Chapter 68
Yu Wuxia looked at Immortal Jiaheng, a faint smile curling his lips, his voice slightly deep with a hint of magnetism, “Because disciple has long admired Master for many years. Once, while reciting sutras in the human realm, disciple’s consciousness inadvertently entered the Thirty-Three Heavens and saw Master lecturing on the sacred altar. Disciple was amazed by Master’s demeanor and resolved that if there ever came a day to become an Immortal, he would surely seek apprenticeship under Master.”
Jiaheng considered several reasons but never imagined it would be for this reason. He gazed into Yu Wuxia’s eyes, which held a shy smile, sincere and candid, making Jiaheng feel he had overthought things.
Though Yu Wuxia was once a disciple of the Immortal in the forest, millennia had passed, undergoing many reincarnations, each erasing memories of the previous life. Therefore, Yu Wuxia should not remember him.
Realizing this, Jiaheng’s expression returned to normal. After a few seconds of eye contact with Yu Wuxia, he turned and left.
However, Yu Wuxia continued to watch the departing figure of Immortal Jiaheng.
Within the enchantment, Si Lan stared at Yu Wuxia’s youthful face. At this moment, Yu Wuxia appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, just reaching adulthood in the human realm. There was no strange fire mark between his eyebrows, and his eyes were filled with youthfulness, devoid of any demonic aura.
He was completely different from the Yu Wuxia they would later encounter.
“Is Yu Wuxia here for revenge?” Si Lan murmured.
“Probably not,” Haowei replied.
If Yu Wuxia wanted revenge, he had countless methods, far beyond seeking apprenticeship under Immortal Jiaheng. Moreover, despite his accumulated merits, Yu Wuxia’s cultivation was not high. Killing him would be effortless for Immortal Jiaheng, so there was no need for him to expose himself or take the risk of becoming Immortal Jiaheng’s disciple.
This could only mean that Yu Wuxia truly admired Immortal Jiaheng’s presence.
When mortal monks reach a certain level of cultivation, their consciousness can transcend the physical body and roam the world. It seemed that Yu Wuxia’s consciousness had wandered to the Thirty-Three Heavens, witnessing Immortal Jiaheng lecturing on the lotus altar.
Yu Wuxia was unaware of the story between the tiger in the forest and the disciple of the Immortal. Misinterpreting the depth of their connection in this life, he might have thought he had a deep bond with Immortal Jiaheng, hence seeing him during his out-of-body experience.
Inside the illusion, Immortal Jiaheng placed Yu Wuxia here and hadn’t intervened since.
Months later, Yu Wuxia realized he had been “exiled.” Sitting cross-legged on a giant rock in a mountain cave, he recited scriptures. As his chanting quieted, he opened his eyes, a hint of melancholy in them.
After a while, Si Lan saw Yu Wuxia emerge from the cave, walking to the Floating Hall and peering into the distance behind a crimson pillar.
Following his gaze, Si Lan saw a lush Bodhi tree bathed in sacred light.
Beneath the Bodhi tree, several disciples sat respectfully on the ground, while Immortal Jiaheng sat on a lotus throne, one hand resting before him, eyes closed as he expounded scriptures to his disciples.
“Is Immortal Jiaheng avoiding Yu Wuxia, perhaps unsure how to face him?” Si Lan whispered.
“It’s more than that,” Haowei replied, gazing at Immortal Jiaheng’s serene face. “Someone like Immortal Jiaheng, deep in meditation, must have realized something.”
As they spoke, they suddenly saw Yu Wuxia’s figure turn into blue smoke and fly towards the Bodhi tree. They immediately followed. The blue smoke settled on a Bodhi leaf, transforming into morning dew.
The sacred light illuminated the dew, making it sparkle like a gem.
A drop of dew slowly slid along the veins of the Bodhi leaf, dripping from its tip, landing precisely on Immortal Jiaheng’s brow.
Immortal Jiaheng sensed the droplet but paid it no mind, continuing to lead his disciples in reciting scriptures with closed eyes. The droplet mischievously slid down, passing his eye corner and cheek, finally resting at the corner of his rosy lips.
Si Lan watched the serene and handsome monk before him, his face calm and peaceful, yet with a faint sparkle at the corner of his lips, adding a peculiar charm.
After landing on the corner of his lips, the dew remained motionless, quietly feeling the warm touch beneath it. After a moment, the dew tentatively slid deeper into the corner of his mouth, attempting to part those two rosy petals.
