Chapter 94 The Heart-Protecting Bone of the Xuanmen Ancestor.
After everyone entered the formation, the Big Dipper Spirit Tracing Formation was activated.
Within the great formation, the evil dragon swam wildly, opening its mouth and spewing breath at everyone in the formation.
But this time, the evil dragon spat out not weapons, but spiritual energy that traced back to the souls of the immortals in the formation, energy that shared the same spiritual attributes.
Cultivators are constantly breathing in and out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The spiritual energy exhaled by this evil dragon mixes with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, silently and irresistibly entering the bodies of the immortals.
In an instant, many sect leaders and elders disregarded their image and roared incessantly at their disciples. No matter how the people outside explained, those inside wouldn't listen; they only insisted that everyone activate the formation.
Meteor from Wenxin Pavilion also realized he had been deceived, but compared to the other enraged immortals, he appeared particularly rational.
Instead of frantically trying to break through the formation, he led his people to the edge of the formation. Through the great formation, he asked Bitao, "Fellow Daoist Le, what exactly is going on?"
Before Bitao could answer, someone from Mingguang's side came over and explained to Liuxing and the other disciples of Wenxin Pavilion.
Upon hearing this, Meteor's first reaction was also: "Impossible!"
"Even if someone is indeed causing trouble here, that person could never be the patriarch of the Xuanmen sect!"
His reaction was exactly the same as that of everyone else in the cultivation world.
They all held an unwavering reverence and trust in Yu Junlang, the patriarch of the Xuanmen sect.
Bitao spoke up: "Senior Brother Liuxing, we will soon find out whether anyone has been possessed. We will know who the possessor is once they are caught and interrogated."
After the spiritual energy of the Big Dipper Spirit Tracing Array entered their bodies, the immortals who were as restless as wild monkeys in the array quickly realized that this spiritual energy was harmless, but it could make their inner meridians able to see through things with spiritual eyes.
In other words, their spiritual manifestations will gradually emerge.
Some people remained angry, but soon it was discovered that the reason for this person's anger was no longer that he was locked up, but that he had used elixirs to modify his appearance.
Originally a handsome and elegant immortal, Ling Xiang was just an ordinary, short, and stout middle-aged man.
No longer caring about arguing with the younger generation outside the formation, everyone looked at each other and kept a watchful eye on everyone.
It is clear that they may have believed what their "own" juniors said before, but they suddenly couldn't accept it when their authority as immortals was challenged.
The spiritual energy of the Big Dipper Spirit Tracing Array revealed everyone's spiritual form in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The spirit is the soul.
Immortals who altered their appearance in pursuit of majesty or beauty may feel ashamed, but their spiritual form and physical body remain perfectly compatible.
This also shows that their souls have not been tampered with or possessed.
Bitao looked at Liuxing, who was standing at the edge of the formation.
His spiritual form was perfectly integrated with his body, and the appearance of his spiritual form was extremely handsome and otherworldly.
The wood spirits murmured around his spiritual form, making him so perfect that he resembled a meticulously sculpted statue, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the portrait of the Xuanmen patriarch that Bitao had seen.
Soon, it was discovered that one person's spirit and body were completely incompatible.
"Fellow Daoist Tian? What's wrong with your soul?"
"Fellow Daoist Tian has been possessed!"
"So someone really was possessed, and it was even the head of the Taixu Tower..."
"Fellow Daoist Tian, why don't you speak?"
Although the group of immortals all picked up their weapons and gradually gathered around, ready to attack.
However, because the leader of Taixu Tower is known for his gentle nature and good relationships with various sects, and because Taixu Tower is full of array cultivators, the disciples of various sects have always formed teams to exorcise evil spirits. Other cultivators may not be needed, but there must be an array cultivator in the team.
In the now-declining cultivation world, the surviving sect leaders are all old friends who have known each other for many years. How could they immediately launch a group attack on him just because they discovered something unusual about his spiritual appearance?
Some people were anxious for him: "Fellow Daoist Tian, please explain yourself clearly!"
The Taixu Tower Master, who had been anxiously jumping around with everyone else, his white hair and long beard practically bursting with anger at his juniors, now stood frozen in place, as if his soul had been suddenly ripped away.
Before the anger on his face had subsided, the inhuman coldness and eerie look in his eyes slowly emerged, as if the truth had come to light.
He glanced around at everyone, said nothing, and went straight for the sect elder closest to him—
Seeing this, the crowd could no longer afford to take any chances and rushed forward.
The sword fight within the great formation lasted only a short time before the leader of Taixu Tower was suppressed by a magical artifact that bound spiritual energy.
At this moment, one of the immortals again commanded the juniors outside, "The person who has been possessed has been captured! Quickly open the formation! You have gone too far!"
"Now that you've discovered someone has been possessed, why not report it to your sect instead of resorting to this method to jointly offend the elders of various sects?!"
