I have a panel that reduces proficiency.

Chapter 73 The Mountain Road Turns and You Are Gone

That rice seed itself has no power.

Fang Shi tried to touch it with his mind, but all he found was emptiness.

It was as if it were just a phantom, hanging in the very center of the mind, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither born nor dying.

Not to mention that he couldn't even delve into the power within the Heart Abyss. In other words, even if Fang Shi had an inexplicable rice seed in the Heart Abyss, it would have nothing to do with him.

Not to mention the power in "The Legend of the Dao Ancestor" that allowed the Dao Ancestor to ascend to heaven.

However, the "True Explanation of the Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being Responding to Transformation and Generating True Water to Attain the Dao" is ultimately different.

This profound and mysterious technique can penetrate the mind and enter the heart, fundamentally changing Fang Shi's temperament and spirit.

When its magical power touched the rice seed in the center of the abyss, the rice seed suddenly lit up and transformed into a bottomless abyss, swallowing up everything that originated from the "True Understanding of the Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being and the Transformation of True Water to Attain the Dao".

On the pale gold shell, the winding pattern began to extend outward at a visible speed, and the slightly whitish tip was slowly bulging, radiating a pale gold light that penetrated the entire Heart Abyss.

Evening Glow said, "Impossible! How could my brother possibly have a rice seed? Even Chu Yao's rice root is incomplete! What my brother's parents found was just a spiritual plant nurtured by a wisp of rice seed essence. How could it possibly have given birth to a complete rice seed!"

Fang Shi said, "It's come to this, what's the point of asking these questions anymore? Evening Glow, stop now. Your plan has failed."

Evening Glow said, "Brother is not the Dao Ancestor. The rice seed has absorbed the Daoist essence of 'The True Understanding of the Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being's Response to the Transformation of True Water.' Your physical body will not be able to withstand it."

"There's nothing more to discuss?"

"Just like my brother said—it's too late now, there's no point in doing anything else, it's just a matter of strength."

"It's nothing more than relying on strength."

Suddenly, Wanxia laughed and said, "Mianmian, come on, have some fun with your brother."

Wu Mianmian also laughed and said, "Okay, have fun with your brother. It's his fault for not playing with me before."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rice seed deep within Fang Shixin's heart suddenly emitted ten thousand rays of golden light.

The light pierced through his mind, seeped out of his body, and shone from his chest, like the newborn sun breaking free from the shackles of night, illuminating the surroundings in brilliance.

At the same time, boundless black mist surged from Guo Mianmian's body.

The fog was as thick as ink, surging like a tide, carrying all the remaining power of the Seven Emotions Blessed Land, and pressed down on us from all sides.

One gold and one black, one light and one dark, collided violently between the two.

Wherever the golden light reached, the black mist melted and dissipated like snowflakes meeting the blazing sun.

That was the power awakened by the rice seed after it absorbed the True Water Dissolution Technique; it was extremely strong and fierce, carrying the unstoppable will of life breaking through the soil.

However, the black mist did not retreat—it was as endless as the eternal night, and for every bit it dissolved, it would be replaced tenfold, surging out of Wu Mianmian's body in layers, pressing back with an even more turbulent force.

That is the obsession accumulated over countless years in the Land of Seven Emotions, the essence of joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, greed, hatred, delusion, and resentment.

Two forces emanated from their bodies, and soon they were no longer limited to a physical confrontation. Instead, each carrying its master's will and origin, they directly attacked Fang Shi's spiritual platform.

In the realm of the Heart Abyss, golden light and black mist intertwined and swirled, like the sun and moon's first encounter at the dawn of creation.

As the golden light ascended, it was dazzling and bright, illuminating the gloomy abyss of the heart as if it were daytime.

The black mist coiled around the golden body and slowly sank down, as if the eternal night was unwilling to leave, wrapping around every inch of the light with its dark form.

As the black mist surged and tried to engulf everything, golden light seeped out from its gaps, relentlessly dyeing the ink-black color into flowing gold.

However, the black mist soon surged out again from the golden depths.

Dragging the gold back into the darkness, inch by inch.

Jin Guang struggled to break free again, peeking through the gaps in the black mist and once again turning the ink into gold.

This cycle repeats endlessly.

It has no beginning and no end, and no beginning and no end.

The sun and moon alternate, and day and night take turns.

If left undisturbed, they might truly remain entangled like this until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble.

However, Fang Shi's body could not wait until the end of time.

Each rise of the golden light illuminated an inch of his mind.

Until the entire altar was illuminated, becoming crystal clear and flawless like glass.

But the brilliance did not stop there.

It pours down from the Lingtai point, seeps into the meridians, then penetrates the internal organs, the muscles, and the bones.

Until his entire body, from the inside out, became transparent inch by inch.

More importantly, the Daoist principles in "The Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being Respond to Transformation and Generate True Water to Attain the True Dao" will eventually come to an end.

The golden light began to fade.

The once dazzling light, like a candle flame that had burned out, flickered and shrank in the black mist, dimming inch by inch.

"Brother, you've lost, you're going to die too."

"Brother, you've lost, you're going to die too."

