Day and night tour

Chapter 482 A Sinking Ship Cannot Be Saved
"The seventeenth formation?"

The Taoist priest gazed at the aura he had never seen before.

If the power of this Jing Kingdom were to solidify into a tangible form, then there must be an "energy" present.

However, most of the other forces are ethereal and vague, unlike the force of the Mingjiang River this time—straight up into the sky, without any sense of disarray.

"Butcher, I don't understand this pattern at all."

The Taoist priest asked the butcher.

The butcher gripped his cleaver and said, "If you can understand it, then wouldn't you be the one to initiate the seventeenth movement?"

"You have a rather blunt way of speaking, but—if you think about it carefully, there's actually quite a bit of truth to it."

The butcher then said to the Taoist priest, "Today, I invited you to come to the capital. Do you know why?"

"Are you afraid you can't defeat 'the land'? You're afraid you can't defeat this impregnable city."

The incense-burning Taoist priest speculated.

"I am Wuwenshan, searching for a place to settle down. I am not afraid of the land. If I can't beat him, I can still run away."

"I deliberately sent you away."

"That's what the butcher said."

"You deliberately sent me away?"

"If you were in Mingjiang Prefecture, Zhou Xuan wouldn't have been able to stir up this new trend in the Jing Kingdom."

The butcher said quite frankly.

His words completely stumped the Taoist priest. He poked his nose, shook his head slightly, and asked, "What does it matter to me whether Zhou can stir up a great force?"

“If you were in Mingjiang Prefecture, you would have gone to save Zhou Xuan. If you had saved him, he wouldn’t have been in such great danger.”

"This powerful force is Zhou Xuan's outburst under the crisis."

The butcher brandished his knife with a flourish, saying with a hint of smugness, "Old man, was my calculation accurate? The Sixteen Forms of Well Country isn't the highest level of swordsmanship; there must be seventeen forms."
My prophecy had only been uttered a few days ago, and this seventeenth event has already arrived.

"So, you calculated that Mingjiang Prefecture is in great danger tonight?"

“You also foresaw this,” the butcher said. “The birth of the Golden Core, the reconstruction of Mingjiang Prefecture, the gathering of Mingjiang by the Supreme Master of Dunjia, and Zhou Xuan’s possession of the Azure and Red Fish—any one of these events would stir up those wolves with wolfish ambitions.”

"Then aren't you afraid that Zhou Xuanzhen will really perish in Mingjiang Prefecture?"

The incense-burning Taoist priest raised his eyebrows. He valued Zhou Xuan highly... perhaps... the word "valued" sounds a bit official and cold. He quite liked Zhou Xuan.

"Not afraid."

The butcher said, "If Zhou Xuan is forced into a desperate situation, he will use the Sixteen Forms of Wuwen Mountain. Once the Sixteen Forms are activated, I will be able to sense it, and we will be able to save him in time."

"You have a big heart."

As the Taoist priest continued talking, the butcher began sharpening his knife.

He stood beside the bluestone on the mountain peak, grinding away with a hissing sound. With each grinding, the entire Dunjia Mountain shrank a few inches.

This sharp whetstone is made from the entire Dunjia Mountain.

While the butcher was sharpening his knife, since he had nothing better to do, he decided to talk to the Taoist priest about the "seventeenth posture".

“Old incense burner, since you don’t understand this trend, then I’ll explain it to you.”

"Go ahead and talk, otherwise what's the point of you sharpening the knife all by yourself?"

The incense-burning Taoist priest said irritably.

"Old friends, we business people have an old saying..."

"Wait a minute... are you a businessman?"

"Yes, I'm slaughtering a pig."

"What kind of business is slaughtering pigs?"

“There are many butchers in various places who have become wealthy merchants and businessmen because of slaughtering pigs and sheep. How can such a profitable business not be considered a business?”

"Okay, okay, let's settle this as business."

The Taoist priest remained silent for a moment.

The butcher continued, "We businessmen have an old saying—'Don't try to save a sinking ship.' It means that if a ship is about to sink, there's no point in trying to salvage it; cutting your losses is the right thing to do."

