How did a demonic witch become the leader of the righteous path?

Chapter 78 Yu Zhao: Mine, all mine! (4,000-word chapter)

Although Shen Yunshu felt that her older sister overestimated her, she couldn't remain silent since her sister had asked for help.

After complaining for a moment, she thought for a moment and then spoke up: "Sister, I think you are worrying about these things for nothing. Even if you are sure that there is a powerful person making a plan, what can you do about it?"

Moreover, for us cultivators, even without the machinations of powerful beings, we are still being manipulated by the Heavenly Dao. Instead of worrying about these things, we should focus on making ourselves stronger.

In this respect, Shen Yunshu is different from Yu Zhao; she has always been very clear-headed and calm.

This is a difference in mindset; Yu Zhao has always truly understood what cultivating immortality is all about.

Her motivation for cultivating immortality was always to save her life, and she never thought about what she was actually cultivating.

But Shen Yunshu was different. She understood from beginning to end what the words "cultivation" meant: it meant fighting against fate and against heaven.

To follow the natural order is to be mortal; to defy it is to become an immortal. Cultivating immortality is to go against the will of Heaven.

In Shen Yunshu's view, from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, cultivators are probably a bunch of bandits who steal the power of heaven and earth, and it would be best if they were all dead.

Therefore, Shen Yunshu never thought that being favored by Heaven was a good thing.

Shen Yunshu's words gave Yu Zhao a sudden realization, and he immediately felt that what she said made a lot of sense, and that he had really been stuck in a rut.

"Little sister, you have great wisdom."

Yu Zhao couldn't help but sigh, and this praise made Shen Yunshu a little embarrassed. She waved her hands repeatedly, "Hey~ what's with all this talk about wisdom? I'm just carefree."

While the two women were chatting, they heard a commotion coming from the crowd, so they stopped talking.

Yu Zhao walked over there and saw Zhang Yanqiu wake up, holding his junior brother Mu Feng's body with a sorrowful expression.

It is clear that Mu Feng failed the test and committed suicide.

However, his death wasn't too gruesome; a single palm strike shattered his own brain.

Yu Zhao reached out and patted Zhang Yanqiu's shoulder. Upon seeing her, Zhang Yanqiu couldn't stop the tears from flowing. "When I woke up, I saw Junior Brother Mu committing suicide. I couldn't stop him. He was Fifth Uncle's only direct disciple. How heartbroken Fifth Uncle must be to have perished here!"

Yu Zhao didn't know how to comfort the other person, so she could only gently pat the other person's shoulder to show her comfort.

Zhang Yanqiu was, after all, the senior disciple of the Dragon Tiger Holy Land of this generation, and his Dao heart was absolutely firm. Soon, he composed himself and put his junior brother Mu Feng's corpse into a gourd magic treasure.

He then sat down on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate. At that moment, Yu Zhao felt that the other party had changed. The seemingly composed young man had become truly composed.

It was obvious that the death of his junior brother was a great blow to him.

Seeing that there was no major problem, Yu Zhao stopped paying attention and sat down with Shen Yunshu. They took out chess pieces and a chessboard from their storage bags and played chess out of boredom.

Time passed slowly, and people committed suicide one after another. About an incense stick later, the Si siblings woke up.

After the Si siblings woke up, no one else passed this third test.

Hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators entered, but in the end only Yu Zhao, Shen Yunshu, Zhang Yanqiu, and the Si siblings survived.

Even someone as cold-hearted as Yu Zhao couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the plight of others in such a tragic situation.

Not to mention the Si siblings and Zhang Yanqiu.

At this moment, all five of them remained silent, and none of them spoke.

The atmosphere was very somber.

After a while, Zhang Yanqiu said with deep emotion, "The path of cultivation is truly littered with corpses."

His words seemed to have flipped a switch, and Si Jingming sighed, "These fellow Daoists all had bright futures, yet they all perished here. How tragic and lamentable."

Although these people were all from sects and aristocratic families, and even if they were alive, they would not be used by the royal family in the future, Si Jingming still felt it was a pity.

Of course, he felt a sense of shared sorrow for the fallen, as he himself was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Seeing his fellow cultivators of the same realm die so quietly and meaninglessly was truly heartbreaking.

It's hard for him not to have mixed feelings.

"Alright, everyone, stop reminiscing. Let's get down to business."

At this moment, Shen Yunshu's words broke the atmosphere, and her tone was not very pleasant.

It was mainly aimed at the Si siblings.

If it weren't for the coercion of their Nascent Soul protectors, why would these people risk coming in?

Seeing someone die and then feeling sentimental made Shen Yunshu feel disgusted.

Therefore, she naturally didn't give them a friendly look and asked them directly, "Now that we have a problem, we can only continue forward. If you've all rested well, let's go to the fourth floor together."

