Chapter 487 – My Master Is Not Human – He Is Still Here (33) END
“Squeak, squeak, squeak—” Here, eat it. Eat it.
The little squirrel cupped the glowing orbs in his tiny paws and held them out to Pei Boyi, looking completely determined not to back down until he watched him eat every last one.
The orbs were undoubtedly precious treasures.
Even though they had just been spit out by the little squirrel, Pei Boyi didn’t mind in the slightest. One by one, he swallowed each orb of power.
“Thank you, Tang Tang.”
The little squirrel immediately beamed with happiness.
The power began to merge within him.
A warm current spread from Pei Boyi’s dantian throughout his entire body, filling every corner with a force that was both completely unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time.
Before he had time to figure out why this power felt so intimately connected to him, his expression suddenly changed.
A sharp pain exploded from his dantian, quickly spreading through all four limbs. His current body simply could not withstand such overwhelming power. His cultivation surged wildly. His body burst into flames, like a phoenix being reborn through fire.
The little squirrel had never witnessed anything like this before. He immediately panicked. Pei Boyi no longer had the attention to spare for the Evil God above them. The protective barrier vanished, and a terrifying suction force began pulling both him and the little squirrel toward it.
“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak—!”
The little squirrel floated helplessly through the air. His fluffy fur puffed out in every direction, making him look like a little round ball. The closer he drifted toward the enormous mouth, the stronger the foul stench became.
Every inch of Pei Boyi’s body was being tortured.
Heat.
Pain.
An immense flood of memories was forcibly crammed into his mind, leaving him in such agony that he almost wished for death. Yet despite the unbearable suffering, just as the little squirrel was about to be swallowed by the Evil God, Pei Boyi managed to grab hold of his tail.
“Tang… Tang…”
The story of this world was about to come to an end.
Everything was about to be reset.
A trace of confusion flashed through the little squirrel’s eyes before they quickly became clear once more.
In the same soft, sweet voice that had captivated him from the very beginning, he said, “A-Yi, you’ve had many names… but I’ve always loved you. Thank you… for always spoiling me and loving me.”
A stream of power flowed from the squirrel’s tail, through Pei Boyi’s arm, and into his body.
Pei Boyi looked at Bai Tang in stunned disbelief.
But Bai Tang was smiling.
“Hudson… goodbye.”
Bai Tang transferred all of his cultivation to Pei Boyi.
Then he slipped free from Pei Boyi’s grasp and was swallowed by the Evil God’s gaping mouth.
Another mass of heavy storm clouds churned across the sky.
Heavenly thunder roared.
Pei Boyi’s cultivation broke through into the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, but the remaining power still refused to fully merge, raging uncontrollably inside his body.
“His tribulation has begun.”
The lightning tribulation was the most righteous force in heaven and earth.
The vengeful spirits feared the heavenly lightning and no longer dared to entangle themselves with the cultivators. They scattered in all directions, desperately searching for places to hide.
But escaping would not be so easy.
Pei Boyi’s tribulation lightning was unlike any ordinary lightning tribulation. He possessed the True Dragon’s Aura, the power of the Keystones, and the cultivation Bai Tang had given him—a cultivation infused with demonic qi. Righteous and demonic energies were born in opposition, restraining and relying on each other while never truly coexisting peacefully. Because of this, the lightning he faced was far more terrifying than the tribulation lightning of an ordinary Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.
If he succeeded, the demonic qi would be purged from his body, the void would be torn open, and he would ascend to immortality.
If he failed, he would be completely erased—his body, soul, and even the chance of reincarnation gone forever.
The first bolt of lightning struck, and the world became as bright as day.
The second bolt fell, stirring violent winds and torrential rain.
The third bolt descended… and then another, and another.
The Evil God, a being of dark attributes, had fled the moment the first heavenly bolt descended. It was not truly afraid of the lightning, but the aura of heavenly thunder made it deeply uncomfortable. Besides, it had just swallowed a small creature, only for that creature to vanish the instant it entered its mouth. The Evil God hated variables beyond its control. The unexpected disappearance of its prey left it furious, and it intended to investigate what had happened.
