Chapter 65
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Chapter 65
Gong Wu slept for what felt like an eternity.
Perhaps it was sleep, or perhaps it was a wait in the void for the moment to awaken again, like a seed in barren sand striving to break through the surface.
It took her a long time to regain the sense of self, but for much of that time, she was swept away by heavy drowsiness, drifting through an endless dream.
In the dream, she was still a child, running wild through Moonfire Valley, sometimes tripping over a winnowing basket of herbs left by the roadside, crying out for her Senior Brother to tend to her wounds.
Her Master seemed a bit unreliable, but he was kind and treated her well.
When she was young, it was Cheng Ji, her Master, who bathed her, but as she grew older, she learned to do it herself, trailing behind the Lin sisters at night like a little shadow, clutching her clothes.
As a child, she had many worries, but the greatest was her inability to master the techniques, knowing that one day she would be sent away from Moonfire Valley.
She so desperately wanted to stay.
She wanted to learn magic like the others, to cultivate together, attend lessons together, and celebrate the New Year together.
In her hazy state, her moments of wakefulness gradually extended from the span of half a cup of tea to half an incense stick.
Though she still lacked sight and hearing, in this state of complete loss of the five senses, she could hold onto a sliver of awareness for a brief while, to live for a fleeting moment.
Each time she fell into deep sleep, she had no sense of how long it lasted, until finally, Gong Wu could remain awake for longer stretches and tentatively began to reclaim her senses.
Where are my eyes?
Where are my eyes??
She struggled to recall what had happened before; all she remembered was everyone rushing to the Wuxuan Sect, and then a vast blankness.
Now, what she hated most was this emptiness.
The little girl’s consciousness drifted aimlessly in the void, unsure how much time had passed, until she suddenly emerged into the air like a sprout breaking through the soil.
When she opened her eyes, the brightness nearly blinded her. She shielded her eyes and floated backward, realizing she resembled a wandering spirit, temporarily without a physical form or feet.
She was now just a wisp of energy.
That radiant thing, glowing like the sun, was some kind of Magical Formation.
The formation was sealed with countless layers, and the many talismans plastered over it had obscured the characters, making them unreadable.
Gong Wu instinctively disliked the faint aura emanating from the formation and quickly retreated, startled once more as she rushed out of the cave.
Looking up, she saw a sliver of sky, the towering high cliffs above her stretching endlessly, with no blue sky, sun, or moon in sight.
Looking down, there was an endless abyss, where no birds or insects could survive.
She was stuck in limbo, unsure of where to go. Feeling a bit distressed, she turned back and noticed a figure in the far corner of the formation.
There was actually a person sitting there, their silhouette blending into the darkness.
The person was motionless, as if they had achieved enlightenment, covered in dust and spiderwebs, sitting like a statue, lost to the world.
That person was strange, Gong Wu thought.
Her spiritual energy was barely enough to keep her conscious; it was impossible to muster the strength to fly away, so she could only stay here with this statue-like figure.
Inside the formation, a mass of blood mist roared and howled, but it was sealed behind heavy barriers, making it difficult for her to hear clearly.
Gong Wu looked around and then focused on the dusty figure.
How could someone be meditating in a place like this…
She felt puzzled.
She didn’t know if they had been sitting there for dozens of days, months, or even longer.
Long enough for a thick layer of dust to settle on them, obscuring their features.
As if preserved by time, the person appeared disheveled and forlorn; if it weren’t for their faint breathing, she would have thought they were nothing but a lifeless shell.
She desperately wanted to leave this place, so she went to the cave entrance to look out, anxiously wondering if her Senior Brother and Master were worried sick.
No, I should ask that person.
If they’re a bad person… she had no other choice.
Gong Wu moved closer to speak, but realized the person couldn’t hear her.
Perhaps she was nothing now, not even a solidified soul, just a wisp of energy in the void.
Her hopes were completely dashed—until the next second, when he opened his eyes.
As if sensing something, Ji Yang’s consciousness returned, and he stirred at that moment.
When Gong Wu met his gaze, she instinctively shivered.
You… how could you be Ji Yang?
Are you here, waiting for me?
Ji Yang was a clear stream in the valley, with hair as dark as sandalwood and eyes that held the stars. How could he possibly look like what she saw now?
She desperately wanted to reach out and wipe the dust off his cheek, instinctively wanting to cry, but she could do nothing at all.
She had no hands, no voice; she wanted to touch him, but even a gentle breeze wouldn’t come.
The man did not see anything and merely said softly, “I told you not to bring food.”
A phoenix and a leopard flew into the cave, one carrying a Food Box and the other clenching wild fruit in its mouth, both landing beside him.
Ji Yang had already attained enlightenment; his half-immortal body did not need food or sleep.
Little Orange pushed the Food Box closer to his hand, but the man merely glanced at the attached note and continued sitting still.
Gong Wu leaned in to read the note; it contained words from Master and Uncle Ji Ning urging him to at least eat something.
