The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 331 Suppressing all souls and spirits, pardoning sins and enduring suffering!
Wisps of Kunlun Yuan Qi gathered around Kaiming, transforming into nine heads around him. Each head had a different nature and displayed a completely different charm, yet all were vast and ancient.

Although within the Kunlun lineage, only the Queen Mother of the West could contend with the water god Gonggong.

This represents the relationship between the "Golden Mother" and the "Water Master".

As one of the Queen Mother of the West's assistants, Kaiming's power and strength were no match for the water god Gonggong. However, at this moment, he was only facing a wisp of Gonggong's water element, so he could still put up a fight.

With the blessing of enlightened power, Zhou Yan's senses about himself were further enhanced. He breathed and exhaled, his Dao foundation flowing through him, and he brought his power to its limit. The [Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman] had absorbed and carried the essence of the immortals, making it extraordinary.

However, even after absorbing the essence of immortals and transforming into a celestial jade talisman, with Dao patterns of the Hungry Ghost Path directly on it, it still faced extreme difficulty when confronting the flesh and blood of the Water God, which was at a conceptual level.

Complete indigestion.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"You've already eaten it, do you think you can fly away from a cooked duck?"

"I'll write my name backwards!"

Zhou Yan's own spiritual energy transformed into torrents within his body, constantly bombarding and entangling the Water God's water essence.

The water element originally intended to fly out from Zhou Yan's entire body.

Then it transformed into a beacon of this world, directly connecting to Gonggong, the water god in the second spiritual world. However, just as it was about to fly out of Zhou Yan's body, the ancient character "镇" (zhen, meaning to suppress) lit up in the palm of Zhou Yan's right hand.

The aura of the Water God was like water crashing against a mountain rock, creating ripples that were then forced back into Zhou Yan's body.

At this moment, it was as if the power of the water god was sealed inside the body of Mount Buzhou. Trying to break through it was almost impossible. It was forced back and even began to dissipate.

Kaiming roared, "Now! Zhou Yan!"

With a thought, Zhou Yan circulated his Dao Foundation, forcefully suppressing the pure and boundless power of the Water God. However, refining the power of the Water God Gonggong with his current cultivation level was extremely difficult.

Even the jade seal, a relic of Kunlun and containing the Hetu and Luoshu, could not suppress this wisp of water element.

Zhou Yan and Kai Ming worked together, almost like playing hide-and-seek inside Zhou Yan's body.

However, Kaiming immediately discovered that after this water elemental energy circulated within Zhou Yan's body, it forcibly widened Zhou Yan's meridians. This was an instinct derived from the power of the water god, and came from the characteristic of a river spreading out of its banks.

Kaiming's eyes lit up slightly, and he said, "Kid, your opportunity has arrived!"

"Hey, whether you can digest it or not, let's borrow Gonggong's power to cleanse your bones and muscles!"

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. If he were timid, he would have waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing Kai Ming say this, thinking it was far too risky. But since Zhou Yan was capable of swallowing Gonggong's Water Essence in one gulp, he was certainly not timid.

He immediately replied, "Okay!"

Thus, with the assistance of Kaiming and the thought of Zhou Yan, the power of the two, like urging the water element of the water god Gonggong, forcefully made this wisp of the water god's concept flow through Zhou Yan's meridians.

This is the power of the water god!

And there was also enlightened care.

Although this was not the original intention, in essence, it was almost the same as Gonggong, the water god who was one of the original concept gods, personally taking action to cleanse Zhou Yan's meridians. The amount of magical power a person can contain is directly related to their primordial spirit and meridians.

If the primordial spirit is not strong enough, it cannot mobilize too much magical power. Once too much magical power is mobilized, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of magical power. The meridians determine the total amount. The wider the meridians, the more they can accommodate.

The stronger the meridians, the more refined and powerful the magical energy they can contain.

The Taoist practice of cultivating both body and mind embodies this principle.

Otherwise, if the meridians are not strong enough and the body is not powerful enough, forcibly compressing and purifying the magic power in the body will only cause the meridians to break, and the pure magic power to flow out from the limbs and bones. This is what is called practicing too hastily, going into qi deviation, and breaking the meridians.

Now, the power of Gonggong is flowing through Zhou Yan's body, tempering and strengthening all his meridians to the limit of human potential. Kaiming praised, "Good, good, good, the meridians are indeed wider, but there is still some room for improvement!"

"Kid, can you still hold back?"

"Opening up the meridians is extremely painful!"

Zhou Yan was already in so much pain that cold sweat was seeping from his forehead. He actually wanted to scream, but he didn't. What was filling his body and holding him up at this moment was not 'saving face', but anger.

It is the anger of seeing human beings die and be sacrificed; it is the anger of not having the power to resist this overwhelming destiny; it is the anger of being powerless to truly harm Gonggong even after trying with all one's might.

Zhou Yan's cheeks twitched slightly from the intense pain, but he managed a weak smile. However, this smile was distorted by the pain, making it look like a sneer. He said, "Come on!"

“I’ll call you your grandson.”

"it is good!"

