Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 1076 About to Break Through
The message brought by the butterfly jolted Xu, who was struggling internally under Bai Suzhen's meticulous "care," and his eyes regained their usual clarity and sharpness.

"Chisu..."

Clutching the speck of light transformed from the butterfly of wish power, his eyes flickered uncertainly.

The return of the Crimson Sword means that the old man with the long eyebrows has personally taken action.

"So, the earth-shattering commotion at Mangshan a few days ago was caused by Changmei?"

He muttered to himself, his tone resolute.

Just as the Long-Browed Immortal would pay close attention to Xu Xuan's every move, Xu Xuan also regarded the Long-Browed Immortal as his number one enemy.

As for the so-called Imperial Preceptor Pudu Cihang, although he wasn't reduced to the level of a "stray dog ​​on the roadside" and not worth considering, he was still far inferior to Changmei in terms of threat priority.

The main reason is that Master Changmei's unfathomable magnanimity and his far-reaching plans spanning hundreds of years have reached the pinnacle of human skill.

This kind of enemy is the most difficult to deal with; a slight mistake can lead to total defeat.

Xu Xuan's brows furrowed tightly.

Should we take this final sword strike, Yang Po, or not? And when should we take it?
There's a lot to learn here; a small change can have far-reaching consequences.

There was even a crucial question lingering in his mind: Since Changmei had already personally retrieved the Chisu Sword, why didn't he go all the way and take the Yangpo Sword from Mingyue Mountain as well, and send it over as well?

The Baoan Hall had already sent people to investigate the situation on Mingyue Mountain.

I know there is a strange rabbit there that spends its days tapping on a rock with a sword pellet in its arms, seemingly harmless.

But once the rabbit really unleashes its power, its strength is terrifying, and it's likely that even the top combatants in the hall might not be able to defeat it.

and so……

Just as Xu Xuan was deep in thought, Bai Suzhen gracefully stepped in.

She almost never interfered in the specific affairs of Baoan Hall, only making an exception when it concerned the safety of her younger sister Xiaoqing and Xu Xuan herself.

I do not wish to get involved in worldly affairs, nor do I wish to disrupt my spiritual practice.

Seeing the troubled look on Xu Xuan's face, she did not intervene directly, but simply sat down to the side and said softly:

"If the sword-guarding creature is truly a spirit beast born from the essence of heaven and earth, rather than a ferocious demon, then there is no need to worry too much about the danger to one's life."

“Spirit beasts are spiritually connected and often rely more on fate. Perhaps we could send someone with a pure mind and no distractions to try, and they might gain the spirit beast's approval and successfully retrieve the sword.”

Bai Suzhen's words were gentle in tone, but their "lethality" was very strong.

With a single, casual remark, Xu Xuan's plan to personally go to Mingyue Mountain to retrieve the sword was completely thwarted.

Those whose minds are not "pure" enough may find it difficult to gain the approval of spirit beasts.

The man was speechless, inwardly dumbfounded: My mind isn't pure? You dare say I, a man as pure and flawless as a white lotus, am not pure?!
He quickly recovered from this minor "blow" and fell into deeper contemplation.

It wasn't that he was agonizing over whether he was pure or not, but rather that the sudden appearance of Changmei and the handing over of the sword had sounded an alarm for him, making him realize that he had to accelerate the overall progress of Baoan Hall.

The map of the Nine Provinces in my mind began to spin wildly, like a giant sand table, marked with shining points: Luoyang, Mount Shu, the Five Lakes, the Huai River, the Yellow River, the Underworld...

These places are all key nodes that must be focused on or conquered in the next step. Behind each of them are countless causes and effects and powerful opponents. Just thinking about them is enough to give you a headache.

"Ugh……"

Despite the complaints, nothing that needs to be done can be omitted.

He immediately began to write with lightning speed, and one instruction after another flew in all directions with the butterfly of his will.

First, there's the arrangement regarding Yu Ji.

Yu Yingnan was put in charge of accompanying Yu Ji. After Yu Ji finished worshipping at the Overlord Temple on the banks of the Wujiang River, she was safely escorted to Poyang Lake and handed over to Xiao Qing to assist in commanding the growing Three Lakes Navy.

This woman learned military strategy and tactics from Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, and Han Xin, the God of War. She combined theory with practice, so commanding the aquatic troops of the Three Lakes should be a piece of cake for her.

