Chapter 519: Ji Yuyan

Chapter 519: Chapter 515: Ji Yuyan

“Hmph. The past is the past, and now is now! Who knows what’s really going on with that throne? In any case, we will not acknowledge Qin Li’s status as the Purple-eyed New King! Mo Li, if you want us to stop trying to kill him, it’s simple. Just tell me to my face that you no longer venerate him as your king, that you don’t recognize his position as the Purple-eyed King. We will immediately stop hunting him! To begin with, he has no grudge against us and no connection to us whatsoever. What you’re doing now is not only leading yourselves to ruin, but you’re also harming an innocent man!” said Qu Zhi coldly.

“Lead ourselves to ruin? Harm an innocent man? You lot betrayed our ancestors and forgot the sacred teachings. What right do you have to say that to me? We are upholding the ancestral teachings. We are not mistaken; you are! Qu Zhi, since we cannot convince each other, then let’s fight!”

“A fight it is! You think we’re afraid of you?” Qu Zhi bellowed. He shot into the air, rocketing toward Mo Li like a bolt of lightning.

Not to be outdone, Mo Li beat his wings and soared high as well. He clawed at the empty air, and a serpent of lightning appeared in his grasp. He viciously whipped it toward Qu Zhi!

Qu Zhi sneered. “The Electric Snake Skill? That was once an heirloom technique of my Qu Family. Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing yourself by using it against me?” As he spoke, Qu Zhi also grabbed at the void, summoning an even thicker serpent of lightning a thousand meters long!

He sent it crashing violently into Mo Li’s lightning serpent.

The sky instantly erupted with countless bolts of chaotic lightning as the sound of muffled thunder boomed.

Nearby, the other two pairs of Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestors also engaged one another in battle.

Far in the distance stood a group of onlookers. At their head was a woman whose age was impossible to discern. Her brows were like distant mountains, her nose delicate, her lips like cherries. With skin like ice and bones of jade, her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. She wore a snow-white gown and stood there in silence, exuding the feeling of a mountain, or a lake.

She gave off an unshakable aura, as steady as a mountain. Not a single trace of time’s passage could be seen on her face. One could sense she was no longer young, yet no one would ever dare call her old.

Her face was simply too beautiful—breathtakingly so.

A large group of female disciples surrounded her, with some male disciples on the periphery, all of them closely monitoring the battle.

This woman was the leader of the Ice and Snow Sect from the Land of Extreme Cold Ice and Snow—Sect Leader Ji Yuyan!

At her side, another strikingly beautiful woman asked softly, “Mother, are they the legendary Purple-eyed Race?”

Ji Yuyan nodded gently. “Correct. During the Primordial Era, their ancestors invaded our Celestial Essence Continent, causing widespread devastation. They were the chief culprits behind the decline and ultimate destruction of the Ancient Civilization.”

“So, they’re the bad guys?” the woman asked again.

“Haha.” Ji Yuyan gave a faint smile, as radiant as a hundred blooming flowers. She shook her head slightly. “Who is right and who is wrong? Who can say for certain? Who does this world truly belong to? And who has the right to make that judgment? We are a Sect that stays out of worldly affairs. Whatever they wish to do, let them.”

“But the person they’re looking for… they say he fled in our direction. Will they…” the woman asked, her voice laced with concern.

Ji Yuyan replied, “That person is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy of the Purple-eyed Race. One faction supports him, while the other opposes him. Until a victor emerges between them, it doesn’t matter where he hides.”

“And what if he comes to our Sect?”

Ji Yuyan fell silent for a moment before replying, “Then we will help him.”

“What? Mother, you just said we were a Sect that stays out of worldly affairs. Why would you want to get involved in this matter in the blink of an eye?” the woman asked, thoroughly perplexed.

Ji Yuyan smiled. “If he manages to reach us, it means we cannot avoid this tribulation. And since we cannot avoid it, we must make a choice. My choice is to help him.”

The woman beside her pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, “Why not just drive him away?”

Ji Yuyan smiled but said nothing more. She already knew who the one to fulfill the Purple-eyed Race’s prophecy was. Since she knew, how could she possibly stand by and do nothing? ‘Even if it’s just for Watermelon, I have to help him! Besides, this Young Master Qin that Watermelon followed back then is truly no ordinary person. The fact that he can cultivate the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat technique proves he is the chosen one of the Celestial Essence Continent. And now, he’s even become the Purple-eyed New King…’

Ji Yuyan thought to herself, ‘Could it be… that another golden age for the Celestial Essence Continent is about to begin?’

‘At the dawn of every great era, a chosen one like him always appears. Now, through a stroke of fate, this chosen one may come here. This means the Ice and Snow Sect also has an opportunity to secure a place for itself in this new age!’

Ji Yuyan wasn’t ambitious and had no desire to rule over anyone. However, she did hope her Sect would flourish and that all her disciples would have bright futures.

She was like a mother in that regard; she could endure anything herself, but she desperately wanted her children to live happier lives than she had.

“By the way, did Ruyue go to see Watermelon again? He’s always so cold and distant with her, yet she just throws herself at him. It’s really…” The woman trailed off, noticing the Sect Leader’s expression had soured slightly.

