Wayfarer

Chapter 437: Mother-Daughter Conversation

Lan Jiguang's physical body exploded with light, illuminating his surroundings. No one in range was able to evade in time; everyone caught by the red light flashed away.

"So this is the red moon illusory realm? It can drag in others so easily!" Yin Tianci exclaimed.

"Be careful, Your Highness! There's a red-furred lifeform heading your way!" a Heaven Immortal cried out.

Everyone's avatars had been dragged into the red moon illusory realm, whereupon they were beset by countless red-furred lifeforms.

Back in the Rabbit Yanluo's Yanluo Court, there was no sign that anything had taken place save a flash of red light. Everyone present stood still and immobile, including the Rabbit Yanluo's two avatars.

Only the Rabbit Yanluo's main body had survived. Black smoke surrounded her body and blocked the red light surging her way. She hadn't been dragged into the illusory realm.

"Lan Jiguang! I knew you had something up your sleeve when you discarded your body. To think that you would ruin my plans at this critical moment!" the Rabbit Yanluo shouted.

Within the red moon illusory realm, everything was bathed in red light. When Lady Yaoguang entered the illusory realm, she saw Lan Jiguang's yin body close by.

Behind Lan Jiguang's yin body hung a red moon. However, there were cracks all over its surface, as though he had paid a heavy price in his gambit to save his daughter.

"Attack!" Lan Jiguang commanded.

A large group of red-furred lifeforms to his back shot toward the gathered cultivators.

"Stop them!" a Heaven Immortal shouted.

Despite the fact that they were all Heaven Immortals, their spiritual cultivation was lacking. The red-furred lifeforms easily crushed the paltry defenses they evoked.

Only the Rabbit Yanluo's two avatars were strong enough to withstand the red-furred lifeforms for the moment, but there were simply so many of them that they too were trapped.

Lan Jiguang ignored his daughter as he punched at one of the Rabbit Yanluo's avatars.

"Wan'er, appear!" Lan Jiguang shouted.

"Die!" the Rabbit Yanluo's avatar countered, sending a palm strike his way.

"Let me help you, Father!" Lady Yaoguang joined the fighting.

As Lan Jiguang and Lady Yaoguang were sent flying, a flash of blue light emerged from the Rabbit Yanluo's avatar. A woman's truesoul. was separated from her body.

"Wan'er!" Lan Jiguang shouted in excitement.

"Is that Mother?!" Lady Yaoguang was similarly excited.

"How dare you! Do you want to die, lass? You took advantage of that strike to give up on our symbiosis!" the Rabbit Yanluo's avatar thundered.

The woman scowled in hatred. "I chose to tolerate your presence in my body not because I was afraid to die, but because I couldn't leave my husband and daughter behind. You harmed my husband and plan to hurt my daughter. How could I stand idly by?"

"Insolent creature! If you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish!" The Rabbit Yanluo's avatar shot forward.

She was particularly strong, and her aura alone forced the three cultivators back.

"Red moon, explode!" Lan Jiguang shouted.

His red moon exploded in a cataclysmic outpouring of energy. Even the Rabbit Yanluo lurched back. Intense red light shot out all around him, rendering everyone temporarily blind.

The commotion caused more and more red-furred lifeforms to rush over.

"No!" Screams rang out from within the horde of cultivators.

Lan Jiguang pulled his wife and daughter farther away, shielding them all. He was intimately familiar with the red moon illusory realm, and quickly shrugged off the Rabbit Yanluo's avatar.

"Father, your yin body won't be able to accumulate any more power now that your red moon's gone..." Lady Yaoguang said in shock.

"It's alright. I'm sorry, Yaoguang. I shouldn't have left my physical body for the Rabbit Yanluo, causing you to be tricked and caught," Lan Jiguang said bitterly.

"I'm alright, Father. How can I help? Your souls are both so weak!" Lady Yaoguang asked anxiously.

Lan Jiguang caught his wife's hand and smiled. "I'd give up anything to find your mother."

Qu Wan'er pursed her lips. "Who told you to enter the Netherworld Palace? Why did you come bother the Rabbit Yanluo? You should have hidden instead! What a fool you are to have tossed her your physical body."

"You knew what was going on?"

"Of course! I had a symbiotic relationship with the Rabbit Yanluo. Just because she suppressed my will doesn't mean that I can't see what's going on in the outside world. How foolish you were!" Qu Wan'er fumed.

"I used my physical body as an anchor. My yin body lay hidden in the red moon illusory realm, and I was able to sense what was happening outside. I willingly allowed myself to be caught by her. Only then would I be able to learn of your circumstances as quickly as possible. I had her discover the miraculous strength of my red moon so that she would want to analyze my physical body in detail. I was planning to return to my body at an opportune time, but I suppose it's too late now. I don't regret anything. I'm glad I made the choice I did, because it allowed me to see you again," Lan Jiguang said warmly.

"You fool! Who told you to enter the abyss?!" Qu Wan'er screwed up her eyes and began striking her husband's body futilely with her fists.

Lan Jiguang hugged Qu Wan'er and said gently, "Everything was worth it. We won't have to be separated any longer."

Qu Wan'er began to sob as she embraced Lan Jiguang.

Lady Yaoguang stood silently to the side. She suddenly felt like a third wheel in this conversation.

"Mother, how can we salvage your shattered soul? Does Father have a way?" Lady Yaoguang couldn't help but ask.

She remembered how Emperor Wei and his consort had suffered a similar fate. They had sought revival in the undying realm before their tragic end. If even the Emperor Wei of legend wasn't able to overcome this fate, how would her parents succeed?

Lan Jiguang and Qu Wan'er relaxed as they let go of each other.

