Chapter 926: Repaying Debt |
A small mountain village.
In the small courtyard, Qingcheng had suddenly awakened.
Resentment that had spanned from time immemorial to the present boiled over, severing her path forward.
Today, having heard a mortal tune, she had finally let go of the obsession in her heart.
And to hear this supreme being before her say that in the future she would stay in the village?
She was even more thrilled and excited.
Such places were forbidden lands, but also supreme cultivating grounds, which usually only appeared on the other side of the path.
Who among the beings of the Grey Mist Sea and the Ancestral Realm could have the privilege to enter?
This was an unimaginable great opportunity.
If she hadn't guarded the Evil Corpse, how could she have today's blessing?
"Thank you, thank you!"
She hastily expressed her gratitude to Yun Xi.
Meanwhile, Wu Dade had already returned and said,
"Master, Ming Tianbei has arrived and is waiting outside."
He had just gone to call Ming Tianbei.
Upon hearing this, Li Fan nodded and said,
"Zi Xuan, you and Da De, take Miss Qingcheng into the courtyard."
After all, Qingcheng was a madwoman, and it wouldn't be good if she went crazy on the way, so he had two male disciples escort her.
Long Zixuan immediately nodded,
"Yes, Master."
Qingcheng followed the two out of the courtyard.
At this moment,
Outside the small courtyard, Ming Tianbei was waiting, his eyes full of anxious anticipation.
Another lunatic? He knew that it was probably... another powerful figure.
Although he had already met Luo Xingchen, he was still somewhat nervous.
He couldn't help but glance at the cattle whip hanging at his waist!
Given by Uncle Zhang.
Gripping the cattle whip tightly, he felt... ah, he had some confidence!
Soon, the courtyard door was pushed open, and Wu Dade and Long Zixuan were seen escorting a woman with a face full of scars.
"She, is the new lunatic here, who likes to play the zither."
Wu Dade spoke to Ming Tianbei and then introduced to Qingcheng,
"He is the head of our village Lunatic Asylum, Ming Tianbei, um… from now on, he will be in charge of you."
Upon hearing this, Qingcheng was somewhat stunned.
She hadn't quite reacted yet.
When had she become a lunatic?
And to be put in a lunatic asylum?
She was a formidable figure of the zither path, after all...
"Not right..."
She suddenly thought that it was the arrangement of the great person inside the small courtyard.
There must be deep meaning!
Moreover, so long as she could stay in the village, what was wrong with being a lunatic?
It was quite wonderful too!
She quickly adjusted her mindset and said,
"Met... Head Tian Bei."
She was surprisingly well-behaved!
Ming Tianbei, seeing this, was no longer nervous, and his hands left the cattle whip that hung at his waist.
But upon seeing this, Qingcheng felt somewhat like spitting blood inside. Ming Tianbei, did he just consider whipping her with that whip?
However, a look of wariness flashed in her eyes as she noticed that the whip had an extraordinarily terrifying aura.
It seemed like it could whip a supreme being to death with a single lash!
Although it was not as terrifying as Nan Feng's zither… it was still extremely dreadful.
Her heart suddenly became complicated, and she looked at Ming Tianbei with a trace of envy.
She could tell that although this little demon cultivator wasn't particularly powerful.
Yet, he could wield such a supreme object!
She couldn't help but respect that!
"Qingcheng, right? From now on… you are Lunatic Number Two, follow me."
Ming Tianbei immediately spoke.
Qingcheng prepared to get up, but suddenly thought of something and said,
"Young Master Wu, my two disciples… may I see them?"
She sighed,
"They both have hard lives, just like me, blinded by hatred. Now that Qingcheng has seen the light, I want them to also let go of their obsessions."
Wu Dade, hearing this, said,
"Alright, let's go. We'll take you there."
At once, they walked towards the edge of the village.
Outside the village.
"That damn fatty… I'm going to kill you!"
"How dare you treat us this way… Ah!"
Qiu Qing and Xuehen were cursing in grief and anger.
Both of them were tied to trees by Wu Dade, like cows being tethered.
The key was that the rope used by Wu Dade was too extraordinary; despite their strong cultivation levels, they could not break free.
"You two ladies, I give you a great opportunity which you refuse, and you curse me instead? Ungrateful! I'm beginning to doubt whether you two are dogs."
At this moment, Wu Dade's voice came.
Xuehen and Qiu Qing immediately turned their heads to look.
"You fatty!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
Their eyes were red with rage.
"Do not be disrespectful."
At this moment, Qingcheng walked out from behind Wu Dade.
Seeing Qingcheng, both Xuehen and Qiu Qing were instantly overjoyed.
"Master!"
"Master, you have finally woken up!"
They were all extremely excited.
Upon hearing this, Qingcheng merely gave a wistful smile and said,
"Yes, I have finally woken up."
"Today, thanks to the tune played by a noble one, I was able to awaken from the grips of hatred."
Upon hearing this, Xuehen and Qiu Qing were somewhat puzzled.
Master... seemed different than before.
"I was blinded by hatred and dragged you two into the demonic barrier with me."
