On a moonlit night, Taoist Qingyun came to the top of the mountain to practice as usual. He was the only one on the altar in the huge square. The night wind blew across the campfire, making it seem lonely and cold.
On this day, Taoist Qingyun did not practice diligently as he did in the past, but stood in the center of the altar and wandered around aimlessly.
It seemed as if it was waiting for something, or as if it was making some decision, because the next time the gate to the Mountain and Sea Realm would open would be within these few days.
"Heaven and earth are cruel!"
“Treat all things… as… straw dogs!”
"The saint is unkind!"
"Treat the people as straw dogs."
After Qingyun finished reciting a few sentences from the Tao Te Ching, his tone changed. His words became shrill and his expression ferocious.
"If I am unkind, what shall I do?"
“Hahahahahaha!”
"If I am unkind!"
"What should I do?"
Taoist Qingyun seemed to be questioning himself, as well as asking the heaven and earth, and even more so, questioning his own heart that was seeking the truth.
Taoist Qingyun stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the mountains, cities, and lights of thousands of homes in the distance.
He spread out his hands, turned around, and his wide feathered Taoist robe fluttered in the wind. He looked at the peach forest at the foot of the mountain. Every tree was planted by him personally, and the Sanyang Lake, which was like a mirror. At this moment, clouds and mist were lingering between the mountains and the lake.
Looking up, you can see a waning moon shining in the sky, with clouds rolling and rising and falling.
Millions of years have passed, the world has changed, and compared with the sun, moon and stars, human beings and everything in this world are like a tiny speck of dust that will be wiped out by time in an instant.
At this time, Huangyang Mountain looks like a holy place on earth and a paradise in fairyland.
He lowered his head and looked at the Sanyang Temple right in front of him, the place where he had spent his entire life, from childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age, to old age.
Finally, when I was old and about to step into the grave, the master recognized me and I received the true Dharma.
A magic pill can extend your life by a hundred years.
From now on, the sky is high and the earth is vast, and there is a bright future to look forward to.
"What a pity! On the road to the greatness, every second counts!"
"Even if a hundred years have passed, it will just be a blink of an eye!"
"How can I find the great way?"
"How to obtain immortality!"
Taoist Qingyun stood in the center of the spacious altar, looking up at the bright moon. The cold moonlight fell on him, making him seem even more lonely and cold.
At this moment, there was a noise coming from the side of the stairs below. Taoist Qingyun immediately looked over and shouted sternly, "Who!"
Only a middle-aged disciple wearing a dark white inner robe ran up. He looked about the same age as Taoist Qingyun, but in fact, he was nearly forty years younger than Taoist Qingyun.
"It's me, Master!"
It was Qingyun Taoist's direct disciple, the eldest apprentice Huan Ming.
"It's Huan Ming!"
"It's so late at night! What are you doing up here?"
Taoist Qingyun turned his head away, while Huan Ming ran up the stairs. Following Taoist Qingyun, this middle-aged man was as honest as a child at this moment, following his father with admiration.
"Master! I have a doubt, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not!" Huan Ming was silent for a long time. Taoist Qingyun seemed to be preoccupied and didn't pay any attention to him. After hesitating, he finally spoke out.
"Why not talk about it? Why are you hesitating and being so timid? How can you cultivate the true Dao?" Taoist Qingyun scolded.
Huan Ming gritted his teeth and immediately asked: "Master! What I want to say is!"
"Why? Why is this golden talisman true seed devouring my power? It seems that it is not me who is cultivating this talisman seed into a great way true talisman, but he is cultivating me into a great way true talisman!"
"I have also asked my fellow apprentices. They have not cultivated any spiritual power at all. Instead, the golden talisman is devouring their spirits. Their spirits are getting weaker day by day. Many of my fellow apprentices have already developed problems and have fallen into lethargy and deep sleep!"
"Master! Is this true teaching of the Way of Talismans that you learned from the Yunhua Sutra..."
“Is there any imperfection?”
Taoist Qingyun suddenly turned around and looked at Huan Ming. His originally kind and gentle face now revealed some ambiguous expressions. His eyes no longer had the kindness of the past, but instead revealed a hint of superior indifference.
The look in Huan Ming's eyes was like the bright moon in the sky sweeping across the dust on the ground.
Taoist Qingyun looked down at Huan Ming until he was shaking and trembling all over, and suddenly he burst into wild laughter.
“Hahahahahaha!”
"Huan Ming! You really are worthy of being my top disciple!"
