Chapter 103: As If the Mountains and Waters Were Exhausted

Elder Ding arrived quite unexpectedly. He brought along the gaunt elder responsible for guarding Ji Youfeng, ordered him to unlock the door, and entered the cell first.

Elder Ding wore an unremarkable gray robe and was short in stature, resembling a large gray rat scurrying into the prison. Even the gaunt elder who followed him in avoided his gaze, unwilling to look directly at him.

His appearance was so peculiar that if Hong Jian had ever seen him before, she would certainly not have forgotten. Ji Youfeng, too, was taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected this man to show himself.

By the lamplight, Elder Ding scrutinized Hong Jian and Ji Youfeng, then grinned and said to Ji Youfeng, “It’s my turn to be on duty here at Xuanwu these days. I heard you’ve been quite ill, so I came to check on you.”

Hong Jian was surprised; Ji Youfeng’s severe illness had been years ago. Later, the guards brewed countless medicines for him, and he himself cooperated, gradually recovering, and lately he’d shown no signs of discomfort. If Elder Ding was referring to that old incident, his reaction was exceedingly slow.

Ji Youfeng gazed at Elder Ding, his expression calm. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m quite well.”

Elder Ding nodded. “That’s good.”

For a moment, silence fell between them. After a pause, Ji Youfeng smiled and said, “Congratulations. Being entrusted with Xuanwu Prison is a mark of great confidence.”

Hong Jian sensed something unusual. These past twenty years, she had followed Ji Youfeng closely, met Master Gong Tengfa and Ren Chen, and knew well how Ji Youfeng treated those elders who had pledged themselves to Ji Youyun.

She glanced at Elder Ding, then at Ji Youfeng. Ji Youfeng’s face showed no contempt or disdain; his gaze rested peacefully on Elder Ding, as if this unsightly face was far more pleasant to behold than those of Gong or Ren.

Elder Ding’s expression grew complex. He sighed, “You’re right. In this world, power rules above all. With my looks, I’ve always been overlooked, and it’s rare for Master Ji to treat me as he treats others. I will do my utmost to be worthy of this trust.”

He met Ji Youfeng’s eyes, hesitated, coughed, and said again, “Truth is, after all these years, the Northern Prison is not what it once was. The elders who followed your father are mostly gone, either dead or departed; those who remain are like me. You’ve been locked inside, unaware that his influence has grown ever stronger. If you keep resisting him, you’ll only suffer for it. Why not reconsider, yield a little, hand over what he wants? While we’re still alive, he might show some leniency. Preserve your life first.”

Hong Jian was furious. So this ugly creature, who had a history with Ji Youfeng, was here to persuade him to surrender.

Ji Youfeng, however, showed no anger. He even smiled. “Just days ago, Ji Youyun came to persuade me himself, offering a tempting bargain. Do you think I would agree to you after refusing him?”

A hint of urgency flashed across Elder Ding’s face. He said, “It’s not the same.”

Ji Youfeng stared at him, pressing, “You both want me to hand over the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra.’ What’s different?”

Elder Ding’s eyes flickered. After a moment’s pause, he stamped his foot and said sternly, “Do as you wish. I’ve done my part to advise you; such opportunities aren’t common. While I’m on duty, keep things quiet—don’t cause trouble for Old Xu and the others.”

The gaunt elder at the side, hearing himself mentioned, quickly forced a smile.

Ji Youfeng snorted coldly and said to Hong Jian, “I’m tired. Help me lie down. See the guests out for me.”

Hong Jian hurried to help Ji Youfeng settle, and saw Elder Ding leading Old Xu out of the cell in a rage. She looked back toward the cell door, listening as footsteps faded away, and whispered, “Senior, what did he mean? Is he really urging you to surrender to Ji Youyun?”

Ji Youfeng lay with his eyes closed, his brows deeply furrowed.

After a while, Hong Jian suddenly heard a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum: “Girl, let me try your ‘secret transmission’ technique.”

Her body trembled—she knew Ji Youfeng had something urgent to say in secret.

Though this Demon Refining Prison lacked spiritual energy and couldn’t be used for cultivation, it was, after all, inside the artifact ‘Demon Refining.’ Even Ji Youfeng dared not be sure that their every move wasn’t being watched.

To save Ji Youfeng some effort, Hong Jian pretended nothing was amiss, tucked his blanket, and slowly lay down beside him.

“Senior, I hear you. What’s happened?”

“I just used a bit of true essence and cast the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra’ on him.”

“Ah!” Hong Jian was startled.

She knew that Ji Youfeng’s body still contained true essence. But he had been imprisoned for nearly thirty years, and even when his legs were severed—when pain nearly killed him—he hadn’t used it. Nor had he drawn on it when he was gravely ill and unconscious. Hong Jian always thought Ji Youfeng would save his power for the final moment, when he would have no choice but to fight Ji Youyun to the death. She never imagined he would expend so much true essence just now to cast the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra’ on that ugly elder.

