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墨書 Inktalez
7-234 Behind the Light Veil
Yun Jiuzi was trapped inside the Soul Devourer for five years.
At first, he held onto hope, thinking he was imprisoned in some dungeon by the Demon Sect Monster. However, as time passed, he sensed something was wrong; his Divine Consciousness could not reach out, and his cultivation was gradually depleting. Wrapped in the mucus secreted by the Soul Devourer, he decisively closed his Six Senses and forced himself into a state of suspended animation. From that moment on, his bodily functions halted, entering a state of apparent death, with his Nascent Soul deeply hidden to buy time.
This decision was a gamble between life and death.
Making such a decision at that time was quite remarkable. It should be noted that Yun Jiuzi was a master at the Heavenly Fusion Stage; most cultivators of his level would have fought back fiercely in such a situation. Unfortunately, within the belly of the Soul Devourer, no one could expect to fare well. At the brink of death, few possessed the calm and wise judgment that Yun Jiuzi did.
As a result, Yun Jiuzi earned the respect of all the Beast Cultivator Elders. Everyone felt proud to have participated in such a special battle and to have rescued Yun Jiuzi.
After several days, the participating Beast Cultivator Elders began to bid farewell to Yun Jiuzi and Li Hong in batches. Many were not originally guest elders of the Nine Li Sect; they had been invited out of seclusion by Du Yizi's heroic summons, and now it was only natural for them to return to their quiet lives. They were the first to leave. Following them were Du Yizi, Sister Sheyu, Ying Zhaozi, Ying Youzi, and others.
Li Hong felt quite reluctant, but Du Yizi smiled and said, "Junior Brother, do you think we would really want to leave? We're just going to play at the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan for a few days. Once we've had enough fun, we'll naturally come back to see you. You can rest assured!"
Li Hong understood it was still due to the Black Abyss situation and that it wasn't convenient for them to stay longer. The two exchanged many words before parting ways.
Upon returning to Mountain Gate, Li Hong flew towards Ghost Stream.
Yun Jiuzi had not entered seclusion even now, which puzzled Li Hong. Initially, he thought perhaps the Beast Cultivator Elders had not left yet; he wanted to personally thank those who had saved him. But now even Du Yizi had departed, yet Yun Jiuzi still hadn’t gone into seclusion. Could it be that he truly didn’t care about his cultivation? This time had indeed drained quite a bit of his power; Li Hong felt he should quickly persuade him to enter seclusion.
Before reaching the small house, Li Hong suddenly sensed something—Yun Jiuzi was there.
The small house was tidied up neatly with no other furniture except for a few straw mats casually thrown on the floor.
The two were kneeling on the ground; one was Yun Jiuzi, while the other was… Li Hong’s gaze flickered—it was Chu Xi.
His Divine Consciousness involuntarily reached out.
Yun Jiuzi had lost much weight; his skin clung tightly to his bones. He already had a large frame, making him appear somewhat fierce now. Yet when he looked at Chu Xi, his eyes were filled with compassion and an extraordinary gentleness.
He said, "I know his heart best. Don't worry; he really has nothing with Green Lotus. In that situation back then, how could someone of his character refuse to save another? Elder Jiang Xuanzi may have been a bit too eager, and Green Lotus is somewhat rigid; don’t take it to heart—that's just their one-sided sentiment as father and daughter."
Chu Xi smiled lightly and said, "I really don't care."
Yun Jiuzi was taken aback and tentatively asked, "What do you really think?"
Chu Xi replied with a hint of annoyance, "Great-Granduncle, I came here to advise you to go into seclusion and stabilize your cultivation, yet you are here talking about me and Chu Hong!"
"You two are the ones who worry me the most, making it impossible for me to enter a meditative state. How can I go into seclusion?" Yun Jiuzi said with a half-serious smile.
