My Husband’s Ascension C48 (Part 1)
Chapter 48.1 Betrayal
No matter whether she could truly trust Dao Lord Tianshu, at present this was the only chance they could seize.
The snow-robed Dao Lord, who had disengaged after a single exchange with Lord Tianxuan, withdrew to stand before her. With his back to her, he faced Lord Tianxuan and the assembled disciples and elders of the cultivation sects he led, taking his place directly opposite them.
“When I arrived just now, I encountered the forces of Demon General Li Ying along the way.” He did not turn around. His voice was steady, quick, and low. “They will likely set an ambush near the Yao Realm’s border. Your numbers are too few, do not act rashly. There is a cave to the southwest. Go there and wait for me.”
It was as though the howling wind of Separation’s Regret Heaven echoed again beside her ears.
Every step she had taken along that long stairway was still etched into her legs.
Yet behind her stood dozens of disciples from Cloudculm Abode.
Zhao Zhao did not wish for a single one of them to fall here before they had even come of age.
“...Can I trust you?” Her lips were pale, her teeth trembling faintly, as though it took an immense act of resolve to ask this at all. “Dao Lord Tianshu, can we trust you?”
No matter how much she disliked him, how deeply she resented him, Zhao Zhao understood this much: he was not someone who made promises lightly, but once he did, he would never go back on them.
He turned and met her gaze. “Zhao Zhao, wait for me there.”
Like a pebble cast into water.
A distant voice seemed to ripple softly in her heart—
Just this once.
At this moment of life and death, with no path of retreat left, trust him this once.
Ahead lay the demon general come to seize Rong Yu. Behind them were the cultivator elders pressing Zhao Zhao to hand him over.
Even if she did not wish to trust him, there was no second road to take.
Seated atop the celestial deer, Rong Yu wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and spoke with earnest gravity, “You’re a Dao Lord. I believe you, so please don’t go back on your words.”
Dao Lord Tianshu looked at Rong Yu, finding him vaguely familiar. Yet there were far too many disciples of similar age in Cloudculm Abode, and he did not dwell on it further.
The moment his gaze met the Demon Realm’s Successor, only one thought, chilling to its core, filled his mind:
It mattered not whether the boy lived or died. But if rescuing him this time were to bring any harm to Xie Tanzhao, then he would make him pay with his life.
Having received Dao Lord Tianshu’s promise, Zhao Zhao immediately turned and led the disciples away.
“Dao Lord!” Lord Tianxuan, seeing him show such open partiality for that mortal woman before all eyes, felt as though his heart had been carved open. He closed his eyes, bitter at both the injustice and Tianshu’s obstinacy. “Preposterous! Utterly preposterous! Dao Lord, you are blinded! We could have negotiated peace with the Demon Realm and secured decades of tranquility for the Cultivation Realm. By acting this way, have you not wasted that chance entirely?”
“If peace can not be negotiated, then I will confront them myself.” Dao Lord Tianshu’s gaze swept over the disciples of the sects, a chill-laden smile curving his lips. “For hundreds of years, have we not always proceeded in the same manner? Should this turmoil in the Demon Realm worsen, I will withdraw my prior arrangements. There will be no need for the sects to intervene. I will still lead the effort to quell the chaos myself. Thoughts?”
His words left the assembly speechless.
Only Lord Tianxuan, unable to contain himself any longer, spoke out. “No!”
Did he imagine he still possessed the body he once had?
He could not even wield the Single Intent Sword now. To continue draining himself in this way would bring him perilously close to death.
Lord Tianxuan stepped forward, every word ringing with force. “Dao Lord, do not allow yourself to be beguiled by that woman! She is an ill omen, a calamity obstructing your Dao path. You must rise above her, just as you once transcended the seven emotions and six desires. The disaster at Mount Ling still awaits your resolution, and the ambitious demon race still awaits your extermination. All under heaven call you Dao Lord; you must bear the responsibility that title demands!”
Ah. These words again.
Since he first learned to wield a sword, and his extraordinary talent had emerged, every person he met, every path he walked, had taught him only one thing: how to shed the desires of being human, and become a vessel to carry the will of others.
Yet this snow-white porcelain vessel, forged by the entirety of Immortal Realm of Kunwu, had long since developed cracks.
Ever since the day the young girl, with her soft hands, touched those fractures and reached the real him beneath.
Those cracks no longer wished to be mended.
“Then from this day forth, I relinquish the title of Dao Lord.”
…What?
The countless cultivators present heard these words with their own ears, and all stared in disbelief.
The mountain valley fell into deathly silence.
Amid the stillness, the Dao Lord who had stood at the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm for a thousand years summoned a small Dao Lord seal. With a casual flick of his hand, he cast it away. It struck a boulder with a crisp, ringing sound.
Even everyone’s breathing seemed to halt at that sound.
Lord Tianxuan stared blankly at the snow-robed Dao Lord’s retreating figure. The back that had always stood perfectly straight seemed to slacken at last. In an instant, the pillar holding him upright was pulled away, and at a glance he looked no different from an ordinary old man of the mortal world.
Just as Dao Lord Tianshu was about to leave, a disciple of Kunwu came racing in from the horizon.
“Ill news! The other three demon generals of the Demon Realm have joined forces without our knowing. They have been gathering silently along the Demon Realm’s border, and have now moved from the northeast to surround us!”
What?!
An uproar instantly broke out among the disciples in the valley.
“Weren’t they sworn enemies? How could they join forces?”
“Just like with Demon General Li Ying, someone must have alerted the others while informing him.”
