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Chapter 95 Farewell
The cloud landscape is actually not very large.

At first glance, this Taoist temple occupies only a few acres, which is nothing compared to those sects that occupy hundreds of acres or even entire mountains. It consists of just a few side rooms and a main hall for displaying statues of deities, nothing more.

The temple was completely silent, devoid of any sign of life. Zhou You casually led the donkey to an open space, and then, following the old Taoist's directions, trudged through the weeds towards the main hall.

At this moment, the old Taoist priest continued to recount his memories as if he were deeply nostalgic.

“This place wasn’t always like this. Although your master advocated for solitary cultivation, I did take in a few disciples back then—by seniority they should be your senior brothers—and we practiced our skills and cultivated the Tao, which was quite lively. Unfortunately, I had a premonition that something was wrong, and to avoid bringing trouble upon them, I sent them off the mountain in advance.”

"Oh dear, another half of the eaves has collapsed. It's true, as long as no one is around, the wind and rain will come and go, and this house will fall into disrepair in just a few months."

"And this well..."

The journey continued amidst the old Taoist's rambling, and soon Zhou You arrived at the door of the main hall.

Then, push it away.

As sunlight streamed in through the window, so did the smell of dust and mildew. Zhou You coughed a few times to clear away the odor, then looked up.

A statue of Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun is looking down at him.

Unlike the Buddha statues I saw at the Sanhua Temple, this statue wasn't even painted with gold powder. You could tell from the rough edges that it was probably carved by an ordinary person bit by bit.

But this is not the point.

The key point is that under the statue, a Taoist priest who is over two meters tall is sitting cross-legged. This person is wearing a dark blue Taoist robe, and his hands are casually placed on his knees without any other movements.

But
This Taoist priest had no head.

Starting from the neck, what should have been there had vanished, but the gap remained pristine, and the severed artery was still pulsating, as if a head could be placed on it and the headless corpse would instantly come back to life.

From the moment he entered the house, the old Taoist priest stared blankly at the corpse, his gaze never wavering.

Several minutes later, he suddenly realized what was happening and shouted.

"My good disciple, what are you waiting for? Quickly put your master's head back onto your body. Once your master and the Dharma body become one and return to the true form, there will be nothing to fear in Cangzhou—even the most powerful beings can't do anything to us. We, master and disciple, can walk sideways!"

However, Zhou You did not move an inch.

At this moment, it seemed as if fire was burning in the old Taoist's eyes. All the rationality, hesitation, and confusion he had felt before seemed to have been completely burned away. At this moment, there was only naked desire in his eyes.

Seeing that Zhou You didn't move, he spoke sternly again.

"Disciple, what are you waiting for! The opportunity for perfection is just around the corner, what are you dawdling about—"

However, his voice was interrupted by Zhou You the next moment.

"Master, haven't you noticed the problem yet?"

The voice was calm and even, yet it carried a hint of helplessness.

The old Taoist's eyes were bloodshot, and he angrily tilted his head back to look at Zhou You.

"What problem have I discovered? This is my own Dharma body, I am Xuan Yuan—"

The conversation abruptly stopped.

The old Taoist priest opened and closed his mouth silently, but he could not utter the next sentence.

"Master, why don't you continue?"

Before the old Taoist could reply, Zhou You started counting on his fingers and said them one by one.

“Master, you’ve shown your weakness from the very beginning.”

"—First of all, Master, your way of addressing people is very strange. You have said 'you humans' more than once, and you usually refer to Xuan Yuan Dao Ren as 'that guy.' If you are really this original body, you would never use such a term of address."

"Secondly, although you have been quite kind to me, Master, throughout this journey you have always seemed to regard human life as worthless, and you are always ready to eat or kill people. However, according to everyone we have met along the way, Taoist Xuan Yuan is a righteous and incorruptible knight-errant who slays demons and monsters. He would never do such a thing."

"Also, this bell in my hand will ring when I am in danger, but only a human being who poses no threat to me can hear it. You, Master, have never heard it once."

Zhou You looked at the head, and a look of pity gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Finally, I heard what they said clearly at the door—the prerequisite for bringing this body back to life is to sew on the correct one."

"And Master, with so many questions, how can you be sure you're right?" The old Taoist stared blankly at Zhou You, not replying, but the bloodshot in his eyes gradually faded, and the look in his eyes became increasingly confused.

After a while, he suddenly laughed.

It started as a self-deprecating chuckle, but quickly turned into a cathartic laugh, and finally became a pure, unadulterated maniacal laugh.

The laughter lasted for the full time of half an incense stick, finally subsiding with a series of breathless coughs.

"My disciple, it's all thanks to you for discovering so many problems. I just wonder when you realized something was wrong?"

"In the beginning."

"At the beginning? Back when the pig demon's lair was located?"

".That's right."

The old man's smile became increasingly comical.

“At that time, I felt I hadn’t given anything away—I even thought I was being genuine—so how did you realize something was wrong?”

Zhou Youdao.

“Actually, Master, your argument back then was not problematic, but when you were with those two leaders, even if there was no problem, people would still think there was something wrong.”

"That's it?"

"That's it."

The old Taoist priest burst into laughter again.

Then, Zhou You also laughed.

But there was a hint of bitterness in his smile.

Finally, the old Taoist priest finished laughing. He just looked at Zhou You and then suddenly said something.

"Then, disciple, what do you plan to do?"

But Zhou You lowered his head.

"This disciple does not know either, please enlighten me, Master."

"You're still too soft-hearted." The old Taoist stared at Zhou You, and for the first time since they met, he lectured him like a teacher. "Since you've already realized something's wrong, then resolve things cleanly and efficiently. I've taught you this many times. A grown man must be decisive and ruthless in his dealings with others."

The old Taoist priest gestured with his chin, indicating a wooden mallet used as a sacrificial implement on the altar.

"Do what you planned to do when you first met me. You don't need to pity me, and don't make excuses either. If the old Taoist priest doesn't die, this matter will never be able to continue."

"—Besides, now that I know everything, I also want to find some relief."

"After all, thinking about eating and killing people so easily is really contrary to the name of Xuan Yuan."

Zhou You didn't move. He looked at the old Taoist's head, then shook his head, sighed, and walked over to pick up the wooden mallet.

Then, he walked up to the old Taoist priest.

The other person was looking at him, their gaze devoid of sorrow or joy, only filled with a sense of relief.

By this time, he had acquired some of the demeanor of the legendary Xuan Yuan Daoist.

"By the way, Master, is there anything else you wish for?"

The old Taoist priest grinned.

"Actually, it's nothing. After I die, Xuan Yuan will definitely go after that Tai Sui. I hope you can help him out if you can—after all, this guy is the culprit who ruined your master's life. If you have the chance, you should kill that bastard."

Zhou You nodded and raised the mallet high.

then.

Slam it down hard.

(End of this chapter)