How to Raid the Flower of Low Ridge

"Master...!"

Despite refusing to fight to isolate everything, Si Junqi seemed to have heard his apprentice's call. He looked at Shen Yun and opened his mouth to say something. Judging from the shape of his mouth, it should be "Ayun".

After half a year of retreat, the man's appearance became even more vicissitudes. His gray hair in the ghost gap has now become three thousand snow silk. When standing proudly in the hunting wind outside the formation, he is not like the calm and stable father and brother in Shen Yun's memory. , it looks like a fairy who is about to emerge at any time.

But for Shen Yun, no matter what the other party looked like, the moment he saw the master appeared, the heart that the young man had been carrying was finally let go.With Si Junqi's help from the outside, the ghost energy in all directions fluctuated much more violently than before. They could no longer condense into towering pillars, and the refusal formation covering Guishan was crumbling. Injecting into the formation——finally, the invisible glazed formation wall shattered with a bang, and the waves of clear air from the outside rushed towards us!

"Finally..." Shen Yun breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the thin sweat from his brow, and greeted him with a smile: "Sure enough, Master's spell formation is more accomplished, this disciple feels ashamed."

Si Junqi said: "You did a good job, I came too late."

Shen Yun noticed Si Junqi's temples, and the corner of his mouth froze: "You are..."

"It's just a loss of cultivation. What's more, at my age, I should look like this." Si Junqi coughed twice, and looked towards the square in the distance, "What's the situation in the court now?"

"Yin Ya has already appeared. He wants to use the core of Chai Zihan's body to pierce the sky to perform what he calls a return ceremony; Gan Yan's people were driven into black crystals by Yin Ya, and they all turned into ghosts. Everyone is fighting with them Fighting," Shen Yun replied, "Now that Master has come, I think everyone must be happy!"

Si Junqi asked again: "Where is Mi Yuan?"

"Mi Yuan is also on the other side of the square," Shen Yun said, "Let's help him now! If he sees you, he will be happy too!"

Si Junqi smiled vaguely, "Then Ayun will lead the way."

"Ok!"

With that said, Shen Yun folded his sword and turned around to open the way ahead.Because of Si Junqi's body, Shen Yun's speed was not fast, and the help of the elders who had been absent for a long time made the young man happy and excited, and he couldn't help opening the chat box: "By the way, Master, you must have never thought of it. What a big deal we just did!"

"What kind?" Si Junqi asked softly.

"—We blew up the Zangzhen Pagoda! Isn't it amazing? It's a pity that you didn't see that boy Chai Zihan's face. It's the first time I've seen someone's face turn into that color..."

"Bullshit."

"Madam Xi didn't say that I was messing around, but that I had made meritorious deeds." Shen Yun grinned, "I forgot to ask one more thing. Did Senior Sister ask you to tell me anything? The letter she wrote to me last month I have answered it carefully, and I also said that as soon as you come out of the mountain, I will ask her to send me a message. I didn't expect you to come here by yourself, which made me worry for so long... But seeing how powerful you just broke the formation, You must be in good health, right?"

After Shen Yun finished speaking for a long time without hearing an echo from behind, the young man turned around in confusion, his pupils froze instantly.

Because Si Junqi was falling slowly before his eyes, like a swan with broken wings.

Shen Yun's mind went blank for a moment.When he reacted again, he instinctively flew down, grabbed his master, and leaned him against the tree.

Si Junqi's face was as pale as paper, and he smiled wryly, "I'm sorry, I thought I could last a little longer, but I didn't expect it to be."

"Master," Shen Yun knelt in front of Si Junqi, his voice trembling, he could clearly feel that Si Junqi's vitality was rapidly passing away, but he didn't want to think about a terrible guess, "You are... ...Did you lose your spiritual power because you broke the formation just after you left the level? I'll help you right now."

As he spoke, he mobilized his spiritual power without hesitation, trying to pour into the other party's spiritual veins, but Si Junqi stopped him.

