My Taoist buddy has practiced surrogacy

Chapter 1403 Heaven Says
There was chaos on the boat.

Zhou Xing saw a woman in a plain dress in the melee. She was Ling Xue. Ling Xue held an embroidery needle in her hand. At the critical moment, she turned the embroidery needle into a hidden weapon and pierced the third eye of a pirate. The pirate screamed and fell to the ground. Zhou Xing was shocked. He didn't expect that this seemingly weak woman could have such a skill.

The two stood back to back and fought the pirates to the death. At this moment, a strange sound suddenly came from the bottom of the ship. Then, the ship began to sink rapidly. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue jumped into the sea without thinking.

In the sea, they found a bronze box engraved with magic runes embedded in the bottom of the ship. Just as they approached, the bronze box suddenly oozed black mist and enveloped them.

When they were washed up on a deserted island, Zhou Xing discovered that the jade pendant on his chest had cracks. And the birthmark on Ling Xue's neck was exactly the same as the totem of the guardian beast he had seen in the Scripture Pavilion of Haoqing Sect.

In order to find out the truth about the pirate attack, Zhou Xing entered the capital under the guise of a merchant. He came to the Shangshu Mansion and saw Ling Xue by chance. At this time, Ling Xue was being bullied by her elder sister, and several maids were fanning the flames.

Ling Xue was not in a hurry. She picked up the chess pot and used the chess board to trap the sparrow brought by her elder sister. The sparrow flew around in the chess board but could not escape. Her elder sister was so angry that her face turned blue, but she could do nothing.

Zhou Xing took the opportunity to step forward to rescue Ling Xue. During the conversation with Ling Xue, he found that the defensive formation embroidered on Ling Xue's sleeves had the same origin as the runes on the merchant ship wreckage. He couldn't help but feel suspicious and decided to secretly investigate Ling Xue's identity.

Late at night, Zhou Xing sneaked into the Shangshu Mansion and followed Ling Xue to the back garden. He saw Ling Xue burning incense in the moonlight, muttering something. After a while, the shadow of the Demon Sect elder from three hundred years ago appeared in the air. The shadow slowly spoke and told the truth about the encirclement and suppression of the Haoqing Sect.

At this moment, the eldest sister suddenly appeared with her servants and surrounded them. In a hurry, Ling Xue turned the tea into an ice blade and pressed it against the eldest sister's throat. Zhou Xing took the opportunity to use the jade pendant fragments to reflect the moonlight and activated the defensive magic circle buried in the courtyard. For a moment, the magic circle shone brightly, forcing everyone to retreat.

Soon after, the imperial court intercepted a secret letter from the Northern Di, which demanded that Lu hand over 30% of its salt and iron production. Zhou Xing, with his business acumen, discovered that the salt field accounts were hiding military equipment drawings. Ling Xue saw through the magic sect powder left on the sleeves of the Minister of Revenue.

The two decided to investigate further, and they came to the sword forging workshop. Here, they were besieged by mechanical puppets. Those puppets were agile and had strong attack power. Zhou Xing was quick-witted and threw the salt bag he carried with him into the furnace. In an instant, steam filled the air and detonated the entire workshop.

In the chaos, Ling Xue's earrings were cut off by the sword energy, revealing the disciple token of Haoqing Sect hidden inside. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue looked at each other and understood each other's identities.

In order to obtain more evidence, they explored the imperial study at night. In the secret compartment of the imperial study, they found the last will of the previous emperor. However, the handwriting on the will suddenly turned into blood, accusing the Shangshu Mansion of collaborating with the enemy. At this time, a familiar bird song came from the window, which was the sound effect of the bronze box they heard on the deserted island.

After returning to their residence, Zhou Xing and Ling Xue each fell into a dream. In the dream, they returned to their first life. At that time, Zhou Xing was a general and Ling Xue was a military advisor. On the battlefield, Ling Xue blocked a fatal blow to save Zhou Xing. Before she died, she sealed her lifelong cultivation into Zhou Xing's Dantian.

In their second life as a wealthy businessman and a concubine's daughter, they met on a merchant ship. When pirates attacked, the bronze box at the bottom of the ship oozed black mist, corroding the hull.

Behind the rockery in the Imperial Garden, Ling Xue used rouge to draw the star track map of the Haoqing Sect on the stone wall. Zhou Xing looked at the star track map and felt a familiar feeling in his heart. He suddenly remembered the mural he found during the archaeological excavation in the modern world, and the pattern on it was exactly the same as this star track map.

The day of the decisive battle finally arrived. In the dungeon of the Shangshu Mansion, three hundred bronze puppets formed the Beidou Killing Formation. Ling Xue knew that this was a life-and-death battle, so she voluntarily stepped into the center of the formation and tried to use herself as a container to absorb the evil spirit.

