After I Died My Dao Companion Drowns in Endless Regret Chapter 104

A few sporadic pieces of debris were piled in the bloodstains on the ground. The mirage pearl fell, and before it could fall into the pool of blood, it exploded with a touch.
Yuan Chu hugged her arms, her eyes fixed on the crystal wall in front of her. With a flick of her hand, she patted away the scene on it. A moment later, she turned her head to look at the “Que” character left on the wall, smiled silently, and completely erased it.
With the death of the mirage demon in the depths of Hengjue Mountain, the mirage qi that enveloped the mountain range and defiled the magic artifacts immediately dispersed. In the heartland of the mountain, both Wei Yunshu and Yue Ying sensed the subtle change. Although they could suppress the created beings with intelligence with their own Daoist arts and divine abilities, now that the mirage qi that restricted the magic artifacts was gone, they naturally summoned their own weapons. This way, the battle could be ended sooner.
The rolling thunder covered the sky and the sun, rumbling incessantly. Wei Yunshu stood in the void with her hands behind her back. Stirring the Taiyi Sword to life, she saw countless brilliant sword energies rush out, stretching to fill the firmament. The sword energy struck at an extremely fast speed, its brilliance like starlight, outlining a dazzling and brilliant luster. Surging fierce qi floated on the sword. In a flash, it slashed towards the created being with intelligence. At this moment, there was no need for any change in her sword’s momentum. The opponent’s cultivation was not as good as hers, so she could just slash directly to suppress it! The created being with intelligence looked at the swift sword light and his expression changed. He pushed forward with his hand, sending out a profound light, but he could not resist the strong and powerful, magnificent sword intent. Sensing this point, the created being with intelligence prepared to flee, but as soon as his figure moved, he was held by an irresistible great force. A talisman suddenly appeared on the side. If he wanted to live, he could only go into the talisman.
The created being with intelligence knew that after he disintegrated, he would transform into a dark energy, giving rise to demons, but his consciousness would be completely gone. Before seeking the Dao was seeking life, the cultivators of the major heavenly domains of Shang Qing would not kill them, and as long as they were alive, there was a chance to escape. Therefore, he did not even think and turned into the talisman. Seeing this, Wei Yunshu sneered, flicked the Taiyi Sword, and then turned to the other created beings with intelligence. This battle lasted for an hour before it ended. The last person standing had a very rich harvest.
“Fellow Daoist Bo,” Yue Ying took a pill to regulate her aura, turned to Wei Yunshu not far away, and then asked, “Where is Fellow Daoist Yuan? Why don’t I see her?”
Wei Yunshu’s brow furrowed, and she said warmly, “We got separated when the mirage qi obscured our vision earlier.”
“But now, not to mention the ‘One Qi Concealing Eyes’ divine ability, even the mirage qi is gone. It should be very simple for Fellow Daoist Yuan to find us,” Yue Ying said with confusion, a hint of worry on her face. She thought for a moment and then said, “Did something happen? Should we go look for her?” Many academy disciples who came here for the mission had also died. The created beings with intelligence would not be considerate, nor would they show mercy.
Wei Yunshu looked at Yue Ying’s anxious and worried face and added, “With Fellow Daoist Yuan’s cultivation, nothing should happen.” How did the mirage qi disperse so well? She suspected that it was Yuan Chu who had found the mirage demon’s location and dealt with it. The three of them had come out together, and it was not good to bring it up now. Wei Yunshu pondered for a while, then agreed with Yue Ying, “Let’s go and see.” But as soon as her voice fell, a familiar aura came. Wei Yunshu looked up and saw Yuan Chu walking out of the void. Her demeanor was composed, her eyebrows and eyes quiet and gentle. Although her sleeves were stained with mottled blood, looking at her vigorous appearance, she knew the blood was not hers.
“Sister Yuan!” Seeing Yuan Chu, Yue Ying’s eyes immediately lit up. She quickly greeted her, “You’ve finally come. I was just telling Fellow Daoist Bo that I was going to look for you.” Her gaze circled Yuan Chu’s body, and then she asked, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Yuan Chu smiled faintly. She calmly widened the distance with Yue Ying and placed her gentle gaze on Wei Yunshu, then said, “Have the creations here been dealt with? I see on the record book that the mission we accepted has been completed.”
