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Chapter 235: Irreparable Bug
What would happen if someone who had abstained from meat for several tens of thousands of years, suddenly started eating meat?
Zhu Yao was now experiencing it personally. Seven times in a single night? That’s just a legend. Her master had only done once in a single night, but that one time lasted the entire night.
Zhu Yao finally understood what was truly called ‘you won’t die if you don’t court death’!
On the second day, she was already lying on the bed like a dead fish, and there wasn’t a single spot on her entire body that wasn’t feeling sore. She did not even have the strength to raise her hand.
Yet a certain culprit was in high spirits and filled with vigour. He continued to carry that ice-cold expression as he seriously checked her pulse.
“Your body is just feeling weak, and your mind is simply a little fatigued. It won’t pose a problem after having a good rest.”
“Master…”
“Mn?”
“Before that, can you first get down?” You clearly know my body is weak, so why are you still pressing on my body?
Yu Yan was stunned for a moment, and a seemingly undetectable hint of redness flashed past his face. With a shift of his figure, he carried his disciple into his embrace.
After a slight cough, he said.
“Yu Yao, you… fainted earlier.” That was why he inspected her pulse at that moment.
“…” They did it for an entire night, how could she not faint after that? Who could possibly plant radishes for an entire night?
Yu Yan cast an art and tapped on Zhu Yao’s forehead. She instantly felt her body relax, and the fatigue on her body was swept empty. Even those bluish and purplish bruises had disappeared without a trace.
“Feeling better now?”
“Mn.” Zhu Yao vaguely responded. She was tired to the point of being unable to open her eyes.
Yu Yan glanced at the person in his embrace. Recalling the matters last night, a blazing heat instantly surged on his face. He hurriedly turned his head away and silently chanted the Heart Purity Art. He was just practitioner-pairing. This was a very serious cultivation method. He simply displayed a responsible attitude towards his disciple’s seriousness. He was just slightly stricter towards his disciple last night… Just slightly.
He took a deep breath and suppressed those unfamiliar emotions in his heart with all his might, along with his extreme desire to wake his disciple up again. He silently circulated the spiritual energy in his body, and realized there wasn’t much difference to his cultivation after last night. Recalling for a moment, according to the description of the arts, while engaging in practitioner-pairing, they had to circulate their spiritual energy, swap their yin and yang, and merge their souls and physical bodies into one, in order to advance their cultivation.
Last night… He seemed to have… forgotten about it.
Yu Yan: “…”
Should he, wake his disciple up again, and practice it once more?
On the third day of Zhu Yao’s return, she picked up a dragon corpse at the backyard. Though it had turned exceptionally small, it still took up a large half of the grass field with its belly showing. It was lying on the ground with its four limbs raised towards the sky, looking as though he was not experiencing any love in the world.
“Hey hey hey, are you dead yet?” Zhu Yao nudged it with her stretched foot.
“Little Seventh…” That dragon pitifully twisted its head over, and slightly swung its dragon tail about.
“If you’re not dead, then get up. Don’t block my way.”
“…” He felt that his dragon heart had suffered damage. With a flash of his body, he changed back into that purple-robed man. The swells on his face had finally dispersed, and he no longer had that pig face, rather, it had turned into a face with palette colours. “Little Seventh, at the very least, we still belong to the same race. How can you do this to me?”
“Who’s the same race with who?” Zhu Yao rolled her eyes at him. “I’m a phoenix, while you’re a dragon. We’re not the same species, alright?” Furthermore, she was presently not a phoenix either.
His expression stiffened, and he then said aggrievedly. “We’re both of the God Race, so we should be helping each other out, right?”
If he had not brought it up, everything would have been fine. However, the moment he did, flames of anger within Zhu Yao instantly surged.
“Ao Jiang!” Zhu Yao sent a kick towards him. Ever since he turned into that azure dragon, she recognized that he was that piggish teammate who squished her to death. “Help your sister! If not because I helped you, would I have been squished to death by you?” This was simply the most troll method of death in history, with nothing else to compare to.
“Wasn’t I just a little too excited back then? It was an unintentional mistake, unintentional mistake!” His face was filled with embarrassment. “Furthermore, didn’t I help beckon your soul? You’re looking really great right now too.”
“You were the one who helped beckon my soul?” Zhu Yao was startled. She thought it was her master this entire time.
“Of course it’s me!” Ao Jiang patted on his chest with a confidently look. “Other than our God Race, who else is capable of beckoning living souls directly?”
“Living souls?” What did he mean? Wasn’t she just a ghost?
“Living souls are naturally souls that can be resurrected.” Ao Jiang explained. “If it’s just a regular soul-beckoning, even if you return to this realm, you will merely stay as a ghost, with no chance at possessing a body.”
So that’s the case! She was wondering why she had suddenly returned to life, not to mention having a body. However, after pondering for a moment, she felt that something was amiss.
Soul-beckoning alone was not enough to resurrect someone after death, right? Though the God Race was powerful, they should not have such abilities. Otherwise, the God Race would not have so much trouble finding heirs. “How were you able to beckon a living soul?”