"You found it... so quickly!"
Huan Ming immediately asked, "Master! Is there really something imperfect?"
Taoist Qingyun turned his head away and walked slowly along the edge of the altar. Through a railing, he could see the bottomless abyss below.
"No!"
"There is no imperfection, perfection, absolutely perfect!"
"The Yunhua Sutra passed down by our ancestors is simply a true scripture that points directly to the great way!"
"How could there be any loopholes!"
Taoist Qingyun said in a decisive tone.
Huan Ming opened his mouth wide, not understanding why: "Then why..."
Before Huan Ming could finish his words, Taoist Qingyun interrupted him: "That's because! This golden talisman was originally used to transform you into a talisman!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Huan Ming was shocked and looked at his master Qingyun Taoist in disbelief.
"How could it be... Master..."
“Why did you do that!?”
Huan Ming's words trembled as he opened his mouth. Looking at Taoist Qingyun's back, he couldn't believe that these were the words spoken by his kind-hearted and peaceful master.
Taoist Qingyun stood on the top of the mountain, his hands on the railing, looking into the distance, his eyes as cold as ice.
"Of course it's to cultivate the Great Dao!"
"You will transform into the Golden Talisman True Seed and help me break through the path to enlightenment!"
Taoist Qingyun suddenly turned around, his eyes were as cold as ice, and at night, his face looked like that of an evil ghost.
Huan Chen was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and backed away repeatedly.
Huan Chen seemed to have seen the most terrifying scene in the world, and was instantly frightened to death.
"No! No!"
"Who are you!"
"You are not the Master! Who are you?"
He couldn't believe that these were the words spoken by his master, Taoist Qingyun, whom he had always admired like a father. He wanted to escape from here, but before he could finish his words, he saw a flash of light, and Huan Ming was stunned.
“Puff!”
A sharp sword pierced through Huan Chen's chest. The sword was engraved with seal characters and talismans, and it was also flashing with the light of a magic weapon. As the sword pierced through Huan Chen's chest, a touch of black spread along his skin.
The power of the killing curse spread along the sword and spread throughout the body.
Huan Chen held the sword tightly, allowing the blade to break through the flesh and penetrate the bones, his eyes fixed on Taoist Qingyun.
"master!"
"Master!"
Huan Chen's shrill voice echoed above the altar of heaven, blood continuously flowed out from the corners of his mouth, and he roared at Taoist Qingyun.
"What exactly is this practice about?"
"Turning people into evil ghosts!"
"Become a rotten corpse that has lost all emotions?"
As Huan Ming spoke, blood kept gushing out of his mouth, and his Taoist robe was stained red with blood. He looked at the young face of Taoist Qingyun and suddenly recalled the old face of Taoist Qingyun.
That wrinkled face, and those hands, held my young self’s hands as we walked along the then dilapidated and muddy Sanyangguan trail.
At that time, there were only a few people in Sanyang Temple, including a few fellow disciples, and even eating was a problem.
But today, he has everything and lacks nothing, but Huan Ming feels that nothing is familiar at all. Everything seems strange to him and makes him feel at a loss.
"What do you know?"
Taoist Qingyun stared at Huan Ming, his disciple who was as close to him as a father and son. There was no retreat or avoidance in his eyes. His eyes were full of determination, just like the path he longed for, moving forward courageously and never backing down.
"If you were me, you would be like me!"
"The road is moving forward. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. Millions of people are fighting for the way to immortality!"
Taoist Qingyun held the hilt of the sword and pushed it hard into Huan Ming's chest. The sword penetrated deeper and deeper, and the tip of the sword pierced through the spine, and blood dripped down.
Seeing Huan Ming's incomprehensible and disbelieving look, Taoist Qingyun felt even more angry and roared.
"Ants!"
"Ants!"
“They are all ants!”
"Born in the morning and dead in the evening, the end is unknown!"
"In that case, why not contribute your strength!"
"Follow me, let's go see the end of the longevity road, the peak of eternal immortality!"
"This should be your honor!"
"If it weren't for me! How could a mortal like you have the opportunity to see such a scene!"
The long sword pierced through his chest, and as the power of the death curse covered his whole body, Huan Ming finally loosened his hand that was holding the long sword.
"Is it worth it, Master?" Before he died, Huan Ming looked at Taoist Qingyun and uttered his last words with a dull look in his eyes.
“Of course it’s worth it!”
After saying this, Taoist Qingyun swung his sword with force and pulled it out.