Estranged - CH 126

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Even if Jiufang Changming had noticed Yun Weisi’s feelings, he was not ready to respond to them.

As he saw it, these were only the baseless feelings of a young man. Even though cultivators were indifferent and cold, in the end, Yun Weisi was still young. His thoughts were full of unquenched rage which were directed at his family’s enemies. As a result, he projected his feelings of love to the person he was together with from dawn till dusk: his shizun. At the same time, it was his desire to emulate a strong person.

It was not that Jiufang Changming had never had any admirers. On the contrary, he had a lot of them. Some had lost a battle against him but refused to give up, some were girls that wished to be his daoist partner, some simply appreciated his looks and demeanor, while some were afraid of his cultivation level and were simply ready to pay tribute to someone powerful.

In his opinion, Yun Weisi was not that dissimilar to these people.

It was just that the two of them were a master and his disciple, so Jiufang Changming was more lenient towards Yun Weisi compared to other people.

In order to prevent his disciple from wallowing in love affairs, Changming had sent Yun Weisi down the mountains to travel. He hoped that upon his return, Yun Weisi would have already gotten over this and progressed in cultivation.

At that time, Jiufang Changming was faced with an unprecedentedly difficult problem.

His cultivation was at its peak, enough to rival anyone in this world. Moreover, he had even managed to easily defeat the master of the Celestial Abode Shenxiao during the Qianlin Assembly. Thanks to him, the Yuhuang Temple had stood out. And Jiufang Changming himself could claim the status of strongest cultivator in the world. Many had already admitted that he was the most powerful cultivator, but none of them knew that he was facing an obstacle in his cultivation and was going around in circles for days and nights.

Jiufang Changming felt that he had already mastered the skills and understanding that the Daoist sects could ever give him and had reached the top. However, at the same time, it seemed that there was an invisible wall in front of him that would not allow him to progress further, let alone ascend to immortality. He felt as if he had missed a crucial detail and thus could not break through this invisible and incorporeal obstacle.

Back then, he did not know that several decades before, Immortal Luomei had encountered a similar problem. He had even collaborated with demons, but was still unable to resolve it. Jiufang Changming, however, chose another path. He decided to enter other sects, collect the knowledge of all kinds of teachings and pave an original path that would lead him to the Heavenly Dao, despite the way there being filled with obstacles. It would also allow every person with sufficient talent to no longer be shackled with the restrictions enforced by sects. Even if one was a rogue cultivator, they could still become immortal.

This endeavor was outrageously audacious. Even an arrogant person like himself could not hope to reach it quickly and easily.

Daoist sects were essentially the same, and he thought that he had learnt all that he could from them. After leaving the Yuhuang Temple, he intended to join a Buddhist sect.

Many of the Buddhist cultivators were hidden dragons and crouching tigers. And who could say? Perhaps, by learning from them, he could get a chance to solve his predicament.

What Yun Weisi sought was nothing but a short intimate relationship, while Jiufang Changming’s heart was set on the Great Dao. He had no intention to begin a relationship and did not want his disciple to pursue this impulse stubbornly, just like that disciple of the Yuhuang Temple that became He Yunyun’s daoist partner and dug his own grave.

So, Jiufang Changming had left the Yuhuang Temple and set out on the path of Buddhist cultivation with no regrets.

Although the Qingyun School was one of the two major Buddhist sects, it was subjected to pressure by the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. Of course, Jiufang Changming was welcomed there and was even given the most reverent treatment, becoming an elder who was revered by all disciples. He was allowed to come and go as he wished and was not chained by the usual rules that applied to disciples.

When one entered a village, they would follow the local customs—Jiufang Changming bowed to Zen Master Yiye and started cultivating under his instructions. He earnestly studied in the morning and cultivated at night. Jiufang Changming, who had once gained tremendous fame the world over, had become a disciple in the Qingyun School. The entire Jianghu gossiped about this, but he disregarded the rumors as if they were just a light passing breeze.

