"I am you... where do I start?"
The tree cage lit up with golden light, and an old monk like the sun rose into the sky. Lu Liangsheng stood in the ruins, as if he could not feel anything around him, staring at the motionless figure on the ground.
Ahem…
Dust was sweeping around, and Master Wuyuan coughed twice, keeping a smile on his face. He did not directly answer the scholar's question, and his grey eyes stared at the red sky without blinking.
He said softly, "My name is Lu Yuan. I grew up at the foot of Mount Qixia. I longed to learn to read and get out of the mountains. One year, I went to Fushui County and encountered a murder case in Chen Yuanwai's home. An opera singer named Hong Lian was killed. Haha... I am different from you. I found evidence of his murder and used it to blackmail him and got some silver..."
As if he was lost in memories of the past, Lu Yuan's smile became even wider on his usually expressionless face.
"… Later, I had the money to go to a private school, where I studied diligently and ate a lot of books. Unfortunately, the Chen Dynasty fell, so I went north to study. On the way, I became the disciple of a Taoist monk named Qin Xujia."
"Qin Xu's family?!"
Lu Liangsheng knew this person. When he passed by Weishan Town, he knew that the deserted house of the yellow-skinned old woman was this person's home, and his body was found in the deep pool of the old dragon.
"Yes, it's him." Lu Yuan seemed to know the doubts in the heart of the scholar in front of him and smiled: "If you hadn't met Zixing, you would most likely meet him and worship him as your master. By then, he would have been a cultivator in the spiritual realm a hundred years later and would have taught you various formations."
At this point, Master Wu Yuan paused for a moment, and then laughed out loud from his dry throat.
“However, I will kill him for you first… Let his brother Qin Shouling do it, the Holy Fire Mingzun whose physical body you destroyed.” He turned his face to the side, as if looking at the Toad Taoist who was watching the old monk crash into the demon star.
"After all, you have a good master now and don't need anyone else."
Lu Liangsheng had no idea what had happened between the former Master Wuyuan and the Qin Xu family, but the more the other party talked, the more confused he became.
"Since your trajectory is similar to mine, why didn't you meet Taoist Zixing in Qixia Mountain?"
Master Wu Yuan seemed to have heard the funniest joke, and the chuckle in his throat gradually turned into a loud laugh.
"Hahaha... Because that toad is not in my trajectory. I took Zixing out of the Yuehua Pond in the Chen Dynasty Palace and threw him into the northwest mountains to help him become a demon. People in that small town, do you think that with his little skill at that time, he could kill everyone? It was I who used the "Resurrection Mantra" to spread his poisonous smoke throughout the town, making him the target of public criticism, and letting him fall into a dead end and realize life. How effective do you think the inscription you copied from the mountain temple can be? Haha... I also gave it a trace of magic power..."
Click—
Lu Liangsheng's fists were clenched so tightly that they were shaking. Under his loose hair, one could only see his tightly pursed lips, his teeth grinding, and the words he spoke with difficulty squeezed out from between his teeth.
"You killed so many people and changed my master's fate, just to do this?"
"Of course not... because my path is blocked... I used the Kunlun Mirror to reverse time, to hide from the Heavenly Dao, to change your name, to capture the thousand-year-old tree demon, to grow ginseng fruit, all just to guide you to a different path from mine today."
When he got excited, Lu Yuan's gray eyes regained some spirit and he straightened his body.
"Liangsheng, you must hate me for controlling your fate..."
Lu Yuan lay back weakly among the broken walls and tiles. "… If I hadn't appeared, you would have followed my path. The Honglian ghost beside you would have been eliminated by the passing Taoists, and you wouldn't have met Sun Yingxian. In the end, even if you became the Imperial Master of the Great Sui Dynasty, you would still be notorious and alone, watching the evil star fall to the world, the Great Sui Dynasty that you protected, filled with smoke, and the emperor died a violent death… and you were powerless to do anything."
"I found the Kunlun Mirror and reversed time in order to change the future... To change the future, I must first change cause and effect... I cannot use the name Lu Yuan anymore, and I cannot even utter a single word. Once the Heavenly Dao notices it, I will surely disappear between heaven and earth."
