Immortal Mystery Sequence: I Establish a Divine Duty for Heaven and Earth

From an immeasurably high vantage point, Jiang Tu looked down upon the decisive battle between Buddhism and Taoism below and couldn't help but marvel at it.

Shocked!

It’s too shocking!

This decisive battle between Buddhism and Taoism undoubtedly broadened his horizons greatly! It allowed him to see more of the past truths hidden in history and the cataclysmic disaster...

New Apple City is gone!

The area within a hundred miles was razed to the ground, all previous efforts vanished in an instant, and from a high vantage point, it resembled a hideous and terrifying scar on the earth.

call--

He exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing the shock in his heart, and sorted out what he had learned.

It turns out that the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism is actually over a living person! The contemporary inheritor of the Immortal Path! Whoever can seize it will gain the qualification to inherit the path, and perhaps even take it for their own use.

Xu Lin actually knew this person's whereabouts, but she also died on the spot because of this secret, which is truly lamentable.

It turns out that sometimes, just knowing a secret you shouldn't know can lead to sudden death. The methods of ancient secret arts are beyond comprehension. The ancient saying that disaster comes from the mouth is indeed true!

However, it seems that most of the inheritors are not in New Apple City now.

The battle that destroyed the city shattered the entire city, leaving it barren for hundreds of miles. Apart from Luo Jin and others who escaped using earth magic, no one survived. If the inheritor had been in the city, he should not have died so easily; at the very least, he should have revealed his cultivation on the Immortal Path.

So, where could he/she be?

Jiang Tu glanced back towards the rear of the agricultural road. Xu Lin's information source was most likely Taiping City! If that were true, the consequences of the Buddhist and Taoist sects finding out would be unimaginable!

During the great battle, Jiang Tu also noticed something unusual about the golden Buddha. After the golden light peeled away, a hideous monster with rotting flesh and blood was revealed. It was a monstrous creature that used the name of Buddha but did evil deeds! This once again confirmed his previous guess that although the Buddhist tradition had been passed down after the collapse of the heavens, it had also undergone serious mutation and corruption!

The Taoist sect hasn't revealed its true nature yet, and we haven't noticed much unusualness, but it might be hiding it very well!

All of this made him increasingly wary of the Taoist lineage in reality...

However, there is good news amidst the disaster... at least the evacuation of the five cities was a great success!

This guy won by playing it safe!

If Luo Jin hadn't decisively issued the order for a complete evacuation, Ruixuetang might have faced a catastrophe no less devastating than the defeat at the Farm Road Incident!

Putting aside his many thoughts, Jiang Tu looked towards Luo Jin.

Luo Jin's inner demons previously stemmed from the serf rebellion, which had finally dissipated to a considerable degree... However, the death of Xu Lin in this Buddhist-Taoist battle has had a far greater impact on him than the serf rebellion. Will this bring him even deeper inner demons?

He doesn't know.

Keep watching!

……

……

[Sequence Evolution Log]

[Year 70]

June.

News of the decisive battle between Buddhism and Taoism spread throughout Ruili. Within a hundred miles of Xinping City, only the Buddhist and Taoist traditions remained, while the mountains and rivers were completely annihilated!

The hall was deathly silent; an unprecedented fear gripped everyone's hearts.

Those new-generation agricultural cultivators who had never experienced the serfdom transformation truly understood for the first time what Buddhism and Taoism were, and just how terrifying the accumulated foundation of ten thousand years was. On that day, the hundred-foot golden body of the Taoist sword could be seen from thousands of miles away, and its pressure was like a sword hanging in the air, making people suffocate!

After that, Ruixuetang continuously shrank its lines, with eight or nine out of ten of its members holding fast between Taiping City and Bailu City, no longer expanding outwards.

Even the strongholds that had been lurking outside the four cities, including Yanjiang Wangqiu, for many years were quickly consolidated. Most of the insect spirit communication was discontinued, and the various branches almost never met again, with everything focused on concealment.

People were terrified and turned pale at the mere mention of Buddhism or Taoism!

October.

The events of that day had a profound impact on Luo Jin, who was present at the scene.

Others were terrified just from seeing a glimpse, let alone him, who was in New Apple City at the time.

The scene of the collapse of Xinping City has become an inescapable shadow in my heart.

The inner demons that had been painstakingly subsided returned with a vengeance. He was plagued by illness, and when he closed his eyes, he saw Xu Lin's tragic death, tens of thousands of people turning into a surging blood mist that shrouded the sky, and the Golden Buddha Sword fiercely clashing against him...

In just ten months, he fell seriously ill four times, each time more severe than the last, almost becoming bedridden and on the verge of death. He often suffered from insomnia at night, finding only a moment of peace at Xu Lin's grave.

Too many people at Ruixuetang are shrouded in the same gloom, and many are beginning to doubt whether Nongdao truly has a future.

With the combined power of Buddhism and Taoism, a city could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. What can the agricultural sect use to resist?

