Chapter 19: Sudden Change!

  Lu Jing and Duanmu Chengyang temporarily stayed in the Tongchen Palace. When Meng Mu received the news, he let out a long sigh of relief. He also disliked Duanmu Chengyang and felt that since his arrival, Lu Jing had become less close to him. However, he hadn't realized that when he went to visit Lu Jing before, she couldn't even speak yet, so how could they have been close?

  As the sun was about to set, Mengmu pulled Daojing to sit on the threshold, chatting occasionally. Of course, he was mainly responsible for speaking, while Daojing remained as quiet as ever.

  "Your master should be arriving soon, he said he'd come for you in the evening, I'm sure he won't go back on his word."

  Leaning against the cheek, looking at the sunset on the horizon, muttering: "If he breaks his promise, it would be better. I think you're quite interesting. If you also leave, I'll just have to..."

  There were rustling footsteps outside the courtyard wall, Meng Mu alertly stood up, "Not good, someone's coming!"

  Looking around, Meng Mu decisively pulled Dao Jing to climb over the low wall and escape. The house was on a small hilltop, surrounded by dense forests on all sides. They quickly drilled into the forest and fled far away.

  Meng Mu feared being discovered and waited until they had escaped far away. He pulled Dao Jing, using the "shrinking earth" method, and in the blink of an eye, they were already a hundred miles away.

  A hundred miles away is also within the range of Dongyue, and the place where the two people are located is a small village. The dusk converges, the smoke curls up, and Mengmu's stomach cooperates with a "gurgling" sound.

  Mengmu led him around the village and climbed up the back mountain. On the waist of the mountain, there was a piece of desolate grave, and further inside, a small courtyard appeared, with three rooms, a well, and a low wall surrounding it, with an ancient locust tree inside. The room had everything in it, all new, although not big but clean and tidy, as if someone had cleaned up recently.

  Although I don't come back often, and even when I do it's just him alone, after all it's still a home, no matter where you go, there is always something to worry about.

  He handed over dry rations to Dao Jing, wanting to go back and take a look at the situation in Xu Wu Chang, but he didn't dare leave Dao Jing alone here. At this moment, he suddenly thought of Duanmu Chengyan coming.

  He furrowed his brow, thinking deeply, and finally made up his mind. He explained to Dao Jing seriously: "Actually, I was thinking of sending you back to Tiantai Mountain directly, but there's still something in Xu Wu's place that can save you that hasn't been taken out yet. I have to go back and take a look. You hide well here, don't wander around, wait for me to come back, got it?"

  Dao Jing was naturally unresponsive, and Meng Mu had to instruct him twice before he could re-exercise the shrinking earth technique and return to his usual state of nothingness.

  The small courtyard has changed beyond recognition in an instant, with thick smoke rising everywhere and a scene of devastation all around. The usually calm family members and disciples are now lying dead in the courtyard.

  Fresh blood flowed across the green tiles and also dyed the empty eyes red.

  He was tightly bound and thrown against the wall, a dozen or so assassins in black robes with masked faces instantly took the lives of his family members and disciples, and then searched everywhere for Daojing's trail.

  The search yielded nothing, and the black-clad man drew his long sword, pressing it against Wu You's throat: "Are you Wu You?"

  His face was ashen, he glanced at that person and sneered: "You've already killed my whole family, don't you know who I am?"

  "That man coldly said: 'You healed someone you shouldn't have, I've come to take your life!'"

  "I've been a doctor for my whole life, only asking about the illness and not looking at the person. All lives in the world are equal in my eyes. If I want to cure, I'll cure; if I don't want to, I won't bother. Whether or not to cure isn't up to you to decide. Don't waste words, if you want to kill me, just do it!"

  That man swung his long knife, and the thick thigh of the Void instantly gushed out with blood. His voice was cold: "Where is your patient?"

  He almost fainted from severe pain, but his face showed no fear, and he said calmly: "Nature has taken him to where he should go!"

  That man let out a cold snort, at this time a black-clad person leaned in close to his ear and whispered something, he turned his head to look far away, the corner of his mouth twitching, as if using lip language to communicate with someone, after a few sentences he lightly nodded.

  "Alas! I've spent my whole life loving my family, only to end up alone in the end. Even if you spare my life, what's the point of living? Might as well give me a quick death."

