Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 288 Zheng Lun Learns the Truth

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lun couldn't help but say, "I only learned about the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods from Senior Yu Ding's mention of it last time. Before that, I had never heard of it."

After listening, Master Yu Ding nodded, "Then today, I will tell General Zheng Lun what the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods is."

"The so-called Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods is about executing generals and bestowing titles upon gods in Heaven. This event takes place in the Purple Cloud Palace..."

Then, Master Yuding briefly recounted to Zheng Lun the origins of the Investiture of the Gods calamity and the process of slaying generals and bestowing titles upon gods.

This made Zheng Lun realize that he was someone caught in a calamity. Whether he could survive this great tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods depended on his own fate.

However, the next moment, Zheng Lun asked Jade Cauldron Immortal, "The Great Tribulation of the Conferred Gods is a calamity for cultivators."

“This junior may be facing a deadly calamity. Shouldn’t Master have kept this junior at Iron Fork Mountain? Wouldn’t that have allowed this junior to successfully overcome the calamity? Why send this junior down the mountain?”

Yang Jian, who was standing to the side, immediately spoke up: "If I don't drive you down the mountain, how will you help him, the True Man of Salvation, to be listed on the Investiture of the Gods and be made a god?"

"Since you didn't take his place in the Investiture of the Gods, doesn't that mean that True Man Du'e will have to personally experience the tribulation of death, and might even become a famous figure on the Investiture of the Gods?"

"Moreover, Master Du'e has more than just Uncle Li Jing and you under his tutelage. There is also a man named Chen Qi, who, like you, possesses the Qi Awakening Divine Power."

"Master Du'e gave you three thousand crow soldiers, and also gave Chen Qi three thousand flying tiger soldiers. Because you are all his scapegoats."

Yang Jian's words were like a bolt from the blue for Zheng Lun. He sat there stunned, speechless for a long time.

Finally, Li Jing stepped forward, helped Zheng Lun up, and said, "This is why I was unwilling to tell you the truth, even though you've asked me about it several times."

"No matter what, he was our mentor. We were able to serve as ministers in the Shang Dynasty because we learned our skills at Jiuding Iron Fork Mountain."

Zheng Lun sighed and said, "A teacher for a day is a father for life. If Master wanted me, Zheng Lun, to be on the Investiture of the Gods list for him, why go through all this trouble?"

"As long as Master gives the word, Zheng Lun will definitely go down the mountain without hesitation to complete the tribulation for Master. And he will not utter a single complaint."

Zheng Lun spoke with such sincerity that even Master Yu Ding, who was standing to the side, nodded repeatedly in agreement.

At this moment, Yang Jian spoke directly: "If I send you to your death in his place, how much karma will I incur?"

"They're willing to let you die for them without leaving a stain on their own reputation. They've even come up with such underhanded methods as teaching you skills first and then expelling you from the sect."

"In teaching you skills, I made you incur karmic debts with me. And by making you serve as officials in the imperial court, you were unable to escape the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods."

"If you die in the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, it will be equivalent to repaying the debt of gratitude you owe him for teaching you. You will have completed the tribulation of killing for him."

"By then, you had already been expelled from your sect. So, it was impossible for a master to send his disciple to his death."

"In the words of our ancestors, Master Du'e is the epitome of someone who has both the title and the position. He is simply not qualified to be your and Uncle Li Jing's master."

Yang Jian was able to say these words because Li Jing received special treatment from Chen Xuan when he was on Qinglian Island, which puzzled Yang Jian.

Later, after questioning Chen Xuan, Yang Jian learned the truth from him. Li Jing and his family of four were all scapegoats trained by the Chan Sect. At that time, Yang Jian harbored deep hatred for the True Man Du'e, even vowing that if he ever encountered him, he would grind him to dust.

That's why Yang Jian, when talking about Master Du'e, has changed from being a man of few words to being so sharp-tongued.

At this moment, Zheng Lun had made up his mind. He knelt down directly in the direction of Jiuding Iron Fork Mountain and kowtowed three times.

"All of my skills were taught to me by my master. Although my master had ulterior motives in imparting these skills to me, I will never forget the kindness of his teaching."

"Today I will return all my skills to my master. From this day forward, our master-disciple relationship will cease to exist. I, Zheng Lun, will owe you nothing."

As he spoke, Zheng Lun began to circulate his magical power, preparing to completely abandon his cultivation.

Master Yu Ding did not stop Zheng Lun from making this decision. Instead, he watched helplessly as Zheng Lun lost his cultivation and spat out a mouthful of blood.

At this point, Zheng Lun had lost all his cultivation, and even his innate supernatural power, Awakening Qi, could no longer be activated.

At this moment, Yu Ding Zhenren spoke up, saying, "You have repaid the skills taught by Du'e Zhenren and severed the karmic ties between you as master and disciple, which is naturally beyond reproach."

"But you've forgotten one thing: you are now a general following the King in the conquest of Beihai City. Now that you've lost all your cultivation, how can you possibly fight on the battlefield?"

"As a general, if you cannot kill the enemy, how can you face the King? How can you face these 100,000 Shang soldiers? Don't forget, an incompetent general can cause the deaths of thousands of soldiers."

A resolute look appeared on Zheng Lun's face. As he stood up, he said, "I will go to the King to beg for forgiveness and am willing to commit suicide in front of the King to atone for my sins."

After saying that, Zheng Lun turned and prepared to leave. At this moment, he had lost all will to live and only wanted to end his tragic life by dying.

Just as Zheng Lun was about to step out of the tent, Master Yu Ding spoke up, saying, "This humble Taoist can help you find a master."

"However, if that happens, your original senior brother Li Jing will become your junior uncle. I wonder if you are willing?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lun immediately turned around and knelt before Master Yu Ding. "This junior is willing. As for senior brother, this junior has no master, so where would I find a senior brother?"

Master Yu Ding smiled and nodded, then took out a Nine-Turn Golden Pill and told Zheng Lun to take it quickly.

The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir melted upon entering his mouth, instantly transforming into pure innate spiritual energy that filled Zheng Lun's eight extraordinary meridians.

Not only did it instantly restore Zheng Lun's recently lost cultivation, but it even showed signs of improvement.

At this moment, Master Yu Ding spoke up, saying, "Although the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir can help you break through the competition, it is ultimately not as good as what you can achieve through your own arduous cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lun instantly understood what Master Yu Ding meant. He immediately cast a grateful glance at Master Yu Ding, and then began to compress his cultivation, refining his existing realm without allowing it to advance.

It took Zheng Lun seven whole days to completely refine the innate energy from the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir into his own body.

Moreover, he maintained his cultivation level at the original Golden Immortal realm, without using the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir to break through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

(End of this chapter)