Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 110

The Reincarnation Heaven Pool was composed of physicalized spiritual energy. As soon as the lotus platform dipped into the pool, before it could even sink very far, Liu Fenyun saw the surrounding wandering souls swarm over with a whoosh, instantly surrounding them.

“Take me out…” “I don’t want to stay here any longer…” “I want to go out…” “Liberation…”

The noisy voices transmitted directly into Liu Fenyun’s ears, making her knit her brows in a deep frown. Fearing the noise would disturb Lianyi, she hastily covered the girl’s cat ears.

Lianyi was startled by the sudden warmth pressed against her ears. She shook her head, asking, “What are you doing all of a sudden! You’re still thinking about ‘petting the cat’ at a time like this?”

“You didn’t hear the voices of the wandering souls?” Liu Fenyun was stunned.

“What voices? There’s only you talking to me!” Lianyi took the opportunity to break free from her hands, focusing entirely on driving the lotus platform. After breaking through the circle of wandering souls, she asked, “What did they say?”

“They wish to go out, to leave the Reincarnation Heaven Pool and find liberation.” Liu Fenyun’s ears had just been blasted by various ghostly voices, and she still felt a bit unwell. “These souls belong to the Demon Race and the Human Race. Curiously, there are none from the Yao Race.”

“Why are there no Yao souls?” Lianyi was puzzled. “Are Yao souls not worthy of entering the Reincarnation Heaven Pool?”

“I don’t know, but I truly didn’t detect any Yao souls here.” Liu Fenyun shook her head. “However, the function of this pool besides storage is sealing. Perhaps this is a place for sealing the souls of sinners?”

As the lotus platform slowly sank, Lianyi could feel it becoming increasingly difficult to descend. Most of the souls clinging to the platform had been shaken off; only a few remained. Those who couldn’t hold on eventually let go and drifted upward, muttering to themselves.

“Then we can’t take sinners out,” Lianyi said. With a flick of her finger, the souls still clinging to the platform shrieked in agony as they were swept back up by a surge of spiritual energy.

After clearing the area, Lianyi frowned and pointed at the bottom. “There’s still one here. I can’t shake it off.”

She had even used lightning magic. The bolts struck the lotus platform with a tooth aching screech, yet that wandering soul remained firmly attached to the bottom as if it had grown into the platform itself. Its soul body showed no signs of damage from the lightning.

Liu Fenyun also noticed this peculiar soul. She told Lianyi to stop the lightning and observed for a while. She realized the soul seemed to be controlling the direction of the platform, avoiding many spiritual undercurrents. Sensing something strange, she extended her spiritual sense to try and communicate: “Why aren’t you leaving?”

She didn’t hold much hope, but to her surprise, the soul answered: “I am here to lead the way for you.”

“Lead the way?”

“An ‘Insane One’ (corrupted/demonic cultivator) is suppressed here. However, my power is nearly exhausted, and I can no longer restrain her actions. If you try to leave through the entrance, you will surely be hunted down, the odds would be against you,” the soul said. “There is a teleportation array at the bottom of the Reincarnation Heaven Pool. You can leave through it.”

Liu Fenyun instinctively asked, “Could it be that you are the Founding Ancestor of the Qingmu Immortal Mountain? And is the suppressed one named Mu Qingzhong?”

“Indeed,” the soul admitted. “My Yao guard has already gone to intercept Mu Qingzhong. You two may leave in peace.”

The more Liu Fenyun heard, the more astonished she became. Seeing no immediate danger, she chatted with the soul for a moment.

The soul’s name was Chong Shuo. She claimed that thousands of years ago, she sacrificed her body and all her spiritual energy to become a seal. She assisted her fellow disciples at the time to suppress her old friend, Mu Qingzhong along with her confidants, within the Valley of Dispelling Sorrows after Mu Qingzhong fell into the demonic path.

“Just an old friend?” Liu Fenyun couldn’t help but ask. “But Mu Qingzhong said you were her Dao companion.”

Chong Shuo fell silent for a few seconds. “The matter of her falling into the demonic path is recorded within the sect. If you wish to get to the bottom of it, you can visit the fifth floor of the Library Pavilion on Jingxue Peak after you leave. Before she fell, she did indeed pursue me, but from beginning to end, I only viewed her as a friend and emphasized this to her repeatedly… So, that ‘killing one’s wife to prove the Dao’ she mentioned when she was suppressed, so that’s how it was.”

“You actually didn’t know at all?” Liu Fenyun didn’t know who to pity for a moment.

Chong Shuo said firmly: “I practice the Path of Ruthlessness (Wujing Dao). It is impossible for me to be tainted by such karma.”

Liu Fenyun understood. She wasn’t one for gossip, so she didn’t press for details, only asking: “You mentioned your power is nearly exhausted? Do I need to notify the people of Qingmu Immortal Mountain to come and reinforce the seal?”

“Yes, but my role is only to restrain her. This entire Valley of Dispelling Sorrows, and the entirety of Qingmu Immortal Mountain, is the main body of the seal,” Chong Shuo said. “You need not worry, nor do you need to inform my descendants. Karma has its own destiny. Since I decided to sacrifice myself for the Dao thousands of years ago, I shall see it through to the end.”

Liu Fenyun frowned. After checking Chong Shuo’s soul condition through the System, she said, “But if your power is completely exhausted, your soul will not remain. Like the demons, you will dissipate into nothingness upon death, with no chance of reincarnation.”

