Chapter 105: The Infinite Divine Cauldron

On Sea Wolf Island, Jiang Ye was struck with astonishment. "Little Fairy! So you are the Divine Lord Yu Fei!"

I offered a faint smile. "I hope you can keep my secret."

"Rest assured," Jiang Ye swore, "as long as you do not reveal it, I, Jiang Ye, swear to the heavens that I will never speak of it, even in death."

"Thank you," I replied.

"Do not thank me; it is I who have wronged you!" Jiang Ye suddenly dropped to his knees before me.

Startled by his action, I hurriedly tried to help him up, but he refused to budge, looking utterly remorseful and self-reproachful.

"Little Fairy, I was wrong—terribly, catastrophically wrong. It was my shortsightedness that brought harm to you, to my own savior!"

"Where does this begin?"

"It begins with the murder of the Divine Lord Yun Xiao."

"Tell me!" Upon hearing those words, my feathers stood on end, and my heart began to race.

"He was killed by Crown Prince Tian De," Jiang Ye said.

"You... be clear... what exactly happened!" My voice had changed.

It turned out that years ago, Jiang Ye had been ostracized by his clan and sent to the Heavenly Palace as a hostage, though he was treated no better than a slave or an animal. Tian De, finding him noisy, had cast him outside the back gate, leaving him to his own devices. When he was on the verge of starvation, he ate a peach I had given him, which saved his life and restored his strength. Possessing keen hearing, he had once snuck to the wall to eavesdrop on Tian De’s conversations.

"After the Battle of Luo Long, once the Divine Lord was dead, that couple was immensely pleased. Tian De boasted that the two divine artifacts found by Lei Xia Ze and the cities of the Heavenly Realm were well spent on the Nether Realm. The Nether Realm had avenged his grudge against the Divine Lord for punishing his troops and stripping his military power years ago, and it also resolved his resentment over the Divine Lord’s refusal to take him as a disciple. Most importantly, it removed his greatest obstacle to becoming the Heavenly Emperor. He then said he would deal with the Divine Lord’s disciple, Yu Fei. He claimed that because Yu Fei had repeatedly mocked him, and because Yu Fei loved his master so dearly, he would send Yu Fei to the Nether Realm to be wed to his enemy. At the time, I was shortsighted; I felt it had nothing to do with me, and I was quite resentful toward Divine Lord Yun Xiao, believing he was overrated. I did not know then that you were Yu Fei! I did not know that a despicable villain like Tian De was harming you in such a way. Otherwise, I would have died trying to protect you!" Jiang Ye wept.

I trembled with rage. I had believed it was merely a war between the heavens and the earth; I had believed that Ming Zhong was the one who killed my master!

It was all Tian De! It was his scheme again! How was he worthy of the name "De" (Virtue)? How was he worthy of being the Crown Prince? This was no hatred born on the battlefield; it was a clear betrayal of the Heavenly Realm to settle a private vendetta! The immortal citizens of those cities had become victims of Tian De’s personal spite. The person I loved most had been murdered by a conspiracy of "our own people," and I had only learned the truth five hundred years later!

"If you seek revenge against Tian De or the Nether Realm, my Sea Wolf Clan is duty-bound to assist," Jiang Ye vowed.

I gritted my teeth. "This debt must be repaid! For my master, for me, for Bi You, for Zi Zhen, and for the innocent souls slaughtered in the city by Ming Zhong! Tian De’s heart is rotten to the core!"

"Little Fairy, there is one more thing I believe I should tell you," Jiang Ye said.

"Speak."

"It concerns my Great-Aunt, Jiang Wu..."

Amidst my fury, I felt a surge of immense surprise. Jiang Wu was actually his great-aunt?

Jiang Ye recounted the story of his great-aunt. The ancestors of the Sea Wolf Clan and the Sea Kings of the Four Seas were old family friends. Gui Yuan, the son of the Sea King, and Jiang Wu had grown up together. Gui Yuan was honest and simple, while Jiang Wu was a great beauty with a gentle and humble nature. They had always lived in harmony, never once quarreling, so the two families arranged their marriage.

