I Really Like the Male Supporting Character (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 35
Ah Luo took a deep breath and stepped onto the pitch-black floor. A cold, chilling air immediately enveloped her, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
The hall itself was brightly lit, but she still felt a coldness creeping over her body.
She couldn’t tell if this chill came from the icy spirit stones beneath her feet or from the white-clad man sitting on the jade throne before her with his eyes tightly closed. Perhaps it was both.
Ah Luo walked forward, step by step, until she stood before him. He never opened his eyes to look at her.
This was fine. She could carefully and attentively observe him—his cold, pale face, his handsome eyebrows and closed eyes, his light-coloured lips, his black hair, and his immaculate white robes, untouched by any dust.
“Master,” she softly called out to him.
Lu Cang remained silent and kept his eyes closed. He was as still and emotionless as a cold, lifeless jade statue or like the distant and unreachable cold moon hanging in the sky.
Ah Luo lowered her head little by little while slowly bending her knees to kneel on the ground. The icy chill spread from her knees throughout her entire body. She shivered uncontrollably, but he did not seem to notice or care.
The girl’s face was pale, and her voice trembled as she said, “Master, this disciple has made a mistake. Please punish me.”
Lu Cang finally opened his eyes. His thick lashes were lowered, but they revealed dark eyes that seemed deep and dull beneath them. His gaze was like the unmoving, centuries-old ice—cold, indifferent, and almost unhuman…
He acted as if he didn’t notice that she was kneeling or had heard her words. Instead, he indifferently said, “I am about to enter seclusion. I need to recall my clone puppets.”
When she heard this, Ah Luo felt an expected sense of resignation. It didn’t surprise her in the least.
She lowered her head even further. There was a jade orb in her hands, and she raised it above her head. In the next instant, her palms felt cold, as if a snowflake had fallen into them, and the jade orb disappeared.
“Go,” came the same low voice, cold and distant in her ears.
Ah Luo’s nose involuntarily tingled, and with all her strength, she restrained herself and fought back the tears. She endured the pain in her heart, forcing her stiff legs to rise without daring to lift her head the entire time. She awkwardly retreated from the hall.
With a ‘bang,’ the doors of the hall slammed shut before her, and the light inside was instantly extinguished. It plunged everything around Ah Luo into darkness.
The night wind blew gently and carried with it an unknown fragrance. The moonlight, like a soft white veil, drifted over the flowers and trees planted outside the hall. The faint sound of insects could be heard in the distance.
It was a quiet and peaceful night, with a warm, fragrant breeze and soft, beautiful moonlight.
The girl, who had been standing dazed in front of the doors for a long time, suddenly collapsed. She sat down weakly on the ground. She hugged her knees, buried her face in her arms, and bit her lips as she sobbed quietly.
Inside the hall, all the lights had vanished. The white figure still sat upright on the jade throne. His white robes faintly glowed with a soft white light like fireflies in the dimness.
Outside the hall, the faint sound of crying reached his ears. Lu Cang unconsciously furrowed his eyebrows. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and leaned forward abruptly. A streak of fresh red blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
For a brief instant, his already pale face turned almost translucent.
A cold aura erupted from his body, causing the jade throne beneath him and the dark floor of the hall to quickly form a layer of frost emitting cold air.
Moments later, Lu Cang returned to his previous sitting form with an expressionless face. The bloodstain vanished, and the frost began to melt. The hall returned to its previous calm, as if nothing had happened. Slowly, he closed his eyes again and sank back into his mind.
Deep in his soul, the originally smooth and transparent ice-snow Dao heart had now been tainted with a faint pink. His Dao, which was originally pure and untainted, had been nurtured by the understanding of ice and snow, but at this moment, within that pristine world, a small cherry blossom tree had begun to grow.
The cherry blossom tree was small and occupied only a small patch of land.
Yet, the pale pink flowers that it bloomed scattered countless tiny petals. They floated and drifted across the vast, pure, and white snowfield.
A flaw had appeared in his Dao. If it wasn’t corrected soon, either his Dao would be destroyed, or his foundation would collapse. Alternatively, he might fall into a sea of inner demons and become corrupted beyond redemption.
A moment of emotional vulnerability, a month of indulgence, had ultimately led to such a calamity. Reluctantly, Lu Cang had recalled his clone puppet. This clone had actually been a part of himself, and now that his Dao heart had a flaw, he had to go into seclusion to consolidate his unstable Dao heart.
In the end, Lu Cang paid the price for the mistakes he had made.
Li Yu—the master of Dan Peak, took his soul-nurturing lamp and went to the main peak to seek an audience with Immortal Dao Yuan, the leader of Guiyuan Sect. (2-19)
Immortal Dao Yuan had broken through to the Great Ascension realm three thousand years ago and was currently at its very last level, yet still could not break into the Overcoming Tribulation realm. Most cultivators at the Great Ascension realm would quietly meditate in seclusion.
However, Immortal Dao Yuan saw no hope of ascending for himself. As such, he had committed himself to building their sect over the years.
Although Li Yu’s cultivation was still in the late stage of the Void Return realm, he had outstanding alchemy skills and achieved a high status in the sect through that.
Seeing Li Yu arrive, Immortal Dao Yuan personally stepped forward to greet him.
Li Yu wasted no time and went straight to the point. He said, “Sect Leader, forgive my abruptness, but I have come to ask for your help in one matter.”
He produced the soul-nurturing lamp with a sombre expression on his face. The flame flickered faintly.
