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Chapter 404 A Sigh
Since ancient times, all mortals have faced death, hence the world's aversion to death and love of life. In the pursuit of immortality, countless individuals have taken the lead, refining elixirs, cultivating qi, and ultimately striving to become immortals. Countless individuals of exceptional talent have followed one after another, devoting immense energy, and finally, they have glimpsed a sliver of heavenly secrets. Those who can defy fate and extend their lifespan by hundreds of years are the immortal cultivators.
But is the so-called cultivation of immortality truly something they figured out on their own? In this world, only a very few people have vaguely sensed the truth. Among them is Lu Xuan, who has just arrived.
Upon hearing about the three most famous immortal cultivation sects in the world, he knew which world he had entered. Qingyun Sect, Tianyin Temple, Fenxiang Valley—this was clearly the world of Zhu Xian.
The original story of "Zhu Xian" has a traditional yet modern martial arts style. It has the outer shell of cultivating immortality, but it tells a story about the various aspects of life, the good and evil of human nature, and the word "love".
However, if you delve deeper into some of the details, you'll discover that the origins of cultivation in this world are actually quite strange. According to the story's setting, regardless of whether it's righteous or evil magic, its ultimate source is the Heavenly Book. But who left behind that Heavenly Book? And who left behind the Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault that appeared in the middle of the story?
All signs indicate that the origins of cultivation in this world come from a much more ancient era. It's just that for some reason, there was a break in the lineage, and it was then revived by this generation.
On this day, at the foot of Qingyun Mountain, two figures flashed continuously in mid-air before finally stopping at a village at the foot of the mountain.
"Even though we rushed, we were still too late." Lu Xuan looked at the tragedy before him with some regret.
By this time, almost no one was left alive in the entire Caomiao Village. On the flat ground in the center of the village, all the more than forty households and over two hundred people, young and old, men and women, had been slaughtered. The corpses were all piled up on the open ground, with blood flowing like a river beneath them, and the stench of blood wafting hundreds of meters away.
Lu Xuan and Hongyu looked around and spotted two unconscious children lying on the ground not far away. These two must be Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu from the original story. They weren't injured, but their heart meridians were disordered, clearly indicating they had suffered a great shock.
Let alone children, even adults would probably faint from fright if they saw such a scene.
Lu Xuan knelt down, placing his hands on the foreheads of the two children, his palms emitting a soft white light. After a moment, the two children fell peacefully asleep.
"They've been frightened and their spirits are broken. Let them sleep a little longer." With that, she reached out and picked up the two children with Hongyu, then turned and left.
In the original novel, Zhang Xiaofan always regarded the Qingyun Sect as his second parents and second family. His fellow disciples were indeed quite good. However, the greatest tragedy of his life also occurred there. Naïve as he was, he was repeatedly hurt by the so-called greater good, and his tragic and bitter later life was all caused by this sect.
Just then, a sound of flying through the air came from the sky. Four cultivators riding various magical treasures arrived. After seeing the tragic state of Grass Temple Village, they immediately targeted Lu Xuan and his companion.
"stop."
The leader was tall and had a somewhat simple-minded face. He was currently glaring angrily at Lu Xuan and his companion.
"Put the child down."
Lu Xuan and his companion made no attempt to conceal their presence, and given the corpses scattered on the ground, the newcomer naturally assumed they were the murderers.
“If you’re here because of these bodies, go and see for yourself. The blood has dried, so the massacre must have happened last night. We were just passing by and saw these two children.”
If Lu Xuan remembered correctly, the people who came should be Song Daren and a few minor characters. Lu Xuan had a good impression of the disciples from the Dazhu Peak lineage of the Qingyun Sect. So he wasn't angry and explained. Song Daren was relatively easy to talk to, so he had a few junior brothers check and found that it was indeed as Lu Xuan said. The blood had long since dried, and the massacre had taken place some time ago.
"Fellow Daoist, do you know what exactly happened here?" Although it was confirmed that the massacre hadn't just occurred, which reduced Lu Xuan and the others' suspicion considerably, Song Daren remained vigilant and tried to question Lu Xuan to find any clues.