After the incident with the Red Flame Demon Star, the Sea King went into seclusion and passed away that same year. Gui Yuan followed his father’s teachings, living a life of asceticism. In his spare time, he enjoyed talking to Jiang Wu, who would listen with a smile as she mended the patches on his clothes.

As Jiang Ye described them, the image of the two childhood sweethearts appeared in my mind.

Gui Yuan would say shyly, "Xiao Wu, I am troubling you again. Yesterday, I met a sea wolf who didn't recognize me and chased me for a while."

"It is fine. Just bring me whatever you cannot mend yourself," Jiang Wu replied, as gentle as water.

"You are truly kind to help me."

"These clothes are so tattered, why not get a new set?" Jiang Wu asked.

"My father said our family must live in asceticism and remain in eternal seclusion."

"Oh, isn't your father the Sea King of the Four Seas? To be so poor that you don't even have a decent set of clothes—that is too hard on you."

"That is not it. My family possesses the most precious garment in all the heavens and earth," Gui Yuan said with a proud look.

Jiang Wu chuckled, "How precious can one garment be?"

"More precious than all the clothes in the Heavenly Realm combined."

"Oh?" Jiang Wu stopped her work, intrigued.

"The Chaos Garment. It can repel the waters of the Heavenly River and withstand lightning fire. It is the number one divine artifact of antiquity," Gui Yuan explained.

"What is its use? Can it protect one’s immortal body?" Jiang Wu asked.

"Of course! But those who live in asceticism do not need to protect their immortal bodies. It is just that when one feels they are about to pass away, they wear it and go to the family ancestral tomb. The person remains, but the garment is shed, and it returns to the waters where it came from, to be reclaimed by descendants of the family."

"Why do that?"

"Because my father decreed that every member of the family must go to the ancestral tomb to perform a task before they die."

"What task?" Jiang Wu asked, fascinated.

"I will tell you, but you must keep it a secret," Gui Yuan whispered.

"Rest assured. Have you ever known me to be loose-lipped?" Jiang Wu smiled.

"We must go to the Cold Abyss of the Sea Eye to seal the Wuji Cauldron, which is capable of reshaping heaven and earth!" Gui Yuan said mysteriously.

"Oh! You actually know such a powerful sealing technique?"

"I do not know it yet. To learn this technique, one must go to the Celestial Canopy Island within the Cold Abyss of the Sea Eye when they are on the verge of death; it is recorded there," Gui Yuan explained.

"It is a pity that one must be on the verge of death to wear the treasure and learn such a powerful spell," Jiang Wu lamented.

"There is no other way. My father said that if one learns it too early, they would be failing all living beings."

Jiang Wu laughed, "What does that have to do with living beings?"

Gui Yuan scratched his head, smiling foolishly, "That is true, I do not know what it has to do with them either."

"You are so silly. I spend all day mending your rags; let me see this treasure of yours," Jiang Wu requested.

"No, that cannot be shown to outsiders," Gui Yuan said.

"I have mended so many of your clothes, yet I am still an outsider?" Jiang Wu sounded slightly displeased.

"Oh no, that is not it! It is fine to look, just don't tell anyone else," Gui Yuan stammered, blushing furiously.

And so, Gui Yuan brought the Chaos Garment for Jiang Wu to see.

"The style of this garment is beautiful. Why don't I make you a new set of clothes modeled after it?" Jiang Wu suggested.

"How could I ask that of you?" Gui Yuan said, embarrassed.

"Your clothes are so worn that they have lost their shape. Using this as a reference, I will spin the thread and weave the fabric myself," she said.

"Truly? You are so talented!" Gui Yuan exclaimed in admiration.

Jiang Wu took the garment for half a day to sketch its pattern, returning it to Gui Yuan as promised. She then began crafting his new clothes.

