BW Chapter 155
Fuluo (7)
Feng Zizhang couldn’t see his father’s face clearly, but he could hear every word Ning Buwei said crystal clear.
He felt the spiritual power in his body rapidly disappearing, and the wailing sounds of the living souls around him were gradually weakening, but he still struggled to climb up from the ground with difficulty, looking at that blurry black shadow before him.
He knew Chu Xin was standing right there.
“I acknowledge my father… because he deserves it. You have no idea how good he is——” Feng Zizhang supported himself on his knees as he stood up, his entire body swaying unsteadily, yet he never fell down. “No, you clearly know, but you refuse to admit it… My master Wen Heshen did commit a grave error, that’s true. He killed my senior and junior brothers, but if he hadn’t picked me up from the bottom of the mountain back then, I would have died long ago. He has already paid the price for his mistakes. I cannot forgive him, but I also cannot go against my conscience and turn a blind eye to him…
As for you, I once sincerely considered you a friend, which is why I hoped you would turn back from your wrong path. I know your nature isn’t bad, which is why I believed in you.” Feng Zizhang’s voice rose slightly. “All my choices follow my own conscience. I don’t want my turning a blind eye to cause someone who truly repents and wants to change to lose their last chance. I may not be able to save everyone, but as long as they’re before my eyes, as long as I want to save them, I will do everything in my power to help them——I only seek to have a clear conscience!”
Just as Feng Zizhang finished speaking, his originally blurry vision suddenly became clear, his originally heavy and painful body instantly became incredibly light, and his spiritual root and golden core above, which were about to be completely devoured by Chu Xin, suddenly burst forth with dazzling purple light. Countless pure spiritual powers around him frantically surged into his golden core.
Chu Xin’s own evil energy clashed with it. After struggling for a moment, he had no choice but to sever his connection with the great formation, watching in disbelief as the golden core and spiritual root not only returned to their original state but became even more robust than before. Auspicious purple energy swirled around Feng Zizhang, lingering for a long time before finally returning to his body along with the golden core and spiritual root.
Feng Zizhang only felt that the suffocating pressure that had been weighing on his chest suddenly dispersed. All that confusion, bewilderment, helplessness, and hesitation completely crumbled away. He had never felt himself so clear-headed. His entire being seemed reborn. His originally narrow sea of consciousness had been expanded by more than a hundredfold. The dim fog dispersed, his spiritual power became pure and transparent. Surging spiritual power rolled in torrents, yet he didn’t feel strained at all. Instead, he calmly accepted them all.
The Great Dao is simple. He had finally touched the threshold of enlightenment. The guidance that Chu Jun and Ning Buwei had given him in the past finally became clear and comprehensible. The spiritual power transformed from the pills he had taken in the past finally found its proper place…
When he opened his eyes again, all the past muddled confusion had completely faded away. His spiritual platform was crystal clear. His natal sword hummed and buzzed, circling around him rapidly before hovering at his side.
When the Dao heart is established, all methods are achieved.
The handsome and upright young man walked out from the formation step by step. The evil formation beneath his feet shattered with a sound. He looked at the living souls trapped in the formation around him, silently reciting incantations in his mouth. The long sword at his side summoned lightning, and countless auspicious energies broke through the black fog and rapidly poured into the formation, illuminating the surroundings as bright as daylight.
“Stop!” Chu Xin roared angrily, wielding his sword as he charged straight toward Feng Zizhang. Countless turbid spiritual powers appeared in his formation, trying to completely scatter the living souls inside.
This time, Feng Zizhang didn’t retreat again. Instead, he met the sword head-on, fighting with Chu Xin in mid-air. The purest and clearest spiritual power firmly comforted and enveloped those living souls, while the purple auspicious energy suppressed the evil energy until it had nowhere to hide.
Chu Xin stared at him in disbelief. “Someone like you can actually establish a Dao heart! How is this possible!? Someone as hypocritical and weak as you could never establish a Dao heart!”
“Where there is evil in the world, there is good. Ultimate good and ultimate evil are naturally relative and complementary. I seek the Dao, I establish the heart I seek, and I will not regret it even unto nine deaths.” Feng Zizhang looked at him with calm eyes. “Hesitation and indecision are the greatest taboos. Chu Xin, you are the one who is wrong. You just never dared to admit it.”
