Pure Yang!

Chapter 524 The Great Cultivator! Death itself is value (5k-word chapter)

After 24 hours.

Outside the pass, on the banks of the Qiulong River.

In the depths of winter, the magnificent scenery of the northern lands, with its thousands of miles of ice and snow, is on full display here.

The wide Qiulong River has long lost its summer roar and rush. The river surface is covered by a thick layer of ice, like a huge white jade belt, winding between the vast snowfield and the desolate mountain forest.

At this moment, the convoy from the north route stopped to rest on the frozen riverbank.

Despite the biting cold wind, the experts of the Dao Alliance, especially the disciples from Lao Jun Mountain, did the opposite. They shed their heavy clothing, wearing only thin, close-fitting outfits, and sat cross-legged on the smooth, mirror-like surface of the cold river, their eyes slightly closed and their expressions solemn.

woohoo...

The biting wind and snow fell mercilessly on their bare skin, yet they couldn't move an inch...

Their bodies were not frozen; instead, they exuded a faint heat, with dark red light flowing beneath their skin. Their bodies were like burning furnaces, with powerful internal energy surging and intertwining with the light of the primordial spirit at their spiritual platforms.

Those who cultivate the Tao must traverse mountains and rivers, witness the heavens and earth, and comprehend nature.

In this extremely cold place, using the wind and snow of heaven and earth as the "external hammer," one's own life as the "furnace embryo," and drawing in the true yang of inner energy and the primordial spirit as the "furnace fire," one undergoes an extremely dangerous yet highly efficient tempering process.

Internal and external attacks, water and fire in harmony, a strange aura formed around those cultivators, causing the falling snowflakes to turn into wisps of white steam and rise before they even touched their bodies, a rather mysterious sight.

"This land beyond the pass is indeed the most suitable place to cultivate our Lao Jun Mountain's [True Furnace Qi Refining Method]."

Wei Shangxing stood alone by the car on the riverbank.

He was still wearing that fashionable casual outfit that seemed out of place with his surroundings, and his face held a serious expression.

Their team had been inside the pass for over a week, constantly venturing deeper into the heartland, casting one search net after another, but the young man's whereabouts remained elusive, like a stone sinking into the sea.

The world was vast, and the snow-covered plains stretched endlessly; it was as if the other party had completely vanished from the face of the earth.

This unusual calm made him, a master of the Guanyin realm, feel a deep sense of doubt and a subtle unease.

"Uncle."

Just then, a young Taoist priest braved the cold wind and trudged through the snow, carrying a heavy, encrypted satellite phone in his hands.

"An emergency communication directly from the headquarters..."

Wei Shangxing frowned slightly, a cloud of doubt rising in his heart.

They split into three groups, each with its own means of communication. Unless it involves the overall situation or a major event that could affect the entire operation, the Dao Alliance headquarters rarely communicates directly with the frontline command and coordinates from the center.

Wei Shangxing's unease grew slightly, but he answered the phone, his voice remaining calm and composed.

"I am Wei Shangxing."

call……

The howling north wind drowned out the voice on the other end of the phone.

However, after this brief silence, Wei Shangxing's previously solemn yet relatively calm expression suddenly changed drastically...

First came shock, as if he had heard something utterly impossible; his pupils dilated instantly. Then came disbelief; his brows furrowed tightly, and he instinctively wanted to deny it…

Finally, all the emotions culminated in a near-absurd shock.

Complex and chaotic expressions flashed across Wei Shangxing's face like a revolving lantern.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, with a crisp sound, the sturdy encrypted satellite phone shattered in his hand under the crushing force of the energy unconsciously released by the satellite, with parts and fragments falling to the ground.

The young Taoist priest next to him was startled and turned pale. It was the first time he had ever seen his senior master so out of control.

He was horrified. What earth-shattering news could have caused a master of the Guanyin realm to lose his composure like this?
"Master, what happened?" the young Taoist priest asked.

The wind in the north was biting and fierce, swirling up thousands of piles of snow, and the chill in the air seemed to become even heavier at this moment.

Wei Shangxing stood still, as if transformed into another ice sculpture, remaining silent for a moment.

He slowly raised his head and looked south, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the mountains and snow.

