After Sheng Jun Chapter 78 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 78 Wujie's Identity Revealed (part 2)
Wujie smiled kindly. "More than related. This poor Daoist descended to the Three Realms entirely because Xu Jian Sheng Jun caused Ting Xue Sheng Jun to be reborn back to a thousand years ago."
"Wait." Jiang Xingzhi temporarily stopped his words and looked sharply at the person beside him. "Xu Jian caused me to be reborn... what does that mean?"
Zhong Ming said softly, "Don't worry about that, Deng Deng."
But Jiang Xingzhi had already fallen into a daze of recollection. The words Lin He had spoken to him earlier now surfaced in his ears: After his death and the destruction of his dao, thunder had sounded in the sky one clap after another. Until one day, the loudest thunder of all rang out in the heavens, and from then on, no one ever saw Xu Jian Sheng Jun again.
He suddenly grabbed Zhong Ming's sleeve. "You——"
He had always thought Xu Jian had pierced the heavens just to find him—he never imagined that Xu Jian had brought him back to life.
Inexplicable emotions suddenly surged in Jiang Xingzhi's heart. He looked at Zhong Ming, his eyes slightly warming. "You never told me—why didn't you tell me?"
"There's nothing to say." Zhong Ming held his hand, soothing his emotions. "It was what I wanted to do. I didn't want you to feel pressured or to feel you owed me anything......"
Jiang Xingzhi's eyes flickered with light. "Xu Jian......"
Wujie on the side interrupted their affectionate gazing. "It's fine. After this poor Daoist finishes speaking, your pressures can cancel each other out."
Jiang Xingzhi: ?
Zhong Ming: ?
Under their confused gazes, Wujie began to explain. "The beginning of everything must start with the Heavenly Dao's flaw. A thousand years ago, the Three Realms were barren and desolate, and cultivators couldn't break through their limits; while a thousand years later, in the present, spiritual power is abundant and Mahayana cultivators are everywhere. The law of development for all things is breakthrough and progress, but in this progress, there appeared a gap—the cause and turning point that produced the change was missing."
"To prevent the world from collapsing, Heavenly Dao transformed the missing cause and effect into a seed called 'Jie' and hid it in the Kongxuan Secret Realm. As long as it wasn't discovered by anyone, it could still barely maintain the operation of the Three Realms."
Wujie paused here and looked at the two people who simultaneously lowered their heads, smiling slightly. "That's right, until you two dug it up."
Jiang Xingzhi awkwardly picked at his hands. "No wonder, no wonder I sensed a trace of the power of laws......" The strange feeling he had perceived at that time must have come from the flaw within that power of laws.
Wujie said, "If one ascends while carrying the flaw in the laws, the Three Realms would likely collapse the next moment. So Heavenly Dao recovered the flaw in the laws during the last heavenly tribulation, and Ting Xue Sheng Jun would naturally fail the tribulation."
Jiang Xingzhi's gaze turned somber. "What a huge trap."
Wujie smiled. "Even knowing it might be a huge trap, didn't you still actively jump into it?"
Jiang Xingzhi's eyes widened: The Master actually knows even this?
Before he could express his amazement at Wujie's vast supernatural powers, another voice fell from beside him. "What do you mean? What do you mean by 'knowing'?"
"......"
Jiang Xingzhi's gaze slowly moved over, meeting the ripples rising in Zhong Ming's eyes. Zhong Ming grabbed his hand in one motion, and intense emotions transmitted through their connected sea of consciousness. "You knew? Then why did you......"
The voice cut off abruptly. Zhong Ming steadied himself. "Was it because of me?"
Jiang Xingzhi met his eyes that were beginning to shimmer, looked away, and used his earlier words to block him. "There's nothing to say. It was what I wanted to do. I didn't want you to feel pressured or to feel you owed me anything."
Zhong Ming: "......"
Wujie calmly spoke from the side. "This poor Daoist said your pressures could cancel each other out."
The hand holding Jiang Xingzhi's wrist tightened slightly. A few traces of regret surfaced on Zhong Ming's face. "If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have yielded to you back then."
"Yielded?" Jiang Xingzhi's gentle gaze turned sharp. "Are you looking down on me!"
"No, no." Zhong Ming stroked his fur. "What I mean is, whatever you want, when have I ever competed with you for it?"
This is more like it~ Jiang Xingzhi's fur was immediately smoothed. He squeezed his fingers and smiled sweetly. "Oh."
…..
With Wujie's confession, the cause of all the incidents was finally explained clearly.
Zhong Ming hadn't forgotten the most critical issue at hand. He asked Wujie, "What about now? Jiang Xingzhi is about to break through—will it be like last time?"
Wujie crossed his hands in front of him. "When Xu Jian Sheng Jun tore apart Heavenly Dao back then, Heavenly Dao had no choice but to let Ting Xue's soul reform and be reborn. But as a condition, Heavenly Dao sent Ting Xue to a thousand years ago to repair the flaw, perfect the cause and effect, and create a perfect closed loop for the great world."
"Now that all cause and effect have been perfected, naturally there will be no more interference."
Jiang Xingzhi perked up immediately. "That's wonderful~"
Wujie smiled serenely. "So, you two, go undergo your tribulation now."
"Let's go, Xu Jian, we'll go right now——" Jiang Xingzhi grabbed Zhong Ming's sleeve and had just stood up when he suddenly sensed something wrong. "You two? Xu Jian, are you going to undergo tribulation too?"
Zhong Ming stood up with him, skipping over this topic and attempting to divert his attention with an affectionate gaze. "Let's go, together."
Jiang Xingzhi wasn't so easily fooled. He grabbed Zhong Ming. "When did this happen? Why didn't I sense your spiritual power washing against your bottleneck?"
Wujie, seeing the two people in front of him didn't know how long they would stare at each other, spoke up to answer. "A long time ago. However, Xu Jian Sheng Jun has suppressed it for a long time, deliberately not attacking the bottleneck. If he doesn't break through now, I'm afraid it will overflow."
He urged them. "So hurry and go, lest you accidentally fail to suppress it and attract the heavenly tribulation to Kunlun."
The two: "......"
Jiang Xingzhi's hand loosened from Zhong Ming's robe, pleasantly surprised: No wonder Xu Jian could tear apart Heavenly Dao with his bare hands—his cultivation had already reached the bottleneck long ago...... Then doesn't that mean they can ascend together!
Wuhu~ He's so happy!
"Let's go, Deng Deng." With Wujie's promise, Zhong Ming's heart settled more than halfway. He no longer delayed and called out to him, turning to walk toward the door.
That figure walked a few steps, but Jiang Xingzhi didn't follow. He took the opportunity to crouch down and lean close to Wujie, secretly transmitting his voice. "Master, then why has Xu Jian never ascended? If I ask him, he definitely won't tell me."
Wujie smiled at him. "He's been waiting."
Jiang Xingzhi: "Waiting for what?"
But Wujie no longer answered, just smiled without speaking. Just as Jiang Xingzhi was secretly probing, Zhong Ming's voice came from behind. "Deng Deng, come quickly."
"Oh!" Jiang Xingzhi temporarily set this matter aside, turned around, and ran toward Zhong Ming who was stopped at the door. "Wait for me!"
A large palm reached toward him and grasped his hand. "Waiting for you."
The two figures departed together in an instant.
In the room, the curtains on both sides fluttered in layers. The morning light streaming in from outside illuminated the corridor in the middle. Wujie sat cross-legged behind the desk, his blue-gray gauze robe stained with sandalwood fragrance.
He looked in the direction the two had departed and smiled.
Yes, always waiting.