The lightning gave Pei Boyi no chance to catch his breath. One bolt followed another relentlessly, as though heaven would not rest until it had struck him dead. Yet even when his body was battered into a blood-soaked ruin, Pei Boyi remained standing. His eyes shone brightly, and his posture remained unyielding.
No cultivator had undergone a lightning tribulation for hundreds of years. This spectacle left everyone utterly stunned.
All eyes were fixed on the unfolding scene. The catastrophe itself seemed frozen in place. The flowing lava stopped advancing, and the surviving commoners fell to their knees, praying for the immortals to show mercy and save their lives.
Tang Tang, wait for me.
Eighty-one bolts.
The final bolt was the most terrifying of all.
Heaven and earth seemed to split apart. Mountains trembled and the ground shook violently. Pei Boyi gripped the storage space Bai Tang had left him and roared toward the heavens. Countless rays of golden light burst from his body, so brilliant that no one could keep their eyes open.
The golden light protected Pei Boyi as it clashed against the heavenly lightning. Not only did the lightning fail to kill him, but its power was gradually absorbed by him instead. The final bolt had already fallen. With no more means left to strike him, the lightning could only retreat unwillingly.
When the golden radiance finally faded, Pei Boyi was gone.
“Did he… successfully ascend?”
Fu Maiwen stood there in shock, unable to recover his senses for a long while.
Crack—!
Crash—!
Trees collapsed. Wind and rain raged once more.
Time, which had seemed frozen, began moving again. The lava continued to consume the land, and the cries of the people filled the air.
The mastermind behind the disaster was dead, but the disaster itself had not ended. This was not the time to let down their guard.
At that moment, a hunched old woman slowly approached them, leaning heavily on her cane. Sect Master Siyuan and the others immediately became alert. When the old woman drew closer and they saw what she was carrying, their vigilance rose to its highest level.
“A demonic cultivator,” someone said grimly. “And not a weak one either.”
Daoist Jiayi had passed all of his cultivation to Zhenzhen. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to use it. The cultivation merely sustained her life, keeping her alive for the time being.
“I am Zhenzhen, daughter of Daoist Jiayi and the Sect Master of the Dianxing Sect. My father asked me to bring this to you.”
The elderly woman knew she was neither welcome nor trusted.
She gently placed the black crystal on the ground before retreating dozens of steps, stopping only after she had put a safe distance between herself and the others.
With a wave of his hand, Wen Leng retrieved the black crystal from afar.
It was none other than the Asura Ice that Wang Cheng had stolen—the very source of this catastrophe.
Although Wang Cheng was dead, the only person capable of controlling the Asura Ice had not perished.
Wen Leng immediately asked Yin Chun to bring Demon Saint Biguang over.
Overjoyed, Demon Saint Biguang said, “With this as a vessel to control the Asura Ice, we can reclaim the demonic qi that has spread throughout the world and seal it away once more.”
Everyone divided the work among themselves, scattering in different directions to protect the people and recover the escaping demonic qi.
Zhenzhen did not join them.
She remained where she stood as rain streamed down her face.
Or perhaps they were tears.
Maybe both.
Who could have imagined that a single reckless decision would not only ruin her own life, but also destroy her sect, kill her father, and bring disaster upon the entire world?
Now that a solution had been found, peace quickly returned to the world.
Homes had been destroyed, but as long as people remained alive, they could always rebuild.
The righteous and demonic factions searched the world over, again and again, but neither Bai Tang nor Pei Boyi could be found.
Perhaps one had died while the other had ascended.
Perhaps they had both ascended.
But the most likely possibility was that they had both died.
After all, soul-bound cultivation partners were never meant to have only one survive.
The great war had inflicted devastating losses on both the righteous and demonic factions.
Neither side had any desire to ignite another conflict.
If another war broke out, there truly might be nothing left.
…
The Le’an Immortal Sect stood once more, shrouded in drifting immortal mist, tranquil and dignified.
The spiritual flowers and herbs planted outside the Medicine Peak’s main hall flourished with vibrant life, their lush growth a testament to the care they had received.
A young woman in green robes carried a watering can, carefully tending each spirit flower and herb. Beside her crouched a little girl of about five. Watching a flower bud slowly bloom, the child exclaimed excitedly, “Senior Sister Yin Chun! It bloomed! It bloomed!”
