My Husband’s Ascension C70
Chapter 70 Love Hate
In the dimming light of early dusk, the dark shape above Beaconlight Mountain grew larger, drawing the gaze of every onlooker.
“What is that?”
“A rock? A meteor?”
“No… it’s… it’s an island! A mountain! A mountain is pressing down toward Beaconlight Mountain!!”
Chaos erupted across Mistflow Peak.
Zhongli Shun, momentarily confused by Zhao Zhao’s earlier words, looked up and was struck dumb with awe. After a long pause, he found his voice, “How… how is that possible—”
“It is Mount Ling’s Mountain-Shifting Array,” Zhao Zhao answered.
Zhongli Shun froze as he watched the descending mountain draw ever nearer.
After Mount Ling had previously transported the entire mountain to the Ghost Realm, the ghost soldiers had explained to the Cultivation Realm that the array had been gifted to Mount Ling by their ascended sect master. An ancient formation capable of shifting mountains, it could only be used twice.
The Cultivation Realm had assumed Mount Ling would preserve this power as a trump card for a future escape, but none had expected Mount Ling to bring the entire mountain back to the Cultivation Realm!
Was this not tantamount to walking straight into a trap of their own making!?
Yet in that moment, no one paused to ponder Mount Ling’s intent.
The ancient array’s power was far beyond human strength. Panic spread among those present at Beaconlight Mountain; they scattered in all directions like headless flies, unable to withstand the unstoppable force.
Zhongli Shun furrowed his brows, shouting over the chaos, “Do not panic! Elders, lead the disciples down the mountain. Personal disciples will accompany me to the main peak to warn the others to evacuate!”
But the clamor drowned his voice. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead as he struggled to respond to the rapidly unraveling scene.
A mountain destroying a mountain…such an event was unheard of, unimaginable.
In the face of such sudden calamity, no one could remain completely rational.
Calm… calm… Master had only just been resurrected today. Yao Ling and the others were not at Beaconlight Mountain. If he could not compose himself and devise a plan, every disciple of Cloudculm Abode would be crushed beneath Mount Ling.
But—
But—
The disciples of Beaconlight Mountain could only watch as the mountain accelerated, looming ever closer, its immense force and terrifying pressure descending with inexorable weight.
In the face of such near-cataclysmic power, a single person’s strength seemed utterly insignificant; even the thought of resistance was nearly impossible.
Just as despair began to spread among the disciples, a pillar of luminous green spirit energy surged up from behind them, forming a column that bridged Mount Ling and Beaconlight Mountain.
The crowd turned in unison.
“It… it’s sect master…” A disciple pointed toward the scene, astonishment in their voice.
Zhongli Shun stared in disbelief at Zhao Zhao, newly resurrected, who should have been as frail as a newborn.
When she had first released her spiritual power, her knees had buckled, nearly sending her to the ground.
Yet soon, the disciples saw her hands form precise seals. A vast Yin-Yang Formation unfurled between the two mountains, and the previously chaotic Mistflow Peak quieted, if only slightly.
For they could see that the Yin-Yang Spirit Refining Array bridging the mountains was drawing in all of Mount Ling’s wood-spirit energy.
Zhongli Shun suddenly recalled a conversation with Yao Ling long ago. Master, by fortunate circumstance while in the Blessed Land of Langhuan, had acquired a secret array technique of the Yin-Yang Sect, an ability that had preserved her life in the Soul-Shattering Abyss.
The Yin-Yang Spirit Refining Array could concentrate the wood-spirit energy of the world. The fullness of Mount Ling’s energy was far more turbulent and potent than the Soul Summoning Forest.
But Zhongli Shun’s relief was quickly replaced by concern.
Even the purest and most potent spiritual power carried the risk of tearing one’s soul apart. Could Master endure such strain?
Such pure spiritual power, constantly drawn in and cycled within her, would have been unbearable for Zhao Zhao had she never entered the Three Thousand Million Worlds.
But within those worlds, the seniors within the human pillars, even in the last vestiges of their sanity, had infused their cultivation into her soul. In addition, Xie Lanshu had procured for her numerous secret scriptures and heart-methods of the Divine Farmer Sect in one of those small worlds.
She is capable of it.
She must be capable of it.
Another layer of spirit energy surged atop Mistflow Peak, further slowing the descent of Mount Ling.
The disciples gazed at the center of that luminous stream, at the delicate figure, and for many seeing Zhao Zhao for the first time, it was the first time they truly understood the sect master who had previously existed only in stories.
Their sect master was no less formidable than the elders of any other sect in the Cultivation Realm.
“Master!”
“A’Shun, do what you must,” Zhao Zhao said, glancing back at him through the jade-green radiance. “Do not look at me with eyes that fear I will die. At the very least, I am your master. Now go.”
His feet felt rooted to the ground.
This day had been meant for joyous reunion, yet Zhongli Shun could not have imagined such calamity would descend.