The voices of Wanxia and Wu Mianmian overlapped, their earlier teasing and coquettishness gone.

Fang Shi looked down at his palm, which was radiating golden light and gradually becoming transparent.

He said, "Yes, I lost."

He said this, but he was not a person who gave up.

It seems that due to the enlightenment of the rice seed in "The True Understanding of the Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being and the Transformation of True Water", Fang Shi vaguely sensed that he could put his own knowledge into that rice seed.

But all the insights gained from cultivation, talismans, and techniques in this life are like a drop in the ocean compared to the rice seed.

Only the Daoist rhyme of "The Seven Emotions of the Supreme Being Respond to Transformation and Generate True Water, the True Understanding of the Dao," which originates from the morning dew, is effective, but it has already been swallowed up by the rice seeds.

However, he doesn't only have this life; he also has a past life.

The earth is turning.

The Earth is round.

The stars are the burning sun.

These eating words, which no one in this world could understand, transformed into nutrients that Fang Shi had never consumed before the moment he desperately threw the rice seeds into the ground.

The golden light suddenly intensified, piercing through the endless black mist in front of it with a single strike, and forcing the inky blackness back inch by inch with unstoppable force.

"How is this possible! The Daoist principles of 'The Seven Emotions Respond to Transformation and Generate True Water to Attain the Dao' have clearly been completely devoured by the rice seed. How could my brother still have any power?!"

You lost.

After a long silence, the evening glow's voice rang out again, saying, "Yes, I lost. But my brother lost too. His body couldn't withstand the power of the rice seed, and he was destined to die."

"So be it. At least this death is my own choice, not your so-called destiny."

hum!

The black mist was indeed receding, but wherever it passed, Fang Shi's already transparent body was recolored.

"Mianmian! Sunset glow!"

Zhao Hu and Sun He sat on the ground, looking at each other in bewilderment as they stared at the large black mist that enveloped them.

Zhao Hu asked, "What should we do?"

Sun He's already pale face turned even whiter, as he said, "Naturally, we should go find the Taoist priest at Sanpan Temple. Otherwise, with our limited cultivation, what can we do?"

Zhao Hu gave a wry smile and said, "I'd like to, but why don't you try moving it yourself?"

Ever since Wu Mianmian unleashed the last remaining trace of the Seven Emotions Blessed Land to shatter the Xuanzhu, all the survivors in Qiyuan Town have been unable to move an inch.

The force wasn't domineering, nor did it suffocate anyone; it simply pinned everyone to the spot, like a group of insects frozen in amber.

Zhao Hu's gaze shifted to Xuanzhu lying on the ground, and he lowered his voice, saying, "That's the Taoist priest from Sanpan Temple. Actually, he's not very useful. I didn't understand most of what they said just now, but there's one thing I realized: Brother Yifang is going to be in trouble."

-

Sun He remained silent for a while before saying, "I hope Fellow Daoist Fang is blessed with good fortune, and that we will all be safe and sound."

Just then, ten thousand golden rays suddenly burst forth from the depths of the black mist.

The darkness that had shrouded the entire area for who knows how long was gradually dispelled, revealing the devastated streets beneath, and the person standing in the ruins.

Fang Shi held Wu Mianmian in his arms, his Taoist robe, already soaked in blood, fluttering gently in the wind.

Wu Mianmian, nestled in Fang Shi's arms, had long, black hair cascading down her back. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, like a porcelain doll.

But those eyes remained closed.

Zhao Hu and Sun He discovered that they could move again.

The two got up from the ground, but neither dared to make a move, and just stood at a distance.

Zhao Hu cautiously called out in Fang Shi's direction, "Brother Fang—you must be Brother Fang?"

Fang Shi turned around, his face expressionless, and said in a calm tone, "Brother Zhao, it is I."

Zhao Hu swallowed hard, then cautiously asked again, "Brother Fang, are you—are you alright?"

"It's nothing."

Before he finished speaking, Wu Mianmian in his arms turned into a cloud of black mist.

The black mist rose gently, passing over his fingertips and his shoulders, carried by a wind that seemed to come from nowhere, and slowly drifted into the distance.

"What power is within you?"

Xuanzhu woke up at some point, supporting herself on one hand, barely managing to sit up, while her other hand tightly covered the wound on her chest.

She stared intently at Fang Shi's fading golden figure, her eyes filled with astonishment and horror.

The black mist had already drifted far away, carried by the wind, and was moving even further into the distance.

Fang Shi did not answer Xuan Zhu's question.

He strode off and chased after the direction the black mist had gone.

"What are you doing!"

Xuanzhu shouted.

She tried to chase after him, but as soon as she propped herself up, a sharp pain shot through her, and she collapsed back onto the rubble. She could only watch helplessly as Fang Shi's figure receded into the distance and disappeared into the ruins.

Sun He muttered in a very low voice, "This doesn't seem like nothing's wrong."

Zhao Hu quickly tugged at Sun He's sleeve and whispered, "Say less."

"7

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill on the top of his head.

Zhao Hu subconsciously reached out to touch it, and his fingertips touched something wet.

He withdrew his hand, opened his palm, and looked down—

A snowflake lies in my palm, its six-pointed petals crystal clear.

