Master is Also Running Away from Marriage Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 63

This was a duel between the pinnacle powerhouses of the era.

The two fought inextricably, their movements a dazzling blur, making it impossible to distinguish who was who. The rapid exchanges between them left onlookers breathless.

Yan Qi wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Patriarch Bodhi’s techniques faintly gave her a sense of familiarity  as if she had seen them somewhere before. She could even predict his next move based on his previous one.

Thus, Yan Qi grew increasingly fierce in battle, leaving several wounds on Patriarch Bodhi’s body.

“Oh? How impressive! it seems even the dog I raised has learned to bite now!”

Patriarch Bodhi’s eyes flickered as he suddenly laughed, taunting Yan Qi mid-fight: “Do you know who your mother is?”

Yan Qi’s hand froze for an instant.

“No, you’ll never know in this lifetime!”

Patriarch Bodhi cackled, his gaze venomous as he stared at Yan Qi. “You killed her. You killed your own mother with your own hands.”

He knew who her mother was?

Yan Qi instinctively refused to believe it, but when she recalled how he had schemed to kill her grandfather in the distant past, her grip on her sword trembled uncontrollably.

In battles between masters, the slightest hesitation could lead to defeat. Yan Qi’s momentary pause gave Patriarch Bodhi the opening he needed. He pressed his advantage relentlessly, forcing Yan Qi into a desperate retreat before she could steady herself. A bloody gash appeared on her face.

Seeing that this tactic worked, Patriarch Bodhi’s eyes darkened, and he began dredging up long-buried memories of Yan Qi’s past: “You’ve always been clever. You must have guessed, haven’t you?”

“It was I who stole you from your mother’s side!”

As Yan Qi’s attacks grew erratic, Patriarch Bodhi drove his sword into her shoulder, his laughter growing more triumphant. “And it was I who deliberately abandoned you with that old beggar.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he feigned pity, narrowing his eyes at Yan Qi’s blood-red gaze, the hatred in his own eyes intensifying.

“But you were disobedient from the start. Chased around like a dog, forced to eat scraps, wearing the same tattered rags year-round, living under bridges yet you were still happy all the time. A worthless red hair ribbon, worth less than a single coin, could make you smile for half a month.”

“I loathed that smile of yours,” he sneered, stabbing her shoulder again. Watching her, now drenched in blood and glaring at him with unbridled fury, he chuckled softly. “Yes! This is the look I wanted. If only you’d shown it sooner.”

“Since you wouldn’t obey, I had to use other methods,” Patriarch Bodhi continued, relishing the raggedness of Yan Qi’s breath. “I orchestrated the old beggar’s death, and sure enough, you grew to hate the immortal realm! But it wasn’t enough. You still clung to foolish mercy. While others fought for their lives in the underground palace, you hid away.”

“Look at you, always defiant! So I had no choice but to manipulate that old woman’s mind, making you believe she betrayed your kindness until you killed her with your own hands!”

“You turned into an obedient dog during that time, doing whatever I said but you weren’t mad enough! You never killed the elderly or women on missions, and you even gave alms to beggars on the streets.”

“With such pointless compassion, how could you become a mad, obedient hound? So I deliberately let slip that I was the one who killed your grandfather, tortured you to the brink of death, and finally threw you into the serpent pit.”

“And sure enough, your bloodline erupted!” The Bodhi Patriarch gazed at Yan Qi, who was biting his lower lip, his smile growing wider. “Then, under my guidance, you discovered the Heavenly Crippling Art.”

“Under its influence, you became both insane and immensely powerful. I deliberately left a method in the Heavenly Crippling Art to break through and ascend to godhood. I thought you had no attachments left in this world and would eventually ascend yet you had no such ambition! As the most notorious Demon King, you actually sought to overthrow the Three Realms and establish a new order.”

“How utterly laughable!”

“And the most ridiculous part? When I studied the celestial omens, I saw that you would succeed in overturning the Three Realms!”

