Chapter 332: Worship Ceremony?

Chapter 332: Worship Ceremony?

“What kind of talk is that?!” Su Qinian frowned and snapped coldly, “Not only will the Ancestor be absolutely fine, but even if something did happen—shouldn’t you, as a disciple, be thinking about avenging your Master?”

“Let me ask you—can you take revenge if you’re dead?

Can you live up to the Ancestor’s expectations if you don’t cultivate properly?

Answer me! Look me in the eyes!”

Li Qingran opened her mouth but lowered her head again, muttering softly, “I’m sorry, Pavilion Master… Qingran knows she was wrong… I shouldn’t have said something like that.”

“Knowing your mistake and correcting it—that’s the first step to attaining the Grand Thunder Tribulation,” Su Qinian said without thinking, stroking his grizzled beard as he nodded sagely.

“Even though your thought just now was misguided, based on your attitude in owning up to it, I’m certain you’ll one day reach a realm capable of touching the Great Lightning Tribulation.”

After saying that, he turned and whispered to the elder beside him,

“Old Li, you think that counts as interpreting the Ancestor’s wise sayings?”

Elder Li from Hidden Sword Peak gave a thumbs-up and nodded repeatedly.

That said, Su Qinian and the other elders were still deeply uneasy.

The Ancestor was the Sword Pavilion’s foundation.

They couldn’t afford even the slightest mishap.

Unfortunately, within the Ancestor’s Small World, all they could do was pray.

They didn’t dare expect the Ancestor to slay Immortal Yuyao—just hoped he could come back safely.

Another person equally on edge was Yun Baiyu, the Valley Master of Lingxi Valley.

Dan Yun and Zhang Mengchu had been rescued—but what about her daughter, Yun Suxin?

Right now, the situation was unclear, and she didn’t dare ask too much.

After all, Yue Qianchi hadn’t been found either. Maybe the Ancestor was in the middle of a rescue attempt...

Time ticked by slowly.

Even Su Qinian, normally calm and composed, was growing restless.

Ever since the Ancestor entered the Jade Pool Holy Land, the mirror within the Small World had been shrouded in mist—nothing could be seen.

And the less they could see, the more anxious they became.

Something had to be done.

So Su Qinian simply brought out the Ancestor’s spirit tablet and built a temporary altar.

He placed some fruits and snacks in front of it, lit three sticks of incense, and waved everyone over.

“Come on, everyone—pray for the Ancestor!”

The Sword Pavilion disciples were obedient, kneeling immediately in rows before the altar, bowing and praying earnestly.

However, the more experienced folks like Dan Yun and Yun Baiyu all looked hesitant.

“Uh, Pavilion Master Su… I’m not sure if I should say this, but isn’t that kind of spirit tablet and altar usually for the deceased?”

Yun Baiyu couldn’t hold it in and voiced her concern.

Su Qinian shook his head and replied with a dead-serious look,

“I don’t have much education, but the Ancestor once said something very wise—‘Treat a dead horse as if it were alive, and maybe it’ll come back to life.’”

Yun Baiyu: “…”

Due to his severe injuries, Chen Huaian wasn’t able to use instant movement spells and could only fly slowly on his sword within the Small World.

Just as he was nearing Sword Pavilion, his mind was suddenly flooded with whispers:

【Ancestor, please be safe…】

【Ancestor, I’m willing to trade ten centimeters off my senior brother’s you-know-what if it brings you home safe!】

【Ancestor! The Sword Pavilion needs you! I’ll sacrifice every single hair on the Pavilion Master’s head if it means you come back!】

“…The h*ll is all this nonsense?”

Chen Huaian scowled. As he reached Luoxia Peak, he saw all the Sword Pavilion disciples bowing toward an altar.

On the altar was his spirit tablet—Chen Huaian.

The previous placeholder tablet with his name missing a character had already been discarded by Su Qinian.

This one was proper, clearly etched with three characters: “Chen Huaian.”

Which meant… he was now officially recognized as the true Ancestor of Sword Pavilion.

Even if he’d taken on this identity via “possessing the corpse,”

Immoral or not, he’d accepted it—and he’d done everything an Ancestor ought to do.

