Mythology

Chapter 549 One Man Guards the Mortal Realm

Yang He found it hard to connect the white-haired old man before him with the Lu Ya Daoist in his memory, but the moment the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife appeared, the old man's identity was already self-evident.

Thousands of years have passed, and Lu Ya Dao Ren's aura is completely different now.

His realm was also extremely vague, but judging from the fact that he injured the Eternal Mother with a single strike, it could be seen that Lu Ya Dao Ren had at least stepped into the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm.

"Uh."

Yang He endured the pain of his body and soul disintegrating inch by inch, but he couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. Nothing could be more surprising than meeting an old friend who should have passed away.

Back then, Lu Ya Dao Ren resolutely gave up the title bestowed upon him by the Investiture of the Gods and went deep into the Ruins of Return, after which he disappeared without a trace. Unexpectedly, he survived to the present day.

The cold wind howled, causing the old man's hairpin to fall off.

White hair flew in all directions.

now.

Lu Ya Dao Ren then revealed his former unruly nature, his brows furrowed with an arrogant air that made him seem like the first sage and the second Lao Tzu.

He looked up into the void, his gaze clear as a mirror, showing no sign of foolishness.

He nodded slightly as their eyes met, everything understood without a word.

Yang He realized that Lu Ya Dao Ren's actions were to make him focus on the Investiture of the Gods, and that he had once again missed the Investiture of the Gods, showing that his mindset had never changed over the years.

Before the complete collapse of the Yin-Yang division, the mortal realm will be overseen by Daoist Lu Ya.

"Thank you."

Lu Ya Daoist seemed to hear Yang He's murmurs, waved his hand, and continued on his way.

Yang He immediately withdrew most of his divine consciousness that had been scattered throughout the mortal realm.

Before he focused on becoming a saint, his mind subtly shifted, and the surrounding mountains and earth veins quietly moved, with a massive amount of yin energy converging on Lu Ya Dao Ren like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea.

With his energy replenished, Lu Ya Dao Ren's aura grew even stronger.

“Fellow Daoist Yang He, the great calamity that will sweep across the three realms is coming one after another. You are the only variable. In the end, you still showed the same womanly compassion as before.”

He was very close to Peibai City, and could see the ordinary people crowding the streets and alleys.

Men, women, and children alike showed reverence. Upon seeing Lu Ya Daoist about to enter the city, they made way without a word, watching the man and his donkey go.

"Fellow Daoist Yang He, why can't you sacrifice some mortals as bait? At least you could buy a few more years of time. Why bother?"

Lu Ya Daoist spoke mockingly, but stopped in front of a little girl who had fallen and hurt herself.

He patted the girl's head, took out the rattle drum he carried with him, and said, "I can't stand the rats underground either, and I also want peace in the world. Since that's the case, Fellow Daoist Yang He."

Lu Ya Dao Ren's sparse eyes suddenly opened, revealing a sharp glint deep within his pupils.

"Since that's the case, it's time for this old Taoist to draw blood after two thousand years of recuperation."

He suppressed his distracting thoughts and looked more closely at a man on the street corner. The man seemed unremarkable in the crowd, but his breathing was unusually heavy.

The man noticed Lu Ya Daoist and turned around with difficulty.

On its back, a hideous face appeared, none other than the Eternal Mother, causing the crowd to let out terrified wails.

His face and mouth moved slightly, and his voice reached Lu Ya Dao Ren's ears.

“I…recognize you, Daoist Lu Ya. Your supernatural powers are unparalleled in the Three Realms, even saints would have to think twice. But you should have become a saint, so why are you nearing the end of your lifespan?”

“Lu Ya Daoist, why not worship Buddha? Buddha can grant you everything.”

The man's joints cracked as he awkwardly approached Lu Ya Dao Ren step by step, the voice of the Eternal Mother becoming increasingly seductive.

"Immortality? Sainthood? Blood sacrifice? Or do you want peace in the world? It doesn't matter, all the young and strong men in the mortal realm can be given to you."

