TRYMBPIETM 151: When I went in the Past (33)

Thinking of his colleagues’ wariness toward Xing Shuangzhan and some of the odd prophetic ramblings, Daoist Du Ming only wanted to roll his eyes.

Out of respect for Xing Shuangzhan, he restrained the impulse, averted his gaze, and chose not to answer the question posed by Xing Shuangzhan.

Not far off, Luo Ting, Luo Huaiyu, and Cheng Shang, standing together, all wore slightly strange expressions.

They kept sizing up Xing Shuangzhan, their eyes full of confusion.

Daoist Du Ming was momentarily stunned.

He thought for a moment, then turned his gaze back and scrutinized Xing Shuangzhan carefully for a while, only to suddenly realize that this ghost king showed no signs of the dragon vein.

Even though his strength had returned to its peak, Xing Shuangzhan was still a fierce ghost, with no sign of integration with the dragon vein.

How could this be?!

Daoist Du Ming’s thoughts were in a brief state of confusion.

Luo Ting furrowed his brows and directly asked, “That dragon vein has already become very weak. Xing Su, you haven’t fused with the dragon vein, so what’s the current state of the dragon vein? Zhouzhou must have told you that the dragon vein must not dissipate.”

Luo Ting’s voice had some issues, sounding always quite hoarse.

When he slightly raised his voice now, it came with an almost interrogative tone.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t seem angry in the slightest.

He replied, “Don’t worry, the dragon vein will recover to normal soon. Fusing with the dragon vein is not the only solution.” He paused slightly, and his expression softened. “QingZhou had anticipated this and made arrangements in advance.”

Fusing with the dragon vein was the safest and most convenient method, but it didn’t mean that there were no other ways.

However, no matter what method, Xing Shuangzhan, as one of the people most closely connected to the dragon vein, had to participate.

Therefore, the one who led it all, Chi Qingzhou, gave the decision-making power to Xing Shuangzhan.

Whether to directly fuse with the dragon vein or put in more effort to repair it, it was all up to Xing Shuangzhan’s decision.

His only request for Xing Shuangzhan was that he must not forget him.

How could Xing Shuangzhan forget him?

Even in hallucinations, he could only feel anxious about “Chi Qingzhou’s” experience.

It was easy to imagine that with Xing Shuangzhan’s mindset, there could only be one choice—repair the dragon vein.

After all, the dragon vein identity was limited and could only remain near the mountain where the dragon vein was born.

Chi Qingzhou’s current work was as an artist, destined to travel all over the country. It was fine to let Xing Shuangzhan leave Chi Qingzhou for a few days, but long-term separation…

Don’t even think about it.

His love brain couldn’t stand this kind of grievance.jpg.

Xing Shuangzhan stood up, walked out of the coffin, and glanced coldly at Daoist Du Ming. He said, “Everything is done. You go do whatever you need to do. There’s no need to stay here any longer.”

Daoist Du Ming sensed carefully and asked, confused, “But I can’t sense the condition of the dragon vein. Mr. Xing, are you sure the dragon vein has been repaired?”

Cheng Shang and Luo Huaiyu also verified it in their own ways. They, too, doubted and said, “Indeed, we can’t communicate with the dragon vein. Xing Su, did you see the dragon vein being repaired? Without enough pure energy or spiritual energy, with the weakness of that dragon vein, repairing it would be almost impossible.”

The possibility of an unexpected event was higher than that the dragon vein had already been repaired.

Could it be that Xing Su actually didn’t escape the illusion’s trap and unknowingly fell for it?

Xing Shuangzhan raised an eyelid, his expression unchanged. “After the dragon vein is repaired, it still needs time to adapt. You don’t have to worry, it just needs to take a moment.”

As if to confirm his words, the next second, the shadow standing between heaven and earth suddenly bent down, extended its hands into the soil, clenched something, and pulled hard to the sides.

With a loud rumble, the ground shook.

Several fierce cracks appeared dozens of meters away from the Absolute Yin land and quickly spread along the mountainside.

The Absolute Yin land began to crack from the main tomb chamber, and soil and rubble fell down along the cracks. Everyone scrambled toward a safe place.

Some yelled “Earthquake!” while others screamed in panic.

Some were terrified but didn’t forget to ask those around them, “Did that shadow just move?”

The crowd became a chaotic mess, and the panic spread everywhere.

Daoist Du Ming and the others stabilized their bodies and didn’t pay attention to the commotion from the crew members.

