The Medicine Immortal could never have expected to meet his former lover, Fengmou, here. When he saw the scar on her face, his heart, which had become somewhat indifferent after ascending to immortality, suddenly tightened.
The white-haired immortal by the side was already impatient, feeling that the Medicine Immortal was talking too much with these mortals.
Now that even the guardian deity of Dragon Island has also appeared here, the white-haired immortal said coldly, "The orders from the higher immortals have been given, we shouldn't linger here for too long. I'll go on ahead."
After saying that, he vanished into the clouds.
However, the Medicine Immortal couldn't move his feet, only stared at Fengmou intently and asked "Are you here to see me?"
The guardian deity of Dragon Island looked at her former lover with cold eyes and said lightly, "I came here to settle the blood feud of the Dragon Clan. You should be returning to the Heavenly realm."
She was not lying.
Because she did come here for revenge. When Ranran and the others left Dragon Island, she had told Ranran that if she found out who killed the Green Dragon on the island, she must inform her, and she would definitely avenge the Green Dragon.
The vengeful power of the Dragon Clan was unmatched. Such a large Green Dragon had been drained of blood alive by someone, and as the guardian deity of Dragon Island, she must avenge this grievance.
So when Ranran used water as a medium to draw a talisman on the spot and conveyed this message to Dragon Island, she broke through the imprisonment of Dragon Island once again and left the island seeking the murderer.
At this moment, Ranran also said, "When I was in Kongshan, I smelled a strong scent of Green Dragon's blood on the black bone tower. I immediately understood that the blood binding those bones was from the Green Dragon. So when we were taking shelter from the rain earlier, I passed the message to the guardian deity of Dragon Island, asking her to come and check it out."
The Medicine Immortal shook his head with some anxiety, "This place will be leveled to the ground soon, so you all should leave quickly. Even if you know that the Green Dragon was killed by Duntian, you are powerless!"
However, after Xue Ranran and Su Yi Shui exchanged a glance, Ranran clasped her fists and said, "Old Immortal, this is related to the lives of tens of thousands of people. How can we cultivators shirk responsibility at this critical moment? We want to try again, see if we can destroy the bone tower before the Heavenly punishment arrives, and avoid this catastrophe of the mortal realm!"
The Medicine Immortal continued to shake his head helplessly, "If there were other ways, the heavenly realm would not resort to this extreme measure! This is the only way to stop Duntian's madness… You should stop trying, use this time to notify the surrounding people to evacuate quickly."
But after he finished speaking, he found no one responding. Su Yi Shui had called the disciples of Xishan to him, instructed them in a low voice, and then the disciples went down the mountain one after another. It's unclear whether they were informing the people to evacuate.
But with only one day and night, it's impossible to evacuate so many people from all over the land.
It was also likely that if they spoke of the impending catastrophe, people would just consider them a group of lunatics. Even if the Emperor of Daqi issued an edict for so many people to leave their homes and abandon their properties and lands, it wouldn't be easy.
Thinking of this, the Medicine Immortal looked at Fengmou again and found that there was also a young man with horns standing beside her, who seemed to be clinging to her.
Fengmou stood aside, looking at the black tower on Kongshan, lost in thought.
The Medicine Immortal didn't want to leave like this. He walked over and wanted to say something to her again, but the young man with horns suddenly jumped in front of Fengmou, showing his teeth menacingly at him, clearly still in his beastly mode despite having taken human form recently.
"Little Dragon, don't be like this," the guardian deity of Dragon Island reprimanded the youth with dragon horns in a low voice. He was her adopted son, who had taken human form early with her blessing of her golden light but still couldn't speak, only making sounds similar to dragon cries.
So after she scolded him, the young man blinked his eyes innocently and made sounds like a whimpering puppy.
Xue Ranran watched her rescued little dragon, still not changing his ingrained habits, fond of guarding his food, couldn't help but shake her head and smile, reaching out to pull the little dragon aside.
It had been a long time since these two had seen each other, and right now was an exceptionally dangerous moment. They would certainly have some private words to say about the bitterness of separation.
So Ranran deliberately pulled the child aside, not wanting to delay their reunion.
Meanwhile, Fengmou seemed to deliberately turn her head to one side, not wanting to let the Medicine Immortal see the scarred half of her face. The Medicine Immortal also sensed her discomfort, and could only hold his breath and ask her, "Was it because of this scar on your face that you left me with a letter, without saying goodbye back then?"
Fengmou didn't speak, seeming to tacitly agree. The Medicine Immortal felt a sharp pain in his heart: "I thought… you were afraid, so you…"
Unfortunately, Ranran's best intentions was being let down. The Medicine Immortal had walked up, but before he could say anymore to Fengmou, a female immortal descended from the sky.
