Chapter 25: Elder Gu's revenge
Above the Lunar Marsh, a woman wearing a pure white robe was standing on a sword floating in the sky. She had long light brown hair with several golden ornaments. With light makeup on, her skin gave off a very faint red color making her seem full of life.
She seemed like she was in her twenties. Actually, she was more than 150-years-old. Her cultivation had reached 7th-grade Spirit Warrior, and was getting real close to advance again. This made her one of the most powerful cultivators in the Hongchen Kingdom.
The strongest cultivator was the Emperor himself who was an advanced 9th-grade Spirit Warrior. Since the time of the first Emperor, Emperor Nuwa, there was no record of a cultivator crossing over the realm above Spirit Warrior, the legendary fourth realm, Sage. And most people in the late stages of the Spirit Warrior Realm were closer to 200-years-old than 150.
This fair lady came directly from the mountains. As her sword floated above the swamp, it got lower and lower. She arrived where Cao Yun had killed the first group of demonic cultivators. She did not even look at the bodies. At her stage, she had developed what was known as spiritual senses. Reality was perceived by her spirit directly, without using her physical senses. In an instant, she knew exactly what had happened. She even saw the traces of blood to attract the Mirror Back Ancient Alligator.
"Smart." Her soft voice was like a melody.
Like thunder, her sword moved toward the cave. Following the tracks of the demonic cultivators was no challenge at all for her. All the traps set up in the cave did nothing to her. Not even paying attention to them, some arrows tried to pierce her but were stopped by an invisible wall, more than 2 meters away.
Finally she was in the huge room where the victims were amassed. Nine demonic cultivators were laying down in puddles of blood, some with terrible wounds on their body. At last, she put her feet on the ground and walked toward another body, Cao Yun's.
Just by moving her fingers, Cao Yun levitated in the air and was gently sent sitting against a wall. From a silver ring on her finger, the woman took about a small porcelain bottle. Some fragrance escaped the bottle and she directed it toward the boy. A strange purple smoke penetrated his skin, his nose and his mouth. The woman's hands began to shine with a bluish tint and followed the smoke. This energy traversed his Meridians and his wounds started to heal themselves.
-
After several minutes, Cao Yun regained consciousness. However, he was in his sea of consciousness again. There was now a huge yellow Yi character drawn in the sky that was reflected on the calm surface of the ocean. Right in the middle of the ocean, just above the water, was a single small drop of blood. The Yi character was also engraved on this drop of blood. Cao Yun instantly recognized the Drop of Wrath. Right now, he could feel that he was able to control the intent of this Drop of Wrath as if it were its own. He was not sure that it would not try to invade his mind again but it was subdued for now.
Now, Cao Yun had a new understanding of this Drop of Wrath. Apparently, it really was made of wrath. There didn't seem to be any mind within this drop, just pure anger and hatred. It was probably the last resentments of its owner.
It was not consciously trying to take over. But each time Cao Yun was agitated, the feelings contained within would resonate with him and spill out. Sadly, Cao Yun's mind was not yet strong enough to suppress them easily. This time, he nearly got drowned in them, and he had no way of knowing if he would have been able to come back from it.
He was not awake yet but he felt a sweet sensation flowing through his body. His Meridians were warming up and the pain in his body slowly faded away. Even the fatigue from his forceful cultivation of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' was being washed away.
-
Outside the cave stood an old man that Cao Yun would have recognized. He was Gu Lin. As of now, he really looked like a madman. After ingesting various pills and drugs, he had increased his cultivation as high as he could, just to be sure that he could kill Cao Yun. Even though his cultivation was not really at 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior, he had an equivalent strength. The price to pay for such an increase was his life force.
Increasing your cultivation through pills and drugs was somewhat possible in the first stages of cultivation. But the more advanced your cultivation, the less effective any drug was. Moreover, some bottleneck could not be overcome by external means. And the last thing, was the toxins.
