Chapter 686 - 549: Nothing Left at All
Chapter 686: Chapter 549: Nothing Left at All
Thirty days had passed in the blink of an eye since Daoist Yun Xi brought Gui Junmeng to Tushan, and Gui Junmeng delivered Xiao Mo’s last will and the Yuzhu Demon Pill to Tushan Jing Ci.
Thirty days ago, Tushan Jing Ci had taken the box from Gui Junmeng and returned to her courtyard alone.
In the silent, empty room, she took Xiao Mo’s handwritten last will from the box with trembling hands. She read every single word, as if to carve each one into her heart.
Yue Shi didn’t know what Xiao Mo had written in the letter; she only kept a quiet vigil outside the courtyard.
But Yue Shi knew her lady had stayed in that room for a very, very long time—so long she began to think her lady might lock herself away forever.
And ever since her lady finally emerged from that room, Yue Shi had not seen her smile again. Not even once.
Yue Shi only saw her lady pour all her energy into her Cultivation, day after day, tirelessly.
If not that, her lady would bury herself in Tushan’s Library Pavilion, staying for the entire day and forgetting even to eat.
Yue Shi knew that the books her lady read were all about Arrays.
As for the purpose and effect of these Arrays, Yue Shi already had an inkling.
Xiao Mo had performed great meritorious service. He had won significant victories in Quicksand City and even brought the precious Yuzhu Demon Pill back to Tushan. (Although Xiao Mo had specified that the Yuzhu Demon Pill was a gift for Tushan Jing Ci, in the eyes of the public, since it was in Tushan’s possession, it naturally belonged to all of Tushan.)
Therefore, by all rights, Tushan should have held a funeral for Xiao Mo after his passing.
Tushan Meng even planned to arrange Xiao Mo’s funeral with the full honors befitting an Elder, to show respect and mourn this great contributor.
Everyone was astonished by Tushan Meng’s decision.
’They hadn’t expected the Grand Elder to be so generous!’
However, just as everyone agreed to the Grand Elder’s proposal, Tushan Jing Ci refused.
"Xiao Mo... he’s not dead!"
When the Tushan Elders met to discuss the details of Xiao Mo’s funeral, Tushan Jing Ci suddenly rose to her feet and declared unequivocally to them all.
"Holy Daughter, the Human Race believes in laying the dead to rest. Although Xiao Mo’s body is gone, we can at least build a cenotaph for him... At least then we’ll have a place to remember him. Otherwise..."
"I already told you!"
Tushan Jing Ci cut the Elder off bluntly, her voice rising sharply.
"Xiao Mo is not dead!"
Her voice was unshakeably firm, tinged with an obsessive conviction that permitted no doubt.
But everyone present knew the truth—Xiao Mo was dead. His soul had been obliterated, leaving not even a chance for reincarnation.
’Xiao Mo could never come back!’
But as they looked at Tushan Jing Ci’s red-rimmed eyes, not one of them dared to say a word.
In the end, due to Tushan Jing Ci’s adamant opposition, Xiao Mo’s funeral was never held.
Few actually cared much about this. After all, Xiao Mo was of the Human Race; holding a funeral for him was merely an honor they were bestowing.
’If there was no funeral, it just saved them the trouble.’
Not long after, it was time for Tushan to hold the Saintess Ceremony.
However, as the ceremony drew nearer, the voices of opposition grew more vehement.
Among Tushan’s ten Elders, three had already voiced their clear opposition, believing that "Tushan Jing Ci is unfit to serve as the Tushan Saintess."
Fortunately, Tushan Jing Ci had demonstrated astonishing talent for Cultivation during this period. Coupled with her possession of the Yuzhu Demon Pill, her future potential was limitless.
In the end, with the Grand Elder’s staunch support, the opinions of these three Elders were dismissed one by one.
The Saintess Ceremony was held as scheduled.
On this day, Tushan Jing Ci donned a long gown symbolizing her status as the Saintess.
The immaculate, snow-white gown gracefully accentuated her slender figure. The gown itself seemed to echo the distant Moon God Tree, as if they shared some form of resonance.
When Tushan Jing Ci made her graceful entrance at the ceremony, she was as sacred and pure as a goddess descended from the heavens.
Yue Shi gazed at her lady, and from that single glance, she found she could not look away.
But soon, a profound melancholy welled up in Yue Shi’s heart.
’My lady looks so divinely beautiful... It’s a shame that *he* can no longer see her.’
The Saintess Ceremony proceeded smoothly.
However, just as Tushan Jing Ci was about to pay her respects to the Moon God Tree, a rebellion suddenly erupted at the banquet.
Large groups of Fox Race Cultivators, coordinating with outside Cultivators who had infiltrated amidst the chaos, surged toward Moon God Peak.
The rebel forces included several mighty experts of the Immortal Realm, and even two of Tushan’s own Elders.
Beyond Tushan’s borders, two cultivators of the Ascension Realm descended.
They had timed their attack for the Saintess Ceremony, intending to coordinate their assault from within and without to wipe out all of Tushan in one fell swoop.
However, Tushan Meng seemed to have anticipated this all along.
Hidden among the guests at Tushan was a friend of Tushan Meng’s—another master of the Ascension Realm.
With the assistance of this Ascension Realm friend and the power of Tushan’s Mountain Protection Array, the great battle ended in a crushing defeat for the rebels.
Tushan Meng seized the opportunity to purge all the traitors who had revealed themselves, eradicating them root and stem, showing no mercy.
Throughout this great battle, Tushan Jing Ci’s expression remained calm from beginning to end.
This was especially true when she, with her Nascent Soul Realm Cultivation, defied the odds to slay a Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Jade Realm.