Airflow surged from the crack in the Absolute Yin land, but there was no coldness from the yin or death energies; only freshness and gentleness.

“How could there be such pure energy here?”

A few murmured in confusion, but their expressions grew more and more excited.

Such pure energy meant that Xing Su hadn’t lied!

The dragon vein was likely truly repaired!

How was this accomplished?

The cracking of the Absolute Yin land hadn’t stopped, but the group had no mind to go elsewhere, their eyes focused solely on the cracks in the ground.

None dared look at the giant shadow, fearing they would lose their sanity.

But within their line of sight, a dragon-shaped phantom was being held up by something.

Its head and tail drooped downward, swaying in midair, yet it seemed to be in good condition.

The phantom was completely grabbed.

It swung its body, coiling around the shadow’s arm, its ethereal form rapidly solidifying.

The rain continued to fall, though the intensity had decreased a little.

The massive shadow almost filled the space between heaven and earth, slowly heading in the direction of Linxi Village.

It appeared so real, yet as it passed mountains and buildings, it didn’t touch them at all.

It was as if it existed on a different dimension, passing through everything, silently and unceasingly moving forward.

Chi Qingzhou turned his head and smiled lightly at the sight of his shadow carrying the dragon vein away.

After reconstructing time, he hadn’t rushed to bring the shadow back because he wanted to return the dragon vein to Linxi Village.

This dragon vein, forcibly taken by the ghost deity, had stayed under the Absolute Yin land for far too long, so weak that it had lost the ability to find the mountains and rivers on its own.

When the ghost deity set up the Wanying Temple in Linghe Village, it was for this.

Only by completely severing the connection between the dragon vein and Linxi Village’s mountains and rivers could he find a chance to replace it.

“Such a pity.” Chi Qingzhou quietly gazed at the shadow, his smile still innocent as ever, “All the schemes and calculations ended up costing you your life.”

…

The air seemed to grow fresher.

At the moment when the dragon vein was returned to Linxi Village, many cultivators subconsciously looked up toward the direction of Linxi Village.

The moonlight was brighter in the night, and the sun shone even more brilliantly during the day.

They didn’t know what was happening in Linxi Village, but they could feel that something had already taken place.

Without them noticing, the shattered statue they had destroyed earlier cracked again. After a few faint sounds, it crumbled into powder.

At the same time, deep in the mountains and forests of the PuLuo Clan’s territory.

An old stone statue, covered in vines and moss, suddenly cracked with a snap, a gap forming at its base.

Despite there being no external force acting on it, the cracks on the statue grew larger and more numerous, soon covering the entire statue like a spider’s web.

Tiny bits of dirt and moss fell off the statue, and the vines were pulled, creaking as they failed to continue binding the statue.

A nearly transparent figure suddenly appeared before the statue, slumping toward the ground.

The red robe brushed across the fallen leaves and grass, making the disheveled figure look even more wretched.

The figure, however, could not care about so much, quickly stabilizing its fading form, its handsome but slightly blurred face twisting abnormally.

It was filled with hatred, speaking in a confused manner: “What is Chi Qingzhou doing? What does Xing Su want? Lunatics!”

“I’ve already retreated to this point, I’ve already admitted my mistakes, and you are still not satisfied?!”

“To completely kill me, you even dare to abandon the dragon vein… lunatics, you’re no better than me!”

He was filled with rage, kneeling on the ground, his shoulders trembling incessantly with anger.

“Why not merge with the dragon vein? Abandoning the dragon vein, don’t you also have to bear the consequences?”

“Why only settle my karma, haven’t they made mistakes too!!”

Looking at the statue it had hidden, the final backup plan, slowly breaking apart, his pain reached its extreme.

He could not help but let out a long howl, crazily roaring and questioning like a beast.

The night wind blew through the mountains and forests, the leaves rustling.

This was the deepest part of the Puluo clan’s territory. Even the great shamans of the Puluo clan would rarely come here.

It was precisely for this reason that he had chosen this place as his final hiding spot.

Although he had great ambitions and was confident in his divination abilities, how could he not leave himself a backup?

He had also considered that if his plan failed, if he lost everything, how he should rise again. After repeated calculations and considerations, it chose the Puluo clan as he backup.

If one day he completely lost his followers and incense, unable to preserve his identity as a deity, then…

At least the Puluo clan still had ways to cultivate into ghost deities.

He could use the incense to elevate himself and naturally, he could find a way to turn himself into a ghost deity.

If that fool, Qu Feng, could do it, there was no reason he couldn’t.

