Chapter 140: Unspoken Bonds and Lost Memories

“Creak—”

The wooden door creaked shut.

Chu Huaizhou sat down on the bed. Meng Yinlu did not hesitate at all.

She promptly sat beside him and, with a tilt of her body, leaned entirely against his shoulder.

Chu Huaizhou wanted to say that things between them seemed a bit ambiguous.

Moreover, in the past, during his intimate moments with Qingqiu, she had also enjoyed doing this. She would occasionally whisper, “So this is what the view looks like, huh.”

But he hesitated and ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Meng Yinlu was unlike Qingqiu; she had no strange motives. She was simply relying on him out of dependency.

If he told her not to lean on him, it might hurt his disciple’s feelings. He couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Of course, he also couldn’t bring himself to let his disciple have her way.

Di Xiaoyao’s form materialized. They were dressed in white robes, with an immortal, otherworldly bearing.

Indeed, they had the demeanor of a celestial being. They clasped their hands and said, “Sword Immortal Chu, I apologize for the intrusion.”

Chu Huaizhou waved his hand grandly. “No harm done. I… this lord was just thinking of having a chat with you as well.”

Di Xiaoyao said seriously, “There is one thing this old man truly wishes to ask clearly. As a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, why would you take Ye Feng as your disciple for no apparent reason?”

Chu Huaizhou showed no signs of panic. He had long prepared an answer. “This lord has a good relationship with the Tianyan Sect. In truth, I observed the celestial phenomena and discovered that an era of great contention is approaching.”

When Tianyan Sect was mentioned, Di Xiaoyao’s eyes revealed a look of nostalgia.

That was because in the ancient times, they had been the sect master of Tianyan Sect. How were things going there now?

And what level had the current holy son or holy daughter reached in the deduction using the Heavenly Cycle Star Art?

Seeing Di Xiaoyao lost in thought, Chu Huaizhou knew his tactic had worked.

Having played through the game once, he naturally knew this sect master’s identity. Mentioning his connection with Tianyan could quickly build rapport.

This would pave the way for the questions he wanted to ask next.

Chu Huaizhou continued, “The Celestial Yuan Sword Sect is currently at its peak, but the new generation lacks anyone capable of holding up the banner. When Ye Feng took the sect entrance examination, I sensed something and took a look. I found that this child has the potential to attain the Dao!”

Di Xiaoyao had known Ye Feng in times of crisis and spent half a year with them. It was almost like a father-daughter relationship; otherwise, they wouldn’t have burned their divine soul to save her. Hearing their daughter praised naturally made them beam with joy.

Moreover, this explanation was very reasonable and showed no flaws. As for why Chu Huaizhou could detect their presence, that didn’t need explanation. A Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who couldn’t perceive the unique material of the ring containing their divine soul wouldn’t deserve the title. With divine sense exploration, their existence was naturally exposed.

With his doubts resolved, Di Xiaoyao stroked their beard and continued, “So that’s it. Sword Immortal Chu must be one with heaven and man. Though you don’t understand the art of observing aura, you can sense others’ fortune. Truly a rare person in this world. Even in this old man’s era, few cultivators could match you.”

Di Xiaoyao also wanted to ask how Chu Huaizhou had advanced to Tribulation Transcendence, because in their limited memory, the path to immortality had been severed. But they didn’t ask. In this era, Ye Feng said there was only this one Tribulation Transcendence cultivator. The method to become an immortal must be a private matter, not easily divulged.

Seeing that Di Xiaoyao had finished asking, Chu Huaizhou said, “Elder Di, this lord also has a small question I’d like to ask.”

Di Xiaoyao: “Oh? In this world, is there a problem even Sword Immortal Chu can’t solve? If this old man can help, I will certainly do my utmost.”

Chu Huaizhou: “It’s like this. A friend of mine has lost most of their memory and cultivation for no apparent reason.”

Meng Yinlu, who had been lowering her head and playing with her master’s hand, heard this. Her master had a friend who had lost their memory and cultivation? She hadn’t known.

Her big red eyes blinked as she looked up at her master in confusion. Intuition told her that perhaps the friend her master spoke of was himself.

Her heart immediately sank. She wanted to ask if it was true, but with Di Xiaoyao still present, she simply continued to rest her head on her master’s shoulder and play with his hand.

Upon hearing Chu Huaizhou’s words, Di Xiaoyao’s gaze sharpened. “Lost memory and cultivation? Has their divine soul been damaged?”

“Completely intact.”

“Any traces of curses?”

“None.”

“So there are no abnormal signs at all? Their meridians, divine soul, everything has reverted to a previous state?”

Chu Huaizhou nodded. “Exactly. It’s precisely because it’s so baffling that I wanted to ask you, Elder Di, if you’ve ever seen a similar case.”

Di Xiaoyao clicked their tongue. “Hiss… This old man was once quite skilled in medicine, but I’ve truly never seen such a situation. Not before ascending, and in the fragmented memories I have after ascending, I’ve never heard of a technique that can be so silent and leave no trace from beginning to end.”

As for the possibility of deeper issues not being discovered, Di Xiaoyao thought it unlikely. The reason was the same as before. A Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, with so many Mahayana cultivators around, would have conducted a more thorough investigation than they could imagine.

Chu Huaizhou sighed inwardly. He hadn’t expected that even Elder Di, who had partially recovered their divine soul, had never heard of such a case. ‘Lao Zhou, Lao Zhou, what did you do?! How did you lose your memory and cultivation like this? Truly terrifying.’

But fortunately, he had anticipated this, so he wasn’t too disappointed. When the Shenghua Secret Realm opened later, he would go in and get another fragment of Di Xiaoyao’s soul and try again.

After all, he now had a possible way to recover his memory: letting someone actively devour his divine soul, triggering the defense mechanism. Or interacting with Bai Qian? That was still a question mark.

Perhaps Di Xiaoyao felt it was too embarrassing to give no answer at all. They forced themselves to say, “Ahem, but this old man hasn’t recovered most of my memories from after ascension. Maybe when my soul gradually becomes whole and I remember more, I might have seen something similar. I’m sorry I can’t help with this matter for now.”

Chu Huaizhou put on a regretful expression and said, “Alright. Thank you, Elder Di. This lord will do my best to help recover your soul fragments.”

Di Xiaoyao clasped their hands in thanks again. “Thank you, Immortal Chu. If you have any questions regarding techniques, alchemy, artifact refinement, or the like, feel free to ask. This old man will tell all I know.”

Having said that, Di Xiaoyao felt they had talked enough and prepared to retreat into the ring.

But halfway through, as if remembering something, their aura solidified again. “Ah, one more thing. That secret realm we mistakenly entered today—do you know the origin of the strangeness within?”

Chu Huaizhou shook his head. “I don’t know. Strange events have been occurring everywhere lately. This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with such things. Do you have any clue, Elder Di?”

“Today’s weirdness, no matter how I look at it, seems different from the previous Festering Bone River of Death incident. But its chaos, disorder, and madness are exactly the same. It really resembles a certain myth from my hometown.”

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