After saying that, she ignored everyone else, took Yu Zhao's hand, and walked towards the entrance to the fourth floor.

The remaining three followed behind them when they saw them move.

According to the original plan, after passing the third test, the Si siblings would use a secret method to notify the Nascent Soul Ancestor, who would then use the secret method to come over.

But at this point, the brother and sister seemed to have forgotten about it and didn't mention it at all.

If they didn't bring it up, then naturally Yu Zhao, Shen Yunshu, and Zhang Yanqiu, these three outsiders, wouldn't bring it up either.

The five of them tacitly agreed to deviate from the original plan.

The five of them easily passed through the barrier and entered the fourth level.

As soon as they entered, Yu Zhao and the others saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Upon approaching.

Yu Zhao realized she had seen this person before.

It was the strange man, half skeleton and half human, that she and Shen Yunshu encountered shortly after entering the Fallen Demon Valley.

Upon seeing Yu Zhao, the strange man was even more surprised than Yu Zhao herself, his face showing an expression of utter disbelief: "How could it be you, you witch!"

Yu Zhao: "——————" Are you being polite? Who are you calling a vixen?

She suppressed her anger; if she weren't outmatched, she would have taught this guy a lesson in manners.

Yu Zhao forced a smile and bowed respectfully to the other person, "Greetings, senior."

Her curtsy startled the strange man, who quickly rose to avoid it. His face, half-unaffected, now showed even greater terror. "Get away from me! Back off!"

Left with no other choice, Yu Zhao could only pull Shen Yunshu back several steps. Only then did the strange man breathe a sigh of relief, as if Yu Zhao had a scent he disliked.

He reverted to his sage-like demeanor, his gaze sweeping over the bewildered Zhang Yanqiu and the Si siblings. With a wave of his hand, three books appeared before them. "Comprehend the techniques within these books within one hour, and you'll pass the test."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave, but Yu Zhao quickly said, "Senior, please wait. We don't have any secret manuals yet."

In response to Yu Zhao's words, the strange man only replied with one sentence: "Get out of my sight!"

Then it disappeared. Yu Zhao didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she felt like the other person was running away.

The gatekeepers had fled, and Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu stood there staring at each other in bewilderment.

For a moment, I felt somewhat lost and helpless.

Zhang Yanqiu and the Si siblings naturally noticed that this strangely mysterious senior had a questionable attitude towards Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu.

Zhang Yanqiu and Si Jingming wisely refrained from asking further questions. Si Jingming's sister, however, wanted to ask, but was stopped by her brother's stern gaze.

Si Jingming knew very well that Fellow Daoist Yu and Fellow Daoist Shen were probably no ordinary people, and if he wanted to survive, he couldn't ask around recklessly.

So he pulled his sister along and began to study the secret manual left behind by the strange man.

As for Zhang Yanqiu—he had already begun to comprehend it ahead of time.

Seeing that the three had entered a meditative state, Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu, feeling bored, began to wander around the fourth floor.

The fourth floor has the same layout as the first three floors, with nothing particularly special about it.

The two women wandered to the entrance of the fifth floor, intending only to try and see if they could get in, but they didn't expect to pass through the barrier so easily.

Unbeknownst to them, after they left, the strange man reappeared on the fourth floor. Only after confirming that the two scourges were gone did he return to his original seat.

He looked at Zhang Yanqiu and the Si siblings with great interest.

Judging from that look in his eyes, it's clear he's taken a liking to her talent.

Meanwhile, Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu entered the fifth floor.

Once you get to this floor, the layout is completely different.

Yu Zhao saw a three-story wooden building with a plaque that read "Treasure Pavilion".

At the entrance of the three-story building stands a stone tablet, the contents of which are almost identical to what the woman in white said.

Simply put, choosing the magical artifact that best suits you is considered passing the test.

It looks simple and doesn't seem dangerous.

But Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu dared not be careless, and the two women cautiously went inside.

Upon entering, they were immediately dumbfounded, seeing shelves filled with magical treasures everywhere they looked.

All sorts of magical treasures, dazzling in color, were a magnificent sight.

The visual impact is simply overwhelming; it would be an absolute temptation for any cultivator.

Not to mention, the aura of many magical treasures made Yu Zhao feel that they were no less powerful than his own bronze coffin.

An absolute treasure!

It took immense willpower for the two women to suppress their inner greed, and Shen Yunshu even slapped herself to come to her senses.

They didn't dare to make any rash moves. After exploring all three floors, they returned to the first floor and huddled together to discuss their options.

Shen Yunshu asked Yu Zhao, "Sister, what do you think we should do about this test?"