Ranran looked at the female immortal, her head crowned with purple aura, who was the companion of the Medicine Immortal called Yulian Immortal when he floated lotus lanterns by the river.
It seemed as if sensing the reunion of the Medicine Immortal with his former lover, Yulian Immortal appeared in time and reminded the Medicine Immortal that it was time for him to leave.
The Medicine Immortal had never known that Fengmou's appearance had been damaged in that divine punishment, and she felt so inferior that she didn't want to see him. Thinking of how she had been alone on Dragon Island for so many years, he felt a surge of guilt.
Now with Yulian appearing and holding his arm, he felt a bit embarrassed, with a hint of awkwardness on his face.
He wanted to explain to Fengmou that the Heavenly realm's companionship was just a cultivation partner in the same immortal cave, accompanying each other in cultivation, without the passionate emotions of ordinary men and women.
But all explanations froze seeing Fengmou's cold eyes.
She suddenly turned her face straight on, no longer avoiding, allowing her scarred face to be exposed in front of these immortal companions. She took a glance at the declarative hand-holding between the Medicine Immortal and Yulian Immortal, sneered, then suddenly leaped up and transformed into a dragon, flying towards Kongshan.
Because the heavenly realm had made a decision, the Heavenly calamity also ceased, the rain storm over Kongshan ceased, but the dark clouds did not dissipate, seemingly brewing an even greater heavenly punishment.
And the rising golden dragon floating above Kongshan dispersed the gloom, making everyone involuntarily look at the golden dragon.
The Medicine Immortal shook off Yulian Immortal's hand, as he watched the dancing golden dragon, once again recalling the past… Fengmou was such a proud person, and now he finally understood why she proposed to part ways back then. It wasn't because she was afraid of divine punishment, but because she wanted to fulfill his path of immortal cultivation. She was even more afraid that he would feel guilty seeing her disfigured appearance, so she left without a word.
He was wrong. Over these years, if he had gone to Dragon Island just once and understood her thoughts, would he have made the so many mistakes, one after the other?
The guardian deity of Dragon Island came out this time to avenge the Green Dragon, even risking the danger of being punished again by heaven. Although at the moment of leaving the island, there was still a faint hope in her heart of seeing her former lover again, to tell him personally to forget her, and not to release those lotus lanterns drifting to Dragon Island every year.
But now, she felt that perhaps those lanterns floating every year were not reminiscing about her…
A slightly throbbing heart could gradually turn cold. Dragons are a race not easily swayed by emotions. Once emotions are severed, they would be cut off with a sharp sword.
Having seen the vastness of the world, soaring in the sky as a dragon god, how could she accommodate sharing his heart with another woman?
Xue Ranran watched the situation in front of her, seeing the Medicine Immortal's regretful and sorrowful expression, feeling a sense of melancholy in her heart.
Although she had lived two lives as a human, her understanding of "love" was still not very deep.
Back then, this guardian deity of Dragon Island sacrificed her own cultivation and appearance for her lover to successfully ascend, willingly destroying her own cultivation and appearance, and proposed to part ways, fulfilling her lover. This was a willingness to sacrifice oneself, loving with hidden restraint.
And Duntian, after becoming an immortal, willingly fell and became a demon, wanting to reverse time and space even at the cost of destroying heaven and earth, in order to save his wife and children again. That was also for "love", being willing to sacrifice everything without reservation.
These two kinds of "love" seemed similar but were completely different, which made Ranran feel a bit melancholic.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Su Yi Shui beside her and said, "If something unexpected happens to me, you must never become like Duntian, becoming a demon without any regard… Otherwise, I…"
Su Yi Shui immediately understood, he continued "Otherwise, you would never accept me like that, nor would you accept a rebirth bought with bloodshed."
He understood her too well. However, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "But… if something unexpected happens to me, how would you react?"
Ranran didn't even think about it and said, "Even if my soul scatters, I will protect you!"
Su Yi Shui's eyes narrowed fiercely, as if back to the time when he had lost his memories, said with a sinister tone, "You — dare!"
Xue Ranran knew that her mention of "soul scattering" touched on her Shifu's raw nerve, bringing back the unpleasant memories he had just regained. But at that moment of glaring, it was as if her Shifu who lost his memories, had possessed him.
But Ranran knew that no matter which side of Su Yi Shui appeared, it was still his true self. The rebelliousness of his youth had never disappeared, but had been well hidden under maturity and restraint as he grew older.
No matter which side of him, she still liked it… Thinking of this, she didn't say anything else, just held his hand tightly.
