Chapter 264: Cold all over the body
Seeing Chang Hao mingling with his disciples, Laozi closed his eyes, even more unwilling to face reality.
Tongtian, your elder brother really can't save you now. The truth will eventually come out, and secrets can't stay secrets forever. You'd better pray for yourself.
“Little Ancestor, that’s the Plum Grove, a forbidden area of Kunlun Mountain. We can’t go there. My master is in seclusion in the Scripture Pavilion. Let’s take our junior brothers back to Biyou Palace. Or we can go to Yuxu Palace or Bajing Palace, which is also nice…” Taiyi nodded and bowed. Although his eldest uncle and third uncle doted on the Tenth Prince without thinking, they really couldn’t go to the Plum Grove. Their master was different.
The other Golden Immortals nodded in unison, "If we go in, our master will suppress us under the Qilin Cliff. The eerie winds there are unbearable."
"When did Merlin become a forbidden area?" Chang Hao was puzzled. The aura above Merlin had changed. He guessed that Yuanshi was about to emerge from seclusion and was coming here. He usually avoided this area for fear of disturbing Yuanshi's corpse-slaying.
"There are forbidden areas in Kunlun Mountain? We can't go there? What does Second Uncle look like?" Kunwu tilted his head. "We haven't seen Second Uncle yet."
"You've seen it all, and you're still terrified?" Chang Hao couldn't help but chuckle. His brothers had suffered greatly in the Taiwei Palace; they must still remember it.
"You've seen it before?" Zhaoming didn't believe it.
Chang Hao immediately transformed the plum tree beside him into the appearance of Yuan Shi, "Have you seen it before?"
Seeing the lifelike Yuanshi Tianzun standing before him, Tongtian felt a tightness in his forehead. The long-lost feeling of guilt surged into his heart again. It seemed that his second brother was about to emerge from seclusion. Should he run away first?
The little golden crows couldn't laugh at all; it was like a nightmare returning, so frightening that they almost lost their Dao bodies...
"I want to go back to Heaven..." Kunwu spoke the heartfelt words of all the Golden Crows.
This is terrifying! They've been causing a huge disturbance next door to this person all this time. We're doomed!
“No, once you become an apprentice, you have to stay in the sect until the Three Flowers Gather at the Top, then you can return to the Heavenly Court on your own.” Chang Hao refused without hesitation. Pressure makes people improve, and he had high hopes for his brothers.
“Little Shi…” Even Boli’s eyes were slightly red, which showed how afraid he was of Yuanshi.
"There's no room for discussion. You have to take responsibility for your choices, even if you have to crawl on your knees." Chang Hao was known for his unwavering impartiality.
"Oh, no wonder you refused to become a disciple, Xiao Shi. So you knew he was in Kunlun Mountain." Zhao Ming nodded understandingly. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have become a disciple either.
“Work hard, the Celestial Venerable isn’t scary. Let’s go, let’s go to the Eight Trigrams Palace.” Chang Hao’s words were met with everyone’s approval.
As everyone moved to a different location, Chang Hao glanced back at Tongtian, who was sneaking towards Merlin. He started to feel guilty. It was too late. What had he been doing all this time?
In the quiet room, the Primordial Self was about to be severed. From the beginning of the world to the present, memories echoed in his mind. Everything in the past was like a veil, and his emotions gradually thinned. With the severing of his self, the primordial self was deeply suppressed in his heart.
The light of the single sun shines ever brighter, piercing through the thick smoke, making past events seem fresh and vivid, ingrained in our very being.
Endless longing surges into my heart, plum blossoms fall and snowflakes drift, the world is vast, and only this light remains in my heart...
Tongtian had been guarding the plum grove for many days when he finally saw the Sutra Repository reopen. His second brother, who had been in seclusion for many years, was as cold as ice, with a calm and indifferent look in his eyes.
"Second Brother..." Tongtian's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition rising within him. "Congratulations, Second Brother, on severing all three corpses."
"Thank you, Junior Brother." Yuanshi nodded lightly, stepped on countless falling plum blossoms, turned around and returned to the Scripture Pavilion. He didn't even glance at Tongtian, and rubbed the Sun Essence Wheel in his palm with his fingers.
Tongtian took a few steps back. "Master...Junior Brother?" His second brother called him Junior Brother.
