When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 50

Since Penglai Immortal separated from Jue Fei  and the others, no one has seen him again. They all assumed he was trying to break the barrier of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. However, at this moment, he is in the mountains. 

Seeing him, Yun Zhuoran feels relieved that he brings Gu Qiuming along—otherwise, entering the mountains again would not be so easy.

In the dark demon forest, Penglai Immortal’s snow-white hair drapes over the corner of his robe, making his red garments appear as vivid as fresh blood. When he sees Yun Zhuoran approaching, his eyes light up. He waves his hand before turning and heading up the mountain.

The scent of blood in the air grows stronger. Yun Zhuoran’s expression darkens as he quickens his pace to follow.

Jue Fei and the others previously clear out all the monsters and demon-infested plants on this hill, leaving the path eerily quiet. When they arrive at a hidden cave in the back of the mountain, Penglai Immortal’s figure vanishes into its entrance.

As Yun Zhuoran steps inside, he is immediately struck by the overwhelming stench of blood.

The Penglai Immortal who led him here is merely a clone. His true body is inside the cave, meditating to heal his wounds. His tense expression and faint grimace of pain indicate the severity of his injuries.

Just then, Penglai Immortal’s spiritual energy suddenly dissipates, and he coughs up a mouthful of blood.

Yun Zhuoran swiftly steps forward, pressing two fingers against his shoulder. A warm, golden-red spiritual energy spreads over him like spring rain, instantly dispelling the icy frost clinging to Penglai Immortal’s body.

Feeling the energy, Penglai Immortal instinctively adjusts his circulation to cooperate. By the time he completely expels the cold aura, Yun Zhuoran’s own energy is nearly depleted.

Regaining his breath, Penglai Immortal suddenly looks up at Yun Zhuoran. “You really came!”

Yun Zhuoran exhales quietly. Though Penglai Immortal’s face is pale, his eyes are bright with excitement. After a brief pause, Yun Zhuoran lowers his gaze and says, “You’re seriously injured.”

Compared to their last meeting, Penglai Immortal’s complexion is even paler—an almost translucent white, as if he might vanish with the wind at any moment. It’s unsettling. His arm is covered in blood, the wound only recently healed, but the crimson stains remain on his robes, deep and vivid.

Noticing Yun Zhuoran staring at his injuries, Penglai Immortal hurriedly tugs at his sleeve to cover them. He lets out a hoarse laugh and says, “It hurt quite a bit earlier, but it’s mostly healed now… though it’s still a little cold.”

“You shouldn’t have come.” Yun Zhuoran looks at the back of Penglai Immortal’s hand, where his veins are visibly purple and blue—a clear sign of a grave injury.

Not only should he not have entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, but Penglai Immortal shouldn’t have left Penglai Island at all.

After Yun Peiran leaves the Tianqing Sect Pagoda, he travels to Tiandao Sect to pick up Yun Zhuoran. After wandering the world for some time, they encounter Penglai Immortal.

This journey into the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest isn’t the first time Penglai Immortal leaves Penglai.

As early as thirty years ago, he ventured beyond the island multiple times, searching for a successor. That person was Yun Peiran. If word of this spreads, it will surely shake the entire cultivation world.

However, when Penglai Immortal found Yun Peiran, he was unwilling to inherit the island. But Penglai Immortal refused to give up. During the day, he followed them like a persistent shadow, and at night, he sat by their bedside, watching them sleep—without blinking.

Yun Peiran nearly lost his mind under that intense gaze, but he couldn’t fight or escape. At the time, he has yet to find a long-term place for himself and his younger brother, so he begrudgingly agreed.

But who would have thought that the so-called paradise of Penglai Fairy Island was actually a trap?

Yun Peiran regretted it countless times since then. How could he have believed that good fortune would simply fall from the sky?

The previous Lord of Penglai fell due to the Penglai Heavenly Tribulation. After that catastrophe, only a handful of people remained on Penglai, and the last remaining bloodline of the Lord of Penglai was lost to the world.