When her words fell, Ao Jiang’s expression instantly stiffened, and then he said while looking at her with an accusing look. “Isn’t it obviously because I lent you my dragon pearl? You haven’t returned it to me yet! With the protection of the dragon pearl, even if your physical body is obliterated, your soul will still carry life energy.”
Zhu Yao sensed for a moment, and indeed, within her Primal, there was something additional in there. “Why is it in my Primal?”
“How should I know?” Ao Jiang looked as though he wanted to cry. “When I lent you my dragon pearl to exterminate the Devil back then, you promised you would return it to me? But you directly merged it within your Primal, and my abilities were greatly weakened after the loss of the dragon pearl. Otherwise, when you were heavily injured back then, it wouldn’t have been impossible to save you.”
“Uh…” So he was saying the reason she died back then, was because she courted it herself? Back then, in order to guide out even more godly energy, she subconsciously wanted to merge with the god-soul, and so placed the dragon pearl in her Primal. It was no wonder she was able to freely use mystic arts when she was a ghost. It seemed like the dragon pearl was the reason.
“If not because I lost my dragon pearl, how could I be beaten up like this by that master of yours?” Recalling this, Ao Jiang felt sadness welling up. Thinking back on how he, a mighty dragon, was beaten by a human practitioner to the point where he had to search for his broken teeth on the ground, it was simply too shameful. “Little Seventh, are you sure you don’t want to look for another man? Your master is too violent.”
“…” Mn, he was very incredible in that aspect too. Once in a single night, one that lasted the entire night.
“Little Seventh, I’m for real here, alright? What do you think of me?” Ao Jiang winked at her, and he began to dig the corner of the wall with all his might. “I have a strong body, and my godly powers are incredible too. Living for tens of thousands of years with a single breath is not a hard feat, and I can even incubate eggs. Why don’t you…”
Boom!
Before he could even finish, a heavenly lightning bolt came striking down, instantly zapping him charred black.
Yu Yan suddenly appeared five meters away, and the chilling aura from his expression suffused into the air. He walked over with slow steps, and every step he took, ice plains would form underneath his feet.
Recalling the days when he was beaten into pig heads, Ao Jiang’s legs instantly gave way, and with a plop, he knelt on the ground.
“What are you doing?” Zhu Yao took a step back.
“Hoho…” The corner of Ao Jiang’s lips twitched, and in an instant, he said with a stern look. “I feel that while in a kneeling position, your master looks exceptionally mighty!”
“…” Where are your principles? “Earlier, who was the one who said he had a strong body, powerful godly powers, and was even capable of incubating eggs?”
Yu Yan had already arrived next to Zhu Yao. Hearing his disciple’s words, his eyes instantly floated towards Ao Jiang on the ground.
Ao Jiang trembled, and at that moment, his entire face was filled with cold sweat. “Hohoho… Little Seventh, you misheard. I said, I’m weak, ugly, and do not carry the slightest of merits.”
“…” Can you be even more tacky than that?
Zhu Yao sighed. Circulating her spiritual energy, she directly forced out the dragon pearl from her Primal, and passed it over. “Here, I’m returning it to you.”
Ao Jiang was startled, and in an instant, he was utterly moved. He looked at Zhu Yao with eyes that appeared as though he was looking at an angel. “Little Seventh…”
“Although you’re weak, ugly, and do not have the slightest of merits, at the very least, your judgment is correct.”
“…”
Ao Jiang said that because of the dragon pearl, she did not die thoroughly, so she was able to be resurrected using her living soul. Theoretically speaking, she was directly revived. But why did she faintly sense that something was amiss? The reason of this strange feeling was because of her cultivation level. “Master, my cultivation level seems to have fallen to the Foundation stage?” Back then, because of the dragon pearl, she had not actually noticed it. After returning it to Ao Jiang, she realized her cultivation had returned to its pre-awakening state.
Yu Yan however had a calm look, as he reached out his hand to comb the hair by the side of her ear. “Your cultivation level was at the Foundation stage in the first place.”
“Hah?” What did he mean?
Zhu Yao was startled for a moment, and then, she immediately materialized a water mirror. What she saw was the face she had used for twenty odd years in the modern era. “How did this happen?” Shouldn’t she be that tree demon after her resurrection? How did it turn out like this?
“The damage to your former body was too severe. Even if your soul returns, it’s not possible to resurrect you.” Yu Yan explained. “So I had you return to your initial body.”
“Initial body?” Zhu Yao was dumbfounded, and then, she suddenly widened her eyes. “You’re saying, this is my initial body?”
Yu Yan nodded. “This is the appearance you had when your master first met you.”
It really was the original package she brought from the modern era! Then…
The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. “Master… Can you tell me why my body is in your hands?”
Yu Yan expression changed, and then he replied while shifting his gaze. “When you were killed by the demonic fox back then, your master realized that the personal succeeding imprint did not disappear, so… I had been preserving it.”
“…” Preserving? Her avatar!? Master, tell me honestly. Just how deep is your love for your disciple?
