Chapter 202: Chapter 44: The Passing of a Legacy

Before them, the dim, gloomy gates of the Daoist School were slowly pushed open by an invisible force. The Sanqing Temple, which they could previously only see but not perceive, could now be tangibly felt.

Their expressions turned solemn. They exchanged a look, each taking a deep breath before resolutely walking toward the Daoist School. But strangely, the people from the various factions staking out the Sanqing Temple seemed completely unaware of this, as if they hadn’t seen the scene at all, hadn’t seen the wide-open gates of the Sanqing Temple.

At this moment, Zhuge Ke and Chong Shanhu both carefully stepped over the threshold. The moment they stepped inside, their vision suddenly brightened.

“Th-th-this…” Zhuge Ke cried out in shock.

Sensing the terrifyingly dense Immortal Spiritual Qi, the two were shaken to their core. They realized that just by breathing naturally, their own bodies had begun to slowly grow stronger!

Looking around, they saw that the ordinary dirt ground from their last visit was now glowing with an astonishing treasured light. Immortal Flowers and Herbs were everywhere. The pond to the side was even more terrifying—what flowed within it was not water, but liquid Divine Essence!

“My injuries…” Chong Shanhu said, trembling in disbelief. “I can feel it… The old, hidden wounds in my body are all healing on their own…”

“That’s nothing,” Zhuge Ke said blankly. “It’s not just old, hidden wounds. In our Zhuge Lineage, we perform Divination on all things under heaven. Every time we divine something we shouldn’t, our lifespan is shortened. But me, but I…”

Her heart pounded, and her words became incoherent.

“My lifespan… it seems to be increasing…”

The two stared at each other. They had only just walked into the Daoist School, done nothing, not even cultivated their minds—they had merely been breathing. Yet this unknown, mysterious substance filling the air was continuously pouring into their bodies!

Mending hidden wounds, enhancing their Physiques, refining their Divine Souls, and even increasing their lifespans!

It dawned on Chong Shanhu.

“I fear… I fear this is the true Sanqing Temple… Even the ancient Celestial Venerable Daoist Palaces and Ancient Buddha Temples were probably only on this level…”

As he muttered to himself, the two exchanged another look and began to walk, carefully and respectfully, toward the dark, secluded cabin at the end of the path.

With every step, they would press down on the soft earth, causing a burst of divine substance so dense it was visible to the naked eye!

After walking through the door, the gloom dissipated, and the scene inside the room came into view. There were the same three blurry bronze statues as last time and a single Cyan Lamp glowing faintly, illuminating the small space. Within its flame, magnificent scenes seemed to rise and fall, showing the swaying Red Dust of the mortal world.

And beneath the bronze statues, before the Cyan Lamp, their master sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. He had white hair and a white beard. The flow of Years seemed to move across his long robes, with stars hanging amidst the strands of his hair.

“Master!” the two bowed respectfully.

The old man lifted his eyelids slightly, revealing a pair of frighteningly bright pupils. Within them, the sun and moon alternated, and Yin and Yang revolved. His entire being was permeated with the traces of the Dao and its principles.

He nodded slightly and said calmly,

“Both of you, sit.”

As he spoke, two meditation cushions materialized out of thin air. Zhuge Ke and Chong Shanhu carefully sat down on them, not daring to look directly at the terrifying old man before them, their heads lowered.

Even the somewhat slow-witted Chong Shanhu now knew that their master was definitely not a so-called True Immortal…

’What kind of True Immortal could speak with such authority that all living beings in the entire East Continent would listen respectfully?’

’What kind of True Immortal could make their words reality, obliterating the arm of a Grand Grade expert with a single sentence?’

Just as they were filled with both reverence and fear, the old man spoke faintly. The sound of his Dao-infused voice vibrated like the toll of a great bell, deafening and enlightening, cleansing their very souls.

“You two are the first to have stepped foot into the Sanqing Temple, so it can be said we are bound by fate. Now that you are registered under my tutelage, it is my duty to preach the Dao, impart knowledge, and resolve your doubts.”

After a pause, he continued,

“Is there any Dharma you wish to learn?”

Zhuge Ke and Chong Shanhu looked at each other, then replied in unison with deference,

“We will follow your arrangements, Master. We dare not make any requests.”

