Chapter 12: The Flute Sound in the Cave

Watching Ji Ning, who had manifested three heads and six arms and numerous other divine abilities, fight with all his might against Xiamang Zishan while also diverting his mind to control the sword formation to restrain Cangwu Jiu, Yu Wei, who was hiding in the center of the Water and Fire Lotus and controlling the Ice Phoenix and Fire Phoenix only for self-defense, instantly reddened her eyes. How long had it been? Six months had already passed.

For six months, Ji Ning and she had roamed the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Rivers, engaging in life-and-death battles almost every day, sometimes a hundred in a day. Sometimes others fled, sometimes Ji Ning and she fled!

Ji Ning was stronger than her, and he also trained in the divine demon body-refining path. Every time danger came, it was Ji Ning who charged forward to hold off the enemy. Compared to the many dangers they had faced before, this time there were only two opponents, but it was the most dangerous of all!

"Senior apprentice-sister, get out of here quickly!" Ji Ning's voice rang out in Yu Wei's mind.

"Again telling me to go, again telling me to go. Why am I always a burden?" Yu Wei gritted her teeth, tears glistening in her eyes. She transmitted, "Junior apprentice-brother, don't worry about me. I'm not strong enough. I give up. I'm leaving the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Rivers. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself."

Without her as a burden,

Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning would surely find it much easier. With his strength, he didn't need to confront enemies head-on at all.

"Whoosh—" Suddenly, a pile of talismans appeared before Yu Wei, scattering around her.

How unwilling she was.

Only six months.

She really wanted to accompany junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning until the one-year term in the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Rivers was up.

"Release the talismans, and I'll spare your life." Cangwu Jiu, high in the sky, revealed a smile. Suddenly, his smile froze.

Because Yu Wei, who had just thrown out the talismans, actually grabbed a handful of them and, with a wave of her hand, retrieved the talismans floating in midair.

"You're asking for death!" Feeling mocked, Cangwu Jiu grew furious. He no longer had the leisure to stay in midair and immediately transformed into a streak of light, diving downward.

Holding the talismans, Yu Wei's gaze turned cold and dangerous. She watched the diving Cangwu Jiu and simply pointed her finger at him. Instantly, the seventy-two Rahu Divine Needles split into two parts, rotating and floating in the air. Thirty-six of the Rahu Divine Needles drew upon the power of heaven and earth to form a huge black phoenix.

Completely pitch-black, the phoenix's tail was wreathed in black flames.

The other thirty-six Rahu Divine Needles formed a huge white phoenix, pure and flawless, like holy sunlight. The white phoenix's tail also had threads of light.

"Hmm?" Cangwu Jiu immediately felt a shock to his heart. An inexplicable sense of threat forced him to erupt with full power.

"Whoosh!"

The twenty-zhang-tall Cangwu Jiu swung his golden right arm. That saber strike was exceptionally stunning, leaving an arc-like, almost perfect trajectory in the air, directly slashing at the black phoenix charging at the front. The black phoenix let out a cry, and though it was knocked back, it did not disperse at all.

"Caw!" The white phoenix began to fight with the black vulture, actually causing the black vulture to tremble and develop cracks.

"How can this be? She, she..." Cangwu Jiu was both shocked and furious. This woman was clearly much weaker than him. Ji Ning was one thing—he had long been famous. Even against the greatly strengthened Xiamang Zishan, he could fight like that. Even if he himself went up against Ji Ning, they would probably be evenly matched.

But against this completely unknown woman, he was actually being blocked?

"I don't believe it." Cangwu Jiu erupted, also manifesting three heads and six arms. Three curved sabers appeared in his hands, turning into a violent wind. The saber light seemed to tear heaven and earth apart, its power making hearts tremble.

But the black phoenix and white phoenix, assisting each other, actually managed to block the frenzied Cangwu Jiu.

...

Mu Zishuo, the Whitewater Marsh, Xiaoqing, the Mad Immortal, Cangjiang Zhenren, Beishan Baiwei, Jiuyue, and the others, who had been extremely tense, were all stunned. How had Senior Apprentice-sister Yu Wei suddenly erupted, defending so flawlessly that even Cangwu Jiu could do nothing to her? This was simply unbelievable.

That was Cangwu Jiu!

"Could it be that Senior Apprentice-sister has been hiding her strength all along?" Mu Zishuo wondered. "But Senior Apprentice-sister hasn't been training much longer than Senior Apprentice-brother Ji Ning."

...

Main Hall of the Heavenly Firmament Palace.

The Xia Emperor watched and couldn't help but smile. "Quite a rollercoaster."

"This is what they call 'a twist that leads to a new path.'" Lü Dongbin exclaimed in admiration. "Who would have thought that this young girl could awaken her past-life memories at a critical moment? From the looks of it, she has comprehended at least four complete Daos and has quite a deep understanding of the Grand Dao of Taiji. Her past life was a fairly powerful loose immortal."

The Grand Dao of Taiji, four complete Daos—among loose immortals, that was top-tier.

"She had already comprehended two Daos before," said Beidi Xianweng, shaking his head as he held his wine flask. "With a high enough realm, it is indeed possible to awaken past-life memories. However, it is extremely difficult for a reincarnated immortal to awaken those memories. It seems that the stimulation she received in that moment was so great that it caused her soul to erupt and activate her hidden past-life memories."

"Mm."

"Right."

The assembled Pure Yang True Immortals nodded.

Among the more than one hundred thousand participants in the Immortal Destiny Convention, there were many reincarnated immortals. Sudden awakening of past-life memories could indeed happen, but it was extremely rare.

