The moment he saw Jing Xian, Lu Yingjiu was overwhelmed by a huge sense of security.
After feeling at ease, there comes a strong sense of weariness.
He fell asleep before he could even utter a word.
Since then, his consciousness has been hazy.
He heard the servants' roars, the clashing of weapons, and the sound of bones being crushed.
He barely opened his eyes and saw that the wounds on his body had been bandaged. A faint yin energy brought a slight coolness, which effectively suppressed the pain.
Jingxian held him in his arms and walked along the dim path.
On both sides of the road are bottomless abysses and twisted and crazy faces. They are obviously servants sent by the Heaven, but they are more terrifying than the ghost world.
Lu Ying took a look at him, and his eyelids became too heavy to open, so he shouted, "Cheers..."
Jing Xian said in a low voice: "You continue to sleep, I will be here for you later."
Lu Yingjiu responded vaguely and fell asleep again.
The dream was Lengxiang.
When they woke up completely, there were enemies around them and they were in a huge hall.
It is a palace, may be a little inaccurate.
The whole thing is very depressing, with wind and other living things, like a mausoleum.
From the floor to the walls to the ceiling, it was all gray, without any decorations, and the surroundings were so large that one could not see the end. Only the statues of attendants standing sideways were lifelike, they were nearly a hundred meters tall, holding magical weapons, either standing solemnly or preparing for battle.
Lu Yingjiu moved slightly, and Jing Xian noticed it. He asked with surprise, "Are you awake?"
"Hmm... where is this place?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
"The end." Jing Xianyi, "The end of everything."
He stopped and gently put down Lu Yingjiu.
Lu Ying was a little dizzy from the alcohol, so he barely held on to the base of the statue and sat down to rest.
Only now did he notice that the deep wound on his right hand that didn't even show the bone was bandaged, and he could smell the slightly bitter smell of herbs. He tried to move his wrist, and besides feeling numb, he actually felt pain.
Maybe Jing Xian used some healing method from the ghost world, which was extremely effective.
He also changed into a set of clean and loose clothes, and the blood and water stains were gone.
Jing Xian handed over the water, Lu Yingjiu took a sip and smiled: "Did you bring so many things?"
"Of course." Jing Xian also sat next to him and smiled, "I haven't always been like this."
There was also freshly coagulated blood on Jingxian's hands.
You can't see it anywhere else, but it's definitely injured.
This was the first time Lu Yingjiu saw him injured, not when he was stopping the Hundred Demons Night Dance, but in the battle with the attendants. Although Jingxian didn't show it on his face, he could still sense the strong fatigue.
Seeing his gaze, Jing Xian said nonchalantly: "It's nothing, it will be over in a while. The servants can't catch up here, you can rest more and sleep for a while."
Lu Yingjiu shook his head: "I am busy, you are the one who should rest."
Without waiting for Jing Xian to refute, he said: "Your wound has not healed yet... Under normal circumstances, it should only take a few seconds." He looked at Jing Xian and said seriously, "You must be tired too."
From the ghost world to now, Jing Xian has been fighting non-stop for nearly ten days.
Jing Xian was about to say something, but Lu Yingjiu gently grabbed his shoulder and held him -
For the first time in his life, he leaned on Lu Yingjiu.
Lu Yingjiu hugged him: "This time it's my turn to stay with you." He reached out and gently stroked Jing Xian's temples, just like Jing Xian had done to him before, "Sleep peacefully."
Jing Xian was stunned.
He smiled, relaxed his body, reached out to hug Lu Yingjiu back, and rubbed his cheek affectionately.
Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Lu Yingjiu stayed with him like this.
Jing Xian was sleeping very soundly, and in his dream he still hugged him tightly, as if he was afraid that he would leave suddenly. And Lu Yingjiu stroked the back of his hand and the center of his brow again and again, comforting him.
The huge hall was empty and completely devoid of threats, but Lu Yingjiujiu remained extremely alert. Mao Tuanzi was also brought over by Jing Xian and stood by with his ears perked up to keep watch for them.
It was very quiet around.
In the dim environment, there was a dim light from the sky above. In the silence, Lu Yingjiu listened to Jing Xian's shallow breathing, and suddenly realized: they were all alive.
I'm fine here.
What could be better than this
After more than twenty minutes, Jing Xian's eyelids moved.
"Awake?" Lu Yingjiu looked at him, "Do you want to... um?"