“Ancestor, please rest assured. No matter what happens, I’ll definitely teach our disciple well—turn her into the number one female sword cultivator in all of Cangyun!”

Su Qinian was kneeling and knocking his head against the floor in prayer when—

A sharp whistle echoed overhead.

Then came a furious shout.

“Su Qinian! This Venerable One isn’t dead! What the h*ll are you praying for?!”

That voice…

Su Qinian jolted, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

He looked up—and there was the very person he had been longing for day and night.

It really was the Ancestor! He wasn’t dead!

Not only was he alive, he had even brought back his direct disciple, Yue Qianchi!

“Ancestor!” Su Qinian called out with deep emotion, soaring into the sky toward the majestic figure.

But someone beat him to it.

A slender figure shot through the sky like a swallow returning to its nest—straight into the arms of the man in dark robes.

And… passed right through him.

“Master!” Li Qingran called out.

Even though she passed through his avatar, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist as best she could.

Her fingers trembled, pale and tense, her voice thick with emotion and tears:

“Master, you’re alright… Thank goodness you came back safe…”

Chen Huaian looked at the weeping girl and gently wrapped his arm around her.

He only regretted that this dumb game still didn’t allow full-body interaction.

He comforted her with a soft voice,

“Don’t worry. How could I possibly get hurt? That demonic woman from Jade Pool Holy Land is just a roadside bump—I swatted her away… er, I repelled her!”

“Mhm, I know. Master is the strongest.”

Li Qingran looked up at him with shining eyes, not blinking even once.

Tears still shimmered in her eyes, but as she smiled, they glittered like stars clinging to her lashes.

“Ancestor, I’m just so glad you came back safe.”

Su Qinian flew up, barely uttered a greeting before brushing past Chen Huaian and rushing to Yue Qianchi.

He looked her up and down, concern written all over his face.

“Yue girl, you’ve suffered so much. That Jade Pool Holy Land’s inhumane—I mean, look at you, you’ve lost so much weight!”

Yue Qianchi blinked.

Back at Sword Pavilion she was still on fasting cultivation,

But at Jade Pool Holy Land, under Immortal Yuyao’s supervision, she was force-fed all kinds of rare treasures to nourish her Dao body.

To prevent her from getting any “dangerous thoughts,” she was put into a forced sleep every day after meals.

Basically, the past while had been just eating and sleeping… and more eating.

She glanced down at her very obviously larger chest with a puzzled expression.

Lost weight?

They definitely grew two sizes bigger, though?

“Pfft—!”

A burst of thick, metallic-smelling blood splattered over the back of Su Qinian’s head.

He turned around in a daze and saw Chen Huaian clutching his chest, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Li Qingran’s face went pale.

“Master! You—you’re coughing blood?! Stop flying, land and start healing!”

“I’m fine…” Chen Huaian waved it off.

“Only got 990 more mouthfuls to go and I’ll be good.”

“MASTER!!!”

Seeing Li Qingran almost crying from worry,

Chen Huaian had no choice but to go lie down in a small room, as she insisted.

“Um, Qingran,” Zhou Xuanzi said after a thorough checkup, “The Ancestor’s fine. He might just have… too much blood, needed to let some out. He was badly injured before, but he already took some medicine and it worked.”

Just to be safe, they gave him the best healing pill the Pill Sect had to offer.

Li Qingran still wasn’t convinced, so she turned to Yun Baiyu.

Seeing her nod as well, she finally let out a breath of relief.

“I told you, This Venerable One is fine.”

Chen Huaian looked at the blanket covering him and the crowd packed in around his bed and felt like he might as well be dead already.

“No, there are illnesses that can’t be detected right away. Until Master stops coughing blood completely, this disciple will watch over you personally.”

Li Qingran looked deadly serious.

She didn’t care whether it was a clone or the real body, or why the clone was bleeding—none of that mattered.

Yun Baiyu glanced at Chen Huaian, hesitating.

But the atmosphere wasn’t right, so she swallowed the words back down and quietly left the room.

Then she spotted Yue Qianchi, who was talking to Su Qinian, and her eyes lit up.

She hurried over and grabbed her hand, asking nervously,

“Yue Qianchi, while you were in the Jade Pool Holy Land, did you see my daughter—Yun Suxin?”