"No need, I am very clear about my own situation." Si Junqi slowly took off the glove on his right hand, and showed his arm and wrist that had been completely corroded by ghost energy in front of Shen Yun, "I have reached the point where all the oil is exhausted." At that time, as early as the New Year's Eve of this year, I deserved to die. I have earned it so far in order to end my past sins. I have earned so many more days."

"Where did you make money!" Shen Yun roared, "You haven't seen Mi Yuan and I graduate from Tianxian Court! I'm still waiting for my successor to be the head teacher to let you be at ease, and I'm waiting for you to see me make Dan a big family." Become the number one sect in Shenzhou!"

Si Junqi smiled sullenly, "Stupid."

"Master," Shen Yun said earnestly, "You are just ghost energy entering your body. I am the core of the earth, and I have a lot of spiritual power. I was able to protect Mi Yuan back then, and I can protect you now!"

As he said that, he wanted to send spiritual power into Si Junqi's body again, but the other party still shook his head and refused, and Si Junqi's eyes flickered: "...you know everything? Did Hagiru tell you?"

"Yes, he told me all about it."

"In this case, you shouldn't waste your spiritual power on me," Si Junqi said, "because I am a sinner in Shenzhou."

Shen Yun was stunned.

24 years ago, Shenzhou was on the verge of collapse. When Shen Dancheng and Si Junqi finally found the unpolluted core, they unexpectedly disturbed the Tongchun Sword and Liuhe Seal guarding the core. The ground cracked instantly, and ghost energy gushed out, trying to completely engulf the two trespassers. When they escaped from the ghost gap with difficulty, Shen Dancheng was seriously injured and was dying.

"He is my best friend, I can't watch him die in front of my eyes," Si Junqi said intermittently, "I want to feed him the core of the earth, but he refuses."

"...Look at you, you are always so nervous," Shen Dancheng lay in Si Junqi's arms, holding his hand with a smile, "If you feed me the core of the earth, everything will be in vain."

"But if you die, who will finish the rest..."

"And you." The smile on the corner of Shen Dancheng's mouth deepened, "I wrote you the techniques and rituals of refining the earth's core. You were the second genius in all subjects back then. It is impossible for you to understand. With you Come and continue my way, I'm happy."

Si Junqi was stiff and motionless.

"Don't worry, I will create enough time for you to complete the refining." Shen Dancheng said softly, "Haven't we been to many places full of spiritual power? The spells connected them into a magic circle. After I die, this magic circle will be activated, and the spiritual energy in those places will spread and seal the sky collapse."

The boy's tone was even a little shy, "I call it inferior purification."

Shen Dancheng has meager spiritual power and a weak physique, and it is difficult to use even the simplest spells in Tianxian Court, but with a pen and a pair of feet, he can draw the largest one on the ground of Shenzhou, "Resisting the Battle".

So on September [-]st, the blood clouds scattered, the red sunset, the ground cracked and closed again, and all ghosts returned.

"However, this kind of seal is only temporary. When the spiritual power of Shenzhou declines and the ghost energy becomes stronger, the heaven and earth will still come again." Shen Dancheng hugged his friend with the last strength, "The final solution still depends on this one. The core of the earth. Jun Qi, you have to wait for him to transform into a human, and wait for him to grow up. He is the masterpiece of the two of us. Don’t let him suffer any harm. He must be complete... flawless... and die for Shenzhou."

"You promise me." Shen Dancheng said.

"I promise you," Si Junqi promised word by word, "I will refine him into a human being, and I will protect him from any harm. He will die for China whole and flawless."

Shen Dancheng smiled.He looked at the clear brilliance in the stone box beside him, reached out his hand and touched it preciously. The corners of the young man's mouth moved slightly, and after silently speaking a few words, he stopped breathing.

"At that time, I was so frivolous and confident. I just felt that this was Dan Cheng's will and the only way to save Shenzhou, so I will do my best to complete it." Si Junqi's eyes were empty, "I stayed on Dan Cheng Peak , and started the ceremony according to the technique in his notes."