Jing Xian turned around and kissed her.
Their lips and teeth are intertwined, and they are inseparable.
After finally parting, Lu Yingjiu was still dizzy and heard Jing Xian say quickly: "I looked for Mao Tuanzi in many places before I found him. Then I found him under his guidance. If you were any later, I would not have been able to see you. Are you dizzy now? Does your wound hurt? Do you want me to give you artificial respiration?"
Lu Yingjiu was even more dizzy: "Slow down, slow down, what are you talking about?"
Jing Xian didn't answer, but hugged him and kissed him again, then gave him the so-called "artificial respiration".
Lu Yingjiu had recovered her spirits, but he made her feel even more dizzy, as if her brain was deprived of oxygen by the kiss.
After the break, he held his head and said, "Why did you suddenly come here..."
He was obviously very calm before!
How come I'm in love again all of a sudden!
Jing Xian: "I woke up and have energy again."
Lu Yingjiu: "... See, I shouldn't have let you sleep now."
"It's pretty good," Jing Xian thought about it, "I can sleep like this more often in the future, it will be a different experience."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Jing Xian seems to have developed some strange habits.
After the catastrophe, there was no time to express emotion or tenderness, nor time to say sweet words. They continued to walk down the hall hand in hand.
Moving forward in a gray landscape.
Lu Yingjiu said: "Do you think this is the 'end of everything'?"
"Yes, I remember this hall." Jing Xian replied, "If we go further, we will see the source of the pollution of the Heavenly Dao."
"Have you been here?" Lu Yingjiu was a little surprised.
Jing Xianxiao: "My memory is also very vague. It was a long time ago, perhaps so long ago... when I was born."
Going further, Lu Yingjiu will understand the meaning of Jing Xianxiao.
A heavy door appeared in the hall.
It was a very ordinary stone door, weighing at least a hundred tons, but they just gave it a light push and it opened with a loud bang.
The scene behind the door was finally no longer dark.
Bright light descended from the sky, illuminating the right half of the hall, while the left half was in absolute darkness, filled with gloomy air.
Light and darkness are clearly divided into two parts.
On the left, Lu Yingjiu saw countless flying ghosts.
They are broken and fragmented, drifting aimlessly, floating up and down in the yin energy.
“This is…” Lu Yingjiu widened her eyes slightly.
Jing Xianxiao: "These are all residual souls. If a powerful residual soul leaves here and goes to the ghost world, it will become a priest. Maybe I was also a part of it a long time ago, so I have a very vague impression of this place."
Lu Yingjiu said: "Then the one on the right should be the human world."
He tentatively walked into the light on the right, but Jing Xian let go of his hand.
"Plop, plop, plop—"
There seemed to be a pulse in the light, causing the air and earth to tremble.
That pulse is not alone, it rises and falls like an ocean - it is the pulses of countless people intertwined and converging into a unique movement.
On both sides of this hall, there is a mountain and a lake.
Lu Yingjiu looked back and saw Jingxian still standing at the stone gate. Maotuanzi also wagged his tail and stayed beside Jingxian.
Lu Yingjiu asked, "Why can't you come over?"
Jing Xian smiled and shook his head: "We can't get through. We can only be on the other side." He pointed to the dark side.
Lu Yingjiu understood immediately.
The two sides corresponded to yin and yang respectively, and he and Jing Xian could go their separate ways.
He couldn't see what was in the darkness.
Similarly, Jing Xian couldn't see him on the other side.
They have to separate temporarily.
Jing Xian looked at him and said, "Then let's meet at the finish line?"
"Well," Lu Ying said, "see you at the finish line."
Everyone looked at each other from a distance and walked into the left side of the hall.
In the bright light, listening to the layers of heartbeats, Lu Yingjiu couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Faster, faster.
Since humans and ghosts have different paths, their thoughts and concepts are bound to be different.
But this has never been a limitation for them, not in the past and not in the future. Love will embrace everything.
Lu Yingjiu said, at the end of light and darkness, night and day, Jing Xian was waiting for him.
Just as he would wait for Jing Xian.
He walked quickly through the light. It was only a few minutes, but it felt like a hundred years.
Not long after, a stone door appeared in the distance.
It looked like that was the end.
Lu Yingjiu quickened his pace, almost jogging past, leaving the light behind—
Jing Xian had been waiting there for a long time, and he hugged him tightly with a smile.
