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Ch128 - Dust Settles




Outside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, Zhuang Lingxiu saw the tower slowly tilting and screamed.
“Ah! Ah!”
After a fit of helpless rage, he realized someone else was screaming with him.
Zhuang Lingxiu turned and met the gaze of Xu Nanxian, who was also covered in dust, with a half-dead Qifu Yin lying at his feet.
They stared at each other, shouting in unison.
“What are you doing here?!”
Xu Nanxian, dazed, asked without thinking, “Where’s Xiaoxiao? Where’s my senior brother?”
Zhuang Lingxiu looked back.
The tower rumbled, inch by inch, falling with the force to destroy the Three Realms, crashing down like a black mountain.
The Heaven-Reaching Tower could be seen for hundreds of li.
Dawn was breaking. Chu Fenghan, who had brought the Wendao Academy disciples to Old Talisman Ridge for training, hadn’t slept all night. He glared at Jin Yiyuan, who was shamelessly sprawled on his bed.
“Get out.”
Jin Yiyuan remembered the method Su Hansheng had taught him. Thick-skinned and flamboyant, he spread his arms like a peacock, grinning. “Don’t be so cold. I sincerely want to apologize. I was wrong about that thing a few years ago. You can hit me or scold me.”
Chu Fenghan paused, then hardened his heart and sneered, “I’d rather kill you.”
With that, he opened the door and went to wake up the brats.
Yuan Qian, Wu Baili, and the others were roused by the chief envoy, all groaning.
They hadn’t expected that training outside would be more exhausting than endless classes at the academy, having to wake up before dawn.
They dared not complain, yawning as they gathered.
Jin Yiyuan kept pestering Chu Fenghan, while the others were used to it and just watched the show.
“You have to give me a straight answer,” Jin Yiyuan said earnestly. “What exactly do I need to do for you to forgive me and become my Dao partner?”
Chu Fenghan almost laughed in anger. Was he already thinking about Dao partners before he was even forgiven?
His face was thick enough to kill him.
The chief enforcer sneered coldly, “Unless the Heaven-Reaching Tower collapses, don’t even dream of it
”
Before he could finish, Wu Baili suddenly said, “It collapsed.”
Chu Fenghan shot him a sharp glare.
Wu Baili remained unmoved, raising a hand to point into the distance. “Chief enforcer, your Dao partner has arrived.”
Chu Fenghan: “
”
Jin Yiyuan: “?”
Everyone followed Wu Baili’s finger and froze.
The sun rose. The Heaven-Reaching Tower