Not long after, Gui Yuan proposed to the Sea Wolf Clan, but to everyone's surprise, Jiang Wu refused. Her elder brother, Jiang Ye’s grandfather and the old Clan Leader, saw the broken engagement as a dishonor and forced Jiang Wu, beating her severely. Yet, Jiang Wu remained silent and refused to marry.

In the end, Jiang Wu declared that she would only marry a king who could protect her, not a fisherman who feared even a small sea dog. If they forced her further, she threatened to reveal the location of Gui Yuan’s family graves and the secret of the Wuji Cauldron hidden within. The old Clan Leader, enraged by her prying into the Sea King’s secrets, decided to kill his own sister. Their mother begged for her life, and on her deathbed, she made the young Clan Leader promise to spare Jiang Wu and find her a suitable husband. He agreed.

Since Jiang Wu was determined to marry a king, the Clan Leader, in a fit of rage, banished her from the Sea Wolf Clan, sealed her immortal body, and arranged for her to marry Eastern Xun, the King of the Junzi Kingdom, under the guise of an ordinary mortal. He severed all ties, leaving her to her fate.

So, Ming Mo’s mother was Jiang Ye’s great-aunt! That woman, who seemed so gentle and submissive, had the courage in her youth to descend into the Cold Abyss of the Sea Eye.

"How do you know all this?" I asked Jiang Ye.

"My grandfather told me on his deathbed that his sister, Jiang Wu, knew secrets she shouldn't have and committed great wrongs. He feared that if any disaster befell the Heavenly Realm in the future, she might be the cause, and he instructed me to uphold justice over family ties if necessary. However, not long after she married into the Junzi Kingdom, the kingdom was wiped out in a bloodbath by the Nether Realm. The King died, and she vanished for a long time. I do not know if she is alive or dead, or if the death of Divine Lord Yun Xiao is linked to her," Jiang Ye explained.

"She is alive. She became a slave-like concubine to the Underworld King. Her precious son, Ming Mo, acted as a spy and colluded with Tian De to murder my master. It was also her doing that I could not escape the Nether Realm in time," I said.

"To think that such an unrighteous person came from my family. I am fortunate to have turned back from the brink," Jiang Ye remarked.

Now that it was confirmed the Wuji Cauldron was in Tian De’s hands, where was the Chaos Garment? Gui Er had mentioned nothing of the garment or the Cold Abyss...

I left the Sea Wolf island with a head full of questions. Jiang Ye escorted me to the border, looking reluctant to see me go.

"Little Fairy..." Jiang Ye hesitated, wanting to say more.

"Cherish those around you. Do not let your beloved concubine become a second Seventh Princess," I said to him.

"I will!" Jiang Ye promised.

Parting ways with Jiang Ye, I arrived at the Western Sea boundary, where Chun Feng was waiting anxiously. Seeing me emerge, she flew over like a gust of wind.

"Little Crow, how did it go?" Chun Feng asked.

"Everything went smoothly." I shook Jiang Ye’s peace treaty and the Sea Wolf Token before her.

"Who was that man who looked so reluctant to see you leave?" Chun Feng asked, sounding quite vigilant.

"Jiang Ye," I replied.

"Why was he looking at you like that?" she pressed.

I smiled. "I once saved his life; he wishes to repay me."

"You saved Jiang Ye? Little Crow, you are amazing! Tell me how you did it!" Chun Feng asked.

"He was starving that year. I brought him some food," I said, simplifying the matter. These were trifles; the important things had to be told to Chun Feng:

My master was murdered by Tian De.
What Gui Er said was not a fabrication; at the very least, the existence of the divine power within the Wuji Cauldron was true, as verified by Jiang Ye. Ming Mo’s mother, Jiang Wu, knew this secret and likely possessed the ancestral sealing techniques of the Gui family.
The whereabouts of the Chaos Garment from the Gui family remained unknown.