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Chapter 396 The Soul Returns to Heaven
"Uncle!"

"Son..."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were the first to react, and they ran over in surprise.

The Yuan siblings, who were treating Cao Jingsong's injuries, also stood up instantly and hurriedly squatted down in front of Yan Shuyi and Ji You.

At that time, Ji You's eyes were closed, and there was no sign of pain on his face. He looked as if he were asleep, peaceful and quiet.

What made them tremble was that, just like the young appraiser, they discovered that he had absolutely no aura about him.

"Brother-in-law?"

"Brother-in-law, what's wrong?"

Yuan Chen couldn't help but call out softly a few times, but there was no response. He couldn't help but panic and asked, "What happened? Why is my brother-in-law suddenly like this?"

"It's alright, don't worry."

Yuan Caiwei was more rational than her brother. As she spoke, she slowly lowered her palms, gathering a wisp of cinnabar light in her palms and transferring it into Ji You's body.

Perhaps it was the effect of the backlash from breaking through the realm, or perhaps it was the exhaustion after a great battle, but in her opinion, these were not major problems.

After all, the Dan Sect's alchemy is known for its ability to bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, so as a daughter of the Dan Sect, she had plenty of confidence.

When they saw Yuan Caiwei send the elixir light into Ji You's body, everyone remembered her identity and the miraculous power of the Pill Sect. Suddenly, their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, eased a little.

Indeed, with half of the alchemists here, how could there be any problems?

Yan Shuyi also tried her best to keep Ji You still in her arms and stared intently at Yuan Caiwei, waiting for her answer.

What surprised everyone was that the treatment, which they thought would not take long, was much longer than they expected.

What's even more concerning is that Yuan Caiwei's hands kept moving around, as if she were checking every corner of Ji You's body, but her face never showed any sign of relief.

After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Caiwei suddenly withdrew her inner light, opened her eyes, and spoke in a trembling voice, "Brother, quickly, go and invite Father here..."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen opened his mouth, his already fearful eyes widening even more. He immediately released Ji You's sleeve and ran wildly towards Dongshan.

Upon seeing this, everyone's hearts, which had just relaxed slightly, immediately tightened again, and even Yan Shuyi couldn't help but stare intently.

"What happened?"

Yuan Caiwei nervously clutched her sleeve: "Young Master has no injuries, his meridians are intact, his pulse is strong, he is completely fine..."

Yan Shuyi's eyelashes trembled slightly upon hearing this: "The body is fine, so it means the soul is not?"

"I do not know."

"Why wouldn't you know?"

Yuan Caiwei looked into Yan Shuyi's eyes and pursed her lips: "It must be that my skills are not good enough and I sensed it wrong. Sister Master Appraiser, you should listen to my father..."

Yan Shuyi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

Whether it's alchemy or medicine, Yuan Caiwei has mastered the true teachings of the Alchemy Sect. The phrase "lacking in skill" should not even be applied to her.

She vaguely sensed that Yuan Caiwei had discovered a problem, but preferred to believe that she was wrong rather than speak out. In other words, the scoundrel's problem seemed to be more serious than she had imagined.

Yan Shuyi gently brushed away Ji You's slightly messy hair with her slender, jade-like fingers, then watched him fall into silence.

He was still not breathing, but that was wrong.

Under the laws of nature, every living thing should have its own inherent aura, even a blade of grass or a tree should have one; this situation should not exist.

"father……"

Under the starry night sky, Yuan Chen hurried over mountains and valleys to a makeshift stone courtyard on the back slope of West Mountain.

At this moment, Yuan Li was sitting in the courtyard, along with Danyangzi and Danxunzi.

They knew beforehand that Ji You was about to break through to a higher realm, and in order to ensure a stable supply of spiritual energy, they even suspended the work of repairing the sacred site of the sages to guarantee the rate of leakage.

Similarly, they also saw the battle behind the dark clouds, and were so worried that they didn't sleep all night.

As Yuan Chen's voice came from the courtyard, the three of them immediately turned to look. Yuan Li's voice also came out at this moment: "How is it in the east? How is Young Master Ji's breakthrough?"

"problem occurs……"

"?"

