Backlash and Brotherhood

Jiang Ningwan saw that the two key individuals had departed. She then turned to the household servants beside her.

“You may all leave. I will personally handle the rest.”

“Yes.”

The servants acknowledged her command. After leaving behind some basins and utensils for washing, they all departed without exception.

“Mother, are you planning to personally care for Brother Zhuang Xun?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Ningwan simply gave a soft affirmation. She then leaned over and wrung out a wet cloth from the warm water.

Seating herself by the bed, she gracefully wiped Zhuang Xun’s forehead. Her eyes brimmed with an overflowing tenderness.

She was like a gentle wife tending to her ailing husband.

“Then I want to help too!”

Jiang Lishuang also wrung out a wet cloth, mimicking her mother’s actions, and began wiping Zhuang Xun’s neck.

As she wiped, she marveled, “Brother Zhuang Xun’s skin seems even smoother and fairer than a woman’s.”

“Skin like ice, bones like jade, free from sweat; untouched by the mortal world, truly the visage of a banished immortal.”

As Jiang Ningwan spoke, she gently unfastened Zhuang Xun’s collar.

However, the sight that followed was etched deeply into her mind.

“This…”

“Is this the backlash from the secret technique?”

****

“Shangwen, do you think Daoist Zhuang will blame us when he wakes up?”

On the desolate, sparsely populated street, Shangwu suddenly asked.

“How could he? Just think about it…”

“Madam Jiang still harbors feelings for Daoist Zhuang. If this matter succeeds, wouldn’t it lead to a beautiful marriage?”

“It would be a great deed.”

“But immortals and mortals walk different paths. They are destined to be separated by life and death; there’s something improper about it.”

A cultivator’s Dao companion must also be a cultivator; otherwise, it would only leave behind inner demons and obsessions.

This was an unspoken rule within the cultivation world.

Few dared to actively break this rule.

Countless tales of mortals and cultivators falling in love in the world all ended this way.

While love might disregard the span of a lifetime, who could truly remain detached and declare they could let go of everything when faced with the parting of life and death?

Especially for the cultivator.

Ultimately, the word ‘love’ could penetrate one’s very bones.

It would subsequently affect their inner demon tribulations.

The worst outcome was the severing of their immortal path, leading to death and the dissipation of their Dao.

This was the result most cultivators dreaded.

Shangwu knew this, which was why he feared matters of love as he would a tiger.

In his eyes, remaining untainted was always best.

“Don’t forget, Daoist Zhuang’s foundation is incredibly profound.”

“He even possesses secret techniques to boost his cultivation realm, let alone the vast array of Dao paths he has delved into.”

“Perhaps he even knows a way for mortals to step onto the immortal path?”

“Mortals can also step onto the immortal path?”

Shangwen shook his head, feigning the leisurely air of a profound master. “It’s not as if there are no such records in ancient histories.”

“Though these are extremely rare, isolated cases, they at least prove that mortals also hold hope of embarking on the immortal path.”

“You’re betting that Daoist Zhuang can become one of those exceptional cases, aren’t you?”

Shangwu halted, his tone turning remarkably serious.

“……”

“Indeed, that’s right…”

Shangwen also stopped, raising his gaze to the drifting clouds above. His voice was faint. “Brother, how many years has it been since we left home and embarked on this path of cultivation?”

“You and I are a year apart in age, and I am already ninety-nine this year.”

“If we count from the day we entered the sect, it must be over eighty years now.”

“That’s right, over eighty years have passed, and our appearances remain unchanged, just as they were at twenty.”

“But what about our parents and clan back home?”

“Don’t tell me that stepping onto the immortal path means severing all worldly attachments, that everything becomes fleeting clouds of the past.”

“That is the root from which we grew; can we truly forget it?”

Shangwen sighed deeply, speaking from the depths of his heart. “Perhaps this sentimentality is why I have never been able to reach the Nascent Soul realm.”

“Enough. This isn’t sentimentality; it’s merely that you prioritize some things above the cultivation realm.”