Zen Master Yiye was not the head of the school—instead, he was a hermit cultivator with the highest cultivation in the sect. He rarely taught any secret skills to other people, let alone trained anyone to kill people personally. When it came to teaching Jiufang Changming, the two of them usually sat together at the table like old friends. At times, they would not say a single word to each other for three days, and then continue to discuss Buddhism with keen arguments for twenty four hours straight. If Changming wanted to surpass Yiye, he had to study the ancient books of Buddhist sutras carefully. He had read them once, already knew them by heart and was talented enough to comprehend them. Soon, he was no longer losing at the war of words he had with Yiye about Buddhism.

When they conversed, not only did they discuss Buddhism, but also talked a bit about battles between cultivators.

If two prominent masters decided to cross swords, no one in the Qingyun School would interfere.

On that day, it was snowing heavily.

They had been discussing Buddhism for the past two days, and it seemed that Changming had gained some insight. Yiye smiled. He was waiting for Changming to break through.

A paper bird flew from the west. It stayed in the air but did not land.

Which meant that Yun Weisi was looking for help.

It had been many years since Jiufang Changming had taught Yun Weisi the technique of creating this bird, but this was the first time Yun Weisi had used it. In all likelihood, it was an urgent and pressing matter.

The bird could not enter the barrier around the two of them, so it could only flap its wings outside anxiously, barely able to endure the snow.

Yiye slightly furrowed his brows at the bird. He wanted to send it away with a snap of his fingers to prevent it from disturbing Jiufang Changming, but hesitated.

He had a vague feeling that this bird might have been a test as well.

Zen Master Yiye watched Jiufang Changming quietly.

The latter was glowing with faint golden light, which stood in contrast against the thick clouds.

If he broke through this barrier, he would get a bit closer to the Heavenly Dao.

Yiye knew that he would not be able to ascend in this life, but he was an open-minded person and took pleasure in helping this genius to succeed.

Because he also knew that Jiufang Changming was more talented and could come closer to ascension.

But, at this exact moment, Jiufang Changming opened his eyes.

The glowing light around him was extinguished abruptly, before vanishing completely.

He had lost this precious chance to move on.

This interruption did not happen earlier or later—it was just right at this moment.

Zen Master Yiye sighed and removed the barrier with a swing of his sleeve.

The bird flew inside and turned into a message in front of Jiufang Changming. It floated in the air before landing in his hands. After reading the paper, he burnt it immediately, and the sparks scattered away.

After remaining silent for a long period of time, he told Zen Master Yiye: “I have to leave for a while.”

Zen Master Yiye: “You’ve interrupted your breakthrough when you’ve almost succeeded. If you leave now, all your effort will come to naught.”

Jiufang Changming: “A person that used to be my disciple is in a difficult situation, I can’t turn a blind eye to those in mortal danger.”

Zen Master Yiye: “Since this person is from your past, you two are even now. When you entered a Buddhist sect, you’ve made a clear break with the Daoist sects.”

Jiufang Changming fell silent.

“Be willing to part with things. If you’re not willing, how can you part? You’ve come so close to understanding today, but put a damper on your efforts because of this. Jiufang Changming, you may seem heartless, but in truth, your worries are innumerable.”

“He’s more talented than the others, and I taught him with meticulous care. I only pity his genius.”

Zen Master Yiye just looked at him with a “why would you deceive yourself and others” expression.

“Reluctance to part causes you to worry. Worries and passion. There are myriad emotions, and one heart can be moved by all of them. Be it Buddhism or Daoism, we take different paths to reach the same destination. All must stay focused on remaining unmoved by sentiment and cast aside what vexes them. The Yuhuang Temple, the Qingyun School, and mortal affairs—you’ll have to forget all that which shackles you and clouds your mind. If you can’t get rid of it, you’ll never reach the real Heavenly Realm.”

But Jiufang Changming shook his head.

“I never believed that one can ascend only after letting all their emotions go. The Great Dao manifests itself in thousands of ways, and what really stops us is lack of understanding. All living creatures cultivate to reach immortality, which is an obsession already. Zen Master, according to your words, doesn’t this obsession worry people and move their hearts?”