Had it really collapsed?
This was no small matter. Chu Fenghan instantly turned, “Use the Listening Wall to notify the Ten Great Academies. Wherever the tower’s shadow falls is dangerous. Head north and south to avoid it.”
The group, still untrained apprentices, snapped to attention and followed the chief enforcer’s orders.
Though Chu Fenghan appeared calm, his heart sank.
With the Heaven-Reaching Tower collapsing, the World-Honored One and others were not here. It would be hard to get everyone to safety in time.
If the tower fell completely, countless would die.
Had the World-Honored One and vice-dean failed?
—
Inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower.
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The faint shadow of sorrow that usually lingered in his brow had vanished, and his features seemed a bit younger.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen.
Su Xuanlin gazed at him for a long time, a rare, helpless smile touching his face.
He waved a hand, and spiritual energy formed a phoenix-patterned robe that drifted onto Su Hansheng.
Then Su Xuanlin closed his eyes and murmured something.
Golden light slowly rose from Su Hansheng, the Fallen Abyss Dragon, and the Silver-Carved Lamp, gathering into a ball that vanished into Su Xuanlin’s palm.
Zhuang Lingge and Gong Handan’s auras changed, quickly shifting from sacred objects back to human form.
Su Xuanlin looked at the peacefully sleeping Su Hansheng, leaned down, and sent a golden thread of energy into his forehead. He spoke words no one could understand.
Ancient and divine, it sounded like a blessing.
As he spoke, a crimson mark, three lines deep, appeared on Su Hansheng’s forehead.
It was the blessing of the true Heaven’s Will, finally returned to the Ninth Heaven.
The Kunlun Jade slowly reformed, its cracks healing with invisible force.
The Heaven-Reaching Tower still tilted toward the Three Realms. Su Xuanlin raised his hand to repair it, but paused, as if remembering something. His fingers hung in the air for a long time before he sighed silently.
Never mind.
—
The Heaven-Reaching Tower drew closer. Even from afar, its deafening roar could be heard.
Chu Fenghan, face grim, urged the spirit boat forward. At such a critical moment, Jin Yiyuan still tried to draw attention, needing a slap to shut him up.
Yuan Qian wailed, “I’m not even a powerful cultivator yet! Am I going to die crushed?! Heaven’s Will is unfair, waaah!”
Wu Baili, annoyed, snapped, “Shut up!”
Yuan Qian clung to his arm, shocked by his indifference. “Aren’t you afraid to die?”
Wu Baili replied coldly, “If everyone in the Three Realms dies, does ‘death’ even exist?”
Yuan Qian: “?”
“If only the living can contrast the dead,” Wu Baili said, “if everyone dies, it’s just a neat, happy ending.”
Yuan Qian: “
”
Yuan Qian was awed by his realm!
Still, living was better than dying.
The Heaven-Reaching Tower was massive. The pressure of its fall could be felt before it even arrived, pressing people to the ground. The spirit boat flew north as fast as it could, but it seemed impossible to escape the tower’s shadow.
As the black mass loomed, the students despaired.
“Mom! Mom, I want to go home!”
“Baili!”
Just as the tower was about to crush the Three Realms, a gentle breeze swept in.
Soft as spring rain, it seemed harmless.
As the wind passed, the massive tower crashed down, instantly turning into a flurry of snow mixed with phoenix flower clusters. It landed on their faces, utterly harmless.
Everyone, stunned, cautiously opened their eyes.
When they saw the scene ahead, they gasped.
The Heaven-Reaching Tower, standing for tens of thousands of years

Had vanished from the world.
Snow fell, and barren ground instantly sprouted lush greenery.
The sun rose.
Qifu Yin felt something painfully bright, blinked, and stared at the sunlight for a long time, unable to comprehend.
The slanting rays brought unfamiliar warmth.
After a long daze, he finally realized

He was no longer afraid of the light?
The Heaven-Reaching Tower vanished from the Three Realms, along with the Chongxiao Shrine in Infinite Hell.
The boundary gate opened, and countless souls of the Qifu clan streamed toward the sunlight. Heaven’s Will bestowed merit upon them, and they entered the cycle of rebirth, their next lives filled with fortune and smooth paths.
Qifu Yin watched as the souls disappeared into the light, suddenly sobbing as he bent over and wept on the ground.
—
Zhuang Lingxiu and Xu Nanxian stood dazed, staring at the Heaven-Reaching Tower, now transformed into a flurry of snow. They couldn’t snap out of their shock.
The Heaven-Reaching Tower, which had stood for tens of thousands of years, a symbol of Heaven’s Will

