Chapter 2178 - Good Faith, Sincerity, Taking a Stance

He's from an unknown ground, Clear Breeze Daoist Temple, and he controls the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow, a taboo treasure.

His cultivation base is obscured and unfathomable.

Could this Si Ming person really be one of the... unparalleled rivals I'll encounter in the future?

Su Yi couldn’t help but be thoughtful.

Taboo treasures were just too unique. They broke the ironclad rules of the natural order and defied the Laws of the Grand Dao.

If Si Ming possessed such a treasure, he was no “ordinary” unparalleled figure. He was... an anomaly! A monster unbound by the Laws and the natural order, someone you couldn’t gauge with common sense!

Someone like him really could become his opponent in his pursuit of the Grand Dao.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” The silver-robed Si Ming rubbed the back of his head, then looked away bashfully. “I’m a decent man, not a cut sleeve, nor a lover of the bitten peach, and I’m certainly no prostitute.”

“....” Su Yi didn’t know what to say.

The little monkey burst into sputtering laughter.

This fake Ai Kun seriously thinks Master is interested in him? The very thought is disgusting!

Si Ming suddenly took a deep breath, then gnashed his teeth as if he’d decided to go all out. “But if you’re willing to help me save my master’s soul, I actually wouldn’t mind...”

Su Yi shuddered, then stopped him before he could say anymore. “Stop! Roll away from me!”

Si Ming threw himself directly onto the deck, then rolled around a bit before climbing to his feet. “Are you satisfied? If not, how about I roll for you again?”

“....” Su Yi facepalmed.

I’ve sure run into a shameless nuisance this time!

“Actually, I’m doing all this for my master,” Si Ming sighed. “If it means saving his soul, what do dignity, deportment, and honor matter?”

He paused, then said solemnly, “This is our first meeting. Had you simply agreed to help me, it would have left me ill at ease. Still, I trust that once we get to know each other, you’ll understand how upright, pure, and filial I am.

Upright? Pure? And filial, too?

The little monkey couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

Seems to me that you’re the exact opposite!

Su Yi said nothing, but he was starting to run out of patience. If Si Ming kept pestering him, he wouldn’t mind sending him packing.

But against Su Yi’s expectations, after he’d said his piece, Si Ming took that storage bag back out, then placed it on the table beside Su Yi.

“Here’s a gift to commemorate our first meeting. No strings attached; it’s simply an expression of my good intentions and sincerity. Please, accept it.”

With that, Si Ming turned and left the treasure ship, then waved to Su Yi and the little monkey. “So long as the mountains still stand and the rivers still flow, we’re sure to meet again! Farewell!”

With that, he took a step forward, blurred into a beam of flowing light, and vanished.

From beginning to end, Su Yi just sat there. He made no effort to stop him, nor did he say anything.

“Master, that Si Ming guy sure was strange. There was no telling just what kind of person he was,” the little monkey couldn’t help but say.

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. “He’s a clever one, far cleverer than most, but I can tell that he’s asking for my help in good faith.”

The little monkey was stunned, and a bit confused. “Clever? Acting in good faith? But it doesn’t seem that way to me at all.”

Su Yi laughed. “He might have seemed like a flippant wisecracker, but he was sincere and honest with me. Moreover, he... really opened up a vein this time.”

The little monkey looked at the bag of holding. “You mean the greeting gift he left you?”

“No, I’m referring to the Qingwu Divine Court experts he killed,” said Su Yi.

The little monkey quickly understood. “He... was taking a stance?”

“That’s right.” Su Yi inclined his head. “He controls the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow, a taboo treasure. If he didn’t want word regarding me to spread, he could have prevented it without killing those deities of Qingwu Divine Court.

“He did so anyway to express that he’d come with good intentions, his willingness to assist me, and that he isn’t the least bit afraid of Qingwu Divine Court getting even with him.

“Moreover, this was our first meeting, but he showed me his taboo treasure, and he shared his origins and intentions honestly. I’d consider that acting in good faith.

“As I’m sure you know, those who’ve cultivated to our level tend to be on guard against strangers. It’s hard to avoid.

“But that guy was clever. He had no intention of convincing me to help him in just one meeting. He simply made his position and intentions clear. That’s quite sincere, is it not?”

The little monkey sighed. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d put so much thought into it. Then... are you going to help him, Master?”

“Let’s wait and see,” Su Yi said with a laugh. “If all goes as I expect, he’s sure to come looking for me again, and he’ll bring a show of sincerity I’ll find hard to refuse!

“I’m just going to sit back and wait to see what kind of delightful surprise he has in store for me. If he manages to move me, I wouldn’t mind helping him.”

He glanced at the bag of holding. “As for the greeting gift? As precious as it is, it’s insignificant.”

The bag contained a thousand pieces of Undying Divine Crystals and eighty-one Fortune Realm divine medicines.