As the spirit of Penglai Fairy Island, Penglai Immortal cannot escape the Heavenly Tribulation. He barely survived, advancing to the Great Ascension stage and eventually transforming into a human. However, the tribulation left him with severe injuries. After many years of recuperation, he emerged once more to search for the descendants of the Lord of Penglai.

It turns out that the two brothers, Yun Peiran and Yun Zhuoran, were the sons of the last direct descendant of the previous Lord of Penglai. Of the two, Yun Peiran, as the elder brother, carries the purer bloodline. The moment Penglai Immortal sees him, he knew that Yun Peiran was destined to be his master.

When Yun Peiran was tricked into setting foot on Penglai Fairy Island, he was confronted with the aftermath of the Heavenly Tribulation—ruins in desperate need of rebuilding. His first instinct was to flee on the spot, but in the end, he put in the effort to restore Penglai.

Yet, for reasons unknown, Yun Peiran eventually took Yun Zhuoran and left Penglai once again. There had been no conflict between them and Penglai Immortal, and after they departed, Penglai Immortal went into seclusion to recover—until now.

Yun Zhuoran still couldn’t understand why Yun Peiran chose to leave in the first place. Penglai was a paradise that many in the world longed for. Even in its decline, it still held the spiritual treasures of the entire island. And yet, Yun Peiran had resolutely taken his younger brother away.

After leaving, Yun Peiran entrusted Yun Zhuoran to Gu Shenshu, claiming that Penglai Immortal was in seclusion and that his brother needed someone to care for him.

Gu Shenshu was the only person he trusted.

From then on, Yun Peiran’s whereabouts became a mystery. He only visited Tiandao Sect occasionally, and no one knew what he was doing—until Gu Shenshu’s sudden death. Yun Peiran was accused of fleeing to escape punishment.

Now, after more than twenty years, Penglai Immortal emerges from Penglai once again, and Yun Zhuoran knows it is for him. But despite awakening from his seclusion, Penglai Immortal’s injuries are not fully healed. There is still one critical problem—

As the spiritual embodiment of Penglai Fairy Island, Penglai Immortal cannot stay away from Penglai for too long.

Without the island’s spiritual energy to sustain him, his already-weakened strength rapidly deteriorates.

To outsiders, Penglai Immortal, despite being at the Great Ascension stage, is severely limited when far from Penglai. At most, he can only wield seventy percent of his power. In other words, his current strength is only slightly greater than that of an ordinary cultivator in the Integration stage.

This is precisely why Yun Zhuoran has never sought him out. He doesn’t want Penglai Immortal to get involved.

Years have passed since their last meeting. Yun Zhuoran has grown from a child into an adult, yet seeing Penglai Immortal again stirs a deep sense of nostalgia. He can’t bring himself to tell him to leave.

But Penglai Immortal, ever straightforward, never considers the complexity of the situation. Hearing Yun Zhuoran’s somewhat distant tone, his bright eyes dim. “Does Xiao Zhuoran hate me that much?”

Yun Zhuoran hesitates—he doesn’t mean it that way.

Misinterpreting the silence, Penglai Immortal grows anxious. “I didn’t mean to ignore you! I slept for too long, and when I woke up, I found out your brother was missing, and you were trapped by Tiandao Sect. I wanted to sneak in and steal you away, but before I could, I heard you were coming to the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, so I rushed here!” Afraid that Yun Zhuoran won’t believe him, Penglai Immortal grabs his sleeve. “I don’t know what happened, but if your brother killed someone, that person must have done something to deserve it. It’s definitely not his fault! Xiao Zhuoran, let’s go back to Penglai. Tiandao Sect is not a good place.”

But Yun Zhuoran has no intention of going back.

