Ranran quickly swung her stick to scatter the water spray. At the same time, she saw the tall man finally springing out of the water from below.
Ranran was overjoyed and called out loudly, "Shifu…"
But Su Yishui, who had just leaped out of the water, seemed to be in anguish. He grabbed the cliff wall and kept banging his head against it, making sounds of distress. Ranran's heart sank, thinking that the Spirit Spring was still in her master's body, and she hurried over to him.
But Su Yishui abruptly lifted his head, his eyes staring blankly. Then, he cast an indifferent glance at her and disappeared like a shadow below the cliff.
At this moment, the Netherworld Realm began to tremble, and rocks continuously fell from the cliff. The Realm began its cycle, re-absorbing the Spirit Spring, entering a phase of self-repair.
The other three people seemed to have vanished, but Ranran didn't feel that she was about to be expelled from the Netherworld Realm at all.
Her Yin constitution allowed her to remain light and agile in the Netherworld Realm, like a fish in water. But during this expulsion of foreign elements, the Realm couldn't detect her. In other words, without a person with a Yang constitution to lead her, Ranran would not be able to find the exit and would be permanently trapped in the Netherworld Realm.
Ranran couldn't understand why her master, who had clearly seen her just now, seemed to not recognize her at all and just left by himself.
At this moment, the collapse of the Netherworld Realm became even more severe. There was no solid ground under Ranran's feet anymore, so she could only leap quickly between falling rocks while shouting loudly, " Shifu! Shifu!"
The only response she got was the rumbling of giant rocks and the strange frightening cries from the chasm below.
Ranran knew that when the cliff completely collapsed, she would fall into the abyss, never to return!
In this desperate situation, she could do nothing but futilely jump on the falling stones…
Unfortunately, she still landed on air, and her whole body starting to plummet rapidly. Ranran closed her eyes, not wanting to see the scene of her body being torn apart by monsters in the endless abyss.
Just then, her wrist was grabbed tightly by someone. Ranran opened her eyes abruptly and saw with delight that her Shifu had returned and had grabbed her wrist in time.
Due to his Yang constitution, he was suspended in mid-air, seemingly drawn upward by some force like a magnet. Ranran was caught by him, at least stopping her fall.
Although Su Yishui had caught her, his gaze was clear but cold. "Who are you? Why do you have the aura of my golden core?"
Ranran was dumbfounded. She couldn't understand why her Shifu seemed to no longer recognize her.
At this moment, there was no longer a blood-red color in his eyes, and the black lines on his neck had completely disappeared. However, his entire aura was still gloomy and somewhat unfamiliar.
"Shifu… It's because you gave your golden core to the Tree of Rebirth, that's how I was reborn! I am your disciple, Xue Ranran!"
Su Yishui furrowed his brows, looking down at the girl whose wrist he was holding. Right now he was in the Netherworld Realm, his memories were jumbled, especially recent ones, fragmented, disjointed and chaotic.
Although he couldn't remember why he came to the Netherworld Realm, he knew he was about to leave it.
And this tearful little girl with large eyes, for some reason, was being drawn deeper into the abyss.
He didn't recognize her, but he sensed his core's aura on her.
Of course, Su Yishui wouldn't allow his core to be swallowed by the Netherworld Realm, so he grabbed hold of the girl.
Just then, a golden crack appeared in the air, swallowing them in an instant, disappearing into the dazzling golden light.
Ranran was blinded by the light, simultaneously feeling her body being pulled by two forces. She screamed aloud in pain, and could only hold tightly onto the hand that was firmly gripping hers.
When she opened her eyes again, she was still dazzled by the bright light, but it was the glaring sunlight from above, shining on her body, indicating that she had returned to the human realm.
However, the nauseating feeling of being torn apart had not completely disappeared. Ranran closed her eyes and adjusted herself for a moment before opening them again.
When she sat up, she realized she was lying on the wilderness that was previously filled with demonic flowers.
When the Netherworld Realm opened, the demonic flowers and the bodies drained of their essence in the flower sea all turned into powder, and the place had returned to its desolate autumn state...
