My Husband’s Ascension C32 (Part 2)
Chapter 32.2 Hidden Force
“It’s Zhao Zhao!”
Having just heard the full story from Li Feng and Xiao Bai, Daoist Ming Jue immediately spotted the two figures in midair, with Rong Yu chasing them.
Xiao Bai’s gaze also locked onto them.
But… why was Rong Yu alone chasing Zhao Zhao and Yao Ling?
He had planted the gu in both of them.
“Master! Watch out! I planted a gu in Yao Ling too, stay away from her—”
Before he could finish, Zhao Zhao, carrying Yao Ling, kicked him squarely from midair to the ground.
Boom!
The bewildered Xiao Bai hadn’t even finished his sentence before the ever-gentle and kind Zhao Zhao sent him flying with a single kick.
His expression remained one of utter disbelief even as the dust on the ground swallowed his figure.
Li Feng and Daoist Ming Jue also looked somewhat surprised.
Normally, Zhao Zhao always wore that bright, smiling, easygoing demeanor; seeing her kick someone without a word was a first.
She wasn’t just aiming to kick him, she practically wanted to flatten him. If anything happened to Rong Yu today, she swore she’d have Li Feng skin that fox and make it into a foot mat!
Breathing heavily, Zhao Zhao retracted her leg and handed Yao Ling over into Li Feng’s arms. “I’ve already checked on the way. There is indeed a gu inside her, but for some reason it hasn’t taken effect… Whether it will or not, make sure you protect her.”
Li Feng’s eyes widened, and he instinctively shifted Yao Ling in his arms as if holding a live bomb.
Sensing his reluctance, Yao Ling shot him a glare of pure indignation.
Zhao Zhao then turned to Daoist Ming Jue. Meeting his calm, reassuring gaze, a sheen of moisture formed in her eyes. “Master… this gu is different from the one we encountered back at the Blessed Land of Langhuan. Even if Rong Yu is knocked unconscious, they can still control him. What are we supposed to do?”
All the way here, she had racked her brain, yet had found no solution to save Rong Yu.
She even wondered if it was her interference in Yao Ling and Rong Yu’s original destinies that had triggered this chain of events, diverging from what had been foreseen in her dreams.
If anything were to happen to Rong Yu tonight, that future scion of the Demon Clan would cease to exist.
And then who would Yao Ling join forces with to oppose the demonic-corrupted Dao Lord Tianshu? What chaos would engulf the Cultivation Realm then?
The mere thought sent a wave of dread through Zhao Zhao.
“All things in this world exist in mutual promoting and regulating,” Daoist Ming Jue remarked, his aged voice calm and serene, as he watched Rong Yu charging toward them. “Do not panic. These brittle bones shall make a try; fall back behind me.”
Zhao Zhao paused, unsure of what he intended, but nonetheless obeyed, stepping back as instructed.
Yao Ling, perched on Li Feng’s shoulders, watched Daoist Ming Jue with curiosity.
She suddenly recalled that, when she first met him, she had for a brief instant thought him a hidden master of tremendous power and even wished to take him as her Master.
But later, during her stay at Cloudculm Abode, she realized Daoist Ming Jue had neither wealth nor ambition, did not cultivate at all, and even when she secretly hid the hairpin he used to bind his hair, he searched for three days without success. He seemed no different from any elderly, unaccomplished village sage.
Zhao Zhao also remembered something she had never asked before.
“The day I arrived at Cloudculm Abode, why did you keep calling my master ‘Jue Ming'zi’?”
Li Feng shot her a glance, his eyes brimming with obvious puzzlement. “You don’t know? After being his disciple all this time, you still don’t know who your master truly is?”
Zhao Zhao looked at the figure standing before them.
A cultivator with hair like silver frost, bent with age, appearing nothing more than an ordinary elderly man.
Yet—
The moment Rong Yu, under the control of the spiritual gu, lunged at him with a dagger in hand, the ever-slouched old man straightened his back. A sudden gale swept through the air, causing his worn, cherished robes to dance wildly in the air.
In the next instant, his raised hand pierced through Rong Yu’s heart.
Time seemed to freeze around them. Zhao Zhao’s mind went blank, and even Li Feng’s heartbeat stuttered in shock, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
Rong Yu’s chest was torn, blood and flesh mangled, and his face instantly drained of color, life fleeing from him.
Just as Zhao Zhao feared that Daoist Ming Jue himself might have been under a gu’s control—
The wrinkled hand suddenly withdrew, and as his fingers left Rong Yu’s chest, a surge of rich, potent wood spirit energy flowed into him.
The pierced flesh healed before their eyes, the blood that had congealed beneath the skin flowing anew. The once-gray, lifeless face gradually regained color, and even the wound on his forehead—previously inflicted by Yao Ling’s stone—restored itself in a heartbeat.
