The Immortal Venerable Used Me and Then Abandoned Me - Chapter 12

Jian Zhu returned to his room and changed into his disciple uniform. As he lowered his head to tidy his belt, he recalled the ripples in the restriction he had felt the moment he landed on the Crane-Greeting Platform.

Heh. Trying to pull a “sting operation” on me, are we?

With a flick of his wide sleeves, Jian Zhu pushed open the door and headed toward the academy, greeted by the brilliant morning sun.

He had been delayed a bit this morning, and by the time he reached the academy, class was nearly about to start. The fellow disciples around him offered their greetings, and Senior Brother He was just about to strike up a conversation from a few seats away when a voice rang out from the doorway: “To your seats!”

Jian Zhu looked up, only to see that the one entering was Master Dong Ying.

Compared to the rigorous Hui Yu, Dong Ying appeared much more approachable. He addressed the disciples, “From today onward, I shall be teaching in place of Elder Hui Yu.”

A wave of whispering broke out among the seats.

Jian Zhu recalled Hui Yu’s previous mistake and guessed that perhaps the Elder was not in peak condition and was in seclusion to readjust.

The next moment, he heard Dong Ying say, “Elder Hui Yu is preparing for a breakthrough.”

The disciples looked at each other in surprise. “The Elder is going to break through?”

“Elder Hui Yu has been stuck at the late stage of Spirit Severing for a long time; it’s about time he broke through to the Body Integration stage!”

“It seems that besides the Sect Leader, our Lin Yuan Sect will soon have a second Body Integration stage master.”

Jian Zhu frowned slightly. Breaking through in Hui Yu’s current state? It’s probably not a good idea.

A Senior Brother beside him noticed his frown and comforted him, “Junior Brother, don’t worry. Even if the Elder reaches the Body Integration stage, he won’t go out of his way to make things even harder for you.”

Jian Zhu: “…”

Jian Zhu: “Senior Brother, you worry too much.”

He was truly curious about how the outside world viewed the relationship between him and Hui Yu.

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Lunch and “Heavenly” Descriptions

Once the morning lessons ended, Jian Zhu and Jiang Chaoyun agreed to head to the dining hall for lunch.

Cultivators can practice Bigu (fasting) once they reach the Golden Core stage, but what does wanting to eat have to do with fasting?

By the time they reached the hall, Jiang Chaoyun had already grabbed his food and was sitting at a table.

Jian Zhu got his portion and sat opposite Jiang Chaoyun. The latter immediately sat bolt upright, staring intently at Jian Zhu’s bowl. “Why do you have an extra drumstick?”

Jian Zhu used his chopsticks to poke a piece of meat, chewing and swallowing slowly under Jiang Chaoyun’s envious gaze. “The Junior Brother serving the food said I’m today’s 631st ‘Lucky Disciple’.”

Jiang Chaoyun gripped his chopsticks tight. “What a random lucky number!”

It wasn’t until Jian Zhu finished the drumstick in a few bites that Jiang Chaoyun’s burning gaze finally subsided. The two began chatting idly about recent events.

Jiang Chaoyun: “What have you been up to lately?”

Jian Zhu: “Planting vegetables and teasing birds.”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…?”

Seeing the genuine confusion on his face, Jian Zhu added, “And cultivating.”

Jiang Chaoyun skipped over his half-hearted correction. “Forget it. Weren’t you here at Lin Yuan to find someone? You don’t seem worried at all. Did you find him?”

“A vast sea of people is like a needle in a haystack.” Jian Zhu paused. “And I mean a metaphorical needle.”

Huai Wang still had his dignity; Jian Zhu couldn’t slander him too casually.

Jiang Chaoyun: “…I wouldn’t have thought that far if you hadn’t said it.”

After about ten seconds of mutual silence, Jiang Chaoyun broke the awkwardness. “Why don’t you tell me his characteristics? I’ll help you spread the word.”

The phrasing sounded ominous. Jian Zhu did his best to ignore it, closing his eyes to recall the threads of their past. His lips parted slightly: “He is as still as a virgin, yet moves like a bolting rabbit.”

Confusion surfaced on Jiang Chaoyun’s face again.

Jian Zhu continued: “Exquisite temperament, and the strength to lift a bronze tripod.”

“…” Jiang Chaoyun really didn’t understand Jian Zhu’s aesthetics. He imagined the ex-husband must be some sort of “Celestial Muscle-Man.”

