After I Died My Dao Companion Drowns in Endless Regret Chapter 100

That night.
Wei Yunshu was sleepless. She did not meditate or cultivate, but repeatedly fiddled with the record book she had previously ignored. When the fellow Daoist from Jade Terrace Immortal City gave them the items, she had treated them as disciples under the Little Tai Sui, and therefore only mentioned matters concerning the academy. She observed for a long time and found that the use of the record book was not just that; it was not limited to use in the academy but was applicable everywhere. This point was very different from the Fu Li Immortal Realm.
There were two sources for the merit points in the record book. For example, entering the Demon-Hiding Cave to kill demons, capturing Xuan Tian Ji creations, etc., the merit points were directly allocated by the sect that issued the mission. Or one could accept commissions from other cultivators, but the merit points obtained this way were far from as fast as going to the Demon-Hiding Cave to solve the demon problem. Therefore, when it came to entering the academy’s merit points, everyone would only point to the Demon-Hiding Cave. As for the accumulated merit points, there were also many uses, such as exchanging for pills, magic artifacts, Daoist scriptures, etc.
In the Fu Li Immortal Realm, when a cultivator reached the Dao Fruit realm after breaking through the Cavern Heaven, they would leave through the gate. But the Shang Qing Divine Realm was different. The Dao Fruit realm was the Upper Immortal, and then there were Xuan Immortals, True Immortals, and Supreme Immortals, and even proving the Dao to heaven and earth, obtaining the imperial seal and being called a god. At the Upper Immortal realm, the benefits brought by spiritual energy would be very low. To improve one’s cultivation, one had to rely on a great medicine called “Jun Tian Purple Qi.” This Jun Tian Purple Qi was in the turbulent currents outside the heavens. Ordinary cultivators who went there had a one in ten chance of survival, and only cultivators who had reached the True Immortal realm could freely go to the outside of the heavens to collect it. As for those who had not reached this realm, they could only exchange for it in the major sects with merit points. In short, the more merit points accumulated, the more benefits one could obtain.
It was hard to imagine that the record book was common throughout the Fu Li Immortal Realm. In the past, the merit points obtained by the disciples of each sect could only be exchanged in their own steward’s hall. But in the Shang Qing Divine Realm, the six major heavenly domains were all connected. Even if Wei Yunshu held a prejudice against the Shang Qing Divine Realm, at this moment, she couldn’t help but praise it. To spread the merit point system, it must have been pushed from the top down. The six major heavenly domains, or rather the six divine venerables, were of one mind on this point.
When inquiring about Xie Zhichao, Ran Xiuyun, and the others’ news, Wei Yunshu had already used her merit points once. She looked at her record book carefully and found that a line of small characters had been added, and the corresponding merit points had also been erased, flowing to two different people. However, there was no record of the other party’s name. This was much more convenient. Wei Yunshu thought, her eyes flashing as she looked at her merit points, and then she dropped another question: “Why is ‘Jinxin Lake’ called ‘Fulong Lake’?”
Yuan Chu had told her the related old story, and she suddenly became very interested in it. But many of the key plots were blurry, so she wanted to get the answer from someone else. Who knew that after the question was dropped, no one answered at all. It was not until half an hour later that an anonymous person left a message. The content was similar to what Yuan Chu had said, but when it came to the characters, the handwriting became blurry and twisted, making it impossible to reflect it. Wei Yunshu suddenly understood that the “True Being” mentioned in the story must be of a very high level, very likely the lord of the heavenly domain—the Emperor Wu Xiang Tai Sui! Wei Yunshu’s eyelids twitched, and she put away the record book.
The moonlight slanted through the window gap and fell to the ground, flowing like water.
Wei Yunshu glanced at the sky. It was not yet time, so she simply cast aside her miscellaneous thoughts and sat in meditation to cultivate. But slowly, her consciousness seemed to fall into a dream, and two blurry figures appeared before her eyes. Their faces could not be seen clearly, but one of them, pressed to the ground on one knee by a sword, had a very arrogant tone.
“To be defeated today, it is because my skills are inferior. To be killed or cut, as you please.”
But the victorious person did not act, but gently tapped the arrogant swordswoman’s brow with her finger, and a golden light entered her shell. “This is the Ten Evils List. Starting from the tenth, for every one you solve, the restraint on your body will be reduced a little. If you eliminate everyone on the list, I will not stop you from doing whatever you want in the future.” The gentle tone was like a spring breeze slowly blowing. Wei Yunshu’s consciousness felt that the voice was very familiar, but her consciousness seemed to be confined, and it was difficult to even move, let alone think.
