The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 621 The broken mirror is finally mended; the Western Regions are finally returned!
"Ow—"

Shen Le swore he had never heard such a shrill roar before; it was utterly devastating.

The monster beneath him thrashed about like a madman, each leap spewing out a stream of black blood mixed with a great deal of filth, scattering it everywhere in front of him.

Even though Shen Le tried her best to hold her breath and not inhale any foul air, she still felt a burning pain in her throat, chest, and even on her exposed skin.

What kind of lousy monster is this?!
This is incredibly corrosive!
Or perhaps my sword struck the right spot, unleashing a thousand-year-old purgatory that opened the sewage pipes, letting all the filth accumulated over a thousand years spill out...

Shen Le clung tightly to the monster's back, gripping the sword hilt with both hands, trying desperately to keep himself steady. But the monster leaped higher and higher, more and more violently, its back almost hitting the ceiling…

No, not "almost," it actually crashed into him! Shen Le rolled desperately to the side, landing on the ground, and immediately, a deafening crash was heard:
"boom!!!"

The roof beams creaked and groaned, seemingly on the verge of breaking, while dust, dirt, paint chips, and various decorations fell haphazardly from the roof.

Shen Le felt her chest churning, almost vomiting blood, and her vision blurred, feeling like she couldn't see anything.

The back of my hand was in excruciating pain. When I touched it, I found that the skin was torn open, as if several muscles had been torn away, or at least several pieces of skin!
Damn it, what kind of monster is this, and what are its abilities...?

Those curved corners looked very familiar; I vaguely remembered seeing them before… Yes, it was from Modern Times. He fought with that guy when he was on vacation with the kids by the sacred lake in southern LS…

Of course, he wasn't the main force. The main force was the country. It was the reconnaissance and strike drone that launched the missile and finally took down that guy, pulling a roughly similar curved object out of the lake.

According to the information that the Special Affairs Bureau finally found, that thing is called "Dasermoru," and ancient texts refer to it as "Bound Lake Blood Lord"... It is said that part of the job of the surrounding temples is to seal it.
Wait, can I beat this thing?

In Shen Le's memory, that enormous shadow, that dark sea of ​​blood that had stained the entire sacred lake, flashed by in an instant. He couldn't win; he definitely couldn't win. Even if he could, it wasn't worth wasting his energy on it.

Rush!
Charge in!

While the monster is out of its mind and jumping around wildly, quickly rush into the depths of the palace, kill the Zanpu, and kill as many nobles as possible!
It's such a waste to waste your limited energy and health here!

Shen Le pressed his sword, gathered his energy, and lunged inward. Behind him, roars continued, and the thunderous sound of demonic beasts' iron hooves pounding the ground made him dizzy and nauseous with every impact.

He struggled to wield the sword, trying to part the dark clouds and carve a bloody path for himself, but the sword dimmed after a mournful cry and never responded to his commands again:
This sword was first wounded in a clash with a demonic beast, and its essence was further tainted. Now, let alone flying a hundred paces on it, even wielding it for combat looks precarious…

But so what?
The sword is not broken, the blood is not dry; as long as there is one last breath left, we will fight to the very end!
A familiar roar suddenly rang out. Shen Le turned around abruptly and saw a snow leopard pounce forward, viciously biting the horned monster.

Clouds and mist swirled around it, and snow and ice churned. The dark clouds surrounding the horned beast were cleared away by the massive amount of snow and ice, revealing a bright and clear sky. From the snow leopard's roar, Shen Le clearly heard concern in his voice:

run!
Run!

Run away!

"Sachin Dorje!" Shen Le shouted. It was agreed that the snow leopards on the sacred mountain wouldn't fight for him, and it was agreed that they would only take him out if he begged for help…

However, even though he didn't call for help, the snow leopard had already quietly sneaked into the palace to rescue him!
"Sachin Dorje! Go away! Go now!!!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. Although the snow leopard Sachin Dorje had also become a demon, its power was clearly inferior to that of the Bound Lake Blood Lord; otherwise, it wouldn't have been afraid to come in before.

Not to mention, the black mist surrounding the Blood Lord, after being dispersed for a moment, began to close up again; and the clean and beautiful fur on the snow leopard quickly became speckled with black dirt...

"Come here! I'll take you away!"

The snow leopard roared. Shen Le gritted his teeth and forcefully swung his arm at it:
"I have things to do! Get out! Run!"

Having said that, he took a deep breath and moved forward, never looking back. The entire palace was dark; although it wasn't pitch black, one had to strain their eyes to see even a faint ray of light.

The stench of blood, stench, and the pungent smell of burning spices mingled together, making one want to vomit. Shen Le had no time to complain; she focused solely on using all five senses, diligently observing and listening, as she ran towards the palace.

