Chapter 3140 - Thwarted By His Own Emotions

It was as if a drunken immortal were dancing madly about, tearing off pieces of cloud. The flurries coated Snowy Gale Mountain like scattered fragments of jade.

Su Yi and Ruo Su sat cross-legged on the ground, roasting fish, drinking, and conversing.

The subject of their conversation was the storm growing on the Far Shore.

“The Mountain of the Secluded Ones has suffered heavy casualties. Some of its oldest members have already died in battle,” Ruo Su said softly. “They were once legends on the Far Shore of Destiny, dazzling figures of antiquity. Some were progenitors of their lineages, while others were unparalleled heroes. Some were once enemies of Sword Sovereign City.

“Nonetheless, all of them went bravely into battle, fighting and dying on the front lines, all to stave off the Otherworlder armies.” Here, she let out a soft sigh. “Setting aside our enemies, there’s no denying that all of them were true heroes. All of them were willing to die to protect the world!”

Su Yi took a sip of wine. “People have always been multifaceted. Someone can be both an enemy and a valiant hero.”

Ruo Su inclined her head. “That’s indeed the case. To the best of my knowledge, the founders of Three Purities Temple and the progenitors of Buddhism, Demonism, and Confucianism are currently defending the front lines.

“Now that I think about it, quite a few of them were your enemies in your pursuit of the Grand Dao in your first incarnation. Your conflict with them began a long, long time ago,” said Ruo Su.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed as he thought of Ling Jue, Guan Shui, Zhi Yue, and Song Lan, the Three Purities Temple experts he’d met in the Sea of Fate. Song Lan, the fourth-generation grandmaster of the Supreme Purity lineage, had been the greatest of them.

All of them had knowingly disregarded the Secluded Ones’ rules for the sake of killing him. It was clear how deep their grudge against the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City ran.

Yet now, the three founders of Three Purities Temple were fighting on the front lines to prevent the Otherworlders from invading the Far Shore.

You couldn’t describe any of this in simple terms of good and evil.

As his enemies, the people of Three Purities Temple deserved death, but from the perspective of the world at large, their three founders’ conduct was unequivocally admirable.

This was the difference between righteous anger and a personal grudge.

Even enemies could be magnanimous and bold.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Ruo Su told him a secret. “Miss Su Wanjun is currently fighting on the front lines, too.”

Su Yi’s heart shook. For a while, he was completely dazed.

Su Wanjun was naturally Xi Ning.

Su Yi thought back to when they’d parted ways in the God Domain. There’d been no further word of Xi Ning since—that is, until today.

More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

A long time passed before Su Yi slowly asked, “Why... would she go there?”

Ruo Su shook her head. “I don’t know, but it seems to me that Miss Wanjun has embraced this virtuous cause. Her sense of responsibility and boldness aren’t the least bit inferior to any of the founding members of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones.”

Su Yi fell silent. Is that really it? Even if she wanted to fight on the Far Shore of Destiny, why not say something first?

He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“I’m telling you all this simply to say that no matter how bad things get, you have to live on,” Ruo Su said softly. “There are still people waiting for you to come back.”

Su Yi took a sip of wine. “I understand.”

......

The upper reaches of the River of Destiny.

Sovereign Venerate Yi couldn’t help but exclaim from beneath one of the River-Stabilizing Steles. “Su Yi is truly so bold?”

Hong Ling said at top speed, “This news has thrown the whole world into uproar. Everyone is paying attention. I dare not even imagine where Su Yi gets the confidence to do this.”

Sovereign Venerate Yi pondered, then sighed. “I can guess a little. I’m afraid something has gone terribly wrong with the world, and Su Yi most likely cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Something suddenly occurred to him. “What is that traitor Chu Shanke up to now?”

Hong Ling blinked, stunned, then shook her head. “I made no further contact with him after leaving the Abyss of Endless Tribulations.”

