Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 412: Clash

After a while, Tang Jie broke the awkward silence. “How come you’re here?”

Shen Qingdan faintly smiled. “I have my own reasons for being here. But I could ask you the same question.”

Before the two of them could reply, Hong Yuan snorted, “You make it sound all nice, but the reason? You’re probably just chasing your man.”

She hadn’t spoken very loudly, but Shen Qingdan still heard it.

She was still the young master of a sect, and she had never heard an insult like this before. Her expression sank as she sneered, “If you didn’t mention it, I really would have forgotten. Why is my fiancé running off with another woman? Tang Jie, shouldn’t I be asking you what’s going on here?”

Tang Jie knew that things were about to get messy.

These two both came from powerful backgrounds, so even if they didn’t like each other, they wouldn’t have gotten into an argument on the street. They would have just exchanged a few words before walking past each other.

But Hong Yuan had stoked the flames, and Shen Qingdan had lost her temper. Xu Miaoran was already sick of her, and now this barb from Shen Qingdan would probably draw a counterattack.

Sure enough, Xu Miaoran proudly raised her head. “What do you mean by ‘your fiancé’? And I’m not just ‘another woman’. I have a name: Xu Miaoran!”

Shen Qingdan snorted, “How is he not my fiancé? In the Immortal Fortune Conference, I chose Tang Jie as my fiancé while countless cultivators watched. The engagement is still valid. You think a denial from you is enough to wipe away this fact?”

She glared at Tang Jie. “Tang Jie, let me ask you: you’re my fiancé, so what do you mean by being with this woman?”

Before Tang Jie could say anything, Xu Miaoran replied for him, “‘Immortal Fortune Conference’? What’s that?”

Xian Tao quickly picked up on what was happening, and she shouted, “That was the conference held to select the master for the Wandering Palace. Young Lady, did you not know? Handsome young geniuses from all around gathered at Red Plum Ridge to decide who the Wandering Palace ultimately belonged to. Our Horizon Ocean Pavilion also took part, but alas, they ran into Young Sir Tang. Otherwise, the Wandering Palace would have been a vassal of our Horizon Ocean Pavilion! There are some people who simply have no understanding of who they are. What bullshit ‘engagement’? Everyone was clearly after the Wandering Palace. Did she really think they were after her? She was just a small bonus, a dowry for the sect. Everyone gathered for the Wandering Palace, not for you, young palace lord!”

These were unpleasant words to hear, and Shen Qingdan was clearly furious, her chest rising up and down. It was the truth, but that was precisely why it stung so badly.

Xu Miaoran nodded in satisfaction. “That’s right. ‘Young palace lord’? Nothing more than a bonus. Tang Jie only participated for the Stop Gate Banner, not for you.”

This was another blow to Shen Qingdan. She turned to Tang Jie and pointed at Xu Miaoran. “Tang Jie, is she telling the truth?”

Although she knew that Tang Jie hadn’t participated for her, she had never imagined that she was worth less than even the Stop Gate Banner in Tang Jie’s mind.

She glared at Tang Jie, waiting for an answer. Tang Jie sighed and then nodded.

He knew what nodding meant, but he also knew that the best choice in these circumstances wasn’t to be a mediator, as that would just keep the fire going. He needed to decisively display his attitude to put an end to the argument.

As expected, when Shen Qingdan saw him nod, she staggered backward, and then she glared at Tang Jie and said, “You cruel bastard! I’ll remember your callousness!”

She turned and left.

As her party left, Hong Yuan pursed her lips and said, “‘Cruel’? I don’t think there was any sort of affection between the son-in-law and you to betray, though.”

Xu Miaoran darkly said, “Shut up already!”

Hong Yuan froze. “Young Lady.”

Xu Miaoran turned around and slapped Hong Yuan. “On your knees!”

Hong Yuan instantly prostrated in fright. Xu Miaoran roared, “Is it because I’ve been too lax with you that you have the guts to stir up trouble with your words!? When we return, you will be under house arrest for three days, and if this happens again, you’re fired!”

This was the first time Tang Jie had ever seen a wrathful Xu Miaoran.

He discovered that when she raised her eyebrows, the sky seemed to darken, and when her eyes glared, a murderous energy filled the air.

After some thought, he finally said, “Forget it. Forgive her this once and then double the punishment if she tries it again.”

Tang Jie’s words convinced Xu Miaoran to cool her rage.

After this incident, no one was in the mood to keep playing, so after walking around a little longer, everyone went back to the inn to rest.

Back in his room, Tang Jie put on a glum expression as he muttered, “Why is she at Celestial River Island? Is this a coincidence or on purpose?”

Yiyi jumped up and said, “You need to ask? She definitely came for you.”

Tang Jie shook his head. “Don’t speak nonsense. If she wanted to find me, she could have done so at any time in the last few years. There would be no need to now come all the way to Endsea. I think this is more likely to be a coincidence.”