"It's my brother-in-law. He had clearly succeeded in breaking through the barrier, but for some reason he suddenly fell from the sky and we can't wake him up no matter how we call him. My sister seems very panicked and asked me to come and ask you to come over."

Yuan Li exchanged a glance with the two elders: "Has your elder sister examined Young Master Ji?"

Yuan Chen nodded: "I've seen it. She only sent me here after she had seen it."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Li and Xun Yang's expressions became even more solemn than when they heard about Ji You's fall.

Because they were very clear about Yuan Caiwei's talent in alchemy, Yuan Li had even considered passing on the position of personal disciple to his daughter many times when he saw that Yuan Chen was not working hard.

In the world of Qingyun, where families rely on bloodline inheritance, the fact that Yuan Caiwei could inspire such thoughts in her parents speaks volumes about her abilities.

But if the daughter insists on having Yuan Chen invite her after seeing it, then the problem is far more serious than it seems.

The three of them got up and left the courtyard, following Yuan Chen up the mountain, hurrying towards the East Mountain.

In fact, when Yuan Chen left, the disciples of the immortal sects and aristocratic families standing in the mountain valley couldn't contain their curiosity and couldn't help but gather around.

However, they were forced to stop by Yan Shuyi's icy gaze before they could get too close, resulting in a very quiet atmosphere until Yuan Li appeared, which eased the tension slightly.

"father……"

Upon seeing her father, Yuan Caiwei immediately stood up and called out softly with a look of fear and unease.

Yuan Li immediately saw her daughter's expression and instantly knew that her initial judgment was correct.

Without a word, the three of them lifted their robes and sat cross-legged beside Ji You, their hands emitting a whistling light that gathered in his dantian.

They were unaware that Ji You's breakthrough in physical cultivation was a sublimation achieved through the reshaping of his physical body, so their first thought, like everyone else's, was whether he had suffered a backlash or internal injuries during the battle.

After a thorough examination, they discovered that Ji You was completely unharmed, without even the slightest injury.

As night slowly fell, the deep black gradually began to transform into a dark blue.

At that time, the cinnabar light slowly surged, traveling along his meridians in all directions, covering Ji You's entire body.

The three of them adopted the same approach as Yuan Caiwei: when no obvious injuries could be found, they began to thoroughly search every corner, from bottom to top.

Before long, the hands of the three people holding the cinnabar light suddenly trembled, and their eyes gradually froze together.

how so? !

After a moment of terror, Yuan Li suddenly reached out and released another beam of light directly at the other party's spiritual platform. The light vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Caiwei's face turned even paler.

Because she could understand her father's reasons for doing this, and knew that what her father saw was the same as what she saw, tears suddenly streamed down her face.

Seeing Yuan Caiwei lose control, Yan Shuyi's arms around Ji You trembled slightly.

“It’s not an illness, and there’s no injury, but the problem is that there’s nothing there.” After a long silence, Yuan Li shakily raised his head.

If there's nothing there, then what exactly is there?

Yan Shuyi looked up at him, waiting for him to give his answer.

"Your Excellency, his soul has returned to the Heavenly Dao..."

boom--

As the words fell, cultivators all over the mountain exclaimed in disbelief.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu looked on in disbelief, their lips turning pale instantly.

In Qingyun, whenever a cultivator dies, it is said that their soul returns to the heavens, but in reality, no one knows where a person's soul goes after death.

The reason for this is that when a person dies, the first thing to disappear is their soul, and returning to the heavens is just a beautiful wish.

"Impossible, he was perfectly fine before." Yan Shuyi's face was frosty, and she did not accept Yuan Li's answer at all.

Yuan Li gently closed his eyes: "I just stimulated his spiritual platform with the light of the elixir, but I didn't find any feedback, which means that his soul is no longer there."

"He stopped breathing when he was about to reach the peak of his cultivation. Could it be related to his cultivation technique? Have any other body cultivators experienced the same thing?"

"No body refiner in the history of Qingyun could reach the level of Young Master Ji. This is why body refinement techniques were gradually abandoned. There is no reference. However, if it is really as the little appraiser said, it is possible. But now it is meaningless to look for the reason."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Shuyi's eyes suddenly narrowed and turned icy cold.

Yuan Li sensed an extremely unstable and sharp sword aura emanating from her, knowing that she was filled with murderous intent because of his answer.

