Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 833 Don't Waste
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

"I understand."

Master Mao slowly rose to his feet, his three long wisps of beard moving without wind.

The tassels on his tattered Taoist robe rustled, yet they did not diminish his otherworldly air. Xu Xuan noticed that this usually gentle and refined old Taoist had a hint of thunder in his eyes at this moment.

They chased after Yan Chixia's figure and disappeared inside the imperial carriage.

The three of them squatted in the corner of the carriage, looking at each other... Suddenly they felt that if the three of them just went back to Qiantang like this, would they still be human?

How can we be ranked alongside the many heroes and valiant warriors under Master Xu in the future?
So Zao said he still had plenty of strength and volunteered to go to the group in New Shushan to subdue demons and monsters. The Zhanlu Divine Sword should be ready at this time.

Ning Caichen, on the other hand, was to follow the Taoist priest and use his musical talent to soothe the sickness in people's hearts.

Ji Rui then offered to help Master Yan transport supplies to Wuchang County and also to resolve many worldly problems.

After the three finished speaking, they boarded their chariot and returned to Dongting Lake, not daring to linger for even a moment.

Guangliang...you guys...

"Amitabha……"

The high monk's sense of morality was whipping him.

Yunmengze himself guarded the gate instead of going in for the bloody battle, which was understandable, but the abbot said that it was a division of labor, and guarding the gate was also very important.

But shouldn't we do something now?
Forget about becoming a Buddha in the future; they're already worse than pigs and dogs.

He immediately stated that he would first send Qingyou back to Jinshan Temple to recuperate, and then he and Monk Baizhu would lead twenty monks from Jinshan Temple to Dongting Lake to hold a Dharma assembly to ward off disasters and pray for blessings.

Before the abbot could refuse, he dragged the two bald men off the vehicle and sped off to Zhenjiang.

In the short span of a few words, only Xu Xuan, Miss Bai, and Xiao Qing remained in the car.

"Um... Miss Bai, I'll be leaving the next few days in your care."

Xu Xuan didn't necessarily want Bai to stay by his side, nor was he impure in his desires.

Rather, it was because he and Xiaoqing were both at their weakest point, and they were also the most important people in Baoan Hall, so they absolutely could not allow the enemy to find any weaknesses.

Right, the Long-Browed Immortal from afar?

Bai Suzhen expressed her understanding, saying that everything they had done these past few days was a major event, and it was perfectly normal to have provoked a powerful enemy.

Therefore, it is best to return to Qiantang as soon as possible, set up the Big Dipper Demon-Sealing Array in the lake to disrupt the heavenly order, and then put Xu Xuan into Leifeng Pagoda to recuperate properly.

Xu Xuan replied, "Not yet. I can't let all these injuries go to waste."

Bai Suzhen thought Xu Xuan was mentally ill; was he even speaking human language?
"Hehe, let's go to Mount Lu first."

Once they reached the foot of the mountain, they went even further, demanding that Bai Suzhen carry or drag him up the mountain.

……

And so, Xu Xuan arrived at Bailu Academy in a way that no one expected, and found the anxious and somewhat guilty Old Shen.

"Hanwen, you!!!"

The teacup in Shen Shanzhang's hand shattered with a "crack".

He stared wide-eyed at Xu Xuan, who was being "helped" in by Bai Suzhen—no, it couldn't be called helping at all, it was more like dragging a corpse!
His face was ashen, bloodstains hung from his lips, and every step he took seemed to require all his strength.

Even more terrifying was the deathly aura surrounding him, making his breathing so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

Shen Shanzhang trembled as he placed his hand on Xu Xuan's pulse, and immediately gasped in shock—his meridians were shattered, his acupoints collapsed, what... what difference was there between him and a dead man?
So he burst into tears, realizing it was all his fault.

If I could have gone with them, things wouldn't have turned out this way...

He held Xu Xuan's cold hand tightly, his voice choked with emotion: "If there's anything else... just say it."