“What if I’m not willing?” the swordswoman was clearly unwilling to submit. She raised her head and looked at the person holding her, her smile cold and sharp.
“Then this Seat will take you back to the Dao Palace and teach you the Dao every day until you are willing to bow your head.”
Swordswoman: “…” She was obviously unwilling to lose her freedom; this was more terrible than dying at the other’s hands. “Mere ten evils, isn’t it easy to catch them?”
After that, the swordswoman, holding a long sword, embarked on the path of killing the ten evils. There were great thieves who roamed the major heavenly domains, there were ruthless guests who abandoned all family ties and severed all emotions, there were evil demons who refined living people into blood food, and there were fierce monsters who roamed the mountain forests—as the “ten evils,” they naturally had extraordinary skills, or had unusual origins, but the swordswoman’s sword never had a moment of fear. The sharp golden sword light broke through the clouds, and the blood-soaked swordswoman finally stood on the corpses of the evil monsters, laughing wantonly and wildly. She was not afraid of the interception and killing by the relatives and friends of these evil people, but relied on a single sword to roam the world, firmly placing the two words “Dao Que” in the hearts of the people of the world.
A person who bullied the weak and feared the strong began to enjoy the praise and flattery of others.
She embarked on a path she had never thought of.
When she set out for the last place, her relatives and old friends stood on the road, sending her off with tea and wine, waiting for her to return in triumph.
But in Jinxin Lake, the swordswoman did not find the “first evil” on the Ten Evils List. She looked around, but could not find a single trace. The confusion in her heart was resolved when the last name was revealed on the “Ten Evils List,” the character “Que” was impressively listed.
This was her name, the name given to her by heaven and earth.
“When I was young, I was unruly and arrogant, but my hands were not stained with blood, and the lives I carried were not as many as theirs. Why am I the first of the ten evils?” the swordswoman was very puzzled. The people she had killed, none of them did not have their hands stained with blood. She knew she was a villain, a scoundrel, but she really couldn’t figure out why it was her turn to be the “evil beast.”
“You have no parents, you were raised by the village. They never mistreated you. Your fate was tragic, but you always grew up in kindness. But what about you? How did you repay them? Your hands were not stained with human blood, but how many people died because of you? You were mischievous as a child and did not return home at night. To find you, your adoptive mother entered the mountain forest at night and accidentally fell off a cliff, but you thought she was making a fuss and said she deserved it; your sister listened to you wanting to practice the sword, and to raise money, she was willing to marry a rich old and cruel landlord as his wife, but you watched her enter the fire pit and always complained that she gave too little… You were born an evil seed, but heaven and earth did not cut off your path. Why did you become the ‘evil head’? Do you have no shame in your heart?” the calm tone was mixed with a kind of inexplicable sigh.
The swordswoman knelt on the ground, drew her sword and took her own life, her sword sinking into the lake.
And the person who had guided the swordswoman on her path silently gathered her soul and reshaped her body for her.
“The number of the Great Expansion is fifty, and its use is forty-nine, and the one that escapes is one. Therefore, the number of heaven always has a lack, and imperfection is perfection. Does heaven want you to break my Dao body? The past dust cannot be completely erased, so I will change your name for you. From now on, you will be called—”
A soft knock.
Wei Yunshu did not hear the last sentence. She suddenly returned to her senses from the hazy dream, and when she turned her head, she found that the sky was bright. She raised her hand and touched her neck, as if she had personally felt the pain of that sword light cutting off her head. Slowly, she curled her fingers and pressed her throbbing brow.
“Senior Sister Bo,” a familiar tone came from outside the house.
Wei Yunshu responded. She looked up at herself in the mirror, her eyes covered with terrifying bloodshot lines. She took a deep breath, slowly forced herself to calm down, and completely pulled herself out of the dream. After her expression returned to normal, she got up to open the door.
Xie Zhichao, Ran Xiuyun, Ying Yue, and even Yuan Chu, who was smiling gently, were all there.
“After registering our names today, we can set off for the Wu Xiang Academy on Jade Capital Mountain,” Xie Zhichao said with a smile. After a night of rest, her spirit and appearance had returned to normal. Even Ran Xiuyun, who was seriously injured last night, looked spirited and had no trace of injury.
“Thanks to Fellow Daoist Yuan’s valuable healing pill,” Ran Xiuyun saw the doubt in Wei Yunshu’s gaze, smiled and explained, then said, “When the time comes, when I have saved enough merit points, I will return them to Fellow Daoist Yuan.”
