Chapter Thirty-Two

  The Tongchuang Palace is eerily quiet today, with neither the palace master nor several elders showing their faces. Even the disciples who usually come and go are nowhere to be seen.

  Lu Jing was so anxious that he couldn't even find someone to help him, and ended up sitting at the gate of the small courtyard, dozing off.

  Dào Jìng also sat under the corridor, staring blankly at the misty clear water.

  "Ah! Living a carefree life, I enjoy myself in solitude. I don't bother with worldly worries. If I don't like something, I just ignore it and let the world forget about me. With the vast sky above and the hundred rivers below, you can accomplish everything if you follow your heart. I love precious pearls and colorful treasures, I love the power of the wind and clouds, but even the beauty of eternal life is not as wonderful as following my own desires..."

  A clear and leisurely voice came from afar, a Taoist youth appeared in their line of sight, humming a little tune as he walked with a swagger. As he drew closer, he raised an eyebrow at Lu Jian and said, "We meet again!"

  "Goat? How did you come back?"

  Duanmu Changyang stood still, lazily digging his ears and said casually: "What's the meaning of return? I didn't leave in the first place."

  "How long have we been waiting for you? You didn't leave, where did you go? Is it that the master of Yu Palace wouldn't let you leave? Hey, I'm talking to you, what are you looking at?"

  "Huh? What?" Duanmu Chengyang withdrew his gaze from the distance, turned to look at Lu Jian, raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, then looked at the young man sitting behind him in the courtyard, and his smile deepened.

  "It's better to bring you along, otherwise that guy will leave and I won't be at ease leaving you here alone"

  Lu Jian let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes impatiently, "I told you already, go back to your own home and don't bother me, I'm not going back yet."

  "Alas, how heartless!"

  Duanmu Yan walked past her, leaning against the courtyard gate with his arms crossed, and said in a soft voice: "Hey! Young master over there, are you coming with me?"

  Standing under the corridor, Dao Jing slowly withdrew his melancholic gaze. The moment he saw him, a faint light flashed in his eyes. He walked down slowly and tidied up his collar, his eyebrows curved as he replied: "Alright"

  The wind on the flat ground started to blow strongly, blowing his clothes corners fiercely. Duanmu Cheng's mouth corner was raised with a joyful smile, he stared at Dao Jing firmly, but retreated backwards instead.

  One zhang, two zhang, three zhang away, stand still.

  The right hand pinches the key from the front of the chest upwards, sweeps across the face, and suddenly opens the palm to push towards the side of the body!

  A strong gust of wind swirled around him, blurring his figure. A golden light appeared in the void, transforming into a divine bow, firmly grasped in his hand.

  The wind stops, and people appear.

  "The bow has no string, the arrow has no shape, the sharp blade is invisible but can enter and exit the formation. The great way is originally formless, yet it controls all things and spirits in the world. Non-being gives rise to being, when being reaches its ultimate truth, it becomes non-being."

  "Do you understand?"

  Close your eyes quietly and gently, then open them again, and you will have clear and bright eyesight.

  "Come on!"

  The divine bow drew a circular trajectory, pointing towards the peak of the cursed mountain. The four directions fell silent, and only a golden light pierced through, transforming into sharp arrows that flew through the air.

  The law curse is greatly moved, and the rapid contraction of death wants to block the momentum of the golden arrow. It's at this time!

  Dao Jing's hands formed a seal, and his body instantly transformed into a beam of pure light that shot into the Golden Arrow. With a loud crash, he burst out of the formation!

  The thunderstorm raged on, and the entire small courtyard visibly shook three times.

  The golden arrow flew back into his hand, and the clear light entered the ground, transforming into a figure that stood steadily.

  Everything was over in the blink of an eye, and the curse continued to operate, while the trapped person was already outside the curse.

  Dào Jìng bowed with his fists clasped together, "Thanks for your trouble, Master Meng. Much appreciated!"

  He relaxed his whole body, a big smile spreading across his face, with an expression that was somewhat proud, somewhat pleased, and slightly shy. He tossed his head, flipping away the annoying fringe in front of his eyes, "You're welcome!"

  At this time, the entire silly arrow deer leaned against the courtyard door and stood up, and it took a long time to find its own voice. Looking at the two people in front of him who were full of vigor and spirit, he asked dryly: "Then... are we leaving?"

  Dào Jìng and Méng Mù exchanged a glance, and Dào Jìng smiled: "Of course you have to go, you all go first, I still have some words to say to the palace master."

  "What? What did you say?"

  "Anyway, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and all that, we don't care, let's go!"

  Watching Mumu drag the deer arrow disappear from view, Dao Jing let out a satisfied sigh, and finally looked at what was once thought to be an insurmountable obstacle, turned around and walked towards the Jade Pivot Hall with ease.

