We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 574: I Don't Want an Ascension Realm Bought With Your Life!

"Xiao Mo... have you truly...""Ever liked me?"

Gui Junmeng gazed quietly at Xiao Mo, his image reflected fully in her faintly trembling eyes.

Hearing Gui Junmeng's question, Xiao Mo only remained silent, never once opening his mouth to answer.

"You're always like this..."

Gui Junmeng lowered her head, her long, curved lashes trembling faintly, as though touched with fine, crystalline tears, glinting faintly in the candlelight.

"Every time you face a question that's hard to answer, you always fall silent like this. You could lie to me, you know, and if you did, I would believe you. And whenever you run into difficulty, you always shoulder everything alone, never once willing to ask anyone else's opinion... even though you're normally so considerate of other people's feelings."

"Junmeng..." Xiao Mo called her name softly, his voice carrying a note of apology, yet for the moment he did not know how to explain himself.

"I... I'll go prepare some medicine for you now." Gui Junmeng's voice grew somewhat tight. "Rest well. Later... I'll come back to look after you."

Gui Junmeng reached up to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, picked up the medicine bowl, rose to her feet, and ran out of the room without looking back.

That slender, graceful figure ran farther and farther away, gradually disappearing into the play of light and shadow beyond the door.

Xiao Mo stared blankly in the direction she had gone, his heart somewhat unsettled.

He was not sure if it was only his imagination.

He felt, vaguely, that Junmeng seemed to be somewhat angry with him.

This was, perhaps, the first time he had ever seen Junmeng angry.

"In all the years I've known Junmeng, I've only ever seen her cry three times."

Just as Xiao Mo sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, Daoist Master Yun Xi's voice drifted softly into the room.

Xiao Mo turned his head and saw Daoist Master Yun Xi walking in with a smile on her face.

"The first time this girl cried was after she came back from the Huilu hidden realm. She had suffered no small injury at the time, yet she paid it no mind at all, rushing anxiously to tell me that you were in danger within the hidden realm, and begging me to hurry and save you. She was so anxious the tears simply fell, worried beyond measure."

"The second time she cried was when she heard news of your death. That girl shut herself in her courtyard for the longest time, refusing to come out no matter what. By the time I finally saw her, her eyes were red and swollen, and even I, seeing how heartbroken she looked, felt my own heart break along with her."

Daoist Master Yun Xi smoothed her Daoist robe and seated herself at the edge of Xiao Mo's bed, a faint, delicate fragrance drifting past Xiao Mo's nose, present and then gone.

"And this third time crying, well, that's happening right now..." She paused briefly, her gaze gentle as she looked at Xiao Mo. "She's cried three times in all, and every single time, it was because of you. Tell me, meeting you, has that been good fortune for Junmeng, or misfortune?"

Xiao Mo shook his head, giving a bitter laugh. "I'm afraid it's nothing short of a calamity."

"Perhaps that's so." Daoist Master Yun Xi let out a soft sigh. "But would anyone else treat Junmeng with such genuine sincerity? Would anyone else consider her wellbeing so recklessly, without a thought for their own life?"

Daoist Master Yun Xi looked directly into Xiao Mo's eyes, as though trying to see straight through them, to everything within him.

"Xiao Mo... there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Please, Daoist Master Yun Xi, ask whatever you wish." Xiao Mo said.

"You..." Daoist Master Yun Xi's lips parted slightly. "Have you truly forgotten every memory of your past life?"

Hearing Daoist Master Yun Xi's question, Xiao Mo's expression froze.

Though he did not answer, his expression had already given away the answer.

"There's no need to look at me with such surprise."

Daoist Master Yun Xi's tone was calm and gentle.

"Your master and I, in truth, crossed paths once, briefly."

"Back when the tragedy at Four Void Temple occurred, I went to that ruin, wanting to see what had happened. In the end, within Four Void Temple, I encountered a wisp of consciousness your master had left behind."

"Your master had calculated that I would come. Within that wisp of consciousness was recorded your master's final words. He told me that you carried memories of your past life, and asked me to persuade you, going forward, not to do anything foolish."

"But I knew, in my heart, that whatever you had resolved to do, I likely could not talk you out of it. Your master, I suspect, knew this as well."

Daoist Master Yun Xi slowly drew out the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet from within her robe, holding it in her palm.

"Do you know how Master Yuankong could tell that you hadn't forgotten your past life?"

"Master was always so unfathomable. In truth, I knew Master must have guessed something about me, but I never expected he knew everything." Xiao Mo shook his head with a smile. "I should have hidden it quite well during my time at Four Void Temple, and besides, I don't possess a body that comprehends all of ancient knowledge from birth."

