Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 41

Su Jin’an had previously undone the Immortal-Binding Lock. She glanced at Ji Weining and, without hesitation, swiftly set to work. Spiritual energy flowed through her hands, and the lock clicked open.

The moment the lock opened, Yu Qing was stunned.

“You, you’re only at the Golden Core stage, aren’t you?”

This lock had been designed specifically for her, and it should have required at least the same level of cultivation as hers to open.

Su Jin’an offered no explanation. “Finding the person is urgent.”

The person they were looking for was Hua Rong. Yu Qing didn’t press further and immediately tidied up the Immortal-Binding Lock, handing it to Ji Weining.

Just like the spell used to find Yu Qing, a butterfly formed from spiritual energy emerged from the Immortal-Binding Lock and began tracing Hua Rong’s footsteps.

Following the butterfly, they arrived at the Joyful Union Pavilion.

They came to the place where they had seen Hua Rong that day.

“Would Hua Rong be in a place like this?” Yu Qing scanned the surroundings, unable to make sense of it.

“Lele is not her child.”

“Ah?”

Yu Qing’s steps faltered as her mind raced. Ji Weining was not one to joke, so if she said it, it must be true Hua Le definitely wasn’t Hua Rong’s child.

Hua Rong, tears in her eyes, hurried out of the secret chamber. Seeing them, she was taken aback and asked, “Where is Tan Yan?”

Ji Weining, seeing that both of them were unharmed, felt somewhat relieved.

She replied, “At the Divine Invocation Tower.”

“What happened?” Yu Qing didn’t know who Tan Yan was. Watching Hua Rong’s tearful expression, she clenched her sleeves but suppressed her confusion to ask.

Hua Rong’s voice was already choked with sobs. “Tan Yan, Tan Yan drugged everyone in our entire pavilion.”

In the distance, the sound of fireworks exploding echoed the ritual was nearing its end.

Yu Qing seemed to sense something. Pressing a hand to her chest, she channeled spiritual energy to examine her body, then widened her eyes in astonishment. “The connection between me and Taoyuan Town has been severed?”

Her gaze fixed on Hua Rong. She knew Ji Weining wouldn’t involve herself in such matters, so the one who had done this could only be Hua Rong.

“So that’s why you wanted to dissolve the demonic energy in Xu Huan.”

All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Ji Weining sent a surge of spiritual energy into Yu Qing’s body, quickly examining the connection she mentioned. Although the energy had been severed, traces of it remained the Guardian Fate Technique, a spell where one uses their own life to protect a town. If the town perishes, so does the person.

“That day, I saw you setting up an array in Taoyuan Town.” Tears streamed uncontrollably down Hua Rong’s face. Noticing the surprise in Yu Qing’s eyes, she smiled and took her hand. “That was the first time I met you in my memory. I didn’t leave, I stayed to see what you were doing.”

In Hua Rong’s memory, a child of seven or eight years old appeared, picking fruits in the mountains, falling from a tree, and being caught and held in her arms. Only now did she realize that child had been Yu Qing.

“After that, I saw you sitting there every day, so I went to see you every day.” It was from that time onward that Hua Rong learned Yu Qing was an immortal. She didn’t understand what Yu Qing was doing but watched her daily, wanting to bring her something as a token of gratitude.

“Later, I met Tan Yan. When she saw Yu Qing, she said she never expected someone would risk their life to protect this town that was destined to disappear. I asked her what she was doing and whether she would die.”

If things had continued along their original path, she truly would have died. Once the demonic energy within Xu Huan erupted, the entire town would be destroyed. Xu Huan dared not show herself, and she had long been aware of this.

“She told me that you were casting spells to link your life to the entire town. She said if you continued like this, you would die.”

“I asked her how I could save you.”

“She gave me a mask and told me to go to the Joyful Union Pavilion. That’s how I met Xu Huan. At the time, she seemed perfectly normal. If she hadn’t shown me the demonic energy inside her, I wouldn’t have known how severe her condition was. I gradually took over the Joyful Union Pavilion, investigated hidden cases, and learned to emulate Xu Huan’s demeanor. A few years ago, Tan Yan came to me and said Xu Huan had left. She asked me to give Lele an identity and ensure she grew up well. When I asked where the child came from, she only said she was hers. Coincidentally, the Qiu family case arose around that time, so I took Lele in as my own child.”

“The rest is what you already know.”

She brought Lele back to the Hua family, establishing them as one of the prominent households in Taoyuan Town.

Yu Qing embraced her, and Hua Rong whispered in her ear, “Do you resent me?”

“It was my own lack of foresight.” She hadn’t expected Hua Rong to discover her secret, nor had she ever imagined that Taoyuan Town would one day meet its end. She only wanted to ease her own heart, to prevent calamity from befalling others because of her.

Perhaps she should have realized the problem with Taoyuan Town long ago, when her spiritual power ceased to grow.

“Tan Yan and the others is there still hope?” Hua Rong couldn’t help but ask Ji Weining.

Even though she had been deceived by Tan Yan, she knew Tan Yan shared her desire to bear this burden. Now, as Tan Yan had foretold, she had severed the connection between Taoyuan Town and Yu Qing. Did that mean she would meet the same fate as those who sacrificed themselves in the ritual array?

After a moment of thought, Ji Weining replied, “Tan Yan is a cat demon. The spiritual energy within her has not yet dissipated.”

“A cat demon?” Ji Weining’s words sparked Hua Rong’s imagination, conjuring images of Tan Yan. No wonder she had always felt Tan Yan was different from ordinary mortals.

“As for Xu Huan, it depends on her fate.” Ji Weining truly had no means to save her. It was no different from trying to revive a corpse. Sometimes, she wished they were as easy to heal as mortals, but every case she encountered was more challenging than the last.

