Su He pondered for a while, then said, "Next time you beat him up, take me with you."
The Great Ancestor Fenghuang killed the four clones of his wife!
After returning after traveling for 730,000 years, Su He opened his eyes and saw the corpse of Concubine Ji. The feeling of coldness that penetrated his whole body was something he would never forget.
"Hmm..." Taizu pondered for a moment and rolled his eyes slightly: "Very good!"
After all, he was the first ancestor of the Fenghuang Palace. His Taoism was not high, but he ran fast. Now he didn't have the courage to show up in front of him.
It would be a good idea to design a trap and use the turtle as bait.
When Taizu arrived, even though this old turtle didn't have any of the ancestor's power, the scene still fell silent.
Even Feng Chaofei didn't dare to be presumptuous, and lowered his proud head slightly.
Tsundere 50%
The Phoenix dared not act normally, and even the Dragon Turtle became reserved. Only Yaya ran over happily, waving her hands.
"Grandpa, have you eaten?"
Taizu looked at Yaya and narrowed his eyes: "Eat, eat! Why did your dear girl come here?"
A bunch of bastards who deserve to be beaten!
No matter how conceited you are, you shouldn't have brought the turtle baby here. If there is any mistake, even if the whole world is turned upside down, what can you do
Yaya didn't answer. Instead, she touched her stomach and said in a wronged manner: "Yaya hasn't eaten yet."
Tai Zu laughed, took out a bead that Su He didn't recognize and put it in Ya Ya's arms. The little girl happily put it away, took out an invitation and jumped up to insert it into Tai Zu's dragon horn: "Grandpa, I will be king, at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month..."
She stopped talking here and turned to look at Taoist Xuanzhen in the distance: "Hey! Imperial Master! When will I become king?"
He could have been crowned king a long time ago, no matter the land area, population, or military strength, he would have been able to be crowned king. But since my father and aunt were not around, Yaya kept delaying and never set a specific date.
But she marked every auspicious day after that, so that she could choose the nearest one as long as her father and mother came back.
Taoist Xuanzhen's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he smiled and said, "Let's do the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month! Although the 9th day of the first lunar month is also suitable, the time is a bit tight."
Yaya nodded, looking serious: "Then it will be the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month!"
As she spoke, a dragon turtle materialized on the invitation, imprinted its mark, and set the exact date in the place of the date.
"Grandpa, please come and have some delicious food on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month!"
Taizu laughed out loud, and seemed to be getting happier and happier the more he laughed.
Of course it will come. The turtle boys have already discussed with him that when the little girl becomes king, it will be the time to break the boundary bead and embark on her own path. Becoming king is also the beginning of the true imperial path.
Walking the imperial path in Xuanhuang is not like the previous petty fights.
This is a truly big day for a dragon turtle, how could it not miss it
Taoist Xuanzhen rode over on his donkey and trotted over: "Old Ancestor has returned. Have you seen our Taoist master? The Taoist master contacted me a few days ago and told me that he will return to the heavens and myriad worlds soon, but I don't know why."
It was extremely difficult for the Immortal Venerable to return to the heavens and myriad worlds. The Taoist Master had not returned for an unknown period of time. The last time he returned was when he inherited the position of the headmaster, and he sent down a ray of light.
Lian Guiwangshan's sect master's inheritance was just a ray of light, but I don't know what major event has happened recently that requires the Taoist master to come in person
Taizu smiled.
Turtle is back. He is the direct disciple of the Taoist Ancestor. The Taoist Master had never seen him 730,000 years ago, so naturally he has to see him now.
Su He also guessed the reason, smiled and said nothing.
He would have to go back to Mount Guiwang later. There was the inheritance of Hades at the foot of Mount Zhenyou, and he promised to help his senior sister find the successor.
Moreover, there is a small sect in the Arctic ice field that has been guarding the Xuanwu Divine Plate for him for 30 million years.
Senior sister has a universal inheritance, he has his own sect. Isn't that inappropriate? Fat water should not flow to outsiders.
"Does Brother Xuanzhen need to supervise them?" Grandma Si glanced at the defeated army who were silent as a mouse.
Su Hu is no longer needed...
