The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 55: This Seat Feels Unsettled

Though the Crimson Bird Immortal Realm was named as such, it was not actually inhabited by immortals, but rather by a race of half-immortals and half-beasts with mixed bloodlines.

They were the closest beings to immortals on the cultivation continent, known as the "Feathered People."

The Feathered People lived in seclusion within the maze of the Nine Flowers Mountain for generations, possessing their own version of a utopia, rarely interfering in mortal affairs. However, their bodies contained not just immortal blood, but also mortal flesh. Thus, they could not fully transcend the world. During times of turmoil and instability in the cultivation realm, they would appear with their immense spiritual energy to aid humans through difficult times.

During Mo Ran's previous life, when he had caused chaos, a large number of Feathered People had appeared. But their strength was no match for the Human Emperor who had mastered forbidden arts, and in the end, Mo Ran had wiped them all out. He had trampled on the stench of blood and the burnt, broken feathers littering the ground.

In one fiery blaze, the Crimson Bird Immortal Realm was destroyed.

It was an utterly frenzied memory, one that even after the fact made Mo Ran break into a cold sweat. He felt as if he had been possessed by an evil spirit back then, his cruelty unmatched.

But at present, he clearly did not have the strength to confront the Feathered People. In fact, due to their racial advantages, most cultivators' spiritual energy was inferior to theirs. Currently, only a few exceptional elders of the Summit of Life and Death might be able to contend with them.

Xue Meng caught sight of Mo Ran's face by chance and jumped in surprise. "What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

"Nothing," Mo Ran replied softly, his eyelashes fluttering. "I just ran a little too quickly earlier."

The arrival of the Feathered people marked the beginning of Shi Mo's tragic tale in his previous life. Mo Ran's heart was clenched with anxiety; he had expected this event to unfold later, yet in this lifetime, so many things seemed to be progressing differently.

At the Summit of Life and Death on a winter day, a weak, waning sun hung in the sky, casting a deathly white glow across the land.

Mo Ran stood in the sunlight and instinctively held onto Shi Mo's hand.

Startled, Shi Mo asked, "What is it?"

"..." Mo Ran remained silent, only shaking his head.

Xue Zhengyong's voice rang out at the right moment, not too dissimilar from what he had said in the previous life.

"I have summoned you all to the Heart of Alchemy Palace today because, after eighty years, the Immortal Envoy of the Feathered People has once again come to our world. Just like eighty years ago, the envoy left Peach Blossom Paradise to descend upon the mortal realm, foretelling impending calamity and extending their aid."

Pausing, he turned to slowly survey the sea of disciples below.

"You all know that although the Ghost Realm barrier was established by the Primordial God Fu Xi, over a million years, its strength has gradually waned. Every few decades, it sustains damage. In recent years, the barrier's power has grown increasingly weaker, even with your assistance, everyone—"

Xue Meng huffed softly, "Father is talking nonsense. It's mostly just Master who's been helping."

Despite the combined efforts of all, the breach in the Ghost Realm was growing ever larger, and it would eventually disintegrate just as it had decades prior. When that happened, countless spirits would descend upon the mortal world, and the boundaries between the Human and Ghost Realms would collapse, bringing untold suffering to humanity. To prevent this calamity, the Feathered Envoy would select a few individuals from various cultivation sects, those with the most suitable spiritual talents, to seal themselves away for cultivation in the Peach Blossom Spring paradise.

Upon hearing this, the crowd was astounded.

The Feathered were going to choose people to take to the Peach Blossom Spring for cultivation? !

Amidst the astonishment of all the disciples, excitement grew in layers, regardless of their natural talents, each harboring secret hopes.

Yet, Mo Ran alone wore no trace of joy; instead, a hint of concern lurked at the corners of his eyes. Usually adept at masking his true feelings, he could not conceal his emotions in this moment:

This matter concerned Shi Mo's life or death. Back then, Shi Mo had been chosen by the Feathered to cultivate in the Peach Blossom Spring. Not long after his return, a massive breach occurred in the Ghost Realm, allowing hordes of spirits to crawl from Hell into the mortal realm.

During that cataclysm, Shi Mo fought alongside Chu Wanning. Each stood on one side of the formation, working together to mend the largest gap. However, Shi Mo's power was ultimately insufficient compared to Chu Wanning's. Seeing the daylight closing in on them, countless vengeful ghosts swarmed towards Shi Mo, their collective malevolence piercing through the sky like a pillar of darkness, impaling Shi Mo, who was desperately trying to maintain the balance of the barrier!

Evil energy pierced his heart, and the spirits tore through his soul.

