There is Still Such A Good Thing? - Chapter 17.1

Back Mountain.

The back mountain had been transformed into a forest of bamboo.

The leaves were like blades, stretching across hundreds of miles, each imbued with a bone-chilling murderous intent, leaving nowhere to hide.

“Chen She, do you really intend to drive me to extinction?” The Fifth Elder’s expression was vicious. “He is the son of Lord Zufushi. Using his blood to sacrifice and open the boundary gate to the Tomb of Regret would be entirely beneficial to you!”

Chen She smiled. “The Fifth Elder has been teaching at Fengyu Academy for so long that he has become fond of acting like a master, even wanting to teach me how to conduct my affairs?”

“We both know how you got that ‘She’ character in your name. You harbor such deep hatred for Lord Zufushi!” The Fifth Elder pointed at Wu Lingchan. “I do not believe you do not hate him!”

Chen She replied with refined elegance, “Have you said enough?”

Chen She looked like a gentleman, but in reality, he was never soft-hearted.

After his polite inquiry, the bamboo leaves fluttering across the sky suddenly transformed into long, narrow blades, slicing through the void and pressing down on the Fifth Elder.

Although the Nascent Soul stage is formidable, it could not withstand a single strike from Chen She.

A heart-wrenching scream erupted from the dense bamboo forest.

Wu Lingchan suddenly came to his senses. He was still holding onto his grudge and bounded out of Chen She’s arms with a thud. “Do not touch me!”

“You have been cursed,” Chen She reminded him.

The marks on Wu Lingchan’s neck looked like a blooming flower, spreading even behind his ears.

He glared at Chen She. “I do not need you to worry about me.”

The young lord was extremely stubborn, taking two steps back with a heavy stomp. The flowers on his snow-white skin seemed to bloom even more vividly, and before he could stand steady, his knees went weak from exhaustion, nearly causing him to collapse.

Chen She had anticipated this and reached out to catch him.

Cold sweat beaded on Wu Lingchan’s forehead. His heart felt as though it were being gripped by an invisible hand, and it only felt alleviated when he leaned close to Chen She, utilizing his powerful spiritual pressure.

Wu Lingchan wore a sour expression, leaning in reluctantly. “Fine, fine. I will let you look after me for a little while.”

Chen She: “…”

Chi Fuhan and Qingyang had fallen hard onto the ground. Fortunately, one had the physical body of a Golden Core cultivator, and the other was a half-demon; after being dizzy for a while, they were back to jumping around.

Qingyang feared Chen She, so despite being unharmed, he lay in the pile of bamboo leaves playing dead.

Chi Fuhan, however, scrambled up at once. His eyes seemed to erupt with sunlight, filled with reverence.

“Lord Chen!”

Chen She did not look at him; the vermilion mark in his eyes seemed to be glancing toward Wu Lingchan.

“Roar!”

Not far away, the bamboo leaves filling the sky were suddenly blown apart by a surge of spiritual energy, revealing a blood-drenched figure within.

Wu Lingchan paused, looking over in confusion.

The Fifth Elder had been virtually sliced to pieces by the bamboo leaves, his eyes turning blood-red from the agony. He was naked from the waist up, flesh and blood dripping away, yet the wounds healed with astonishing speed.

More than that, the Fifth Elder’s cultivation was steadily growing stronger.

Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, and even faintly reaching the Void Refinement stage.

Purple mist swirled around the Fifth Elder, but as his cultivation intensified, the clarity in his eyes grew weaker. By the moment he touched the threshold of the Void Refinement barrier, his entire body suddenly grew to the size of a small mountain.

He had become a mindless demonic beast.

Wu Lingchan was startled.

Is the Fifth Elder’s original form a demonic beast?

Wu Lingchan, cursed as he was, marveled while moving closer to Chen She.

He was never one to make things difficult for himself. Having found a way to alleviate his pain, he began to edge toward Chen She, reaching out to touch his sleeve, and before long, he had secretly hooked his small finger around Chen She’s.

