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

Chapter 388 A big dream

Ancestor Mingfeng fought against Tang Mingming with all his might, blood gushing from all seven orifices, but he also carried Tang Mingming's soul, and was about to crash into the first bolt of heavenly lightning that was about to strike Li Zhi.

The tribulation lightning at the Core Formation stage was not fatal to Ancestor Mingfeng, who had been in the Nascent Soul stage for countless years. However, it was extremely lethal to Tang Mingming, who was naturally afraid of such yang and righteous power.

"You wretched creature! You shall taste the might of Heaven with me!"

Ancestor Mingfeng's hair and beard stood on end, his eyes filled with determination.

He actually used himself as a guide, forcibly enveloping Tang Mingming's soul, transforming it into a stream of light, and fiercely crashing into the heavenly lightning that tore through the sky!
"You old scoundrel! You've gone mad!"

Tang Mingming's shriek was filled with terror and disbelief.

The power of heavenly thunder is beyond human resistance.
Even if a bolt of lightning from the Core Formation stage is not fatal to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, the actions of Ancestor Mingfeng clearly indicate that he did not only intend to be struck by a bolt of lightning!
He has lived for far too long, relying on various rare and precious materials and cultivation techniques to survive until now. Although he is guarding the seal, he is actually very weak and cannot withstand even a few bolts of heavenly lightning.

Otherwise, Tang Mingming wouldn't have dared to possess a Nascent Soul stage cultivator!
Tang Mingming struggled frantically, the black energy emanating from his soul surging violently, trying to break free from Ancestor Mingfeng's restraints.

His soul is most afraid of lightning, let alone the tribulation lightning of the Core Formation stage!

This old guy clearly wanted to die together with him!
This time, however, it was Elder Mingfeng who relentlessly pursued Tang Mingming, preventing her from escaping for the time being.

"boom--"

A deafening thunderclap exploded in the sky. Li Zhi, who was preparing to undergo his tribulation, stared in disbelief as a blinding bolt of lightning flashed overhead and then instantly swallowed the streak of light that was rushing straight towards him.

"what--"

"puff!"

Accompanied by Tang Mingming's shrill scream, Ancestor Mingfeng also spat out a large mouthful of blood, his magnificent collar instantly stained deep red.

Although the heavenly lightning shattered Tang Mingming's soul, it also completely destroyed Ancestor Mingfeng. His face, which was already bleeding from all seven orifices, was burned black by the lightning, and his aged face lost all color. His life force rapidly declined like a candle flickering in the wind.

Even the blood that flowed out evaporated and then congealed on the skin, forming a paste that looked quite frightening.

However, Tang Mingming's situation was even worse.

The supremely yang and powerful force of the heavenly thunder was like a deadly poison to him. The black mist evaporated and dissipated wildly in the lightning, like boiling water poured on snow. Countless remnant souls that he had devoured were annihilated under the purification of the heavenly thunder, and his entire pitch-black soul body visibly became thin and transparent.

As the second bolt of heavenly lightning flashed, Ancestor Mingfeng advanced instead of retreating, carrying the newly formed Tang Mingming along with him, and once again charged forward.

"You old fool! Are you out of your mind?!"

Tang Mingming panicked completely. He dared not think about possession or not anymore. If he were to be struck by another heavenly lightning bolt, it was uncertain whether he could save his life!
"My life is a mere scrap of life, and all these extra years I've lived are a bonus. As long as I can kill you, you beast, what does it matter if I give up my life!"

Ancestor Mingfeng's voice was hoarse but firm, showing no fear of death. He used all his strength to hold Tang Mingming tightly, and once again soared into the sky, crashing into the second bolt of heavenly lightning.

"Do not--"

The second bolt of heavenly lightning was far more powerful than the first. As it crashed down, striking the streak of light precisely, Ancestor Mingfeng's figure plummeted to the ground, creating a shallow crater.

Zhuang Wansong, the only one still able to move, rushed over and saw that Ancestor Mingfeng was lying in the pit, his breath extremely weak, his chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly, as if he would die at any moment.

Tang Mingming's soul was reduced to a small black shadow, huddled beside Ancestor Mingfeng, flickering like a candle flame on the verge of extinction.

"Senior! How are you!?"

Zhuang Wansong quickly took out the "Angelica pubescens decoction" and "bone-strengthening powder" and carefully helped Mingfeng the patriarch take the medicine.

"Cough cough cough..."

