Elder Qin was both angry and vexed. He was angry at Xiao Man’s stubbornness and vexed by his inability to persuade her. If this became a fixation for Xiao Man, it could cost her life during her tribulation!
Moreover, Xiao Man cultivated the Chaos Heart Art, which focused on the heart. If inner demons arose, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Stubborn fool!" Elder Qin finally managed to utter four words.
"Ancestor, it's not that I'm stubborn. I know going to the Land of No Return is dangerous, but currently, there are only two methods I know to heal him: one is to trade a life for a life, and the other is in the Land of No Return."
"How do you know the latter isn't the same?" Elder Qin said exasperatedly. "That Yu Ju is a demon; he's capable of sacrificing others to save himself."
Xiao Man knew this, of course, but she was unwilling to give her life for another, yet equally unwilling to watch this child suffer and die.
"But I have to try."
"Have you considered the consequences of tampering with the formation in the Land of No Return?" Elder Qin pleaded earnestly. "Do you know what would happen if a demon king were released? Would you harm countless children to save one?"
"I didn't say I wanted to release Yu Ju. I just want to ask him how to remove the lightning power from Xiao Qi's body," Xiao Man explained.
"If you want to enter, you will inevitably have to disturb the formation in the Land of No Return. Once the formation is shaken, someone like Yu Ju would surely find a way to break it and come out, wouldn't he?" Elder Qin said sternly. "Think carefully: would you save one person, or tens of thousands?"
Elder Qin returned to the Tongtian Tower in a huff. Xiao Man was restless. She re-bandaged Ze Fang’s wound and tucked him in before leaving the room. Su Dan Novel Network.
As soon as Xiao Man left, a figure sneaked in, swirling a wine gourd. Looking at the child lying in bed, his eyes were complex. "If you're awake, stop pretending."
Ze Fang opened his eyes and sat up, his gaze falling on Elder Xia. "Elder Xia, it has been a long time. I hope you are well."
Elder Xia frowned, his hand instinctively tightening around the wine gourd. "You are... Tian Ze?"
On Ze Fang's childlike face was a maturity and composure that did not match his age. "My name is Ze Fang now."
"How could you... you... you've suffered a backlash again!" Elder Xia reached out and grabbed Ze Fang's arm, rolling up his sleeve and unwrapping the bandages. The wounds from the lightning strike were torn and bloody. "Were you struck by the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning?"
Ze Fang moved his wrist, trying to pull his arm away, but Elder Xia's grip was too strong. He was now a child without any strength, unable to resist. "You're hurting me."
"This is a disaster!" Elder Xia released Ze Fang's arm and sat heavily on the edge of the bed, sighing incessantly. "You were the most intelligent disciple of the Tian Xuan Sect, and the most promising one, yet you were ruined by being too intelligent. How many times has this happened, this heavenly backlash?"
Ze Fang's tone was calm and collected, showing no unease at becoming a powerless child, just as he had been before. Even when he fell from grace, he remained as cool and aloof as the moon.
"The third time."
"The third time!" Elder Xia was beside himself with anger.
"Back then, what exactly did you calculate using the Heavenly Calculation Chart?" Elder Xia asked after a moment of silence. Ze Fang wouldn't tell him what he calculated, but perhaps he could tell him what he was calculating?
"Celestial phenomena."
"Celestial phenomena..." Elder Xia gritted his teeth. "You scoundrel, you're being too perfunctory. Calculating celestial phenomena is what our Tian Xuan Sect excels at. You tell me you calculated celestial phenomena? What, do you think the celestial phenomena are unchangeable and you want to move them?"
"Thirty years ago, a star suddenly appeared and then vanished. Do you remember?"
"I remember. At that time, there was a beast tide in the Roland Mountain Range, and Wuji City was almost annihilated by it."
"That vanishing star reappeared two years ago."
Elder Xia nodded. He often observed celestial phenomena at night, so he had noticed. However, he had decided to remain in seclusion and hadn't paid much attention to the star that had vanished and reappeared.
"So, your three backlashes were all because of this star?"
Ze Fang didn't answer immediately. The previous two backlashes were due to this star. The third backlash was the most severe, even incurring heavenly punishment. And the third time, he was calculating Xiao Man!
"Why are you so stubborn?" Elder Xia was both angry and vexed. "What does that star's disappearance and reappearance have to do with you? Why would you care about it?"
Ze Fang gave a wry smile. "Yes, it has nothing to do with me. Why should I care about it?"
"You mean, that star is related to you?" Elder Xia was very surprised.
Ze Fang nodded slowly. That star was intimately related to his destiny. He had to pay attention to it, but now, he no longer cared. Knowing one's own fate was not a good thing.
When you know when you will die, every day before death arrives is torture. He had spied on the heavenly way, seeking a glimmer of hope, and his glimmer of hope lay with a woman. That was why he had come to Wuji City. He had not expected to meet Xiao Man when he failed to find the woman upon whom his life depended.
"Elder Xia, are you afraid of death?"
"I have lived too long," Elder Xia said with a sigh. "So long that I've forgotten the taste of death. Tian Ze, but you are still young. You are the youngest Nascent Soul stage cultivator in Cang Xuan Continent, an unprecedented feat. You cannot give up."
"Now, I am just a child weaker than an ordinary person," Ze Fang said, extending his thin, frail arm. No one would ever connect him to the former Nascent Soul stage cultivator of the Tian Xuan Sect.
"Does Qin Xiao know your identity?" Elder Xia asked.
"No."
"Then why is she going to such lengths to find a way to remove the lightning power for you?"
"She is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see a child suffer," Ze Fang said softly. When Xiao Man discovered he was injured by heavenly lightning, did she suspect anything? Why would a child be injured by heavenly lightning? Did she suspect his identity?
"I see that she is very concerned about you," Elder Xia said slowly. "She likely treats you as her own child."
Ze Fang's expression was distant. "Now that I've become like this, I certainly can't return to the Tian Xuan Sect. I'll trouble Elder Xia to cover for me."
Elder Xia fell silent. He couldn't refuse. Ze Fang couldn't return in his current state, and besides, there were many who wished him dead. If they knew he was powerless, it would be extremely disadvantageous for him. "Tell me honestly, why did you come to Wuji City?"
"To find someone."
"Are you looking for Qin Xiao?" Elder Xia asked, confused.
Ze Fang frowned and shook his head. "I'm looking for a woman."