“Miss Die, where are you going?”
Su Zimo chased all the way to the courtyard, feeling reluctant to part with her. He called out loud.
“Of course it’s back to my world.”
Die Yue turned around and looked at Su Zimo with a smile on her face, as she said jokingly, “You and I are from two different worlds.”
This was what Shen Mengqi said to Su Zimo when she left him back then.
Now that the same words were spoken by Die Yue, there was no contempt in it. Instead, it seemed as if they were very good longtime friends and were joking with each other. Of course, there was a hint of melancholy to it.
Die Yue had never used this tone when she spoke to Su Zimo. She seldom smiled at him. It was not until now that Su Zimo realize that Die Yue was really leaving him.
“But, you haven’t taught me the remaining cultivation techniques of The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness. How can you leave?” Su Zimo racked his brains and finally came up with a reason.
Die Yue shook her head. “You already have the spirit root. You should join the immortal sect, don’t continue with your demon cultivation.”
“Why?”
Su Zimo frowned, saying, “I want to continue with demon cultivation and to learn immortal cultivation!”
“Immortal and demon cultivation?”
Die Yue’s beautiful eyebrows raised slightly, she could not help but smile. “You are quite ambitious.”
Die Yue paused briefly before she said, “Spirit qi can nourish and temper the body. Although the body will not be as strong as the demon clan, it is still fairly strong. But do you know why most of the cultivators have a weak body?”
“Why?”
“There is a limit to one’s energy. No matter whether it is immortal cultivation or demon cultivation, one cannot live forever. One cannot escape from life and death. If one continues with immortal cultivation and demon cultivation, there is a high possibility that one cannot reach the end for either cultivation.”
Su Zimo thought about it and said, “I want to give it a try.”
Die Yue continued, “I won’t stop you if you want to go ahead with immortal and Buddha cultivation. But immortals and demons belong to different worlds. Immortal is immortal, while demon is demon. If you insist on doing immortal and demon cultivation, both sides would not tolerate you. Now that you just started demon cultivation, you should give it up now.”
“I don’t want to give up.” Su Zimo insisted stubbornly.
“Even if the entire world would turn against you?”
“So what if the entire world turns against me!”
To Su Zimo, this cultivation technique was imparted to him by Die Yue. It had an important significance. Even if the whole world stopped him from cultivating, he would continue with it!
After a brief silence, Die Yue said, “The Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness will get more and more difficult. You won’t be able to succeed without me by your side.”
Die Yue sighed at the obstinate look in Su Zimo’s eyes, finally giving in.
There was a demonic glitter in Die Yue’s eyes. Thereafter, there were several more sutras in Su Zimo’s mind.
Die Yue looked at Su Zimo, saying softly, “These are the remaining sutras. Remember, if it is too difficult to cultivate, don’t waste your effort on them. Also, if the monkey at Cang Lang Mountain Range runs into trouble in the future, do give it a helping hand.”
Su Zimo had a moment of realization upon hearing her words.
Die Yue had other intentions when she arranged for him to go through training at Cang Lang Mountain Range.
Without the spirit monkey, Su Zimo would not be able to master Sanguine Ape Tri-style within a year.
Without the spirit monkey, Su Zimo would not be able to activate the Sanguine Ape Transformation.
Although Die Yue never showed up during his one year of training at Cang Lang Mountain Range, she had been keeping a silent watch over him. Otherwise, she would not appear at the final crucial moment.
After all, Die Yue cared a lot for him.
Su Zimo gazed at Die Yue quietly. His gaze was intense and somewhat irrational. It was as if he wanted to remember Die Yue’s facial features and imprint it deeply in his memory.
“If you want to continue with immortal and demon cultivation, you will experience a lot of unimaginable sufferings. But you must bear in mind that these sufferings will only make you stronger. There is a saying in the Avatamsaka sutra of the Huayan school that I would like to give you as parting words, ‘to become one of the greatest, you have to work on the foundation and be willing to take hardship and serve others!’”