Humans and ghosts have different paths.
Different paths lead to the same destination.
Looking at the huge gate again, they again put their hands on the stone gate side by side.
This time the stone door was not so easy to push. They almost used all their strength, and Mao Tuanzi also used his body to hit the door, which made the stone door tremble slightly.
One inch, two inches, three inches...
It finally slowly opened.
“Huff, huff, huff—”
Strong wind rushed in through the crack in the door, making their clothes rustle. Lu Yingjiu squeezed sideways through the crack in the door and saw the sky full of flying golden figures.
Different from the humanoid figures he had killed, these humanoid figures had peaceful faces, their eyes slightly closed, and they danced with the wind, like a group of golden birds in the gray sky and earth.
And the end...
At the very end is a towering ancient tree.
It was hard to tell what kind of tree it was, but it was lush and green, with branches and leaves luxuriant. The golden figures stopped in the middle, sat on the branches, and looked at the visitors with curiosity.
Lu Yingjiu and Jingxian approached slowly.
With every step he took, Lu Yingjiu could feel a little more vibration, as if something deep in his soul resonated with the ancient tree.
When they walked under the ancient tree, they realized that there was a thick black mass at the root of the tree. The root was corroded by it, and a large area of it was rotten, and black water was gushing out of it.
When Lu Yingjiu's eyes moved upwards—
The tree trunk suddenly opened its eyes!
Eyes of different sizes rotate at different frequencies and in different directions, exactly 59cm!
Lu Yingjiu murmured, "It seems that this is the source of infection... But where did this infection come from?"
Jing Xian looked up and said, "Water is dripping from above."
Road to welcome wine:
He followed Jing Xian's gaze and, sure enough, at the top of the hall there was a small... dark cloud
Dark clouds suddenly floated in the sky, and fine black rain fell, dripping right on the roots of the trees.
Lu Yingjiu said: "The house of Tiandao family is leaking."
Jing Xian: "... Indeed, it is a bit poor."
Lu Yingjiu tentatively threw down a piece of talisman paper.
The talisman paper floated into the black cloud with the wind and was swallowed up without any reaction.
Lu Yingjiu was just worrying about what to do when he saw Jing Xian's eyes wandering to the side. Then he suddenly reached out and grabbed a golden figure that passed by him!
Road to welcome wine:
Humanoid: ? ? !
Jing Xian exerted force and threw them all like shot puts directly into the dark clouds.
“Puff!”
After a slight movement, the human figure disappeared, and the black cloud also dissipated.
Lu Yingjiu: “…Too violent.”
"As long as it's useful." Jing Xian raised his eyebrows, "Look, the clouds are scattered now."
This time, Lu Yingjiu could clearly see what was behind the clouds.
—That's the whole world.
Birds and animals fly, the sun sets and the moon rises, snow-capped mountains never melt, a hint of green on deer antlers and blue fish wandering in underground caves. Young buds break through the soil, young eagles fly, dead trees decay, lone wolves grow old, decline and prosperity coexist, and death is also a new life;
Then there are joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, old age, sickness, and countless faces of people appear, newborn babies, old men in their twilight years, dark-skinned men walking on the construction site, pretty women dressing up... some are happy while others are sad, daily necessities, trivial matters piled up together, forming the various aspects of human life;
Further down is the dark ghost world, where scarlet red spider lilies grow wildly. In the changing weather, priests control fire and condense ice, ghosts eat each other, and bones are piled higher than the mountain. The eighteen layers have different scenes, outlining the madness of the world. The last scene freezes on a tree of flowers on the abyss, the white flowers wither and flourish - that is also the place where Jing Xian was born.
And all of this is condensed in a small world in the clouds.
The black water was dripping from it.
Greed, madness, selfishness, hypocrisy, arrogance...
The way of heaven is invisible and binds all things, but it also comes at a price.
The world itself is a source of pollution.
Lu Yingjiu frowned.
He originally thought that the source of pollution was something specific that could be destroyed, but now it seems that it cannot be eradicated at all. As long as everything exists, this corrosion will follow it like a shadow.
but…
Lu Yingjiu said: "Let's find a way to get rid of this rotten tree."
"What about the source of pollution?" Jing Xian asked, "If we leave it alone, the way of heaven will be corrupted sooner or later."