The speaker was none other than the sect leader of the Thunder Sect. While he was scolding the juniors of his sect, he was actually trying to exonerate them in his words.
This act of detaining the immortal was lightly defined as an offense.
Other immortals followed suit and spoke up. The crowd who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, led by Wei Danxin, were all severely reprimanded.
Wei Xiao stood in front of the formation again, his face serious as he said to "Wei Danxin," "Why aren't you activating the formation? Once we return to the mountain gate, you won't escape the punishment from Gangfeng Cliff!"
This Sect Leader Wei is even more formidable. While he verbally rebuked "Wei Danxin," his eyes remained filled with tender affection, even showing pride in his son leading the team to uncover the person who had been possessed.
The specific punishment was not mentioned at all, and it seemed that there was no intention to make his son apologize to each family. After returning to the mountain, he would hide him in Gangfeng Cliff. After being "punished", this matter of "leading the offense against the immortal" could be smoothly forgotten.
Bitao looked at Mingguang.
Mingguang has grown up to this point, and his father, the Immortal Emperor Qingming, has never spoken a single word to him.
His unfulfilled desires were precisely due to Wei Xiao's gentle, biased, and proud father.
Sure enough, Bitao saw a look of emotion in Mingguang's eyes.
Mingguang pursed his lips and instructed the people around him, "Activate the formation and invite all the immortals to come out."
The intertwined spiritual light of the three formations—the Big Dipper Spirit Tracing Formation, the Spirit Binding Formation, and the Five Elements Dangerous Constellation Formation—dimmed one after another.
The array's spiritual light dissipated, and the immortals "escorted" the leader of the Taixu Tower out of the array. As soon as they emerged, one of them kicked a junior member, yelling, "You audacious bastard, apologize to these immortals!"
Some people, though looking stern and angry, also walked towards their juniors.
Meteor from Wenxin Pavilion also came out with his men, bowing and cupping his hands to Mingguang: "Fellow Daoist Wei is truly perceptive and insightful."
"As the head of the Wenxin Pavilion, I was completely unaware that the spiritual image of a high-ranking immortal in the cultivation world had been tampered with. I am truly ashamed."
Mingguang bowed slightly in return.
Meteor turned to Bitao and smiled. After spending several days together and sparring every night, they had become quite familiar with each other.
Meteor said, "That day when I sent the soul back, I was quite surprised that Fellow Daoist Yue had suddenly left. My junior sister said at the time that you had important matters to attend to, but it turns out you were plotting something important with Fellow Daoist Wei."
Bitao smiled, looking ashamed: "Things are accomplished by secrecy and will fail if leaked. Senior Brother Liuxing, please don't blame me for concealing something."
"But Senior Brother Meteor... why didn't Tianbao come this time?"
Meteor's expression froze upon hearing this.
A moment later, he moved closer to Bitao, facing her directly. Leaning slightly forward, he lowered his voice and said to her, "This is my fault. I gave Tianbao the leftovers from the previous day..."
Bitao listened attentively, and the distance between her and Liuxing was quite close.
It seemed as if they were really close.
Not far away, Wei Danxin, who was talking to her father, turned her head to look uncontrollably.
"Son, you handled this matter very well, but your methods were a bit too extreme..."
The night remained as dark as ink.
Without the spiritual light of the formation, the entire mountain was shrouded in silence.
The soft, cheerful sounds of conversation drifted over.
"Uh... Master!" Someone clutched their chest and abdomen, staggered backward, and looked at their master in disbelief.
At this time, no one around them had noticed anything unusual. After all, what these younger generation had done before was enough to warrant being chased and beaten by their elders.
But soon, everyone smelled a strong stench of blood. The cultivator, whom everyone thought had only been kicked by his elder, fell to the ground, his hand loosened, and blood flowed freely from his abdomen.
The immortal who suddenly descended to the mortal realm and struck ruthlessly was none other than the Thunder Sect Master, who was the first to protect his juniors after the battle began.
"Well……"
"ah!"
"Elder—"
In an instant—a sudden change occurred.
Meteor, who was speaking softly to Bitao, suddenly struck out with his palm, aiming at Bitao's dantian.
—They actually intended to shatter her inner core!
She reacted quickly; after noticing the meteor's movement, she focused her energy in her dantian and slightly turned to the side, but she was still struck in the waist and abdomen, and flew away—
Not far from her, Wei Xiao, who was speaking softly to Ming Guang, suddenly attacked Ming Guang without warning.
Like Bitao, Mingguang was caught off guard by the person in front of him and barely managed to avoid a fatal blow before flying out.
The intertwined sword light and shadows flickered once more in the forest.
However, this time it didn't last long either, since this time it was the "immortals" who took action against the younger generation.
The vast difference in cultivation techniques and levels of expertise led to a swift and overwhelming victory for the immortals in this battle.