"Mingjiang Prefecture, is this the great ship that is about to sink?" The Taoist priest understood the implied meaning.

"Yes, this prefecture is destined to be a sinking ship, because it is a place that the Buddhist Kingdom must fight for."

The butcher sharpened his knife; the entire Dunjia Mountain had shrunk by a third, and blood seeped from its depths.
The knife in his hand had been worn down to a semi-transparent state.

The butcher continued, "Mingjiang Prefecture is a fertile land and an important economic center of our Jing Kingdom. It has a large population, and moreover, this prefecture was once prosperous."

The Ancestral Dragon has two branches, ancient trees, and golden bells. Within its domain, two celestial gods once emerged—the God of Dreams and the God of Pain and Calamity. The number of celestial deities it produced could be counted on one hand.
But what about Mingjiang Prefecture now? Its strength is insufficient. Its most powerful painters and musicians are only around the age of eight or nine, appearing quite weak. The ancestral ginkgo tree is still missing, and the ancestral peach tree and the ancient golden bell tree—if it weren't for that brat Zhou Xuan, one would have been lost and the other destroyed.

"This prefecture, rich and populous, is the first post station the Buddhist Kingdom most wants to land in."
The Heavenly Fire Clan of the Sky, if they wish to descend, will first choose Mingjiang Prefecture.
A prefectural city, coveted by so many powerful figures, how could it not sink?

Mingjiang Prefecture was too rich, but at the same time too weak. If it weren't for Zhou Xuan, this prosperous prefecture might not have survived to this day.

The Taoist priest said, "Since it's a sunken ship and we can't save it, we should still go and save Zhou Housheng."

The butcher put down his knife, spread his arms, and said to the Taoist priest, "That sunken ship is so vast."

Then, he gestured with his little finger and said, "But Zhou Xuan's strength is only this insignificant in the face of the sunken ship."

With his abilities, rescuing this sunken ship is virtually impossible.

"so what?"

"Therefore, saving Mingjiang Prefecture requires truly powerful forces."

What is that force?

"At first I didn't understand. I thought it was impossible for Zhou Xuan to turn the tide and save the building from collapse. But when I saw the seventeenth force, I understood."

The butcher said, "I understand what power Zhou Xuan wants to use to save Mingjiang—it is to gather the small power of tens of millions of people in Mingjiang Prefecture."

"The power of all people? Isn't this the process of a god's birth?" the incense-burning Taoist priest said.

The gods of the Well Kingdom were born from the resonance and synergy of the wishes of the people on earth, which is also the power of the people's lives.

"Different."

The butcher said, "Those gods are nothing but clay idols in the eyes of ordinary people, but Zhou Xuan is a living, breathing person!"

"Does it make a difference?"

“There is a big difference between ignorant and foolish worship and clear-headed and sincere support.”

“Zhou Xuan is a beacon of light. He ignited the fire in the hearts of tens of millions of people in Mingjiang Prefecture. For one person to gain the heartfelt support of the people of an entire prefecture is unprecedented in the history of Jing Kingdom.”

"Therefore, this is the new trend of the Jing Kingdom - the seventeenth trend, the trend of all people returning to the origin."

When the butcher got to this point, the Taoist priest immediately understood. As soon as he grasped this new trend, he burst out laughing, the kind of kind smile an elder gives when looking at a promising young person.

"Zhou Housheng, Zhou Housheng, you are capable! I was right about you."

The butcher smiled as he sharpened his knife, while the Taoist priest, riding a donkey, gazed in the direction of Mingjiang Prefecture.

In his daze, he saw a large ship above Mingjiang Prefecture, its hull riddled with holes, and river water was pouring into it.

The large ship was sinking relentlessly, but just then, tens of millions of cables snagged the hull.

On both banks of the river, tens of thousands of boat trackers gripped the ropes tightly with their own hands, and under Zhou Xuan's call to action, they pulled the large, sunken ship out of the water in perfect unison...