Penglai Immortal hesitates when he sees Yun Zhuoran remain silent. “I heard Song Shao analyze the situation. You’ve never exposed your connection to Penglai—perhaps because you’re afraid that you and your brother would bring trouble to Penglai. And if I were to recklessly take you away, even if no one dares to come to Penglai to search for you, Tiandao Sect and Tianqing Sect hold unparalleled status. If they refuse to let you go, the moment you step outside Penglai, you’ll still face their obstruction…” Penglai Immortal furrows his delicate brows. “So, is it because you don’t want to implicate Penglai?”

This is the analysis Song Shao gives Penglai Immortal on their way out of Penglai.

Hearing this, Yun Zhuoran’s gaze wavers.

He has to admit—Song Shao’s analysis is spot on. That is indeed one of his concerns.

“I want to find out why Gu Shenshu died and where Yun Peiran went.”

During the twenty years of seclusion, Yun Zhuoran had clung to one belief—if he became strong enough, he could go out and search for Yun Peiran, just as Yun Peiran had once done. 

Back when Yun Peiran was imprisoned beneath the pagoda of Tianqing Sect, he had ultimately walked out with his own strength. Yun Zhuoran had never experienced such a situation before, but he longed to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

And so, strength becomes his obsession.

But there is more to it than that.

When Gu Shenshu had gotten into trouble, Yun Zhuoran had only been in the Foundation Establishment stage. For the first time, he found himself the subject of countless scrutinizing gazes—hated, cursed, and condemned. Sitting silently in a corner, with his senior brother shielding him, he listened as powerful figures openly debated how to deal with him, their voices carrying no trace of restraint.

At that moment, Yun Zhuoran truly understood how weak he was. He despised his own helplessness. And for the first time, he grasped the weight of Yun Peiran’s choice—to willingly submit to imprisonment beneath the pagoda of the Buddhist sect.

But Penglai Immortal doesn’t see it that way.

To him, Penglai belongs to its young masters. If trouble befalls them, how can Penglai remain untouched?

Even so, Penglai Immortal knows that Yun Zhuoran is not as easy to convince as Yun Peiran. He remembers Yun Zhuoran as a quiet yet stubborn child—one who never yields to persuasion, whether soft or hard.

So, he coaxes him instead. “Let’s go back to Penglai first. I’ll help you find your brother.”

But Yun Zhuoran shakes his head. “That’s no longer necessary.”

His cultivation has nearly caught up to that of the Buddha. And he has already encountered Gu Shenshu…

At the thought of Gu Shenshu, Yun Zhuoran suddenly asks, “Who hurt you?”

Penglai Immortal hesitates for a moment before shifting the topic with little conviction. “It wasn’t a person—it was a fierce beast. A Chimera, no less!”

As he speaks, Penglai Immortal feels a sharp pain in his injured arm. He raises his hand to gently press the wound, his expression filled with disdain. “A few days ago, I finally found an opportunity to enter the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. But then, something changed within the forest. I sensed the source of the disturbance, but before I could investigate, a black dragon entangled me. By the time I broke free, I had lost my bearings. I searched the area for a long time and ended up running into that wretched Chimera!”

So it isn’t Gu Shenshu. Yun Zhuoran is slightly surprised. However, the black dragon is undoubtedly Gu Shenshu’s doing. But now, there is also a Chimera?

Penglai Immortal grumbles, “That’s right! I fought it off, but it took a lot of effort. And just as I finally found this place, I sensed its presence again nearby.”

Nearby? Yun Zhuoran immediately becomes alert. “Is that beast very strong?”

Penglai Immortal nods vigorously. “It should be no weaker than a ninth-level monster.”

Chimera is already known as a vicious beast of legend. Even with all his strength, Penglai Immortal has been unable to defeat it and has suffered serious injuries instead…

Yun Zhuoran makes a mental note of the Chimera’s possible presence and asks, “Do you know how to break the barrier of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest?”

Penglai Immortal pauses, shakes his head, and whispers, “If I could restore my original body, breaking this barrier would still be possible.”

