Xujiaping—a name that haunted Xu Ying's dreams, yet one he dared not dwell upon.
An odd seal resided within his body, causing his memories to scramble whenever he tried to recall Xujiaping. Each time he remembered his parents, their faces were different, and their names were different as well.
Yet the terrifying part was that he had no recollection of these discrepancies himself.
He could not remember the name of any pair of parents, nor could he clearly picture their faces.
Furthermore, as the number of times he tried to recall them grew, it seemed to trigger some mechanism in the seal that wiped his memories, making him forget the details concerning Xujiaping!
Whenever he recalled Xujiaping again, he would fall into the very same loop.
Xujiaping was like a curse that trapped Xu Ying's memories within, never allowing him to break free.
The sorrowful old man said, "According to what I know, Xujiaping was your hometown in your first life."
Xu Ying's mind churned. His voice turned somewhat hoarse as he pressed, "Where is Xujiaping?"
The sorrowful old man shook his head. "You are far more ancient than I am. How could I possibly know where you were born in your first life?"
Xu Ying fell silent, feeling a touch of disappointment. "Perhaps my memories of Xujiaping are merely a type of seal—a seal intentionally meant to confound my recollections."
The sorrowful old man hesitated briefly, then said, "Likely not. The reason your memories of Xujiaping differ each time, as far as I know, is to obscure your true memories, rather than to serve as a seal."
Xu Ying's heart jolted slightly, and he looked toward him.
Throwing caution to the wind, the sorrowful old man said, "My duty was merely to monitor you. Whenever you stayed in a place for a period of time, I would wash away your memories and give you a false identity. That way, you would never be able to grow, never become a threat. I am not the first generation of Qi Refiner to do this; I had a predecessor before me, and my predecessor likely had one before him. Qi Refiners like us are nothing more than consumables."
He chuckled darkly. "Once we are consumed, we can ascend. Heh heh, only to ascend into an abyss, to become corpses, to become fertilizer!"
His voice was filled with grief and indignation. Only after a moment did he steady his Dao heart, saying, "This humble old man lost his composure and made a fool of himself before Young Master Xu. Though I am not ancient enough, someone is, and she knows far more than I do. That person is Granny Meng."
Hearing this, Xu Ying immediately thought of the old woman selling tea on the Nai River Bridge.
When he had entered the Wangxiang Platform, he had met her and nearly drank her tea. It was Granny Meng who had recognized him, accused him of trying to swindle a bowl of tea, and chased him away.
"Every time we overseers reset your memories, we always had to go to the Nai River Bridge first to ask Granny Meng for a bowl of tea,"
the sorrowful old man said unhurriedly. "We overseers are Ascension-stage Qi Refiners. Even if we can evade the Heavenly Tribulations, even if we consume immortal medicine, our lifespans are at most around four thousand years. When I took over the duty of watching you, I was only four hundred-some years old. Now I am senile and decrepit, clinging to life solely through immortal medicine. Yet Granny Meng back then looked just as she does today. Perhaps she is as ancient as you—or even older!"
Xu Ying steadied his mind and pondered, "Granny Meng might not be human, but rather a ghost-god of the Netherworld, which is why she can live for so long."
The sorrowful old man said, "Therefore, she could know far more. Judging from how she cooperated with me, tirelessly providing Meng Po soup every single time, she bears responsibilities just as I do."
He paused, then added, "If there is anyone left in this world who knows of Xujiaping, it can only be her."
Xu Ying nodded gently. After a moment, he asked, "I have one more question. Beichenzi holds an altar with a shrine and a stick of incense upon it. Originally, there was a talisman inside the shrine, and later you brought another one. Were the contents of those two talismans identical?"
The sorrowful old man's expression grew tense, his voice hoarse. "If I answer this question, I might die."
Xu Ying glanced at him and said flatly, "If you don't answer, you die right now."
Cold sweat broke out on the sorrowful old man's forehead. "When I became an overseer, I swore an oath that breaking it would mean death. At that time, a talisman descended from the heavens, commanding me to burn it while taking the vow..."
Xu Ying said, "I am not forcing you to reveal specific details, nor am I asking you to write out the shapes of each immortal character. I am only asking whether the two talismans were the same. Doing that shouldn't trigger the oath you swore, right?"
The sorrowful old man collected himself, carefully recalling the oath he had taken back then, and said, "Those two talismans were not the same... Cough, cough!"
He suddenly began to cough violently, spewing a plume of gray smoke from his mouth.
The smoke was exceedingly bizarre, its granules distinct enough that every single particle was clearly visible.
These particles were actually flying. After the sorrowful old man coughed them out, they unexpectedly swarmed back, boring into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!
