I have a panel that reduces proficiency.

Chapter 68 The Cause of Everything

Qiyuan Town has been turned into a battlefield.

The roars of flying zombies surged from all directions.

Zhou An ran desperately through the ruins.

He had worked all day, moving bricks and transporting materials, and his meridians were already exhausted.

Zhou Yuan ran ahead of him.

The young man possessed even greater magical power than Zhou An, and his meridians were tireless.

With light and nimble steps, he quickly darted ahead, leaving Zhou An behind.

Zhou An chased after him, his breathing becoming heavier and more labored.

"Xiao Yuan! Wait—wait for Dad!"

But Zhou Yuan did not turn around.

The roars behind me grew closer, and the stench of decay reached the back of my neck.

Zhou An looked ahead at the figure in the new blue robe, whom he had been treasuring with the fragments of spirit he had collected for half his life. For some reason, anger rose in his heart, and this anger also gave him power.

He suddenly accelerated, approached Zhou Yuan, grabbed the belt at the back of Zhou Yuan's waist, and with a push, he leaped away from Zhou Yuan's side. Zhou Yuan was pulled backward and staggered half a step.

Just this half step.

But the flying zombies behind him had already pounced, their jet-black fingernails piercing through Zhou Yuan's back and chest.

Zhou Yuan stopped, glanced at Zhou An who had already passed him and was running forward, his eyes filled with resentment and venom, and then he stumbled and fell forward.

Before Zhou An could stand up straight, another flying zombie pounced out from the side.

He had used all his strength in that pull, and before he could even steady himself, he had no room to dodge.

The jet-black fingernails grazed his neck, and the force sent him spinning halfway around before he fell to his side.

A gash suddenly appeared on his neck, and blood gushed out, soaking the ruins of Qiyuan Town.

The two were separated by several feet of gravel, their faces turned towards each other.

Their eyes met.

There is only resentment and hatred.

And two bodies that are getting cold.

Under a tree by the street, Chu Qianfan stood with his hands behind his back, taking in the whole scene.

He said, "Once upon a time, there was a traveling merchant carrying heavy goods, crossing a treacherous pass. A sudden downpour caused rocks to fall, and his companion became trapped in the mud, desperately calling for help. Fearing that the rocks would fall and they would both be drowned, the merchant abandoned him and ran away. The trapped man, enraged, lunged forward and grabbed the merchant's shin. The rain of rocks continued, burying both of them at the foot of the cliff. Later, a woodcutter passed by and saw the two bodies entangled. After surveying the terrain, he sighed, 'Their entrapment was not caused by the merchant; the merchant's failure to help was not the fault of the trapped man. Yet the trapped man blamed the merchant, not the rocks; the merchant feared the trapped man, not the rocks—therefore, in times of trouble, human harm is greater than divine harm.'"

The figure of the ten-year-old Daoist boy Xuanqing appeared beside Chu Qianfan and said, "According to you, when disaster strikes, there is nowhere that can be considered safe. Those who run fast will be dragged down by those behind, and those who run slowly will be kicked down by those in front. Whether you escape or not, you will eventually die. So, is there any true safety in this world?"

Chu Qianfan laughed and said, "What is safety? It is not about avoiding what is in front, nor about hiding behind, but about standing in an invincible position. For example, when a merchant encounters a storm, he first seizes his boat; when he encounters thieves, he first takes up a high wall. It is not that storms are harmless, nor that thieves are harmless, but that the one who strikes first gains the upper hand, and the one who strikes later is controlled by others."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark figure flashed past from the opposite side of the street.

A woman stumbled out of the alleyway, her hair disheveled, repeatedly calling out, "Yin'nan—Yin'nan, your mother is here, where are you—"

'

The woman's gaze was unfocused, her steps unsteady, clearly she was already half-stepping into an illusion, completely unaware of the flying zombie that had landed behind her.

The flying zombie grabbed the back of her neck with one claw and lifted her off the ground.

Click!

The flying zombie tightened its claws, the woman lowered her head, and stopped screaming.

