The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

As if it were a dream, it took Huo Qing'e a long time to come back to her senses when she stepped onto the ground again.

Although she spent less than a day in the Heavenly Realm, her experiences there were enough to drastically overturn her worldview and values.

"Wasn't all of that a dream?"

Taking a deep breath, Huo Qing'e turned her head to look at Shi Bai, who was staring blankly at a phoenix-shaped jade pendant in his hand.

"Did we... really go to the Heavenly Realm before?"

"Why would I lie to you? By the way, you should have met your idol, He Xiangu, by now, right?"

Shi Bai put away the phoenix-shaped jade pendant that Xiao Xi had given him before he left the Heavenly Realm, then reached down and took the Eastern Emperor Bell off his head before turning to look at the other person.

"So, what are your thoughts on this trip to the Celestial Realm?"

"...They all said I could never become an immortal, even the immortal He Xiangu, whom I admire, said the same thing to me."

Hugging her knees, Huo Qing'e sat down under the tree and remained silent for a long time.

“I failed the test. They said that if I embark on the path of cultivation, I will only bring disaster to the world in the end.”

"Oh? What kind of test?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shi Bai looked up at the moonlight through the gaps in the leaves, calculating the time in his mind as he asked the other person a question.

"Psychological test".

Huo Qing'e's face remained expressionless.

“They used Taoist methods to test me and found that I had done too many wrong things in the past, things that were completely evil. They warned me that if I did not start to correct myself from now on, I would go to hell to receive cruel punishment after I die… But I don’t understand.”

Huo Qing'e raised her head.

"All I did was try to survive. Is it wrong to fight tooth and nail to survive? Yes, I've been using people. Yes, I'll do anything to fill my stomach. Yes, I've deceived people's feelings to achieve my goals... But so what!?"

Having been cooped up in the Heavenly Realm for too long, Huo Qing'e was unusually excited, and her voice grew louder and louder.

"I never thought I did anything wrong!!"

"If you didn't do anything wrong, then you didn't do anything wrong. Why are you yelling so loudly?"

Shi Bai reached out and picked at his ear, then rolled his eyes in a speechless manner.

"So what are you trying to say to me?"

"...Will you abandon me?"

After a moment of silence, Huo Qing'e lowered her head and clenched her fists tightly.

“My nature is evil, and it is impossible for me to be…”

"It's just pure selfishness. It's understandable in your previous situation, but people who haven't experienced the lowest levels of society can never truly understand the sorrow of those living at the bottom."

Shi Bai's face remained noncommittal.

"I don't consider character when I accept students; I only look at fate. There's still a lot you need to learn."

Shi Bai casually tossed the Donghuang Bell, which had been transformed back into a worn and ancient bronze bell, in front of the other person, then turned and walked towards the trade route under the moonlight.

"Pack your bags, it's time to go."

"........."

Looking at the figure in white, as white as snow under the moonlight, she remained silent for a while before picking up the bronze bell from the ground and stuffing it into her bag. Then, she silently followed behind the other person.

Under the moonlit sky, their shadows stretched long behind them, and the nameless legend that would be passed down for nearly a thousand years began its quiet journey on this moonlit night.

..................................................................

As the sun rises, the soft light of dawn spills across the earth.

Although it was still early morning, atop a lush mountain peak, there were already signs of a figure moving about.

In front of two bamboo houses built entirely of green bamboo, after completing her morning practice as required by her teacher, Huo Qing'e went to the mountain spring to fetch water as usual and began to meticulously prepare breakfast.

Wisps of smoke rose with the wind and then quietly blended into the morning mist in the mountains.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, everything vanishes like smoke.

Three years have passed since the day I ran away from my wedding.

In those three years, she traveled to countless places with her teacher, experienced countless things, witnessed countless joys and sorrows of the world, and understood countless human relationships.

But looking back, it feels like it was just yesterday.

Her teacher seemed to have a penchant for famous mountains and rivers. Over the course of three years, he took her to countless famous mountains, and most of the time was spent practicing in the mountains.

Perhaps it was because she had lived in the mountains for so long that she had developed a transcendent and otherworldly aura, and her cultivation was progressing by leaps and bounds, as if she were a genius in the path of cultivation... But she knew very well that she was not.

