Minglong

Chapter 426 A terrifying prospect lies between life and death…

The towering waves raged on the endless black water, and the three opportunities scattered within were unparalleled treasures for both the righteous and evil paths, but only a dozen or so cultivators came to participate.

After all, nine out of ten cultivators who come to Beiming Lake to seize opportunities are the last mountain demons who are about to perform their final dance. If they fail to obtain the opportunity, their cultivation path in this life will come to an end. Therefore, they will no longer be stingy with means such as mutual destruction, and usually they will no longer care about righteousness or evil. Every time, several figures who have dominated for hundreds of years will perish.

Over millions of years, Beiming Lake has long been known as the Graveyard of Immortals. If it weren't for capturing Yang Huaxian, even those at the peak of the sixth realm of the righteous path would not easily take the risk. Even if they did come, their main purpose would be to strike down the demonic path, and the first priority would be to ensure the survival of Huang Lin Zhenren.

Otherwise, if he had no shortage of lifespan and refused to share the opportunity, Huang Lin Zhenren would only be able to sit idly by and wait for death. At that point, reason and rules would be meaningless. Whether Huang Lin Zhenren went to Zihui Mountain for his final dance depended entirely on his own conscience.

Human nature is revealed in the face of life and death; no one dares to go to extremes and gamble on the moral integrity of a dying person.

Indeed, very few people in the world can calmly accept the end of life.

For example, the Taoist Kongkong.

Rumble…

On the North Sea Lake, towering waves surged, and a sword light pierced through the endless wind and rain, speeding toward its destination.

The Taoist Kongkong, dressed in a scholar's robe and carrying a wine gourd, stood on a three-foot sword and suddenly recalled the first time he had ever wielded a sword.

Kongkong Daoren was born during the Changping era of the Former Qi Dynasty and is now over two hundred years old. He suffered hardship in his childhood and lived in a small village in the southern border region. Before the age of ten, he did not know that in this world, besides mountains, there were plains, great rivers, sand dunes, and vast seas.

One day, while catching crabs in the river, he met an old Taoist priest fishing. Their casual conversation changed his destined life of poverty.

Although the old Taoist was fishing, he couldn't catch anything, so he jokingly called himself "Master of Empty Fish". The Empty Fish Temple on Misty Mountain that people talk about actually refers to this extraordinary hermit he met.

He asked the other man what the point was of fishing all day but coming back empty-handed most of the time. The other man replied:
"Empty clouds, empty cranes, empty body; leisurely fishing in the light of the clouds, forgetting the mundane world. Fishing is like spiritual practice; what you do is what you seek. If you truly practice for the sake of gain, you will fall into the mundane world."

Although his words sounded rather mysterious, he felt that the old man was just making excuses because he couldn't catch any fish. After all, when the fish finally took the bait, the old man was so happy that the corners of his mouth were curled up to his tailbone!

He questioned the other party, who then replied with:
"To gain is my fortune, to lose is my fate; to be content with one's lot and not be attached to anything is what it means to follow the natural way."

No matter what you say, the other party is always right.

He couldn't understand, but he was convinced that the other person was just arguing. In the end, the old Taoist had no choice but to give him a three-inch sword and let him figure it out himself.

Kongkong Daoren had only met his master once. After all, the Hidden Immortal Sect was indeed a hidden sect, and once they entered the mortal world, they were no longer outsiders.

At first, he didn't realize how powerful the flying sword was. He played with it as a toy at home for a while until some ferocious beasts appeared in the southern border and ravaged the village. When his life was hanging by a thread, he discovered that the flying sword had become sentient and could protect its master.

From then on, he embarked on the path of cultivation. His original name, "Black Ox," was too rustic, so he adopted his master's poetic title and changed it to Master Kongkong, and began to cultivate according to the rules of the Hidden Immortal Sect that circulated in the martial arts world.

However, the Hidden Immortal Sect emphasizes acting anonymously, and the days of possessing extraordinary skills but not being able to show them off in public are truly difficult to endure. For this reason, his name has been passed down in the cultivation world.

The first half of Kongkong Daoren's life can be described as smooth sailing. He traveled around slaying demons and monsters and doing good deeds. With the golden finger of being the only sword cultivator in the world, he leveled up all the way with cheat codes and almost never encountered a worthy opponent.

After entering the sixth realm, he felt that he was invincible in the world, but he just happened to encounter the great strife of the witch religion.

Kongkong Daoren originally thought that Heaven had bestowed a great responsibility upon him, and that this great chaos was a trial prepared for him. But after he revealed his name and joined the Righteous Path Alliance, he realized that although the world was not big, it was not as small as he had thought.

With the emergence of geniuses like Corpse Ancestor, Ye Sheng, and Qixia Zhenren, and the appearance of venerable figures like Ziyang Zhenren and the Living Buddha of the North, even though he tried his best, he still couldn't break into the top ten at the summit.

Especially when faced with someone like the Corpse Ancestor who was ganged up on by all the peak ancestors, and both the righteous and evil factions thought it was justified, even the Corpse Ancestor himself felt that he was a monster who couldn't defeat the entire righteous path when he was in dire straits and fought alone. All he could do was sigh in despair and even felt that he and the Corpse Ancestor were not on the same level.

After the battle, Master Kongkong was confused and didn't know what to do next.

