My Husband’s Ascension C60 (Part 1)
Chapter 60.1 Fabrication
Though they had always known that Zhao Zhao was not truly dead, only existing in the form of a spirit tree, they had no certainty whether she could perceive the outside world—or if so, to what extent.
That certainty came only when this elderly spirit spoke.
Yao Ling’s voice was urgent: “Is Master beside you?”
The elderly soul, her teeth long gone with age, cast a slow glance toward Zhao Zhao and said, her tone deliberate and dragging, “No Master here… only a pretty young girl.”
Rong Yu’s eyes lit up. “It’s Master! It must be Master! She’s been following us all this time!”
For Zhao Zhao, the time since their parting had been brief. Most of her days were spent in slumber or in cultivation.
But for Yao Ling and Rong Yu, it had been fifty long years since they parted at the borders of the Demon Realm.
The ceremonial envoys of the Ghost Realm were sent aside, and the two children pressed forward, eager. “Does Master have anything to say to us?”
Their eyes shone with hope, and the figure standing behind them watched the elderly spirit intently.
The elderly soul, having wandered as a ghost for so long, had never before been treated with such regard. She listened carefully for a long while before speaking, “Your Master says, Yao Ling—”
Yao Ling craned her neck eagerly.
“You’ve grown into quite a young lady. Just a little too thin, remember to eat more. Master knows you’ve grown stronger, but don’t underestimate your opponents, protect yourself. Master is still counting on you to keep her safe.”
Hearing this, Yao Ling’s mouth curved into a smile so wide it seemed it might stretch to her ears.
Since Master had departed, she had become, in name, the eldest Senior Sister, and in reality, the sect leader—endlessly burdened with responsibilities. It had been so long since she had felt the warmth and care of Master’s attention.
Thinking back to her childhood, when all she wished for was to grow up quickly… she had been so ungrateful.
“And Rong Yu—”
Rong Yu’s eyes began to brim with tears, but he did his best to hold back.
Though he did not carry the same weight of responsibility as Yao Ling, he had been alone in the Demon Realm for so long, surrounded by strangers. The only familiar figure remained the one his Master had always despised. Aside from writing letters to Yao Ling, he had had no one to talk to.
“There’s nothing shameful about being afraid of ghosts. A’Yu, for staying in the Demon Realm all this time for Master, you’ve been very brave.”
At this, Rong Yu could no longer restrain himself. He buried his face in his sleeve, letting his tears fall freely.
Yao Ling sniffled softly. “Master, rest assured. We will find a way to bring you back. The day our reunion comes at Cloudculm Abode will be very soon, I promise.”
The elderly soul relayed a few more words on Zhao Zhao’s behalf. In truth, there was nothing new; mostly reminders to be cautious in all things and to prioritize their own safety.
Having delivered her message, the elderly spirit smiled with satisfaction, ready to drift away.
“Wait.”
A voice rang from behind, clear and elegant, like jade striking jade.
The elderly soul turned and saw a young man bowing slightly, a polite smile on his face.
“Ma’am, if you have no pressing matters, might you stay a little longer? She may still have other things she wishes to say.”
The elderly soul glanced at Zhao Zhao, puzzled. After a moment, she helped relay: “There is much she wishes to say. She said she will speak it to you in person, at a later time.”
Xie Lanshu regarded her steadily, his gaze unblinking. “At least… there should be one last sentence.”
One sentence… of what?
The elderly soul met his piercing gaze for a long moment before finally understanding. “Ah, the words she wishes to say to you…”
Under that inescapable, burning stare, the elderly spirit shook her head.
“None. Not a single sentence.”
…
The Spectrahold Ghost King’s wedding feast was a spectacle of unrivaled grandeur. In addition to the Cultivation Realm, envoys had arrived from the Demon Realm, the Yao Realm, and even the Mortal Realm. It was a celebration said to occur only once in a millennium.
The Ghost Realm envoys ushered them into the palace, where the Ghost King himself awaited outside the main hall.
Though it was broad daylight, as they approached, Yao Ling detected the strong scent of alcohol lingering on him.
The Ghost King’s features appeared relatively young and not displeasing, yet his complexion was pale and cold, as if he had never seen the sun. His dark red ceremonial robes hung unevenly, lacking the solemn authority of a ruler of any realm.
