Chapter 13: Transformation into a Dragon

In the dining hall, Elder Yu Ling had prepared a table full of vegetarian dishes. The previous hot pot, chicken soup, and roasted duck were nowhere to be seen, as if Zhong Xu’s return had restored Baiyun Temple to its former days of abstaining from the five pungent foods and six desires.

Di Jiang widened her eyes at the sight of this table filled with stir-fried baby cabbage with Chinese cabbage, winter mushrooms with bamboo shoots, pan-fried tofu, deep-fried tofu, and a tender tofu and vegetable soup... Her appetite plummeted again.

It wasn’t that vegetarian dishes were bad; it was just that this preparation left much to be desired...

“Is this what you usually feed Zhong Xu?” Di Jiang was astonished.

Elder Yu Ling coughed and said, “Usually, it’s just one dish and one soup.”

Di Jiang was even more surprised. Looking around, she saw young Daoists squatting in corners, happily slurping their food, confirming this was indeed a grand feast prepared to celebrate Zhong Xu’s return.

Elder Yu Ling seated Di Jiang in the guest of honor seat next to Zhong Xu. Though she still harbored some grievances against Elder Yu Ling, for Zhong Xu’s sake, she didn’t show any ill will.

“Miss Di, eat something. You’ve been hungry all day,” Elder Yu Ling brought bowls and chopsticks, chattering on, “These are the freshest vegetables from the mountains, personally cooked by me, guaranteed to be delicious. Try some?”

“...”

Seeing Di Jiang’s somewhat displeased expression, Zhong Xu thought she might feel awkward helping herself, so he placed a piece of bamboo shoot and a piece of greens into her bowl, saying, “Eat up, have more. After three years, you’ve become much thinner.”

Seeing Zhong Xu act naturally when serving dishes, Di Jiang was even more surprised.

“Has Master Zhong been remade? Are you really the Zhong Xu I know?” Di Jiang blurted out, causing Zhong Xu to look at her strangely.

“How was I before?” Zhong Xu stopped eating and turned to look at her.

Di Jiang laughed, “Even colder than Emperor Taixiao.”

“...” Zhong Xu paused, then his lips slightly curved into a faint smile, “You speak as if you know Emperor Taixiao.”

Rarely showing a smile, Zhong Xu left Di Jiang utterly astonished.

“You actually smiled!” Di Jiang exclaimed, turning to Elder Yu Ling, “Have you ever seen Zhong Xu smile? This is the first time I’ve seen him smile!”

“Seems... it really is so.” Elder Yu Ling thought for a moment and nodded repeatedly.

Everyone in the room looked at Zhong Xu because of Di Jiang’s words. Zhong Xu, however, frowned and kept eating his meal. Seeing this, Di Jiang stopped teasing him and began eating sporadically.

After a while, she asked, “Where’s Wen Yao? Where did she go?”

“Haven’t seen her since this afternoon. She might be at the Hualing Pool.” Elder Yu Ling casually mentioned this, but to Di Jiang, it felt like a boulder had been thrown into water, stirring up waves.

“What! She went to the Hualing Pool? Everyone carry on eating. I’ll be back shortly.” Di Jiang was startled and quickly put down her bowl, rushing towards the back mountain.

Wen Yao’s unstable emotions were her greatest fear.

This year, Wen Yao had witnessed many tragic events. A few months ago, Peony Prince was executed by Empress Chen Zhao, and now Wu Rui’an had also died. The impact of Wu Rui’an’s death on her was already significant, let alone on Wen Yao. If she couldn’t understand, she might turn the entire Qingyun Mountain upside down.

When Di Jiang rushed to the Hualing Pool, she found Wen Yao not by the pool. There was no one on the Green Stream Dragon Inkstone.

Di Jiang searched around and found the Hualing Pool water had returned to its clarity. The azure lake water was as smooth as a mirror, with only a black shadow lingering at the bottom center of the pool, vaguely indistinguishable from the shore.

Di Jiang’s heart tightened, and she immediately jumped into the Hualing Pool.

At the bottom of the Hualing Pool, near the sword gate, coiled a small ink-black snake.

The snake had scales, four claws, and two nail-sized horns on its head.

Its eyes were closed, curled up into a ball, seemingly unconscious.

Seeing this, Di Jiang’s heart skipped a beat. What she feared most was Wen Yao’s true form.

But to her relief, this was only a fraction of Wen Yao’s true form, and she hadn’t awakened yet. This appearance must have been an unconscious action.

Di Jiang picked up Wen Yao and swam to the shore, placing her on the Dragon Inkstone, then used her fingertip to help her regain human form.

“Wake up,” Di Jiang patted Wen Yao’s face, “Wake up quickly.”

Just then, Zhong Xu and Elder Yu Ling, worried about Di Jiang, arrived at the Hualing Pool. Seeing both drenched, they exclaimed, “What happened to Wen Yao?”

“She probably tried to save Lord Wu,” Di Jiang gently called out. After a while, Wen Yao opened her eyes.

“Cough cough cough—” Wen Yao spat out several mouthfuls of pool water and kept coughing for a long time. After regaining color, she looked confused, “Boss... how... how are you here?”

“How dare you ask me that?” Di Jiang frowned, annoyed, “You can’t swim, yet you dared to jump in? If I hadn’t come in time, you’d be dead by now!”