The younger generation were all injured to varying degrees, their expressions filled with terror, retreating step by step, and some were even begging for mercy in low voices.
"Master, I was wrong... I was really wrong, Master, please don't kill me..."
However, the elder he was pleading with was like a puppet on a string, his eyes empty and blank, just like the previous head of Taixu Tower, who had lost all the expression and warmth that a "human" person should have.
Before the terrified eyes of the younger generation, the sect leaders and elders of various sects surrounded and forced everyone into an open space.
In the blink of an eye, the previous situation was completely reversed.
Bitao clutched her waist, unable to sit upright on the ground. She leaned against someone's leg, but the leg quickly withdrew, and she almost fell. Just before she was about to fall, an arm caught her steadily.
Bitao turned around and met Mingguang's gaze, which shone like the sun in the dark night.
However, he was holding Bitao in one hand and covering his waist with the other.
Just now, Wei Xiao was about to shatter his dantian. Like Bi Tao, he dodged it but didn't completely dodge it.
They are truly... a couple in dire straits due to kidney damage.
In terms of martial prowess, no one in the cultivation world can rival a sword cultivator. As the only surviving major sect of sword cultivators, the Supreme Sword Sect had previously demonstrated to Bi Tao that even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse, as seen from Zhang Yuluan.
Mingguang must have been in a lot of pain after being slapped by Wei Xiao.
The injury must have been very serious.
Bitao was getting annoyed. Why did they have to hit her waist of all places?
The waist is so important for both women and men!
Looking at Mingguang, Bitao inappropriately began to feel sorry for and worried about him.
"Are you... alright?" How's your back?
Bitao asked with a face full of concern.
Mingguang supported her back with one hand, looked down at her, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he looked away.
Then he quietly nudged Bitao, making her sit up straight on her own.
As soon as Bitao sat up straight, the immortals who were gathered around her all took a step forward.
The crowd, like a flock of pitiful quails, were forced to huddle together again by this oppressive "power".
Immediately afterwards, the immortals unleashed five elements of spiritual light from their palms, which intertwined in mid-air to form a net, descending upon the crowd—
——Nine Revolutions Soul Refining Array!
This time, it was everyone who was bound by the formation.
After the formation was complete, someone pushed aside the immortals' encirclement and stepped forward to the front of the crowd.
He carried a sword in his hand, his gait was elegant and leisurely, and he tilted his head slightly, looking at the crowd with a face full of incomprehension.
But the voice that came out was still like a clear, melodious spring: "Is this all the skill you've got for a Celestial Position in the Nine Heavens?"
Bitao looked up at the person, and the first person she thought of was Zhan Kui.
Zhan Kui said that she had genuinely considered marrying Liu Xing, because she thought he was exceptionally good. This was the first time she had ever spoken up for someone.
Bitao didn't refute it at the time, but Bitao always understood human nature, and Meteor was too perfect.
Like a thoroughly enjoyable and deliberate performance.
Mingguang moved his hand away from his waist and sat cross-legged among the crowd.
Looking up at the shooting star, he said, "It really was you."
"The patriarch of the Xuanmen sect, a handsome young man."
Upon hearing this, Meteor paused for a moment, then said, "This name... is from so long ago. I haven't heard it in many years."
Meteor looked at the crowd and said, "Strange...why didn't you fight to the death?"
Binglun, who was not far behind Mingguang, chimed in: "What nonsense are you talking about? If our immortal power hadn't been suppressed in the lower realm, I could have chopped you into eight pieces all by myself!"
With their current cultivation levels... without the aid of formations, it would be difficult for them to resist the immortals of this cultivation world.
The fear and astonishment on everyone's faces were genuine. They knew that the Xuanmen Ancestor had been entrenched here for over two thousand years and had never been discovered and killed by the Heavenly Dao, which must mean that his influence was deep and far-reaching.
But they never imagined that the Xuanmen Ancestor actually controlled all the cultivators in the cultivation world!
These sect leaders were clearly all puppets in his hands, yet under the Big Dipper Spirit Tracing Array, only the head of the Taixu Tower showed an unusual spiritual appearance. How did he manage to do that?!
Meteor suddenly realized: "So they gave up because they couldn't win..." More than two thousand years later, the Nine Heavens Immortals are still so pathetic.
"That's fine then." Meteor pulled out a small cauldron from his sleeve.
After being activated with spiritual power, it is infused into the formation.
After the Soul Refining Cauldron ascended to the heavens, it gradually grew larger, eventually becoming a giant cauldron the size of a small mountain, hovering above everyone's heads.
This is exactly the same Soul Refining Peak they used when dealing with the evil spirit.
So it was the meteor that was causing trouble behind the scenes, and it was he who made offerings to the evil spirit.
As the Soul Refining Cauldron entered the formation, everyone felt an immense pressure on their bodies, and some, unable to bear the weight, collapsed to the ground.