“But I saw you didn’t touch him,” Hong Jian said, puzzled.

For Elder Ding to be an elder in Demon Refining Prison, he must at least be at the Nascent Soul stage. Could Ji Youfeng’s ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra’ be more formidable than Ji Youyun’s—able to seize secrets from a Nascent Soul cultivator’s mind without contact?

Ji Youfeng smiled faintly. “You don’t understand. Ding Qin once followed my father. The elders of those days, unless they sincerely pledged to Ji Youyun, were either killed by him or sent far away. Ji Youyun has the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra,’ and is best at discerning whether others are hiding things from him. I didn’t expect Ding Qin would still hold an elder’s post.”

Hong Jian interjected, “He hasn’t truly pledged himself to Ji Youyun?”

Ji Youfeng sighed. “When he said ‘someone like me is always overlooked, but Master Ji treats me as he treats others,’ he was referring to me.”

“Perhaps Ji Youyun finds Elder Ding too ugly to face for extended spells,” Hong Jian mused, now feeling a surge of affection for Ding Qin and no longer seeing him as an ugly creature.

Ji Youfeng nodded, and continued his ‘secret transmission’: “Even so, Ji Youyun has never put him in charge of Xuanwu Prison. Ding Qin looked anxious just now—clearly something serious has happened, so I tried using the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra.’ Ding Qin cooperated; his mind was full of this matter, so I could almost instantly grasp his thoughts.”

“What’s happened?” The seriousness in Ji Youfeng’s tone made Hong Jian uneasy.

“Ji Youyun has left Demon Refining Prison. He took Ren Chen with him, which gave Ding Qin the chance to come to Xuanwu. But that’s not the most crucial part: Ji Youyun took the spirit soul from within ‘Demon Refining.’ I heard he was invited by Dai Mingchi to go to the depths of the Endless Sea to break open the ‘Sky Curtain.’ That’s why Ding Qin hinted that chances to negotiate with Ji Youyun are running out.”

Hong Jian felt a chill down her spine.

If Dai Mingchi’s words in the Huaihua Hall were true, of the six sent to the demon cultivators twenty years ago, only Lin Suoyue and Qi Xiuning survived. Could Ji Youyun truly have found the stolen half of the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra,’ and were they about to return?

This was precisely the calamity she had feared.

If Ji Youyun acquired that half of the ‘Great Catastrophe Sutra,’ she and Ji Youfeng would be the first to suffer. Ji Youfeng would be unable to prevent Ji Youyun from obtaining the final part from him, and she would lose the secret of the Dan Cliff Sect’s spiritual spring.

What to do? If it came to that, Hong Jian would rather end herself than let Ji Youyun succeed.

She clung to a sliver of hope, saying to Ji Youfeng, “To break the ‘Sky Curtain,’ they still lack a Soul Transformation cultivator.”

Ji Youfeng gave a bitter smile. “Didn’t he take the spirit soul of the Soul Transformation beast? He must have long found a way to control it, or he wouldn’t have targeted Jin Donglou so early. I underestimated him.”

He reached out, touched Hong Jian’s face, and asked, “Are you cold? You feel icy.”

Hong Jian, burdened with worry, murmured assent.

Ji Youfeng lifted the blanket, wrapped her in it, and held her close, gently patting her back to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid. Knowing ahead of time means we can prepare. I’m here—you mustn’t worry.”

That embrace was warm, devoid of any desire, and deeply reassuring. Hong Jian shifted, seeking a comfortable position. She said nothing, but softly pressed her cheek against Ji Youfeng’s stubbled face.

For twenty years, at moments like this, Hong Jian always felt as though only she and her senior remained in the world—outside was bleak and lonely, yet the two of them warmed each other, clinging to life.

Yet even these days would soon be over. Hong Jian reached out, gently caressing the heart-breaking cord that ran across Ji Youfeng’s shoulder.

After a while, she heard Ji Youfeng mutter, “He took the spirit soul from ‘Demon Refining,’ so why is there still no spiritual energy in this prison?”

Hong Jian knew that although Ji Youfeng had kindly comforted her, he was still wracking his mind for a solution.

Two heads are better than one. Hong Jian said, “The environment here is sealed; it’ll take time for spiritual energy to change. Our Dan Cliff Sect has a Returning Truth Valley that’s also very lacking in spiritual energy. The elders say its spiritual energy isn’t truly constant—the terrain is special, and before any change is felt, the sect’s secret realm opens. When it does, four years’ worth of spiritual energy is drawn away all at once.”

Ji Youyun was only going to assist Dai Mingchi in breaking the ‘Sky Curtain.’ Even if delayed, he wouldn’t be gone for a whole year.

ps: Merry Christmas.