No wonder those people from the Qihuo Sect would be silenced if they spoke of the sect's affairs. After hearing these words, Lu Liangsheng felt mixed emotions, and coupled with the pain in his body, he staggered to the ground, staring blankly at the other party, unable to move.
"Then when you showed up earlier, didn't that mean..."
Lu Yuan looked at the sky and nodded with a smile.
"... I will soon disappear. I wanted to show up and borrow the Eye of Heaven to destroy the demon star, but I failed in the end. However, the rest of the matter... depends on you... Sometimes, I really envy you, Lu Liangsheng. Your life is more exciting than mine, and you have many friends... Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to start over again."
He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but in Lu Liangsheng’s sight, Master Wuyuan’s body gradually became blurred, and his skin and appearance began to become transparent.
"... I wanted to talk to you more, but unfortunately I don't have time. Qingfeng has several secret books that I hid. You can take them all. One of them records the cause and effect of this matter... And take this Qilin cloak as well. Unless the Heavenly Dao takes you, nothing in this world can be broken. My cultivation is also on this robe."
The voice paused for a moment, and the person became almost transparent. He raised his hand and stroked Lu Liangsheng's brow with his fingertips, leaving a vertical red mark, and the last words were heard.
"Take good care of your parents..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qilin Cloak lost its support and fell to the ground in mid-air, splashing up a trace of dust.
Lu Liangsheng sat on the ground motionless, watching the robe and the little dust flying around.
'… This is my life…'
boom-
Golden light exploded in the sky, a hurricane blew from behind, and while Lu Liangsheng's hair was flying, the sound of "Om" from the sky behind him resounded.
The old monk Zhenkong held up the seal, opened it and pressed it forward.
—The Light Demon Seal!
The descending demon star paused in mid-air, and its red shiny surface sank with a bang, leaving a large handprint. Its pale beard fluttered in the wind. Zhen Kong saw that the falling demon star only paused for a moment, and felt the integrity of his old friend behind him disappear. He sighed and slowly closed his eyes.
Even if he had sacrificed a hundred years of his own cultivation to reverse the cause and effect for Taoist Zixing in order to give his daughter a peaceful burial, he would not have been so miserable.
"All sentient beings are the roots of the tree, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are the flowers and fruits. By benefiting sentient beings with the water of great compassion, one can achieve the flowers and fruits of wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."
In mid-air, the old monk clasped his hands together and slowly opened his eyes. The golden light of Buddhism shone all over his body. “Buddha, have mercy on me—”
In the sunshine, the Buddhist chant spread like a tide.
The golden light turned into a stream of light, crashing into the whistling and falling demon star. Below, the Toad Taoist ran a few steps and opened his mouth, unable to speak. Zhenhai clenched his fists and kept pounding the ground, crying loudly: "Senior Brother—"
“Uncle Master…” Monk Fajing stared blankly at the huge demon star as a loud noise came from the bottom. Dust flew all over the sky and the golden light of Buddhism turned into a golden line and disappeared in an instant.
However, the next moment, the whistling sound was heard again, the diffuse dust particles surged, and the demon star with red glow broke through the flying dust, revealing its huge body. However, the lower side was missing a large piece due to the old monk's self-sacrifice.
"Pig demon, you go and hold on—" The Toad Taoist's eyes turned red, with tears flashing faintly.
Zhu Ganglie, who was lying on the ground in the distance, raised his head, looked at the huge shadow that was gradually covering the sky, and quickly shook his head.
"I can't stand it! The weapons are all in that guy's sleeves."
He pointed to the ruins in the distance.
The toad stomped its webbed feet angrily, looked at the growing shadow, gritted its teeth, and the demon pill in its body, which was originally cracked, gradually glowed purple, and slowly closed its eyes.
"I don't know if I can handle this."
…
"Master Zhenkong has passed away..."
Li Sui'an helped Shelong up, looked at the demon star with smoke and dust on it, opened his mouth slightly, and muttered something. At the corner of his eye, he saw a figure walking and holding the Xuanyuan Sword that was stuck in the ground.
“Senior Brother?!”
