Chapter 119: Bonus – Past Grievances
Overhearing the little divine beast’s words, Du Yundong’s heart pounded, her body turning cold. The sound of her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
She had never imagined that her master wanted her dead. The master she had worshipped and admired had no regard for human life, taking her in as a disciple only to demand her life as repayment.
Anyone who learned such a life-altering secret would struggle to remain calm.
But Du Yundong couldn’t afford to panic. She knew what kind of person her master was: meticulous, seemingly gentle, but with a cold and ruthless side.
She had witnessed Meng Zhen killing demon cultivators. It was supposed to be an act of righteousness, but Meng Zhen had turned it into a one-sided massacre.
A chill had run down Du Yundong’s spine, her body frozen in fear. It was a primal warning, telling her that her master, Meng Zhen, was dangerous.
But back then, she hadn’t known Meng Zhen’s secret. She had trusted her completely, seeing her as her savior and mentor.
Meng Zhen, blood staining the corner of her eye, had patted Du Yundong’s head and smiled. “Yun Dong, are you scared? Don’t worry, Master has killed all the demon cultivators.”
“I’m not scared, Master, because you’re here.” Her fear subsided, and she looked at Meng Zhen with adoration.
But now, recalling that moment, Du Yundong felt a chill run down her spine. One day, she would also be killed by Meng Zhen.
She couldn’t let Meng Zhen see through her fear, but how was that possible?
To hide her fear, she had to stay away from Meng Zhen.
She accepted a mission and descended the mountain alone, leaving only a letter for her master. The letter was as usual, betraying no hint of her inner turmoil.
As she left the mountain, her nerves were on edge. She was afraid that if she looked back, she would be killed.
Thankfully, Meng Zhen didn’t follow her. Du Yundong sighed in relief. If she could, she would never return.
But she knew it was impossible. If Meng Zhen wanted her dead, she would be caught no matter where she ran.
She was only at the Core Formation stage, while her master, Meng Zhen, had already ascended to immortality. The difference in their power was vast. Meng Zhen could crush her like an ant.
But she had survived the beast horde, she wouldn’t die so easily. During her time away from Mount Feimeng, Du Yundong had been thinking about how to survive.
Her wish was simple. She didn’t seek immortality, she was already grateful to have been saved by Meng Zhen from the beast horde. She just wanted to live a peaceful and ordinary life.
Because she had never doubted Meng Zhen before, she hadn’t noticed anything amiss about that incident. But now, recalling the sudden beast horde that had attacked her town when she was ten years old, she felt like something wasn’t right.
Her town was near the Demon Subduing Forest, but a thousand years ago, the demons and beasts in the forest had been sealed by forty-nine Buddhist monks. That was how the once demon-infested forest got its name.
The seal had remained intact for a thousand years. Every hundred years, a Unity Realm monk would come to inspect it and reinforce it if necessary.
But this time, just a few years after the monk had left, the seal was broken, and a horde of demons and beasts poured out of the forest.
Meng Zhen had appeared like a goddess, saving Du Yundong from the jaws of a beast.
Out of all the people in the towns surrounding the Demon Subduing Forest, only Du Yundong had survived.
When the beasts and demons attacked, her parents had protected her until their last breath. Her father had shielded her mother, and her mother had shielded her.
Slash—
Sharp claws ripped through flesh, a white spine bone exposed. The pain must have been excruciating, but her father’s embrace hadn’t faltered.
The warm blood splattered on her mother’s neck, then dripped onto Du Yundong’s face.
She tried to open her eyes, to see what had landed on her face, but her mother was holding her tightly, her vision obscured.
She knew what it was. Du Yundong, who had only ever killed fish, had never imagined that her father would die beside her.
Her mother pressed her head against her chest, her embrace tightening, her calloused hand covering Du Yundong’s ears.
Dark blood soaked Du Yundong’s clothes. The embrace that had been warm just moments ago was now growing cold.
She heard her mother say, “Yun… Dong, live… live…”
At that moment, Du Yundong’s mind went blank. She couldn’t think, it was as if her soul had left her body.
As her mother covered her ears, a claw pierced through her and her father’s abdomens.