The sorrowful old man's face changed drastically. He cried out frantically, "I didn't reveal anything that broke the oath... Cough, cough, cough!"
He coughed convulsively, vomiting forth smoke that grew denser and more voluminous by the second. The smoke even wriggled out of his eyes, ears, and nostrils like countless tiny insects.
Xu Ying was startled. He hurriedly took a step back and shouted, "Lord Bell!"
Hearing the call, the bronze bell immediately moved forward, its chime vibrating as it drove into the sorrowful old man's body.
Xujiaping—a name that haunted Xu Ying's dreams, yet one he dared not dwell upon.
An odd seal resided within his body, causing his memories to scramble whenever he tried to recall Xujiaping. Each time he remembered his parents, their faces were different, and their names were different as well.
Yet the terrifying part was that he had no recollection of these discrepancies himself.
He could not remember the name of any pair of parents, nor could he clearly picture their faces.
Furthermore, as the number of times he tried to recall them grew, it seemed to trigger some mechanism in the seal that wiped his memories, making him forget the details concerning Xujiaping!
Whenever he recalled Xujiaping again, he would fall into the very same loop.
Xujiaping was like a curse that trapped Xu Ying's memories within, never allowing him to break free.
The sorrowful old man said, "According to what I know, Xujiaping was your hometown in your first life."
Xu Ying's mind churned. His voice turned somewhat hoarse as he pressed, "Where is Xujiaping?"
The sorrowful old man shook his head. "You are far more ancient than I am. How could I possibly know where you were born in your first life?"
Xu Ying fell silent, feeling a touch of disappointment. "Perhaps my memories of Xujiaping are merely a type of seal—a seal intentionally meant to confound my recollections."
The sorrowful old man hesitated briefly, then said, "Likely not. The reason your memories of Xujiaping differ each time, as far as I know, is to obscure your true memories, rather than to serve as a seal."
Xu Ying's heart jolted slightly, and he looked toward him.
Throwing caution to the wind, the sorrowful old man said, "My duty was merely to monitor you. Whenever you stayed in a place for a period of time, I would wash away your memories and give you a false identity. That way, you would never be able to grow, never become a threat. I am not the first generation of Qi Refiner to do this; I had a predecessor before me, and my predecessor likely had one before him. Qi Refiners like us are nothing more than consumables."
He chuckled darkly. "Once we are consumed, we can ascend. Heh heh, only to ascend into an abyss, to become corpses, to become fertilizer!"
His voice was filled with grief and indignation. Only after a moment did he steady his Dao heart, saying, "This humble old man lost his composure and made a fool of himself before Young Master Xu. Though I am not ancient enough, someone is, and she knows far more than I do. That person is Granny Meng."
Hearing this, Xu Ying immediately thought of the old woman selling tea on the Nai River Bridge.
When he had entered the Wangxiang Platform, he had met her and nearly drank her tea. It was Granny Meng who had recognized him, accused him of trying to swindle a bowl of tea, and chased him away.
"Every time we overseers reset your memories, we always had to go to the Nai River Bridge first to ask Granny Meng for a bowl of tea,"
the sorrowful old man said unhurriedly. "We overseers are Ascension-stage Qi Refiners. Even if we can evade the Heavenly Tribulations, even if we consume immortal medicine, our lifespans are at most around four thousand years. When I took over the duty of watching you, I was only four hundred-some years old. Now I am senile and decrepit, clinging to life solely through immortal medicine. Yet Granny Meng back then looked just as she does today. Perhaps she is as ancient as you—or even older!"
Xu Ying steadied his mind and pondered, "Granny Meng might not be human, but rather a ghost-god of the Netherworld, which is why she can live for so long."
The sorrowful old man said, "Therefore, she could know far more. Judging from how she cooperated with me, tirelessly providing Meng Po soup every single time, she bears responsibilities just as I do."
He paused, then added, "If there is anyone left in this world who knows of Xujiaping, it can only be her."
Xu Ying nodded gently. After a moment, he asked, "I have one more question. Beichenzi holds an altar with a shrine and a stick of incense upon it. Originally, there was a talisman inside the shrine, and later you brought another one. Were the contents of those two talismans identical?"
The sorrowful old man's expression grew tense, his voice hoarse. "If I answer this question, I might die."
Xu Ying glanced at him and said flatly, "If you don't answer, you die right now."
Cold sweat broke out on the sorrowful old man's forehead. "When I became an overseer, I swore an oath that breaking it would mean death. At that time, a talisman descended from the heavens, commanding me to burn it while taking the vow..."
