We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 527: Can Only Choose One? (2 in 1)

Listening to Grand Elder Tushan Meng’s words, Xiao Mo merely lifted his teacup with a calm expression and took a shallow sip. Deep in his eyes, a nearly imperceptible trace of vigilance quietly passed.

Even so, on the surface, Xiao Mo still carried a few parts genuine expectation. He looked toward her and asked in a respectful yet cautious tone,

“May I ask what the Grand Elder means by that...?”

“At present, the entire demon-race world has already fallen completely into chaos. All factions are attacking one another, and the Myriad Demon Alliance under Tushan’s command is currently being suppressed by the Heavenly Demon Alliance and the Sacred Demon Alliance!”

“What is even more troublesome is that there is also a so-called Human Alliance watching covetously from the side.”

Grand Elder Tushan Meng smiled faintly, her gaze falling on Xiao Mo as she explained to him at an unhurried pace.

“And at this critical juncture, it is precisely the time when Tushan most needs people. It is also the best time to build merit, establish achievements, and render great service!”

“If you, Xiao Mo, are willing to go to the battlefield for Tushan and make military contributions no one can criticize, then in the future, once Jingci has fully gained her footing in Tushan and you yourself hold achievements weighty enough in your hands...”

“When that time comes, even if some people wish to oppose the two of you being together in their hearts, I fear it will be difficult for them to find any decent reason.”

“So, are you willing to go to the front line?”

“...”

After Xiao Mo heard these words, he lowered his head slightly and sank into a long silence.

Tushan Meng did not urge him. She simply picked up the teacup by her hand without haste, lightly sipped her tea, and waited for Xiao Mo’s answer.

After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, Xiao Mo finally slowly rose to his feet. He bowed to Tushan Meng, gave a formal salute, and said,

“Thank you, Grand Elder, for being willing to give this junior such an opportunity. This junior is willing to go to the battlefield.”

“Good!”

Hearing this, Tushan Meng nodded faintly. Her gaze toward Xiao Mo was filled with approval and satisfaction.

“As expected, I did not judge wrongly. That child Jingci did not misjudge you either.”

“After you return, prepare yourself properly. In about ten days, you will set out together with Tushan’s army.”

As Tushan Meng spoke, she stepped forward, reached out, and gently patted Xiao Mo on the shoulder. Her tone was warm, but carried a few parts solemn instruction.

“With your skill and ability, I believe that once you reach the battlefield, you will certainly accomplish something. Do not disappoint me and Jingci.”

“Yes. This junior will not betray the elder’s high expectations.”

Xiao Mo nodded with a serious expression. After exchanging a few insignificant pleasantries with Tushan Meng, he took his leave and departed.

...

“How was it? What did the Grand Elder discuss with you, Young Master?”

On the way back to Moon Spring Peak, Xiangniang came gracefully to Xiao Mo’s side and asked softly.

“It was nothing major. The Grand Elder merely gave me an opportunity.” Xiao Mo shook his head lightly, and a rather helpless smile appeared on his face.

“An opportunity? What kind of opportunity?” Xiangniang blinked and pressed curiously.

Xiao Mo turned his head and looked at Xiangniang.

Xiangniang immediately raised her hand, her face serious as she swore toward the sky. “I swear by my own Great Dao that if I, Xiangniang, leak even half a word of this matter, then let me live out this life alone until old age, without even the shadow of a man beside me.”

“I never meant to make you swear, Xiangniang.” Xiao Mo could not help laughing. He shook his head and said, “But speaking of it, that poisonous oath truly is harsh enough for you.”

“If it were not a little harsher, how would Young Master be willing to tell me?”

Xiangniang’s charming eyes gave Xiao Mo a light sidelong glance as she urged him.

“Hurry and tell me. What exactly did the Grand Elder say to you? Maybe I can even help you think of a plan and offer some advice.”

“The Grand Elder told me that the Myriad Demon Alliance will soon go to war with the Sacred Demon Alliance. She wants me to go to the battlefield, kill enemies, and make contributions. She also said that once Jingci gains a firm footing in Tushan in the future, and I am able to establish great merit, no one will be able to oppose Jingci and me becoming dao companions anymore.”

Xiao Mo did not hide anything. He truthfully told Xiangniang the contents of the conversation just now.