“No need to worry about it,” Lu Yingjiu shook his head, “Just let it go on like this. Negative emotions may not disappear, but there will always be someone to stand up for them.”
He continued, "I'm thinking that the corruption of Heaven's Way is probably not accidental. Just like people grow old and sick, and plants flourish and wither. Heaven's Way was polluted and then saved, which is also part of reincarnation."
"But we don't have to worry about the future, because there is no shortage of heroes in this world."
Where there are despicable people, there will be heroes. The interdependence of light and darkness is the true balance. After several years, when the way of heaven falls again, this hall will welcome new visitors, and those visitors are as brave and powerful as them.
With courage and passion, they will overthrow decadence and wipe out corruption.
And then…
They will also have hope for the future.
Lu Yingjiu smiled and said, "It's like a lamp passed down from generation to generation. We are not the ones who light it, nor the ones who extinguish it. We are just passing it on in an ordinary way. But we all know that it will burn forever, until the end of time."
"... I understand." Jing Xian nodded, "Then let's get started."
—But at the beginning, no one actually knew what to do.
After all, no one has ever done anything like cleaning up the Heavenly Dao.
Lu Yingjiu said: "According to the formation, what we found is the 'pollution' of the Heavenly Dao. So we should all destroy this tree. The Heavenly Dao may be incomplete because of this, but it can be restored."
"How to destroy it?" Jing Xian looked up, "Set it on fire?"
Lu Yingjiu also said at a loss: "I think so."
Jing Xian was silent for a while, then said: "What if it burns?"
Lu Ying was confused: "I don't know."
Although the way of heaven is invisible and the law itself should not be violated, who knows? As the saying goes, if you set a fire on the mountain, you will be sent to the police station in the afternoon, and if you set fire to the mountain again, you will be jailed for life. If they accidentally break something, it will be a big problem.
However, they also have other options.
"Now I can trust the formation," Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath, "In theory - I mean, in theory, there won't be any problem if we set the fire. If there really is a problem..."
"Then our names will go down in history." Jing Xian said.
Lu Yingjiu: "That's called a tainted reputation for eternity."
"We are one and the same." Jing Xian said with a smile, "You and I are accomplices, what's the difference? We will shoulder the right and wrong, honor and disgrace together."
Lu Yingjiu smiled and shook his head: "I've been with you for so long that I'm almost turning into a villain."
The villain couple raised their heads in tacit understanding and looked towards the ancient tree.
A gust of wind blew, and the leaves rustled. Those eyes realized that the crisis was approaching and turned around frantically.
However, their servants had been killed long ago and they no longer had the power to resist.
The two of them no longer hesitated, one lit the will-o'-the-wisp and the other drew the talisman paper.
The rotten part was extremely flammable, and soon, the fire burned fiercely, greedily licking the roots, branches, and leaves...
The human figures perched on the trees flew around in panic, circling in the air, but were helpless.
This is a great fire.
The hundred-meter-high trees crackled, their eyes were swallowed, the green leaves turned to ashes, and even the dark cloud was outlined with a red edge.
Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian stood side by side, the bright red light fell into their eyes, and the heat waves lifted their sleeves.
People were silent, watching the whole world burn.
Not long after, the ancient tree turned into ashes. The wind blew away the ashes, leaving only a confused golden figure dancing in the air.
Lu Yingjiu said in a low voice: "Let's go."
Jingxian nodded.
Behind them, a beam of light appeared, descending from the sky.
The golden figures danced around the beam of light, as if hinting at something—that was the passage for them to leave this place.
it's all over.
However, just after he took a few steps, Lu Yingjiu heard a voice coming from behind:
Lu Yingjiu, your time has come
Lu Yingjiu was stunned and turned back suddenly!
I saw that the place where the old trees grew was empty, and human figures landed and lined up on the side of the road, bowing respectfully—
Just like in ancient times, the subjects welcomed the new king to the throne.
Jing Xian couldn't hear the sound and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
In that split second, Lu Yingjiu understood their intentions:
The Way of Heaven was already incomplete. They were expecting him to become the Way of Heaven at this very moment.
He is a part of the Way of Heaven, so of course he can do it...
That would be the closest thing to God in the world.
The heights that can be reached are beyond the reach and imagination of humans and ghosts in their lifetime.
Now the opportunity was right in front of him and he could grab it.
The huge voice came again:
Lu Yingjiu, your time has come