He cast one last glance toward Zhao Zhao’s direction.
“What are you standing there for? Don’t waste the time Master has bought us!”
The dazed disciples snapped back to their senses and immediately obeyed Zhongli Shun’s orders, guiding everyone on Beaconlight Mountain to evacuate.
Mountains could be destroyed, sects could be rebuilt, but not a single disciple of Cloudculm Abode could die here.
On Mount Ling, a tremor of ill omen ran through the centuries-old mountain. The villagers who had lived on its slopes for generations gathered uneasily, their eyes drawn toward the summit.
Fifty years ago it had been the same, was Mount Ling about to move again?
Having finally adapted to life among the ghost folk, where would it go this time—into the Demon Realm, or the Yao Realm?
Unlike the restless villagers below, the veiled Wu-Shaman stood at the peak, looking down upon the Cloudculm Abode disciples who appeared no larger than ants. The thrill of revenge surged through her chest.
First, she would eliminate Xie Tanzhao and her sect. Then, while Dao Lord Tianshu’s resolve wavered, she would forcibly sacrifice him as the fifth human pillar, completing the Five Elements Array (五行阵法) once and for all.
It was an utterly insane plan. If Wu-Shaman Xian still lived, she would never have agreed.
But Wu-Shaman Xian was now dead. Retreat was impossible. This was the final opportunity.
The veiled Wu-Shaman fixed her gaze on the jade-green column of light below.
Her again.
Xie Tanzhao.
Only just resurrected, and she truly believed that with that array, she could stop the ancient formation left by the first sect master of the Ghost Soldier Sect?
“Troops, hear my command! All ghost soldiers on Mount Ling, move out! Kill Xie Tanzhao and—”
“Troops? Do you have any left?”
Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind, one that should never have been there. The veiled Wu-Shaman whirled around, only to see Yao Ling and her companions, who she had thought were left behind in the Ghost Realm, now standing atop Mount Ling.
The girl beside Xie Lanshu smiled triumphantly, “Sorry to disappoint you, but thanks to the wit and resourcefulness of Miss Immortal Tanzhao’s foremost disciple, all your ghost soldiers are no more!”
Li Feng crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “At most, it was a spur-of-the-moment notion to cling to the base of Mount Ling. That troublesome ghost general was handled by my sister and I."
“Who says? The final strike was clearly from our A’Yu, wasn’t it?”
"I-I only managed it by luck…"
The veiled Wu-Shaman’s eyes narrowed. “You lot—”
“Cease this array,” Xie Lanshu interrupted sharply, cutting off her roar of anger. “Or countless innocents on Mount Ling will die as well.”
For a moment, the Wu-Shaman, teetering on the edge of fury, faltered at his words.
“…It cannot be stopped.” Her lips pale, she let out a bitter laugh. “You think this is something that can be paused? This is an ancient array, forged from the lifetime of knowledge of ascended beings. There is no way to halt it midway; Beaconlight Mountain is destined to be destroyed.”
A cold, humorless smile crept across Xie Lanshu’s pale face. “Is that so? What if we simply cleave Mount Ling in two?”
The veiled Wu-Shaman’s breath caught, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
He was right. If these people joined forces with Cloudculm Abode to protect the disciples, splitting Mount Ling in half was not beyond possibility.
In that case, the mountain’s untrained villagers, those without any cultivation, would be doomed.
“Don’t waste words on her. Time is short; saving lives comes first.” Yao Ling cast a glance down at Beaconlight Mountain, anxiety gnawing at her heart. “Rong Yu, you take your people of the Demon Realm. We’ll descend together and rescue them!”
Rong Yu nodded. Around Beaconlight Mountain were also numerous villagers who had settled near the immortal peaks. Though they possessed some cultivation, it was insufficient to survive such a calamity without timely evacuation.
Li Feng hesitated for a moment, watching them depart. “Then… should we rescue first, or kill—”
Before anyone could react, the veiled Wu-Shaman jumped from the summit, heading straight toward the jade-green column of light below.
“Damn it!”
Li Feng immediately moved to give chase, but Xie Lanshu’s calm voice stopped him.
“If she intended to kill Xie Tanzhao, Mount Ling would truly be doomed. She isn’t foolish enough to do that.”
“…” Since that answer is all too clear, why are you moving faster than me?
Below, Zhao Zhao’s eyes fixed on the approaching figure of the veiled Wu-Shaman.
“Xie Tanzhao!!” She called out.
Her voice carried across the surging spirit current, forcing Zhao Zhao to meet the veiled Wu-Shaman’s gaze.
“The Mountain-Shifting Array cannot be halted once activated! Beaconlight Mountain is fated to be ground to dust—”
Zhao Zhao furrowed her brow. She came all this way merely to utter those words?
The veiled Wu-Shaman stared deeply at the woman who, by her own strength, had bought the sect precious time. Beneath the mask of madness lay a calm, fathomless rationality.