If it's gone, it's gone. Whether it was due to the cultivation method or something else, the important thing is that it's gone.

This doesn't resemble an illness or injury, where finding the cause and the lesion allows for targeted treatment. For someone whose soul has returned to the heavenly realm, whatever killed them leaves no chance for resurrection.

"Pity……"

Deep in the western forest, a man in a brocade moon-white robe, leaning on a sword at his waist, looked through the dense forest at the impenetrable crowd and murmured something.

He truly admired Ji You, admiring his work in Tu Xian Zhuang, establishing a prestigious family, reforming taxes, serving as an envoy to the snowy region, and cutting off the supply of spirit stones.

If he could have waited a little longer, until the new world order was established and there was no longer a need to operate in secret, he might have told Ji You how to cultivate this sect.

But he was too fast and too fierce.

Therefore, the saying that fortune and misfortune are interdependent in cause and effect is true. Being too talented is not always a good thing, and a smooth path may lead to an abyss.

As the man silently recited this in his mind, he heard the sound of footsteps stomping on dry leaves coming from behind him.

He turned his head and saw an armored guard hurrying towards him.

"Lord Fang, a letter from the demon race."

"here we go again?"

"It's still buried in the same old spot; this is the third one already."

In the dark forest, Fang Ruoming turned to the armored guard and said, "Reply to him as you said before, and don't let them have any doubts or cause any trouble."

The armored guard looked up at the sound: "But the other party's reply is clearly starting to become more aggressive. If we continue to reply like this, we probably won't be able to stall for long."

"It's okay, the last step is almost done, and we don't need to stall them for too long."

"What should be done with the person responsible for receiving the mail?"

"Just kill him as before, and then send a new one to deliver the message."

"clear."

Upon hearing this, the armored guard bowed, took five steps back, then turned around and ran wildly away.

Fang Ruoming watched him leave, then turned her gaze back to the spot and stared at the crowd for a long time.

At dawn, the sunlight slowly rose from the eastern mountains, illuminating a hazy landscape.

A damp, earthy smell wafted through the forest after the rain, carried slowly by the north wind.

In the stone courtyard on the west slope, Ji You was lying on the bed, surrounded by Yuan Caiwei, Ding Yao, Zhuo Wanqiu, and Cao Jingsong, whose injuries had just begun to heal.

Yan Shuyi, Yuan Li, Danyangzi, and Danxunzi stood in the room, remaining silent to each other.

After examining Ji You in Dongshan last night, the young appraiser refused to accept it no matter what, and Yuan Caiwei kept begging them to try a solution.

So for the next four hours, they used every method they could think of and made all sorts of attempts.

Ji You's body was intact, but his soul was gone.

Worse still, after a night of turmoil, Ji You had stopped breathing, and even her pulse had ceased.

His current state is like a flawless piece of finely crafted jade, impeccable from every angle. Yuan Li even felt that this physical body was almost perfect and invincible.

But like a perfect piece of jade, it is a lifeless, inanimate object.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes were already red, but they didn't dare to cry. They kept their mouths shut and their fists clenched, saying nothing. Yuan Chen, on the other hand, stood alone in the courtyard, staring at the horizon for a long time.

“I’m going to take him back to Spirit Sword Mountain. Caiwei will come back with me. We’ll think of another way.”

Yan Shuyi remained silent for half the night before finally speaking her first words.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Caiwei got up from the bedside and silently began to straighten Ji You's clothes and tie the loose belt.

But at this moment, Instructor Cao couldn't help but speak up: "My Lord, I think we should take him back to the Heavenly Academy."

Why go to the Heavenly Academy?

"I would like to ask Master You to help him discern the secrets of heaven."

Cao Jingsong didn't believe that Ji You had truly passed away, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

The Dan Sect is simply unprofessional; their claims of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh and bone are nothing but boasting. However, the Heavenly Book Academy's Heavenly Secrets Technique can, to a certain extent, see through cause and effect.

If Master You finds out the reason, this wicked disciple will surely jump up and steal his monthly salary again.

Yan Shuyi nodded after a long silence: "That's right, let's do it this way. First, ask You Yingqiu to perform a divination. After the divination, take him to Lingjian Mountain and then find a way to wake him up."