“It’s been dealt with. They’ve all been captured in the talismans, just waiting to be sent to the Wu Xiang Academy,” Yue Ying answered. A moment later, she let out a cry of “Ah” and supported her forehead, saying, “The Wu Xiang Heaven Domain did not have created beings with intelligence in the past. Do they have a prison for holding them? The group of creations from Xuan Tian Ji have not been completely killed and will go to rob the prison from time to time. Their creation methods are not few, and an ordinary prison would find it difficult to hold them for long.”
Yuan Chu said softly, “The Wu Xiang Heaven Domain indeed has no prison.”
“Then what will they do?” Wei Yunshu thought for a moment and then asked, “Will they all be pushed into the Path-Walking Dao Palace and killed, letting the dark energy flow into the Demon-Hiding Cave?” The amount of demons in the Demon-Hiding Cave of the Wu Xiang Heaven domain was very large. They were like a rising water flow. If they wanted to resist it from the outside, the dam would have to be built higher and higher. But everything had a limit. If the flood was not diverted, the dam would sooner or later be breached. The “diversion” of the Wu Xiang Heaven domain was to let cultivators go to the Demon-Hiding Cave to kill the demons that had given rise to intelligence and imitated human form. But this was ultimately not a long-term solution. Once it broke out, it would be a deadly disaster. She didn’t know if the scriptures in the Langhuan Golden Pavilion could find a way to completely eliminate the demons.
Yuan Chu shook her head, “I guess they will be sent back to the major heavenly domains according to their ‘true selves’.” She did not talk much on this topic, saying “After the mission is completed, the rest has nothing to do with us,” and then no longer expressed her opinion.
Yue Ying deeply agreed and no longer thought about the whereabouts of the created beings with intelligence. The five major heavenly domains had also handled things this way in the past, and she did not think there was anything wrong with it. She raised a happy smile and said, “We have obtained a lot of merit points this time. Fellow Daoist Bo, would you like to spare some to buy things to decorate your cave dwelling? At least you should choose one or two gate-keeping child servants, right?” The Tianque Blessed Land was in a remote place, and the environment on the island was extremely harsh. If she wanted to live comfortably, she had to make some arrangements. At least before she entered a higher realm, she had to live in that blessed land.
Wei Yunshu was not concerned with external things. She said softly, “It’s just an illusion before my eyes.”
Yue Ying did not agree with Wei Yunshu’s words. She was about to argue when she saw Yuan Chu give her a look and gently shake her head. Yue Ying immediately fell silent. She thought for a while, pulled Yuan Chu to the side, and whispered, “Fellow Daoist Bo doesn’t care about external things, but we, as friends, have to think for her. I have many decorative plants in my cave dwelling. I’ll send some to Fellow Daoist Bo when the time comes, what do you think?” After a pause, she added, “Using plants to form a formation can appropriately regulate the aura. It’s a pity I’m not very familiar with the fellow Daoists of Xuan Qing Mountain and can’t ask them to help me see.”
“Tianque Blessed Land is really harsh. In such an environment, if you are not careful, your bone roots may be destroyed. For Fellow Daoist Bo to have such achievements at a young age, I really can’t bear to see her take the wrong path because of a momentary illusion.”
Yue Ying’s words were very considerate of her fellow Daoist.
Yuan Chu’s lips held a smile. She nodded slightly and said, “It’s also fine.” The Tianque Blessed Land was for tempering people. The earth, fire, water, and wind surged, tearing apart the chaos, and staging a scene from before the separation of yin and yang. But getting some spiritual plants to decorate the facade of the cave dwelling would not be a hindrance. She had no reason to hit Yue Ying’s thoughts, and even began to think about what to send to Wei Yunshu.
Wei Yunshu didn’t know what the two of them were whispering about. She frowned and glanced a few times, but had no intention of inquiring. A vague sense of unease filled the depths of her heart. For a while, she was thinking about the Fu Li Immortal Realm, and for a while, she was thinking about the character “Que” that had drawn her into the illusion. Her thoughts wandered until Yuan Chu gently called her, and she suddenly came back to her senses. But the moment her gaze met Yuan Chu’s, she felt herself being pulled into an invisible vortex by an unseen hand.
Yue Ying raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly, “Let’s go back.”
The three of them had no intention of continuing their training outside. They left Hengjue Mountain and went straight to the formation gate of Yulei Immortal City. After returning to the Wu Xiang Academy, they went straight to the Shangong Hall and handed over the talismans that sealed the created beings with intelligence. After the talismans were given out, the vast amount of merit points flowed into the record book. Wei Yunshu and Yue Ying’s performance in this battle was very good, and they both got the lion’s share. As for Yuan Chu—she didn’t even take out a talisman. Wei Yunshu’s peripheral vision inadvertently swept over her clean record book, and a few doubts immediately arose in her heart.
