Embers of Sword

Chapter 379 The Dead

"cause and effect……"

Xie Xuanyi stood in the heavy snow in Pingzhi City, watching the snow falling all over the Taoist's white robe.

original.

This is how Chu Guo got his name...

Lu Yuzhen had been here ten years ago and had seen the "Chu Fruit".

However, based on Xie Xuanyi's understanding of him, this guy came all the way here, it is impossible for him to just come and take a look.

Sure enough, Lu Yuzhen did not leave, but stood in front of the door and chatted with Zheng Fengsheng.

“I don’t know why, but this is a really good name.”

Zheng Fengsheng thought for a moment and decided to name the baby Chu Guo. Then he asked curiously, "Master, does an immortal master like you have to rely on begging for alms to survive in troubled times?"

Lu Yuzhen smiled and said, "This is a kind of practice."

"Practice?"

Zheng Fengsheng was a little confused and continued to ask: "Then are those monks who give alms and ask for food also practicing?"

"I'm different from them."

"They are wild grasses, begging for alms everywhere, hoping for a drop of nectar to save their lives."

"I... seek cause and effect."

Lu Yuzhen stretched out a hand, pointed to the sky, then to the ground: "The least precious thing in the world is weeds. Even if they are burned by wildfires, they will be everywhere again when the spring breeze blows. I have said before that cultivation is like spring ploughing and autumn harvest. If the cause and effect is too cheap, it is better not to cultivate it. If you want to cultivate, you must cultivate the way to heaven... It's a pity that this way to heaven is not so easy to cultivate."

This was the first time Zheng Fengsheng had seen such a Taoist priest.

Although he said he was humble, he actually had boundless arrogance in his bones.

Although he sounds arrogant, his every move and gesture is restrained.

The two talked for a while.

Seeing that the snow outside was getting stronger, Zheng Fengsheng asked, "Master, would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

"There's no need to sit down."

Lu Yuzhen slowly spread out his palm, smiled and looked at the copper coin in his palm, and said: "Today's trip has been completed. The cause and effect have been planted, and they are just waiting to take root and sprout... If I enter your house, the cause and effect will be unbalanced."

Zheng Fengsheng was a little confused and didn't understand what he heard.

He could only stand in front of the door.

I watched the Taoist priest in white robe turn around and leave without looking back, but waved from a distance.

It has been ten years since we last met.

……

……

Xie Xuanyi's expression was colder than ever before.

Zheng Fengsheng closed the door.

But this fragmented memory did not end there.

The vapor from the Immortal Spring permeated the sea of ​​gods, maintaining this illusory heavy snow. Xie Xuanyi watched the white-robed Taoist priest leave the ancestral home in Pingzhi City and then walk towards him. Zheng Fengsheng's figure was swallowed up in the snow. Lu Yuzhen's gaze left the painting from ten years ago and fell on "himself".

He stood at the end of the snow.

At this moment, the boundary between reality and fantasy becomes extremely blurred due to the heavy snow.

Xie Xuanyi saw that the Taoist priest in white robe suddenly waved his hand. At first glance, it seemed that he was saying goodbye to Zheng Fengsheng, but from his perspective, the wave was actually towards his own direction.

"Zheng Fengsheng should be dead."

Lu Yuzhen put his hands behind his back and slowly spoke to the nothingness in front of him.

This should have happened ten years ago.

Ten years ago.

There was no one anywhere he could see.

What he said should not be heard by anyone.

Because of the "Immortal Fountain", the cause and effect that occurred ten years apart became entangled at this moment.

"He should hang himself in his ancestral home."

"Or buried in the snow, in war, famine."

"Life and death are the most iron laws in the world that cannot be violated."

Lu Yuzhen said lightly.

"Even if there is an immortal fountain... it is no exception."

With a hint of sadness, he slowly stretched out his hand, and the surface of the copper coin was already covered with moisture.

Xie Xuanyi knew.

Lu Yuzhen had many immortal springs in his hands, but he didn't expect that Lu Yuzhen would be so willing to give them to a mortal.

"I gave him another ten years of life."

Lu Yuzhen suddenly smiled and said, "A person like him shouldn't die like this... I think he should die at the right time. What do you think?"

As soon as the last four words came out.

Xie Xuanyi's hair stood on end and he looked at the Taoist in front of him in disbelief.

So, this is not a seemingly careless mumbling at all, but a deliberately planned conversation across space? !
Is Lu Yu really talking to himself? !
"Crash."

The wind and snow grew stronger, and Lu Yuzhen walked to the end of the wind and snow, melting into this memory.

