Aspiring to the Immortal Path-Chapter 825: Salvation
"Tang Jie, you won't die a good death! My master will return, and when she does, she will skin you alive!"
Down in the depths of the Verdant Cloud Domain, Ice Phoenix was lying on the ground, screaming and howling.
The tables had been turned, and it was now time for Ice Phoenix to be sealed.
Tang Jie gave her much better treatment, though, not torturing her and simply throwing her to the side. Even then, she was still incessantly cursing at Tang Jie, a far cry from that pure and aloof maiden from the past.
But this made Tang Jie even more critical of himself and even more dutybound to save Ice Phoenix.
Since Ice Phoenix had become a demon due to the encroachment of demonic energy, it seemed that one just needed to remove the demonic energy to restore Ice Phoenix.
Thus, Tang Jie began to think about how to remove the demonic energy in Ice Phoenix's body.
But he quickly discovered that no matter what he did, the demonic energy simply couldn't be removed from Ice Phoenix, as if it had taken root within her.
To be more precise, this demonic energy had become like a cultivator's spiritual energy. Removing it was no different from a cultivator casting spell arts. Even when it was all taken out, it would quickly regenerate.
It was a power that was deeply implanted into Ice Phoenix's marrow, rooted in every cell, a brand left on the most microscopic level. Tang Jie couldn't eliminate it no matter what he did.
In the end, he was no doctor. With no other choice, he brought Ice Phoenix back to the Rosecloud Domain.
Nobody had expected Tang Jie to come back from Verdant Cloud alive, and they were surprised and elated.
After hearing the story from him, everyone sighed. They all understood why Tang Jie was willing to go to great lengths to save Ice Phoenix, and even Xu Miaoran was very supportive. From her perspective, Tang Jie was ultimately the reason Ice Phoenix had become a demon, and Tang Jie had already proved himself to her, so there was no reason for her to not trust him.
The Basking Moon Sect began to seek out doctors and medicine to treat Ice Phoenix.
But all of the famous medical cultivators of the world could only shake their heads after seeing Ice Phoenix's condition.
As there were none in Sageheart, they sought out famed doctors from Horizon Ocean Pavilion and the Seven Absolutions Sect, but none of them could help.
One doctor directly went to the heart of the matter. "For eons now, the cultivators of the Great Stellar Chiliocosm have only prescribed a single treatment for demons: kill! Nobody has ever tried to save them, or perhaps there were a few attempts, but they have all ended in failure. And I've never heard of anyone being able to save someone who has already become a demon… This is no longer a medical problem, so there is no use in consulting us."
Unlike other demonic cultivators, Ice Phoenix had become a demon through the corruption of Primordial Fog demonic energy, which made her a true demon. For ordinary demon cultivators, it was a problem of the arts they practiced, but for true demons, it was a fundamental matter. Even if Ice Phoenix's cultivation were crippled, it still might not be enough to save her.
They were another kind of lifeform, completely separate from humans.
Helpless, Tang Jie went to Yun Tianlan.
But this Earth Immortal who had participated in the war against Primordial Fog was also powerless to help Ice Phoenix. "She has completely transformed into a demon. No medicine can save her."
"Ancestor, is there really no way?" Tang Jie anxiously asked.
"This…" Yun Tianlan stroked his beard and thought for a while. "There are other examples of cultivators falling to demonhood in the Great Stellar Chiliocosm."
While the Jade Lady iceheart Mantra could lead one to demonhood, it wasn't the only way.
The demons of Primordial Fog had developed many ways to invade the positive plane. The Jade Lady Iceheart Mantra was a slow-acting method that only caused demonhood as a side effect. In the eyes of the demons, it wasn't worthy of taking on the heavy responsibility of tempting cultivators into becoming demons. True methods were much faster, so there were actually many who had become demons. In the first place, the Jade Lady Iceheart Mantra had been meant to resist demonic temptation.
Among the countless stories of people who had become demons, Yun Tianlan recalled one in particular.
