Chapter 231: Divine Elixir
Li Sushang knelt in the ash-laden dirt, her hands stained with soot as she carefully buried the bodies of her parents. The lingering heat of the flames still radiated from the scorched earth, warming the damp tear tracks on her cheeks.
"When I was little, I overheard my father and mother arguing outside their room," she murmured, her voice hoarse but steady. "My father saved my mother from a terrible predicament and treated her with nothing but kindness. That was why she agreed to marry him."
She paused, scooping another handful of loose soil over the charred remains. "But my mother said my father was only plotting to get his hands on the Taixu Sword Qi. She claimed saving her was a lie, loving her was a lie, and that stealing the Taixu Sword Qi was his only true goal..."
Tears spilled over her eyelashes, dropping silently into the dark earth. Now, all of those bitter arguments and hidden motives had reached an abrupt end, leaving behind no true resolution.
Yijian Villa had been built entirely for Qin Suyi. Now that she was dead, Li Shen took everything with him, choosing to leave this world alongside her. At the very least, in their final moments, Li Shen had held her tightly against his chest, finding an ultimate, quiet peace within the baptism of the raging flames.
It had been a carefully planned transaction from the start. Li Shen wanted Li Sushang to become the heir of the Li family and elevate Yijian Villa to absolute fame throughout the world. Qin Suyi, on the other hand, wanted Li Sushang to become the next Red Kite Immortal. They had projected every ounce of their ambition, their selfishness, and their unfulfilled dreams onto their daughter's shoulders.
Yet, it was precisely this complex love, mixed with countless dark impurities, that somehow grew clearer and brighter within the consuming fire. Ultimately, all of those twisted expectations and genuine affections would be buried forever in the depths of Li Sushang's heart, interred beneath this very earth.
Did the presence or absence of true love really matter anymore?
Li Sushang sniffed hard, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve. She pulled herself together, her posture straightening as she turned to look at the three figures standing quietly behind her.
"Let's go. I want to find the Red Kite Immortal and get answers to everything," she declared. Her goal, once clouded by grief, was rapidly sharpening into focus.
Just like Rovel, she wanted the absolute truth. Once the full picture was laid bare, her own heart would serve as the judge to determine what was right and what was wrong.
"According to the rumors spreading through the Jianghu, Master headed west," Li Sushang continued, brushing the dirt from her knees. "She should be making her way to Tianqiong Peak. Calculating the time it takes to travel, she has likely already arrived."
She frowned slightly, looking toward the horizon. "Even if we rush over there without resting, it will take several days. We might still not make it in time."
Unfortunately, they were completely unsure of the current locations of the other disciples. Aside from heading directly to Tianqiong Peak, they had no leads on where else to search.
"Are you all looking for the disciples of the Red Kite Immortal?"
A young voice drifted through the quiet air. A small figure slowly approached from the distance, stepping lightly over the scorched debris until he appeared behind them. He wore a simple, slightly worn Daoist robe and looked to be only about fifteen years old. His internal aura was incredibly weak, barely scraping the level of a second-rate Jianghu martial artist.
"...Who are you?" Rovel narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto the boy with immediate suspicion.
"I am the Eldest Senior Brother of the Wu Sect, Ye Shixing," the boy answered, bowing awkwardly. "Immortal Wushuang sent me."
"Su Mei?" A cold flash of hostility crossed Rovel's eyes.
"Y-Yes."
Ye Shixing flinched, visibly startled by the sudden, suffocating killing intent radiating from Rovel. Though his small frame shook like a leaf in the wind, he swallowed hard, endured his rising fear, and managed a stiff nod.
"Heh, let's hear it then."
Rovel exhaled slowly, withdrawing his heavy killing intent. This youth was merely a low-level messenger; there was absolutely no point in directing his anger at him. His mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps Su Mei did not want them going to Tianqiong Peak. Was she simply using this boy to delay their journey?
"Please... come to the Wu Sect for a discussion." Ye Shixing extended a trembling hand, making a formal gesture of invitation.
"Wait a moment... you just said you're the Eldest Senior Brother of the Wu Sect?"
Li Sushang stepped forward, her eyes sweeping up and down the boy's unassuming figure. Sensing something entirely off about the situation, she crossed her arms. "The Wu Sect is supposed to be one of the Six Great Sects. Your internal strength is negligible, and you are far too young. There is no way it should be your turn to hold the title of Eldest Senior Brother, right?"
At those words, a heavy look of dejection washed over Ye Shixing's youthful face. His shoulders slumped.
