Chapter 52: The Wicked Ancestor is Like a Maze (Part 2)

  Two lines of clear tears slid down the face of Hailong, and he let out a light sigh as he began to recount everything that his evil ancestor had told him. “...I really didn’t know Tianqin would treat me like this. It was always my fault for misunderstanding her before. I’m really in so much pain now, just now I tried not to think about it, but my heart is bleeding, and it won’t stop! Tianqin died for me.”

  Her ethereal expression was unusually calm, she gently stroked the black hair of the sea dragon, saying: "Long, don't be sad for now. If I'm not mistaken, Tianqin is not dead."

  Hailong suddenly sat up straight, his voice trembling: "What? What did you say? Tianqin isn't dead? But what the evil ancestor said seemed so real, I could feel his emotions were agitated, it didn't seem like he was lying. Moreover, he even gave me Laojun's record, such a precious thing, how could he deceive me?"

  She let out a soft sigh and said, "Long, sometimes you're very clever, even cunning, but at other times, why are you so foolish? As the saying goes, 'those who are in the midst of it are confused.' In fact, there were many loopholes in your conversation with that evil ancestor, you just didn't notice. Based on my judgment, I'd say there's over a 50% chance that evil ancestor is actually the incarnation of Tianqin."

  Hailong's entire body shook violently, "This, this is impossible! Voice can be disguised, but cultivation can't be faked! That evil ancestor's cultivation is even higher than Lian Tian and Jin Thirteen, how could it possibly be Tianqin? You know, back then Tianqin's cultivation wasn't even as high as mine. And if she was the evil ancestor, why didn't she recognize me?"

  He tightly grasped the icy hand of the sea dragon and said, "Dragon, don't get agitated for now, listen to my analysis. Firstly, when you used the Thousand Jin Clear Jade Universe to attack him for the first time, he had a huge reaction, questioning who you were and why you possessed the Thousand Jin Staff. I think that if what the evil ancestor said later is true, then it should be his first time seeing you, as well as his first time seeing the Thousand Jin Staff. Even if Tianqin had described it to him before, he absolutely wouldn't have been able to confirm in the first instance that you were using the Thousand Jin Staff. Don't you think this is strange? If the evil ancestor was indeed Tianqin, then it would be easy to explain. Tianqin naturally has a very deep impression of the Thousand Jin Staff. Secondly, during your later conversation, the evil ancestor mentioned that Tianqin herself had forced out the Inverse Heaven Mirror and the Nine Immortal Zither from her body and given them to him. This is actually fundamentally impossible. You should know that Tianqin and the Nine Immortal Zither have already merged into one entity; she absolutely cannot force out the Nine Immortal Zither, because she can be said to be the Nine Immortal Zither itself. Even if she died, a divine instrument that had merged with a human would still retain the original owner's aura within a thousand years, so it is impossible for it to accept control from others."

  Hai Long thought for a moment and said: "But the Evil Ancestor didn't use the Nine Immortal Zither, perhaps he never even got this treasure?"

  Piaoyue shook her head and said, "If everything else he said was true, then there's no need to deceive you on this point. Leaving doubts for you wouldn't do him any good. He didn't use the Nine Xianqin, probably because he was afraid of being recognized by you and his seniors in Qianhui Valley through the sound of the qin. You said he was very excited when talking about Tianqin's affairs; if he were really Tianqin, that would be easy to explain. Although I don't know what really happened to him, what he told you should be about 80% believable. The only thing that's a lie is that Tianqin is dead. If I were in her shoes, I would also choose to deceive you. Think carefully, Tianqin loved you so much, but now she has become the leader of the Evil Sect, possessing the ultimate evil skills, and having thousands of Evil Sect disciples under her command... how could she possibly acknowledge her identity to you? Even if she didn't consider whether you would accept her or not, just thinking about her affiliation with the evil path and her consideration for the Evil Sect's disciples, she absolutely wouldn't admit her true self to you. Moreover, moreover..." Piaoyue suddenly stopped here, a hint of melancholy appearing on her face.