“I can help you delay time for the evacuation of Beaconlight Mountain. The entire Mount Ling, from today onward, belongs to Cloudculm Abode. But no one among Mount Ling’s people may be harmed. Xie Tanzhao… can you promise me that?”
Xie Lanshu, following close behind, almost instantly grasped the veiled Wu-Shaman’s intention.
So that was it.
She wasn’t truly mad, planning to perish alongside Cloudculm Abode.
She understood perfectly well that even if Mount Ling did nothing, its doom was inevitable. By moving the entire mountain above Beaconlight Mountain, by claiming she could hold it back for a time, or even offering the whole of Mount Ling to them, she was not bargaining or bluffing.
In truth, she was trying to dissociate herself from Mount Ling, to separate her fate from its people.
She wanted to use her own life to protect the people of Mount Ling.
“Don’t agree to her—”
“I promise.” Zhao Zhao’s voice rang out at the same time as Xie Lanshu's. She lifted her eyes to him and smiled faintly. “As long as all the disciples of Cloudculm Abode can remain safe, I will find a way to maneuver, to ensure that Mount Ling’s people can survive in the Cultivation Realm.”
Under ordinary circumstances, Zhao Zhao would never have consented to such a demand.
But now, the destruction of Beaconlight Mountain was inevitable. Even if she refused the veiled Wu-Shaman’s request and died, it would change nothing.
If it meant ensuring the safety of Cloudculm Abode’s disciples, even if preserving Mount Ling’s people would be fraught with difficulty, and the wider Cultivation Realm would not simply forgive Mount Ling because the instigator was gone, Zhao Zhao had no choice but to agree.
No matter how impossible a task seemed, there was always a way to solve it.
But if the disciples of Cloudculm Abode died, they would never return.
In her eyes, Xie Lanshu saw that resolute determination clearly.
The veiled Wu-Shaman met her gaze silently for a moment. “…Such foolish compassion.”
Yet, it was precisely because of that compassion that she could now go and see her elder sister with peace of mind.
Two surging streams of spiritual energy intertwined, barely suspending Mount Ling, only a hundred meters from the peak of Beaconlight Mountain, in midair.
Disciples on the peak streamed downward, guiding the villagers below to flee with all haste.
Daoist Ming Jue, carried on Zhongli Shun's back, glanced back in the direction of Mistflow Peak.
…
After an hour, Mount Ling began to descend slowly once more.
The distance was dangerously close. Xie Lanshu’s voice rang out sharply, “You must descend now. Keep enough distance to escape. If the flow of spirit energy halts, the entire mountain will crush down with terrifying speed, by then, you wouldn’t have time to get away!”
The spiritual energy that the veiled Wu-Shaman had gained from devouring the Ghost King’s heart was already near its limit. Zhao Zhao cast a glance back at the shadow moving faintly within the mountain.
“There are still people in Beaconlight Mountain… just a little longer, the time of a single incense stick will be enough…”
Xie Lanshu’s face went pale as he watched her figure. “Are you truly not afraid of death? You will die!”
“You’ve already faced death once, do you wish to face it again?” He stepped forward, almost pleading. “Come with me, Zhao Zhao, you cannot stay here any longer.”
The figure shrouded in jade-green spirit currents remained unmoved.
Xie Lanshu stood only a short distance away, his mind consumed with the thought of rushing in and forcibly taking her with him.
Even now, gravely wounded as he was, it would not have been impossible to interrupt her by force.
—Xie Lanshu, you lack even the faintest notion of what it means to love someone.
Yao Ling’s words echoed vividly in his mind.
On the edge of collapse, he realized: perhaps he truly did not understand how to love someone. From the moment of his birth, Kunwu had given him only relentless training, cold commands, and a sword meant solely for killing.
How could a person who had never known genuine love possibly love another correctly?
All he wanted was to be with her forever, to cast aside the responsibilities that had bound him for over a thousand years, to be free of any obstacle—no person, no matter, no force could stand in the way. Even if in mutual hatred, eternal entanglement was preferable to separation.
He had always believed this.
Yet, the instant his fingers were about to brush hers, they froze abruptly.
“The others… I will save them. As long as a single soul remains in Beaconlight Mountain, I will not leave. If you hear the cooing of the snow dove I release, it will mean there is no one left to save inside this mountain.”
The soft, low voice sounded at her ear, yet Zhao Zhao felt an inexplicable foreboding.
“What are you going to do?”
With his current state, how many could he truly save? Even if he saved those remaining, would he have the strength to leave afterward?
“Do you still remember the overseer of the Langhuan Bochord?” he asked.
A sentence flashed through Zhao Zhao’s mind.
—As long as the one to whom your heart clings dies and their soul vanishes, the thread may be renewed.
Xie Lanshu grasped a single strand of hair fluttering in the wind, placing it carefully to his lips and kissing it with reverent tenderness.
The words were gentle, soft as ever, yet in his eyes burned a resolute, unyielding flame.
“I want you to love me.”
