My Arch-Nemesis Cried and Begged Me Not to Die 63

Chapter 63: Everyone is talking nonsense.

Yan Jingyu’s consciousness had never disappeared. He had always been trapped in a kind of prison with no visible edges.

Not until a voice came: “He, his soul-lamp, has burned out…”

In that instant, his vision suddenly brightened. The cage that had imprisoned him suddenly opened, and a soft daylight spread out before him. His figure spun in the thin mist, and it was also as if he were rapidly shuttling through the clouds.

He looked up and saw the pillar of the Heavenly Dao hanging high in the sky, covered with golden runes, like a stalactite, but he didn’t know where its source was.

“What is a true immortal?”

A voice asked him. He was rapidly shuttling, and also standing in a daze. His consciousness seemed to have split into two parts. One was trying hard to go to some supreme place, and the other was staying in place. But he knew very well that these two selves were acting at the same time.

“…There is no true immortal.” He heard himself speak. “In the world, there is no true immortal.”

Below the pillar of the Heavenly Dao, the thirty-six rule thrones suddenly trembled, but were forcefully stabilized by the pulling of the chains.

“He’s back, the heavenly mandate is back…”

“Didn’t he die? His soul-lamp was about to burn out. He should have died!!!”

He was still standing in a daze, the clouds spinning at his side, murmuring, “Man seeks a true immortal, which is wrong… Man and god are different. Man cannot teach a god to become a god, and a god also finds it difficult to enlighten a man to be a man…”

“The Great Dao is ethereal, all are false appearances.” He was still flying towards the pillar of the Heavenly Dao, like a tired bird returning to its nest. “Man deceives man, deceives immortals, and deceives himself. Immortals also deceive man, deceive immortals, and deceive themselves.”

“Immortals use the common people as their banner, seeking to ascend to the Great Dao. Man uses his family and blessings to seek peace of mind. Immortals use the name of saving the world to secretly plot for ascension and promotion. Man relies on kinship and kindness to protect his own small world… their actions are different, but their selfishness is obvious…”

“Therefore, there are no true immortals in the world.”

The rule thrones trembled again, and a heavenly thunder struck straight at him. “Nonsense!!!”

He did not dodge or evade, but the heavenly thunder passed straight through his body without causing him any damage.

“The Heavenly Dao operates, and all laws are natural. The rule thrones defy the Heavenly Dao, usurp its authority, lock cause and effect, bind cognition, and shackle reincarnation… This is truly a flaw in mortals becoming gods…”

The runes on the throne of fate were being written faster and faster, faster and faster. The blank armrest was about to be filled in an instant.

“Don’t let him come up—!”

“Use the divine tribulation!!!”

A purple divine thunder condensed in the air, rapidly expanding and contracting. A silver snake constantly flowed within it, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. A vast and mighty pressure rushed towards him, but his expression was still calm. His ankle-length dark hair moved without wind, his robes were pure white, and he slowly raised his hand. “I am the heavenly mandate, following nature. In order to let the true god return, I will remove the rules and untie the Heavenly Dao…”

“Kill him!”

The chains of the pillar of the Heavenly Dao once again surged with endless power. The purple thunder became denser. All the rules trembled. The divine power of the thirty-six rules poured into the divine tribulation and came crashing down on him.

The astral energy exploded in all directions, the clouds were annihilated without a trace, the chains clanged, and the people of the rules fell down silently, all looking down.

“…He, has been resurrected?”

Yan Jingyu opened his eyes.

There was no one around, but he could clearly feel that his body had been injected with an endless power in an instant. The roots of the tree beside him twisted and wound. His fingers gently stroked the nearest root, his expression a little dazed.

The moment his consciousness was released, he felt as if he had become another person, a person who did not care who Yan Jingyu was, nor did he care about the world, without sorrow or joy, without feelings or righteousness, selfless and selfless.

His hand was on top of the root. His figure left the ground. Only then did he discover that he was in a place where deep green and red flowers were intertwined.

His white clothes brushed past a lustrous eggshell on the ground. Yan Jingyu was suddenly stunned. He suddenly squatted down and carefully held up the egg, his expression full of disbelief. “A phoenix…”

The phoenix clan had been extinct for many years and had long since disappeared from the world. He had not expected that when he woke up at this moment, he would actually pick up a phoenix egg… and around him, there were all of them!

