Chapter 273 A Glimmer of Hope (Part Six)
Since joining the Yaoyan Temple, Xiao Dan has kept a very low profile, staying obediently in the side hall to guard the Chaos Core, and even deliberately choosing a mountain farthest from Jiang Gu.
Previously, Jiang Gu was almost killed by Wei Feng with the Seven Absolute Blades. Surprised and puzzled, he finally concluded that Jiang Gu was definitely faking it.
Based on his understanding of Jiang Gu, this man had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood since childhood. Back then, he dared to use all of Wang Yue's divine power to kill his demise with only the power of the Taiyi Realm, risking his own primordial spirit to shatter. Now, he had only been stabbed by the Seven Absolute Blades. Even if his bones were melted and his spirit destroyed, as long as Jiang Gu was not dead, it could not be ruled out that this was a trick used to deceive everyone. As for being heartbroken and despondent, that was absolutely impossible. If Jiang Gu were truly enraged, even if he only had half a breath left, he would drag Wei Feng down with him...
The group of half-immortals in the Yaoyan Temple had been living a comfortable life for too long, and were being manipulated by Jiang Gu and his disciple Wei Feng.
However, he had no intention of communicating with the people of the Yaoyan Temple. Firstly, his allegiance to the Yaoyan Temple was due to the circumstances, and secondly, no one could guarantee that these half-immortals wouldn't discard him after using him. He trusted no one but himself, so he simply hid in the side hall to see what Jiang Gu was up to. Now, the situation was changing rapidly, and he keenly sensed that the struggle between the Changning Temple and the Yaoyan Temple was not as simple as an internal conflict between clans. He intuitively felt that it was best not to get involved in this mess.
Unfortunately, while he desires a peaceful life, others may not be so willing to accept that.
Xiao Dan looked at Jiang Gu, who had come to "visit," and said with a friendly smile, "Why did Fellow Daoist Jiang suddenly remember me?"
Jiang Gu sat down without any hesitation, waved his hand, and the several half-immortal disciples who accompanied him stood respectfully outside the door.
"Lord Xiao, please have a seat," Jiang Gu said.
Xiao Dan glanced at him, sat down, and offered him a cup of tea: "I wonder what brings you here, my friend?"
They were enemies before, and had briefly cooperated, but they were still a long way from being friends. Given the chance, Xiao Dan believed that Jiang Gu would definitely kill him without hesitation, and he would do the same.
However, they are all smart people and know when to do what.
"Having nothing to do, I'm looking for someone to catch up with," Jiang Gu said casually.
"..." Xiao Dan smiled slightly.
Hundreds of concealment arrays were tacitly constructed, and the void seal blocked the vast majority of prying eyes.
“I’m very curious why Lord Xiao would come to the Yaoyan Temple,” Jiang Gu said. “After all, Chang Ping’an told you about the method for building the Road to Heaven.”
“Chang Ping’an did tell me how the Path to Heaven was built, but that was something he had no choice but to do. The Half-Immortal Clan cannot get close to the Chaos Core for long; absorbing too much Chaos Qi will only hasten their demise,” Xiao Dan said. “I thought we were at least in a cooperative relationship, but in the end, he was just using me.”
Jiang, the advisor: "Using you?"
Xiao Dan said, "I have always wanted to build the Road to Heaven so that the entire cultivation world can return to normal and all cultivators in the world can have the opportunity to ascend to the upper realm. Of course, I also have my own selfish reasons. No cultivator can refuse to ascend to immortality. I have tried all sorts of methods. The Road to Heaven is the only way out for the cultivation world, so no matter how many lives I have to sacrifice, I want to make this happen."
Jiang Gu remained noncommittal.
“But I forgot that this method was a divine decree transmitted from the Upper Realm to the Changning Temple.” Xiao Dan smiled contemptuously. “I should have realized it sooner. Since they have already cut off our path to ascension, why would they bother to give us another path to heaven?”
Jiang Gu understood the meaning behind his words: "Is there a problem with the Road to Heaven?"