Zhou Xing looked at Ling Xue, his heart filled with heartache and worry. He activated the fragments of the jade pendant and summoned the Haoqing Sect's mountain protection formation. When the two forces collided, a strong golden light burst out.

At this moment, paper figures with the same appearance as the two flew out of the bronze box. The paper figures drifted away in the wind, as if telling of endless sorrow.

After the battle, Zhou Xing and Ling Xue were both seriously injured. They embraced each other in the ruins, foreheads touching. At this time, the jade pendant on Zhou Xing's chest completely shattered, revealing the soul contract engraved with "live and die together". The golden hairpin in Ling Xue's hair turned into a key, which was inserted into the lock of the bronze box.

The moment the bronze box was opened, it sucked away the demonic energy of the entire capital. In the black fog, a white jade staircase leading straight to the sky emerged. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue knew that this was the passage to ascend to the upper realm.

Ling Xue looked at Zhou Xing with deep affection in her eyes. She suddenly stabbed the golden hairpin into Zhou Xing's heart and said, "I should protect you in this life." Zhou Xing felt a strong force surge into his body, and his wound healed quickly.

At this moment, colorful thunder fell from the depths of the clouds. Ling Xue pushed Zhou Xing aside and faced the lightning alone. Her dress turned to ashes in the lightning, and a complete totem of the mythical beast emerged on her back.

When the last thunderbolt struck, the broken jade on Zhou Xing's waist reassembled, revealing the seal characters of "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Calamities End". He reached out and grabbed Ling Xue who was about to disappear, and the two fell into the bronze box with golden light.

The sound of vast waves came from the box, as if telling the countless hardships they had experienced. And their path to ascension also ushered in new unknowns in this mysterious bronze box... Zhou Xing, wearing an ordinary real estate agent uniform, held the string of copper coins tightly in his hand, and stood in front of an old house that had been abandoned for thirty years. He took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the shabby carved iron door. With a "creak", the sound of the door hinge turning was particularly harsh in the silent environment, and a faint sandalwood scent wafted out from the crack of the door.

The light in the house was dim, and there were some strange runes engraved on the blue bricks at the entrance. Zhou Xing squatted down and carefully identified them, and found that they were old runes used to suppress evil spirits. His brows knitted slightly, and an ominous premonition surged in his heart. At this moment, a Peking Opera singing voice like a phonograph cassette came from the second floor, the sound was sharp and piercing, as if it came from another world.

Suddenly, a figure in a moon-white cheongsam floated down from the spiral staircase. Ling Xue held a gilded pipe in her hand and tapped it lightly on the brass handrail, making a crisp sound. She looked at Zhou Xing, her lips slightly raised, and said, "Master Zhou, I heard that you specialize in tomb sales?"

Zhou Xing stood up and looked at Ling Xue in front of him, secretly alert in his heart. He noticed that the jade bracelet on Ling Xue's wrist was stained with blood, and her ankle wrapped in a red rope was faintly visible under her skirt. He nodded politely and said, "Yes, I wonder why the lady wants to sell this old house?"

Ling Xue smiled and said, "This house is just sitting there anyway, why not just sell it?" Just as she was speaking, the curtains on the third floor suddenly moved without wind, and a black shadow flashed past the window. Zhou Xing felt the copper coin on the back of his neck suddenly get hot, as if it was burned by fire. He couldn't help but reach out to touch his neck, his eyes revealing a hint of panic.

Zhou Xing returned to the store and opened the file bag, which contained the information of the old house. He carefully checked it and found that the name of the owner on the property certificate had been crossed out by cinnabar and changed to Ling Xue's name only three months ago. What surprised him even more was that the secret pattern of the Haoqing Sect was printed on the back of the land deed, which was a mark that only appeared under certain circumstances.

In order to learn more about the situation, Zhou Xing asked Ling Xue to meet him at a cafe. Ling Xue came with a land deed from the 23rd year of the Republic of China. She spread the deed on the table, and a yellowed marriage certificate was sandwiched on the third page. The groom's name on the marriage certificate was the same as the engraving on the jade pendant on Zhou Xing's waist, which surprised Zhou Xing.

The two decided to explore the cellar of the old house at night. Holding a flashlight, they walked down the stairs carefully. The cellar was filled with a damp and rotten smell, and the walls were covered with green moss. When they came to the depths of the cellar, they found seven pottery jars neatly placed there. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue looked at each other and reached out to remove the seal of the pottery jars at the same time. In an instant, black mist gushed out of the pottery jars, and a foul smell hit them in the face. In the jars, there was a corpse with a similar appearance to them, looking at them with empty eyes, as if telling endless horror.