Upon reflection, Xu Huan was the Thousand-Faced Asura from a century ago, the female general from the Xu family of the capital, who emerged once every hundred years.

Ji Weining asked, “Shall we go take a look? The ritual should be ending soon.”

Her gaze fell upon Su Jin’an, who was still lost in thoughts of Xu Huan. She added, “Let’s go. It might be nice to watch the fireworks.”

She wrapped her arm around Su Jin’an’s waist, lifting her up, and headed toward the Prayer Tower.

Fireworks bloomed brilliantly ahead. Ji Weining stepped onto her bamboo flute and soared in that direction.

“Is there really no way to save her?” Su Jin’an leaned against Ji Weining’s shoulder, her voice tinged with melancholy. Anyone with a heart would not wish for such a person to perish so easily.

If Ji Weining were to be honest, she would have wanted to protect Xu Huan as well. But the formation had already begun, and there was no way to break into it. Even if she could, there was no time to quickly create a second formation. If the demonic energy were to spread, neither Xu Huan nor Taoyuan Town could withstand it. There was nothing she could do to help; it all depended on Xu Huan herself. She comforted Su Jin’an, saying, “I think it should be possible.”

The plan was for Xu Huan to separate her demonic energy and use the Demon-Purging Formation to eliminate half of it. This way, the half of her that cultivated spiritual energy would be sufficient to ascend, allowing her to protect herself.

Returning once more to the Prayer Tower, the wind whistled fiercely at the heights. Ji Weining actually felt a chill in the air.

“You’re here. Did you find Xiaohua? Is she alright?” Hua Rong, having endured the dual trials of the Demon-Purging Formation again and again, was completely drained. Her words sounded weak and feeble.

“I’m fine.” Seeing Ji Weining leave, Yu Qing brought Hua Rong over.

Hua Rong could no longer hold back her question: “Is all this really worth it?”

“Of course, Xiaohua.” Despite the excruciating pain, Xu Huan spoke with a smile, as if this were something that would yield great rewards. In reality, she was nothing like A’Rou, who gained fortune through protection.

“I want to ask you to take good care of Lele for us.”

Hearing these words, Hua Rong’s mind went blank for a moment before she finally replied, “You don’t even have to ask. I will.”

“Lele now has four mothers.”

As the demonic energy within her diminished, her spiritual energy also waned. Xu Huan began to fade gradually, yet she still wore a gentle smile. Then, a golden light descended from the sky and entered her body.

The Mark of Ascension.

Things were unfolding as Ji Weining had anticipated, but it still depended on whether Xu Huan could withstand the clash between the Demon-Purging Formation and the demonic energy within her.

Using her spiritual energy, she sacrificed all of it to split herself into two.

The formation reached its final stage. Demonic energy surged out of Xu Huan’s body, and a calico cat lay on the floor. Xu Huan no longer had the strength to reach out to her. She knelt down, looking up at the sky.

Depleted of strength, she could only shrink the formation’s range, enclosing herself in an ever-tighter circle, leaving Tan Yan outside its bounds.

Hua Rong realized who the cat was and stumbled over to pick her up.

In the next moment, Xu Huan, along with all the demonic energy, vanished before their eyes. A faint golden light, mingled with moonlight, enveloped Taoyuan Town. Countless strands of Xu Huan’s spiritual energy dispersed throughout the town.

Everything in Taoyuan Town bore her mark; from then on, anything could be her.

“What happened to her?” Hua Rong tugged at Yu Qing’s sleeve, desperate for an answer.

She had never known that a cultivator could end up like this.

Su Jin’an also tugged at Ji Weining’s sleeve. Ji Weining looked down at the dissipating demonic energy among the crowd and said, “She was only slightly stronger than the one possessed by demonic energy. As the demonic energy dissipated, her spiritual energy scattered as well. With her spiritual energy unstable, her soul could no longer hold together and dispersed. If one day the scattered soul returns, perhaps she will come back.”

“Alright,” Hua Rong murmured upon hearing this.

Outside the Prayer Tower, Hua Xi was with Hua Le, watching the fireworks among the crowd. When they saw Hua Rong, Hua Le immediately ran over and hugged her leg.

“Mother, look at the fireworks,” Hua Le said, pointing at the sky.

Then, noticing Yu Qing nearby, she let go of Hua Rong’s leg and whispered, “Master, fireworks.”

“Would the two immortal masters care to stay another night before departing?”

Ji Weining calculated the timing they had already missed one cycle, so a slight delay wouldn’t matter much.

“Then we shall stay one more night.” Su Jin’an had no objections to this matter.

Fireworks blossomed brilliantly in the night sky only to vanish in an instant, much like their own fleeting existence, leaving behind a single moment of bloom in each other’s memories.

As night deepened, they returned to the Hua Residence. Hua Rong arranged new quarters for them, and they slept lightly until dawn.

Morning sunlight streamed through the window. Ji Weining, weary from the past few days, woke up and leaned close to Su Jin’an’s ear, nibbling on it.

Su Jin’an drowsily opened her eyes and said, “Junior sister, we must return to Qingheng Mountain.”

“Understood.” Su Jin’an swung an arm over, resting it on her shoulder, and hoisted herself up with Ji Weining’s help.

[Task completed. Restrictions lifted.]

The sudden voice of the Divine Decree startled Ji Weining.

But what followed no longer concerned them.

Tan Yan could no longer revert to her human form.

After waking, she leaped out of the Hua Residence and arrived beneath a peach tree, the very spot where her thatched cottage once stood. She lay there lazily, and a butterfly fluttered over to a light on her ear.

She raised a paw to swat at it but suddenly remembered something.

She began attempting to play with the butterfly instead.

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