Estranged - Chapter 85

Proofread by P. & Snake

Once the murals had peeled off the walls, the statue crashed to the ground, and the Buddha that had enveloped the skies was dragged down by Sun Buku. Golden and silver sheets fell off the statues, like paint from forsaken clay monuments, and they lost their sacred touch.

The pressure that had been crushing them eased, and Xu Jingxian used this opportunity to approach Sun Buku and stand behind him. If they met a deity, they would slaughter it; if they chanced upon a Buddha, they would slaughter it as well.

The people who had been playing the se and the sheng turned deathly pale. In shock due to the disaster, they were unable to make a single move. Their faces lost all color, and started visibly wearing off as they were turning into piles of dust.

Amidst the chaos, Xu Jingxian saw Qi Jingu regaining control over his body and standing up like her, slashing the head of a Buddha statue with his sword.

The two of them were staying close behind Sun Buku. Clouds of dust were rapidly swirling around them, forming cyclones. Had their spiritual powers not been protecting their bodies, they would have turned into pools of blood a long time ago.

The world glittering with gold had fallen apart, but what they were seeing in front of them was not a new path leading forwards, but—

Wherever they looked, everything was ash grey.

Xu Jingxian felt her feet stepping onto nothingness, so she quickly climbed onto her thin silk, and floated down.

She looked around, but saw nothing but grey.

She was almost convinced that her eyes were failing her.

But once she raised her head and saw the starry sky above, she gradually came to her senses. Xu Jingxian finally understood that her eyes were working just fine, but there were grey boulders all around obstructing her view and fooling her eyes with an illusion of emptiness.

She stretched out her feet to feel the ground. She was standing on soft, fresh grass, and not on gold bricks.

The boulders towering above her were taller than one zhang, clustered together so tightly that she could see nothing else.

“What the hell is this place, why is there no end to it!”

Qi Jingu raised his hands to his cheeks. All the winking he had been doing had almost made his eyes roll out, and now his face was aching.

Xu Jingxian glanced at him once, but said nothing.

She was more interested in Sun Buku, who was investigating the boulders in front of them.

These two masters of cultivation were different.

Having obtained the Yangzhen Grass, Xu Jingxian had broken through her barrier, reaching the level of a master in a single leap. But Sun Buku had become a master a long time ago through his own efforts, without the help of some external sources. That was why the pressure from the Buddhist statue that rendered Xu Jingxian breathless did not manage to bring down Sun Buku.

That was how different masters of cultivation could be.

Xu Jingxian felt that she had been too careless. From the moment she had gotten hold of the Yangzhen Grass, she had been acting as though all her troubles had been solved, and cultivating a lot less diligently. She had forgotten that the world was enormous, and there was always someone better than you. She had risked her life several times since she had left the Nine Layers of the Abyss, facing one danger after another—but just now, she had almost been reduced to being a puppet to be played with.

She thought about Clan Master Zhou’s cultivation level, and about the Jianxue Clan massacre. The Wanlian Buddhist Temple was not as simple as she had thought it to be.

At this point, she was terrified by the conclusions she had drawn, and did not dare say anything to Sun Buku without granting him proper respect.

“Great Master, thank you so much for your preaching. You have saved this girl’s life.”

She came towards him, trying to suck up to Sun Buku. Even if a man’s heart was made of ice, her sweet, affectionate voice would have melted it.

But Sun Buku was still looking at a boulder indifferently, and did not cast her a single glance, as if the pattern on the stone was a hundred times prettier than Xu Jingxian, and exquisite as a flower and as refined as jade.

Xu Jingxian complained silently, and looked at the boulder as well.

As soon as she took a look, she was fascinated by it.

The surface of the stone was densely packed with engravings. At first, they seemed to be scattered in disorder, but it was in fact an accurate representation of the Twenty Eight Mansions. Upon careful observation, one could notice that there were even more pictures outlining the whole universe.

Twenty Eight Mansions: there are 28 constellations in Chinese culture, 7 for each of 4 sectors on the sky

Having looked at them for a while, Xu Jingxian felt how miserable her own self was. The heavenly bodies were slowly circling the boundless universe, and she could only look at them in awe. She knew for sure that the secrets of the sky were countless, and no matter how hard she looked, she could not see through their meaning.

This feeling was not nice at all.

Cultivators never stopped on their path of pursuing the truth, whether they were from a Demonic or a Daoist sect. Even the smallest clue, properly exploited, could benefit them greatly. Even if it was not sufficient for ascension, it would at the very least help them break through to another realm.