Du Yundong wanted to scream, but her grief was stuck in her chest. Her last shred of sanity told her that she couldn’t cry.
If she cried, the beasts would find her. She didn’t dare to move, tears silently streaming down her face.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and the stench of the beasts. She trembled, wanting to hide in the cellar.
Even though she knew she might still be found, there was still a sliver of hope. She would survive, she had to!
The strong scent of blood masked her human scent, but it was only temporary. As more and more beasts arrived, her scent would eventually be discovered.
The beast that had killed her parents had already left, searching for other prey. The seal on the Demon Subduing Forest was weakening, and more beasts and demons were pouring out. Just as Du Yundong was about to be discovered and torn apart, a woman descended from the sky.
With a single sword strike, the woman slaughtered countless beasts, saving Du Yundong from certain death.
That woman was her master:
—Meng Zhen.
Why had the seal suddenly broken? Why had Meng Zhen arrived just in time to save her? Why was she the only survivor?
There were other towns beyond their town, Qingshi Town. With Meng Zhen’s strength, she could have saved more people.
Too many questions, each one chilling Du Yundong to the bone.
Who could easily break a seal created by dozens of Unity Realm cultivators? Meng Zhen could. And her master was always ruthless when it came to life and death. It was something Meng Zhen would do, to kill so many people just to set up a scheme.
Unfortunately, she had realized it too late. She had “mistaken a villain for her savior,” indirectly causing her parents’ deaths.
Meng Zhen had destroyed her family and then pretended to be her savior.
The more Du Yundong thought about it, the more she hated Meng Zhen. But she was also lost. What could she do to fight against her?
Perhaps there was one way: ascend to immortality. Only by becoming an immortal could she confront Meng Zhen as an equal and control her own destiny.
But this method was practically impossible.
How could Meng Zhen allow her to ascend? And even though she was a Pure Soul, and her cultivation speed was faster than most talented cultivators, ascension was still a difficult feat.
It wasn’t a one-in-a-thousand chance, it was a one-in-a-million chance. No, maybe not even one in a million Unity Realm cultivators could become an immortal.
Not to mention that some cultivators couldn’t even reach the Unity Realm, and many couldn’t even cultivate, remaining ordinary mortals.
Despair filled Du Yundong’s heart, impossible to dispel. While traveling the mortal world in disguise, she met a male cultivator of the same cultivation level.
===================
If it weren’t for the high risk of dying alone in the Ice Domain, Du Yundong wouldn’t have agreed to travel with him.
The male cultivator’s name was Zuo Yan. It was rare to see a man so handsome. Du Yundong couldn’t resist his good looks. If it were the past, the innocent and naive Du Yundong would have blushed and been shy around him. But now, she had no time for love, so she was always cold and distant towards him.
Zuo Yan, despite his aloof appearance, was actually quite simple and honest, expressing his emotions through actions rather than words.
They spent three months in the Ice Domain. The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became. They fought side by side, protecting each other.
Du Yundong didn’t know that Zuo Yan had fallen for her at first sight. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her.
She was strong, decisive, and level-headed in battle, not overly compassionate. She was afraid of pain, but she always endured it silently, making him心疼(xinteng, a feeling of distress and heartache).
When she risked her life to save him from an ice formation, despite her fear of death, Zuo Yan knew that she was the one for him.
But Du Yundong ignored his advances, even deliberately keeping her distance.
She wasn’t oblivious. She could sense his feelings, but she could be killed by Meng Zhen at any moment. Having a relationship with someone when she had no future was just hurting them.
The person who cared about her the most was already gone, she didn’t want anyone else to be heartbroken because of her.
Just as they were about to leave the Ice Domain, disaster struck.
They were being targeted. Du Yundong was certain she hadn’t revealed any information about her treasure, and she had been very careful.
Surrounded by several early Nascent Soul cultivators, Du Yundong and Zuo Yan stood back to back, their weapons drawn, ready to fight.
Du Yundong said to Zuo Yan, “Be careful, they’re so confident, there must be something wrong.”
“Mm.” Zuo Yan agreed.
These cultivators came from a notorious sect. Armed with treasures given to them by their elders, they roamed the outskirts of the Ice Domain, robbing cultivators who emerged from it.
