MOF Chapter 78
by VolareAfter finishing his reflection in the Jing Shen Cave, Xie Yiling encountered Lu Jinnian in Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion and then completely ignored him. No matter what attitude the other person used towards him, how they looked at him, or what words they used to provoke him, he treated them like air. Every day, besides practicing his skills, he went to take care of Nangong Ci.
Actually, it couldn’t really be called “taking care of.”
Although Nangong Ci was temporarily blind, it didn’t affect his daily activities. His walking speed was a bit slower than before, but it was also steadier.
Even so, Xie Yiling still ran to Fufeng Pavilion three times a day.
Si Yuan was made uneasy and unsettled by his abnormality. After this continued for some time, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother Xie, have you settled your grudges with Lu Jinnian?”
Xie Yiling wiped his sword and said in a normal tone, “What grudges are there? It was just a farce of one trying to be strong and the other being competitive, neither willing to back down.”
Si Yuan looked as if he had seen a ghost, took a step back in fright, and wanted to say something, but remembering Nangong Ci’s injury, he suddenly understood.
Although he wasn’t present that day, the fact that Fufeng Daoren was injured became known throughout Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion in just half a day. The disciples were in an uproar, questioning each other about the reason.
Some said that Fufeng Daoren lost control while practicing his skills and accidentally injured his eyes. Of course, this statement was quickly ridiculed and dismissed by the rest of the group.
Some people said that they saw Fufeng Daoren returning from the bottomless abyss with Yue Gongzi, and he might have been injured by the sealed demon.
Others noticed that Xie Yiling and Lu Jinnian were both punished, and boldly guessed that Fufeng Daoren’s injury was related to the two of them.
Although there were many rumors, there was no concrete evidence. Therefore, this matter gradually subsided after a while.
Si Yuan felt that the injury of Fufeng Daoren was definitely not simple.
However, although he wanted to know the reason, he wouldn’t directly ask Xie Yiling, because even if he asked, he would most likely not get an answer.
Just as Si Yuan was thinking, Xie Yiling had already finished wiping his sword, put it back into its scabbard, and walked out.
Without needing to ask, Si Yuan understood that Xie Yiling was going to the Book collection Pavilion. He looked at the figure getting further and further away, a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
During this time, Xie Yiling had turned over every book related to pharmacology in the Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion’s Book collection Pavilion. During the day, he studied medical books, desperately searching for prescriptions. At night, he rested for almost only an hour, and then, after the disciples were asleep, he went to the back mountain to practice his skills alone.
He was busy day and night, almost forgetting the time.
One morning, Xie Yiling saw the frozen ice hanging from the eaves and suddenly came back to his senses, realizing that the cold autumn had passed and the severe winter had quietly arrived.
On the same day, the elders selected disciples again after the Spirit Testing Assembly.
Although Xie Yiling won the championship last time, Nangong Ci didn’t accept disciples, and he had no intention of becoming a disciple of other elders. This time, Nangong Ci was also among them. The headmaster said directly to him, considering that he was currently blind, that he should accept disciples. Firstly, to pass on his swordsmanship and immortal arts, and secondly, to have someone by his side to take care of him.
Along with the news that Fufeng Daoren was accepting disciples, Xie Yiling also heard that he had been named by the headmaster to enter Fufeng Pavilion.
For the first time in so many days, Xie Yiling smiled sincerely.
After confirming that the news was true, Xie Yiling didn’t say a word and immediately packed his things and moved to Fufeng Pavilion. A Si carried his small package, following closely behind him.
Xie Yiling, who moved to Fufeng Pavilion with his child, didn’t become idle because of this. Several times, he was discovered by Nangong Ci practicing his skills in the middle of the night and was forcibly brought back into the house to rest.
Later, he became smart and set up a silent barrier at the door when he went out.
The winter night sky in Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion was without a trace of dark clouds, and the stars seemed to hang right above people’s heads. Xie Yiling practiced for a while, and the heat gathered in his body, quickly dispelling the chill around him.