Sovereign Venerate Yi frowned, then commanded, “Take a trip to the Unfettered Continent and tell Su Yi that Chu Shanke is not acting on my orders. He’ll understand.”

Hong Ling instantly understood something. “Founder, do you think Chu Shanke will interfere in Su Yi’s plans, too?”

Sovereign Venerate Yi said casually, “Chu Shanke is already colluding with the Threelives Buddha. If all is as I suspect, he’ll help the Threelives Buddha fight Su Yi in the name of the Primordial Divine Court.”

His gaze suddenly softened. “In the Abyss of Endless Tribulations, Su Yi left you a path to life. Now, it’s time we repaid that kindness.”

Hong Ling’s heart churned. She said solemnly, “This disciple understands!”

A jeer tugged at Sovereign Venerate Yi’s lips. “I can say with certainty that neither the Threelives Buddha nor Chu Shanke expects you’re still alive. They probably think they’ve tricked me and Su Yi. Unfortunately for them, they’re ultimately just a bit too small-minded!”

He waved. “Go on.”

“Understood!”

......

The Secluded Realm, the territory of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones.

When the Secluded Ones heard the news that Su Yi planned to re-establish the Heart-Tempering Sword House in the Unfettered Continent, all of them set aside what they were doing and gathered to discuss the matter.

“Has the reincarnation of the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City gone insane?”

“Does he really plan to overturn the Eternal Heavens Domain completely?”

The Secluded Ones were stunned. They couldn’t even begin to imagine how Su Yi dared do something so frenzied.

“No matter what he’s thinking, ten days from now, there’ll be no avoiding a large-scale battle. What I want to know is, how do all of you see this?” someone said gravely.

Every Secluded One knew that all of the Heavenly Sovereigns had the foundations necessary to become Dao Ancestors. Moreover, they already had backers on the Far Shore.

For instance, Heavenly Sovereign E was backed by Three Purities Temple, while the Threelives Buddha had the support of the Buddhists of the Far Shore.

Now, Su Yi was using the reopening of his sect as an opportunity to set a trap for the Heavenly Sovereigns. This would naturally have an extraordinary impact!

“If the reincarnation of the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City is really so sick of living, why not just give him what he wants?” someone said calmly.

“I have but a single request. The Mountain of the Secluded Ones needs to make an appearance to stop anyone from trying to save Su Yi!” said someone else, his voice cold and murderous. “Like the Little Boss of Sword Sovereign City. We cannot tolerate him violating the rules!”

The Little Boss of Sword Sovereign City! The Secluded Ones’ eyelids twitched. It’s true. If the Little Boss disregards the rules and interferes, it’d be hard for Su Yi to lose even if he tried!

“That’s right. When Song Lan and the others broke the rules in the Sea of Fate, the founders of Three Purities Temple refused to protect them. They sacrificed their own sectmates for the sake of upholding our rules. We naturally have to uphold our rules this time, too. No one from the Far Shore can be permitted to interfere!”

Numerous others chimed in.

“How do you see this, Old Lord Gouchen?” The gathered Secluded Ones looked over.

Old Lord Gouchen had the highest seniority of everyone present. He was the oldest and most experienced, one of the founding members of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones.

His attitude was unquestionably of the utmost importance.

After a moment’s silence, Old Lord Gouchen said expressionlessly, “Then let us act in accordance with our rules. If any expert of the Far Shore intervenes on Su Yi’s behalf, we must work together to destroy them!

“But the same is true of any experts of the Far Shore who attempt to harm Su Yi. They, too, must be executed without mercy!”

Old Lord Gouchen swept his gaze across the crowd. “The Mountain of the Secluded Ones shall serve as an impartial judge. There’s only one rule we must uphold: no powers of the Far Shore are permitted to interfere in any way! How about that?”

The Secluded Ones exchanged glances, then nodded.

“Now that you’ve said that, all of us can rest assured,” an old man of Three Purities Temple said with a smile.