After drinking several mouthfuls of the Angelica pubescens soup, it seemed the medicine was indeed working. Ancestor Mingfeng took several deep breaths before slowly saying, "I was afraid I wouldn't make it, but I didn't expect your elixir to be so good. I won't die!"

Seeing that the old man Mingfeng's ashen face had finally regained some color, Zhuang Wansong breathed a sigh of relief. He then picked up his sword and glared hatefully at the dark figure that was still struggling to condense its soul in the distance.

“Fellow Daoist, do not have the intention to kill him,” Elder Mingfeng said, “This scoundrel is so vicious and ruthless that he is not worth dying for. However, let me recover a bit and use the Soul Searching Technique to see the cause and effect before handing him over to your sect for disposal.”

As he spoke, Ancestor Mingfeng produced a small jade bottle from somewhere, absorbed the dark shadow into the bottle, sealed it, and then sat down to meditate and recover.

At the same time, the third bolt of lightning, which had been rolling in the clouds for quite some time, also struck.

Perhaps because the first two bolts of lightning had failed to strike Li Zhi, this third bolt seemed extremely angry, its power unprecedented. Just as it was about to strike, Li Zhi, who had been waiting with his eyes closed below, suddenly opened them—

The grief and confusion of before were gone from his eyes; in their place was an unprecedented clarity and an unwavering, sword-like sharpness.

Unlike ordinary cultivators who undergo tribulation by physically resisting the attack, he summoned a sword pellet and, as if facing an enemy, swung it to slash at the falling lightning.

In fact, after the battle just now, Li Zhi's sword pellet was already at its limit, but he was full of resentment and gritted his teeth to fight against the heavenly lightning.

Shockingly, after the third bolt of lightning struck the sword pellet, although it almost completely dissipated the spiritual light of the sword pellet and Li Zhi was also affected by the backlash and vomited blood, the sword pellet once again burst forth with blazing spiritual light in just a few breaths, even stronger than when Li Zhi first spat it out, as if the bolt of lightning had tempered it!
In fact, Li Zhi's sword pellet was indeed tempered by heavenly lightning.

A sword is forged from the essence of metal and stone.

Although Li Zhi's sword pellet was a naturally occurring treasure born from his innate sword-wielding body, it was still made of metal. It would become stronger with each tempering by lightning and fire.

As bolts of lightning struck one after another, Li Zhi's sword pellet would dim slightly each time it was struck, but then it would immediately blaze with even brighter light than before.

When the thunder finally subsided, a few more reluctant roars echoed in the clouds. The sword pellet, like a small sun, shone with an unprecedentedly intense spiritual light above Li Zhi's head, shining brightly in the darkness.

At the same time, within his body, a perfectly round and brilliant golden core, faintly tinged with purple light, completely solidified. Even more remarkably, the sword pellet that had always been connected to his mind also flew back into his body at this moment, attaching itself to his newly formed golden core. The two merged their energies, almost becoming one.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on forming your Golden Core! Your future is limitless!"

Ancestor Mingfeng was the first to sense the golden light emanating from Li Zhi's body, a phenomenon that only occurs when a golden core is formed.

Having passed the tribulation, Li Zhi, who had officially become a Core Formation cultivator, should have been happy. However, the anger at his own incompetence and the grief over Sun Ping's death had not yet dissipated. He forced a smile that was more like a grimace and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for your kind words, senior."

"Young friend, your righteousness is truly admirable."

Ancestor Mingfeng sighed, ignoring Li Zhi's attitude, and instead said with self-reproach, "I am ashamed. If I hadn't been too complacent and let my guard down, how could this fiend have taken advantage of the situation, and how could that fellow Daoist have suffered such a loss..."

"Alas, it's all my fault!"

Li Zhi cupped his hands in greeting, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Rationally, he knew that Ancestor Mingfeng was also a victim in this matter, but emotionally he still could not accept the fact that Sun Ping died because of it.

At the tender age of fifteen, even though he had grown up in the countryside, the births, deaths, illnesses, and deaths he had witnessed were nothing more than ordinary deaths from illness and old age. He had never seen such a heroic sacrifice as Sun Ping.
'If only I had broken through to the Core Formation stage sooner!'

This was Li Zhi's first thought after his breakthrough.

'If Fellow Daoist Sun had broken through to the Core Formation stage earlier, he might not have died. At least then, we wouldn't have been completely helpless against that evil cultivator…'

The more Li Zhi thought about it, the more resentful he became.

