Chapter 100: Good Causes, Good Effects shattered his heart meridians, turning him into a mortal. ...
Any soul that lingers in the underworld for too long will begin to experience mental confusion, gradually forgetting its past life, its name, and who it was.
Bitao used her body to build a bridge, drawing in a portion of her soul that had been shattered by heavenly lightning. She secured it with tree branches and, to prevent it from being snatched away by other ghosts with fragmented souls, pressed herself beneath the Heart of All Beings.
She has always been resolute and determined. This situation was carefully planned and orchestrated by her. Although she cannot escape the bridge and cannot see it, Bitao can hear it.
She could hear that unlucky Zhan Kui was a step too late and ended up rushing straight into the River of Oblivion.
Bitao wasn't worried about Zhan Kui. Countless remnant souls from the River of Oblivion, imbued with the koi's fortune, transformed into humans, naturally reaping immeasurable merit. It would only require sacrificing some of their own fortune.
Bitao can hear the conversations of the ghost soldiers and can sense the souls crossing the bridge of reincarnation to be reborn.
Later, one could hear countless souls crossing the bridge of reincarnation to be reborn here.
In the darkness behind the hearts of all beings, she held fast to her will, reciting calming mantras day and night, seeking that her "three souls may be eternal, and her spirit may never be lost."
In the underworld, one cannot perceive the passage of time, so naturally, one cannot deduce how much time has passed.
At first, Bitao was able to hold on, but later she couldn't help but become dazed and confused under the corrosive influence of the turbid air.
Occasionally, she would suddenly come to her senses, realizing she was trapped in a "small space," and had thought about giving up countless times, countless times... Now, her merits must have far exceeded one million, enough to allow her soul to return to heaven.
But countless times, she gritted her teeth and persevered.
There could never be a better opportunity.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Path is so difficult that ascending even one level is as difficult as climbing to heaven. If she misses this opportunity, how can she stand at the very top of the Nine Heavens, and when will she be able to fully embrace her Golden Crow?
However, because Bitao's soul was so severely incomplete, when it was initially formed from peach branches, a little girl snatched away the largest piece of it.
In the end, she rarely woke up, and when she did, it took her a very long time to recall who she really was.
What crime did they commit to be imprisoned under this Bridge of Reincarnation?
She started wanting to go out.
I want to be reborn as a human, just like those souls that reincarnate.
It's so painful.
It's too quiet.
Who can talk to her?
Tell her who she really is!
Just as Bitao completely lost her will and even began to plot how to lift the "shining heart" that was pressing down on her, run to the Bridge of Reincarnation and swallow any soul at random, and then jump into reincarnation when the ghost messengers were not paying attention—she received countless awakening talismans.
She is now a "ghost," and the only things she can receive are those burned for her by people outside.
When Bitao first received these talismans, she thought they were paper money that could be used to bribe the ghost soldiers, burned for her by her remaining relatives in the mortal world.
She soon discovered it wasn't true, and she was furious.
She's trapped under the Bridge of Reincarnation, unable to be reborn, barely clinging to life. What's the point of burning all this stuff?
But as the spirit-awakening talismans were activated one by one by Bitao's angry wood spirit, the past unfolded like petals, allowing her mind, which had been completely tainted by turbidity, to return to clarity.
She remembered who she was.
I remembered why she was under this Bridge of Reincarnation.
I thought of her golden crow, and the reason why she couldn't return to the heavens.
I also wondered where these talismans bearing the current year and month came from.
—From her second senior sister, Zhang Yuluan.
Zhang Yuluan lost all her support overnight, and with her incredibly thin shoulders, she shouldered the burden of the Supreme Sword Sect.
At first, she was able to hide it from the disciples in the sect, saying that her master and senior brothers had gone on a journey to help the chaotic world and that their return date was uncertain.
Later... even the most clueless junior brothers and sisters came to their senses. All the elders of the Supreme Sword Sect, like those of other sects, had perished in a "great battle" that none of them had ever witnessed.
That's why the bridge of reincarnation is continued.