Back then, he had thought that she would awaken once more. Who would have known that she would walk on the irreversible path of courting flowery deaths?
“Then I realized. Though your soul wasn’t present, this body of yours was actually capable of restoring itself on its own.” Yu Yan said with a stern look. “Then, when that dragon was beckoning your soul, your master decided to directly attach your living soul to it.”
Zhu Yao touched her chest. Complete and flawless, without the slightest of scars. The reason why her body was able to restore itself automatically was probably due to Realmspirit’s doing. Could it be that this was the return package he spoke of?
-_-||| Using recycled goods?
Speaking of soul-beckoning, Zhu Yao suddenly recalled that Ghost King in the Underworld. That miasma bug was evidently the target of her mission this time. Though she did not know if there was a scenario behind it this time, the danger of that bug was something she personally witnessed.
She tightly clenched her fists, and took a deep breath.
“Master, I want to return to the Underworld.”
Yu Yan stiffened for a moment. Turning to look at her, his brows deeply furrowed.
After a while, he said in a sunken voice. “Yu Yao… Your master can’t always make it in time.” He couldn’t always make it in time to save her.
Zhu Yao felt a tinge of guilt in her heart. Taking a step forward, he hugged onto the slightly chilly figure. After a moment of silence, she slowly said. “Master… I saw little wimp.”
“…”
Who was little wimp? In Yu Yan’s memories, there was only one. Someone else’s disciple.
And the creature he hated the most, was someone else’s disciple! Furthermore, this creature was even the knot in his disciple’s heart. What’s even more infuriating was, just what rights did he have to make his disciple, whom he had raised with all his efforts (several times), save him at all costs? Even when she was finally resurrected, she still wanted to lose her life again to save him.
Not happy! He expressed that he was really unhappy.
In an instant, he really wanted to return to the cultivation world, pull out Zi Mo, lecture him and question him just how in the world did he raise his disciple.
“Master, I’m not going back dead.” Zhu Yao looked at him helplessly. That natural cold air conditioning had been emitting out for the entire day, if this continued, even winter would probably arrive in advance. “The formation you two used to beckon my soul is still here. We can directly reverse that formation, and I can then be directly sent back. I don’t have to die again.” And she could even bring along her body this time.
“Your master shall accompany you.” Yu Yan said in a sunken voice.
“Ah?” Zhu Yao was startled. “But…” Would it overload with an additional personnel?
Yu Yan however did not reply as he instantly pulled Zhu Yao into the center of the formation and activated the formation. In an instant, the formation shone with a red light, enveloping the two people within. Countless runic symbols danced in the surroundings. A moment later, they stopped, and began to revolve in the opposite direction. Furthermore, that red light slowly turned white.
The scenery changed before her eyes, and they had arrived in another realm. A silvery white river appeared in front of them.
She had returned!
Zhu Yao was a little dazed. Initially, she had thought that reversing that soul-beckoning formation would take quite some time, yet her master completed it in an instant. Was this the gap between master and disciple?
“Where?” That someone else’s disciple.
Though his tone sounded the same as usual, Zhu Yao faintly sensed a hint of anger within it.
The banks of River of Forgetfulness were quiet and serene, with not a single ghost to be seen. Though, there was still remains of the traces of battle on-site. Zhu Yao guessed that little wimp should have already returned to Spiritual Realm. That Ghost King had already been sealed, and it wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon.
She scanned her surroundings, and realized there were strands of miasma scattered about above the riverbanks. After a careful look, she saw a string of the words ‘bug’, which should have been left behind by that Ghost King. Zhu Yao wanted to move closer to inspect it, but was held back by Yu Yan behind her.
“Don’t move.” Yu Yan’s expression sank, his brows furrowed. With a stern appearance, he looked at the scattered miasma. “If my guess is right, that’s resentment!”
“Resentment?” Zhu Yao was startled for a moment. This was a term which she often heard of. Usually, only ghosts who carried resentment would carry spiritual consciousnesses of their former lives. She had always thought that the so-called resentment was referring to a form of obsession which humans possessed, and was nothing more but a term describing it. She never expected that it actually had substance too.
“Resentment is birthed from a human’s hatred, unwillingness, vengeful thoughts, and various other emotions.” Yu Yan explained. “They are formless and shapeless, yet at the same time, they are undying and irremovable. The moment one is stained by it, that person will be controlled by various emotions and can no longer escape from its grasp.”
Zhu Yao was startled. “Is there no way to exterminate it?”
Yu Yan shook his head. “I have only seen descriptions of it through the various records and legends, it’s my first time seeing its substantial form. If not from seeing it calmly floating above the River of Forgetfulness, I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it either.”
The water of the River of Forgetfulness was even capable of cleansing away all memories of a ghost’s past life, yet this miasma was not even the least bit affected. Thinking about it carefully, it could only be resentment itself.
Zhu Yao was put in a slightly difficult position now. It seemed like this resentment was an aggregation of all negative emotions. The water of the River of Forgetfulness was ineffective, and lightning could only disperse it for a short moment, this resentment was a little too heaven-bending, wasn’t it!?
Just how was she going to fix this bug?