Chong Shuo laughed. “To hear the Dao in the morning and die in the evening is enough. I received enough while I was alive. Moreover, cultivation is an act against the heavens, the scattering of the soul is a common occurrence. From the moment I stepped onto this path, I never expected reincarnation.”

While she spoke with Liu Fenyun, she continued to guide the lotus platform through the undercurrents. Having received her answers and seeing the teleportation array ahead, Liu Fenyun simply said, “You certainly see things clearly.”

Chong Shuo spoke no more. The platform’s descent accelerated. Before long, Liu Fenyun felt a pulling force from below. White light erupted from the dark bottom of the pool, swallowing the lotus platform whole as they approached.

Once the white light faded, Liu Fenyun instinctively checked the System map. They were outside the Forbidden Area. The sky was filled with brilliant stars, it was already night.

“How much time has passed in the outside world?” Liu Fenyun asked the System. She felt that time flowed differently inside the Forbidden Area.

“Three days, four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and thirteen seconds,” the System replied. “Beginning physical examination for Host and Lianyi. You may enter standby mode during this time.”

“Why didn’t you say a word just now?” After putting away the lotus platform, Lianyi suddenly pulled Liu Fenyun over. “Were you scared stiff?”

Liu Fenyun closed the System and shook her head with a smile. “I was chatting with the wandering soul attached to the bottom of the platform. Guess who she was?”

“It couldn’t be that Founding Ancestor, could it?” Lianyi guessed casually. Seeing Liu Fenyun nod, her cat ears flattened into “airplane ears” in shock.

Lianyi hastily checked the ring on her hand, stroking the Green Ghost Lotus engraved on it. She didn’t sense any strange spiritual fluctuations but still felt uneasy. She thrust her hand in front of Liu Fenyun. “Look, is she still there?”

Chong Shuo had left the platform the moment they exited the Forbidden Area. Liu Fenyun stroked the Green Ghost Lotus and then rubbed Lianyi’s hair. “She left after showing us the way.”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was her!” Lianyi grumbled. “I would have struck her with lightning a few more times! How could she ‘kill her wife to prove the Dao’!”

She was still hung up on that part of the story.

Liu Fenyun waved her hands dismissively. “She and Mu Qingzhong might not have been Dao companions. Mu Qingzhong was suppressed in the valley because she fell into the demonic path…”

“What exactly happened? Did Mu Qingzhong really lie?” Lianyi was confused. “Oh right, you haven’t told me what else you talked about.”

“Let’s go back to Jingxue Peak first. I’ll tell you on the way.” Liu Fenyun took out a spiritual stone and found the teleportation array near the entrance. “It’s all old history. As for the truth, we might have to ask the people of the sect.”

She placed the stone into the slot and activated the array. On the way back to Jingxue Peak, she relayed the grievances between Chong Shuo and Mu Qingzhong to Lianyi.

“They say that when one falls into the demonic path, certain negative memories are emphasized, while memories unfavorable to oneself gradually fade,” Lianyi remarked after listening. “Besides, there were so many ‘Forget Sorrow’ flowers (Bujianchou) in that valley. Maybe Mu Qingzhong ate some back then. I remember you saying that consuming them directly causes memory loss.”

“That is true.” Liu Fenyun sighed. “If you want to know the whole story, we’ll have to visit the Library Pavilion.”

“No way, too much trouble,” Lianyi refused flatly. “I don’t know the Ancestor and I don’t want to know any ‘Insane Ones.’ Their business ended thousands of years ago. We should focus on General Meng’s matter.”

Now that they had found the Forget-Sorrow flowers and their companion herbs, they could finally repair Meng Nie’s spiritual root.

When the two returned to Jingxue Peak, everything was silent and pitch black, except for the Elders’ Residence where Chong Yun lived, which was still lit.

Chong Yun was leafing through immortal scriptures when she heard a knock. With a flick of her finger in the air, the door opened.

Meeting Liu Fenyun’s eyes, Chong Yun was startled. She immediately stood up and conjured two chairs. “You’re back? Come, sit!”

“I knew you’d return safely, but isn’t your speed a bit too fast?!” As they sat, Chong Yun rambled while getting up to brew tea.

Liu Fenyun stopped her. “Find us a place to stay first.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve already arranged it! It’s been cleaned thoroughly.” Chong Yun put away the tea set and enthusiastically led the way. “Do you want some midnight snacks? Or some medicinal porridge to replenish your Qi?”

Lianyi felt her behavior was suspiciously attentive. “Did you do something behind our backs that you feel guilty about?”

Chong Yun froze and waved her hands repeatedly. “How could I! It’s just… there is one thing that is indeed hard to bring up.”

“Is it about Meng Nie?” Liu Fenyun asked.

As they spoke, they had reached the room next to the Elders’ Residence.

Chong Yun pushed the door open, lit a spiritual lamp, and quickly set up several soundproofing barriers. Only then did she speak: “After you left, my mother took A-Nie to see the other Elders and had the Sect Leader perform a divination for her.”

“The Sect Leader calculated that her spiritual root could be fully repaired soon. Now that you’re back safely, that part is settled. However, A-Nie’s killing intent is too heavy, and she joined the path late. She is very prone to ‘deviation’ (Qi Deviation/falling into the demonic path) during cultivation.” Chong Yun sighed. “You are the God of Medicine (Siyi Shen), so I wanted to ask, is there a way to prevent a cultivator from falling into the demonic path?”