Xu Xuan was barely breathing, yet he still forced a smile: "I... have done right by the millions of lives lost in Dongting Lake... but I have failed... Headmaster..."

He said that he shakily pulled something out of his bosom—the small cauldron!
However, the cauldron was now covered with scorch marks, as if it had been struck by lightning a thousand times, and the humanistic power accumulated inside the cauldron was almost gone.

"The Wu Ding?!" Headmaster Shen exclaimed in surprise, then slapped himself hard. "I... really... sigh!"

"You've gone to such lengths for humanity, how can I still care about external things?"

“Take good care of your injuries. You can borrow whatever you want from the academy when you come back. If you hesitate even for a moment, I, Shen, am not human.”

He even felt that if he had lent out the wooden tripod and the blue jade disc together, things might have turned out differently.

It's no wonder he's in pain; the main reason is that for a normal cultivator, such severe injuries would mean that even if they didn't die, they would lose all their cultivation.

"Just wait."

Gritting his teeth, he took out a lot of high-quality medicinal herbs from the warehouse, packed them up, and insisted that Xu Xuan take them away.

Xu Xuan naturally refused, as he believed he could recover based on his luck, so why bother eating and packing leftovers?

But he couldn't leave without it, and Old Shen was both angry and guilty.

They had no choice but to take it down and then gracefully retire.

"Ah~~~ There is true love in the world, we should repay the kindness of spring with our hearts."

"Alright, let's go to the Pure Land School."

Bai Suzhen silently led a certain dying man to the Donglin Ancestral Temple.

The young novice monk guarding the gate saw the cloud carriage from afar and was about to go forward to greet it when he was so frightened by the sight before him that he fell to the ground.

The renowned Zen Master Fahai was now being held in Bai Suzhen's hand like a rag doll. His brocade robe was so tattered that it could barely cover his body, and his exposed skin was covered with hideous cracks.

Even more terrifying was that the Zen master was surrounded by a faint aura of death.

The old monk who arrived also gasped in shock. Their efforts to stabilize the earth's veins on the outer perimeter had been extremely costly and fraught with peril. Some of the floodwaters were almost touching their faces; they were risking their lives to fight against the overwhelming force.

But Master Fahai... he's a holy monk, a holy monk.

The old monk replenished the tattered brocade robe with new seven treasures, and also gave it several Buddhist holy pills and protective Buddhist amulets.

Xu Xuan then left, weak and exhausted.

Bai Suzhen watched everything unfold before her eyes, feeling a sense of...eye-opening wonder that was hard to describe.

But now we should go back to Qiantang.

"No, let's go to the Yangtze River."

On the banks of the Yangtze River, a dilapidated Dragon King Temple stands.

The faded vermilion lacquer had mostly peeled off, and the two characters "敕建" (Imperial Edict) on the lintel were long since blurred. Xu Xuan slumped on the dusty offering table, trembling as he pulled out three incense sticks.

The incense stick ignited spontaneously without a flame.

Just as the wisps of smoke rose three inches, a sudden gale arose within the temple. The river in front of the offering table burst open with a "whoosh," and a dark figure emerged riding the waves—the Dragon King had arrived.

He first glanced at Bai Suzhen with surprise, a hint of solemnity flashing in his dragon eyes.

This white snake's cultivation... has actually reached the threshold of breaking through the void?

It's a pity that in this world now... the chances of dying and disappearing are much higher, even if you were to take Xu Bailian with you.

Times have changed.

He then saw someone on the verge of death and was quite pleased.

As for injuries, there's no need to worry about them at all. This monster is so monstrous that it would rise from the dead.

I'm happy because Xu Xuan's completion rate for this mission was incredibly high.

Not only did it prevent Yunmeng from sharing the power of the Yangtze River again, it also directly smashed the secret realm, almost killing the remnant souls of those old monsters. It was incredibly powerful.