Li Hong, however, knew that Yun Jiuzi was speaking from the heart. The reason he had not gone into seclusion until now was that he was worried about Chu Xi and himself. A warm current flowed through Li Hong, and he wanted to rush over to loudly confess to Chu Xi, asking her to agree so that Yun Jiuzi would be at ease. However, just as he stepped forward, he hesitated and withdrew.
Chu Xi smiled and said, "Great-Granduncle is being disrespectful, always joking about us."
"This is no joke. Let me ask you this: if Great-Granduncle guarantees that Chu Hong will marry you immediately, would you agree?" Yun Jiuzi asked seriously.
Chu Xi was taken aback, furrowing her brows as she lowered her head. After a moment, she raised her head and looked directly at Yun Jiuzi, solemnly saying each word, "I would not agree."
When she spoke those three words, there seemed to be a spark in Chu Xi's eyes, but it quickly returned to calmness.
Li Hong felt his heart sink to the bottom; she had indeed changed her mind! His mind went blank with indescribable sadness and despair. He could no longer bear to listen and turned to leave.
In the small room, Yun Jiuzi showed a thoughtful expression and asked Chu Xi, "Why? Ask your own heart; can you truly say this is your heartfelt answer?"
Chu Xi's face revealed a look of deep contemplation: "Great-Granduncle, I believe we should not let these romantic entanglements occupy our entire lives right now; there are so many things we need to do. For example, Great-Granduncle should go into seclusion soon to stabilize your cultivation, while I have just been promoted to Elder and want to join the Patrol Team, seeking practical experience against the Demon Sect Monster. As for Chu Hong, has he ever truly focused on his cultivation? He just returned from a mission after recovering from an injury and immediately started socializing again. Now that the Beast Cultivator Elders have finally left, he should also go into seclusion. How can I use these trivial matters of romance to hold him back? Great-Granduncle, please don’t worry about us. You have watched me grow up; you know I have my sense of propriety."
After hearing this, Yun Jiuzi suddenly understood; it turned out that Chu Xi did not want to tie down Chu Hong with romantic matters at this time. He had mistakenly thought that the couple was quarreling over the matter of the Green Lotus!
He chuckled and said, "Then I can rest easy. After all, it's just talk. Let me reiterate: there’s nothing between Green Lotus and Chu Hong. I’ve seen it all; you must not let this matter cause any quarrel between you two. At such a critical moment as this, as you said, it's not the time for childish disputes."
He laughed heartily as he headed towards the Fire Cave, officially beginning his seclusion.
In the small room, Chu Xi remained kneeling for a long time without moving, her face expressionless. Her beautiful features seemed shrouded in a layer of grayish-white veil. Behind that veil, Chu Xi appeared melancholic and dejected, her brows and eyes filled with deep sorrow and pain.
However, the face behind it was known only to her, and the reason for the pain was something she alone understood.
Li Hong flew back to Nine Vermilion Peaks' Green Pavilion in a daze, feeling a deep ache in her heart.
At first, she regarded Chu Xi as a friend and junior sister. There was someone in her heart, someone she had never truly forgotten. But one day, she finally let that person go, solemnly placing them deep within her precious memory box. When she turned back to treat Chu Xi well, she found that Chu Xi, who had always been by her side, had already drifted away.
She couldn't blame Chu Xi; she could only blame herself. It was only after losing something that she realized its value. Now that she wanted to make amends, she discovered that at some point, she had lost even the right to do so. That beautiful face, all the words spoken and actions taken had already etched themselves into her mind. Forgetting was no longer so easy.
Li Hong sighed deeply, feeling an overwhelming sense of melancholy.
Suddenly, the room darkened as someone appeared before her.
He was so tall that he almost poked through the ceiling covered with paper. His muscular build was impressive, with bulging biceps straining against his Fire Rat Robe, which looked dangerously stretched. His bronze square face had thick eyebrows that nearly met in the middle, and his narrow, shiny black eyes sparkled with mischief. His thick lips stretched into a wide grin. It was as if a human iron tower had suddenly materialized in the room.