Without time to think, an endless amount of spiritual energy had already spread from Yan Jingyu’s body, instantly enveloping the entire Jiuyi Mountain in a protective shield.

He put down the phoenix egg in his hand, flew up, and a golden rune rose up behind him. Accompanied by the lingering sound of Sanskrit, it startled all the rules into trembling at the same time.

“He has not yet ascended to immortality… yet he has already obtained a rune divine form…”

“The Heavenly Mandate Eyes, after his soul-lamp burned out, have actually merged with his soul…”

“Damn it…”

Yan Jingyu suddenly looked up. The rules all shrank their heads at the same time, holding their breath.

Yan Jingyu also probed his own divine form with his divine sense. He had also thought before about what his future divine form would be. But he had always thought that he would be like most people in the mortal world, and his divine form would be himself. But he had not expected that it would actually be a rune…

He quickly formed a seal and set up nine hundred and ninety-nine ring formations on Jiuyi Mountain. Although he was still not clear about what had happened, he realized that it should be the divine wood in his body that had saved him. What surprised him most was that he had actually recovered all his cultivation and had also obtained a unique divine form by a strange combination of circumstances.

He spun in the air to look. The rune at a glance was very gentle, but when the divine power slowly spread out, he would find that there was a hint of sharpness at the edges, just like a hidden blade in a blunt object. But if you looked at it with concentration, you would see that it had become like a spring lake again.

“So versatile… could it be that this divine form of mine is called ‘impermanence’?”

“Wrong!” a voice suddenly came from behind. Yan Jingyu immediately turned his face, and a book flew towards him. Wen Renying was also looking at his divine form with admiration. “You actually merged with your own Heavenly Mandate Eyes and made the Heavenly Mandate rune your divine form. Little A-Yu, your good luck has finally come—why did I say finally?”

Yan Jingyu looked at him. He remembered that the other was the Vast Expanse Book that had been snatched away by the Demon Realm back then. It was just that what made him a little puzzled was, “How did you end up here?”

“I…” Wen Renying thought for a moment. “Haven’t I always been following you?”

“…” Yan Jingyu reacted for a moment. “But I remember you were snatched away by the Demon Realm…”

“Then you snatched me back later.” Wen Renying said, “You even killed the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm. Don’t you remember?”

“I killed Chi Yuan?!”

“That’s right, that’s right.” Wen Renying said, “Then you snatched me back. Your life was almost at its end. Because you wanted to return the divine wood to Jiuyi Mountain, you came back yourself. I didn’t expect that when you buried yourself in Jiuyi Mountain, you also accidentally lifted the curse of the phoenix clan back then, so the divine wood in turn saved you. Wow, a happy ending for all.”

Yan Jingyu followed him back to the side of the Wutong wood, looked up at the hanging Qiwu flowers, and curved his lips. “Thank you all.”

In the dark space, Liao Chen said in a low voice, “What nonsense is he talking about?”

“…” The lotus spirit was silent.

Liao Chen glanced at it. The lotus spirit finally said fiercely, “You dog thing.”

“You’re not afraid I’ll kill you?”

“I’ve already been hidden along with you. Do you think you can ever get out in this life?!” the lotus spirit cursed mercilessly. “Now the whole world is slowly repairing the traces you left behind. Wen Renying knows about our conversation and all our affairs, but he will subconsciously mix up some things he can’t figure out. After a while, all that will be left in everyone’s memory is the repaired truth. The two of us will never be able to get out!!”

“Why is it that of all the things in my Qiankun Pouch, only Wen Renying was not hidden?”

“Because he is no longer an ordinary artifact. He is an independent individual, you stupid donkey.”

“Lotus spirit…”

“My name is Qi Yiju!!” the lotus spirit cursed. “Ten thousand years ago, when the divine natures of the heavens were scattered in the mortal world, the first mortal to ascend to immortality was me! It was I who created the rule thrones, it was I who first connected to the pillar of the Heavenly Dao, and it was also I who taught the later people how to steal the authority of the Heavenly Dao. Now, all the rules in the world were set by me!!”

“Then your being hidden was also a rule set by you?”

“Of course not, you bastard!!” the lotus spirit said, on the verge of a breakdown. “The operation of the Heavenly Dao is all natural. For everything, there are gains and losses. This is the true Heavenly Dao!!!”

“Hmm?”

Yan Jingyu suddenly turned around and looked over here. Liao Chen and the lotus spirit both fell silent at the same time.