Finally, those words, heavy with disbelief, were squeezed out one by one, as if with great difficulty, from between the teeth:
"All the experts from the Southern Route have been wiped out!"

Fan Lingzhou...is dead!

"What!?"

These two short sentences, however, struck like a thunderclap, directly resounding in the young Taoist's ears and heart.

"This...how is this possible?"

The young Taoist priest trembled violently, his face drained of color instantly, and his pupils contracted to their maximum size.

He opened his mouth wide, making a hissing sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a single word.

Putting aside the fact that the Southern Route was teeming with Dao Alliance elites and experts, Fan Lingzhou alone was a master of the Guanzhu realm! It was an extremely dangerous place, how could... how could he have died like that!?

The young Taoist priest subconsciously shook his head, but he also knew that since the news from the Taoist Alliance had reached Uncle Wei, it must have been repeatedly confirmed, and its authenticity was beyond doubt.

"Senior Uncle, isn't Zhang Fan just a decoy put forward by the Wuwei Sect? Could it be that he's not a person at all, and a master from the Wuwei Sect has stepped forward?"

After the initial shock, a chill crept up the young Taoist's spine and spread throughout his body.

He forced himself to calm down, his voice still trembling, and offered a relatively "reasonable" guess.

Zhang Fan was merely a bait thrown out by the Wuwei Sect.

"maybe!"

Wei Shangxing remained silent for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes, and opened them again. His eyes had regained most of their composure, but the heaviness in them had not diminished at all.

"This is the most likely 'reality' at present."

His gaze once again fell upon the vast land beyond the Great Wall, his eyes becoming complex and unfathomable, with a hint of indescribable sharpness and curiosity flashing within them.

"Zhang Fan... truly a rising star among the young, he has real guts to use himself as bait. If that's the case, I really want to meet him."

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist priest's face twitched violently.

“Senior Uncle, since entering the pass, this Zhang Fan has acted recklessly, his hands stained with countless blood and lives. Now even Fan… has met with misfortune. Clearly, there is a powerful expert hiding behind him…”

Thinking of this, the young Taoist looked at Wei Shangxing, a look of worry appearing on his face.

Knowing that danger lurked within, Zhang Fan was even more dangerous than previously anticipated.

What does life and death matter?!

Wei Shangxing shook his head, interrupting him, his tone carrying a detachment that transcended life and death, and a steadfast pursuit of the Great Dao.

Having reached his level, he had long since transcended life and death. If he wanted to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and man and break through to the Celestial Master realm, he could only steal a sliver of life from that boundless killing intent.

So-called geniuses!

What a monster!

The so-called anomaly!

They harbor both great calamity and great fortune.

That was the "elixir of immortality" that Heaven had cast into the mortal world, stirring up ripples in the turbid dust and revealing the prospect of immortality and eternal life.

Sages fear the cause, while ordinary people fear the effect.

Therefore, ordinary people tend to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.

Great practitioners, however, are those who adapt to calamities and transform destinies.

"Since a great calamity has descended upon the mortal world, why is there no elixir of immortality?"

Wei Shangxing murmured softly, his gaze fixed on the distant, desolate, thousand-mile-long icy river, and the bleak, boundless snowfield...

His thoughts seemed to detach from his body and drift to the far distance, towards the direction of the young man who bore the name of the "Master of Wuwei Sect".

……

At dusk, a pale moon hung high in the sky.

The moonlight was cool and clear, but it was obscured by wisps of clouds, flickering and uncertain, like a beautiful woman holding a pipa, half-concealing her face, exuding a sense of mystery and haziness.

In the south, at the foot of a sparsely populated mountain, a long-neglected, remote road winds its way forward.

A large, dusty truck, fully loaded with goods, sped past, its wheels kicking up clouds of dust.

The driver looked exhausted, his eyelids heavy, as he strained to open his eyes and search for a place to stop and rest.

However, he seemed not to see the low, dilapidated bungalow beside the road, with large, bright red characters boldly written on its wall:
stay!

Restaurant!

A withered yellow lamp hung in front of the door, swaying in the wind, and the rusty iron hook made a creaking sound.

These lights, this restaurant, seem to exist in another dimension, brushing past the speeding cars of the mundane world, without interfering with each other.

"jingle……"

Just then, the door was pushed open, and an old bell rang out with a clear but somewhat jarring sound.