  "Hmm, faster than I expected, indeed the master's prediction was not wrong!" Towards the young master who appeared in front of him, He You didn't show any surprise at all, and continued to sit calmly sipping his tea.

  "New tea from Mount Tiantai, have a cup," he invited, beckoning him to sit down quietly. Looking at the young man in front of him, for the first time, he felt a sense of relief in his heart. He wasn't as useless as he had imagined, and indeed, his master's judgment was never wrong.

  It's just...

  "Now that you've regained your freedom, why don't you leave?"

  Dao Jing also smiled and said in a warm voice, "I still have some things I'd like to ask you."

  "Oh? How did you know I'd definitely tell you?"

  "The palace master is under the jurisdiction of Shizun, not under Daojing's jurisdiction." Daojing put down his cup and stood up to pay respects to Heyu with a bow.

  He Yù felt somewhat uneasy, he had grown accustomed to controlling the direction of all situations and grasping the psychology of everyone. He thought he was familiar enough with the temperament of Dao Jing's type of immortal disciples, but at this moment, Dao Jing looked very unfamiliar, his calmness and stability were beyond his expectations.

  Dao Jing put down his hand, smiled slightly and then composed himself: "Master has countless followers, Dao Jing followed Master for only a dozen years or so, but I already understand that all these people, including you and me, follow Master not because of his noble status as an immortal, nor because of his extraordinary magical powers, nor because of his immense wealth. I think that even if he were no longer the Supreme Immortal, if he gave up his divine authority, you, me, and all these people would not abandon him. Is that right?"

  "Yes!"

  "Well, then tell me why this is?"

  "De and Xing" and Yu couldn't help but stand up, looking at Dao Jing, as if wanting to find the figure of Xuan Yi Shangxian through his face. His eyes were dazed, and he continued: "En and Yi".

  Dao Jing nodded in agreement, and said softly: "The Palace Master has been hiding here for a long time, surely there must be a good reason. But have you ever thought that one day you can walk out of this Ming Shui, stand freely under the blue sky, and stand beside your master?"

  "I am delighted to be here, but I and the hundreds of fellow disciples at Tongdun Palace have not spent a single day without yearning for that day's arrival"

  "I, as a disciple of the respected master, have received great care and nurturing. I will exert all my efforts to repay this kindness a million times over. This is not only for the sake of the respected master but also for myself. Without the respected master, there would be no me; without you, there would be none of you all. Perhaps there are some things that you can do but I cannot, yet there are also things that you cannot do but I can. Do you acknowledge this?"

  Dào Jìng's eyes gleamed with intensity, yet his tone was sincere and profound. He spoke slowly: "Dào Jìng is not a pampered aristocrat, nor has he ever thought of relying on his master's wings to gain without effort. However, Master has spent hundreds of years in glory, but now due to worldly affairs, his hair is turning white, which Dào Jìng cannot bear. This time, I will definitely repay my gratitude to Master and clear up the chaos below. I also hope that the Palace Lord will watch over and assist us!"

  "This is natural, don't worry," You Yu sighed and replied solemnly.

  "In the days since I was rescued by Daojing, the master of the palace has taken great care of me and taught me many things. During this time, many events have occurred, and I'm sure you must have spent a lot of effort to investigate and pursue them. As for the matters that I am unaware of or did not witness, please inform me."

  He closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. Perhaps he had indeed underestimated this child before, who was young but truly had some skills. It made sense that after being personally taught by the master for over a decade, one couldn't evaluate him with ordinary standards. However, the young man's pride was still too high, and he needed to be tempered by life experiences. Although the master didn't want it, this arrangement of fate was truly beyond anyone's control.

  He revealed the identity of the black-clad men, who had previously assassinated the Void Gate and later appeared in Dongyue. It can be confirmed that these two groups are the same group of people. Their arms have a mysterious bird tattoo, which is the emblem of the ancient Qīng Yáng clan.

  Although not as vast as the current national territory, it was also a well-established system with rich and strong people. The country took the most noble Xuan Bird as its god, and the customs were strong and good at killing and fighting. However, the last ruler of Qingyang, who had been conquering everywhere, disregarded the suffering of the people and recklessly recruited soldiers, also widely collecting beautiful women from among the people, causing domestic life to wither away. The ministers in the country took advantage of the situation to fight for power and profit, and the ruler was indulged in music and beauty, not listening to the voices of the court, eventually leading to the division of the country into eight parts, and later generations gradually returned to other rising great powers, Qingyang disappeared.

  It was originally located on the banks of the Ying River, but now that the world has changed and the city's territory has long been lost to the sands of time, the Qingyang clan is also unheard of having any descendants, yet suddenly reappears in the mortal realm, it is truly suspicious and indeed frightening.