Ranran felt that the wilderness seemed even more desolate than before, with signs of ice forming on the ground. She felt a bit cold in her autumn clothes, and if she didn't mobilize her vitality qi, she feared she would freeze in moments.
Looking around, she found no one else on the wasteland except for herself.
Her Shifu, Wei Jiu, and Tu Jiuyuan were nowhere to be seen. Her Uncle Masters and Qin Xuanjiu were also gone.
Just then, she finally heard some sounds of fighting in the distance.
She quickly got up and walked over, only to find Wei Jiu and Su Yishui fighting each other… Well, she might have been a bit inaccurate in her description—it was Wei Jiu being beaten up by her master.
Wei Jiu clearly didn't get his opportunity to take advantage. His imposing Crimson Gate Sect robe was torn into pieces, his hair disheveled, completely devoid of any dignity.
He had expected Su Yishui to be greatly weakened after separating from the Spirit Spring. Add the confusion caused by the Soul Cleansing talisman he had applied, he should be an easy target if Su Yishui somehow managed to escape from the Netherworld Realm.
So, at the moment Su Yishui pulled Ranran out, Wei Jiu struck out with his whip.
Wei Jiu had visited the Tian Mai Mountain, soaking in the Black Pool to recover some foundational spiritual energy. Although bitten by the Immortal-Devouring Bugs a few times, his recovery had been significant. Plus, during this time, he had ambushed many foundational figures of the Righteous Path, absorbing their spiritual energy. Therefore, his cultivation had subtly improved.
In the Netherworld Realm, hindered by the forcefield, he couldn't directly confront Su Yishui, who possessed the Spirit Spring. But now that Su Yishui had returned it, Wei Jiu's true vitality should surpass that of Su Yishui, who had lost half of his Golden Core.
This was why Wei Jiu had the confidence to follow Su Yishui into the Netherworld Realm and why he ambushed him here now.
However, he never expected that Su Yishui, who should have been weak, would be acting like he had divine assistance, attacking fiercely, his vitality surging and formidable.
The man who had just returned from the Netherworld Realm seemed to have just unsealed a long-restrained power, overflowing with an evil aura in every move, deadly and venomous.
Moreover, the spells Su Yishui used were surprisingly similar to his own, absorbing spiritual energy with each move. This time, Su Yishui didn't even need the Devil Vine; he openly practiced the demonic way of absorbing others' spiritual energy.
If it were anyone else, they would have been torn apart by Su Yishui long ago. Although Wei Jiu's skills were not low, far exceeding the heads of the three major sects, he could barely defend himself and kept retreating.
Fortunately, Wei Jiu *had no qualms about looking pathetic, so even with Ranran watching by the side, he didn't care about his dignity. He summoned a large cloud of black mist with his remaining spiritual energy and escaped with the heavily injured Tu Jiuyuan.
*装孙子 : 装可怜
When only Su Yishui and Ranran were left on the wasteland again, Ranran ran towards him joyfully, only to be ruthlessly pushed back by Su Yishui with a wave of his sleeve.
"Who are you really? Why do you keep calling me Shifu? Could it be that you were sent by Wei Jiu to steal my golden core?"
Ranran listened wide-eyed and tongue-tied to her Shifu's cold words, at a loss as to how to respond. She could vaguely guess what Wei Jiu's talisman was now!
Just then, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from a distance.
Ranran turned around to see that it was two uncle masters riding towards them.
When they spotted Su Yishui and Xue Ranran from afar, they wept with joy and shouted loudly for their master, urging their horses to gallop faster.
Yutong had already burst into tears, laughing as she dismounted and hugged Ranran first, then turned to Su Yishui and said "You two have finally returned! We've been waiting here for a whole month, coming here every day, and were starting to lose hope!"
A day in heaven is a year on earth, and it seems that the time in the Netherworld Realm is also different from the human realm.
Ranran and the others only felt that they had been in the Netherworld Realm for a few hours , but a whole month had passed in the human realm.
No wonder Ranran felt the weather turning cold; it should be winter by now.
Despite seeing her uncle masters, Ranran's face showed no joy. Shifu had returned to the mortal realm, but why did she feel like she had...lost him.