Zen Master Yiye thought about these words thoroughly, and vaguely comprehended the reason Changming wanted to leave. This path was drastically different than the one that people had been taking for countless years. However, even if his cultivation was outstanding, it was hard to imagine what this path looked like.

“Have you already decided?”

“I have.”

This was the last time they spoke. It was also the last time Zen Master Yiye saw Jiufang Changming.

Jiufang Changming never came back after that day, and even his own disciple, Sun Buku, could not reach him.

Up until Zen Master Yiye heard that this man had defected to the Demonic sects and had become a cultivator there.

The world was shocked. His old disciple had announced that they had fallen out and became enemies, and now he pursued his former master to kill him. Only Zen Master Yiye knew: Jiufang Changming had never switched sides. He was always simply moving towards his goal.

But Zen Master Yiye did not get to see how far Jiufang Changming would go. After another year, he still did not manage to break through, and died peacefully of old age.

And, of course, he would never know what secret Jiufang Changming had discovered on the Wanshen Mountain on his way back, or the massive old conspiracy Jiufang Changming would uncover because of that.

Hidden from everyone’s eyes, everything that had happened turned out to be interconnected, coming together just like a river that flowed forward without stopping.

Snow and ice were slowly solidifying on his eyelashes.

His breath was weak, almost nonexistent, and his body had become cold and frigid.

A-Rong’s mind was ablaze with concern. She wanted to alleviate his pain with her spiritual powers, but that was akin to trying to put out a wooden carriage that was on fire using a cup of water, which would not do anything.

A-Rong knew that Jiufang Changming, whom she had met completely coincidentally, was not a heartless person since he was willing to help her. However, in the past, the world had been used to seeing him act on his own and do whatever he wanted. He had abandoned both Daoism and Buddhism, and his own disciples had turned their backs on him. Only two people, Yun Weisi and this A-Rong, had not misjudged him.

Changming breathed out lightly, as if he was sighing.

“Senior?”

At first, A-Rong thought he had woken up, and was overjoyed—but soon, she realized that was just a physical reaction to his “deep sleep”.

Jiufang Changming had even been willing to lend a hand to Zhou Keyi who had been restrained in the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. However, he had never approved of Zhou Keyi’s cultivation methods.

Similarly, he put up with Sun Buku going against his beliefs and turning away from him, but refused to interfere with whatever he was doing afterwards.

He never spoiled his other three disciples, but never treated them with cruelty either. Yun Weisi was the only one he was soft on.

Even plants could be moved, let alone the hearts of humans.

But was this softheartedness and guilt his true feelings?

Could Jiufang Changming give Yun Weisi what he wanted?

Stuck deep in the sea of his consciousness, he still could not answer that. He frowned, and his body tensed following that, but he could not come to his senses.

His memories circled back to the year when he left the Wanlian Buddhist Temple in response to his disciple’s plea for help. In the Cuilin Forest of the Zhongfa Mountains, he found Yun Weisi who had been seriously wounded.

Wanlian Buddhist Temple: probably MXS meant to say the Qingyun School

Yun Weisi had recently attended a Qianlin Assembly. Due to the fact that he had narrowly won against the master of the Celestial Abode Shenxiao and was now in the limelight, his Chunzhao Sword was eyed by demonic cultivators. They knew that Yun Weisi had definitely sustained an injury in the fight and used the chance to mount a sneak attack on him while Yun Weisi was left alone after the Qianlin Assembly. The cultivators wanted to kill Yun Weisi to take his weapon by force. Yun Weisi could not fight against this many people alone. At that moment, he had almost lost consciousness and did not even realize that he had sent a message to his shizun, asking for help—much less that his Shizun who had already left the Daoist sects to actually arrive to help him.

Jiufang Changming repelled the attack of the group of cultivators and carried Yun Weisi, who was in a daze and could not move, down the mountains on his back.

“Shizun…”

“What?”

“Why did you save me?”

“Because you’re my disciple.”

“You are lying.”

