Chapter 112#
Qu Wenxin recounted the person’s words exactly as they had been spoken.
The four people present—An Wuxue, Qu Jizhi, and Pei Qian in front of her, and Jiang Qing listening from outside the barrier—all straightened their expressions, showing shock and surprise.
An Wuxue’s heart was in even greater turmoil.
—Even he and Xie Zhefeng didn’t know this!
No one else in the world could ascend!?
In his previous life, he truly had no sense of an impending ascension until his death. In this life, he had indeed wondered why there hadn’t been a new Long-Life Immortal for a millennium, which was why he had specifically asked Shangguan Liaoliao in the Guan Ye Array.
But Shangguan Liaoliao had her own mental obstacles, so he had simply assumed it was a coincidence.
Could it be that the person was telling the truth?
But how did the person behind this know?
Xie Zhefeng was an anomaly…?
What did that mean?
Amidst his confusion, he forced himself to stay calm, quickly hiding his shock.
He could not show any weakness before Qu Wenxin.
“Did the person say—why Immortal Venerable Chu Han was an anomaly?” he asked as if it were a casual question.
Qu Wenxin shook her head.
“A thousand years ago, the person only told me that much and didn’t appear again until a few centuries ago.”
She said: “I didn’t believe it at first. But gradually, a hundred years passed, then two hundred, several hundred… and Immortal Venerable Chu Han remained the only Long-Life Immortal. Even Shangguan Liaoliao—who was expected to reach that level before the Immortal Calamity even ended—hasn’t moved an inch in a thousand years.”
“Immortal Venerable Chu Han himself hasn’t been seen for eight hundred years, only visiting North Abyss a few times in the last century or two. History tells us that after a major calamity there will be great blessings. With the fall of so many immortals, it should have been an era of rising heroes, yet the cultivation world has few peak Tribulation-Transcending experts, and hasn’t produced a new Long-Life Immortal to this day…”
She gave a tragic laugh, her gaze passing over An Wuxue to rest on Qu Jizhi.
Qu Jizhi tilted his head slightly.
Qu Wenxin: “…”
She choked for a moment before continuing: “When Qu Jizhi was born, I was filled with gratitude, thinking that after thousands of years, heaven had finally gifted the Qu family another genius. At that point, I already half-believed what that person said. The birth of this child gave me another sliver of hope… what if this child could reach that stage? No, even just touching that barrier—even if he didn’t ascend, reaching the peak or the half-step stage would be enough. But no. He never successfully touched even the slightest possibility of ascension.”
Her expression was mournful and her voice hoarse, her tone as if she were merely discussing an ordinary member of the Qu clan who had disappointed her, rather than her own flesh and blood.
Qu Jizhi avoided Qu Wenxin’s gaze.
In his previous clashes with her, he had never been willing to back down an inch. But mentioning this, he was merely silent.
—Who among those with familial bonds doesn’t start with hope?
An Wuxue had been protected by the lives of an entire village of mortals, had seen Song Fu’s desperate love for her son, yet also knew the enmity between the North Abyss Immortal Lord and Shangguan Liaoliao, and had watched Xie Zhefeng kill his father in self-preservation.
He had seen far too much of the love and hate within family bonds.
But Pei Qian, who had been silent for a long time, couldn’t help but speak: “So to protect Qu Jizhi’s talent, you disregarded the consequences of meddling with fate and found me among the commoners to replace him, having me enter the clan genealogy and the Way of Heartless? When he was behaving willfully back then, ordinary parents would have tried to guide and teach him with care. But you did nothing, even helping him satisfy his obsession, just to get the answer you wanted?”
“Family head, he is your only son. Ascension is ethereal and uncertain, but he had no choice in his parentage. From beginning to end, have you felt nothing for him but a desire to use him?”
Pei Qian was rarely so sharp.
Qu Wenxin was momentarily stunned by his question, then came back to herself and gave a sneer, falling silent.
An Wuxue remained silent for a long while.
He seemed to have learned many things today, yet wished everything he knew was false.
