Chapter Ninety-Four: Unrequited Love

Thunderclap was well aware of the grave consequences of Xuanhong’s escape, yet he had his own difficulties. After firing a shot with the Immortal-Slaying Gun in his palm, his spiritual power was almost depleted. It would take time to draw fire energy from the Beauty Spirit Smoke Vessel, and the Immortal-Slaying Gun could not be fired consecutively. With Xuanhong’s soul moving at near-instantaneous speed, by the time Thunderclap reloaded and prepared, she would have vanished without a trace.

Ultimately, it all came down to insufficient cultivation. If he had reached the Core Formation stage, he might have managed two shots. Yet his lack of cultivation had also led to the failure in upgrading the Divine Refining Mirror; without the upgrade, he could not forge a gun capable of consecutive firing. Clearly, advancing to Core Formation was the proper path.

“What is that weapon you used to shoot those explosive spheres? What grade of magical artifact is it?” Blue Xi asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

Thunderclap lifted his head with pride. “I crafted it myself. I named it the Palm Immortal-Slaying Gun. This artifact does not have a grade.”

“No grade?” Blue Xi echoed.

Thunderclap continued, “This gun is the first of its kind in the cultivation world. I dare not claim it will never be surpassed, but at least it’s without precedent. No one can accurately evaluate its grade. If I were to rate it myself, I’d call it at least a lower-tier supreme artifact, since it can fire Celestial Crystal bullets at a speed tens of times faster than a cultivator’s spell. However, it requires immense spiritual power, and can only fire one round at a time… Blue Xi, this isn’t the time for such discussions. What we need most is a place to settle. We can no longer stay on Jade Forest Island. Let’s talk on the road.”

Half an hour later, a massive bed of white jade, seven or eight yards long, soared across the boundless sea. Blue Xi dangled her bare feet at the edge, swaying them back and forth. At this moment, she appeared to Thunderclap as a pure, innocent child. Earlier, Blue Xi had suggested the Ryukyu Archipelago as their destination—the nearest land. With the guidance of the Northern Dipper Pearl, they set out after a brief preparation.

Blue Xi remained mostly silent, but Thunderclap spoke incessantly, as though two years of unsaid words had poured forth. Finally, Blue Xi smiled and said, “You saved me in the Eastern Yue Kingdom. This time I intended to save you, yet you rescued me again. To repay you for saving me twice, I can help you return to Eastern Yue. I know of a perilous place containing several immortal abodes, said to have once been a blessed land. There is a legendary immortal treasure there called the Boundary-Breaking Talisman. With it, you can tear open the void and escape the Elven Tribe. If we succeed, I’ll have repaid your kindness twice, and we’ll be even.”

Thunderclap gazed at her profile, bitterly wondering if their relationship really needed such clear accounting. He bared his small tiger teeth in a wry smile. “With things as they are between us, is there any need to talk about debts?”

“There is!” Blue Xi’s azure eyes were resolute.

Thunderclap sighed deeply. “Very well, you win. But I have one request. Since you owe me two lives, at least repay me twice. I won’t make it hard for you—just give me the Crystal Golem as one favor.”

When Thunderclap spoke, Blue Xi was worried he might demand something outrageous. Hearing he only wanted the Crystal Golem, she relaxed. “The Crystal Golem is no problem; I can even give you the method for crafting it.”

Thunderclap’s eyes sparkled. “I won’t take the crafting method for free. Here’s a spiritual pill, very valuable for girls. Take it.” He handed her a delicate bottle and gestured for her to consume it.

Blue Xi accepted but did not immediately take it. Thunderclap shook his head. “Blue Xi, do you still fear I’d harm you? This Longevity Pill is priceless, able to beautify, preserve youth, and prolong life.” Thunderclap understood women well; eternal beauty and youth were their greatest concern, so he offered this temptation.