Qingcheng looked towards Xuehen and Qiu Qing with a hint of compassion flashing in her eyes and said,
"Today, I am atoning for my own sins as well as for yours."
As her words fell, she suddenly grabbed her hair and began plucking at it, striking up the melody of a qin. The sound of the qin burst forth.
In her qin music, there was no longer sadness, no longer hatred, gone were the sharpness and cruelty of the past; instead, there was a new sense of compassion and gentleness.
She felt pity for herself and for those innocents she had killed.
At that moment, endless visions revealed themselves around her!
It was a realm of time where countless wronged souls wailed and lamented!
And at that moment, those wronged souls, as if summoned by the sound of her qin, surged towards her, tearing at her soul, her Primordial Spirit!
—The countless Primeval Souls she had extinguished had formed an endless resentment.
That resentment had followed her all along, and at this moment, endless resentment sought vengeance!
Not only her but also around Qiu Qing and Xuehen appeared such vengeful spirits, heading towards Qingcheng.
She was repaying debts!
She was settling not only her own debts but also those owed by Qiu Qing and Xuehen.
Endless wronged souls sought revenge, tearing and biting; at that moment, Qingcheng's seven orifices bled, her full head of black hair turned instantly snow-white, and her entire body convulsed and twisted.
Pain!
At the same time, her entire cultivation level in qin music began to rapidly decay.
In the end, she even fell from the Ascendant Realm!
Seeing this, Qiu Qing and Xuehen's expressions greatly changed.
"Master!"
"Master, you mustn't!"
They cried out, wanting to stop Qingcheng.
But Qingcheng, struggling to hold on, continued to play the qin, imitating Li Fan's qin sound in the music.
The Tune of the Mortal World, washing away a lifetime of sin!
Even Qiu Qing and Xuehen were affected by her qin music; at that moment, their minds became hazy, seeing the innocent people and feeling the hidden compassion in their hearts...
Long Zixuan and Wu Dade, upon witnessing this, couldn't help but be surprised, but they merely observed from the side.
This was a debt belonging to them alone, one they needed to repay themselves.
And Ming Tianbei, who had followed them, couldn't help but clench his whip tight!
This woman...why does she truly seem like she's insane?
...
After a long time.
"Pu!"
Qingcheng collapsed to the ground, expelling a mouthful of grey blood.
At that moment, her cultivation level... was almost completely gone, virtually reduced to a cripple.
But her eyes carried an unprecedented sense of relief.
"Master..."
At this moment, Qiu Qing and Xuehen also had their resentments dissolve, and unprecedented kindness and truth appeared in their eyes as they looked towards Qingcheng, their eyes brimming with tears.
To them, Qingcheng was as important as a second creator.
Yet Qingcheng merely gave a desolate smile and said,
"One must pay with life for murder, repay debts with money... My debts are too great, death would be too easy for me."
"From today onwards, every night when I sleep, I will be haunted by vengeful spirits in my dreams, living a life worse than death..."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Qing and Xuehen cried even harder.
"There's no need to grieve for me, only by severing yesterday's path and paying off the debts I owe can I continue moving forward."
"The two of you must do more good deeds and not stray onto the wrong path again; that would be the best thanks you could give your master."
Qingcheng instructed them, and after speaking, she turned and said,
"Director Tian Bei, please take Qingcheng into the asylum."
At that moment, she was utterly serene.
Seeing this, Ming Tianbei felt conflicted in his heart, and he couldn't help but admire the woman before him.
So ruthless, willing to destroy peerless cultivation in an instant, preferring to start over from the beginning, willing to endure the torture of being haunted nightly.
"Then follow me."
Ming Tianbei immediately took Qingcheng towards the lunatic asylum that was built in the village.
While Qiu Qing and Xuehen knelt at the front of the mountain village still.
"Ah, from this day forward, live well..."
Wu Dade stepped forward and untied their ropes.
Qiu Qing, however, said,
"Our master's kindness is as heavy as a mountain; we are willing to give up our lives if only to lessen our Master's suffering."
"We beg you to grant us this!"
Xuehen also said,
"What must we do... to help our Master atone for her sins?"
They knew that within this mountain village, there must be a Supreme being in hiding; perhaps only that Supreme being could bring their Master relief...
Witnessing this, Long Zixuan shook his head and said,
"No one can help with the sins one has committed oneself."
"However, I can show you two a clear path."
"If one day you can do great deeds for the people, that will also help lighten the sins."
Hearing this, the two were filled with excitement.
"We beg Young Master to grant us this!"
Long Zixuan said,
"Come with me."
He planned to take Xuehen and Qiu Qing to Oath Keeping Valley.
The Ancestral Realm is now plagued with internal strife and external threats.
With the Sacrificial Temple within and the Grey Mist Sea eyeing greedily from without... should disaster strike, the Ancestral Realm would need a righteous army!
The Oathguard Clan's strength is still too feeble.
Qiu Qing and Xuehen, both possessing Qingcheng's true teachings and holding high cultivation levels within the entire True Ancestor World, would be valuable additions to Oath Keeping Valley.
...