Volume One: The Celestial Palace of Mist Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Wandering Libertine and Luo Tianyi (Part Two)

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Deng Tulang and Luo Tianyi (Part Two)

A yellow gourd, seven inches tall, with wisps of smoke curling from its mouth—Deng Tulang stood gracefully in white robes amidst the white mist, as though he might ride the vapor and vanish at any moment.

Zhou Hao stood quietly among the heaps of molten rock by the flame pool, listening to Deng Tulang recount the past, his gaze often drifting toward the nearby “well.” The closer he drew to it, the more frequent the strange stirrings within him became, a resonance that made him ever more curious about the golden radiance at the bottom of the well.

Meanwhile, Deng Tulang was utterly immersed in his memories, his voice drifting dreamily as he continued without pause.

“In truth, Luo Tianyi was already at her limit when we first entered the valley, yet she gritted her teeth and pressed on. As the sister of the Dragon King of the Luo Sea, she was clearly possessed of extraordinary talent. That she could fight so many peers alone without suffering a crushing defeat speaks volumes in itself.

“At first, she intended to use the Sea-Calming Pearl to kill me outright. Fortunately, she had used it several times before, so its power was nearly spent, and she was grievously wounded besides. Thus, her plan failed. Later, seeing I was not some villain, she merely threatened me, warning that if I tried anything, her Dragon King brother would wipe out my entire clan. But my mind was wholly occupied with how I might complete the ‘True Scripture for Saving the Underworld,’ so I ignored her threats. Strangely enough, the two of us reached a tacit agreement: I took the left, she the right, each tending to our own business, disturbing neither the other.

“The valley was actually quite peaceful, perfect for writing and compiling scriptures, with no one to disturb me. So it was that my legendary canon was born. Yet Luo Tianyi’s wounds proved far from easy to heal. Beyond the blade and sword wounds, she bore a host of bizarre poisons and soul injuries that tormented her with cold sweats. I remember, one day as she was treating herself, her body shifted in hues of red, green, and blue—a ghastly poisoning. When her flesh turned red, it burned like a furnace, hot enough to incinerate even an immortal’s body. When it was green, her flesh corroded and decayed. When blue, her body froze to ice, shattering in the end to shards. Such torments were almost unendurable, for the one who inflicted them seemed to have done so deliberately, ensuring the wounds would not be fatal but would leave the victim to suffer. Even an immortal could not withstand such agony. More than once, she begged me to end her life; I shall never forget her anguished cries. In the end, I resolved to save her by my own means—not out of any lofty motive, but because I could no longer bear her screams or the sight of a woman wracked by such suffering. Killing her was out of the question; the Dragon King would hunt me to the ends of the earth. So, with no alternative, I had to try anything I could!

“According to my scripture, I began by massaging her body—a kind of hypnotic technique, to let her regain normalcy for a time. Then, I used pure yang immortal energy to draw out her toxins. Yet, to my utter surprise, I discovered Luo Tianyi’s body was pure yin, a perfect counterpart to my own rare pure yang constitution—without which I could never have cultivated this supreme path of yin-yang union. But by then it was too late; pure yin and pure yang, when they meet, are unstoppable. Her body became addicted to my immortal yang energy as though to a drug, and soon enough she grew bold, laying hands on me—I was utterly powerless to resist...”

At this point, Deng Tulang faltered, a flush of embarrassment on his face.

“Senior, do go on. Isn’t the best part just beginning?” Zhou Hao’s eyes narrowed, fixing on the humanoid wisp atop the gourd.

“Not for the ears of children! Let’s skip that part,” Deng Tulang waved dismissively.

“And where would you like to skip to?” Zhou Hao asked mischievously. “Into the beauty’s arms, perhaps, or somewhere else?”

“You impudent child! How dare you mock an immortal such as I? Very well, very well—if you wish to hear, I’ll tell you. It’s nearly over anyway.” Deng Tulang recited his Daoist title with a straight face, then continued solemnly.

“I state for the record: I did nothing that day, behaved as a perfect gentleman. It was Luo Tianyi who laid hands on me—I was coerced.”

Zhou Hao thought to himself, “Never have I encountered such shamelessness.”

“Pure yin and pure yang meeting is, as you might expect, explosive. As Luo Tianyi and I engaged in the union of clouds and rain, her wounds healed rapidly, and she grew ever more vibrant, lively as a willow in spring. For three days and nights we cultivated together without pause, and for the first time, I saw the miraculous results of my scripture: my own cultivation surged, rising instantly to match Luo Tianyi’s. Only afterward did I realize the secret: cultivating this scripture allowed me to share in the woman’s cultivation and inheritance. In other words, so long as my level was lower than a female immortal’s, dual cultivation with her would instantly raise me to her level!

“In that moment, I was overjoyed—my scripture was indeed a work to astound the ages. Should its secrets spread, the consequences would be dire. After all, if one could simply find a higher-level woman to cultivate with, one could avoid centuries of toil—who wouldn’t covet such a method?”

