Chapter Four A Devastating Beauty

Chen Feiyang's cultivation session this time was excessively long, lasting a full three days. I was starving to death. In this desolate place without Wenyu, Sight Meat, Huolan Rats, Shaogē Niú, Danmu, Yugaung, Lìquán... not to mention only a few pieces of lingzhi that tasted as bad as wood, besides starving to death, I seemed to have no other choice.

Looking at that motionless piece of wood, I estimated I could endure for about another day. If he didn't wake up after another day, I feared that upon waking, I would only see a dead Wen Meng. I also didn't know whether I would die as a humanoid or as a Wenli.

"Miss Meng'er?"

Good, I didn't have to worry about whether it's more dignified to die as a humanoid or a ling. The wood awakened.

"Hmm?"

"You've been staring at me motionlessly for three days?"

"Hmm."

"Not hungry? Not sleepy?"

"Of course I am hungry and sleepy, but since you're here not moving, I was afraid a tiger would come and eat you. It's better for me to eat than other prey."

He chuckled. Only then did I realize that he had managed to maintain a normal demeanor over the three days of cultivation, even daring to talk to me without covering his eyes. The cultivation he was performing must not be of the mortal realm.

I spoke firmly, "Feiyang, what cultivation are you practicing? Is it something passed down from your sect?"

"No," he slowly stood up. "I don't have a sect, only a master. This technique I obtained from the Mingyue Jade Bi."

I was stunned again. No wonder it felt so familiar. Could it be...

"How could there be cultivation methods in the Jade Bi?"

Feiyang smiled, seemingly in a great mood. "How could there not be? How does your master teach you those immortal secrets?"

I curled my lips. "It's just like a young beast shedding its fur, or a petty person gaining power." 

He only smirked and looked at me without saying anything.

I gave him a look, "Honestly? Hmph, my master is the Heavenly Lord's heir, maybe even the next Heavenly Lord. I really don't understand what you're boasting about? There, just like that."

I formed a spell, conjuring a small Wen Meng in the open ground. She also held a spell in her hand and, with a shout, released a divine lightning bolt from her palm, smashing it into the ground.

"Understand now? Mortal techniques are passed down through practice, right? But the immortal family always uses illusions."

"Then how can you know what the spell is?"

I gave him another look, relaxed my mind, and enveloped him, shouting in his heart, "Idiot, use your mind, do you understand? Immortal spells take effect as soon as they're spoken, how can you casually speak them out?"

Did I shout too loudly? He seemed a bit exasperated, but was he stunned?

Damn, this guy is misbehaving, actually learning from me. He gave me another glance before saying, "Oh, the Jade Bi taught me the same cultivation methods."

I looked at him in surprise, but he evaded the question, "Just like a young beast shedding its fur, how interesting. Miss Meng'er, does the Wenli shed its fur?"

This bastard, always bringing up irrelevant topics, right?

Before shedding, the Wenli used to be a fluffy, furry ball. Others said it was cute, but I always felt I looked terribly ugly, sadly gazing at the mirror-like waterfall of Kunlun Xu every day. So when I finally shed and donned the watery blue fur, I was quite proud, showing off to Brother Chibaole for a long time until he gained a human form, and I stopped bragging.

Sigh, I really wish they could endure me in Kunlun for centuries. If they didn't genuinely care for me, they would have left long ago because they were just too dull.

Seeing my frustration, Chen Feiyang seemed a bit embarrassed. "Feiyang was a bit rude, Miss Meng'er, you don't have to take it seriously. The Mingyue Jade Bi also taught me the same cultivation methods. I chased that Fei Lianzi all the way to the foot of Kunlun Mountain to intercept him and reclaim the Mingyue Jade Bi. I intended to return to the Central Plains immediately, but it was already late, so I randomly found a tree to sleep on. To prevent the Jade Bi from being lost, I tied it around my neck. Looking back, I think the Jade Bi was suspended at my heart at that moment."

"That night, I had a strange dream. In the dream, there was a man in white clothes who telepathically taught me a set of heart methods. Strangely, I was both watching and learning in front of him. He tapped several major acupoints around me, and I could see the hand seals he made behind me while casting spells. Now I realize he never spoke, but what he wanted to say was clear in my mind. It was he who instructed me to come to these Ten Directions Mountains. After waking up, the Jade Bi disappeared. I tried to cultivate the techniques from the dream, but everything in the dream was real. Before he disappeared, he taught me a spell. By reciting this spell, the Jade Bi would reappear in my hand."

After speaking, Feiyang looked at me with some emotion. "Meng'er, if that man in white is truly your Wu Jiu, your awakened dream is far inferior to him. You turn your waking into a dream, yet you can't control your intentions. But he can transform dreams into reality, manipulating them as he pleases with ease."