“Previously, we were besieged by two temples in Anliu City. I was forced to scatter most of the Chaos Cores, intending to collect them separately after we escaped. But when I tried to condense them, I discovered something—” Xiao Dan stared at Jiang Gu and said slowly, “The Path to Heaven was a joke from beginning to end. We were all tricked by the divine decree of the Changning Temple.”
"Why?" Jiang Gu asked.
Xiao Dan stopped talking and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, I was just saying it casually. Just take it as a joke and let it go."
This is to make Jiang Gu reveal his hand.
"Okay." Jiang Gu smiled, got up and left.
Xiao Dan's expression changed slightly. Jiang Gu walked slowly towards the edge of the void seal. Just as he was about to step out of the edge, Xiao Dan's voice finally rang out again: "Jiang Gu".
Jiang Gu stopped and turned to look at him.
Xiao Dan braced himself on the table with one hand, the veins of which bulged from the excessive force, yet he trembled slightly as he tried to control himself. He stared at Jiang Gu calmly for a long time before letting out a soft sigh, as if in resignation.
In fact, from the very first sentence he repeated twice, it was already clear who had the upper hand.
“You should know that below the Upper Realm, there are countless small worlds like ours, but under the laws of Heaven, they cannot communicate with each other.” Xiao Dan’s words seemed to come out of nowhere, but his gaze was fixed on Jiang Gu. “We cannot shatter the void. Ascending to immortality through tribulation is the only way for us to break free from this small world, and it is also the lifelong pursuit of countless cultivators.”
"But it's different for you. You are a reincarnated immortal from the upper realm undergoing tribulation. You are just here to experience the hardships of the mortal world. Even the severed path to immortality will be opened just for you because of your special status." Xiao Dan smiled. "There are many cultivators in the world who suffer more than you and have stronger wills than you, but when they reach the point of ascension, they only fail. Jiang Gu, this is reality. The upper realm has sent down a divine artifact. Countless half-immortals in the entire Yaoyan Divine Palace are doing this just so that you can ascend to immortality. The entire cultivation world may just be a pawn that some people in the upper realm can manipulate at will... The current Changning Divine Palace and Yaoyan Divine Palace are a glimpse into this. I don't believe you can't see it."
Jiang Gu remained silent.
“This cultivation world has fallen into chaos. From the day the path to ascension was severed, we were destined to be a group of sacrifices with no future.” Xiao Dan looked at him. “I once firmly believed that there would be a glimmer of hope under the Heavenly Dao. The path to heaven was the only straw we could grasp. I didn’t care how many lives were sacrificed, even if I died in it and became one of those remnant souls, I still wanted to fight for this glimmer of hope for the entire cultivation world. But now it seems I was wrong. There is hope, but it is not reserved for us ordinary cultivators.”
"Why don't you ask those people who were put in there if they're willing?" Advisor Jiang asked.
Xiao Dan said, "This road is bound to be filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood."
"Why is it inevitable?" Jiang Gu said calmly, "Perhaps you are just too foolish to find the right way."
"You—" Xiao Dan was choked by his words, and his face turned somewhat ugly.
Jiang Gu coldly said, "You want to find a way for all the people of the world, but you disregard their lives. It's more accurate to say that you only want to create a way for yourself and your people from beginning to end."
"We're still using the methods the enemy provided," he added calmly.
Xiao Dan almost lost his composure and laughed, "In the end, you're just speaking up for Wei Feng. You hate me for tormenting him for so many years in Wangyue."
“Of course.” Jiang Gu readily admitted, “He is my disciple and my Daoist partner. If even I don’t stand up for him, who else can I rely on?”
Xiao Dan used all his self-control to avoid fighting him on the spot, and said coldly, "Now that you have the support of the Half-Immortal Clan, you are truly unscrupulous."
Jiang Gu smiled slightly: "I'm lucky, there's nothing I can do about it."
Every word he uttered struck at Xiao Dan's sore spot, and Xiao Dan was truly enraged this time, his murderous intent rising. The entire Void Seal and the Chaos Core outside were stirring restlessly.
