TDFM Chapter 110

Inheritor 

 

After several more years had passed, Xi faced her third worry.

 

She could sense that the day of her dissolution drew nearer each day, so what kind of person should she choose to inherit the Wish Power Pearl?

 

First, this person had to be an immortal or someone who had comprehended the Way of Compassion. Since no one had yet been discovered who had comprehended the Way of Compassion, it could only be an immortal for now.

 

Second, this immortal had to possess certain strength. Immortals were not as carefree and unrestrained as poets in the mortal world described them to be. There were also conflicts among immortals, and they would kill and plunder treasures from each other.

 

If this Wish Power Pearl fell into the hands of a relatively weak immortal, it would be fine if no one knew about it, but once word leaked out, it would very likely bring fatal disaster.

 

Third, this immortal’s character had to be good, so that after obtaining the Wish Power Pearl, they could truly use the power within it for the human race.

 

Finally, this matter couldn’t be openly selected, for the same reason of fearing it would cause disputes.

 

Xi quietly observed for a period of time, and three immortals entered her sight. These three immortals had recently worked together to eliminate demons and defend the righteous path, earning good reputations.

 

One was Qiguang Zi. This person possessed great strength and had quite a reputation for killing, with quite a few lives on his hands, though he couldn’t be considered an indiscriminate killer.

 

One was Yixin Zi. This person had excellent character, was witty and humorous, and also liked to walk in the mortal world, often helping those in danger and relieving the distressed. She was the one most similar to Xi.

 

One was Huayang Zi. This person had ascended relatively late, and his strength was temporarily inferior to the previous two, but fortunately his talent was extremely high with promising future prospects. Moreover, he was kind-hearted, gentle and sincere.

 

Each of the three had their own advantages, and they were extremely good friends.

 

Xi found these three people, explained the matter of the Wish Power Pearl, and told them, “I will choose one inheritor from among you. As for who I choose, there will be an answer in fifty years.”

 

She said this also with the idea of testing them.

 

But unfortunately, none of these three people passed the test.

 

Before the appointed time arrived, Huayang Zi and Yixin Zi had become dao companions. Whether the two truly had feelings for each other or were simply forming an alliance was unclear, but Qiguang Zi seemed to believe it was the latter.

 

Qiguang Zi regarded this as a betrayal, and in his anger, he actually killed both of his former good friends.

 

It was only then that Xi realized she had underestimated Qiguang Zi’s strength, or rather, this person had never displayed his true strength before.

 

After killing his two friends, Qiguang Zi directly sought out Xi, expressing his hope to receive the inheritance of the Wish Power Pearl.

 

Xi naturally refused him. She felt this person was too cruel and unsuitable to be the guardian deity of the mortal world.

 

But she never expected that this Qiguang Zi, perceiving that Xi’s power was weakening, actually harbored thoughts of deicide, planning to take it by force.

 

Moreover, he was extremely cunning. Before deciding to act, he dug open the Kunlun Heavenly Pool, releasing a great flood that caused forty-eight waterways throughout the world to surge high.

 

Xi had no choice but to mobilize the power in the Wish Power Pearl to resist the flood. After this battle, her wish power was completely exhausted, causing her to lose a great source of assistance in her subsequent battle with him.

 

Xi knew that even if she passed on the wish power to someone else, that person might also suffer Qiguang Zi’s open robbery, so she planned to eliminate Qiguang Zi first.

 

“You all know what happened afterwards. She failed to kill Qiguang Zi, and she herself disappeared without a trace. Unable to contact Xi, I left the valley to travel, thinking to seek news of Xi.

 

At that time, drought demons ran rampant throughout the world, and demonic beasts roamed freely. I knew that Xi must have met with misfortune, because if she were still there, she would not have allowed such things to happen.”

 

Shi Feijia gently stroked the edge of her tea bowl. She always spoke unhurriedly with a calm tone, but Yun Qing saw teardrops hanging at the corners of her eyes. She continued:

 

“When I traveled to Linglong City, I sensed something abnormal about the city, but my identity was sensitive, and I feared being too high-profile would attract Qiguang Zi’s attention, so I only investigated as far as Qingcheng Zi before stopping.

 

However, it was also in Linglong City that I met a fated person. I asked her for a drop of blood, and from then on, I welcomed my Jiujiu.”

 

When she said this, she smiled, as if recalling something incredibly happy. Then, the teardrops at the corners of her eyes finally slid down, reflecting against her graying temples like a pearl beside snow.

