After I Died My Dao Companion Drowns in Endless Regret Chapter 109

The White Tai Sui had no intention of speaking further with the five sect masters; she had mostly been absent from the Long River meetings throughout history anyway. She stood under the Wutong tree with her hands behind her back and said coolly, “In short, my Wu Xiang Heaven Domain will not interfere in your Dao dispute for the time being. However, private fights are not permitted within the Academy. If you cannot accept this, you may withdraw from the Academy. I will not force you.” With that, ignoring the expressions on the faces of the five sect masters, she flicked her sleeve and her figure vanished from the Long River. The phantom of the Wutong tree remained, but the phoenix’s cry grew more and more distant.
“For the time being? What does the White Lord mean by that?”
“Fellow Daoists, have the Divine Lords issued any decrees regarding the Realm of Ruin?”
“No, I have not received a decree from above for a very long time.”
“The White Lord’s words were pointed. If the Realm of Ruin truly cannot be restored, what shall we do?”
“Fellow Daoists, calm yourselves. Even if the Realm of Ruin cannot be restored, we must first retrieve that landmass to confirm it. The matter of resolving the void’s mystic cave cannot be stopped. However, besides the Demon-Hiding Cave and the Created Beings with Intelligence, we do indeed need to devise another method to suppress the ‘non-selves.’”
Inside the treasure hall of the Tian Nu Pavilion.
Sect Master Su Qing, a Supreme Immortal, withdrew from the Long River. She pondered for a moment, then took out a restrictive talisman. With a surge of her spiritual power, a gate of brilliant, clear light appeared before her. The spiritual energy here was turbulent, churning into vortexes that seemed to want to swallow everything in existence. Su Qing stared at the gate for a moment, then stepped through. Once inside, the scenery changed abruptly. Boundless floating clouds flowed like water, filling her vision. As Su Qing walked forward, the clouds parted, revealing a twenty-foot-long path of clouds ahead. At its end sat a female cultivator wearing a Daoist robe with flowing cloud patterns of white and gold, and a lotus crown on her head.
“Senior Sister, I trust you’ve been well.” Su Qing paused and gazed at the female cultivator with a faint smile.
The female cultivator looked up, gave Su Qing an indifferent glance, and then looked away again. This person was none other than Yun Huai, one of the Four Lords of Gan Yuan. After the defeat of Gan Yuan, she had been brought back to the Tian Nu Pavilion and had been imprisoned in the Gate of the Profound ever since. Other than Su Qing, she had not seen another soul.
“I cannot understand why Senior Sister would walk that path of no return. We cultivate the Dao to refine our spirits and return to the void, to sever all foolish attachments and delusions, to return our original nature to its state at the beginning of formlessness, so that our spiritual body may be complete and merge with the Great Dao. At that time, I will be the Dao, and the Dao will be me. As for the past, it is but fleeting smoke. It’s not worth mentioning at all. Why must you care so much?” Su Qing said, looking at Yun Huai.
Yun Huai had heard similar words no less than a hundred times. Matters of Daoist conviction could not be simply summarized as “right” or “wrong.” In Su Qing’s eyes, merging one’s body with the Dao was the proper path, and the “self” was fundamentally meaningless. She didn’t care whether the Dao could advance or if the heavenly order stagnated like dead water; her goal was to achieve the Dao. Their paths were different, so there was no need for more words.
Su Qing was not surprised by Yun Huai’s silence. She took a few steps forward, slowly closing the distance between them. She leaned down to gaze at Yun Huai and said, “You may not know, but the Wu Xiang Heaven Domain has entered the world. The White Lord received a decree from the Wu Xiang Emperor to open the Wu Xiang Academy, and right there in the Academy, traces of your Gan Yuan lineage have appeared.”
Yun Huai’s eyelids trembled. She finally looked at Su Qing properly and asked coolly, “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to say anything.” Su Qing smiled. Ignoring Yun Huai’s cold expression, she changed the subject. “You all wish to cultivate the heart to subdue the non-self. To obstruct our path to the Dao, you did not hesitate to sever the Realm of Ruin, offending the Wu Xiang Emperor to the utmost. There is one thing I don’t understand. Even if you later prevent a single wisp of a ‘non-self’ from escaping, what about the ‘non-selves’ of the past? How are they to be dealt with? Are you just going to leave them be?”
“Expulsion and suppression are only temporary measures.” When it came to resolving the “non-selves,” Yun Huai would not hide anything from Su Qing. She said calmly, “In Gan Yuan, we were constantly researching methods to resolve the ‘non-selves’ left behind from the past. Fellow Daoist Sang walks the path of the sword. If her swordsmanship reaches its peak, perhaps she can kill everything. But we are different from Fellow Daoist Sang, so we devised another method to restrain the demonic non-selves.”