“But why surround us?”
“With three demon generals working together and such overwhelming numbers, wiping out our few hundred would be effortless!”
“Dao Lord!”
All eyes turned toward the snow-robed Dao Lord’s back.
The valley, which moments ago had boiled like water at a rolling boil, suddenly fell silent once more.
Dao Lord Tianshu did not turn around. Yet the sound of several hundred people dropping to their knees echoed through the stillness.
It was impossible to ignore, boring through his eardrums, deeper and deeper, straight into his mind.
…
“…The forces of Demon General Li Ying are indeed stationed along the border of the Yao Realm. There are over a thousand of them. Even if we faced them one by one, we would be utterly overwhelmed. We must find another way.”
The cave was bitterly cold, the damp air condensing on the stone walls and dripping steadily to the floor.
Li Feng drew a crude map on the ground with a small stick, marking the positions of friend and foe, as well as several entrances into the Yao Realm.
No matter what plan they devised, the disparity in numbers was simply too great. Any attempt to enter the Yao Realm would inevitably lead to a confrontation with Demon General Li Ying.
Zhao Zhao held several small stones in her hand, used to indicate positions on the map.
In the silence, she unconsciously clenched the stones. By the time Xiao Bai noticed something was wrong, the sharp edges had already cut her fingers, and blood trickled from between them.
Xiao Bai shouted, “Quick, bring the healing ointment! Master is bleeding!”
Only then did Zhao Zhao come back to herself, releasing the bloodied stones.
“Sorry… I just drifted off for a moment.” She opened her palm and allowed Xiao Bai to bandage her hand. Then she turned toward the cave entrance. “What time is it?”
Zhongli Shun, restless and tense, muttered, “…It’s already the hour of Zi (11pm-1am).”
Six hours had passed since they parted ways with Dao Lord Tianshu in the valley.
Yet the walk from the valley to this cave had only taken the time of a single incense stick.
“I see,” Zhao Zhao murmured softly. She stood and addressed Li Feng. “Follow your plan from earlier. Send word to your allies in the Yao Realm. Also, a letter should be sent to the Verdant Highlands’ Tu Clan. There is little hope, but at this point, we must try every possible means.”
Li Feng glanced at her, his expression complex. He said nothing more, simply nodding.
Zhongli Shun spoke anxiously, “Master, Dao Lord Tianshu must be restrained by something. He promised he would come. He is not the type to break his word.”
“Mm.” Zhao Zhao smiled gently and patted his head.
The fourteen-year-old boy was only half a head shorter than her. In another year or two, she would likely have to stand on tiptoe just to reach the top of his head.
And Yao Ling… she wondered how long it would take before the girl grew as tall as Zhongli Shun.
"If no aid comes from the Yao Realm before Li Ying’s party makes their move, take the others and, together with Li Feng and Xiao Bai, seek temporary sanctuary in the Yao Realm." Zhao Zhao instructed.
Zhongli Shun gripped her robes tightly. “Master, you must come with us. Otherwise, I will never be able to face Yao Ling again. How can I surpass her? How can I remain the Senior Brother of Cloudculm Abode?”
Zhao Zhao smiled. “If you can protect the other disciples of Cloudculm Abode, then you are already the greatest Senior Brother.”
Zhongli Shun opened his mouth, but a sour lump rose in his throat and no words would come out.
Zhao Zhao turned back to discuss the route with Li Feng, while Zhongli Shun, unwilling to give up, kept glancing toward the cave entrance.
Why?
Why had he not come?
Hadn’t they agreed to wait for him here?
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from afar. Zhongli Shun’s eyes brightened instantly, and he darted toward the entrance as fast as he could.
“I knew it… Dao Lord would never—” Before he could finish his words, Zhongli Shun collided with the chest of Lord Tianxuan.
The solemn elder’s gaze swept coldly across his face. “Dao Lord Tianshu is not here. Go and inform your Sect Master. If she were to choose to confront Li Ying, we will lend our aid.”
Zhongli Shun stood frozen for a long moment, his gaze drifting past the Kunwu elder.
When Lord Tianxuan had pursued them earlier, the number of followers behind him had been at least twice what they were now.
Even with all of those forces combined, victory against Li Ying had been uncertain. Now, with barely a hundred people and, most importantly, with Dao Lord Tianshu absent, the odds were even slimmer.
“Why isn’t he here?” Zhongli Shun grabbed Lord Tianxuan in agitation. “He promised he would come. Why did he break his word? Did you do something to him—”
“Dao Lord naturally has matters of greater importance to attend to. The fact he has allowed us to come and lend you aid is already an exceptional mercy.” Lord Tianxuan had lost his patience. He shook Zhongli Shun off and turned his gaze toward Zhao Zhao and the others approaching, his expression growing ever heavier.
He recalled the exchange he had shared with Dao Lord Tianshu before they parted.
For the sake of this woman, Dao Lord had ordered him to bring everyone here to reinforce her, while he himself went alone to face three demon generals and the thousands they commanded.
Fearing that he might go back on his word, Dao Lord Tianshu had even forced him to swear a heart oath, ensuring there would be no room for error.
Lord Tianxuan looked at the female cultivator before him and felt an urge to crush her throat.
If she was truly Dao Lord’s destined emotional tribulation, then if she were to die, would that tribulation finally come to an end?
Just like the agony of breaking through a realm; no matter how painful, once one crossed that threshold, the world beyond would be entirely different.
If that were the case—
Even if he had to bear the price of violating a heart oath, he would do so willingly.