His Master was a member of the Qu clan, exactly the youth from the story everyone in North Abyss knew who had broken his sword. The crisis a thousand years later was filled with traces of Qu clan secret techniques. Whether there was a connection between these points was currently unknown.
And the mastermind behind this knew everything about him, had acted as An Wuxue for a millennium, knew of the fifth Heavenly Pillar’s existence, and could even claim that no one could ascend anymore—something neither he nor Xie Zhefeng could say for certain.
He vaguely felt that his Master placing the Heartless Curse on his junior brother was related to these inexplicable matters.
The clues were a tangled mess, and he could find no clear direction.
His heart was heavy as his gaze drifted to Chun Hua. He felt a sense of powerlessness he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Qu Wenxin had said all she could; she likely knew nothing more, and there seemed to be nothing left to ask.
Within the silent barrier of the prison, An Wuxue remained solemn for a long while before finally breaking the silence.
He said in a heavy voice: “…Even if so, was it worth exposing all of North Abyss’s weaknesses to another, leading your own clan members into demonic paths, and creating an ominous array that cost untold lives—all for your greed to increase your cultivation?”
Qu Wenxin had already resigned herself to her fate, her face ashen.
But hearing An Wuxue’s questioning, she suddenly looked up, staring at him as she rasped: “Just for that? Hahahahahaha!!! Just for that!? An Wuxue, First Seat An, you speak so easily. A cultivator spends their whole life seeking the path precisely to fight against fate and reach even greater heights, don’t they?”
An Wuxue’s brow was tightly knit: “In matters of cultivation, doing one’s best is enough. Since you believe no one can ascend, doing all this, even if the demons rose to power again, would at most take you from the middle to the peak of the Tribulation-Transcending stage. Is that truly so important?”
Qu Wenxin’s mouth curved into a smirk: “Not important? The First Seat is indeed generous. True, someone like you… never lacks talent, so naturally you can ask such a question. You and I are immortal cultivators; we wouldn’t care about a piece of bread bought with a single copper coin, would we? But if you were to grab a starving beggar on the street and ask him if a bun was important, would he simply throw it away? But for you and me, a copper coin is easily obtained, so we can say it’s not important!!”
“An Wuxue! You can disregard talent and cultivation because you possess them so easily! You’ve never experienced the despair of trying with all your might yet never being able to break through even a small minor realm. How could you know it’s not important?”
An Wuxue’s expression paused.
He indeed had never thought of it that way.
He was born at the peak of the two realms on Falling Moon Peak. From childhood, he was surrounded by the few geniuses of the cultivation world. Upon entering the path, he was guided by Nan He, the world’s number one expert.
He had always looked down upon all living beings from the summit until his fall.
Qu Wenxin’s interrogation muddled his thoughts, and he was lost in a daze for a moment.
Pei Qian was about to open his mouth to retort on An Wuxue’s behalf, but Jiang Qing walked in from outside the barrier and spoke first: “The family head’s words are truly a fallacious argument.”
He gave a small smile to An Wuxue, then continued: “One shouldn’t judge what one hasn’t experienced, but in this world, there are countless cultivators like you, or even those whose talent is far inferior. Have they ever said anything? If you want to compare talent, there is always someone better, a contest without end. Does that mean they cannot call you obsessed?”
“Everyone in this world is seeking the path. Why should your pursuit be the most precious and hard-won? You’ve clearly lost your composure, yet you blame a genius for not understanding the hardships of the mundane world.”
“I know a person who bore infamy and was wronged for many years. If you talk about grievances, I truly have never seen anyone more wronged than him. Yet he never once complained about the world’s injustice or blamed others for not knowing his suffering.”
“Back then, to compete with Nan He, the North Abyss Immortal Lord led turbid energy into all of North Abyss, harming how many innocent souls? How is your way of thinking any different from the North Abyss Immortal Lord’s?”
“You—”
Qu Wenxin choked for a moment, unable to find any words.
She was speechless.
An Wuxue had never seen Jiang Qing speak so eloquently and was somewhat surprised.
He met the other’s gaze, about to offer his thanks, but Jiang Qing smiled and shook his head at him.
