Chapter 126 The Dao is ruthless, but the human heart must have warmth.
Shen Yuepo got up, quickly washed up, ate two steamed buns that Wu Feng had sent over, and stepped into the eerie Black Wind Valley once again.
She navigated the fog-shrouded woodland with practiced ease and soon arrived at the dilapidated temple once more.
As expected, Lu Ningshuang and Lu Wenxuan, the siblings, stayed obediently in the temple.
Upon seeing Shen Yuepo appear, both ghosts trembled, feeling both fear and a glimmer of hope.
“Master…” Lu Ningshuang took a step forward cautiously.
Shen Yuepo didn't waste any words and went straight to the point:
"Lu Ningshuang, where exactly is the core of that evil sect's Soul-Locking and Demon-Suppressing Array, which imprisoned your corpses and souls?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Ningshuang's soul trembled violently, and a glimmer of light seemed to flash in her empty eye sockets.
She looked at Shen Yuepo with surprise and joy, her voice trembling with emotion, "Master! You're asking this because you're willing to help us?!"
Does this mean that the siblings can finally escape this cage without harming others?
Ah Bao nervously gripped his sister's clothes, his tiny spirit filled with anticipation.
Shen Yuepo looked at them, her eyes still cold and her voice calm:
"Considering your circumstances are understandable and you are willing to tell the truth, I can help you break free from the Soul-Locking Array and send you to where you belong."
She changed the subject, her tone becoming serious:
“However, your cruelty in harming innocent lives and your act of capturing souls for sacrifice are grave crimes.”
"Even if there are reasons, one cannot escape the laws of the underworld. Once in the underworld, one will be judged according to the law, and will likely have to suffer punishment in the eighteen levels of hell for decades before one can cleanse some of one's sins and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation."
Shen Yuepo's words were like ice water, pouring it on the flame of hope that Lu Ningshuang had just ignited, instantly sobering her up.
The surprise on her face faded, replaced by pain.
She knelt down with a thud and kowtowed deeply to Shen Yuepo:
"Master, I understand! I am deeply sinful and willing to accept punishment. Whether it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, or being boiled in oil and having my heart ripped out, I will never back down! I only beg... I only beg you, Master, to help Abao!"
She sobbed uncontrollably:
"He died young and ignorant. Everything he did afterward was due to my incompetent older sister. He had the least blood on his hands. I beg you to plead his case in the underworld so that he can suffer less and be reincarnated sooner!"
"Sister!"
Abao also knelt down beside his sister with a thud, his small soul embracing Lu Ningshuang, tears streaming down his face, his voice childish yet unusually firm:
"No! Abao isn't afraid! Abao doesn't want to be separated from his sister. Wherever sister goes, Abao will go! Even if we go to hell, Abao will be with sister! In the next life, in the next life, Abao will still be sister's brother!"
Shen Yuepo looked at the siblings in silence for a moment before slowly speaking:
"The underworld has its own laws, rewarding the good and punishing the evil, and seeing everything clearly. What is deserved cannot be escaped; what is not deserved will not be imposed upon you."
"The severity of his crimes will be determined by the judge according to the Book of Life and Death, which is beyond my control. All I can do is to restore your freedom."
Lu Ningshuang understood what Shen Yuepo meant.
She knew that a ghost shouldn't be too greedy, so she didn't say anything more.
He kowtowed again, then stood up and pointed to a grove of ancient trees behind the dilapidated temple, where the resentment was particularly thick.
"Right there! That evil cultivator buried my and Abao's remains under those tree roots, nailing them together with soul-suppressing nails engraved with runes..."
Lu Ningshuang, carrying Shen Yuepo, bypassed the dilapidated temple and headed towards the back.
The resentment permeating the air was almost tangible, and the soil beneath their feet was an ominous dark red, as if it had been soaked in blood and dried by the winds of time.
After taking a few steps, Shen Yuepo suddenly spoke: "If you wish, I can make an exception and grant you a day of freedom after the formation is lifted."
Her gaze swept over the land that had imprisoned the Lu siblings for a century. "Go see the outside world, then go to the underworld to atone for your sins."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ningshuang and Abao suddenly stopped.
The two souls unleashed astonishing Yin energy, but hurriedly restrained themselves after realizing they had lost their composure.
The two ghosts looked at Shen Yuepo in disbelief.
After a brief moment of shock came immense elation.
They exchanged a glance, then immediately bowed deeply to Shen Yuepo, their voices trembling with tears: "Thank you for your grace, Master!"
"Don't be too happy yet," Shen Yuepo said calmly. "Whether we can break the formation is still unknown."
After saying that, she turned and continued walking.
Suddenly, I remembered many years ago, in the courtyard of Xujing Temple, my master sat under the old locust tree.
As a young girl, she had just been punished for killing a virgin ghost who lingered in the human world, and was forced to copy the "Qingjing Jing" (Classic of Purity and Tranquility) a hundred times. She was so aggrieved that she burst into tears.
"Po'er," Master's voice drifted over, mingled with the fragrance of locust blossoms.
"The laws of Tao are ruthless, but the human heart must have warmth."
At that time, she didn't understand. She only felt that her master was talking incoherently, asking her to be ruthless in eliminating evil spirits, but also to be compassionate towards ghosts.
Until after descending the mountain...
She seemed to understand.
As their thoughts drifted, they arrived at the grove where the resentment was strongest.
Shen Yuepo stood before the ancient tree, its massive roots emerging from the earth like writhing dragons, intertwining to form a natural cage.
Between the thick roots, one can vaguely see the deeply buried black runes, the cinnabar incantations engraved on them having faded to dark red.
She did not rush in, but instead slowly circled the outer edge of the formation.
He carefully examined each twisted root, sensing the flow of the earth's yin energy and the nodes of the formation.
Occasionally, her fingertips would lightly tap in the air, creating a faint golden light as she tested the formation's reaction.
After a moment, she stopped and muttered to herself:
"Based on the ancient locust tree, using the earth's yin energy as a lock, and supplemented by soul-suppressing nails and the filth of the bones of close relatives to seal the seven orifices, the soul is locked and the evil energy is suppressed, severing the path of reincarnation."
"This arrangement is quite insidious and ruthless. It seems that the ancient evil sects had a solid foundation in Taoist magic."
This evaluation is neither positive nor negative; it is simply a statement of facts.
"You all step back, the farther the better. Guard the area and don't let anything get close," Shen Yuepo instructed the Lu siblings.
Lu Ningshuang quickly grabbed her younger brother, transforming into two gusts of cold wind, and retreated five meters away, looking towards them with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
Shen Yuepo took a deep breath, and his aura instantly solidified.
She slowly walked to the center of the formation, and just then—
"Buzz!"
The ground in the center of the entire formation suddenly trembled.
The black runes buried deep underground suddenly glowed with a blinding red light.
The sprawling tree roots, like a giant python awakened from its trance, began to writhe wildly, making a "crunching" friction sound.
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