Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 374 One dares to give, the other dares to use

"Theoretically speaking, the barrier I set up cannot even be broken by a Nascent Soul cultivator, let alone your disciple who has only just established his foundation and only used a single sword strike!"

He Yu stared in shock at the devastated lakebed, his face filled with guilt and confusion.

It shouldn’t be!

Apart from Zhang Chengdao and himself, there should be no one in the world who can break this barrier!

Not to mention, they learned from Lin Fengxian that the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator had been pierced through with a single sword strike!
"Unless... unless it's a top-grade Heavenly Rank spiritual sword, then there's still a chance!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengdao coughed awkwardly and said guiltily, "Among the disciples of my sect, there is indeed one who possesses a Heaven-Rank Spirit Sword..."

That was the only piece of equipment of red-quality that he had won in the member's red envelope. He hadn't even used it himself, but he took it out as the champion prize in the sect competition!

Who knew things would turn out so coincidentally? The recently released commission to guard the seal of the White Stone Ice Sea was accepted by that disciple who wields the Heavenly Rank Spirit Sword!
This disciple, however, had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage and was able to go into the lake. He also had an exceptionally strong sense of responsibility. Without knowing the opponent's strength at all, he still chased after them. In fact, he even made a move in an attempt to stop them, but accidentally broke the barrier instead...

In short, it was really not easy to meet all these conditions, but somehow we managed to do it!
That's just too unlucky!

"Fellow Daoist Zhang is truly wealthy; he so easily gave his disciple a top-grade Heavenly Rank spiritual sword..."

He Yu then remembered that when he had watched the White Stone Immortal Sect's grand competition, the champion's reward was indeed a Heaven-Rank Spirit Sword...

But you, a disciple who has only just established your foundation, not only carry a Heaven-Rank Spirit Sword with you, but also dare to use it at any time?

This thing might drain your spiritual energy and cause a backlash!
One of them is truly daring to give, and the other is truly daring to use!

He gave a helpless twitch of his lips. He couldn't criticize other people's teaching methods, nor did he have the mood to dwell on things that were already meaningless. He pointed at Lin Fengxian, who was trembling and kneeling inside the barrier created by the two of them, and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you should interrogate her about her purpose. I don't recommend rushing to save her. Who knows where this chaotic passage will lead!"

To everyone's surprise, Lin Fengxian's face turned deathly pale upon hearing this. She abruptly looked up and asked in a trembling voice, "A chaotic passage!? Isn't that the boundary passage leading to the upper realm!?"

Upon hearing Lin Fengxian's words, He Yu immediately realized that she had misunderstood. After considering the context, he believed he understood her purpose. He looked at Lin Fengxian with sympathy and spread his hands, saying, "Of course not! These are chaotic interdimensional passages created after the concentration of spiritual energy in this world increased and the world barrier weakened. We have no idea which world lies beyond these passages!"

The so-called "upper realm" does not refer to a specific world, but rather to other worlds with a higher overall concentration of spiritual energy than the current world.

As for "boundary passages," they are even easier to understand.

These black holes do not lead directly to another world, but rather create a gap when the barrier between two worlds is torn apart. This gap then forms a small "domain," similar to a small cave world.

Because these "domains" are channels connecting two worlds, they are also called "boundary domains," and as channels themselves, their formal name is "boundary channel."

Lin Fengxian was completely devastated after hearing He Yu's explanation.

She shook her head frantically, screaming, "No! Impossible! You're lying to me! You must be lying to me! This is the boundary passage to the upper realm! There's no mistake! That old thing went in too! He couldn't be lying to me!"

Zhang Chengdao flipped through the character cards for a while but couldn't find the opposing purple card again. He could only rely on his memory to ask, "Old man? You mean your son? Or the Mirror Mirror National Preceptor? Or should I call him Wang Lin? Tang Mingming?"

"You...you knew all along!?"