He knew very well that if one day he truly lost the dragon vein and the incense offerings, then this matter would definitely have something to do with Chi Qingzhou and Xing Su.

Could these two watch as the dragon vein weakened to the point of extinction?

It was impossible.

Xing Su’s transformation to a ghost was special. The Great Tomb of Jingming Mountain itself was located near a dragon vein. To preserve the dragon vein of Linxi Village, his fusion with the dragon vein of Linxi Village was essentially a done deal.

As for it, even if him failed, after being entangled with the dragon vein of Linxi Village for so many years, wouldn’t it be easy to steal a little of Xing Su’s power to cover up his own existence?

But who could have thought that Xing Su was also a lunatic, not choosing to merge with the dragon vein.

“Cold-blooded and selfish! You people will stop at nothing to kill me!”

“I lost my power, I won’t fare well, but how much better will you be?”

“Watching a dragon vein perish, I don’t believe the heavenly law will let you off!”

The young man in the red robe cursed a few times, thinking about the backup plan he had hidden. Even without Xing Su’s power as cover, he would not be exposed for a while. His mood slightly improved.

He was considering where to go next to avoid Chi Qingzhou’s attention when the sound of a bell suddenly came from the distance.

He had a bad feeling.

He slowly turned his head. Between the massive trees, a young man was riding a white deer about two meters tall, walking towards him at a leisurely pace.

The young man wore layers of purple robes, holding a green jade compass, and his robes and sleeves were decorated with small silver bells, which rang as the white deer moved.

The red-robed youth’s face changed dramatically: “Green jade compass?! This thing was supposed to be in Cheng Shang’s hands!”

The young man in purple smiled faintly, and the white deer slowly stopped.

He responded in a tone very similar to Chi Qingzhou’s, answering joyfully: “Of course, that’s because the one in Ah Shang’s hands is fake. The one Chi Qingzhou entrusted to me actually is the real compass.”

The red-robed youth finally realized: “He knew I had other backups, he originally wanted to use this thing to find me!”

His voice unconsciously rose, trembling with fear, his expression twisted with a hint of madness.

“How could this happen? How could this happen! Isn’t he bad at divination?!”

Besides, his power had already been completely stripped away by Chi Qingzhou, and there was no medium to point to him. How did this compass find him?!

This is impossible!

Ah Lai sneered: “What’s impossible? After Chi Qingzhou discovered Qu Feng plotting against the Puluo clan, he guessed that you must have ulterior motives.”

“Besides, why do you think you don’t have a medium on you?”

He examined the figure of the red-robed youth, which had become very transparent, and the smile at the corners of his lips widened.

“When Qing Zhi borrowed your power to take away Bei Shen, do you guess why Chi Qingzhou didn’t investigate, even though he had the ability?”

Of course, it was because Chi Qingzhou took the opportunity to place a mark on the red-robed youth.

This mark had many uses: verifying the red-robed youth’s true identity, connecting the karma with the red-robed youth, using force to reverse the array…

But no matter what Chi Qingzhou used it for, its most important function was always tracking.

Ah Lai smiled, his lips curving: “Chi Qingzhou specifically asked me to make sure you die completely.”

“This mark and the compass in my hand were originally designed to track your final statue.”

The red-robed youth was filled with terror.

He instinctively took two steps back, wanting to run, but his soul had already weakened to the point where he could no longer move long distances.

He couldn’t help but scream: “I’m a deity! A ghost deity is still a god, you are one two, you have no right to kill me!”

Ah Lai’s expression softened.

He answered in a tone identical to Chi Qingzhou’s, gently: “I can. Didn’t you forget? The power you gained from faith and incense offerings has been completely stripped by Chi Qingzhou, you are just a ghost now and as a ghost deity, I naturally have the authority to judge ghosts.”

“Your karma should be settled.”

Ah Lai raised his hand, and the peach wood staff was bathed in moonlight, its silver edge gleaming.

The red-robed youth wanted to retreat, but his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

He collapsed in despair, howling for help, trying to explain, but even the right to speak was stripped away.

Amid the crisp sound of bells, he looked up at the bright moon, and countless light spots rose from his body, floating towards the heavens and the earth.

The red-robed youth completely dissipated.

A light breeze passed, carrying the spiritual energy that had escaped from him, bringing it back to the corners from which he had once extracted power.

Where it came from, it returned.

Ah Lai glanced back, the moon descended, and in the east, the first light of dawn began to rise.