Mythology

Chapter 359 Disciple, Eat the Skin

The golden light suddenly surged, and ripples spread outwards.

Yang He was startled as he noticed a woman dressed in golden robes slowly walking out, her face constantly changing, and her body surrounded by wisps of golden light.

The Holy Mother of Golden Spirit stood on the void, and lightly touched Yang He with her fingertips.

In an instant, the world turned upside down.

Yang He felt a blur before his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was already deep inside the mansion, surrounded by distorted rays of five-colored divine light.

The auras of the four disciples were as deep and boundless as the ocean, locking onto him firmly.

Yang He remained calm. He had seen many grand occasions before, and even saints could remain unfazed, let alone the four disciples.

He glanced around and noticed that the scene inside the mansion was strange and inexplicable.

The surrounding beams and pillars crumbled and then reassembled, and blood seeped from the cracks in the walls, forming vivid and colorful "double happiness" characters.

The mournful music of a ghost marriage drifted from somewhere.

The suona's sound was shrill and piercing, mixed with a woman's faint sigh.

Yang He recognized the mansion as a manifestation of Lady Yunxiao's Daoist temple. Originally covering the entire Nine Turns Yellow River Formation, it was now reduced to a small area and would soon be breached by the four disciples.

His gaze fell on Daoist Duobao, who had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a round, full face.

He has a very Buddha-like appearance.

"Master Taiyi, it's been a long time since we last met. How did you end up with your soul and spirit destroyed?"

Before the Investiture of the Gods was initiated, although the disciples of the two religions looked down on each other, they were, after all, Taoists and had some interactions with each other.

"hehe."

Taiyi Zhenren chuckled, but did not reply immediately.

Guiling Shengmu stepped forward. "Taiyi Zhenren, you came here in my body, surely not just to reminisce?"

Bang bang bang.

Yang He's spine cracked, and bone spurs appeared, seemingly trying to transform into a tortoise shell on his back.

"I am but a remnant soul; do you four think you are afraid of me?"

The Holy Mother of the Tortoise Spirit snorted coldly, then concealed her aura.

"I have indeed come here with a request."

The Golden Spirit Mother's whisk moved without wind, and three thousand silver threads drifted away. "Taiyi Zhenren, what right do you have to negotiate with us?"

"Golden Spirit!"

The Holy Mother of Wudang spoke up to stop him, a strand of silk thread twirling around her fingertip, "Let him finish speaking."

The Grandmaster Taiyi said quietly, "You four should understand why the Twelve Golden Immortals died in the Nine Turns Yellow River Formation. I helped you scout the way forward. Shouldn't you be grateful?"

The four disciples kept their eyes fixed on Master Taiyi.

Yang He was completely confused, but he had already vaguely grasped the meaning of it.

"The old Taoist priest wants to reclaim the skins of the Twelve Golden Immortals."

"Don't think about it!"

The bone armor on the back of the Holy Mother Tortoise Spirit cracked and popped, then she suddenly stood up, and a dense array of tortoise shell Bagua formations appeared around her.

"If any of the Twelve Golden Immortals were to survive, the Sage would surely blame us."

Having said that, she raised her hand, intending to obliterate the skin of the True Man Taiyi.

With a wave of his sleeve, Daoist Duobao dispelled the Yin energy of the Holy Mother Guiling, then turned to Yang He as if looking directly at the True Man Taiyi.

"can."

Our Lady of Wudang and Our Lady of Jinling only had different expressions, but neither of them spoke.

Only the Holy Mother of the Tortoise Spirit reacted violently, unable to resist offering up the Sun and Moon Pearls, but with Daoist Duobao nearby, she had no choice but to withdraw her precious treasure.

Daoist Duobao gestured for him to come in.

"You will meet Lady Yunxiao shortly after you start walking. With your relationship with your disciple, it will not be difficult to enter the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron, nor will it be difficult to obtain her skin."

"Thank you."

Yang He glanced at his four disciples and hurriedly disappeared into the depths of the mansion. The Turtle Spirit Mother put away the Sun and Moon Pearl. "Senior Brother Duobao, what makes you so certain that the Twelve Golden Immortals won't be resurrected?"