If she were a genius in cultivation, she wouldn't have wanted to marry into the Huo family to secure her future. Instead of calling herself a genius, she should talk about what her teacher did for her.

She had wondered why her teacher would stay at a famous mountain for a few days or months whenever he visited, but when she asked, she only received a perfunctory answer.

People follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature.

Those who benefit all things without contention, and who emulate the highest good like water, should naturally draw closer to nature.

Although she had been cultivating for the past three years, she still didn't quite understand what her teacher had said to her.

Just as she was lost in thought about these things, the bamboo door was pushed open with a creaking sound, and a yawning figure walked out of the bamboo house.

Logically speaking, even someone like her, who has achieved some level of cultivation, would not feel so tired even if she didn't sleep all night. However, her teacher always seemed to be tired.

"good morning teacher."

Although she had many questions in her mind, Huo Qing'e managed to control her curiosity very well. After seeing her teacher finally come out, she stood up respectfully.

"Ha... Good morning."

Shi Bai waved casually, yawned, and then sat down at the table.

Seeing this, Huo Qing'e understood and served the breakfast she had prepared to herself, then sat down at the table as well.

While her culinary skills couldn't compare to her teacher's, after receiving careful guidance, although there was still a significant gap, her cooking skills were already quite good.

—At least in Shi Bai's opinion, Huo Qing'e's cooking skills have surpassed those of a succubus.

After returning to the Celestial Realm and obtaining some essential materials and items, he began to work on his plan. The first step was to inscribe dragon veins in various mountains and rivers, with the Divine Continent as the center.

Cutting off the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is not something that can be done simply by talking about it. If all the complicated steps were listed out one by one, it would drive anyone crazy. So he chose the simplest and most violent and direct method.

The dragon vein is inscribed in the shape of mountains and rivers, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish its essence, and then the ten divine artifacts of China are used to suppress the major key nodes of the dragon vein.

This method is the simplest and most direct. The only difficulty is that the executor must be strong enough to withstand the load of the dragon vein's operation. It can be said that it was tailor-made for him.

In the short term, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth will surge due to the dragon vein, especially around the dragon vein, which is an excellent cultivation ground comparable to the heavenly realm.

It was precisely for this reason that Huo Qing'e, who had always been by his side, was able to make rapid progress in her cultivation. However, due to the increasingly dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth around the dragon vein, some extremely powerful spirit beasts or monsters were also born.

After a moment's thought, Shi Bai left the situation alone and even made some small arrangements for the future, such as inserting the twelve zodiac talismans into the body of a newly sentient spirit beast...

For a long time to come, as time goes by, the dragon vein will gradually become the hub connecting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If the dragon vein is severed at that time, the requirement of severing the connection between heaven and earth and cutting off the spiritual energy of heaven and earth can be perfectly achieved.

As the spiritual energy of heaven and earth disappears, the traces of monsters will gradually vanish, and the miracles of the gods will also disappear. Although some strong people will still emerge among humans, in an environment where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is scarce, it is impossible for them to become immortals who can ascend to immortality.

Mystery will gradually fade, and science will begin to get back on track.

As time goes on, this situation will become increasingly serious, until the tales of gods and monsters are reduced to mere idle chatter...

Of course, this happened a long time later.

Even setting aside the fact that the dragon vein has not yet been fully inscribed, it will still take at least several hundred years from the time the dragon vein is formed until it is severed from the connection between heaven and earth.

Since Shi Bai's plan had been laid out for thousands of years, he didn't really care about it. After all, for an immortal being like him, time was just a number.

"How's your cultivation going lately?"

After finishing breakfast, Shi Bai gently tapped his slightly sleepy head with his fingers and asked Huo Qing'e in front of him a question.

Although he has been busy searching for a suitable location to inscribe the dragon vein for the past few years, he still takes his third student seriously in teaching him.

"Teacher, I have mastered dozens of Taoist techniques. Would you like me to demonstrate them all to you one by one?"

It was a rare opportunity for Huo Qing'e to encounter her own teacher checking her progress in cultivation, so she immediately perked up.

"Now, even if I were to face those monsters, I would have the strength to fight them!!"

"Hmm... just show us the Taoist technique you think is the most powerful right now."