That's why life can be revitalized in the world.
Five years have passed since then, and now birds sing and butterflies dance in the human world, and flocks fly around in the mountains and forests.
With all evil spirits eradicated, although the people were still in the midst of turmoil and war, having children was no longer an extremely difficult and unattainable dream.
People often compare humans to ants, but these "ants" are the most resilient and tenacious. No matter how they are attacked, they cannot be eliminated, and no matter the environment, they can reproduce and grow stronger.
In just five years, the number of children in the world has become as numerous as the weeds that can be seen everywhere by the roadside.
The two countries split into three. The cultivators with extraordinary skills once again agreed to stay out of worldly affairs and no longer interfere in any struggles between human races, except for exorcising evil spirits.
Zhang Yuluan led a group of disciples from the Supreme Sword Sect who had nowhere to run, no home, and questionable talent, to close the Nine Palaces Spirit Locking Array, become self-sufficient, and seclude themselves in the mountains to focus on studying swordsmanship.
A year ago, she was promoted from the Human Realm to the Middle Earth Realm, and led her fellow disciples to study dozens of array techniques. Only then did she dare to reopen the mountain gate and make contact with the outside world.
Times have changed, and the world is no longer what it used to be.
Zhang Yuluan remained the sect's second senior sister. No matter how much the disciples recommended her or urged her to take on the role of acting sect leader, it would still be better than simply being called "second senior sister."
But Zhang Yuluan never agreed.
She consistently used the same excuse she had given her junior brothers and sisters to refuse.
She always said with a smile, "If my master and senior brother find out that I have declared myself the sect leader when they return from their travels, they will probably expel me from the sect."
At this point, the junior brothers and sisters would fall silent and stop forcing others to do things they didn't want to do.
But they all knew that the second senior sister was lying.
I don't know if she was lying to them or to herself.
This time, Zhang Yuluan led her junior brothers and sisters down the mountain not to exorcise evil spirits, but because they had been living as self-sufficient hermits for several years and needed to purchase some necessities.
Moreover, they have had enough time to retreat from the world. They need to re-engage with various sects, and the Supreme Sword Sect must not be allowed to decline.
The Wenxin Pavilion no longer exists. The various sects have joined forces to form a new organization called the All-Life Alliance.
It's an alliance of cultivators, doing the same thing as the Wenxin Pavilion back then.
The address where it is located is also the original site of the Wenxin Pavilion that collapsed back then.
However, in just five years, the once desolate city had been transformed into a vibrant place with countless residents. The dilapidated houses had been renovated, and children playing wildly in the streets and alleys, along with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares, created a lively and bustling scene.
When Zhang Yuluan and the others arrived at the Alliance of All Beings and revealed their identities, the current leader of the alliance personally came out to greet them.
He was an acquaintance, a body cultivator who was once unknown in the Thunder Sect.
Five years ago, when everyone joined forces to kill the evil spirit Xi, the unfortunate one and Bi Tao fell into an illusion. Fortunately, because Bi Tao killed the evil spirit Xi, they were able to escape the illusion. He was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and was carried back to the sect by his fellow cultivators. — Lü Youcai.
Now that he has recovered, in a cultivation world where elders and sect leaders are being cut off like leeks, he has become the leader of the Alliance of All Beings because of his strong physique.
For so many years, the people of the Supreme Sword Sect have never ventured into the cultivation world, instead shutting themselves away from the chaotic world, essentially abandoning it. They should have been ostracized, but Lü Youcai always remembered how Yue Qingyao from the Supreme Sword Sect helped him escape a death trap.
Therefore, he not only personally came out to greet them, but also treated the members of the Supreme Sword Sect as honored guests. He immediately arranged accommodations for them and held a welcoming banquet.
"I wonder why Fellow Daoist Le didn't come down the mountain this time?" Lu Youcai hesitated several times during the banquet, but finally asked.
After downing two cups of wine, his face turned as red as a monkey's bottom, and his honest and simple nature was seen as foolishness by Zhang Yuluan.
And his hesitant and reluctant manner clearly indicated that he had something to hide!