Wu Lingchan felt he was being very subtle.

At that moment, Chen She pulled his hand back and gently took Wu Lingchan’s entire hand in his.

Wu Lingchan was rarely so intimate with anyone, and this holding nearly made him bristle. “You, you, you! What are you doing?”

“Shh,” Chen She said calmly. “Look over there.”

Wu Lingchan, his hand captured, swatted backward like a resistant cat while looking warily toward the sound.

The demonic beast’s face was hideous, its eyes blood-red, knowing only slaughter as it clawed its way toward Chen She.

Its body was too massive, each step shaking the earth, cracking the ground, and sending flocks of birds into a panic.

“He used demonic energy,” Chen She said, seemingly gazing at the beast that no longer resembled a human, explaining to Wu Lingchan, “In the Tomb of Regret, all who cultivate using demonic energy become mindless beasts. Throughout history, only two great demons have successfully cultivated into human form.”

Wu Lingchan’s struggling movements stopped. “Does using a lot of demonic energy make you turn into this?”

“No, it depends on one’s fate,” Chen She said. “Some people might turn into a demonic beast even after touching just a wisp.”

Wu Lingchan: “Oh.”

The beast was nearly upon them. Chen She sighed silently and raised a hand. Spiritual energy surged out, and the scattered bamboo leaves condensed into a green, hiltless blade.

A spring breeze blew gently.

The beast’s head was severed instantly.

As the blade cut through, Chen She turned slightly, covering Wu Lingchan’s eyes with his palm.

Darkness descended. With vision taken away, his other senses seemed to amplify without limit.

Wu Lingchan smelled the crisp scent of snow and bamboo leaves on Chen She’s cuffs; he heard the bubbling flow of blood from the severed head; the hand held by Chen She was warm and large, capable of wrapping around his entire palm with a slight curl of five fingers.

Wu Lingchan rarely equated the experiences of others to himself, but at this moment, a thought surfaced in his mind for no reason.

The last time Chen She was this angry, is it because he was afraid that if I used demonic energy, I would also turn into a mindless beast?

Soon, Chen She removed his hand.

The ground was devoid of the ferocious, bloody corpse, having been transformed into a lush green bamboo forest.

Wu Lingchan was not as resistant to Chen She as before. No sooner had he opened his eyes than Chen She pulled him into his arms, holding his hand.

Before Wu Lingchan could make a sound, he saw a purple core spinning continuously in the distant bamboo forest. The purple mist distorted the void, gradually tearing open a fissure.

A bony hand suddenly clawed at the edge of the fissure; it seemed someone was trying to crawl out.

Chen She said nonchalantly, “If you do not want your hand anymore, feel free to stretch it out.”

The hand clinging to the edge suddenly retracted. A moment later, five fingers emerged, and a crimson, eerie eye appeared on the palm, staring directly at Chen She.

And at Wu Lingchan, whom he was shielding.

An eerie voice drifted low from the fissure: “He cannot escape. He can escape once, but he cannot escape a second time. One day, I will make him willingly become my key.”

Chen She laughed. “Do come and try.”

Above the throne of the Tomb of Regret, where ten thousand beasts bowed, a pair of eyes pierced through thousands of miles of blood sea. They locked eyes with Chen She through the void fissure, carrying a horrifying, blood-soaked malice.

Chen She waved his hand. The fissure shattered with a boom, and the pale hand finally retreated unwillingly back into the Tomb of Regret.

The moment those eyes vanished, they left behind a cold parting remark.

“Traitor.”

Wu Lingchan scrambled out of his arms, looking around in confusion. “What were you saying to that hand?”

It was Kunfu language, yet not quite; in any case, he could not understand a single word.

“Nothing,” Chen She said calmly. “Are you still angry?”