 

Everyone comforted Shi Feijia, and Fu Xue said, “Jiujiu will definitely become a little bird in her next life and fly back to your side.”

 

Shi Feijia nodded and hummed in agreement.

 

After a while, when her emotions had calmed somewhat, Shi Feijia continued, “The Way of Compassion was just a jest Xi made at the time. I never expected it would later be passed down with distortions, obscuring the original meaning.

 

I deeply knew the Way of Compassion had an uncertain future. I originally wanted to wait until you had stayed in Shenle Valley for some days, then gradually persuade you to change to cultivating other dao methods, but I never expected that worldly affairs would be so unpredictable.”

 

Cheng Suiyan said, “So this is how we came to cultivate the Way of Compassion? Then has anyone in this world ever truly comprehended the Way of Compassion?”

 

Shi Feijia shook her head. “Perhaps there has been, but we have never heard of it.” As she spoke, she took out a small wooden box slightly larger than a fist from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

 

Opening the wooden box, the familiar precious pearl lay inside, emanating pure white light.

 

When Yun Qing had looked at this precious pearl before, she always felt there seemed to be points of light flowing within it. Now that she was much closer, she discovered it wasn’t an illusion but actually real.

 

This Wish Power Pearl was originally a crystal-clear glazed bead. The reason it appeared white was because it was filled with tiny points of light.

 

Countless points of light, like grains of sand forming a tower, formed a mass of flowing dense mist, so thick it seemed like liquid, filling the glazed sphere. At first glance, it looked exactly like a precious pearl emanating white light.

 

Fu Xue held her breath as she stared at the Wish Power Pearl on the table, asking, “If my senior sister comprehended the Way of Compassion, could she use the power in the Wish Power Pearl? If we could use this precious pearl against Qiguang Zi, we could rescue Master, couldn’t we?”

 

Jiang Baiyu shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Even if Yun Qing comprehended the dao, what she could obtain would be others’ faith in her.

 

The power gathered in this Wish Power Pearl is the faith power of the mortal world toward Goddess Shen Xi. Only Goddess Shen Xi herself or someone who has received her inheritance can use it.

 

If Yun Qing comprehended the Way of Compassion, she would still need Goddess Shen Xi to perform the inheritance before she could use the Wish Power Pearl.”

 

“Baiyu is right,” Shi Feijia nodded, but then she actually pushed the small wooden box on the table toward Yun Qing, saying, “But I still hope you’ll try, Yun Qing.”

 

Yun Qing was startled. “Why?”

 

“You drew the Compassion Sword, and most importantly, you can mobilize the divine power remaining on the Compassion Sword. This is absolutely not something an ordinary cultivator can do.

 

Actually, when I first heard you cultivated the Way of Compassion, I was somewhat puzzled. Your cultivation seemed abnormally high, but when you drew the Compassion Sword, everything seemed to have a reasonable explanation.”

 

“Clan Leader, do you suspect I’m the reincarnation of Goddess Shen Xi?”

 

Shi Feijia remained silent.

 

Yun Qing habitually rubbed her chin and shook her head. “I hope more than anyone that I’m the reincarnation of a deity, but we all know that deities cannot reincarnate.

 

A deity’s soul is too powerful; there is no other body in the world that could bear such a powerful soul.”

 

Shi Feijia’s fingertips tapped the edge of the small wooden box one by one, her eyes downcast as if looking at the Wish Power Pearl. She said softly, “Perhaps she’s an exception? After all, she was weaker than other deities.”

 

Hearing Shi Feijia say this, Yun Qing’s heart also rose with a trace of hope, so she reached out to touch the Wish Power Pearl in the wooden box.

 

It felt smooth and warm to the touch, not as cold as she had imagined. She picked up the Wish Power Pearl and held it in her palm, observing it carefully.

 

Being even closer now, she could see the dense points of light inside looked like a galaxy of stars, quite beautiful. The others also leaned in to look, and five curious faces were reflected on the surface of the crystal-clear sphere.

 

Yun Qing mobilized her cultivation and tried using the method for opening magical treasures, but the Wish Power Pearl remained completely motionless.

 

She closed her eyes again, trying to open her sea of consciousness and invade the Wish Power Pearl with her mind, but when her consciousness touched the surface of the glazed bead, it was like encountering a wall and returned without success.

