My Husband’s Ascension C50
Chapter 50 In Pieces
Dao Lord Tianshu… had personally slain Lord Tianxuan, the very one who had raised him!
He killed Lord Tianxuan!
The realization exploded in the minds of all present.
Not only the disciples who revered the Dao Lord, but even Cloudculm Abode and others who had once burned with the desire to grind him to dust, stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Though the Cultivation Realm did not value etiquette and doctrine as the Mortal Realm did, everyone knew Lord Tianxuan had been like both mentor and father to the Dao Lord.
To slay one’s mentor and father…how was this any different from the acts of yao, ghosts, or demons?
Fear and bewilderment spread like wildfire through every heart present.
Before them stood the silver-haired, snow-clad Dao Lord, unchanged from the past, like a flawless jade, now marred by a jarring, shocking crack.
“Dao–Dao Lord…” A pale-faced disciple behind him forced his voice out against the suffocating weight of the aura that pressed down upon them all. “The remaining demons… their numbers are few, but still… difficult to deal with. Dao Lord, c–could you—”
The disciples of Cloudculm Abode clustered around him, intent on reclaiming their Master from his arms.
Even together, the disciples of the seven sects fell far short of Dao Lord Tianshu’s strength; the barrier he had just maintained alone would soon crumble under their hands.
Though Dao Lord seemed different from his usual self at this moment, when it came to matters of the Cultivation Realm, surely he still would—
“No.” His reply was crisp and decisive; he did not even lift his head.
Dao Lord Tianshu continued to pour spiritual power into Zhao Zhao’s body without pause. Only by doing so could he keep her form suspended at the very instant of death, preventing it from decaying as an ordinary corpse would.
The disciples had not expected such an answer. Glancing anxiously toward the barrier, they spoke in hurried succession, “Dao Lord, please reconsider! We are all grieving for Miss Immortal Tanzhao, but precisely because we grieve, you cannot abandon yourself like this. Miss Immortal Tanzhao gave her life, fighting alone to slay Demon General Li Ying. If you now turn away, would that not make her sacrifice meaningless—”
His snow-pale lashes trembled faintly.
Seeing that he seemed moved, the speaker pressed on. “The matter of Mount Ling is still unresolved. The remaining demons are still probing our defenses. The dead cannot be brought back, but everyone in the Cultivation Realm, Cloudculm Abode included, still relies on you, Dao Lord!”
His white lashes quivered more violently. The arm holding the woman in his embrace tightened abruptly, drawing her ever closer, as though trying to mend something, to reclaim something already lost.
A low laugh colored his voice as he savored each word. “Then what of her? In her final moment, who answered her plea for help? Whom could she rely on?”
He paused before continuing, “For over a thousand years, I devoted myself to the Dao. For hundreds of years, I fought to quell chaos. I have saved countless lives, stood as the pillar of the Cultivation Realm for a millennium. In all that time, I asked for only one thing, that you protect her after I depart.”
He recalled the past seven years of division and turmoil, of responsibilities and selfish desires gnawing at him.
She had severed her threads of attachment, and he had resolved to let her go. Even if he could never draw the Single Intent Sword again, he would not let her know of any of this.
All he wished was that, if he could fulfill his role as Dao Lord and bring peace to the Cultivation Realm, allowing her sect to focus on cultivation, it would count as another form of closure.
Yet in the end—
“So this is how the Cultivation Realm treated her… even after I willingly forsook her for the very Realm I swore to safeguard.” Dao Lord Tianshu lifted his gaze to the disciples, a warm smile crossing his features, “I have protected the Cultivation Realm for so many years, borne the title of sovereign over all under heaven, yet I cannot recall a single moment in which I acted without restraint. Then, let my last day as Dao Lord be the one in which I indulge myself—”
“—I shall not intervene. If anyone dies here… let it be considered a burial offering for my wife.”
In that instant, blood seemed to freeze in their veins.
…The Dao Lord had truly gone mad! Did he even realize the words he was speaking?!
As soon as his words fell, the barrier shattered with a thunderous crash.
The demons, who had long feared Dao Lord Tianshu, now sensed the unusual shift in atmosphere and began to boldly assault the disciples of the Immortal Sects.
Dao Lord Tianshu, cradling Zhao Zhao, moved without apparent destination.
Naturally, the disciples of Cloudculm Abode would not allow him to carry her away so easily.