There was not much to conceal about this matter in the first place. After all, Xiangniang already knew the relationship between him and Jingci.

Moreover, although Xiao Mo had not spent all that much time with Xiangniang, during the days they had lived together, Xiao Mo had felt that Xiangniang was a woman who was seductive on the outside but kindhearted within.

She only wanted to improve her position. She had never had any truly malicious intentions.

“...”

As Xiangniang listened to Xiao Mo finish, her expression could not help going slightly blank. Then she fell silent.

Only after quite a while did Xiangniang slowly raise her head and look at Xiao Mo with an incomparably serious expression. “Young Master... you could not have already agreed to the Grand Elder, could you?”

“Mm. I already agreed.” Xiao Mo nodded.

“Young Master, you are confused...”

The moment Xiangniang heard this, she became so anxious that her voice rose several degrees. “Young Master, do you truly believe those words the Grand Elder said?”

“The Grand Elder is clearly just dangling a carrot in front of Young Master to lure you forward!”

“Young Master does not understand this Grand Elder’s temperament. In her heart, nothing is greater than Tushan’s interests, and when she does things, she is extremely ruthless.”

Xiangniang’s small hands tightly clenched the hem of her skirt. As she spoke, she became somewhat incoherent, pouring out everything she knew all at once, wholeheartedly wanting to persuade Xiao Mo to give up this idea.

“Young Master, do you know how this Grand Elder of ours entered the Ascension Realm back then?”

“Back then, our Grand Elder originally had a dao companion as well. The two were mutually in love, and their feelings were very good. But at that time, there was no Ascension Realm cultivator holding Tushan down among our Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan. The highest realm in the clan was merely perfected completion of the Immortal Realm.”

“And Young Master also knows that the territory occupied by our Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan is one of the areas with the most abundant spiritual qi in the entire demon-race world. What sect would not covet it?”

“So later, seven sects and dynasties joined forces and attacked Tushan together.”

“I heard my great-grandmother speak of it. At the critical moment when Tushan was about to be breached, the Grand Elder personally carried a sword, killed the person she loved with her own hands, then took out his demon core and swallowed it on the spot.”

“It was on that very day that the Grand Elder stepped into the Ascension Realm in one stroke. With the support of Tushan’s grand formation, she relied on her strength alone to repel all seven sects and dynasties that had come to attack.”

“And afterward, those seven sects and dynasties—from emperors and sect masters down to ordinary disciples and common people—were all slaughtered clean by the Grand Elder. Not a single survivor was left!”

As Xiao Mo listened to Xiangniang recount this past event, a few parts surprise rose in his heart as well. This was the first time he had ever heard that this Grand Elder of Tushan had such an unknown past.

“So, Young Master, how could someone like the Grand Elder, someone who values Tushan’s interests more heavily than Heaven itself, possibly agree sincerely to you and Young Lady Jingci being together?” Xiangniang sighed heavily. “What I fear is that the Grand Elder is...”

“She wants to kill with a borrowed blade, right? Ideally, I would die quietly on the battlefield. That way, whether for Jingci or for Tushan, it would be the best outcome.”

Xiao Mo picked up where she left off and said the words she had not finished with a smile.

“...”

Xiangniang did not answer. She merely lowered her head, which counted as silent agreement.

“Xiangniang, in truth, I understand everything you just said very clearly.” Xiao Mo smiled as he looked at Xiangniang.

“Then why is Young Master still running toward that battlefield where nine deaths await for every one life?”

Xiangniang grew even more anxious.

Why did it feel as though Young Master was just this stubborn?

“It is precisely because I understand the Grand Elder’s plan that I must do this all the more.” Xiao Mo smiled faintly, his gaze looking far into the distance ahead. “And I also have to do it.”

“Oh, my Young Master! I know Young Lady Jingci is extraordinarily beautiful, so beautiful that even I cannot bring myself to compare with her at all. But Young Master, you must also recognize the reality before your eyes.”

“The difference between Young Lady Jingci’s identity and yours is simply too great. Tushan will absolutely never allow a human and a fox to be together.”

“I am not saying there is anything wrong with Young Master wanting to eat swan meat, but even if you want to eat swan meat, you still have to stay alive first, don’t you...”