 

She also tried absorbing the Wish Power Pearl into her dantian, heart field, and sea of consciousness, but it was equally useless.

 

After trying all the methods she could think of, she shook her head and carefully placed the Wish Power Pearl back in the wooden box. “It’s no use.”

 

Shi Feijia sighed disappointedly. “You are not her.”

 

Yun Qing nodded. “Mm.” She also felt somewhat dejected. That feeling of hope rising only to be extinguished really felt terrible.

 

“But then why can you mobilize the divine power on the Compassion Sword?”

 

Yun Qing shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe after so much time, the sword has become senile and recognized the wrong person.”

 

Jiang Baiyu suddenly remembered something:

 

“Suiyan’s magical treasure, the Zhaoming Painted Bone Fan, can manifest a woman. This woman is always respectful when she sees Yun Qing. I wonder if the Clan Leader knows this woman’s origins? Perhaps she has some connection to Yun Qing’s background?”

 

“There’s such a thing? Suiyan, may I borrow your magical treasure to observe?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Cheng Suiyan summoned the colorfully-dressed beauty. The beauty landed on the ground, her bright eyes accurately capturing Yun Qing.

 

Perhaps because she had appeared many times and had become somewhat familiar with Yun Qing, this time she didn’t kneel but just walked to Yun Qing’s side and stood respectfully with her hands clasped.

 

Yun Qing tentatively said, “Kneel down.”

 

The beauty gracefully moved again, obediently turned to face her, and indeed knelt down.

 

Shi Feijia couldn’t see, but could only sense that this beauty had spiritual power, which many phantoms possessed.

 

Everyone described the beauty’s appearance and characteristics to her. Shi Feijia listened quietly, then suddenly said, “What did you say this magical treasure was called just now?”

 

“The Zhaoming Painted Bone Fan.”

 

“In that case, I know who she is. Or rather, she shouldn’t be considered a person.”

 

Fu Xue nodded: “Right, she’s just a phantom from a painting.”

 

“No, I mean the original form wasn’t human either.”

 

“Ah?”

 

“Xi once mentioned to me that when she was bored, she had molded a pair of divine attendants, imitating the method by which Nuwa created humans.

 

Naturally, she was reluctant to invest too much divine power, so what she molded were roughly a pair of beautiful puppets. The puppets could move and speak, but had no souls.

 

She kept these puppets by her side as her maidservants. The appearance of the maidservants she described to me is generally consistent with what you’ve described.

 

Most importantly, she once said that one time when a maidservant went out to pick flowers, she was inadvertently seen by a painter serving Crown Prince Zhaoming. The painter was amazed by her celestial beauty and painted her to present to Crown Prince Zhaoming.

 

Then busybodies made up many stories about this maidservant that were sung in the palace. When Xi learned of this, she abandoned both puppets.

 

I never had the chance to see these two maidservants, but based on your descriptions, everything matches up.

 

I think it was probably because the painting was too lifelike, or perhaps the painter himself was a cultivator. In any case, that painting became a spiritual artifact and was later made into a magical treasure by someone.”

 

Ci Li said, “So this woman is the phantom of a divine attendant? It’s quite common for phantoms to retain some habits of their original forms, but the question is why does she kneel to Yun Qing?”

 

Shi Feijia thought hard, finally shook her head in confusion, and said to Yun Qing, “You are not her, but you and she must have some connection.”

 

Yun Qing rubbed her head. She suddenly remembered the scene before she fainted, when Ding Lisheng had said something to her.

 

So she said, “At least we have some good news.”

 

Fu Xue asked curiously, “What good news?”

 

“Qiguang Zi should come looking for me on his own.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he also—” She suddenly stopped.

 

“Senior sister, senior sister? What’s wrong?”

 

Yun Qing hurriedly opened her treasure pouch and took out the Thousand-Mile Sound-Transmitting Conch.

 

Ever since Master had disappeared, the Thousand-Mile Sound-Transmitting Conch, which had been in a silent state, was now flowing with light and color again. Seeing this, Fu Xue excitedly pointed at the conch shell. “Senior sister, Master! It’s Master wanting to speak with us!”

 

Yun Qing suppressed her excited emotions and calmly recited the incantation.

 

“In mountains distant and high,

In waters vast and deep.

Only your heart and mine,

Thousand miles in harmony. Activate!”

 

As the magical treasure activated, a clear, cold, and laughing voice came from within the conch shell.

 

“I heard you were looking for me.”