……

……

Xie Xuanyi's spiritual consciousness condensed into a human form, hovering above Zheng Fengsheng's purple palace.

He silently examined the old man's soul.

So, the real fatal injury...

Is it the knife wound that occurred when the rebellion broke out in Pingzhi City?

It doesn't seem to be.

A knife wound will not change the fate line.

Unless, his fate is like this.

During the "visit" ten years ago, Lu Yuzhen had already used the immortal fountain to modify Zheng Fengsheng's fate. This was a dying man who should have died long ago, but by some strange coincidence, he lived another ten years. The knife that the bandit in Pingzhi City took could be said to be destined, because his fate was gradually returning to its original state.

Even if Pingzhi City remained peaceful, his lifeline would eventually break.

Lu Yuzhen did all this...it seemed like he had only one purpose.

Let Zheng Fengsheng die later.

To be more precise, he "died" at the time that Lu Yuzhen thought was right.

just now.

now.

in front of yourself.

"Xie Zhen. Did you see everything?"

A hoarse voice was heard from the sky above Zifu.

Zheng Fengsheng's soul, which had also condensed into a human form, appeared in front of Xie Xuanyi at this moment. Even though it was condensed into a human form by divine consciousness, he was still sitting in a wheelchair, looking sick and weak.

"Isn't that Taoist priest very strange?"

Zheng Fengsheng laughed to himself and said softly, "That day, I actually talked to him for a long time. He told me that everything has a soul and everything has an end. I should cherish every day that comes, because 'Chu Guo' saved me, and this is my second life."

"But even if you live a second life, there will always be an end, right?"

Zheng Fengsheng narrowed his eyes and said with emotion: "In the past ten years, I have sometimes been extremely happy, and sometimes I have been scared. People are always afraid of the unknown and fear death. I want to know where the 'end' of this second life is. Now I roughly know... Maybe it's today."

When saying these words.

There was no fear or trembling in Zheng Fengsheng's tone.

calm.

The ultimate calm.

When death really came, the bell in his heart no longer rang, and he greeted this final end with an open mind. The memory of the previous heavy snow was replayed in his mind. He did not feel cold, but extremely warm. It was the first day of his new life. He would feel lucky no matter how many times he watched it.

"..."

Xie Xuanyi had nothing to say and could only remain silent.

"That's why I said before, you don't have to try to save me."

Zheng Fengsheng raised his head and said sincerely: "I am a doctor. I know very well that I can't survive."

"A doctor cannot heal himself." Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said, "My method is different from yours."

"I saw that water vapor ten years ago."

Zheng Fengsheng looked around.

The Purple Palace was shrouded in the vapor of the Immortal Spring, and it was warm.

He smiled and said, "Since I gave the Taoist a copper coin, my health has improved a lot. Whether I am sick or uncomfortable, as long as there is something wrong with my body, I can feel a warm current flowing through my blood and into my meridians. I once tried to cut my skin with a sharp knife... but in less than half a day, the wound scabbed over, and in just two or three days it healed on its own, and even the scar was invisible."

This was the reason why he chose to block the knife for Chu Guo on the day when Pingzhi City was captured.

He felt that he would not die.

Zheng Fengsheng had always treated the immortal fate ten years ago with great caution and piety.

He dared to stand up because of this "self-healing" phenomenon...

I just never expected it.

After this slash of the knife, he no longer felt the existence of the "warm current".

Perhaps it is because ten years have passed and this thing has been consumed too much.

Or maybe...

This is my destiny.

Now when he saw the familiar "Immortal Fountain Vapor" again, Zheng Fengsheng did not look too excited.

He didn't know what the Fountain of Immortality was.

Don't even know.

During the Battle of Drinking Poison, the human and demon races fought fiercely for the so-called "Immortal Fountain". Many Yin Shen realm monks with great supernatural powers died in the battle without ever seeing the Immortal Fountain.

"Since you know the effect of this water drop."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyebrows and said, "Then you should know... If you are willing to cooperate, I have a chance to save you and give you a new life."

The words were not fully spoken.

Xie Xuanyi didn't dare to guarantee that he would succeed.

But he already felt... after touching Zheng Fengsheng's memories from ten years ago, his way of life was only a millimeter away from the Ningluo Dao realm.

As long as you have a little enlightenment during the treatment process, you can reach "perfection".

If he had the law of life that allowed him to advance to the Yin God realm, combined with the Immortal Fountain, he would have a fifty-fifty chance of rebuilding Zheng Feng's lifeline.

"I know."

Zheng Fengsheng said: "It's just..."

"Don't you want to live again?"

Xie Xuanyi interrupted Zheng Fengsheng.