“No! I’m not wrong! I did nothing wrong! I am the one who’s right! What’s wrong with wanting to avenge my master and junior brothers!? It’s you and Ning Buwei who are confusing right and wrong!” Chu Xin roared in complete breakdown.
“A single leaf obscures the view…”
As his voice fell, the formations surrounding Feng Zizhang shattered one after another. The living souls in the formation were wrapped in purple energy and returned unhurriedly to bodies that still retained warmth. When they opened their eyes again, it was as if they had awakened from a great dream.
Sword light broke through the black energy, and Chu Xin’s heart-wrenching screams echoed.
The purple energy dispersed, and the dust settled.
Chu Xin knelt lifelessly on the ground, clutching the bloody hole in his abdomen, his eyes filled with sinister hatred as he stared at Feng Zizhang before him. “You… you actually dared to destroy my spiritual root and dantian… and you still have the audacity to call yourself the ultimate good Dao!?”
“I merely dispersed all the cultivation and spiritual power you seized from others. Your spiritual root and dantian had absorbed too much mixed spiritual power and were already beyond repair,” Feng Zizhang said. “You destroyed yourself.”
“No! I’m going to kill you! I should have killed you long ago! Kill all these people!” Chu Xin’s eyes were bloodshot as he lunged toward him, but was firmly bound by a rope.
Shen Xi bowed to Feng Zizhang with cupped hands. “Thank you, Young Friend Feng, for showing mercy.”
Feng Zizhang respectfully performed a junior’s bow to her, saying, “Chu Xin is a member of the Wushi Sect, so he should rightfully be handed over to you for handling.”
Shen Xi smiled, then looked toward Ning Buwei and nodded slightly at him. “Thank you.”
Ning Buwei also nodded in return, finding Chu Linyuan’s disciple increasingly pleasing to the eye.
Shen Xi walked up to Chu Xin and said something unknown to him. Feng Zizhang flew down and excitedly threw himself onto Ning Buwei, sobbing with tears streaming down his face. “Wuuu Father——“
Ning Buwei clicked his tongue and pushed him away with great disdain. “Pathetic.”
Feng Zizhang grinned foolishly at him. “Hehe, Father, I established my Dao! I established my Dao! Thank you, Father! Hehe!”
His perfectly handsome face was turned into a complete fool by his silly grin.
“Mm-hmm, you’re really amazing.” Ning Buwei slapped his palm over his face. “Tsk, stay away from me. You’re spraying saliva all over my face.”
“Big Brother! You were so impressive just now! I almost didn’t recognize you!” Cui Yuanbai’s excited voice came from within the Purple Flame Knife. “Big Brother! Next time you fight, can you use me? I’m super powerful too, much more useful than a sword!”
Feng Zizhang excitedly hugged the Purple Flame Knife. “Wuuu Huanhuan, I’m so glad you’re okay——hiss!”
Ning Buwei took the Purple Flame Knife and let Cui Yuanbai materialize. “You dare to reach for a blade that has true fire on it.”
Feng Zizhang scratched his head embarrassedly and looked over Cui Yuanbai and Yang Lingzhu in a circle. Only after confirming they were unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief and say guiltily, “Big Brother is useless for failing to protect you properly.”
“Big Brother is very powerful,” Yang Lingzhu said softly.
Feng Zizhang smiled at her, then his smile faded as he looked toward Ning Buwei. “Father, Xiao Jiang——“
“With Big Yellow there, she should be fine,” Ning Buwei said. “You take them back first. I’ll go find her.”
“Father, I’ll go with you,” Feng Zizhang said.
“Your Dao heart has just been established, and you’ll soon face tribulation. Your spiritual root and golden core have been extracted once, so first return to Wanxuan Academy to recover properly.” Ning Buwei looked toward Cui Yuanbai and Yang Lingzhu. “You two protect him well during his cultivation.”
Cui Yuanbai and Yang Lingzhu, who had originally been eager to continue following along, immediately perked up when given this task.
At this moment, more than ten streaks of light flew toward the cliff. Ning Buwei patted Feng Zizhang on the shoulder and disappeared from the spot in the blink of an eye.