Ling Xue returned home and put on her makeup in front of the mirror. She suddenly discovered that the reflection in the mirror could move on its own. The reflection picked up a wooden comb and slowly combed her hair. The movements were stiff and weird. Ling Xue was startled. She reached out to touch the mirror and felt a chill on her fingertips. At this moment, half of the "Record of the Rebirth" fell out from the bottom of the dressing table. The blood on the cover still had a fresh smell.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xing also encountered trouble. A customer sent a red sandalwood Pixiu paperweight, claiming that it could ward off evil spirits. Zhou Xing placed the paperweight in the store, but at night, the paperweight in the glass cabinet suddenly cracked and spit out a yellow paper with the mark of the Demon Sect. It said "Do not approach the west wall at 3:30 pm."

Zhou Xing and Ling Xue decided to go to the old house again on a rainy night. When they arrived at the attic of the old house, they found a diary. The date of the diary was in the Republic of China. The last page had a two-person formation diagram, and the positions of the seven oil lamps corresponded exactly to the pottery urns in the cellar. Ling Xue looked at the formation diagram, and a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes. She felt that there was a huge secret hidden behind it.

Zhou Xing accidentally cut his finger while wiping the copper coin. A drop of blood dripped onto the copper coin, instantly activating the illusion on the copper coin. The scene in front of him became blurry, and when he saw it clearly again, he found himself at a wedding in the Republic of China. He was wearing a long gown and a mandarin jacket, while Ling Xue was wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe. The two stood in front of the ancestral hall, surrounded by a group of guests.

Before Zhou Xing could react, the scene in the illusion suddenly changed. Ling Xue was wearing a school uniform and was tied to a rack by a group of men in black. Zhou Xing held a long sword and started a fierce battle with those people. In the end, he personally inserted the sword into Ling Xue's heart. Ling Xue's eyes were full of despair and pain, while Zhou Xing's face was full of determination.

When they woke up from the illusion, they looked at each other with shock and confusion in their eyes. Zhou Xing saw the red rope on Ling Xue's wrist suddenly break, revealing the knife marks of suicide in the previous life. Ling Xue found that Zhou Xing had a cinnabar mole on his collarbone that was the same as the one on the marriage certificate.

At this moment, the foundation of the old house oozed smelly blood, which flowed along the floor, forming a complex array. Seven oil lamps spontaneously ignited, illuminating the entire room. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue knew that they had to unravel the secret of this array, otherwise they would face great danger.

Ling Xue looked at the spreading blood and the burning oil lamp, and something moved in her mind. She bit her finger and quickly drew a spell. Zhou Xing also understood her intention, and they both cut their palms at the same time, letting the blood flow into the oil lamp. Miraculously, the flame in the oil lamp turned into gold and silver, and the light illuminated the entire formation.

As time went by, the formation began to change. It turned into a soul refining cauldron that trapped three hundred dead souls. Those dead souls struggled in the cauldron and made miserable cries. Ling Xue opened the secret compartment in the cellar and took out a bronze mirror. She pointed the bronze mirror at the soul refining cauldron, and the mirror reflected the scene of Zhou Xing blocking the nine-day thunder tribulation for her. It turned out that all of this was related to their previous lives.

Just as they were trying to break the formation, a faceless bride with long black hair hung down from the beams. Countless pale arms like Ling Xue stretched out from under the bride's wedding dress and grabbed them. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue looked at each other and threw out copper coins and jade bracelets at the same time. The copper coins and jade bracelets collided in the air, bursting out a dazzling light, and shattered the evil spirit.

The thunderbolt smashed the old house, revealing the underground altar. The inscription on the altar showed that this world was called "Red Dust Crossing", which was specifically used to trap monks who fell into the love tribulation. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue looked at the inscription and understood the reason for all this. They knew that only by working together to overcome this tribulation could they continue their path to ascension.

Ling Xue threw the remaining pages of the marriage certificate into the flames of the altar, while Zhou Xing simultaneously broke the copper coin chain around his neck. A path to the heavens appeared in the intertwined light patterns. However, at this moment, Ling Xue suddenly pushed Zhou Xing, who was stunned, and said, "Hurry up! You should go through this disaster first!"

Zhou Xing looked at Ling Xue, his eyes full of reluctance. He knew that after this separation, he might not know when he would see her again. But he also understood that this was a process they had to go through. He turned and walked towards the Immortal Path, and every step seemed to exhaust all his strength.

Just as Zhou Xing was about to disappear in the clouds, he heard Ling Xue's voice: "Zhou Xing, wait for me!" He looked back and saw Ling Xue standing there with a firm smile on her face. Deep in the clouds, there were about 340 thunderbolts surging, as if foreshadowing that their future path was still full of challenges...

Zhou Xing sat in a simple thatched cottage, holding a brush in his hand, writing furiously on rice paper. He was ordered to copy "Ode to Mountains and Rivers" this time. This was not only the emperor's will, but also an opportunity for him to show his talent. Outside the window, there was a storm, lightning and thunder. Suddenly, a thunderbolt struck and hit the inkstone directly. The ink in the inkstone splashed instantly, and condensed into three blood-red characters in the air - "Demon Execution Order".

Zhou Xing was shocked.