He turned his head and shouted subconsciously, using the sword-controlling technique, and flew over with a swish. The tip of the sword touched the drawn golden sword. With the sound of metal clashing, the green sword flew into the sky. Li Sui'an grabbed Yuwen Tuo's arm.
"Brother, what do you want to do? The old monk couldn't bear it even at the cost of his life, and you are going to die too?!"
"I am the only one who can go here..."
Yuwen Tuo broke free from his hand, glanced around, and fixed his eyes on the figure in front of the ruins, and lowered his voice.
"Sui'an, from now on... please honor Master for me..."
Just at this moment.
Guagua—
A toad's cry sounded, and Yuwen Tuo, who was about to rush into the sky with the Xuanyuan Sword in hand, and the other people around him who were about to stop him, all turned their heads and looked towards the broken wall.
Purple evil energy rose and spread in all directions.
"Master... Master?"
"Toad?"
Gulp—
A toad's cry was heard, and smoke and dust on the ground spread out in a circle. In the crimson light, the Toad Taoist stepped on his flippers and landed heavily on the ground. The moment the soil cracked, his short figure flew into the sky, dragging purple smoke up into the sky.
"When I was young, I roamed the world. Many demons and righteous men were no match for me..."
The body of the huge demon star that was rushing towards it was swelling, and it was getting bigger and bigger in the sight of everyone.
“Ten thousand feet of Dharma image!”
The voice gradually became louder. In the crimson light, a figure as huge as a mountain stretched out its legs and stood on the ground. Two loud bangs were heard. The densely packed bumps on its slightly bent back looked like a grave, reflecting the dark purple light of the sky. The powerful and majestic words echoed within a radius of a hundred miles.
"... How dare a little demon star act so arrogantly in front of me—"
The huge toad's mouth opened, revealing dense sharp teeth among the majestic demonic aura. A long scarlet tongue like a big tree rolled up the strong wind of heaven and earth, and it shot out with a bang and rolled into the sky.
laugh-
The long tongue touched the falling red demon star, and white smoke immediately rose. On the majestic and solemn face of the toad, the huge eyeballs widened, and it suddenly retracted its tongue, jumping and flapping it.
"Hiss... It's so hot..."
Its body seemed to have lost air and shrank instantly to its original size. It fell to the ground with a bang and landed in front of Zhu Ganglie. Its belly heaved up and down and it gasped. When it saw the pig demon looking at it, it turned over on the ground and buried its head.
He quickly waved his flippers and replied in a muffled voice.
"What are you looking at? I am old now and I have lost my former strength."
The clouds in the sky rolled, and there was a roar of falling evil stars. The trees on the foothills snapped and fell down one by one. The ground was covered with shadows, and huge air pressure dropped, forming a terrifying crushing and impact.
Yuwen Tuo used magic to protect Li Sui'an, Shelong and the old monk Zhenhai. The old donkey transformed into a unicorn beast and rushed to the top of the toad at the first opportunity, covering it with its body. The ground under its hooves sank with a bang. Zhu Ganglie's body was too big and directly crushed a human figure of several sizes.
"Think of a way, old toad—"
"I don't want to do anything!"
“I’m going to—”
Yuwen Tuo placed the protective spell on the ground and set up a barrier. He clenched the Xuanyuan Sword and turned to walk out. The moment the hilt in his hand suddenly moved, broke free from his palm, and flew out. Under the terrifying momentum, it seemed unaffected and slammed into the side of Lu Liangsheng in the ruins in front.
"Master... Master?"
"Liang Sheng?"
Everyone looked over and saw Xuanyuan and Yuelong standing on the ground buzzing. Their weak figures staggered up from the ground. A red mark between their brows emitted a magical light. Their tattered black gilded robes fell off bit by bit, revealing several star tattoos on their backs. The Qilin cloak that was lying quietly on the ground floated up silently and landed on their bodies.
In the strong wind, the white fluff on his collar and his black hair fluttered. Lu Liangsheng turned around slowly, opened and clenched his hands that were hanging at his sides. Two long swords hummed softly, broke away from the mud, and flew into his hands.
The moment he clenched his fist, his handsome face lifted up.
"Black Sky..."
The darkness surged in like a tide, embracing the red light of the world, making it as dark as night.