Lin Fengxian turned her head in shock, her eyes wide. Then, she went into a frenzy, her eyes bloodshot: "You knew all along, didn't you!? You did it on purpose! You deliberately let us find this place, deliberately let your disciple break the barrier, deliberately let that old man crawl in, and, and deliberately let me send my husband in... You did it all on purpose, didn't you!?" Zhang Chengdao was even more embarrassed by the accusations.

Heaven and earth bear witness, he truly did not do it on purpose!

He didn't deal with Lin Fengxian and the other one immediately, but that was to investigate their motives and to wipe out that persistent Mingjing or something. He had no intention of luring them into the chaotic interdimensional passage!
If they really had ideas, why not just kill them? Why go through all this trouble, losing a Heaven-Rank Spirit Sword and a disciple who just became a Purple Card?
Although Sun Ping was an outer disciple, in Zhang Chengdao's mind, he was not as valuable as that Heaven-Rank Spirit Sword, but he was still one of the first batch of very precious outer disciples!
And he was the first outer disciple to reach the Foundation Establishment stage!

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao felt even more heartbroken—

"Don't talk nonsense! I'm worried about my disciple who wandered in by mistake, and I need to think of a way to get him out. You trespassed into my forbidden area, and you're acting like you're the one who's wronged? That's ridiculous!"

He Yu bowed with shame and said, "This is also my fault. My strength is insufficient, and the formation I set up was broken by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It should be my responsibility to rescue him!"

Before He Yu could finish speaking, Ye Shuyun, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward, cupped her hands, and said, "Master! This disaster was also caused by my cousin. Please grant me permission to go and save her! I will certainly not fail in my mission!"

"There's no need to worry too much,"

Zhang Chengdao had just found Sun Ping's character card when he was surprised to find a "well-fed and content" buff in the status section. This clearly meant that the kid was not only out of immediate danger, but was actually quite enjoying himself.

So, he carefully chose his words and explained, "My disciples and I all have some... uh, resonance, and we can vaguely sense that Sun Ping is in good condition and his life is not in danger. Therefore, this matter needs to be discussed further."

"As for Shuyun, don't worry. I'll find a way to get Sun Ping out. You take your cousin away first and keep a close watch on her. Then find... find Ruyan to help interrogate her. You must find out who this Tang Mingming is and what his purpose is!"

Ye Shuyun felt no less guilty than He Yu at this moment, and perhaps even more so.

If he hadn't been soft-hearted towards his cousin, she wouldn't have been able to reach the forbidden area of ​​the White Stone Ice Sea, and he wouldn't have accidentally forced Junior Brother Sun Ping to break the barrier and enter the interdimensional passage...

Even though Master Zhang Chengdao had said that Junior Brother Sun Ping was not in any danger, he was now stranded in the interdimensional passage and his whereabouts were unknown. I could not shirk my responsibility!
Feeling guilty, Ye Shuyun quickly agreed to Zhang Chengdao's instructions and hurriedly left the bottom of the lake with Lin Fengxian.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chengdao's side...

We definitely need to think about this carefully!
After all, since Sun Ping didn't feel unwell before, and even got a "well-fed and well-hydrated" buff, doesn't that mean there are quite a few resources on the other side of the passage, or at least inside the passage?

At the very least, we need to make sure he's "well-fed and well-hydrated," right?

Or to put it more optimistically, there might even be a relatively advanced civilization that can communicate and exchange goods.

This would no longer be a simple matter of saving lives; it would also become the beginning of cross-border diplomacy for the White Stone Immortal Sect.

"Since Fellow Daoist Zhang is aware of the situation, the most urgent task at present is to repair this seal."

He Yu looked at the largest black hole—the boundary passage—with a complicated expression and pondered, “However, since your disciple is still inside, this seal cannot be sealed completely. We will have to find a way to go in and rescue him in the future. So why not set up a restriction and designate this place as a forbidden area, prohibiting your disciples from approaching it without permission?”

Zhang Chengdao nodded and said, "That's the only way. I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist He."

……

(End of this chapter)