“Should I not be angry?” Wu Lingchan frowned, seeing that he was bringing it up himself, clearly not in an apologetic mood. “You cursed at me without knowing the facts and said the gift I found for you was trash. I am heartbroken; I hate you to death.”

Chen She: “…”

Chen She did not expect that in just one night, not only had Wu Lingchan’s “dislike” turned into “hate,” but his “flashy but impractical” gift had also upgraded to “trash.”

Chi Fuhan stood to the side, shy and timid, trying to find an opportunity to speak a few words to Lord Chen. Seeing Wu Lingchan’s unceremonious accusations, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

This young lord is truly bold!

Lord Chen kills people as easily as eating; he will surely…

Chen She smiled and said in a gentle voice, as if coaxing a child, “It is Brother’s fault; I should not have been critical of your gift.”

Wu Lingchan pushed his luck. “And you shouldn’t have scolded me.”

“Hmm, that was also wrong.”

Chi Fuhan: “?”

Chi Fuhan: “…”

Lord Chen… uh, this, hmm.

Lord Chen practices fasting.

The several teachers from the Four-Cut Academy arrived late. Seeing the lotus flowers that had grown for hundreds of years completely replaced by a bamboo forest across the mountains, they all wore different expressions.

So blatantly replacing lotuses with bamboo, is Lord Chen creating momentum for his succession?

When they moved closer, their expressions became even more peculiar.

Lord Chen, who had always disliked being close to others, was currently holding a young man’s hand. Their sizes were vastly different, and Chen She even leaned down slightly while speaking.

Someone sharp-eyed recognized that the red-clad youth was Lord Zufushi’s son, Wu Kunkun, and they all gasped.

Lord Chen and Lord Zufushi are at odds like fire and water; to think Wu Kunkun returned and has survived until now?

Everyone held different thoughts, but they kept walking until they arrived and bowed respectfully. “Greetings to Lord Chen, Young Lord Kunkun.”

Chen She did not even look at them. He summoned two golden cores glowing with purple mist from the bamboo forest. “Bai Cang and the Fifth Elder colluded with the Tomb of Regret, plotting to harm the Young Lord. They have been executed by me on the spot. You may take the golden cores to report to the Great Elder.”

The expressions of those present changed instantly.

Elder Yao of the Four-Cut Academy could not help but ask, “Lord Chen, are these words true?”

Before Chen She could speak, Chi Fuhan became displeased. “Look at what the teacher is saying! Could Lord Chen possibly slander two mere elders? Besides, the curse on the Young Lord is right here; can you not see it?”

Elder Yao: “…”

Elder Yao puffed out his cheeks. “You brat, go back and wait for a beating!”

Chi Fuhan scoffed. “If not for Lord Chen’s timely rescue, we would have been killed by the Fifth Elder long ago. Two mere traitors deserved to die; the Great Elder surely wouldn’t be unable to distinguish right from wrong.”

Elder Yao glared at him, then turned back to Chen She. “Lord Chen, forgive my offense. If these two committed such crimes, they indeed deserved to die. What about the curse on the Young Lord? Can it be lifted?”

Wu Lingchan finally received an apology and was in a good mood. He peacefully held Chen She’s hand. He did not really understand what was being said, so he just squinted his eyes and said, “Rise, you may rise.”

Chen She reached out and brushed aside the hair that had fallen onto Wu Lingchan’s shoulder.

An invisible gaze traveled from Wu Lingchan’s cheek to his collar. The tattoo-like flower cluster was continuously absorbing his spiritual energy and vitality, blooming more and more vividly.

It does not seem to be an ordinary Heart-Binding Curse.

Chen She frowned and raised his hand to form a seal, intending to touch Wu Lingchan’s forehead.

But before that terrifying spiritual power could approach the spirit platform, Wu Lingchan’s sea of consciousness seemed to be struck. The flowers instantly climbed over half of his face, and he collapsed unexpectedly. His frail form fell like an unnoticeable maple leaf.

The crowd was shocked.