Zhang Yuluan's cultivation level advanced by one level, and she always remembered what her third junior sister had told her: to always trust her intuition and judgment.
Zhang Yuluan silently rolled her eyes.
Her third junior sister was very popular; back then, her eldest and fourth junior brothers were like tiny insects in her palm.
Moreover, regarding her third junior sister's identity, Zhang Yuluan initially guessed that she was a possessed evil spirit, but later... how could she not know that she was a fairy from the Nine Heavens Palace?
Although if all the fairies in the Nine Heavens were as cunning and treacherous as Third Sister, it probably wouldn't be so great.
But this silly fool is said to have been bedridden for two years before he could get up. If it weren't for the current abundance of life and spiritual energy in the world, he wouldn't have been able to get up for two years.
She's as weak as a little chick, yet she still has the nerve to covet her third junior sister?
Zhang Yuluan was so angry she wanted to flip the table.
However, their current predicament as the Supreme Sword Sect is indeed due to their "long period of seclusion," necessitating a return to the world. Lü Youcai is clearly the best bridge for this.
Therefore, Zhang Yuluan endured it, but she couldn't help but keep her expression cold.
Staring blankly at Lü Youcai's monkey-bottom-like face and his barely concealed expectation, he said, "My third junior sister is dead."
Zhang Yuluan has never dared to reveal this truth for so many years.
But she couldn't tolerate a "dead person" being remembered by such a foolish, simple-minded, and crude man.
Lü Youcai was stunned for a moment.
Zhang Yuluan said, "My third junior sister also went to that big battle five years ago."
Although no one in the current cultivation world has ever witnessed that "great battle," it nearly severed the foundation of the cultivation world.
Zhang Yuluan was still saying, "They're nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead."
"I've disappointed Fellow Daoist Lü."
Zhang Yuluan's small mouth seemed to be coated with poison; with each word she uttered, the color drained from Lü Youcai's face.
In the end, his face turned as white as a hanged ghost, his breathing became rapid, and a whistling sound came out of his chest.
Zhang Yuluan quickly stood up from beside the table and picked up the sword on it.
All the remaining disciples of the Supreme Sword Sect now follow Zhang Yuluan's lead. Having been trained and tortured by her for many years, they are now in sync with her. As soon as they see her get up, they spit out the food they are eating and get up with her, holding their swords.
Zhang Yuluan led her fellow disciples back several steps.
He thought to himself, "This kid might have some kind of illness that hasn't fully healed yet. He might choke on his own breath here and then blame it on the Supreme Sword Sect!"
The sword cultivators of the Supreme Sword Sect gripped their longswords tightly, and some even had their swords drawn halfway from their waists.
Zhang Yuluan surveyed the entire Alliance of All Beings, estimating how many other sect cultivators were present. Although she appeared wary, she showed little fear in her heart.
She refused the help of the underworld officials and decided to lead all her disciples into seclusion to cultivate in seclusion. This was because Zhang Yuluan understood that all her teachers and supporters were gone, and only by growing into a towering tree could she truly support the Supreme Sword Sect.
Only then can one establish oneself and take root in this turbulent world.
When the Bridge of Reincarnation was being rebuilt, the human world truly needed a lot of manpower. Choosing to withdraw from the world at that time would have seemed extremely "unrighteous and immoral".
But matters of the underworld should be resolved by the underworld itself. The human world is already in such a mess, do they really need those few mediocre disciples of the Supreme Sword Sect?
Five years have passed, and every sword cultivator in their Supreme Sword Sect has advanced several levels. Who knows how many times Zhang Yuluan secretly coughed up blood in order to train them?
Although they still can't produce a single cultivator at the Earthly Realm Extreme level, each one of them is capable of taking on ten opponents.
Forming an array would allow them to easily wipe out the entire cultivation world.
Accompanied by Lü Youcai's wild, ox-like panting, the cultivators of the Supreme Sword Sect had silently taken their positions to form the array.
