“Oh…” the voice deliberately elongated, “In short, a contractual companion? His cultivation must be much higher. Hmm… if you’ve slept together and dual cultivated, yet say it’s just a contract… why does that sound a bit scummy? Were you deceived?”
Meng Qi’s face flushed with embarrassment. She hadn’t felt anything particularly amiss about her arrangement with Yun Qingyan before, even thinking about the pros and cons of dual cultivation quite seriously. However, hearing the voice speak so bluntly, she couldn’t help but feel her cheeks burning.
“It’s not like that.” Meng Qi quickly stopped the voice’s rampant speculations. After a moment of thought, she earnestly said, “He is a good person!”
“You’re not bad yourself,” the voice remarked, “All those who have obtained my Karmic Fire Red Lotus are inherently of good quality.”
“I mean… he is not a scumbag.” Meng Qi asserted again.
“Oh…” the voice responded again, “Little girl, if it weren’t for you obtaining the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, I’d almost think you’d been deceived.”
“He never deceives me,” Meng Qi added. This time, her tone was exceptionally firm. Yun Qingyan had never lied to her. Even when he hid his true identity in their previous life encounter, he simply didn’t tell her the truth and had never spoken deceitfully.
Recalling their initial meeting when Yun Qingyan mentioned he came from the Western Realm and belonged to a sect she didn’t know about, Meng Qi automatically assumed he was from a hidden sect. That wasn’t a deception either.
“Alright, alright,” the voice conceded, “This Lord, I, have ten of thousand years’ worth of knowledge, but still understand nothing when it comes to the love game you youngsters like to play.”
“…” Meng Qi froze in place. She felt like she should explain, but then again, perhaps there was no need.
“Nevertheless, even though you’re a stubborn and dull girl, and not very good at conversation, you’re still the second person I’ve been able to talk to in centuries.”
“The last one, was it him?”
“Of course.” The voice sighed melancholically, “To be honest, he was even worse at conversation than you. At least you’re somewhat amiable, but he…”
“What about him?” Meng Qi asked curiously. The rational part of her brain urged her to leave this place, reminding her that she was still undergoing a test. But the moment Yun Qingyan was mentioned, especially a side of Yun Qingyan she didn’t know, Meng Qi found herself rooted to the spot.
“Well, he nearly attacked me, trying to forcibly take the Karmic Fire Red Lotus,” the voice revealed.
Meng Qi: “…”
“Of course, someone like me couldn’t possibly be harmed by a mere juvenile tiger.” The voice continued, “But that arrogant boy, tsk tsk, I reckon I won’t forget him for another ten thousand years.”
Meng Qi couldn’t resist a smile. So, Sovereign Qingyan had such a side to him?
“His talent is truly astonishing, though. I heard from a friend that when he entered the Ten Absolutes Mountain again, it was to retrieve the Demon Monarch’s Order. And he succeeded in one go.”
“Senior.” Meng Qi inquired, “Do you also think his talent is extraordinary?”
“More than extraordinary,” the voice said, “The strength he displayed that day was unparalleled in millennia. We all thought that because of him, the Ten Absolutes Mountain would re-emerge, and he would be the only cultivator in ten thousand years with the hope of ascending. But what’s strange is…”
“What’s strange?” Meng Qi urged.
The voice muttered, “I just heard from another friend. It seems like he is entering the Ten Absolutes Mountain again this time, also for the Demon Monarch’s Order. But his cultivation seemed weaker than a hundred years ago and even his Dao was damaged… What on earth happened to him over these hundred years?”
Meng Qi’s heart skipped a beat. Damage to the Dao? This was something she, as a medical cultivator, had never heard of. Just hearing these words from the senior’s mouth made her heart flutter, and her mind felt as if a huge bell was being struck repeatedly, leaving her slightly dazed. Those words seemed ready to slip away from her mind at any moment.
“Senior,” Meng Qi quickly composed herself and respectfully asked, “About the Dao…” She struggled to speak but couldn’t utter the words.
“Well, once you leave here, you’ll forget all this, anyway. You’ll only remember obtaining the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, so it’s harmless to tell you,” the voice chuckled.
“Thank you, Senior.” Meng Qi knew she would forget these things once she left the Ten Absolutes Mountain, but she still wanted to know.
And she already had a suspicion. Why was Yun Qingyan so severely injured when they first met? After he recovered back in the Starfallen Sea, she didn’t know if his injuries had completely healed. At that time, Yun Qingyan’s cultivation was far beyond hers—she couldn’t diagnose or treat him.
Had he not fully recovered?
Meng Qi recalled their recent meeting; he seemed as composed and serene as ever, showing no signs of injury.
But if his Dao is damaged…
The moment Meng Qi thought of that particular phrase, her head started to bang wildly again. Her ears filled with buzzing, and in an instant, her mind became chaotic and she almost forgot what she was thinking about.
“Cultivators defy the heavens; this is the nature of cultivation itself. However, even we couldn’t truly escape from fate, and following those natural orders are, in fact, part of cultivation too.” The voice elaborated slowly. Due to the nature of the topic, his tone became serious and much more solemn: “All tribulations encountered on the path of attaining one’s Dao are tests. Growth comes from adversity, but we must continue to follow our own path. As long as we remain steadfast in our original heart and our Dao, we can always move forward.”
“Yes.” Meng Qi obediently nodded.
“Those who truly defy the heavens are the ones who dare to oppose even fate itself. They seek to step outside the bounds of fate and, by extension, stray out of their Dao… Such actions, without exception, will damage their Dao,” the voice sighed.
“You mean…” Meng Qi lowered her head and gazed at her hands. Her fingers were slender and fair, nails neatly trimmed, tips slightly reddish. If one held her hand, they could feel the warmth of life. These were hands full of vitality, owned by a living, breathing person.
“Is it by defying the fate that one’s Dao… ah!” Before Meng Qi could finish, she suddenly screamed and crouched down.
“Huh?” the voice exclaimed, his tone a bit shocked, “I just remembered. This topic isn’t something that a Nascent Soul cultivator like you can probe, so you shouldn’t even be unable to mention it. Unless…”
Meng Qi felt an excruciating headache as if something was pressing directly on her head, making even thinking difficult. The buzzing in her ears turned into a cacophony, and she didn’t catch the rest of what the voice said.
After a while, she finally recovered a bit.
Meng Qi slowly stood up, a few strands of hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, her blue robe soaked on the back: “Thank… thank you, senior.” Her voice trembled, and her mind was blank. She remembered talking to the voice about Yun Qingyan, but her mind was hazy, and she couldn’t recall what they had actually discussed.
She had completely forgotten the conversation they just had.
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Wait. Doesn’t Yun Qingyan not remember the past life?
Plus he had those injuries in both lives, no?
Him getting these injuries to defy the fate or rather, the time-line where she died makes sense, but why would he have no memories and have the wounds in both lives?
Ty for the chapter!!