The white-browed Daoist was Yuan Chu’s opponent. Yuan Chu was able to escape, so she probably won. How could she not have captured him? And the mirage demon, which had never appeared, but the mission showed it was completed, which meant the mirage demon had also been defeated. Then who had defeated him? The missions on the wall were still there. In a patch of name seals, many had become dim, which meant the person had died. The remaining ones were all dealing with the created beings with intelligence in the heartland of the mountain. Besides the disappeared Yuan Chu, she really couldn’t think of anyone who could deal with the mirage demon.
“With so many merit points, we can exchange for some Jun Tian Purple Qi in advance,” Yue Ying smiled and turned to Wei Yunshu, asking, “Fellow Daoist Bo, what are your plans next?”
Wei Yunshu’s thoughts were interrupted. She smiled and replied, “I plan to go back to Tianque Blessed Land first, sort out what I’ve gained from this battle, and then go to the Langhuan Golden Pavilion to read the Daoist scriptures.”
Yue Ying looked at Wei Yunshu with surprise. After a long while, she said, “Many of the Daoist scriptures’ contents will be taught by the True Beings in the Zhaowen Hall, and you don’t need to consume merit points there. And if you go to the Langhuan Golden Pavilion, if you don’t bring something delicious, the True Being’s avatar won’t even pay attention to you.”
Wei Yunshu also knew this, but the reason was not convenient to explain to Yue Ying. She said warmly, “I prefer to read the original scriptures.”
Yue Ying thoughtfully said, “Without interpretation, one can see the true nature of the Dao more clearly?” She did not persuade her further but turned to Yuan Chu and issued an invitation, “Sister Yuan, are you going to listen to the lecture in the Zhaowen Hall?”
Yuan Chu politely declined, “I still have things to do in the Shangong Hall.” As soon as she said this, Yue Ying suddenly remembered that Yuan Chu had not handed over a talisman. Everyone had secrets. As a true disciple of Jade Capital, it was normal to have secret dealings with the stewards of the Wu Xiang Academy. She sighed, “I can only go alone.”
Yuan Chu said teasingly, “You have friends everywhere in the academy. Perhaps it won’t be long before you throw me and Fellow Daoist Bo to the back of your mind.”
Yue Ying gave Yuan Chu a sideways glance. She bowed, then pulled Wei Yunshu and said, “Neither Fellow Daoist Bo nor I will stay long in the Shangong Hall. To be able to accompany each other for a few zhang is also wonderful.”
Yuan Chu smiled and gazed at Yue Ying and the others’ backs until they completely disappeared. The smile on her lips then faded. The jade-like warmth was swept away, and her entire body was shrouded in a chilling coldness like eternal ice and snow. The steward in the hall also stood up at this moment and bowed to her. Yuan Chu nodded casually, flicked her sleeve, and went towards the inner hall of the Shangong Hall.
“Master,” a snow-white little fat bird flapped its wings and landed on Yuan Chu’s shoulder. After pausing for a few breaths, it continued to speak humanly, “You didn’t bring back a single created being with intelligence. The Realm of Ruin has already been severed. If you yourself absorb that dark energy, it will become a burden in the future.” By the end, the White Tai Sui’s tone was full of helplessness and sadness.
Yuan Chu reached out and stroked the Little Tai Sui, saying faintly, “Chaos was split, and the formless did not exist. After the yin and yang transformed, both good and evil were revealed. Unless I sever the evil nature like those five fellow cultivators, it is impossible to return to the past.”
The White Tai Sui sighed, “That avatar of yours has had a great influence on you.”
Yuan Chu: “After the Realm of Ruin was severed, the formless was lacking. In the birth and death of thousands of emotions, blood and tears flowed freely. Man’s calculation is not as good as heaven’s. I also didn’t know that the Tai Sui Golden Sand that was born from it would merge into my avatar, causing everything to go off track and against my wishes.” What she wished to see, she did not see. What she sought, she did not obtain. After a trip down, what remained was only endless hatred and regret. Who had failed whom was completely unclear.
White Tai Sui: “If you had listened to the Tian Nu Venerable back then and erased that ‘Que,’ there wouldn’t have been so many things.”
Yuan Chu: “The way of heaven is constant. If you erase one ‘Que,’ another ‘Que’ will appear. Why should I interfere?”