When Taizu arrived, they wanted to hide in the ground. There was fear in everyone's eyes. Wasn't it agreed that once they entered the sea of stars, they would never be able to return
Where did this old turtle come from
Xuan Zhen said with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Si, don't worry. I have already informed the sect that someone will come to take over Guiwang Mountain later."
Return to Wangshan and ascend to the place where the immortal drum is played.
More than ten Taoists filed out. Such a large group of people coming together was rare in the entire history of Guiwang Mountain.
The number of people returning to Mount Guiwang has increased over the past hundreds of thousands of years, but it still does not exceed a hundred. More than ten people already account for 20% of the members of Mount Guiwang, which can be said to be a full-scale outing.
The sloppy old Taoist leader was none other than Taoist Xuanquan, and he was accompanied by his most proud disciple who had been accepted in the past few decades, the former supreme elder of Qingyuan Sect, Taoist Ge.
Of course, in front of these beings, he cannot be called "old".
On the Dengxian drum, a burly woman opened her eyes, glanced downward, and jumped down.
Everyone stopped immediately and bowed to the woman, "Greetings, Senior Sister Xuanxu."
Although they are of different generations, all women are addressed as "senior sisters".
Xuanxu waved his hand and looked around at them: "Where are we going?"
Which big world are you going to destroy
Xuan Quan hid the chicken leg in his hand behind his back and said with a grin, "I'm going to cover for that little idiot Xuan Zhen. Senior sister, are you going with me?"
Xuanxu rolled his eyes and nodded, "Okay!"
The Taoist master was coming back, so it was a good opportunity for her to hide away. She didn't want to see that old man.
That Ox Nose was not doing his job properly. Every time he came back, he wanted to take apart the Ascension Drum and study it.
Very annoying.
Taoist Xuanquan was so stunned that the chicken leg in his hand fell to the ground.
He was just making a polite invitation. Everyone in the Xuan generation knew that Senior Sister Xuanxu was the Dengxian Drum. The Dengxian Drum guarded the entrance to Guiwang Mountain and had never left for tens of millions of years.
Even when Gui Wangshan was fighting against Fenghuang Palace, he never left for a moment.
What's wrong with the wind today
Did he get into trouble by inviting her
Xuanxu took a step and was about to leave, but Xuanquan didn't move. He turned and looked at him: "Go! What are you thinking about? What? Do you think I'm a burden?"
Taoist Xuanquan was suddenly inspired: "Haha, what are you talking about, Senior Sister! I just thought of something interesting and couldn't help being distracted."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Sister, you may not know that we are going to the Dark Dragon Ruins to accept the captives of the heavens. That is the battlefield between the Turtle and Phoenix clans. The genius that has only emerged in the past few decades of the Dragon Turtle clan is there."
"?" Xuanxu was puzzled. As a dragon turtle, which member of their tribe was not a genius? What was so interesting about this
Taoist Xuanquan laughed: "Before that genius achieved enlightenment as a dragon tortoise, he once worshipped me as his master and held a ceremony to worship my master."
Taoist Xuanquan pulled Taoist Ge over with his greasy hands and said, "So, the dragon turtle should call me Grandmaster! I am of the same generation as Grandmaster Huang."
Wouldn’t Gu Luo and the others scream out in a nice way
Xuanxu looked at him with contempt, childish!
"Moreover!" Taoist Xuanquan whispered, "I heard that Princess Yunmengze might really choose him as her husband. If that's the case, then the princess will have to call me Grandmaster!"
He laughed out loud and winked at Ge Laodao.
Not everyone knows Ji Feixue's identity in Guiwang Mountain.
Ge Laodao looked helpless: "Master, please don't make too much trouble. My disciple has a straightforward personality. If you tease him too much, it may be difficult to end it."
Su He was a wolf who fought his way out of a pack of wild wolves. He looked cheerful but was actually arrogant. He had joined the Dragon Turtle tribe, which was extremely arrogant. And his master was never serious. If he teased him too much, the turtle boy might get angry.
He had seen the master's practice with his own eyes. A supreme being at the seventh level of Heavenly Stepping, he was ranked among the best in the heavens and myriad worlds.
He had personally stopped the imperial palace from being appointed as a noble concubine.
Even if he faced the three kings and three dukes who were crowned as emperors, he could still escape unscathed. He really didn't want to see Guizai and his master develop a rift because of such a thing.