"Lu Ya Daoist! You shouldn't have died so insignificantly, worshipping Buddha!!"

Roar! ! !
At the top of the clouds, the Eternal Mother roared with earth-shattering fury, her severed tongue still dripping foul blood, her enormous head swaying in the clouds.

"If you want to die, just say so."

Lu Ya Dao Ren spoke calmly, but a glint of cold light flashed between his lips.

Whoosh.

The cold light was faster than one could perceive, and a deep, bone-revealing wound suddenly appeared on the forehead of the Eternal Mother, from which foul blood poured out.

She let out a piercing wail, her head retreating into a crack in the clouds and disappearing in an instant.

Lu Ya Dao Ren reverted to his appearance as a rustic old man, except for a trace of crimson at the corner of his mouth, as if nothing had happened.

The man, possessed by the consciousness of the Eternal Mother, was not angry at all; instead, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"Daoist Lu Ya, you... you've completely gone down the wrong path!!"

"Yes, being trapped in the Ruins of Return for a thousand years has caused our cultivation to go astray, which is a bit of a pity, but it's just right to deal with you."

As soon as Lu Ya Daoist finished speaking, he exhaled a burst of Yin energy that extinguished a wisp of consciousness within the man's body.

The voice of the Eternal Mother, filled with resentment, echoed in the wind.

"Lu Ya Daoist, how many more sword energies do you have left? We will make you wish you were dead, and countless mortals will die because of you, Lu Ya Daoist!!"

Lu Ya Daoist remained silent. In fact, Yang He did not even notice that his old friend's physical and spiritual condition was extremely poor.

He recalled the days when he was trapped in the Ruins of Return, when the Heavenly Dao caused an anomaly, leading to the Daoist temple going out of control.

If he were in the Heavenly Court, the Three Pure Ones would help the immortals and gods to dismantle their dojos; if he were in the mortal realm, Lu Ya Dao Ren would at least be able to gradually adapt to the new version.

Unfortunately, in the Ruins of Return, the Great Tribulation gave Daoist Lu Ya no chance to catch his breath.

With no other option, Lu Ya Daoist could only forcibly suppress the Daoist temple, and then accidentally cultivated himself into a... Immortal-Slaying Gourd.

The training ground serves as the vessel for the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knives, with flesh and bones used to nourish them, and the souls of the inhabitants nurture each and every one of them.

Lu Ya Daoist frowned slightly; his cultivation had been completely dissipated.

Over the past two thousand years, more than 3,400 Immortal-Slaying Flying Knives have been stockpiled. While this may seem like a large number, only 200 of them were capable of severely injuring the Eternal Mother.

And the endless hell... conservatively estimated, there are nearly ten thousand ghosts and gods.

Lu Ya Daoist sighed and looked around. Even though he had no cultivation, his instincts kept warning him that a lot of eyes were watching Pei Baicheng with predatory intent.

"So be it. Perhaps all my daily practice of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife was for this day."

"Let's kill to our hearts' content."

"kindness?"

Lu Ya Daoist snorted coldly, as if he had sensed something.

He opened his mouth again, and another cold glint appeared, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Surprisingly, the clouds scattered wherever the cold light passed, and its volume continued to expand, a feat so astonishing it was comparable to a divine miracle.

At first it was only an inch or so, but it quickly turned into a huge shadow that stretched across the sky and the earth.

As the cold light swept across the sky above Peibai City, the shadow completely enveloped the entire city, its size almost obscuring half the sky.

Deep in the clouds towards the capital, a giant arm covered with countless eyes has just emerged from the rift, testing the power of the mortal realm.

As the cold light that swept across the sky passed by, the hundreds of pupils of the giant arm contracted simultaneously.

The giant arm split in two, and the ghosts and gods were so frightened that they returned to the endless hell. A knife mark that pierced through the clouds in the sky stretched for thousands of miles.