The only silver lining was, Su Yishui still remembered the siblings Yuchen and Yutong.
His current memory was somewhat strange. He remembered everything from his past life with Mu Qingge that annoyed him, clear as day, not forgetting anything.
But unexpectedly, he forgot about the later Fan Yao Battle and most of the details of Mu Qingge's tragic death. Then, it jumped to the memories of the last two years, becoming fragmented and scattered. Every memory related to Mu Qingge and Ranran was completely forgotten.
The Soul-Cleansing Charm cleansed mortal love. Su Yishui has forgotten the stirrings he had in the past and returned to being the obssessive youth who didn't understand love.
When he heard from Yuchen that Mu Qingge had been dead for twenty years, his face actually showed a hint of anger, "I actually didn't kill that witch myself?"
Xue Ranran shrank to the side, listening as the uncle masters struggled to repair their master's memories. What she was thinking about at this moment was the bombshell that Wei Jiu dropped in the Netherworld Realm – she wasn't the reincarnation of Mu Ranwu but the true reincarnation of Mu Qingge.
Putting aside whether this was true or false, at this moment, their master's memories no longer contained the sweet moments with Elder Mu. Instead, all that remained was his resentment for being forced into Xishan and the harassment and contempt he suffered.
If she were to say that she might be the true reincarnation of Mu Qingge right now, she would probably be torn to pieces by her master and dipped in sauce.
So, she kept quiet, silently upset on the side.
Shifu, under the talisman's effect, not only forgot about the past with Elder Mu but also forgot about all the sweet moments with her, Xue Ranran.
On the sea island, the two of them had cuddled while watching the rainbow-colored sea birds and the little dragon playing in the water, scenes that were still vivid in her mind. But now, she was the only one who remembered those beautiful moments…
Although Ranran had been prepared that after the return the Spirit Spring, she and Shifu might have to pretend nothing ever happened, and gradually return back to the normal master and disciple relationship.
However, she did not expect Shifu to be even more decisive than she could ever imagine, actually erasing her existence altogether.
After returning from the wastelands back to town, Su Yishui's brow remained deeply furrowed. If not for Yuchen and Yutong being his trusted confidants, he really thought these two were spouting nonsense and speaking deceitful words.
What do they mean that he cherished his relationship between master and disciple, and gave up half of his golden core for the chance for Mu Qingge's reincarnation?
And that there were two fruits on the Rebirth Tree, one of which was premature, and became his beloved disciple, Xue Ranran?
What do they mean in order to extend her life, he kept her in Xishan, teaching and caring for her dearly?
And the most absurd thing was, he went to the Netherworld Realm just to return the Spirit Spring he had stolen with great difficulty?
Su Yishui felt like he had been bewitched before, doing things without rhyme or reason.
Although his memories were temporarily incomplete, Su Yishui didn't feel anything was amiss with himself, but did he really do all those things? He needed to slowly find out the reasons…
But when he heard that Su Yu actually defeated his father, Prince Ping, and ascended the throne smoothly, Su Yishui couldn't contain his anger and said coldly, "What was the problem with me before? The rebellion I painstakingly planned ended in failure like this? How did you all assist me? Or did you collude with others and scheme against me?"
Yuchen and Yutong knelt down on the ground, saying helplessly, "Master, this was truly your decision alone. Moreover, Mu Qingge suddenly intervened in worldly affairs, assisting Su Yu, which turned the tide of the battle. Everything was predestined, and human efforts couldn't change it!"
Su Yishui, upon realizing that his carefully laid plans had been defeated by Mu Qingge, his face darkened, and he slowly squeezed out three words from between his teeth, "Mu Qingge!"
This female demon was truly his nemesis! Why didn't she die by his hands!
But since she had already been reincarnated, he could slowly settle their debt of hatred with her…
Thinking of this, Su Yishui slowly turned his gaze to the four so-called disciples beside him.
These four, were one more stupid than the other, completely unlikable. Especially that most beautiful young girl, although she had a pleasing appearance, but she was Mu Qingge's sister, Mu Ranwu…
Recalling how she had once hinted that she could betray her sister for him, and subsequently kept him informed of everything, Su Yishui felt a genuine disgust towards this woman without morals.