Xu Ying said, "I am not forcing you to reveal specific details, nor am I asking you to write out the shapes of each immortal character. I am only asking whether the two talismans were the same. Doing that shouldn't trigger the oath you swore, right?"
The sorrowful old man collected himself, carefully recalling the oath he had taken back then, and said, "Those two talismans were not the same... Cough, cough!"
He suddenly began to cough violently, spewing a plume of gray smoke from his mouth.
The smoke was exceedingly bizarre, its granules distinct enough that every single particle was clearly visible.
These particles were actually flying. After the sorrowful old man coughed them out, they unexpectedly swarmed back, boring into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!
The sorrowful old man's face changed drastically. He cried out frantically, "I didn't reveal anything that broke the oath... Cough, cough, cough!"
He coughed convulsively, vomiting forth smoke that grew denser and more voluminous by the second. The smoke even wriggled out of his eyes, ears, and nostrils like countless tiny insects.
Xu Ying was startled. He hurriedly took a step back and shouted, "Lord Bell!"
Hearing the call, the bronze bell immediately moved forward, its chime vibrating as it drove into the sorrowful old man's body.
"...unleash power that even I cannot unleash?!"
Xu Ying reached out, holding up the petite cage in his palm, and said, "The eight Immortal Dao runes branded upon you, Lord Bell, were carved by me in the first place. Naturally, I can stimulate the might of those eight characters."
The bronze bell remained dubious. "Aside from these eight characters, you didn't secretly leave any other brands on me, did you?"
"Absolutely not."
Xu Ying channeled the divine power of Tianshu, causing countless eyes to emerge from all directions to closely inspect the insects inside the cage. "Lord Bell, you possessed this power and might within yourself all along; you simply couldn't stimulate it on your own. I happen to understand it, which is why I could help you unleash the strength you rightfully possess."
Hearing this, the bronze bell felt thoroughly pleased and chuckled, "Lord Seventh, you've taught Ah Ying well. His flattery rubs me just the right way!"
Yuan Qi cautioned, "Lord Bell, flattery may be sweet, but don't forget: why is it that you cannot unleash your own power, yet he can?"
The bronze bell, floating on cloud nine, dismissed the thought. "That doesn't matter. Just as Ah Ying said, I simply cannot stimulate it myself."
Yuan Qi shook his head, thinking to himself, "This bell has been flattered into idiocy. Then again, once this broken bell goes stupid, Seventh Master's status will be unshakeable."
Suddenly, the insects within the cage buzzed and split apart, multiplying in an instant into countless individuals that attempted to escape the cage. Yet as the insects divided, the cage divided along with them, likewise splitting into countless cages that kept every last insect trapped within.
With a shudder, the countless insects merged back into one, and the cage also fused back into a single cage.
Xu Ying marveled, "As expected of the Immortal Dao rune capable of imprisoning even me—it truly is formidable. Lord Seventh, open your mouth."
Hearing that, Yuan Qi felt rather reluctant and said, "Ah Ying, let's not keep this thing in my belly. What if these insects bite through the seal..."
Xu Ying smiled. "Rest assured. If the 'Prison' rune were so easy to break, it wouldn't have sealed me for all these years. Come, open wide."
Just as Yuan Qi was about to open his mouth, a voice drifted over from the distance, chuckling, "If I am not mistaken, what Brother just performed was an Immortal Dao sealing art. And what Brother has sealed should also be an Immortal Dao rune!"
Surprised, Xu Ying looked in the direction of the voice. A young man drifted down lightly onto the Golden Summit. He wore azure robes tied with a black cloak, his features handsome, his eyes fixed on the 'Prison' seal in Xu Ying's hand in utter marvel.
The young man stepped forward, bowing to Xu Ying. "Yan Kongcheng, disciple of Emei, pays respects to the Ageless Immortal."
Hearing this, Xu Ying asked in puzzlement, "You have seen me before?"
The young man, Yan Kongcheng, replied, "Three thousand years ago, before heaven and earth were sealed, I saw the Ageless Immortal at Emei."
Taken aback, Xu Ying looked him up and down and asked, "Are you an Ascension-stage Qi Refiner?"
Yan Kongcheng shook his head. "I am still in the second Pass-Breaching stage and have yet to refine a Primordial Spirit."
Doubts arose in Xu Ying's mind, and he said, "Brother Yan, opening the Jiaji mystic pass to add oil and prolong life can indeed extend one's lifespan, but it shouldn't allow you to live until the present day, should it?"
Yan Kongcheng said, "Back then, when Emei was sealed, I saw heaven and earth curl inward and was just about to flee, only to be sealed myself. When I awakened once more, three thousand years had already passed, and everything had changed."
Chapter 199