Chapter 1941: "Secretly Hidden (1)"
To have been able to escape out from Jun Wu Yao's Blood Burial alive, that Gu Ying was rather capable.
Gu Ying's escape was a small matter but what worried Ye Mei more was that news that Jun Wu Yao was still alive would spread.
"Since I'm back here in the Middle Realm, those people will discover it sooner or later anyway." The corners of Jun Wu Yao's lips curled up, his eyes flashing with a chill.
"Lord Jue, then should we return to the Lower Realm immediately?" Ye Mei's tone was filled with worry. The many powers in the Middle Realm were highly complicated and the extent of the places their people reached were many and far reaching. It would not be easy for them to deal with immediately.
Jun Wu Yao's gaze then turned around slightly to look upon the tightly shut door a moment before he shook his head.
"Let them continue with things in the Lower Realm. After some time, make a trip back to the Dark Regions." Jun Wu Yao then said.
"Go back to the Dark Regions?" The faces of Ye Sha and Ye Mei immediately flashed with a tinge of surprise.
If Lord Jue was asking Ye Mei to go back to the Dark Regions, wasn't that a hint that he was bring the news that he was still alive back to the Dark Regions?
"Lord Jue please reconsider! You still have not fully recovered from your injuries and it isn't advisable for you to make any moves against those people for the time being. I beg for Lord Jue to give us a little bit more time and we will definitely have everything properly dealt with. At that time....." Ye Mei immediately knelt before Jun Wu Yao, to plead with sincere and earnest words.
Jun Wu Yao held up a hand to interrupt Ye Mei's words.
"Even if I am willing to wait, it is feared that those people are unable to sit back anymore." Jun Wu Yao's mouth twisted up into a cold sneer. "Now that the Soul Transfer Technique has appeared here in the Middle Realm, with such an interesting thing happening, I am thinking they have already made their moves. The Nine Temples have always been highly discreet with their ways and this does not seem to be their style of doing things."
Although he had not come back to the Middle Realm for so long, but information about the Middle Realm had not stopped reaching Jun Wu Yao's ears.
One Region, Four Sides, Nine Temples, Twelve Palaces.
The different factions of power in the Middle Realm. Before Jun Wu Yao had the idea of unifying the Middle Realm, the Four Sides stayed aloof from worldly affairs, and only the Nine Temples and Twelve Palaces were most aggressive. The Nine Temples were established before the Twelve Palaces and they accumulated much more robust powers. And as the relations between the Nine Temples were far more cohesive than the Twelve Palaces, without having any conflicts between them, they had always suppressed the Twelve Palaces in terms of power, indisputably stronger.
But according to the information Ye Mei and the others had managed to gather in recent years, after the Dark Emperor fell and the Dark Regions went into seclusion, the Nine Temples had suddenly became rather restrained, keeping a low profile with their ways, which gave the Twelve Palaces the opportunity to stand taller.
It might not seem like much to any others who saw this, but to Jun Wu Yao, there was something highly interesting about it.
It must be known that the Nine Temples' Temple Lords and the Twelve Palaces' Palaces Lords were completely different as ever since the the Nine Temples had been established, the Temple Lords of the respective temples had never once changed!
Long before Jun Wu Yao had appeared in the Middle Realm, the Temple Lords of the Nine Temples had already reigned over their respective Temples and that had not changed when Jun Wu Yao unified the Middle Realm. Even till now, after a thousand years had passed, the Temple Lords of the Nine Temples were still the same nine people.
Having lived a few thousand years, why have they suddenly turned apathetic and unambitious?
"If I remember it correctly, that Gu Ying who escaped, wasn't his maternal family from the Spirit Void Temple?" Jun Wu Yao asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Lord Jue, you mean..... the Middle Realm has begun on their plans?" Ye Mei asked slightly startled.
Jun Wu Yao gave a light laugh.
"I am not certain whether they have started, but over the past one thousand years, they would naturally not stay idle and would have done quite a lot of things."
"Then all the more Lord Jue must not meet with them now. Otherwise....." Ye Mei gritted his teeth and did not finish his words, but the hatred in his eyes was however clear to see.
Chapter 1942: "Secretly Hidden (2)"
"So what even if we meet? Would they then possibly kill me?" Jun Wu Yao asked with an eyebrow raised, the arrogance in his eyes clearly apparent.
Ye Mei lowered his head. He knew, that even if they were to once again encounter those people and they were to fall in defeat, those people would definitely not take Lord Jue's life, but.....
Jun Wu Yao stared in the direction of the tightly shut door and the icy smile on his face became a little warmer, a little more gentle.
"Maybe it's time that I should bring the little one to go have a look around the Four Sides."
Ye Mei was slightly taken aback as he raised his head up in surprise.
"Lord Jue, you are going to tell Young Miss about that matter?"
Jun Wu Yao rubbed at his chin.
"Little Xie's mind is not something any normal person could compare to. When she comes to know about it, she might have some other way to deal with them. In that way, even if something were to happen to me, I am to belief that she would be able to deal with it with her capabilities."
"Lord Jue! How could my Lord even mention something so ominous and unlucky!" Even Ye Sha had become anxious as he fell to the ground with a thud.