Old Lord Gouchen said nothing. He knew that many of the Secluded Ones were eager to witness Su Yi’s untimely demise firsthand.

They were so staunch about upholding the rules simply because they were worried that the Little Boss, Ruo Su, or some other such expert would intervene on Su Yi’s behalf.

The meeting dispersed shortly afterward.

Old Lord Gouchen walked alone through the Realm of the Secluded Ones until he saw the Big Boss’ heart devil in a creek flowing through the boundless wilderness.

He was swimming, sometimes doing the backstroke, sometimes doggy paddle. Either way, he shot through the burbling water with obvious pleasure.

The corners of Old Lord Gouchen’s lips twitched. Since when did the Big Boss take an interest in swimming?

Old Lord Gouchen coughed dryly. “Fellow Daoist, something big is about to happen, so I think it’s important that I inform you.”

The heart devil floated to the water’s surface, but only his sopping wet head poked out into the air. “Have the skies fallen?”

Old Lord Gouchen shook his head.

“Has the storm on the Far Shore escaped containment? Have all of the old-timers defending the front lines died in battle?”

Old Lord Gouchen frowned so deeply that dark lines formed on his forehead. He said irritably, “Had any of that happened, it wouldn’t benefit you, either!”

The heart devil burst into laughter. “Short of that, nothing that ‘could happen’ means a single fart to me!”

Old Lord Gouchen said coldly, “Su Yi is about to die! Does that ‘mean a single fart’ to you?”

The heart devil’s eyebrows rose. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Old Lord Gouchen suppressed his irritation, then explained the situation in full, ending his explanation with the Secluded Ones’ attitude. He didn’t hide anything, either.

After hearing the full story, the heart devil burst into derisive laughter. “And here I thought something big had happened. So, it’s just a bunch of Heavenly Sovereigns pretending to be grown-ups.”

Just... pretending to be grown-ups? Old Lord Gouchen stared at him. “I’m just glad our attitude hasn’t angered you, Fellow Daoist.”

The heart devil waved dismissively. “Enough, I get it already, so quit disrupting my swimming!”

Then, without so much as a word of goodbye, he dove underwater, vanishing with a great big splash.

Old Lord Gouchen frowned, then turned to leave.

Not long after, the heart devil floated out of the creek like a snow-white cloud and landed softly on the grass lining the shore. He lay down, using his arms as a pillow, and crossed his legs. An indescribable, complicated emotion arose in his heart.

Is it finally time? Good work, kid! You’ve finally grown up!

That you’re bold enough to do this should mean that you’re strong enough to topple the Heavenly Sovereigns.

I knew it. Without me around to help you, you’ve learned independence. You’ve stepped onto a path all your own!

It’s just that this game of yours is awfully high-stakes. If...

No, there are no "ifs." Feh! Feh! Feh! It’s bad luck to even think such things! The Heart Devil frowned. Strange. I already guessed that you’d risen to prominence on the River of Destiny by now, so why am I still feeling a bit abandoned?

It’s fucking ridiculous!

The heart devil slapped himself in the face and even cursed himself out. “Look at yourself! You’re a heart devil, and you’re supposed to be wholeheartedly fixated on replacing the kid and taking over his body, so why are you happy for him? And how could you possibly feel abandoned? Idiot!”

He shot to his feet and punched himself, harder this time.

Then, he let out a long sigh. The power seemed to flee him, and he lay down with an audible thud and stared into space.

In truth, he’d known all along that this day would come. When Su Yi’s foundations in the Grand Dao grew strong enough to contend with Heavenly Sovereigns, it’d mean that replacing him would be all but impossible. The heart devil’s hopes of success diminished with every passing day.

He should have had a hard time accepting this; he should have tried everything in his power to stop it; he should have...

Yet for some inexplicable reason, he was happy for Su Yi, and he felt a sense of loss.

The heart devil had the belated realization that he’d already lost his conflict with Su Yi. It seemed he’d been thwarted by... his own emotions.