After hearing Qi Wuhuo's answer, Huang Yao, with bright golden eyes, smiled:

"Master Wuhen knows how to judge the situation."

"That's good."

She pressed her palm on the top of Xiao Pengcao's head, wanting to rub it, but Xiao Pengcao shook her hand away. She was biting the preserved fruit that Huang Yao had just handed to her in her mouth. Under her messy hair, her eyes were staring at the woman in front of her with extreme vigilance, and she hid behind Qi Wuhuo.

But this time he was able to put his palm on the little guy's head, and Huang Yao seemed quite satisfied.

Qi Wuhuo was a zither player. After playing the zither for a while, he got up and left. Naturally, members of the Green Lion Clan took Qi Wuhuo to their residence. However, at the outer seats of the banquet, they suddenly heard bursts of loud laughter, which was noisy and harsh. The Taoist's soul sensed that the young King Qin, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, was drinking and laughing among several monsters.

A demon played the pipa, and the human prince actually stood up.

Under the teasing gazes of the monsters, he began to dance drunkenly, a dance that the humans performed to thank the guests for their hospitality.

The monsters laughed.

When they see someone, they either call out their names or chat and sneer in the demon slang.

"Is this the royal family of humans?"

"How weak!"

"Hahahaha, even the descendants of the Human Emperor are here dancing and toasting for us."

“Look at him, he’s quite happy.”

“Hahahaha, don’t say it, the dance of the Human Emperor’s offspring is beautiful, much better than those human slaves!”

The young Taoist paused, and the laughter of King Qin fell into his ears. The latter was still unaware, while the Green Lion Cultivator in front frowned, glared at the monsters, turned around and said: "Music Master, this is a distinguished guest from the human race. They are probably drunk. Please come this way..."

"Um."

Qi Wuhuo left quietly. The Green Lion Clan arranged a luxurious enough place for him. They even gave him a courtyard in the deep valley among the mountains. There were eight rooms in the courtyard. The three of them each chose one. But at night, the young Taoist heard noises outside.

When I opened the door, I saw Xiao Pengcao holding the quilt and putting the pillow on his head.

He took off his shoes and walked barefoot without making any sound, cautiously and tiptoeing to the living room outside Qi Wuhuo's door. When he saw the young Taoist open the door, Xiao Pengcao's body stiffened, and the pillow that had been keeping his balance well on his head fell down, "I, I..."

"My room is too empty."

"I'm a little scared."

Little Pengcao pretended to stutter.

But the fear and uneasiness were real, and she seemed to be afraid of being alone.

The young Taoist looked at her, without pointing out the little girl's acting skills, and just said gently: "Then you can rest here."

Little Puff Grass breathed a sigh of relief.

He happily spread the bedding on the ground.

Then she put her shoes aside and crawled in. It seemed that the solid ground made her feel more at ease than the soft bed. Being near reliable people and close to the exit was her first choice. The young Taoist watched the little guy fall asleep. With his magical powers, he could sense that the little Pengcao was in a state of half asleep.

She seemed to be fast asleep, but at the slightest movement she would wake up like a little rabbit in the wild.

Or run away.

Or immediately get next to someone who makes her feel safe.

Even in a place like Qinyin Pavilion, she only slept on the floor. She said it was because the soft bed would allow her to really fall asleep, and really falling asleep was a luxury and dangerous thing. When the young Taoist explained that this was normal sleep, Xiao Pengcao's face was full of confusion and disapproval.

Only when Qi Wuhuo was reading quietly in the house would Xiao Pengcao be willing to lie down on the bed with his clothes on and go to sleep.

Even so, she would wake up naturally every half an hour, look at Qi Wuhuo, and make sure he was still there before curling up quietly and falling asleep again.

The young Taoist priest gently placed the lantern in his hand next to the little girl and tucked her back.

Just now, when he returned to his room, the little guy, who seemed to be asleep, quietly opened his eyes and saw that the young Taoist's door was still ajar and not closed tightly, with warm light coming out from inside. He breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes at ease. The young Taoist chanted a spell, moved his wrist slightly, and a sword energy flew out, drawing a circle next to the little guy.

The sword energy formed a formation to protect her.

He just left behind an incarnation, which turned into a flying insect and flew out from the window gap, and returned to the inside of the formation.

Qi Wuhuo restored the formation used to conceal the ritual.