These formations, led by Zhang Yuluan and using the Heavenly Grade White Spirit as their core, have long been etched into their bones, blood, and souls through their tireless practice day and night.
But... they didn't get the attack they were waiting for.
Instead, a wail was heard.
Lu Youcai gasped for breath for a while, then burst into tears.
He collapsed to the table, sobbing uncontrollably, completely losing his composure, like a wild bull going mad.
Amidst his wailing cries that echoed throughout the entire Alliance of All Beings, Zhang Yuluan's sword-wielding movements stiffened slightly.
She carried an unbearable burden, hunched over, gritting her teeth, and endured it for five long years. After descending the mountain, she harbored hatred towards everyone.
She honed herself into a sharp sword, intending to wound anyone who even glanced at her. It seemed that only in this way could she live up to the silent trust placed in her by family, friends, and teachers.
But she didn't expect that their first stop after descending the mountain would not be a provocation, a battle, or a bloodbath, but rather... kindness and sincerity.
It's true...
Lu Youcai cried so hard he almost slid under the table; his sobs were so heart-wrenching, as if they were a lament from the depths of his soul.
It seems he truly loved his third junior sister, remembering the help she had given him and being devastated by her sudden passing.
But Zhang Yuluan thought harshly, that still wouldn't work; he was still not worthy.
But she slumped her shoulders, and the hand that was holding the longsword fell from across her chest to her side.
He looked at Lü Youcai, who was crying his eyes out, with a mixture of indifference and jealousy.
I just saved his life, is it really that big of a deal?
She's never cried like this before.
She suddenly lost her teachers, senior brothers, junior brothers, and junior sisters.
She's never had such a cathartic breakdown before.
What gives Lü Youcai the right to do this?
Zhang Yuluan silently reddened her eyes.
But only for a moment, she tilted her head slightly and blew a breath onto the wispy bangs on her forehead.
The tears welled up in my eyes and I blew them back.
Later, the entire Alliance of All Beings was listening to Lü Youcai's wailing. He cried for far too long, not only making a fool of himself, but Zhang Yuluan was also afraid that he would cry himself to death.
Then they'll pin the blame on the Supreme Sword Sect.
Therefore, Zhang Yuluan said, "Fellow Daoist Lü, there's no need to be so heartbroken. You two have absolutely no connection whatsoever!"
Such wishful thinking is unprecedented.
Her third junior sister could only see the tenderest stamens on the flowers, and could only look up at the blazing sun in the sky. Pride was etched into her bones and blood. She never bowed her head and would definitely not even remember someone like Lü Youcai.
Zhang Yuluan said, "My third junior sister left me a message before she went to war. The reason I brought everyone down the mountain this time is to fulfill my third junior sister's last wish."
"If Fellow Daoist Lü is truly so kind, why not get some high-grade awakening talismans for my third junior sister?"
"Waaaaah... hiccup! Waaaaah, what's the waking-up charm for? Waaaaah..."
Lu Youcai's snot was almost dripping down his chin, which made Zhang Yuluan take a half step back in disgust.
But considering his sincerity, he patiently said, "My third junior sister once instructed me that after she dies, there is no need to burn paper money or build a grave for her. Every five years, I should burn a talisman to awaken her spirit."
"The more the better."
"Why is that?" Lu Youcai naturally didn't understand.
Zhang Yuluan... she didn't understand either.
The third junior sister, along with those Heavenly Grade White Spirits, instructed Zhang Yuluan on two matters.
One method is to burn a talisman for her every five years, like burning paper money.
One is... to try to find out the whereabouts of the Taoist Master Bu Er.
Zhang Yuluan had already found out the whereabouts of the Daoist of No Two before she went into seclusion.
It was obtained in exchange for a full twenty Heavenly Grade White Spirits from a Wenxin Pavilion cultivator who had miraculously escaped when the pavilion collapsed.
The Taoist Master Bu Er once sought out Meteor alone, intending to kill him, but was ultimately defeated and turned into a small puppet.
Zhang Yuluan was puzzled by the reason, and did not understand why the Taoist Master Bu Er could not defeat the sickly Liu Xing who was corrupted by ghost energy. She closed the mountain gate after obtaining this little puppet.