"That is a very old story. It is said that long ago, there was a cultivator couple, two talented cultivators who loved each other dearly. One was the Violet Robe Wanderer and the other was the Scarlet Cloud Fairy, and together, they were the Violet Cloud Couple. The Primordial Fog Calamity came around at that time, and the Violet Cloud Couple joined the fight, slaying countless demons and gaining unmatched fame and prestige. But this also drew the attention of an Archdevil of Primordial Fog, one called the Hearteater Demon Lord. This Demon Lord used their supreme arts to turn the Violet Robe Wanderer into a demon, causing husband and wife to fight each other."
Yun Tianlan paused a moment before going on. "Not long after the Violet Robe Wanderer became a demon, he was subdued by the righteous cultivators. The Scarlet Cloud Fairy implored them to spare her husband, seeking to turn him back into a human. The cultivators sensed the deep affection they held for each other and decided to give them a chance. From then on, the Scarlet Cloud Fairy traveled with her husband, seeking a way to remove the demonic energy by the root."
"What happened after that?" Tang Jie quickly asked.
Yun Tianlan shook his head. "I don't know… Not long after that, the Primordial Fog Domain fissure closed and the demons retreated. The reputation of the Violet Cloud Couple faded into obscurity. Occasionally, however, one could still hear some legends regarding the couple. Some people said that the Scarlet Cloud Fairy failed to save her husband and the two of them died together. Others say that the Scarlet Cloud Fairy failed and was killed by her husband, and then her husband was later on killed by some other powerful cultivator. There are also accounts that say that the Scarlet Cloud Fairy did manage to save her husband, for the two were once seen walking alongside each other, talking and laughing as if nothing was wrong. But this story was quickly rejected, for if this were truly the case, the Violet Cloud Couple would have no reason to stay hidden. Thus, while there are many rumors, none of them were believed."
"So it was just a rumor?" Tang Jie sighed.
Yun Tianlan nodded. "Yes, just a rumor. In this old man's life, it is the only rumor regarding a demon being restored to a human. I know that this rumor has many problems and is not very plausible, but the person who brought up this rumor to this old man took it rather seriously, taking it to be real. If there was anything about this story worth paying attention to, it's the person who brought it up."
"Oh?" Tang Jie grew interested. "What sort of person told this story to Ancestor?"
After some thought, Yun Tianlan replied, "It was when I first became an Earth Immortal and wandered the myriad domains. In a place called the Mountain Domain, I encountered a cultivator called Reverend Yellow Heaven. Like me, he was an Earth Immortal. He was the one who told me the story of the Violet Cloud Couple, and he said that he personally saw them and owed his current accomplishments to their instruction. I laughed when I heard, saying that this was too absurd. If the Scarlet Cloud Fairy had saved her husband, she could have made a public announcement and informed others of this blessing. If the Violet Cloud Couple had been willing to fight against the demons, they should have been able to show this kindness to the world. From this, one could see that this rumor had to be fake. He became angry at this and argued with me, saying that the Violet Cloud Fairy must have had their own troubles, to not divulge the secret. I asked him what sort of troubles these might be, but he couldn't tell me. We departed on unhappy terms."
"In other words, that Reverend Yellow Heaven might have been telling the truth?" Tang Jie asked.
Yun Tianlan sighed. "Rather than saying it might be real, it's better to say that you hope it's real."
"Then does Ancestor know where to find this Reverend Yellow Heaven?" Tang Jie urgently asked.
Yun Tianlan looked at Tang Jie. "You want to try?"
Tang Jie firmly replied, "So long as there's even the smallest chance, your disciple will try!"
Yun Tianlan nodded. "If that's the case… then fine. Now that I think about it, perhaps this is the will of the heavens. The will of the heavens wants you to go there, which is why all of this was arranged."
Tang Jie was startled, and then he realized. "Could it be…"
"Correct," Yun Tianlan replied. "This Reverend Yellow Heaven came from the Vast Wilderness World. The Vast Wilderness World has 72 Divine States, with each state being even larger than the Rosecloud Domain. Reverend Yellow Heaven is the ancestor of the Star Radiant Gate, a sect of the Western Bull Divine State."
"Your disciple understands. If that's the case, your disciple will take a trip to the Vast Wilderness World," Tang Jie said.
Yun Tianlan sighed. "The Vast Wilderness is a place of many experts, and even with your Deification cultivation, you cannot go around as you please. Let alone Immortal Platform cultivators, you might not even be able to deal with the Soul Projection experts there. You must understand that your title of number one Violet Palace expert is only valid in the Rosecloud Domain. Outside of it, there are countless strong experts in the cosmos. There might even be Deification cultivators who can defeat you."