“Good.” Lu Xuan nodded. ’This is rather novel,’ he thought. ’I’d considered taking on apprentices or students in the future, but I never expected it to be so soon. And they’re even my peers, in a sense…’

Shaking his head, he didn’t dwell on it. Lu Xuan silently activated [Dao Generating One], and profound, intricate lines of starlight appeared in his eyes.

He looked at Chong Shanhu and, with the support of the Daoist School and the Jade Void Glazed Lamp, surveyed all of his Causes and Effects.

When he saw that Chong Shanhu’s entire family had been slaughtered by Sakata Heavy Industries, Lu Xuan let out an imperceptible sigh. Then, he spoke in a majestic voice,

“You focus on your Physique and are a pure Martial Cultivator. In the days to come, you will inevitably face many battles. Thus, I shall impart a Killing Skill to you. Would that be acceptable?”

Chong Shanhu hurriedly performed a grand bow.

“I will abide by all of Master’s arrangements!”

“Good.”

Lu Xuan lifted his finger and tapped lightly. A vast mote of starlight emerged, floated to the top of Chong Shanhu’s head, and seeped into his Spiritual World, transforming into a magnificent Ancient Scripture.

It was something he had created himself.

With Lu Xuan’s comprehension abilities, and with supreme Killing Skills like the Slaying Sword Form and Heaven and Earth Inversion at his disposal, even a new scripture he created casually would be extraordinary, transcendent, and possess immense might.

“The Dharma I impart to you is called Heaven-Breaking Pillar. I created it from the inspiration I gained by observing the collapse of a Celestial Pillar and the crumbling of the Celestial Vault. If you master it to the stage of Great Success, a single reach of your hand can bring down a crumbling sky that spans tens of thousands of miles. It is a Killing Skill; use it with caution.”

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Zhuge Ke. She tensed up. With her keen Divine Sense, she felt as if her entire being was seen through completely, with nothing hidden and nothing concealed.

’Is she really a descendant of that famous Marquis Wu of Zhuge from history?’ A look of surprise flashed through Lu Xuan’s eyes.

’It’s just…’

’Why is her Cause and Effect so deeply entangled with my own?’

His curiosity piqued, he performed a quick divination with the support of the Daoist School. Using [Dao Generating One] to peer into the connection, he traced it back through time. However, he encountered a chasm in the stream of Years, running into that Ruin he had seen before, and could see no further.

’Is this the fault line in the Years?’

Lu Xuan’s eyes narrowed, his thoughts racing. ’From the looks of it, the one whose Cause and Effect is entangled with mine isn’t Zhuge Ke, but her ancestor… that Marquis Wu of Zhuge?’

As he pondered, he too pointed a finger into the air and spoke unhurriedly,

“The Dharma I shall impart to you is named Zhi Xuan. I created it from an enlightenment gained while observing the original cause of all worlds. You are skilled in Divination, yet those who divine the heavens cannot divine for themselves. If this Dharma reaches Great Success, it can pinpoint the roots of entangled Cause and Effect and clarify heavenly destinies and impending calamities. It will be of great benefit to you.”

Just like Chong Shanhu, Zhuge Ke closed her eyes to comprehend the vast scripture that had appeared in her Spiritual World. The more she understood, the more shocked she became.

Looks of terror appeared on both of their faces. In Heaven-Breaking Pillar, one saw the sky-supporting Buzhou Mountain collapse, witnessing the heavens tilt to the northwest and the earth sink in the southeast.

Zhuge Ke, on the other hand, saw within the profound scripture a deep darkness, the primordial One, the beginning of all things, and her consciousness gradually became engrossed in it.

At this moment, Lu Xuan raised his hand, drawing upon the vast Immortal Spiritual Qi within the Daoist School to temper their Physiques and cleanse their Divine Souls, just as his three masters had once done for him.

Inheriting from above, enlightening those who follow.

When the two came back to their senses, they found they were already outside the Daoist School, standing on a bustling street. The echo of a voice still lingered in their ears.

“I guide the way, but I do not guard the path. Your tribulations you must face on your own, and your calamities you must experience yourselves. Remember this well.”

“In my lineage, when we encounter a tribulation, we enter it. When we meet with disaster, we do not avoid it. Whether it brings fortune or misfortune, we test it with our own bodies.”

“If you can face three thousand tribulations without flinching and survive three thousand hardships without dying, only then may you truly enter my tutelage and become part of my Direct Lineage.”

The two bowed respectfully toward the slowly closing gates of the Sanqing Temple.

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