Chapter 40: A Sad Dream At the age of six, he wrote poems, at the age of eight, he wrote odes, at the age of ten, he worshipped...
"Fellow Daoist Cui, why are you here?"
Lan Jue looked at Cui Jinbao's expression and put down the sword, but did not put it back into the scabbard.
"Friend Lan, I'm also on patrol here." Cui Jinbao tilted his head and looked at Lan Jue, his expression normal. "Did I scare you? Sorry."
"...Nothing. Nothing unusual here. Since the Gan Yang Sect disciples have arrived, I will return first."
Cui Jinbao replied, "Okay. Please, fellow Daoist Lan."
Lan Jue turned around to leave, but slowed down and stared into Cui Jinbao's eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Cui, is it a fire-type spiritual root?"
"I have dual spiritual roots of fire and wood. Why did Fellow Daoist Lan suddenly ask this?"
"Nothing." Lan Jue glanced at the long scar on his arm again. "Fellow Daoist Cui, take care of yourself."
Cui Jinbao immediately hid his arm behind his back and said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lan."
After hearing Cui Jinbao's answer, Lan Jue nodded and left.
The red light in Cui Jinbao's eyes that he had seen before was probably caused by the fluctuation of spiritual power.
After Lan Jue returned to his residence, he set up a barrier that prevented anyone from entering or leaving except himself.
Night has fallen, and the moon is high in the sky. It is a full moon day.
Lan Jue never told anyone that he would have dreams every time there was a full moon.
The bodies of cultivators are already different from those of ordinary people, so even if they don't sleep at night, it's not a problem. However, Lan Jue has retained the habit he had from his mortal days: unless he's on a mission, he sleeps in his clothes.
But the strange thing is that except for the days with a full moon, he always has no dreams at night.
Lan Jue lay on his back on the couch, gazing through the window at the dark night sky—the starry sky was brilliant and boundless.
He blinked his eyes and stared blankly for a long time, until dark clouds enveloped the full moon, and the sky and the earth were plunged into darkness. Only then did he fall into a deep sleep...
…………
…
Tonight, I fell asleep again.
As far as the eye can see, it is April, and the willow-lined banks are crowded with tourists.
Smilingly watching the willows in the south of the Yangtze River, the flying catkins and spring peaches fluttered around, floating to a high-hanging plaque of the mansion.
——Lan Mansion.
"The Lan family is a family of scholars, and that Mr. Lan is even more extraordinary—"
"At six, he wrote poems; at eight, he composed odes; at ten, he worshipped the immortals."
"He truly deserves to be the eldest son of the Lan family, hailed as a child prodigy!"
Lan Jue listened to the endless praises of himself from passers-by, but he felt as if he had accidentally entered a painting. He did not talk to anyone, and no one could see him.
He stood there, staring at the Lan Mansion for a long time without moving.
His sleeves fluttered in the wind, and his tall figure looked somewhat lonely.
After a long time, his eyes moved and he took a step towards the Lan Mansion.
However, at this moment, the situation suddenly changed.
Everything before him was instantly distorted, like a crumpled old painting, plunging into chaos. When Lan Jue regained his sight, everything before him had been turned upside down.
There is no such thing as the misty Jiangnan. What is before us is clearly a desolate dead land.
The place where the mausoleum city was located in the past is now in ruins, without any sign of life.
Lan Jue looked around and saw himself standing in the darkness, dressed in white, as if he would soon be swallowed by the endless darkness.
"Ah... I'm back here again after all."
He raised his head and looked up at the sky. He felt as if he was nailed to the spot. Even though time passed, he was still trapped in this small space.
The Lingshui River in the distance - the broad and calm river suddenly moved strangely, as if boiling, rising up and raging.
Lan Jue calmly watched the raging flood rushing towards him, and revealed an expression of "it should be like this".
The slender young man's figure in the dream began to change. His long hair became shorter, his appearance became more youthful, and his body shape became that of a teenager again.