Yun Weisi was muddleheaded. His head was lying on Changming’s nape, and Yun Weisi laughed and even trembled slightly with the laughter.

“You’ve told me once that we go outside to learn through experience. Fortune or bad luck, success or failure—we can go through anything by ourselves. You’ve kept your word and never changed. Yet now, you suddenly go against your teachings, because you, Shizun, are soft-hearted. You’re soft-hearted when it comes to me. If you keep on carving single-mindedly, even a stone can be carved and polished—this phrase has turned out to be true, hasn’t it?”

Jiufang Changming did not answer.

After that, the two of them fell silent for a while.

Yun Weisi seemed to have fallen asleep, so he did not say anything.

Perhaps, even when he would eventually come to his senses, it was possible that he would not even remember this exchange.

Yun Weisi gave up on his own path in cultivation and dedicated his life to fulfilling his promise.

[Wherever Shizun goes—to faraway mountains or to seas under gloomy skies, where sun and stars barely shine—that is the only way.]

The man who had yet to regain consciousness sighed again.

But A-Rong was horrified by the noise coming from behind her back.

“Ah!”

She turned her head abruptly, and her expression changed.

Hua-Shan had returned at some point with two more of her kin. They came closer.

“And here I was wondering why he didn’t chase me. Sure enough, it was a bluff.”

“Don’t come closer! Senior is just resting, but he’ll soon wake up!” A-Rong’s face betrayed her inner confusion.

At first, Hua-Shan doubted that this man had been injured heavily in the battle with the young master, but now, seeing him unconscious with her own eyes, she was confident in her decision.

She was extremely angry with A-Rong. She was indeed going to take this man’s cultivation, but first, she was going to vent her anger on A-Rong by killing her.

“Deal with her.”

She did not go do this herself, but sent other people ahead of her.

A-Rong gnashed her teeth, standing in front of Changming resolutely, and even attacked her opponents first.

But how could she go against these two? In a little while, she was sent flying with a blow, and fell to the ground heavily. She shouted and left the human vessel, revealing her true fox body.

The small fox leapt up and rushed to Jiufang Changming in an arc, reaching out to stop the hand that was stretching out towards his head.

However, a mantis could not stop a running carriage, and she had overestimated her capabilities, but she still had not noticed this.

She only wanted to save the senior, even if it was at the cost of her life.

Because this senior had rescued her.

In her short life, she had yet to meet anyone except for him who would treat her with such kindness. This alone was enough for her to sacrifice herself.

Feeling that she was already beyond saving as the pressure of the attack had almost reached her and the wind from it was already hitting her, A-Rong only closed her eyes.

But the pain she expected did not come. On the contrary, she heard other people shout. She opened her eyes wide and saw that the two foxes had been pushed back.

A-Rong turned her head!

The senior had opened his eyes and stood with his sleeve fluttering in the wind and his sword sparkling.

It was not a reflexive reaction as it had been before—he had really come to his senses.

His spiritual powers were surging, and he seemed even more powerful compared to his state during the battle with the young master. The Changming Sword shone as brightly as the rays of the sun and the light of the moon—its rays could easily drive away any evil, and no one stood a chance against him now. Of course, Hua-Shan could not do anything. Just like her two henchmen, she was thrown back, her back hitting a tree. All her vital organs were wounded deeply with this attack.

…

After Yun Weisi parted ways with Changming, the former went to the yamen to meet with the town supervisor.

This place was even more modest than the county government offices, which was expected since the families who lived in the town were not prominent either. Even the wealthiest ones appeared miserable and shabby compared to the well-off families in the capital.

But, as soon as Yun Weisi entered the place, he felt that something was wrong.

It seemed that an invisible formation had surrounded him.

Had their enemies set it up a while ago, now standing by the tree stump and waiting for a hare to come?

Standing by the tree stump and waiting for a hare to come: …and kill itself by crashing into the trunk: wait for gains without pains

Yun Weisi frowned. Seeing that the situation was bad, he turned around and wanted to leave. But some kind of ice-cold qi had followed him in the darkness and then reached out for his neck sneakily!