He smiled, and the delicate symmetry of his face carried an unsettling, almost sinister grace. “…I have long heard of Dao Lord—oh no, rather, of Demon Official’s renown. Today, at last, I behold your true countenance. Truly, you are as elegant as orchids and jade, your bearing rare in this age…”
Xie Lanshu smiled lightly. “Your Majesty is too kind.”
“And my general? Why didn’t he come with you? Did he show you the pagoda built from bones? Or the pool of red spider lilies where the ghosts wail? Oh, and—”
“Not urgent. There will be plenty of time later to enjoy the sights of the Ghost Realm.”
Xie Lanshu’s faint smile cut off the exuberant Ghost King without hesitation. Though calm in expression, even the Ghost King could tell that he was in no mood for pleasantries.
Yao Ling and Rong Yu followed behind, keeping careful watch over their expressions, acting the part of dutiful attendants, concealing the quiet delight they had felt when Master had nothing to say to him.
The Ghost King’s black, glimmering eyes shifted, narrowing. “Have you neglected your honored guests?”
Before the envoys could explain, the Ghost King raised his pale, slender fingers. His wide sleeve swept through the air in an elegant arc, and in the next instant, the razor-sharp nails hidden within tore through the abdomen of the nearest envoy. Blood spurted as entrails spilled to the floor.
Xie Lanshu’s long lashes twitched, yet his gaze remained steady.
The Ghost King laughed, eyes alight with malice. “Kekeke… forgive this display, my guests. Such incompetents should never have been sent to greet the Demon Official and Successor. I hope it has not spoiled your enjoyment of today’s feast…”
After speaking, he seemed as if nothing had happened; blood still smeared across his face, yet he smiled cheerfully, leading Xie Lanshu and the others into the hall. His movements were light, almost buoyant, carrying a sense of unhinged madness, utterly devoid of morality.
Zhao Zhao crouched beside the pitiful envoy, sighing.
Madmen, it seemed, existed everywhere.
Because of the incident outside, when Zhao Zhao entered the hall with Xie Lanshu and the others and saw the veiled Wu-Shaman of Mount Ling again, her mood had subtly shifted.
“Long time no see, Dao Lord Tianshu—no, perhaps now I should address you as the esteemed Demon Official? Or by your new name, Xie Lanshu.”
The veiled Wu-Shaman sitting atop the throne of bones was vastly changed from the last time they met.
Her hair was coiled high, adorned with an intricately shaped crown. The crimson wedding robe draped over her slender shoulders, each layer enhancing her majestic bearing, yet a cold, spectral aura lingered beneath the grandeur.
Beside her, the seated Ghost King lounged in a strangely fitting arrangement, almost as if their pairing were eerily natural.
Xie Lanshu took his seat with composed grace, smoothing the edges of his robes, and spoke slowly, “Then should we address you as Lady Wu-Shaman of Mount Ling… or as Her Majesty, the Ghost Queen?”
The veiled Wu-Shaman’s expression darkened.
She had meant to mock him, yet to her surprise, he remained unmoved. Instead, she felt a long-forgotten stir in her heart at hearing someone address her as the Wu-Shaman of Mount Ling, a tangle of emotions rising within her.
If not for that damned mortal wife of his uncovering Mount Ling’s secret, they would never have fled to a place like the Ghost Realm. And she would never have been forced to marry a man so strange and mad.
“Of course…she is now my Ghost Queen.”
The Ghost King beside her chuckled softly, and plucked a small, grape-sized object from a dish, offering it to the Wu-Shaman’s lips.
She lowered her eyes briefly, then opened her mouth and swallowed it without a flicker of expression.
Yao Ling and Rong Yu’s faces drained of color as they realized what it was.
It was not a grape, it was an eyeball.
What kind of willpower, or madness, sustained the people of Mount Ling?
Even Zhao Zhao, observing as a spirit, felt her stomach turn. She could hardly believe that the veiled Wu-Shaman could swallow it so calmly, without so much as a shiver.
Amid the Ghost King’s cheerful laughter, the veiled Wu-Shaman kept her gaze fixed on Xie Lanshu.
He remained impassive, gesturing to Yao Ling to bring forward the offering.
“This is a gift we present for the Ghost King’s grand wedding. We request that Her Majesty, the Ghost Queen, inspect it personally.”
The lacquered wooden box was opened. Inside, the veiled Wu-Shaman found only a stack of papers.
Upon unfolding them, her expression shifted slightly.