Mingguang spoke, his voice amplified by spiritual energy, the judgment sounding like thunder, rolling into the ears: "Yu Junlang, more than two thousand years ago in this world, you ascended to the Heavenly Realm after achieving perfect merit. However, dissatisfied with the celestial position you were assigned, you abandoned your celestial status and returned to the mortal realm."
"Since you have already relinquished your immortal status, why do you go back on your word halfway, retaining your immortal bones and becoming a fallen immortal, descending to the mortal world to bring calamity to all living beings!"
Even standing beside Mingguang, Bitao's back was bent under the weight of his deliberately proclaimed pronouncements of judgment.
Meteor didn't react at all after hearing that.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had discovered something unusual: "Your voice... I can do that too."
He spoke, using spiritual energy to amplify his voice, saying, "You are all celestial beings of the Nine Heavens, why do you not think of the suffering of the common people, occupying positions without doing your jobs, squandering the offerings of the celestial spirits? You should commit suicide to atone for your sins against the common people."
Compared to Mingguang's cold and austere voice, his voice sounded like a warm spring flowing over people's hearts.
However, what it contains is not punishment, but incitement.
One immortal, his mind disturbed by the "bewitching sound," even attempted to draw his sword and commit suicide!
Fortunately, those around him intervened in time and broke through his "confusion".
For a moment, everyone's expressions as they looked at the shooting star became even more wary and terrified.
Meteor looked at everyone, sighed after a moment, and said, "Alright, you're all just a bunch of young kids, I won't scare you anymore."
His sigh, though its tone and manner remained unchanged, sounded to the ear as if one had personally experienced the vicissitudes of life and all the hardships of humanity.
The crowd's minds went blank, and they felt a chill run down their spines.
Meteor said, "I am indeed Yu Junlang, the Xuanmen Ancestor you've been guessing."
"But I have never harmed any living beings; the prosperity of this world was built by my own hands."
He planted his sword in the ground, sat down cross-legged, faced the crowd, and looked at them at eye level.
He said calmly, "More than two thousand years ago, the human race was full of vitality. Millions flew around the mortal world, birds sang and butterflies danced... it was a beautiful sight."
“Back then, cultivators could also fly on swords, summoning wind and rain to benefit all living beings, instead of having to rely on horses to get anywhere, as is the case now.”
His smile rose like a spring breeze, only to vanish in an instant.
He said, "I need your help to get everything back to normal."
"Fellow Daoist Wei, perhaps I should call you... Mingguang?"
"Mingguang is the sun, shining on all things, hanging high in the sky. What a wonderful name. You were born as an immortal, your parents must have doted on you very much."
Everyone: "..."
Among the ancient immortals of the celestial realm, who among them was truly favored by their parents? Only Mingguang was alone from birth.
If Meteor hadn't never met Mingguang in the Heavenly Realm, nor witnessed his growth, everyone would have suspected that he deliberately provoked Mingguang.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault,"
Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, Meteor apologized, saying, "Perhaps I'm too old. I always have trouble concentrating and get distracted by trivial things."
"Let's get back to what I need your help with."
“Fellow Daoist Mingguang, I did indeed ascend to the Heavenly Realm, but due to dissatisfaction with the official positions assigned to me there, I dispersed my spirit and wished to return to the mortal realm.”
"As for the celestial realm, I will not comment further as I am not in that position."
"But when I descended to the mortal realm, I never had the greed to retain any immortal bones. After I crushed the immortal bones and threw them into the Five Thunders..."
"Tiangou...go and stop the bleeding for that fellow Daoist."
Meteor stopped mid-sentence, pointing to a celestial tablet behind Mingguang with blood streaming down its face, and said, "It looks terrifying. Bleeding means losing life force, it's such a pity."
His tone was so gentle, yet so chilling.
He said that bleeding would cause the loss of life, just like when slaughtering pigs and sheep, the butchers would calmly say that if the blood is not drained properly, the meat will not taste good.
Tengu was originally an ordinary cultivator who was somewhat rigid in temperament but very serious in his work.
He always followed the meteor closely, his eyes filled with reverence.
But now, his eyes were lifeless, and he was being led unnaturally towards the celestial throne as if he were being carried by his limbs.
He stiffly raised his hand and tossed a bottle of hemostatic medicine to the immortal.
The expressions on everyone's faces became even more bizarre.
Like coaxing a child, Meteor said, "Don't worry, everyone, the process of refining the soul is not painful at all."
"You are all celestial beings, your souls and vitality are as abundant as the sea, one of you can be worth ten million mortals. My Soul Refining Cauldron is not a very good thing. It is a handmade defective product of a fellow Daoist from many years ago. There was originally a good one, but it was shattered by Fairy Bitao when it was used to deal with the evil ghost."