Penglai Immortal is the incarnation of the immortal spirit born from Penglai Inner Island—the very heart of Penglai, where spiritual energy is most abundant. If he were to leave, wouldn’t that mean bringing Penglai Inner Island along with him? And with it, all the natural treasures of an immortal island? If outsiders find out, the people who already revere and flatter him would likely line up at Penglai just to curry favor.

Yun Zhuoran falls silent. Penglai Inner Island is certainly large enough to break the barrier of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. But it would also take up too much space… Better not.

As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted, or it will only invite trouble.

“You should focus on recovering,” Yun Zhuoran advises.

Hearing his master’s words, Penglai Immortal can only drop the idea with regret. “Alright.”

After over twenty years of slumber, he is finally comforted once more by his master’s presence.

Even though Yun Zhuoran’s aura is different from Yun Peiran’s, Penglai Immortal is still deeply satisfied. He steals a glance at Yun Zhuoran with sparkling eyes. Seeing his features—similar to Yun Peiran’s, yet even more delicate and striking—he is already screaming internally.

The little master is beautiful!

If only his older brother were here too…

The thought of Yun Peiran’s mysterious disappearance fills Penglai Immortal with sorrow and guilt. He had merely taken a nap, and when he woke up, his young masters were in trouble.

What a disaster.

Yun Zhuoran, meanwhile, watches as Penglai Immortal’s expression shifts from joy to melancholy. Unsure of what is troubling him, he feels a twinge of concern.

Unfortunately, they don’t have much time to dwell on the past.

Before long, they sense someone approaching. Looking closely, they see that it is Lu Qi and Gu Qiuming.

Yun Zhuoran realizes he has been gone too long—they must have come searching for him.

Now, however, Penglai Immortal is at his weakest. He cannot afford to be seen by outsiders. Worse yet, his old condition resurfaces, and his form begins to turn translucent. He needs his master’s aura to maintain his human appearance.

Ideally, Yun Peiran should be here. After all, he is the rightful master of Penglai.

But Yun Zhuoran can’t find Yun Peiran either. Still, as Yun Peiran’s close relative, his presence can also provide some comfort to Penglai Immortal.

Seeing the unease in Penglai Immortal’s eyes, Yun Zhuoran thinks for a moment before taking out the puppet doll he has used before—it still carries traces of his aura.

“I’ll go see my senior brother. I’ll be back soon,” Yun Zhuoran explains.

Penglai Immortal is a little afraid that Yun Zhuoran won’t return, but he doesn’t stop him. He knows his little master has his own responsibilities. So, he watches reluctantly as Yun Zhuoran walks out of the cave. Then, hugging the puppet doll tightly, he sulkily inhales the lingering scent of his master’s aura.

A moment later, Penglai Immortal sighs expressionlessly.

It’s still not the same as the older brother’s…

But it smells so nice!

Before leaving, Yun Zhuoran sets up several barriers around the cave. Even if Jue Fei himself comes, he wouldn’t be able to detect that someone is hiding inside. Only then does Yun Zhuoran head out to meet Lu Qi and Gu Qiuming.

What he doesn’t know is that, not long before, Lu Qi has completed a small cycle of spiritual energy circulation and cautiously opened his eyes—only to find that Yun Zhuoran has disappeared.

Alarmed, Lu Qi turns to Gu Qiuming, but he also has no idea. Gu Qiuming has been meditating and regulating his breath just now. Left with no other choice, Lu Qi drags him along to search.

After a while, they finally spot Yun Zhuoran emerging from the woods.

“Junior Brother Yun, why are you here?” Lu Qi asks.

A mischievous thought crosses Yun Zhuoran’s mind. He reaches into his robes and pulls out his heart demon, who has been sleeping soundly. Keeping a straight face, he says, “It wanted to come out and play.”

The heart demon, abruptly awakened, blinks in confusion. Hearing Yun Zhuoran’s words, he doesn’t even think before nodding.

Alright. Whatever his brother says is the truth.