Zhao Hu was stunned.

"Is it snowing?"

He looked up, his voice filled with disbelief, and said, "Qiyuan Town—it's snowing?"

It never snows in Qiyuan Town.

Moreover, it's March, which isn't the season for snow.

But the snow did indeed fall.

Beneath the hazy sky, countless white dots were falling in a flurry.

In just a few breaths, it turned into goose feathers, densely covering the ruins, the rubble, and the still-dry bloodstains, draping the scarred town in a white mourning coat.

Sun He stared at the sudden heavy snow with his mouth agape, and after a long while, he murmured, "What kind of magic did the Taoist priest of Sanpan Temple use this time?"

Xuanzhu got up from the ground again.

She clutched the wound on her chest, her pale face contorted with pain, yet she stubbornly tilted her head back, gazing in the direction where Fang Shi had vanished, letting the snowflakes fall on her brow and eyelashes, and said, "What intention does Heaven have, sending off the true traveler in white?"

Fang Shi chased after that wisp of black mist, heading north.

The black mist didn't drift fast, as if it was deliberately waiting for him, always hovering about ten feet in front of him.

It passed over the broken walls and ruins of Qiyuan Town, over the creeping trees lying on the ground at the town entrance, over the collapsed Zuixian Tower, and drifted straight out of the edge of the Great Wilderness.

Fang Shi followed and stepped into the depths of the Great Wilderness without hesitation.

Snow fell on him.

At first, only a few scattered flakes landed on his shoulders, but the further north he went, the heavier the snow became. Large, goose-feather-like snowflakes fell from the sky, hitting his face, hitting the ground, and piling up to his ankles.

But Fang Shi's pace did not slow down; on the contrary, it became faster and faster.

The black mist was also getting faster and faster.

It extends to sixty li north of Qiyuan Town.

The mountains on both sides gradually closed in, and the black mist in front suddenly rose up and drifted into the depths of a valley.

Fang Shi stood at the mouth of the valley and looked up.

The valley was deep and secluded, with a thick layer of snow covering the mountain walls on both sides. The valley was unusually quiet, the wind was gentle, and even the snowflakes fell less heavily than outside.

Fang Shi took a deep breath and walked into the valley.

The environment inside the valley changed, and the snow was even heavier than outside.

The snowflakes, as fine as powder, filled the entire valley with a hazy white blanket.

Visibility was less than ten feet; beyond that, only a vast white outline remained. Mountain walls, withered trees, and scattered rocks were all hidden in this chaotic whiteness, making it impossible to distinguish where the sky ended and the earth began.

Suddenly, Fang Shi stopped in his tracks.

A person was standing in the snow ahead.

She was a girl wearing a pale yellow dress, who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

The dress was embroidered with delicate gardenia patterns, which looked particularly bright against the white snowy sky.

"Qi Xueyi".

Fang swore, "No, morning dew."

Chao Lu tilted her head slightly to look at him and softly called out, "Husband."

Fang Shi asked, "Mianmian, are you and Wanxia both dead?"

Chao Lu said, "The vast sea is frozen solid, hundreds of feet thick; sorrowful clouds gather, stretching for ten thousand miles. Even on this day, we feel grief for the fall of the True Lord."

Fang Shi gazed at the snowflakes that filled the valley into a chaotic mess, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "No—it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this."

Chao Lu suddenly burst out laughing.

Her eyes curved into two crescent moons, and her expression bore a striking resemblance to Wu Mianmian's.

"Just kidding."

Fang Shi was taken aback and asked, "Then—this snow?"

Chao Lu slowly wiped the smile off her face and said, "That Shou Yijian is truly despicable. Originally, the path to immortality was a competition based on individual ability. Who knew that even after a thousand years, he still wouldn't let me go. So, in order to survive, I had no choice but to die."

Fang Shi asked, "What about Mianmian?"

Chaolu put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, pouted, and said, "Husband, we've finally reunited, and you don't even pay attention to me first?"

Fang Shi asked, "What about Mianmian?"

"Okay, okay."

Chaolu straightened up, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and said, "It's actually very simple. Mianmian and the sunset coexist, and she has absorbed the essence of the sunset. Now that the sunset is leaving this world, Mianmian naturally has to go with us. Otherwise, without our cover, Shouyijian will continue to kill."

Fang Shi asked, "Where to?"

Looking towards the northern horizon shrouded in snow, Chaolu said, "Go beyond the Great Wilderness. Mianmian possesses a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Staying in this world would only be a delay."

She turned to look at Fang Shi and said, "As for my husband, he should get some sleep. After a good night's sleep, everything will be back to normal."

Fang Shi wanted to say something more.

But a wave of drowsiness surged up without warning, as heavy as the snow of the entire valley pressing down on his eyelids.

He struggled to open his eyes, but only felt himself sinking into a soft and warm darkness.

As he was about to fall asleep, he heard the sound of morning dew coming from very close by.

"Thank you, my husband, for breaking free from the obsession with the sunset and allowing me to understand the correct ritual."

"It's a pity I didn't have time to see the lilacs with my husband."

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