Enlightened's characteristic is observation. With just the essence of one of his heads, Zhou Yan possessed a unique and first-rate divine eye. At this moment, with one hand on Zhou Yan's shoulder, he sensed that Zhou Yan was completely unharmed under the impact of Gonggong's power.

How wonderful, how wonderful!
With a mere mortal body, not yet an immortal being.

It's incredible that he was able to withstand the power of the Water God Gonggong in cleansing and tempering his body. Apart from the pain, he didn't feel any discomfort at all. Normally, his flesh and blood body would have been washed away and pulverized long ago.

Only the old man of Mount Buzhou, the pillar of heaven, could withstand a full-force attack from the water god Gonggong...

Oh, right, theoretically speaking.

Aside from the old man from Tianzhu Buzhou Mountain, that one should also be acceptable.

His enlightened thoughts paused slightly, his mind went blank for a moment, and then he seemed to recall a distant memory that he had long forgotten, so he nodded in approval:
"Not bad."

"At least it wasn't a loss to share the same name as [Yan], the supreme being of all things in the primordial era!"

Zhou Yan paused for a moment after hearing that sentence.

Suddenly he understood something, and at that moment, Kaiming placed one hand on Zhou Yan's shoulder and said, "If we don't use what we've gained before, when will we?!" With a thought, the gourd given to Zhou Yan by Mu Degong flew out from his waist.

This gourd is filled with the blood of Qingyuanjun, the lord of the ancient serpent, whom I killed earlier. It is the blood of immortals and gods, especially the blood of immortals and gods who possess extremely powerful abilities. In essence, it is a highly concentrated form of primordial energy.

This blood, refined by enlightenment, was also guided into Zhou Yan's body.

While using the water element of the water god Gonggong to expand Zhou Yan's limbs and bones, Qingyuan Jun's blood was used to stabilize these expanded meridians and solidify the foundation with rich primordial energy.

Throughout the entire process, Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and remained silent.

This impressed Kaiming greatly. He didn't know how much time it took, but he knew that the entire gourd of Qingyuanjun's essence blood was used up before he could finally refine Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan's eyes and brows twitched with pain. His whole body felt as if it were being torn apart by a thousand knives. The pain was so intense that he felt numb, but even the slightest movement would cause that excruciating pain to surge up again.

Kaiming sensed Zhou Yan's current state.

The meridians are wide and strong, capable of accommodating a vast flow of primordial energy. This means that Zhou Yan's breathing efficiency and mana output speed are stronger than before, and better suited to his three hundred years of cultivation.

"Well, barely. I've returned to the innate state and reached the physical qualities of the ancient human race, the so-called 'Ancient True Man'."

"Strictly speaking, you are still some distance away from those innate deities and divine beasts known for their physical characteristics, but you are already far from being a normal person."

An enlightened assessment.

Zhou Yan's lips twitched; he didn't know how to respond.

Are you praising me or scolding me?
However, Zhou Yan immediately sensed that the power of the Water God had not been diminished at all; it remained within his body and became even more agitated after discovering it could not escape. A thought struck Zhou Yan, and he coordinated with the power of enlightenment, half guiding and half suppressing it.

He forcefully directed the essence of the Water God's water element to his left arm. Finally, a blue light emanated from Zhou Yan's left arm, and his skin, bones, and blood vessels seemed to transform into a semi-transparent texture, nurturing extremely pure water element.

It's almost like having an arm of the water god!
The chains formed from the residual metal from Yu the Great's casting of the Nine Tripods exuded a rich aura of humanity, wrapping around Zhou Yan's arm nine times, with flowing golden patterns constantly rotating on them.

Finally, they forcefully locked Shui Yuan in Zhou Yan's arm, who was still trying to escape.

Secure it in place.

That wisp of water elemental essence could only be firmly trapped in Zhou Yan's left arm.

Kaiming breathed a sigh of relief, took a step back, and sat down heavily on the ground, panting. Looking at Zhou Yan's left arm, his eyes were filled with fear and emotion. He said, "Gonggong's mark and the Water Element."

"This arm is still somewhat inferior to Gonggong's true form."

"But it is already enough to surpass other water-attribute deities."

"Ah."

Zhou Yan responded with a sound, raised his arm, and the chains rattled.

He had a feeling that if he took the initiative to release the chains of King Yu, the power of the sealed concept god and water god would be unleashed and could probably display extremely terrifying power. However, the mark of Gonggong would probably be deepened as well.

The mark of Gonggong represents the divine gaze of Gonggong.

Once this imprint becomes strong enough, even if Gonggong's true form is locked in two different locations—the human world and the second spiritual world—by the concept of the Yanhuang earth veins, he can always see Zhou Yan's location and whereabouts.

That would be a huge problem.

Zhou Yan muttered to himself, "It really is. It's an unparalleled weapon of mass destruction, capable of solving all the problems we're currently facing, but the hidden dangers are also enormous..."

Kaiming rolled his eyes and said, "To have the opportunity to obtain a wisp of water essence from the water god Gonggong, and to have a method to seal it within one's own body as a trump card, is an immense opportunity for anyone, and you still chose it."