If one did not possess such a curious heart, it was better for them to settle down and live peacefully as a common person, swarm as a fly and grovel like a dog for several decades, and then put their hand down, kick their legs and close their eyes in death and start anew.

Swarm as a fly and grovel like a dog: seek profit shamelessly

Kick their legs: kick the bucket

The long Dao was full of dangers, and every cultivator knew that in their heart.

Right now, Xu Jingxian felt as if she was looking at a treasury filled with the most valuable artefacts. However, even if she devoted her whole life to it, she would still not have been able to find a key to the vault and open the door inside.

It was close, yet out of reach.

Could it be that her perception was limited?

She had managed to become a master at her age. Although luck had played a major role in her progress, it would not be possible without her efforts. Had she only been reliant on her fate, her bones would have been rotting away in some nameless place. How would she have gotten that far!

No, I refuse to give up! There must be a clue in the stars; I will pierce through the mystery!

Xu Jingxian’s breath was becoming heavier as she opened her eyes. She could not help but reach out her hand, as if she was trying to grasp at something that was trying to slip away.

But what she grabbed was thin air. Suddenly, someone pushed her rudely from behind!

She blinked and once again saw the lawn surrounded with the boulders, and Sun Buku standing in front of her. Where was the vast cosmos and the reflections of the distant past?

Xu Jingxian’s chest was aching so violently she could barely endure it. The corners of her mouth felt itchy. She raised her arm and saw blood on the back of her hand.

She had been possessed.

“Thank you for the rescue, Zen Master,” Xu Jingxian whispered.

It was not just the corners of her mouth now. Blood was also flowing from her eyes and nose. Had Sun Buku not stopped her with a timely shout, she would have bled to death.

The Wanlian Buddhist Temple that always seemed to keep its nose clean was apparently way more complicated than they had ever imagined it to be. Although Xu Jingxian had a high cultivation level, she had clearly been fooled.

Sun Buku smiled faintly: “You’re a Demonic cultivator, yet you are following Yun Weisi. Who would have thought he’d agree to take you with him? That’s interesting.”

Xu Jingxian paused: “Does Daozun Yun loathe Demonic cultivators?”

Sun Buku: “He had never shown leniency to any of them in the past. Could it be that the two of you are…?”

Xu Jingxian quickly interrupted his wild fantasy.

“Daozun Yun is not constrained by rigid sectarian prejudice anymore! Moreover, in a place like this, anyone would be under pressure, Demonic cultivators and Daoists alike! How does Zen Master intend to leave this place?”

In addition, Qi Jingu’s cultivation was far beneath that of Sun Buku or Xu Jingxian. He had also been led astray by the star formations on the boulders, and was now scratching his head and shouting loudly. Afterwards, he fell to the ground and started rolling on it, bleeding all over.

Sun Buku looked at him aloofly, with no intention of lending him a helping hand.

Xu Jingxian noticed that his expression was almost indifferent and detached, with no hint of compassion that he was supposed to exhibit as a Buddhist cultivator.

Even if he had forced it, he probably would not have been able to fake a shred of sadness or pity for human life. He was more similar to the icy statues of Buddha that usually caused Xu Jingxian to have headaches.

Her thin silk dashed forward, touching Qi Jingu’s shoulder.

He took two steps forward and fell onto the ground again, his expression vacant and lifeless. Some time passed, yet he still had not reacted.

Xu Jingxian knew that he had already been possessed.

He had certainly been tempted from the beginning, from the very moment he set foot on the ground, but his cultivation was nothing compared to that of Xu Jingxian or Sun Buku. As the strange aura poured into him, Qi Jingu had no way of stopping it, and fighting it was out of the question. His whole body had quickly been contaminated.

“Were these marks representing stars drawn specifically to drive cultivators crazy?” Xu Jingxian could not hold back the words, but it was a rhetorical question.

She did not even hope to get an answer from Sun Buku, but, unexpectedly, he spoke.

“No. This star arrangement contains countless secrets of nature,” Sun Buku’s voice seemed to be carrying a hint of sorrow over the fact that he could not see through them.

Nature’s secrets were not something one could comprehend immediately upon taking a peek at them. It was quite common for someone who had started investigating them to get stuck in one place forever. If they did not have enough self control, much like Qi Jingu, they would go insane, losing every chance to recover.

His mind was forever captured in the moment he saw a glimpse of the mystery, and he would circle around the truth never to leave the trap.