I bowed my head, feeling deeply distressed. I could feel the Wu Jiu Bi hidden within my Daoist heart slightly fluctuating, as if Wu Jiu was sighing softly.

Faintly, I heard Chen Feiyang sigh as well, "He's right. Fate is unattainable; if it's meant to be, it happens. If not, it's left alone."

I was momentarily stunned, silently chanting to myself, "If it's meant to be, it happens. If not, it's left alone?"

Almost simultaneously, the Wu Jiu Bi within my Daoist heart suddenly changed. Wu Jiu appeared within my mind, smiling faintly. "Meng'er, my Meng'er, have you passed the human tribulation?"

I stood there dazed, my consciousness subtly entering my mind and rushing into his embrace, crying out loud.

Earlier, I hadn't noticed, but Wu Jiu's smile seemed tinged with sadness. He stroked my hair gently, just like countless times over the centuries, softly caressing my water-like fur with warmth and affection.

"Meng'er, Wu Jiu is not here. The Jade Bi only contains a fragment of the spirit. Let me see, what does my Meng'er look like after obtaining a human form? Probably a devastating beauty that can topple a nation?"

I looked up at him. Wu Jiu remained the same—aloof, ethereal, gentle, and noble.

I slightly moved my lips, intending to smile, but tears uncontrollably streamed down.

"Don't cry, Meng'er. I've thought for a long time, and this method is the best. It not only allows you to safely pass the human tribulation but also benefits my tribulation. So, Meng'er, you must live well during your hundred years in the human realm. After a hundred years, when you ascend to Kunlun Xu and go to find your Empress, I believe you'll understand how my tribulation ends."

"Alright, Meng'er, no time to cry. The spiritual energy remaining in my consciousness is not much, and it won't last long. Using your methods from Kunlun to cultivate spirit and calm yourself is too slow. Recently, there might be a great calamity in the human realm. If not handled properly, it could bring disaster to the seven realms. Since you must stay in the human world for a hundred years, it's better to prepare early. This set of serenity techniques is specially crafted by Wu Jiu for my Meng'er. Now, Wu Jiu teaches you, you must practice diligently and not be lazy like when you were learning from Hua Wei."

I nodded, knowing that the real Wu Jiu didn't know where he was at this moment. I couldn't see or hear him, but I still choked back my response, tears continuously streaming down, "Alright, as long as it's what Wu Jiu teaches Meng'er, Meng'er will listen carefully, remember thoroughly, and practice diligently."

When I emerged from my consciousness, I didn't know how much time had passed.

I was still wearing Feiyang's long robe. I raised my arm, and the sleeve of Feiyang's robe slipped down my wrist, revealing my white jade-like smooth skin. At the slightest intention, the jade color began to fade like time wearing it away, revealing a slightly yellow complexion. I stared blankly for a long time.

I sighed and slowly untied my belt. As Feiyang's long robe fell, a woman's garment in a deep blue, water-like color appeared on me.

Outside, there were sounds of chopping wood, probably Feiyang. I took his long robe and pushed open the door. The outside was lush and beautiful. Unknowingly, the spring had already departed.

In the human realm, mortals are the most suffering beings among the seven realms. Life is short, only about a hundred years. All the youthful recklessness and missed opportunities cannot be reclaimed, just like the passing spring. When spring comes next year, everything might have changed. 

I once remembered someone in the human realm lamenting spring. Wu Jiu taught me that verse. The verse says, "Spring leaves no trace, who knows unless you ask the orioles." 

I softly hummed these lines. As my thoughts shifted slightly, a melodious oriole flew out from my hand. It first chirped two sounds towards me, then flapped its wings and soared into the sky like an arrow.

I looked up, but my heart recalled Wu Jiu. At that time, he was just gazing at the remaining red blossoms under the tree, continuing the verse, "A hundred chirps no one can understand, because the wind blows past the roses." Although his words carried a hint of melancholy, he never explained the reason.

Back then, I really didn't understand. I thought Wu Jiu was a wandering immortal, and I was a Wenli. We were both beings meant to live as long as heaven and earth. How could spring cause sorrow? Now I understand. Spring comes and goes, flowers wither and bloom again. But when spring returns, the one beside me mourning spring under the tree is no longer my Wu Jiu.

Wu Jiu always said that things in the world are impermanent. Indeed, even immortals cannot control their own fate.

The sound of chopping wood ceased. Chen Feiyang didn't speak. After a while, he began tapping the wood with his longsword and started singing rhythmically.

"I once saw the Jinling Jade Palace with orioles singing at dawn,

The Qinhuai Water Pavilion with flowers blooming early,

Who knew how easily ice would melt!

