I Have Countless Past-life Identities-Chapter 41 - 39: The Fairest and the Most Unfair Things in the Human World
The sky was dim, with dark clouds pressing down on the mountains.
Tantai Ye was soaking in the Green Blood Red Heart Pool, but his Qi collection skill and efficiency were far from matching those of Song Chai Xin beside him, which made him feel restless and even less efficient.
"What’s that noise?"
At this moment, he looked up at the sky, a sudden premonition surged in his heart, making him uneasy. He immediately got up from the pool, evaporating the moisture from his body,
when Tantai Ye looked at Song Chai Xin,
he found that even though the sky had been clear a moment ago and turned dark the next, it didn’t affect this guy’s cultivation at all, causing a slight admiration to arise in him:
"To remain unperturbed even when Mount Tai collapses in front of him, there is indeed something commendable in that."
He thought to himself.
Thud thud thud...
Meanwhile, outside the Green Blood Red Heart Pool, there was a sudden sound of footsteps, prompting Tantai Ye to turn his head,
and upon seeing two figures in Zither Sword Pavilion’s standard robes, arriving by themselves without being led by any Elder, he couldn’t help but feel curious:
"Which Elder do you belong to?"
"To enter the Green Blood Red Heart Pool for cultivation, one must get approval from your master and then a token from the Pavilion Master to come in."
"If you two have not reached the stage of Qi Collection and Circulation or haven’t been granted permission, you’d better not intrude, lest you are punished when found out later."
He got up and intended to stop them,
when he heard the leading person say hoarsely:
"We have been granted approval by Elder Tantai to come to the Green Blood Red Heart Pool for cultivation."
"The Elder has met an old acquaintance and couldn’t leave, so he specially instructed us to come by ourselves."
"By the way... to which Elder does this fellow disciple belong?"
Elder Tantai?
There are only two people named Tantai in this Zither Sword Pavilion from Baoping State.
Aside from Tantai Ye, who has been here for about a year or two, only Tantai Yao remains.
And the Green Blood Red Heart Pool, besides the true disciples and confidants, or those personally approved by the Pavilion Master, no one else is allowed to enter.
Recently, the only one who received approval from his master, Tantai Yao, is Song Chai Xin beside him.
So, under whose Elder Tantai’s command do you come?
Tantai Ye rolled up his sleeves, a fire rose in his heart:
"Which Elder do I belong to?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
"My surname is Tantai. Who do you think I’m under?"
"Coming to deceive right before the master, it is utterly ridiculous. If you don’t go with me to the Pavilion Master to receive punishment but stay here pretending, do you really not want to stay in this Zither Sword Pavilion anymore?"
He picked up the hilt of his sword. Though Tantai Ye’s Qi collection was not as successful as Song Chai Xin’s, condensing ten wisps, almost opening an Inner Realm, allowing him to start forming the ’Vajra Impermeable Body,’ condensing four or five wisps still counted as successful.
Just as he was about to test the components of the ’Green Blood and Red Ink Qi,’ as soon as he finished speaking and raised his sword, he saw those two in the distance exchange a glance and burst out laughing:
"Randomly picking one, who knew it was actually a student of Tantai Yao."
"Hahaha, kid, is there a possibility..."
"We only know one person with the surname Tantai."
Crash!
In an instant,
an unhidden aura erupted from the two disciples in Zither Sword Robes, halting Tantai Ye’s steps and shocking his gaze:
"Wait."
"That’s..."
He thought of a possibility, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
But how could such a thing so easily enter the heartland of the Zither Sword Pavilion?
Never having seen such a spectacle, Tantai Ye felt a bit flustered.
But at this moment, a hand was placed on his shoulder, forcibly steadying his sword.
"Demon."
Tantai Ye turned to look back.
Only to see, the young man who had been quietly sitting in the pool, operating the Golden Lock Jade Technique and Circulating Qi Collection.
Somehow, he had donned a Profound Robe, come by his side, and placed his hand on his shoulder.
At this time, Song Chai Xin, with calm brows, looked at the two figures.
Afterwards, he gently raised his head, looking at the looming clouds in the sky, seemingly being affected by a ’Divine Technique,’ he lightly frowned and couldn’t help but speak:
"You two..."
"Are you subordinates of Xuanqing Lake’s Flood Dragon ’Gua Hua’?"
Upon hearing this, the two were stunned, gaining some interest:
"You actually guessed it?"
"But now inside Wutong Prefecture, the Xuanqing Lake line has long been dissolved, it doesn’t matter talking about it anymore."
"Lord Gua Hua is a True Flood Dragon who has stepped into the third stage of cultivation, originally from the ’Jing River Dragon Court,’ and under the guidance of someone from the Great Snow Mountain, has fully recovered from its injuries, and is here at this Zither Sword Pavilion..."
"Not for anything else, just to avenge the heavy loss suffered at Xuanqing Lake a year ago!"
"Zither Sword Pavilion is just the first stop."
"Wutong Prefecture Xie Family, Xuanqing City Guardian, and Yunluan Mountain..."
"None will escape!"
...
Zither Sword Pavilion, Front Mountain.
On the Sword Viewing Platform.
The corpses of about twenty or thirty Zither Sword Pavilion disciples lay scattered, mangled beyond recognition, lifeless on the ground.
The remaining ones, holding zithers or swords, gathered together, forming a tight circle, their eyes fixed intensely on the majestic figure striding towards them, step by step.
The person, full of spirit, with the dark-golden True Flood Dragon embroidered on the robe vividly, could casually kill a Martial Artist with a mere palm or fist.
