Chapter 145: Encountering Ye Dafu Again
Ten days later, Xiao Nanfeng and a group of Taiqing disciples arrived at the shore of a large river.
Not far away, the Lady Arclight and Yu'er had already flown up to a cliff.
The gathered Taiqing disciples glanced at them with admiration and envy. One whispered, "Senior Sister Yu'er has reached Spiritsong already? That's crazy!"
"Address her as Elder Yu'er!" Ye Sanshui corrected. "The laws of the Taiqing Immortal sect state that disciples who reach Spiritsong can be given the title of Elder. Although we haven't yet returned to the sect, you aren't to offend her. Are you aware of the sect's customs?"
"Understood!" The disciples of the Taiqing sect acknowledged their mistake immediately.
"That cliff's how we entered this hidden realm. We'll be able to leave it now. Senior Brothers, let's climb this mountain," Xiao Nanfeng proposed, smiling.
"Yes, Senior Brother Nanfeng!" the disciples replied.
Everyone remembered how Xiao Nanfeng had saved them all right here. They had even learned that Xiao Nanfeng had managed to ally with some force in the hidden realm to save them all for a second time despite the tremendous dangers he had to overcome. With Ye Sanshui lauding and praising Xiao Nanfeng's actions, everyone felt a debt of true gratitude to him.
"Senior Brother Nanfeng, according to the sect's customs, seniority is determined by cultivation. You've already broken through the third stage of Ascension, and you are considered a senior disciple," Ye Sanshui corrected.
"Me, a senior disciple? I apologize, I'm not quite used to it yet." Xiao Nanfeng laughed in embarrassment.
Everyone joined in the laughter, but none envied him. Their gratitude dwarfed the rest of their emotions by far.
"This was a dangerous trial indeed—but as a result of overcoming their struggles, ten junior disciples reached enlightenment and broke through their bottleneck to reach Ascension. Senior Brother Nanfeng, when we return to the sect, if there be aught you command, I will accomplish it to the best of my ability," Ye Sanshui pledged.
"Senior Brother Nanfeng, if there be aught you command, we will accomplish it to the best of our ability!" the gathered Taiqing disciples proclaimed.
Xiao Nanfeng bowed at everyone. "My thanks."
As they continued ascending the mountain, Ye Sanshui whispered to him, "Young Master, I haven't revealed any news of what you've really been up to within the hidden realm, but I don't know how much the others have learned over the course of their captivity."
"Thank you for the trouble." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
"It's only reasonable that I do so—but it is upsetting that my nephew isn't among the survivors," Ye Sanshui replied wearily.
"I am sorry to hear that, Ye Sanshui."
"Young Master, you might not know this, but Ye Dafu is the only heir of his generation of the Ye clan. I intended to bring him on this expedition so that he could get a sense of the real world, only to have him perish in the hidden realm. I haven't even been able to find his body. I don't know how I can ever make it up to my brother."
"It really is a pity."
Xiao Nanfeng didn't much like Ye Dafu, who surrounded himself with a group of fools and frequently ran his mouth, but he didn't deserve to die, and he had helped against Madam Rouge's incursion into his mindscape. He had used his red rope to command all the major clan heads in the humans' domain to search for Ye Dafu, but there was no news whatsoever. Ye Dafu had perished without a trace.
Ye Sanshui let out a long, weary sigh.
Just then, a shocked cry suddenly came from high up the cliff. "Elder, is it you? I've finally found you! Have you seen my third uncle?"
The unexpected shout caused Xiao Nanfeng and Ye Sanshui to be taken aback. What a familiar voice!
"It's Dafu? He's still alive?!" Ye Sanshui gasped.
"Ye Dafu truly leads a charmed life..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
The Taiqing disciples rushed up the cliff.
They quickly reached the cave entrance from which they had entered the hidden realm. There were wasp hives all around them. The wasps were buzzing angrily around their hives, but they didn't launch an attack against the cultivators. They were fearful of Yu'er and the Lady Arclight, who had evidently used some technique which the wasps were scared of.
Not far away, Yu'er and the Lady Arclight were inspecting an altar. Ye Dafu was crying out beside it.
"Third Uncle, are you still alive? Thank goodness! I thought you were dead and even erected a gravestone for you!"
