Chapter 233: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

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Chapter 233: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

For the next two or three years, Shang Ke and Yan Lu occupied themselves with refining competitions. Each won and lost in turn, but every round ultimately ended with the two of them shamelessly torturing all the single dogs around them with displays of affection.

As more and more items became available for exchange, the cultivators’ point balances grew smaller and smaller. They could only watch helplessly as good things were exchanged away by others. After discussing the problem together, everyone petitioned Shang Ke to open new ways to earn points.

Shang Ke thought it over and decided to follow popular demand. He reopened the exchange channels: in addition to materials, cultivators could now earn points by contributing diagrams, blueprints, formulas, and recipes, with exchanges held once every six months.

More and more cultivators poured into Great Shadow Mountain, and the nearby towns gradually prospered because of them. Even several major sects began sending representatives to establish friendly relations with Shang Ke.

Shang Ke traded openly with cultivators. Although he could not completely prevent people with ulterior motives from appearing, most did not dare cause trouble at his door. The defensive formations around Great Shadow Mountain had been reinforced several more times, and the number of high-level cultivators in the area had multiplied. If things continued this way, Great Shadow Mountain might well become a cultivation holy land no less renowned than the famous mountains and rivers of the great sects.

But the affairs of the world were never constant.

Shang Ke’s pills and spiritual artifacts helped many cultivators break through bottlenecks and advance one after another. The cultivation world, which had once fallen into decline after Yan Lu’s slaughter, finally began turning a new corner. The changes were still only small ripples, but everyone felt the joy of seeing sunlight after the clouds had parted.

Seven years later, that joy finally reached its peak.

Someone was about to undergo heavenly tribulation—and three people would face it on the same day.

One came from a major sect. His cultivation had already reached the Soul Division Stage, but he had been trapped at a bottleneck for years. Several years earlier, he had visited Leisure Teahouse on a whim and exchanged several rare materials for a Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pill. Two years later, he successfully advanced.

The other two were unaffiliated cultivators: Ding Qiyu and Hua Cheng, among the very first cultivators to discover Leisure Teahouse. Their fate with the teahouse ran deep. Influenced by Shang Ke and Yan Lu, the two soon became dual-cultivation partners, and their cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds day after day.

By coincidence, all three faced tribulation on the same day.

Above Great Shadow Mountain, wind and clouds changed color. Black mist churned while streaks of golden lightning flashed in and out of the clouds. Vast pressure descended with thunderous fury, crushing the breath from everyone’s lungs as though the apocalypse had arrived.

Every cultivator below the Nascent Soul Stage retreated more than a thousand kilometers. Those who remained were without exception experts among experts.

At first Shang Ke paid little attention to the heavenly tribulation. Although it was taking place on Great Shadow Mountain, the lightning primarily targeted the people undergoing tribulation. Anyone with sufficient cultivation could simply remain outside the tribulation formation and observe.

But as the tribulation was about to begin, Shang Ke gradually realized something was wrong.

The first sign was Yan Lu. Veins stood out on his face, divine power churned chaotically through his body, and his murderous aura surged violently. Currents of force whirled around the two of them as though Yan Lu were facing a mortal enemy.

The second sign was the position of the tribulation clouds. As though drawn by some invisible force, all three clouds began surging toward Yan Lu, gradually merging into a new heavenly tribulation directly above his head.

As shock struck Shang Ke, two words flashed through his mind: divine retribution!

He had imagined countless possibilities but never expected divine retribution to descend in this form—borrowing the might of heavenly tribulation to punish one burdened with sin. Worse still, three tribulations had converged at once. If Yan Lu failed to survive them, his soul would unquestionably scatter.

“Little Mushroom, get out of here!” Blood and qi churned inside Yan Lu, his eyes crimson as he forced the warning through tightly restrained breaths.

“Cut the crap. Get ready for the tribulation!” Shang Ke pulled several spirit pills from his storage ring and shoved them into both his own mouth and Yan Lu’s.

He had spent all these years gathering materials, refining pills, and building friendships with cultivators precisely for this day!

Shang Ke immediately combined six high-grade spiritual artifacts into a defensive formation, then handed Yan Lu the quasi-immortal artifact he had refined years before.

Yan Lu refused it. “I’m afraid I’ll lose control and fall into a murderous demonic state. If I hold that weapon, I might hurt you.”

Shang Ke nodded in understanding and kept the quasi-immortal artifact himself.

At that exact moment, the heavenly tribulation erupted. Dozens of serpentine bolts tore through the sky, forming a rain of lightning. Heaven and earth roared, mountains trembled, and enormous shockwaves rolled in every direction. Even the cultivators watching from afar felt their hearts seize—let alone the four people caught directly beneath the tribulation.

The second and third waves of lightning followed immediately, each more powerful than the last.

The watching cultivators quickly noticed something strange. Why were most of the bolts striking toward Yan Lu and Shang Ke? Neither of them was supposed to be undergoing tribulation! Could heavenly lightning actually miss its target?!