He said, “My daughter Jiaojiao ventured into a nearby hidden realm but was ambushed and killed. Were it not for this soul-nurturing lamp I had procured for her, I might never have seen her again. I beg you to trace the events and uncover the murderer who took her life.”
By the end of his plea, Li Yu’s eyes burned coldly with determination.
For cultivators, the higher their level of attainment, the harder it became to have offspring. Li Yu, who was now over a thousand years old, had only one child—Li Jiaojiao, who was born unexpectedly thirty years ago. She was his most cherished treasure.
Li Jiaojiao’s aptitude for cultivation was mediocre, so Li Yu compensated by feeding her countless elixirs. Though she was spoiled and willful and often caused trouble, Li Yu always cleaned up her messes and offered apologies on her behalf. He feared she might one day recklessly bring disaster upon herself, so he had procured the soul-nurturing lamp as a precaution to ensure that her soul would have a way to return home to him.
His unwavering love for his daughter was well-known throughout the sect.
Immortal Dao Yuan understood Li Yu’s grief and hurry. Only a cultivator of a very high realm, such as a Great Ascension-realm cultivator like himself, could retrace the events of a person’s death. It was reasonable for Li Yu to come and request this from him.
He nodded in agreement and said, “Elder Li, give me the soul-nurturing lamp. I will trace her final moments.”
After taking the soul-nurturing lamp, Immortal Dao Yuan held it with one hand and channelled his immense energy into it. His energy formed a translucent screen in front of them.
The screen displayed a vivid scene in a dense forest. Four individuals were battling a massive sword wolf beast, which was nearly as tall as a man. The beast, though ferocious and bloodthirsty, was only at the early Golden Core realm, while the four combatants were at the Foundation Establishment realm. The fight was challenging, but should have been manageable for them.
Seeing this, Immortal Dao Yuan said, “Could it be that Jiaojiao was injured by this beast?”
Li Yu shook his head firmly. “Impossible. Jiaojiao carried treasures I gave her. The sword wolf beast couldn’t have harmed her.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a shocking change occurred in the scene. The four combatants abruptly froze mid-action, as if paralysed. The snarling sword wolf beast also cowered on the ground, trembling.
The scene shifted to a tall tree. A white-robed man floated mid-air with a pink-clad girl in his arms. The man reached out his pale, slender hand and crushed the four cultivators into ashes with an invisible force.
“Daoist Master Lu Cang!” Li Yu exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s him? How could it be him?”
Immortal Dao Yuan was equally astonished. “Impossible. With Lu Cang’s cultivation, he shouldn’t be able to enter the hidden realm.”
Li Yu’s face darkened. His voice was filled with anger as he said, “Anything is possible with someone as powerful as the Daoist master. Perhaps he found a way. He was present at the Yun Platform when the hidden realm opened, after all. Maybe this is retribution for the slight my daughter once gave his disciple, but if he had grievances, he should have come to me! Why would he kill a little girl?”
Immortal Dao Yuan hurriedly said, “Elder Li, please calm yourself. There may be more to this. Lu Cang is in seclusion now; confronting him can wait. For now, focus on restoring Jiaojiao’s soul.”
Though Li Yu seethed with anger, he dared not confront Lu Cang. For one, he knew his daughter’s nature—Jiaojiao might have provoked Lu Cang first. Secondly, Lu Cang’s cultivation far surpassed his own; any confrontation would be futile. He knew he had no chance if he fought against Lu Cang.
After much deliberation, he decided to swallow his resentment for now.
Upon returning to Danfeng Peak, Li Yu devoted himself to gathering rare resources to nurture his daughter’s damaged soul, which was caused by the loss of her physical body.
After a year of effort, Jiaojiao’s soul was finally restored. Her spirit, once fragile and confused, became whole enough to communicate with her father.
When she learned from her father that she had been killed by Lu Cang, Jiaojiao was initially shocked.
“Why would the Daoist master kill me? I’ve never crossed paths with him…” Mid-sentence, realisation struck her. “Wait! It must be because of Lin Luoyin!”
“Lin Luoyin? The person you offended despite the Daoist master’s warning?” Li Yu asked.
“Yes, that’s her. I ran into her in the hidden realm. I wanted to teach her a lesson, so I poisoned her with the scarlet lantern flower. She had no antidote, and her beloved is Brother Xingjue, who wouldn’t care to save her. She must have died, right?”
A laugh of schadenfreude emanated from the blue soul fire, but it quickly faltered as Li Yu spoke again.
“Jiaojiao, I saw Lin Luoyin alive and well. Her cultivation has even improved.”
“What? Impossible!” Jiaojiao shrieked. “Who saved her? Was it Brother Xingjue? He’s too kindhearted to let her die! Have they… Have they already slept together?”
“Jiaojiao, calm yourself,” Li Yu urged. “Your soul has just stabilised; strong emotions will harm you.”
But Jiaojiao ignored him and wailed, “Father! Reconstruct my body! I refuse to reincarnate!”
“It’s unwise. A reconstructed body won’t match a naturally born one. Your potential will diminish. Stop being reckless.”
The soul fire flickered wildly as Jiaojiao’s shrill voice pierced the air. “I don’t care! Brother Xingjue is waiting for me! Dad, do it now!”
Li Yu couldn’t persuade her with reason and he also feared that her soul might shatter from agitation. As such, he set out again to find treasures to reconstruct her body. He created a vessel resembling her original form to the finest detail. In order that she would be able to live comfortably in the future, he used many rare materials.
Half a year later, Jiaojiao opened her eyes in her new body. Her first action upon awakening was head straight for Wandao Peak to confront Lin Luoyin.