Lu Ya Dao Ren leisurely rode his donkey through Pei Bai City. The people worshipped Lu Ya Dao Ren as a deity, unaware that the palm of Lu Ya Dao Ren's hand, which he deliberately tucked into his sleeve, was already covered in blood.

The Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife will become sharper with nurturing, but Lu Ya Dao Ren's physical body is aging under the baptism of time, and his soul is on the verge of collapse.

The old constable, seeing that no one else dared to step forward, tremblingly greeted them. Before he could even speak, he heard Lu Ya Dao Ren instruct: "Prepare some wine and water."

"Okay, a plate of five-flavor peanuts, please."

"And braised beef, give me three pounds, remember to make it very tender, since the elderly person's teeth aren't very good, please remember to bring it to a private seat in the teahouse as well."

Lu Ya Dao Ren patted the old donkey's head and handed it to the dazed waiter, then turned and went up to the second floor of the teahouse, where he sat by the window.

The old constable hesitated for a few moments, then muttered to himself, "Should we call in a singer...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Ya Dao Ren clicked his tongue and said, "Let's invite them to the teahouse entrance. With more people, the old man probably won't be able to rest properly, hahaha."

Peibai City was in chaos, and the area near the teahouse was urgently evacuated.

Whoosh.

Another cold glint appeared, pointing directly at the westernmost grassland of the Great Commander's territory.

The old constable watched as Lu Ya Dao Ren, who was drinking leisurely by the window, looked like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, and kept praising the five-flavor peanuts for being cooked to perfection.

"Old Xu, go to the South District and lend a hand. Someone there has been harmed by evil spirits."

"coming."

The old constable hurriedly left the city, having no time to pay attention to Lu Ya Daoist.

In the days that followed, all the major cities, including Peibai City, were incredibly busy, and the demons and monsters were no longer afraid of the crowds.

Every now and then, people are attacked by evil spirits, and there are one funeral after another.

Lu Ya Daoist ignored the evil spirits right under his nose and, apart from preventing ghosts and gods from descending to the mortal world, completely disregarded the deaths and injuries of ordinary people.

The old constable was deeply puzzled. If even ghosts and gods could be easily injured, why would Lu Ya Dao Ren let mortals suffer misfortune?

Soon rumors spread throughout the city, suggesting that Lu Ya Dao Ren's obstruction of the gods and spirits was purely to gain a position as a deity, and that he didn't care about mortals who were like ants.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

The old constable rarely went to teahouses. He only knew that two months ago, Lu Ya Dao Ren had been drinking alone. The waiter who usually served him seemed to have been exposed to the sharp edge of the sword for a long time and had just fallen seriously ill a few days ago.

Having no other option, the yamen assigned an old constable they had met once before to serve them.

Unable to refuse, the old constable had no choice but to go to the teahouse late at night.

With the full moon hanging high in the sky, even the night watchmen near the street dared not disturb Lu Ya Daoren's refined enjoyment.

The old constable carried the pot of warmed bamboo leaf green tea, his steps faltering heavily on the stairs. With each step he took, the groaning of the wooden planks felt like a blow to his heart.

The second floor was unusually quiet; the famous singers downstairs were singing wearily, and their mournful tunes could be heard through the floorboards.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a cool, clear glow on the floor.

Lu Ya Dao Ren sat facing the window, his hunched back blending into the moonlight, like a stone statue weathered for thousands of years, motionless. The table was empty, without even a wine cup.

"What are you standing there for? Help me with the wine."

His voice was dry and hoarse, carrying an indescribable weakness.

The old constable quickly responded, carrying the wine pot as he approached. A faint, putrid stench wafted into his nostrils, seemingly the smell of a corpse.

His heart skipped a beat, and he trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Are you suggesting I do it myself?"

As Lu Ya Dao Ren spoke, he slowly stretched out his arm, wanting to take the wine pot.