A pall of gloom hung over the land, and the White Deer of Taiping swept across the four cities, leaving everyone in a state of fear.

They couldn't help but think that the reason they were alive was only because Buddhism and Taoism hadn't noticed them. Once they were discovered, they would face annihilation, and none of them would survive!

December.

An underground stronghold outside the city along the river.

At Luo Jin's bedside.

His face was ashen and his appearance emaciated. He had not slept or eaten or drunk for months. There was nothing more than this in the cultivation of immortality. He was only able to keep going because of his seventh-grade foundation.

At this moment, two trusted confidants knocked on the door and entered: "Master, the matter you asked us to investigate has been resolved. The person you are looking for is indeed in Taiping City and is waiting outside the door."

Luo Jin slowly stood up, forcing himself to stay alert: "Bring them in immediately!"

After a while.

A woman dressed in plain clothes was led into the house.

She looked to be in her thirties or forties, with plain features and simple clothes; she would probably go unnoticed in a crowd.

Luo Jin dismissed the others and went to a quiet room alone with the woman in plain clothes, where they looked at each other and sized each other up.

"You are the one who inherited the immortal path, standing at the heart of the storm in the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism? May I see your true face?"

The woman in plain clothes looked confused and asked in astonishment, "What are you talking about, Master? I don't understand. I'm just a lowly woman in plain clothes, how could I be some kind of immortal path inheritor? Master, aren't you overestimating me?"

Bang!

"Stop pretending!"

Luo Jin slammed his fist on the table in anger, coughed violently, and then pointed angrily at Xu Lin's memorial tablet in the corner.

"At that time, the five cities had completed their evacuation, and all of Ruixuetang's spies had disappeared. Xu Lin could not possibly have known the intelligence inside the city, but she just happened to know that the Buddhist and Taoist sects were going to have a decisive battle in Xinping City... and knew the secrets of the Immortal Path inheritors."

"This proves that the core inheritor was indeed in Xinping City at the time, and moved to Taiping City during the evacuation. Xu Lin was in charge of all matters related to the evacuation, and must have discovered some clues during the evacuation, and traced them all the way to reach this conclusion!"

"Over the past year, I have ordered my men to repeatedly interrogate all the members of the gang in Taiping City and review previous intelligence. The traces of most people can be found, and their past can be understood. Only you are unknown to everyone, and there is no past to be found... You suddenly appeared in Xinping City, and you also suddenly appeared in Taiping City!"

"It can only be you!"

"You are truly heartless! Xu Lin only told me about this matter; she didn't tell anyone else, nor did she inform either the Buddhist or Taoist sects, yet she still died! It was you who killed her with an extremely cruel ancient secret technique!!!"

The woman in plain clothes did not answer. She walked to Xu Lin's memorial tablet, lit three incense sticks carefully, and stood silently with her head bowed for a moment.

"It is me. I am indeed the immortal being that both Buddhism and Taoism have been searching for."

"I never intended to kill Xu Lin. When the heavens collapsed, the Immortal Sect established a major restriction to ensure that its inheritance would not fall into the hands of others and to ensure that its inheritance would not be cut off. Anyone who tries to reveal the whereabouts of our disciples to outsiders, thereby bringing disaster upon our sect, will suffer the backlash of the restriction and die. She triggered the restriction, but it was not my doing! Our Immortal Sect has no bloodthirsty people; we only seek to undergo tribulations and achieve immortality!"

Luo Jin remained silent for a long time, knowing that there was no need for the other party to hide anything now.

"...So be it, it's fate...this is perhaps Xu Lin's fate."

"No wonder she was so determined that day, even at the cost of her life, to reveal the secret. If the Buddhist and Taoist sects were to learn of your existence, then my Taiping City, my Ruixue Hall, and hundreds of thousands of people... would all be in grave danger!"

"You didn't kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of you! You didn't kill the people of Xinping City, yet the entire city was destroyed because of you!"

"What have all living beings done wrong? What have the auspicious snow done wrong?"

The woman in plain clothes remained calm and composed, looking at him with an expression as still as a deep well. She said calmly, "Now that the hall master knows it is me, are you prepared to hand me over to quell the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism and secure a way out for your agricultural sect?"

"I... I expected this day to come. Hall Master, go ahead and do it. As long as you don't reveal the news to the outside world, just take me directly to see the Buddhist and Taoist sects. The restriction will not be triggered."

"I admire the future of the agricultural path, and I also admire you, Master. I also admire the current state of Taiping City. If Taiping Bailu were to die because of me, I would be devastated."

"The ancient immortal path says, 'Though I am destined to perish, I will also return, for the karma of this life will surely be repaid in the next.'"

silence.

A long silence.

Luo Jin suddenly laughed, a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

"Hand you over? I've considered it... but it would be utterly pointless! It would only create another enemy for my Agricultural Path on the Immortal Path! The true colors of Buddhism and Taoism today, their actions in destroying the city that day, treating human life like dirt, cruel and bloodthirsty, are far beyond what the ancient immortals and Buddhas could ever show... Even if I kneel and beg them for a way to live, even if I offer you up with both hands, would they give us a way out?"