Qu Wenxin sneered: “I’ve lost anyway. An Wuxue, I’ve told you all I know. Are you going to kill me now?”
An Wuxue turned back and said calmly: “You truly deserve ten thousand deaths, but since you’ve answered what I wanted to know, your fate will be decided by North Abyss City and the Falling Moon Discipline Peak.”
He then looked at Qu Jizhi.
“Young Immortal Master Qu, I am not very familiar with the Qu estate, but I need the method for breaking the Heartless Curse…”
Qu Jizhi nodded.
He had only been stunned briefly when Qu Wenxin mentioned him, and now had completely returned to his usual leisurely and unconcerned self.
He said: “I will retrieve it for the First Seat.”
He didn’t delay, and before his words had even finished, he was already gone.
Pei Qian, who had only come along because of the spiritual rope, naturally followed him.
Only An Wuxue and Jiang Qing remained in the prison, along with the drifting dust.
Everything was silent once more.
Qu Wenxin had lost all her strength, her head bowed expressionlessly as she lost herself in thought.
An Wuxue ignored her, silently walking out of the secret prison with Jiang Qing. Once outside, he spoke: “I have truly troubled Fellow Daoist Jiang today.”
“Tomorrow at 5:00 PM,” Jiang Qing said with a smile.
An Wuxue bowed: “I will surely be there.”
The two looked at each other and laughed.
An Wuxue was about to take his leave when he caught sight of a familiar white-robed figure in his peripheral vision.
The newcomer didn’t try to hide, walking toward them slowly.
Clearly within the City Lord’s manor, Immortal Venerable Chu Han was actually carrying the Chu Han sword that inspired fear throughout the two realms.
The disciples guarding the secret prison in the distance couldn’t hear their conversation, but seeing the Immortal Venerable, they hurriedly knelt.
Xie Zhefeng merely waved his hand to prevent them from rising, ignoring them completely.
He looked at An Wuxue and asked in a deep voice: “Has Senior Brother finished interrogating Qu Wenxin?”
An Wuxue’s smile faded: “Mm…”
Xie Zhefeng’s expression darkened—from a distance, he had seen his Senior Brother talking and laughing with Jiang Qing.
Why did his Senior Brother stop smiling the moment he arrived?
He couldn’t help but ask: “Senior Brother brought Jiang Qing to the interrogation because you suspected him, didn’t you? Has your suspicion been cleared now?”
An Wuxue’s gaze shifted.
He vaguely felt that Xie Zhefeng’s tone was strange, but there was nothing wrong with the question, so he couldn’t pinpoint the reason.
He opened his mouth to answer: “Yes—”
“Indeed,” Jiang Qing interjected. “Su Xue even went so far as to check my dantian and my sea of consciousness. If the Immortal Venerable wishes to check anything else, I am happy to cooperate.”
Xie Zhefeng gritted his teeth: “Senior Brother also looked at his sea of consciousness?”
“I—” I didn’t enter his sea of consciousness; it’s different from how I looked at yours.
“Mm,” Jiang Qing added immediately, “and more than that, Su Xue and I have laid our cards on the table. The thing I was hiding was that I found Immortal Venerable Nan He’s inheritance. Technically, I’m half a sect-mate to both you and Su Xue.”
He let out an “Oh,” saying in delight: “Speaking of which, can I also call Su Xue ‘Senior Brother’?”
An Wuxue was stunned.
There were many in the same sect as him; everyone at Falling Moon Peak was his sect-mate.
But if he had to call someone a fellow disciple… he truly only recognized Xie Zhefeng.
Regardless of cause and effect, and putting aside romantic love, he and Xie Zhefeng had indeed been disciples together since their youth, slaying demons and monsters and navigating a world in chaos together.
In this world…
there was no substitute for him.
Before he could voice his refusal, Jiang Qing had already seen it and said kindly: “Su Xue only has the Immortal Venerable as a junior brother. If I were to call you Senior Brother as well, it might make the Immortal Venerable angry. If it would make things difficult for you, let’s forget it.”