Su Qing pressed, “What method?”
Yun Huai answered, “To use my body as a furnace, to take all demons into myself, and to subdue them with my heart.” She glanced at Su Qing, a derisive smile touching her lips. “You need not think about this method. You cannot even subdue your own ‘self,’ let alone the countless ‘non-selves.’”
The contempt on her face was unconcealed, but Su Qing did not get angry. She simply smiled and said, “It may not be necessary for us to act personally.”
“Senior Sister’s words have been most enlightening. For now, I must trouble Senior Sister to remain in the Gate of the Profound. When our Daoist methods are perfected, I will invite Senior Sister out to see this world again, to let you know just how absurdly mistaken your actions were. The deaths of those senior and junior sisters were not my fault, but your own sin, Senior Sister.”
Yun Huai let out a soft laugh and asked, “Why not just execute me? As long as I live, I will always try to escape.” Seeing that Su Qing didn’t reply, she added meaningfully, “Is it that Junior Sister’s deluded thoughts have not yet been completely severed?”
Su Qing met Yun Huai’s gaze and smiled as well. “I have not yet reached perfection, so deluded thoughts naturally arise from time to time. What is so strange about that? On the other hand, Senior Sister, you hold all of the past in your heart. How can you subdue your self? How can you keep your thoughts from moving?”
Yun Huai said indifferently, “My heart has no delusions.”
Su Qing gave the cold Yun Huai one last deep look before exiting the Gate of the Profound. She secretly pondered the method Yun Huai had mentioned for completely eliminating the “non-selves.” If it was useful, the burden on them would be lightened. But if they used them to resolve the “non-selves,” it would likely lead more people astray onto the demonic path. What to do required careful consideration. After a long while, an idea formed in her mind. She sent a decree to her disciples, ordering them to bring out two of the Gan Yuan traitors and throw them into the Demon-Hiding Cave to see what they would do. In any case, she first had to confirm whether that method even existed.
In the Wu Xiang Academy.
Although Wei Yunshu knew those two were disciples of the Gan Yuan lineage, she did not rashly approach them. She instructed Ran Xiuyun and Xie Zhichao to keep an eye on them from the shadows, while she herself headed to the Demon-Hiding Cave to earn merit points. There were actually many missions in the Shangong Hall, but the ones with the highest merit point rewards were mostly actions against Xuan Tian Ji. The Created Beings with Intelligence were, at their root, the same as demons, and could have been used to temper her “Dissolving Yin and Yang” divine ability. But the rules here forbade killing them; they had to be captured and brought back. In comparison, the demons in the Demon-Hiding Cave were more effective for her purpose.
Her cultivation had now reached the Upper Immortal realm, allowing her to enter the higher levels of the Demon-Hiding Cave. Here, she discovered that the demons were becoming more and more varied, gradually approaching the form of “humans.” They devoured each other, accumulating the “non-selves” of many Upper Immortal level cultivators, making them not so easy to deal with. Even with her “Dissolving Yin and Yang” divine ability, it was difficult to eliminate them in one go. Wei Yunshu spent half a year in the Demon-Hiding Cave and only managed to eliminate four demons. She found that her sword movements felt somewhat sluggish. It was clear that the level of the Taiyi Sword was not keeping up with her cultivation. If she didn’t find precious materials to temper her sword, the gap would only grow wider in the future.
The first thing Wei Yunshu thought of was the Origin Stone in Yuan Chu’s hand. But on second thought, half a year had passed without any contact; perhaps Yuan Chu had already found another companion. Besides the Origin Stone, her only option was to see if there were any suitable sword-refining materials in the Shangong Hall. With this in mind, she was on her way to the Shangong Hall when she happened to run into the very person she was thinking of. Wei Yunshu was slightly stunned but quickly recovered. She gave Yuan Chu a Daoist salute. “Daoist Friend Yuan.”
Yuan Chu returned the salute and asked warmly, “The trip to the Wu Shi Heaven Domain, how has Daoist Bo’s consideration been?”
Wei Yunshu was surprised. “Has Daoist Friend Yuan not found a companion yet?”
Yuan Chu smiled. “I promised you before that I would wait for you to consider it carefully. Before then, how could I go looking for someone else?” After a pause, she added, “However, the time for the Essence of Red Water’s birth is drawing near. If Daoist Bo cannot give me an answer, I will have to find someone else to accompany me.”
Wei Yunshu lowered her eyes in thought.