But of course he left a back door for himself. After entering, he found that the old and burly old man was leaning against the holy fetus with his eyes lowered and sleeping. Qi Wuhuo had just approached when he suddenly felt a strong murderous aura. His heart was shaken in an instant, and he was forced to break free from the change by the murderous aura.

And the next second, a hand was pressed on his forehead.

That kind of overbearing and restrained power, even if it was fully restrained, almost shattered Qi Wuhuo's soul.

The Dongyue Emperor, who had been sleeping exhausted, had awakened. There was a deep light in his eyes. After a long moment, he said, "It's you..."

The old man retracted his right hand and sat down again, his movements somewhat tired. The young Taoist was once again struck by the deep and restrained murderous aura of the Great Emperor. His mind went blank at the beginning, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He had gradually become familiar with it and was not so scared anymore, but he still felt pale. He said:

"Senior just now..."

"Me? I don't understand the formation. After you left, I branded all the tracks of this place."

"Then I thought about messing with the formation, who knows what might happen. I'm in such a terrible state now, so I might as well rest my soul first. Haha... Maybe it's because I lost my real body and exhausted the earth veins, and only 10% of my soul is left. I never thought that I would fall asleep and have a dream."

The burly old man laughed. He sat there leaning against the huge holy fetus. He was seriously injured, his white hair fluttered slightly, and there was a sense of doom in his smile. He tilted his head back slightly, narrowed his eyes, and murmured, "It's been a long time since I last had a dream..."

"Really? Could it be that my cultivation has finally reached its end?"

The young Taoist looked at the old man who looked like a hero at the end of his life and asked, "What did you dream about, senior?"

"What did you dream about?"

The Emperor Dongyue muttered to himself.

He opened his eyes, looked at the young man in front of him, and didn't speak for a long time.

The cold, hard and rough face of a tyrant seemed to have a hint of complexity and tenderness. He looked at the Jinzhou man in front of him with an indescribable smile on his face and said:

"Nothing..."

The old man changed the subject, frowned, and asked, "Why are you here again now?"

"Aren't you afraid of danger?"

"Don't rush over here just because you're anxious to break the formation. Be careful of danger. Go back first!"

The young Taoist said softly:

"I can stay in the Blue Lion Tribe's holy land until the day of the ritual."

Emperor Dongyue's eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "Huh!?!"

"Please tell me in detail."

Qi Wuhuo told many things.

Emperor Dongyue said slowly, "So that's how it is... That Huang Yao, humph, I'm afraid he and Qing Shizi are not on the same page."

"At least, she has her own interests, which makes things convenient for you and me... I am not good at formations, so I can only rely on you now. But you must not come here too often, and you must not be put in danger by this formation. Remember, Huang Yao, you must be careful and cautious, and you cannot trust him completely."

"Um."

Emperor Dongyue waved his right hand, and an extremely complex scroll unfolded in front of Qi Wuhuo. The old man said:

"This is the formation I imprinted when you left."

"This place is so huge that it would take hundreds of years for you to see it in person."

"You and I will work together. You break the formation and I will modify the nodes... Although I am not good at formations, the secret of formations lies in how to combine them to achieve great results with small efforts. I am better than you at modifying nodes!"

Qi Wuhuo nodded and expressed his idea of ​​replacing the formation.

After the approval of Emperor Dongyue, he began to try to break the formation. The difficulty of cracking and replacing this formation was far beyond Qi Wuhuo's understanding. If it were not for Emperor Dongyue's control over the Jinzhou land veins, there would not be even the slightest possibility of breaking the formation. Even so, the possibility was less than 50%.

It was called Breaking the Formation, but in reality Qi Wuhuo felt as if he was fighting against the legend of the Green Lion Clan.

This formation embodies the life path of the Great Sage Green Lion. What Qi Wuhuo needs to do is to unlock it all, reverse it, and transform it into a sword formation with the assistance of Emperor Dongyue. The deduction of this formation is extremely exhausting. The young Taoist's soul soon becomes exhausted and his face turns pale. He feels a sharp pain in his forehead, as if he is almost torn apart.

In such a situation, let alone breaking the formation, even maintaining one's own consciousness is difficult.

If you are not careful, you will faint from excessive fatigue and damage to your soul.