Even three ’Great Innate’ Elders had already died in his hands.
Shangguan Cheng, holding an ancient zither, with both little fingers severed, three out of seven strings broken, leaned against the innermost pillar palely:
"Flood Dragon, Baoping State’s Wutong Prefecture, is within the ’circle’ drawn by the Demon-Suppressing Great Wall, not outside it!"
"Here, with Great Zhao’s power, no demon comparable to a ’Dao Lineage’ entity has ever stepped in, do you dare destroy my Zither Sword Pavilion, do you truly think that within Wutong Prefecture’s Demon Hunting Department, the three-domain experts are nothing?"
Gua Hua glanced nonchalantly, watching as the refined old Pavilion Master was enraged, and couldn’t help but snicker:
"Demon-Suppressing Great Wall."
"Ever since that so-called ’Eternal Star Never Falls, Truly Invincible in the Mortal World’ Great Demon Hunter Master, each generation has been worse than the last."
"As of now, it’s nothing but a sieve."
"Perhaps the Jianghu in those other states is somewhat better, but Baoping State..."
"Maybe the people of Wutong Prefecture, how fast they come or if they come at all, I know even better than you."
"Old man, you might as well heed my advice, hand over the ’Green Blood and Red Heart Painting,’ let me comprehend it. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll only kill Tantai Yao and spare the rest of you, letting you linger on, how about that?"
"Don’t harbor any illusions, with the ’Primordial Pill’ domain unfolded, every move on this mountain, every rustle of grass, I’m fully aware. Don’t even think about sneaking away with the ’Treasure Map,’ I’ve already sent two ’Great Innate’ to retrieve it."
With hands behind his back, he began the ’cat and mouse’ act.
Gua Hua’s gaze was disdainful as he looked at Tantai Yao, whose sword was broken, zither destroyed, and clothes stained with blood, missing one arm, barely supported by a woman in yellow, and said:
"You, a ’Great Innate,’ even if you’re close to the third step, the gap between us is still like the Celestial Abyss."
"This woman, she’s someone close to you, isn’t she?"
"She looks quite nice, decent legs."
"Just like in the past, how I could snatch away the most important person by your side."
"Today, I can do it again."
"And this time, I might just let you die."
"This is the price you and those two second-step ants from Wutong Prefecture and Yunluan Mountain, along with that third-step Town Guardian, have to pay."
His words fell lightly, and he was about to crush Tantai Yao with a single finger, then seize Xu Nian, who was supporting Tantai Yao.
Even as Tantai Yao was so incensed that he nearly spat out blood three feet high, there was nothing he could do.
"How dare you!"
But what could he do?
This is cultivation!
I’m one step above you, even if I’m older, what of it?
Killing you is but a mere nod of the head!
Faced with sudden malevolence, Xu Nian, merely paled but a determination surged in his eyes:
"Don’t worry, if it comes to that, I’ll take my life first."
"Tantai Yao... you’re seven years older than me, and though we’re of the same generation, when you became an elder, I still joined under you without hesitation, even with many opposing, do you know why?"
"I’ve always wanted to say, in terms of background and talent, I can’t match Xie Wei,"
"But in other respects, I’m not inferior."
"For example... the resolve to live and die together."
Tantai Yao is thirty-seven this year, Xu Nian thirty.
When he was young and promising, and feelings quietly arose with Xie Wei fifteen years ago,
Xu Nian was just an ordinary disciple who had just entered, silently watching.
In zithers and sword techniques, he was the most outstanding in the sect.
How gentle he was in those youthful years.
People tend to have an excessive longing for the unreachable moonlight, hoping to get closer.
Because if you truly like someone, you’d risk everything.
That’s why Xu Nian gambled everything, gradually getting closer, knowing he couldn’t surpass Xie Wei, so she took a detour, becoming his disciple.
By his side, she gradually became a shadow, serving tea and water, teaching disciples.
She watched over the years, Tantai Yao’s repeated heartache for Xie Wei.
Especially in this past year, holding a jade pendant acquired from Xuanqing Lake, often gazing at the moon and sighing.
At that moment, she realized, in this lifetime, she might never enter his heart, nor could she express her feelings.
But what does it matter?
The fairest thing in this world is that I can like you, and no one can stop it.
But the most unfair thing is also this.
Because there’s no rule that if you like someone, they must like you back.
Fortunately,
Before her death, she finally could say the words that had been held in her heart for over a decade.
"You..."
Knowing his death was imminent, with a strong sense of unwillingness and immense guilt towards Xu Nian by his side, Tantai Yao was suddenly stunned upon hearing this.
"Hmm?"
And at that moment, another person was also stunned, none other than Gua Hua, the Jiao Long Lord who had taken action.
However, his stilled movement was not due to the romantic entanglement of these two but rather...
Within his ’Primordial Pill’ domain, Gua Hua glanced towards the direction of the ’Green Blood Red Heart Pool,’ furrowing his brow suddenly.
Just now, he distinctly sensed,
There,
the presence of the two ’Great Innates’ he had dispatched...
vanished.
"Hmph!"
After much contemplation, Gua Hua temporarily halted his attacks on the remaining struggling members of the Zither Sword Pavilion.
Because in his eyes, resources that could provide ’authentic’ Qi were evidently more crucial!
Xuanqing Lake had already been destroyed,
He needed to establish another...
More formidable force!
Moreover, for his regular cultivation, he needed Qi collection and nourishment, thus the ’Green Blood and Red Heart’ incomplete map must not be lost!
He had to resolve all this before those from ’Wutong Prefecture’ arrived.