"You did hide it well."

Yun Xi smiled, speaking slowly.

"But in this world, it isn't only those born with a Ancient-Knowing Sacred Body who can know things from birth. Some ordinary cultivators, even ordinary common folk, after being reincarnated, can still recall events from their previous life."

"The difference between the two is that one born with a Ancient-Knowing Sacred Body will, so long as their soul remains undestroyed, forever remember everything that has ever happened. Others, however, can only remember their immediately preceding life, and once they die again in this life, they may well forget everything entirely once more."

"The dual cultivation method recorded in the later chapters of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet is, indeed, quite remarkable, and you wished to refine it further, or perhaps even create an entirely new technique. That's why, during your time at Four Void Temple, you began, from a young age, poring over the esoteric texts on dual cultivation and harvesting techniques, and reading no small number of books on alchemy as well."

"But it was clear you weren't studying those esoteric texts to satisfy some private desire, and it was precisely this that gradually roused Master Yuankong's suspicion."

"It's only that he never spoke of it outright."

"Some time ago, when Senior Gui Ning and I were treating your injuries, we found within your body a Dao pill, condensing the entirety of your cultivation path, and upon that Dao pill was inscribed, remarkably, the full text of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet."

"It was only then that I came to understand what you had been doing all this while."

"If I'm not mistaken, ever since you first set foot on the path of cultivation in this life, you have been trying, all along, to treat yourself as an alchemical furnace, refining this Dao pill night and day."

"On the day of the wedding, you already knew Jingci would come, and you had already anticipated she would strike at you. So long as Jingci killed her own beloved with her own hands, she would then be free to break through into the Ascension realm, with no obstacle remaining. And with you at the brink of death, the first thing you did was to use the River of Yin and Yang to shield the Dao pill within your body, while having it continuously radiate its resonance."

"You wanted us to find that Dao pill within your remains, and you intended for Junmeng to consume it. In this way, the Dao pill carrying your own great path would fuse with Junmeng, and the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet inscribed upon it would nourish Junmeng's body as well. Even if Junmeng never continued her dual cultivation with you afterward, it would not be impossible for her to ascend to the Ascension realm on her own."

"Am I right?"

"Indeed, that's exactly it..." Xiao Mo gave a faint smile, that smile carrying a note of quiet acceptance. "If I had died this time, that might well have been the best possible outcome."

"Ah..." Daoist Master Yun Xi let out a heavy sigh, her gaze settling heavily upon Xiao Mo's face. "But Xiao Mo, even if you truly had died, what then? Have you ever considered, that even so, Junmeng might not have consumed that Dao pill at all?"

"..." Xiao Mo lowered his head, saying nothing.

"Do you know how Junmeng felt, upon learning of that Dao pill within your body?" Daoist Master Yun Xi looked out the window, her gaze carrying a note of heartache. "At the time, Junmeng was sitting right here with me. She sat there, at your bedside, staring at you blankly, unmoving, her eyes never leaving you for even a moment..."

"I could even sense, that had we failed to bring you back, Junmeng, too, might well have..." Toward the end, Daoist Master Yun Xi shook her head, unable to continue but Xiao Mo already understood what she had meant to say...

"I've said everything I needed to say. I still have to make a trip to the Human Alliance. I'll likely be away for around half a year. Xiao Mo, take good care of your recovery." With these words, Daoist Master Yun Xi rose to her feet and walked slowly out of the room.

"Xiao Mo, you're always like this..."

After Daoist Master Yun Xi left, Xiao Mo, alone in the room, found Junmeng's words from earlier echoing ceaselessly through his mind.

"I know." Xiao Mo said quietly to himself, gazing out the window. "But Daoist Master Yun Xi... how much time do the two of them really have left..."

Before he knew it, a month had quietly slipped by.

Throughout that month, Liu Shui had attended carefully to Xiao Mo's daily needs.

With Daoist Master Yun Xi away, Gui Junmeng possessed the highest skill in alchemy within Seeking Immortals Temple, and so she had to spend much of her time in the medicine hall, refining healing elixirs for Xiao Mo but beyond her alchemy work, Gui Junmeng would also often prepare medicine for Xiao Mo herself, and tend to his body.

Only, ever since that day she had run off somewhat angrily, Xiao Mo could vaguely sense that Junmeng seemed to be avoiding him to some degree. Whenever he opened his mouth, wanting to say something to her, Junmeng would blush and hurry out of the room, as though afraid of hearing even a single word from him.

