"Was the Zodiac General killed by Soul Devil Luo Qin?" Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed in surprise.
This was news to him!
The Zodiac General's accomplishments had always been well documented, but come to think of it, he had indeed never come across any information regarding the ancient cultivator's end.
"Well, not exactly, but that is not far from the truth either," the female physician answered with clenched fists. "Back then, the Soul Devil committed all sorts of atrocities, even going as far as sacrificing entire mortal kingdoms. Because of that, numerous orthodox cultivators came together, forming a coalition that sought to hunt him down. As noble as he is, the Zodiac General did not hesitate to put his own ambitions on hold to join in as well..."
Zhao Yunxiao listened intently as the female physician continued, her hatred for Soul Devil Luo Qin becoming more apparent as she spoke.
And if what she said was true, then Zhao Yunxiao could understand why she felt this way as well.
Zodiac General Long Shiqian had been nothing short of a top genius since his debut in the cultivation world.
As the direct disciple of the progenitor of the Armed Ape Tower, Zodiac General Long Shiqian simultaneously cultivated three different systems of essence cultivation, body strengthening, and guardian spirit, becoming a powerful cultivator whom many believed had surpassed his master.
Under his banner, the Armed Ape Tower launched campaign after campaign, rapidly expanding its territory to double its original size. Due to his efforts, the Armed Ape Tower quickly became a powerhouse that few dared to trifle with.
Yet in the midst of his successful campaigns, Zodiac General Long Shiqian suddenly abandoned his plans in the name of righteousness, leaving his master to hold the fort while he joined the coalition to hunt down the vicious Soul Devil Luo Qin.
Unbeknownst to him, this act of righteousness would not only lead to a suspension of the expansion of the Armed Ape Tower, but also result in his own unfortunate end.
Along with the rest of the coalition, Zodiac General Long Shiqian battled the Soul Devil on multiple occasions, only for the latter to slip away every single time. Numerous years went by as the game of cat and mouse continued, and the consequences of joining the coalition quickly became apparent.
One by one, his comrades fell to the fearsome soul corrupting techniques of the Soul Devil.
Some turned into shells of their previous selves that roamed lands mindlessly. Some turned into crazed murderers who had to be mercilessly put down by those who once called them friends. Some feared for the worst, directly leaving the coalition in an act of self-preservation.
However, Zodiac General Long Shiqian pressed on. Along with a group of other determined heroes, he did not intend to rest until the world was finally rid of this great evil.
Eventually, their persistence seemed to have moved the Untethered Sage, who personally took action to vanquish the Soul Devil once and for all – a feat that he was best known for up till this day.
The entire Armed Ape Tower celebrated the long-awaited return of Zodiac General Long Shiqian, but their excitement was short-lived.
Because the Zodiac General was no longer the person they once knew.
After returning, Zodiac General Long Shiqian had no intention of restarting the campaigns of the past. Not only that, but the once amiable man became extremely reclusive, never stepping out of his residence even once in a matter of years.
During these long years, there was only one person allowed to see him. That was none other than his master, the progenitor Kui Shou.
So, when Zodiac General Long Shiqian suddenly broke his reclusion and began constructing the Zodiac Tree with the help of his master, members of the faction were beyond elated. They thought that for Zodiac General Long Shiqian, all those years of seclusion had been for this moment, spent planning for the future of the faction.
Surely, things would return to how they were after the completion of the Zodiac Tree!
No, it would be even better!
On the day of completion of the Zodiac Tree, the entire faction celebrated as they marvelled at its grandeur, not knowing that this would be the last time they ever saw Zodiac General Long Shiqian.
They only learnt later from their progenitor Kui Shou that Zodiac General Long Shiqian's soul had long been corrupted by the Soul Devil. After years of failing to reverse the situation, he had finally chosen to end his own life before he turned into a mindless abomination – a fate that had already befallen many of his comrades who had faced off against the Soul Devil in the past.
In fact, compared to those other members of the coalition, it was indeed impressive just how long Zodiac General Long Shiqian had managed to suppress the corruption of his soul.
Alas, this impressive talent was never fated to complete his path of cultivation.
"If not for the appearance of the evil Soul Devil, who knows what attainments the great Zodiac General could have achieved?" the female physician lamented. "Considering his talents, it is not entirely impossible for him to have become someone capable of holding up an entire half of the sky!"
"Yeah, it is a real shame," Zhao Yunxiao agreed.
Previously, he had only thought that Zodiac General Long Shiqian was an accomplished senior worthy of respect. But now that he knew what happened, he truly felt for him.
In the end, his sense of justice was what led to his end.
After all, he could have just as easily ignored the existence of the Soul Devil, leaving the matter to others to deal with. Perhaps this was also a good reminder that without sufficient strength, one should mind their own business unless their loved ones were directly at risk.
But of course, he was not nearly tactless enough to mention that last part to the female physician, or to anyone in the Armed Ape Tower, for that matter.
That aside, the Untethered Sage had truly done the world a favour!
He had read a lot on the atrocities of the Soul Devil, but he did not know the evil cultivator was this strong!
Without the intervention of the Untethered Sage, who knew how many more would have suffered a fate similar to that of the Zodiac General?
"And even when the great Zodiac General was aware that his life was coming to an end, all he thought about was leaving a legacy for the Armed Ape Tower in the form of the Zodiac Tree," the female physician continued. "Tell me. How could we, as the descendants who are directly benefitting from his legacy, not treat him with love and respect?"