Chen She’s expression changed slightly, and he caught him in his arms.

“Kunkun?”

The Danjiu Palace had been repaired.

The Kunfu Ruins did not have the speed to build palaces that quickly, but Xun Ye, enduring the pain of spending a fortune, had invited dozens of craftsmen skilled in restoration talismans.

With thousands of talismans burned at once, it took less than half an hour to restore the Danjiu Palace from ruins to its original state, with even the withered grass coming back to life and blooming small flowers.

Wu Lingchan lay on the bed, with the Spirit Gathering Array continuously pouring spiritual energy into his meridians. The flower cluster on his neck remained un-withered.

Chi Fuhan was covered in cold sweat. Even after taking out his life-bound talisman array, he was unable to strip the curse from Wu Lingchan’s body and could only temporarily stabilize the speed at which the curse spread.

“Lord Chen, the curse the Young Lord has suffered is not an ordinary Heart-Binding Curse. It contains a puppet talisman and a sealing technique; three sophisticated curse methods mixed together. I fear…”

Chi Fuhan was still murmuring in his heart.

A Nascent Soul expert could grab Wu Kunkun as easily as a chick; why would they need to use such complex and cumbersome curse methods?

It looks as if they were planning to control Wu Lingchan to do something.

Chen She sat on the edge of the bed, perceiving Wu Lingchan’s increasingly frail vitality, and frowned slightly. “Who can lift it?”

Chi Fuhan stammered, “No one can lift it.”

A loud noise rang out.

The windows of the Danjiu Palace were blown open by a fierce gale, and the gold-leaf bells hanging on the curtains jingled.

The sky was covered in dark clouds, and a torrential downpour began instantly.

Chi Fuhan had never felt such powerful pressure and nearly fell to his knees.

Only then did he truly realize how absurd his previous thoughts were. Lord Chen was clearly shielding Wu Kunkun because he cared about him, which was why he gifted him the gold bell and let him move into the Bihan Terrace.

Once Chi Fuhan figured this out, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he tentatively whispered, “Actually, there is one person who might be able to try.”

“Who?”

“Lord Zufushi.”

Chen She’s hand paused.

Wu Lingchan desperately needed spiritual energy. Even while sleeping, he instinctively moved toward the person with the most powerful spiritual energy nearby. He gripped Chen She’s forearm tightly, wishing he could stick his face right onto him.

In his confusion, he felt that hand trying to pull back. A lingering grievance surged back, and he whimpered, seemingly cursing in the Immortal Alliance language.

Wu Lingchan had never failed to get what he wanted.

As expected, after his mumbling, that hand no longer showed any tendency to let go, allowing him to cling tighter and tighter.

In his lethargy, Wu Lingchan seemed to have a long, vivid dream.

He walked alone on an empty wasteland, stumbling toward the direction of the light. But no matter how long he walked, he seemed to be circling in place, unable to walk out.

Jingle.

There seemed to be the sound of a gold bell ringing in his ears.

Wu Lingchan looked around in confusion for the source of the sound. After a long while, he finally looked down and saw the small gold bell hanging around his neck flying up and down.

It seems to be running.

“Wuu-pu!”

Wu Kunkun’s feet seemed to be tripped by something, and he fell face-first. His palm was scraped, and a few beads of blood seeped out.

Not far away, a voice said, “You…”

Wu Kunkun looked up blankly. Chen She was still sitting in place, seemingly staring at him in a daze.

“Brother,” Wu Kunkun suddenly scrambled up and ran toward him, crying, “Brother, Brother, Brother, Brother!”

Chen She was trembling all over. He shouted angrily, “Did you not roll away? Why did you run back?!”

Wu Kunkun threw himself into his arms and sobbed, “I do not want to roll away! Rolling away is bad! I want to be with Brother.”

Chen She said, “What use are you here? You are just a burden!”

Wu Kunkun covered his mouth, making him take back those words, and said loudly, “Not a burden! Burden is bad! You are not allowed to say that!”