Wen Renying also came over, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“…I seem to have, smelled a flower fragrance.”

Liao Chen suddenly looked at the lotus spirit. The lotus spirit also pointed at its own nose in disbelief.

“Qiwu flower?”

“No.” Yan Jingyu shook his head. “It’s a very elegant, very pleasant… lotus flower.”

Wen Renying flew over on his book and looked. “There are only Qiwu flower pollens everywhere here. There isn’t even a river. Where would there be a lotus flower?”

Yan Jingyu was also a little confused. He waved his hand again, brought his nose closer, and sniffed carefully, but he still couldn’t find that fragrance.

“Alright, alright, stop sniffing.” Wen Renying said, “You’re finally better now. Are we going back to Hutian?”

Yan Jingyu was a little dazed for a moment. Logically, he felt that he should go back, but emotionally, he seemed to have already found another sense of belonging…

“Little A-Yu?” Wen Renying came to him. Yan Jingyu came back to his senses, smiled, and said, “Mm, let’s go back.”

He looked at his hand.

A hundred years of hardship, he had not expected to recover all his cultivation just like this… He looked around, his gaze once again falling on the phoenix egg at his feet. He bent down and picked it up. “This egg seems to be a little different from the others.”

Wen Renying looked at it. “How is it different?”

“It and the other eggs…” Yan Jingyu reacted for a moment. He wanted to say that this egg’s aura was a little different from the others, but when he carefully probed it, he suddenly couldn’t find that different aura anymore.

“The other eggs are all underground. Only this one is on the ground.” Yan Jingyu said, “I think it must be fated with me.”

“It’s the egg you were nurturing in your spiritual abode…” the lotus spirit said, pulling at Liao Chen excitedly. “The needle you buried hasn’t even started to move, and he already feels it. He really is a child of the laws…”

Yan Jingyu also nurtured the egg in his spiritual abode, probed it with his divine sense, then broke off a branch of the Qiwu flower and a branch of the divine wood, and padded the bottom of the egg. “Let’s go.”

His figure left Jiuyi Mountain, and at the entrance of Jiuyi Mountain, he added a mist formation.

The phoenix clan had reappeared, and he himself had been reborn on Jiuyi Mountain. It seemed that he had a deep connection with this clan. Before those cubs grew up, he had to protect them.

“We, we’ll follow him!” the lotus spirit shook Liao Chen. “If you lock onto him with your consciousness, you will always stay by his side.”

Where did he need to be told? No matter where Yan Jingyu went, he was still within his line of sight.

This was simply an unconscious action.

“What’s wrong with you?” Wen Renying lay on his book and suddenly spoke. Yan Jingyu was silently squatting on the Du Fang Sword, lowering the sword a little. He said in a small voice, “I seem to be a little afraid of heights.”

Wen Renying: “…It must be a side effect from losing your cultivation. Do you have a vehicle on you?”

“No…” Yan Jingyu said, “It seems I only have a sword left.”

He raised his hand and covered his eyes, his gaze suddenly falling on his index finger, and he was stunned for a moment.

He felt that his eyes were a little blurry. Just now, he had actually seen a white jade ring on his index finger.

He flew slowly at a low altitude, his divine sense spreading in all directions, feeling more and more dizzy. But he himself also knew that he had already recovered his cultivation. This matter had to be overcome as soon as possible. After a brief period of mental construction, Yan Jingyu forced himself to stand up on the sword.

In his divine sense, a person suddenly came. From far away, Yan Jingyu heard his pleasant surprise. “Master!!!”

“My heavens…” the lotus spirit said. “He really remembers this matter.”

Liao Chen looked at the tall and sturdy Qi Mufang who was coming at high speed, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Yan Jingyu, on the other hand, was a little dazed. He watched as the other came all the way to him, nimbly circling him twice, his expression pleasantly surprised. “Master, you’ve really been resurrected. He didn’t lie to me!!”

Yan Jingyu said keenly, “He?”

“He…” Qi Mufang paused slightly. “That’s right, he.”

“Who is he?”

“He is…” Qi Mufang thought for a long time. He always felt that his brain seemed to have been kicked by something. Some parts of the fragments were not connected clearly. He searched for a long time and finally said, “He is the one who introduced me to become your apprentice.”

Yan Jingyu was also quiet for a moment. He had no impression of this person in his mind. He didn’t even remember that he had ever taken Qi Mufang as his apprentice.