Jun Wu Yao arched up an eyebrow to look at his two stern faced subordinates, and he suddenly broke out into laughter.
"Having followed me for so many years, when would you guys be able to change that personality of yours? What I have said to both of you today, you two better remember it well. What is mine, is Little Xie's as well. The Dark Regions is mine, and is also hers, as is everything that I possess. You guys know what to do." Jun Wu Yao said it highly casually, but in the ears of Ye Sha and Ye Mei, it was like their hearts were being sliced by a knife.
Lord Jue's words were just too shocking to them, as it sounded like he was giving instructions for his own funeral arrangements.....
Jun Wu Yao immediately turned around to go back into the room after saying that, and sat down by the bed to look at Jun Wu Xie's exquisite sleeping countenance, his eyes rising with a rarely seen gentleness.
[Little one, you've got to grow up quickly.]
Ye Sha and Ye Mei completely lost their mood for anything, their faces turning an extremely ugly shade. Even Mu Chen had been startled to see two such grim faces when he came, bringing in the medicine.
Jun Wu Xie's vision took a turn for the better on the second day. Only just feeling a little better and she already could not remain idle but went running outside immediately.
The aftereffects of the Spirit Transformation Elixir that Qiao Chu and the others took struck them very quickly. The bunch of youths were acting like they had fallen gravely ill, unable to rise after a single stumble. Their reactions startled Mu Chen greatly, as he had not discovered any heavy injuries on their bodies. So how did these bunch of perfectly fine and healthy youths suddenly turn to become so frail and weak in barely an instant?
Just as Mu Chen was feeling completely befuddled, Jun Wu Xie came rushing in right at that moment.
Within the room, Qiao Chu and the several others were flopped lazily over soft couches. The handsome and beautiful faces that had been filled with so much vigor were now showing an extraordinary paleness. Jun Wu Xie was standing right before them, but she could not feel the slightest bit of spirit power from their bodies.
The side effects of the Spirit Transformation Elixir had struck them fully, and Qiao Chu and the gang had lost all their spirit powers.
"Heh, Little Xie..... You're looking fine aren't you? You really scared us so badly that day you know?" Qiao Chu raised up a hand to wave tiredly, like he had no strength left. He really wanted to be as bouncy and jump around like always, but his weak and frail body really couldn't summon up the slightest bit of strength.
Whatever intense benefits the Spirit Transformation Elixir had given to him, it also brought the very same level of adverse effects.
Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes as she looked at her pale faced companions and she went walking forward, taking their pulses one by one.
The results from her diagnosis was just like she had imagined.
The several of them who had possessed strong and healthy bodies, had now all become sickly and frail, a lack of Qi in their blood. If she did not know them before, she might have thought that this was a group of Young Masters who grouped themselves together to come seek medical treatment from her.
"I've reminded all of you before, unless you are left with no other choice, to not take the Spirit Transformation Elixir." After seeing the state of their pulse, even Jun Wu Xie was finding it rather hard to bear.
Chapter 1943: "Medicinal Brew (1)"
Qiao Chu scratched his head with a rather sheepish smile.
"Little Xie, the Spirit Transformation Elixir was just fantastic! With such an amazing thing in our hands, how can we resist ourselves from using it?"
Jun Wu Xie shot Qiao Chu a cold gaze, and Qiao Chu suddenly found it hard to maintain his smile.
"Without it, we'll not have been able to exact revenge with our own two hands." Fei Yan suddenly piped in. The effects of the Spirit Transformation Elixir could be said to have been powerful and intense, but its side effects were astronomical as well. For a whole year after that, the entire group of them would be as good as the most useless of trash. But having exacted their deepest blood vengeance, not to mention asking them to just be trash for a year, even if its adverse effects were to affect them for life, they would have been willing to suffer the consequences.
Jun Wu Xie looked at her companions' determined gazes and although she was feeling rather helpless at that moment, she could understand what they were thinking.
If their positions had been reversed, where the Twelve Palaces had massacred everyone in the Lin Palace, she would go exact revenge even at the risk of her life as well.
"So that means all of you have prepared yourselves well?" Jun Wu Xie said.
Immediately, Qiao Chu nodded his head thoughtlessly, but halfway through, he suddenly froze for a while.
"Prepared for what?"
Jun Wu Xie arched up an eyebrow and clapped her hands together.
The doors were immediately pushed open in that instant, and outside, Yue Ye, Yue Yi, and Long Qi were carrying several bowls of medicinal brew as they came in. Upon the tray in Yue Ye's hands, there was even a whole bunch of bottles in different shapes and sizes.
Yue Yi and Long Qi then placed the steaming hot bowls of medicinal brew right before Qiao Chu and the rest of the gang.
Qiao Chu and the gang stared at the brew and then looked at Jun Wu Xie.
Jun Wu Xie's face was cold.
Qiao Chu gulped discreetly and then picked up the bowl of medicinal brew to sniff his nose over it.
"Blargh..... What kind of medicine is this! ? Why does it smell just like faeces! ? I really feel like puking!" Qiao Chu almost tossed the bowl of medicinal brew. There was no other way to describe that smell.
"I prescribed it. You have an opinion about it?" Jun Wu Xie asked, an eyebrow raising up threateningly.