"Now that we have escaped this calamity, there is no reason for us to enter it again. This is for the best, so that we don't have to face the almost flawless Lady Yunxiao."

As soon as Daoist Duobao finished speaking, the five-colored divine light surged without warning.

The four disciples were on high alert. In the midst of the shifting light and shadow, Lady Yunxiao appeared without anyone noticing, her five-colored divine light exuding an extremely oppressive aura.

As Lady Yunxiao wore her wedding dress, the trailing skirt caused the double happiness characters around her to come alive, swirling around her like swimming fish.

With each step she took, the mournful music became a little more cheerful.

In a few flashes, Lady Yunxiao was already in front of Yang He.

"My disciple has excellent skills!!"

Taiyi Zhenren was so shocked he could barely contain himself. He wanted to say more, but his remaining consciousness was almost completely extinguished.

Lady Yunxiao gently stroked Yang He's face with her slender, jade-like hand, her wide sleeves of her wedding dress cascading down.

"My love~~"

With a soft call, Taiyi Zhenren's skin slowly peeled away, revealing Yang He's original face, though his expression was somewhat stiff.

Lady Yunxiao smiled, and then Yang He transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron.

The four disciples looked at each other in bewilderment, and the Holy Mother Wudang asked in confusion, "How could Yunxiao...?"

"The Three Immortals of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation are not themselves, but rather, to be precise, evil spirits transformed from their corpses, perhaps naturally close to the innate corpse energy?"

Duobao Daoren's speculation is somewhat far-fetched, but it is perhaps the most reasonable one.

.........

A gentle force lifted Yang He, and in an instant he arrived at the Hunyuan Golden Cauldron.

Yang He opened his eyes and found himself in the courtyard of the Blood and Flesh Taoist Temple.

Lu Ya Daoist clicked his tongue in surprise at the door. He thought Yang He was surely dead, but he was unharmed and was even brought here by his four disciples.

He was just about to step into the courtyard when his heart skipped a beat.

Looking up at the sky, five-colored lights flashed, clearly a warning from the Goddess of Clouds.

"A person with great fortune is indeed a person with great fortune. After taking the body of the Immortal Taiyi for a while, it seems he has encountered some kind of opportunity again."

"No, no, no."

Lu Ya Daoist drank his wine in silence and quickly moved away from the dangerous Blood and Flesh Daoist Temple.

Yang He stood in the courtyard and sensed that Taiyi Zhenren's consciousness was fading, making it extremely difficult for him to face the four disciples directly.

"Master?" he called softly.

"Disciple, I will help you seize this opportunity as soon as possible, as your remaining consciousness cannot sustain you for long."

Only then did Master Taiyi show a hint of fatigue.

Yang He put away the eleven skin bags. "Master, what exactly is the purpose of these skin bags?"

“Disciple, your supernatural power is very profound, but it is limited by the number of flags you have, making it extremely difficult to unleash its full potential.”

Master Taiyi paused for a few moments, then said, “You may choose any eight of the twelve skin bags to refine; that will be enough to add a new banner to your collection.”

Yang He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

Based on the conversation with Taiyi Zhenren, he realized that there was another reason for the deaths of the Twelve Golden Immortals.

As disciples of a sage, the Twelve Golden Immortals are unlikely to advance any further. Only by shedding their status as second-generation disciples will they have a chance.

They chose to die and disappear, and they must have all made preparations.

Otherwise, there's no way to explain why the Twelve Golden Immortals all fell into the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation.

"The twelve Golden Immortals reconstructed from the mountains are merely the re-creation of bodies and souls by the Primordial Celestial Venerable based on the aura of his disciples, and have nothing to do with the original twelve Golden Immortals."

"The Daoist Ran Deng's defection from the Chan Sect must have had some considerations, right? But this old schemer is plotting against the leader of Buddhism."

Yang He hesitated, because according to the stories of Qianyuan Mountain...

Taiyi Zhenren's attempt was likely to end in failure.

(End of this chapter)