He said, “If you have any other stories you’re willing to share, tell me. I’ll turn them into a dual biography for you two and do a trial run of a few hundred copies within the sect.”

Jian Zhu accepted readily and recommended Senior Brother He. “You can ask him for help with the prose and polishing.”

“Deal. I’ll send two copies to your Cang Mountain when it’s published.”

Having reached an agreement, the two switched topics.

Jiang Chaoyun had joined Master Dong Ying’s lineage. Now that Dong Ying was subbing for Hui Yu, there would likely be less time for individual guidance.

Jiang Chaoyun fretted for a while, then looked at the bright side. “But with Elder Hui Yu focusing on his breakthrough, no one will be picking on you for a while.”

Jian Zhu: “…No, the Elder really wasn’t picking on me.”

“The whole sect knows,” Jiang Chaoyun insisted, throwing in a rhyme for good measure. “Don’t fear being bullied when no one’s around; the Sect is your home, where safety is found!”

Jian Zhu let out a long, haunting sigh. He thought to himself that when Elder Hui Yu finished his seclusion, he would definitely invite the man for a hand-in-hand stroll through the sect’s blooming spring flowers.

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The “Old Man” Excuse

Jian Zhu returned to Cang Mountain in the evening.

As per his routine, he sauntered over to check on his seedlings. Today, Huai Wang wasn’t inside with the windows shut; he was sitting behind the stone table in the courtyard brewing tea.

Steam curled in the air, slightly softening his sharp, cold features through the white mist.

As Jian Zhu entered, the water reached a rolling boil. The ceramic lid rattled with a pa-da, and a few water stains seeped from the rim.

With fingers like carved bone, Huai Wang lifted the lid and set it on the table, seemingly sensing the heat. Without looking up, he asked, “Why did you stay out all night?”

Jian Zhu looked at him with a half-smile. He’s acting the part quite well.

He said leisurely, “I was doing a good deed last night, and it delayed my return to the sect.”

“A good deed?”

“Helping an old man who had been hit by a falling object cross the street.”

“…”

For once, a look of utter disbelief appeared on Huai Wang’s indifferent face. He looked up, seemingly unable to believe what he had just heard.

Seeing him at a loss for words, Jian Zhu’s mood instantly improved tenfold.

Huai Wang was choked up for a good while before turning cold and warning him, “You left the sect without permission yesterday. Considering it’s your first offense, I will let it slide. If there is a next time, you will be dealt with according to sect rules.”

“And how does the Immortal Venerable plan to deal with me?” Jian Zhu looked at him with an air of “waiting for the show,” teasingly asking, “Will you tie me up and beat me?”

Huai Wang was momentarily speechless before continuing, “I will sentence you to sit in the Cold Pond for a night.”

Jian Zhu played along. “I’m so scared.”

Huai Wang glanced at the patch of bright green vegetables. “And I’ll pull up all your seedlings.”

But before Jian Zhu could respond, the spirit crane standing nearby suddenly flapped its wings in protest: “Cluck cluck cluck!!!”

Jian Zhu laughed without giving him any face. “Heh.”

“…”

Huai Wang pursed his lips and stood up. He gave the “traitorous” crane a cold sweep of his eyes and turned to go back inside.

The door slammed shut with a BANG!

The teapot by the stone table was still bubbling away. A cup of hot tea sat there, its warmth lingering. The tea was clear and bright, and high-quality Junshan Silver Needle leaves stood vertically at the bottom of the cup, bobbing up and down.

A fragment of the sinking sun swayed upon the water’s surface.

Jian Zhu reached out and ruffled the spirit crane’s head. “Good boy. You’ll definitely get your share of the vegetable broth.”

“Cluck cluck cluck cluck~”

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Between planting vegetables, teasing birds, drinking wine, and wandering the streets, Jian Zhu felt as though he had forcibly turned a world of immortal cultivation into a “Life on the Farm” simulator.

Finding himself idle today, he decided to resume his cultivation.

Huai Wang had mentioned the Cold Pond earlier. While it sounded like it could freeze a bird to death, it was actually of immense benefit to one’s practice.

He had heard Huai Wang say before that the Cold Pond of Cang Mountain was connected directly to a spiritual vein. The surrounding spring water was bone-chillingly cold, yet in the central depths, there was an “Ever-Bright Flame” where magma rolled.