As Si Ming said earlier, they were rare and precious. Any god would have drooled over them.

But at the same time, they were just external objects. Even though Su Yi had an urgent need for such resources, they weren’t irresistible, either.

“But what if he has wicked intentions?” the monkey couldn’t help but ask.

Su Yi laughed. “Even if he has ulterior motives, he’s doing all he can to make this happen, and he needs my help. There’s no way that someone as intelligent as him would act up under the circumstances.

The little monkey nodded in complete agreement.

Su Yi, meanwhile, said no more on the matter. He just rose from his chair and resumed his meditation on deck.

They’d reach the Southern Flame Divine Continent within three days. He needed to prepare for the Spring and Autumn Dao Assembly beforehand!

......

A cold, empty stretch of stars.

Si Ming plopped down on a meteorite and slipped a black tortoise shell out of his sleeves.

“Hey, old bastard. Everything went smoothly, so just you wait. I promise to ‘redeem’ you before the Dark Days of Legend arrive and free you from the Sea of Bitterness,” Si Ming said with a smile.

Contorted markings of the natural order suddenly arose on the black tortoise shell. Then, a hoarse, infuriated voice rang out. “I just knew it! You’re desperate to send me on my way, you unfilial wretch!”

Si Ming laughed. “Mind your tongue. I’m doing this to help you, aren’t I? Even Su Yi praised my filial piety!”

“Cut the crap. Hurry up and tell me how your meeting with Su Yi went,” said the aged voice within the tortoise shell. “Remember, don’t add any flourishes, but don’t overlook any details, either. Any funny stuff will only negatively affect my judgment!”

The voice was solemn and stern.

Si Ming narrowed his eyes, wiped the smile off his face, thought hard for a moment, then recounted his meeting with Su Yi in full detail.

“They say that those who offer unsolicited hospitality are all thieves or bandits. Do you think he’ll take me for a crook, Master?” Si Ming couldn’t help but ask.

“A crook? Don’t flatter yourself,” jeered the elderly voice. “You’re not ‘crooked’; you just have no self-respect. He told you to roll, and you fell to the ground and rolled. You even offered him your body... If I hadn’t foolishly taken you as my disciple all those years ago, I’d have smacked you to death a long time ago, you shameless, spineless craven. That’d keep you out of trouble!”

Si Ming tousled his disheveled hair and laughed. He wasn’t at all ashamed; on the contrary, if anything, he seemed smug.

“Enough. Next, go prepare our big gift. If all went as I expect, Su Yi is waiting to see if you can bring out enough sincerity to spur him into action.”

When Si Ming heard that, he furrowed his brow. “Master, Clear Breeze Daoist Temple has always forbidden its disciples from all involvement in worldly strife. Wouldn’t doing that make a mess of things? And if I implicate you...”

But that aged voice didn’t let him finish. He said, “What year is this? You still think we can remain uninvolved? Impossible!

“It’s not just Clear Breeze Daoist Temple. When the Dark Days of Legend arrive, no unknown territory will be able to remain uninvolved.

“And if you want to acquire something, you must first pay the corresponding price. Do you really think he’ll help you if you do nothing at all?”

Si Ming’s expression shifted erratically. For a while, he just stood there in silence.

Eventually, he gnashed his teeth, his eyes suddenly ruthless. “Very well. For the sake of helping you find peace, I won’t hesitate, no matter how great the punishment!”

“....Am I... supposed to thank you?” asked that aged voice.

Si Ming laughed and rose to his feet. “Once you’ve successfully undergone rebirth, I won’t just make you thank me to my face. I’ll even deign to accept you as my disciple as an expression of my filial piety!”

“Your ‘filial piety’ is going to get me killed...” The aged voice was just about to curse him out when Si Ming put the black tortoiseshell away.

”It’s time I went all out. How else will Su Yi feel my sincerity?” Si Ming stretched, then murmured, “Then... It’s about time I started preparing a very special present for him!”

......

Two days later.

“Master, that’s most likely the asteroid belt we have to pass through to reach the Southern Flame Divine Continent up ahead,” The little monkey said suddenly.

Su Yi sauntered out of the cabin, then looked over and saw a stretch of asteroids floating along the path through the stars.

It was like a natural barrier standing blocking the way ahead.

This path began in the Billowing Blue Realm and led to the Southern Flame Divine Continent.

This asteroid belt was known as the Celestial Winds Crossing.

The Southern Flame Divine Continent lay behind it, so in a sense, the Path of Celestial Winds was like a hub linking the continent to the Billowing Blue Realm.

Countless ships passed through the Celestial Winds Crossing every day.

But when Su Yi arrived, he saw that a vast army of cultivators had gathered near the Celestial Winds Crossing, sealing it off completely!

The stalwart, curly-bearded man leading the group boomed, “Qingwu Divine Court has sealed this place off. Going forward, no one is permitted to enter the Southern Flame Divine Continent, no matter who they are!”