However, his lips were tightly closed, and it couldn’t pry them open. Losing balance, it fell from the corner of his mouth, gliding across his fair jawline before landing an inch below Immortal Jiaheng’s neck.
The dew quickly turned around, peering through the illusion to see Immortal Jiaheng, who had stopped lecturing without notice. His deep black eyes were fixedly staring at him, and the disciples who had been sitting beside him were gone.
Yu Wuxia realized his identity was exposed. He attempted to use magic to turn into blue smoke and escape but was caught by Immortal Jiaheng’s hand gripping his neck. Unable to break free, he blushed and obediently let Immortal Jiaheng pull him back.
On the side, Si Lan shook his head helplessly.
At this moment, Yu Wuxia was still as childish as a child, unexpectedly playing tricks by transforming into a raindrop to tease Immortal Jiaheng.
“Wuxia, do you understand your offense?” Immortal Jiaheng asked coldly.
Yu Wuxia immediately confessed, “Disciple understands his offense.”
After wiping his lips, Immortal Jiaheng released his grip. Yu Wuxia turned around, bowing his head, fully aware of his misdeed, obediently standing before Immortal Jiaheng to accept punishment.
He wasn’t afraid of punishment but feared being ignored or even rejected by his master.
“Why did you play such a trick on me?”
“Master, disciple also wanted to listen to the scriptures, but feared you wouldn’t allow it. So, I quietly transformed into a raindrop to listen on the Bodhi leaf, but… accidentally dripped onto your lips…”
Before Yu Wuxia could finish, Immortal Jiaheng interrupted coldly, “The reason you weren’t invited to this sermon is because your aptitude doesn’t require you to listen to such elementary Buddhist principles.”
“But after you sent disciple back to his residence, you haven’t cared about disciple…” Yu Wuxia sensed Immortal Jiaheng’s displeasure but didn’t understand why. These past few days, while meditating in the dark mountain cave, he had been pondering where he went wrong, making Immortal Jiaheng dissatisfied with him.
Immortal Jiaheng explained, “Your Immortal-nature is excellent, but your cultivation is still insufficient, so I had you meditate quietly in the mountain cave.”
“Master, disciple still hopes to accompany Master and be guided by you, believing it would accelerate my progress.”
Immortal Jiaheng remained silent for a while, gazing at him with closed eyes.
Embarrassed, Yu Wuxia clenched his hands, feeling as though his thoughts had been seen through.
In truth, he simply wanted to spend more time with his master.
“For playing a prank today, you will be confined to the temple for three months. If you perform well, after three months, you will accompany me to the mortal realm to spread benevolence and virtues.”
Upon hearing this, joy flickered in Yu Wuxia’s eyes as he lowered his head and said, “Thank you, Master.”
Accepting his punishment, Yu Wuxia obediently left. Meanwhile, Immortal Jiaheng remained standing in place, silently watching Yu Wuxia depart.
Si Lan and the others were about to follow Yu Wuxia when suddenly they saw Immortal Jiaheng open his palm, revealing a black line in his palm that extended into Yu Wuxia’s hand.
Si Lan stared at this strange black line connecting the two, feeling stunned.
Suddenly, he understood why Immortal Jiaheng had been avoiding Yu Wuxia and why Immortal Jiaheng’s expression was so grim when Yu Wuxia ascended. It was because Immortal Jiaheng saw the entanglement of their fates.
On Immortal Jiaheng’s side, the black line indicated a weaker position, with the thread in his palm wavering.
This meant that Immortal Jiaheng was destined to lose, perhaps even lose his life because of this. Naturally, he didn’t want to watch someone who would eventually kill him, which was why he left Yu Wuxia alone to cultivate in the mountain cave.
But Yu Wuxia was unaware of all this, only wishing to be closer to Immortal Jiaheng.
Si Lan felt a mixture of emotions, “The intertwining of fate between master and disciple is unexpectedly deep.”
Haowei, however, didn’t have so much sentimental grief. With a contemplative expression, he calculated quietly, “It will still be thousands of years before Yu Wuxia falls into demonic ways. During this time, I’m afraid many things have happened between the two.”
“Hmm,” Si Lan nodded.
Time passed swiftly in the illusion. Three months later, Yu Wuxia emerged from the mountain cave, his face filled with joy as he went to the temple to find Immortal Jiaheng.