Meteor mentioned this matter with considerable regret: "I reckon it will take most of the night to refine you all and drain your life force."
He said with a sincere expression, "Since I have asked you all for help, it is only out of courtesy that I explain the reason to you. There is plenty of time."
“When I returned to the mortal realm after the tribulation of lightning, I should have become a mortal again.”
"The thunder general who sent me down to the mortal realm warned me that as soon as I landed, I would begin the five signs of decay. A mortal's life is as short as a snap of the fingers. To abandon immortality and return to the mortal realm is tantamount to despising the Heavenly Way, and there will be consequences. I only have a few years left to live."
“I do not covet immortality; I only covet the beautiful world I created. To die here is not a punishment but a reward for me.”
"I don't know why, as soon as I landed, I was captured by the local day-roaming god and taken to the underworld."
"They, like you, denounce me as a fallen immortal, saying I secretly kept immortal bones and plotted to bring disaster to the world..."
Meteor sighed, recalling the past, his brows furrowing slightly.
But at that time he didn't have any immortal bones. The ghost generals of the underworld dug out all the bones on his body and looked at them, but they couldn't find a single immortal bone.
He was in excruciating pain at the time, but he never suspected anything, thinking it was because he hadn't cleaned the immortal bones properly.
He suggested to the Ghost Judge who governs this realm that he could report to the Heavenly Realm and ask that he undergo another tribulation to become a mortal again.
However, instead of being interrogated by the Heavenly Realm, they were sent to the Underworld via the Bridge of Reincarnation.
He then suffered another ordeal of having his bones dug out, but they never found any remaining immortal bones.
Later, he passed through five of the ten courts of Yama, and although he never found the immortal bones, the meteor didn't die.
If a normal soul were subjected to such severe punishment, even if it did not dissipate completely, its soul would be severely damaged.
At this point, it is impossible to return to the human world as a human, and the damaged soul cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Meteor was once in despair, but because he couldn't die no matter what he did, the people of the underworld refused to let him go.
He was repeatedly thrown into various hells for testing. He had clearly never done anything evil in his life and should have been ranked among the immortals after achieving perfect merit, but he had gone through the eighteen levels of hell countless times.
In the end, in the deepest hell, the meteor was swallowed by a ghostly beast.
He thought he was dead, and the people of the underworld thought he was dead too.
His soul and body were completely digested by the Netherworld Beast, but he still retained consciousness and did not die.
In the end, all he had left was his heart.
For countless years, he endured the corrosive pain day and night within the belly of the Netherworld Beast, only to allow the beast to grow ever stronger, eventually escaping from the Avici Hell and wreaking havoc in the Underworld.
Only after the Netherworld Beast was slain by the ghost generals of the underworld did the people discover its heart.
It is a heart that shines with boundless light for all living beings.
The heart of all beings is not a physical object, but a heart that manifests itself, carrying the prayers and beliefs of countless people.
Chanyeol was like a sun rising from the ground, illuminating every ugliness in the entire underworld with exquisite detail.
All the ghosts that approach him can feel the brightness, but will not be burned by his light.
They can even draw power from his heart.
Because this is the power of all living beings.
All things in the universe are born because of sentient beings.
It turns out that it wasn't because he hadn't properly removed his immortal bones that he attempted to achieve immortality in the mortal realm, stealing life force and disrupting the cycle of reincarnation.
Rather, it is the beautiful world he once created, the beings who benefited from him, who have always believed in him and blessed him.
Don't let him die.
At that time, Yu Junlang thought that his grievances had been cleared and that all the suffering he had endured was nothing.
Once the news is reported to the Heavenly Realm, he can be released back to the mortal world.
Even if he were to die, he could be reincarnated and reborn into the human world. Even if he didn't remember anything, Yu Junlang would still be very much looking forward to his new life.
However, he still has not received any decision from the Heavenly Court.
He became a source of power that the underworld spirits fought over and took turns using.
He passed through the hands of countless people in the underworld in the form of a heart, and no one knew that he still retained human consciousness.
No one knew that Yu Junlang had been versed in various schools of Taoist arts during his lifetime and was also born with a bewitching voice.
When he was alive, he could make people like him twice as much simply by talking to them.
After entering the Dao, he could subdue and unify all the immortal sects if he wanted to.
Even if one is in a state of neither human nor ghost with a heart, and falls into the hands of a ghost, one can, over time, completely bewitch the ghost and make it work for oneself.
Even though he could control the ghost, Yu Junlang's only wish was to return to his own world.
He worked diligently as a ghost, and after more than a hundred years of selection, through his efforts, he was finally assigned to a position in the former Star Realm.
He became a night wanderer, responsible for roaming the human world and capturing the souls of those who have reincarnated.
If everything ends here, it might not be a bad thing.
Unable to be reborn as a human, he could at least inhabit a ghost's body and continue to serve his people, personally guiding his subjects through the cycle of reincarnation.
