Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 844 Senior Brother is Back

"Brother!"

Xu Xuan blurted it out almost without thinking, his voice filled with a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.

He gazed at the familiar figure outside the courtyard gate. The white monk's robe shimmered faintly in the moonlight. Ruoxu held Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, his expression still bearing that serene look of compassion for all living beings.

My dear family!
At this moment, Xu Xuan almost burst into tears.

The way Lady Bai insisted on feeding him was incredibly intimidating. Her clear, lake-like eyes stared at him intently, and her gentle tone carried a firm resolve. This kind of woman was the most difficult to deal with.

The favor of someone bringing out their most treasured possession was too great, and since there was no malice involved, it was difficult to provoke Xu Xuan's resistance.

A gentle but deadly blow is the most difficult to counter.

Seeing my senior brother arrive has put my mind at ease by a third.

After all... although they still couldn't defeat Lady White Snake, they were able to escape.

The ability to have one's mind outside the door is an illogical supernatural power that's practically a protagonist's standard movement skill. It's a shame that I, an extraterrestrial demon, haven't mastered this ability yet.

Is this reasonable?

Actually, it makes a pretty good point.

Otherwise, the Holy Father could be as arrogant and daring as he wanted.

Ruoxu, standing outside the door, didn't quite understand the situation.

He had just returned from the deepest hell, originally to fulfill his promise to return to the mortal realm to help Xu Xuan when he needed it most.

A few days ago, when he passed by Beiyin Mountain, he saw the coded message left by Zhang Hua again. The words were urgent, as if someone's life was hanging by a thread. He immediately quickened his pace, afraid of being a step too late.

But now it seems... isn't my junior brother alive and well?

Ruoxu's gaze swept over Xu Xuan.

There were injuries, but given the opponent's physique and legendary experience, these numerous fatal wounds were at most superficial pain, far from being a matter of life and death.

Moreover, Lady White Snake even brought out the Starlight Divine Water, clearly indicating that she didn't intend for anything to happen to him, which is why she had her junior brother accept the treasure.

If this favor needs to be repaid in the future, the Pure Land School can simply step in to settle the karmic debt for my junior brother.

Anyway, the Buddhist sect has no shortage of rare and precious materials, and my junior brother's life is more valuable than anything else.

Thinking of this, he smiled slightly, stepped forward slowly, and bowed to Bai Suzhen with his hands clasped together, saying, "Senior Bai."

He was humble and respectful to his juniors, showing no arrogance whatsoever because of his status as a Pure Land Buddhist.

Bai Suzhen's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded gently in response.

Once Ruo Xu stood still, he said no more, simply standing quietly beside Xu Xuan. His posture was gentle, yet he had already silently expressed his stance.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan felt much more at ease.

That's why he kept hoping for his senior brother's return; it gave him a strange sense of peace.

As for why Ruoxu treated Bai Suzhen with the respect due to a junior, there is actually a story behind it.

After all, Ruoxu's descent into demonic possession happened almost twenty years ago. Back then, well... he was extremely bloodthirsty and almost made a grave mistake.

Just as his demonic thoughts were at their peak and his killing intent was at its strongest, a drop of water fell from the sky.

Crystal clear, untouched by dust.

It landed lightly on his brow, icy cold, temporarily extinguishing his boiling killing intent until his master appeared.

Over the years, Ruoxu had always harbored doubts.

I have visited famous mountains and asked many wise elders, but no one knows the origin of that drop of water.

Looking back, the obstruction of that drop of water may have been a casual act by this senior, but this has never been verified.

Bai Suzhen had no intention of explaining, her expression remaining indifferent. Her actions were merely to act on behalf of Heaven and accumulate merit.

As for whether Ruoxu is dead or alive, whether he becomes a Buddha or a demon, it makes no difference to her.

I've witnessed too much of life's joys and sorrows. Love's entanglements and grudges are nothing but a fleeting dream in this mortal world.

It can only be said that love can cause immense harm. But she... has long since transcended it.

At least, that's what she thought.

Of course, that's all in the past.

Now, Xu Hanwen's matter is the most important.

Bai Suzhen's gaze fell on Xu Xuan. In the past few days, she could clearly feel that he was somewhat anxious, and even seemed to be somewhat afraid of her.

The thought had just crossed my mind when I suddenly paused.

Huh?
Xu Xuan, who had just been resisting, had now regained his composure, smiling as he generously accepted the Starlight Divine Water.

"Thank you for the gift, Miss Bai. I will repay you in the future."

His tone was sincere, and his movements were graceful, as if he weren't the one who had been making excuses just moments before.

If you don't take the benefits when they're offered, is that the demeanor of a saint?

Bai Suzhen raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

Xu Xuan took the jade bottle, tilted his head back and was about to drink it all in one gulp without saying a word, displaying a bold and unrestrained demeanor.

Then... the seal on the bottle neck remained untouched.

He blinked and shook the bottle vigorously again, but the Starlight Divine Water remained firmly sealed inside, not a single drop leaking out.

The scene was a little awkward for a while.

Xu Xuan coughed lightly, casually handing the bottle back, his tone so natural it was as if his earlier embarrassment had never happened: "Ahem, Miss Bai, this seal..."

Bai Suzhen finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Sometimes, she just enjoyed watching him act silly in front of her.

He's clearly a man who can stir up trouble, yet he occasionally reveals this side of himself; he's really unlike a scholar from this world.

Reaching out to take the jade bottle, I gently traced a line on its surface with my fingertip, and as starlight shimmered, the seal quietly broke.

"Here you go." He handed it over again. The tacit understanding shown in this back and forth, and the subtle atmosphere, made Ruoxu, who was standing to the side, unconsciously frown.