  As for why Dao Jing was targeted, and why Xū Wú Jí was killed, these things currently do not have a solid basis, and He Yù also cannot easily make inferences. But thinking about Dao Jing's disappearance, and thinking further back, the Demon Lord suddenly turned against his master, leading the five Yao masters to launch a large-scale invasion of the Wu Yue border, even destroying the Suí Shān Xián Kù later on. All these things may have some kind of hidden connection.

  "The young master has been missing for over a year, and it turns out that he was taken away by the demon king's snake transformation. Where did you go during this year? Have you heard any news?"

  When he heard this question, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded in Dao Jing's ears, and his mind was blank for an instant.

  He Yù found his complexion unusual, and anxiously asked four or five times before getting a response. Suddenly he remembered that Dao Jing was also injured, and he had forgotten about it. Until now, he still doesn't know why he regained consciousness, nor does he know the extent of his recovery.

  "You don't understand a child's heart..." The master was right, Dao Jing was indeed strict and rigid with himself.

  Dào Jìng didn't know what was on his mind, so he calmed down and made a composed expression. He shook his head slightly, "I'm fine, it's time for me to leave. I've already sent Jiǎo Lóng to send Duān Mù Cháng Yǎng back home. As for Lù Jiàn, if she wants to come with me, I'll take her along. Thank you for taking care of us, goodbye!"

  He Yu saw him turn around and leave, and followed a step with unease, "Young Master, wait a minute, why not let me personally send you back?"

  "You're welcome, don't mention it!"

  Out of the clear water, Dao Jing gazed at the azure sky and finally relaxed his muscles with a sense of relief.

  "Ah, I'm really satisfied, huh? Where's everyone?"

  Looking around, the clear water's edge was empty and desolate, without a trace of Meng Mu and Lu Jian. Dao Jing had just thought to go find them, but as soon as he took a step forward, an idea suddenly occurred to him in his heart.

  He stood on the shore with his arms crossed, gazing out at the distant woods, pretending to be nonchalant, and said loudly: "Since no one wants to follow me, that's great! I'll just go back by myself then!"

  "Wait wait I wait wait I"

  "Oh no......"

  As expected, the two of them emerged from the thicket with exaggerated politeness, laughing loudly and saying "it's really narrow" as they came. Just then, Lu Jian rushed over amidst their laughter and grabbed his arm, "Are you going to take me along too? Really?"

  He shook me so hard I could barely stand upright. It was frustrating yet amusing, "Seriously, but if you shake me apart, you'll have to carry me back!"

  Lu Jing finally stopped, but still couldn't help but retort with a mischievous tone: "If anyone should take the blame, it's him. Who told him to deceive people? Deceive paper!"

  Two quarreling loudly, one standing with a faint smile, this was the scene in Yun Su's eyes as soon as he arrived.

  He wanted to go forward and call out to Dao Jing, but for some reason he stopped in his tracks.

  Fortunately, Dao Jing discovered him in time, "Yun Su? You're out?"

  Yun Su smiled and walked forward, "Is that so, your problem has been solved?"

  "Uh-huh," said quietly without concealing her delight, and didn't forget to timely stop the quarrel between the two people in front of her usually dignified and steady good friend.

  "Hey? This young hero is quite elegant, dare I ask if you have something to do with our family's young master?" Meng Mu stood with his arms around his chest, looking at Yun Su whose eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

  Yun Su understood what he meant and didn't bother to reason with him.

  "My dear brother, I have some words to speak with you in private"

  "What's with the private conversation?" Meng Mu said with a look of disgust on his face, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

  "Shh!" Dao Jing couldn't help but glare at him, and he grunted and turned his face away.

  Dao Jing let out a silent sigh, the Yun Su in front of him looked somewhat disheveled, his hair was messy, Dao Jing guessed that he might have drawn his sword too quickly, which didn't match his calm temperament. Speaking of his personality, it was very cautious, at this moment seeing himself with two strangers together would definitely make him uneasy, fearing that he would ask and instruct repeatedly.

  But he was now completely carefree, his mind set on going back. He hastily took two steps forward and walked up to Yun Su, opening his mouth first to say: "I know what you want to say, but don't worry." He pointed at Meng Mu, "This is a friend I recently met." And then he gestured towards Lu Jian, "That one is a friend of my master's."

  "Shàng xiān de... péng yǒu?" Yún Sū looked at the little girl jumping around and couldn't help but stare blankly.

  "Little, little friend," Dao Jing hurriedly added: "In short, you can rest assured that I must go back immediately now. This is not the time for talking, and this is not a place for talking either. After everything has settled down, I will definitely go to Dongyue to find you, and we will talk about it in detail then, okay?"

  Yun Su looked at his long-unseen good friend, who was now radiant and full of energy. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and smiled warmly: "Alright, Dongyue, I'll wait for you."

  "It's settled then, let's go!"

  Jin Chao Mama 2014/9/17 1:55