Chapter 2820: When Grudges Are Settled
In the stone temple, the Mani Pearl illuminated the darkness with shimmering, six-colored light.
At the center of the stone temple, in a pool of Life Spring, floated a snow-white, creamy jade-like delicate body.
Half submerged in the water, half above it.
The outline of that body was breathtakingly beautiful, slender yet with soft curves, full in all the right places with a buoyant firmness. Beneath skin like immortal jade, spiritual light leaked out, emitting a rich fragrance.
Miaomiao Chan Nu slowly awakened, her eyes opening. For a moment, she was dazed, then sharp light burst forth. She stood upright from the Life Spring, her toes lightly touching the water's surface like a dragonfly skimming it.
Zhang Ruochen sat at the entrance of the stone temple, studying the Dark Domain Heavenly Net. Hearing the sound behind him, he knew she had woken up. "Put on some clothes. I have something to discuss with you."
Miaomiao Chan Nu looked down at her entire body, and the next moment, a green Buddhist robe was wrapped around her.
Whether it was a real Buddhist robe or conjured was unclear.
Zhang Ruochen continued studying the Dark Domain Heavenly Net. This treasure, possessing immense power and the ability to slay gods, surprisingly had no artifact spirit.
By now, Yinyue Tian's dojo had turned into an isolated island, floating in this dark space. Before Zhang Ruochen's eyes, all he could see were fragments of continents, like a scene of the world's destruction.
After Wujiang and Mohe Yan died, aside from finding their Divine Sources, Zhang Ruochen's only trophy was the Dark Domain Heavenly Net.
As for the Darkness Esoterica that Wujiang had mastered, the moment he died, it was like a drop of water evaporating, returning to heaven and earth. Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen was not a master of the Way of Darkness, nor was his comprehension of it deep.
Thus, before the Darkness Esoterica completely dissipated, relying only on the Wuji Sacred Intent and the Eternal Return One Dao Domain, he had gathered merely one-millionth of it.
Given the amount of Esoterica Zhang Ruochen now possessed, he truly couldn't be bothered with this one-millionth portion of Darkness Esoterica, but it was enough for comprehending the Way of Darkness.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's neck turned cold.
Miaomiao Chan Nu stood behind him, holding an ice sword, its tip pointed at the back of his neck.
Zhang Ruochen paused briefly, then his expression returned to normal. He put away the Dark Domain Heavenly Net and said, "Miaomiao Chan Nu's cultivation is unparalleled. If you wanted to kill me, why use a sword?"
Miaomiao Chan Nu said, "Do you think that just because you saved me, I won't kill you?"
"You're right. In this world, there are countless good-hearted fools who die at the hands of those they saved," Zhang Ruochen said.
Miaomiao Chan Nu said, "Then why didn't you kill me? Why didn't you leave immediately after saving me?"
"Because of Yunqing Ancient Buddha."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "I once promised the Ancient Buddha that I would do my utmost to resolve the enmity between our two families. So, I had to save you."
"The reason I saved you and didn't leave isn't to earn your gratitude, but because of the Three-Life Gate."
"You took the Three-Life Gate, didn't you?"
"Yunqing Ancient Buddha's incarnation is inside the Three-Life Gate. I promised him I would take his incarnation out of the Abyss of Darkness and help him reincarnate."
"Since I promised, I have to see it through."
"What if I told you that Yunqing Ancient Buddha's incarnation has already been refined by me?" Miaomiao Chan Nu said.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze darkened.
Miaomiao Chan Nu smiled and added, "I think you just want the Three-Life Gate for yourself. It's the legacy of a God Venerable, enough to save you a lot of cultivation time."
"Think whatever you want."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, facing her. "Give me the Three-Life Gate, and we'll be even. You owe me nothing, and I owe you nothing. Of course, that's assuming the Ancient Buddha's incarnation hasn't perished. Otherwise, the grudge between us will be huge."
Miaomiao Chan Nu had never encountered a situation like today's. Trapped in a deathly predicament, she had been saved by her enemy. To be precise, Zhang Ruochen wasn't even her enemy, as he wasn't qualified.
Right now, she found him utterly ridiculous. The whole thing was ridiculous.
That she was still alive was the most ridiculous part of all.
She said, "You don't really think I won't kill you, do you? Even if saving me counts as settling the grudge between our families, the Esoterica you possess is reason enough for me to take your life. There's no better reason than that. Your reason to die."
"If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't be talking so much. You're just faced with something you can't understand, trying to figure out why I saved you. Because you've never met someone like me."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I've already explained the reason I saved you very clearly. You should believe me. You should learn to trust others. If you never trust anyone, you'll never have real friends or people worth trusting."
Zhang Ruochen had always been willing to trust others. That was why, although his true friends—those he could entrust everything to—were few, he did have a few.
Trusting others might lead to getting hurt.
But someone unwilling to trust anyone was destined to live in pain.
Zhang Ruochen's words, like a merciless sword, struck Miaomiao Chan Nu's heart. If she had had one or two gods she could fully trust during this ordeal, how could she have been so humiliated by someone like Wujiang?
Miaomiao Chan Nu had a strong will, and she quickly regained her composure. "Zhang Ruochen, you are indeed exceptionally clever, hard for me to see through. But no matter how eloquently you speak, I can kill you with a flick of my finger."
