Chapter 139: Sharing the Same Grave in Death, You Must Take Responsibility (Part Two)

"Who is there?"

Wang Li was startled, the soul that had just begun to recover almost dissipated into nothingness once again.

"Stinky Wang Li, you haven't seen me in five thousand years and you don't recognize this princess anymore?"

There was no sound, only a faint resentment, but Wang Li still recognized who this trace of resentment belonged to.

"Jiang Yue, you've woken up?"

"More or less. I'm not actually dead. Why did you bury yourself together with me? Only husband and wife are buried in the same tomb, and you're not my cultivation partner—you have to take responsibility for me!"

Wang Li could not control his physical body right now, otherwise, black lines of exasperation would have definitely covered his forehead.

"Don't be ungrateful. I only did this to save you. Do you think I wanted to be buried with you?"

Jiang Yue said somewhat desolately, "I can sense that Grandfather is very sad."

Wang Li did not comfort her, but instead asked curiously, "Aren't you even a bit curious as to why I saved you?"

"What's so curious about that? Did that senior residing within you leave, Wang Li?"

"Who are you?"

"Heehee, I am just who I am. When we came out of the Heaven-Chosen Ruins, I sensed that the aura about you was wrong. They said you had been possessed, but I didn't believe it."

Jiang Yue continued, "Although I hadn't met you before, after obtaining the Heaven-Chosen Roll, I saw your name on it. Quite strange, isn't it?"

Wang Li was shocked. "How could my name be on the Heaven-Chosen Roll? That's impossible."

Clearly, Master Sheng had helped him mask his karmic trajectory; how could the Heaven-Chosen Roll possibly detect him?

Jiang Yue explained, "That senior helped you conceal the heavenly secrets, but they didn't conceal your soul imprint. You were born in the Heavenly Mystery World, and your soul imprint cannot simply vanish. How could you possibly evade the detection of the World Will?"

"I might as well tell you, the condition for the Heaven-Chosen is not some peak Deity Transformation stage under the age of a hundred, but rather the random selection of candidates based on soul imprints. Since you are a native of the Heavenly Mystery World and possess a soul imprint, it's completely normal for you to become a candidate!"

Wang Li retorted, "I never saw my name on the Heaven-Chosen Roll, nor on the Pride Roll."

He found it hard to fully believe Jiang Yue's words. If that were the case, either Master Sheng was deceiving him, or he had also been manipulated by the World Will. Neither possibility was something Wang Li could easily accept.

Jiang Yue replied, "Of course I was the one who erased your name. You didn't think the mighty master of the Heaven-Chosen Roll lacked even that much ability, did you?"

"Why?"

Wang Li had a myriad of thoughts swirling in his heart, but in the end, they condensed into three simple words.

"Because you didn't want to stand out, so I just casually lent you a hand. How about that, am I a good friend or what?"

Jiang Yue seemed to laugh, and Wang Li could feel her resentment diminishing.

"Not that. I need an explanation!"

"Pfft, why should I explain anything to you!"

"Don't throw a tantrum, this matter is important."

Perhaps because they hadn't conversed with anyone for a very long time, Jiang Yue appeared quite excited, jumping erratically from topic to topic. It took a great deal of persuasion from Wang Li before she finally spilled the truth.

As it turned out, Jiang Yue had never discovered the existence of Master Sheng at all. She had simply used the Heaven-Chosen Roll to confirm that Wang Li had not been possessed. Guessing that Wang Li had gained the favor of some great senior, and seeing that he harbored no malicious intent toward the disciples of the Pure Sun Temple, she had casually helped him cover up the fact that Wang Li was still Wang Li.

Furthermore, as the master of the Heaven-Chosen Roll, her authority over both the Heaven-Chosen Roll and the Pride Roll was extremely high. The World Will merely gathered various pieces of intelligence from the cultivation world and handed them over to her; she was the one who personally ranked everyone. Knowing that her heavenly tribulation had failed, the rankings on the Pride Roll had simply become randomized.

Pity the cultivators of the outside world, who were still racking their brains, wondering why proud talents ranked in the top ten couldn't even defeat someone ranked in the hundredth place.

