When Father Gu saw her, he crawled over in a scramble, crying that he was wrong, that he had failed to discipline his wife and daughter, allowing them to commit such evil deeds.
He claimed he was innocent, that the atrocities were entirely the work of the mother and daughter, and that because he spent the whole year away managing family business, he knew nothing about it.
He possessed even less backbone than Gu Lianxue, let alone Madam Gu.
Gu Ningyun tried to drag him to Gu Lianxue's cell, but he clawed at the ground, refusing to let go.
Unfortunately, the floor was too smooth for him to get any leverage.
The moment he saw Gu Lianxue, there was not a shred of pity in his eyes. Screaming, “Demon!” he shrank back, keeping as far away as possible.
Looking at this family of three, Gu Ningyun pinched Gu Lianxue's cheeks and admired her front teeth, which now let air leak through.
The heavy knot that had been wedged in her chest suddenly loosened.
She let out a long breath and smiled.
She stood here, right in front of the three of them.
Yet, these three people would never be able to hurt her again.
So the nightmare had truly existed; she just hadn't realized it.
So the nightmare wasn't actually terrifying. It felt as if she had finally rooted it out.
After locking Father Gu and Madam Gu back up and returning the three cells to their original state, Gu Ningyun handed the identity jade token back to Jun Luo.
She smiled and said, “Let's wait after all. I'm still quite curious about my origins.”
Aside from the old Taoist, they were the only ones who might know the truth about her background.
What clothes she had been wearing back then, whether there were any special marks on the inside of her swaddling clothes...
The dungeons of Punishment Peak were very quiet, so quiet that she could finally hear her companions' breathing.
The dungeons of Punishment Peak were very cold, so cold that she could clearly feel the warm body heat of her friends.
Laughter was infectious.
When she smiled, her companions smiled as well.
Wen Xuan hugged her and whispered in her ear, “No matter what choice you make, I know one thing—you did it, Ningyun.”
Yes, she had done it.
Looking back, the nightmare that had plagued her day and night in her childhood was nothing more than two ordinary late Foundation Establishment stage cultivators and a common evil cultivator.
Deep inside her, something dissipated.
That lingering anxiety, the thing that would tighten its grip on her heart from time to time.
That restlessness that seized her whenever she stopped moving.
She had changed the plot.
She had changed her own destiny.
At least, she had changed it for now.
She thought that even if the old Taoist appeared before her in the future, she would be able to face him with a smile.
At the very least, she wouldn't let hatred and subconscious pain cloud her judgment and drive her to do anything rash.
Everything in the cell was being quietly watched by two divine senses.
Seeing this scene, the owners of the divine senses breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Yi Kong said to the person beside her, “Junior Brother, you don't have to worry about your disciple's inner demon tribulation when she forms her core anymore. At least, the inner demon won't be her greatest childhood nightmare. And even if it is, this inner demon won't be able to do anything to her.”
...
May there be no child trafficking in the world, and may all children grow up without fear.
...
Gu Ningyun had no idea that her master and martial aunt had already taken her core formation inner demon tribulation into consideration.
After bidding farewell to her companions, she returned to Pine Wind and Water Moon.
Sending her divine sense into her space, she planted a branch of Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones and watered it with some spirit spring water.
The temperature inside her space was like spring all year round, so she wasn't sure if it would survive.
Aside from the branch she intended to propagate, she also snapped off six smaller twigs.
Retrieving a white jade long-necked vase, she filled it with unfrozen stream water from the cold pond and arranged the six small red plum twigs inside. As expected, it looked incredibly beautiful.
She held the vase, admiring it for a moment, before placing it on the stone table in front of her attic.
Whether she was practicing her swordplay or entering and leaving the attic, she would always be able to see them.
Because she had three additional divine sense magic tools to refine, her schedule for learning wind-attribute spells was pushed back by a month.
A month and a half later, she arrived at the summit of Spirit-Attuning Peak.
Aside from the grassy ground, there was absolutely no cover here. Whenever the wind swept by, it made her robes rustle loudly.