Shangwu stepped forward, patting Shangwen’s shoulder in reassurance.

“Aren’t you the same, Brother?”

“Indeed… That’s why our fellow disciples call us ‘brothers in adversity’.”

“Haha…”

“Hahahaha!”

At the sound of Shangwen’s hearty laughter, Shangwu also began to laugh.

“Hahahaha…”

“Hahaha…”

Shangwu suddenly placed a hand on Shangwen’s shoulder, lowering his head as he spoke. “If you don’t reach Nascent Soul… neither will I…”

“Leaving my own younger brother alone in the outer sect…”

“I couldn’t bring myself to do that.”

“……”

Shangwen fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.

“Brother… when we have time, let’s go back home and visit.”

“Alright. Once things here are settled, we’ll go back and see.”

****

Thousands of miles away.

Inside a silent, pitch-black tall tower atop a towering peak.

A middle-aged man in purple-gold python robes suddenly vomited black blood, his venomous eyes laced with crimson threads.

“Damn it…”

“To actually destroy my Dao body… he still has some skill.”

His black hair rapidly turned white, and his formerly noble features began to age.

“Cultivating this method… has severely damaged my vitality.”

“Besides the blood source drinking method…”

“I must find a pair of ultimate Yin and ultimate Yang cauldrons.”

The man stretched out his hand and grasped at the void, and a jade bottle materialized in his grip.

He swiftly poured out four Divine Essence Pills from it and consumed them.

His appearance gradually recovered, and his white hair reverted to black.

“Hmph.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that you’re about to form a Nascent Soul… and still hold some value…”

“Who would bother with your troublesome affairs?”

“Once this matter reaches that person’s ears… I can’t be bothered with the aftermath.”

After exhaling a long, turbid breath, the man crushed a jade slip that had appeared in his hand.

He then sat cross-legged, beginning to refine the medicinal power of the Divine Essence Pills.

At this moment.

Within the imperial palace of the Divine Swallow Kingdom’s capital.

Qin Min, clad in dragon robes, was reviewing memorials in the imperial study.

Judging by his demeanor, actions, and the state affairs he handled…

He consistently presented himself as an ordinary ruler, harboring no ulterior motives.

*Crack!*

Suddenly, the jade tablet bearing the inscription ‘Yuelong’ hanging beside him developed faint cracks.

“Hmm?”

Upon seeing this, Qin Min merely glanced up before returning to his memorials.

‘Interesting. The chess piece I placed in Yuelong County has actually been removed.’

‘It seems a master has emerged.’

‘I’ll need to accelerate the process.’

****

Jiang Residence

‘……’

Zhuang Xun kept his eyes tightly shut, his heart a tumultuous mix of emotions.

‘Well… while being cared for by two beauties, one adult and one child, did give him a sense of accomplishment… how should he put it?’

‘It felt as if he had been “sold” over by those two. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being set up.’

‘Moreover, an hour had already passed; it was probably time for them to leave.’

‘There was no need to be so inseparable.’

Though Zhuang Xun vaguely understood the reasons, he chose not to dwell on them.

As he wished to be a puppet master, controlling everything from behind the scenes, he could not interfere too much with the other characters in the plot.

Otherwise, the more causal branches he created, the higher the chance of things going awry at some point.

His current predicament, lying here, was the most direct manifestation of his excessive interference in the karma of this mother and daughter.

‘If his opponent this time had been a true Soul Transformation stage demonic cultivator…’

‘Then he would surely have had to return to Kunlun Mountain for another year or two of recuperation.’

‘At that point, he would no longer be able to observe the story’s progression.’

‘He couldn’t let emotions ruin his plans.’

‘However, Madam Jiang’s temperament seemed a bit stubborn.’

“Alas…”

“With these symptoms, I fear even mortal physicians would be unable to cure him.”

“What is to be done?”

Jiang Ningwan gently stroked Zhuang Xun’s chest, clearly feeling a surge of burning heat.

‘Presumably… the Immortal Master must be suffering greatly right now.’