“Don’t worry! Taoist Xuanquan gave Taoist Ge a look that said, “Don’t worry, I’ll do the job.”
Gu Luo's gang is not easy to mess with. But it's not too much to ask the turtle to respectfully call him "Master", right
Maybe I can ride a dragon turtle for a few laps in my lifetime
Hmm... this is a bit dangerous.
As he was thinking this, he saw Xuanxu's face in front of him turn cold.
Ji Feixue's husband? Dragon turtle
She never went out, and sat high on the immortal drum, rarely coming down, but she had no idea that such a thing could happen.
Although she didn't know why, she always felt that Ji Feixue shouldn't have a husband - not to protect her younger generation.
She clearly remembered that Ji Feixue should have had a Taoist partner, but for some reason she couldn't remember the information about that Taoist partner.
The damn old Niu Bizi must have secretly dismantled the Ascension Drum when she wasn't paying attention, causing her to lose some of her memories!
Dark Dragon Ruins? I want to see what kind of turtle dares to attack Ji Feixue!
Xuanxu punched the air. Space immediately shattered and collapsed inward, forming a space tunnel that led directly to the Dark Dragon Ruins.
"Follow me!" Xuanxu snorted coldly and stepped into the passage.
The others looked at each other, not knowing what was going on. They didn't dare to ask more questions and followed suit.
Only Taoist Xuanquan still looked heartless, and waved with his oily hands: "Disciple, follow closely, and comprehend carefully! Walking through the space channel once will be of great benefit to your future practice!"
Taoist Ge followed Taoist Xuanquan and had been his disciple for decades. He had a lot of experience and naturally knew the magic of the space channel. He felt the fluctuations in space, but he was still worried, so he sent a message: "Old man, is Senior Sister Xuanxu showing any hostility?"
Did Turtle offend this person
This senior sister is extremely special. She guards the gate and watches over the Ascension Drum, and her status is extremely high!
And it is rumored that she is not from the Xuan generation, but the name is changed at any time in each generation.
Taoist Xuanquan was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "It's okay. That's a dragon turtle, she won't do anything rash. Besides, you have to give me some face. Even if my granddaughter did something wrong, I should punish her, right?"
Ge Lao said: "..."
Taoist Xuanquan was about to say something when he saw Xuanxu in front of him startled. Following Xuanxu's gaze, he looked forward and saw a mountain of dragon turtles at the exit of the passage, with phoenixes of various colors flapping their wings and flying from time to time, causing strange visions on the road in the Dark Dragon Ruins.
These were nothing. He knew at least half of these dragon turtles and phoenixes, but the old dragon turtle in the center made Master Xuan Quan's breathing quicken.
Taizu!
This ancestor is also here!
"Master, who is that senior dragon turtle?" Ge Laodao whispered. He could see that everyone was shocked and became stiff when they saw the old dragon turtle in the center.
“Taizu!” The person who answered him was Xuanxu in front of him: “Dragon Turtle Ancestor, the most powerful in the universe—the strongest!”
It is indisputable that only the Emperor Fenghuang Dazu can be compared with him.
Taoist Ge's breathing tightened. Even the master of the sect wouldn't be able to easily see such a being, right
Following the master forward, before walking out of the space channel, I heard a bang in front of me. I looked and saw that it was Senior Sister Xuanxu's boxing gloves falling and hitting the space channel, making a sound of treasure falling to the ground.
Dengxian Gu stared in amazement at a dragon turtle in the field.
"Grand-disciple!" Taoist Xuanquan smiled.
Deng Xian Gu was breathing rapidly, and he rushed out in a flash. When he reached Su He, he still couldn't believe it. After panting for a while, he bowed to Su He: "Mr. Four!"
I remembered it now! I remembered everything now! No wonder! No wonder Taizu showed up and helped him slap the sun.
No wonder Mr. Four has a dragon turtle tribe pangolin on his body! No wonder Mr. Four can use the dragon turtle magic.
Mr. Four is actually the transformed dragon turtle!
This figure, this spirit snake.
This is Xuanwu!
"Hey! How are you, drummer?" Su He greeted him with his dragon beard fluttering.
"Replying to Mr. Four, everything is the same as before." Dengxian Gu suppressed his excitement and said respectfully, "It's just that without Mr. Four for 730,000 years, I feel that the world is incomplete."
