I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 234 Not Dead (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Deep within the back mountains of the Xuan Ying Sword Sect, a sleeping palace sits within a perpetually frozen ice barrier.

The entire palace is built on a base of black ice and has white jade pillars. It is plain white and unadorned. The icicles hanging from the eaves are as sharp as sword blades and gleam with a cool, clear light under the moonlight.

Since the demonic tide receded, Jiang Yurong has been living a secluded life in the back mountains of the Xuan Ying Sword Sect, handling affairs of the Sword Sect and the Immortal Alliance. Apart from messenger disciples, she sees almost no one.

As Danxi entered the inner hall, she immediately saw Jiang Yurong, with her frost-like eyebrows like swords, sitting upright in front of a white jade table, writing with a brush. On the table were neatly arranged the Immortal Alliance's documents, along with her unsheathed natal spirit sword, 'Ningguang'.

Jiang Yurong was still dressed in white, as she always had, with a strand of white hair mixed in with her black hair, and she looked so cold that she seemed inhuman.

Danxi, dressed in red, stood at the door, like a blazing fire in this cold, white place. But Jiang Yurong seemed not to see her, always busy with the affairs of the Immortal Alliance.

In the past, Danxi would have been furious and retorted, but looking at Jiang Yurong's lonely figure, she actually felt a little sorry for her.

Although she didn't come often before, every time she did, she would see Jiang Yi or Liu Taozhi by Jiang Yurong's side, either quietly cultivating or helping to organize official documents. There was always someone accompanying her.

Now...sigh!

Danxi walked in with practiced ease, casually sat down in the armchair next to the long table, and unlike before, she didn't insist that Jiang Yurong pour tea for her and hand it to her. This time, she poured the tea herself and tasted it.

The sound of the cups and saucers startled Jiang Yurong. She paused her writing and looked up, seeing Danxi leisurely leaning back in her chair, slowly sipping her tea. She couldn't help but frown.

Jiang Yurong still remembered that when Danxi came last time, she immediately scolded her for not knowing how to treat guests. Her voice echoed throughout every corner of the Xuan Ying Sword Sect, and even shook the snow off the mountain peak behind the mountain.

Danxi glanced at Jiang Yurong with her phoenix eyes and smiled, "You go ahead with your work, I'm not in a hurry. I didn't come here to argue with you, I just came to... visit you."

visit?

Jiang Yurong's brows furrowed even deeper. Half-believing, half-doubting, she withdrew her gaze and continued writing the official document. Although the demonic tide had receded, the defensive fortifications along the North Sea coast needed to be completely repaired, and a new grand formation needed to be set up...

Danxi said to herself, "I took on a disciple, and I'm really sorry I didn't send you an invitation. Speaking of which, my disciple is quite interesting, but unfortunately the little girl is not in good health and can't stand your cold and harsh place, so I didn't bring her over."

Jiang Yurong closed the official document she had finished reviewing, then picked up a new one. "Didn't you take on two apprentices?"

"Hmm?" Danxi's eyes lit up, and she quickly swallowed the tea in her mouth, smiling as she looked at Jiang Yurong. "You know? Have you seen the little girl I took in?"

"No."

The Immortal Alliance's steward at Jinli City only sent back intelligence that Danxi had taken in two disciples, a boy and a girl, but did not mention their names or portraits. Usually, at least their names and backgrounds would be mentioned.

Jiang Yurong thought that the Immortal Alliance manager dared not say anything because of the bad relationship between Danxi and her, for fear of offending Danxi.

"Senior sister, please speak frankly if you have something to say."

Jiang Yurong's tone was icy and devoid of any warmth. She used to call Danxi "Sister Qing," the "Qing" from Luo Danqing. However, due to the matter of supporting the demon race, the two would quarrel whenever they met, and she changed her address to "Senior Sister."

Danxi put down her teacup and walked over. "Two things. I've recently wiped out many of the Dream Immortal Sect's strongholds and also tracked down an important clue, including the traitor in the Insect Valley. It's also being followed by True Monarch Longri of my Cangling Sect. It's not unreasonable for the Immortal Alliance to ask for some things, is it?"

As she spoke, Danxi took out the list of materials she had written earlier and placed it in front of Jiang Yurong. In addition to the sword-forging materials that Jiang Yi needed, there were also some important supplies that the Cangling Sect needed.

Jiang Yurong glanced at it briefly, then picked up the Immortal Alliance seal and stamped it with her red seal.

She didn't want to argue or quarrel with Danxi over such a trivial matter.

Seeing this, Danxi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I love your decisiveness~"

like?

Jiang Yurong frowned again, feeling that Danxi was unusually different today. She usually told everyone that she couldn't stand Danxi's cold and lifeless appearance.

"The second thing, take a look at this."

Danxi took out the newly transcribed mural jade slip and placed it on the official document that Jiang Yurong was reviewing in front of her.

Jiang Yurong's divine sense stirred, and the jade slip floated in the air, emitting a faint light. In just an instant, she imprinted all its contents into her mind. "This is..."

Jiang Yurong's icy expression showed a hint of surprise and astonishment. She raised her eyes and stared intently at Danxi, wanting to ask her about the origin of this thing.

Danxi preemptively said, "Don't ask. I won't tell you if you do, and even if I do, it won't be true. Just tell me if these murals are important or not?"