The White Tai Sui blinked, very puzzled. “If that’s the case, you should let it be. You shouldn’t have gone to save her.”
Yuan Chu: “Because the moment she appeared, the formless had a ‘Que’.”
Even though she had followed the Emperor Wu Xiang and experienced all sorts of things, hearing this, the White Tai Sui still felt a headache. It must have been influenced by its foolish sister, the Black Tai Sui. The White Tai Sui decisively threw this pot away. She no longer spoke of such long-ago things but said, “More than two hundred years ago, you shouldn’t have listened to Sang Buwei’s bewitching words and voluntarily descended to the Fu Li Immortal Realm in an avatar. If you were sending Sang Buwei into reincarnation, you should have just let her go alone. That way, you wouldn’t have had to experience thousands of hardships.”
“You know that in the matter of Daoist disputes, I have always been a bystander. I watched her travel with her fellow Daoists, watched them fail step by step, and their fellow cultivators did not even have one in ten left… More than two hundred years ago, when you brought the dying Sang Buwei back, I realized that the mark she had left in my heart was very deep. She did not seek her own life, but only let me open my eyes and see their ‘Dao’.”
“Originally, which Dao won had no effect on me. I would not interfere in the dispute of Dao thoughts. But looking at her appearance, a very blurry thought arose in me—what Sang Buwei sought was what I sought. I needed to see what kind of world she wanted to give me. It’s a pity that her dream was a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water. There is no peace and beauty anywhere in this human world, but these cannot be said to be the fault of the Daoist arts.”
The White Tai Sui asked again, “Are you determined to lean towards the heart-cultivating Dao for Sang Buwei’s sake?” When she received the decree to create the Wu Xiang Academy, she had some guesses.
“It’s not for Sang Buwei,” Yuan Chu was silent for a moment and said softly, “It’s that the Realm of Ruin will not return.” Just as the formless was lacking, it was impossible to return to the beginning again. “I have gone from emotionless to emotional, and they have gone from emotional to emotionless. What is right? And what is wrong?”
This time, the White Tai Sui was silent for a long time before squeezing out a sentence, “Perhaps ‘Que’ is perfection. Having ‘Que’ means it needs to be filled, and perfection is like stagnant water that does not flow.”
Yuan Chu smiled and did not speak again.
Wu Xiang Academy, Tianque Blessed Land.
Wei Yunshu did not use the fierce wind and fire malevolence to temper herself outside, but returned to her cave dwelling to recall the previous battle. At a certain moment, she suddenly had a sensation, and her understanding of the thousand changes of the sword light deepened a layer. Such a subtle and just-right use of spiritual energy made her divine abilities flow freely between sharpness, speed, and a thousand turns, undoubtedly improving her combat ability by a few points. But how did that sensation come? Was it the experience accumulated from fighting with others in the past, or was it because she had observed the sword moves of the swordswoman in the illusion and had some comprehension? How did a single character “Que” have such a great influence on her? Was it the Daoist art traces left by her ancestors who had chosen their own inheritors? Or was it related to herself in a thousand ways?
Wei Yunshu pondered, raised her hand, and urged her sword energy. With a downward drop, the ground was covered with densely packed “Que” characters. But she could not find the traces contained within the “Que” characters she had written. She had originally wanted to use merit points to ask others, but then she thought that if those people knew, they would have said so long ago. And some of the names on it involved higher-level cultivators and could not be manifested at all. After deliberating for a long time, Wei Yunshu suddenly thought of the True Nature Sword. However, when it came to summoning the sword, she hesitated again. This was the Wu Xiang Heaven domain. The True Nature Sword had the Emperor Wu Xiang’s imperial seal melted into it, and she didn’t know if the shielding method would work. What if the other party sensed it as soon as the sword came out? Things would not be good.
The record book was useless, and the True Nature Sword could not be taken out. Finding Yuan Chu—this thought appeared, and Wei Yunshu suppressed it. Others would say Yuan Chu was “gentle as water,” but in her place, when she touched the snow-like white hair and the eyes that seemed to want to speak yet held back, she would always feel a strange, suppressed emotion. She vaguely sensed that something was influencing her thoughts, making her avoid some questions. She could not completely separate herself from it, only not think about that subtle awkwardness. When she reached a higher realm, these flaws would appear in the form of a heart demon tribulation. After subduing them, she could be truly free.