Between Daoist Ming Jue’s withdrawn fingers rested a gu no larger than a grain of rice.
…How acute must one’s perception be to locate a gu beneath the flesh?
And what magnitude of cultivation allows one, a second after plunging a hand through a heart, to bring life back from the edge of death?
Zhao Zhao stared at her master’s profile in astonishment, as if seeing him for the very first time.
“Master… how are you suddenly this powerful?”
Daoist Ming Jue twirled his beard, equally surprised. He had once failed to ascend and had spent his remaining years nearly stepping into the underworld, yet today his actions seemed to restore a glimpse of the prowess he had before his failed ascension.
After a moment of thought, he mused, “It appears the manual you retrieved from the Blessed Land of Langhuan truly holds power.”
…What manual? That absurdly titled ‘Fist of Blessed Longevity’?
Zhao Zhao was utterly baffled.
“The gu is dead. Rong Yu has walked the line between life and death and will need some time to properly recover.” Daoist Ming Jue wiped the blood from his hands, once again appearing as the cheerful little old man he usually was. “Now all that remains is the gu inside Yao Ling. Zhao Zhao, do you want to try?”
Yao Ling: “…No! I’m fine! Even Master can’t dig into my heart!!”
After the harrowing ordeal just now, Yao Ling’s tearful protest eased some of Zhao Zhao’s tightly wound nerves. Though new puzzles had arisen, the fact that everyone was safe was reason enough for relief.
In stark contrast, Mount Ling was shrouded in dark clouds.
On the altar, the wu-shaman who had controlled Rong Yu’s gu had already perished, her soul dissipating without a trace.
The remaining wu-shaman, aware that her own time was short, collapsed to the ground in panic.
Mount Ling was engulfed in a heavy, deathly silence.
“When I went to Cloudculm Abode to meet Jue Ming’zi last time, he was already so old, barely alive… how can he still shine like this?”
The veiled Wu-Shaman could not comprehend it. She had seen with her own eyes that Daoist Ming Jue’s cultivation had fallen out of the fourth great realm, with only a few years left to live!
She bit her lip, about to argue with herself, but was interrupted by Wu-Shaman Xian.
“What has happened has happened; there is no use in regret.”
Wu-Shaman Xian looked at the wu-shamans on the altar, then rose to pay respect in the formal rites of Mount Ling.
When she rose again, the leader of Mount Ling’s eyes shone with clarity as she continued, “Moreover, we are not without gains.”
“What gain?”
“Didn’t you notice what that arctic fox just said? If he hadn’t slipped up, both children would have been implanted with the gus. Yet that little girl, Yao Ling, hadn’t fallen under control. There’s only one possibility—” Wu-Shaman Xian’s lips curved faintly.
“She carries the blood of Mount Ling.”
…
Deeper into Beaconlight Mountain, the dew was heavier, mist thickened among the wilds, and the treetops formed a dense canopy, letting not a shred of light through.
The arctic fox, kicked down the mountainside by Zhao Zhao, was covered in mud, disheveled, utterly devoid of his usual elegance.
He wandered aimlessly through Beaconlight Mountain, uncertain of where he could go.
Back to Beaconlight Mountain?
He had implanted gu into the two favored disciples of the master there; he had no idea what had happened to them. If anything went wrong, returning would be tantamount to walking into his own death.
Back to the Tushan Clan?
He had completed his task, and the clan leader likely wouldn’t kill him. However, it would mean resuming his old life, once more a pawn to be manipulated.
The arctic fox rubbed the spot where Zhao Zhao had kicked him.
He was sturdy and strong; the kick itself barely hurt. What pained him was in his chest.
Such a remarkable person—though she had him laboring in the fields all day, she had never treated him like a lowly servant, never humiliated or trampled him.
She had gifted him the priceless Moondew Frost Cream, allowed him to dine at the same table as them, and, noticing his fondness for fine attire, even gifted him a high-quality enchanted robe.
She had even given him a name.
No matter where he was sent as a pawn in the future, he would never encounter a better master than her.
The arctic fox glanced toward the peak of Beaconlight Mountain, then trudged down the slope, dejected.
After only a few steps, he sensed a strange aura.
—Wicked demonic qi!
Instantly, he reverted to his true form and attempted to flee upward, only to be caught by a hand gripping his tail and slammed heavily to the ground.
Having lurked in ambush, the demonic forces swarmed in. Though the arctic fox had millennia of cultivation, he was unprepared and outnumbered—any fight now would be a matter of life or death.
Just as despair gripped the arctic fox, a surge of spiritual power burst forth, scattering the evil demons pressing down on him.
Startled and relieved, a shout of “Master!” rose in his throat as he rolled over—only to find it wasn’t Zhao Zhao at all, but a female cultivator he didn’t know.
…Wait a moment.
The arctic fox narrowed his eyes.