Yuan Chu smiled faintly, not saying she didn’t need it back, but said, “Fellow Daoist Ran need not be in a hurry, take your time.”
Wei Yunshu, who considered herself a senior sister, bowed to Yuan Chu and said seriously, “Thank you.” She had helped her a lot last night. If those cultivators from Jade Capital had come, she didn’t know what the result would have been.
“No need to say more thanks,” Yuan Chu raised her eyebrows and said warmly, “Let’s go and register first.”
In the steward’s hall of Jade Capital, there were fewer cultivators coming and going than yesterday, but the bustling crowd still filled the entire hall, and even lined up to the square outside, a dense mass as far as the eye could see.
Wei Yunshu said softly, “There are quite a few cultivators from other heavenly domains.”
Yuan Chu smiled, “You should have read the record book last night, right? But some things are not on the surface. For example, the merit points required for the disciples of the Wu Xiang Academy to check the Daoist scriptures in the academy are different from others. There are conveniences. Therefore, everyone wants to enter a major sect. But how easy is it to enter a major sect? In the other five major heavenly domains, those true disciples are not accepted by opening the mountain gate, but are brought back by the decree of the True Beings inside. Only those subordinate sects will open their mountain gates and wait for the arrival of disciples with a heart for the Dao.”
“The Wu Xiang Academy is different from others. As long as you meet the conditions, you can enter. But it is not a master-disciple inheritance. How much skill you can learn depends entirely on yourself. The people who are flocking to the Wu Xiang Academy now are not actually looking for a ‘master,’ after all, many of them have their own inheritance. Coming to the academy is more about reading the Daoist scriptures within.”
Wei Yunshu suddenly understood, “So that’s how it is.”
“I have a question,” Ran Xiuyun saw that Yuan Chu had revealed everything she knew, and her impression of her improved a bit. Seeing Yuan Chu smile and turn her gaze towards her, she added, “After the demons in the Demon-Hiding Cave are killed, they transform back into a ball of dark energy. The dark energy in there is getting more and more. Will there be a day when it can no longer be suppressed? Is there really no way to completely eliminate that ball of dark energy?” Ran Xiuyun asked frankly. She had also met a few cultivators of the same level in the Demon-Hiding Cave. After traveling with them for a period of time, she knew that they were also thinking about ways to completely kill the demons, but everything had to be done on the basis of “Severing All Selves.” This was a common topic in the Wu Xiang Heaven domain, and she was not afraid that Yuan Chu would see anything from it.
Sure enough, Yuan Chu just sighed softly, “This is a question that our generation has been struggling with for thousands of years. This time, the Wu Xiang Academy opened its sect. I heard that the scriptures inside are from the hand of the Emperor. Perhaps we can find a solution in the book pavilion. But if you want to go to the book pavilion to browse the scriptures, you also need merit points.”
Wei Yunshu listened quietly, her thoughts stirring slightly.
If she could really find a way to completely eliminate those demons, the problem of the Fu Li Immortal Realm could also be easily solved.
After waiting for half an hour, it was finally Ran Xiuyun, Xie Zhichao, and the others’ turn. Most of the merit points on the record book were taken away, but they also had a talisman that allowed them to go to the academy to study. None of them stayed in Jade Capital City. Fearing that the night would be long and filled with dreams, they took their things and flew towards the Wu Xiang Academy.
The Wu Xiang Academy was located on Jade Capital Mountain.
Clouds and mist enveloped it. Standing outside the mountain, one could not see the true face of the academy, only vaguely glimpse the scattered, numerous palaces and pavilions, which were very ethereal. There were many people coming and going. Wei Yunshu, Xie Zhichao, and the others did not care about others and transformed into a streak of escape light, heading into that vast and lofty cloud mist. The scenery before their eyes blurred slightly, and clear light burst forth. They instantly landed on the mountain. At this moment, standing before them was a mountain gate with the four large, flamboyant characters “Wu Xiang Academy” inscribed upon it. To its side stood a tall black stone, carved with a single character: “Que”.
Wei Yunshu’s gaze was immediately captivated by the character. The sight plunged her back into the hazy dream from the previous night. In her mind, the blurry figure of the sword-bearer seemed to cross thousands of years, stepping out of the illusion while chanting a clear, lofty Daoist song. With a single stride, the figure merged into her very being.
The psychic shock made Wei Yunshu’s body go rigid, her face draining of all color.
“Senior Sister Bo?” Ying Yue, walking behind Xie Zhichao, had turned to look at Wei Yunshu and was startled by her sudden change. “Are you alright?” she cried out, her face filled with worry.