BOOM! Each deafening blast seemed to strike directly into the heart, making everyone tremble.

In the distance, mountains split and shattered while trees and grass exploded into debris, as though a god were swinging a colossal hammer and smashing heaven and earth apart.

Yan Lu was drenched in blood. His eyes shifted between clarity and chaos, and his breathing was violently disordered.

Shang Ke supported him from the side, using spiritual artifacts and formations to resist the heavenly lightning. But the combined power of three tribulations far exceeded his expectations. In only a few breaths, he suffered significant internal injuries.

Yan Lu was in even worse condition. He had to resist divine retribution while simultaneously suppressing his inner demon. Besieged from both within and without, he hovered at the edge of collapse.

As the fifth and sixth waves prepared to descend, Shang Ke braced himself to use everything he had. Suddenly the pressure around him eased. The lightning exploded in midair, weakened layer by layer, and by the time it reached them, only about thirty percent of its original force remained.

Startled, Shang Ke extended his spiritual sense and immediately understood what had happened.

The cultivators in secluded cultivation around Great Shadow Mountain were activating their own defensive formations one after another, linking them together to help the two withstand the heavenly tribulation.

More cultivators joined in. Layer after layer of defense accumulated into a massive barrier. Most of them had not yet reached the Soul Division Stage, however, and resisting heavenly tribulation was far beyond their limits. Every time a defensive layer shattered, another cultivator was seriously injured and forced to withdraw. By the time the ninth heavenly tribulation gathered, no one dared challenge the might of heaven any longer.

All they could do was silently pray for Shang Ke and Yan Lu.

The might of the ninth tribulation crashed downward. A razor-bright flash erupted, and everyone instinctively closed their eyes.

A tremendous boom shook the earth. The gale that followed swept across their skin like countless sickles, leaving stinging pain in its wake.

A moment later, the trembling stopped and everything fell silent. The crowd slowly opened their eyes. The first thing they saw was a half-dome of white light floating faintly in midair.

It was still functioning after taking the full force of the heavenly tribulation. What astonishing defensive power! And yet…

“Is it just me, or does that defensive barrier look like a… mushroom?” one cultivator suddenly asked.

“It’s not just you. That really is a mushroom,” his companion confirmed.

As the mist dispersed, an enormous mushroom appeared clearly before everyone. White light shimmered around it as it stood proudly between heaven and earth like a queen surveying all living things.

Shang Ke sat weakly in the crater. He looked at the quasi-immortal artifact in his hand, then at the unconscious Yan Lu beside him, and remained speechless for a long time.

That bastard had actually designed the defensive barrier of a quasi-immortal artifact in the shape of a mushroom! It was not that Shang Ke looked down on mushrooms, but the round, adorable aesthetic of a mushroom did not match the majestic, domineering style of a quasi-immortal artifact at all, okay?!

This hopeless mushroom fanatic was beyond saving.

Shang Ke put away the half-damaged quasi-immortal artifact, hoisted Yan Lu onto his back, and carried him into the underground shelter they had prepared in advance.

Yan Lu was in terrible condition. His cultivation had been completely destroyed, his injuries were severe, and his breathing was barely perceptible. Yet Shang Ke was actually happy. Yes—his own man had only half a life left, and Shang Ke was delighted. The more severe Yan Lu’s injuries were, the sooner his divine retribution should end and the greater his chances of survival.

Shang Ke carefully cleaned Yan Lu’s wounds, fed him healing pills, helped him lie down on the bed, and then lay beside him to sleep.

Before drifting off, he was still thinking that once their injuries improved a little, he would have to properly thank all the cultivators who had stepped forward to help them…

Exhausted by the tremendous drain on his strength, Shang Ke slept for three days. When he woke, however, Yan Lu was gone. Only a note remained on the table, bearing four characters: I want some quiet.

Quiet, my ass! Who the hell was quiet? Was quiet more handsome than a mushroom? So his cultivation had been destroyed—what was there to brood about?!

Shang Ke tore the note to pieces. What he did not yet know was that Yan Lu had not merely lost his cultivation—he would never be able to cultivate again. For someone as proud as Yan Lu, the blow was devastating. He could be ruthless. He could abandon evil and choose kindness. He could even defy fate itself. But he could not bear becoming a useless cripple who could neither protect Little Mushroom nor avoid becoming a burden to him.

Yan Lu dragged his exhausted body through the devastated mountain forest, unwillingness and fury burning in his eyes.

“Ah—damn it!” He punched a tree trunk, then immediately went pale. Fuck, that hurt like hell!

He stiffly withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and stood there in lonely silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Lu suddenly raised his head. The desolation on his face vanished, replaced by blank confusion.

He looked around. Everything seemed unfamiliar. He had absolutely no idea where he was.

“Little Mushroom… Little Mushroom…” Yan Lu searched everywhere for that familiar figure, calling the name over and over.

Just then, a white blur jumped out of the bushes and waved frantically at him.