A figure stepped into the small shop, which was filled with a musty smell.

He was a young man, dressed in a black leather jacket, the style of which was flamboyant and the leather shiny. He had a handsome face, but there was an inescapable air of madness between his brows, and the corners of his mouth were habitually slightly upturned, carrying a hint of cynicism and cold indifference.

The young man sat down at a slightly greasy square table, casually glancing around the empty shop.

Suddenly, his gaze paused in the corner, revealing a strange expression.

A boy was slumped over a table not far away, seemingly drunk and unconscious.

"Old ghost, why are there outsiders here?" the young man couldn't help but ask.

Before the words were finished, a hunched figure darted out of the shadows in the kitchen like a ghost. It was an old man, thin and dirty, his worn-out cotton-padded jacket covered in grease.

Most striking is his single, cloudy eye, while his other eye is covered by a hideous scar.

"This kid sneaked in by himself yesterday. It's really weird. He can actually see, and he just barged in like that." Old Ghost glanced at the boy and said calmly.

"He drank three bowls of my millet wine and then collapsed."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, the young man's wicked smile widened, and a peculiar glint flashed in his eyes.

That would be really interesting.

"Still the same as before?" The old ghost ignored the boy and turned to the young man.

"Three catties of pork bones and two catties of sorghum liquor," the young man nodded.

Old Gui, his body hunched over, silently made a note of it, but did not leave immediately.

"Old ghost, anything interesting lately?" the young man asked casually, as if catching up with an old friend.

"Something new? Didn't your Wuwu Sect have a new sect leader? Isn't that the biggest news?" The old ghost's one eye twitched as he looked at the young man, his voice still hoarse.

“Master of Wuwei Sect…” The young man’s eyes narrowed slightly, and the flickering lamplight cast a long shadow of him.

"After him, who else in the Wuwei Sect is qualified to sit in that high position?"

The young man's smile vanished, his eyes sharp as knives: "You think you can believe such nonsense, even you, an old ghost?"

"I wonder who that brat is. I heard he caused quite a stir outside the Great Wall and even killed a temple abbot. Young people these days are getting more and more capable." The old ghost didn't care about the young man's sarcasm and just stated calmly.

"Could it be that someone from your Wuwei Sect has made a move? Is this an attempt to provoke a war with the Daoist sect?"

"I never interfere in the affairs of the Wuwei Sect. As for whether anyone within the sect has intervened..."

The young man paused for a moment, his playful expression fading slightly, but he immediately shook his head, his tone carrying an indifferent detachment.

"Relying on external forces will never amount to anything."

“You are the greatest demon in the world, living in the mortal realm, how can you remain uninvolved?” the old ghost sighed.

"Furthermore, what if that young man doesn't rely on external forces? Just like back then... Chu Chaoran."

"Chu Chaoran!?"

The young man's fingertips trembled slightly, and a trace of reminiscence and complex emotions flashed in his eyes. In a moment, he regained his wicked smile, but this smile had a special meaning.

"That mute... back then, he used his top-level cultivation to forcefully kill a Celestial Master!"

call……

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy who was lying on the table next to him let out a soft groan, moved slightly, and slowly raised his head.

His face contorted in pain as he clutched his head, feeling as if countless needles were piercing it. The scenery before his eyes seemed to spin, and the strange aftereffects of the Huangliang wine continued to ravage his body.

The young man looked over with great interest, his wicked eyes scrutinizing the boy's bewildered and pained face. He casually asked a question, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.

"Kid, what's your name?"

The boy's eyes were unfocused; he struggled to concentrate and subconsciously, vaguely, uttered a name:
"Lü Xianyang!"

……

Shangjing City, Daomeng General Headquarters.

That office, which symbolizes one of the powers in the world.

It was late at night, but the office lights were still on.

The room was spacious and rustic, with little decoration. The only feature was bookshelves that reached the ceiling, displaying countless books and scrolls that exuded the aura of time.

Jiang Wansui was bent over behind a large rosewood desk, reviewing documents.

He was dressed in a simple dark Zhongshan suit, with a thin frame and an ordinary face, looking like a gentle old man who would be retiring at any time.

Yet, he sits right here, in charge of the Dao Alliance, a colossal entity, whose word can decide the life and death of countless people, and whose thought can influence the fate of the world.