Instantly, all eyes fell on Wei Yunshu.
“Fellow Daoist Bo?” Yuan Chu asked, her voice laced with concern.
Wei Yunshu raised a hand to her brow, taking a long moment before murmuring, “It’s nothing.” She walked past the mountain gate, but even after going some distance, she couldn’t resist looking back. There it was again—the hazy figure from her dream, indistinct as a flower in the mist, standing by the stone.
She glanced at the others; their expressions were unchanged. Was she the only one who could see it? Why? she wondered frantically. Is it just because I visited Jinxin Lake and heard that story? But Yuan Chu was there too…
Lost in a daze, Wei Yunshu raised her eyes and happened to meet Yuan Chu’s smiling face. A sudden, bewildering fear surged through her, and she instinctively tore her gaze away.
Yuan Chu said warmly, “Coming to the academy, we still have to register once more. We have to put our information on the name tablet to be officially enrolled. I—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a clear and resonant voice like silver bells came from the mountain wind that blew towards them. It was Yue Ying, who had entered the academy first. She landed gracefully in front of Wei Yunshu and said enthusiastically, “Fellow Daoist Bo, Fellow Daoist Yuan, let me lead you there.” After a pause, she turned her gaze to the three of Xie Zhichao and smiled with pursed lips, “Are these three little Daoist friends your junior sisters? They are truly extraordinary.”
Although Ran Xiuyun and the others had not heard Wei Yunshu mention this person, hearing her speak this way, they still bowed.
With Yue Ying to lead the way, Yuan Chu, who had been interrupted halfway through her sentence, smiled and retreated to the back.
The pavilions in the Wu Xiang Academy were scattered, most of them bathed in a deep and tranquil light. Even when they got close, they still felt a great distance from the Dharma hall, as if it were always difficult to cross.
“These Dharma halls all require merit points to enter,” Yue Ying kindly introduced, “There are thousands of palaces and pavilions in the Wu Xiang Academy, but the most important are actually only five. The first is the Xiangming Hall we are going to now. This hall is for registering our names and receiving our cave dwellings. Then there are the three major halls: Langhuan Golden Pavilion, Zhaowen Hall, and Shangong Hall. Langhuan Golden Pavilion is the library. If you want to borrow scriptures, you need merit points. Shangong Hall is the place to receive missions to earn merit points and exchange for magic artifacts and precious medicines. As for Zhaowen Hall, it is the place where the masters teach the Dao. Anyone who is interested can go and listen, no merit points are needed.”
“And the last place, called ‘Lutai,’ is the execution ground in the Wu Xiang Academy. If you don’t obey the rules, you will be sent there. And among the long list of rules and regulations, the most important is actually one: no fighting in the academy.”
As they listened to Yue Ying’s introduction, the group walked towards the Xiangming Hall. When they arrived, it was not as crowded as Wei Yunshu had imagined, it only had a few people. Wei Yunshu was a little curious, but when she saw clearly the cultivator in charge of the hall, she understood. The person in charge was a snow-white cat. The spiritual energy on its body rose and fell, and its cultivation was truly unfathomable. When there were more people in the hall, a phantom image would walk out from its body to handle the documents and name tablets for it. Perhaps because it had handled too many documents, its bright eyes were full of impatience. Its furry paws pressed on the table, tapping a few times, urging the people behind.
Wei Yunshu walked at the very front of the line. Seeing this, she took out her name tablet. The white cat was originally handling matters according to the rules, but when it saw clearly the characters on the name tablet, it suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and then frantically meowed towards the back. A few breaths later, a white-haired woman with nine tails and cat ears appeared out of nowhere, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Wei Yunshu.
This was the true form of that group of white cats.
Wei Yunshu’s heart sank slightly.
“A disciple under the Black Lord, and also cultivated to the Cavern Heaven? Can’t be mistreated.” The Xiangming Hall master, with spiritual energy as her brush, wrote a line of characters, then yawned and disappeared. Wei Yunshu took her name tablet, lowered her eyes, and swept her gaze over it. She found that the characters on it had changed to: Wu Xiang Imperial Envoy, Black Lord Black Tai Sui’s disciple, Wu Xiang Academy, Tianque Blessed Land Cave Master, Bo Fengliu.
The Tianque Blessed Land on it was the cave dwelling assigned to her by the Wu Xiang Academy.
The appearance of the Xiangming Hall master’s true form did not cause any ripples in the hall. The white cat that had split off still had an unhappy face, registering at an extremely fast speed. Before long, Wei Yunshu, Xie Zhichao, and their party were all sent out.