Jiang Gu then changed the subject: "However, if you return to the Changning Temple and continue building your Path to Heaven, it may not be impossible."
Xiao Dan was stunned: "What do you mean by that?"
"You need to tell me first why you gave up on the Path to Heaven." Jiang Gu threw out the bait, waiting for the fish to bite.
Xiao Dan sneered, "Telling you won't hurt. The true form of the Mirror Flower Scroll is the Chaos Core. It's a divine artifact I forged. Inside, there are the remnants of those Jade-Rank immortals' souls. These Jade-Rank immortal bones are all on the Heavenly Path inside the Red Crystal Tower, but the real remnants of souls are inside the Chaos Core. However, when I gathered the scattered pieces of the Chaos Core, I found that the remnants of souls inside, like the Mirror Flower Scroll, were merely reflections—"
“The remnants of these immortals’ souls may have already returned to the upper realm.” He sneered through gritted teeth. “Immortal bones without souls are no different from ordinary corpses. The Path to Heaven is a joke played on us by the upper realm from beginning to end.”
“As long as the Chaos Core is real, that’s enough,” Jiang Gu said.
“The Chaos Core is not something of the cultivation world. Its existence only disrupts the balance of spiritual and turbid energies. Otherwise, why do you think no one has been able to ascend for tens of thousands of years? The people of Changning Temple tried every means but could not destroy it. In the end, they could only hide it away. Even the half-immortals of Yaoyan Temple were completely unaware of it,” Xiao Dan said. “If this news were made public, the entire cultivation world would be in complete chaos within a hundred years, and would ultimately lead to its demise.”
He walked towards Jiang Gu and said in a deep voice, "It's true that you are a reincarnated immortal, but you cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness. You were able to ascend to immortality in less than a hundred years. You don't care about the life and death of the cultivation world. Even if everyone in the world died, you wouldn't blink an eye. So why do you speak so righteously?"
Jiang Gu said calmly, "I can give you my immortal bones."
Xiao Dan's voice froze: "What—what did you say?!"
"Half of my immortal bones should be with Wei Feng, and the other half is still with me," Jiang Gu said. "Since you gave Wei Feng the Seven Absolute Blades, you should know how to find the immortal bones."
Xiao Dan frowned, looking at him warily: "What are you planning to do now?"
"The so-called immortal bones may just be a medium, not a matter of quantity," Jiang Gu said unhurriedly. "I will give you the immortal bones in my body. Go to the Changning Temple and work with Chang Ping'an and the others to build that road to heaven. Try to fight for this glimmer of hope for your people."
Xiao Dan said in disbelief, "You..."
Jiang Gu said expressionlessly, "I'm just making a deal with you. It's profitable for both of us. What do you say?"
Xiao Dan racked his brains but couldn't figure out what use the extracted immortal bones would be to Jiang Gu, whose ascension was already a certainty. Moreover, this madman had even given half of the immortal bones to Wei Feng.
He would never believe that someone as profit-driven as Jiang Gu would suddenly become enlightened and dedicate himself to the common people—this black-hearted bastard doesn't hesitate to use even his own disciples and Daoist partners.
“Wei Feng has already refined a portion of the Chaos Core,” Xiao Dan tentatively asked.
“Then melt him in as well,” Jiang Gu said without changing his expression. “He’s not your Daoist partner.”
"..." Xiao Dan was filled with doubt and suspicion. His intuition told him that he was definitely being used by Jiang Gu, but the conditions offered by the other party really gave him no reason to refuse.
But Xiao Dan breathed a sigh of relief at this ruthless approach. At least only a few people were being schemed against. If Jiang Gu were to change his ways and cultivate the Path of the Common People, then the whole world would probably suffer.
“As long as you keep your word.” He stared intently at Jiang Gu, “But after Wei Feng refined that one-fifth of the Chaos Core, no one in the cultivation world will be able to defeat him. How do you plan to have him melted into the Path to Heaven?”
Jiang Gu said calmly, "Naturally, it's about killing my wife to prove my Dao."
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