“Rubing, you are not to speak of Watermelon like that again. There are reasons why he treats Ruyue that way, things you don’t understand. Alas, you will find out in due time,” Ji Yuyan said, her expression softening.

The other disciples around her also looked at Ji Yuyan curiously. One of them, a young woman who appeared to be in her thirties, asked, “Mother, what is really going on with Watermelon? Why does he refuse to accept Ruyue? She’s such a wonderful girl!”

Ji Yuyan sighed softly, a flicker of sorrow in her eyes. “It is all my fault for being too powerless. Watermelon has a strange illness… he doesn’t have long to live.”

“What?”

The moment Ji Yuyan spoke, everyone around her froze. This was especially true for Ji Rubing, whose beautiful eyes shone with utter disbelief.

“Is it true? Watermelon… he really isn’t going to live much longer?”

Ji Yuyan nodded, then fell silent, her gaze returning to the fierce battle in the distance.

Many of the Ice and Snow Sect disciples fell silent. There was competition among them, but under Ji Yuyan’s guidance, it was always good-natured.

This Sect had always existed apart from worldly strife. Although they had a nemesis and conflicts occurred from time to time, the great distance between them meant they rarely encountered each other, each keeping to their own territory.

This fostered a strong atmosphere of detachment from worldly affairs within the Ice and Snow Sect. Most of the disciples called Ji Yuyan “Mother,” and though they shared no blood, they were as close as siblings.

Ji Yuyan was always happy to see the children she had raised marry one another; it brought her great joy and contentment.

Upon learning that Watermelon didn’t have long to live, many of the female disciples of the Ice and Snow Sect couldn’t help but shed tears. Even some of the male disciples who also admired Ji Ruyue were stunned, their faces filled with sorrow. Whatever lingering resentment they had held toward Watermelon vanished with the news.

Ji Yuyan felt a sense of gratification. ‘In my Sect, there is almost no backstabbing or infighting. Besides myself, the Sect Leader, there are no positions like Guardian Elders, nor are they needed. The respect everyone shows me comes from the heart, not from my title as Sect Leader!’

‘If I had to use force or authority to win respect, I would rather not have it at all!’

She had revealed this matter today because another possibility had occurred to her. ‘I may be powerless to solve Watermelon’s problem, but someone else might be able to!’

‘If even the chosen one, Qin Li, is helpless, then it can only mean that this is Watermelon’s fate!’

Ji Yuyan had a strong intuition. She believed that the legendary chosen one could definitely save Watermelon. After all, Watermelon should have died years ago during the Nirvana phase of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat technique.

Yet he hadn’t died. He survived. And in less than ten years, he had cultivated all the way to the Human Venerable realm! ‘Doesn’t that prove that having a connection to the chosen one greatly strengthens one’s own destiny?’

‘Of course, if you become an enemy of the chosen one, your destiny will take a turn for the worse!’

As Ji Yuyan thought this, she looked at the two factions fighting in the-distance. ‘Just look at their battle,’ she mused. ‘It’s proof of how powerful the chosen one’s destiny is!’

Some are hunting Qin Li, while others are protecting him. These two groups, just as they were on the verge of finding him, happened to run into each other. And now, despite being of the same Purple-eyed Race, they were fighting each other with abandon.

‘Doesn’t that say it all?’

Just then, two more figures appeared in the distance, approaching hand in hand at an incredible speed.

Many of the Ice and Snow Sect disciples froze when they saw this, looking as if they’d seen a ghost. A collective sound of heartbreak echoed through the group of male disciples.

Ji Rubing exclaimed, “Master, Ruyue and Watermelon are coming! They’re holding hands!”

“Oh my god, has Watermelon finally come to his senses?”

“Ah, this is wonderful! They’re finally together!”

“Ruyue’s persistence paid off! I’m so happy for them!”

The group of female disciples chattered excitedly, but a different tune was being sung among the male disciples.

“Senior Brother, our chance is gone!”

“Junior Brother… let’s go jump off the Great Ice Glacier!”

“You go ahead and jump, Senior Brother. I’ll channel this sorrow into new strength. I’m going to start pursuing Senior Sister Rubing!”

“Get lost! Go die!”

Amidst the disciples’ chatter, Watermelon and a blushing Ji Ruyue arrived before Ji Yuyan and knelt down together.

“Greetings, Mother!”

“Greetings, Master!”

“Rise. Both of you, rise!” Although Ji Yuyan was a little surprised by the scene, she quickly thought of a possibility. The corners of her lips curled up slightly. ‘This chosen one… he really is something else!’

“Master, Ruyue and I are in love and wish to become husband and wife. I ask for your blessing!” Watermelon said, his and Ji Ruyue’s fingers tightly intertwined, their expressions firm and earnest.

“Granted! It is granted! Children, quickly, rise!” Ji Yuyan said, her face wreathed in a happy smile.

A heaven-shaking cheer erupted from the group of female disciples, accompanied by the pained and insincere-sounding congratulations from the male disciples.