Chen She: “…”

Only then did Wu Lingchan realize that everything in the previous dream seemed to be fake.

The layers of Dan-maple leaves on the ground were not fallen leaves, but a pool of crimson blood; the white spider silk around them was not a web, but a chaotic intersection of zither strings.

White strings bound Chen She’s body, even staining the strings blood-red.

Drops of blood dripped down, splashing into maple leaves.

In the vast wasteland, countless pairs of scarlet eyes stared straight at the center, accompanied by the step-by-step approach of monstrous, massive demonic beasts.

Chen She’s lips were trembling. “Are you not afraid of death?”

Wu Kunkun hugged his neck and shook his head. “I am not afraid! Father will come to save me.”

Chen She sneered.

At this moment, the nearest demonic beast clawed toward the two of them.

Chen She’s pupils moved. Regardless of the tight strings piercing his wrists, he ripped the Four-Nether Gold Bell from Wu Kunkun’s neck.

Boom.

The demonic beast charged over in a rage. The moment it touched it, the Four-Nether Gold Bell instantly transformed into a goose-egg-sized, translucent barrier, wrapping the two of them tightly.

The beast was instantly sent flying backward by the spiritual energy of the barrier, unable to climb back up for a long time.

Wu Kunkun wanted to look up, but Chen She pressed his head into the crook of his neck, whispering, “Do not add to the chaos.”

“I am not adding to the chaos.” Wu Kunkun had cried too hard because of running back just now, and he was still hiccuping. “I am not a burden! Brother, can you not say that to me? Wuu…”

Chen She ignored him.

But at least he did not say it again.

Wu Kunkun quickly consoled himself, listening to the strange thumping sound by his ear. He wanted to look, but as soon as he raised his head, Chen She pressed him back into his arms.

He had no choice but to hold Chen She’s neck obediently and lie flat, whispering, “Brother, will you give your bell back to me when you are done using it?”

“No.” This time, Chen She answered, “That is mine.”

“But you already gave it to me just now.”

“I did not give it; I am temporarily letting you use it.”

“Then when will you give it to me again?”

“Never.”

“Wuu.”

Jingle.

Wu Lingchan turned over in a daze, accidentally pressing on his hair, and scratched his head vaguely. “Mo Bao, hair…”

Mo Bao did not respond.

A pair of hands reached from the side and gently supported the back of Wu Lingchan’s neck, pulling out the pressed hair.

Wu Lingchan felt much more comfortable and opened his eyes lazily.

What came into view was not the familiar ink, but wide indigo sleeves embroidered with talismans, and a slender hand hanging to one side, with veins faintly visible on the back of the hand.

Wu Lingchan blinked his eyes. He was still dazed, staring at the hand and letting his mind wander.

How can someone have such long fingers?

Just as he was thinking, that hand slowly reached toward him and brushed a lock of messy hair from his forehead.

Chen She’s voice, carrying a smile, came through: “Awake?”

Wu Lingchan jolted, completely awake.

He sat up suddenly, a clink sound coming from his neck. The Four-Nether Gold Bell, which he had seen him drop with his own hands, was hanging around his neck again.

Wu Lingchan wanted to grab the bell, but he was startled upon reaching out—the back of his hand was covered in vine-like flower cluster tattoos, nearly spreading to his fingertips.

“Is this the curse?”

“Hmm, do not be afraid,” Chen She said. “It will be resolved soon.”

Chen She’s reassurance inexplicably gave Wu Lingchan a sense of security. He suppressed his panic and soon, carefree as ever, untied his clothes to look at the flowers covering nearly half his body.

“It is quite beautiful. What kind of curse is it?”

“The boundary gate to the Tomb of Regret needs a key, and the purest demonic bloodline can open it,” Chen She explained briefly. “Bai Cang wanted to turn you into a puppet so that you would willingly sacrifice yourself to open the gate.”