My Master’s Daoist Heart is Unstable - Chapter 7

The two cultivators were utterly enraged, assuming Li Shangyuan and Dian Chao were still stubbornly resisting. They immediately activated the formation.

But after several attempts, there was no response.

They stared, dumbfounded.

“It’s like this,” Li Shangyuan explained calmly, offering another “kind” reminder. “I’ve already set up an Isolation Formation here. It’s for your own good, to prevent you from being backlashed by this incorrectly drawn array.”

Hearing this, the two cultivators flew into a rage, hurling insults at him.

Seeing they still didn’t believe him, Li Shangyuan “graciously” deactivated his formation.

Sure enough, within moments, the backlash struck. Fiery Evil erupted across their bodies, burning relentlessly.

Li Shangyuan and Dian Chao watched on with impassive faces.

The two cultivators scrambled to summon their magical artifacts to extinguish the flames, but the Fiery Evil was immune to the artifacts, even feeding on their power.

The Fat Cultivator suddenly shouted to the Tall and Thin Cultivator, “Yin Evil Art, now!”

The Tall and Thin Cultivator immediately complied. They gritted their teeth against the pain and began circulating the Yin Evil Art. Suddenly, a strange green mist erupted from their Dantians, absorbing and merging with the flames.

When the Fiery Evil finally dissipated, they were left nearly naked, with only a few tattered scraps of cloth clinging to their bodies.

Li Shangyuan’s expression darkened as he stared at the remnants of their clothing—the same fabric as the knitting on the Shopkeeper’s Wife’s bed.

The two cultivators were severely injured from the Fiery Evil and the strain of circulating the incomplete Yin Evil Art, but they hid their distress. Instead, they glared at Li Shangyuan and Dian Chao with murderous intent, not daring to make a move.

Dian Chao was shocked. “Wasn’t this evil technique destroyed long ago?”

Hearing this, the Fat Cultivator’s expression darkened. He roared at the figures behind him, “Get out here now! Do you no longer care if your sister and those mortals live or die?”

The girl with the white crown and the tail man, who had been hiding on the wall, finally revealed themselves.

The two demons, their expressions hesitant, had no choice but to quickly unleash their demonic power.

“Wait—” Li Shangyuan began, but before he could finish, a dense fog erupted, instantly pulling him and Dian Chao into its depths.

Seeing the two trapped in the illusion array, the demons turned to the Fat Cultivator with resentful glares. “We’ve done what you asked. Now release Caizhi and the others.”

“Don’t be so impatient,” the Fat Cultivator sneered. “They’ll be freed after those two are dead.”

His eyes gleamed with malice as he added a pointed remark to the demons, “It all depends on how much effort you put in. Either way, I expect to see their corpses by dawn.”

As the two demons stumbled out of the ancestral hall, the Fat Cultivator spat out in fury, “That soul-snatching array was a fake? How cunning!” He cursed, regretting the spiritual herbs he’d traded away.

The Tall and Thin Cultivator spat out a mouthful of blood and muttered, “If the soul-snatching fails, we’ll never escape That Person’s control.”

The Fat Cultivator glanced at him. “Right now, he still needs us to tend the spirit herbs. He won’t move against us lightly.” His eyes narrowed. “Did those two sense something? Why did they head to the ancestral hall early?”

The Tall and Thin Cultivator sneered. “What’s so strange about that? Sect cultivators have always been cunning.”

The Fat Cultivator dismissed the thought. Either way, those two were dead.

“Enough. Let’s get to the Spirit Herb Garden, use some herbs to meditate and recover. This backlash is truly formidable. We’ll return to the ancestral hall after those two demons finish off the others.”

The Fat Cultivator’s wrinkled face twitched as his lips curled.

Both their spiritual power was severely depleted. They immediately leaned on each other, preparing to use the spirit herbs to replenish their strength.

As they reached the entrance, they saw the spirit lock on the main gate had been smashed. Panic seized them as they scrambled inside.

The courtyard, which should have been faintly glowing with the green light of the spirit herbs, was now plunged into darkness. The herbs had been uprooted and hacked, lying scattered and broken across the ground.

The two men froze, then recoiled in sheer terror. With the spirit herbs destroyed, they had no hope of survival.