Chu Wanning did not raise a hand to help nor attempt to hinder them. As Shi Mo fell from the top of the Dragon Pillar, he chose to expend all his magic to seal the incomplete barrier, single-handedly closing it off!

It was snowing heavily that day. Shi Mo drifted down from the platform like an insignificant speck among countless glittering crystals.

Snowflakes filled the sky without end, each one unique in its six-sided ice crystal form. Yet who would care about which particular flake was on the verge of melting, just as countless ordinary people, in their decades of life, mattered little to others beyond their closest kin when they drew their last breath.

In the midst of the blizzard and the smoke of war, Mo Ran held the weakening Shi Mo in his arms, kneeling before Chu Wanning, begging him to spare a glance at Shi Mo and save his life.

But in the end, Chu Wanning turned away, choosing the vast, snowy wilderness and the greater good he believed in. Thus, the bond between master and disciple was extinguished in an instant.

How utterly ridiculous.

What Chu Wanning cherished, cared for, and pursued was all so laughable.

Like how Chu Wanning enjoyed listening to rain and admiring lotus blooms, appreciated Du Fu's hesitant poetry with its meticulous rhymes that bordered on reverence.

Or how Chu Wanning took notice of spring grass reviving, autumn cicadas perishing, and cared about where wars broke out, leaving common folk with no means to survive.

And still, Chu Wanning taught them that for those with enlightenment, the lives of all beings came first, while one's own stood last.

But Mo Ran thought, to hell with all these beings!

He didn't know them, didn't care about them. Their life or death held no significance to him.

In Chu Wanning's rain, there might be wandering souls with nowhere to go, whispering their laments, while the grass and trees weep with the sobs of refugees. But all these were imperceptible to Mo Ran. His rain was just ordinary rain, and the grass and trees were merely common ones. The lives of the masses were but two words scribbled on paper—how could anyone care?

So he believed that Chu Wanning was hypocritical and despicable, always spouting righteousness and morals as if he cared for the world. Yet, in his exceedingly narrow heart, he was stingy even with a place for an apprentice.

Later, he had interrogated Chu Wanning, asking if he felt any pain, if he felt any unease. You say that all life comes first, yet you live on comfortably while making Shi Mo follow your words to his death! You killed him, you hypocrite, you liar!

Do you even have a conscience?

When Shi Mo fell from the high platform, he was calling out to you, calling you 'Master.' Did you hear him? Did you hear him? Why didn't you save him... Why didn't you save him!!!

Chu Wanning, your heart is forged from stone.

You have never...

None of them have ever cared about us.

What you don't care about... What you don't care about...

As for what happened afterward, it was along those lines.

Chu Wanning had become the unassuming king in the realm of cultivation, revered and loved by all. No one cared for the dead, and Shi Mo's remains were but an insignificant stone step, trampled beneath the victorious feet.

He had exchanged a disciple with insufficient talent for a tranquil world, a so-called peace for all. No one would dare claim he was wrong.

Only Mo Ran saw the radiant crown upon his forehead, forged from the bones of the deceased—a testament to Shi Mo's sacrifice that had elevated him to this height.

The hatred ran deep within his heart.

"Hey, little Immortal Lord."

"Hey—"

Suddenly, a gentle hand brushed against his forehead. Mo Ran jerked awake, breaking free from the darkness of his memories and abruptly opening his eyes.

Before him was a delicate face as lovely as a lotus and radiant as flowing clouds. A Feathered Immortal messenger had somehow approached him without notice and was now smiling softly at him.

"How could you be daydreaming during such a wonderful opportunity, little Immortal Lord?"

"Oh, Fairy Sister, please don't take offense," Mo Ran said, forcing himself to regain his composure and smiling at the Feathered Immortal messenger. "I have an overactive imagination, and when I saw you arrive, I couldn't help but hope to be chosen, just to witness what the Peach Blossom Paradise looks like. I got lost in thought, my apologies for being disrespectful."

It turned out that while Mo Ran was lost in his reverie, the Feathered Immortal had already begun selecting suitable candidates. Thanks to his inability to perceive this particular calamity in his previous life, he was preoccupied, oblivious to the surroundings.

The Feathered Immortal messenger smiled again, but then spoke words that Mo Ran never would have expected: "Your spiritual energy is pure, and your cultivation and aptitude are exceptional. If you wish to go to Peach Blossom Paradise, come with me."

Mo Ran: "..."

Mo Ran: "!!!"

Go to Peach Blossom Paradise?

In his previous life, only Shi Mo and Chu Wanning had been chosen. Why was it different this time?