Jiang Yurong frowned, and after a long while, she gave a faint "hmm". "The nine ancient emperors ascended at the same time, marking the end of the ancient era. Our Northern Xuan cultivation world also started from almost zero after that period, experiencing seven thousand years of chaos in the struggle between humans and demons, and only gradually reached its peak in the last thousand years."

"But not long after its peak, the demonic tide began to appear. I searched through all the ancient records that the Immortal Alliance could find, but found nothing. Now it seems that my initial speculation was correct. The demonic tide is related to the slaying of the divine beast tortoise and snake and the simultaneous ascension of the nine ancient emperors."

Jiang Yurong suddenly remembered something and got up to rummage through the table.

She remembered reading an ancient scroll that contained information about all the races in the world that could be called 'divine beasts', dating back to the Primordial Era, which was even earlier than the ancient times.

"Found it, senior sister, look at this."

Jiang Yurong pulled out a yellowed jade bamboo scroll from under the official documents, opened it, and handed it to Danxi.

Danxi raised an eyebrow in surprise, then chuckled helplessly. Jiang Yurong was always oblivious in some ways. No matter how bad her attitude was, Jiang Yurong would never hold a grudge when it came to serious matters.

Danxi took the jade slip with one hand and scanned it.

"The Black Tortoise is an ancient spirit, its form enormous, carrying the sky and treading the earth, bearing the nine hills on its back, roaming the eight wastelands. It takes a breath every thousand years and sleeps every ten thousand years. When it sleeps, it transforms into an island, floating on the blue waves; when it awakens, it carries the land, traveling among the stars. Those who see the Black Tortoise will surely encounter a great era, either a sign of a prosperous age or the harbinger of a calamity."

"The Xuan Turtle is enormous, carrying the world on its journey; its lifespan is as long as the Dao itself. Heaven and earth are its dwelling, time its guest; only this divine beast eternally guards the primordial chaos. Yet all know that the Xuan Turtle is bestowed by creation; whoever seizes its essence can steal a lifetime, and whoever refines its shell patterns can glimpse immortality... That's all?"

Jiang Yurong nodded, "If the contents of these murals that Senior Sister gave me are true, then it means that the entire Northern Xuan land exists on the corpse shell of the Xuan Turtle, the Northern Xuan demon spirits were also born from the divine power of the Xuan Turtle, and the demon tide... is a curse of the Xuan Turtle and the Heavenly Dao on the human race!"

Before Danxi could speak, Jiang Yurong suddenly stared at her.

"Therefore, Senior Sister, supporting the demon race to fight against the demonic tide is absolutely unacceptable!"

Upon hearing this, Danxi, who had just felt sorry for Jiang Yurong, the lonely old woman, suddenly flew into a rage.

"Jiang Yurong, have you gone mad from absorbing too much demonic energy? All you think about all day is these official matters. After seeing these murals, didn't you think of anything else that was important? Didn't you think of that poor little thing you personally sent to hell in front of the Xuan Ying Sword Sect's mountain gate?"

Jiang Yurong's pupils dilated slightly, her knuckles tightened in her sleeve, but her face remained expressionless.

Danxi sneered, "That child risked her life to defend the Xuan Ying Sword Sect's mountain gate. Even now, everyone in the Xuan Ying Sword Sect is still blaming her for killing so many people for a piece of trash. Don't you intend to clear her name and say to the world that she did nothing wrong?"

Jiang Yurong remained expressionless. "She didn't decide to defend it to the death just for the sake of sealing it."

Danxi was furious. "What do you care about her reasons? Just tell me if what she did was right or wrong! If she hadn't led so many disciples to defend the sect until you returned with reinforcements, Xuan Ying Sword Sect would have been razed to the ground by the demons long ago. With the seal broken, what would Bei Xuan be like now? Can't you imagine?"

Jiang Yurong opened her mouth.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear what you have to say! No matter what the child's reasons were for deciding to lead the defense to the death, as long as the outcome was correct, it doesn't matter if the process was completely wrong. Aren't your actions towards the child also a case of a completely wrong process, yet you're pursuing a correct outcome?"

Jiang Yurong clenched her fist and remained silent.

Danxi suppressed her anger slightly. "Yes, I admit that your harsh, even insane, methods did indeed cultivate an outstanding child. With her three spiritual roots, she overwhelmed all the geniuses and became famous in Beixuan, even surpassing you and me in our youth. But youth is fleeting, and now that she's gone, what use is all your previous training?"

"Even if you're afraid she'll become too dependent on you, afraid she won't be hard-hearted enough, afraid she won't be able to accept your unexpected death in the future, you shouldn't treat her like this, pushing her away. She didn't owe you anything. Now that she's dead, you won't even give her a proper posthumous reputation..."

"She's not dead."

Jiang Yurong uttered three words in a calm voice, which shocked Danxi so much that she opened her eyes in astonishment, and all the words stuck in her throat.

When Jiang Yurong looked over, Danxi suddenly felt guilty and quickly pretended to cough because she had choked on her own saliva.

"Cough cough cough, why are you being so fierce! Who are you trying to scare with that cold face! You scared me so much I choked! Cough cough cough! What did you just say? Who's not dead?"

　The second update will be later; I'm still writing.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)