“How amusing,” the veiled Wu-Shaman murmured, a twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Since when can things that are not one’s own be given to others?”
She placed the stack of names on the table.
The Ghost King glanced at it, unable to discern its significance, and asked what it was.
With a taut face, the veiled Wu-Shaman replied, “These are the names of my people from Mount Ling.”
The inhabitants of Mount Ling were organized into clans based on their surnames, forming a total of thirty-three tribes.
Back when Mount Ling still resided in the Cultivation Realm, though it did not belong to the Seven Great Sects and lay secluded in a remote corner, Xie Lanshu’s tenure as Dao Lord had brought it under his supervision. Among his demands was the yearly submission of a full registry of Mount Ling’s clans.
At the time, Mount Ling had been eager to show goodwill toward him, and such a minor request was naturally complied with.
“And what, exactly, is the meaning of sending me this list?”
“Don’t you understand?” Xie Lanshu lifted his gaze to meet her slightly furious eyes and replied with gentle calm, “We wish to obtain certain materials from you, materials needed to produce the longevity pill.”
The veiled Wu-Shaman’s expression darkened further. “And how does this concern the names of my people?”
“If you hand them over willingly, the inhabitants on these lists will live, so long as they do not actively oppose us in the future.”
His voice, warm and flowing like polished jade, filled the hall, freezing the breath of all who heard.
“But if you refuse, then when the demon army storms Mount Ling, the thirty-three tribes of your people will be slaughtered one by one, beginning with your own clan.”
The music and dance continued in the hall, yet every person who caught the meaning of Xie Lanshu’s words involuntarily drew a slower, sharper breath.
The veiled Wu-Shaman had not anticipated such a revelation.
She knew that someone at Cloudculm Abode urgently needed the longevity pill to extend their life. She knew even more clearly that Xie Tanzhao, whom Xie Lanshu cherished dearly, was waiting to be resurrected using the abundant spiritual qi from Mount Ling.
Mount Ling should have held the advantage, yet here they were, being coerced…
All of this was because the people of Mount Ling could not cultivate on their own.
If the people of Mount Ling could cultivate like those of the Cultivation Realm, why would they need to ally with the Ghost Realm? And how could they fear Xie Lanshu’s threats?
The veiled Wu-Shaman clenched her jaw, her voice cold and sharp. “Dao Lord may kill us if he wishes, but the people of Mount Ling have never committed a wrong. Yet you use them as bargaining chips for your own gain; how is that different from the acts of demons and fiends? If you truly slaughter the innocent of Mount Ling, you will never return to the Cultivation Realm again!”
He smiled softly, his features gentle as spring. “And what if I cannot return?”
The veiled Wu-Shaman fell silent.
Was this still the Dao Lord Tianshu she had known, the one who had guarded the Cultivation Realm for a thousand years, unwavering and diligent?
“All you are doing now… isn’t it simply to annihilate Mount Ling, redeem your crimes through merit, and return to the Cultivation Realm—”
“I care nothing for such things.”
When Xie Lanshu spoke, even Yao Ling and Rong Yu lifted their heads, staring at him several times.
“The Cultivation Realm that discarded my wife like an old shoe holds no reason for me to protect it further.”
The veiled Wu-Shaman studied him as if seeing him for the first time, her gaze piercing and deliberate, before she dared to ask, “And if… we could help your wife return to life sooner, would you then—”
“Let you all go?” Xie Lanshu smiled faintly. “It is not impossible.”
Zhao Zhao, hearing his reply, was utterly dumbstruck.
Did he even realize what letting Mount Ling go would mean?
The four great figures who had died before would never be liberated. In the future, another metal-element-dominant cultivator might be sacrificed as the final human pillar.
Most importantly, Mount Ling had long-standing blood grudges with the Zhongli clan, how could he simply let them be?
The Ghost King suddenly clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “Hahaha! Those who have whispered ill behind my back should see now what a true madman looks like, hahahaha…”
The veiled Wu-Shaman felt her throat dry and her heart pounding.
Mount Ling could not deny that Xie Lanshu now posed a tremendous threat to them. Though they still possessed enough trump cards to resist, if there were even a possibility of negotiation, it would be immensely significant.
Dao Lord Tianshu had become so unhinged that he could speak of sparing them. If they could help resurrect Xie Tanzhao, perhaps he could even be persuaded to join them against the Cultivation Realm.