"Let it digest slowly."

"And now, there is another thing I need you to do."

Kaiming's expression was solemn. With a sweep of his sleeve, the sleeve fluttered like a vast space, seemingly with vortexes flowing within it, from which semi-transparent figures were sent out.

Judging from their appearance, there were men, women, young and old, all looking bewildered, but their eyes and brows were filled with fear. Their clothes were tattered, and they were the ordinary people who had been killed by the blood sacrifice.

Even now, they still retain the appearance of someone about to die, their faces are miserable, and the pain and fear before death still linger in their hearts, causing them to continuously emit low moans.

Kaiming's expression turned solemn, devoid of his usual playful banter and scolding; he simply said softly:

"They are just ordinary humans. After they die, without any cultivation to rely on, there are only a few possibilities. One is that they will rise up and flow into the spiritual world, waiting for the natural cycle there to flow back into the human world to be reincarnated."

"If it dwells in one place, it becomes a bound spirit; if it dwells in a corpse and refuses to leave, it becomes a zombie; if it dwells in a memory, it becomes a vengeful ghost..."

"Zhou Yan, what are you going to do?"

Looking at these people, Zhou Yan saw the ancient gods and demons wandering outside in the space supported by the divinity of Buzhou Mountain. He knew that if these souls killed by the evil blood sacrifice method were to go out, they would probably be absorbed and have their seals broken, just like Gonggong devoured them.

Zhou Yan saw these people: a kind old man with a gash in his chest, a young man whose textbooks were stained with blood, and a young girl who had been beheaded while longing for her lover. They were all dead, and they looked at him with fear.

Kaiming didn't speak or offer any guidance; he simply took a half-step back.

He said softly, "What are you going to do..."

Heroes lament, heroes bear the burden, while tyrants say: You shall go on your way home, for I will avenge you.

In that instant, he transformed back into Chisongzi, the ancient imperial tutor of the Yanhuang lineage, who had guided the young Ji Xuanyuan and the young Yao, Shun, and Yu, looking at this young Taoist.

Zhou Yan closed his eyes, and a thought flashed through his mind.

He had done everything he could; he had indeed helped them avenge themselves and even slapped Gonggong. He had no regrets. However, when he opened his eyes and saw these people, he only felt sadness and anger.

These people are asleep because of the plans of [Shi] and [Li Yuanying];
Furthermore, because the descendants of Gonggong attempted to unseal the ancient dragon-turtle whose physical body was currently in the human world, they slaughtered people in order to remove the seal of the Yanhuang clan on Gonggong's body. Their souls either scattered, entered the spiritual world and were absorbed, or became vengeful ghosts.

Zhou Yan gripped the weapon tightly, then released it.

Finally, he whispered, "...Ba."

The girl's voice rang in Zhou Yan's ear: "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yan said, "I spent a very long time in the dream world you created. That world is big enough to hold too many people..." Kaiming's expression changed, and Ba was stunned. The girl's voice suddenly rose:
"No !!!!"

"You, you want to use your own soul's dreams to bear the weight of these people?! Your spirit and soul will be under too much pressure, like you're always carrying something on your back. No, absolutely not..."

Zhou Yan said, "I'm just trying."

Kaiming's expression turned solemn: "No, you and they have no further karmic ties, there's no need to do this."

Zhou Yan exhaled, and the Taoist priest with graying temples looked at the people, then at the only survivor, the little boy who had been rescued by Kaiming. He suddenly walked over, squatted down, and smiled, "Little boy, can I have this?"

He pointed to a string of lucky charms hanging from the child's waist.

The little boy didn't understand much, nor could he see his parents' spirits. He simply took the five amulet coins and carefully placed them in Zhou Yan's palm, sobbing as he said, "These are from my father and mother. Thank you, Daoist Master..."

Five copper coins strung together with red thread landed in Zhou Yan's palm.

Zhou Yan thanked him, took the item, and looked at Kai Ming:
"Now, there is cause and effect."

Enlightened silence.

Finally, he asked, "Why did you go to this point?"

The young Taoist casually wore the copper coin on his waist, chuckled to himself, and said, "Don't get me wrong. I just believe, based on my personality and experiences, that saving people is a satisfying thing in itself."

"I don't think these people can give me anything."

"I also feel that doing something like this at this time is such a huge loss, an absolute waste, but..."

He paused for a moment:

"Seeing this suffering, I could not bear not to help; that's all."

The pupils constrict.

In his eyes, there seemed to be a special divine aura gathering on the Taoist priest in front of him.

The young Taoist looked at the souls and explained clearly:
"Gentlemen, if a crisis were to occur, I would still choose to protect myself, but for now, please come..."

He stretched out his hand, and the souls shrank one by one, landing in the young Taoist's open palm. This reflected in the young Taoist's almost transcendent divinity; his sideburns were slightly lowered, his eyes were lowered, and he said softly:
"To subdue all souls, to forgive sins and suffering, and to ward off all calamities, I will surely slay them with a single sword."

“Your enemies, your grievances, your suffering.”

"This humble Taoist accepts!"

(End of this chapter)