“But not for certain.” Yiyi wagged her head. “Is it not written? Every drink and bite is predestined. Since both of you have come to Celestial River Island, there might be some connection between you two.”

Tang Jie laughed. “What sort of books have you been reading lately, for you to say something like this? But I don’t think there’s any other connection between us besides the engagement.”

Yiyi stomped her foot. “Don’t you understand Karma now? Just do some calculations and find out what’s going on.”

Tang Jie rolled his eyes. “The Dao of Karma isn’t random guessing, but a profound and complicated method of harnessing the will of the heavens. My Dao of Karma is to plant the cause and reap the effect and to eliminate Karma, not to work back from the effect to the cause. I would need to reach a higher level to achieve this.”

To plant the cause and reap the effect was to do something and make what should have been an uncertain outcome certain. For example, if you beat someone up one day, they might come after you to get revenge or they might not. But with the Dao of Karma, one could guarantee that this person would seek revenge.

To eliminate Karma was to remove the connection between cause and effect so that something didn’t happen. This was Tang Jie’s high-level use of the Dao of Karma, but it also consumed more of his strength.

“What about Shen Qingdan, then? After being humiliated by you and Big Sister Xu, she definitely won’t be content to sit back. Won’t she come back to make trouble?” Yiyi asked as she jumped around. From how excited she was, it seemed like this was exactly what she wanted Shen Qingdan to do.

Tang Jie tersely replied, “How would I know? It’s not like I used the power of Karma on her.”

The power of Karma was a kind of force Tang Jie had comprehended from the Dao of Karma. It was very difficult to explain, a most profound and abstruse existence. Whenever Tang Jie was immersed in comprehending the will of the heavens and the Dao of Karma, this force would grow stronger. Tang Jie was able to use the Dao of Karma through this power. As for the burden on his body this created, that was a trivial concern.

This was also why he hadn’t cultivated for the last year. He had devoted most of his energy to cultivating his Karma power.

But helping out Cai Junyang and Shi Meng had used up quite a lot of his Karma power, so he naturally couldn’t use it up for the sake of this minor matter with Shen Qingdan. It had to be understood that accumulating Karma power meant ceasing cultivation. He had already thrown away a year, but he could not just keep throwing time away.

“But…” Tang Jie thought it over. “Given Shen Qingdan’s personality, I don’t think she’s willing to drop the matter. She really might come back to cause us trouble.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Yiyi’s response to this grievous news was to do several somersaults in the air.

Even more than Hong Yuan, this girl delighted in chaos.

Tang Jie was rendered speechless, “‘Wonderful’, my ass, you naughty girl!”

Turning over and sitting on the bed, Yiyi spread her arms apart and said, “Why isn’t it good? Didn’t you want to get your name out? This is the best chance. A piece of news more earthshaking than Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran traveling around Celestial River together is the news that the Wandering Palace’s young palace lord and a princess of Horizon Ocean are fighting over a servant student of Basking Moon! Nothing could be better!”

“…” Tang Jie started to sweat.

But he had to admit that Yiyi was right. The spat between Xu Miaoran and Shen Qingdan would soon turn into countless different rumors and spread through the country.

Tang Jie would quickly become targeted by everyone.

But this wasn’t truly his objective.

Tang Jie couldn’t help but shiver when he thought about all the trouble this might cause.

What if he used a bit of Karma power and nudged things around a little?

But he quickly put an end to that idea, for he discovered that eliminating this Karma would consume vast amounts of Karma power. Not only that, the cost would continuously increase.

Tang Jie understood.

As this news spread, this Karma would affect more and more people, and the more people that took part, the more power he would have to consume.

For this reason, attempting to change the will of the heavens with the Dao of Karma and eliminate this event was bound to come with a heavy cost. This also meant that influencing Karma was not about the particular value of any event, but the broadness of its scope.

Tang Jie had finally understood this important principle.

Being able to better comprehend the Dao of Karma was a good thing, but alas, it was no use here. Tang Jie could only hope that the will of the heavens would not bring him too much trouble.

But he quickly came to discover how unreliable hope was.

———————————

Two days later.

The Rainbow Tower was a rather famous scenic site of Celestial River Island. It consisted of two twelve-floor towers linked at the roof by a rainbow bridge. A Rainbow Formation had been carved into it that would release a rainbow of colors at night, providing a gorgeous sight that drew countless people.

The Rainbow Tower at sunset was said to be one of the best sights in Celestial River.

Xu Miaoran had been longing to pay a visit, so she had dragged Tang Jie over to the Rainbow Tower today.

The two of them were sitting together and happily chatting when someone walked across the rainbow bridge: Shen Qingdan.

Xu Miaoran’s expression instantly darkened. “And what are you here for?”

Shen Qingdan gracefully walked up to Xu Miaoran and smiled. “What? Am I not welcome? Or do you feel guilty for stealing another person’s man?”

