Chapter 371: The East is Bright and New Begins
Before Xinyi even reached the village entrance, he saw a blaze of fire and a burning stench. Startled, he rushed over, only to find Zhao Wuyang sitting alone at the entrance, dejected and silent.
The burnt smell and flames were caused by the burning of corpses. Xinyi couldn't tell which of these corpses were zombies and which were villagers.
He walked forward, rubbed Zhao Wuyang's head, and sat down beside him. Xinyi thought that Zhao Wuyang was so depressed because he couldn't stand seeing these life and death situations, but he underestimated Zhao Wuyang.
"Brother Xinyi..." Zhao Wuyang hesitated to speak.
Xinyi waited for Zhao Wuyang to speak, pondering how to comfort him, but after waiting for a long while, Zhao Wuyang still didn't say anything. Curious, he turned his head to look over, only to see Zhao Wuyang frowning, wondering what he was thinking.
"I'm fine..." Xinyi was afraid that Zhao Wuyang would get into a dead end, so she felt that she should take the initiative to speak.
"Did Lord Black and White say anything to my brother?" Zhao Wuyang didn't turn around, still lowering his head in thought.
This is the first time that Zhao Wuyang interrupts others.
"But what's wrong?" Xinyi felt that Zhao Wuyang would not do this for no reason, so she told him about the previous incident at the ruined temple on the mountain.
"Phoenix cry..." Zhao Wuyang pondered, "So that's the cry of a phoenix."
Lingxiang once gave Zhao Wuyang a copy of "Records of Strange Stories from Mountains and Seas", which mentioned the Phoenix.
"There is a mountain in Penglai called Danxue, on which are found many golds and jades. The Dan River originates from it, flowing southward into the Bohai Sea. There lives a bird, shaped like a chicken, with a pearl crown, feathers cascading like waterfalls, and feathers as long as whips, shining brightly..."
Zhao Wuyang recited the description of the phoenix in "Strange Stories of Mountains and Seas", but his brows did not relax at all.
"The book says that the phoenix is a descendant of the ancient goddess Queen Mother of the West. It takes a thousand years to gestate an egg, but it hatches only when it is born. It must undergo many cycles of rebirth in the flames before it can grow up. Once the phoenix cries..."
Zhao Wuyang stopped, but Xinyi remained calm and just glanced to the side.
"When the phoenix cries, wherever its voice reaches, all things will be renewed..."
Xinyi fell into deep thought:
Spiritual roots are rare, yet the phoenix can be born. This is extremely strange. Lingxiang seemed to have predicted this, which is why she left me a lucky charm. At first, I thought she was just trying to reassure me, but now it seems like a signal. But Lingxiang is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so how could she have calculated this?
"If it is true as the book says, that everything is renewed, then everything makes sense." Zhao Wuyang continued.
"How do you mean?"
"Three years ago, the gate between the underworld and the human world was destroyed. Souls had nowhere to return to, so they took possession of corpses, which is why the concept of zombies came into being. Now that everything is renewed and the Tiger Gate has been rebuilt, the lingering souls will naturally go to the underworld."
Zhao Wuyang said this, looking at the burning corpse. He remembered that during the chaos just now, he vaguely heard bursts of bells, like the black and white impermanence's soul-calling bells.
"Although these zombies have lost their souls, they haven't returned to the earth for a long time. Due to the outpouring of the Netherworld Qi, they have become corpse demons. The corpse demons are bloodthirsty and have smelled the scent of the living here, so they come here."
This does make sense, and in this way, the disappearance of the Black and White Impermanence can be explained.
But looking at Zhao Wuyang's expression, he didn't look like his doubts were resolved. Instead, he seemed to have even greater doubts, and what he said was just a prelude.
Xinyi kept silent, waiting for Zhao Wuyang's next words.
"Brother Xinyi, is the Lotus Heart Sword Intention a technique created by Elder Fu Cang?"
Zhao Wuyang finally raised his head and looked at Xinyi, who nodded.
I had heard of it when I was practicing at Qingwei Peak.
At that time, Long Qi was about to break through and was very proud of himself, but Lingxiang sneered at him, mocking that Long Qi was just borrowing the family skills, while she was able to create her own skills. She also said that this skill was mysterious and not everyone could practice it.
But what does this have to do with the present?
Xinyi didn't understand what Zhao Wuyang meant and looked at him puzzledly.
"Just now, when the crisis was imminent, I couldn't bear to take action, but a man in black suddenly appeared. He moved swiftly and swiftly, wielding the Lotus Heart Sword Intent. The fire on these corpse monsters also came from that man's talisman."
Upon hearing this, Xinyi sat up in shock.
"Can you see it clearly?"
Zhao Wuyang shook his head.
"That person was extremely fast and flashed by. I couldn't see him clearly, but I couldn't mistake the Lotus Heart Sword Intention technique he was using."
Xinyi naturally wouldn't disbelieve Zhao Wuyang, but there were too many doubts in this matter.
"Is there a possibility that Elder Fu Cang escaped from the Demon Lord and returned to the human world when the Tiger Gate and the Ghost Gate opened wide?"
Zhao Wuyang guessed, but Xinyi did not respond.
Xinyi knew exactly what kind of person Lingxiang was. She would never leave Maidong in the demon world and return to the human world alone. If they both returned, they would definitely appear together. But according to Zhao Wuyang, it was just one person.
It is true that only Lingxiang can master the Lotus Heart Sword Intent, but she was originally taken to the Demon Realm by the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord put a lot of thought into this, so how could he give her a chance to escape?
Lingxiang had injured her legs and feet, and since then, she had been unable to perform the Cloud Step technique. Zhao Wuyang had made great progress in his cultivation over the past three years. How could someone like that, someone he couldn't even see clearly, be Lingxiang?
But with the Lotus Heart Sword Intent and the talisman, who else could it be if not Lingxiang?
If it is really a spiritual incense, why is it avoided?
Xinyi couldn't figure it out either. He felt as if he was in a game of chess where one move could decide the outcome. If he wasn't careful, he would lose everything.
This chess game seemed to be set up by Lingxiang, but there was always a logic that didn't work. Instead, it seemed like it had been planned long ago...
That person...
Who could it be?
During these three years, Xinyi was not only busy dealing with the zombies, but also secretly investigating the demise of the Qiao, Long and Lu families. It was later that she learned about the three families' mission to suppress the demon.
At that time, the three families were exterminated by the demons, but coincidentally, each family left a bloodline, and they gathered in Yuanqing many years later. All these developments were too coincidental.
According to the information Xinyi had gathered, all signs indicated that there had always been a thread running through it, and the one leading that thread was the legendary Fairy Tumi.
When Xinyi was forced to submit to Bai Wuchang, he would always hear him mention this person, mostly about the life-extending elixir, but he never said much else. From all the signs, it seemed that the cause of everything had already appeared at that time.
"How long have we been away from the sect?"
Xinyi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. Zhao Wuyang was caught off guard and didn't react. After he came to his senses, he thought about it and replied to him.
"Two years and eleven months."
It’s been nearly three years!
Xinyi heaved a sigh of relief and looked towards the east, which was the direction from which the phoenix's cry came. The sky was already white and stretched out for a long time.
"It's time to return to the sect."
Zhao Wuyang nodded. Now that the Ghost Gate had been re-established, they really had no reason to stay in the mortal world.
At this moment, the cries of babies were heard one after another in the village, as if heralding the birth of a new life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com