Chapter 56: Because There Are No Gods Here Anymore

【You choose to explore the plot further.】

【The Zhenggang Sect is already in chaos; everywhere there are cultivators wearing robes with flame-like patterns, and on their faces hang Bronze Masks made to look like Rakshasas, as if they are searching for something.】

【You conceal your aura and notice movement behind you.】

【You do not say much, only glancing at Wang Qinghe who has followed you, revealing a hint of helplessness.】

【In truth, you have many words you wish to say, but at this moment, there is more of a sense of relief.】

【Her temperament is just like this.】

【From the very beginning, you knew clearly that Wang Qinghe would not sit idly by and watch your safety be threatened.】

【Wang Qinghe likewise says nothing; she holds your hand, her gaze meeting yours full of determination, and she quietly expresses her stance.】

【You understand her meaning.】

【Wang Qinghe clearly does not want to leave you here alone; she has decided to live and die with you. After settling Gu Shengxi and having her take the two younger brothers away, Wang Qinghe's intent is very clear: she simply wants to face everything together with you.】

【"All disciples, heed my command: form a formation to deal with these thieves who have broken into our Zhenggang Sect."】

【Qingyangzi, who should have been confined in the Enforcement Tower for reflection, has now been released by the guards of the Zhenggang Sect.】

【Rules are set by people, and as long as they are set by people, they are never set in stone.】

【After several years of confinement and reflection, the injuries on Qingyangzi's body have long since recovered, but that vigorous and resolute temperament of his from back then remains unchanged.】

【As soon as he emerges, he immediately calls upon the surrounding disciples to stop the chaos and face the great enemy together.】

【But it is clear that the other side came prepared.】

【After Qingyangzi briefly leads the Zhenggang Sect's counterattack, he quickly draws the attention of the opposition.】

【The momentum he just built up is swiftly suppressed. Not only that, but under the siege, he is immediately severed of half an arm, losing his sword-wielding hand.】

【Barely supporting his broken body, Qingyangzi shouts sternly: "Quickly go and find my master."】

Gu Jiangming shakes his head.

There is no need to look.

In the current situation, if Qingyangzi's master, Zhang Xuanjun, remains in seclusion and does not come out, then there are only two possibilities.

Either he is already dead, or he is not on the same side as the Zhenggang Sect.

However, Gu Jiangming cannot stand idly by and watch this scene; the more Zhenggang Sect disciples remain, the more room he has to understand the truth and even find an opportunity for his own survival.

【"Qingyangzi, why bother? You are also a famous figure in the Zhenggang Sect; come with us, and we won't harm a hair on your head."】

【On the body of this man in the flame robe are carved three water wave patterns like reliefs, which are somewhat different from the rest of the invading enemy forces. The Bronze Mask on his face is more exquisite, clearly indicating he holds a significant position among this group.】

【"Your Excellency is a dignified Transformation Stage peak expert; you should not be a nobody in the Nine Provinces. Why do you not dare to show your true face and instead act like a faceless rat?" Qingyangzi is blunt and cannot hide his sarcasm.】

【"Hmph." The man only sneers, "We will eventually usher in a new order; before that, what does a little bit of fame matter?"】

【"Oh—"】

【"Your Zhenggang Sect actually still has experts?"】

【A sudden gale arrives, and a sword sweeps across the sky. The man only feels a slight chill at his neck, and in that instant, he faintly sees a beam of light.】

【It is sword light.】

【This lightning-fast sword radiance flashes, reflecting in the depths of Gu Jiangming's pitch-black eyes, and a sword intent that is 'not me yet like me', arrogant and self-admiring, condenses in an instant.】

【"This level of sword intent? Impossible?!"】

【Gu Jiangming raises his hand, and a Flying Sword hangs in the air.】

【"Having attained the Dao for a hundred autumns, I have never used a Flying Sword to take a head."】

【"You are the first person to witness this sword intent."】

【When Qingyangzi sees this sudden flash of sword light, he sees the flame-robed man who was standing proudly just a moment ago already severed in two by this Flying Sword!!!】

【That soaring sword intent seems to be enjoying the cicadas of Heaven and Earth.】

【And Gu Jiangming only glances lightly at Qingyangzi before sprinting toward the direction of the Zhenggang Sect's Zhenwu Main Hall, leaving Qingyangzi behind, still dumbfounded in place.】

【He had never seen Gu Jiangming's sword.】

【Just seeing it for the first time, he witnessed such a terrifying scene.】

【Is this his swordsmanship?!】

【Just at this moment, the figure of Yi Lezhi appears by Gu Jiangming's side.】

【"There is a secret passage in the Second Senior Brother's cave dwelling that can lead us out. I will draw them away first; you wait for me there." Yi Lezhi endures the pain in her body and grinds her teeth, saying: "Lu Zhiyao is one of them; remember to be careful when you see him."】

"What exactly is going on?" Even with all his curiosity, Gu Jiangming can only suppress it for now.