Meanwhile, with Gui Da, a "top agent," providing internal support in Chaohu, it shouldn't be too difficult to take down a relatively independent force in Chaohu with the help of both inside and outside forces.

As for the remaining Hongze Lake... it is right next to the still not completely calmed Huai River, and it is also near the Turtle Mountain that suppresses a certain white-haired monkey.

The situation is too complicated and involves too many people.

"The Hongze Lake matter will be postponed for now. We will discuss it again in a year."

This arrangement has essentially clarified the layout of the southern water system.

As for Li Yingqi, who was replaced by Yu Ji, he was given a new important task.

As the leader of the "Three Heroes and Two Clouds", he personally went to Mingyue Mountain to find out the truth.

This young girl has the "purest" mind; she doesn't have many hidden agendas. Her heart and mind are full of cultivation and "slaying demons and monsters," and she is simple and direct.

I wonder if this pure way of thinking might resonate with the strange rabbit on Bright Moon Mountain, creating some kind of peculiar connection?

Even if they don't match up, he won't panic at all. Xu Xuan doesn't have many other things, but he has a lot of "protagonists".

You could easily find a dozen unique and "pure" individuals in Baoan Hall by simply swiping around.

To be on the safe side, it was decided to have Zhou Qingyun go along as well.

As the core of destiny, she has a natural connection with the Yangpo Sword. Perhaps without fighting, simply getting close will trigger the divine sword to come to her automatically, saving her a lot of trouble.

As for safety, there's absolutely no need to worry.

Let's put it this way: at this delicate moment, looking across the entire cultivation world, who would dare to drag these precious "Three Heroes and Two Clouds" into a life-or-death situation?

The first to step in to rescue them will probably not be any of their own people from the Baoan Hall.

Master Changmei will undoubtedly arrive with overwhelming force, traversing mountains and rivers to "slay demons and eliminate evil," protecting these "good children" of the new Shu Mountain. Although they are destined to be life-or-death opponents, Xu Xuan and Master Changmei have developed a certain tacit understanding in their specific styles of action after three encounters.

This is also why Changmei has always looked down on the scheming style of Pudu Cihang.

Even villains need to maintain their dignity and moral boundaries.

After arranging everything, Xu Xuan let out a long sigh of relief. The spirit he had been forcing himself to maintain instantly dissipated, and he "weakly" leaned back onto the couch.

This time it wasn't an act; Bai Suzhen wasn't the kind of woman who would be fooled by low-level disguises.

This is a normal and unavoidable phenomenon during the adjustment of the Dharma form and the reshaping of the sacred embryo.

Just as snakes need to shed their old skin to grow, humans will also exhibit this inherent fragility at crucial moments of evolution and advancement in their life form.

Xu Xuan could clearly feel a wonderful sense of "complete unity" gradually forming inside and outside his body.

It was a profound state that transcended the past dualistic opposition between the physical body and the soul, a clear sign that one was about to step into a completely new realm.

At the same time, the spiritual level is further affected by the interaction of the rules of heaven and earth, becoming exceptionally unstable.

Vivid hallucinations often appear before my eyes without warning:

Sometimes, he would see Lu Pan, Yun Zhongjun, and even his enemies, such as Ya Yu, whom he had just personally sent to annihilation, come vividly to his side. They were not seeking revenge, but rather sitting with him peacefully, discussing the secrets of life and death, the mechanism of the changing clouds and rain, and the truth of the sacred and immortal...

The profound truths contained within these illusions are extremely real. If one can calmly contemplate and comprehend them, one may truly gain considerable benefits.

Xu Xuan merely sneered inwardly at this.

He was confident in his "cleanup" methods. Any enemy who died by his hand was completely disposed of, from their physical body to their soul, and even their true spirit imprint. There was absolutely no possibility of them returning or even appearing in his dreams.

Sometimes, I would see myself vanishing between heaven and earth: my soul returning to the heavens, my seven spirits scattering to the earth, my body returning to the void, nourishing all things. It was a complete and peaceful demise.

Xu Xuan scoffed at this.

He was confident that if he were to die again, his enemies would never allow him to leave behind such a complete body and soul that could "decompose naturally".