Chu Qianfan looked at the woman and said, "Therefore, those who wish for peace are better off being the ones who cause harm. The one who causes harm is the one who is not harmed. The one who drags others down is the one who is not dragged down. This applies to commerce, and it also applies to life and death."

"Godfather".

Chu Qianfan suddenly turned his head away.

There was another person standing where the woman had fallen.

Why did you kill my mother?

It was a young girl, dressed in red as before.

She knelt down beside the woman, reached out a hand, and gently closed the woman's eyes, which were still open.

The flying zombie had vanished without a trace, only the worthless glass bracelet on its wrist gleamed blindingly in the morning sunlight.

"Godfather, no, Father."

Chu Yao stood up and said, "You still haven't answered me: why did you kill my mother?"

"Father, when you found her on the edge of the Great Wilderness, she had just escaped from the secret realm, her cultivation had dropped to the first level of Qi Refining, and she was not very clear-headed. You gave her a bowl of hot porridge and a clean set of clothes, and she regarded you as a good person."

"You didn't let her go, you locked her in the cellar, and that's how I came to be. She was already insane by then, and only then did you give her a quick death. I know you need a genius with spiritual roots to knock on the gates of Mount Luofu for you."

"I did it, but I still can't understand—I clearly handed you the 'True Explanation of the Seven Emotions Responding to the True Water of the Supreme Being and Attaining the Dao,' without holding back a single word, so why did you still want to kill me?"

"Chu Yao, Chu Xun, and Chu Zheng owe you, but I owe you nothing. Are you suggesting that, for the sake of Foundation Establishment, even my daughter, who hasn't betrayed you, should be used as a furnace to fill the cauldron?"

Chu Qianfan looked at her and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

The next moment, he took a step forward, and the distance of several feet between the two suddenly disappeared.

His hand had already passed through Chu Yao's chest, his five fingers protruding from her back, clutching a still-beating heart between them.

Chu Qianfan said, "Even if Chu Yao, whom I raised myself, were standing here, I wouldn't need to explain to her. Let alone you, a mere puppet in the Realm of Seven Emotions and Desires."

He looked at the identical, crumbling face before him, sighed again, and said, "When a boat is about to capsize, the first to grab the oars, the last to cling to the side. The one who grabs the oars lives, the one who clings to the side drowns. It is not that the one who grabs the oars is brave and the one who clings to the side is cowardly, but that the circumstances are different. It is not that I am heartless, but that the Forgetful Water Goddess is ahead, and if I do not act first, I will be devoured by her. If I do not kill you, she can kill me."

Xuanqing lowered his head.

A hand pierced through his chest, its five fingers emerging from his chest, clutching a still-beating heart.

"Five Aggregates Hermit—what are you doing!"

When Xuan Qing looked up, Chu Qianfan's figure changed, and he was replaced by a figure in red.

Chu Yao stood in front of Xuan Qing and said, "When a boat is about to capsize, the first to grab the oars will survive, while the last to cling to the side of the boat will drown. Those who grab the oars will live, while those who cling to the side of the boat will drown."

It is not that those who seize the oars are brave, but those who cling to the side of the boat are cowardly; it is simply a matter of different circumstances. This is a principle my father taught me.

She tilted her head, looked at the empty street corner, and smiled.

"Are you right, Father?"

Xuan Qing looked at her serious expression and suddenly burst into laughter, saying, "I was hoping that Dao Gen would come to me, but it turns out your whole family are crazy!"

Before the laughter subsided, the young Taoist boy collapsed backward.

Blood spurted from the severed blood vessel, splattering on half of Chu Yao's cheek.

Chu Yao looked down at the stopped heart in her palm.

Black mist surged from her palm, enveloping her heart. Flesh and blood dissolved within the mist, turning into wisps of black smoke that disappeared between her fingers.

The black mist then spread over her blood-splattered cheek, swallowing up all the bloodstains, before spreading down her neck and engulfing the corpse of the Taoist boy on the ground.

In a short while, only a human-shaped scorch mark remained on the ground.