"kill!"

"kill him!"

"Kill that intruder!"

"Quickly go and appease the Blood Lord..."

Some were giving orders. Some were shouting. Some were charging forward with shields, swords, and spears, while others were drawing their bows and shooting arrows from afar…

Shen Le pushed his inner energy to its limit. Even though he could no longer control his sword, the sword in his hand was still exceptionally sharp. With a single swing, armor was sliced ​​through, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Shen Le twisted and turned, running back and forth among the warriors. Finally, the view opened up and he arrived at a magnificent hall, brightly lit by tallow candles!
It's right here—

In the deepest part of the main hall, sitting high on the throne, looking down at him, who else could it be but the Tibetan king?!

He took a deep breath, enduring the increasingly intense pain and dizziness, and charged forward with his sword. The king, holding his sword in his right hand and a copper basin in his left, stared coldly at him, not moving to dodge.

No matter how many times his guards and warriors charged forward, only to fall one after another to Shen Le's sword, and no matter how many times the nobles around him cried out and dodged, nothing could affect him in the slightest:
What gives this guy the audacity to be so bold?

What gives him the confidence to not hide?

Shen Le felt he was nearing his limit. He had at least seven or eight cuts on his body, each one gushing blood. Every breath he took felt like his chest was about to burst.

His vision grew increasingly dark, as if only a final ray of light was gently falling in front of him, guiding the direction of his sword strike;

This time, we can't get out... We're going to die here...

It doesn't matter if he dies; it's either clear the game or start over. I just wonder what the swordsman from back then was feeling as he fought to his last breath...

Shen Le swung his sword, swung his sword. Figures flashed before his eyes, some shouting, some cursing, some giving orders, but he was no longer able to distinguish them, he just mechanically swung his sword.

The results of his sword training in Zhongnan Mountain finally became apparent. Even when he was most tired and in the most pain, his body could still fight on instinct and find his opponent's weaknesses.

Twenty steps, fifteen steps, ten steps, almost there, almost at the Tibetan king's feet! Just hold on a little longer, just hold on a little longer...

Visibility had shrunk considerably, with only the Tibetan king, illuminated by the giant candle, as the sole bright spot in the darkness. Shen Le struggled to drag himself forward another step, only to see the king suddenly raise his sword and tap the hilt against the bronze basin three times in quick succession.

"Blood Lord!" he called out loudly, repeating it again and again:
"Blood Lord! Blood Lord!"

At the first sound, blood splattered in the hall and gushed into the bronze basin;
The second sound caused the copper basin filled with blood to shake rapidly, and the blood surged into towering waves.
The third roar shook the palace, and the horned monster that Shen Le had encountered earlier stepped out of the copper basin and the sea of ​​blood!

A snow leopard still clung limply to its long horn, its chest and abdomen pierced by the curved horn. Upon appearing, it first shook its body, flinging the snow leopard onto the hall with a dull thud.
Immediately afterwards, he ducked, bent his knees, and charged straight at Shen Le, slamming him hard into the air!
The world spun around. Shen Le's perspective went completely black almost instantly, never to light up again—

I am dead?
Am I dead?

He lay there, or floated there, or perhaps he himself didn't know how he existed in the hall. He watched as the demonic beast roared like thunder, leaping and bounding wildly across "his" corpse;

One moment it stomps out a transparent hole, the next it uses its horns to lift something up and swing it around, then it swings it to the ceiling, then slams it down and stomps on it again...

So, am I really dead?

Why doesn't it switch back after I died? I still have a role to play.

It's such a pity for Sachin Dorje... such a pity for that snow leopard, which lost its life trying to save him...

Shen Le was bewildered. He circled around the main hall, then circled again, trying to possess his own body (or even just cause a corpse explosion), but to no avail.

As they circled for the third time, a soft sigh suddenly echoed through the main hall:
"Fool..."

Shen Le suddenly turned his head. A very familiar figure—the sword immortal teacher—had appeared in the main hall at some point, standing with his hands behind his back.

"does it worth?"

It was probably... worth it. Although I was just one participant, the one who fought to the death until his blood ran dry probably had no regrets until the very last moment.

Shen Le tried to speak, but found that no matter what she did, she couldn't make a sound and couldn't convey her thoughts to the sword immortal.

After several attempts and several failures, he simply gave up on giving up and said in a deep voice:
"Have you been here all along? You've been watching the whole time, so why didn't you take action? Why won't you fight for the Tang Dynasty?"

Blood Lord roared. He tried several times to stand up and charge at Sword Immortal, but each time he was pressed down by an inexplicable force, his hooves trembling, unable to even stand up.