Should we not try to save the sunken ship?

There are always some people who can unite everyone they can and save that sinking ship.

"The knife is sharpened."

As the butcher continued sharpening his knife, the entire Dunjia Mountain collapsed, almost creating a deep crater. The butcher's cleaver had shrunk considerably, its surface a pure, jewel-like color.

"Is this the spirit of the sword?" the incense-burning Taoist priest asked.

"Yes, it is the sword spirit formed from the thousands of years of heritage of Wuwen Mountain and the convergence of countless famous swords."

"Once, the sword spirit was too ferocious. The Dao Ancestor felt that its sharpness was excessive, so he used meteorite iron from the starry sky to seal the sword spirit."
Now, I can only use the entire Dunjia Mountain to grind away the meteorite iron outer shell that seals the sword spirit.

"We need to borrow a knife."

The butcher held the sword spirit in both hands and said softly, "Wuwen Mountain originally had no successor, but heaven has taken pity on us. Today, we have Zhou Xuan. He is a promising talent for Wuwen Mountain and deserves a worthy and renowned sword."

"Spirit Blade, go, go find your new master."

He flicked his wrist, and the sword spirit soared into the air. Its texture was very soft, and it could transform into any shape.

Its form, after several transformations, eventually solidified into a white dove, gently flapping its wings as it soared over the beautiful landscape of the Kingdom of Jing.
The pigeon is very pure, but it will bring slaughter to Mingjiang—just slaughter.

……

Inside the theater, flames filled the sky.

The huge fire spread throughout the stage, forcing the Medicine Buddha, the Calabash Supreme, and others to huddle together.

The two, Grand Master Hulu and Bhaisajyaguru, did try to find a way to extinguish the fire.

The pharmacist continued grinding the medicine, but the sound of her grinding did not diminish the flame in the slightest.

"Is the thing in this fire still Zhou Xuan?"

"How do I know?"

The Medicine Buddha was also completely bewildered; she had never seen such a scene before.

"The figure inside the fire is certainly not the Great Master; it is a deity invoked by the people of Mingjiang Prefecture."

"He is a true god, as the Great Master said."

The words from the audience had barely faded when...

From within that ball of fire, Zhou Xuan's extremely faint voice could be heard.

"The netherworld, flowers, fire, music... come to guide us."

The words weren't spoken loudly, but they were incredibly penetrating, even piercing the invisible barrier between the stage and the arena.
Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Lingyi's heart stirred.

“Brother, if you want the underworld and flowers, I will give you the underworld and flowers.”

She immediately recited the "Red Spider Lily Mantra," and perhaps with Zhou Xuan's approval, her flower mantra actually passed through the audience stands and bloomed in the theater.
The place where those crimson flowers grow is the underworld.

A sinister aura grew wildly in the ground like weeds.

“Sir, if you want music, I will sing music.”

The musician in the audience used the laws of music, and his ribs grew back, becoming a white bone zither.

He played the zither, producing terrifying notes.

The eerie musical notes, the land covered in spider lilies, and the already vast stage—all changed drastically.
It has become the Shepherd Soul City that Zhou Xuan once knew.

In this city, there are only the dead, and no sign of life.

With a series of mournful ghostly howls, the underworld cracked open, and a ravine hundreds of feet wide appeared before everyone.

And those red spider lilies kept flying out, falling up and down, forming one step after another.

At the very bottom of the flower-covered staircase, leading down to the bottom of the ravine, Zhou Xuan, clad in a white robe, ascended the steps.

At this moment, he was practically replicating his former supreme will, emerging from that sea of ​​suffering.

The cloud patterns of the Four Heavenly Venerables' Dream on his white robe shone brightly, as if he had truly become the supreme will.

However, there is no longer sunlight or moonlight inside the dome built of willow and peach trees.

All that could be seen was the firelight burning in the Netherworld within the theater; when the audience looked down into the abyss, they could not see it very clearly.

But so what?
Zhou Xuan on the stage, driven by the "God of Drama in the Human World," has become the supreme will of the stage.