She said, "The one who comes first is the butcher, and the one who comes later is the fish. But is there a fixed order between the butcher and the fish? If the one who comes first is the butcher and I am the fish, and if I come first, I am the butcher and the one who comes later is the fish. Therefore, the one who comes first can become the one who comes later, and the one who comes later can become the one who comes first. They take turns replacing each other without end."

"If that's the case, why not make them one and me, and me and them? If the first and the last become one, then the knife and the chopping board are the fish and the fish and the chopping board are the knife and the chopping board. Since there is no distinction between them, how can there be a distinction between first and last? Only by having neither first nor last can we stand forever without defeat. This is not about eating each other, but about being in harmony with the Dao."

After saying that, Chu Yao turned her head and looked at the street corner to the side.

This time, that direction was no longer deserted.

Qi Xueyi was standing there at some point, her light blue shirt fluttering gently in the breeze.

Chu Yao asked, "Lord of Forgetfulness, am I right?"

Qi Xueyi said, "You're right about everything. But even if you're right, you still can't beat me."

Chu Yao laughed and said, "Yes, after all, you are a great True Lord, whose remnant spirit can support the entire Seven Emotions and Desires Realm. As for me, I am a mortal who filled my adoptive father into a furnace. The former is the knife and the latter is the fish—in front of you, I can never be the former, nor can I be the loser back then."

"However, I've looked into your background—this is how you devoured your sister back then. Perhaps this is the fate of those who cultivate the 'Five Yin Heavenly Demon Summoning Secret Mantra'."

Qi Xueyi murmured, "Fate? Then now, you being devoured by me—is that also fate?"

And in that very instant.

A cloud of black mist exploded from Chu Yao's body, engulfing the entire street.

Ruins, corpses, rogue cultivators, and flying zombies were all swallowed up.

"The first to act are the butcher, the last the fish—only by ignoring the order of first and last can one remain invincible and defy fate!"

The black mist surged and converged towards Qi Xueyi's location, layer upon layer, like a black datura flower suddenly blooming and then suddenly closing.

Then, the fog dissipated.

It vanished without leaving a trace.

The streets and alleys remain the same.

Ruins, corpses, rogue cultivators, and flying zombies appeared one by one.

But at the center, there was only Qi Xueyi.

Qingmu Lingtai, with its uniquely beautiful peaks, surging sea of ​​clouds, and pine trees like waves.

At the center of the mountain peak stands a blue stone chessboard, with black and white pieces intertwined, and the game is in full swing.

The player with the black pieces was a thin young man who said, "Senior Sister Xuanzhu has already entered the Five Yin Demon Realm. My niece will definitely be safe and sound. As her father, can you please put your mind at ease for now and finish this game?"

The man holding the white piece was burly and had a resolute face. He held a white piece in mid-air, not letting it fall for a long time, and said, "If anything happens to my daughter, Xuanmu, I will hold you responsible."

"No, Senior Sister Xuanzhu possesses the Crimson Token. This token uses heaven and earth as its compass and all phenomena as its pieces; it can deduce everything from the celestial constellations and the earth's spiritual energy to the karma of people's hearts."

Xuanmu gently placed a black piece on a corner of the chessboard, about to continue, when his smile suddenly froze on his face. He abruptly stood up and said, "My disciple—"

Before he could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed drastically.

Xuan Ge stood up almost simultaneously, and the two of them looked up at the same time, their gazes piercing through the sea of ​​clouds and reaching the deepest part of the sky.

-

A very thin slit of light suddenly tore open the sky, growing longer and longer until it split the entire sky in two directions.

A colossal sword, piercing the heavens and the earth, slowly descended from the very center of the rift.

Xuan Ge gazed at the rift in the sky, at the straight sword tip hanging above it, and said, "Guard One Sword."

Qi Xueyi looked up.

Above the sky, the crack was directly facing her. The blade of the giant sword slowly descended amidst the sea of ​​clouds, its shadow falling before the sword itself, enveloping her entire face.