“I see Daoist Bo is heading to the Shangong Hall?” Yuan Chu smiled faintly. “Why don’t you go first? I will wait here.”
If she could find a precious material to replace the Origin Stone, Wei Yunshu would rather not make that trip with Yuan Chu. She did not refuse Yuan Chu’s kind offer, said, “Pardon my rudeness,” and flew toward the Shangong Hall. Her Merit Record now held a considerable number of points, enough to exchange for either Jun Tian Purple Qi or top-grade precious materials and great medicines. However, upon arriving at the Shangong Hall, she requested the catalog, and a quick scan revealed that there were no precious materials that could resonate with her Taiyi Sword. Their quality was certainly superior, but if they were not compatible with the sword, they would ultimately be a burden. With a silent sigh, Wei Yunshu exchanged her merit points for Jun Tian Purple Qi and quickly left the Shangong Hall. She spotted the tall, graceful figure of Yuan Chu at a glance, walked up to her, and said, “I accept this matter. When do we depart?”
Yuan Chu said, “There are teleportation gates between my Wu Xiang Heaven Domain and the Wu Shi Heaven Domain, but once we reach the vast seas of the Wu Shi Heaven Domain, we can no longer rely on formation altars. Thus, the sooner the better, of course.”
Wei Yunshu nodded. “I will go explain some things to my junior sisters, then I will come find you at the Taiqing Blessed Land.”
The smile on Yuan Chu’s face deepened as she said softly, “Alright.”
Three days later, Wei Yunshu arrived at the Taiqing Blessed Land and set off with Yuan Chu.
The Wu Shi Heaven Domain was in the north. Its Emperor was the Dragon Ancestor Ji Jun, the only non-human avatar among the six Divine Lords. This led to the Wu Shi Heaven Domain being overrun with non-human spirits and monsters, while human Daoist cultivators were few and far between. And among the non-human spirits, there were also clear hierarchies. The most distinguished were those of true dragon bloodline and their subordinate aquatic clans. After them came the various spirits living on the landmasses. As for the bird clans—since the Ancestral Phoenix was in the Wu Xiang Heaven, most of them had gone to live on Dan Mountain, with very few remaining in the Wu Shi Heaven Domain.
After passing through the teleportation gate, Wei Yunshu and Yuan Chu landed on a deserted island. As far as the eye could see was a boundless ocean. Under the influence of the Dragon Ancestor’s divine abilities, the entire Wu Shi Heaven Domain was nine parts sea and one part land, and the land was fragmented into small islands scattered across the vast ocean, as tiny as a single grain in the sea.
Before departing, Wei Yunshu had exchanged for a map of the Wu Shi Heaven Domain from the Merit Record and confirmed their destination. “There are no formation altars or teleportation gates established on the sea. If we want to cross, do we rely on artifacts? Or fly on our own?” Wei Yunshu turned to look at Yuan Chu.
“There are four seas in the Wu Shi Heaven Domain: the Red Sea, the Blue Sea, the Black Sea, and the Dead Sea. The place we are going to is the Red Sea. A type of creature called ‘Red Algae’ lives in that sea, dyeing the waters blood-red. Once the ‘Red Algae’ touches you, it will corrode your spiritual energy. Therefore, we cannot fly. We have to take a dragon boat painted with a special lacquer that protects against it,” Yuan Chu explained as she walked. They could certainly rely on their powerful spiritual energy to brush off the algae, but there was no need to do so.
Wei Yunshu said, “Oh,” without objection. She and Yuan Chu arrived at the port and found quite a few cultivators gathered there to rent dragon boats. The cultivators, a mix of bizarre-looking spirits and humans, were split about evenly. Looking at their cultivation levels, most were at the Upper Immortal realm. A few were impossible to read, meaning they were either higher level than her or were using some kind of artifact to conceal their aura.
Yuan Chu lowered her voice. “Not everyone here is a water-technique cultivator. If one is lucky enough to obtain the Essence of Red Water, they can also trade it with others.”
Wei Yunshu grunted in acknowledgment, thinking to herself that when it came to heavenly materials and earthly treasures, the thoughts of cultivators were much the same, whether in the Fu Li Immortal Realm or the Shang Qing Divine Realm.
The people in front of them boarded the dragon boats one by one. When it was Wei Yunshu and Yuan Chu’s turn, a short, long-bearded cultivator fiddling with an abacus rolled his eyes and said with a grin, “This is the ‘Red Character’ line. What model of dragon boat would you esteemed guests like? Are you willing to share a boat with others?”
Yuan Chu said warmly, “Just the two of us.”
The smile on the long-bearded cultivator’s face widened, and he named an exorbitant price. “Is that so? One hundred thousand merit points.”