Each pill contained toxins in it. Most of the time, the doses of toxins were so small that the body would just eliminate it naturally. But most of the pills that could forcefully increase your strength needed to be extremely aggressive and had a high level of toxins in them. This was a huge threat to whoever took them.
Unfortunately, Gu Lin did not want to live any longer. He literally wanted to kill Cao Yun and die, to find his family back. All this increase in power was to ensure his goal, but also, to feel this power coursing through him at least once in his life.
Sadly for him, he felt no joy at all. First of all, this strength was artificial. But most importantly, he could not feel anything anymore.
He was walking toward the cave as he had been able to see the flying sword from afar. Thanks to his last contact in the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, and to every bit of his fortune, he had found out about Cao Yun's presence in the nearby town and his departure in the Lunar Marsh.
For two days now he was searching for clues. This flying sword seemed like a sign from the heavens. Fate was with him! Gu Lin even imagined the spirit of Gu Ouyang guiding him to avenge his death.
-
Gu Lin was now standing in the cave. The scene of this beautiful woman tending to Cao Yun's wounds was otherworldly. No matter the bloodbath around her, she looked like a fairy visiting the world of men.
Gu Lin cupped his fists and bowed.
"Senior." Despite all the drugs coursing through his body, Gu Lin was not an idiot, he knew that this young woman was certainly a senior cultivator beyond his understanding. "This lowly one has a grudge to settle with that little demon. Please do not interfere."
The woman's interest was piqued.
A dim light shined in her eyes for an instant.
Soon after, her melodious voice echoed in the cave. Gu Lin had the feeling that he was listening to music. "Sir, I will not interfere with your actions. You have karmic chains to break. Please, do."
Her figure disappeared into thin air.
Gu Lin was ecstatic. "Thank you, Senior."
He walked to the young man who was sitting still against the wall of the cave. Gu Lin clenched his fists and pictured the face of his grandson Gu Ouyang. Then, he also saw his daughters, his son, his wife. His entire family was all around him, watching over him.
Tears dripped down his face. His right fist lifted up and went down. A shock wave shook the walls as the chest of Cao Yun was caved in.
Gu Lin dropped on the floor, sitting. He cried again and all of his will dissipated. The Qi he was using to keep the toxins at bay was released and Gu Lin died in a matter of seconds, with the face of his family waiting for him in a next life.
-
In reality, the scene was very different. Advanced Spirit Warriors had access to new skills and arts pertaining to the mind. The fairy-like woman was easily able to get inside Gu Lin's mind. After watching his memories, she understood what was going on. It only took an instant, but she knew why Gu Lin wanted Cao Yun dead. She could have invaded the boy's mind as well but she did not. This technique was always dangerous as it could damage the mind. She had done so against Gu Lin because she saw that he was not long for this world. But she would not risk destroying a boy's mind without a good reason.
She was intrigued by this boy. And after reading Gu Lin's memories she knew he had done nothing wrong. It could be said that he even was pretty moderate. Had it been her, Gu Ouyang would have been killed the first time he attempted to murder anyone. But she could not blame Gu Lin either. He had really tried to stop his grandson. No matter his crimes, he was his only family left.
She hesitated but decided not to kill Gu Lin. If reading his mind was easy, feeling the deadly toxins in him was easier. By using a secret art, she manipulated his mind to make him see exactly what he wanted. That way, he died peacefully. She even opened a bottle of medicine whose fragrance erased his pain at the last moments of his life.
-
Cao Yun woke up in a bed, confused. Two women were busy preparing some tea. As soon as he opened his eyes, one of them turned around.
"Young boy, try not to move. Our mistress found you in the Lunar Marsh. Your wounds are mostly healed, but you must be exhausted." She got near the bed. "We're preparing some soothing tea for you, everything will be fine."
Cao Yun was disoriented for an instant. Before long, he took all this information in. He cupped his fists and bowed down. "Thank you for your kindness. May I know who your Mistress is?"
The door opened and the woman from the cave entered. "Xiao Xuefeng. I am a guest elder of the Wubei Sect."