But after he returned to his astral realm, he discovered that he had been trapped in hell for over a thousand years.
The world changes, and nothing is the same as before.
He soon discovered that the local ghost officials were secretly releasing evil spirits into the human world to disrupt order, and then colluding with cultivators to drive away the evil spirits and "save the people from suffering."
Because there is no "Master of the Mysterious Sect" to lead all the various Daoist arts in the human world, the cultivation world here is severely divided. Cultivators collude with ghosts and demons to harm the people just to gain fame.
The purpose was to attract more cultivators to join their sect due to their "great reputation" when they established their own independent sect.
The ghost officials in the underworld use this method to gain merit and advance in rank.
Those mortals who were killed because of this trap, whose fates were interrupted without cause, did not receive a fair judgment in the underworld.
The ghost officials of the underworld, fearing that their shameful act of gaining merit through improper means will be discovered, will label these souls with some heinous crimes.
Then send them onto the bridge of reincarnation.
Ghosts labeled as utterly wicked are not allowed to speak or defend themselves.
Upon entering the realm of the Underworld, they will soon be relegated to the animal realm.
Having been a beast for a lifetime, even if reincarnated as a human, one would have completely forgotten the past and would never reveal the fact that one was wronged.
Thus, when Yu Junlang was recalled, half of the ten prosperous kingdoms in the human world had already perished.
The cultivation world split apart. In order to compete for resources, cultivators overstepped the rule of "not entering the world" set by Yu Junlang, stationed themselves in royal families, and manipulated and provoked conflicts between countries.
Yu Junlang was heartbroken and set about reforming the underworld.
However, because he refused to collude with the other ghost officials and even tried to expose them, he was soon also accused of a crime.
Not only did he lose his ghostly position, but he was also thrown back into the Netherworld Hell for the "great mistake" that caused the violent deaths of the entire city.
Fortunately, Yu Junlang survived.
He possessed a heart that cared for all living beings. The more chaotic the world became, the deeper and more unbreakable the faith in him held by those who once cherished the golden age he had established.
And the more compassionate he is towards all living beings, the stronger his power becomes.
He possessed evil spirits in the netherworld and, with his talent for bewitching, led a group of evil spirits to fight their way out of hell.
He was still only trying to set things right.
At that time, the ghost official in this realm was only 100,000 merits short of being transferred to the Underworld as the Ghost King. He colluded with cultivators in the human world and instigated a war between the two countries.
They brutally framed 100,000 soldiers who were protecting the country, branding them with the heinous crime of treason, and massacred them on the border.
The cold wind howls, the snow buries bones, and the grievances are as vast as the sea, yet no matter how turbulent they are, they cannot reach the heavens above.
At that time, Yu Junlang led a group of evil spirits from Avici Hell and fought a fierce battle with the ghost officials of this underworld, causing the world to turn upside down and the earth to crack and the sky to collapse.
Meteor said, "I smashed the Bridge of Reincarnation in a moment of desperation to stop these unjustly killed soldiers, who were branded with the ten unforgivable crimes, from being thrown into the animal realm."
"You were born as immortals, can you imagine the heart-wrenching scene of hundreds of thousands of wronged souls in hell grieving and howling together?"
"Then I killed all the ghost officials and replaced them with evil ghosts that I could control, which brought peace to the underworld."
"Several years later, I finally figured out a way to remain in the human world in human form."
"I have never possessed anyone. In my previous life, I was a water spirit, and this body was carved from the Resurrection Wood."
Meteor turned his hand and pointed at the group of puppet-like immortals: "These cultivators were destined to die. It was I who searched the mortal world for them and carved their bodies with various spiritual objects, sealing their souls inside, so that they could continue their lives."
"I finally managed to settle the conflict between the human world and the cultivation world through their help."
"But after the Bridge of Reincarnation broke, karmic fire raged, and to send souls into reincarnation... we need to use life force to rebuild the bridge."
Meteor looked at everyone and, when she brought up the matter, her eyes were filled with a palpable sense of sorrow and pain.
"One life for another, only then can one enter the cycle of reincarnation... How tragic, how pitiful!"
Upon hearing such a tragic story, everyone was filled with sorrow.
Even when Meteor was recounting his past to everyone, he did not forget to use his seductive voice.
He hoped that the final celestial positions were obtained through willing "help".
However, Mingguang's Heavenly Sound has the power of judgment, and it also has the effect of dispelling falsehoods and removing obstacles.
His voice and expression were stern and cold, clearly unmoved by the meteor's poignant and immersive narration.
He questioned, "When the Bridge of Reincarnation broke, you saved the souls of 100,000 people. The crime lies with the evil deeds of the ghost officials. Why didn't you report this to the Underworld?"
Meteor suddenly looked at Mingguang, and a hint of sternness finally appeared in his eyes.