He estimated that it was almost Chou Shi (1-3 AM), found a stone to sit down on, and heard the sound of gurgling water in his ears. The streams in Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion didn’t freeze all year round, but the season could be determined by the water temperature.
It was warm in spring and summer, but bone-piercing in autumn and winter.
Xie Yiling squatted down and washed his face with the stream water. The ice-blade-like water shocked him, and his little sleepiness was completely gone. The moonlight in the winter night was like frost and snow, reflecting each other with the clear and cold river.
The water reflected a young and handsome face. His eyebrows and eyes were distinct, and as the water flowed over, the four stars embedded in his eyebrows and corners of his mouth became brighter.
Xie Yiling paused. This… the four stars formed a square, shining on his face in the water?
He looked up at the night sky, only to see the sky like a flat, still black river. The moon, which was still there just now, temporarily lost its brilliance and hid in the dark clouds.
The four stars he had just seen flickered, and their positions had changed to a line.
Four-star conjunction?
Xie Yiling stared at them strangely, not quite understanding what this meant.
He hadn’t read books about celestial phenomena. The only time he had come into contact with them was when he saw the Record of Strange Contracts in Water-Ink Immortal Estate. There wasn’t much outrageous content in it, just some key points of the immortal sect. Among them, there was an article about the sun, moon, and stars, which mentioned that the operation and changes of the three were closely related.
Not only the sun, moon, and stars, but also wind, clouds, rain, and snow, etc., but there were no detailed records.
It only recorded two celestial phenomena, one of which was the four-star conjunction, and the other was two stars accompanying the moon.
Xie Yiling suddenly felt a strong unease in his heart. Under his deliberate recollection, the content of that article quickly reappeared in his mind.
Four-star conjunction is a sign of the Heavenly Dao descending floods. This kind of disaster caused by celestial phenomena is no ordinary disaster. It will almost cause devastating damage to the human world. Once it descends, it will inevitably lead to misery and death.
Xie Yiling took a step back unconsciously. Just as he was about to take a closer look, he found that the celestial phenomenon he had just seen suddenly disappeared. Several clusters of stars were gathered in chunks at the edge of the black river, and the moon hung brightly in the center, as if what he had just seen was just his illusion.
But Xie Yiling was sure he hadn’t seen it wrong. Then there was only one possibility, that the Heavenly Dao had changed the celestial phenomenon.
People observe celestial phenomena to predict heavenly secrets. Could it be that other people also saw that scene just now?
Thinking of this, Xie Yiling picked up his sword and quickly ran towards the Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion’s main hall.
The entire Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion was asleep in the darkness. On each path, bright pearls reflected in different directions, but they were all empty.
Xie Yiling even boldly went to Huai Feng Pavilion to make sure that Nangong Yue hadn’t discovered the celestial phenomenon.
He felt both dazed and uneasy in his heart. Just based on a celestial phenomenon, to determine that a disaster would happen in the human world soon, wouldn’t it be too arbitrary? He should wait until daytime to discuss it with Nangong Ci before making any plans.
Because he had this matter on his mind, Xie Yiling was always distracted unconsciously when practicing his skills, so he ended early and returned to his room to rest.
He slept very deeply in this sleep. In his dream, he heard many people’s voices around him, rising and falling. He was awakened by the noise, and his heart was beating fast.
He rubbed his chest and pushed the door open, and saw A Si looking back at him in fear, saying, “Brother Xie Ci! It’s raining so hard outside!”
Xie Yiling went outside to take a look. It was dark and gloomy, not like daytime. But birds and beasts were chirping in the mountains, and although the light was dim, it was clear like daytime, unlike the sticky darkness of night.
Water flooded Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion, flowing from the mountain downwards. The river water in the back mountain was surging, and the momentum was as magnificent as three thousand waterfalls tilting and pouring into the world. Rain hit the halls, mixed with the disciples’ exclamations.
