Love & Redemption
Chapter 245: The Final Volume: I am Liuli - Four: Enlightenment (Part Three)

Chapter 245: The Final Volume: I am Liuli - Four: Enlightenment (Part Three)

Second update.

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Although Liuli had mentally prepared herself, the sight at the end of the Chishui River still left her utterly speechless.

At the end of the Chishui River was an expanse of water so vast it had no visible end. If it weren’t for its still and unruffled surface, and the blood-like color, she might have mistaken it for the ocean. To the east stood a gigantic rock peak, smooth as a mirror. A waterfall a thousand zhang in width cascaded down from it, and from afar, it resembled a red dragon descending from the sky, splashing beads and jade, its roaring sound thunderous. The overwhelming momentum dazzled and mesmerized the onlooker.

Looking at the mirror-like glistening rock peak, Liuli swallowed hard and whispered, "Do we... have to climb up that?" The rock peak was so smooth it could reflect one’s image, and looking upwards, it had no end in sight. There were no footholds to be seen, and without the ability to cling like a gecko, how could they possibly climb it?

Wuzhiqi shrugged his shoulders, "Of course we have to climb it. It won’t take too long, about a day and a night should get us there."

"Can’t we fly?" Liuli felt the rock wall, which was so slick that she couldn’t even get a grip, her expression becoming even more distressed.

"Silly girl, if you fly you won’t be able to see the Kaiming Gate. Don’t believe me? Try flying yourself," Wuzhiqi fiddled in his pouch, searching for a while before finally pulling out several dripping daggers, distributing two to each person. "Tie the daggers together with a rope, then hammer them into the rock wall. That way, we can climb up, right?"

He demonstrated, tying two daggers together with a long rope and with a single throw, a dagger embedded firmly into the cliff. He pushed off lightly with his toes against the wall, propelling himself up to land precisely on the dagger before yanking the rope, causing the other dagger to fly up and embed into a higher part of the wall. Leaping upward repeatedly, crisscrossing his way up, he made significant progress in the blink of an eye.

Yu Sifeng asked Liu Yihuan, "Brother, how did you get up there before?"

Liu Yihuan shook his head and said, "I carved holes with a dagger and climbed up bit by bit. Later I found out that the rock wall has a spirit of its own; any marks I made would disappear on their own in less than a quarter of an hour. It was strenuous. I climbed for three days and nights."

It seemed Wuzhiqi’s method was a bit more convenient. Everyone had no choice but to throw their daggers and leap upwards. Wuzhiqi was like a monkey, and climbing and jumping were his forte. While leaping up, he still had the energy to shout, "That kid from the Golden Winged Bird, don’t try to save time by flying! If something goes wrong, even I can’t take responsibility!"

Yu Sifeng nodded.

Although their physical strength was much greater than that of ordinary people, the monotony of repetitive actions over a long duration inevitably lead to fatigue. Especially Liu Yihuan. Ever since he lost his Heavenly Eye, his physical condition was not as good as before. Though he had a piece of the Juntian Ring with him, firstly, it was only a small fragment, and secondly, his demon power was nearly depleted. Thus, after three hours of climbing, he finally ran out of strength, pausing on a dagger and gasping for air, his forehead beaded with sweat.

Looking down, they were enveloped by thick clouds; they had climbed very high. Liu Yihuan sighed, "Goodness, if I fall from here, I’ll definitely end up as a pancake."

Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Yu Sifeng knew his strength was at its limit, so he went back to him and gestured, "Brother, let me carry you on my back! It’s getting dark, and I’m worried about you."

Liu Yihuan waved his hand, stubbornly enduring for more than an hour, but ultimately, he was exhausted and had to let Yu Sifeng carry him. By that time, night had fallen, with stars scattered across the dark blue sky. Liu Yihuan leaned on his back, and as he hopped, he moved slightly with each leap. Suddenly recalling something, he whispered, "Si Feng, being the Palace Master of the Lize Palace isn’t that significant. You could do it for a few years, but don’t waste your whole life away in there."

Yu Sifeng hesitated, "Brother, since I’ve taken on this responsibility, I can’t simply give it up. Moreover, the current Lize Palace is different from how it used to be..."

Liu Yihuan shook his head, "I understand what you mean, but think about it. How many Cultivation Sects are there in the world? At the start, who doesn’t aspire to great things? Yet in the end, how many can truly last and match eternity with the heavens? Not to mention becoming an immortal. Coming into this world, one should not end up with nothing. Those who are too fixated will never find happiness in life. Look at your father, and Yuan Lang... None of them understood the principle of quitting while ahead. Listen to your brother; it’s fine to do things just to a satisfactory level. And besides, with Little Xuanji leaving her homeland to follow you, you can’t neglect her, can you?"

Upon the mention of Xuanji, Yu Sifeng fell silent. Among the two of them, it seemed Xuanji was the naive one, acting reckless and capricious, but actually, it was the other way around; he was the truly capricious one. Brother Liu was right; what right did he have to make Xuanji leave her homeland and spend several years with him in the Lize Palace? If he became busy, even his shadow would be hard to find, leaving Xuanji all alone, wouldn’t that be extremely unfair to her?

"Brother’s right, I understand all of it," Yu Sifeng nodded. "I also plan to let go after a few years. However, these next few years are a critical period for the Lize Palace, and I earnestly request Brother’s help."