Was gone?
Just then, soft footsteps approached. They turned to look.
Ying Jianhua walked slowly from the former tower’s formation, carrying Su Hansheng. Gong Handan and Zhuang Lingge looked dazed, unsure of what time it was.
Zhuang Lingxiu saw his brother finally restored to human form and couldn’t help but smile. He hurried forward, joining Xu Nanxian to ask Ying Jianhua.
“What happened to Xiaoxiao?”
Nothing, really—Ying Jianhua’s expression was terrible, and Zhuang Lingxiu and Xu Nanxian had already imagined a dozen terrifying scenarios, scaring themselves half to death.
Ying Jianhua, looking sour, coldly replied, “He’s barely alive.”
Just asleep.
Xu Nanxian and Zhuang Lingxiu finally relaxed.
But before they could fully breathe easy, Ying Jianhua murmured, “But if what he said about that damn thing is true, I can’t guarantee he’ll be bouncing around.”
Xu Nanxian and Zhuang Lingxiu: “?”
The two-thousand-year saga of the Heaven-Reaching Tower and Heaven’s Will had finally come to an end.
Ying Jianhua didn’t linger. He summoned a painted boat, had everyone board, then called Xu Nanxian back. “Bubei, don’t go out to train yet. Return to Yingxu Sect first.”
Xu Nanxian asked, “Is something urgent?”
“Nothing,” Ying Jianhua said casually. “Master is returning. Remember to tell Elder Xie.”
Xu Nanxian nodded. “Alright, I’ll go soon.”
Zhuang Lingxiu’s eyes bulged. He stared at Ying Jianhua, then at Xu Nanxian, as if he’d seen a ghost.
After Xu Nanxian replied, he realized something was off, hardly believing his ears. He cautiously asked, “Senior Brother, wait—what did you say? Who’s returning?”
The World-Honored One or Master?
Ying Jianhua, in a good mood, rarely explained, “Master is going to Kunlun first to help the World-Honored One take form. He’ll be back in two or three days.”
Xu Nanxian: “
”
It really was Master?!
Xu Nanxian and Ying Jianhua stared at each other, speechless.
“Didn’t we say
 Master
 he
 he
?”
“Died, sacrificed himself
 what? Sixteen years? Ah!”
Ying Jianhua: “
”
Ying Jianhua didn’t bother with them, simply carrying Su Hansheng onto the boat.
When he’d taken the sleeping Su Hansheng from Master’s hands, Ying Jianhua had sensed something was off. On the boat, he laid Su Hansheng on a soft couch and gently probed his meridians with spiritual energy.
A moment later, even Ying Jianhua was startled.
Su Hansheng’s meridians seemed to have been reforged. His spiritual energy flowed smoothly, without a hint of blockage. A single touch revealed a talent rare in the Three Realms, utterly different from the previous weakling who’d struggled to reach Golden Core with pills.
What shocked Ying Jianhua even more

Su Hansheng’s phoenix bone was gone, as if it had never existed.
Ying Jianhua vaguely understood. He rushed to check Zhuang Lingge and Gong Handan, roughly probing them, and found they were no longer sacred objects.
Thinking of the Heaven-Reaching Tower’s disappearance, Ying Jianhua finally realized.
The four sacred objects had originally stabilized the Heaven-Reaching Tower, but later became tools for demons to climb heaven. With the true Heaven’s Will restored, everything had returned to its original state.
From now on, they were no longer sacred objects bearing Heaven’s Will.
Just themselves.
Ying Jianhua gazed at Su Hansheng’s youthful face and silently exhaled.
At that moment, the sleeping Su Hansheng’s eyelashes fluttered, and he was about to wake.
Ying Jianhua’s face darkened. He planned to scold Su Hansheng for risking his life, for not listening, for recklessly triggering phoenix bone nirvana. If not for the World-Honored One, he might have died.
He was going to give the boy a good beating.
And he’d ask about that “wedding wine” nonsense.
Ying Jianhua had already prepared his anger, glaring as he waited for Su Hansheng to wake.
Su Hansheng, restored to a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old body, looked even more endearing. He slowly opened his eyes, his pure gaze blinking as he stared at the canopy above for a long time before turning his head.
He finally saw the man sitting by the bed.
Su Hansheng tilted his head.
Ying Jianhua’s eyes were cold, but he still said what Su Hansheng would care about most: “The World-Honored One went to Kunlun to take form. He’ll be back in three or four days.”
Su Hansheng looked at him, dazed.
Ying Jianhua said, “Sit up and answer me.”
Su Hansheng, unusually obedient, sat up, his eyes curious as he looked at him.
He didn’t say a word, and Ying Jianhua’s prepared anger fizzled out. He could only frown. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Su Hansheng tilted his head back and forth, as if carefully studying his face. After a long pause, he finally spoke, stumbling over his words.
“Say
 say, jiujiu.”
Ying Jianhua frowned, sensing something was wrong. He leaned closer, wanting to check if his mind was damaged. “Xiaoxiao? Are you alright?”
Su Hansheng, like a newborn child learning to speak, repeated after him.
“Xiao
 Xiaoxiao, alright
?”
Ying Jianhua looked into Su Hansheng’s unfamiliar, clear amber eyes, his heart sinking. He softened his voice. “Xiaoxiao, do you remember who your senior brother is?”
Su Hansheng seemed to find the sound of “Xiaoxiao” amusing, and immediately started repeating it over and over, giggling as he did.
“Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao! Senior Brother, Senior Brother!”
Ying Jianhua’s heart sank.
This kid’s mind was truly addled.
***