Chapter 807: The Celestial Maiden Wishes to Save the World
As the crowd watched with bated breath, the immortal let out a thunderous cry and, with a single hand, stopped the massive fireball in its tracks!
Two immense forces collided in an instant.
Countless small fragments shattered from the colossal rock.
Just as they were about to rain down on the city below, the immortal acted again.
One hand slowly lifted the giant fireball, while the other instantly unleashed streams of white light.
The light obliterated the falling debris.
In a matter of moments, an apocalyptic disaster was averted, vanishing as if it had never been.
After a brief, stunned silence, the mortals of the Great Li wept tears of relief.
One by one, they prostrated themselves toward the figure in the sky, their voices rising in a chorus: "Thank you, Immortal Master, for saving our lives!"
After all, immortals descended from time to time.
Many years ago, an incident where "an immortal's wrath flowed like a river of blood" had become a chilling legend.
So, when this immortal intervened to save the entire city, the people were filled with a mixture of gratitude and apprehension.
Immortals, it was said, viewed mortals as no different from ants. And yet, one had just saved a nest of them. How could they not be astonished?
The city's inhabitants remained on their knees, a sea of bowed heads, not daring to rise.
The immortal, having neutralized the massive rock's momentum, casually tossed it into the uninhabited wilderness outside the city.
As a tremendous tremor shook the ground, he sped toward the central volcano.
Before long, the billowing black smoke from the volcano began to dissipate.
The raging volcano fell silent once more.
Throughout the Great Li, all who witnessed this spectacle erupted in cheers, celebrating their narrow escape from death.
The emperor of the Great Li led his people, lining the city streets in formation, awaiting the arrival of their savior.
But they waited for three days and three nights, and the immortal never came.
The emperor grew deeply anxious, wondering if he had done something to offend their benefactor.
For several days, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Then, seven days later, a report arrived: a small mountain had suddenly risen from the flat ground outside the city.
And it seemed someone was living on it.
Hearing this, the emperor's heart trembled.
He knew this had to be the work of an immortal and immediately led his court to the site.
Unfortunately, when they reached the foot of the mountain, it was as if an invisible barrier blocked their path, preventing them from taking another step.
"Those with fate may meet."
"Those without, please return."
A young woman, barely more than a girl, spoke timidly to the emperor.
In the ranks of the officials, Grand Scholar Su heard her voice and snapped his head up.
When he saw that the speaker was indeed his own sister, Su Yuqing, his knees nearly gave way. He would have collapsed to the ground if not for a quick-thinking friend who caught his arm.
"Scholar Su," his friend whispered, "do you know that celestial maiden?"
The scholar's mouth was dry. Though his mind was filled with a lifetime of learning, he couldn't utter a single word.
Su Yuqing, having mustered her courage to dismiss the imperial court, let out a sigh of relief.
She patted her chest, glanced toward her brother in the departing crowd, then looked back at the thatched hut on the mountain with a troubled expression.
Not long ago, this immortal had suddenly appeared in her family's residence, declared she had an affinity for the immortal path, and, without another word, brought her to this mountain.
He had then imparted a cultivation technique to her, urging her to practice with a quiet heart.
But her heart was in turmoil. How could she possibly focus on cultivation?
After much deliberation, Su Yuqing gathered her courage once more and walked to the thatched hut at the summit. She knocked on the door.
The door swung open on its own, revealing the immortal, suspended cross-legged in mid-air, his eyes closed in meditation.
"What is it?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"Greetings, Immortal Master." Su Yuqing bowed deeply before speaking her mind. "I beg you, Immortal Master, please let me return home. This humble girl has no desire to seek the Dao. I only wish to be with my family and live out the rest of my days in peace."
Coming from a girl of her age, such words sounded oddly out of place.
Yet, with Su Yuqing's serene temperament, they somehow didn't seem incongruous at all.
After speaking, her heart began to pound in her chest.
She had witnessed the immortal's power firsthand when he shattered the meteorite. If she angered him...
*No,* she thought, *he saved so many people in the city. He must be a good person.*
The immortal did not reply.
An eerie silence fell over the hut on the summit.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice slow and measured. "The path of immortality can never be forced."
"If you truly do not wish to cultivate, I will not compel you."
"However, do not regret your choice on the day you watch your loved ones die a terrible death."
Su Yuqing froze, her face turning deathly pale. "My loved ones... die a terrible death?"
The immortal offered no explanation, merely closing his eyes again. "You may go."
Su Yuqing felt a gust of wind, and in the next instant, she was standing outside the hut.
The door slammed shut behind her, leaving her utterly bewildered.
She wandered dazedly down the mountain path, the immortal's words echoing in her mind.
Just as she was about to leave the bounds of the immortal mountain, she hesitated.
"The Immortal Master wouldn't lie to me."
"'Die a terrible death...'"
For some reason, the terrifying image of the volcano's black clouds blotting out the sun flashed through her mind. A shiver ran down her spine as understanding dawned.
She rushed back up the path, returning to the hut on the summit.
"Immortal Master," she called out to the closed door, "is the central volcano going to erupt again?"
There was no sound from within.
Su Yuqing tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.
A growing anxiety seized her, but she dared not cause a disturbance before the immortal.
With a soft thud, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed. "Immortal Master, this humble girl is willing to follow you and cultivate diligently!"
Still, there was no response.
Su Yuqing gritted her teeth and remained in her kneeling position, perfectly still.
As the doted-upon daughter of an old scholar, she had been showered with love and affection since birth.
Having been pampered all her life, she found that after just fifteen minutes, her entire body ached with a pain so intense she felt she could no longer endure it.
But the vision of the volcano erupting again, of the Great Li being destroyed, burned in her mind.
Her expression hardened with resolve, and she stubbornly held on, clenching her jaw against the pain.
One hour, two hours...
After four or five hours had passed, her consciousness began to fade.
Finally, she could hold on no longer and collapsed.
Just before she lost consciousness, she thought she heard the sound of the hut's door creaking open.
Su Yuqing had a dream.
In her dream, the end of the world had come to the Li Realm.
A pillar of volcanic smoke shot into the heavens. Lava flowed freely, leaving no living creature on the scorched earth.
It was a true inferno.
The horrific scene jolted her awake from the nightmare.
"Did you see it clearly? That is the future of the Li Realm," the immortal before her said calmly.
"I beg you, Immortal Master, save the Li Realm!" Su Yuqing pleaded, her eyes already wet with tears she didn't realize she had shed.
She kowtowed once more, her voice filled with desperation.
"I can save it once, but I cannot save it forever." The immortal let out a long sigh, one filled with a profound, world-weary sorrow.
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