Sun Buku had also been enticed to sink into the depths of a truth-seeking endeavour. However, a thought had appeared in his mind, and his body had been immediately alerted as this moment of vigilance brought him back to reality.

Xu Jingxian wondered: “There must be people knowledgeable enough to create this in the Wanlian Buddhist Temple?”

Sun Buku touched the stone: “We’re not inside the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, we have been transported elsewhere. These mysteries are something the ancient deities left before ascending. Those who are able to see through them will also have a chance to leave the Human World.”

Elsewhere?

Xu Jingxian thought of something and blurted out: “The Sacred Mountain Wan?”

Sun Buku nodded slightly.

Although the boulders were obstructing the view, there were crevices in them. They could probably leave, moving along the cracks, but the two of them were in no hurry.

They did not dare to investigate it thoroughly either. After all, this place was a historical remnant. Who knew, maybe, if they stayed a bit longer, they would be able to stumble upon something of worth.

But before such an opportunity appeared, two men came.

Their figures appeared from a crack in a boulder.

Xu Jingxian was both surprised and happy.

“Daozun Yun!” She did not dare to call him daoyou anymore.

Yun Weisi clasped his hands behind his back and hummed, looking especially elegant all over, as if he did not want to seem lacking in anything in front of Sun Buku.

Sun Buku looked at him as well. They said nothing, but Xu Jingxian could almost feel lightning and thunder between the two of them.

She silently took a few steps aside, having no intention of turning into the pond fish that had run out of luck.

Pond fish: from the “when the gates are on fire, the fish in the pond suffers”

Another man was standing next to Yun Weisi. It was Jun Zilan, the cultivator who had been leading the way when they had entered the cave. Compared to the other two, his presence seemed a lot weaker. Seeing that the two of them had remained silent, he stamped his foot.

“We’ve found a way out, follow me! We can’t stay here, this place might collapse at any moment!”

He approached Qi Jingu and stretched out his hand to pat him on the shoulder.

“Daoyou Qi, are you alright?”

Qi Jingu turned his head abruptly. His bulging eyes had turned red, and he tried to grab Jun Zilan as fast as a lightning bolt, roaring in a low voice.

Jun Zilan ah-ed and jumped back nimbly as a rabbit, so Qi Jingu grabbed nothing.

Before he even got on his feet, his sword slashed in Jun Zilan’s direction. Jun Zilan dodged and kicked Qi Jingu.

Qi Jingu’s back hit against a rock, and his body stiffened.

“There’s no time, let’s go!”

Yun Weisi urged them. Xu Jingxian vaguely felt the earth tremble under her feet, shaking the boulders, which meant that they could crumble at any second. She swiftly caught up to Yun Weisi.

Sun Buku did not say much, and followed them too.

Jun Zilan, who had been making noise just now, calmed down.

As they were going through a crevice, Xu Jingxian suddenly saw a flash of light ahead.

There were no gold bricks, and no starlight. The sky above their heads was pitch-black.

The light spilling through the cracks in the stone was dim and soft, like that of a lantern that was eager to offer peace and warmth to tired travellers. Xu Jingxian thought that it resembled the candlelight her servants at Lingbo Peak used to light as night fell.

Xu Jingxian relaxed a bit, and took a step forward carelessly, even getting ahead of Jun Zilan by half a step.

Suddenly, she felt a burst of spiritual power rushing at them from behind!

Xu Jingxian came to her senses abruptly, taking a step to the side. The spiritual power brushed by her cheek and flew forward.

She realized that this attack was not aimed at her, but at Jun Zilan.

Jun Zilan took a couple of steps back, covered his shoulders and slashed his sword at the approaching man.

The man waved his sleeves, faintly smiling. He flew back freely, and landed right next to Sun Buku.

Sun Buku did not react at all.

He was staring at the man, his face betraying his astonishment and fear, as if he was looking at a ghost.

Although it only lasted for a second, Xu Jingxian managed to seize this opportune moment.

She could not have been more familiar with the man, but to Sun Buku, he was a corpse that had risen from the dead.

“Jiufang. Changming?”

As Sun Buku said his name, the man, contrary to Sun Buku’s expectations, smiled at him.

It was the very same person—the Jiufang Changming from the past. But, that Jiufang Changming would never have smiled this way.

“Is the fact that I’m still alive such a shock for you?”

Tn:

I’m very busy with studying&working right now, so it’s going to be 1c/week, sorry…