They must have used every means to destroy his body and soul, scatter his true spirit, and plunge him into an abyss of no return. There is absolutely no way he could have returned to the world so "gently".

Such hallucinations are often quickly overshadowed and diluted by a more tragic and realistic "expected ending" in the mind, as soon as they appear.

The illusory scene failed to shake his resolve in the slightest.

Numerous illusions, like the moon reflected in water or a flower in a mirror.

Only one scene moved me slightly.

He saw that the originally aloof and ethereal Bai Suzhen had become completely corrupted due to her inability to sever her ties with love. She swallowed the object of her love tribulation and transformed into a "White Snake Demon Lord" with a murderous aura soaring to the sky. With her delicate hands, she tore through the nine heavens of lightning tribulation and forcibly seized that wisp of immortal golden essence amidst the towering thunder!
The scene, the aura, it was both sinister and breathtakingly... cool?
"This story is taking an incredibly bizarre turn."

Xu Xuan stroked his chin, not afraid at all, but rather finding it quite amusing.

He turned to Bai Suzhen, who was protecting him, and vividly described what he had just seen, especially focusing on her darkened appearance.

Bai Suzhen: "..."

Looking at the man in front of me with an expression that said, "I'm sharing some strange and wonderful stories," I was completely speechless.

A cool voice carried a hint of indescribable helplessness: "You... I've already eaten you, what's there to be happy about?"

In fact, according to common sense, before a cultivator advances to the fourth realm, their soul will be unusually active, making it easy for them to communicate with the Dao in the dark, thus "seeing" all kinds of bizarre and wonderful scenes, which is the "appearance of the Dao".

What Taoist practitioners see are mostly the purification and sublimation of natural phenomena.

For example, some cultivators have witnessed the manifestation of the True Martial Emperor, with three blue lotuses blooming in succession beneath his feet, and the shadows of a divine tortoise and a soaring serpent coiling and clinging to them, emitting a faint blue light that permeates the Taoist concept of "harmony between heaven and man," a supreme and wondrous state.

The contrasts in color and form of these scenes often reflect the transformation of a practitioner's mind from chaos and confusion to clarity and lucidity.

Buddhist disciples often use solemn and sacred places such as ancient temples and sacred mountains as vehicles for "seeing the Way".

For example, a high-ranking monk saw the sacred mountain in meditation, where the "Nine Dragons Bathing the Buddha" phenomenon appeared, the Buddha Prince appeared with a seven-colored rainbow, and white doves skimmed across the water without disturbing the waves, symbolizing the universal compassion and boundless mercy of Buddhism.

Another great Buddha stands tall in the sky, its gaze both compassionate and majestic. No matter from which angle one looks, one feels as if the Buddha's eyes are looking directly at one, suggesting that the enlightened one has initially broken through the limitations of time and space and become one with the true nature of Buddhism.

Such scenes often create a sublime atmosphere that transcends the mundane world through the superposition of multiple senses, such as spatial layering, melodious chanting, and pervasive fragrance.

However, whether it is the Taoist Green Lotus or the Buddhist Sacred Mountain, they are ultimately just forms.

"All forms are illusory."

This place of "seeing the Way" may seem extraordinary, but it is actually the final battlefield where the last layer of false attachments in the practitioner's heart dissipates and the true nature of the mind is revealed.

What one sees reflects one's heart.

Xu Hanwen's state of "enlightenment" is truly rare.

The images were mostly negative, intense, and even somewhat eerie, and did not seem to show the purity, solemnity, and peace that practitioners often exhibit when they are about to transcend the mortal world.

Seeing this, Bai Suzhen understood: if such mental states are not guided and restrained in time, and are allowed to develop unchecked, they can easily lead to inner demons arising at the critical moment of breakthrough, or even cause one to go astray and stray from the path of cultivation.

I will say no more, knowing full well that any words of guidance at this moment are ultimately external; true composure must be sought within.

So she continued with her work.

Her slender fingers, delicate as orchids, manipulated the void, drawing in the purest essence of heaven and earth, which intertwined with the divine light of the sun and fire in her palm. It was as if the most skillful weaver was spinning threads of light.

Based on this, she intended to incorporate her own understanding of and protection of a pure mind and spirit, and tailor a unique "protective treasure" for Xu Xuan.

This way, entering Luoyang would be somewhat safer.

(End of this chapter)