"Judging from your age, you should be a disciple of the younger generation of Qingyun Sect. I am the sect master of Yinxian Sect, located two hundred miles northwest of Wuyin Mountain, and my title is Zixiao Zhenren. If you want to ask me questions, find someone of sufficient standing."
"Insolence!" As one of the three major sects, and seemingly poised to become the leader of the three, the Qingyun Sect naturally had some arrogant disciples. Song Daren was considered relatively well-behaved. The other three, upon hearing Lu Xuan's arrogant tone, immediately drew their swords. Within the Qingyun Sect, swords were the most commonly used magical weapons.
Lu Xuan didn't move, but a cold glint flashed in Hongxiu's eyes. Song Daren felt an invisible, extremely sharp aura appear out of nowhere. Instinctively, he gripped the famous sword, Ten Tigers. But the moment he grasped the hilt, he sensed something was wrong. For some reason, the hilt of Ten Tigers suddenly became exceptionally sharp, like a blade, and before he could react, his palm was already cut.
He cried out in alarm and threw his sword away. The three Qingyun disciples behind him were in similar situations, all wounded in the palms by their own swords.
Song Daren was immediately terrified and retreated in a slightly flustered manner. After all, the other party had defeated all four of them with just a glance, a difference he had never seen even in his master.
"Senior, please calm down..." Song Daren knew he had met a master today and quickly prepared to say something to soften the situation. But in the short time it took to lower his head, when he looked up again, he found that there was no one in front of him.
The four men, still shaken, searched Caomiao Village again and found a survivor in a latrine. They then hurriedly left Caomiao Village and returned to Qingyun Mountain.
............
Zhang Xiaofan woke up from his sleep. He felt a sudden clarity in his mind, and the dazed feeling was gone. However, the downside was that he immediately and clearly remembered everything that had happened before.
"Father, Mother!" A sobbing voice came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Lin Jingyu beside him, crying with tears in her eyes.
For a moment, Zhang Xiaofan could no longer suppress the pain in his heart.
Inside the room, two children, around ten years old, embraced and wept bitterly, their cries pouring down their faces, utterly heartbroken.
Outside the room, Lu Xuan, Hong Yu, and the others were moved by the sound of crying inside.
"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. We cultivators defy the heavens and seek immortality, all to prevent such things from happening to us."
"Why......"
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Chapter 405 Inheritance
"This isn't Qingyun Mountain, it's the Hidden Immortal Sect of Wuyin Mountain. It's a cultivation sect just like Qingyun Mountain. Do you two remember anything?"
"I don't remember. I only remember waking up in a dilapidated temple."
“Me too.” Zhang Xiaofan shook his head as well.
Lu Xuan knew perfectly well what had happened that night. Puzhi from Tianyin Temple went to Qingyun Sect hoping to exchange cultivation techniques from both sects, to fill in the gaps and perfect a completely new technique in order to achieve immortality. However, in any world, sectarianism is an insurmountable chasm. Therefore, he unsurprisingly failed.
However, on his way back, while passing through Grass Temple Village, he was ambushed by a mysterious figure who wanted the Bloodthirsty Bead, a powerful evil treasure sealed within him. Taking advantage of his kindness, the attacker hid a seven-colored centipede on Lin Jingyu and severely injured him in the first strike.
However, Puzhi's cultivation was unexpectedly profound, and he couldn't defeat him in a short time. In the end, he had no choice but to reveal his identity and use the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique. This move is the signature technique of the Qingyun Sect, and once it is used, one's origin is basically impossible to hide. This is because the mysterious person was none other than Cangsong Daoren, the peak master of Longfeng in the Qingyun Sect and one of the seven chief disciples. Puzhi knew things were going badly, so he also began to fight desperately, and in the end, he also sacrificed his life to strike, injuring Cangsong.
After defeating the mysterious man, Puzhi was powerless to suppress the Seven-Colored Centipede's deadly venom. He could only take a three-day-death pill to prolong his life. At this time, however, he did not realize that he could no longer suppress the evil nature of the Bloodthirsty Bead.