He thought he could be as calm and rational as Shen Dancheng, after all, in front of him was just a mass of aura wrapped in a humanoid skin created by himself with various spiritual materials, a tool that would be used in the future, and he didn't need to mix any emotions.But when he went to the depths of Dancheng Peak as usual at midnight that day, and before he reached the entrance of the cave, he heard the first cry of a baby, Si Junqi stopped in his tracks.

"I regret it." Si Junqi's voice was as soft as a sigh.

He lied that it was an abandoned baby he picked up while traveling, and brought it back to the sect, where he received the amazement and cheers of the whole family.Grandma Sun put a tiger hat on him, Song Ge rang the bell for him; Wan Ou jumped up and down happily, and said, "I have a junior brother"; 16-year-old Ning Wei held the baby's hand lovingly, Looking expectantly at Si Junqi: "This kid looks really good-looking! I've never seen such blue eyes, such a beautiful face! Master, does he have a name?"

All kinds of words rolled on the tip of Si Junqi's tongue, and finally he said: "His name is... Shen Yun, and he will be my closed disciple from now on."

"You grew up like an ordinary child, and I will teach you like an ordinary master." Si Junqi raised his hand and wiped away the tears falling from Shen Yun's cheeks, "gradually, I even developed an illusion——in Dan The Shenzhou after the sacrifice is so peaceful, isn't it... is it that the catastrophe will not come again? In this way, you don't have to be the core of the earth anymore, and you can always be a cute kid."

The one who leaves first is always cunning and cruel.

Si Junqi wondered more than once, if Dan Cheng was still alive and saw such a child smiling at him, would he still be able to stick to that decision?

"Until Xiao Duhe gave me a blow to the head that time." Si Junqi said, "Every time I see you, I wonder whether I should tell you about your fate, but I can't - I know you will sooner or later Will wake up, sooner or later will know everything, sooner or later will hate me."

"No, I never hated you..." Shen Yun desperately shook her head.

"But I'm hating myself."

On the one hand, he was urged by his friends, and on the other hand, he was the apprentice who had long been regarded as a family member. The torment of guilt day after day made Si Junqi on the verge of collapse—he had already betrayed one friend, so why should he betray the second one?

He wants to be remedied.Maybe he can wait for the earth core in Xingling to mature, and start over by himself, refining the second "Shen Yun"?But Gan Yan took the first step, and he was empty-handed; or maybe he could follow Dan Cheng's example and use spiritual energy to form an array again to delay the peace of Shenzhou for another ten years?But he revisited the road between him and Dancheng, and found that Shenzhou's aura had already declined to even less than one-tenth of what it was before the world collapsed...

In the end, he could only seek help from Tian Xianting, his mentor, Yu Shouting in embarrassment.

"I didn't do anything, Ayun," Si Junqi said, "I didn't do anything."

Beyond the tree shadows one after another, the golden wheel enchantment that was running continued to expand, and the turbulent clouds looked like a giant beast, which would wake up at any time and swallow everything.Maybe today is the "that day" that Dan Cheng said.Si Junqi closed his eyes hard, and took out the Liuhe seal from his arms: "Okay, don't delay here, you take this back and give it to Mi Yuan, this thing is very important to him, you must to him."

Shen Yun trembled with his hands, but did not take it for a long time.

"You and Mi Yuan are like a light and a shadow, reflecting each other, but I know you are both very good children, you can face anything together." Si Junqi stared at his apprentice, "Remember my words, when the time comes , Don’t think about saving the world or sacrificing, just listen to your heart.”

"You promise me." Si Junqi said.

"I promise you." Shen Yun promised word by word, "I don't think about saving the world or sacrificing, I just listen to my heart."

Si Junqi stuffed the Liuhe Seal into Shen Yun's palm, and patted the back of the young man's fingers lightly. The man finally showed his last relieved smile in his life: "I have achieved nothing in this life, and the only pride I have is you..."

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The background music of this chapter, "Sakura-Divine Dragon", is my favorite Sekiro ost!