Looking down from the summit, the actual state of Spirit-Attuning Peak was concealed by arrays; all she could see was a churning sea of clouds, far below in the distance.
Above the sea of clouds, even higher mists drifted across various parts of Spirit-Attuning Peak, cloaking the entire floating peak in a hazy fog.
This was exactly what a place of immortal cultivation should look like.
She suddenly grew a little curious. “What does it look like beneath the sea of clouds of Xiaoyao's one hundred and eight floating peaks?”
The external mountains where the handyman disciples resided lay outside the range of the floating peaks, so the area beneath the sea of clouds naturally wasn't the External Sect.
She had been to the External Sect a few times, but she had always used teleportation arrays.
Looking toward the floating peaks from the External Sect, one could only see layer upon layer of dense mist.
“Beneath the sea of clouds lie sheer cliffs that isolate the peaks of Xiaoyao from the mortal world.”
Yi Chu walked over just in time to hear her question. “One hundred and ten thousand years ago, this world could still barely tolerate a fraction of an immortal's power.
“The Xiaoyao seniors of the upper realm broke through the world barrier and came here. They chose this location to establish the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect of the cultivation world.
“They are the founding ancestors of Xiaoyao in this world.
“The cultivation world was highly chaotic back then. To isolate themselves from the world, the ancestors used immortal methods to lift the one hundred and eight mountain peaks straight out of the ground, making them float high above the clouds.
“Then they cast spells to move mountains and fill the voids left underground.
“Countless arrays are set upon the cliffs beneath the sea of clouds.
“Reinforcement arrays can be seen everywhere, illusion arrays shift endlessly, and defense and trap arrays are too numerous to count.”
Gu Ningyun's eyes went wide. “So there was actually a Xiaoyao in the immortal realm first, and only then did the Xiaoyao of the cultivation world come to be!”
“Naturally. Our sect has such a profound foundation, which is exactly why we have been able to stand tall in this world to this day.”
Yi Chu handed over a magic tool. “Take a look. Do you like it?”
Gu Ningyun accepted it with both hands.
It was a divine sense magic tool shaped like a golden lotus.
Seeing her master standing guard beside her, she immediately refined it on the spot with her divine sense. Combining this with her master's introduction, she learned the details of the magic tool.
Merit Lotus Platform: An earth-rank low-grade magic tool that could be used up to the Golden Core stage.
After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, one could add materials to refine it again and upgrade its grade.
Her master had sealed most of its functions, leaving it with only the effect of a mysterious-rank top-grade tool for now, allowing her to use it during her Foundation Establishment stage.
The magic tool had three main functions: attack, defense, and cultivation assistance.
In terms of attack: using divine sense attack spells through the lotus platform would conserve divine sense while enhancing the strength of the attacks.
The exact strength of the attacks was influenced by her primordial spirit cultivation, the amount of divine sense utilized, and the divine sense attack technique she used.
In terms of defense: when activated with divine sense, it could form a lotus-shaped barrier capable of blocking divine sense attacks up to the Golden Core stage.
When subjected to a divine sense attack, the lotus platform would automatically protect its master.
Cultivation assistance: The lotus platform naturally possessed the effect of calming the mind and spirit. Combined with the properties of the soul-nourishing wood, it could triple the speed of divine sense cultivation and recovery.
Should her sea of consciousness or primordial spirit suffer damage, it would spontaneously nourish and repair both.
Aside from these three functions, there was one most important detail.
During refinement, her master had incorporated a petal of the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit.
The Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit was a supreme treasure of the Buddhist path, growing within the lotus ponds of the immortal realm's Buddhist sects.
She had no idea where her master had managed to obtain this petal.
Because of this golden lotus petal, the magic tool naturally possessed an effect that countered wicked and unorthodox paths, serving as the ultimate bane of evil qi, demonic qi, and those attempting possession.
Once she broke through to the Golden Core stage and all the seals on the magic tool were completely undone, she would even be able to mobilize a portion of the power of merit residing within her sea of consciousness through this lotus platform!
Rate on N.U.