"Of course I do."

Zheng Fengsheng lowered his eyebrows and said regretfully: "With someone to care about and someone to love, who wouldn't want to live a few more years...but..."

"Do you know the true meaning of the word 'cause and effect'?"

The old man in the wheelchair raised his head.

He exhaled deeply and said, "Cause and effect are greater than life and death."

next moment.

There was a bang.

Zheng Fengsheng, who was sitting in a wheelchair, exploded without any warning!
Although this is just a soul thought, the explosion of the soul thought means the destruction of the original host's soul.

This scene happened too quickly, and Xie Xuanyi had no time to react. His outer divine thoughts were "extinguished" in an instant, and the water vapor from the Immortal Spring that had not yet completely immersed in the sea of ​​consciousness flowed back into the Sword Qi Cave Heaven on its own at this moment. The same was true for the Way of Life. This extremely successful rescue took a sharp turn for the worse at this moment.

The collapse of the Divine Sea world cannot be reversed.

Xie Xuanyi stared at the old man in front of him, veins bulging on his forehead. From the moment he saw Lu Yuzhen in his dream in Pingzhi City, the ominous premonition in his heart reached its peak.

as predicted.

Even if he used the Immortal Fountain, he still couldn't save Zheng Fengsheng...

The old man opened his eyes and greeted this belated death with extreme calmness.

cause and effect.

The visit of the white-robed Taoist priest ten years ago made Zheng Fengsheng understand the greatest truth in this world.

If you owe money, pay it back.

You owe a life, you must pay it back.

He owed a life ten years ago...

Now he deserves to suffer this disaster.

After counting the breaths.

Zheng Fengsheng's soul flew away, leaving only a body.

"..."

There was extreme silence on the bed. After Zheng Fengsheng's death, the candlelight went out.

The talisman papers that Facheng brought out from the Fanyin Temple also fell to the ground one after another.

The law of life that was hanging high in the sky and turned into a "blazing sun" no longer flickered, and its light gradually faded away, falling back into Xie Xuanyi's palm.

Xie Xuanyi looked at the law of life that was approaching perfection, and the fatigue in his eyes could not be concealed.

In Zheng Fengsheng’s hidden memories, in the past that he had not seen, what did Lu Yuzhen say to Zheng Fengsheng?
These seem to no longer be important.

The moment Zheng Fengsheng passed away.

Xie Xuanyi confirmed his guess. Lu Yu really "visited" ten years ago, as if he had deliberately planted the seeds for today. Lu Yu really hoped that Zheng Fengsheng would die in front of him. After the water vapor of the Immortal Spring combined with Zheng Fengsheng's blood, some wonderful changes occurred. The water vapor in the Dantian became more condensed and more dazzling.

at the same time.

"Rumble, rumble..."

A roar came from Xie Xuanyi's own Purple Mansion Divine Sea.

Countless silver-white lights and flames shot up into the sky like fireworks and gathered together, as if they were about to condense into a huge sun.

The "Principle of Life" that was only a hair's breadth away from condensation unexpectedly ushered in a promotion during this failed treatment...

This was an ending Xie Xuanyi had never imagined.

Saving people and killing people seem to be just one word different.

In fact, there is a world of difference.

Xie Xuanyi's training on the "Principle of Life" was far less focused than that on the "Principle of Destruction". Logically speaking, this principle should have completed the "state of solidification" after some time.

Today's unintentional action has brought about an unprecedented breakthrough.

obviously.

This is the "scene" that Lu Yu really wants to see.

Cause, effect, cause, effect.

Lu Yuzhen saved Zheng Fengsheng, this is the reason.

Ten years later, the immortal spring he left in Zheng Fengsheng's meridian acupoints merged with Xie Xuanyi's immortal spring...

This is the fruit.

This cause and effect can just help Xie Xuanyi solve the stagnant and blocked understanding of the way of life!
"Is this really saving people?"

He silently looked inward, watching the strange changes taking place in the Divine Sea Cave Heaven.

Death of Zheng Fengsheng.

Opened the final gap in the way of life.

He looked at the countless fireworks rising into the sky and blooming in his purple palace. It was truly an unprecedented grand sight.

For this moment.

Xie Xuanyi waited for two lifetimes.

If the principles of life can be condensed at this point, Xie Xuanyi's "divine fetus" should also be successfully formed. The condensation of the principles of destruction only takes a moment. It won't take long before the two principles merge and the realm of life and death is settled.

just.

Xie Xuanyi asked himself at this moment.

Is this kind of promotion really what you want?
……

……

(It’s 2025, Happy New Year everyone!)

(End of this chapter)