Tang Jie replied, "This disciple is only going to see the Violet Cloud Couple, not to swagger about. If there are any problems, this disciple will avoid them, and he will not act according to emotion."
Yun Tianlan bemoaned, "The worry is that there are some troubles you won't be able to avoid. Ice Phoenix has already become a demon, and if you bring a demon with you, do you really think it will be that easy to move around?"
Tang Jie was dumbfounded as he realized what the problem was. He quickly said, "Then your disciple will put her in the diagram."
Yun Tianlan shook his head. "It's no good. Ice Phoenix has already become a demon, and her entire body radiates demonic energy. If you put her in the small world within your Mountain River State Diagram, if Ice Phoenix tries to force out the demonic energy within her, she could very likely contaminate your world. The Mountain River State Diagram World is about to bear fruit after all the investment you put into it, and here you are trying to put in a big bug, which might end up soiling all the fruit upon that tree."
Tang Jie broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't imagined that Ice Phoenix would be so scary that she could singlehandedly contaminate an entire small world.
In truth, this was because the small world was on the cusp of maturity. Once it had fully matured and become complete, Ice Phoenix naturally wouldn't be able to contaminate it. But right now, the small world was at its weakest and most critical moment, so it could not tolerate even the slightest risk.
If not for that, Tang Jie would have used it in his battle against the Jewel Immortal Sovereign.
Realizing this, Tang Jie said, "If that's the case, then I will have to resort to altering appearances."
Yun Tianlan nodded. "That's the only option. Even then, you must be careful. With this woman by your side, you will inevitably encounter problems."
"This disciple will keep that in mind!" Tang Jie said, and bowed.
Even Tang Jie hadn't expected that he would be setting off again so soon.
But things weren't as desperate this time, given that the threat of Immortal Ji Yao had been removed, so everyone was much more relaxed.
It was still Xu Miaoran who remained anxious. Pulling on Tang Jie's hand, she said, "Even though that Immortal Ji Yao is gone, you have to remain extremely cautious. The Vast Wilderness World isn't like here. There are so many experts there, and just when you think you're safe, you might actually be in great danger."
Tang Jie smiled. "Relax. If something really happens, I won't fight to the death. I'll make running away my first priority. Besides, I also have Little Three. If there's any trouble, I'll have him notify all of you."
"Mm!" Xu Miaoran vigorously nodded. At the same time, she stuffed the various medicines she had refined into Tang Jie's hands.
With the resources she controlled, she had been able to make a lot of progress in pill refining, succeeding in refining quite a lot. All of this, she was now giving to Tang Jie, only asking that he stay safe.
After saying his farewells, Tang Jie took Ice Phoenix and set off once more. But this time, before he left, Yiyi rushed into Tang Jie's embrace and shouted, "Don't even think about leaving me behind this time!"
It seemed that Tang Jie leaving Yiyi behind to go to the Verdant Cloud Domain had left her rather heartbroken.
Although he had tried to hide his return and subsequent departure from Yiyi, Yiyi was ready and had been waiting for him at the teleportation formation.
After ambushing Tang Jie, she hung around his neck and refused to let go.
Tang Jie didn't know what to do with her. "The Vast Wilderness World is no ordinary place. With so many experts around, if you come with me, I might not be able to protect you."
Yiyi earnestly shook her head. "I don't need Big Brother to protect me! I will protect Big Brother!"
After four hundred years of cultivation, this little girl had become a maiden, her cultivation reaching the peak of Transformation. Even so, she was still much weaker than Tang Jie, and the help she could provide was very limited. But facing down Yiyi's earnest gaze, Tang Jie couldn't bring himself to say, "You won't be of much help."
After some thought, he finally said, "Fine. With you around, at least there will be another person to keep an eye on Ice Phoenix."
He finally agreed to bring Yiyi along.
Looking back, he saw that the upper echelons of the Basking Moon Sect, as well as Xu Miaoran, Wei Tianchong, Xi Canhen, Zuo Quanming, and Er Hu, were all looking at him, sending him off.
Tang Jie waved his hand, and then he stepped into the formation and disappeared.