This girl named Xue Ranran was born from the Rebirth Tree, no wonder she had his core's spiritual aura.
As his thoughts wandered, Su Yishui suddenly made a move, intending to capture Ranran and absorb all her spiritual energy, reclaiming the power of his golden core.
His killing intent was strong, and completely undisguised.
The people in the room all shouted in alarm. Yuchen knelt down and tightly held onto his master's thighs, while Yutong, like a mother hen, shielded Xue Ranran with her arms, "Master, we didn't deceive you. Ranran is truly your beloved disciple and you dote on her the most. That damned Wei Jiu pasted some kind of talisman on you, sealing your memories. Please, don't act recklessly, or else I'm truly afraid that you'll regret it when your memories return!"
Uncle Master Zeng Yi stood nearby, his lips moving several times but hesitating to speak.
For a while, the hall was quite chaotic.
Although the Yu siblings were no match for Su Yishui, however their numerous years of servitude made Su Yishui temporarily suppress his killing intent.
However, he bluntly expressed his dislike for strangers around him, so these four foolish disciples are not allowed to remain too close to him.
When the first snow of early winter fell, Su Yishui heartlessly drove the four abandoned disciples onto the streets, forcing them to find their own shelter.
The four disciples stood under the eaves, exchanging miserable looks with each other.
Bai Baishan glanced at the three fellow disciples and said awkwardly, "I didn't expect all of us to be kicked out by our master… It's okay, at least I can explain when I go home. After all, I'm not the only one who's been abandoned…"
Gao Cang also didn't expect that after waiting for a month for their master to return, the first thing he did was to disown them. After hearing the sarcastic words from the second senior brother, he cried in frustration, "You're the one who's abandoned! We haven't violated any sect rules, why are we being kicked out?"
Bai Baishan was indignant, "You and Qiu Xier have both been ensnared by the demonic flowers. How is that different from me being bewitched? It's all evidence of weak willpower! It's enough to be kicked out!"
This time, Qiu Xier also started crying along with the eldest senior brother.
At this moment, the door behind them cracked open, and they all turned around in joy, thinking that their master couldn't bear to send them away. However, it was the second uncle master Yu tong, who said apologetically, "Um… your master wants to meditate, and he finds you all too noisy, so it's better for you to move further away. It's dark now, and the teahouses and taverns are closed. The inns in town should also be fully booked. If there is really no choice, you can go to the ruined temple to make a fire and shelter from the snow. Wait until the snow stops before finding an inn…"
Now listen here, does this sound like something a beloved master uncle would say?
Ranran, who had remained silent, spoke up, "Let's go, our Shifu has just returned from the Netherworld Realm and needs to meditate in peace."
By now, the snow had grown heavier. The four abandoned disciples from Xishan walked forward with difficulty, and Qiu Xier wiped her tears, saying, "Ranran, do we really have to spend the night in the ruined temple?"
"Why would you need to go to the ruined temple? All of you come with me." A voice came from behind them.
They turned to see that it was the Fourteenth Uncle Master, Zeng Yi, who had come after them.
"I still have a Medicine shop in Wuma Town. Come with me and stay there temporarily," he said.
Hearing their uncle master's words, the four obediently followed him to the medicine shop in the east of town.
Although it was smaller than the Horse Trading Post, at least they have a place to stay. After Zeng Yi instructed his workers to prepare bedding and settled the children, he saw Ranran looking dejected and took the opportunity to comfort her when they were alone, "You know that your master has been enchanted by an evil charm, so don't blame him. If he doesn't get better soon, I'll send you back to reunite with your parents. Didn't you tell me before that you wanted to graduate quickly and go back to serve your parents?"
Ranran silently poured a cup of tea for her uncle master and suddenly asked, "In the Netherworld Realm, Wei Jiu said I'm actually Mu Qingge. Uncle Master, do you know the truth of this?"
After saying this, she looked directly at Zeng Yi, and Zeng Yi's expression froze like he had been coated with glue.