The Tall and Thin Cultivator collapsed as if his support had been ripped away. “It’s over, it’s over! What do we do? Big Brother, what do we do now?” How could they ever explain this?

The Fat Cultivator gasped for breath, his face contorted with rage. “Stop howling!”

The pitch-black night fell into an instantaneous, deathly silence. The Fat Cultivator steadied his breathing. “Slaughter the city.”

Now that the mortals had been rescued, how could the two demons possibly be content to serve them after learning the truth? Moreover, if the other Sects ever found out what they had done, they would be hunted down relentlessly.

The Tall and Thin Cultivator’s mouth hung open, stunned by the Fat Cultivator’s words.

“A Yuan, come to Mother.”

A young woman with her hair tied in a high bun and crescent-shaped eyes sat on a swing chair beneath a white magnolia tree, calling gently to her son.

Li Shangyuan froze, unable to move for a long time.

“What are you staring at? You silly boy, have you forgotten your own mother after only a few days?”

Seeing his inaction, the woman shot him an annoyed glare before standing up and gliding gracefully toward him.

Li Shangyuan gazed at his mother, who was now within arm’s reach. His jaw tightened, and a glimmer flickered in his eyes.

The woman looked down, reaching out to pat the top of his head before giving his shoulder a firm tap. “Your father is returning home in triumph today. Go change your clothes quickly, and then join Mother to welcome him back.”

Only then did Li Shangyuan, who barely reached the woman’s waist, remember.

So, it’s today?

He opened his mouth to speak, but seeing the hopeful expression on his mother’s face, he ultimately remained silent.

“Are you afraid? Your father is about to bring that woman into this house, and your mother will soon be dead. Do you want to save her?”

The voice, his own yet not his own, echoed in his mind. He couldn’t tell if it was a temptation or a divine oracle sent to rewrite his fate.

The maids layered garment upon garment on him. His mother sat on the bed as she always did, her expression dignified, her eyes gentle and kind as she smiled at him. “Hmm, this one. This one looks good. You look just like your father, so handsome.”

Tang Wan took Li Shangyuan’s small hand, and the entire group eagerly looked toward the door, their necks craned in anticipation.

“Your father will appear with your stepmother and that half-brother of yours who materialized out of nowhere in just a few moments. Are you truly willing to watch your mother wither away in grief and your father grow cold toward you?”

Li Shangyuan’s body turned ice cold. His voice trembled as he said, “Shut up.”

“Shut up? You still think you’re the legitimate heir of the Marquis’s Mansion? Oh, that’s right, you are for now. You still have the power to command others. Hahaha… Li Shangyuan, very soon, no one will listen to your commands, and no one will dare to. Tell me, whose mouth are you trying to shut with a single word?”

“Don’t think about it. Just give me the word, and I’ll kill them for you. Your mother and father will still be as deeply in love as ever, and you’ll still live under their love and protection.”

“Why hesitate? Just give me the word.”

Li Shangyuan remained silent for a long time. He raised his head again, staring deeply at the mother in his memories, before slowly speaking, “The dream you wove is indeed very real. But my mother’s jade pendant should still have a corner chipped off.”

That was the day before his father’s triumphant return.

He and his mother had both waited anxiously for a long time, practicing archery day after day, just to give his father a surprise and earn a word of praise.

Unfortunately, the snow fox, playing with the jade pendant, suddenly dashed out. The arrow happened to hit the corner of the jade pendant, and the token of love between the Marquis of Xiaoyong and his wife was chipped in an instant.

The jade fragment that fell from the corner shattered completely, utterly destroyed.

“Also, white magnolias grow on Fufeng Peak of the Wushang Sect. My mother’s courtyard has no white magnolias.”

Li Shangyuan took a white magnolia petal from his sleeve and spread it in his palm, gazing at it.

“So what? Don’t you want to stay here? Stay in the time when your mother was still alive?”

I do. How could I not?

But no matter how beautiful the dream, it was ultimately false.

The past had already happened.

Even if he forced himself to stay in this newly woven dream, it would be nothing more than watching flowers in a vision, an empty illusion.

“I will not stay,” he said. “It’s better to shatter this dream now, before Mother sees it all.”