"Squeak..."

Just then, the heavy wooden door to the office was pushed open rather hastily, breaking the tranquility of the room.

Yue Zangfeng strode in, forgetting even the basic courtesy of knocking.

This usually composed and capable figure in the Dao Alliance now wore an undisguised expression of anxiety, his eyes were bloodshot and his breathing was somewhat disordered.

Normally, he would never have shown such an out-of-control side in front of Jiang Wansui.

"President!"

Yue Zangfeng's voice was urgent, even trembling slightly: "Something's happened!"

"what's up?"

Jiang Wansui didn't even raise his head, his gaze still fixed on the documents in his hand. He simply asked three words, as if he already knew everything, or as if there were few things in the world that could stir his emotions.

Fan Lingzhou is dead!

Yue Zangfeng took a deep breath, as if he needed to use all his strength to say the news, his voice seemingly suppressing the complex emotions boiling in his heart.

As Jiang Wansui's right-hand man for many years, he had a decades-long friendship with Fan Lingzhou and had gone through countless trials and tribulations together. Upon hearing this tragic news, the shock and grief in his heart were beyond words.

A brief silence fell over the office after he said this.

Jiang Wansui's hand, which was holding the brush, slowly paused. He finally put down the brush, and the seemingly ordinary wolf-hair brush fell to the edge of the inkstone with a soft "tap".

"So he's finally dead?!" Jiang Wansui murmured softly.

His gaze was calm as he looked into the empty space ahead, as if he were piercing through a wall and seeing the tragedy that was happening far beyond the Great Wall.

There was no shock or anger on that aged face, only a deep, as if expected calm, even with a hint of faint emotion.

"after all!?"

Yue Zangfeng was stunned; he sensed something unusual in those words.

"Rise when it encounters white, fall when it encounters black..."

Jiang Wansui murmured softly, as if reciting an ancient prophecy: "That man foresaw this long ago..."

"His calculations are infallible."

“But, Chairman…” Yue Zangfeng couldn’t help but speak, wanting to say something.

But he was interrupted by Jiang Wansui as soon as he opened his mouth.

“But the future is constantly changing…” Jiang Wansui continued, his gaze still distant.

“I warned him that all external circumstances are seeds, and the outcome depends on himself.”

He sighed softly, a sigh tinged with regret, yet remaining calm and composed.

"Unfortunately... he failed to grasp his own destiny."

"Cangfeng, you should know that in the mortal world, there are tribulations everywhere!"

"Immortals are made from mortals, but I fear that mortals lack the willpower to do so," Yue Zangfeng said in a daze.

He knew all too well that from the moment they embarked on the path of cultivation, they were no longer in control of their own destiny and could never turn back.

Once the mind of Tao arises, demonic appearances immediately appear.

Calamity and fortune are like twins born from heaven.

"but……"

Just then, Jiang Wansui changed the subject and suddenly said, "Ling Zhou's death has value."

"value?"

Yue Zangfeng was stunned for a moment, his face filled with confusion and astonishment.

The fall of a powerful master at the level of a temple master is a huge loss and shock to both the Dao Alliance and the White Crane Temple. What value can it possibly have?

"You can leave now!" Jiang Wansui waved his hand, indicating that the conversation was over.

Looking at Jiang Wansui's calm and expressionless face, Yue Zangfeng had a thousand questions and ten thousand emotions in his heart, but he could only suppress them for the moment.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately bowed respectfully, silently withdrew, and gently closed the door behind him.

Silence returned to the office.

Only Jiang Wansui remained, sitting alone behind the desk that symbolized supreme power.

He remained silent for a moment, then slowly pulled open a drawer under the desk.

The drawer looked ordinary, but inside there was only one thing, all alone...

An unremarkable, old wooden box.

Jiang Wansui took out the wooden box and placed it on the desk. His aged fingers gently stroked the lid, and a faint, unfathomable light flashed in his eyes.

"Death itself is valuable!"

Jiang Wansui murmured softly and slowly opened the wooden box.

Inside the box, there was only one item, lying quietly on a soft silk cushion.

It was a rusty, jet-black object, as if it had been weathered by countless years...

Black iron sheet!!

(End of this chapter)