Ch 84: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

After a long time, Jiang Lin finally met the Heavenly Emperor again. When the Heavenly Emperor saw Jiang Lin, his expression wasn’t very pleasant.

This was understandable. Not only had this junior rejected his goodwill earlier, but he had also witnessed firsthand how the Heavenly Emperor had been targeted by Emperor Qing and Yan together. The Heavenly Emperor felt that his dignity had taken a hit.

However, it was also clear that he had learned many things from Emperor Qing and Yan. Therefore, he didn’t make things difficult for Jiang Lin; in fact, under the watchful eyes of the two emperors, he reluctantly gave Jiang Lin a meeting gift.

As for Zhinü, it was obvious that everyone had forgotten about her in the midst of all this. Given her cautious nature, she naturally didn’t bring anything up.

The Heavenly Emperor asked Jiang Lin some questions, and Jiang Lin answered as much as he could before being unceremoniously dismissed.

Jiang Lin: “…” At that moment, the phrase “use and discard” came to mind.

Because of this incident, everyone now knew that Jiang Lin wasn’t, or at least wasn’t simply, “Immortal Liu.” With Emperor Qing and Yan even showing signs of protecting him, the tragic fate that originally belonged to Immortal Liu naturally came to an end.

The Heavenly Emperor didn’t want to see Jiang Lin, and Emperor Yan left in a hurry due to other matters. In contrast, Emperor Qing was very interested in Jiang Lin. This interest wasn’t just in Jiang Lin’s origins but also in the reason he had learned his cultivation method.

Emperor Qing stayed in Jiang Lin’s celestial palace for a while, and Jiang Lin, of course, took advantage of this opportunity to ask many questions about cultivation. With the founder of the cultivation method right there, many of the difficulties Jiang Lin faced were easily resolved.

Emperor Qing even taught him how to quickly and without side effects convert the Nine Spirit Technique’s spiritual energy into the spiritual energy in his body, which greatly alleviated Jiang Lin’s problem of retaining his strength when traveling to new worlds.

At the end, Emperor Qing asked, “Do you stay in this world until the end of your natural life with each reincarnation?”

Jiang Lin shook his head. “No, maybe I just experience a different life.”

Emperor Qing suddenly sighed. “I’m actually a bit envious of that gluttonous brat; he can follow you around and see different places.”

Jiang Lin was curious, “Can’t you go too?”

Given that Zong Yu’s strength allowed him to traverse space-time turbulence, it didn’t make sense that someone as powerful as Emperor Qing, who could fight in such turbulence, wouldn’t be able to do the same.

Emperor Qing smiled. “Of course not.”

He looked up at the sky. “I, along with the other heavenly emperors, have already become part of the operating laws of this world.”

“Some unseen existence wouldn’t allow us to leave.”

Emperor Qing spoke cryptically, but Jiang Lin roughly understood what this “unseen existence” was—probably the legendary formless and godless Dao laws.

“Besides,” Emperor Qing said, smiling at Jiang Lin, “even if I could leave, I wouldn’t be like the gluttonous one, able to meet you through a Dao companion contract.”

“The space rifts are full of endless winds and spatial vortices. In there, any spiritual sense released would be quickly torn apart,” Emperor Qing explained, spreading his hands helplessly. “With my strength, I could protect myself in there, but it would be impossible to find a fixed location outside of this world.”

Speaking of the Dao companion contract, Jiang Lin asked, “The contract between Zong Yu and me was an accident. Senior Taihao, do you have a way to help us dissolve it?”

Emperor Qing was surprised and replied, “If you dissolve it, have you thought it through? Zong Yu might never be able to find you again.”

Jiang Lin countered, “But isn’t that what the soul pearl is for?”

“The soul pearl…” Emperor Qing felt a twinge in his teeth. “That kid Zong Yu is really something…”

He shook his head and said, “The Dao companion contract cannot be interfered with by external forces. Even if it’s…” He pointed towards the sky, “It still wouldn’t work.”

“If the contract was established by Taotie, then only he can undo it.”

xxx

Jiang Lin stayed in this world for several more decades.

Yin He, a somewhat introverted and cool guy, was quiet, powerful in battle, and obedient to Jiang Lin. When Jiang Lin told him to spend more time with Qingluo and Huaiyin, he listened. When asked to farm, he obediently rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He didn’t think anything was strange, nor did Jiang Lin, but Qingluo and Huaiyin often found it a bit jarring to see such a pure, peerlessly handsome guy standing in the field playing with mud—no, farming. They found it somewhat painful to watch.

