Chapter 741 - 580: Yin-Yang Eye, Jade Realm, Peace, A Good End
Chapter 741: Chapter 580: Yin-Yang Eye, Jade Realm, Peace, A Good End
One hundred and thirty years had passed since Xiao Mo entered seclusion.
Then, one morning, the Spiritual Power within the Seeking Immortal Temple grew exceptionally dense. It converged from all directions, far surpassing its usual concentration.
All the Spirit Beasts in the temple turned their heads in unison, gazing toward the same direction.
Suddenly, a brilliant pillar of light shot into the heavens, instantly scattering the white clouds across the sky.
A rich Daoist aura drifted on the gentle summer breeze, sweeping through the mountain forests.
Within the Seeking Immortal Temple, Senior Sister Lin Qiaoqiao lifted her head and gazed at the mountain peak where Xiao Mo was in seclusion.
’She knew in her heart that Junior Brother Xiao was finally coming out.’
As the pillar of light gradually faded, Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes inside his Cave Mansion.
He took a deep breath, exhaling one last mouthful of turbid, impure air, then walked out of the Cave Mansion.
Standing on the cliff’s edge, a gentle breeze rustled the hem of his robes as he quietly felt the Laws of the Great Dao flowing around him.
The world he perceived was completely different from what he had seen in the Jade Realm.
Having stepped into the Immortal Realm, Xiao Mo felt as if he had been transported to an entirely new world.
"Junior Brother Xiao... Senior Xiao..."
Just as Xiao Mo was adjusting to the subtle changes of the Immortal Realm, Senior Sister Lin Qiaoqiao approached, bowing respectfully. Her address for him had changed from "Junior Brother Xiao" to "Senior Xiao."
"Senior Sister Lin, there’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Xiao Mo or Junior Brother Xiao," Xiao Mo said with a smile.
"Very well. Then I shall be so bold as to call you by your name."
Lin Qiaoqiao also found calling Xiao Mo "Senior" to be rather awkward.
However, by the rules of the cultivation world, it wouldn’t have been out of line for her to call him "Ancestor," let alone "Senior."
She had also heard that when some people entered the Immortal Realm, their perception of the world changed so drastically that their temperament would shift, sometimes to the point of becoming a completely different person.
But seeing that Xiao Mo was still the same as he had been before his seclusion, she felt a sense of familiar warmth.
"Senior Sister Lin, how long was I in seclusion?" Xiao Mo asked.
"To answer Senior Xiao... ahem... Junior Brother Xiao, you have been in seclusion for exactly one hundred and thirty years," Lin Qiaoqiao replied, clearing her throat.
"One hundred and thirty years..." Xiao Mo’s brow furrowed slightly, his tone laced with concern. "In that case, Senior Sister Lin, how is Sister Liu Shui doing? Has she come out of seclusion?"
Hearing Xiao Mo mention Liu Shui, Lin Qiaoqiao pressed her lips together. An unconcealable sadness and sorrow surfaced on her face, and her voice grew quiet.
"Junior Brother... Junior Sister Liu... she has passed away..."
Hearing Lin Qiaoqiao speak those final two words, "passed away," Xiao Mo’s mind went blank. He couldn’t process it for a long time, as if he must have misheard.
「Half an incense stick later.」
Xiao Mo arrived at the mountain peak where Liu Shui had entered her seclusion.
The Grand Array on the peak was now inactive, and the Seeking Immortal Temple disciples who had been standing guard at the cave entrance were long gone.
Xiao Mo slowly descended from the air and walked into the depths of the Cave Mansion.
In the deepest part of the Cave Mansion, upon a lustrous Jade bed, sat rows of neatly arranged elixir bottles and jars.
Some were empty; others had never even been unsealed.
But in the center of the Jade bed, the woman who should have been sitting there cross-legged had vanished without a trace, as if she had never existed.
Lin Qiaoqiao had followed him into the Cave Mansion. She walked up quietly behind Xiao Mo and spoke in a low voice:
"After Junior Sister Liu passed, we carefully examined the residual Spiritual Power she left behind in the Cave Mansion."
"Junior Sister Liu had actually passed the first four trials, but when she reached the final Heart Demon tribulation..."
Lin Qiaoqiao trailed off, simply shaking her head, unable to continue.
"I understand..." Xiao Mo nodded slightly, his voice calm yet unable to conceal his sorrow. "Thank you for your hard work all these years, Senior Sister Lin, and to all our fellow cultivators."
"It was no trouble." Lin Qiaoqiao shook her head. Her gaze fell on Xiao Mo’s desolate profile as she said softly, "I’ll leave you for now. If you need anything, Junior Brother, just call for me."
"Alright." Xiao Mo gave a slight bow, his tone even. "Take care, Senior Sister."
Lin Qiaoqiao turned and left the Cave Mansion, not wishing to disturb him any further.
’She knew the relationship between Xiao Mo and Liu Shui was not a simple one. He needed some time alone.’
Left alone in the Cave Mansion, Xiao Mo slowly walked forward and sat down on the Jade bed.
"Young Master... I like you..."
"Young Master, I know my talent is poor... but... I don’t want to stagnate. I want to try. I want to try to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm."
"If I succeed in my seclusion this time and reach the Nascent Soul Realm... Young Master... can I... become your concubine?"
Liu Shui’s words from the past echoed in his ears, one by one, as clearly as if she were standing right beside him.
Xiao Mo had always known about Liu Shui’s feelings for him.
And it was precisely because he knew that he had rejected her every time she expressed her love for him.
’One reason was that he truly only ever saw Sister Liu Shui as an older sister, the kind you’d have next door. He felt no romantic love for her.’
’The other was that he knew the path he was destined to walk could not possibly have a happy ending, and he couldn’t drag her down with him.’
’But his determination not to ruin her life... had he not ruined it all the same?’
He sat on the Jade bed, staring into the empty Cave Mansion, and did not move for a long, long time.