  That man turned around, his eyes cold and scornful: "Want to die? I'll send you on your way!"

  The flames grew larger, and the man shook off the scarlet blood beads on his long knife. In an instant, he disappeared with the black-clad figure.

  Just as he had stabilized Xuan Yi's pulse, someone outside the door asked to see him. Yu Chen Xuan Huang walked out.

  It was a guard who had been arranged to pick up Dao Jing earlier. The guard saw him come out and did not report immediately, but instead asked him to walk further away.

  Watching the guard's cautious appearance, Yu Chen Xuan Huang's heart sank.

  The guards outside the courtyard immediately knelt down to plead guilty: "Subordinates rushed to the Void Temple, only to see a big fire rising into the sky. The Void Temple and its gatekeeper were all killed. Subordinates searched for hundreds of miles around, but couldn't find Dao Jing Gongzi, please punish us, Heavenly Lord!"

  Yu Chen Xuan Huang had a moment of blankness in his mind, gazing at the newly laid garden scenery under the night sky, muttering to himself: "This is really... teaching me how to be good..."

  When Mengmu returned with Daojing, the house on Xiaoshan had become a pile of ashes. The vegetation here was dense, and although it was late spring, many trees were affected, and there was a hint of mountain fire.

  After much difficulty, he finally found a place with good feng shui and settled down quietly. He rushed into the courtyard amidst the flames and carried out Xuwu Chang.

  Xu Wu often looked like he was dead, and it took a long time for the people around him to wake him up.

  "Are you guys okay?"

  Meng Mu shook his head and pushed Dao Jing in front of him again for him to see.

  Xu Wu suddenly let out a sigh of relief: "The killer may not have gone far, hurry and escape!"

  "How can this be?" Meng Mu gazed at the increasingly larger flames, fearing that they would alarm Dong Yue and make things even harder to explain. He prepared to carry Xū Wú Cháng away with him.

  Xu Wu shook his head weakly: "Don't bother" and then pulled out a brocade bag from his bosom, which seemed to contain something round and flat.

  He handed the difficult land to Mengmu: "This is Xuanzhu Heart Mirror, you hand it over to Xuan Yi Shangxian."

  "Is that it? Haven't you lost your spiritual power?" Mengmu was momentarily flustered and didn't care about much else. Seeing Xuwu being somewhat on guard, he hastily explained: "Your courtyard is just that small, everyone can hear what's being said, I wasn't eavesdropping."

  "Alright, I'll have to trust you," Xū Wú said with a strained voice, "The Xuánzhū has indeed lost its spiritual power, but from my years of searching through ancient texts, I've found that if we find another spirit pearl to replace it and use the Míng Xīn Zhòu spell, perhaps we can lift the seal."

  "What's with this 'perhaps' business? Either you can or you can't, speak clearly!"

  "You will tell Xuan Yi my words exactly as I said them, and also hand over the things in the brocade bag to him. Let him make the decision himself, this matter shouldn't have been interfered with by me anyway." Wu You Chang looked helpless and unwilling to look at him again, panting for a while before suddenly calling out: "Dao Jing".

  "What's he doing? You tell me."

  Xu Wu often helped Meng Mu sit up and looked at Dao Jing, calling out to him several times, but still got no response, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

  His body was covered in wounds that were all fatal, yet he hadn't died. A thought flashed through Meng Mu's mind and he suddenly called out: "You're a celestial immortal?"

  "Alas, it's all over now." Xū Wú Cháng gazed at Dao Jing with a desolate expression: "I've never been fond of practicing medicine to save the world, nor have I ever thought about cultivating immortality and seeking the Tao. It's because human life is impermanent, and one lifetime as an ordinary person is already enough; why bother adding more years? Although I didn't want to cultivate immortality, it's not up to me. Perhaps today is my heavenly calamity, but what use is this immortal body that was obtained at the cost of my family's senseless death?"

  Alas, this child has already been invaded by the demonic energy, and the power of the seal is quite formidable. His own cultivation is far from being able to contend with these two forces. Tell all this to Xuan Yi as well, and remind him that perhaps he can use the power of the immortal spirit to prolong Dao Jing's life, waiting for the day when the Xuanzhu Heart Mirror's spiritual power recovers.