Just think of it as an illusion due to my incomplete memory.
After he said that, he looked at Xuan Zhen who was riding the donkey beside him and frowned. How dare he walk side by side with the Fourth Patriarch!
He wanted to scold her, but then he relaxed his frown. This little calf-nosed man must not know the identity of Mr. Fourth, otherwise how could he dare to be so rude
He glared at Xuan Zhen and said, "Why don't you get off your horse? The one next to you is the fourth master, the disciple of Daozu himself. He is the fourth ancestor of Guiwang Mountain!"
boom!
Her voice was like a bolt from the blue, ringing in the ears of everyone present.
Only Hong Zu and Si Lao Lao felt a sense of pleasure as if they were taking revenge. They all felt relieved.
It's finally your turn to be surprised!
Everyone in Guiwang Mountain was stunned. This news had a much stronger impact on them than on others.
It was no less than the dragon turtle suddenly hearing the news—Su He was Taizu’s biological son.
Even the headmaster Xuanzhen's breathing became a little disordered: "Senior sister, what you said... is it true?"
"Of course it's true." Before Dengxian Gu could speak, a voice came from the void.
Then an old Taoist with white hair and a youthful face appeared out of thin air, riding a yellow ox with the sound of pedaling.
"Master!" Taoist Xuanzhen immediately straightened his clothes, got off the donkey, and bowed.
The Taoist master nodded slightly and looked at Su He, then bowed and said, "I am the Third Taoist Huaiyu, and I am honored to meet you, Mr. Fourth."
The third is the surname. The third Huai Yu is the name of the Taoist master when he was in the secular world.
Su He nodded in return: "Greetings, Taoist Master."
Maybe the Immortal Venerable has seen too much...
When he saw the Taoist master, he was actually calm.
"It has taken me 730,000 years to come to see you, Mr. Fourth. I hope you will forgive me."
Su He shook his head and chuckled: "It was my turn to pay respects to the Taoist master. But my return date was approaching and time was too tight. It would have been rude not to pay respects to him."
The Taoist master taught him personally, and he is the same as the Taoist master. But there is also a first come first served rule, and -
"May I ask, Lord, have you and I ever met before?"
The Taoist Master gave Su He a familiar feeling, just like... Pluto!
Did he inherit the legacy of Hades? Or did Hades have a backup plan for the Taoist master
The Taoist master laughed: "If I remember correctly, this was the first time I met Mr. Four. If Mr. Four returned to the past and secretly met me before I started practicing, then I don't know."
Xuan Zhen, who was standing next to him, had already fallen off the donkey, and was sighing in his heart, thinking that his previous guess was wrong, little friend Su He... The ancestor can break time!
There is a cryptic record inside the door: "When I knocked on the door, I got three knocks at first, three knocks again, and three knocks again." This is probably a record of something that happened 730,000 years ago, but it is so ambiguous that no one knows what it records.
Combining the scene at this moment, might it be the scene where Su He goes back to the past and beats the drum to ascend to immortality
I don't know why everyone forgot about this matter until Su He came back this time.
As he was wondering, he saw Taizu laughing and a hairpin rose above his head, pointing at the starry sky.
Then, stars scattered one after another, as if a curtain covering the sky and the sun was dissipating.
The powerful being who survived 730,000 years ago suddenly looked up.
The memory came back.
But not everyone reacted immediately. For some people, it was just a sudden memory of something that happened 730,000 years ago and a sigh of emotion.
But for those who were familiar with Su He 730,000 years ago and knew Su He well in the present life, the memories of his sudden return plus the current scene can lead to shocking conclusions with a little deduction.
In an instant, thoughts appeared in the void, extending in all directions.
Traveling through time and space, and passed down by the Taoist master himself, any piece of news was earth-shattering. In an instant, Su He's reputation truly caused a huge wave in the heavens and all realms.
It was not until this moment that the people in Guiwang Mountain slowly came to their senses.
Taoist Xuanquan opened his mouth in astonishment, not knowing where the chicken leg had flown to, but he was completely unable to take care of it. Taoist Ge, who was standing next to him, had not figured out the situation yet, so he whispered, "Old man, my disciple..."