A voice resounded in her heart, saying, "Sister, you have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, yet after half a year of arduous cultivation, you still haven't entered the gate of the 'True Understanding of Heavenly One Response and Transformation of True Water.' I cultivate the demonic path, and I reached the fourth level of Qi Refining in just a few days. What righteous methods, what arduous cultivation, are all too slow. In this world, only by learning the demonic path and eating people can one speed things up. So you see, using the 'Five Yin Heavenly Demon Summoning Secret Mantra' to revive is the right thing to do."

Qi Xueyi gazed at the approaching sword and said, "A thousand years of sharpness, never ceasing day or night."

The voice cried out excitedly, "So, sister, are we going to die again?"

Qi Xueyi did not answer.

-

The voice said again, "Then let's die together. We survived only because we were one, and now let's die together again."

"Left! Left!"

Sun He shouted hoarsely, turned his body, and disappeared into a narrow alley.

Zhao Hu followed him inside.

The alley was too narrow; the two of them couldn't even squeeze in side by side. Fei Jiang's claws grazed Zhao Hu's back, tearing off half of his clothes.

He lunged forward, crashing into Sun He's back. The two of them rolled out of the alley and onto the street.

The streets were packed with people.

Some ran east, some darted west, some lay on the ground pretending to be dead, and some rolled around in a pool of blood, clutching their severed arms.

Just as a rogue cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining unleashed a fireball, three flying zombies pounced from the side, pinning him to the ground.

A scream rang out once, then there was silence.

Zhao Hu pushed himself up and subconsciously glanced in the direction of Zone B.

The flying zombies continued to surge out, like ants whose nest had been disturbed, swarming out in dense, endless streams.

"Run!"

Sun He grabbed him, dodging the pursuing flying zombie.

Just as Zhao Hu took a step, the sky above him suddenly darkened.

A shadow pressed down from the sky, engulfing the entire town of Qiyuan and the surrounding mountains.

But Zhao Hu and Sun He didn't care about any natural phenomena.

Even if the sky were to fall and hit you on the head, you still have to finish these few steps first.

But the flying zombie still managed to get up there eventually.

Sun He ran ahead of him, and the moment he turned around, all the color drained from his face.

Zhao Hu—

'

A flying zombie had already reached Zhao Hu's back, its jet-black claws outstretched, aimed at his back.

Then, the flying zombie stopped, its jet-black body began to crack, as if it had been cut into pieces by a sword, turning into countless fragments and dust that rose with the wind.

Zhao Hu—

""

"Run!"

Zhao Hu caught up with Sun He, slapped him on the forehead, and said, "Don't think that just because you're not running doesn't make me jealous of you for being ahead of me earlier."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Seeing that Sun had not run away, he involuntarily turned around.

All the flying zombies on the entire street froze at the same instant.

Countless black fragments peeled off those stiff bodies, as if cut into pieces by a sword.

It swirls upwards, rising higher and higher, becoming increasingly faint and sparse.

It was like a black snowstorm that swept back from the ground to the sky.

"It's all gone."

Sun He spoke up.

Zhao Hu did not respond.

He looked up at the giant sword that was sinking.

"What is that?!"

"I don't know, run!"

"Can they escape?"

Sun He did not respond.

When Fang Shi arrived at the edge of the cliff, the morning dew was hanging in mid-air.

Her wrists were gripped by the sunset, and she was hanging from the cliff face, while the sunset was slowly loosening its grip.

Fang Shi grabbed Chao Lu's wrist and pulled her up from the cliff edge. He then turned around, grabbed Wan Xia with his other hand, and held her firmly in place.

"Sunset Glow, what are you doing!"

Blood was still dripping from his clothes, and the wounds that had been crushed by the weight of the weight had not yet healed. Drops of blood flowed down his wrists onto the snow, one by one, making tiny red dots.

He held her shoulders down, but she didn't struggle.

She gazed quietly at Fang Shi, who was now covered in blood, and reached out to touch his face, saying, "Brother, you're injured, sister—"

It would break my heart.

Fang Shi looked into her calm eyes, took her outstretched hand, and said, "Wanxia, ​​what exactly happened?"