“Of course, I couldn’t let you have your way!” With a casual tone, the Bodhi Patriarch unveiled the schemes of years past, his face twisted with a sickening madness. He slowly glanced at Yan Qi and laughed again, as if proudly showcasing his life’s greatest masterpiece. “Coincidentally, Peak Master Xu of the Qingyi Sect also foresaw the future and exhausted herself trying to defy fate. So I altered the celestial signs she observed, luring her into sacrificing her life to summon a soul from another world.”

“Once that foreign soul arrived, the once-clear celestial omens turned chaotic. Yet I never expected I’d nearly fail at the last moment, you actually fell in love with that outsider?”

“Hah! How could someone like you ever love?”

“Watching you suppress your ferocity for her, desperately trying to become a good man, it infuriated me to see such weakness.”

“So, I killed that woman.”

At this point, the Bodhi Patriarch paused abruptly and suddenly looked in Mu Ling’s direction. “But your so-called love was shallow at best. Of course, you’ve forgotten everything, so I don’t blame you. But you just destroyed the souls I painstakingly gathered. How dare you think you deserve a partner again?”

…

Mu Ling had no idea what they were discussing.

From a distance, she watched the battle grow increasingly dire. At first, the two seemed evenly matched, but after the Bodhi Patriarch spoke, Yan Qi’s mental state clearly spiraled out of control.

Yan Qi was forced back, battered and wounded in multiple places. As the fight grew more desperate, Mu Ling agonized over how to help him until the Bodhi Patriarch, who had shrunk back to normal size, suddenly expanded again, his body swelling to the height of a multi-story building.

Panic surged through Mu Ling, and she instinctively tried to flee. But the towering Bodhi Patriarch opened his mouth, unleashing an overwhelming suction force. Unable to resist, Mu Ling was instantly swallowed. Along with countless other cultivators nearby, whether from the Bodhi Crossing or the demonic path, all devoured by the Bodhi Patriarch.

“Burp,” Patriarch Bodhi let out a belch, his gaze sinister as he stared at Yan Qi, deliberately taunting, “Your new lover is so tender and delicate. I heard she’s also a pure water spirit root. Her soul must taste delicious when digested.”

Patriarch Bodhi seemed oblivious to the sudden clarity in Yan Qi’s eyes.

Arrogant to the extreme, he acted as if everything he had done over the years was justified. He casually laid bare Yan Qi’s bloodstained past. Though he was the very culprit who had reduced her to this state, his tone dripped with feigned innocence.

“You’re asking for death!”

Covered in blood, Yan Qi climbed to her feet, a sinister crimson streak marring her cheek, her red robes blazing like fire. At this moment, her aura was both celestial and demonic, her spine rigid as an unsheathed sword. She stood straight before Patriarch Bodhi, motionless, yet her sword already hummed with a resonant buzz.

“Oh?” Patriarch Bodhi eyed her with amusement. “Angry, are we?”

Yan Qi said nothing more, steadying her breath as she closed her eyes and lunged at him…

Anyone who learned that all the misfortunes of their life were the result of deliberate manipulation while the perpetrator, having committed every atrocity, held the upper hand and callously peeled open their bloody past before their very eyes would feel nothing but rage.

Yan Qi was overwhelmed by humiliation and hatred, even willing to throw everything away to drag Patriarch Bodhi down with her.

But the young girl had already been swallowed by Patriarch Bodhi.

The past was the past, and that girl—she was Yan Qi’s future.

Like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head, Yan Qi abruptly calmed. Her past had been a living joke, but her future could no longer be spent in a daze, becoming the mindless puppet Patriarch Bodhi desired.

See nothing, hear nothing!

No one expected Yan Qi to be this reckless. Sealing her own sight and hearing mid-battle with Patriarch Bodhi, relying solely on the sword intent honed through countless repetitions of practice, the instincts tempered through years of relentless training, attacking blindly.

Her sword wove an impenetrable net, swiftly turning the tide.

Caught off guard, Patriarch Bodhi was struck by the blind Yan Qi’s blade, yet a twisted smile curled his lips.

“It’s time!”