Qiao Chu's face twisted up in a grimace and quickly shook his head to say: "No opinions! No opinions at all!"
The other few of the companions were shocked by the smell of the brew as well. Before they could open their mouths to say a word about it, they already saw Qiao Chu completely stumped by Jun Wu Xie, and they immediately swallowed back their words that had been right at the tip of their tongues.
The fact that they had taken the Spirit Transformation Elixir straightaway had already irked Jun Wu Xie quite a bit. If they were to make all sorts of excuses now with these medicinal brews.....
Without a word, Fan Zhuo picked up the bowl and poured the brew straight into his mouth, downing it all cleanly at one go.
"It's alright, it isn't really all that bad to take." Fan Zhuo said with a smile.
He had been quick downing the brew, but if his hand had not shook when he was putting the bowl down, he might have been a little more convincing.
It must be known that Fan Zhuo had grown up immersed in all kinds of medicinal brews and elixirs. From a young age till now, things like medicinal brews to him, he must have drunk like about ten thousand bowls or several thousand at the very least. But when even Fan Zhuo was showing such a reaction after drinking the medicinal brew.....
Qiao Chu almost burst out in tears as he stared at the medicinal brew.
Rong Ruo and Hua Yao steeled themselves as they poured the medicine down their throats and they two of them just fell back and laid limply in their couches with their hands covering their mouths, causing Qiao Chu and Fei Yan to tremble more violently as they looked at the two of them.
[This your mother's thing here can really be drunk?]
"You're not going to drink?" Jun Wu Xie asked, staring at the two guys who still had not drunk a sip of the brew, her eyes seemingly saying: [You'd better drink it all up or I'll make you do it myself.]
That scared Qiao Chu and Fei Yan so badly that they immediately cleaned out the bowl in an instant.
After finishing it, their two faces were so mournful like life held no meaning for them, their hands clasped over their mouth to prevent themselves from vomiting the medicinal brew back out.
Never in their entire lives had they drunk something so absolutely vile and nasty!
"Finished drinking?" Jun Wu Xie swept her eyes over the lot of them.
The several youths nodded their heads listlessly.
"Good. Now drink up the next bowl as well." Jun Wu Xie's voice had just dropped when Long Qi immediately brought in the enormous pot of medicinal brew in.
Chapter 1944: "Medicinal Brew (2)"
Qiao Chu and the gang immediately collapsed in tears.
There's more! !
"Little Xie..... We still have to drink it?" Qiao Chu's face went from white to black, crying tearlessly as he stared at the pot of medicinal brew that was the same width as a grown man's waist.
What kind of a brewing pot was that! ? It's a water urn you know! ?
"Good medicine tastes bitter. What? You don't want to drink it?" Jun Wu Xie raised up an eyebrow alarmingly, the threat clear to see.
With that, who dared to resist? All of them could only look mournfully at Jun Wu Xie with pure and utter despair in their eyes.
Long Qi struggled to suppress the smile from showing on his face and under Jun Wu Xie's instructions, he filled up the bowls with medicinal brew for Qiao Chu and the others. Looking at the murky black brew swirling in their bowls, the companions' faces were looking uglier than when they had finished the first bowl.
Even if this was some miracle medicine, but its taste.....
Can they just choose to continue being sick and frail instead?
It was very clear that the answer would be negative.
The bunch of youths summoned up steely determination comparable to the most valiant of warriors, to lift up their bowls to just pour the brew down their throats.
With that second bowl swirling in their bellies, they truly experienced what it was like to live feeling they're better off dead.
Fei Yan was not able to endure it well as he lay sprawled over the side of his bed to retch but nothing came out, filling his entire mouth with the taste of the medicinal brew, almost killing himself with the smell.
Tears flowed from his eyes from his retching and Fei Yan felt as if he was going to die.
Qiao Chu was not doing any much better as he struggled so hard to hold it in, his face turning a deep red from suppression.
Hua Yao, Rong Ruo and Fan Zhuo handled it a little better, but they laid there with their lips stiff, and it was not difficult to see that they were trying very hard to tolerate the ordeal.
Unfortunately, the cruel torment had not ended yet. After the second bowl, Long Qi came around with the pot and poured out medicine for all of them again.
Qiao Chu was almost glaring at Long Qi with indignant rage. "Big Brother Long Qi, are you sure that there's more of it in that pot?" [Can't he see that they're dying here? Can he be a little humane about it and spare a thought for them! ?]
Long Qi looked at Qiao Chu with a highly serious expression and said in stoic righteousness: "Young Miss has already measured out seven portions for the five of you here." So, with them having merely finished just one or two bowls each, even if he wanted to pretend the pot is already empty, Jun Wu Xie would not believe it.
"Se..... Seven portions....." Qiao Chu's eyes flared wide like a goldfish, staring incredulously at Long Qi. He just could not believe what kind of a number he had just heard.
The faces of all the others turned so pale they looked green.
"All of you will have to take this medicine everyday from now onwards." Jun Wu Xie opened her mouth once again, dumping upon them a piece of news that threw the minds of Qiao Chu and the gang into absolute chaos.
In that instant, the five youths turned to stone.
[They have to drink that everyday.....]