"The Wubei Sect?!" Cao Yun tried to look around him but the windows were a little too high and he could barely sit down in the bed, let alone stand up.
"Yes, this is the Wubei Sect." She sat down at a small table where the two women had already set up two cups of tea. "I had heard about the disappearances in the swamp. And seeing as nobody seemed to want to lift a finger to help, well, I did." She sipped some tea. "I must admit, you surprised me, boy. I saw the way you took care of these demonic cultivators."
Xiao Xuefeng decided to hide her encounter with Gu Lin. "I assume that you came here to enter the Wubei Sect. The entrance examination is in less than a week after all."
"Yes, Senior. That was my intention, but when I heard the rumors about demonic cultivators, I had to do something about it!"
"And you did. Good!" A light shined from her silver ring and around ten boxes appeared on the floor. "These are your rewards." Flicking her fingers the boxes all opened. A sweet fragrance filled the room. Embalming Lake Lotus Leaves.
"Senior Xiao, this is too much, I can't..."
"Are you going to say that you can't accept it? You eliminated the threat. There were even more leaves in the cave, this is only a small part of them. There was nothing more of value, so take it."
Cao Yun hesitated a bit. "Fine, Senior." The boxes closed themselves and went back to her ring.
"I'll keep them for you now, just ask me if you need any. They are very sensitive to light of any kind. More importantly, come and drink some tea. It will be good for your fatigue."
Cao Yun got up with difficulties and walked toward the table. As it was painful to watch him stumble, one of the two servants supported him. When the tea flowed down his throat, a peaceful sensation calmed some of the pain he suffered from just getting up.
"It occurred to me that I never asked for your name." She hid the fact that she had seen Gu Lin's memory.
"Chen Guo, Senior."
"Chen Guo?" Given her heightened spirit, it was clear for Xiao Xuefeng that he was lying. "Let's talk some more."
As if she was interrogating him, Xao Xuefeng made him tell her almost everything about what had happened to him. She could easily tell whether he was lying or not without invading his mind. And Cao Yun told mostly the truth. He only let out some parts.
He obviously did not talk about his family or the killing of Huang Lixin, or Huang Longwei, even though the last one was pure self-defense. He knew the Huang family was powerful in Baziyun City and did not want to risk offending them publicly. As long as there was no proof, they would maybe hesitate to attack him, especially if he got into the Wubei Sect.
And Cao Yun could not know for sure whether other members of the family were aware of Huang Longwei's acts. After all, he seemed to have ditched his bodyguards to try to murder him. Most likely, he had wanted to hide it from someone in his family.
Xiao Xuefeng listened to everything and could vaguely make out the parts he hid. From the memories of Gu Lin, everything since the slaughter of the Cao family was clear to her. Still, she did not expose him at all. She was one of the most talented experts, if not the most talented expert in the spiritual arts across the entire Kingdom.
"Fine, Chen Guo. As a guest elder, I do not have much authority, but I will secure a candidate seat for you."
Cao Yun did not believe what he heard. Quickly, he cupped his fists and bowed down. "Thank you, Senior Xiao."
"No need to thank me. It's nothing much. You will just be able to skip a screening phase. And I'm pretty sure your achievements in getting rid of these demonic cultivators would have been enough for you to get a candidate seat. I don't even know whether I will have to vouch for you or not..."
She stood up and stopped Cao Yun who tried to do the same to salute her.
"For now, rest well. The entrance examination is in five days. Do not make me lose face by failing them."
"I swear I'll honor your trust, Senior!"
She left the room and the two servants helped Cao Yun back to his bed, before leaving as well.
"Mistress, did you take a liking to this boy?" One of the servant was joking when she asked her mistress.
"Indeed, I find him very interesting. He's talented but not arrogant. He also seems to hide something."
"You could just..."
"No! I will not invade his mind to read it." Xiao Xuefeng was well aware of the potential damage it could cause. "Kang Hai, Kang Cai, take good care of him. I want to see his full strength at the entrance examination."
"Yes, Mistress!"