Worldly airs?
He keenly sensed the abnormal fluctuations; no wonder he was the previous monk who went mad with love—he's very experienced.

In fact, he had vaguely sensed something was amiss during his previous conversation with his junior brother.

If we were to say which character appears most frequently in Xu Xuan's story, it would naturally be the green snake. However, when he mentions her, his junior brother's tone is so frank that it is almost indifferent. There is only the feeling of being like-minded comrades-in-arms, without a trace of romance.

On the contrary, Senior Bai... although she doesn't appear often and is only mentioned briefly each time, Junior Brother's tone always seems a little unnatural whenever she is mentioned.

It seems there really was something going on...

Ruoxu sighed inwardly, his gaze sweeping between Xu Xuan and Bai Suzhen, deciding that he would have a good talk with his junior brother later.

It's not that I want Xu Xuan to sever his feelings—for cultivators, it's about going with the flow; forcibly suppressing them can easily breed inner demons.

Of course, Buddhism doesn't think that way, but that's not important.

He just hoped his junior brother would be more cautious.

After all... one is human, and the other is a demon.

The obstacle they face is not a few individuals or forces, but rather the targeting of the entire global rules system.

Different races cannot be tolerated by the laws of nature.

As for the age difference?

Ruoxu, however, felt that this was not a problem at all. Cultivators have long lifespans; 1,700 years and 30 years are merely a tiny difference on the long path of cultivation.

The difference in levels of understanding?
It doesn't matter anymore.

Even with his current level of insight, when he looked at Bai Suzhen, it was as if he were looking at clouds and mist, unfathomable.

However, his junior brother has reached the third realm in three years, and his cultivation speed is comparable to that of the White Lotus Saintess back then. Given time, he may not be unable to rival her.

What he was truly worried about was that humans and demons are different, and that there are rules governing everything under the heavens.

Forcibly going against the will of Heaven will ultimately come at a price.

Ruoxu himself almost fell into the demonic path because of his deep obsession, and he still feels lingering fear when he thinks about it now.

He didn't want his junior to repeat the same mistake.

Of course... if you're truly in love to the point of life and death, then let it be.

The path of cultivation is long. If one can find a true companion, what does it matter if one goes against the will of Heaven?
I hope that what happened to me won't happen to my junior colleague...

Xu Xuan was completely unaware that in that brief moment of tug-of-war, his senior brother had already been pondering countless thoughts.

His attention was completely drawn to the jade bottle in his hand—the seemingly clear droplets of water contained a power that made his mind tremble.

"This is……"

With pupils constricting and all senses fully activated, what one sees is no longer a drop of water, but a condensed universe of stars.

283 star officials, 1464 main stars, and 812 auxiliary stars operate in an orderly manner, each star radiating an eternal brilliance.

As the starlight shifts, the shapes of the four celestial guardians—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—can be faintly seen rotating endlessly.

It is a complete star map of the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions.

This drop of starlight divine water clearly contains the essence of the entire heavens.

What's even more terrifying is that these stars are not static projections, but are actually moving.

Each beam of starlight carries the intense heat of a star, and each trajectory follows the laws of nature. This means that the refiner not only extracted the power of the stars, but also sealed the "Dao" of the stars' movement within it.

"Using the stars as medicine and the Way of Heaven as the prescription..."

Xu Xuan finally understood why Bai Suzhen was so serious; this drop of water was already considered a top-tier divine object among man-made treasures.

"My love is deep..."

He sighed softly, then tilted his head back and drank the Starlight Divine Water in one gulp.

If the burning sensation when the Twenty-Eight Constellations were used in the medicine was like being engulfed in flames, then at this moment, he felt as if he had been thrown into an endless sea of ​​stars.

boom--

In an instant, his consciousness was pulled into a vast cosmos. Endless light and heat, radiation and storms crashed against his soul like towering waves.

The tattered white lotus image swayed in this sea of ​​stars, like a small boat in a storm.

"The North Pole, the Crown Prince, the Emperor, the Concubine's Son, the Harem..."

Deep within the spiritual platform, the names of various star officials automatically surfaced. With each name uttered, the corresponding star shone with dazzling light. The Five Emperors sat majestically on their inner thrones, the Gouchen Star Lord exuded a chilling aura, and the Six Jia Star Officials were unpredictable and ever-changing…

These ancient stellar wills are reshaping his Dharma form in the most primal way.

At this moment, an ordinary cultivator would probably have already been assimilated into a part of the stars—their soul would have turned into a ray of starlight and returned to the heavens forever.

Starlight Divine Water possesses the power of creation, but it is also an extremely poisonous substance.

But Xu Xuan remained unmoved in the sea of ​​stars.

The demonic nature ingrained in his bones was revealed at this moment. His will transcended the limits of his body and soul, easily withstanding the baptism of this illusory starlight.

The white lotus image continuously disintegrated and reformed amidst the starlight. First, it transformed into a ball of pure white light, then shrank into a crystal-clear lotus seed.

This lotus seed greedily absorbed the power of the stars in the sky, swallowing up all the light and heat.

Gradually, the entire sea of ​​stars began to dim.

One by one, the stars went out, and eventually, the universe returned to eternal darkness and silence.

Within Xu Xuan's dantian, the lotus seed trembled slightly, emitting a crisp "crack" sound.

Then, the white lotus bloomed.

In an instant, time and space seemed to flow backward to the very beginning of the White Lotus's birth. Eighty-four thousand lotus petals gathered from the three thousand worlds, each carrying different karmic causes and effects.

In the void, a divine being whose face could not be seen sat cross-legged. His body seemed infinitely large, yet also infinitely small, and he was surrounded by the eternal Buddha-nature of immeasurable light and immeasurable life.

(End of this chapter)