“What! I actually jumped in?” Hearing this, Wen Yao nearly fainted, apologizing repeatedly, “Sorry, Boss! I won’t do it again. I... I don’t know what came over me! Maybe I was too anxious...”

“When will your rashness change? Even after being with me for so many years, you’re still so reckless. How can I leave you alone without worry?” Di Jiang didn’t know what had come over her. Normally nonchalant, she seemed to have changed in these past few days, becoming impulsive, impatient, and at a loss like Wen Yao.

Wen Yao looked guilty and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Di Jiang felt pity and softened her expression, sighing, “Next time, if you have something on your mind, discuss it with me first. Don’t act impulsively alone anymore.”

“Yes! I definitely won’t do this again…” Wen Yao sniffled, feeling both guilty and strange…

She only remembered jumping into the pool, trying to open the door at the bottom. She kept scratching the door until she lost consciousness.

Wait, why did she use the word ‘scratch’?

Shouldn’t it be ‘hit’ or ‘dig’?

The word ‘scratch’ reminded her of cats or creatures with claws.

Wen Yao looked at her hands, feeling a strong urge for nails to break through her fingertips. It was as if she once had a pair of retractable sharp claws, but recently, those claws hadn’t appeared.

Seeing Wen Yao’s troubled expression, Di Jiang quickly changed the subject, “Why did you jump in?”

“I just thought Lord Wu has great fortune and shouldn’t die like this. He wouldn’t disappear just like that. I wanted to check, see if I could save him…” As Wen Yao spoke, her eyes misted, but her expression remained resolute.

“The sword tomb consumes his present and future lives. From now on, he will be a soul without rebirth. He transformed from a living soul to a dead soul.”

“What does that mean?” Wen Yao asked blankly.

Di Jiang sighed, “In the three realms, there is a Bodhi tree. Under the tree, soul fruits grow, producing strands of spirit essence. With these essences, one can reincarnate into the world, sustaining the endless cycle of life in heaven, earth, and humanity under the Bodhi tree.”

“Where is the Bodhi tree?” Wen Yao urgently asked.

“No one knows.” Di Jiang shook her head, a slight smile tugging at her lips, “Everyone wants to find this tree, for whoever controls it holds the fate of the three realms. But no one has ever truly reached it.”

Hearing this, Zhong Xu and Elder Yu Ling exchanged strange looks, their expressions shifting between light and dark.

Zhong Xu and Elder Yu Ling had never heard such talk. Especially Elder Yu Ling, who had lived for hundreds of years and considered himself worldly-wise, found it amusing, thinking Di Jiang was lying.

However, Zhong Xu looked grave. He knew that although Di Jiang’s actions were mysterious, she never lied.

“Entering the sword tomb turns one into a stone statue, serving the sword spirit. For non-sword bearers, entering would likely result in a perilous end. The malevolent qi inside would flay one alive, leaving no chance of survival. The only way to save Lord Wu now is to borrow the Soul Lantern to reshape a body for him.” After Zhong Xu finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Wen Yao sneered, “You Taoist, speaking so lightly. Where is the Soul Lantern? How do you reshape a body? If you had a method, you wouldn’t have turned into a stone statue and burdened our Lord Wu to save you!”

Anger surged within Wen Yao, and she showed Zhong Xu no kindness.

“Wen Yao, show respect.” Di Jiang reprimanded softly.

“But... I didn’t say anything wrong…” Wen Yao muttered, rolling her eyes and ignoring Zhong Xu.

Di Jiang continued, “Zhong Xu’s method isn’t wrong, but it’s not the only way, nor the best.”

“Does the boss have a plan?” Hope ignited in Wen Yao’s eyes as she gazed intently at her.

Di Jiang gravely said, “I haven’t thought of a plan yet, but I am certain things are far from over. I will definitely save him.”

“Hah! All this talk, utter nonsense!” Elder Yu Ling couldn’t hold back a laugh. But soon, murderous glares from Wen Yao and Zhong Xu silenced him, prompting him to cover his mouth apologetically.

Nevertheless, his words rang true.

For a moment, everyone was speechless, and the atmosphere grew awkward. Believing it was his fault, Elder Yu Ling found a topic, “Once the sword tomb opens, it won’t reopen until ten years later. By then, Lord Wu will probably be nothing but bones…”

Upon finishing, everyone’s faces darkened further. Wen Yao’s eyes seemed ready to spew fire.

So was Di Jiang.

Had she entered the sword tomb initially, none of these issues would have arisen. She would have found a way to deal with the malevolent qi and wouldn’t fear being harmed. But after Wu Rui’an entered the sword tomb, everything changed.

First, she couldn’t force her way in, which would arouse suspicion, especially from Zhong Xu.

Second, opening the sword tomb would unleash the malevolent qi suppressed under Qingyun Mountain by Tai Xiao, disrupting the mortal realm and causing chaos.

Both consequences were unbearable.

And she couldn’t abandon Wu Rui’an, even if he became nothing but bones. She couldn’t let him vanish in this desolate mountain forest.

“People with love and righteousness will always return.” Di Jiang lowered her eyes, dropped this sentence, and regardless of whether others believed her, she directly helped Wen Yao off the altar.

Behind her stood Zhong Xu, his face solemn, and Elder Yu Ling, full of sighs.

They didn’t want things to unfold this way, but they were powerless.

That phrase, “People with love and righteousness will always return,” in Elder Yu Ling’s view, became an outright joke.