CBGC - ch137.2

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Big Bai wordlessly swallows Su Tingyun and swiftly returns to the Obliteration Sword Tower. Throughout the journey, she doesn't utter a word.

When Su Tingyun was in danger, Big Bai wanted to go out to help, but she actually trapped them in the ring, not letting them go out.

Big Bai wants to eat Little Uncle, so she threw up and discarded all the wooden figurines he carved. She's also angry with Granny. How could she not let Big Bai help during such a dangerous situation?

Big Bai is sulking, and Little Bai is also miserable. Su Tingyun's mood is equally gloomy. And so, on their way back, not a single word is spoken between them, and the atmosphere is heavy.

When they return to the Obliteration Sword Tower and everyone sees the deflated Big Bai, they all gather around. Su Tingyun can only answer their questions through a message transmitted within Big Bai's body.

She failed to bring Yan Yuqing back.

Yan Yuqing seems to be plagued by inner demons and has strayed into the Demonic Path. At the moment, Elder Yan is recuperating in his own room. She chooses to inform the Sect Leader and a few Martial Uncles about this matter, but as for how they should approach Elder Yan about this, Su Tingyun doesn't know.

After all, they have a deeper understanding of Elder Yan and are better equipped to handle the situation.

However, when alone in the room with Master Zhan Yu, Su Tingyun provides more detailed information about the situation.

The records in the underground chamber, the sword cultivator whose name has been removed from the strange stone, and Yan Yuqing's own claim that his master is Xuanyuan Wentian—all of this, along with the intense killing intent she felt when someone was teaching Little Uncle sword techniques, has led her to reorganize everything and report them to Zhan Yu.

Unexpectedly, Zhan Yu replies in a somewhat scattered manner, "Actually, when the Luminous Moon Sect first transmitted knowledge about their Ascending cultivator, it was also around a hundred thousand years ago. The timing shouldn't be far off from the events at the Obliteration Sword Tower."

All along, the Luminous Moon Sect has claimed that they have an Ascended cultivator, which is why they became the largest sect in the cultivation world. This explanation has been widely accepted, with the belief that there were some extraordinary visions from the heavens and earth, purple clouds from the east, and so on-- those things must have occurred to make everyone believe it.

However, Bai Su pointed out that no cultivator had ever ascended from this realm, thus exposing Luminous Moon Sect's lies.

If the unusual phenomenon back then wasn't caused by a Luminous Moon Sect's cultivator ascending, then what could it have been?

"Two individuals attempting to transcend the Immortal tribulation simultaneously, one failing and the other, through a stroke of chance, became a demon, a monster? So, no one ascended to the higher realm, but there were still strange occurrences." Zhan Yu, despite not having a beard, even mimics the gesture of stroking one.

Su Tingyun thinks of the seal at the bottom of the lake and suddenly feels like the fog in front of her has dissipated to some extent.

"Do you know the exact timing?" Su Tingyun asks.

"I don't," Zhang Yu grins and answers nonchalantly, "I'm just guessing, don't know anything for sure. Sometimes, wild guesses aren't a bad thing."

He points to his own temple and continues, "Our strength is meager, and our perspective is limited. We often think that many things are impossible, but reality might prove otherwise. So, go ahead and make bold guesses. Who knows, the truth might just be there!"

Then, Zhan Yu adds, "According to your hypothesis, if the sword cultivator whose name was removed is the one who caused the downfall of the Obliteration Sword Tower more than a hundred thousand years ago, it shouldn't have been the Heavenly Tribulation that affected the sect members, but they were killed with his own hand because he turned into a demon. Then, who would have expelled him from the sect? Or maybe, he removed his own name because he didn't want anyone to know that he's still alive?"

"Lived for so many years?" Zhan Yu's expression freezes. "A person from over a hundred thousand years ago suddenly showed up to teach Yan Yuqing sword techniques? It's like he's a millennia-old tortoise, with such a long lifespan…"

(the word for tortoise here can also mean cuckold, pimp, male owner of a brothel)

Su Tingyun lowers her voice and says, "He can freely come and go from the Obliteration Sword Tower. He might be nearby. And you're calling him an old tortoise…"

She watches as Zhan Yu clasps his hands together and immediately loses all his moral integrity to say, "Ancestor, don't blame me when you're weird."

After that, he proceeds, "Since we can't find Yan Yuqing, we'll temporarily take responsibility for his two disciples. The girl you brought back had a talk with Du Xizhi, and they've planted the sapling in our Obliteration Sword Tower. Since we have few people, we've allocated a section for them to cultivate on their own."

Zhan Yu sighs, "We've become too reliant on our disciples, which is why things have turned out this way. Yun-lass, you've had too much on your plate recently. Don't worry about these matters for now. Focus on your cultivation, find that water, and reshape your own body. Constantly changing shells can be quite vexing to your heart."

He pats Su Tingyun's shoulder and sighs, "What virtue have I expressed to be so fortunate as to have a disciple like you. I'm sorry you've been burdened."

It should've been them, the Elders, that shoulder the heaviest responsibilities. If he had noticed Yan Yuqing's abnormality earlier, such a situation wouldn't have arisen.

"Sigh..."