"Report to where? Have you forgotten where I came from?"
"In the realm of the underworld, if no one were to protect the ghost officials of the star realm and the underworld, how could they have the audacity to massacre hundreds of thousands of people at once?"
"How could a ghost official in the Star Realm dare to use human lives to elevate himself to the level of Ghost King or even Yama within a few years without anyone backing him up?!"
Meteor was always very polite to people and never spoke harshly, but at this moment he seemed to be angered by Mingguang's words, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
His voice was forceful and aggressive: "You were born in the Heavenly Realm, and you were all born as immortals. The reason I chose to disperse my spirit and return to the mortal realm after entering the Heavenly Realm was precisely because I did not want to be an immortal who held a position without doing anything, enjoying the offerings of all realms while never knowing the suffering of the human world!"
“I can see through their greed for power and their lack of compassion at a glance. I am ashamed to associate with them.”
"For so many years... more than two thousand years, I have been waiting for the heavens to discover the anomalies of this world, waiting for the so-called celestial position of savior to come and save my people."
“During the years I was neither human nor ghost in hell, I even prayed for a celestial being to kill me without a word.”
"But there isn't."
"Heaven's way is ruthless, merciless, and confused, aiding and abetting evil!"
"Do you know what it means for all living beings to have grievances that cannot be voiced, to have no way to ascend to heaven, and no way to descend to hell?"
"The cries of these countless beings cannot even penetrate the netherworld, how could they possibly pierce through layers of dark clouds and reach the ears of the heavens?!"
"Even if the heavens heard this, would those celestial beings, who are ignorant of the ways of the world and have become bloated with greed, truly lower their heads and show pity for the common people?"
"Isn't this just like the powerful and wealthy in the world, seizing power and consolidating their positions, with officials protecting each other and their umbrellas covering the sky?"
After finishing speaking, Meteor stood up, supporting himself with the longsword he had previously plunged into the ground, and instantly returned to his usual gentle and mild demeanor.
"The cultivation world can no longer incite emperors to start wars."
"Over the years, in order to send souls across the bridge of reincarnation, I have struggled and struggled, almost extinguishing all the living beings that have flown away here, yet I still cannot fill the life force needed to ferry souls across, nor can I extinguish the inextinguishable karmic fire of the underworld."
"I have never been able to gather enough materials to repair the Bridge of Reincarnation."
Meteor laughed, a laugh as gentle as a spring breeze, as if the anger just moments before was merely an illusion. He said, "Fortunately, the people here have persevered long enough with me, and now we have finally found you."
“Although you are a bit stupid, I have never hidden anything from you, and even deliberately guided you, yet it still took you so long to gather here.”
"But I understand that it was your good immortals and parents who sealed your memories and even added a protective spell to you so that you could have fun in the mortal world."
The meteor said, "But at least you are willing to descend to the mortal realm and personally bring peace to the people. Even if your abilities are limited, you are different from those celestial beings in the heavens who only know how to clench their fists and hold onto their positions."
"In the ancient times, there were Gonggong who angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, Nuwa who mended the sky with her own body, Kuafu who died chasing the sun, and Shennong who died tasting hundreds of herbs..."①
He concluded by saying, "The immortal positions are formed through the faith and offerings of all living beings in the myriad realms, and should be worshipped by all living beings."
“You little immortals are born and raised with all kinds of pampering. Although you have enjoyed the offerings of the people for many years, you have never made any contribution to the people.”
"Once your life force fills this Soul Refining Cauldron, the pure five elements of life force from your innate immortal status can be used to extinguish the karmic fire and repair the Bridge of Reincarnation."
"By then, you will have lived up to the expectations of the people."
After he finished speaking, he quickly formed hand seals, urging the Soul Refining Cauldron to accelerate the melting of the souls of the immortals.
Influenced by his misleading words, those with weak wills and shallow cultivation all felt ashamed of themselves for failing heaven and earth.
After hearing this epic story of a soul whose body and spirit had been destroyed yet whose heart remained devoted to all living beings, and who endured countless hardships yet persisted in saving the common people, Bitao sighed with admiration.
"Ah, I see."
No wonder when they were slaying the evil spirit Xi, they mobilized all the high-level cultivators in the cultivation world, only to end up using a Soul Refining Cauldron to melt all the living souls into a pot of thin porridge.
It's likely that from that time on, Meteor wanted to refine them all together.
The plan was temporarily suspended after it was discovered that the immortal had a protective spell mark with lightning patterns on his body.
No wonder most of the enemies who fought against the demons were immortals, and they were repeatedly chased and killed by the demons. Even though the lightning-pattern protective seal was broken, very few immortals died in the end. Most of the dead were cultivators from this realm.
It turns out that those two near-death exorcisms were actually the meteor picking at their "thorns" before it "ate the fish".