Even the Corpse Ancestor failed to ascend to immortality, so he certainly has no chance. Becoming the number one in the world is just a pipe dream. It seems that his future can only be mediocre, and he can only live out the rest of his life in a daze.

He wanted to seek guidance from his former teacher, but the teacher must have already passed away somewhere, having completed his spiritual journey in this life. Therefore, he could only try to understand it himself.

He understood that his master's words were meant to emphasize the experience rather than the outcome, and he even put it aside for a while, retreating from the world to cultivate himself and teach a disciple. But as his time was drawing near, his resolve to follow the Dao became turbulent.

After all, he was no longer an ordinary person. The sixth-realm sword cultivator was only one step away from becoming the Human Emperor Martial Ancestor. He was only two steps away from ascending to immortality and transcending the Five Elements and Three Realms.

If we accept our fate now, all those glorious two hundred years will vanish like a bubble. As a practitioner, how can we accept this calmly?
Therefore, the Taoist Kongkong had no choice but to take a risky step and seek a sliver of opportunity for immortality by joining the evil path instead of the righteous path. The reason was simple: the righteous path could only help him prolong his life, while the evil path could change the world and help him achieve immortality.

woohoo...

The flying sword pierced the sky, creating a large wave amidst the torrential rain.

As the Taoist Kongkong recalled the past, he traversed hundreds of miles of lake in the blink of an eye and found the location Yang Huaxian had described.

A dark, round sphere lay submerged deep in the lake, barely visible to the naked eye, yet the faint trace of life within it drew everyone's attention.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one seeking a sliver of opportunity.

Under the torrential rain, two figures hovered amidst the waves.

One of them was dressed in a long red gauze dress and held a three-foot-long black sword. His figure was like a towering martial god. His pair of green eyes stared at him from afar. The warmth of meeting righteous allies in his eyes was gone, leaving only the murderous intent between the two evil paths!

Beside him stood a young man in a white robe, his Thirty-Six-Section Heavenly Mace pointing diagonally at the water. Though his cultivation was not high, his figure was as steady as a mountain, like a gatekeeper between heaven and earth, blocking all possibilities for mortal beings to cross the boundary!
Wow…

The turbulent lake suddenly fell silent.

Xie Jinhuan stood in the rain, looking up at the approaching Kongkong Daoist. Since Jian Deng, with one foot in the ground, might risk his life, it was best to hold the line and wait for reinforcements. Therefore, he spoke first:
"Senior Kongkong lived a life of righteousness and made countless contributions during the chaos of the Witchcraft Cult. Why did he lose his integrity in his old age and join the evil sect?"

A hundred years ago, the Void Daoist and the Valkyrie were evenly matched. Now, however, the Valkyrie is not as powerful as before, but he has also injured his flying sword. The outcome of their fight is still uncertain. Therefore, I will carefully consider my response:

"Being trapped in this small world for countless lifetimes is like being imprisoned in a death cell for eternity. We can only watch as the mountains and rivers wither and humanity declines. This is my way of seeking a way out of this predicament."

The Valkyrie is a pure warrior, usually gentle with her family and friends, but she has a fiery temper when facing evil spirits and heretics, responding directly:

"The only person in the world capable of saying such a thing is the Corpse Ancestor. All others are petty villains who crave immortality and disregard the common people. They have neither the courage nor the ability. The Corpse Ancestor's defeat has already proven that this path is a dead end. What right do you, a mere wandering immortal, have to utter such a sentence?"

The Taoist priest knew he wasn't qualified, but was just looking for a plausible excuse. He sighed at this moment:

"Since the Corpse Ancestor is not dead, there is still a glimmer of hope. I have pondered for a hundred years and believe that the Corpse Ancestor's path was correct, which is why I lent him a helping hand. Since we are on different paths, there is no point in saying more. If Fellow Daoist Guo really wants to stop me, I will have no choice but to fight to the death."

"However, I am already half-buried in the ground and have nothing left to care about. Fellow Daoist Guo and Young Hero Xie, on the other hand, still have many years to live. Are you two sure you want to do something so irrational?"

That threat is quite intimidating.

After all, a sixth-realm sword cultivator was determined to exchange his life for his, and no one could be sure that they could suppress him easily without any mishaps.

The Valkyrie, sword in hand, tilted her head slightly after a moment of contemplation.
"Step back and try to seize the opportunity. I can handle this person. Even if we perish together, I'll only sleep for a few more decades. You should focus on your own safety and don't worry about me."

Even with his power maxed out, Xie Jinhuan could only fight at the peak of the fifth realm at most. Since there were no fellow cultivators around for him to sacrifice his blood for, he considered the situation briefly and decided to create some distance.
"Don't fight head-on. Master Huang Lin and Senior Qixia will definitely come to our aid once they get the opportunity. As long as we don't let him take the opportunity away, we've already won."

"I know my limits..."

……

Meanwhile, on the lake dozens of miles away...

A small, red and black octopus poked its head out from the waves, curiously gazing at the distant commotion. Its big, bright eyes clearly had its eye on the Xuanwu God's gift, which was imbued with countless water energies.

Shang Mingzhen hovered nearby, carefully watching Xie Jinhuan as the distance between them gradually increased. After analyzing the situation for a long time with a frown, he quietly crept over...

(End of this chapter)