  "Hai Long pressed on, 'What else? Speak quickly!' Piao Yu let out a sigh and said, 'Moreover, you previously announced in front of everyone that I was your wife. Tian Qin is probably already heartbroken with the love she has for you, and will likely secretly be blessing us instead of recognizing you and competing with me for you. This is the real reason she won't reveal her true identity.'"

  Hailong was completely stunned. Through his analysis and considering the abnormal behavior of Xie Zu before, he knew that Piaoyou's words made a lot of sense.

  He stood up and walked to the edge of the restricted area, gazing out at the dark night outside. "Long, if all my guesses are correct, then you owe Tianqin a great debt. Although you once saved her life by shattering your dan, for the sake of avenging you and gaining powerful strength, Tianqin chose to abandon the righteous path and accept the evil way's Wanjie Blood Curse baptism. From what I've observed, with her current cultivation level, even if she has the Jiuxianqin and Niutian Mirror's suppression, she can at most only hold out for a thousand years. After that, waiting for her will be the strongest Nine Heavens Tribulation. Even a Daluo Jinxian would likely suffer damage when facing such an almost unstoppable tribulation. This is essentially an unchangeable fate of death. Moreover, due to accepting the Wanjie Blood Curse, Tianqin's body and spirit have already merged with the Jiuxianqin, making it impossible for her to even escape. It can be said that for your sake, she has also sacrificed her own life, resulting in both her physical and spiritual destruction."

  Hailong also stood up, gazing into the distance. At this moment, he had completely calmed down, his hands behind his back, and softly sighed: "Tianqin, is that really you? You're so foolish! From the time we first met, you've always been thinking of me. Even after giving me the Old Lord's Record, this precious treasure, you took on all the responsibility yourself. What I owe you, I'm afraid can never be repaid."

  Yao nodded and said, "Yes! Tianqin's feelings for you, you will never be able to repay."

  Hai Long suddenly laughed, a self-deprecating laugh. "To think about it, Tian Qin knowing me is really unlucky for her. If it weren't for me, she would probably still be the most outstanding disciple of Qian Hui Valley. If it weren't for me, I wouldn't have brought her so much trouble either. Tian Qin, don't worry, what I owe you, one day I will repay." Two teardrops fell from Hai Long's eyes, and Piao Miao was shocked to discover that the tears were actually light red in color. She didn't know what she felt in her heart right now, and said in a low voice: "They should not have gone far yet, aren't you going to chase after them?"

  Hailong wiped away his tears with his sleeve, shook his head and said: "I won't go after her. Since I've already deeply hurt Tianqin, I couldn't bear to hurt another person who loves me. Piaomiao, I admit it, my heart belongs to Tianqin, but your position is more important. Maybe I'm very selfish. But I absolutely cannot abandon you for Tianqin. The debt I owe Tianqin will be repaid in the future, but now I won't leave you for a single step. In my heart, both you and Tianqin are my wives, I love you and I also love her. Once we confirm the true identity of the evil ancestor, if she is indeed Tianqin, I will immediately leave Lianyun Sect, no matter what form she has taken, I want to marry her as my wife. Piaomiao, can you accept her? My heart cannot be divided into two."

  She smiled faintly, and happily leaned into the dragon's embrace, softly saying: "Dragon, my good husband, I'm really already very satisfied. To be honest, every woman hopes to monopolize her loved one. But from when I agreed to marry you, I understood that you aren't someone who can be monopolized by just me. I admit, I was a bit jealous of Tianqin, but what she has paid out for you is really much more than me, she's more qualified to receive your love. Moreover, in today's situation, under the shock brought by Tianqin, you still consider my feelings, I'm really very satisfied. I can only accompany you for a few hundred years, Tianqin can accompany you for several hundred years more than me. Now, I really hope we can live happily together."