Chuxiong patted Li Hong on the shoulder with a hearty laugh, "Big Brother! I’ve come out of seclusion! I’ve formed my Golden Core!"
Li Hong snapped back to reality, overwhelmed with joy and not knowing what to say. He patted Chuxiong's back vigorously, producing a sound like a drumbeat.
"Good lad! Keep it up; you’ll surpass me one day. It’s just a pity Yun Jiuzi has just entered seclusion; otherwise, he could see how impressive you are now!" Li Hong gestured to compare their heights and exclaimed, "You’ve grown taller again after just one seclusion! At this rate, there will only be room for you in our Nine Li Sect’s Main Hall!"
"Hehe, it wasn’t intentional! I just focused on breaking through the Heart Demon Barrier to form my Golden Core, and this is what happened. Men should be tall and strong!" Chuxiong said proudly while ruffling his hair and laughing heartily. "Let’s hurry up and bathe; I’ll call Master later so we three can have a good drink together."
"Sounds good!"
While Chuxiong took a shower and changed clothes, Li Hong dashed straight to the Dining Hall halfway up the mountain.
Currently, Li Hong was thriving as a prominent figure in Nine Li Sect's Chu Lineage. Although it wasn’t mealtime yet, when the brothers from Brother Chef heard that Chuxiong had successfully formed his Golden Core and become an elder of Nine Vermilion Peaks' Chu Lineage, they all eagerly flattered him. They insisted that Elder Chu Hongzi should return first while they began preparing a feast to celebrate with both elder brothers.
Li Hong chuckled as he thanked everyone and sent a message to Master Spirit Stone to report the news before swiftly returning to Green Pavilion. Back at Green Pavilion, he decided to make it grander by writing many invitations and calling Little Fei back to instruct him to deliver them.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Spirit Stone burst in with a radiant smile. People flowed in continuously; nearly everyone from Nine Vermilion Peaks had arrived along with familiar brothers from other peaks and Beast Cultivator Elders, cramming Green Pavilion until it was overflowing. Li Hong and Chuxiong didn’t set up any chairs but placed all the food and drinks on two large wooden boards they hastily put together while they themselves carried wine jars around to toast everyone. Chuxiong’s face glowed with happiness amidst the crowd as someone shouted: "Chuxiong! You’re already an honorary elder; show us what you’ve got!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Chuxiong laughed heartily, "Alright, I'll show you a trick, but I don't know many spells, so don't laugh at me!"
He walked outside the Green Pavilion and swiftly drew a half-circle with his palm, pushing outward. A bright red fire line shot from Chuxiong's palm, striking the nearby forest.
The invisible Restrictions outside the Green Forest immediately became apparent. The red fire line hit the invisible barrier like a spear, creating large rippling waves. The Restrictions shook violently, causing the entire Summit to sway heavily. Chuxiong flipped his hand, and the fire line disappeared, making the Restrictions invisible once again.
Li Hong watched in astonishment; his younger brother's skills were remarkably pure! The technique he used was the basic Divination Technique from the Li Fire Scripture, known as the Fire Blade Technique. When it struck the Restrictions of the Green Forest, they shook violently, demonstrating considerable power.
The Fire Blade Technique was not complicated and was easy to use, but achieving such purity as his younger brother did was quite challenging. It seemed that his brother was most suited for practicing this simple yet powerful Divination Technique; if he tried to be too clever, it would be less effective in his hands than this straightforward approach.
Spirit Stone chuckled and said, "You have mastered the most basic Divination Technique, the Fire Blade Technique from the Li Fire Scripture, with such finesse. I am very pleased. I just received a decree from the Sect Leader; three days from now at noon, Chuxiong will officially be promoted to Elder. A grand ceremony will be held for this occasion."
"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Sect Leader Uncle!" Chuxiong exclaimed joyfully.
More people continued to ascend from below.
A fragrant breeze wafted into his nose, reminiscent of osmanthus but slightly lighter and elegantly familiar; it was the scent of the Forget-Me-Not Butterfly.
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