Watching the red towers rise,

Watching the banquets for guests,

Watching the towers collapse!

These green moss and blue tiles piled up,

I once slept in a flowery dream,

Witnessed the rise and fall of fifty years.

That Yuyi Alley isn't named Wang,

The ghosts at Mochou Lake cry at night,

The phoenix platform shelters the crows.

The dreams of the remaining mountains are the truest,

Old realms are hard to let go,

Don't believe in changing maps!

Compose a set of 'Mourning Jiangnan', sing the sorrow until old."

*Note: Annotation by Xiao Qing: This tune is from Kong Shangren's "Peach Blossom Fan" in "Yu Yun – Liting Yunzhe Shizhan". A good poem.*

This song is truly beautiful, expressing the helplessness after the decline of worldly prosperity, desolate like autumn. It's just a pity missing Wu Jiu's kind of peace and resignation.

I looked toward the direction of the singing and saw Feiyang, bare-chested, his upper body baked to a bronze color by the scorching sun, leisurely sitting atop a pile of wood, smiling happily at me. The sword on his side, capable of slashing my arms, seemed to still have some wood shavings on it. He casually threw it beside his foot. Could it be that he had just chopped the wood with his sword?

For some reason, looking at this Feiyang and thinking about the words he sang earlier, my mind began to churn and surge, unable to find an outlet. It was as if I had too much to say but couldn't find the words. 

Today, the weather was clear, distant mountains like tinted ink, layered forests lush and green. This place was in a valley between two mountains, with pine forests on the peaks and wild grass on the hillsides, swaying like waves when the wind blew.

With the grass waves passing by, my long hair fluttered slightly, dancing in the breeze.

No one in this world has seen the wind itself; what they've seen are the long grasses dancing with the wind and long hair being tousled by it.

My master forced me to memorize their immortal realm's scriptures, which say, "All winds blow differently, yet they all act on their own, allowing each to obtain their own fate." I didn't understand. Wu Jiu let me memorize it, but at this moment, the phrase was clear in my mind.

Thus, I finally understood what illusions are. What doesn't change is the wind; what changes is the "ten thousand." The same wind blows differently.

I smiled gently, forming a spell and flipping my hand. Several flower spells emerged.

From the long grass on the hillside, a long creek surged forth, the sound of water trickling. By the creekside were several peach blossoms, their fallen petals coloring a spring water stream red.

Raising my hand again. Earth and wood spells.

Pavilions and towers grew like bamboo shoots in a midsummer rainy night, quickly rising and expanding layer upon layer, covering half the mountain, nestled beside the water. The sky was like a brocade of clouds gently descending, surrounding the courtyard with lavishness, mist enveloping the cold water with rosy gauze.

Waving my sleeve. Whispering spell.

In the long creek shaded by the wild grass, a fighting boat appeared. On the boat was an embroidered canopy of gauze and satin, invisible of people, but the sound of silk and bamboo instruments was clear and melodious, floating over the green mountains and long creek, drifting into the bustling paradise, lingering and lingering.

I smiled slightly and rose my arm to dance gracefully like a fluttering butterfly.

Zhuang Zhou's Dream.

Within the bustling scene, several figures appeared—talented men and beautiful women, clinking cups and pouring wine, composing poems and painting. A woman in colorful clothes with picturesque features was dancing in the water pavilion, singing as she danced, "Rain outside the curtain drizzles continuously, spring's intent dwindles. The silk quilt can't bear the cold of the fifth watch. In the dream, I don't know I'm a guest, indulging in pleasure for a moment. Alone, leaning on the balustrade at dusk, infinite rivers and mountains. Farewells are easy, reunions are hard. Flowing water and falling flowers, spring departs, whether in heaven or the human realm."

I lowered my hand, watching the woman finish her song and smile coquettishly at Feiyang. Her smile made me blush; I was truly afraid that her appearance was just my unruly self after passing the tribulation. Having just obtained a human form, I was unaccustomed to it. As a Wenli, my temperament would unintentionally show.

Looking over to Chen Feiyang, he didn't glance towards the singing woman at all. His eyes were as clear as water, staring blankly at me.

I smiled at him. The mountain illusion gradually dissipated like mist meeting the bright sun.

After the grandeur faded, it was still the serene and long grass of the mountain.

My appearance also vanished along with that woman. I knew that I now looked like an ordinary human woman—light yellow hair, slightly round face, slightly dark complexion. Probably only these eyes still held my old spirited gaze. If I hadn't reached my Empress's "No Dream" realm, my eyes would probably still change.

"Feiyang, I think we can go out of the mountain and join the Shaohao Sect."