"I..... I feel faint..... I need to sleep for awhile." Fei Yan quickly crawled under his blanket and curled himself into a ball, determined that he was going to play dead.
"Sure you can. Long Qi, keep Fei Yan's portion aside. Heat it up for him to finish later at night." How could Jun Wu Xie possibly allow him to escape.
Bundled up under his blanket, Fei Yan shivered.
Fan Zhuo was the one who accepted his fate most readily. It might be because he was most used to drinking medicinal brews and although the taste of the medicine made it really hard to swallow, but he had long learned to numb his sense of taste while taking medicine. He downed the bowl of medicine cleanly and beckoned Long Qi to quickly fill his bowl up again, finishing up the remaining bowls at one go.
With seven bowls of the medicinal brew in his stomach, Fan Zhuo immediately regretted it. Those seven bowls had filled his stomach completely, with the brew stuck at the back of his throat, the smell and taste of it assaulting him constantly. Fan Zhuo sunk into pure despair.
Under Jun Wu Xie's watchful gaze, Qiao Chu and the others resigned themselves to their fate and finished all the medicine. After finishing it, all of them lay barely half alive on their beds like they were all afflicted with a grave illness.
Jun Wu Xie glanced at Yue Ye and Yue Ye immediately carried a whole pile of elixirs bottles as she smilingly walked over to stand right before Qiao Chu and the companions.
Chapter 1945: "Medicinal Brew (3)"
Jun Wu Xie glanced at Yue Ye and Yue Ye immediately carried a whole pile of elixirs bottles as she smilingly walked over to stand right before Qiao Chu and the companions.
"Time for my Uncle Masters to take their medicine." Yue Ye said as she looked smilingly at Qiao Chu and the others, seemingly oblivious to their looks of utter despair while she brought the tray in and placed it onto the table. She used five little boxes to separate five portions of medicine, pouring out elixirs from every single bottle into them before she went on to place them on the edge of the mattresses Qiao Chu and the others were lying on.
Hua Yao swept a glance over the elixirs in the box, that one fleeting look seeing that it was filled to the brim, with several layers of pills in there.....
This was as good as asking them to swallow elixirs as people would for rice!
However, after having suffered the torment from the medicinal brew, the hearts of the gang had already as good as died inside them. Knowing that it was useless for them to resist, they could only resign themselves to their fate as they poured the elixirs into their mouths like they would beans. The most terrifying thing about it was that the elixirs melted immediately once inside their mouths, the vilely bitter taste in no way inferior to the medicinal brew earlier. That mouthful of elixirs caused the youths to sink so deeply into sorrowful rage they just wanted to die, but could do nothing but to swallow it all, their faces turned red from holding it in.
Their bellies had already been filled up completely with medicinal brew earlier and now they had to stuff in another box full of elixirs.
They all very nearly vomited everything out.
Having never despised themselves before, the bunch of youths absolutely abhorred the kind of taste their mouths were making them feel at that moment.
"Little bright moon..... Can you get your Master Uncles here a bit of water?" Qiao Chu asked with a trembling hand stretched out, the corners of his eyes glinting with suspicious wetness.
(Translator's note: Little Yue, 月 means moon in Chinese)
Yue Ye looked at Qiao Chu's mournful expression and asked: "Will the Master Uncles still be able to swallow it?"
"Just to rinse our mouths....." [Don't make me speak anymore. I am already beginning to despise this mouth of mine already!]
Yue Ye looked at her Master Uncles before her and then turned her head to look at her Master. Seeing Jun Wu Xie nodded her head in agreement, she then tottered herself outside in a run to bring a flask of cold tea, where she then poured out a cup for Qiao Chu and the others. The whole group of youths then frantically rinsed out their mouths, wishing toe wash out the sticky layer of goo that covered the inside of their mouths entirely.
And the taste of that was just unmatchable!
"The Spirit Transformation Elixir is not something that's so easy to take. If you want to do that again in future, you'd better think it through." Jun Wu Xie sat upon a chair, calmly holding a clear cup of tea in her hand, as she looked at the expressions on her companions' faces who were suffering a fate far worse than death.
"Think it through! Definitely will think it through and through." Qiao Chu's voice sounded like he was about to cry.
The youths were tormented by Jun Wu Xie to the extent they wished they would just die, but no matter how nasty and vile the medicinal brew tasted, it did not wipe away the concern under Jun Wu Xie's icy demeanor. The few of them knew very well that Jun Wu Xie was very much against them using the Spirit Transformation Elixir and she had given it to them only as a precautionary measure to save themselves in the event that they were pushed to an extent that they had no other choice. But they had all just taken it out and swallowed it right from the beginning instead.
What she was doing now was merely seeking to make them deliberate on things more carefully before they decide to do something so harmful to themselves the next time.
Of course, it could not be denied that there was reason to suspect that she was deliberately tormenting them here.
But when the youths saw the bandage wrapped around Jun Wu Xie's forehead, none of them could bear to even give any thought to arguing at all.
If one was talking about injuries, Jun Wu Xie was more severely wounded than any one of them there. But she had instead come rushing over so anxiously to check on their conditions. How could they ever bear to let her down with the kind and heartwarming intentions she was showing them?