Upon hearing this, Dan Xunzi raised his eyes and glanced at the young appraiser.

After trying every possible method last night, he even said "please accept my condolences," but no one in the whole house responded, as if they hadn't heard him, so he felt that saying it again would be useless.

They won't accept this result without trying everything.

"The Heavenly Secrets Technique must be very powerful. When do we set off?" Yuan Caiwei asked softly, holding back her tears.

"Of course we'll leave now, so he doesn't sleep too long."

"Okay, let's go now..."

As the warm dawn broke over the mountains, the group packed their bags and set off.

The Yuan siblings, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, along with the Lingjian Mountain disciples who accompanied them, shared five carriages.

Ji You was carried to the third carriage in the middle, with Yan Shu and Yuan Caiwei riding alongside him. However, the two of them stared at him the whole time without saying a word.

Everything happened so fast that they didn't really feel it, because when they thought back, they felt that Ji You was still alive and kicking just a moment ago, it was impossible for her to just disappear like that.

But for some reason, their hearts were filled with fear.

At the same time, Cao Jingsong got into the last carriage.

His injuries had just begun to improve and he was not suited for long-distance travel, but he did not heed the advice and insisted on going back to the hospital.

Just as he settled into his carriage, he handed a letter he had written overnight to the disciples of the Steward Pavilion stationed at the sacred site of the sages, instructing them to use the spirit altar to send a message to the Heavenly Academy.

The letter contained a brief account of what happened the previous night, and its purpose was to request Zuo Qiuyang to inform You Yingqiu to make preparations before everyone arrived.

Then the sound of hooves rang out, and the magical artifacts embedded in the bottom of the carriages began to operate wildly, and the five carriages sped away.

At the same time, the message from the spirit platform also traveled thousands of miles in an instant.

Qin Rong had just seen off the three envoys and returned to the office. After several days of hard work, he brewed himself a pot of tea and planned to rest.

Those three envoys were incredibly talkative and extremely enthusiastic about protecting the sacred site of the ancient sages. They didn't seem to have any old grudges against the Heavenly Academy at all, which made him check whether the sun was rising in the west every morning.

He poured hot water into the teapot, slowly inhaling the aroma of the tea, and as he looked around, he noticed a mysterious light flashing on the altar in front of him.

Slightly startled, Qin Rong looked at the words in the mysterious light. As he looked, his expression changed drastically. He immediately took out paper and pen and quickly copied them down. Then, he abandoned the tea he had just brewed and flew to the inner courtyard.

"Palace Master, a message has arrived from the Holy Land of the Sages!"

"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"

Zuo Qiuyang was still pondering how to guard against the demon race's covetousness of the sacred land of the sages and was trying to devise a plan for the immortal sect to surround it when he saw Qin Rong hurriedly enter the hall, his face pale and his eyes filled with fear, which made him feel puzzled.

After all, the restoration of the sacred site of the sages will take some time, and nothing else has happened in other places, so such a panic seems unreasonable.

Upon hearing the question, Qin Rong took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "Ji You is in trouble."

Zuo Qiuyang frowned instantly: "What happened to Ji You?"

"The message said he has passed away."

"What did you say?!"

Zuo Qiuyang stood up abruptly, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes, as if he even doubted whether he had misheard.

Qin Rong pursed his dry lips: "The message was sent by Elder Cao through a disciple. The young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain and the daughter of Danzong are escorting him back to the academy. They will be arriving in Shengjing soon. They want to ask Sect Leader You to divine the future for him."

As Qin Rong spoke, he handed the copied message to Zuo Qiuyang.

Zuo Qiuyang opened the letter and read it silently. A moment later, he waved his sleeve and left the main hall, rushing towards the bamboo forest temple at the highest point of Tianshu Peak.

You Yingqiu had sensed Zuo Qiuyang's arrival in the courtyard and opened her eyes prematurely, revealing a puzzled expression.

Because she knew that her senior brother Zuoqiu knew that their master had instructed her to diligently cultivate the Heavenly Secrets Technique before leaving, he would generally not disturb her seclusion.

With this in mind, You Yingqiu got up and flew to the courtyard.

"Junior sister, something has happened to Ji You."

"?"

(End of this chapter)