The little girl’s innocent voice overlapped with the memory of another youthful voice from long ago. For a moment, Yin Chun seemed to see Daoist Heyi once again.
She remembered how he had carefully shielded her from the wind with his cloak, how he would carry her back to Sword Peak from the library time and time again.
Afraid that she would become so absorbed in cultivation that she’d forget to eat, he would split sweet pastries with her and repeatedly remind her,
“Don’t let my little disciple, Pei Boyi, find out.”
“Senior Sister… why are you crying?”
The little girl happily turned to show Yin Chun the beautiful flower, only to discover tears streaming down her face.
“Are you tired? I can help! Senior Sister, let me do it.”
Another memory surfaced.
The refined young man had smiled gently as he told her,
“Don’t rush your cultivation. You’ll achieve twice the results with half the effort if you balance work and rest. If you’re tired or there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always come to me. I’ll help you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Yin Chun wiped away her tears and smiled softly at the little girl.
“The wind was a bit strong just now. Some sand got into my eyes.”
“This flower only blooms once every hundred years. You must take good care of it so its blossoms will last as long as possible.”
“Wow~”
The little girl was instantly captivated by the words “once every hundred years.”
“I’ll take really good care of it~”
“Being diligent is a good thing, but you also have to take good care of yourself.”
The young man’s gentle words beneath the bamboo grove on Sword Peak echoed once more in Yin Chun’s mind.
Yin Chun set down the watering can and took a seat in the pavilion, quietly admiring the flowers and herbs.
She now cultivated both the Sword and Medicine Paths.
Back when everyone had been searching for Bai Tang, she had been one of the most determined. Yet despite all her efforts, she never found even the slightest trace of him.
When Sect Master Siyuan finally announced that Daoist Heyi had fallen, she broke down in tears.
“If I don’t see him alive, or see his body after death, I refuse to believe it.”
Her master, Wen Leng, had only said to her, “Your heart has yet to find peace, and your emotional ties remain unbroken. Perhaps the path of the sword is no longer suited to you.”
From then on, Wen Leng spent most of his time in secluded cultivation.
Although he never asked her to leave Sword Peak, it was clear he believed she was no longer suited to pursue the Sword Dao through killing.
With the Sect Master’s approval, Yin Chun moved to Medicine Peak.
She built a small cottage not far from the main hall and devoted her days to caring for the spirit flowers and medicinal herbs.
Her wood spiritual root was exceptionally compatible with herbal cultivation.
As time passed, the bottleneck that had long held back her cultivation finally began to loosen. Her cultivation advanced rapidly, and after Pei Boyi, she became the Le’an Immortal Sect’s second cultivation prodigy to master both the Sword and Medicine Paths.
Every time Wen Leng emerged from seclusion, he would come to Medicine Peak to sit with her for a while.
The two would drink tea, play a game of Go, spend half the day together, and then he would return to seclusion.
Sect Master Siyuan was occupied with the countless affairs of the Le’an Immortal Sect, but he still made a point of visiting Medicine Peak once every three months.
Today happened to be one of those days.
Yin Chun had prepared tea early and was already waiting for him.
“Hello, Sect Master~”
The little girl wasn’t shy at all. Seeing the Sect Master, she greeted him politely.
She was a rabbit spirit.
After the great battle, she had, through a stroke of fate, taken human form. Having only recently gained sentience, she understood nothing about the world.
While searching for Bai Tang, the Sect Master had happened to meet her.
She reminded him of Bai Tang when he had first arrived at the sect, so he brought her back.
“Sect Master, please have a seat.”
With her slender hands, Yin Chun poured tea for the Sect Master seated across from her.
Looking over the flourishing medicinal garden, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
“If Xiao Tang were still here, seeing that his favorite flower has finally bloomed… he would be overjoyed.”
“Yes.”
“The spirit tea leaves in the back are ready to be harvested as well. We can make Daoist Heyi’s favorite pan-fried pine nuts again.”
“One little flower… two little flowers… three little flowers…”
The little girl was soon distracted by the brightly colored blossoms nearby, happily counting them in her soft, childlike voice.
Everything in the main hall of Medicine Peak remained exactly as it had always been.
Only one question lingered—
When would its long-absent master finally come home?