Wei Yunshu’s brow furrowed at his words. The non-human cultivators before them who had requested a boat for themselves hadn’t been charged nearly that much. But on second thought, this was a domain of non-human spirits; perhaps it was to be expected. Just as she was about to take out her Merit Record, Yuan Chu beat her to it and swiped the points. The long-bearded cultivator happily arranged a dragon boat for them and even thoughtfully added, “Do you need an escort from us? One attendant for fifty thousand merit points.”
Yuan Chu refused. “That won’t be necessary.”
The long-bearded cultivator didn’t say anything more, but a glint flashed in his eyes, his intentions unclear.
After boarding the dragon boat, Wei Yunshu turned to Yuan Chu and said seriously, “Daoist Friend Yuan, let me transfer the merit points to you.”
Yuan Chu held a restrictive seal in her hand. With a light swipe, an artifact spirit appeared, bowed to Yuan Chu, and then went to pilot the boat. The dragon boat cut through the great waves, moving forward with a roar, and in an instant, it had stirred up one ripple after another. A long while later, Yuan Chu finally turned to Wei Yunshu, a smile playing on her lips. “Daoist Bo, I was the one who invited you to help me obtain the Essence of Red Water. All expenses on the journey should naturally be borne by me.”
“But—”
“Hush.” Yuan Chu raised a finger to her lips and winked. “There’s nothing to argue about on this point. I only ask that Daoist Bo will do your utmost to help me succeed when the time comes.” With things having been put this way, Wei Yunshu, though helpless, could only agree.
Yuan Chu added, “It will take half a month to reach the Red Sea. We may encounter various things along the way. Daoist Bo should go and rest first.”
Wei Yunshu agreed, not particularly wanting to stay with Yuan Chu anyway. She returned to her cabin on the boat. She had only been meditating for a day when she heard a loud explosion from afar, rolling toward them like thunder. Wei Yunshu flew out of her cabin to see a torrent of powerful energy and a tremendous momentum that showed no signs of abating. It even blocked out the light from the sky, making it as dark as nightfall. If that torrent of spiritual energy slammed into the dragon boat, there was no guarantee the restrictive seals wouldn’t be destroyed. Wei Yunshu naturally couldn’t let the other party have their way. Her eyes sharpened, and she channeled her spiritual energy, striking forward with a fierce palm. With a world-shaking boom, the sea tide suddenly rushed upward and then smashed down viciously. Ripples spread through the void, and the spiritual energy fluctuations were extremely violent. When the storm subsided, a burly demon cultivator in chain mail stepped out, his eyes as red as flames.
“And you are?” Wei Yunshu’s brow furrowed slightly.
The demon cultivator grinned. “Cut the crap. Hand over all your good stuff!”
Yuan Chu said calmly, “A sea robber.” When non-human spirits took human form, their demonic nature often remained. They acted without restraint, fierce and domineering. In this vast ocean, it was all too common for ambushes to occur.
Wei Yunshu pressed her lips together. This demon cultivator walked the path of strength, tempering his flesh and blood until it was extremely formidable. With every move, he could stir up monstrous waves. Reasoning with a demon like this was pointless. After a moment’s thought, she reached out her hand. Instantly, thunder rolled in, forming an endless thundercloud above the sea. Streaks of lightning danced like wild dragons and snakes, striking downward. The demon cultivator laughed heartily, said, “Good,” and immediately gathered his demonic essence, charging into the lightning. He had thought that with the toughness of his physical body, he would be unharmed by the lightning. Who knew that when the lightning struck, his demonic essence would be shattered in an instant! The demon cultivator’s expression changed drastically. With a furious roar, his body shot up, instantly becoming several dozen feet tall, and he punched toward the lightning. Wei Yunshu paid no mind to his actions. She released her Taiyi Sword, and instantly, sword lights shot out like a cluster of stars, slashing at the demon cultivator. In just a few breaths, his demonic essence was completely shaved away by the sword lights, and the precious glow of his chain mail was broken.
The demon cultivator hadn’t expected this person’s spiritual power to be so exceptionally profound, nor that she was so skilled in the art of the flying sword, able to compensate for the shortcomings of her divine abilities with speed. It was too late for him to retreat. Disregarding the consumption of his foundational spiritual energy, he punched forward frantically. Sword qi soared, and spiritual light flashed. The water tide, driven by the spiritual energy, surged forward mightily. The demon cultivator practiced a water technique and would not be touched by the crashing waves. But suddenly, a trace of coolness appeared on his face. He looked up to see the sea suspended in the air, pressing down on him. His aura faltered, and under the inverted tide, his tall body shrank inch by inch. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Not daring to be careless, he shook his shoulders, and a person identical to him stepped out, indifferently raising a hand to support the suspended river. This was his Created Being with Intelligence. With the help of his creation in battle, it was like having two of him. The pressure on the demon cultivator was halved. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Instead of taking this opportunity to retreat, a fierce glint erupted in his eyes, and his ferocity intensified.