Jian Zhu left his courtyard and headed toward the pond.

Time for a happy adventure—Woohoo!

Walking through the tall parasol forest, the silence was broken only by the rushing sound of a waterfall.

Water droplets splashed; despite the freezing temperature, the water remained liquid and flowing. There were no visible drainage ditches nearby, making it a mystery where the water eventually led.

Huai Wang had just returned to his room, so he likely wouldn’t be coming here now. Jian Zhu shed his outer robes and socks, leaving them on the bank, and slid into the pond wearing only his inner robes with a soft plop.

Ripples spread across the surface, and a biting chill immediately burrowed into his limbs and bones.

Near the edge, the pond was shallow. His plain white inner robes floated in the water, which reached just up to his chest.

Jian Zhu sat cross-legged. With no external distractions, he stilled his breath and closed his eyes, aligning his heart with the vast void until his vital energies were fully unblocked. After several cycles of his cultivation technique, the cold air integrated with his body, merging with his own spiritual energy.

This chill didn’t affect him in the slightest.

Before long, Jian Zhu opened his eyes with a dull expression: Heh. The Cold Pond? That’s it?

With extreme arrogance, he looked down upon Huai Wang’s “giant swimming pool.” Then, with a slight lift of his internal energy, he dove beneath the surface and swam toward the center of the pond.

The sun had long since set, and the moon was hidden behind heavy clouds. The faint light hitting the surface couldn’t reach the pitch-black depths.

The current flowed through the gaps between his clothes and his body. The further in he went, the deeper it became, and a sense of pressure rushed at him.

Reaching the center, the bottom of the pond suddenly dropped away. Below felt like a pot of boiling oil—calm on the surface, but hiding a scalding temperature.

Jian Zhu stopped. His hair drifted behind him in the water, and the hem of his trousers flipped up, revealing a clean instep and a calf as white as polished jade.

He extended that jade-white foot, testing the boundary between ice and fire, a prairie-fire of heat instantly scorched along his meridians!

Satisfied, Jian Zhu found a spot on the boundary and sat down. Now this is exciting.

Energy flooded his organs, entered his lower dantian, reached the “Three Stars,” and descended to the yongquan point. He practiced according to his usual method for a few moments when suddenly, his sea of consciousness burned!

“Hiss… ungh.” His brow furrowed instinctively, and a string of bubbles escaped his lips. He didn’t open his eyes, instead operating his heart-mantra to focus his mind on sensing that “brand.”

This situation had never occurred before. He guessed that perhaps the effects of Huai Wang’s “Ice-Fire Pool” were so extraordinary that something was bound to happen.

Just as falling off a cliff leads to secret manuals and stumbling into caves leads to the skeletons of great masters… there might be some staggering new world hidden in Huai Wang’s pool.

Jian Zhu did not interrupt his cultivation, carefully sensing the brand as it grew hotter and hotter. Gradually, he felt a suction deep within his sea of consciousness pulling him in. His consciousness began to sink, and his external senses were slowly blocked out.

A cluster of flames raced up his spine while the other half of his body was submerged in the cold spring; he was caught in a muddled state, like falling into a nightmare.

In his daze, Jian Zhu thought wryly: I feel like a deep-water grilled fish…

Fine bubbles leaked from his nose and mouth, floating up toward the surface far above.

Suddenly, the water above rippled. Immediately following that, his arm was seized by a massive force and yanked upward—

The drowning sensation was shattered! Jian Zhu opened his eyes to see a flash of snowy white through the water. The hand clamping his arm was long and powerful, even gripping him hard enough to hurt.

Once he regained consciousness, the feeling of suffocation hit him instantly. He instinctively reached out and hooked his arms around the person’s waist, clinging to them like a flailing octopus.

The grip on his arm tightened.

Splash! They broke the surface, sending a shower of moonlight-tinged droplets back into the pond.

Jian Zhu held Huai Wang’s waist, their chests pressed tightly together. Dark hair left winding water trails against skin; droplets slid slowly down a beautifully curved jawline.

Before he could even get comfortable, he was grabbed by the arm and pried away by Huai Wang.

Under the snowy moon, Huai Wang’s eyelashes were wet as if covered in thin frost. He looked down, his gaze colder than the pond itself. “Do you have a death wish?”