“…Are you sure, you became, my apprentice?”

“Of course!” Qi Mufang was shocked. He immediately recited the heart technique of the Flowing Clouds and Flying Catkins in front of him, and at the same time, drew his sword and danced a segment in the air. “Here, here, you even specifically instructed me at that time. Have you forgotten?”

“…” His expression was panicked. Yan Jingyu was speechless for a moment. “Then you are here to take me home?”

“Mm, mm, mm.” Qi Mufang nodded like he was pounding garlic. Yan Jingyu had no choice but to go back to the so-called home with him.

The two of them landed in a certain village outside Lingyun City. Qi Mufang was very reliable all the way, and his goal was firm. “This is our home, Master. This is the place where Brother Ming and I became your apprentices, and also the place where you taught us the secret manuals and instructed me in my sword techniques. I will never forget a single brick or tile of this place.”

Yan Jingyu’s gaze fell on the small courtyard nearby. Even though he had no special memory in his mind, the moment he landed, he still felt a long-lost sense of security.

There was still someone inside…

He suddenly strode forward, pushed open the courtyard gate, and saw at a glance Ming Zelin, who was sitting at the door, lost in thought.

Yan Jingyu’s eyes darkened slightly. Qi Mufang quickly walked over. “Brother Ming, I’ve brought Master back.”

Ming Zelin looked up blankly. “What Master…”

“Master, my Master, Immortal Lord Dufang!”

“You’re dreaming again…” Ming Zelin murmured. He looked at his own palm. “I must be dreaming too.”

The two of them were quiet for a moment. Qi Mufang suddenly said, “Your cultivation…”

“My cultivation has been crippled.” Ming Zelin was still smiling, but it was uglier than crying. “I woke up and found that I had no cultivation at all. But I don’t remember who crippled me… Mufang, you became Immortal Lord Dufang’s apprentice, but I was crippled. This must be a dream, right?”

As he spoke, he walked to the side, saying in a panic, “I’ll go to sleep again. When I wake up, everything will surely be better…”

Wen Renying was suspended beside Yan Jingyu and said in a small voice, “Have you noticed that things don’t seem to be right?”

Ming Zelin went straight into a side room and soon covered his face with a quilt.

Qi Mufang stood in place, dazed. After a long while, he quickly walked over. “Master, things are not right. When I was looking for you, I was in a daze several times on the way and got lost several times. I couldn’t remember what I was doing. If I hadn’t always remembered that I was looking for Master, I imagine I would have also felt that I was dreaming, just like Brother Ming.”

Yan Jingyu frowned, gazing at the grass and trees around him. “You don’t remember who crippled him either?”

“I don’t remember…” Qi Mufang was a little embarrassed. “But in my impression, he wasn’t just crippled today. I don’t know why he suddenly seems to have lost his memory.”

Yan Jingyu came to the small house that faced south, his gaze falling on the exquisite tea set on the side, and also the four stools at the table. He came to the couch on the inner side. “Here, have I always been living alone?”

“Yes.” Qi Mufang answered without hesitation this time. “Has Master discovered something?”

Yan Jingyu shook his head.

There was indeed no trace of a second person living in the entire room. There were too many tea sets, and it was impossible to tell if they were used by two people. Although there were four stools, they were standard for a table.

He was very familiar with this place. He even knew where to lift his hand to touch the hanging bamboo basket on top. He reached in and touched it, and as expected, he found some snacks inside.

It was very familiar, but he always felt… that something was missing.

He placed the Du Fang Sword on the table and said softly, “Let’s not go back to Hutian for now.”

He sat down at the table and gently stroked this ordinary table. He suddenly saw something on his index finger again, but when he looked closely, it had disappeared again.

He raised his hand to touch it, but there was nothing there.

Just then, Ming Zelin, who had just returned to the side room, suddenly ran over again. “Brother Qi! Quick, help me open the communication jade slip! My sect has finally sent news!”

Qi Mufang quickly stepped forward. But Ming Zelin’s gaze fell on Yan Jingyu. His expression was dazed. He subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, then rubbed his eyes again.

The person in front of him was as graceful as a pine, as bright as the moon, with his dark hair tied up high, and a feathered ribbon hanging down. His whole body was filled with a righteous aura, no different from the portrait hanging in the study hall of the sect. No, he was even more magnificent than that portrait.

“Brother, Brother Qi…” Ming Zelin pulled at Qi Mufang. “Pinch me.”