Zhou Hao was dumbfounded at first, then frowned. “Cultivation gained in this way—can it truly be called the strength of a real master?”

Deng Tulang was taken aback. “There are three thousand paths to the Dao, all leading to the pinnacle of immortality—why shouldn’t this count as true mastery?”

“Perhaps. But I believe every step a true cultivator takes should be won by his own effort, not borrowed from women,” Zhou Hao said quietly.

No sooner had Zhou Hao spoken than Deng Tulang’s pupils contracted sharply. The bottom of the flaming pool howled, crimson magma surging skyward. Dozens of vortexes spun violently in the pool, power enough to shatter mountains and overturn seas.

Zhou Hao’s words had touched Deng Tulang’s reverse scale. The latter’s mighty aura burst forth, shaking the entire pool. Zhou Hao’s body began to crack, blood seeping from his seven orifices, and but for the black stone sword, he would have collapsed then and there.

“You claim my power comes from women?” Deng Tulang’s voice was cold, a note of warning in it.

Zhou Hao, clutching the sword for support, bloodied eyes gazing unwaveringly at the human-shaped mist atop the gourd, said, “I haven’t yet heard the end of your story.”

“Answer my question first!”

“Without knowing the whole story, I can’t know how to answer you.”

“Fine!” Deng Tulang clenched his fists, anger plainly written on his flawless face; he could not suppress his temper—for those who had spoken thus to him before had all perished.

The atmosphere grew palpably tense. Deng Tulang now regarded the youth with hostility, while the sword in Zhou Hao’s hands restrained the immortal’s powers in turn.

“I relied on my own scripture to heal all Luo Tianyi’s wounds. She became dependent on me, transforming from a valkyrie into a gentle, clinging woman—perhaps that is what it means to conquer. She was conquered by me, Deng Tulang. We remained in the valley for several more days, during which she revealed everything to me. I knew she had fallen completely in love, for a woman in the throes of passion loses all reason.

“Later, deep within the valley, we discovered a vine-covered stone pillar, with a yellow gourd placed atop it. By chance, I removed the gourd’s stopper, and like you, unleashed boundless sword-energy. The valley was destroyed in an instant, and the Night Palace experts stationed nearby suffered disaster. When they saw the valley ruined, they tried to rush in and seize Luo Tianyi, but the sword-light swept them away in an instant. Luo Tianyi and I, standing beside the pillar, remained unharmed, so we surmised that the pillar had some restraining power over the gourd.

“Our guess proved correct. The vines had covered deliberate immortal runes carved on the pillar, which stated that within a three-foot radius of the pillar, one was safe, while all other areas were perilous. Once the stopper was removed, the gourd would unleash a lethal sword storm to cleanse the valley, and only the one who replaced the stopper could become its new master.

“But the gourd was terrifying, like a lion escaped from its cage—how could it be forced back in? Luo Tianyi and I tried everything but failed; the gourd hovered overhead, releasing sword-energy, turning a thousand miles to ruin, then to scorched earth, and finally to a collapsed, unstable void—black and dreadful.

“In time, we discovered a weakness: without a master, the gourd did not emit sword-energy constantly. So I tried to use my power to replace the stopper from a distance, but each time the gourd blasted it away with sword-energy just as I was about to succeed. Then Luo Tianyi had an idea: the critical principle—wait until the very instant the gourd ceased emitting, then act!

“I shall never forget that moment. It was harrowing. As if foreseeing the outcome, Luo Tianyi handed me the Sea-Calming Pearl, saying I’d need it soon. We waited for that crucial second, and as the gourd’s sword-energy faded, Luo Tianyi lifted the stopper to the gourd above. As it was about to fit, blinding white light filled the gourd’s mouth, and it seemed doomed to fail again. At that instant, Luo Tianyi urged me to hurl the Sea-Calming Pearl at the stopper with all my strength. I did so, and with two crisp collisions, the stopper and the gourd mouth fit perfectly. Our joy was indescribable—she leapt into my arms, her delicate face radiant with happiness. I was delighted too, for our teamwork had triumphed!”

Zhou Hao nodded. “Then why did the two of you not end up together?”

“Our personalities clashed. She was too intense, demanding that I love only her, expecting me to coax her daily. I couldn’t bear it, and so we quarreled. When we argued, she transformed from a gentle bird into a tigress. Ah, the past is like smoke—I’d rather not dwell on it. That’s all there is to our story. Perhaps she appeared in my life only to help me obtain the yellow gourd,” Deng Tulang said wistfully, standing motionless amid the mists, a shadow of indescribable sorrow in his eyes.

“Now that the story’s told, can you answer my question?” In the next moment, Deng Tulang’s gaze returned to Zhou Hao, still brooding over the earlier words.

“Do you truly believe all my cultivation was gained through women?”