Lan Jiguang didn't seem particularly upset. He said, "Your mother's soul might be shattered, but my soul is in fine condition. The fact that my yin body's weakened at the moment doesn't matter. Your mother can live symbiotically with me."

"Humans can live symbiotically with one another? How can that be? Why haven't I heard of that before?" Lady Yaoguang exclaimed.

"They can't. If we choose to do so regardless, we would simply die."

"Die?!" Lady Yaoguang blanched.

"You might be unaware of the miraculous properties of the red moon illusory realm. All those who die here can transform into these red-furred lifeforms. As long as I can be with your mother, I'd be willing to undergo this transformation," Lan Jiguang replied.

"Red-furred lifeforms? What are they?" Lady Yaoguang asked in surprise.

"You can think of these red-furred lifeforms as a special type of cursed effigy."

"These red-furred lifeforms are cursed effigies? How could that..." Lady Yaoguang exclaimed.

"If I end up becoming a cursed effigy, I'll naturally be a suitable host for your mother. Yaoguang, I'm sorry I won't be able to take care of you in the future. Live well," Lan Jiguang said.

"Father, you—" Lady Yaoguang didn't know what to say.

Qu Wan'er seemed as though she wanted to say something, but upon seeing Lan Jiguang's resolute gaze, all she did was dip her head and smile blissfully.

"Yaoguang," Qu Wan'er said gently.

"Mother?" Lady Yaoguang's voice was tinged with the aspect of a stranger.

After all, Qu Wan'er had been dragged into the abyss almost right after giving birth to Lady Yaoguang. This was the first time mother and daughter had met.

"I can't believe you've already grown so much after what feels like the blink of an eye. I wasn't able to watch over you, but I've been thinking of you and your father all throughout my stay here. You're even more beautiful than I imagined. No wonder that Xiao Nanfeng's besotted with you. No wonder he risked his life to save you from the capital of Wu," Qu Wan'er said gently.

Lady Yaoguang flushed and looked down shyly.

"You like Xiao Nanfeng too, don't you?" Qu Wan'er smiled.

Lady Yaoguang bit her lip. "This isn't the first time that Nanfeng has saved me. Back in the undying realm..."

Lady Yaoguang described what had happened within the undying realm, and later in the Shangqing holy land, as her mother listened.

After hearing her full recounting of events, Qu Wan'er nodded. "Xiao Nanfeng's a righteous and responsible young man, and it's only to be expected that you would be interested in him. I support your decision. I once risked everything for your father in my youth."

"Oh?"

"The Shangqing holy land arranged for many prospective husbands to visit me, all of whom were elites in their field. Some were crown princes of divine empires, and others were Immortal emperors in their own right. However, I'm not a fan of such political alliances. Your father was a very weak cultivator back then, but he treated me faithfully and sincerely. I chose to be with him than an Immortal emperor, because I knew that your father would do what he could to ensure that no harm came to me. With him around, I'd be happy no matter how tired I am." Qu Wan'er reminisced about the past with a blissful smile on her face.

Lady Yaoguang looked toward her father. He had been willing to turn into a red-furred lifeform for his mother; her mother really had chosen wisely.

"However, it'd be extraordinarily difficult for you to marry Xiao Nanfeng," Qu Wan'er continued.

"Mother, there really isn't anything between me and Nanfeng," Lady Yaoguang said, blushing.

Qu Wan'er shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. By becoming a Shangqing holy maiden, you've ceded considerable authority over your marriage. I had to pay an incredible cost in order to marry your father, and even so, I didn't dare announce it publicly. Your father also suffered many assassination attempts from the Shangqing holy land, all in order to prevent my marriage to him."

"What? The Shangqing holy land tried to assassinate Father?!" Lady Yaoguang exclaimed.

"That's right. They were only willing to give up after I was dragged into the abyss, believing that I was dead."

"How could that be?!" Lady Yaoguang exclaimed.

"What do you think a holy land is? It needs to be nurtured and cultivated with an endless supply of fortune. Not only does a holy land arrange for its disciples to found kingdoms and accumulate fortune, it also marries off its holy maidens to other divine empires to forge alliances in exchange for fortune. So-called holy maidens are just tools to enact such alliances, so your body no longer belongs to you after you become one."

"What?" Lady Yaoguang began to panic.

"The Immortal emperors aren't fools. They're willing to marry holy maidens to forge alliances with holy lands for a measure of support, but they naturally prefer those who are strong and influential within their holy lands. You said that you managed to obtain the inheritance of the Shangqing Grandmaster, so your position in the Shangqing holy land is indubitable. To some Immortal Emperors, you'd be the perfect consort that they'd go for at any cost."

"Won't I have any say in all this?"

"According to Shangqing custom, you'll surely be a huge bargaining chip in a political alliance. If Xiao Nanfeng continues to chase after you, he'll suffer from assassination attempts from the Shangqing holy land."

"But Nanfeng has founded his own empire, too!" Lady Yaoguang argued.

"Considering your status in the Shangqing holy land, none but an Immortal emperor can claim your hand. They wouldn't permit your marriage to him. They would rather have you become a concubine to an Immortal emperor than the sole empress of an ordinary empire."

"But—" Lady Yaoguang grimaced.

"Allow me to suggest a path forward," Qu Wan'er suddenly said seriously.

"Please, Mother!"

"The crowning treasure of the Shangqing holy land takes the form of four peerless swords. The cursebane sword that you obtained is one of the four. Now that you've received the Shangqing Grandmaster's inheritance and the acknowledgement of the cursebane sword, you must do your best to secure the other three as well. If you manage to wield all four swords, with your status as apprentice to the Shangqing Grandmaster, you'd be able to rise to command the Shangqing holy land. You could even become the next sect master, if you'd like. No one would be able to manipulate you, then."

Lady Yaoguang's eyes flashed as she nodded. "I understand, Mother."