  He struggled to sit up straight, panting for a long time, and smiled bitterly: "Ah, I've forgotten that he's now at a loss...". He looked up and down at Meng Mu: "Come here."

  Mengmu first turned around and pulled Daojing back, then leaned forward. He thought: "This old man must have something else to entrust? The words are also too many."

  Xu Wu pointed to the ground in front of him and told him to sit down.

  "I'll just stand by, you can tell me whatever you want, I'll definitely pass it on"

  However, Yu Wu insisted on being stubborn, so Meng Mu had no choice but to put Dao Jing down beside him and sit down facing Yu Wu.

  "Little one, though I don't know what your identity is, we are still somewhat fated to be together. My 150 years of cultivation have yielded the power of returning souls, and I shall give it to you."

  "Huh?!" Meng Mu was startled and hastily waved his hand in decline: "This, this... let's just say it like this, you're human and I'm a demon, it wouldn't be suitable for me to come even if I wanted to, thanks anyway."

  He didn't care about these things, and with a concentrated mind and energy, he stretched out his hand, and with a swift movement of the mysterious machine, he pulled it over and pushed it past Dao Jing.

  "Why don't you give it to him? You two are more destined."

  Xu Wu often had no choice but to pause his cultivation, reopen his eyes, and truly couldn't understand what young people were thinking these days. A hundred years of cultivation fell from the sky, yet they didn't want it?

  "He is a celestial being, with pure Taoist principles. I'm afraid it's hard to accommodate my earthly cultivation, and it will have no small impact on the future tribulation. Even if I use it for a while, it will be endless trouble. Forget it, my cultivation originally comes from nature, let it disperse back to its original place."

  Meng Mu didn't get angry, but instead looked at him seriously and asked: "With your severe injuries, if you disperse your cultivation, won't you definitely die? Even if life is no longer worth living, can't you at least cure Dao Jing first? I know you must have a way. Can't you just take pity on him? I'm begging you." After saying that, he flung his sleeve and knelt down on one knee!

  "Why should I do that?" Wu Yu looked at them with no pity, a cold smile on his face. "I have already settled all the karma in this life, and it's a pity that Dao Jing will die prematurely, but it has nothing to do with me. When I was treating him, I had already sensed that his days were numbered. Why bother letting him die in my hands? I definitely won't save him, nor should I intervene."

  He looked at Meng Mu, with an inexplicable glint in his eyes, and said slowly: "And you, one day you will understand."

  "You just watched him die, don't you feel guilty in your heart?"

  "Heh heh" Xuwu Chang coldly laughed a few times: "What you said isn't wrong, so let him watch me die, is that enough?"

  "You...". Meng Mu was unexpectedly unable to refute, and suddenly stood up, glaring at him: "You want to die so much, fine, very well, I'll fulfill your wish!"

  At this moment, he concentrated his mind on the center of his palm and gathered his spiritual energy. With his own cultivation as a guide, he forcibly extracted the void's constant cultivation from his body. The Void Constant was in agony, but it had no power to resist, and could only watch as its own cultivation was guided towards the top of the empty space.

  Emerald light flashed, and the misty long arrow shot out a silver glow towards the distance. The sharp arrow flew out, and the misty mouth moved silently, reciting an incantation. In the blink of an eye, the arrow's trajectory changed direction, shooting back towards a faint mist in the void, its momentum like breaking bamboo, wrapping up over a hundred years of earth immortal power and directly piercing into Dao Jing's chest.

  He sat on the ground with his legs crossed, his body upright and stable. He stared at the void, his eyes seeming to hold a thousand words, but he couldn't say anything. The arrow came swiftly and fiercely, carrying his body backward in a flash, and he fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

  Meng Mu was already on edge, and now he was shocked pale. But seeing Xūnú Jiǔ still not dead, struggling to speak, he was so frightened that he quickly pulled Dào Jìng back, turned around and kicked out with one foot!

  The void often flies out for many miles and finally stops moving with a dull hum.

  "Uncle Wúcháng!"

  "Terrible..."

  From a distance, it seemed like someone's voice was coming over, there wasn't enough time to explain much, taking advantage of the Taoist priest's daze after just waking up, he was knocked unconscious with a palm strike and carried on his shoulder.

  In a flash of light, he escaped.