"Rest early after you have taken the medicine." Jun Wu Xie stood up, having had enough fun.
Qiao Chu and the rest of the gang immediately wailed, their voice filled with relief.
Jun Wu Xie walked out through the door, and saw Jun Wu Yao languidly leaning against the wall just beside the door, where upon that handsome looking face, hung a highly devilish smile.
Chapter 1946: "Temper One's Spirit (1)"
"Little Xie's heart is feeling a little pained?" Jun Wu Yao leaned his body slightly forward, his handsome face coming right before Jun Wu Xie's, to say with an imperceptible smile as he looked at Jun Wu Xie's pale countenance.
Jun Wu Xie's lips stiffened, as she averted her eyes.
Seeing the condition Qiao Chu and the others had been reduced to, did not make her feel good at all. She was the one who cultivated the Spirit Transformation Elixirs and she knew very well what kind of after effects it gave. When she saw how frail Qiao Chu and the others had become, with their spirit powers all depleted, she could not help but have a thought start to rise up within her mind.
Maybe if she had not given them the Spirit Transformation Elixirs in the first place, they would then not have done that, and they would not be so badly weakened now.
Based on the plans she had made, even without using the Spirit Transformation Elixirs, they would only need to drag things out for a period of time till Ye Gu and the others freed up their hands, they would then join hands with Qiao Chu and the others to take out the various Palace Lords together with the Flame Demons Palace Lord. But Qiao Chu and the rest of her companions had chosen to discard that idea which was the safest avenue for them and took things to the extreme in order for them to exact revenge with their own two hands.
Jun Wu Xie understood their desire for vengeance, but she was unable to dispel the wretched state they were in now.
Jun Wu Yao stretched out his hand to lift up Jun Wu Xie's chin gently, not allowing her to avoid the question.
"Do you know, under the Heavens, real power and might does not come from our bodies, but from one's soul. Deficiencies in one's body is not the most critical as one only needs to temper one's spirit and that would make up for it, to the extent it can achieve even better effects." The little one's emotional range was becoming more and more abundant and Jun Wu Yao loved to be able to see more of her joy, rage, sorrow and delight on her face, but just did not want to see her show the slightest tinge of depression and worry.
"Temper one's spirit?" Jun Wu Xie asked, slightly bewildered as she looked at Jun Wu Yao. Those words sounded highly foreign to her but they intrigued her very much.
Jun Wu Yao nodded his head slightly, the underside of his thumb running over Jun Wu Xie's red luscious lips as he went on to say slowly: "The body can be exterminated but the soul remains unextinguished. Those with strong and powerful souls, when even their bodies are crushed, or even completely obliterated, are still able to depend on the strength of their souls to live on. Although Qiao Chu and the gang's bodies have suffered great damage, but their souls are still whole and intact. If they do not want to waste this upcoming one year's time, they can continue to raise their powers by tempering their spirits, and the effects would not be inferior to the cultivation all of you usually do."
"Really?" Jun Wu Xie's eyes shone. The accident this time made her realize she still was not strong enough herself, and she was willing to wholeheartedly attempt anything that would enable her to grow her powers.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Jun Wu Yao said with a highly devilish laugh, as he pinched Jun Wu Xie lightly on her chin.
"Then how do we temper our spirits?" Jun Wu Xie just could not wait to begin.
Jun Wu Yao's eyes swung over the bandage wrapped around Jun Wu Xie's forehead, and a glint of menace flashed in his eyes. Tempering one's spirit, It was time for him to teach Jun Wu Xie that.
"Does Little Xie still remember the Spirit World?" Jun Wu Yao asked.
"I remember. The place where Ring Spirits exist in. It is one of the Four Sides." Jun Wu Xie immediately related everything she knew about the place.
The words Spirit World was first heard from Little Lotus' mouth. It was only after she came to the Middle Realm that she came to know that the Spirit World was one of the Four Sides in the Middle Realm.
But having been in the Middle Realm for so long already, she had never encountered anyone from the Four Sides.
The Four Sides of the Middle Realm were made up of the Spirit World, Living Spirit World, All Spirit World, and the Dark Spirit World.
Although they were ranked above the Nine Temples, they kept a very low profile, and would only move within their own perimeter of influence, never coming into contact with outsiders. Whatever the people of the Middle Realm knew about the Four Sides, was a whole lot lesser than what they knew of the Dark Regions.
Chapter 1947: "Temper One's Spirit (2)"
"Only spirit souls can enter the Spirit World, but it is the best place for one to temper his spirit. If Little Xie wants to, I can bring all of you there." Jun Wu Yao said as he looked at Jun Wu Xie's absolutely shining eyes and his heart twitched, making him unable to resist leaning himself further forward to plant a light kiss on a corner of her eye.
Jun Wu Xie shrank her head into her shoulders from the teasing.
"The Spirit World. My father's soul should be there. I want to go!" Jun Wu Xie had not forgotten about bringing Jun Gu back to life. The Soul Calming Jade had protected Jun Gu's soul and must have transferred him into the Spirit World. Hence, she would naturally not give up on that chance.
"But, it's a place that only spirit souls can go into. How are we going to get in?" Jun Wu Xie asked in puzzlement.
