Chapter Eighty-Nine: Let the Tribulation Begin With Me!

After pondering for a long while, Lin You did not answer at once.

Seeing this, Jiang Liunian, though curious, asked no further questions. Instead, he poured him a cup of spirit tea and waited in silence amid the rising mist.

After a moment, Lin You gave a light laugh and asked, “Daoist Jiang, what do you think? Should I accept this challenge of alchemy?”

Jiang Liunian shook his head. “That man’s motives are impure. Since he is hidden in the dark while we stand in the light, I do not think you should agree. Otherwise, you will be at a disadvantage from the start.”

The more he watched as an outsider, the more he could see how unusual this affair was.

There were certainly struggles between cultivators and strange folk, but never like this: the two sides had not even met, yet one openly issued a provocation to the other.

If the master of that Pill Cauldron Sect were truly such a fool, he would long since have been devoured to the bone by others. How could he still possess his present power and standing?

After hearing him out, Lin You smiled faintly.

Indeed, this was a farce, a messy and clumsy farce. Someone had been pushed onto the stage; someone else wished to remain behind the curtain.

A din of clamor, one performance after another!

All wanted to stand outside the game, yet did not realize they were already within it themselves.

He rose from his seat and stood with hands clasped behind his back. His gaze pierced beyond the confines of the stone pavilion and rested on the world outside.

Above, the stars and moon were boundless; below the cliff, a sea of clouds surged and rolled.

A vast, unrestrained feeling filled his heart.

The way of mortals is faint and distant; the immortal path is vast and boundless.

Since he had already stepped onto that path, how could he be bound by rules, or become a mere role on a stage built by others, acting according to another’s will?

If this was a tribulation of men, then let him be the one to open it!

At that thought, his mind suddenly cleared.

Lin You turned back with a slight smile and said to Jiang Liunian, “Please trouble Daoist Jiang to spread the word: the Red Pine Dao Palace will hold a Pill Origin Dharma Assembly two days from now and invite all fellow Daoists to attend. If that Pill Cauldron Sect master truly wishes to contest alchemy, then I shall await him on Red Pine Mountain.”

What fellowship gathering, what alchemy arena duel—these were nothing more than rules set by others.

But why should Lin You abide by rules made by someone else?

Since someone wished to use this to draw him into their scheme, it would be better to let them enter his.

When the time came, he would rely on the sword in his hand to determine who stood above whom.

However cunning the devilish tricks, he would break them with a single stroke of his sword.

Seeing the shifting light in Lin You’s eyes, within which swordlight seemed to flash, Jiang Liunian immediately knew that Daoist Jade Morning already had a plan in mind.

So he readily nodded. “Rest assured, fellow Daoist. Tomorrow I will spread the news and inform the many fellow Daoists!”

Lin You gave a slight nod, then looked toward Jin Yu, who stood nearby with some unease.

This time, the fact that he had learned of these matters was in no small part thanks to this young girl.

Sow a good cause, reap a good fruit. Fate is wondrous beyond words!

Thinking of this, he said with a smile, “Since you were able to come to the Red Pine Dao Palace today, we may call it fate. Tomorrow, you may have Daoist Jin come along as well. If it is within my power, I will not begrudge making a move once.”

“Many thanks for the great kindness, True Person!”

At his words, Jin Yu was first startled, then overjoyed, and was about to kneel and bow.

She had now witnessed with her own eyes the vast divine abilities of this Jade Morning True Person. As for whether this senior could cure her grandfather, she had no doubts whatsoever.

As Lin You’s power flowed, he lifted her and prevented her from bowing.

Then, with a sudden shift in expression, he smiled at her and said, “It seems we need not wait until tomorrow. Daoist Jin has already come up Red Pine Mountain to find you.”

...

Along the ancient path on Red Pine Mountain, the old man followed the lingering trace of his granddaughter’s aura all the way here.

The longer he pursued it, the more solemn his expression became, until at last his face had almost changed color.

Judging by the trail she left, she should have been targeted by two strange folk after leaving the city, and the three of them fled and gave chase all the way into the forest.

Following the trail to its end, he finally arrived at the place where the aura had been severed: a grove of trees.

The surrounding trees were in disarray, and on the ground lay a corpse with its eyes wide open in death.

Panic seized his heart. He hurried forward to inspect it, only to find that it was the beauty he had seen by day, now slain here by a single sword strike. As for his granddaughter, she had last been here and then vanished without trace.

The old man was in utter turmoil, terrified that something had happened to his granddaughter.

Just as he stood there lost and helpless, he suddenly heard an excited girl’s cry from the sky:

“Grandfather!”

The old man jerked his head up, and there, to his astonishment, was his granddaughter, who had not yet entered the gate of cultivation, descending on the wind toward him.

He stared in disbelief, thinking his eyes had deceived him.

But as the wind rushed closer, he saw clearly that the figure before him was indeed his missing granddaughter.

Jin Yu landed on the ground and flung herself into the old man’s arms, her heart full of guilt.

Because of her wilfulness, she had nearly brought disaster upon both herself and her grandfather.

Had True Person Jade Morning not intervened, her fate at this moment would be hard to predict.

“Yu girl, are you all right?” The old man looked her over from head to toe and asked anxiously.

The girl shook her head and quickly recounted to him everything that had just happened.

At the end, she said with guilt, “Your granddaughter was too headstrong. Today I was fortunate to meet True Person Jade Morning, otherwise...”

After hearing this, the old man was also filled with lingering fear.

After fear came relief, and after that, a deep and abiding gratitude.

A life-saving kindness could not go unreturned!

He hurriedly took hold of his granddaughter and asked, “Is True Person Jade Morning still in the mountain at this moment? Would it be presumptuous if this old man went up the mountain uninvited and caused disturbance?”

Hearing this, Jin Yu smiled brightly. “The True Person is currently in the Dao Palace. He had just calculated that Grandfather was here, so he specially had me come to fetch you up the mountain!”

“So his divine abilities are beyond measure. To think there is such a person in this world!” The old man was shaken to the core.

As they spoke, Jin Yu had already taken hold of the old man’s arm and, carrying him, rose into the wind.

The two soared across the sky and, before long, landed within the Dao Palace.

Seeing the fairyland-like scenery around him, the old man was as astonished as Jin Yu had been. Then he saw a refined and handsome Daoist in blue robes seated in the stone pavilion, waiting for them.

“Grandfather, this is True Person Jade Morning!”

Jin Yu tugged at the hem of the old man’s robe, and he came back to himself at once.

Not daring to be rude, the old man immediately prepared to bow down.

Yet a surge of power had already supported his body beforehand, preventing him from kneeling.

“Daoist Jin need not be so courteous,” Lin You said with a shake of his head.

Upon hearing this, the old man could only give up, but he still clasped his hands and bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Thanks to the True Person for saving this humble one’s granddaughter’s life, a kindness so great that I have no way to repay it. I can only offer this one spirit fish to express the least of my heart.”

With that, he raised the fish basket in both hands above his head, as though to say that if it was not accepted, he would keep holding it there forever.

Seeing this, Lin You gently shook his head and used his power to take the basket from him.

He set the basket aside and did not immediately look at the spirit fish within. Instead, he took out a jade bottle and offered it to the old man.

“In that case, I shall count this spirit fish as something purchased by this humble Daoist.”

The old man was about to refuse, but when he saw the pill within the bottle, so rich with spiritual energy, the words of refusal died on his lips.

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