword used to follow Jiufang Changming everywhere, diving into every dangerous adventure with its master. Just like the other sword, it refused to injure its former owner. So Yun Weisi had attacked him without hesitating, because he knew that the sword would not actually cut Jiufang Changming’s neck.

He had no other choice.

He had known it was impossible, yet he had continued.

This was the only way Yun Weisi could deceive himself and make his Demonic heart believe that he had been entirely possessed.

Changming had no way of hearing the struggle between Yun Weisi and his Demonic heart, or learning about the inconceivable sufferings Yun Weisi had experienced. Despite all that, Yun Weisi had managed to pull off a plan as impeccable as a seamless heavenly robe, all unbeknownst to his Demonic heart. In the end, he had managed to escape the trap.

And now, Yun Weisi was gone. Changming did not even know whether he was still alive, or whether they would meet again in this life.

Since the moment Changming had started cultivating, he had climbed thousands of mountains, crossed hundreds of rivers, braved through frozen lands plagued with dangers, captured the Azure Dragon with his own hands, and could even pierce stars with his arrows. He had battled with the most prominent grandmasters with his life at stake. Step by step, he had turned into the strongest person in the world, despite being a mere nobody in the beginning. Even when the chance of him surviving was slim, and he had wandered through the Yellow Springs muddle-headed with all his memories distorted, he had never felt helpless, or that he could only sit around and wait for his death.

The Azure Dragon: the guardian spirit of the East. Perhaps, you should read it as “captured the most ferocious beasts”

Yet now Jiufang Changming suddenly realized that he could not even save his disciples.

Yun Weisi had sacrificed himself to break free from the trap not because he wanted to save the world or the people in it.

He had cast aside his reputation, glory and splendor, and entered the Nine Layers of the Abyss. He had fought against demons, all while disregarding the fact that the demonic qi had contaminated his body, and the Demonic heart was taking root and flourishing within him. All of that for one reason.

For Jiufang Changming.

“Senior Jiufang!”

As Xu Jingxian was talking to Sun Buku, she suddenly noticed out of the corner of her eye that the blood had started dripping from Changming’s mouth and eyes.

The blood ran down the hair on his temple, pooling on the pillow and painting on it a dull-red lake. The sight could almost arouse one’s aesthetic senses, much in the same way as seeing something soul-stirring and fascinating.

Sun Buku quickly took a few steps forward, and helped him sit upright. Sun Buku then grabbed Changming’s wrist, transferred his own spiritual power over to Changming, and let it flow in smoothly.

But Sun Buku soon sensed something was wrong.

Changming’s breath was weak, and his life force faint, as if only present at times. It was entirely different from how he was when he was sleeping peacefully.

There was no doubt that Jiufang Changming’s wounds were extremely severe. However, given his cultivation base and Sun Buku’s nourishment, his current state should not have been this grave.

Unless…

Sun Buku placed his hand above Changming’s forehead hurriedly, and his expression abruptly changed.

Xu Jingxian observed his countenance and understood that their situation was bad. She asked, uncertainly: “How is he?”

The atmosphere around Sun Buku was heavy.

Two out of three of Changming’s immortal souls had disappeared.

But he and Xu Jingxian had been guarding this place, and no matter what kind of demon or evil spirit had wanted to lure him away, they would have hardly escaped Sun Buku’s eyes of the Buddha.

Eyes of the Buddha: Budd. one of the five senses; discerning eye

Where could Changming’s souls have fled to?

Although Sun Buku had a statue of a Buddha protecting him, he would not have necessarily gained the upper hand in the deadly battle with Chunchi by relying on his cultivation alone. Chunchi had already been exhausted after fighting with Jiufang Changming and Yun Weisi, and Sun Buku had managed to launch his attack only after most of the ghost flames at the core of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple had been destroyed. Even if he did not care about his past relationship with Jiufang Changming as his master, owing to the karma he had gathered this time, Sun Buku could not simply leave him and walk away.

“I’ll take a look outside. Guard Shizun,” he asked of Xu Jingxian.

Xu Jingxian was full of complaints: “I don’t have a single treasure now. If a strong enemy comes here, I can’t ward them off alone!”

The Ghost King, Hé Qingmo and the others were heavily wounded, so everyone had isolated themselves to rest and recuperate. Xu Jingxian could not depend on them at all now.

I’m just a girl trembling in the wind like a willow branch, why must I shoulder such great responsibility? Could it be that the Heavens are jealous of my beauty?