By the dim moonlight, the old constable could see clearly that Lu Ya Dao Ren's outstretched arm had just slipped down a little, revealing skin that was no longer its original color, covered with dense, crisscrossing cracks, deep enough to expose the bone.

No blood flowed out, only some dark, black marks, the edges of the skin and flesh were curled up, and it was rotting uncontrollably.

"Immortal..." The old constable's throat tightened, and the words got stuck in his throat.

Lu Ya Daoist seemed not to hear, nor did he insist on drinking. He just muttered to himself, his voice tinged with self-mockery: "I can never get tired of the Zhuyeqing here. It's refreshing and has a sweet aftertaste. It's a pity that my appetite is getting worse and worse."

A single sentence struck the old constable like a thunderclap.

The reason why Lu Ya Dao Ren allowed evil spirits to run rampant was not because he was unwilling, but because he was unable to, probably because the cost of dealing with ghosts and gods would be too great.

The old constable dared not look at Lu Ya Dao Ren any longer, and silently picked up an empty bowl that had appeared on the table at some unknown time, and poured the warm wine into it.

The amber-colored wine rippled gently in the bowl, reflecting the cold moonlight outside the window.

Lu Ya Daoist then slowly raised his head and took the wine bowl.

He didn't drink immediately, but looked down at the shimmering moonlight in the bowl, his cloudy eyes seemingly reflecting that faint light as well.

The lyrics had somehow progressed to "Looking towards my hometown, the road ahead is long," and the melody was desolate and chilling.

A hint of melancholy appeared between Lu Ya Dao Ren's brows. More than two thousand years had passed, and the mortal world was no longer the mortal world he had imagined.

"How's the waiter?"

"Immortal, it's...it's alright now. I heard he's already out of bed."

Lu Ya Dao Ren took a very slow sip of wine, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. "Have a drink with me for a while. As expected, they probably think they've figured out my background and will soon be restless and won't have time to drink anymore."

The old constable remained silent, listening to the loneliness in Lu Ya Dao Ren's words.

Before dawn, the old constable was already tipsy, but when he noticed that Lu Ya Daoist had put down his wine bowl, his drunkenness dissipated by more than half.

"Are there immortals, ghosts, or gods...?"

The old constable was speechless, while the clouds outside the window churned.

Cracks opened in the air, and ghosts and gods peered into the mortal world.

This time, what has descended is not a test, but tens of thousands of evil spirits!
The evil spirits took on various forms, twisted and grotesque, emitting piercing hisses as they swooped down from the clouds, their goal clear: to use them to deplete Lu Ya Dao Ren's life force.

Pei Baicheng was instantly plunged into despair.

The old constable felt a chill run through him and subconsciously looked towards Lu Ya Dao Ren by the window.

The old man stood up at some point, his hunched back straightening ramrod straight, his eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent.

"Come!!!!"

A thunderous roar, earth-shattering!

The flesh between Lu Ya Dao Ren's brows tore open instantly, but no blood flowed out; instead, an incredibly dazzling white light burst forth! No, it wasn't a cold glint, but rather... a torrent!
Thousands upon thousands of immortal-slaying flying knives surged from the space between the eyebrows, instantly filling the second floor of the teahouse with endless sharpness.

The old constable covered his face and stepped back, warm liquid seeping out from between his fingers.

That's not his blood.

It is Lu Ya Dao Ren.

Each time a flying dagger that cleaves an immortal leaves his body, it will tear off a piece of his flesh and skin away a wisp of his soul!
The old man trembled violently; beneath his robes, his body, already riddled with wounds, was enduring pain far exceeding that of being torn apart a thousand times!
boom! ! !
The roof of the teahouse suddenly exploded, sending wood chips and bricks flying everywhere!
A white light shot into the sky!

Like a galaxy flowing against the current, it swept in all directions with a resolute killing intent, precisely intercepting and killing the evil spirits that were ravaging the mortal world!

The night sky was illuminated as brightly as day.

Where the flying knife passed, the evil spirits turned to ashes before they could even scream.

(End of this chapter)