Liu Yihuan smacked his lips, "I have some disagreements with Elder Luo... Ah, never mind, I’m doomed to toil for you. After all, you’re my son!"

Yu Sifeng smiled, "Brother has always treated me as his son and looked after me."

"Then the son must listen to what the father says!" Liu Yihuan glared with a stern look, patting his shoulder as he commanded, "I order you, climb up quickly! If we don’t reach the peak before dawn, I’ll kick you down myself!"

Yu Sifeng couldn’t help but cry and laugh.

However, having climbed all night, it was not until the next day’s noon that they finally reached the mountain peak. Although they were full of energy, the combination of wading through water and climbing had worn them out. Below the peak was a small platform where everyone decided to take a rest on the ground for a while.

Wuzhiqi somehow pulled out a wild chicken that was still hopping and clucking loudly. With a swift chop, he beheaded it, casually plucked the feathers, gutted it, rinsed it with water from a skin pouch, and then had Xuanji start a fire to roast it.

To deal with the Nine-headed Enlightenment Beast, they had also specially brought along several jars of fine wine. Liu Yihuan’s saliva dripped three feet long, hurriedly unsealed a jar, and as the wind blew by, the intoxicating aroma of wine drifted to the ends of the sky. Liu Yihuan couldn’t care less about anyone else, and taking a big gulp, finally brought some color back to his face.

"Don’t finish it all, save a jar for that Enlightenment Beast!" he said, though in reality, he was the one drinking the most. As soon as the chicken was roasted, he had already emptied a jar of wine.

"You’re the one who drank the most!" Zi Hu glared at him, but seeing that the chicken was roasted to a golden brown, she quickly tore off two legs and shared them with Wuzhiqi and Xuanji, her partiality quite clear.

Yu Sifeng took a sip of wine and frowned, "This strong scent, could it attract someone’s attention?"

Wuzhiqi, with his mouth full of chicken, replied vaguely, "What’s there to be afraid of? If someone finds us, we’ll just share some with them. Let these immortals know what good taste is, instead of always eating those tasteless things in heaven..."

Before he could finish his thought, something felt off. He looked up, and at the top of the peak, a strange face had appeared out of nowhere. It resembled a lion or a big dog, but most peculiar was that this large head was surrounded by a circle of smaller heads, identical in appearance, each with round eyes staring at the roast chicken and wine in their hands, saliva almost dripping.

Xuanji, seeing such a creature for the first time, couldn’t help but exclaim softly, "Nine heads! Is that the Kaiming Beast?"

Wuzhiqi didn’t respond, instead, he waved half a roasted chicken, and the nine heads followed the movement, their gazes not willing to be parted from the chicken. "Do you want to eat?" Wuzhiqi asked with a grin. The smallest head on the extreme left nodded vigorously, saying in a small, humble voice, "Yes!"

"Well, I’m not giving you any." Wuzhiqi opened his mouth wide, ready to stuff the half-chicken inside.

Nine heads, eighteen eyes, suddenly turned watery, looking pitifully and silently at Wuzhiqi, filled with a silent plea. Xuanji felt somewhat guilty and threw his chicken leg up, saying, "Here, it’s not much. Divide it among yourselves."

The largest head’s eyes lit up as it caught the chicken leg with its mouth, swallowing it whole without even chewing, then squinted its eyes in satisfaction, rough voice exclaiming, "Tasty! More, please!"

Zi Hu and Liu Yihuan snatched the rest of the roasted chicken from Wuzhiqi, threw their own portions up as well, and the nine heads joyfully grabbed and devoured it piece by piece, finishing even the bones in a matter of moments. They still looked like they wanted more. Wuzhiqi threw up the two jars of wine, laughing, "Catch!"

After they finished the roasted chicken and drank up the wine, the Enlightenment Beast began to burp and regret. The largest head complained while swaying, "This is bad! Bad! ’Eating someone’s food makes you short, accepting things makes you held.’ We don’t even know who these people are, and we just ate their food!"

The smallest head on the left complained, "Big brother, you ate the most! And now you have the nerve to say this!"

The large head grumbled for a while before finally asking, "Who are you people and what brings you to Kunlun Mountain?"

Wuzhiqi found it amusing that it had already forgotten him and Liu Yihuan, saying, "We’re just passing by, had a bite of roasted chicken and a little drink when you all snatched our meal. So, what do you propose we do about this?"

This huge dilemma was something the Enlightenment Beast had never encountered. The nine heads huddled together to discuss for a long time but couldn’t come to a conclusion. Finally, the largest head shouted, "I don’t want to be disturbed by such worldly matters during my meditation! You few handle it! Stop bothering me, I’m going to meditate!" With that said, it closed its eyes, pretending to sleep.

So, the second-largest head repeated the same to the other heads, and then also closed its eyes to sleep.

In the end, only the smallest head was left, its eyes brimming with tears, seemingly about to cry, looking very wronged. Xuanji, unable to bear it, softly said, "I still have a bit of wine here, do you want to drink?"

The Kaiming Beast immediately brightened up, its claws catching on the rock face, ready to come down, but then remembering something, it said with a sorrowful face, "I can’t come down. Heavenly Grandfather will punish me if he finds out! You...you guys come up instead."

It turned out everything was going so smoothly. The group exchanged glances, amused but also slightly guilty. They had deceived such an innocent and cheerful Divine Beast, making them feel as if they had suddenly become a bunch of villains. (To be continued, for what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)