None of the warriors, nobles, or even the Tibetan king dared to make a move or utter a sound.

Everyone held their breath, watching as the gaunt, hunched-backed, elderly swordsman slowly walked to his disciple's corpse and sighed softly:

"I saw that you possessed the bones of an immortal and the destiny to become one, which is why I took you as my disciple, intending to pass on my lineage. Alas, alas..."

He entered the Dao during the Han Dynasty, attained enlightenment during the Jin Dynasty, and has since taken in nine disciples, all of whom have descended the mountain to fight and die for their country... Is this the destiny of our sect...?

Perhaps, I really shouldn't linger in this world. It's time to go, it's time to go..."

The sword immortal spoke in a low voice, flicked his sleeve, and the sword, soaked in black blood, flew up on its own and landed in his palm. He looked down at the sword for a while, then exhaled a breath of white air, which landed on the spine of the sword;
In an instant, the longsword shone brightly, becoming as clean as if it had been washed, and emitted a joyful, soft sound. The sword immortal gazed intently at the damage on the sword, and after a long while, let out a soft sigh:

"The souls of martyrs, the tainted blood of demons... this sword still has room for reforging..."

He exhaled another breath of white air, and the sword hummed softly, floating up on its own. It shrank from a three-foot-long sharp sword into a small, crystal-clear sword, about the width of a leek leaf and five inches long, before disappearing into the sword immortal's sleeve.

With another flick of his sleeve, the sword immortal sent half a bronze mirror floating from Shen Le's armor, landing in the sword immortal's palm. He held it up and used it to illuminate the entire hall.
"And you..."

A cat-shaped phantom slowly rose from the snow leopard's carcass. The sword immortal sighed softly:
"It's a pity that you've cultivated since childhood and have no history of cruelty or bloodlust, yet you've suffered this calamity because of my disciple... Very well, I'll bestow upon you a great fortune..."

He flipped the bronze mirror over. The phantom image was immediately absorbed into the mirror surface, then emerged from behind the mirror, pushing aside the galloping horse decoration, and solidified into a lifelike little cat near the mirror knob.

The old swordsman put away the bronze mirror, opened his mouth, and spat out a burst of white flame, burning his disciple and the snow leopard's corpses to ashes. He glanced around and sighed again.

"As an immortal, I should not meddle in worldly affairs, much less slay emperors. However, it is our duty to vanquish demons and monsters..."

A beam of extremely bright golden light suddenly shot out from his sleeve and slashed fiercely at the Blood Lord. A fountain of blood gushed out, and the enormous demonic beast was almost cleaved in two, causing the palace to tremble violently.

The old swordsman's expression changed slightly, and he turned to look around:

"So you're a monstrous creature whose fate is intertwined with that of the dynasty... Fine, I won't kill you!"

Golden light swept up the demonic beast, pierced through the roof, and shot out. It was as if a force was pulling Shen Le, causing him to be enveloped in the golden light and move straight south, plunging into the lakebed.
The golden light transformed into chains, digging deep into the beast's limbs and bones, scraping away its skin and muscles inch by inch, leaving only a skeleton.

With another turn, countless streams of transparent water from all directions transformed into a net, binding the skeleton to the bottom of the lake.

The old sword immortal, his feet treading on golden light, floated on the lake's surface. He glanced deeply at the blood churning in the silt at the bottom of the lake, sneered, and headed straight for the northwest.

He crossed the sacred mountain where the snow leopard once lived, and with a flick of his wrist, half of the bronze mirror tumbled down and fell into the deep valley.
"You were born and raised in these mountains... With the spiritual energy of the snow-capped mountains, and with the lofty aspirations condensed in this bronze mirror, perhaps you can be revived after thousands of years..."

The light shifted, heading southwest, disappearing over the plateau. Only Shen Le remained, hovering above the snow-capped mountains, softly sighing:

So that's how it is. Ah Li's son, the young swordsman learning his skills in Zhongnan Mountain, also gave his utmost to save the Tang Dynasty and the isolated army in the Western Regions, risking his life and shedding his blood, advancing fearlessly...

Unfortunately, all his efforts were in vain. The Tibetans also possessed powerful demonic beasts. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't turn the tide...

Light and shadow swirled before his eyes. They flickered, then faded, then flickered again, and when Shen Le opened his eyes again, he found himself finally free from the illusion.

He was dressed in full iron armor, a long sword held across his knees, and held a bronze mirror in his hands. The two bronze mirrors, one in his hand and one at his chest, vibrated simultaneously, as if in joyful celebration.

The broken mirror was finally mended;

The Western Regions have finally returned!

(End of this chapter)