Still, this wasn't Jiang Yue's fault—could anyone expect someone who had already kicked the bucket to keep updating the leaderboards?

Hearing all this, Wang Li felt a mix of amusement and reassurance, though two lingering questions still remained in his mind.

First, how had Master Sheng foreseen that Jiang Yue would fail her heavenly tribulation, and instructed Wang Li to save her while recovering?

Second, what on earth was Jiang Yue's current state? He refused to believe that the beloved daughter of the World Will, who wielded the Heaven-Chosen Roll, could fail to withstand an ascension tribulation. There was definitely something here that he didn't understand.

Since the first question could not be answered while Master Sheng remained dormant, he had no choice but to inquire about Jiang Yue's condition first, though he wondered if this dead girl would even tell the truth.

Events proved that Wang Li had overthought things. The moment he asked, Jiang Yue spilled the beans.

"I successfully crossed the tribulation, and I am now a proper Earth Immortal realm expert!"

Jiang Yue declared proudly, "A mere ascension tribulation isn't enough to stump this princess."

Wang Li asked, "Then how did you end up looking like this, reduced to nothing but a true spirit? If the Heaven-Chosen Roll hadn't protected your physical body, you would truly be dead."

"We're even, aren't we? Didn't you also survive by relying on the Heaven-Envied Physique?"

"That doesn't seem to be the same thing."

"How is it different?" Jiang Yue said proudly, "Everyone has some special physique!"

"It's one thing for you to have the Heaven-Envied Physique, but you can't deny others their special physiques. Zhenjingzi even possesses the Innate Dao Body!"

"Fine, fine, you're right. But what does your physique have to do with your current state?"

"Of course it has to do with it! I was born with the Nirvana Physique, which is countless times more advanced than the Nirvana Dao your grandmaster came up with!"

"Oh... So you're in a Nirvana state right now?"

Wang Li seemed to understand her condition.

Jiang Yue explained, "Naturally. Shedding one's mortal coil with the Nirvana Physique requires passing through two hurdles. The first is the ascension tribulation, which strips away the mortal Qi within the body and grants an undefiled physique, allowing one to naturally cultivate using the vital energy of heaven and earth. However, for me, surviving the ascension tribulation only completes half of the shedding process. I still need my soul to undergo Nirvana, to fundamentally transcend the shackles of a mortal fleshly vessel. Do you know? Once Nirvana is successful, I will be at the Heaven Immortal realm!"

"Envious? Jealous? Haha! Stinky Wang Li, you just slowly cultivate away! By the time you reach the Heaven Immortal realm, this princess will already be invincible across the world!"

Wang Li paid no attention to Jiang Yue's taunts, his thoughts instead drifting toward Xujing and Granny Zheng.

The two of them had exhausted all their efforts and braved mortal perils for a breakthrough in the Nirvana Dao, only for one to rely on fortune to break through the True Immortal restriction and the other to preserve her life by switching cultivation methods—yet in the end, the Nirvana Dao had been thoroughly destroyed.

Now, look at Jiang Yue, who was naturally born at a height they could never hope to reach in a lifetime.

Truly, comparing people to others could drive one mad. No matter how high one's talent, it could never compare to having the heavens as your doting parent. He really felt it was unfair for the two of them.

Jiang Yue suddenly asked, "What was that kind of energy you absorbed? It actually managed to awaken my consciousness from Nirvana ahead of schedule."

"Sentient beings' karmic willpower."

"What is that?"

"A force very common in the outside world, yet extremely precious in the Heavenly Mystery World."

"Just that? Nothing else?"

"How would you like me to explain it? Should I teach you the method of cultivating with sentient beings' karmic willpower?"

"Uh... That won't be necessary. I just want to know if this energy is harmful."

"Aside from making you accumulate a bit more karma, everything else is quite good."

Jiang Yue seemed to still have lingering fears. "I thought it was some terrible thing. After all, I absorbed a good half of that energy. Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease!"

Wang Li: I want to curse!

Who on earth is supposed to take responsibility for whom...