  Hailong stroked her delicate face, filled with warmth in his heart, and said softly: "I'm satisfied to have a wife like you who understands things. This matter is only known to us two for now, don't tell anyone, including Hongzhi and Xiaojingling, I don't want them to get involved. Let's wait until I confirm whether the evil ancestor is Tianqin or not, then consider everything else later. Oh, right, should I cultivate that old Junluo record? As a treasure of the immortal family, it must have its benefits. I need power to avenge now!"

  "It's not possible. Dragon, you absolutely cannot easily cultivate the Old Lord's Record. As you said, this Old Lord's Record is a treasure of the immortal family, and since it's a cultivation method for immortals, I'm afraid we cultivators will find it difficult to control, and there's a great possibility that we'll go crazy from practicing it. Moreover, the origins of this Old Lord's Record are unclear, and cultivating it may very well violate the heavenly laws. If that happens, the immortal realm might send someone to take you away, which would be dangerous. Therefore, in my eyes, this Old Lord's Record is nothing but a hot potato, completely useless."

  Hai Long nodded slightly, then smiled and said: "It's still as you thought, it's useful even if I can't cultivate it. At a critical moment, it might play a crucial role. One day when I'm in a good mood, I might just give it to Ji Tian, Jin Thirteen or Xing Tian couple. I think they'll be very happy."

  "Ha ha, you're really bad, but for now, it's better to keep this a secret. This is a lifesaver! Dragon, don't forget that your wife, me, is more than 2,000 years older than you. I'll naturally be more considerate of things, so in the future, you'd better listen to me obediently."

  Hailong gently kissed her and said, "Alright, alright, I'll listen. Piaomiao, do you know? Actually, the first time I saw you, I was stunned by your appearance. At that time, I thought you were both my mother and my wife. Later, weighing the pros and cons, I felt that being a wife was better. I have a lot of love for you, including respectful love. In my heart, you and Tianqin are irreplaceable. Let's go, we should head back too. Otherwise, Hongzhi will start talking again. He'll definitely say, 'Big brother, you're being too affectionate with your sister-in-law for too long.'"

  Piaoyu didn't mind what Hailong said earlier, and with her intelligence, she naturally understood the implication of his words. As if she hadn't heard him, her face turned red, and she said, "Does Hongzhi dare? Is he not afraid that I'll strike him with lightning?" Hailong looked at Piaoyu deeply, smiling, "You'll know when we get back. Wife, being with you really makes me feel comfortable." As they spoke, the two of them headed back along the original path.

  Hong Zhi and Xiao Jing Ling were sitting idly somewhere, watching the dragon and Phoenix dance in mid-air. Suddenly, they jumped up excitedly. The phoenix's face was flushed with a few shades of red, looking radiant and unmatched. Hong Zhi involuntarily said: "Big brother, you and big sister..." Just as he said this, he saw the phoenix raise its hand, and immediately retracted the second half of his sentence in fright. "Don't, big sister, I know I was wrong, I didn't say anything. Actually, it's fine if you want to strike me with lightning, but if you strike some flowers and grasses, that wouldn't be good, right? Hehe."

  "Hai Long smiled and said: 'You're getting better at being a smooth talker, heh heh. If you dare to speak nonsense again in the future, I'll let your sister-in-law use lightning to strike you.'"

  "Hmph, you just know how to bully me. You clearly know I'm a monk and can't find a wife. Otherwise, I'd find a fierce wife and see if you still dare to be arrogant."

  "Alright, stop messing around. Let's cultivate for a while, and have Hongzhi and Xiaojing protect us."

  Hailong nodded and the two found a relatively flat area to sit facing each other, starting their cultivation.

  Due to the commotion on Tianyuan Mountain, the various Orthodox sects feared being discovered by mortals and left before dawn under the leadership of their respective sect leaders. After reporting to Jie Tian Dao Zun, the four from Hailong did not return to Lianyun Mountains but instead continued their journey. However, they gained an additional companion, one that Hailong disliked the most - Zhi Shui Dao Zun.