TIC Chapter 43: Blood Splattered on the Galaxy

Previous life.

On the Mountain, Sea and Stars Terrace.

“Please ask Little Immortal Lord Lin to remove the calamity star from the three realms.”

Ji Na bowed deeply, his voice floating in the starry night.

Lin Fuqing stood up slowly.

Under the huge, successive blows, the young immortal’s face had turned pale, which made his eyes look even darker.

He looked at Saint Ziwei with those dark eyes, looking at him carefully from head to toes, as if they were just meeting for the first time.

He thought again of the purple-robed young man who was choked by his nonsense on the cliff and was unable to retort. He also thought of the childlike innocence on Ji Na’s face at that time, and complicated emotions arose in his heart.

He said calmly, “That day on the cliff, in front of the trumpet creepers, that wasn’t a chance encounter, was it?”

“You have lived in seclusion since you were young. The first time you walked out of Ziwei Pavillion was for the three realms. You followed the predictions of the Purple Star Astrolabe and came to find me, the person who was destined to be able to kill the calamity star for you.”

Ji Na lowered his brows, silent.

Lin Fuqing said softly in a gentle tone, calm as if he was simply telling an ancient story, “Do you know how I met the calamity star you mentioned?”

Ji Na said, “I know you saved his life. Lin Fuqing, you are a kind person.”

Lin Fuqing said to himself, “When I took him out of the waves in the sea, I thought I had found a corpse. I held him in my arms and found that he was still alive. I was very surprised why a child appeared out of nowhere in the sea. Later I found out that he jumped off the boat and fell into the sea.”

Ji Na looked puzzled, and Lin Fuqing continued, “He was only twelve years old at the time. He was hiding injuries all over his body, and he had fainted in the bottom cabin of the fishing boat. The fishing boat had sailed out into the deep sea before the fisherman discovered him. They dragged him out with harpoons.”

“The sea connects the immortal world and the mortal world. The Fang family was searching for him everywhere, wanting to kill him. Those mortal fishermen also recognized the calamity star, cursed him, and forced him to jump off the boat.”

“Holy Son, don’t you think it’s funny?” Lin Fuqing raised his eyes calmly. “At the time, Zhiyuan had already established his foundation. No matter how badly injured and weak he was, it would be so easy for him to kill a dozen mortal fishermen. Those fishermen held iron forks aggressively against his neck, but in fact, Zhiyuan could have broken this kind of mortal iron with a simple pinch.”

“Instead, the calamity star got up, crawled to the side of the boat, and jumped down with his knife. He jumped into the sea by himself…I still don’t know what he was thinking about when he jumped.”

Ji Na’s face changed.

“Since the first day I moved Zhiyuan into Xuyun, he had been restless.”

Lin Fuqing had a far-away look as he slowly recalled, “He fought, swore, sneered, smashed things, caused troubles, and didn’t appreciate favors…It’s been seven years, and the immortal world has spread rumors that he’s a bad person and that he’ll go astray. Rumors also said that I do not get along with him…But I know.”

“I know that he’s just afraid of bringing disaster upon me. He wants to annoy me as much as possible so that I’ll chase him away.”

Ji Na listened silently.

Lin Fuqing sighed. “Holy Son, you’ve been blessed since childhood, with your master and elders taking care of you on this Mountain, Sea, and Stars Terrace, teaching you to be kind. You have never been stained with a speck of dust or blood. The practitioners of the immortal world admire you, and the mortal world built temples to worship you. You naturally feel that a person sacrificing his life for the three realms is both a great thing and a common thing.”

He raised his head, and a thousand stars were reflected in his eyes.

He habitually looked for his star. He’d once said that the red and shiny Star of Calamity was like a coral bead or a small cherry, precious and noble, but also soft and lovely.

“But he is the calamity star you mentioned. He has been cruelly bullied and humiliated by the world. He has been trampled into blood and mud by the world. He was pelted with hatred, and he could have just given up and become a vengeful, evil star.”

“But he still struggled hard from the blood and mud, struggling out a bright and honest heart.”

Lin Fuqing’s expression was stern as he looked at Ji Na. He said, word by word, “Now you say you want to torture this loyal heart to death. Holy Son, can you really bear it?”

Ji Na showed a look of compassion, and he said with difficulty, “This hexagram is related to the three realms. This is not the time to be emotional. The Star of Calamity is not tolerated by the Great Dao–”

“The Great Dao?” Lin Fuqing laughed angrily. “Okay, if you want to discuss the Dao, I will discuss it with you! You should know that there is a cause and an effect! If the yin qi calamity that affects the entire immortal world is the effect, the weight of the cause must be equal to it…”

“But Fang Zhiyuan is just one person! One person! How could he be the root cause of the destruction of the entire immortal world–”

The soft and deep night enveloped the mountains, and Lin Fuqing’s sharp voice echoed in the air.

He suddenly raised his hand, pointed at Ji Na and asked, “If you assume that Fang Zhiyuan can fight against the entire immortal world by himself, how can you, a mere Saint Ziwei, kill him?!”

This was the first time Lin Fuqing had ever lost his composure like this.

He was the most carefree little immortal on Taiqing Island. He had the most impressive talent, the clearest heart of the Dao, and a powerful master who cared for him the most.

There was nothing more in the world that he desired.

“This is contradictory and wrong! You are the one who is not clear-headed!!”

Stimulated by the great pain of having his treasure taken away from him, he was terrified, trembling, choking, confused, sad, and now even infuriated.

“I’ll ask you again!”

Lin Fuqing pressed on step by step, his eyes flashing with an icy light, “You said that the Star of Calamity will die in the calamity of yin qi, and you also said that you saw that I could kill him, then how did Fang Zhiyuan die? Did your star plate create two Stars of Calamity to kill out of thin air?!”