"Shut up!" Taoist Xuanquan shouted urgently, interrupting his voice transmission in a low voice: "This is our ancestor!"
The Daoism of the world comes from Guiwang. Other sects who join Guiwang Mountain are never regarded as traitors, but the whole sect is proud of it. Just like the Qingyuan Sect at the moment, although it is only a small sect, who dares to touch it
Any bit of the residue that comes out of Taoist Ge’s hands would be enough to keep Qingyuan Sect fat for three hundred years.
With this premise, how could the relationship between the Fourth Patriarch and his disciples in Qingyuan Sect be greater than that in Guiwang Mountain
How can we put the cart before the horse
Disciple or something...
Evil thoughts go away!
Which grandson is so bold? Having such an idea is my irreconcilable enemy in Guiwangshan!
If you want to be an elder to Daozu, you might face a huge obstacle in the next moment.
Taoist Xuanquan shrank his neck and dared not speak. He did not dare to attract any attention. Taoist Ge had a complicated look in his eyes. The little turtle who only needed his protection had already reached such a height
Have a chat with the Taoist master
As he was thinking this, he saw the turtle glance over here, his eyes lit up and he waved his claws: "Master..."
Taoist Xuanquan's face changed drastically. He waved his sleeves and Taoist Ge disappeared. He looked at Su He pitifully and said, "Fourth Ancestor, please spare my life. If you shout like this, he will have no chance to survive..."
My dear ancestors, please be more kind in your speech!
Su He opened his mouth, but could no longer shout. He shrank his head back in embarrassment.
Deng Xian Gu, who was standing next to him, looked at the hairpin and gnashed his teeth: "You old turtle, you stole my Guiwang Mountain treasure! This is the Taoist hairpin! You sealed my memory!"
She jumped up and down and cursed, but just as she opened her mouth, she saw Taizu glance at her. She was suddenly stunned, as if she suddenly realized something and shrank her neck.
"Um...I spoke loudly...a little too loud..."
Taizu curled his lips, and the Ascension Drum suddenly became as if it was facing a great enemy, as if the world was about to end. He opened his mouth and said urgently: "Old Ancestor, don't do it! Old Ancestor, have you forgotten? I once served as your backstage..."
The word "le" was out of tune when it came out, and she looked at herself in disbelief. It was nothing that her aunt's appearance was forcibly twisted back to the appearance of a young Taoist priest.
But the Taoist exudes bursts of metallic luster.
"You...you..."
Xuanxu reached into the air with trembling hands, casting a shadow of his true self. Outside Guiwang Mountain, the Dengxian Drum began to wriggle and twist, and in an instant, its appearance changed into a gong!
It looks like it’s made of pure gold, shining brightly!
"Ascension Gong!" Yaya's childish voice sounded at the right time.
Xuanxu was completely stunned, looking at Taizu in disbelief, looking at the little turtle who was still childish but spoke the coldest words in the world.
How could such a cute little turtle say such cold words
Su He—smile!
He now thoroughly understood how Hong Zu and the others felt. Having an old turtle at home who couldn't afford to play with him was really... very interesting. The premise was that Tai Zu's revenge didn't fall on him.
Thinking of something, Su He's foreign minister Guishan flashed, and the pangolin flew out, floating towards Taizu: "Old Ancestor, my wife has been rescued, and the pangolin should be returned to you."
Taizu narrowed his eyes and looked at him with a smile.
Su He was at a loss.
Tai Zu laughed and said, "Do you know what the Dragon Turtle Clan leader does?"
Su He was stunned.
Looking around, they found that the starry sky had changed without them knowing when. Phoenix, Guiwangshan, and the captives were nowhere to be found at this moment.
The entire starry sky was left with only the eight-headed dragon turtle and Ji Feixue in red. Even the Taoist master was nowhere to be seen.
Or maybe, those people are still there, and Taizu moved them somewhere else
Su He didn't sense any spatial fluctuations.
The other dragon turtles also looked at each other, as they also had not sensed anything. Only Ji Feixue looked around with interest.
Taizu looked at Su He and all the turtles below. He grinned, but even though he was laughing, the air felt extremely heavy.
"The Dragon Turtle Clan has a secret, like a sacred beast, even the Imperial Palace knows it, but I have never told you, do you know why?"
The turtles shook their heads.