If she truly could not avoid him, Junmeng would simply cover her own ears, blocking out all sound, only her lovely fox eyes blinking as she looked at Xiao Mo, as if to say, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening."

Only once Xiao Mo fell silent would she finally lower her small hands.

Watching her behave this way, Xiao Mo felt rather helpless, unsure what to do about it.

Before long, another month passed.

The great war between the human race and the demon race had gradually grown less intense than before, the demon alliance side clearly slowing its offensive.

According to intelligence gathered by the Human Alliance, this seemed to be because the Tushan clan was in the process of setting up some kind of great formation array.

As for the purpose of this array, there was no definite information.

What could be confirmed was that the Tushan clan had poured a vast quantity of spirit stones and natural treasures into it, essentially throwing the full strength of the entire clan behind its construction!

Four months had passed since Xiao Mo woke.

Xiao Mo could now get out of bed and move about a little but for Xiao Mo to return to the front lines was still far from possible.

To fully heal from his injuries would likely still require another five or six years.

On this particular day, Gui Junmeng had finished preparing the medicine, and walked into Xiao Mo's room as she always did.

Under her watchful eye, Xiao Mo drank down that bowl of bitter medicine in one go.

Gui Junmeng picked up the medicine bowl and turned to leave but today, Xiao Mo had no intention of letting her slip away again.

"Junmeng, there are some things I feel I still need to say to you." Xiao Mo reached out, gently taking hold of Gui Junmeng's wrist, his tone gentle yet firm.

"I... I still have some things to attend to, I need... I need to go now... we can talk later... later..." Gui Junmeng's tone carried a note of nervousness and unease, as though she could not wait to leave Xiao Mo's room immediately.

Gui Junmeng struggled, trying to pull free from Xiao Mo's grip but the next moment, Xiao Mo only held on more tightly, showing no sign of letting go.

"It's all right, just a few words, it'll be over quickly, I won't keep you long." Xiao Mo said softly.

"Can... can I not listen..." Gui Junmeng lowered her head, her faintly trembling fox eyes full of pleading and a heartbreaking helplessness.

"I think... you still need to hear it." Xiao Mo's tone left no room for argument.

He tightened his grip slightly, pulling Gui Junmeng down to sit beside him but at this moment, Gui Junmeng had already sealed her own hearing with spiritual energy, unwilling to hear anything at all.

Xiao Mo had cultivated alongside Junmeng for so long now, with only the final step of their wedding still incomplete, their great paths nearly fused into one, and so he could clearly sense that Junmeng had blocked her own hearing.

"If you refuse to listen, then I won't let you go today." Xiao Mo said with a smile, picking up paper and brush, writing the words down instead.

Gui Junmeng looked at what Xiao Mo had written, her thin lips pressing together, as though sulking, and she lowered her head even further, still stubbornly keeping her hearing sealed.

The room fell into silence, so quiet one could nearly hear the sound of their own breathing.

Xiao Mo was in no hurry, only gazing quietly at Gui Junmeng, watching her conflicted expression, and those long lashes fluttering like a butterfly in flight.

This was the first time he had ever seen Junmeng so stubbornly resistant but he understood, in his heart, that some things, in the end, still needed to be said clearly.

After the two of them remained at this impasse for a full hour, Gui Junmeng finally moved.

She clenched her small hands tightly, her fox eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight in the room, as though she had made up her mind about something, and gently, as if knocking at a door, tapped lightly on the back of Xiao Mo's hand.

Seeing Gui Junmeng yield, Xiao Mo, too, felt a wave of relief.

"Junmeng, do you remember those questions you asked me, the day I first woke?" Xiao Mo organized his thoughts silently, then spoke slowly.

Hearing Xiao Mo bring up what had happened before, Gui Junmeng's delicate body trembled faintly, and she instinctively wanted to seal her hearing again but in the end, she managed to hold back.

"It's true, just as you said. On our wedding night, I never intended, from the very start, to walk out of that ceremony alive."

Xiao Mo's tone was calm and matter-of-fact.

"So long as Jingci killed me, she would then be free, with no lingering attachment, to break through into the Ascension realm. And with you consuming the Dao pill I had condensed, there would be great hope for you to ascend the great Dao as well in the future. To me, this was already the best possible outcome, one that satisfied both concerns at once."

"But Xiao Mo..."

Gui Junmeng raised her head, cutting off Xiao Mo's words.

Her small hands gripped her sleeves tightly, her knuckles turning pale.

"Never mind what Jingci thought, did you ever once consider me?"

"I don't want an Ascension realm bought with your life!"