"Continue to be their slave? Will I, Nongdao, not die? No! This is ultimately a self-destructive act!"

"...Go! I can't keep you here, but I won't hand you over either. I will keep your whereabouts a secret from everyone... Well, there's a restriction in place, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"Now that things have come to this, all I want is for Ruixuetang to swallow our anger and weather the storm of the Buddhist-Taoist conflict. I urge you to go as far away as possible... From now on, we must have no further contact!"

As she spoke, Luo Jin felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow, and her vision blurred, obscuring the light of day.

He waved for the woman in plain clothes to leave quickly, his face growing paler and palpitations gripping his chest as he felt a strong palpitation wash over him, haunted by inner demons and nightmares.

Again!

They're here again!

He was weak, sweating profusely, and swaying precariously, almost fainting on the spot.

"Master, you..."

The woman in plain clothes cried out in alarm and tried to rush over to help.

Just then.

bang——

A trusted confidant burst through the gate, panting and tear-streaked, kneeling and shouting, "Master! Master! City Lord Luo is gone!! Today, City Lord Luo publicly broke through to the seventh rank in Taiping City, but during the breakthrough, he was plagued by inner demons, his Dao heart collapsed, and he died on the spot... on the spot!"

boom!

Luo Jin was struck dumb, his mind wandering, and he suddenly sat up.

"...What...what did you say?!"

He murmured in disbelief.

How could that be?

My cousin knew that breaking through to a higher realm would lead to death, and that an unstable Dao heart would also result in death, so why did he suddenly attempt to break through?!

Why?! Why is this happening?! It doesn't make sense!

"Master! Before his death, Lord Luo left behind a letter written in blood, instructing me to deliver it to you!"

Luo Jin tremblingly accepted the blood-written letter, its large, blood-red characters each one a tearful lament, dedicating his life to Xuanyuan.

—Luo Jin!

"Today I pledge my life to prove my innocence. What does it matter if I'm tormented by inner demons? What does it matter if the Buddhist and Taoist sects are too powerful to defeat? It's all just a matter of life and death, a matter of a single thought! Why should I, Luo Dazhuang, hesitate to die? Are you, Luo Jin, so afraid of death that you'll be trapped by those mere inner demons for your entire life, only finding peace when you die?!"

—Wake up, Luo Jin! You fucking need to wake up! The world can live without me, Luo Dazhuang, but it cannot live without Luo Jin!

Every word is written with heartfelt emotion, its power penetrating the very paper!

Holding the blood-written letter, Luo Jin suddenly fell silent, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.

pat pat pat.

Tears soaked the blood-stained letter, and he trembled as he got up from the bed and prostrated himself on the ground.

What did he do?

What on earth did he do?!

Li Shitou, Luo Dazhuang.

His sworn brother.

Xu Lin.

His beloved student.

They all died! These people risked their lives to support him, to support Nongdao and Ruixuetang!

He has wasted his life, and even now he is still being pretentious about the so-called matter of life and death, and being tormented by his inner demons. If he continues like this, can he live up to all the sacrifices and bloodshed he has endured along the way?

Do you think you're doing justice to Luo Dazhuang's tearful suicide note today, a declaration of your resolve to wake him up?!

Whom does he stand up for?

ridiculous.

He kept saying that his inner demons arose because of Nongdao, because of Ruixuetang, and because he was afraid that everyone would die! But he knew very well in his heart that what he feared most was that he himself would die!

It's fucking ridiculous. In everyone's eyes, he's a leader who can do anything, but deep down he's a selfish and petty person!

He's a cowardly coward to the core!

How ridiculous? !

Today, decades have passed, and all the people he cherished are dead, one by one, right before his eyes! Everything he treasured is crumbling away, and he has nothing left to lose, nothing left to fear!

Yes! My cousin is right!

In the end, isn't life just about dying? What's there to be afraid of?!

Even if Ruixuetang is completely destroyed, even if the agricultural system collapses, what is there to fear?!

Is he going to live with this humiliation for the rest of his life?

Why has this mere inner demon plagued him for decades, driving him to this point of being afflicted with illness?! Why?!

Is he going to remain stagnant forever?

Was he really going to die so hastily in his quiet room, to meet all those who died for him?! Was he going to imprison himself within his own inner demons?!

No! Absolutely not!!

A heartfelt cry suddenly erupted.

At that moment, Zhou's mental and physical nightmares melted away like ice and snow, and his mind became clear in an instant!

The gate to the sixth rank suddenly appeared before my eyes, loosening and vibrating, completely clearing away the pent-up frustration that had been weighing on my chest for many years!

With this thought in mind, the world becomes vast and boundless!

There is no road that cannot be traveled, no person that cannot be walked, no path that cannot be reached, no place that cannot be visited, and no door that cannot be opened!