With one hand supporting his head on the table, Shi Bai nodded after thinking for a moment.

He didn't actually know much about Taoist arts, since learning them would be useless to him; there was no need to lose the big picture for small gains. So, the other party was self-taught in Taoist arts. He usually taught the other party to practice Kaioken, Kamehameha, Cosmo, and so on...

For example, one could train one's physical strength by carrying the impact of the waterfall while standing under it; one could train one's physical defense by wielding a metal rod and performing a lightning-attracting dance on a mountaintop during thunderstorms; one could train one's willpower by standing on a five-meter-high wooden stake during the hottest part of the day... Someone confidently told Huo Qing'e that as long as she could persevere, she would definitely be able to transform into a Super Saiyan and destroy the Earth with one blow, at which point she could go anywhere, anywhere, in the sky or on the ground.

Unfortunately, Huo Qing'e showed considerable resistance to these things, so someone's plan to cultivate the martial arts-oriented Lady Qing'e was aborted halfway before it even began.

Shi Bai had no way to deal with this.

Even though he considered the other party's situation and suggested starting by learning from the very beginning, such as the Rising Dragon Strike of Mount Lu and the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the other party resolutely refused.

Why can't young people these days endure hardship?

Maybe if you listen to me and practice, you can not only transform into a Super Saiyan and unlock your cosmos, but you might even unlock the fifth-order gene lock and become invincible...

After that, Huo Qing'e gave up the idea of ​​learning Taoist arts from her teacher, who was determined to make friends through fists and engage in passionate martial arts, and instead began to study Taoist arts on her own.

Over the course of several years, they traveled almost all over the land of China. They also encountered some reclusive Taoist sects or individuals in some deep mountains. Therefore, Huo Qing'e had quite a few Taoist manuals, enough for her to explore.

As for what magical Taoist techniques she actually discovered by studying and exploring these Taoist manuals...

Looking at Huo Qing'e, who had used a strange chisel to cut a hole in the wall outside his bamboo house and crawled inside, Shi Bai turned his head away expressionlessly.

"Teacher, how was it? Isn't my Taoist magic amazing!?"

Huo Qing'e, her face beaming with excitement, rushed out of his bamboo house as he pushed open the door.

"This is a Taoist technique that I researched and explored on my own; I created it all by myself!!"

“…Very, very good.”

Shi Bai glanced at the bamboo wall that had healed, not wanting to say anything to discourage the other party, and nodded with a slightly stiff expression.

So what exactly is your purpose in developing this Taoist technique that allows you to pass through walls?

"Not only that, I can pass through anything. The harder the surface, the easier it is to make a hole; the softer the surface, the harder it is to make a hole. Even walls made of diamonds and gold are the same."

Huo Qing'e nodded confidently.

"There is no hole under heaven that I cannot open!!"

Shi Bai: "..."

P.S.: Day of Mourning, please observe a moment of silence.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Shi Bai's Daughter

Faced with Huo Qing'e's research on the art of passing through walls, Shi Bai remained silent for a long time.

After all, he was supposed to be a dignified evil immortal, but the Taoist techniques he painstakingly researched turned into digging holes and drilling into walls without any regard for his image... Is this really okay?

The fact that the hole dug in the wall would disappear quickly reminded him of some very bad... doujinshi.

Are you sure you can make a hole anywhere?

Shi Bai pressed his forehead with his hand and sighed with a hint of helplessness, then turned his gaze to the small chisel in the other person's hand.

"Yes, the harder the surface, the easier it is to drive, and the softer the surface, the harder it is to drive. It all depends on that."

Nodding, Huo Qing'e placed the strange little chisel in her hand on the table.

"This is a tool I made to open the wall; it's just a vessel."

"Then try this."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai took out a box from his storage ring and then built a wall about half a meter high on the ground using bedrock.

"Ok."

Although she didn't know why her teacher would suddenly make such a strange request, Huo Qing'e nodded and picked up a chisel to start digging into the wall.

A moment later, looking at Huo Qing'e emerging from the excavated bedrock, Shi Bai was speechless.

It was bedrock, after all, but Huo Qing'e dug it out as easily as tofu. It seems she was right when she said that the harder the material, the easier it is to dig... So this is completely illogical!