His astonishment was obvious, but since being favored by the Feathered Immortal was itself a shocking event, those around him didn't find it odd. They simply looked at him with envious gazes.

Mo Ran was led by the Feathered Immortal to the Heart's Core Palace. After the initial shock subsided, his pounding heart gradually calmed down, though a barely perceptible wild joy gleamed in his eyes.

Indeed, some things had changed in this lifetime.

Though he was still uncertain whether these changes were for better or worse, and what had caused the alterations in his fate, at least he could now enter Peach Blossom Spring. As long as he followed the Feathered People's cultivation methods, the burden of restoring the barrier might not fall upon Shi Mo's shoulders.

He was an unrefined man who, in his two lifetimes, had never grasped the concept of prioritizing others over himself.

But Shi Mo was the kindest person to him in this world. Before this person, nothing else mattered.

Not even his own body or the fragment of his soul that lingered.

As long as Shi Mo lived, he could do without everything else.

However, when the Feathered People had chosen all their candidates and assembled before the Heart-Dedication Palace, Mo Ran realized that this lineup was entirely different from the previous life.

Shi Mo was still among the chosen few. But because Chu Wanning was in seclusion, he missed the selection process, and the spot was taken by Xuan Ji Elder's young disciple, Xia Sini.

What surprised Mo Ran even more was that Xue Meng had also received an invitation from Peach Blossom Spring. The immortal envoy put it this way: "Your body seems to bear the lingering aura of the God of Ge Chen's sword; quite intriguing."

The distant tolling of bells echoed from the Tower of Heaven, resonating throughout the entire Summit of Life and Death.

"The Lower Realm's Summit of Life and Death has selected four immortals: Xue Ziming, Mo Weiyu, Shi Mingjing, and Xia Sini," announced the leading Feathered People's envoy, after communicating with Xue Zhengyong, followed by the release of a messenger bird to convey the news.

She raised her hand, allowing a bird with vibrant feathers to alight on her fingertips. In a clear voice, she continued, "Today, I have seen these four individuals, each with remarkable talent and pure disposition. They are excellent candidates for this endeavor. Thus, I bring this matter to the attention of the Immortal."

With that, she released the bird, which, having memorized her words, fluttered its strong wings and vanished into the vast expanse of the heavens.

To practice immortal arts in Peach Blossom Spring was a rarer opportunity than obtaining divine weapons, and no one would decline such an offer. Moreover, as the cultivation was intended to counteract the widespread collapse of the barrier between the human and ghost realms, it was a responsibility that no cultivator could refuse.

The duration of the training could vary from a few months to up to three or five years, with no fixed timeline.

The Feathered people were not insensitive; seeing that the end of the year was approaching, they specially allowed them to celebrate the New Year's Eve before taking them to Mount Jiuhua's Peach Blossom Spring.

Mo Ran thought about going to Peach Blossom Spring with Shi Mo for cultivation, and his heart filled with joy. However, this joy did not last long and gradually faded away. He didn't understand why at first, until one day, while passing by the southern slope of Death and Life Peak, he looked up at the tightly sealed Red Lotus Water Pavilion.

Mo Ran's pace involuntarily slowed down, eventually coming to a halt. He stood there, gazing at the distant, cloud-shrouded mountains.

Chu Wanning had been in seclusion for over three months.

In this life, his hatred towards this person seemed to be gradually fading... Even though he repeatedly reminded himself not to forget Chu Wanning's face when he abandoned both him and Shi Mo, there were moments when he couldn't help but feel sympathy, his heart becoming tangled with confusion.

Xia Sini, walking alongside him, noticed Mo Ran's unusual expression and his gaze fixated on the southern peak. His heart stirred, and he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Little Junior Brother, do you think he'll be able to come out before we leave?"

"....Him?"

"Ahh." Mo Ran was taken aback for a moment, then smiled at Chu Wanning. After spending time with him, he found this little junior brother to be exceptionally obedient and sensible, and thus held a great fondness for him. "I'm referring to my master, Elder Yu Heng."

Chu Wanning: "So that's how it is..."

Mo Ran sighed softly and murmured, "He's never gone into seclusion for so long before. Could it be that his injuries from Jin Chengchi were more severe than we thought?"

It was the first time in a long while that he had brought up his master of his own accord.

Despite knowing it was impossible, Chu Wanning couldn't help but ask, "Have...you missed him?"

Author has something to say: Doggy, this is a freebie question. You should answer your master properly. Today's plot isn't light-hearted, so I won't be adding a side scene to disrupt the rhythm. Scratching my head~