Since he dares to call himself "supreme," then if he is to have light, then he must have light.

He desires the sun and moon, and the sun will rise in the east, and the moon will surely shine brightly.

"I want light."

As Zhou Xuan climbed the steps, he snapped his fingers.

This snap of the fingers unleashed a tremendous force, condensing into a blazing sun.

Thus, everyone clearly saw Zhou Xuan's figure and his unparalleled aura.

"Supreme Will!"

The fake Taoist priest was the first to see through what Zhou Xuan was representing at this moment, and immediately opened his mouth wide, not knowing what to say.

He had seen the Supreme Will before—as a god-level being, he had once glimpsed it from afar, and he would never forget its aura of "controlling the sun and moon."

Before he met the Supreme Will, he always believed that as long as he was diligent and greedy enough, he would one day become the new Supreme Will.

However, his Dao heart shattered upon encountering the supreme will.

He thought to himself that no matter how much time he was given—a thousand years? Two thousand years? Or even ten thousand years—he would never become supreme.

That time, he finally learned what "fear" meant. Now, seeing Zhou Xuan emerge from the underworld, his long-standing fear has resurfaced.

"Thank goodness... I didn't reveal my identity. No matter how powerful Zhou Xuan is, he won't hurt me in the slightest."

The fake Taoist priest felt a chill of fear.

Those who feared it even more were the Medicine Buddha and his companions.

They watched Zhou Xuan ascend the flower-covered steps. Even though Zhou Xuan hadn't done or said anything, they already felt a hysterical fear in him.

Just like an antelope encountering a tiger king, no actual fight is needed; a profound, uncontrollable fear erupts within the antelope's body.
This fear caused the two Supreme Elders, Purple Ox and Red Pill, to kneel down, their heads bowed, as if they wanted to kowtow immediately.

The Heavenly King Li Jing, who holds the Pagoda in the Buddhist Kingdom, also knelt down, holding his own head in both hands, as if offering it to the Buddha.

"Torchbearer, get up! We are people of the Buddhist Kingdom, how can we offer our heads to the gods of the Well Kingdom?"

"Pharmacist, I didn't want to do it either, but I couldn't control myself."

"The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King said with a mournful tone."

The Medicine Buddha Bodhisattva didn't blame Li Jing (the Pagoda-Bearing Bodhisattva) too much, because she herself was also having the thought of kneeling down.
However, her cultivation level is slightly higher, so she can hold on for the time being.

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest, annoyed, tugged at his collar and muttered under his breath, "Zhou Xuan, Zhou Xuan, have we broken any heavenly laws? Is it worth you using such a big fuss to deal with us?"

With such momentum, the gourd-wielding Taoist knew his death was imminent and he had nowhere to escape, but he still felt that Zhou Xuan's method, which he didn't know what it was, was like using a cannon to kill mosquitoes.

And Zhou Xuan's voice finally came through.

"Medicine Master Bodhisattva, Supreme Master of Escape Techniques, if I, Zhou Xuan, only wanted to kill you, you would already be dead souls within nine incense sticks' time of my battle."
Today, my targets are not you at all.

I, Zhou Xuan, have never taken you seriously.

Upon hearing these words, the expressions of the Medicine Buddha, the Gourd Taoist, the Incense Taoist, and others changed drastically.

The reason why the Medicine Buddha and the Calabash Taoist changed their expressions so drastically was because they thought they were high and mighty, but they were nothing more than ants in Zhou Xuan's eyes. He had never even given them a second glance.

They were once the chosen ones on the path of cultivation, but now, they are being so ignored by Zhou Xuan, who is only in his early twenties. How could they not be shocked and dejected?

The Taoist priest's expression changed drastically because he discerned a hidden meaning in Zhou Xuan's words.

Zhou Xuan died, and then ascended to godhood at the urging of the people, transforming into an unparalleled will that was aimed at the incense-burning Taoist priests.

"Zhou Xuan came for me?"

"When did this theater become a trap to kill me?" The Taoist priest was utterly astonished...

(End of this chapter)