Taizu laughed and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but you guys can't bear it!"
He looked around and said, "The Dragon Turtle and even the Four Spirits are envied by the heavens—not the sky above our heads, but the sky that has been invaded and infiltrated by humans."
Guluo Qinglei and the others looked at each other in confusion, but Su He immediately knew that Taizu was talking about the world invaded by Yuan!
Just like the big sun above his head, just like the rule that Su He cannot speak freely.
Even though everyone in the heavens and the world knew that he could travel through time, Su He had never spoken out in person, as speaking of such a thing would bring about divine punishment.
The turtles were confused, but Taizu had no intention of explaining and just laughed.
"The more secrets you know, the stronger your connection with the heavens. If you don't have enough Tao, you can't force yourself to know. It's like a child fishing for a whale. The whale can't get ashore, but the child will be dragged into the water, or be bitten and eaten, or be drowned mercilessly. Even if the whale doesn't care, a wave will be a disaster for the child."
"But some secrets are born to be known by someone, and someone to carry them."
Tai Zu said, looking at Su He: "Just like everyone in Qianjiang, the depths of your true spirit carry your information, which is the foundation for your reincarnation and return."
The turtles were even more confused.
Su He understood it instantly. All the seniors in Qianjiang had a strand of hair from their previous lives planted in the depths of their true spirits by Baiyin.
That hair was a two-way hook, ensuring that everyone in Qianjiang could reincarnate again and again without losing their true spirits. It also ensured that Su He's reincarnation was successful and his true spirit was condensed.
The principle is roughly this: as long as there are traces of me in this world, and records of my existence, I will be immortal—an infinitely weakened version.
Su He didn’t understand the details either, as he was still a poor student.
But he understood what Taizu meant.
"So there are some secrets that are of great importance and cannot be known by too many people, but someone must carry them. That is the origin of the clan leader?"
This is a hot potato! Carrying secrets means going whale fishing, which may attract Yuan's attention at any time and kill you.
Gu Luo took a step forward and stood in front of Su He, his meaning was self-evident.
The other dragon turtles also released their aura, looking as if they were ready to take on the responsibility.
Taizu laughed, looked at Gu Luo and said, "It was originally yours, but this turtle boy has been running around all over the long river of time, and he will know as many secrets as possible. If I let you be the clan leader, will my Dragon Turtle Clan have to send two people to carry the secrets?"
Taizu shook his head and looked at the turtles, all with a smile in their eyes.
His eyes fell on Su He again: "Will you return the pangolin to me?"
Su He hooked the pangolin with his claws and collected it: "The ancestor is right. Wandering in the long river of time without a treasure to protect myself, I really feel uneasy."
This kind of thing is my responsibility.
Taizu smiled and said: "Communicate with the mountain armor, inherit the position of the clan leader, inherit the Taoist shadow in the sea and merge it into the Taoist body of the clan leader, you know everything."
"The clan leader's Dao body?" Su He was puzzled, and then he suddenly realized: "The giant turtle beside the ancestor and the underworld ancestor?"
In the Heritage Palace of the Sea of Inheritance, on the back of the dragon turtle that holds up the sky and stabilizes the earth, there are shadows of inheritance left by dragon turtles of past generations.
There is a three-headed dragon turtle on the first step.
Taizu, Mingzu, and one other one Su He didn’t recognize.
"That's right." Taizu smiled. "You once asked, why don't you see Yang Xu's Dao Shadow... Yang Xu is the last generation of the clan leader, and his Dao Shadow has merged into the clan leader's Dao Shadow. When you succeed in the fusion, you will be the clan leader of this generation, and the Dragon Turtle Clan will be at your disposal."
Su He's eyes lit up immediately: "Can I dispatch anyone?"
Taizu looked at him meaningfully: "Not bad!"
"So...Tai?"
boom!
Before Su He could finish his sentence, his mind sank and he fell to the ground, fainting extremely quickly.
Everyone felt that the space had changed. It was still the Dark Dragon Ruins, and the scene was still the same. Even the Ascension Drum still maintained its sad look.
Nothing had changed, as if no time had passed during their conversation.
Everyone is still chatting here, everything is normal.
The only problem is that the Fourth Patriarch of Guiwang Mountain suddenly fainted. (End of this chapter)