An unimaginable great battle was about to come. Regardless of the outcome, she wanted to be with him, in life or in death.
Medicine Immortal is willing to stay and help us?"
If it were before Fengmou scolded him, the Medicine Immortal might have reluctantly refused and reminded this little girl of the inevitability of fate.
However, Fengmou's sarcastic words were still fresh in his mind. He also introspected, having lost his beloved, ascending to immortality, what was it all for? Was it just to stand high above the clouds during the calamity in the mortal world, pushing everything onto the inevitability of fate?
Now that Fengmou openly exposed the scar on her face without concealing it, yet those eyes that were once full of love never looked at him again.
There was a bitter feeling in the Medicine Immortal's heart, mixed with a hundred emotions. But he knew that if Fengmou insisted on seeking revenge against Duntian, he would never leave her in this dangerous place and return to the heavenly realm alone.
Thinking of this, he turned to Yulian Immortal and said "I want to stay here. You should hurry back… Also, after I return, I will find another immortal residence and live alone…"
With that, he turned around gracefully and walked away without looking back.
Yulian Immortal's hands hidden in her long sleeves were trembling slightly, gritting her teeth. She turned around and flew back to the sky.
Because the calamity of the heavenly punishment had temporarily ceased, it was not as dangerous to approach Kongshan now.
Su Yi Shui's injuries from the lightning strikes had also been mostly healed by the Medicine Immortal's treatment. After a brief reorganization, everyone prepared to enter Kongshan to destroy the spirit tower.
Although they didn't have absolute confidence, but this time the group entering the mountain had the addition of the guardian deity of Dragon Island and the Medicine Immortal, two great powers. Although they might not be able to defeat Duntian who had turned from immortal to demon, at the very least, they could hold their ground.
As long as they could destroy the Heaven-Defying Spirit Tower, there would be no more incidents to defy heaven , and the Heavenly realm would not level the four mountains, causing suffering to the living beings.
They only had one day and one night left, time was limited and couldn't be wasted any longer, so the group gradually arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Although the divine punishment had ceased for now, the great calamity was approaching, as if an invisible force was pressing down from the sky. The air pressure was so low that even many birds flapped their wings hard, struggling to fly low, flocking away in scattered groups.
Many beasts and rodents also came out of the mountains, rushing to escape in a panic.
And this group of people went against the flow of these birds and beasts, looking out of place. Because of this gradually descending pressure, even immortals like the Medicine Immortal were reluctant to waste effort floating in the air, and his shoes which hadn't touched dust for a long time had to walk on the muddy ground.
Throughout this journey, Ranran seemed unaffected by the low air pressure, her mouth never idle as she ate the red sugarcane she got from the rescued villagers.
Several vendors selling sugarcane were very generous. Combined with the urgency to flee this area, they gave Ranran a large basket of sugarcane. Now that basket of sugarcane was on Su Yi Shui's back.
The local sugarcane was sweet, but the juice was thicker in color, and the juice squeezed out was also a bright red. If one wasn't careful, their mouth would turn rosy red.
As the great battle approached, everyone else was preoccupied, but the Xishan master and disciple of two lifetimes seemed so carefree. As Su Yi Shui walked along, he used his sharp sword that could cut metal like mud, to peel the sugarcane for Ranran, as if fearing she might not have enough.
Wei Jiu gave them the side-eye and couldn't help but comment, "You guys are really leisurely. Are you afraid of death approaching and want to die with a full stomach?"
Ranran smiled faintly, "I thought you would sneak away quietly. Charging ahead like this doesn't seem like your usual style, Lord Wei."
Wei Jiu chuckled, "This kind of major battle will be recorded in the history of cultivation. Naturally, I want to enjoy it from the sidelines. Besides, those scoundrels in the heavenly realm have made a good account for themselves, even including my Red Flame Mountain's centuries-old foundation into it. How can I fulfill their wishes?"
He was naturally rebellious, not following the orthodox path even during cultivation, and he had a natural aversion to those heavenly immortals. Even if he ascended in the future, he would likely fall into demonic path and not cultivate on any proper path.
But Ranran handed him a piece of peeled sugarcane, commending "Just for your statement of 'not following their wishes,' it's worth a toast, but unfortunately, there's no wine here. You'll have to make do with sugarcane."
This belated offering of "wine" by a beauty naturally made Wei Jiu's eyes and eyebrows reveal a bit of smugness.
But just as he reached out to take it, Su Yi Shui snatched the piece of sugarcane away, "Lord Wei grinds his teeth at night, a sign of poor digestion. If you eat sugarcane, it might worsen the symptoms. Don't harm our excellency here."