After climbing the cliff, Chao Lu was shivering and collapsed onto the snow. Only then did she speak, saying, "Brother, let me tell you."

"No need to say anything more."

The sunset interrupted her; she looked up and gazed at the high heavens.

"look."

Fang Shi turned his head away.

The sky is cracking open.

A giant sword sank from the crack, first the blade, then the body.

But the shadow of the blade facing them alone was enough to envelop them all.

Xuanzhu, who had just caught up, turned deathly pale and cried out, "Shou Yijian!"

She looked at Fang Shi and said, "It's all over, all over! It's all your fault for recklessly risking your life like that, you lowly cultivator!"

Chaolu didn't look at the giant sword; instead, she gazed at Fang Shi and said, "Fate, destiny, what can be done? Are all those who cultivate the 'Five Yin Heavenly Demon Summoning Secret Mantra' unable to escape fate?"

The sunset turned its head to look at the morning dew and said, "Sister, that's right, this is fate."

She looked at Fang Shi and said, "It's you, brother. No matter how hard you struggle, you can't change this fate."

Fang Shi didn't care about anything related to life or death.

Anyway, it wasn't him who cultivated the "Five Yin Heavenly Demon Summoning Secret Mantra".

He gripped Chaolu's wrist tightly with his left hand, grabbed Wanxia's shoulder with his right, and pressed his feet down with magic, about to leap out, when suddenly the giant sword swung down.

Like a white rainbow splitting the sky and earth, it passed through the figures of the four people on the cliff.

Zhao Hu and Sun He stood still, heads tilted back, their gazes following the direction in which the sword light had disappeared, remaining motionless for a long time.

The colossal sword that cleaved the heavens and earth fell silently and vanished without a trace.

The crack in the sky had somehow healed, the clouds had gathered again, and sunlight filtered through the gaps, illuminating the devastated landscape.

On the street.

Apart from the bloodstains scattered everywhere and the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, Qiyuan Town was still the Qiyuan Town in ruins.

Sun He asked, "That's all?"

Zhao Hu said, "The flying zombies—they're all gone."

Sun He asked, "What about the sword? That one strike cleaved all those flying zombies in two?"

Zhao Hu said, "Wouldn't it be better to chop down the flying zombie? I bet it was the expert from the Three Plates Temple who made the move."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a hoarse wail suddenly erupted from the street.

"It's gone! Gone! It's all gone—"

'

The sound was like water splashing into a pan of oil.

The entire street suddenly came alive.

Someone rolled over and sat up, touching their chest with an incredulous look on their face.

Someone grabbed their companion's clothes, shaking them and shouting, "Still alive!"

Someone was holding the corpse on the ground and wailing loudly.

Someone was digging through the rubble when they unearthed a blood-stained hand that was both crying and laughing as it pulled the person out.

"They survived!"

"The flying zombies are gone!"

"Which senior colleague intervened?"

"Who cares who he is! As long as he's alive!"

Sun He said, "Yes, as long as we're alive, that's enough."

Zhao Hu said: "Sun He—"

"6

Sun He said, "What's wrong with you now—"

'

Following Zhao Hu's gaze, Sun He saw a black rift suddenly open in the void about ten feet to his right, from which two people fell.

A young boy in a Taoist robe covered in blood, and a young female Taoist priest who was no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.

Zhao Hu carefully examined the young man and asked, "Brother Fang?"

Sun He asked, "Fellow Daoist Fang?"

Fang Shi snapped out of his daze, glanced at Zhao Hu and Sun He, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, and asked, "Brother Zhao, Fellow Daoist Sun, what's going on now?"

His heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head away.

A person was standing on top of the ruins nearby.

The man was thin and small, wrapped in a fur coat, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, like a worm perched on a branch.

Upon closer inspection, however, it was clearly a girl of thirteen or fourteen, with delicate features and a face as exquisite as a porcelain doll.

Her black hair was draped over her fur collar, her head was tilted slightly, and two points of purple light shone in her bright eyes.

"Brother Fang, it's been three months. I miss you so much."

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