"I have my ways. You only need to nurse yourself and recuperate, and you can just leave it to me to make arrangements for the rest of the things." Jun Wu Xie said with a smile, his thumb that was stroking her chin below her lips unwilling to give up the soft touch.
Jun Wu Xie blinked her eyes innocently and suddenly lowered her head to bite onto Jun Wu Yao's thumb. She did not bite too hard, but just enough to leave a mark of her teeth on the flesh.
Jun Wu Yao's face suddenly flushed red.....
Squatting within the shadows, Ye Sha and Ye Mei put their palms to their faces silently. [The Young Miss was becoming more and more adept at teasing Lord Jue, and Lord Jue, why are you still unable to get rid of the habit of blushing?]
The corners of Jun Wu Xie's mouth curled up faintly with a smile as she looked at Jun Wu Yao's slightly reddened face, and an idea suddenly came into her head to tease him back. She reached her hand out and copying Jun Wu Yao, she lifted Jun Wu Yao's chin and stroked it a little as she said softly.
"Then I'll just leave everything in Wu Yao's hands to arrange it for me. I'll be waiting."
Jun Wu Yao's face turned a deeper scarlet.....
Jun Wu Xie's mood was greatly improved and the pain from the wounds on her body seemed to evaporate completely. She gave a light laugh, her heart filled with delight as Jun Wu Xie waltzed herself past Jun Wu Yao's side.
Coming to know that they'll be able to use the method of tempering their spirits to make up for the period of time Qiao Chu and the rest of the gang would not be able to cultivate their bodies and that she would be able to go seek Jun Gu's soul in the Spirit World greatly lifted Jun Wu Xie's mood.
The deaths of the Twelve Palaces' Palace Lords had kicked up a big wave of commotion. The Twelve Palaces' disciples who escaped had run far away from there and the injured disciples who were left behind were all in utter despair, thinking that they were all doomed to be killed. Never had they thought that that very afternoon, Mu Chen would suddenly lead a batch of his own disciples, to come treat the wounds and injuries for them, prisoners of war.
Their actions, had immediately stunned the injured disciples to turn into wooden statues.
They were not evil at heart, but just chose to remain loyal after having joined the Twelve Palaces. Those who remained and were still alive were all people who had not committed heinous crimes and Jun Wu Xie had no intentions of taking their lives at all. Moreover, with the Twelve Palaces already fallen, even if they were thinking to seek revenge, they had all lost their rulers. And Jun Wu Xie had also sent people to announce to them all the unscrupulous and highly despicable dealings and crimes the Twelve Palaces had carried out in secret.
These simple and pure minded disciples had never been involved in such matters and when they were told of all the heinous crimes committed by the Twelve Palaces, they were all frozen in shock, every one of their faces turning grim.
Those disciples who had wanted to fight to the death to seek revenge for their Palace Lords then suddenly stopped, having realized that the people they had pledged their allegiance to, were actually people who were unscrupulous and merciless demons. There were even of the more talented disciples whom the various palaces seeked to keep their talents strictly for themselves, where they severed all forms of contact with the outside world, and secretly got rid of all their family members, to have them remain loyal to the palace their entire lives, unable to have any second thought about it. All this information, were what Fei Yan brought out from the Dragon Slayers Palace, in fine detail.
Chapter 1948: "Avoiding Battle (1)"
With the stacks upon stacks of crimes placed before their eyes, The disciples from the various palaces could no longer find themselves anymore excuses to continue to be loyal. As for those disciples whose families had been persecuted, they just fell to the ground to weep in pain with snot covered faces, and it was under those sorrowful wailing that Mu Chen led a team of healers who began to treat these people's injuries.
Those disciples who were still defiant when struck by such a blow, no longer resisted and just obediently cooperated.
Those who had their families murdered even opened their mouths to thank Mu Chen and his men, thanking them for avenging their family members.
With the prisoners of war from the Twelve Palaces dealt with, Qu Ling Yue sorted out all the information and sent them to Jun Wu Xie's room, for Jun Wu Xie to make the final decision for them.
"Those from the Twelve Palaces in the city have curbed themselves, the twelve Palace Lords all dead, and the various palaces' Elders almost all eradicated. How do you want to deal with the rest of it?" Qu Ling Yue resisted the urge of wanting to ask Jun Wu Xie about her injuries, as she carried out her task of tying up the loose ends in a clear and orderly manner.
"There is no need for us to worry about it. I'll arrange for someone to go inform the Spirit Jade Palace. This is an agreement I made with them before." Jun Wu Xie said as she looked through the scrolls prepared with highly meticulous detail, and she was filled with admiration for Qu Ling Yue's great capability.
Back when she had initially approached the Spirit Jade Palace, she had already discussed all of this with the Spirit Jade Palace Lord. She would destroy the Twelve Palaces and let the Spirit Jade Palace lead. Jun Wu Xie had no other intentions towards the Twelve Palaces and dumping them onto the Spirit Jade Palace would be the least troublesome.
"Then what do we need to do regarding Gu Ying?" Qu Ling Yue asked, an eyebrow slightly raised. Thinking back to the very moment when she had seen Jun Wu Yao carrying the blood covered Jun Wu Xie, her heart had felt like it was stirred with a blade. She had found out from Ye Sha after that that it had been caused by Gu Ying who led a group of men that suddenly came charging out.