"I was originally the Ninth Junior Brother of the Wu Sect," he began, his voice tinged with misery. "But... the First Senior Brother ran away from home in the middle of the night. The Second Senior Brother betrayed the sect and joined our enemies. The Third Senior Brother died accidentally while out exorcising demons... Things stayed quiet until a few days ago, when the Seventh Senior Brother left without saying goodbye. And just recently, the Eighth Senior Brother was eaten alive by a beast while protecting Master. So... now I am the Eldest Senior Brother."
Ye Shixing counted on his fingers as he explained the tragic, almost absurd fates of each of his senior brothers one by one.
Hearing this miserable litany, the four of them exchanged bewildered looks. Even the usually aloof Cheng Lingshuang could sense that something was deeply wrong with this picture.
"Master, Martial Uncle, should we go take a look?" Li Sushang glanced between the older members of her group, seeking guidance.
"...Let's go. Su Mei likely wants to tell us something specific," Rovel said, giving a brief nod.
If even the Wu Sect, historically recognized as one of the Six Great Sects, had withered to such a pathetic extent, one could only imagine what had become of the smaller, less established sects across the land. Shenzhou's degree of utilization of Honkai Energy had been so advanced that it even shocked Otto, yet five hundred years later, true martial arts techniques were almost nowhere to be seen.
This stark contrast indicated a high probability that the grand inheritance of Shenzhou's martial arts was violently severed during this exact period. Did this current turmoil involve not just the Seven Swords and the Red Kite, but the systematic destruction of the entire martial world?
With no better options, Ye Shixing led the group away from the ruins, guiding them toward the Wu Sect's distant mountain gate.
Halfway up a forested mountain path, the underbrush violently rustled. A massive, corrupted beast suddenly burst from the tree line, its twisted claws gouging the earth as it blocked their path. Li Sushang did not even blink. She acted promptly, her blade flashing from its scabbard in a brilliant arc of silver light. With a single, flawless sword strike, she severed the creature's head from its shoulders.
Against human opponents, she might still harbor moments of hesitation, but she would never show a shred of mercy to these corrupted beasts.
"Hey, what great luck..." A sudden, unsettling look of excitement bloomed on Ye Shixing's face.
"Great... luck?" Li Sushang's eyes widened slightly. She sheathed her sword with a sharp click and looked at the boy, utterly bewildered by his reaction.
"That's right, this beast is good stuff!"
Ye Shixing hurried forward, drawing a plain iron sword from his back. He dropped to his knees beside the twitching carcass and stabbed his blade fiercely into the beast's thick hide. Dark, foul-smelling blood splattered across the dirt, staining the hem of his Daoist robe a deep crimson.
However, there was not a single hint of disgust on his youthful face. After busying himself with the gruesome task for a few moments, he carved out a large, square piece of flesh from the beast's inner cavity.
Ye Shixing stood up, proudly showing the dripping chunk of meat to the group. Looking closely, Rovel noticed with a spike of revulsion that the severed meat was actually still throbbing, pulsing with a sick, unnatural rhythm.
"Master said that only beast meat in a throbbing state can serve as the proper medicinal catalyst for the Divine Elixir," Ye Shixing explained cheerfully. "Let's hurry back. If more than an hour passes, the beast meat will lose its vitality, stop throbbing, and turn into a puddle of useless black mud!"
He hastily shoved the pulsing flesh into his travel pack, securing the straps before quickening his pace up the mountain trail.
"What exactly is this 'Divine Elixir'? What does it do?" Rovel stepped forward, grabbing the boy's shoulder. He channeled a trace of energy into Ye Shixing's arm, carefully sensing the internal condition of his body.
There was nothing unusual. The boy's meridians were clear, and there were no dark signs of him succumbing to mara or Honkai corruption.
"That, I'm not too sure about," Ye Shixing admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Master said I would finally find out once I officially became the Eldest Senior Brother. I've never even been allowed inside the alchemy room. At first, it was only the First Senior Brother who went in. Then, after he left, it was the Second Senior Brother's turn..."
A bright smile stretched across his face. "Now that I have this fresh beast meat, I can finally enter that alchemy room and see it for myself."
Ye Shixing's eyes sparkled with genuine anticipation. Since it was heavily praised as the Divine Elixir, could it be that a person would become an immortal on the spot after consuming it? Would he finally possess the power to follow his Master to the legendary Celestial Realm?
Li Sushang's mouth twitched. She stared at the boy's beaming face, completely unable to understand how someone could be so blindly stupid. Anyone with half a brain could see at a single glance that something was horribly, fatally wrong with this succession pattern, yet he was acting like he had just won a grand prize.
However, needing to investigate the depths of Su Mei's plans, Rovel and the others kept their silence, choosing not to expose the grim truth of the Wu Sect's alchemy room just yet.
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