“Rabbit…” Yan Lu remembered. Little Mushroom had told him that if he ever got lost, he should open the brocade pouch hanging around his neck.

Yan Lu took a strip of silk from the pouch. Three emergency instructions were written on it.

He automatically ignored the first two. Following the third, he took a communication talisman from his storage ring and crushed it. Then he crouched exactly where he was and waited obediently.

Time crawled. With every passing moment, Yan Lu’s fear deepened, as though he had been abandoned alone in the entire world.

Little Mushroom. Little Mushroom. Little Mushroom…

After what felt like forever, leaves suddenly rustled nearby. Yan Lu jerked his head up and saw that familiar figure walking toward him.

Without hesitation, he rushed forward and wrapped Shang Ke in a crushing embrace.

“Little Deer?” Had he switched personalities again? Shang Ke held him and gently soothed him.

Once Yan Lu calmed down, Shang Ke scolded, “Let’s see whether you still want your ‘quiet’ next time!”

Yan Lu looked confused. “Who is quiet?”

Shang Ke replied, “A lazy bastard who always shows up to make his presence known whenever people are upset. He looks omnipotent but never actually does anything.”

“Then I definitely don’t miss him. I like my omnipotent Little Mushroom.”

Shang Ke: “…”

That evening, after they returned home, Shang Ke wiped Yan Lu’s back and said, “Little Deer, no matter what you become, I’ll stay by your side.”

Yan Lu’s body stiffened. After a moment, he said, “I’ve become a cripple. I’m afraid I’ll never be able to cultivate again.”

“So what?”

“If I can’t cultivate, I’ll have to experience a mortal’s aging, sickness, and death. I only have a few decades left. How am I supposed to stay with you?”

“Yan Lu, even if we can only stay together for a few decades in this life, we still have the next one. No matter how many times you reincarnate, I’ll find you. So don’t despair, and don’t give up. As long as your soul remains, the bond between us will never break.”

“But in the next life, I won’t remember you. Every day I’ve spent with you is my most precious treasure.”

“Then I’ll remember for you, and afterward we’ll create new memories together.”

Yan Lu turned and gazed deeply at Shang Ke, as though trying to carve him into his soul.

“Yan Lu, I just had an idea. Once our injuries heal, how about we leave all of this behind and travel the world?”

“Mm. Whatever you want.”

A month later, Shang Ke sent invitations in every direction and welcomed cultivators from far and wide. He exchanged his remaining pills and spiritual artifacts for several thousand taels of silver and enough mid- and low-grade materials to fill several storage spaces. At those prices, he was practically giving everything away. Everyone understood that this was his way of thanking them, so no one refused. There would always be opportunities to maintain the friendship later—or so they thought.

Only several months later did people realize that Shang Ke and Yan Lu had quietly left Great Shadow Mountain at some unknown point. From then on, their whereabouts became a mystery.

Not long afterward, two traveling physicians appeared among the towns where ordinary mortals gathered. Their medical skill was extraordinary, and they treated the poor for free, saving an unknowable number of lives.

Those two physicians were Shang Ke and Yan Lu. They made the world their home and wandered beneath heaven, searching for a way to cultivate again while practicing medicine and accumulating virtue. There were no brocade robes or luxurious meals, no commanding the winds and clouds—only eating beneath the open sky, sleeping wherever night found them, and traveling with little to their names.

The once high-spirited Yan Lu gradually shed the hostility that had clung to him and learned to enjoy an ordinary life in peace. Years passed and he grew old, while Shang Ke remained as handsome and elegant as ever.

“Little Mushroom, I’m sorry.” Sitting in a small boat and watching the distant mountains drift slowly past, the aged Yan Lu suddenly spoke.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“The causes of a past life bear fruit in the present. If I hadn’t created so much blood debt before, how would I have dragged you into suffering with me in this life?”

“Do you think it was suffering?” Shang Ke held a fishing rod in one hand and rested the other over his bent knee, turning his head to look at him.

Yan Lu froze. He thought back over the decades they had spent together, then smiled. “Mm. It wasn’t.”

Exactly. So stop getting sentimental about the passing years. Shang Ke rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the fishing float.

A little while later, Yan Lu’s aged voice sounded again. “Little Mushroom, remember your promise. We’ll meet again in the next life. And…”

I love you.

His voice ended there.

Shang Ke did not turn around. Only two trails of tears slowly slid down his cheeks.

Even knowing they would have the chance to meet again, the grief still overwhelmed him. In every life, this man had been forced to endure the pain of watching Shang Ke die. This time, at last, it was Shang Ke’s turn…

After Yan Lu died, Shang Ke buried him beneath the cliff. Then he destroyed his own cultivation, returned to the form of a mushroom, and rooted himself above Yan Lu’s grave. Rabbit became the spirit beast guarding them both.

A thousand years later, a new mushroom spirit was born—and the cunning rabbit claimed it early, beginning an entirely different kind of romance…

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