But before anyone could approach, the Single Intent Sword erupted into hundreds of golden sword mirages, forming an unbreakable cocoon around him and Zhao Zhao. The sword light neither harmed them nor allowed anyone else to pass through.
Zhongli Shun, eyes red at the rims, hacked at the sword images in vain before shouting, “Return Master to us! Weren’t you always the one who guarded the disciples of the Seven Great Sects, so why do you not save them? Among them are those who aided Master! You can’t watch them march to their deaths; return our Master and go save them!”
The snow-clad Dao Lord merely said, “Step aside.”
“Dao Lord!” Xiao Bai called urgently. “You kill Lord Tianxuan without hesitation, yet leave the Seven Great Sects’ disciples to die! Master’s heart is kind, she would not want others to die with her! What you do only grieves her, and the whole world will blame Master, will blame her for your madness. You are harming her!”
These words, at last, drew a flicker of reaction from Dao Lord Tianshu.
Xiao Bai exhaled in relief. He had known that now, the only thing capable of stirring the Dao Lord was anything related to his Master.
Yet even so, a deep sense of helplessness filled his heart.
What use was it?
The woman in his arms would never know any of this.
The only memory she would carry of him while alive would be the moment he refused to turn back to save her.
From afar came the sound of Li Ying’s defeated remnants fleeing.
The Tushan forces pressed hard behind, no doubt fearing they were not truly retreating but planning to catch up with their fallen general.
Indeed, that had been the intention of Li Ying’s remaining troops. But soon, they saw the corpse of their general, and the chaos of warriors and demons scattered across the yellow sands.
The silver-haired, snow-clad Dao Lord stood not far off.
They did not know what had transpired, yet the sight of the Dao Lord triggered memories of countless past battles with cultivators on the field, and a sudden urge to surrender overtook them.
And they did exactly that. Li Ying’s army led skilled archers; they lowered their bows, expecting, as per battlefield custom, that surrender meant their lives would be spared.
Yet…
Dao Lord’s gaze fell upon the bows in their hands.
So this was it. These very weapons had marred Zhao Zhao’s face.
“We surrender! We yield! Please, Dao Lord—”
Before the words could finish, sword light rained down like a storm. In the stunned gaze of all onlookers, the Single Intent Sword cleaved through the demon ranks as though slicing tofu, severing countless heads and limbs.
A shrill cry tore from the demons, “Spare us, Dao Lord! We have already surrendered!”
“And what of it?”
The Single Intent Sword descended into their midst like a merciless engine of death, instantly annihilating countless lives.
Cradling Zhao Zhao, he recalled his spiritual sword and leapt personally into the enemy ranks. With one hand freed, he gripped the hilt, raised it, and struck again without a moment’s hesitation.
One by one, the invisible shackles that had bound Dao Lord Tianshu shattered.
Voices shouted from behind, no doubt urging him to act for the greater good, to spare the surrendered so that should the demons rise again, a path would remain.
He paid them no heed.
This strike, in truth, was not difficult.
If he abandoned the old rules and conventions, there was nothing in this world that could bind him.
Whether to bring his mortal wife into the Cultivation Realm, or silence the voices that sought to restrain him, he could have done it all, from the start.
He had been an empty shell for far too long, so long that he no longer knew what he truly desired.
That was why he had disappointed her, hurt her, and in the end, though he stood right before her, he could do nothing.
—If only there were a way… a way to bring her back, to make it all start anew.
By the time the final head fell, the Single Intent Sword, soaked in blood and nearly impossible to grip, returned to its scabbard.
Dao Lord Tianshu cast a glance toward Cloudculm Abode.
“Stop him!” Li Feng shouted, and as the snow-clad figure rose upon the wind, he followed.
Though he did not know Dao Lord Tianshu’s intent, given his current state of frenzy, any madness was within the realm of possibility.
…
Within Cloudculm Abode.
Mo Lingyun, ordered to remain behind, paced restlessly. Opposite him, Shi Lanyan’s temper flared far hotter; she strode back and forth, swearing at the top of her lungs for being barred from following by Lord Tianxuan’s deliberate decision.
“…That cunning, deceitful old man! I’ve never liked him. When he could not advance his own cultivation, he pinned his hopes on Tianshu. Tianshu raises a mere spirit companion, and he sneers as if it were a lost cause to secretly destroy it. And now… now he won’t even spare Zhao Zhao—”
“Junior Sister.” Zi Qian stepped swiftly into the room, his voice grave, “Dao Lord Tianshu has returned, bringing Miss Immortal Tanzhao with him.”