Qi Mufang obediently pinched him. Ming Zelin let out a low howl. “You, you really became Immortal Lord Dufang’s apprentice?!”

“…Why do you seem to have lost your memory?” Qi Mufang said, “A year ago, on New Year’s Eve, the two of us, right here… hmm, those two chairs have been put away. Early in the morning, we served the apprenticeship tea. The Immortal Lord even gave each of us a secret manual. Have you forgotten?”

Yan Jingyu observed Ming Zelin without a change in his expression. Not until he was dazed, and though not completely enlightened, he had already consciously knelt down in front of him. “Master, Master, I remember! It was you who crippled my cultivation!!!”

Yan Jingyu: “?”

The hand that Qi Mufang was about to activate the jade slip with paused. He looked at him blankly. Ming Zelin immediately said, “You said that your cultivation technique and the immortal arts I learned were not the same path. You asked me to start over and said you would re-expand my meridians for me. Master…”

He knelt and moved towards Yan Jingyu, grabbing the corner of his clothes and crying, “Have you forgotten? Do you only remember Brother Qi as your apprentice? Don’t you want Xiao Lin anymore?!”

Wen Renying’s expression was dazed. Although Yan Jingyu was calm, his eyes showed confusion.

Qi Mufang said subconsciously, “Brother Lin, no, Brother Ming…”

“You’ve forgotten too?!” Ming Zelin’s eyes widened, and he looked at him with near despair. Qi Mufang reacted for a moment, then said slowly, “No, I haven’t forgotten. Brother Ming is right… it was indeed, Master… who crippled your cultivation…”

Ming Zelin immediately looked at Yan Jingyu again. Yan Jingyu coughed lightly, a little wooden. “You said I crippled your cultivation because my cultivation technique and the immortal arts you learned were mutually exclusive?”

Ming Zelin nodded vigorously.

“But, my cultivation technique is also an immortal art…”

Qi Mufang nodded at the side. Ming Zelin also reacted for a moment. “Then, what I cultivated before should be the demonic path.”

As soon as his voice fell, Qi Mufang’s hand trembled, and he activated the sect jade slip he had taken from Ming Zelin. A weary voice immediately came from inside: “Where are the disciples of my Jianying Sect? If anyone has escaped from the hands of the demonic race, say something!”

Yan Jingyu and Qi Mufang looked at Ming Zelin at the same time. The former said with hesitation, “Are you a spy sent by the Demon Realm to the Jianying Sect?”

In the silence, Liao Chen and the lotus spirit crossed their arms and watched, lost in thought. “Everyone is talking nonsense.”

The lotus spirit nodded. “They are all coincidentally reshaping and completing their own memories.”

“Hidden, is just that.” Liao Chen sneered contemptuously. The lotus spirit shook its head. “You should thank me. Think about it, if you hadn’t deliberately caused these things, Yan Jingyu would have gone straight back to Hutian after he woke up.”

“It was still this Lord who inserted the needles well.” Liao Chen was not in a hurry now. “Were you hidden by this kind of thing for so many years before?”

“…Not everyone can discover a hidden person!” the lotus spirit cursed. “Yan Jingyu’s intuition is extremely keen. He can actually smell a hidden aura. If it were anyone else, it would be impossible to notice these things. Even if they realized that something was wrong, they would think that something was wrong with themselves under this power and would not possibly investigate further. Otherwise, would Qi Mufang have agreed with him just now? Would Ming Zelin have repeatedly said that he cultivated the demonic path? Now, no matter what they say, as long as no one raises any objections, they will reach a consensus under this power to erase the truth of your being hidden.”

“Besides.” When the lotus spirit mentioned these things, it was simply furious. “Last time, I was alone. Do you know how helpless I was alone? Now there’s still me who can talk to you. And, if Yan Jingyu hadn’t smelled the fragrance on me before, could you really have sat still?!! You were locked up in this kind of place alone, calling out to the heavens and the earth, but no one would answer…”

“Thank you for being hidden with me.” Liao Chen pressed its head and cut him off directly.

On this side, Ming Zelin had finally found the answer. “It’s because I didn’t cultivate properly when I was in the Jianying Sect. You said my foundation was not stable, so you crippled me.”

His expression was serious and sincere. He held Yan Jingyu’s sleeve. “Master, you have to believe me. It was really you who crippled me! This kind of thing, I will absolutely not forget!!!!”