The starlight gradually dimmed.

It was unknown when clouds had begun to gather in the night sky.

Ji Na remained silent. He could not answer Lin Fuqing’s question, and only stubbornly repeated his insistence. “The calamity star must die.”

“I understand.” Lin Fuqing sneered bitterly, “This is your peace in the world.”

Ji Na’s expression changed several times, and finally he turned around and said, “Since you are unwilling to do it, then just pretend I never mentioned it.”

He walked out of the Mountain, Sea, and Stars Terrace and took a step towards the long starlit staircase.

The color on Lin Fuqing’s handsome face suddenly faded, and he understood in an instant what was about to happen—

The Saint of Ziwei originally wanted to ask him to kill the calamity star, but he did not expect him to be so “obstinate.” That being the case, Ji Na could only adopt the original method.

He wanted to make the revelation public, to capture the Star of Calamity and put him to death in the name of Ziwei Pavillion, to have Fang Zhiyuan’s soul torn into pieces and reduced to nothing but ashes under the Nine-Turn Soul-Destroying Formation.

Lin Fuqing rushed forward two steps and said hastily, “Saint Ziwei…! Please…”

“I have made up my mind.” Ji Na gritted his teeth and raised his hand resolutely, “The calamity star must die in order to save the immortal world.”

The clouds were already quite thick and gloomy, and the light from the stars could not penetrate.

But on this Mountain, Sea, and Stars Terrace, the power accumulated over the years gathered in the array talisman carved on the ground. Wherever Saint Ziwei’s thoughts reached, there was starlight even without stars.

The starlight condensed out of thin air and turned into thin chains, climbing up Lin Fuqing’s shoulders, elbows and knees. He was suddenly bent over and half-knelt.

A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Lin Fuqing’s lips. He raised his head and stared at Ji Na’s back, “Saint Ziwei, please stay!”

Ji Na did stop.

He listened sadly to Lin Fuqing’s voice coming from behind him.

“Holy Son… please stay!!”

He felt sad, vaguely feeling that he was about to lose something.

He had never been in contact with outsiders since he was young, and Lin Fuqing should have been his first and only friend, but now Ji Na knew that he was about to lose this friendship.

There will never again be a little immortal in white calling “Ziwei” with a smile .

For the welfare of the three realms.

Ji Na repeated it silently in his heart.

Before his eyes was the Galaxy Stairway. He repeated it to himself.

For……

“—Ji Na.”

Lin Fuqing’s voice turned cold and chilling, interrupting his self-consolation. “Stop.”

Ji Na’s expression changed, and he suddenly felt a sharp blade condensed of spiritual energy coming from behind. He moved his feet, and the invisible blade narrowly brushed past his robe!

—Lin Fuqing actually wanted to fight him?

Ji Na also became angry. Not to mention the fact that Lin Fuqing’s cultivation was inferior to his, even on this Mountain, Sea, and Stars Terrace, the Holy Son was protected by the starlight. Who could hurt him?

Lin Fuqing clearly knew this, but he wanted to fight against him for the sake of that calamity star.

He turned around, his fingers moving to hook a few rays of silver starlight. But his breath suddenly stuttered.

An expression of utter shock, panic, confusion, and incomprehension appeared on his face.

Under the thick night.

He saw a light so bright that it far outshone the galaxies and stars.

Lin Fuqing calmly supported his knees and stood up straight.

The star chains broke and fell from his body.

There was an extremely bright light all around him.

He was like a dazzling star.

The bright light flowed under his snow-white skin, all over his body, drawing the shape of twelve meridians and a golden core.

This was a sign of burning cultivation, but cultivators were accustomed to calling it self-destruction.

Some people use this to survive, while others use it to perish together with their blood feud. After self-destruction, all the cultivation of a lifetime would be exhausted. In serious cases, the person dies immediately, while in mild cases, the person becomes a useless person with all their meridians and golden core destroyed.

Ji Na was bewildered.

How could there be someone like Lin Fuqing in the world?

The confusion that flashed through his mind was exactly the same as when we first met.

…That year, Lin Fuqing was nineteen years old. He was a smart, intelligent, courageous and ruthless young man.

He knew that he was no match for Ji Na, that this was the forbidden area of ​​Ziwei Pavilion, and that if he made the slightest mistake, he would not be able to protect his little star.

Since trying his best was not enough, he had to fight with all his might.

White and purple clothes brushed against each other, and the corners of the clothes got tangled in the wind.

Lin Fuqing’s eyes were calm, with a touch of regret. He turned Tunan around with his backhand, the blade slashed through the starlight, and silently brushed across the neck of Saint Ziwei.

It was too fast, and Ji Na had no way of avoiding it.

His eyes widened, and he saw his blood splattered high.

He saw the wind blow up from the cliff, bringing with it a faint, sweet fragrance. Amidst the fiery red trumpet creepers, a half-drunk youth in white smiled carelessly and raised his hand to throw a cup of wine at him.

“Your world is on the horizon, but my world is right before my eyes.”

“Then I have nothing to say to you.”

Actually….

Ji Na thought vaguely with his scattered consciousness: I had an agenda when we first met. But when I said that I regret meeting you too late, I meant it.

When I said I wanted to show you the seven thousand stars in the sky, I really meant it.

But when he looked up, he saw that the sky was covered with dark clouds and the bright stars were no longer visible.

Ji Na finally fell down, and his body slammed dully on the Mountain, Sea and Stars Terrace.

It was as if a purple crystal fell from the galaxy and sank into the sea of ​​stars.

The blood spread out from beneath him.

In the sea of ​​stars, the red was like a mountain of trumpet creepers.

 

<< Previous  |  Chapters  |  Next >>