The strangest one over these decades was Zong Yu. He was the one who confessed, the one who said he wanted to try and win Jiang Lin over, yet now, he was the one too conflicted to face Jiang Lin.

One day, Jiang Lin, having nearly completed his mission, went to see Zhinü.

Zhinü was now living very comfortably, having resolved a significant worry. Not long ago, the cowherd got married to one of the weaving maidens from her palace. The weaving maiden was gentle and pretty; Zhinü remembered her as someone with a quiet personality. It was said that one day during a break, she went to the other side of the Milky Way to play and immediately took a liking to the steady and upright the cowherd.

The cowherd didn’t have many relatives, but the weaving maiden had a sister. The two sides met, were mutually satisfied, and prepared a simple meal, each inviting a few friends to witness their union. They paid respects to heaven and earth, marking their marriage. The weaving maiden moved to live on the other side of the river, where the couple had a vast, endless pasture. Their life was comfortable and pleasant, with no strange people interfering to break up the couple.

Jiang Lin looked at Zhinü’s complexion and smiled, saying, “One look and I can tell you’re living very well now.”

He then bid her farewell, saying, “I’ll be going on a long journey soon, so I’ve come to say goodbye.”

Zhinü, being very intelligent, had already deduced that the immortal before her might no longer be the same one she once knew, having overheard many things she probably shouldn’t have that day. But so what?

The immortal before her had indeed helped her a great deal.

She asked, “Immortal, you’re going on a long journey. Do you have a return date?”

Jiang Lin shook his head and replied, “None.”

A trace of sadness appeared on Zhinü’s face as she bowed to Jiang Lin and said, “Then I wish you a smooth journey, Immortal. I will pray for you.”

Jiang Lin didn’t hide his preparations, and Qingluo and the others had grown accustomed to it, knowing it was time to move on again. Finally, Zong Yu came to see him.

“Jiang Lin,” his expression had changed from the previous hesitation, as if he had come to a realization, “Are you leaving?”

Jiang Lin nodded.

Zong Yu asked, “Has my affection for you caused you a lot of trouble?”

Jiang Lin shook his head, “Judging by your behavior over this period, I think this matter has troubled you more.”

This answer made Zong Yu’s face turn pale. If Jiang Lin had truly felt troubled and uneasy, Zong Yu could have at least told himself that he had stirred Jiang Lin’s emotions. But Jiang Lin was still the same calm and indifferent person. Zong Yu, even if he didn’t want to admit it, had to acknowledge that Jiang Lin hadn’t deceived him in the slightest that day. Jiang Lin saw him as a younger brother, as someone junior, with no other feelings involved.

Zong Yu, still unwilling to give up, asked, “Do you really not have any feelings for me?”

“If it’s the kind of feelings you’re hoping for…” Jiang Lin hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

Zong Yu lowered his head, muttering, “I feel both angry and sad right now.” He suddenly looked up, his eyes slightly red. “You seem so gentle, but your heart is harder than anyone else’s.”

Jiang Lin didn’t know what to say, so he simply apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Zong Yu huffed, turned away, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing.

Jiang Lin thought he had gone off somewhere to vent his anger and didn’t pay much attention. But who would have thought that days turned into months, and Zong Yu still hadn’t returned?

He was already preparing to leave this world, yet Zong Yu had not come back.

“Dad,” Qingluo looked up, a bit worried, “Do you think something might have happened to Brother Zong?”

Jiang Lin patted her head and gently reassured her, “In this world, nothing can happen to him.”

And indeed, he wasn’t wrong. A few days later, a crane flew to Jiang Lin’s celestial palace, bringing a message from Zong Yu:

“I have some matters to attend to, so I won’t be saying goodbye.”

“Jiang Lin, I’ve thought about it for a long time. I might not come looking for you again.”

Those were the only two sentences.

Jiang Lin sent the crane back with a brief message:
[Alright, goodbye. I hope you’ll be happy in the future.]

Qingluo, hearing this from the side, shrank her neck, thinking to herself that Brother Zong would definitely not be happy hearing that.

She asked softly, “Are we just going to leave like this? Will we never see Brother Zong again?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Right now, facing me is too difficult for him; it makes him uncomfortable. Not seeing each other is a good choice.”

Qingluo looked up at Jiang Lin’s calm expression, feeling a bit melancholic as she thought to herself: It seems that Brother Zong wasn’t wrong—Dad really is both gentle and ruthless.