"I suspect that your saving me and staying here must be part of a deeper scheme. What are you really after? Are you trying to earn my trust to use my power to stop the Nether Hall from suppressing you with the Dao-Cutting Curse?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled helplessly.
"Hit the mark?" Miaomiao Chan Nu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't you know that the Dao-Cutting Curse on me is already gone?"
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen added, "You may not be able to tell if I've resolved the Dao-Cutting Curse, but can't you sense that the Withering Death Art on you has receded?"
This time, Miaomiao Chan Nu was truly shaken. Her gaze snapped back to the lotus on the divine altar and the six-colored radiance emanating from it.
Her steadfast heart trembled as she stared.
The ice sword in her hand dissolved into watery vapor.
"The Mani Pearl! You actually found the Mani Pearl?"
Miaomiao Chan Nu quickly walked to the divine altar, cupping her hands toward it. Her excitement was beyond words.
Tears fell from her eyes, beautiful as stars.
The thing she had always sought, which she thought was illusory and might never be found, now appeared before her. This was even more shocking and moving than her own resurrection.
Since childhood, she had suffered the torment of the Withering Death Art countless times, each time unbearable.
Every time she was tortured, her resentment toward the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable grew.
Zhang Ruochen followed her into the stone temple. "Now, do you still think I have ulterior motives?"
Miaomiao Chan Nu turned to look at him.
Zhang Ruochen had never seen her wear such an expression. His heart tightened, and he quickly said, "Aren't you curious how I managed to leave the Seventy-Two Demon God Stone Pillars alive and escape the Ancient Desolate Ruins City? To tell you the truth, I met my ancestor Ling Yanzi. She is in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, and she gave me the Mani Pearl. You should know that a powerhouse of her level has terrifying perception. If you try to kill me, you'll die too."
"That's why I dared to stay here."
Miaomiao Chan Nu showed a disdainful expression. "Why lie before a Great God? If Ling Yanzi were really alive and in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, how could you have been injured? When you fought Wujiang, why didn't she intervene?"
Although Miaomiao Chan Nu hadn't witnessed Zhang Ruochen's battle with Wujiang, she had fully reconstructed the fight from the traces left in the stone temple.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Fine! I'll tell you the truth. The senior I met in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City was actually Heavenly Mother."
"If you had said that earlier, I might have believed it a little."
Miaomiao Chan Nu lifted the lotus holding the Mani Pearl. "I know you said that just to intimidate me and save your own life. You don't need to be so tense. Since you saved me and brought me the Mani Pearl, I believe you truly want to resolve the enmity between our families. Killing you..."
She paused, then said, "Killing you would feel like owing your Zhang Clan and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable again. It's really a headache."
Zhang Ruochen watched her silently.
Miaomiao Chan Nu showed a surprised expression. "You're not going to refute what I just said? Did you really plan to give me the Mani Pearl from the very beginning?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "That was also something I promised Yunqing Ancient Buddha."
"I'm finding it harder and harder to believe your words, Zhang Ruochen. This is like using all the tactics of pursuing a woman on me. I'd better ask Yunqing Patriarch myself."
Miaomiao Chan Nu took out the Three-Life Gate.
In the next moment, Zhang Ruochen found himself inside the Three-Life Gate, standing on water as still as a calm lake.
On the water's surface, the faint image of Yunqing Ancient Buddha appeared.
Seeing Yunqing Ancient Buddha's incarnation, Zhang Ruochen breathed a slight sigh of relief. He thought to himself, it seems Miaomiao Chan Nu isn't utterly evil.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha was the master of Yinyue Tian and the Sixth Patriarch, making him Miaomiao Chan Nu's patriarch. If she had dared to refine her own patriarch, Zhang Ruochen would have had to slay her when his cultivation was complete.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha's incarnation was very weak. "Since the Mani Pearl has been found, both the Dao-Cutting Curse and the Withering Death Art can be resolved. Before I reincarnate, I truly hope to see you two reconcile, so this enmity doesn't continue."
"Ruochen, you are a good child. Xumi did not misjudge you. If you were to cultivate Buddhism... never mind."
"Miaomiao, the grudges of the past have too many unknown secrets. You cannot blame the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable entirely."
"Can you two promise your patriarch that you will never be enemies again?"
Zhang Ruochen bowed deeply. "As long as she no longer treats me as an enemy, I can be as broad as the sea embracing all rivers."
"Can you represent the Zhang Clan? Can you let go of the hatred of the past? Can they?" Miaomiao Chan Nu asked.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was unprecedentedly firm. "I can."
"Good! From now on, let bygones be bygones. The Dao-Cutting Curse of the Nether Hall, I will resolve." Miaomiao Chan Nu showed remarkable decisiveness in making this promise.
This was no simple promise.
It was very heavy.
After exiting the Three-Life Gate, Miaomiao Chan Nu looked at Zhang Ruochen not just with higher regard, but with a deeper emotion. "You really are something. Whether everything you did today was for a purpose or not, you've earned a place among the people I admire."
"Not calling me a fool?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Miaomiao Chan Nu said, "If you were truly a fool, wouldn't admiring a fool make me even more foolish? You really are something. I even feel like I owe you something."