However, after searching around, he couldn’t find Grandmaster Jiaheng, so he grabbed a young janitor to inquire. He learned that three months ago, Grandmaster Jiaheng had already taken a group of disciples to the human realm to perform acts of kindness and virtue.
Yu Wuxia listened to this and stood under the Bodhi tree, motionless for a long time.
Si Lan looked at his expression. Although there were no dramatic changes on his face, he could still sense the subtle shifts in his eyes—clear and deep like ink, lips slightly pursed, yet silent.
At that moment, a Bodhi leaf swayed in front of Yu Wuxia. He reached out and caught it. In the next instant, he opened his palm and the leaf turned into yellowish powder, fluttering down.
Si Lan and Haowei exchanged glances.
Grandmaster Jiaheng led his disciples in the human realm for several hundred years before returning to the Thirty-three Heavens. However, upon his return, he immediately went into seclusion with other Immortals like Good Passing in the Ling Mountain Temple in the Western Heaven.
This seclusion would last for three thousand years.
During this period, Yu Wuxia devoted himself to cultivation, progressing rapidly. Not only that, his appearance changed as well. He transformed from a youthful appearance of around fifteen or sixteen years old into that of a young man of eighteen or nineteen.
Taller stature, broader shoulders, even his eyes were darker, deep and captivating, unfathomable.
When Good Passing Immortal and other Immortals emerged from seclusion, countless disciples waited outside the Ling Mountain Temple. Yu Wuxia and his senior brothers were also waiting for Grandmaster Jiaheng.
As Grandmaster Jiaheng emerged, the disciples immediately approached and bowed respectfully. Grandmaster Jiaheng’s gaze passed over them with a smile, but froze when he saw Yu Wuxia.
Yu Wuxia smiled slowly, “Master, I am Yu Wuxia. After three thousand years, I wonder if Master still remembers me?” Among his senior brothers, whose appearances had long since stabilized, only he was still changing.
Grandmaster Jiaheng fell silent for a moment before saying, “Yu Wuxia, I remember you.” Yu Wuxia’s current appearance closely resembled the face of the disciple who had diligently cultivated in the forest years ago.
—
In front of the Immortal hall, Grandmaster Jiaheng questioned each disciple about what had transpired over the past three thousand years. When he heard that Yu Wuxia had been diligently cultivating in the mountains, Grandmaster Jiaheng paused.
Yu Wuxia thought Grandmaster Jiaheng was about to say something, but instead, Grandmaster Jiaheng remained silent about his progress. Yu Wuxia’s eyes darkened slightly. After the other disciples left, he remained standing in place.
“Master, you once said you would take your disciples to the human realm to perform acts of kindness and virtue. I have been waiting for you these three thousand years.”
Grandmaster Jiaheng looked up at Yu Wuxia upon hearing this. Yu Wuxia met his gaze firmly.
Grandmaster Jiaheng hadn’t expected that a casual remark made thousands of years ago would be remembered so vividly.
Seeing Grandmaster Jiaheng’s hesitant expression, Yu Wuxia spoke first, “Master, monks should not deceive.”
“…” Grandmaster Jiaheng.
After a long while, Grandmaster Jiaheng said, “I’ve heard there have been recent floods in the human realm. Let us go together to perform acts of kindness and virtue.”
“Yes,” Yu Wuxia lowered his head, hiding a smile on his face.
Seeing Yu Wuxia in this state, Si Lan shook his head from within the barrier. He didn’t understand that the closer Yu Wuxia got to Grandmaster Jiaheng, the stronger the entangled threads between them became, weakening Grandmaster Jiaheng’s vitality.
“When the heavens arranged Yu Wuxia’s destiny, they probably didn’t foresee that he would fall in love with Grandmaster Jiaheng and be entangled for this lifetime.”
“Yu Wuxia is the manifestation of the dark side of heaven’s will. Perhaps destiny is not entirely under the control of the heavens, allowing him to repeatedly disrupt the six realms established by heaven.”
However, Haowei believed that Yu Wuxia was not just the manifestation of heaven’s dark side, but also of heaven’s desires.
Otherwise, heaven would not have wanted Yu Wuxia to become an Immortal for a thousand lifetimes and cultivate secretly. It just didn’t expect that even as an Immortal, he could still be swayed by emotions.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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