If Xu Bailian's cultivation level were any higher, the Nine Provinces would eventually be unable to tolerate him.

He later added that he would come to the Yangtze River after recovering from his injury and offer a chance to meet someone special.

Xu Xuan was already immune to the "opportunities" that the Dragon Lord spoke of—over the years he had encountered at least eight or ten "great opportunities," but in the end, they either resulted in near-death experiences or complete chaos.

He dragged his crippled body to the Yangtze River this time purely for Xiaoqing's medical consultation.

"Look at Xiaoqing, what's wrong with her..."

The Dragon King circled the area twice, his surprise growing stronger, finally tinged with a strange sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and a touch of melancholy).
"Tsk tsk tsk..." He grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Pretty good, jumping back and forth on the path of evolution."

Xu Xuan and Bai Suzhen, who were confused by their concern, didn't quite understand what kind of evaluation this was.
"If it weren't for your technique that extended her life, this little one would have turned into some kind of monster by now." The Dragon Lord pointed to something resembling a genetic map in the void with his claws, saying something that sent chills down one's spine.

"By the way, what did you feed her? There's a lot of stuff in her blood..."

Xu Xuan felt a little guilty under Bai Suzhen's gaze.

He couldn't very well say that his Wusheng Finger had put all the messy vows he had collected in his hometown of Vacuum, as well as the fragments of the laws of Yunzhongjun and Yunmengze into the fruit and fed them to Xiaoqing, could he?
The Dragon King didn't delve into it further; instead, he admired her more and more as he looked at her: "But if she can truly transform into a dragon..." A hint of anticipation flashed in his dragon eyes, "it will surely be earth-shattering and awe-inspiring."

This is extremely high praise. Keep in mind that the Yangtze River Dragon King has lived for countless years; what kind of true dragons and exotic creatures hasn't he seen?

To receive a single, earth-shattering comment from Him is harder than climbing to heaven.

But Xiaoqing did it, because the genes within the Green Snake seemed to have been unlocked, opening up infinite possibilities.

"No wonder you're my friend," Long Jun laughed as he patted Xu Xuan on the shoulder, making him almost vomit blood. "Your illnesses are all more bizarre than the last!"

After saying that, he left, probably to return to the bottom of the Yangtze River to savor the pleasures of this world.

Bai Suzhen finally felt much relieved. After being examined by both her and the Dragon King, Xiaoqing was not only unharmed, but also unexpectedly received a tremendous stroke of good fortune.

She exhaled softly, the icy expression between her brows melting slightly: "Can we go back to Qiantang now?"

Xu Xuan finally nodded—but just as Bai Suzhen showed a look of relief, he added, "Let's go to the Imperial Academy first."

Jintian Academy.

While Yu Gongzheng was reviewing memorials, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the door.

He frowned and looked up, only to see Bai Suzhen once again "supporting" a blood-soaked figure as it staggered in.

That familiar blue robe had been stained dark red, and every step it took left bloody footprints on the ground.

"Xu Hanwen?!"

Well, this guy threw his half-dead body in front of Yu Gong just to prove that he was a great good person.

What could Old Man Yu do? Naturally, he spoke softly and gently, saying that you are a good person, and your Baoan Hall is a good organization. He said he would cooperate with you more in the future.

Only in this way could someone barely make use of their injuries.

“Let me tell you,” Xu Xuan gestured triumphantly, “if my soul hadn’t been severely injured, I could have run to three… no, five more places!”

"Okay, okay," Bai Suzhen replied mechanically, "Hanwen is the best."

All she wanted to do at that moment was to quickly stuff this scourge into Leifeng Pagoda to recover.

Xu Xuan didn't cause any more trouble, since the results would be released in Shouchun in half a month.

Someone can't just lounge in a car to receive congratulations.

During his time hiding in the tower, he quietly watched as the turmoil of Dongting Lake spread throughout the land.

(End of this chapter)