Chapter 35

Xie Changan spotted him and squinted, smiling slightly. She stopped walking and gestured for him to come over.

Zhu Xuanguang felt that this disciple was becoming increasingly insolent. He had never seen a disciple who, upon seeing their master, didn't come forward but instead summoned the master to them. Still, he walked over, thinking that if she was just idling about, he would certainly make her run ten laps around the three peaks of Chishuang Mountain.

"Master, why don't you make a wish?"

Xie Changan stood by the river, handing him the last lantern.

Zhu Xuanguang didn't reach for it. "I never make wishes."

A so-called wish was merely a plea for something unattainable, a reliance on the mercy of the heavens.

Xie Changan replied, "Sometimes, a wish isn't necessarily about fulfillment; it’s just for peace of mind. Why don't you make a wager with me, Master?"

Zhu Xuanguang asked, "What is the wager?"

Xie Changan countered, "What do you think the wishes in these river lanterns are?"

Zhu Xuanguang answered, "Mortals pray for promotions, wealth, long life, healthy children, or beautiful spouses. Cultivators pray for spiritual advancement, immortality, and worldly fame. It never exceeds these."

Xie Changan chuckled. "Then let us wager on five lanterns. If even one of these contains a wish that is not for oneself and does not match what you described, I win. How about that?"

Zhu Xuanguang said, "Very well. And the stakes?"

Xie Changan said, "You must accept this lantern and make a wish."

Zhu Xuanguang was speechless. "To give away this lantern, you go to such great lengths to set a bet."

Xie Changan nodded. "My master is difficult to please; as a disciple, I must put in some effort."

Zhu Xuanguang stared at her, conveying the sentiment that she was becoming more lawless by the day.

Xie Changan swept her sleeve over the river, and her spiritual energy drew the nearest lantern toward them. She extinguished the candle and pulled out the slip of paper from beneath it.

"May my child be healthy and strong."

What was written there was indeed one of the mortal wishes Zhu Xuanguang had mentioned.

Xie Changan said, "The first lantern; I have lost."

She placed the note back, relit the candle, and set the lantern adrift.

Zhu Xuanguang reached out and fished two more from the water.

"May my husband succeed in the imperial examinations."

"May the gods of the upper realm hear my plea; I wish to ascend to the next stage within three years."

Xie Changan fished out another, and Zhu Xuanguang looked on.

"May my two children grow up safe and sound."

"That is four lanterns already. It seems you are about to lose," Zhu Xuanguang remarked.

"But there is still one last chance, isn't there?"

Xie Changan pointed to a lantern drifting toward them, still shimmering with faint golden light.

Zhu Xuanguang picked it up and opened the slip of paper:

"May Li Li be liberated soon, leaving suffering behind to find joy."

This was Xie Changan’s handwriting, and it was not among the mundane wishes Zhu Xuanguang had described.

He made no comment on this blatant act of rigging the game, thinking instead that this disciple was still too idle; he should make her run twenty laps without using any spiritual power.

"I win." Xie Changan’s expression remained unchanged as she pressed the third lantern into his hand. "I bought three lanterns in total. Two were for two deceased friends; I hope the owner of this third lantern can see their wish fulfilled. Make a wish—just write that you will successfully overcome the tribulation."

Zhu Xuanguang watched her quiet face, half-hidden in the lantern's glow. She took out the paper and brush with serious intent, clearly having prepared them long ago. She opened the bamboo cap of the brush, its tip still stained with fresh cinnabar.

"Cinnabar wards off evil; it makes the writing more spiritually potent," she said.

Zhu Xuanguang suddenly recalled how, within the *Dahe Immortal Journey*, she had urged him to try harder to live. He realized, more clearly than ever, that this disciple was deeply sentimental.

She was not only devoted to her late friends and her master; she remembered every person and event that had treated her with kindness, hoping to preserve them for as long as possible.

A sigh slipped through the wind. He took the paper, the brush, and the lantern.

"Step back. No one should be near when making a wish."

Xie Changan: "?"

She had never heard of such a rule, but she walked away as instructed.

In truth, she also felt that pinning one's hopes on a river lantern was unreliable. But the problem was that no one in the world, including Zhu Xuanguang himself, could be certain of his ascension.

This was no longer something that could be achieved by effort alone. Just as many people spent their whole lives seeking what they could never obtain, they were not necessarily praying to gods or heaven; they were simply giving their own hearts a hope to hold onto.

With hope came the strength to strive.

Watching him write, fold the paper, and place it into the lantern—fumbling a few times because the candle and base were too cramped—she found him strangely clumsy. It reminded her of how the great man, the best in the world, had been half-dead in the *Dahe Immortal Journey*, looking wretched and unable to die, forced by her to be dragged everywhere. She couldn't help but smile.

Zhu Xuanguang caught the subtle movement and looked over.

"When there is work to be done, the disciple serves. You release it."

Caught in the act, Xie Changan had to step forward to do the chore for him.

"What were you smiling at just now?" Zhu Xuanguang asked.

Xie Changan replied, "I was thinking of things from the *Dahe Immortal Journey*."

Mentioning this, Zhu Xuanguang felt a touch of helplessness.

"I had already warned you several times back then."

He had told her that if she felt it was a dream, she had to find a way to wake up. He had told her that if she kept sleeping, she would never be able to leave.

Xie Changan remembered, but she felt innocent.

"Those who enter the *Dahe Immortal Journey* forget their past and start anew. I forgot everything inside; I cannot be blamed for that."