“Fellow Daoist Bo,” Yue Ying had been waiting outside. Seeing Wei Yunshu appear, she immediately greeted her and asked eagerly, “I wonder where your assigned cave dwelling is? What’s its name?” The blessed lands provided by the Wu Xiang Academy were divided according to cultivation level. Those of the same realm were generally clustered together, making travel very convenient. Only a few extremely unlucky ones would be pushed to the outside.
Wei Yunshu’s eyelids drooped, and she said faintly, “Tianque Blessed Land.”
Yue Ying: “…” For a moment, she was speechless. After a long while, she said in a low voice, “Aren’t you a disciple under the Black Lord? How could you be exiled to an isolated island?” Tianque Blessed Land was precisely a land far from the archipelago, very remote and quiet. If it were just that, it would be fine, as some cultivators liked to cultivate in seclusion, but Tianque Blessed Land was not just a problem of being remote. The spiritual energy on it had not been completely sorted out, and earth, fire, water, and wind would riot from time to time. For a considerable part of the day, one could not go out to cultivate.
Wei Yunshu, however, thought it was not bad. As for the harsh environment, it had never been a problem.
Yue Ying did not understand Wei Yunshu’s thoughts and sighed with regret. She came up with an idea for Wei Yunshu, “With enough merit points or by cultivating to a higher realm, you can come to the Xiangming Hall to exchange for a new cave dwelling. Fellow Daoist Bo, just endure for a while, or don’t go back during this time. How about coming to my island for a short stay?” She was very frank, but as soon as she said this, she attracted frequent gazes from Ran Xiuyun, Xie Zhichao, and the others.
Yuan Chu lowered her head, the smile at the corner of her lips slightly fading, not knowing what she was thinking.
Faced with Yue Ying’s enthusiastic kindness, Wei Yunshu refused. Fearing that Yue Ying would dwell on this topic, she suddenly turned to Yuan Chu and asked, “Where is Fellow Daoist Yuan’s cave dwelling?”
Yuan Chu pursed her lips and smiled, saying softly, “Taiqing Blessed Land.” It was also a blessed land outside the archipelago, but it was worlds apart from Tianque Blessed Land.
“Fellow Daoist Yuan’s luck is not bad,” Yue Ying praised, but in her heart, she thought, As expected of a true disciple of Jade Capital. Even in the academy, she can still get some benefits that others cannot. As for Fellow Daoist Bo—could it be that the Black Lord was deliberately tempering her? Besides this, she could not think of any other possibility.
Yuan Chu waved her hand modestly and added, “Fellow Daoist Bo, Fellow Daoist Yue, if you have free time, you can come to my cave dwelling for a short stay.” Her words sounded like a polite exchange between peers, so Wei Yunshu did not refuse, but nodded and replied warmly, “If I have free time, I will definitely visit.”
The cave dwelling had been decided, so she eventually had to go there. After greeting Yue Ying and Yuan Chu, Wei Yunshu first sent Ying Yue back with Ran Xiuyun and Xie Zhichao, and then went to Ran Xiuyun’s cave dwelling for a short stay.
“Senior Sister Bo need not worry about us too much in the future. We can take care of ourselves,” Ran Xiuyun said. Their cultivation realms were different from Wei Yunshu’s, and the things they had to deal with were also different. Among the group, Wei Yunshu had the greatest possibility of achieving the supreme Dao. They did not want to be a burden to Wei Yunshu.
“Whatever Senior Sister Bo wants to do, just do it,” Xie Zhichao also said. Seeing a look of worry on Wei Yunshu’s eyebrows, she touched her waist, still a little unaccustomed to the emptiness of the wine gourd’s disappearance. Her fingertips curled up, and she licked her lips, then smiled, “If we have anything, we will surely inform Senior Sister.”
Wei Yunshu thought for a moment and felt that there was nothing wrong with it. In the academy, it was forbidden for cultivators to fight privately, so there would be no danger. She agreed, but thinking of the obscure future, a lingering gloom shrouded her heart, and her earnest instructions came to her lips.
Ran Xiuyun and Xie Zhichao readily agreed. In the end, Xie Zhichao couldn’t help but say, “Senior Sister Bo, everyone in the Shang Qing Divine Realm practices ‘Severing All Selves.’ Once they advance, no one knows what kind of temperament they will become. You cannot form deep friendships with them, especially—” thinking of past events, the last few words were not spoken. Xie Zhichao only let out a loud sigh.
Heaven’s will played tricks.
Who knew if forgetting was a good thing or a bad thing.