Chapter 158 - 157: The Cold Immortal Venerable is Actually a Deadbeat

A thin layer of snow covered the shed made of vines. A gentle green light bloomed in Xiong Jiaojiao’s hands before flowing over the top of the structure.

In just a moment, a small door, wide enough for one person to enter, appeared before them.

The instant she stepped inside, Chu Liangyu felt a wave of warmth. The shed was also planted with some Silver Light Grass for illumination, so it wasn’t dark at all.

A familiar scent of Green Lotus filled the air. Following the fragrance, Chu Liangyu saw rows of Ancient Green Lotuses thriving on terraced plots of land.

This was the first time Chu Liangyu had entered the medicinal field since its cultivation began. To her surprise, the few people managing it had done an excellent job.

"Sister Liangyu, this one is the best of the bunch. How about it?"

Xiong Jiaojiao had only given a quick glance before walking to one of the Ancient Green Lotuses and pointing it out to Chu Liangyu.

Everyone has their specialty, after all. Since even Xiong Jiaojiao said it was good, there was naturally no issue. Chu Liangyu didn’t bother looking for another and took the Green Lotus directly from her hands.

"Now that we have what we came for, it’s getting late. You should go home and rest too."

Xiong Jiaojiao followed them out of the shed. She smiled and said, "Got it, Sister Liangyu. But look at you, still busy so late at night."

"It can’t be helped, but it’s almost over. I’ll be able to get a proper rest soon."

Chu Liangyu’s words had a double meaning. Xiong Jiaojiao paused for a moment before quickly understanding.

She said nothing, only giving a solemn nod.

Chu Liangyu left with Chi Yizhong. Along the way, she sent the Ancient Green Lotus to Li Jingxuan through the Trading System. At the same time, talismans capable of severing the connection between a doppelganger and its original body appeared in her hand. There were a total of... ten.

Chu Liangyu suddenly froze mid-count. ’Ten of them?’

’Did I miscount?’ Thinking this, Chu Liangyu counted again several times, but the result was always the same. There were exactly ten talismans in her hand.

’Weren’t there supposed to be twenty after this was all done? Well, I’ll be. I never thought the Cold Immortal Venerable would go back on his word.’

But there was nothing Chu Liangyu could do about it. Besides, it’s not like she could reach into another world, grab him by the ear, and demand to know why. That wasn’t exactly realistic.

’Who would’ve thought? The so-called proper Immortal Venerable is nothing but a deadbeat.’

----

Li Jingxuan stared at the belatedly arrived Green Lotus, and his brow furrowed in irritation.

’If only it had arrived a little sooner, I wouldn’t have had to expend my own cultivation to neutralize the poison.’

His cultivation had plummeted from the Divinity Transformation realm all the way down to Nascent Soul—a drop of an entire major realm. He had no idea how many years it would take to recover.

’The fact that I’m even giving her ten talismans as promised is a testament to my good grace. As for any more... well, that woman can dream on.’

With a dark expression, he put the item into his storage bag, stood up, and walked toward the mouth of the cave.

"Peak Master... Peak Master, please don’t go, I..."

The young girl’s voice was extremely weak, but she forced herself to look at Li Jingxuan, hoping he would stay.

"Your poison has been neutralized. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving."

But Li Jingxuan didn’t even turn his head. He left those words hanging in the air and vanished completely.

----

Of course, Chu Liangyu knew nothing of these events. She led Chi Yizhong to the door of her own room.

"Wait here for a moment. I need to tidy up before you come in."

"Alright."

Chi Yizhong agreed and stood there waiting quietly until her voice called out again.

"You can come in."

Chu Liangyu shrank the doppelganger and put it in her storage bag before opening the door to let him in.

She took out one of the talismans she had received and placed it on his shoulder. "This is very important," she said. "Don’t take it off yet."

"Mm, okay."

Chi Yizhong, however, just kept his eyes fixed on Chu Liangyu. He seemed completely unconcerned about the talisman, looking as if he would let her do anything she wanted, being incredibly docile.

Being stared at so openly made even Chu Liangyu a little embarrassed. She cleared her throat and said, "What I’m about to tell you today is very important for you. I don’t know if you’ll be able to accept it, but I feel you have a right to know everything."

Chi Yizhong’s gaze, which had been fixed on her, flickered. As if reacting slowly, he asked, "What is it?"

But the change was only for an instant. Chi Yizhong returned to normal, his eyes becoming clear again.

Chu Liangyu saw all of this and guessed that the talisman was taking effect. She breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to hide the truth any longer.

"Let me ask you a question first. Do you know your Beast Father and Beast Mother, or do you have any memory of them at all?"

Chu Liangyu was afraid he would have trouble accepting it, so she chose to guide him step by step.

"I don’t know, and I have no memory of them." Chi Yizhong answered truthfully, almost without thinking.

"Then tell me, when do your clear memories begin? What do you remember from that time?"

Creating a doppelganger of Chi Yizhong’s level must have taken a considerable amount of time. Chu Liangyu was convinced he must have been by Jiang Li’s side during that period, his memories likely sealed away by some special technique.

And just as she expected, Chi Yizhong’s reaction shifted from initial confusion to contemplation, until finally, he seemed to remember something.

A strange feeling welled up inside him, but he still answered honestly, "I think... I was in a separate space. Someone was constantly feeding their blood into my body. That person’s face..."

"...is very familiar. I feel like I’ve seen them before."

Chu Liangyu knew it would take time for him to recall everything, so she waited quietly, not saying anything to disturb him.

A complex mix of emotions churned within Chi Yizhong. As his memories grew clearer, a suspicion he didn’t want to acknowledge was becoming a reality. How could he possibly accept this?

When he emerged from his memories, he fell silent. His tone was clearly unusual when he asked Chu Liangyu, "Tell me... who am I?"

"You are an independent person named Chi Yizhong." Chu Liangyu knew what he was struggling with and answered without the slightest hesitation.

"But... I was created by that person. I... I can’t control myself."

On the table, Chi Yizhong’s hands were clasped so tightly they were trembling, showing just how great a blow this revelation was to him.

"I’m so scared... that he’ll use me to do something terrible to you."

"Perhaps... my influence has already caused you some trouble."

Chi Yizhong looked up, a sudden realization dawning on him. "He can share my memories. So that herb last time... was that his doing too?"

Although it was a question, he already had a strong suspicion in his heart; he just didn’t dare to believe it.

The image that had suddenly appeared in his mind back then had felt strange, but he hadn’t thought much of it. It was only after what Chu Liangyu told him today that he realized it wasn’t just a simple image.