Although Su Yi Shui was just being petty, he still displayed a frank and open appearance even in jealousy. With his memories restored, he also regained his sophisticated and subtly malicious demeanor.
Wei Jiu's eyes narrowed coldly, "Nonsense! When did I grind my teeth?"
Su Yi Shui continued leisurely, "Naturally, it was when Your Excellency had a good dream on my bed…"
As the two bantered back and forth with cold remarks, suddenly, Ranran stopped in her tracks and pointed to the nearby river, "Look, what's in the river?"
It turned out that due to the previous heavy rain, the nearby dried-up riverbed had filled with rainwater for a long time. Now that it was getting dark, with Ranran's good eyesight, she suddenly saw something in the river. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a woman bobbing up and down in the water.
She was still entangled with a broken snake tail, and the strange pattern on it looked like the nine-headed monster snake.
The Medicine Immortal waved his whisk and rescued the woman from the water. It was only then, as the woman coughed out water desperately, that Ranran recognized her as Elder Tu Jiuyuan!
Earlier at the inn, there was a Tu Jiuyuan who had split off from the nine-headed monster snake and came to cheat people. Now, another Tu Jiuyuan entangled with a snake tail appeared in the river, making people doubt her authenticity.
As Tu Jiuyuan coughed out water, Wei Jiu had already drawn out his whip and wrapped it around Tu Jiuyuan's neck with a flick of his wrist.
"Speak, what does this fake want to do?"
After Tu Jiuyuan coughed out water, she was lifted up by the neck and could only weakly hold onto the whip with one hand, the other hand protecting her stomach, and she said with effort, "Your Excellency, it's me, Tu Jiuyuan…"
Her hair was wet, the corners of her eyes were red, her voice hoarse, and the hand holding the whip had already wrinkled from soaking in water for a long time.
Wei Jiu relaxed his grip slightly and asked coldly, "Why are you here?"
After coughing twice, Tu Jiuyuan said, "A fake Excellency had infiltrated Red Flame Mountain. After I exposed him, he tricked me into going to the back mountain, wanting to kill me to silence me. Luckily, I'm familiar with the terrain and escaped through a volcanic cave. I wandered around and finally saw the hidden marks you left along the way, so I followed them to the Western Mountains. But by then, you had already gone to Kongshan with Su Yi Shui and the others. So, I tracked my way here, but was targeted by the *nine-headed monster snake, unfortunately got poisoned by the snake, and it split out a fake…"
Wei Jiu narrowed his eyes. When he went to the Western Mountains earlier, he did indeed leave marks to find his disciples. But how did Tu Jiuyuan discover that there was a fake on Red Flame Mountain?
Upon hearing his question, Tu Jiuyuan smiled bitterly, "Because he was too courteous to me, unlike Your Excellency's hot and cold attitude…"
Wei Jiu was somewhat choked by his subordinate's response, his phoenix eyes slanted slightly, coldly laughing, "Consider yourself not completely stupid!"
Hearing this, Ranran couldn't help but ask, "After being replicated by it, how did you escape without being killed?"
Tu Jiuyuan fell silent for a moment, "I don't know either, it's just when it sprayed snake venom at me, there seemed to be something glowing in my abdomen, which let me escape…"
Her explanation was obviously not very believable, but fortunately, it was almost midnight when the yin and yang changed, and those holding torches could look at her shadow and know the truth.
However, the Medicine Immortal had already discerned the truth in advance. When he reached out to check her pulse, his brows furrowed, and said in a low voice "You… seem to be pregnant…"
If it's a fake body split from the nine-headed monster snake, no matter how lifelike it is, it can't fake the pregnancy pulse unique to humans. And the glowing inside Tu Jiuyuan's abdomen that she mentioned, which blocked the snake venom for her, obviously came from the spiritually endowed fetus in her womb, who saved her from death.
After hearing the Medicine Immortal's words, Wei Jiu was the first to give an outburst. He glared darkly at Tu Jiuyuan and her flat belly, and finally asked coldly, "Whose child is this?"
Tu Jiuyuan obviously knew about her pregnancy long before, as she had been unconsciously holding her belly since she came ashore, looking very cautious.
Now, hearing Wei Jiu's question, her cheeks, which had just regained some color, turned pale again.
Tu Jiuyuan, with trembling lips finally said, "This is my private matter… it has nothing to do with Your Excellency!"
Ranran couldn't bear to listen to Wei Jiu's nonsense anymore. She pushed him aside, draped her cloak over Tu Jiuyuan, and said, "We happen to be camping here. Let the fire warm you up. Your body is too cold, be careful not to affect the fetus."