Wei Yunshu reached out and wiped away the characters on the ground, brushed away all her miscellaneous thoughts one by one, and quietly cultivated. A month later, she walked out of her cave dwelling. She stood alone on a rugged rock, looking around. It was empty, with almost no trace of living beings. She didn’t need things to decorate her cave dwelling, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a child servant to pass messages and look after the cave dwelling when she was out. She had no intention of hiring with merit points. She did not dare to trust the cultivators of the Shang Qing Divine Realm. After thinking for a while, she took out the only A’mang from her spiritual beast bag.
In the Fu Li Immortal Realm, there was not much time to look after A’mang, so it spent most of its time sleeping in the spiritual beast bag.
The suddenly awakened A’mang first looked around in a daze. Finally, seeing Wei Yunshu’s familiar figure, it pawed the ground with its hooves and neighed with dissatisfaction. Wei Yunshu fed it a few spiritual pills to soothe A’mang’s emotions. She felt that with its current appearance, it couldn’t do much, so she simply spent a little merit point to exchange for a transformation pill from the Shangong Hall. Looking at A’mang transforming into a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old young girl, she raised her eyebrows and smiled, “A’mang, from now on, you will look after the cave dwelling, you know?”
A’mang was very surprised. Her eyeballs darted around, and with a turn of her body, she rushed outside. Wei Yunshu said calmly, “You can’t resist the fierce wind and fire malevolence. There’s only one path to walk here.” A’mang immediately deflated and looked at Wei Yunshu with a resentful look.
Wei Yunshu reached out and stroked A’mang’s head, saying softly, “You just need to pay attention to the news. You don’t need to do much else.” Although A’mang had taken spiritual pills and gained some intelligence, it was still essentially different from those demon cultivators. Her intelligence would not be too high. But Wei Yunshu didn’t need A’mang to be too smart. In the Tianque Blessed Land, she didn’t need to take good care of it.
After instructing A’mang, Wei Yunshu took out the record book and inquired about the rules of the Langhuan Golden Pavilion. After getting the information, she left the Tianque Blessed Land, prepared some things, and flew towards the Langhuan Golden Pavilion. The Langhuan Golden Pavilion was shaped like a treasured pagoda and had a total of nine floors. The Daoist scriptures that cultivators below the Upper Immortal could read were on the lower four floors. The fifth floor contained historical books, novels, notes, and other books recording the past of Shang Qing. The sixth floor contained the Daoist scriptures of the Upper Immortals, and so on. Here, to borrow Daoist scriptures, you not only needed the corresponding merit points, but also depended on your cultivation. For example, if you had not reached the Upper Immortal realm, you could not go to the sixth floor. With Wei Yunshu’s current cultivation, she could only read the Daoist scriptures and books on the fifth floor and below.
After arriving at the Langhuan Golden Pavilion, Wei Yunshu went up to the fifth floor. The books here were different from the Daoist scriptures and did not require many merit points. But even so, there were still few people who came to visit. After all, in the eyes of most people, the scriptures on the fifth floor were of no use to them.
The owner of the Langhuan Golden Pavilion was also not human, but a nine-tailed fox. When Wei Yunshu arrived, she saw a snow-white fox lazily lying on a couch, basking in the sunlight pouring in from the window. It glanced at Wei Yunshu and then moved its gaze away, too lazy to pay attention.
Although it was not a Daoist scripture, the books in it were the accumulation of ten thousand years, and they were also as vast as the sea. Although the pagoda was not large, there was another universe within it. To find what she needed from it was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack. Wei Yunshu pondered for a while and walked towards the white fox. She bowed and said seriously, “Bo wants to borrow some books. I’d like to ask the True Being to enlighten me.”
The fox glanced at Wei Yunshu and did not speak.
Wei Yunshu took out some spiritual pills with abundant spiritual energy and various flavors from her storage pouch and handed them over.
She had done some homework and prepared in advance.
Who knew that the little fox did not move. It glared at Wei Yunshu with resentment, and with its tail, it hooked out a wooden sign from the corner. On it were four large characters: “No Feeding.”
Wei Yunshu: “…” Why didn’t anyone mention this on the record book! Could it be a new rule?
Just as she was hesitating, a hand reached out from the side, grabbed the little fox lying on the couch, and then swept away the spiritual pills on Wei Yunshu’s palm, forcefully stuffing them into the little fox’s mouth.
The little fox swallowed the spiritual pills, chirped happily twice, and said, “Let the true self know, I was forced to eat the spiritual pills.”