Silently mouthing the words, he smeared his wound with blood, retreating only to flick droplets onto Yan Qi’s hand.

The blood seeped rapidly into her body. A spasm wracked her frame, a strange glint flashing in her eyes before she suddenly stilled, lifting her head to gaze blankly at Patriarch Bodhi.

“Fool!” Patriarch Bodhi burst into laughter, his scorn undisguised as he stared at the motionless Yan Qi. “What does it matter if you’ve mastered the greatest techniques? You’re still nothing but my pawn!”

“Do you know how the Heart-Erosion Lotus Seeds you consumed were made?” he murmured, turning his gaze to the colossal lotus in the blood lake. “They were refined from the souls of thousands! Only four were produced after all these years.”

“Three seeds remove the restraints of your cultivation. With the fourth, you’d reach the pinnacle of power even if I would be no match for you!”

“But what does it matter? Once you take that fourth seed and it’s activated, you’ll become my puppet forever!”

“Go! Activate the mass grave of Lufeng Town, shatter the void, and ascend to godhood!” Patriarch Bodhi issued the command with smug satisfaction, never expecting that in the next instant a cold blade would pierce through his chest!

“You didn’t consume the fourth Heart-Eroding Lotus Seed?” Patriarch Bodhi’s eyes widened in disbelief, his face once so arrogant now showing signs of collapse for the first time: “Impossible! If you didn’t take the Heart-Eroding Lotus Seed, then how did your cultivation advance.”

“You mean this seed?”

Yan Qi, however, pulled out a golden, shimmering lotus seed from her Qiankun pouch and curled her lips slightly: “Someone once told me that only what’s cultivated through solid effort truly belongs to you, and not to seek shortcuts.” Though Yan Qi could no longer remember who had said those words.

“As for my cultivation, I was already on the verge of the peak years ago. Secluded meditation was all I needed to break through. No Heart-Eroding Lotus Seed required!” Yan Qi had grown tired of being controlled by others. A subconscious instinct told her that the fourth Heart-Eroding Lotus Seed offered by Bai Junhao was suspicious, so she had stored it away instead of consuming it.

Patriarch Bodhi had schemed and calculated everything, but he had overlooked one thing. Yan Qi had never believed in reaping without sowing.

Patriarch Bodhi’s face twisted with rage. Now that he knew the truth, it was his turn to spiral into madness. Having been Patriarch Bodhi for so many years, he had amassed countless magical treasures. In his frenzy, he unleashed them all, creating a barrier that even Yan Qi couldn’t penetrate for a moment!

The barrage of treasures bought Patriarch Bodhi time. Seeing Yan Qi momentarily restrained, he pulled out a teleportation array, ready to flee only to suddenly clutch his stomach in pain.

Yan Qi narrowed her eyes. She could clearly see a fist-sized bulge protruding from Patriarch Bodhi’s abdomen, as if something inside was thrashing violently.

Was Patriarch Bodhi suffering from indigestion?

Yan Qi’s eyes narrowed further as a sudden thought surged in her heart, nearly making her lose grip on her sword. But she knew this opportunity was rare. Gathering her spiritual energy with effort, she seized the moment to slash open Patriarch Bodhi’s stomach with one strike!

Another thrust, and her blade pierced his heart.

Patriarch Bodhi let out a blood-curdling scream, his face visibly paling.

And from the gaping wound in his stomach, the first to emerge just as Yan Qi had expected was a timid little girl with hesitant eyes and a bashful expression.

“I didn’t expect him to have indigestion,” Mu Ling murmured under Yan Qi’s scrutinizing gaze, inexplicably nervous. She knew the common knowledge of the cultivation world. The fact that her soul hadn’t been digested by Patriarch Bodhi was proof enough of everything.

Under Yan Qi’s increasingly intense stare, Mu Ling pursed her lips awkwardly before finally speaking softly: “Hello, Yan Qi!”

“I’m Mu Ling!”

The one who crossed mountains and rivers, transcended time and space, and came back to find you, Mu Ling.