He had mastered the arts of seduction, excelling especially at changing his appearance. Others might be deceived, but for the Tushan foxes, no transformation, however flawless, could escape his eyes.
“You’re…Dao Lord Tianshu?”
The words barely left his mouth when the stranger’s grip shot up, seizing his fox neck tightly.
Help!
He had only said one sentence, and now he was about to die! Why would his gentle, kind master like someone so insane?!
Despite the terrifying aura surrounding him, anyone with some cultivation could see that he was near exhaustion.
After losing control of his sword intent, he could no longer wield his Single Intent Sword. Old injuries still pained him, and now he had to fight so many evil demons without using his sword—even for him, it was a struggle.
“You’re her arctic fox?” The female cultivator’s voice was icy, her fingers tightening rather than loosening. “What happened on the mountain? Why are so many wicked demons gathering?”
Although Jimo Sea bordered the demon clans, the city itself was protected by formation arrays. Evil demons typically hid piecemeal; only if they sensed a presence or caught a scent would they assemble in force.
The arctic fox had no way of knowing that these demons were drawn by the blood of Rong Yu. Struggling to breathe, he gasped out, “Dao Lord Tianshu… have mercy…Beaconlight…Mount Ling wu-shamans have taken control of master’s two disciples using gu to kill her…please save—”
Before he could finish, Dao Lord Tianshu dragged him swiftly toward the mountaintop.
…
At Beaconlight Mountain, Zhao Zhao had just stepped out of Zhongli Shun’s room.
Having arrived at Beaconlight Mountain today, Zhongli Shun had gone to bed early. It was only when Zhao Zhao and the others returned with the unconscious Rong Yu that he realized something unusual was happening.
After Zhao Zhao recounted the night’s events, Zhongli Shun listened in shock and fear.
“…I vow to train earnestly henceforth!” The young boy, tucked back into bed by Zhao Zhao, gazed up with resolute eyes, itching to rush out and practice swordsmanship. “When I grow up, I’ll protect our sect, protect my junior brothers and sisters!”
Zhao Zhao paused, then smiled gently. “Then Master will wait until you grow up. But… even though you’re older than them, Yao Ling will never let you be her senior brother.”
It struck Zhongli Shun like a bolt from the blue. Even after Zhao Zhao left his room, he remained stunned by the realization that he was the junior.
…
“…Xiao Bai?” As Zhao Zhao was about to return to her own room, she ran into the disheveled, mud-smeared Xiao Bai, accompanied by a female Kunwu cultivator.
Frowning, Zhao Zhao asked, “Why are you back? Have you lost your mind?”
Xiao Bai opened his mouth, unsure how to reply, and glanced at Dao Lord Tianshu, who had brought him back.
Tianshu opened his mouth to speak, “We met in the mountains moments ago. He said Mount Ling was manipulating gu to cause harm to others?”
“Oh, that’s already been taken care of,” Zhao Zhao replied.
Instinctively, she shifted slightly toward Yao Ling and the others, blocking the Kunwu cultivator’s path.
After everything that had happened, Zhao Zhao had become far more vigilant about the children’s safety.
Even though this was just an ordinary Kunwu disciple, she could not allow anyone to get close to Yao Ling and Rong Yu.
Dao Lord Tianshu’s gaze lingered on her shoulder. “You’re hurt?”
Zhao Zhao followed his gaze and glanced at her shoulder.
“Just a minor injury. My master exerted himself a lot today, once he rests, I’ll have him treat it.” Zhao Zhao didn’t dwell on it and asked, “How did you end up here?”
Dao Lord Tianshu’s gaze remained fixed on her shoulder as he explained calmly, “The stir of evil demons toward Beaconlight Mountain reached my awareness; I rushed here to provide my aid and just so happened to…”
Zhao Zhao blinked. ‘Just so happened to’ what?
He then looked at Xiao Bai.
For a fleeting moment, the arctic fox felt as if that gaze could devour him alive.
But in the end, Dao Lord Tianshu simply nudged him toward Zhao Zhao’s side. “Just so happened to witness him battling the evil demons.”
Xiao Bai: ???
Zhao Zhao tilted her head in curiosity. “You’re that powerful?”
“Perhaps… maybe… I suppose so…”
A cloud of confusion over his mind, Xiao Bai stared at Dao Lord Tianshu, seeking any sign upon his face.
But Dao Lord Tianshu only gazed at Zhao Zhao, a faint, teasing smile curving his lips as he spoke softly, “Though the Tushan foxes are ill-suited for battle, he risked everything to stop the evil demons from ascending the mountain, nearly getting strangled to death. Such a loyal yao familiar is hard to come by, wouldn’t it be a waste not to keep him close and put him to good use?”
Beneath his robe, the wound throbbed with a subtle, unbearable itch.
But just like all the injuries he had endured before, he would never speak of it aloud.
Never.