Wei Yunshu’s eyelids twitched. Her expression was cold and tense, and the spiritual energy around her roiled, instantly pushing her power to a terrifying level. The lightning fell into the tide, transforming it into a vast river of thunder that surged forward, corroding flesh and blood. Even with the demon cultivator’s tough body, he was flayed open by the thunder river. Seeing the demon cultivator retreat, Wei Yunshu leveled her Taiyi Sword and unleashed the sword’s divine ability, “Dissolving Yin and Yang,” striking at the Created Being with Intelligence. Although her sword was a bit sluggish, she had become very proficient with this divine ability in the Demon-Hiding Cave. Now, with Yuan Chu at her side to intercept, this strike successfully landed on the Created Being. The creation’s body stiffened, and cracks appeared all over its massive form. As black and white streams of air dissipated, it was swept away along with the debris by the thunder river, vanishing without a trace.
Seeing his Created Being slain, the demon cultivator showed a look of disbelief. He raised his voice. “You killed a creation, you violated the heavenly order of the divine realm, you—” Before he could finish, a torrent of heavy water like a black dragon shot out, smashing into his body and instantly piercing through his shell. But even so, he would not die easily. He circulated his foundational power, and the wound healed anew. He had rampaged across the sea and had never encountered such a setback. With a long howl, he instantly transformed into his original form—a nearly one-hundred-foot-long, single-horned dragon descendant.
Yuan Chu said coolly, “I wonder which power this beast came from.” With a thought, the sea tide churned, and every splashing drop of water became as heavy as a mountain. As the water drops rolled, the dragon descendant’s scales shattered, and blood flowed freely. He roared, wanting to command the waters of the four seas, but for some reason, though his spiritual power was consumed, the water he tried to move never came. He finally realized that the white-haired female cultivator practiced a water technique, and her understanding of that path was far superior to his, completely suppressing his own divine abilities. To try and escape into the water would be to seek his own death. Seeing this, the demon cultivator spat out a talisman. A few breaths later, spiritual energy roiled in the sky. It was clear that a higher-realm cultivator was crossing the sea to get here.
Wei Yunshu and Yuan Chu exchanged a glance. No matter who the other party was, they could not let this demon cultivator live. If he joined forces with his backup, they would be the ones to suffer! They channeled their spiritual energy, and their divine abilities blasted toward the demon. As a voice rang out saying “Wait,” a world-shaking roar sounded. Not only was the demon’s physical body destroyed, but even his primordial spirit was annihilated by the sword intent, leaving not a trace behind. A short, stout cultivator walked out from the spiritual light and said to Wei Yunshu and Yuan Chu in a grief-stricken tone, “That evil dragon was a sinner from my sect. I was originally going to take him back to be dealt with.”
Yuan Chu stared at the emblem on the stout cultivator’s robe for a moment, then smiled faintly. “You don’t need to thank us, Daoist friend.”
The stout cultivator gave an embarrassed smile, had nothing more to say, turned, and left.
After he left, Wei Yunshu turned to Yuan Chu and said, “The emblem on that Daoist was the same as the boatmen’s.”
Yuan Chu smiled. “Yes. Perhaps they thought we didn’t know what was good for us when we didn’t hire one of their people for escort. But we don’t need them. For robbers like that, we’ll just kill as many as come. What do you think, Daoist Bo?”
Her gentle tone was filled with chilling killing intent.
Wei Yunshu nodded, her gaze toward Yuan Chu now holding a hint of inquiry. When Yuan Chu had made her move, the aura she emitted was slightly different, but if she wasn’t mistaken, what had shot out was clearly Abyssal Heavy Water. In the Fu Li Immortal Realm, among the Luoshui Divine Palace lineage, only Luo Lingfeng had successfully cultivated the Grand Pure Yuan Dao Abyssal True Water. This technique was compiled by the four founding ancestors based on the Daoist scriptures of the Shang Qing Divine Realm. She wasn’t sure if Yuan Chu was cultivating the original scripture from the divine realm or something else. If it wasn’t the divine realm’s original, could it be one passed down by the ancestors? After thinking for a moment, Wei Yunshu feigned casualness and brought it up. “What cultivation technique do you practice, Daoist friend?”