Those who had just come out of the Ice Domain would be exhausted and less vigilant, making them easy targets.
“Possession of a valuable treasure invites trouble.” Besides, the cultivation world was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. It wasn’t unusual to die at the hands of someone stronger. These people, with their twisted logic, had killed countless innocent people.
Some cultivators even entered the Ice Domain and found nothing, only to be robbed by these shameless people upon exiting, truly pitiful.
Although Du Yundong and Zuo Yan had just emerged from the Ice Domain and had used up most of their pills and talismans, they had also gained opportunities, obtaining rare herbs. So their strength was still at a normal level.
Two peak Core Formation cultivators against four early Nascent Soul cultivators, even if their opponents’ foundations were weak, they were still at a disadvantage.
Thankfully, they were familiar with the rules of the Ice Domain. They managed to kill one of their attackers and escape. The remaining three cultivators, enraged, pursued them relentlessly.
Just as they were about to be caught, Zuo Yan took a fatal blow for Du Yundong. She unleashed her full power, defeating their pursuers. The immense pressure pushed her to break through, reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
With her newfound strength, she fought back, killing another attacker before escaping with Zuo Yan.
She had wanted to suppress her feelings, but love was uncontrollable.
Holding the cold and lifeless Zuo Yan in her arms, she shed two tears.
Zuo Yan, who had been unconscious, slowly opened his eyes. He struggled to speak. “Don’t… cry…”
Death always made her lose control. She couldn’t bear to see another person she cared about die before her eyes.
“Don’t sleep, don’t you dare sleep. I’ll save you, trust me!” She held his hand tightly, pouring her spiritual energy into him and feeding him all the healing pills she had.
Zuo Yan felt heavy and tired, his consciousness drifting away, as if floating towards the clouds. Maybe death wasn’t as painful as he had imagined, he thought.
But seeing Du Yundong’s face, he realized he didn’t want to die.
Thankfully, he was destined to live. He survived, but his foundation was damaged, and he could only reach the Core Formation stage. A Core Formation cultivator’s lifespan was only five hundred years, and he was already over a hundred years old. For a mortal, five hundred years was a long time, but for a cultivator, it was too short.
Zuo Yan understood this. He only had three hundred years left, while Du Yundong still had a long life ahead of her.
This time, it was Zuo Yan who started to push Du Yundong away, wanting to distance himself from her.
However, Du Yundong hugged him tightly. “Life is short, we should enjoy it while we can.”
He was right, so was she.
After a moment of hesitation, Zuo Yan hugged her back. “Okay. But if I die, promise me you’ll find someone better than me and live a good life.”
“Don’t say that, I don’t want to hear it.” Du Yundong closed her eyes, as if ignoring it would make it go away.
His words became a prophecy. He died before her. Du Yundong had known this day would come, but she hadn’t expected it to come so soon.
Meng Zhen killed him. Du Yundong had tried her best to save him, but the difference in their strength was too great. Her struggle was futile.
Exhausted and heartbroken, she was taken back to Mount Feimeng by Meng Zhen.
“I was careless, you saw through me. Some secrets are best left unknown. It’s a pity you found out.” Meng Zhen’s voice was as gentle as ever.
But Du Yundong’s heart was filled with a mixture of burning rage and icy coldness. Every second she lived, she was tormented by pain and hatred. She hated this woman who had played with her fate, she even wanted to die with her.
But she knew that even if she found an opportunity to self-destruct near Meng Zhen, it wouldn’t even scratch her.
She was imprisoned in a hidden cave, where she met a divine beast, a small, spherical frog.
The divine beast told her that she was pregnant. Du Yundong touched her belly, a strange feeling welling up inside her.
A new life was growing within her. If only she were an ordinary person. Mortal or cultivator, she just wanted a peaceful and happy life.
This child shouldn’t have been born. She was destined to be a bad mother.
Meng Zhen also discovered her pregnancy. She didn’t harm Du Yundong, instead, she let her rest and focus on her pregnancy.
Although Meng Zhen didn’t say anything, Du Yundong had a feeling that after giving birth to this child, her life would be over.
And her child, if born with a Pure Soul, would share the same fate. Du Yundong didn’t want her child to suffer the same fate as her, so she had to escape.
