Chapter 362: A New Turning Point
The sound of rain started to get louder at some point.
Despite this, to Huali's ears, it seemed to carry a melody that cleansed the past and gave birth to new life.
The return of the little bird brought not only emotional comfort, but also served as a key, unlocking her mindset that had been nailed to the word "sacrifice".
Half-soul, Return, Boundary Abyss, Boundary Ring, Water Card, Death.
Everything was being re-examined at this moment.
Huali looked at the water-type card in her hand; the five stars on it hadn't disappeared despite the bird's return.
Does that prove that the fifth star can be lit up under some kind of opportunity, even without dying?
Karin began to carefully recall everything.
First of all, since the five cards are an important way for Heaven to save itself, it will absolutely not create a real dead end for the chosen one.
If you think about it carefully—
Is it really only a few people like Little Bird who can ignite such powerful luck?
After Qi Ran's failure, where did the luck that Wen Tingyun and the others had attached to the cards go?
Although the Tree of Life is always a strong and growing tree, it doesn't mean that the surrounding plants can't breathe.
The night before she went to see Geluotan, she talked with Luoshenshu all night long.
"It's not a dead end, but the cost is enormous."
The term "cost" only indicates a direction, without specifying the exact cost.
Thinking of this, Huali looked at Yanxi behind her and said, "If we want to break this deadlock, we need to work together to come up with a solution. Let's go find other people."
Yan Xi nodded and took Hua Li's hand.
Ao Bai, who had been completely ignored by the two since the little bird appeared, watched Yan Xi and Hua Li disappear and nodded: "Blind, all blind, blind spots are good."
*
Just as Huali and Yanxi appeared, the rain began to subside, leaving only fine drizzle.
Luo Chuan and the others turned their heads.
When her gaze fell upon the figure behind Huali, with long silver-blue hair and an identical appearance, but whose aura was twice as strong as before, her movements paused almost imperceptibly.
He has almost reached immortality; he is truly the strongest in the world.
Huali was about to speak when she was suddenly locked onto by all those gazes, and for some reason, she felt a sudden pang of unease.
Luo Chuan leaned against the doorframe, his red robes fluttering in the damp breeze, and teased, "Well, little pear blossom, have you finally changed your mind and want to elope with me?"
"Elope?" Yan Xi's eyes turned cold.
He ignored everyone else, wiping the water droplets from the girl's face with his fingertips, his eyes filled with disappointment and pity. "My little benefactor, didn't you just say we'd be together forever?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Steward Ao, who arrived late, wagged his tail and smacked his lips: "Yes, she not only told you, but she also told others before you."
However, the species barrier between the evil kitten and the green tea bird meant that the bird would never understand such hurtful words.
Shen Yu felt her values were completely shattered.
He never imagined that the top-tier figure, who was the subject of so much gossip and whom everyone avoided like the plague, and whom all the major immortal sects had barely managed to seal away a thousand years ago, would be such an eyesore.
Rumors are indeed unreliable
*
Once everyone had finally gathered again, King Pear immediately raised his hand to indicate, "Sit down, let's get down to business."
The group exchanged glances, and given the grim situation, they managed to achieve an eerie calm.
Attention, as if by unspoken agreement, returned to Karin.
On the other side, Zhao Heng also walked over, holding the traffic light.
Behind them was Qi Ran, whose face was pale but whose complexion had improved considerably.
Qi Ran was stunned when she saw Yan Xi.
However, being a seasoned and knowledgeable mission taker, he quickly recovered from his initial surprise.
Zhao Heng let go of the traffic light and let it find Hua Li. She then gestured to Qi Ran, saying, "Miss Qi, please sit down."
Seventh Sister?
Huali glanced sideways at Qiran's furrowed brows and suddenly felt a little relieved about her "flower girl" persona.
After taking her seat, Qi Ran looked around.
In the entire room, Huali sat in the very center, with two spirits, each shorter than her legs, on either side of her.
On the left are Luo Chuan, Wen Jin, and Shen Yu.
On the right are Lian Zhuo, Yan Xi, and Zhao Heng.
Seeing this, Xiao Tong spoke first: "Host, something feels off to me?"
Qi Ran: "......"
Qi Ran rubbed her temples. "A large family with many members wouldn't be understood by the system."
She looked at Huali, "I've heard about what happened to Geluotan, and you also know about the opportunity that lit up the fifth star on the card, right?"
Karin nodded, "But I absolutely will not accept that method."