Gu Ying had killed Gu Yi, and the people he brought possessed powers far beyond that of people in the Twelve Palaces, so it was highly possible that he had mobilized the strength of the Spirit Void Temple.
Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes. The matter concerning Gu Ying was a rather thorny problem and she had asked Jun Wu Yao about Gu Ying earlier and that was how she came to know that Gu Ying had escaped by using the Soul Shift Technique. But the Soul Shift Technique caused great harm to the user and even though his soul might have escaped, it would be an extremely hard task for him to reconstruct his flesh body, so Gu Ying would not be able to stir up any trouble for a period.
"We can leave that aside for the time being. We've just come out from a huge battle and even if we want to seek an explanation from the Spirit Void Temple, we will just be oppressed by the Nine Temples." It wasn't that Jun Wu Xie did not want to eradicate the root of the problem, but it was just that the strength they possessed was not sufficient to go against the Nine Temples. Crushing the Twelve Temples had already taken out quite a lot out of her. Scheming and plotting for two whole years, stirring up chaos within the Twelve Palaces' harmony before succeeding with the opportunity given by the Twelve Palaces' Summit. If they were to pit themselves against the Nine Temples at this point of time, there would be no need to even speak of revenge as everyone from the Lower Realm here might all fall under the hands of the Nine Temples.
"After everything is handed over to the Spirit Jade Palace, all of you should immediately return to the Lower Realm and not remain here in the Middle Realm any longer." Jun Wu Xie did not know if the incident with Gu Ying would force the Nine Temples to act immediately and in order to prevent any unexpected accidents, she must send everyone back into the Lower Realm. So if the Nine Temples wanted to seek trouble with them, when they're in the Lower Realm, it would at least be where Jun Wu Xie called the shots and Jun Wu Xie was confident that even if the Nine Temples were to mobilize their entire strength, she would make them unable to return.
But if the Nine Temples did not make any moves, that would naturally be best.
This battle with the Twelve Palaces, though triumphant, had cost them significant losses. Qiao Chu together with the other companions, everyone of them a primary pillar of their might unable to summon up any spirit power, where even Ye Gu had been injured. Hence, it was definitely not a good time for them to get into another battle.
"Alright. I'll go make the arrangements right now." Qu Ling Yue nodded, understanding Jun Wu Xie's concerns.
"Then, with the Spirit Jade Palace, who do you want to go inform them?"
Chapter 1949: "The Swallow Returns (1)"
Jun Wu Xie gave it a thought and said: "Get my Master to go."
"Yan Bu Gui?" Qu Ling Yue was slightly startled.
(Translator Note: The name Yan Bu Gui, 燕不归, reads as the Swallow doesn't return.)
Jun Wu Xie nodded. "Get him to make a trip over here first."
Qu Ling Yue nodded, and just after awhile, Yan Bu Gui was called to come into the room.
Freed from living the life of a penniless and destitute man, having a nouveau rich like Jun Wu Xie as a disciple, it had truly saved Yan Bu Gui quite a bit of an headache.
"Wu Xie, what do you need from me now that I'm here?" Yan Bu Gui asked as he languished himself into a seat before Jun Wu Xie. It seems his candid and unpretentious personality had not changed in the slightest.
Jun Wu Xie watched Yan Bu Gui gaugingly without a word. Truth to told, she had never carefully studied Yan Bu Gui's looks before and what left the biggest impression on her besides his towering frame and unrestrained laughter was only that great big bushy beard that filled up Yan Bu Gui's face.
Looking at it carefully now, Jun Wu Xie noticed that Yan Bu Gui was actually not as crude and coarse as he seemed at first glance. His brows were handsome and not coarse, his nose tall and outstanding. If one covered that beard and only looked at his eyes and brows, he would actually cut a rather strong and dashing figure, but it was that full bush of a beard over his face that made people subconsciously feel this person was a little boorish.
Being stared at so intensely by this little disciple of his, even Yan Bu Gui was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and he was a little awkward as he looked at Jun Wu Xie to say: "Why are you staring at me for? It makes me feel rather embarrassed."
"....." Jun Wu Xie was speechless. She really could not link this Yan Bu Gui before her eyes together with Su Ya, as she could not help but feel when these two people stood together, it makes her think of a certain cartoon film in her past life, Beauty and the Beast.
Although that was what she thought in her heart, but Jun Wu Xie had not forgotten Su Ya's deep obsession.
"Master, were you from the Middle Realm in the past?"
"That's a matter of many long years past. I am now a person from our Lower Realm already." Yan Bu Gui said jovially.
"I remember that Master was from the Palace of All Life?" Jun Wu Xie continued to ask.
"Mm." Yan Bu Gui nodded, not knowing why his little disciple was suddenly so interested in all that.
"Then why did Master leave back then? Could it be you were in the same situation as the parents of Qiao Chu and the others?" Jun Wu Xie was looking straight at Yan Bu Gui.
Yan Bu Gui was slightly startled and his eyes lowered as he tried to hide a tinge of loss within.