And she had to succeed on her first try. If she failed, Meng Zhen would be on high alert, and a second attempt would be impossible. Besides, she might not even live to see a second attempt.
During her imprisonment, Du Yundong subtly befriended the divine beast. Although it was powerful, its mind was like that of a five or six-year-old child. It was gentle and seemed to be afraid of Meng Zhen.
Perhaps she could use the divine beast to escape, but she couldn’t be too obvious. Meng Zhen might have left a wisp of her consciousness behind to monitor her.
As the days passed, Du Yundong’s belly grew larger. She was about to give birth. Meng Zhen provided her with food and shelter, but it didn’t ease her anxiety. Instead, she felt an even greater sense of danger.
One day, she noticed that the oppressive aura that had always surrounded her had weakened. The divine beast hopped onto her bed, its eyes wide with urgency.
“Dudu, ribbit, you have to escape now, ribbit. Master leaves every year at this time, ribbit. If you don’t escape today, you’ll have to wait until next year, ribbit.”
Suddenly being told that she could escape, Du Yundong felt a surge of disbelief. She quickly analyzed the truthfulness of Little Frog’s words.
Within seconds, she made her decision. Whether Little Frog was telling the truth or not, she had to try.
As she stood up, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She was going into labor.
She had never given birth before and had no experience, but as a cultivator, her physique was much stronger than an ordinary mortal’s. She safely delivered the baby.
Covered in sweat, she carefully held her child, a wrinkled little bundle, in her arms.
She gazed at her baby’s face, her vision blurring with tears.
It was a girl, and she was born with a Pure Soul. Meng Zhen wouldn’t let her child go.
During her time in the cave, Du Yundong had learned from the divine beast that Meng Zhen was collecting one hundred Pure Souls. Did Meng Zhen know that her child would most likely be a Pure Soul? Was that why she had let her give birth?
Du Yundong didn’t want to think about it anymore. She wrapped her baby in a blanket and held her close. She had planned to leave just like this, but before leaving, she did one thing.
She took the artifact that contained ninety-eight Pure Souls. Since she would be discovered eventually, she might as well do everything she wanted to do.
She wanted to destroy the artifact and release those innocent souls.
With the divine beast’s help, she finally escaped the cave.
The moment she saw the sunlight again, she couldn’t help but cry. When had such a simple thing as sunlight become a luxury?
There was no time for her to wallow in her grief. She had to leave quickly. With the divine beast’s help, everything went smoothly.
She asked the divine beast why it was helping her. Little Frog said, “I don’t want to see Master make the same mistake again, ribbit. If you die, ribbit, it will alert the Heavenly Dao, ribbit.”
It had inherited some of Meng Zhen’s abilities and could sense something watching over this world. Meng Zhen had killed many people, most of whom weren’t meant to die. Defying fate like this had already attracted the Heavenly Dao’s attention.
If Meng Zhen was obliterated by the Heavenly Dao, her soul would be scattered, leaving no chance of reincarnation. Little Frog didn’t want to see that happen, it wanted to do something to help.
But it was too naive. It thought it could help Du Yundong escape Meng Zhen. It forgot that its power came from Meng Zhen, who was much stronger than it. It couldn’t destroy the artifact that imprisoned the souls, and it couldn’t help Du Yundong escape Meng Zhen’s pursuit.
Half a month later, one of Meng Zhen’s puppets found them.
Little Frog tried to fight back, but its body was paralyzed, leaving Du Yundong to face the puppet alone.
Even against a mere puppet, she could barely hold her own.
Severely injured, she hugged her baby tightly, taking countless blows to protect her daughter.
It didn’t matter if she died, her daughter, Zuo Bian, had to live. At that moment, she finally understood how her parents had felt when they sacrificed themselves to protect her during the beast horde.
The blood loss was severe. The puppet’s attacks were unique, the wounds refusing to heal.
She was in pain, her body cold. Du Yundong could feel her life slipping away.
Just a little longer, she had to get Zuo Bian to safety.
But she was losing strength. She gasped for breath, her vision blurring. She looked down at Zuo Bian, who was still sleeping peacefully, a drop of blood from her chin landing on the baby’s forehead.