As they spoke, Hua Li patted Luo Shenshu's head. Luo Shenshu understood and waved her little arms, opening the water mirror to reveal Rong Xing's eyes, which were swollen from crying. "Waaah... Hua Li..."
"Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Geluo Tan kicked his unlucky apprentice aside, then casually wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Huali, what business do you have with this old man?"
Huali was at a loss for words.
“Old Priest, I…your suggestion…perhaps I have other…”
Unexpectedly, Geluotan immediately understood and smiled kindly at her, "You mean, perhaps there is a better way? Sure, I'm all ears."
Karin's tense heart suddenly calmed down.
"This is just my guess, I'm not sure yet, so I'm discussing it with everyone. But I think you should be involved."
"It started like this..."
Hua Li no longer concealed anything and explained in detail the process of lighting up the five stars: Qi Yunzi, Tiandao, Aobai, Qi Ran, Huanyu, and others.
Then he revealed his final guess: "Since the stars on the water-type card didn't disappear when the bird returned, does that mean there are other methods?"
Geluo Tan looked at Ao Bai: "..."
Huali: "? High Priest?"
Geluo Tan came to his senses. "You mean this...this...kitten is the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao?"
Unable to bear it any longer, Ao Bai stood on his hind legs and pointed at him with one of his front paws: "I wanted to ask you last time, you always say 'one head,' what exactly is 'one head'? Do you dare to say it, Old Deng!"
Huali pulled Steward Ao back into her arms, trying to save face for King Meow Meow, "He's not usually like this. He's really cool when he transforms. I'll show you sometime."
Geluo Tan gave an awkward yet polite fake smile.
He thought for a moment, a hint of solemnity flashing in his aged eyes, "According to what you said, Huali, the five-star perfection is the ultimate rule."
"The conventional method does require the infusion of corresponding Qi and destiny... It is almost impossible to do it by force."
Huali's heart sank slightly.
Qi Ran, standing to the side, looked down at her card, her voice calm and unreadable, "Plundering the fortune of the universe is not about forcibly taking it."
“Otherwise, there would be no need for us mission takers.” She gazed into the distance with an otherworldly insight. “It will guide, gather, and, when necessary, catalyze.”
"But the cards in your hand are different, Karin."
Qi Ran looked at her seriously, "It doesn't necessarily need to be a destructive indoctrination, but rather to 'nourish' it in a gentler, but also longer, way, until it breaks through the critical point."
Hua Li's eyes lit up: "Don't we need a corresponding luck charm?"
Qi Ran shook her head: "Before, it was because the rules were suppressed by the universe, and in order to save itself, the Heavenly Dao could only rely on powerful and unique people."
"Now that the universe has receded, the world's rules have become active again, so theoretically it is possible to gather the dispersed fortunes that originated from the same source."
"So how exactly should we do it? Has headquarters mentioned this before?"
Qi Ran shook her head: "I don't know the specific method."
"Even the universe wouldn't use such an inefficient method. But this might be a chance left behind by the Heavenly Dao of this world, and what you need is... time."
"And then there's the catalyst that nourishes one's fortune."
After listening, Geluo Tan looked thoughtful.
"The ten sources of black energy are like malignant tumors that continue to worsen. Even if we do our best to suppress them, we cannot sustain them for more than a hundred years without sacrificing ourselves for our cause."
A century is a long life for an ordinary person. But for someone who needs to reverse the decline of the entire world and nurture the rules to perfection, it is but a drop in the ocean.
"And this is based on the premise that everyone works non-stop and does their best to suppress it."
The old priest sighed, "Hualin, and for you, this is an even more difficult war."
"To collect scattered fortune for one's own use, one must enter the space governed by rules."
“But there, you can’t feel the passage of time.” Geluo Tan’s voice carried a hint of barely perceptible heartache. “There, there is no alternation of sun and moon, no cycle of seasons.”
"You need an extremely strong will and to stay clear-headed at all times in order to perceive, capture, and gather that precious vitality from the vast天地 (heaven and earth) bit by bit."
The rain was pattering softly; I had never felt the night was so short before.
Before we knew it, dawn was approaching.
"Amitabha." Lian Zhuo reached out and gently grasped Hua Li's slightly cool fingertips. "If this humble monk were willing to tear off a wisp of his soul and place it on Hua Li's spiritual platform, would it be acceptable for him to accompany her like this?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
If it could tear the soul apart...
"no!"
"No."
The voices of Huali and Geluotan came at the same time.