“Father…” Feng Zizhang hadn’t finished calling out “Father” when he saw people from Wanxuan Academy arriving, led by Shang Nuanwei.
With Shen Xi present, she naturally explained the whole situation to Shang Nuanwei.
Only then did Feng Zizhang completely relax. Who would have thought that as soon as he relaxed, his whole body swayed and he collapsed headfirst to the ground. Cui Yuanbai and Yang Lingzhu hurried to support him.
Feng Zizhang’s tattered front robes opened, and a small mushroom emerged from inside. Pure spiritual power and auspicious energy wrapped around it layer upon layer, nourishing its severely injured divine soul.
“It’s Big Brother’s treasure-hunting mushroom!” Cui Yuanbai reached out to poke the little mushroom. “How did it become so battered?”
The little mushroom lowered its head and rubbed Cui Yuanbai’s finger with its cap, then bounced to Feng Zizhang’s neck hollow, curled itself up, and fell into deep sleep along with Feng Zizhang.
****
“…He gave the last bit of his remaining spiritual power entirely to that mushroom. If he hadn’t done so, he might not have been able to break through and rebuild so decisively.” Shang Nuanwei said to Chu Jun, “I heard from Shen Xi that when he established his Dao, Chengfeng only offered one sentence from the sidelines, and it was accomplished. The auspicious energy around him reached the heavens. Though I arrived late and only sensed some remnants, it was already the greatest fortune I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Your adopted son… is extraordinary.”
“Thank you for helping to conceal it,” Chu Jun said.
“It was nothing. If others knew, it’s hard to guarantee they wouldn’t harbor improper thoughts. Even that Chu Xin from the Wushi Sect didn’t recognize its value, focusing on draining the spiritual root and golden core when clearly this heaven-reaching fortune was the real… cough.” Shang Nuanwei waved her hand. “But speaking of which, your son seems honest on the surface, but I didn’t expect him to be so bold as to actually cultivate the ultimate good Dao. He’s going to suffer plenty in the future.”
Chu Jun calmly said, “As long as he’s happy.”
Shang Nuanwei stared at him for a long moment, then said faintly, “True, with such heaven-reaching fortune, even suffering would have to take a detour around him.”
Chu Jun smiled slightly.
Shang Nuanwei said sourly, “I know you picked up a good son. Not one person in your family cultivates an ordinary Dao. I’m leaving now.”
But Chu Jun called out to stop her. “Chengfeng hasn’t returned?”
“He went to find Jiang Yizheng.” Shang Nuanwei frowned. “The head teachers and disciples who entered the Fuluo Secret Realm for training this time only had their living souls separated and suffered some torment. Though they were in no real danger, they lost at least half their lives. There are still several who couldn’t be saved or went missing. Their families or sects insist on searching. The Fuluo Secret Realm is now in complete chaos… He can move more freely on his own. If you showed yourself, things would only get more complicated.”
Chu Jun nodded. “Thank you.”
“Don’t be so formal.” Shang Nuanwei turned and left. “There’s still a pile of messes to clean up. Don’t bother seeing me off.”
Chu Jun looked toward the unconscious Feng Zizhang on the bed. Beside him were Cui Yuanbai and Yang Lingzhu, who had started out seriously protecting him but were now sound asleep. All of them had sustained considerable injuries.
Chu Jun reached out and pulled the little black dragon that was being pressed under Cui Yuanbai’s stomach out and placed it at the foot of the bed. He then carefully placed the battered little mushroom on the pillow and bent down to pick up Ning Xiu, who had been quietly watching from the side.
“Xiao Shan~ need treat injuries~” Ning Xiu said unhappily as he lay on his shoulder looking at his sleeping siblings on the bed. A large mass of golden spiritual power appeared in his palm, but Chu Jun pressed it back down.
“Da?” Ning Xiu looked at him in confusion.
Chu Jun squeezed his little hand and said gently, “Be good, save some strength.”
In the room at Wanxuan Academy on the sea island, Ning Xiu looked at Chu Jun with bewildered confusion and obediently withdrew the golden spiritual power back into his hand. Then a distant and resonant beast roar crossed countless lava and formations, penetrated endless seawater and layers of island mountains, and fell into his ears.
“Ning Xiu, leave quickly!”