"The difficulty of this test lies in choosing a magical artifact that aligns with one's own path. I suspect that choosing the wrong one will be life-threatening."

Shen Yunshu agreed with this guess, saying, "I think so too, so how should we choose?"

The Dao is a profound and mysterious concept. They are only at the Foundation Establishment stage, how could they possibly comprehend their own Dao?

If they could understand this, they wouldn't be at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Therefore, this test, though seemingly simple, was actually impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to complete, in Shen Yunshu's view.

To truly understand one's own path, one must at least be a Nascent Soul cultivator.

This "Dao" is not the heart that yearns for the Dao, nor is it a cultivation philosophy, much less the Dao of swordsmanship or the Dao of magical cultivation.

It is something that cannot be explained or described; the Tao that can be spoken of is not the Tao.

If it could be explained clearly, then it wouldn't be the "Tao".

It all depends on your understanding; whatever you understand is what you get.

But this is definitely not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator can touch.

Shen Yunshu understood, and Yu Zhao naturally understood as well; the two women were immediately at a loss.

After a while, Yu Zhao tentatively suggested, "Why don't you try choosing one, little sister?"

She decided to rely on her little green tea's strange luck.

Hmm, that's really mysterious.

"You're kidding, this could kill someone!"

Shen Yunshu was startled and speechless at her sister's unreliable suggestion.

Can such things be decided by luck?

Do you really think luck is omnipotent?

"Then just go with your gut feeling, take whichever looks good to you."

"Will this work?" Shen Yunshu asked skeptically.

"Why not? Those that please us are destined to be with us, and naturally, they are most compatible with our path. It makes perfect sense."

Although Yu Zhao's words sounded outrageous, Shen Yunshu thought about it and felt that they made sense.

So she closed her eyes and focused her spiritual sense outwards, searching for the magical artifact that caught her eye.

Soon, she found it. It was a sword, rusty and broken.

But for some reason, Shen Yunshu inexplicably liked this sword, and without hesitation, she picked it up.

After acquiring the sword, no unusual phenomena occurred, but Shen Yunshu felt a unique aura emanating from the broken sword, which resonated with her own aura. This feeling was indescribable, but in short, it was very comfortable.

It was as if the sword originally belonged to her, and now that it had found its new owner, she was overjoyed.

Shen Yunshu was quite fond of the sword and didn't mind the rust on its blade, gently stroking it with her small hand.

She saw the name of the sword about a finger's width from the hilt.

"Reaching for the moon?"

She murmured the words aloud to herself.

After playing with it for a while, Shen Yunshu put it away, intending to study it more carefully after she went out. Only then did she turn her attention to Yu Zhao.

I noticed that my sister's expression was a little off, as if she was struggling with something.

She asked curiously, "Sis, what's wrong?"

"Little sister, this is a problem. Apart from the broken sword you took, I feel like all the magical treasures here are destined to be mine."

Shen Yunshu: "Huh?"

She immediately gave her a look that said, "Are you kidding me?" She thought her older sister was getting greedy, so she quickly advised, "Sister, calm down, you need to calm down!"

This desolate tower is strange; it's unlikely to give away magical treasures for free. We really can't take all the treasures inside!

"I'm not being greedy, I really feel like they want to come with me."

Yu Zhao herself also found it absurd. At first, she thought it was her own greed at work, but after carefully sensing it several times, she found that the aura emanating from these magical treasures was indeed in harmony with her.

It's like seeing a kitten on the street; you can clearly feel that the kitten wants to go home with you.

This is exactly how Yu Zhao felt at that moment.

After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and pulled Shen Yunshu out of the wooden building.

Standing at the entrance of the wooden building, she looked up at the three-story wooden building and fell into deep thought.

Shen Yunshu understood Yu Zhao; seeing her expression, she knew what she was thinking. "Sister, don't be reckless! How could this wooden building itself be considered a treasure?"

"Why doesn't it count? Since all the treasures are destined for me, but the rules say I can only take one item, then taking the wooden building would be in accordance with both the rule of taking one item and the rule of being in harmony with my Dao."

Shen Yunshu: "————" What you said makes so much sense, I didn't know how to refute it for a moment.

"But how are we going to take this wooden building with us?" Shen Yunshu was still a little worried. She tried to persuade Yu Zhao to give up this unrealistic idea. "This thing is so big, and it doesn't have the aura of a magic weapon. It's obviously just an ordinary wooden building, so it can't change size at will."

"That's a problem."

Yu Zhao muttered to himself, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the miniature bronze coffin hanging from his waist like a jade pendant.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me.

Wooden houses cannot be resized as desired, but bronze coffins can; simply put the coffin inside and you're done.

Hehehe~ My darlings, I'm here to take you home.

Yu Zhao's smile gradually turned distorted.

>