“Is the sky leaking? How can there be such heavy rain?”
“I heard that Northern Mang Mountain collapsed. I wonder if it has anything to do with this rain.”
“It’s over. This rain is so heavy that it will definitely cause a flood. I don’t know how many people will lose their lives…”
“What’s going on?” Xie Yiling asked, feeling that he had said something nonsensical. He told A Si to go back to the house, intending to go out and see the situation. Who knew that as soon as he left the eaves, the torrential rain instantly soaked his entire body.
The dense rain curtain was like a layer of thin gauze falling in front of his eyes. Blown by the wind, it slanted and hit people’s bodies.
It was as if there was a drum in his ears. When the raindrops struck wildly, the drum surface vibrated wildly, shaking his eardrums.
A bolt of lightning split the sky into several pieces, and thunder rolled in afterwards.
Xie Yiling passed through the rainstorm and arrived at Fufeng Pavilion.
“Master!” He wiped the raindrops on his face again and again, and his eyes felt astringent after being soaked in water.
Nangong Ci was wearing a set of blue immortal robes, with a white silk ribbon covering his eyes, and he pushed open the door. He tilted his head slightly and asked, “It’s raining heavily outside, why did you come?”
Feeling Xie Yiling’s still dripping shoulder, Nangong Ci frowned and said, “Why are you so soaked? Come in and change quickly.”
Xie Yiling brushed the wet hair in front of his forehead upwards, pressed it down hard, and then said, “Master, if I said I saw the sign of the Heavenly Flood, would you believe me?”
Nangong Ci had a set of new immortal robes draped over his arm. He paused as he closed the cabinet door, turned around, and said, “Celestial phenomena change in an instant. If one truly glimpses it, it should be a revelation from heaven.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Yiling told him everything he had seen in the early morning. As soon as he finished speaking, the continuous lightning and thunder outside suddenly became more violent.
A Si’s frightened cries came from next door. Xie Yiling didn’t have time to change out of his wet clothes, turned around, and went out to take a look, and was stunned on the spot.
A huge hole appeared in the sky, and heavenly water poured straight down, splashing onto the earth with a loud noise, which was both shocking and scalp-numbing.
Xie Yiling looked at this scene in disbelief. After hearing faint cries for help from afar, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he suddenly realized why the scene before him appeared.
Heavenly secrets must not be leaked.
Was it because he told Nangong Ci about the celestial phenomenon that the sky broke a hole?
Xie Yiling’s mind was shocked, his vision dimmed for a few seconds, and he stumbled back a step, temporarily unsteady.
Wet and cold clothes stuck to his warm palms, and Nangong Ci’s face showed a bit of anxiety because he couldn’t see.
“What’s wrong outside? The sound is so loud, did something collapse?”
Xie Yiling was panicking in his heart. Hearing Nangong Ci’s question, he didn’t know how to answer, so he made an excuse and said, “A Si is crying, I’ll go back and take a look first.”
“Clothes…” Before Nangong Ci could finish speaking, Xie Yiling had already run far away. As soon as he entered the rain, he was like being hit by an invisible muffled stick, knocked down into the rain.
The accumulated water on the ground had already spread to people’s thighs, and the water flow was turbulent, blocking Xie Yiling’s mouth and nose. As soon as he opened his mouth, he was forcibly poured down a few mouthfuls of fresh rainwater.
He held his breath and tried to lift his head out of the water, but felt a suction force in the water pulling him inside.
The feeling of suffocation was hidden in the water flow and spread rapidly. Xie Yiling’s vision became darker and darker. He remembered that he clearly knew how to swim, but he couldn’t struggle out of this water bottom no matter what.
Until he was completely exhausted and his consciousness was blurred, his body was pushed and swayed by a force, and he suddenly opened his eyes in shock and woke up.
A Si tilted his head and was looking at him: “Brother Xie Ci, are you awake? It’s raining so hard outside.”