From the words in the letter, it seemed they had come to persuade him many times, also wanting to guard the formation in his place, at least to take turns for a few days, allowing him to see the light of day.
“…Even if it’s like being in prison, there’s no need to suffer like this, why?”
Her Master wrote with deep strokes, the ink already bleeding, and she could picture the helpless expression on his face.
When the leopard saw he wouldn’t eat, it pretended to be angry and nipped at him, but Ji Yang did not dodge.
Gong Wu could not speak to him, so she moved in front of the leopard and the phoenix, trying to call their names.
“Little Orange? Little Orange, can you hear me? Can you see me?”
“Little Orange! It’s me! It’s me!!”
The bird and beast sensed nothing and merely stood silently beside him.
She felt anxious, desperately wanting to do something, but she could only wait slowly for herself to become more whole.
She truly hated this feeling.
It was so powerless, unable to participate or change anything.
No wonder Tu Xuisheng had become like that.
Always trapped in a state of powerlessness, one could go mad.
She could only mutter a few words to Ji Yang or lean against him, continuing to doze, waiting to become clearer.
During this time, people came one after another, and none of them could see her.
—Just like how one cannot see the shape of the wind or the veins of the mist.
The most frequent visitors were those from Moonfire Valley, and she recognized each one of them.
Tu Xuixin always tried to persuade Ji Yang when he came, sometimes getting so angry that he would drag him out, and other times both of them would get frustrated, making a loud commotion by the Magical Formation, which was frightening to witness.
Gong Wu could vaguely see the immortal aura around her Master, feeling a bit surprised.
How did Master become an immortal? What happened?
She remembered her Master had previously struggled to ascend to immortality, but then…?
When Hua Tingxiao arrived, he brought musical instruments, seemingly in a daze, playing a flute and zither to the Magical Formation, saying the foul energy here was too strong, and everyone needed to absorb the nourishing essence of high art.
Cheng Ji would bring many books and routinely check Ji Yang’s pulse, ensuring he was not contaminated by the foul energy.
Master Ancestor would also come, but only to stand before the Magical Formation, routinely strengthening and reinforcing it.
The old man knew he could not persuade this young man.
Even if he urged him to sleep for a while and give himself some rest.
In addition, many others had been dispatched.
People from various Immortal Sects were uneasy about the blood mist and came repeatedly to reinforce the outer constraints.
They would discuss in front of Ji Yang, speculating whether Gong Wu’s soul was trapped in the blood mist or why the gods from the upper realm hadn’t intervened.
Gong Wu felt deeply upset.
Who would want to mingle with that foul-smelling blood mist? I am clearly right here!!
Ji Yang seemed almost fused with the mountain rock, neither speaking to them nor paying heed to their conjectures.
Hu Fengyu occasionally visited, accompanied by a group of little foxes or disciples from the Satin Red Workshop.
There was also a Sword Immortal who bore a striking resemblance to Ji Yang, standing silently for long periods as if keeping him company.
Yet neither of them spoke.
Every time these two stood together in silence, Gong Wu would circle around them, growing increasingly restless.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she saw someone who could truly surprise her.
Kan Jixuan.
When the old lady arrived, she was still chewing on a dried plum made by the Old Celestial Ancestor.
As soon as she saw Gong Wu, she exclaimed, “Oh, child, you’re here!”
Gong Wu and Ji Yang turned around abruptly at the same time.
Gong Wu was on the verge of tears, using the hands she had finally managed to grow to wipe her eyes.
“You can see me?! You really can see me!!”
“Of course,” Kan Jixuan replied, sitting beside her and continuing to chew the dried plum with a smile. “Now that I am the Lord of the Demon Realm, I should have some ability to commune with spirits.”
Ji Yang watched as Kan Jixuan spoke to an empty spot, and the emptiness in his eyes finally began to fade.
“What has happened? Can I… can I still become human again?” Gong Wu was nearly frantic, having bottled up her emotions for so long without anyone to talk to. A flood of questions poured out: “Can you make my brother see me too? Please tell him I’m right here! Can he eat something, go out for a walk?!”
“Has Master truly ascended to immortality? What is my brother’s relationship with that person? What does this Magical Formation contain? Why does he guard this cursed place day after day?!”
She wept as she spoke, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
Kan Jixuan had intended to answer, but Gong Wu was too overwhelmed, so she waited patiently for her to finish her questions one by one.
“First of all, it is now the thirty-seventh year of the Duan Cheng era.”
“Little Wu, you have been gone for ten years and four months.”
“The thirty-seventh year?” Gong Wu repeated in a daze, suddenly realizing something and turning to look at Ji Yang.
How she wished she could wipe the dust from him, erase the gravekeeper-like gloom that clung to him, and all the sorrowful memories of these ten years.
“Has he been here all this time? Has he truly been here all along?!”
Kan Jixuan shook her head gently and said, “Always.”
The old woman turned to gaze at the young man, whose throat was too choked with bitterness to speak.
“She is here; she has returned.”
Until Kan Jixuan uttered these words, Ji Yang suddenly broke into a smile, tears streaming down his face.