【You follow Yi Lezhi's suggestion and head to the cave dwelling where Zhang Xuanjun is in seclusion.】

【Here, there are layers of barriers and arrays to prevent outsiders from disturbing the seclusion of the person inside. Judging by the signs of the arrays, it is clear that other disciples had previously tried to seek Zhang Xuanjun's help, but unfortunately, they received no response.】

【You raise your Flying Sword and, borrowing the peerless sharpness of the sword intent, cut an opening to enter, exploring inside together with Wang Qinghe.】

【After exploring for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, you finally reach the depths of the cave dwelling.】

【You find the skeletal remains of Zhang Xuanjun, who has passed away.】

【In front of him, a line of text is left behind.】

【"Five hundred years of seeking the Dao, never taking a step forward. Sigh, regret, pain..."】

【Below it are hundreds of words of heartfelt thoughts regarding the Dao and cognition.】

Gu Jiangming looks at the information left by Zhang Xuanjun; the other party concluded that for a cultivator at the Enlightenment Stage to advance from Enlightenment to the Feathering Stage is not as simple as ordinary realm accumulation.

His guess is: either passing the test of the Inner Demon within the cultivator's heart, or inciting the Heaven and Earth to undergo tribulation to temper the physical body and advance further, or taking a shortcut through the theory of Merit, or perhaps like gods receiving faith, transforming into a new god of this realm.

Numerous cultivation methods are listed one by one in Zhang Xuanjun's last words.

The final four words left behind seem to carry doubt and self-questioning—【Heaven and Earth Enlightenment】.

【You have obtained Zhang Xuanjun's true inheritance technique—"Dao Heart Evil Birth".】

Another golden-quality technique.

But what use is a gold-quality cultivation technique to me at a time like this?

【You put away this cultivation technique, and before long, the sound of panting arises, and the figure of Yi Lezhi appears.】

【You hurriedly step forward to ask about the reason for her arrival.】

【To prevent any accidents, you preemptively channel Spirit Qi to irrigate Yi Lezhi's meridians and Qi Sea, using up the Spiritual Medicine for treating wounds one by one.】

You brat, you're a transmigrator too, right?

Your mind is so meticulous?

Are you deathly afraid of encountering a riddle-monger?

Gu Jiangming suddenly thought of a hint from 【Mie Changsheng】 earlier: his arrival is through his own consciousness, and every Reincarnation is Gu Jiangming himself.

And he himself is actually a transmigrator.

Then, logically speaking, there shouldn't be any Reincarnation or past life of his own in this world.

If that's the case, is there a possibility that in every Reincarnation, to correct the incompleteness of this Reincarnation, his own true self was sent back into the long river of history as a transmigrator?

In fact, there are many ways to test this possibility; assuming the person currently in Reincarnation is his true self, then if the Gu Jiangming in reality is harmed, the self projected into the past would be harmed.

As for the self projected into the Reincarnation not feeding back damage to reality, that is because the self in the Reincarnation has already become a past life; since it is a past life, how could it possibly harm his current self in the slightest?

If this viewpoint holds water, then the bridge of faith between Long Xi and him can never be broken.

Because the person who established the relationship between deity and Believer is Gu Jiangming himself, not the him in the Reincarnation.

After a brief moment of hesitation, the content on the screen does not stop at all along with Gu Jiangming's train of thought.

【"That bunch of lunatics, they actually harbor the delusion of becoming new deities, rebuilding order, and bringing Great Harmony to Heaven and Earth."】

【You have obtained the information for the first act of this Reincarnation.】

Gu Jiangming's line of thought suddenly clears up following this sentence.

In myths where Chinese civilization is the carrier, the ancients never granted deities absolute authority over humans, because the starting point of Chinese mythology is always humans.

Humans are the true protagonists in this Heaven and Earth.

The intention to become a god is by no means accidental.

Gu Jiangming recalls the content left behind by Zhang Xuanjun.

For the Enlightenment Stage to advance further, he believed there were two most likely directions: one is the path of achieving 【Heaven and Earth Enlightenment】, but 【Heaven and Earth Enlightenment】 is just like a sword cultivator spontaneously realizing their own unique sword intent, which is already very rare in the current world.

Another speculated direction is to replace the deities.

Clearly, someone is attempting to do just that.

But unfortunately.

They did not succeed either.

Because there are no gods here anymore.

Before Gu Jiangming could digest more information.

A voice softly arises.

【"Junior Nephew Gu, Junior Nephew Wang, I know you are here, be careful... Senior Sister Yi is from the Taiyi Sect... She is a traitor, she is the one who altered the sect's grand formation..."】

【Coughing sounds, followed by the sound of vomiting blood.】

【This is the voice of Lu Zhiyao.】

【Wang Qinghe's expression changes slightly, and you reach out to make a gesture for silence.】

【You signal for Yi Lezhi to quickly take them out through the secret passage.】

【Seeing Gu Jiangming's trusting gaze, Yi Lezhi feels a sense of relief, and she cautiously walks toward the direction of the secret passage.】

【Meanwhile, Lu Zhiyao, who has walked to the side of Zhang Xuanjun's corpse, wears a somber expression; he glances at the handwriting on the ground and observes some disturbed soil and dust.】

【He immediately raises his hand to set up a formation and divine ability with this place as the center.】

【"Want to leave?"】

【"Too late."】

(End of this chapter)