Chapter 48: Du Xian Sect 6 Part 2

“What kind?” Xun Ji asked, puzzled. “The illusion wasn’t that hard to break.”

Li Hanzhao seemed to realize his reaction was impolite, blushing as he whispered, “It’s said the Fan Tian Illusion can only be entered by two people at a time, and they can only exit by… achieving unity of spirit and flesh…”

There was such a rumor? No wonder in the original story, Lu Yun Ting and Su Yanran stayed in the illusion for so long, going from awkward to proficient, from mutual aid to budding affection.

But… unity of spirit and flesh? Him and Lu Yun Ting?

Xun Ji arched a brow slightly. Flesh… yeah, pretty united there—he had verified that the first night he arrived. But spirit? Lu Yun Ting didn’t even know his real identity.

Real identity…

Xun Ji’s fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the boulder. He knocked in his mind on the System.

“Is this world’s protagonist Lu Yun Ting related to the previous world’s protagonist Lu Zhou…?”

【Insufficient system permissions. Unable to answer this question.】

Xun Ji’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean unable? Yes or no?”

【Insufficient system permissions. Unable to answer this question.】

This was the first time the System reacted like this. Xun Ji’s eyes darkened. What exactly was there that he still didn’t know?

“Watch out, Yunting Lord!” Li Hanzhao cried out, anxiously peeking out.

Lu Yun Ting was locked in fierce combat with Fan Tian, subtly gaining the upper hand, when suddenly Fan Tian’s figure swelled rapidly, growing over twice his original size. The giant Fan Tian pinched a Magic Formula, golden Sanskrit characters swirling around him. A majestic pressure swept outward, about to smash the boulder where Xun Ji hid.

“Ching!”

An Ice Blue Long Sword streaked through the air like flowing water, embedding itself right in front of the boulder. Piercing sword qi surged up with biting frost, forming an unbreakable sword qi barrier.

Fan Tian’s spiritual energy crashed into the barrier and exploded. Xun Ji and Li Hanzhao were unharmed.

“As expected of Yunting Lord!” Li Hanzhao exclaimed excitedly. “A genius with Variant Ice Spiritual Root!”

Lu Yun Ting heard the praise. While dodging Fan Tian’s attacks, he glanced toward the back of the boulder.

Li Hanzhao noticed his gaze and happily waved at him, signaling they were fine.

Lu Yun Ting didn’t even look at him, turning back to focus on the fight for a bit.

Then glanced again.

Li Hanzhao’s hand hung in midair, slowly lowering. He nudged the distracted pink-clad girl.

“Yanran Fairy, Yunting Lord seems… seems to be looking at you.”

“Looking at me?” Xun Ji peeked out, perfectly meeting Lu Yun Ting’s gaze. Lu Yun Ting immediately looked away innocently, his hands forming a precise array seal fluidly. He intoned lowly, “Water Dragon Chant!”

An array laid down unbeknownst when lit up with pillars of water-blue light centered on the Zhenliu Sword. Vast Ice Spiritual Root energy surged with immense force toward Fan Tian, trapping him completely within.

Amid the busyness, Lu Yun Ting glanced over again.

Even Xun Ji noticed something off this time. “Do his eyes itch?” Xun Ji asked Li Hanzhao puzzledly.

“Uh…” Li Hanzhao hesitated. “Maybe because I praised Yunting Lord earlier…”

“Hm?”

“Yanran Fairy didn’t praise him…”

“…”

Fan Tian struggled bitterly in the ice array, roaring in fury. Lu Yun Ting focused intently, gathering icy spiritual energy in his palm.

“Wow, Senior Brother Lu is so awesome!” A sweet voice shouted loudly, echoing through the desolate ruins of the Snake Woman Temple. “Ice Spiritual Root with long legs, most beautiful among three thousand sects! Sword Dao Genius Lu Yun Ting, future of the immortal gates belongs to you!”

“Boom!”

The icy spiritual energy burst suddenly, blasting a massive ice hole in Fan Tian’s chest. His bulky form swayed and crashed to the ground.

“Senior Brother’s nose bridge is a slide, wanna touch abs next time! Senior Brother…”

“Enough!” Lu Yun Ting gritted his teeth. “Su Yanran, mind your words!”

Tch, glared at for not praising, scolded for praising—how picky.

Xun Ji walked out from behind the boulder and pointed at Fan Tian on the ground. “What exactly is this thing?”

Lu Yun Ting turned his face away, refusing to look at him, leaving only a flushed ear root visible. “Not a living person. Perhaps an obsession Fan Tian left here.”

“Look, he’s dissolving!” Li Hanzhao cried in alarm.

Fan Tian’s body on the ground dissipated into golden mist, swirling and condensing in place into a golden lotus flower wreathed in fog, taking root on the ground and swaying without wind.

“It looks a bit like that flower that grew from Fan Tian’s flesh and blood in the illusion.” Xun Ji squatted down for a closer look.

“This is… a Du’e Flower!” Li Hanzhao said excitedly. “High monks who cultivate the Du’e Path grow Du’e Flowers from their flesh after death. As long as the Du’e Flower doesn’t wither, reincarnation doesn’t end.”

“Reincarnation doesn’t end?” Lu Yun Ting frowned. “Fan Tian already extracted the Buddha Heart Relic—no reincarnation.”

“The Buddha Heart Relic forms from the Du’e Flower. Once the relic leaves the body, the Du’e Flower withers, no reincarnation.” Li Hanzhao explained. “But if external force preserves the Du’e Flower from withering, and the Buddha Heart Relic remains, over years of nurturing, the flower and relic might fuse anew.”

He summoned the Gold Devouring Toad from his Spirit Beast Bag and said to the palm-sized toad, “Little Tun, swallow the illusionary mist on the treasure so we can see its true form.”

The little Gold Devouring Toad blinked its round eyes, opened its big mouth, and sucked fiercely at the Du’e Flower. The golden mist around it vanished instantly, and blinding Buddhist light shot skyward. Everyone turned away from the glare.

When Xun Ji looked back, in the center of the radiant Du’e Flower lay a lustrous pearl shining with Buddhist light.

“Buddha Heart Relic!” Li Hanzhao rejoiced. “Legends say high monk Fan Tian fell to a woman’s betrayal, lost his relic, broke his reincarnation. I came to this secret realm to search personally, never thought it was really here! And from the looks, it’s half-fused with the Du’e Flower. In another century, this broken reincarnation might reconnect!”

A scene from the illusion flashed in Xun Ji’s mind, bringing realization. “When Qingming left the Snake Woman Temple, she scattered her century of cultivation. It wasn’t to sever ties with Fan Tian, but to nourish the withered Du’e Flower with her cultivation, leaving him a sliver of life.”

“So Fan Tian wasn’t betrayed? That woman exhausted her cultivation to preserve his life—perhaps in reincarnation, they’ll meet again.” Li Hanzhao sighed. “Truly touching. Though the Buddha Heart Relic is a priceless treasure, if it can fulfill this fated pair, I’d leave it here!”

“…You might be willing, but someone isn’t.”

Xun Ji watched the expressionless Lu Yun Ting pluck the Buddha Heart Relic from the flower’s heart.

Then he raised his sword and severed the Du’e Flower.

Golden petals fluttered down and turned to ash smoke, dissipating completely. Without the Du’e Flower’s nourishment, the once-gleaming Buddha Heart Relic instantly lost its luster, dull as ordinary gravel.

Buddha heart like stone, abandoned in wild grass, unpicked by any.

A century ago, the Buddhist cultivator carved out his heart, leaving it here, betting on a chance of reincarnation reunion with his beloved. He lost the bet.