There was a mound of mud in the distance, with the words "Grave of Ye Sanshui" written on a rock before it. Ye Sanshui's lips twitched.
His attention, however, swiftly turned to Ye Dafu. His nephew's face was bloated, his eyes swollen until they were little but slits. His body swelled to a tremendous size.
"Ye Dafu? What in the world happened to you?!" Ye Sanshui exclaimed.
"These wasps have been stinging me daily, refusing to stop until my entire body has swollen up," Ye Dafu cried out, pointing at the hives nearby.
"But... why didn't you run?"
"That day, we all fell into the roaring rapids beneath this cliff. Fortunately, I caught onto a weed and managed to avoid being washed away. Not long after, I saw a huge number of crow troops and crow spirits enter the hidden realm. I only dragged myself to shore once they left. I knew that this was the entrance to the hidden realm, and you would have to return here if you wanted to leave, so I waited nearby—but it's been months! Do you know how I lived all this time? These wasps find me no matter where I try to hide, chasing me away. If I don't leave, they sting me. I've already gotten a lot better these last two days—I was worse off before," Ye Dafu complained.
"You managed to survive being stung by these wasps for months on end? It's a miracle! And—you seem to have reached Ascension?!" one Taiqing disciple cried out.
"My cultivation technique is rather unusual. The more I suffer, the more pain I'm in, the faster my cultivation grows," Ye Dafu explained.
"...that sort of technique exists?"
"Have you all forgotten? The Buddhist tablet erected in the domain of the Taiqing sect's mortal division, with a technique engraved on it!"
"Indomitable Body?" one disciple cried out.
"Indomitable Body? Allegedly, Marquis Xiao—no, Elder Xiao Hongye—brought it back from a hidden realm. It's a technique cultivated by ascetic Buddhist monks, but it's a particularly unusual technique that requires ninefold ninefold trials just for a minor advancement. Although the peak of this technique is an indomitable body, cultivating it requires endless pain and torture. It's too slow for most disciples to want to learn it. Why did you end up doing it?" Ye Sanshui cried out in surprise.
"Well, I mulled it over, and I thought that such cultivation techniques where you just need to get beaten to advance can be quite strong, so I memorized it secretly. Since I was being stung by so many wasps daily, I decided to start cultivating it—and it paid off, didn't it? Don't you want to try it too?" Ye Dafu announced proudly.
Everyone stared at Ye Dafu's swollen form. Thinking about how he had ended up in this manner after being stung by wasps for months—their lips twitched as they immediately shook their heads.
"No wonder even the wasps were looking at you funny..." Ye Sanshui murmured.
Everyone looked around. Indeed, the wasp spirits stared at Ye Dafu with disdain as they avoided him.
"What're you all looking at? Come sting me if you dare! You haven't done it for three days. Are you afraid? Try me!" Ye Dafu rolled up his sleeves and began bellowing at the wasp spirits, who all shook their heads and flew off.
"Why does it feel to me like he's growing fond of these wasp stings? Is he upset at not being stung?"
"I heard that those who cultivate Indomitable Body begin to enjoy being hurt..."
"Has he transformed into a pervert...?"
The Taiqing disciples backed away from Ye Dafu.
"Are you a masochist?" Xiao Nanfeng gaped at Ye Dafu.
"Who's a masochist? I'm doing this in order to cultivate! Don't you dare ruin my reputation—I have lackeys to lead! You might have saved me before, but you also caused me to be punished with memorizing countless scriptures. We're even now! If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll smack you, you brat!" Ye Dafu glared at Xiao Nanfeng.
Ye Sanshui walloped his nephew on the head.
"Who are you calling a brat? Don't you know who he is? Address him as—as Senior Brother!" Ye Sanshui barely caught himself. Xiao Nanfeng didn't want his identity known in public.
"Third Uncle, you've changed! Why are you siding with him now?" Ye Dafu cried out, feeling wronged.
"I side with whoever's in the right. Senior Brother Nanfeng saved your life. Are you going to disregard that and disrespect him? If I tell your father about this, he'll wallop you to death!" Ye Sanshui threatened.
Ye Dafu: ...
As the Taiqing disciples interacted with one another, the Lady Arclight called out from nearby, "The formation's been activated. Everyone, come over here and channel your spiritual power into the altar. It's time for us to leave this hidden realm."
Everyone surged forward.
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