"What is this young girl's name?" Lü Dongbin looked at the Xia Emperor. "I still don't know her name."

"Her name is Yu Wei, and her Daoist title is Huohong. Because she is a reincarnated immortal, she is called the Huohong Immortal," said the Xia Emperor. "She also comes from the Black-White College in Anchan Commandery. You know Ji Ning beside her—he is also from the Black-White College. The Black-White College has three disciples in this convention, and every one of them is formidable."

"The Ragged Daoist is a disciple of the Black Tortoise Great Emperor, and his strength is on par with Cangwu Jiu, Xiamang Zishan, and Ji Ning. This Yu Wei was originally weak, but after awakening her past-life memories, she is also at the same level," said Dihao with deep emotion.

"If you ask me, the Ragged Daoist has trained for over a hundred years, and Yu Wei awakened her past-life memories. Only this Ji Ning has trained for a mere thirty years and yet possesses such strength—that's somewhat incredible," muttered Lü Dongbin, stroking his chin. "I think this Ji Ning has great potential."

The Xia Emperor laughed. "Could it be that Lü Dongbin wants to take on a disciple?"

"No, no, no. I'm actually more optimistic about that young girl named Yu Wei," said Lü Dongbin, his eyes shining. "To be stimulated into awakening her past-life memories—this young girl is interesting, very interesting."

The others shook their heads.

Reincarnated immortals generally had little potential. If they failed to overcome the tribulation in their past life, the chances of succeeding in this life were extremely low.

"This Ji Ning has great potential," the Xia Emperor mused silently. In this Immortal Destiny Convention, he had already noted twenty-one young people, all with extremely high potential. Ji Ning was one of them.

...

The world of the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Rivers.

"Bang!"

Ji Ning was being suppressed by Xiamang Zishan. Although he used agility to counter brute force, he was still shaken and injured. But these were only minor wounds. Ji Ning kept an eye on his senior apprentice-sister's situation and saw that under Cangwu Jiu's attack, Yu Wei suddenly erupted, actually blocking Cangwu Jiu one-on-one. This surprised and delighted Ji Ning.

"Junior apprentice-brother, come over here. Quickly put away your sword formation," Yu Wei transmitted urgently.

"Senior apprentice-sister!" Ji Ning stopped纠缠 with Xiamang Zishan and, with a whoosh, appeared beside Yu Wei. At the same time, with a thought, he withdrew the Small Thousand Sword Formation.

"Let's go." Yu Wei grabbed Ji Ning's arm.

The black phoenix and white phoenix suddenly descended and began to spin, forming a black-and-white vortex. Yu Wei, holding Ji Ning, rushed into this vortex.

Swoosh!

Leaving a dazzling black-and-white trail of light in the sky, they were already a thousand li away.

"What, what kind of secret art is this!" Xiamang Zishan walked over, stunned. "How did they escape so fast? Cangwu Jiu, can't you catch up? Didn't you say you were the fastest among the Wanxiang Adepts?"

"I can't catch up," Cangwu Jiu said softly, shaking his head. "I can see that this is a refined treasure flight technique created with the Grand Dao of Taiji as its core. This woman's attainment in the Grand Dao of Taiji is very high!"

...

Inside a cave, after setting up a simple formation, Ji Ning sat down heavily.

"That Xiamang Zishan is really a madman," Ji Ning said, feeling exhausted. The previous battle had been too intense. Suddenly, he noticed a pool of water deep in the cave. He hurried over, cupped some water with his hands, and splashed it on his face. "Ah, that feels great."

Yu Wei also smiled.

She could continue walking together with her junior apprentice-brother in the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of Mountains and Rivers.

She walked to the edge of the pool, sat down on the ground, and with a flip of her hand, produced a green jade flute. She began to play softly.

The flute sound was melodious, as if it blew into one's heart.

Ji Ning paused, gently set down the water in his hands, and sat listening.

The flute sound drifted...

...It was a vast grassland, where a peaceful and harmonious small tribe lived. A little girl was a member of this small tribe...

...The harmony shattered, disaster descended...

...The little girl embarked on a path of slaughter, becoming a fearsome female Asura...

...

Scene after scene, from her past life's childhood to her death and reincarnation, all surfaced in her mind.

The flute sound seemed to possess an incredible magic, allowing Ji Ning to feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. It was a flute sound that penetrated deep into the soul. Ji Ning was completely drawn into it. He watched the black-robed girl playing the flute, and this scene was deeply imprinted in Ji Ning's memory, never to be forgotten even after a very, very long time.

"Pat."

A teardrop fell, landing on the ground and splashing the dirt.

Ji Ning was startled awake from the flute sound. Only then did he notice that his senior apprentice-sister's face was already streaked with tears. He couldn't help but call out, "Senior apprentice-sister!" Yu Wei paused, then gently put down the flute.

"Senior apprentice-sister, you..." Ji Ning was a bit worried.

"It's nothing." Yu Wei shook her head and looked at Ji Ning, forcing a smile. "I was just thinking about some things from my past life. Although everything has already happened, when I truly recall them, I can't control my emotions. But those are all things of the past. Let the past be past. After all, I have already reincarnated. Actually, I would rather not know about my past life."

"Can you tell me about it?" Ji Ning asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Yu Wei shook her head.

"Then did you have a Dao companion in your past life?" Ji Ning suddenly asked.

Yu Wei was taken aback. She looked carefully at Ji Ning, as if trying to discern something from his eyes and expression. Then she gently shook her head: "No."