Mo Lingyun sprang to his feet, eyes shining with joy. “Really? So Dao Lord Tianshu disappeared all this time to rescue Miss Immortal Tanzhao…”
“However,” Zi Qian paused, his expression darkening slightly, “Miss Immortal Tanzhao… she looks…unusual.”
…
When Shi Lanyan and Mo Lingyun arrived outside the main hall of Cloudculm Abode, they were stopped by the barrier set by Dao Lord Tianshu. Bewildered, they gazed at the figure standing amid the clearing, tracing blood across the ground to form a formation.
At the center of the formation lay a figure they knew all too well.
“…What’s wrong with her? Has she… fainted?” Shi Lanyan asked softly.
Though she spoke as if uncertain, it was obvious to anyone: Zhao Zhao bore no obvious wounds, yet her complexion had long ceased to resemble that of the living—pallid, utterly drained of color.
Mo Lingyun quickly realized the gravity of the situation. He tried to step through the barrier but stopped short, the gap in strength too great, and hurriedly sought assistance from a nearby elder of the Ghost Soldier Sect, renowned for its mastery of formations and defensive arrays.
“What is Dao Lord Tianshu attempting to do?”
The Ghost Soldier Sect elder, a rather young man, turned to his Dao companion beside him and said, “No matter what, first break the barrier. Then find out.”
The two exchanged a glance and began working together to break through Dao Lord Tianshu’s barrier.
Meanwhile, Yao Ling, who had been at Moonlit Peak, heard the commotion near the main hall and hurried over. Her eyes immediately fell upon the female cultivator placed at the center of the formation by Dao Lord Tianshu.
“Master!!” She struck the barrier with all her strength, her voice cracking with fury, “What are you trying to do to my Master?!”
The Dao Lord, who had seemed indifferent to every sound around him, finally lifted his head.
The red demon mask still rested atop her head. Though the face beneath was somewhat altered from the last time he had seen it, her character remained unmistakable.
“Yao Ling!” Shi Lanyan tried to seize her, but it was too late; she watched helplessly as Dao Lord drew Yao Ling into the formation.
At the same moment, the couple from the Ghost Soldier Sect finally tore through the barrier, leaping inside, and at last saw clearly the true nature of the formation Dao Lord Tianshu had drawn.
“…Maternal Resurrection Rite…” The elder murmured, horror tightening in his chest.
Like a bolt of thunder, it struck Shi Lanyan’s mind as she watched Dao Lord Tianshu complete the final stroke of the formation. Expressionless, he was about to press the struggling, shouting girl against the formation’s center. She could not remain silent.
“She’s not your daughter!!”
The hand, suspended midair, froze.
“She is not Xie Tanzhao’s daughter either! All those words were lies I told you! There is no child! Seven years ago, when you left Yunmeng Pier, she was not pregnant! Tianshu, do you hear me?! There is no child between you and Xie Tanzhao!!” Shi Lanyan, fearing that another moment’s delay would cost Yao Ling her life to the weight of that lie, shouted with every ounce of strength in her body.
The disciples who remained at Cloudculm Abode looked on in stunned disbelief.
Seven years ago… Yunmeng Pier?
Could it be… that Miss Immortal Tanzhao was the wife Dao Lord Tianshu had taken during his descent to the mortal world for tribulation?
The Ghost Soldier Sect elder, seeing the Dao Lord hesitate, hurried forward to try to erase the forbidden art beneath his feet and move Miss Immortal Tanzhao aside, thinking this would secure their safety.
Yet no sooner had he touched the edge of the formation than a surge of spiritual energy flung him dozens of meters away.
“Husband!!” His Dao companion rushed forward, panic written across her face, checking his injuries.
Amid the chaos, Dao Lord Tianshu seemed to hear someone call out “Husband.”
He released the little girl from his grasp, then slowly bent down to cradle the woman at the center of the formation.
No one could discern the expression on his face.
Yet all could see the sight: the Dao Lord, who had always stood at the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm, a mere step from ascension and enlightenment, now bending his back, his white robes soaked in blood and trembling like a dying crane.
In this world, there would never again be anyone to call him “Husband.”
Author’s note: Zhao Zhao is definitely not dead, she still has great deeds to accomplish!