"Utterly unfilial." Zhu Xuanguang was nearly amused to anger.

He had watched her take such risks that he had to enter the dream himself to wake her, yet he couldn't reveal the truth, forced to drop hints and wait for her to realize it herself. And yet, Xie Changan had insisted on prolonging his life, refusing to let him die in peace, dragging his broken body and soul through the agony of living and dying over and over again.

Xie Changan asked, "So, everything I experienced inside—the Demon Lord being so powerful he could rival gods and Buddhas—none of that was real?"

Zhu Xuanguang replied, "While there are indeed powerful demons and cultivators in this world, humans are the spirit of all things. If humans cannot ascend, neither can demons, let alone those residing in the upper realms. The so-called 'demon as immortal' was merely a reflection of your own inner depths when you entered the *Dahe Immortal Journey*. But your experience in the City of Departing Dreams was enlightening; otherwise, you would not have improved your cultivation within it. Perhaps you cannot fully comprehend it now, but that doesn't mean you won't in the future."

This was the benefit of having a master. A rogue cultivator would be left muddled and half-informed, with no one to help sort through their thoughts and explain things so clearly.

Xie Changan nodded, finally understanding.

In truth, that experience was a manifestation of the doubts and obsessions she had harbored after witnessing the tribulation of True Immortal Canmiao, all transformed into obscure suggestions within the *Dahe Immortal Journey*.

From the moment she left Chang'an, all her rebelliousness, reluctance, and resentment had condensed into that treacherous, illusory dream.

With the dream ended, the inner demon was broken.

A new beginning; everything was ready to start anew.

"With my current cultivation, perhaps I still do not fully understand the ultimate obstacle to overcoming the tribulation. But judging by the experience of True Immortal Canmiao, Master, you should delay the tribulation. The longer it is delayed, the more advantageous it is for us. Ten years is still too short," Xie Changan said, weighing her words carefully.

"If I accelerate my cultivation and reach the perfection of the Sword Heart state within ten years, can it help you delay it further?"

"It is no longer ten years."

Zhu Xuanguang sighed, looking with pity at his disciple, who was racking her brain to find a way for him.

"My time limit has shortened. As of yesterday, I must face the tribulation within ten days."

"...Wasn't it ten years before?"

Her fingertips trembled, and the flower branch in her hand fell into the water, drifting away with the current.

The man remained silent.

Xie Changan suddenly asked, "Is it because you shielded me from that lightning tribulation that it was brought forward?"

"Do not overthink it. The heavens have changed; Canmiao's failure also accelerated my own variables. After you left, I observed the stars and sought enlightenment on Chenhua Peak. I felt a premonition in the void—the heavenly tribulation should arrive in about ten days. If I cannot pass it, do not be disheartened. Chongming Peak will be left to you. If there is anything you do not understand, they will help you."

Zhu Xuanguang spoke with great calm, as if he were merely saying he was going out for a trip tomorrow and asking her to look after the house.

Xie Changan fell silent.

The surroundings remained lively, with many river lanterns flowing from upstream, their flickering light casting spots of brightness upon the dark world.

But this liveliness was bounded by the reach of the moonlight, creating a patch of shadow in front of her and Zhu Xuanguang.

They stood in the shadow, while those releasing the lanterns were under the moonlight.

After seeing the fall of True Immortal Canmiao with her own eyes, she could feel the helplessness of facing an irresistible, overwhelming power.

True Immortal Canmiao had also struggled and felt resentment. With such profound cultivation, she had ended up forced to dissipate her essence in public... no, True Immortal Canmiao could have chosen otherwise, sacrificing the entire sect and everyone present to trade for her own ascension to immortality.

But she had chosen to sacrifice herself instead.

At this thought, Xie Changan's heart stirred, feeling as if she had overlooked a crucial detail.

"I believe this trial is not entirely without a turning point."

Zhu Xuanguang looked over as she recounted the process of True Immortal Canmiao's tribulation, detailing every aspect.

"At that time, the Heavenly Gate had already opened. The Heavenly Dao gave her a choice, or rather, engaged in a transaction with her," Xie Changan said.

Zhu Xuanguang replied, "But she refused."

Xie Changan nodded. "Yes, but what if you did not refuse?"

Zhu Xuanguang asked, "You want me to sacrifice Chishuang Mountain in exchange for my own ascension?"

"No."

Xie Changan suddenly wore a strange, cunning expression.

"What if we prepare in advance so that the Heavenly Dao is forced to choose a transaction you can accept?"

This was so bold that it bordered on trying to deceive the heavens.

Zhu Xuanguang stared at her for a long time. "You truly are worthy of having been a palace maid who dared to regicide."

Xie Changan pretended not to hear the sarcasm in her master's tone. She bowed humbly and said, "You flatter me. Does Master think this plan is feasible?"

Zhu Xuanguang was noncommittal. "I have my own plans for this. When we return, I will discuss it with Sheyun and the others. You focus on your cultivation and do not worry about these matters."

Xie Changan had previously bent over to fish for the fallen flower branch. Failing to catch it, she remained in a half-kneeling position, watching the drifting lantern.

"You have already made your wish; this time, you will surely pass the tribulation smoothly. Your disciple does not wish to walk the path of the *Dahe Immortal Journey* again. To become the Head of Chongming Peak at such a young age—that burden is far too heavy."

"I know." After a long silence, Zhu Xuanguang said.

Then, a hand rested on the top of her head, patting it gently.