It turns out that it wasn't because these immortals were more powerful than the cultivators of this world that they survived; rather, it was because the meteors were deliberately "nurturing" and "driving them away."
Until they ended up in the trap they dug themselves.
No wonder the shooting stars always seemed so obviously suspicious, as if they were deliberately guided; it turns out they were deliberately guided.
However, Bitao was overly suspicious. Because he appeared too open and honest, she felt that he was not a suspect.
No wonder the meteor could frequently travel to the underworld. Despite being deeply tainted by ghostly energy, it could still stand so close to the Heavenly Lightning Tree without being injured by it.
No wonder when Bitao tested Liuxing, Liuxing didn't hold back in their fight and even gave Bitao pointers on swordsmanship and hand seals, making no attempt to conceal his knowledge of all things.
He didn't bother to be as cautious as these little fairies.
If it weren't for the protective lightning runes of the Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Realms, these immortals would have been discovered and forced to be melted down into the Soul Refining Cauldron within two months of descending to the mortal realm.
No wonder the celestial realm has never noticed the problems that have plagued this realm for so long, and even the celestial sundial, which rotates through the stars, has failed to warn this realm.
It turns out that it wasn't evil spirits causing trouble, nor was it fallen immortals bringing disaster to the world.
Rather, it is a heart that never dies in the faith and longing of the common people, always concerned for them, and frantically striving to "save the world"...
Only now does everything make sense.
However, Bitao rubbed her still slightly sore waist, sighed, and did not forget to ask a question: "The story is very interesting, and I deeply sympathize with your experience. But Senior Brother Meteor... or should I respectfully call you Ancestor, I have another question I want to ask."
Meteor looked at Bitao: "If you ask, just call me Senior Brother Meteor. I can't be called any kind of ancestor. I'm just a monster who can't die, nor can I live."
Bitao said, "Since you have already controlled the Ghost Official, and can now walk freely in the human world, possess the unique skill of carving cultivators at will and imprisoning dead souls, and even manipulate the entire cultivation world, why don't you reveal your identity as the Xuanmen Ancestor Yu Junlang?"
"The people trust you so much, revere you so much, and yearn for you so much. If you want to establish a human world, why be sneaky and hide behind others? Wouldn't you be able to get a hundred responses as soon as you reveal your identity?"
Meteor was about to explain.
Bitao then said, "I'm afraid you wouldn't dare."
“You dare not reveal your true identity to the people of this world, for you fear they will discover that the Xuanmen Ancestor who once brought them prosperity is nothing more than a monster crawled out of hell.”
"Because of his arbitrary actions, he smashed the bridge of reincarnation, and dared not report it to the underworld, causing the life here to wither."
"In order to supposedly allow the cycle of reincarnation, you deliberately cast evil spirits into the human world, forcing those who wish to be reincarnated to exchange their lives for yours. In reality, you're afraid that if there's no reincarnation, the Lord of the Underworld will notice the anomaly here and send ghost officials to investigate?"
"You're afraid of dying."
Bitao said firmly, "You are afraid that the people here will discover your true colors and will no longer believe in or respect you."
"Once you lose your faith, your compassion for all living beings will become rigid and die."
After Bitao finished speaking, Liuxing's gentle expression froze completely on his face.
Bitao looked behind him.
Zhan Kui rode in on horseback, his body wrapped in several bundles, making him look like a giant human-shaped steamed bun.
She stumbled and ran behind Meteor, not knowing if she had overheard Bitao and Meteor's conversation.
She called out softly, "Senior brother... I'm late."
Meteor turned around and looked at Zhan Kui.
Right now!
Mingguang swiftly formed hand seals, and the assembled immortals behind him, poised to unleash their power, followed suit.
The five elements of spiritual light gathered in everyone's palms and then connected.
Mingguang chanted incantations: "The myriad realms are vast and boundless, the Supreme One opens the light. With immortal bones as the contract, I command the nine directions!"②
"Inheriting the true lineage of the Three Pure Ones! Begin!"
The group pressed their spiritual light into the ground—and it vanished instantly!
The spiritual energy from all four directions was forcefully drawn away, and the spiritual light transformed into earth dragons, rapidly darting in the nine directions.
Bitao knew all along that Mingguang must have a backup plan!
She felt the earth tremble, and then blinding five-element spiritual light rose from all nine directions. In an instant, the nine lights intertwined, not only directly shattering the Soul Refining Cauldron above their heads and destroying the Soul Refining Array formed by the immortals of this realm, but also almost blinding her.
—It is an evolution of the Nine Palaces Spirit Locking Array!
But now, instead of spirit stones or magical artifacts guarding the nine palace array eyes, nine immortal bones are rising up.
It still had flesh and blood attached, clearly indicating that it had only been removed recently—the heart bone.
Bitao stared wide-eyed at Mingguang in astonishment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
