After Sheng Jun Chapter 78 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 78 Wujie's Identity Revealed (part 1)
The room fell into silence. White smoke from the sandalwood incense coiled in the air, disturbed by an inexplicable current that made it scatter somewhat.
Wujie's demeanor remained as it always had been. "If you have any questions, pay the spirit stones first before asking."
Jiang Xingzhi hurriedly tugged at Zhong Ming's lapels. "Then let's not ask. After forming the contract, we need to be frugal with our spending." As he spoke, he urged again, "Quickly take me to the Heavenly Mountain Mystic Platform first."
Heavenly Mountain Mystic Platform. The familiar location made that earth-shattering heavenly tribulation resurface in Zhong Ming's mind. The scene of Jiang Xingzhi's soul scattering pierced his nerves painfully. The joy of just forming a contract with him had yet to settle in before the fear of gaining and losing again assaulted his heart.
Zhong Ming placed the person in his arms on the cushion at his feet, suppressing certain restless emotions. "Wait a moment, Deng Deng."
After speaking, he turned toward Wujie. "It's not about divination—I have other questions."
Wujie's lowered eyelashes trembled imperceptibly. "What questions?"
Zhong Ming's gaze was penetrating, not missing a single expression on his face. "You've interfered with so much cause and effect—why can you still transcend it all and not be punished by the Heaven?"
Not only had he divined for the two of them, but those so-called fortune-telling trips outside—thinking about it now, every word and sentence had been guidance.
Wujie's phrasing remained unchanged. "Naturally, it's because of exceptional talent."
"If you have such talent, then why, after a thousand years, has your cultivation remained stagnant at Golden Core, while your appearance hasn't changed at all?"
"When Heaven opens one window, it must close another door."
Wujie's answer was flawless. Zhong Ming locked eyes with him for a moment. The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze.
The spiritual power in Jiang Xingzhi's body was still washing against his bottleneck. He reached out and grabbed onto Zhong Ming. "Never mind the Master—your lamp is about to explode!"
Zhong Ming: "......"
Wujie took the opportunity to urge them, "Go, go quickly and undergo your tribulation."
Tribulation. Zhong Ming stared intently at Wujie. "Will he succeed in ascending this time?"
"Cough, everything is determined by fate. Whether he can succeed or not, how would this poor Daoist know?"
A cold laugh fell. Zhong Ming pressed down on Jiang Xingzhi's head as he tried to get up, and said to Wujie, "To avoid repeating past mistakes, I'll just have to pierce the heavens again and tear apart those thunder clouds directly, to prevent my Deng Deng from suffering later."
With those words, he turned and walked out with his sword.
Jiang Xingzhi nestled on the cushion, watching Zhong Ming's tall figure from behind, his heart throbbing: Xu Jian is so domineering—I love it!
That aggressive figure was about to exit through the door when Wujie finally couldn't sit still. He abruptly stood up. "You cannot!"
Zhong Ming stood at the doorway and turned to look back, half his body reflecting the light from outside. The sword intent in his eyes surged wildly and unbridled. "I'm going to pierce the heavens—what does that have to do with the Master?"
After speaking, he turned his head and in an instant flew out of Kunlun.
In the room, Jiang Xingzhi withdrew his gaze from the direction where Zhong Ming had departed and looked at Wujie standing rigidly to the side, consoling him. "Master need not worry, Xu Jian will be fine."
Wujie slowly sat down. "......Yes."
After a few breaths, a tremendous "rumbling" sound came from the firmament overhead! The light in the clear daylight suddenly darkened, followed immediately by lightning and thunder.
Wild spiritual power surged across the lands of Jiuzhou, and the violent wind it stirred rushed through the hall with a "whoosh," scattering the curling sandalwood smoke on the table.
This thunder was different from the previous two times Jiang Xingzhi had experienced. It rang out three or five times in succession without stopping, and even showed a trend of becoming more intense.
Listening to the thunder, Jiang Xingzhi estimated that Zhong Ming wouldn't return for the time being, so he nestled on the cushion and reached out toward Wujie. "Do you have any snacks, Master? Eh, why are you sweating, Master? Your gold powder is falling off too, Master!"
The gold powder beneath Wujie's eyelids fell in a flurry. He tremblingly raised his hand to press on it. "......Sect Master, please call Protector Bai back. This poor Daoist has something to say."
Jiang Xingzhi looked at him thoughtfully. "Oh."
….
After forming the dao companion contract, consciousness could be transmitted to the other person in an instant. Jiang Xingzhi called out to Zhong Ming. The thunder overhead quickly stopped, and in no time, the person who had been stirring up wind and clouds walked in through the door.
His muscular, veined hand still gripped the Tinghan Sword.
Strands of lightning coiled around the sword body. Zhong Ming casually flicked it to disperse the lightning.
Jiang Xingzhi immediately got up and clapped his hands in praise. "Ah Zuo, you're so cool~ Come quickly, the Master has something to say!"
Zhong Ming walked over and patted his dog head, then looked down at Wujie. "Speak."
His slender fingers reapplied gold powder to his eyelids. Wujie carefully touched up his makeup. "Why must Xu Jian Sheng Jun be so violent?"
This was the first time he had used an honorific title when addressing Zhong Ming. The atmosphere became somewhat unusual. The room quieted down. The scattered sandalwood incense reformed into a thin wisp of smoke, curling in mid-air.
The spiritual power in Jiang Xingzhi's body was still surging. He tentatively spoke up, "Otherwise, you two chat while I go undergo my tribulation first?"
Zhong Ming was unwilling to leave any hidden danger. "No rush."
Wujie's slender hand suddenly lifted and lightly brushed. The surging spiritual power instantly calmed. Jiang Xingzhi blinked, and his gaze moved to Wujie's face.
As thoughts flowed through his mind, he slowly narrowed his eyes.
Under the deep stares of two pairs of eyes, Wujie cleared his throat and began to speak with a detached narrator's posture. "The operation of all things in the world cannot be separated from rules, and what maintains all things is cause and effect. Thus, a supreme law naturally formed between heaven and earth, which people call 'Heavenly Dao.'"
Zhong Ming mercilessly tore away his appearance of uninvolvement. "Self-introduction?"
Wujie choked for a moment.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, Jiang Xingzhi was still somewhat shocked. He examined Wujie. "Master, are you really?"
Wujie strived to salvage his dignity. "Not quite, not quite. The essence of Heavenly Dao is the law of heaven and earth—invisible and intangible. It's just that, for certain reasons, a strand of divine soul split off to form a physical body and descended to the mortal world."
Jiang Xingzhi curiously extended a finger, trying to poke him. "So you're a ghost?"
"......"
Zhong Ming pulled this person who was always touching things back to his side. Wujie automatically moved farther away and repeated his emphasis. "Physical body."
Jiang Xingzhi embarrassedly lowered his head and picked at the pattern on the Tinghan Sword.
Having neatly stripped away Wujie's disguise, Zhong Ming didn't let up. He seized upon a clue revealed in the other's words and pressed on. "For certain reasons—what does that refer to?"
Wujie's usually tightly closed eyelids suddenly opened, glanced at the two of them once, then slowly closed again—enough to show that his emotional fluctuations were extreme.
Jiang Xingzhi speculated. "Related to us?"