Fifteen-year-old Lan Jue stood calmly on the wasteland, completely swallowed by the flood.
He fell into the bottomless black water.
There were things roaring, crying, and entangled around me.
There were countless swollen and purple arms, which seemed to come from the underworld. They grabbed Lan Jue's limbs one by one and dragged him towards the Yin River.
Their ferocious voices echoed intermittently in the water.
"It's all your fault..."
"Just watching someone die without helping..."
“Why, you can become an immortal while we become thousands of water ghosts…!”
"You are the one who deserves to die...!"
Lan Jue did not resist. He closed his eyes and let the cold air penetrate his body and the vicious curse pour into his ears.
He sank in the water and only whispered:
"Ah. You're right."
"I'll come and keep you company."
***
The next day, the sky was clear and the sky was high.
Today is the last day of the Immortal Gate Competition, and the final will be held today.
In the first match of the semi-finals, Gu Congxing defeated Jiang Li of the Jiang family, which made the Qingxuan Sword Sect cultivators present very excited.
In the second match, Xiao Wangyou, who was recommended by Ganyang Sect to directly enter the semi-finals, made a sudden breakthrough and defeated Xie Qingnian of Tianqi Sect and Si Junjian of Tianlin Sect on his own to successfully enter the final.
The Jiuxiao Martial Arts Arena was bustling with activity, and all the immortal monks were eagerly awaiting the final showdown.
Gu Congxing looked at the Baijing jade steps of the martial arts arena and let out a long breath.
"Brother, don't worry, just go ahead and fight!"
Zhong Ming bumped his shoulder with a grin.
"Yes." Ruan Wei also came closer and said, "And do you know, Senior Brother! After watching your competition, those guys from Qianyan Hall secretly changed the ranking of the 'Hexu Beautiful Youth'! Now you are tied with Si Junjian for the top spot!"
Gu Congxing: …???
"What is that??"
Ruan Wei blinked in surprise and said to the bewildered Gu Congxing, "It's that intelligence agency, Qianyantang! They often publish lists of beauties, and you made it onto the list! You're amazing, brother!"
Gu Congxing: "..."
At this moment, the voice of the Ganyang Sect elder rang out from the arena like a resounding bell. He declared, "The time has come! The final battle of the Immortal Sect Competition: Gu Congxing of the Qingxuan Sword Sect versus Xiao Wangyou of the Ganyang Sect!"
Gu Congxing said goodbye to Zhong Ming and Ruan Wei, and walked up the cloud steps with his head held high.
Because today is the final battle, there are many monks watching, so the viewing platform closest to the fighting arena is only open to the monks who have entered the quarterfinals and some elders to watch the battle.
Gu Congxing's eyes swept across several familiar figures, and he turned his head away when his eyes met Si Junjian's.
He couldn't help but look towards the high seat of the Qingxuan Sword Sect, and finally found the moon-white figure.
Lan Jue looked at him from a distance, smiling as always.
Gu Congxing nodded to him, his expression becoming more excited.
"Gu Congxing, I didn't expect that my opponent in the final battle would be you."
The voice of Xiao Wangyou on the other side attracted Gu Congxing's attention. He looked at Xiao Wangyou and grinned.
"Same here."
The Whale-Slaying Sword made a buzzing sound, and Gu Congxing stood there holding the sword, with golden light surging in his eyes.
"Then, let's fight!"
Outside the fighting arena, Lan Jue walked down from the high seat of the Sword Sect and came to the viewing platform.
"Fellow Daoist Lan is here to watch the fight too?" Yao Qi saw Lan Jue and was the first to greet him.
"Hmm." Lan Jue stopped beside him. "I heard that Fellow Daoist Yao and Xiao Wangyou have a close personal relationship. In your opinion, who will win this battle?"
Yao Qi hissed, supporting his chin with one hand, looking thoughtful.