Zhuang Wansong was also heartbroken. He had come specifically to help the White Stone Immortal Sect in order to save people, but he could only watch helplessly as they died and their souls scattered. He was filled with self-reproach.

But having lived a few more years, and as a guest elder of the Taiyue Sword Sect, he understood the ways of the world. He took a deep breath, suppressed his grief, and bowed solemnly to Ancestor Mingfeng: "Senior risked your life to help us, and we are already deeply grateful. This evil cultivator originally fled from my White Stone Realm. If we must be sure, it is the White Stone Realm's fault. We hope that Senior will not blame us."

"White Stone Realm!?"

Ancestor Mingfeng was taken aback upon hearing this. Then, his eyes widened, his face showing a mixture of crying and laughing, and he asked excitedly, "Tell me, where do you come from? The White Stone Realm!?"

"Indeed, this deceased fellow Daoist was a disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect in the White Stone Realm. We originally came to find him so we could bring him back, but we never expected... Alas, life is unpredictable..."

Zhuang Wansong's tone was somewhat low, but before he could finish speaking, Mingfeng Patriarch's voice changed, trembling as he asked, "This...this person...is he...named...Sun Ping?"

Zhuang Wansong was somewhat surprised: "Indeed, could it be that you and Fellow Daoist Sun knew each other before?"

He was filled with doubts.

The tone of Ancestor Mingfeng was very strange, as if he was very familiar with the name, but the two of them did not seem to know each other before. What was going on?

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Mingfeng became even more agitated, his face turning red and his expression even becoming somewhat manic.

He pressed on, "How long have you been looking for him? No, I mean, how long has it been since the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect, Zhang Chengdao, came here specifically to look for Sun Ping, until you entered the Blue Night Realm?"

Although Zhuang Wansong didn't understand what was going on, he sensed something was wrong. He hesitated for a moment before answering, "About...about a day..."

Li Zhi also noticed the strange atmosphere, and he subconsciously asked, "Could it be... could it be that Senior also knows Sect Leader Zhang?"

"Hahahaha! One day! It was actually just one day! Hahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Ancestor Mingfeng burst into laughter, the sound carrying for miles, causing the earth to shake and the already collapsed Jingxin Villa to rise even higher in dust.

The laughter was filled with pain, indignation, and despair. He laughed for a long time before collapsing to the ground and bursting into tears. Zhuang Wansong and Sun Ping exchanged glances, looking at each other, at a loss for what to do.

"So that's how it is! So that's how it is! So that's... how it is!"

After an unknown amount of time, Ancestor Mingfeng finally calmed down a bit. He stared blankly at the dark mountains and forests in the distance, and said in a hoarse voice, "Take that evil cultivator and leave. You don't need to come back... no, you don't need to come back at all."

After saying that, he suddenly looked up and changed his words: "Wait, before this place collapses, I can still do some things for you one last time. After I recover a bit, I will search the soul of this evil cultivator to find out what's going on..."

"Alas, I suppose that Sect Master Zhang will use the soul-searching technique on you after you take it back. I was just going through the motions, but... just take pity on this dead man and satisfy my curiosity..."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Wansong frowned, pondering the meaning behind Elder Mingfeng's words.

Li Zhi then chopped it off. He scratched his head and asked bluntly, "Senior... what, what exactly is going on? I don't understand what you mean by 'a dead person'?"

"The Blue Night Realm... no, it should be the entire Upper... the entire Spiritual Cultivation Realm, along with the Blue Night Realm, died long ago..."

As he spoke, Ancestor Mingfeng closed his eyes, and tears welled up in them once again.

He slowly explained: "There are boundaries between worlds, but a boundary often connects not only one or two worlds. Sometimes it can connect three or four, and sometimes even more than a dozen."

"These places where worlds lead to realms, that is, realm gates, are essentially gaps between worlds caused by various reasons. Since these gaps are not created simultaneously, the timing of the connection between different worlds connected by the same realm passage varies greatly."

"These gaps are initially unstable, so they often only exist for a few days before disappearing, or they may appear here at one time and there at another time, until they gradually stabilize and can be officially fixed with an array to form a stable teleportation portal."

"But, besides that, there is another possibility: the unstable dimensional gate can sometimes teleport people to the past, sometimes to the present, and sometimes to the future..."

"But that's not the past, present, or future. Actually... it's the past and... a false present and future... an illusion created based on your White Stone Realm... a grand dream..."

"The true Blue Night Realm, along with the Spirit Cultivation Realm, has long... died..."

(End of this chapter)