"Second...Second Brother..." Tongtian's voice was filled with endless fear.
"Junior brother, please do as you please." Yuanshi continued walking, while Tongtian's bewildered voice showed no sign of concern.
Despite possessing the body of a sage, Tongtian felt only a biting cold wind and turned to run towards the Eight Views Palace.
"Big brother, something terrible has happened! Second brother doesn't recognize us brothers anymore..."
'Tap...' The chess piece fell from Chang Hao's fingertips onto the chessboard. Despite being the Little Sun, he felt a chill run through his body. Had something happened to True Slash?
"Clang..." The tea in Laozi's hand fell straight to the ground, and the harmonious scene in the Eight Views Palace was ruined.
"I'll go take a look, take a look..." Laozi's steps were unsteady, one foot deep and one foot shallow. This shouldn't be the case. Yuanshi's emotions were so abundant. Even if he was cut down, he should be indifferent. It's impossible that nothing was left.
"What happened?" Guang Chengzi asked, expressing the same question on everyone's mind.
A thoughtful look flashed in Jin Ling's eyes. "It seems that something went wrong with Second Master Uncle's Corpse Slaying."
"It's not our place to concern ourselves with our masters' affairs. Our senior uncles will handle it. We just need to take good care of our junior brothers." Huang Long suddenly felt a surge of hope and almost burst into tears.
Perhaps his master has forgotten what he instructed him before going into seclusion. He no longer needs to agonize over whether to betray his master or the emperor, a thankless task. No matter which path he chooses, the past will be brought up again.
"Where did the Tenth Prince go?" Cihang asked, somewhat panicked.
"I just saw my martial uncle take everyone away with him," Huang Long said evasively. With his master's corpse-slaying incident, it was no wonder the Emperor was restless; he must have gone to find his master.
"That's good..." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yuanshi..." Laozi wandered around the Sutra Repository and finally found Yuanshi holding a jade slip in the True Sutra Repository, which was filled with bookshelves.
Yuanshi put down the jade slip. "Senior brother, this is the Jade Void Palace's Scripture Repository..."
Lao Tzu took a step back and Yuan Shi called him senior brother, senior brother!
"Yuanshi, have you forgotten the past?" Laozi felt a chill in his heart.
"I haven't forgotten, I remember everything." Yuan Shi felt a little annoyed.
"Since you haven't forgotten, you should return the Sun Essence Wheel to me." Laozi's fingers, hidden in his wide sleeves, trembled slightly.
“What’s mine isn’t yours.” Yuanshi found Laozi’s words baffling. “Brother Dao, please do as you please.”
“Yuanshi…” Laozi was somewhat devastated, “This is really bad.”
"What should we do, elder brother?" Tongtian was also a little flustered. "Second brother called you Daoist brother, but he found you annoying and eventually stopped calling you senior brother."
"Where is Chang Hao?" Laozi gripped Tongtian's wrist as if he were holding onto his last hope, and just when he thought he had the worst fears, they came true.
"Probably in the Eight Trigrams Palace?" Even Tongtian couldn't be sure...
Chang Hao searched frantically in the plum grove, unaware of his burning anxiety. In the past, Yuan Shi would come without being summoned, but now, though close, felt like an eternity. What if Yuan Shi truly severed all emotions...?
Yuan Shi appeared silently behind Chang Hao and gently embraced him. "Were you looking for me?"
Chang Hao looked up, a hint of relief and lingering fear flashing in his eyes, "Are you alright?"
"What do I need?" Yuan Shi didn't think he needed anything, and looked at Chang Hao in his arms. "I'm very happy that you came to find me."
Yuanshi touched Chang Hao's still pale lips and stroked his jade-white cheek with his warm palm. "Why bother transforming into the Jade Purity Body? You'll only make yourself suffer. I've finished my seclusion and my cultivation has improved. I'll definitely be able to help you recover quickly."
Chang Hao was silent for a moment. He was worried that Yuan Shi had really forgotten. After all, Yuan Shi was more familiar with his original body. He leaned quietly against Yuan Shi's chest and thought that Yuan Shi was acting quite normally.
Yuan Shi quietly held Chang Hao, cherishing this moment of silence. The emptiness in his heart dissipated without him realizing it, leaving only contentment.
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