"It's really hard to say. Wangyou doesn't show off, but his swordsmanship is actually very strong."
"Really?"
Lan Jue did not ask any more questions, but turned his gaze to the outside of the fighting arena, as if the question he had just asked was just a greeting.
Yao Qi followed his gaze and saw that Lan Jue's attention was not on the center of the arena, but on the periphery, with a look of alertness on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, are you still worried about the harassment from the demonic cultivators that Young Master Gu mentioned?"
"That's right."
"Well, I don't think you need to be so defensive right now. The Ganyang Sect's disciples have reinforced the protective barrier several times over the past few days, and they've patrolled Shenshan so frequently they've practically searched every corner, but nothing unusual has been found. In my opinion, there's no demonic attack at all—you're simply being overly concerned."
Lan Jue's face was paler than usual, but the light in his autumn-water eyes remained undimmed: "Especially now, we must not let our guard down."
Having said this, he looked across and saw Gu Mingting with a serious expression.
Although he was still waving the folding fan in his hand, he had lost his usual leisurely demeanor and his eyes were fixed on Gu Congxing in the center of the arena.
In the fighting arena, Gu Congxing's Liuyun sword technique shone with golden light, while Xiao Wangyou used the rare Jiemie sword technique, and his attack was extremely swift.
The light and agile Liuyun sword technique was bound to suffer a loss when facing Xiao Wangyou directly. However, Gu Congxing was extremely fast and had many combat skills. He also used the endless magic sword technique to resist and forced Xiao Wangyou back several feet away.
Lan Jue was attracted to him like everyone else, but the next moment, a dark blue figure broke into his field of vision.
He frowned slightly and looked carefully, only to see that the man was Cui Jinbao.
"Fellow Daoist Yao, why is Fellow Daoist Cui outside the fighting arena's barrier?"
Yao Qi finally paid attention to what he said. He uttered an "eh" and said, "He's the disciple of the referee elder. Logically, he should have gone to get the rewarded magic weapon after the duel, but why did he go there now?"
Lan's heartbeat quickened suddenly, and he immediately asked, "Reward magic weapon?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure either. I heard it's a scroll artifact."
Yao Qi looked at the scroll in Cui Jinbao's hand and said uncertainly, "But I heard that the scroll isn't black. Cui Jinbao stutters and is sloppy in his work. I'm afraid he must have made a mistake..."
"etc!"
Lan Jue's voice suddenly increased, startling Yao Qi: "You said he stutters normally too?!"
"Yeah. Is there any problem with this?"
Lan Jue looked surprised and took a step back.
He thought Cui Jinbao was too nervous and excited when they first met, so he stuttered, but it turned out that was not the case!
If he was born with a stutter, then why did Cui Jinbao speak so fluently when they met for the second time!
The sudden wound on his arm, the red light in his eyes, the figure that appeared quietly...
I see! !
It turned out that when Cui Jinbao met him for the second time, he had already become a vessel for the demon!
Blood, red light... Not only the demons are involved in this matter, but also the blood demon Chongyuan, one of the five great demons that he and Congxing had fought against before!
The blood demon is extremely good at hiding and escaping. If he releases another clone and uses blood as a carrier to enter other people's bodies, it will naturally be silent and extremely difficult to detect!
In a flash, everything became clear!
"Quick!! Stop the fight and capture Cui Jinbao!"
Lan Jue immediately turned over and ran towards the fighting arena, mobilizing all his spiritual power and suddenly speaking, causing everyone to look shocked.
However, at this moment, Cui Jinbao's body suddenly burst into blood, and blood gushed out of his arms, like a broken puppet, and the blood-stained black scroll flew high into the sky and suddenly unfolded!
The blood-colored formation appears, and the ancient demon realm arrives!
"What?!"
Xiao Wangyou and Si Junjian in the center of the fighting arena only felt a huge suction force, and were irresistibly sucked into the scroll!
“From the stars—!!”
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