That little man is still lying around in the Supreme Sword Sect's storeroom.
Zhang Yuluan snapped out of her thoughts, cupped her hands and said, "If Fellow Daoist Lü is unwilling, I will lead my junior brothers and sisters to the market to buy it themselves."
In fact, if Zhang Yuluan could afford it, she wouldn't have spent so much time talking to an idiot like Lü Youcai.
Back then... the Third Junior Sister left behind quite a lot of Heavenly Grade Hundred Spirits.
Just as she said, if all of it were used on Zhang Yuluan herself, it would be enough to support her cultivation to the Earthly Realm.
After the bridge of reincarnation in the human world is reconnected, life gradually returns.
Cultivators no longer need spirit stones for further cultivation.
However, in order to retain the disciples of the Supreme Sword Sect and to allow the Supreme Sword Sect to once again stand at the top of the cultivation world, Zhang Yuluan...
She brought out all the larks and made them available for all the disciples who had not left the Supreme Sword Sect to cultivate together.
That's why he has the real ability to dare to go down the mountain and even challenge the entire Alliance of All Beings.
However, poverty seems to be the fate of sword cultivators.
Having exhausted their Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones, they came down this time to sell some valuable items from the sect.
Before they even had a chance to embarrass themselves, they ran into Lu Youcai, that scoundrel.
Upon discovering that he harbored fantasies about his third junior sister, Zhang Yuluan was determined to take the opportunity to extort money from him.
The Awakening Talisman can be used by both mortals and cultivators to purify the mind and dispel evil spirits. It can even cure diseases and avert disasters. Even the value of Heavenly Grade White Spirit has begun to decline, but the price of the Awakening Talisman has remained high.
On the way to the Alliance of All Beings, Zhang Yuluan inquired and learned that if Lü Youcai refused to provide the Awakening Talisman, they could only buy a dozen or so talismans by selling all the valuable items of the Supreme Sword Sect.
But the note her third junior sister left her back then said... once every five years, you have to burn at least one hundred, the more the better.
The more the better... Even if she dies, she can still pose a challenge to us!
If all else fails, she'll have to sell two of her really clueless junior brothers and sisters, and then burn them for her!
Fortunately, Lü Youcai didn't ask any more questions. He quickly wiped away his tears and snot and got up to make arrangements.
That night, while in the underworld, Bitao, who had lost her senses and was plotting her escape, received a talisman to awaken her and remembered everything.
After that, Bitao received many other things.
During festivals, there are paper money, clothes that the broken souls of peach blossoms can no longer use, and random trinkets from the streets.
One after another... it never stopped.
Later, she also received a little boy.
The little boy is finally of some use; since Bitao can't go out by herself, the little boy can run errands for her.
Because the little boy belongs to Bitao, he can understand Bitao's meaning without speaking. Bitao can also instruct him to use some useless things to "bribe" the Day-Roaming God so that the Day-Roaming God can bring her roasted pig's trotters from the mortal world.
You can't eat the peaches, but you can smell them.
The smell is the same as the taste.
Bitao is starting to enjoy her life as a ghost.
Moreover, from then on, the number of the awakening talismans, which were given out every five years, was enormous, enough for Bitao to keep some, and she never lost her senses again.
She was very pleased that her second senior sister, Zhang Yuluan, had handled the task she had been given so well.
Little did she know that most of the things she received came from Lü Youcai.
The hundred or so low-grade Awakening Talismans that Zhang Yuluan received at the end of each five-year period were the ones she cobbled together and burned.
As for the small things that improved Bitao's life, and those high-grade awakening talismans, they were the "good deeds" she had casually planted in the illusion of the evil spirit.
The cycle of cause and effect is sometimes just that magical.
In her twentieth year in the underworld, Bitao had become quite successful.
At least his relationship with some of the ghost officials in the underworld has become quite good.
Her fathers would come to see Bitao during their spare time from their official duties.