After a while, his eyes reddened, he slowly set the teacup down, and then fell to his knees before Ranran with a thud, "Master, the disciple has been unfilial. For not acknowledging you, please punish me!"
Ranran's question was merely a probe. Perhaps Wei Jiu was talking nonsense. She couldn't possibly take that demon's words seriously, could she?
She never expected that Uncle Master would react so strongly after hearing this question, kneeling so earnestly in front of her.
Ranran was startled and quickly knelt down to help him up, "Fourteenth Uncle Master, what are you doing? Aren't you going to *overwhelm me?"
*折杀 is 对方的过分的礼节或过重的馈赠使自己无法承受 when given too much undue respect
But Zeng Yi just refused to get up, tears streaming down his face, "Master, what Wei Jiu said is all true. You are the true Mu Qingge of Xishan, our master. As for that one, she's just an imposter. I know about this, and Su Yishui knows too. It's just that he was afraid you will have to take up the responsibilities from your past life, so he didn't want to tell you. I also thought that letting you live peacefully and blissfully in this life is better than anything else. We took such liberties, so please punish us, master!"
No matter how much Ranran tried to persuade him, he wouldn't budge. She could only sigh and sit back down, looking at Zeng Yi kneeling on the ground, her head buzzing.
This trip to the Netherworld Realm had turned everything upside down, causing confusion between master and disciples. Her mind was also in chaos right then, and she needed to calm down and sort things out slowly.
After Zeng Yi tearfully finished acknowledging his master, he still felt uneasy, so he cautioned with concern, "Master, your current spiritual power is still not comparable to Su Yishui's. He has forgotten the past, like he was a newly entered disciple, just a reckless kid. You must never, ever reveal your identity in front of him. Otherwise, he might do an about-face and turn hostile!"
Ranran blinked and asked, "So the current Elder Mu... is actually Mu Ranwu?"
Zeng Yi nodded and sighed, "Master, please… don't be soft-hearted like you were before…"
Ranran smiled wryly, "Uncle Master, please don't call me that anymore. I'm just an eighteen-year-old girl now. How could I be your master, if the others overhear, they will find it very weird…"
Zeng Yi nodded repeatedly and kept saying yes.
In fact, in his opinion, Su Yishui forgetting his mentor Mu Qingge was actually a good thing. The relationship between them was like an ill-fated entanglement. If they could live well separately, it would be considered fortunate.
Now that Su Yishui was disowning everyone, acting coldly towards him and treating Ranran like a stranger, if Su Yishui kept thinking about absorbing Ranran's cultivation to supplement his golden core, it would be disastrous.
Now that the matter of the Spirit Spring was over, there wasn't much use to be staying here. He decided to leave with his master as soon as possible and stay away from the disputes from her past life...
Zeng Yi made his plans, so the next day before dawn, he had the servants pack their bags and prepare to leave.
But before they could finish packing, Yutong came looking for them again, saying that Su Yishui wanted Zeng Yi to go over and inquire about the businesses entrusted to him.
Most of the properties under Zeng Yi's name were actually entrusted to him by Su Yishui before he secluded himself in Western Mountain. He was just a steward.
Now Su Yishui suddenly summoned him, obviously wanting to take back his businesses.
Zeng Yi feels that it doesn't matter. Anyway, his savings over the years were enough to support his master and ensure that she would be well taken care of. If he didn't have to deal with those businesses, he would be even more relaxed.
But when he returned to the Horse Trading Post, he saw the handsome and cold man sitting in front of his table, frowning at the table full of trinkets.
There were grasshoppers woven from grass on the table, a paper lantern that was just half finished, and two small bamboo baskets containing month-old dried sweet potatoes and other snacks that had hardened a bit.
Su Yishui instinctively felt that these were not things he had placed there, but the Yu siblings were sure that these were indeed all put personally by him. Including the notes on how to make lanterns, they were indeed in his own handwriting.
This really annoyed him. Su Yi Shui suspected that he had been bewitched in the past, otherwise why would he do such idle and boring things?
As Zeng Yi walked in, Su Yishui waved his long arm and swept all the things on the table into the dustpan on the side.