"To have left his twelve zodiac spirits in the Zodiac Tree – that was indeed altruistic of him," Zhao Yunxiao agreed.
Zhao Yunxiao originally doubted the rumour that the Zodiac General had left all twelve spirits in the Zodiac Tree. After all, they made up a significant part of his combat strength, so why would he abandon them all of a sudden?
At the very most, surely it was just a fragment of the original zodiac spirits.
But if the Zodiac General had already been aware that his end was near, then things made a little more sense.
That said, he might not know much about the effect of soul corruption, but he would imagine that most cultivators would have tried to preserve as much strength as possible in a bid to resist it.
To have chosen to leave his zodiac spirits in the Zodiac Tree despite his vulnerable state back then – that was probably the best evidence that he had made up his mind to give up on himself and invest everything in the future.
Would Zhao Yunxiao have done the same in his shoes?
He did not believe so.
Then again, it was not as though someone like him would ever be in a position to have to consider something like that.
"All right, enough about this. Have a good rest," the female physician said with a tinge of sadness.
Zhao Yunxiao silently nodded as he watched the female physician leave the room.
He had originally planned on only chatting a little to gain some rapport before smoothly leading the conversation to learn more about body strengthening practices. But judging from the mournful expression on the female physician's face, it would appear that he had chosen the wrong topic.
Seeing how sad she was, Zhao Yunxiao simply could not bear to try and dig more information out of her.
Forget it, he would just have to be satisfied with what he got from Lie Xian's group yesterday.
With that, he popped a Winterwarmth Pill and gradually entered a state of deep meditation.
***
Early the next day, Zhao Yunxiao opened his eyes to find Fei Weng standing by the window.
"How are you feeling?" Fei Weng asked.
"Urgh! Not the best," Zhao Yunxiao groaned. "From the looks of it, I might need to get some medicine after I return. Otherwise, these work injuries might leave some lasting problems..."
"Cut the crap. Do you know how much precious medicine has been wasted on those insignificant injuries of yours? The physician has already diagnosed that you are mostly recovered, so don't even think that I will be giving you more compensation on top of that," Fei Weng scoffed. "If you can already talk such nonsense, hurry and get up. We are leaving soon."
"How boring. Why'd you ask if you already knew?" Zhao Yunxiao shrugged while getting off the bed. "So, what happened after I fainted?"
"Oh right, you were out cold by then, so you have no idea what happened," Fei Weng chuckled.
"You seem amused, Senior Fei," Zhao Yunxiao questioned.
"Just a little," Fei Weng admitted nonchalantly. "Anyway, the elders examined your physique and confirmed that you truly did not receive the blessings that should have accompanied your clearance of the Tribulation of Combat. Following which, they scrutinised the arrays of the Zodiac Tree but were not able to pinpoint where the issue lay. So, Elder Feng suggested implementing a few guardrails and enhancements to stabilise the arrays and reduce energy consumption for now. From the looks of it, Elder Feng might have to return again in the future to take another look at the Zodiac Tree just to be safe."
"Did they find anything while examining my physique?" Zhao Yunxiao asked cautiously.
It was fine if they had only inspected his physique, but it would be bad if they looked into his spatial pouch and found the Heaven's Descent Bowl!
"What's with that reaction? Is there something that they should have found?" Fei Weng narrowed his eyes at Zhao Yunxiao.
"What's wrong with my reaction? Am I not allowed to be worried about suffering any lasting injuries after the rough beatdown yesterday?" Zhao Yunxiao answered.
"That might be true for others, but the Little Zhao I know is someone who would normally be more interested in what the suggested improvements are..." Fei Weng's gaze was filled with suspicion.
"...It seems like I can't hide anything from you, Senior Fei," Zhao Yunxiao let out a helpless sigh. "Truth be told, I am looking to attack the Mind Gate after our return to Purple Plum Mountain. Because of that, I might have felt a little too sensitive about maintaining my condition."
"Oh? You are?" Fei Weng revealed a look of surprise. "That explains why you are so concerned about their examination of your condition. But you don't have to worry. The elders found no real issues, and as I said, the physician has also diagnosed that you are mostly recovered. You just have to rest for a day or two after your return, and you should be back to normal."
"That's good to hear," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
From the sound of it, Elder Feng Wanjia had not discovered the Heaven's Descent Bowl. Or even if she had, she did not make a big deal out of it.
"All right, let's not waste any more time," Fei Weng urged. "Elder Feng is still waiting for us."
Zhao Yunxiao wanted to thank the female physician from last night before leaving, but had to give up on that thought since she was nowhere to be seen as they left the premises.
There was already an Armed Ape Tower disciple waiting for them when they stepped out. Following the disciple's lead, the duo eventually arrived at the same clearing where they had first arrived on Elder Xiong Yan's bamboo-style heavenly palace two days prior.
But this time, the clearing was not nearly as empty as before.
Elder Feng Wanjia, Sect Protector Shan, and Hua Shui appeared to be in deep conversation with Sect Master Kui and the rest of the Armed Ape Tower sect administrators and core disciples.
On the other hand, Gan Luozhi was actively chatting with the native inner disciples.
But regardless of who it was, all conversations instantly came to a halt as everyone's attention fell upon Fei Weng and Zhao Yunxiao.
Or perhaps more specifically, all attention fell upon Zhao Yunxiao.
"What are you waiting for? Come over here and let me take a good look at you," Elder Feng Wanjia beckoned.