“Mommy might not be able to watch you grow up, but if there’s a next life, I’ll love you with all my heart.”
Her body started to become transparent, her blood transforming into shimmering red threads. The threads slowly intertwined, forming a complex seal.
This was a technique taught to her by the divine beast, their last resort. If they were caught by Meng Zhen, this was the only way to ensure Zuo Bian’s survival.
Using half of Little Frog’s power and sacrificing the rest of Du Yundong’s life force, it would activate when Zuo Bian’s life was in danger, saving her once.
The power was immense, fueled by Du Yundong’s unwavering will.
“Live…”
The last bit of warmth left her body. She had placed all her hopes on Zuo Bian.
…
Meng Zhen retrieved Little Frog, sealed Zuo Bian’s memories, fabricated a new identity for her, and became her mentor.
A familiar scene replayed, but with a different protagonist. Zuo Bian was naive and innocent, she hadn’t accidentally overheard the divine beast’s words like Du Yundong had.
Time passed, and Zuo Bian grew older, her cultivation increasing. It was time for her to become a sacrifice.
Meng Zhen sent the Demon Lord to kill her. The seal Du Yundong had placed on her activated, releasing its immense power and attracting the attention of the Heavenly Dao.
The power of the Heavenly Dao descended, creating a new world with a snap of its fingers, throwing all those who weren’t meant to die into this incomplete world.
The past couldn’t be changed, only the future could. So those who had been killed in this world couldn’t be resurrected. They could only be reborn in a new world. Throwing them back into their original world would disrupt causality, which was why the Heavenly Dao had created a new world.
It had saved those who shouldn’t have died and would now punish the one who had disrupted the natural order of life and death.
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Dao had only sent a wisp of its consciousness. Meng Zhen had already deceived it when Du Yundong died, and she did it again this time.
She followed the threads of causality to the new world and finally abandoned Little Frog. Perhaps she was afraid of it interfering again, or perhaps, like Qiao Shuang, she had foreseen her own death and wanted Little Frog to find a new master.
===============
“Let me see the baby.” Du Yundong’s cheeks were still damp with sweat. She was exhausted from giving birth, but her desire to see her child gave her strength.
Seeing her struggling to sit up, Zuo Yan quickly helped her, placing two pillows behind her back.
“It’s a girl, she looks just like you.” He placed the baby beside Du Yundong.
Du Yundong looked down at the wrinkled little bundle, chuckling. “How can you tell she looks like me?”
Zuo Yuan, who was five or six years old, looked at his baby sister curiously. “Mommy, Daddy, does she have a name?”
Zuo Yan said, “Not yet, let’s give her one now. Yun Dong, what should we name our daughter?”
Du Yundong gently touched the baby’s hand. The baby suddenly grabbed her finger. Du Yundong tried to pull her hand back, but the baby wouldn’t let go.
“You just placed her on my left side, why don’t we name her Zuo Bian?” Du Yundong found it amusing.
Someone had once jokingly said that if she ever had a child, she should name it Zuo Bian, since her surname was Zuo. Du Yundong had whacked him on the head, scolding him for being so casual about naming a child.
Those bittersweet days had been fleeting, like fireworks blooming in the night sky, beautiful but ephemeral. Now, those memories were buried in the past, replaced by the happiness of Zuo Bian’s family of four.
Zuo Yuan frowned. “What a random name. Mommy, Daddy, you didn’t choose my name randomly too, did you?”
Zuo Yan patted his son’s head. “Because we felt a connection when we first met.”
Du Yundong added, “Like our love from a past life wasn’t enough, we had to continue it in this life. But you were so clueless back then, it makes me angry just thinking about it.”
Zuo Yan didn’t dare to respond. Zuo Yuan stared at his baby sister curiously. He suddenly remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything for ten months while she was in their mother’s womb. She must be hungry. He took out a lollipop from his pocket.
“Want some candy?” He offered the unwrapped lollipop to little Zuo Bian.
Du Yundong quickly stopped him. “Good boy, Xiao Yuan, your sister is too young for candy. We’ll give her some when she’s older.”
“Oh.” Zuo Yuan put the candy away dejectedly. “Then I’ll eat it myself.”
“Good boy.”
Some things had changed, but some things remained the same.
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