Li Shangyuan gently touched the white magnolia petal in his palm. As the words left his lips, the edges of the petal began to wither and turn a scorched gold.

Then, with the petal as the epicenter, the house, the road, and even his mother began to fade. Their colors drained, their outlines wavered, and they crumbled into ash.

Li Shangyuan opened his eyes again, his vision returning to the ancestral hall.

The two demons were startled and immediately tried to flee. With a flick of his sleeve, Li Shangyuan activated the Thousand-Layer Array, and a silver-white barrier instantly enveloped the ancestral hall.

Dian Chao was still trapped in the illusion, alternating between laughter and tears.

Li Shangyuan spoke directly, “You two, please break the illusion first. I will let you leave afterward.”

“Once an illusion is formed, it can only be broken from within,” the White-Crested Girl said hesitantly, sheltered behind the tail man. “We cannot dispel it.”

Li Shangyuan’s brow furrowed deeply. “And if he can’t break free…”

The White-Crested Girl’s eyes trembled as she finished, “Then he will be trapped in the illusion until he dies.”

Li Shangyuan remained silent for a long time.

Even if he sent a message to his Master now, it would take several hours for him to arrive. By then, Dian Chao would probably…

Li Shangyuan made a quick decision. “I know you two are being coerced,” he said. “You’re forced to do things against your will to protect the people in the village and your own companions.”

The two demons exchanged a glance and then gave a bitter smile. “Immortal Master, we are truly sorry.”

“I’ve already rescued them,” Li Shangyuan stated, his words flowing without pause. “Look.”

The demons’ joy was tinged with doubt, but when they saw the villagers’ tokens in Li Shangyuan’s hand, the last of their skepticism vanished.

“Immortal Master, is my sister among them?” The demons’ eyes shone with desperate hope.

Seeing Li Shangyuan hesitate, their disbelief was immediate. “How could that be? They wouldn’t kill her. They still need her demonic power to nourish the spiritual herbs.”

The two demons muttered to themselves, trying to convince themselves of the lie.

Li Shangyuan sighed inwardly before speaking softly. “Your sister is a tree demon, isn’t she? She’s already fully transformed into human shape?”

When the two demons nodded, tears streaming down their faces, he continued, “But the spiritual herbs are nourished with the blood of mortals.”

Ignoring the two demons’ bewildered expressions, he continued, “I just observed those two cultivators’ techniques. They seem to faintly carry demonic power, which means this cultivation method likely requires a demon core from a demon capable of full transformation as a catalyst for tempering. Furthermore, it will still need demon cores for consolidation in the later stages.”

The girl’s heart sank to the depths of despair. “No wonder they asked us to find demon cores, claiming it was to refine an antidote for everyone. I thought they remembered our kindness and still had a shred of goodwill left. How could they be so cruel!”

The next second, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.

“Oh no! The restriction our ancestor left in the earth vein has been broken! They’re actually going to destroy the town!” the White-Crested Girl shrieked in disbelief.

The ground, unprotected by the Nine-Layer Formation, had already cracked open, and entire blocks of houses collapsed with a thunderous roar.

Li Shangyuan said steadily, “The formation I set up can hold for a short while, and the townspeople are protected by it. But if we want to evacuate everyone together, my cultivation alone won’t be enough. If we combine it with my junior brother’s earth-element techniques, we can break through the restriction.”

The White-Crested Girl’s face twisted with inner conflict.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Li Shangyuan’s mind, its tone grave: “Immortal Master, I have another way to break the illusion array. He only needs to realize he’s inside the illusion, and it will shatter automatically. I will enter the illusion immediately to awaken him. I only ask that you two Immortal Masters save Bai Yu and the townspeople.”

Before Li Shangyuan could speak, the man with the tail vanished, entering the illusion in a flash.

He disappeared from behind the girl, leaving the White-Crested Girl to stare at empty space by the time she realized what had happened.

She turned to Li Shangyuan, her eyes pleading for an explanation. Li Shangyuan met her gaze and gave a slow, heavy nod.

Understanding dawned on her, and the White-Crested Girl collapsed in despair.

“Huanshu! You bastard! You promised you’d never leave me!”

So that’s how it is, Li Shangyuan realized. A life for a life…

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