Suddenly, a big hand pressed on the young Taoist's shoulder, and a mellow aura flowed into Qi Wuhuo's body, soothing his soul. The voice of Emperor Dongyue came, saying, "Stop, stretch and relax. If you continue, the formation has not been broken yet, and you will die here."

Qi Wuhuo barely opened his eyes after a long time. There was still a stinging pain on his forehead, and even the Qi Ding was vibrating.

The Great Emperor Dongyue was sitting cross-legged in front of him, and was as tall as the standing boy.

"Rest first."

The old man stopped Qi Wuhuo's movements, and then suddenly asked, "How much do you know about the Earth God's Dharma?"

After asking this question, he suddenly started asking about several magical powers.

Qi Wuhuo’s answer was quite good.

The old man nodded slightly.

The young Taoist's foundation is centered on Taoism. As for the way of the earth gods, what he knows is the earth qi among the three qi skills. Emperor Dongyue grabbed Qi Wuhuo's wrist, frowned slightly, and said: "You have a solid foundation, but you don't know much about the way of the earth gods..."

"Hou Tu Huang Di Ji Niang Niang is in charge of the mountains and rivers. Her teachings are as generous as those of the three Taoist ancestors. It's just that she has never preached the teachings like them. All the spirits in the world need Hou Tu Niang Niang to carry them. She has the grace to nurture all things, and all things will die, and their corpses will eventually return to the earth. She also has the virtue to tolerate all things."

"There is bearing, there is life and death, this is the Great Dao of Dongyue."

Qi Wuhuo was stunned.

The old man has already started chanting. What he said is extremely mysterious and profound. It is definitely not something that can be covered by the basics taught by Taoist Qingyu. The young Taoist can only understand less than one percent of it at this moment. It is like seeing flowers in the fog. However, just the part he can understand is already extremely mysterious and profound. This is no longer a method that directly leads to the Great Emperor.

This is the great path and understanding of a great emperor.

It is the essence and mystery that the Great Emperor has collected after his journey on the Great Way.

The young Taoist said: "Senior, you..."

Emperor Dongyue said, "How much can you understand?"

The young Taoist replied: "Less than one percent."

The old man could not help but feel sad, and then sighed: "It's already difficult for you to understand one percent."

Qi Wuhuo said, "Senior, there is no need to be like this..." The old man raised his hand to interrupt Qi Wuhuo's words. He pressed his palm on Qi Wuhuo's shoulder with great force, making the young man feel pain. The old man's voice was a little overbearing and rough, and he said, "Don't be nagging at this time. Boy, shut up and listen quietly!"

"These things are what I have seen and learned over the years. It's normal that you don't understand them since you have never been here."

“But memorize them all!”

"What I have seen, what I have learned, my understanding of the great Dao, as well as my magical powers and my experiences in various places will all be useful in the future."

"Within this month, I will tell you all these things. You can remember as much as you can."

"Memorize as many as you can!"

"Do you understand?"

"Memorize it by rote, and remember it all!"

The young Taoist looked at Emperor Dongyue and nodded slowly. The old man then loosened his hand, leaned back, sat down, and spoke in a calm voice. Qi Wuhuo could no longer understand what he said, and could only rely on his soul to record all the words.

He even needed to meditate and sit cross-legged, repeating things in his mind countless times before he could remember them all. The mystery and complexity of these things were even greater and more complex than the part that Tai Tai passed on to Qi Wuhuo.

The old man frowned as he watched the young man memorizing. He could sense that the young man had memorized the contents of his imperial way, even if it was just rote memorization. The burly old man leaned against the holy fetus. He sat on the ground vein of Jinzhou with a melancholy look on his face and his eyes closed.

Great Emperor, can you also dream?

Will do it too.

“It’s a very boring dream.”

"There are only a few 'people' I thought I had forgotten. There are many, very many, including my Taoist friend when I was a small land god, the first rich man who built a temple for me, the little bird that brought me fruit, and the blind old woman who knelt in front of my land god statue and prayed that her children would be safe and sound every year. There are too many, and I thought I had forgotten them all."

Spring breeze, summer rain, autumn leaves, and winter snow.

Joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, life and death.

Looking back now, the thousands of years I spent in Mount Dongyue were all these things.

What a long and boring time...

The old man thought of the question from the young Taoist:

"What did you dream about, Senior?"

He looked at “him” who had his eyes closed before him, and looked at “them”.

Finally, he just said to himself: "It's nothing..."

"nothing."