Xu Miaoran coldly laughed. Just when she was about to say something, Shen Qingdan stopped her. “I know what you’re going to say, little sister. You’re going to say that Tang Jie doesn’t like me, right? Yes, your elder sister admits this. Tang Jie came to the conference for the Stop Gate Banner and the six major sects came for the Wandering Palace. Nobody was coming for me.”

“So long as you know,” Xu Miaoran grunted.

Shen Qingdan’s tone changed. “But what does that matter?”

“Hm?” Xu Miaoran was startled.

Tang Jie inwardly shouted, Oh no! He knew what Shen Qingdan was going to say.

Sure enough, Shen Qingdan sweetly said, “Even if the one this man loves isn’t me, he’s still the man engaged to me.”

Tang Jie slapped his forehead, wanting nothing more than to crash into a wall.

Xu Miaoran’s complexion had completely transformed.

Shen Qingdan casually sat down in front of Xu Miaoran. “Regardless of the reason he came to find me, at the Immortal Fortune Conference, an engagement was established with all of the cultivators of the world as witness, so neither party can go back on it. Until this engagement is undone, Tang Jie… is my man!”

These simple words carried a harsh and domineering tone.

The two women glared at each other, their eyes seemingly flashing with countless chilling blades. A somber mood settled over the Rainbow Tower, and even the weather began to turn colder.

Shen Qingdan’s words seemed to drift down from the heavens, cold and callous. “Thus, Miss Xu, please don’t be a homewrecker and destroy another person’s marriage… Keep your distance from my husband.”

Xu Miaoran sighed. “The problem is that he simply doesn’t like you, so why try and force it? Won’t letting go a little earlier be good for the both of you?”

Shen Qingdan replied, “And what if I refuse to let go? You’re seducing someone else’s husband, and you still have the nerve to say such things?”

The two quickly began to argue, with the sides of the argument essentially consisting of “you’re seducing him” and “he doesn’t love you”.

One of them had propriety while the other one talked up love. As the two of them argued, the contents sounded so familiar. After some time, Tang Jie realized that this was clearly an ancient-style rendition of the wife catching the mistress, though he had never imagined that he would end up playing a role in this drama.

This thought immediately made him want to cry…

After quarreling for a while, Xu Miaoran finally said, “As expected, you came prepared. No wonder people say that a shameless woman is invincible. It seems like they were completely right.”

Shen Qingdan giggled. “At least it’s better than a shameless husband-tempting seductress.”

Xu Miaoran sneered. “Are you a wife? You’re clearly still a virgin, but you’re going around calling him your husband? Perhaps I should send the two of you off to consummate your marriage?”

Shen Qingdan froze.

Tang Jie mentally gave a thumbs-up. Shen Qingdan had probably prepared all the words she was going to say today, but in this situation, Xu Miaoran had still managed to deal a painful counterattack.

Wait, this wasn’t necessarily something she thought of on the spot. Perhaps she’s been preparing for this war of words over the last two days?

Tang Jie mentally gasped in surprise, though the revelation made him forget about that business of being sent off to consummate his marriage.

Shen Qingdan’s face darkened. “When has it been the place of an outsider to interfere in business with my husband?”

“So what you’re saying is that I can’t make any requests, but it’s fine if your husband does?” Xu Miaoran grinned and cast her gaze at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie was aghast.

Was she trying to get him to have sex with Shen Qingdan?

The look on Xu Miaoran’s face told him that if he didn’t nod, he would not be forgiven.

An enraged woman was not rational!

Tang Jie stiffly nodded. “Mm… this… I have no objection.”

Shen Qingdan shivered, and she glared at Tang Jie. “So you choose to help this woman? Good, good, very good!”

She suddenly stood up and pointed at Tang Jie. “If you want to consummate this marriage, then let’s go and do it! This lady will satisfy you today, but I wonder whether you two adulterers would dare to accept it!”

She looked again at Xu Miaoran.

Xu Miaoran slapped the table and stood up. “What a joke! What’s there to be afraid of? Tang Jie, take Princess Shen back to the inn. I will give the two of you the chance to consummate your marriage!”

Tang Jie scooted over in shock. “Are you serious?”

Xu Miaoran glared. “Of course I’m serious. Why shouldn’t I be? She’s a princess, but she is bold enough to devote herself to you, so why wouldn’t I be bold enough to let you take her?”

Shen Qingdan shouted back, “What a joke! Why should I be afraid? It’s just me and my husband.”

The two of them began to make their way out of the tower, as if they were seriously going to go back to the inn so that the marriage could be consummated.

After walking a few steps, they realized that Tang Jie hadn’t followed, so they turned their heads and said, “What are you sitting around for? Why aren’t you following?”

They both reached out, grabbed Tang Jie, and flew out of the tower and to the inn.

While flying, they were still shouting at each other.

“I’d like to see if you dare!”

“I’d like to see if you’re willing to let him go!”

Tang Jie felt dizzy and dazzled.

Everything had happened so suddenly that even a peerless schemer like Tang Jie had never predicted such a scene.

What… what the hell was going on!?

Oh? Is this…a threesome? Surely not…