"Why I left is now no longer important. I have left the Middle Realm for a long time and let things that have past remain as the past. There is no meaning in bringing it up again."
"Isn't there nobody that you miss or care about in the Middle Realm?" Jun Wu Xie was staring fixedly at Yan Bu Gui. For a woman like Su Ya, which man under the Heavens would not love and admire her?
Yan Bu Gui sunk into a deep silence, seemingly unwilling to think of anything regarding that at all. He remained quiet for a rather long while but under Jun Wu Xie's resolute gaze, he knew he would not be able to brush the topic away and that was when he started to say slowly: "Your Master me is human as well, and I naturally have feelings. Although I have left the Middle Realm, I did stay here for many years. When people interact with each other, feelings and emotional attachments are unavoidable. But there are not many people I can still remember here and even if I do, I wouldn't know if that person is still around. Rather than saying that they are people that I miss, I should rather say it's people I've let down."
It was the first time Yan Bu Gui's jovial voice sounded with a tinge of sadness and dejection.
Jun Wu Xie saw every single reaction that Yan Bu Gui was showing. Meeting Jun Wu Yao let Jun Wu Xie learnt what feelings were, what love was. She might not have known in the past, but today, she saw longing in Yan Bu Gui's eyes, just like she had seen in Su Ya's eyes as well.
Chapter 1950: "The Swallow Returns (2)"
Jun Wu Xie took a deep breath and then opened her mouth to say slowly: "Ever since I set foot into the Middle Realm, my heart has only been focused on bringing down the Twelve Palaces. For that I had gone to the Battle of Deities with Qiao Chu and the others and as expected we were all chosen where we all went to the Cloudy Brook Academy in the end."
"Heh, Qiao Chu told me about that already." Yan Bu Gui said with a laugh.
But Jun Wu Xie did not miss the strange glint that flashed in Yan Bu Gui's eyes when she mentioned "Cloudy Brook Academy".
"I acknowledged another person as my Master in the Cloudy Brook Academy. That person has a queer personality and did not think much of me in the beginning. It was only when the Headmaster personally asked her to teach me that she accepted me reluctantly. It was only after a long while had passed that she slowly came to accept me. She then told me that she had actually not wanted to accept any more disciples." There was no joy or sorrow in Jun Wu Xie's voice, like she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
Yan Bu Gui was highly entranced as he listened, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"She was beautiful and gorgeous looking but drinks like her life depended on it. She was irritable and violent but highly protective. Whoever bullies me in the slightest and she will personally seek justice for me. She once said to me that her disciple must definitely not be bullied by anyone and if he get bullied, he must fight back. And if he is not a match for the opponent, then she will help him fight back. Master, do you think she is a good Master?" When Jun Wu Xie finished, her gaze locked onto the silent Yan Bu Gui.
Yan Bu Gui's hand that was holding the urn of wine trembled slightly, seemingly like he was struggling very hard to hold himself back.
"That's right, a person who is so protective would naturally be a good Master." It was not known why Yan Bu Gui's voice was sounding a little raspy.
"Master Su Ya is a great person and she treats me very well, but I know that she holds an obsession in her heart. She said she remains at the Cloudy Brook Academy because she is waiting for someone, a person who let her down." Jun Wu Xie said expressionlessly.
Yan Bu Gui had a hand holding his forehead, casting a shadow over his face.
"She should not wait. In the end, some people are unable to go back anymore and are too ashamed to face her again."
"Why? If it's because of the All Life Palace, the All Life Palace has been destroyed. Why can't you meet?" Jun Wu Xie did not understand. She had gotten Fei Yan to look into everything about the All Life Palace back when he was in the Dragon Slayers Palace but he had not been able to find any information linked to Yan Bu Gui.
According to reason, if there was any enmity between Yan Bu Gui and the All Life Palace, with the information network the Dragon Slayers Palace had, they would not have missed it. Now that the All Life Palace was gone, even if Yan Bu Gui still had any misgivings, there was no longer a need for him to be concerned with it.
Yan Bu Gui shook his head.
"Wu Xie, I understand your kind intentions, but this matter is far from being as simple as you think it is. The reason is not because of anything between the All Life Palace and me. Even though the All Life Palace has been destroyed, I still do not dare to go seek her out. You don't understand, if I go to her side, I will only draw calamity onto her, or even..... I cannot stay here in the Middle Realm much longer and I will be leaving soon after."
Yan Bu Gui's tone of voice was filled with a kind of helplessness. He hesitated a moment before he looked and Jun Wu Xie and said: "Wu Xie, I can see that Jun Wu Yao is very important to you. If you trust me as your Master, leave as soon as you can from the Middle Realm. Go to the Lower Realm, anyplace will do. Do not continue to remain here. The Middle Realm to Jun Wu Yao, is just too dangerous!"
Yan Bu Gui's words caused Jun Wu Xie to be rather startled, that this matter would concern Jun Wu Yao was something that she had never thought about before.
"Master, these words you're saying..... what does it mean?"
Yan Bu Gui clenched his teeth together, seemingly wanting to saying something, but he just could not, like he was very concerned about something.
"I will never seek you any harm. All of you have exacted your revenge. Do not stay here any longer. The Middle Realm is not a good place at all."