Unexpectedly, Blue Xi was unmoved, leaving Thunderclap puzzled—were Elven girls different? Did they not care for beauty? After a moment, he understood and smiled, saying, “I see your cultivation has suddenly vanished, but I can tell it’s because your spiritual power is sealed. This Longevity Pill is excellent for restoring spiritual power.”

Blue Xi’s face remained icy, but her heart stirred. Thunderclap truly cared for her, considering her needs in all things. She had to admit she liked him—he was endearing—but for the sake of the path to immortality, she would not consider personal matters now and could not accept him.

However, since the pill could restore her spiritual power, she accepted it.

Watching Blue Xi swallow the Longevity Pill gracefully, Thunderclap felt a surge of joy. Though his feelings were not reciprocated, being able to do something for the woman he loved was enough to make him happy. Perhaps her refusal was due to the taboo on marriage between Elves and human cultivators—a problem he could not solve, so he would not dwell on it.

Thunderclap then told Blue Xi the pill’s true effects: it could preserve her youthful beauty but could not break the seal within her body. To restore her spiritual power, it was necessary to understand the circumstances of the sealing.

Blue Xi could not help but smile at his well-meaning efforts. She felt his kindness and did not blame him. After pondering, she explained the reason for her loss of magical power.

Blue Xi was the illegitimate daughter of the Blue Elf Tribe’s chief, but she was a hybrid; her mother was an ordinary human. Unable to adapt to Elven life, her mother passed away when Blue Xi was three. Blue Xi lived peacefully for eighteen years. By Elven custom, girls were to marry at sixteen. Her father, out of doting affection and guilt toward her mother, never agreed to the suitors who approached. Yet a month ago, the son of the Elf King, Tans, personally proposed. Her father could not refuse outright, since the Elf King ruled the entire Elven Tribe and also led the Green Elf Tribe, and his son, Tans, was among the most distinguished of the younger generation.

Blue Xi was firmly opposed to the marriage—her heart was set on the path of cultivation, and Tans’s volatile temperament was not to her liking. But the Elf King pressed hard; her father had to feign assent. Fearing delays, the Elf King sealed Blue Xi’s spiritual power, to be released only after the wedding. Blue Xi, strong-willed, fled home in anger. Her father cleverly arranged for her to “steal” two treasures from the tribe, including the Crystal Golem, giving her the means to survive alone on this desolate island.

After hearing Blue Xi’s account, Thunderclap fell silent, his gaze drifting into the distance. Blue Xi assumed he could not resolve the matter and did not press further.

She did not know Thunderclap was communicating with Zhu Chi in his sea of consciousness, seeking a method to break the seal and restore her power. Suddenly, Thunderclap snapped his fingers in the air and asked a strange question, “Have you heard of Soul-Guiding Grass? If we find Yin Soul Grass, I can unseal your spiritual power.”

Soul-Guiding Grass?

A misty haze clouded Blue Xi’s pale blue eyes. She did not understand Thunderclap’s question, but she had heard legends of Soul-Guiding Grass. It was said to bear white berries; any creature that consumed them would hallucinate, their actions completely controlled. Even more terrifying, anyone within a hundred miles who smelled its fragrance would involuntarily walk toward it, ultimately to be devoured by the guardian beast.

As for its location, opinions varied, but the most reliable version placed it in a forbidden zone within the Elven Tribe—a place of absolute peril. No one could enter or leave freely, though many had reached the outskirts, for the perimeter was the site of the decennial Blood Trial for young elves.

The place was called Blood Severance.

It was a strange name for a strange place. The legends said it was neither mountain nor river, nor desert nor grassland, but only a void. Ordinarily, its existence could not be perceived. Only when the elders of all tribes gathered at a specific time, could they open the passage. Elves entering for the trial had to exit within the allotted time; otherwise, they would be eternally trapped, devoured by unimaginable dangers and mysterious beasts before the next trial opened. Some even claimed the innermost layer of the space led directly to the Immortal Realm.