Geluo Tan's gaze held understanding, but even more so, calmness: "Severing the soul is no small matter. The little bird is special, but it only has one chance. This method will not only cause irreversible damage to cultivation, but will also severely interfere with the purity of its gathering of fortune."
The old priest's words were like ice water, extinguishing the flames of hope that had just been ignited among the crowd.
Karin silently gazed at these people whose fates were so intertwined with hers.
Whether it was Luo Chuan's tightly pursed lips, Wen Jin's complicated gaze, Shen Yu's bloodshot eyes, Lian Zhuo's trembling fingertips, or the little bird that they had just met but were about to part, all of them made her heart swell with a heavy weight.
It was a bittersweet feeling, hard to describe.
However, her thoughts drifted away involuntarily, as if she could see through the rain curtain and see the sect leaders and elders who would resolutely face death at dawn, and the young disciples who were crying uncontrollably, unable to understand why their masters could still smile...
Although this method is lengthy, it gives everyone another chance to survive.
Is she destined for a brief reunion followed by an eternal separation? Or will she endure the brief separation in order to fight for the possibility of an eternal reunion?
The answer is self-evident.
Moreover, she was not fighting alone.
Everyone had to fight desperately to block the dark energy in order to buy her enough time.
If only she could be faster, even faster...
“But I think I can do it,” Xiao Ta suddenly chimed in, pointing to each of them with her chubby little hands. “Me, Luo Shenshu, and Ao Bai can all stay with Hua Li.”
Luo Shenshu nodded and gently grasped Huali's skirt with her small hand.
“Outside spirits cannot enter, but we are your spiritual contract spirits, recognizing you as our master and connected to your spirit, like your extended limbs, not foreign objects, so we can go with you.”
Little Ta was delighted. "I just read a lot of storybooks, which will help me pass the time."
Huali's eyes lit up, and she immediately reached out and patted the traffic light on the head.
The others relaxed their furrowed brows slightly.
However, real-world problems still loom ahead.
Qi Ran couldn't help but pour cold water on the idea, "Don't rush to say these things. This place needs to be able to bear the causality of time and gather the fortune of heaven and earth; it can't be done casually."
Just finding it would probably take decades.
As soon as the words were spoken, Geluo Tan and Luo Chuan looked up at the same time. Even Hua Li herself instantly thought of a place.
Sure enough, Geluotan's aged gaze pierced through the ten thousand mountains, his voice carrying a knowing understanding of destiny:
"The sacred land of the Witch Clan, beneath the Tree of Cause and Effect."
*
"The Tree of Cause and Effect is also known as the Tree of Life. It grows slowly from a seedling, absorbing the purification of heaven and earth. Its canopy hangs down with thousands of rays of light, which are not ordinary branches and leaves, but threads of cause and effect."
At this point, Geluo Tan turned his gaze to Luo Chuan, his expression a complex mix of understanding: "The Demon King understands this too, which is why he spared the lives of the Witch Clan, allowing them to continue guarding the Tree of Cause and Effect."
Luo Chuan remained noncommittal.
“Years ago, when I was observing the stars, I discovered an anomaly in the heavens. It was a matter of great importance, but I could not speak of it. Just then, the Witch Clan sent a message asking me to perform divination for them.”
“Wu Jin and others have guarded the Tree of Life for generations, so naturally they could foresee the decline of the Heavenly Dao and the depletion of spiritual energy earlier than ordinary people.”
"They knew that everything has an anchor point, and they wanted to weave a new cause and effect to turn the tide. But at that time, there was no perfect luck. So I discovered a turning point through divination."
"So you stole the Eighth Tail that I didn't want and gave it to them?"
Geluo Tan was somewhat embarrassed. "What happened that day was my fault."
The Demon King snorted coldly.
"Wu Jin and the others originally intended to use their own fortune to replenish the causal lines and revive spiritual energy at the moment you failed to withstand the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, so as to fight for a way out. But this method was ultimately too extreme."
Huali suddenly realized why her mission back then was to sever the causal chain.
First, Luo Chuan could not survive.
Second, the cause-and-effect tree will also die.
If that's really the case, then we're in a real dead end now, and Karin felt a chill in her heart.
The old priest sighed, "Thinking back now, it seems there is a predetermined fate at play. Back then, the witch clan wanted to nourish the Tree of Life with the death of the Demon King, but they could not. Today, however, we must use this tree to gather our fortune through its power of cause and effect."
"The 'cause' that failed to materialize back then has yielded the 'effect' of saving the world today."
Thus, another clear yet arduous path was laid out in its entirety.
It was presented to everyone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