With that, Die Yue turned around, waving to Su Zimo.
Die Yue took a small step and she was in mid-air. Under Su Zimo’s unwavering gaze, her graceful figure gradually disappeared into the air, transforming into a sanguine butterfly, with two bright crescent moons imprinted on the pair of wings.
“I left behind three gifts for you. The first gift is the spirit root in your body. As for the remaining two gifts, they may be of use to you in the future.”
Die Yue flapped her wings and the surrounding space collapsed and turned into fragments. Cracks formed as a dark void could be vaguely seen in the distance, stirring up chilly wind. It was unnerving.
The butterfly flew into the darkness and gradually disappeared.
“Die Yue!”
Su Zimo ran a few steps and shouted toward the direction that Die Yue flew to. “I will go to look for you!”
The surrounding space gradually returned to normal and the cracks fused together.
Right then, a sound was heard coming from the void’s abyss.
“Sure, I’ll wait for you.”
Die Yue had transformed into a butterfly and left.
…
It was only when Die Yue left did Su Zimo realize that he had developed a strong attachment and dependence on Die Yue.
Su Zimo stood rooted on the ground, constantly thinking about what happened here over the past one year. He was lost in his thoughts.
The sun rose, breaking through the dark clouds.
Unknowingly, Su Zimo had stood under the peach blossom tree for an entire night, not moving at all.
Finally, Su Zimo raised his head, looking into the distance, his eyes finally regained focus. He concealed the pain of separation and reluctance to part with Die Yue deep in his heart. He took a deep breath before he turned to leave.
…
Su Zimo passed by the Su family’s residence and halted in his tracks.
Supposedly, everyone in the Su family should be hiding at Sky Treasure Pavilion at Cang Lang City. But right now, the door to the mansion was opened and he could vaguely hear sounds coming from within.
Su Zimo felt perplexed and went in to check.
“Second Young Master?”
“Second Young Master is back!”
Everyone in the Su family’s residence was elated to see Su Zimo. Su Hong came out with the rest to welcome Su Zimo.
“Zimo, are you alright?”
Su Hong came forward, grabbing hold of Su Zimo’s shoulder and sized him up.
“I am alright.” Su Zimo shook his head, asking, “Why aren’t all of you at Sky Treasure Pavilion?”
Song Qi said, “We were going to leave Ping Yang Town when a red-robed lady turned up all of a sudden to stop us.”
As Song Qi was recollecting what happened, he still could not hide the shock that he felt back then. “The lady was very powerful. She did not need to leverage any external objects and she could fly into the air. She must at least be a Golden Core Cultivator! She told all of us to wait for her, saying that she would bring you back.”
“And she disappeared right in front of us!”
At the mention of the lady, everyone in the Su family could not hide their appalled and shocked expression.
Su Zimo hung his head, no one noticed the loneliness and sadness in his eyes.
“Zimo, is that lady your master?”
Everyone in the Su family could tell that Su Zimo had undergone a total transformation. He had changed from a frail scholar to a warrior who could slay Qi Refinement Warriors. It must be due to the mysterious lady.
“She is not my master.”
Su Zimo shook his head.
Although Die Yue taught him demon cultivation, Su Zimo had never treated Die Yue as his master.
“Where is the lady? We have to express our gratitude to her. We must not neglect her,” Su Hong continued to say.
“She’s gone.”
Su Zimo said softly.
Everyone was silent.
Su Zimo recovered himself and smiled. “Brother, what plans do you have next?”
The Su family’s situation was tricky. They could not go to the Country of Yan, and they could not stay in the Country of Qi. They could only leave their homeland to stay in other states.
“I have no idea as well.”
Su Hong sighed softly, looking toward the Country of Yan that was far in the distance as he said in a low voice, “I still can’t bear to leave.”
Right then, a black armored cavalry galloped from afar and shouted loudly even before he reached. “Report, Young Master, the Country of Yan’s army are closing in. There are at least hundreds of thousands of them. Among them were cultivators as well!”