“Wouldn’t it be good for Young Master to have a litter of little foxes with me instead? Actually... I am not ugly either...”

Xiao Mo shook his head. “This has nothing to do with whether someone’s appearance is beautiful.”

“It is only that I once promised Jingci I would protect her for a lifetime. Since I have already said it, I must do it.”

Xiao Mo looked at Xiangniang with a gentle gaze. His tone was soft, yet carried an unquestionable firmness.

Even if it was in a way Jingci would not like.

...

Moon-Gazing Peak, summit.

After Xiao Mo left, Grand Elder Tushan Meng was still holding the watering pot, watering the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

After a while, Tushan Meng slowly spoke, as though talking to herself. “Xiao Mo has already left. He has also agreed to participate in that great war.”

Tushan Xinhua stepped lightly down from the air and walked to her master’s side. In a low voice, she said, “Does Xiao Mo... have to die?”

“Heh... After things have already reached this point, what nonsense are you still saying?”

Tushan Meng turned around and looked at this first disciple of hers with eyes calm as water.

“Do not forget how you yourself reached the perfected completion of the Immortal Realm. Was it not after your husband died? If not for the damage to your natural foundation back then, with your aptitude, it would not have been impossible for you to step into the Ascension Realm.”

“And in that war when Tushan was besieged, I suffered extremely grave injuries. I do not have many years left to live. Tushan must have another Ascension Realm cultivator to hold it down!”

“In truth, this is not only for Tushan. It is also for Jingci’s sake. What? Do you want to wait until a thousand years from now and watch your own daughter’s lifespan run out with your own eyes, a white-haired one sending off the black-haired?”

“Tushan Xinhua! Do not forget that Jingci’s Great Dao is damaged. She now has only a mere thousand years of life!”

By the end, Tushan Meng’s voice grew louder and louder, almost carrying the tone of a reprimand.

Tushan Xinhua’s hands tightly clenched the hem of her skirt. Her face was still full of reluctance and pity.

“You... ah... Your heart is simply too soft.”

Seeing her disciple like this, Tushan Meng could not help sighing. Then she said toward the outside of the courtyard, “Xiao’er, there is something I need you to handle.”

No sooner had Tushan Meng’s voice fallen than a woman’s figure quietly emerged from the shadows. She knelt on one knee before Tushan Meng and said respectfully, “Grand Elder, please give your order.”

“For this great war, I will have the Fifth Elder personally go to the battlefield and hold the line. Deliver this letter to the Fifth Elder, and tell her she must act according to what I have written in it.”

Tushan Meng looked at the woman named Xiao’er and instructed her in a calm voice.

“At the same time, I want you to follow the army to the battlefield as well and stay by Xiao Mo’s side. Within ten years, I must hear news of his death. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Grand Elder!” Xiao’er nodded heavily. In the next instant, her figure flashed and vanished from the courtyard.

“Xinhua, you need only put your mind at ease. Xiao Mo’s death will have nothing to do with you or me.”

Tushan Meng patted her disciple’s shoulder and said warmly.

“I will have Xiao Mo die in an exceedingly natural way. I absolutely will not leave any trace. That child Jingci will never know the truth behind it, and she will not hate us because of it.”

“And once Xiao Mo dies, our Tushan clan will welcome a junior whose cultivation far surpasses my own!”

“Grand Elder.” Tushan Xinhua raised her head and looked at Tushan Meng, asking softly, “Then what of Junmeng? What should be done with her?”

“That child does not need to testify to the Way through emotion. In the future, perhaps she will be able to find a dual-practice partner more suitable for her.”

Tushan Meng’s voice cooled.

“Taking a step back, even if she never finds one, so what?”

“Xinhua, the blood flowing in her body is human blood. She has never had much to do with Tushan in the first place. And between the two of them, you know very well in your heart—you can only choose to keep one!”

“That is enough. I am tired. I will return to my room to rest first.”

Tushan Meng said no more. She turned and walked straight back inside the house.

Standing in the courtyard, Tushan Xinhua thought alone for a long, long time.

In the end, she raised her head, her gaze looking far into the distance.

“Can only choose one...”

In the woman’s mind, she could not help recalling once more that sentence the youth had said to her and Yunxi—

“Whether it is Jingci or Miss Gui—I will not let either of them die.”