Of course, a bridge cannot speak; when the fathers came, they could only touch the bridge surface, which was made of twisted peach wood struck by lightning.
Later, Bitao discovered that she could use the flickering light and shadow of the hearts of all living beings to answer her fathers' questions.
I have also heard about the progress of the competition for the other immortal positions from Bai Duo’s father more than once.
Her biggest concern is definitely Mingguang.
Every time Bai Duo's father and Zhuo Xian's father talked about Ming Guang, that heart of all living beings would flicker very intensely.
"He tried more than once to enter the underworld to find your remnant soul. But after the Bridge of Reincarnation was restored, the underworld and the human world were completely separated."
"The living cannot enter the underworld."
"He...some time ago he entered the world and became a great general. He was invincible in battle, but because his achievements were too great and threatened the emperor, he was purged by the emperor and almost killed. Fortunately, he had done good deeds for many years, and a prison guard who had received his kindness released him before his execution."
The peach blossoms stirred the hearts of all beings, making them flicker rapidly.
It's understandable that Mingguang wanted to gain merit by entering the world, but she couldn't understand how Mingguang could have almost been killed by a mortal.
Bai Duo didn't understand Bi Tao's meaning, but fortunately Zhuo Xian understood people's hearts better.
He said, "We forgot to tell you that the cultivation world has now returned to normal cultivation methods, and cultivators are no longer allowed to enter the mortal world."
“But Mingguang once saw you killed by heavenly lightning. Your heart meridian was already broken. It was later forcibly repaired by other immortals, but your cultivation could not advance any further.”
"later……"
Later, as reincarnation resumed and with the help of cultivators, the evil spirits in the human world disappeared, and the souls of the dead no longer lingered.
Before the chaos of the first five years ended, those immortals were desperately accumulating merit.
At that time, Mingguang dug three feet into the ground of Wuman Mountain, where Bitao had fallen, and then used Wuman Mountain as a boundary to spread outwards to collect Bitao's soul.
He didn't accumulate much merit.
After spending five years traveling almost all over the human world and still not finding any remnants of the peach blossoms, he attempted to enter the underworld.
However, after the Reincarnation Bridge was reconnected, the Questioning Pavilion collapsed, making it completely impassable between the human realm and the underworld.
Living people cannot enter the underworld, and he cannot die in order to reshape Bitao's soul.
However, since there are no ghosts or monsters causing trouble in the human world, the merits of the immortals increase very slowly.
At first, they stayed by Mingguang's side, carrying a sense of guilt towards Bitao, and helped Mingguang.
However, Mingguang was so stubborn that he was almost possessed, and he paid no attention to anything except the remnant soul of Bitao.
He no longer plans for the people, nor does he worry about their merits.
He didn't even communicate with others, running around the world day and night, and would faint wherever he could when he couldn't hold on any longer.
Recover your strength before continuing.
He seemed to have... completely forgotten that he was still in a competition.
Gradually, those immortals who had once protected him had to leave Mingguang's side in order to gain merit.
In the end, even Binglun and Yunchuan, who were most loyal to Mingguang, left.
At this time, Mingguang had already collected and stored Bitao's remnant soul in a magic artifact and nurtured it with a Heavenly Grade White Spirit, hoping that it would be larger when it was reshaped.
The second step after collecting the remnants of souls is to gain merit.
The human world has returned to order. Although there is division and turmoil in various countries, the human world has just recovered its vitality. There are not many people, so where would there be so much merit for cultivators to obtain?
Moreover, the cultivation world no longer has the Questioning Heart Pavilion; instead, it has formed a new Alliance of All Beings.
To avoid repeating past mistakes, all sects prohibit their cultivators from entering the mortal world.
Once discovered, they will be arrested and detained by the cultivators of the Alliance of All Beings.
In order to gain merit, Mingguang once again severed his own heart meridian.
He became a mortal unable to use spiritual power, carrying the remnant soul of Bitao, and went to the human world.
Upon hearing this, Bitao suddenly realized.
No wonder he was almost killed by mortals; it turns out he severed his own heart meridian and became a mortal.
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