Chapter 176: My name is Li Changgeng! He also has the surname Zhang

Like the Lord of Demons descending from the heavens, he is truly the God of the Grand Year among men.

Incense is profound and mysterious, concealing the thoughts of all living beings. To pay respects to immortals and gods is not something mortals can easily touch; seeing it, one feels awe, and one must bow one's head.

Yet, at this moment, that heaven-piercing will and inexhaustible soul-aspect were the most ferocious in the world. Seeing gods, he did not avoid them; even if he had to let the incense drift beyond the heavens, he would still touch it to transform into a god-demon.

"How is this possible!?"

The voices of Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang emerged simultaneously from that body, permeated with deep shock. Their trembling gazes stared fixedly at the slowly reviving Zhang Fan, their pupils filled with incredulity.

To often stain one's physical body with incense, yet still be able to return to clarity!?

"You... who exactly are you!?" Qi Delong exclaimed, losing his voice.

In his eyes, Zhang Fan was merely a disciple of the True Martial Mountain who had entered the Immortal-Imprisoning Temple by chance and coincidence, just like the Liu brothers; he had never taken him to heart.

But at this moment, this proud son of heaven from Mount Laojun was thoroughly moved. Even with his own cultivation and talent, he would not dare to touch incense casually, let alone force incense into a mortal body; the chaotic thoughts would be enough to drag his soul-aspect into the Great Night of No Light...

That was one of the calamities that cultivators feared most.

"He has not yet escaped the calamity, yet he can be this ferocious!?"

Waves rose in Lin Jianyue's heart, difficult to calm. The gaze she directed at Zhang Fan was filled with a trace of incomprehension amidst its trembling.

The God-Demon Sacred Fetus must enter the Great Night of No Light. To have not yet escaped the calamity, yet to be recultivating, was already inconceivable; that he could also be this ferocious was simply unbelievable.

This seemed somewhat different from what she knew of the 【God-Demon Sacred Fetus】.

"Incense conceals profound mysteries; it truly is the medicine of immortals."

At this moment, Zhang Fan murmured softly, a pair of eyes revealing an unprecedented brightness.

Thoughts are the most wonderful power in the human world, and also the calamity that cultivators fear most.

Even these false, empty ten thousand things and ten thousand phenomena are constructed from the thoughts of the masses.

Everything tangible in the human world must first have had a thought before the cause and effect of birth and death could be knotted.

For example, the ancients wanted to keep warm, so there was fire; they wanted a place to shelter their bodies, so there were nests; they wanted a method of recording, so there were characters...

Everything is created by the mind, and all realms turn according to the mind.

Once a thought arises, there must be a result, and it will be produced in every imaginable and unimaginable form, ignoring time and space.

The most critical thing is that thoughts influence one another.

For example, if you believe you will get rich, you will certainly get rich; but once you become confused or doubtful because of setbacks, that result will be influenced.

This is the limitation of the masses; they cannot control their own thoughts. Even the innate soul-aspect is obscured and sunk by chaotic thoughts, struggling only within these empty phenomena.

Precisely because of this, whether it is the Daoist Sect or the Buddhist Sect, they all believe that this world is empty, false, and void. Only by brushing aside the cause and effect and false phenomena produced by countless thoughts can one see the one and only true nature.

That is the Pure Yang Realm; that is the Dao of Immortals.

Incense conceals the purest thoughts of all living beings.

Its power is naturally profound, and its power is naturally vast!!!

Boom—

At this moment, that cloud and mist, resembling flames, floated at Zhang Fan's dantian, slowly sinking into his body. Within the inner landscape of his soul-aspect, the sound of heavy chains colliding echoed.

"He who steals is a thief."

Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang's brows jumped wildly, and they roared in shock. Although incense is dangerous, it also produces wonders; this is a supreme treasure of the Daoist Sect, a great medicine of immortals. How could he watch the duck that had come to hand fly away?

At almost the same moment, Lin Jianyue also had the same thought. The great experts from two different camps unexpectedly turned their guns toward Zhang Fan in unison.

Boom—

Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang's 【Soul-Aspect Fusion Great Art】 was mysterious and exquisite. The two soul-aspects merged into one, resembling a chaotic hole, deep and bottomless, pressing down toward Zhang Fan.

At the same time, Lin Jianyue no longer hid her secrets. Her soul-aspect left her body, unexpectedly producing an outer landscape. Within a dim, ancient hall, a bright moon seemed to rise; the moon seen over the vast sea pressed horizontally across the void.

The two soul-aspects emitted terrifying fluctuations, making the Liu brothers' eyes tremble in shock, not daring to cross the line of thunder by even half a step. Compared to these two soul-aspects, they were like the light of fireflies, swaying in the wind, about to be extinguished.

"Brother..."

"The successor of Mount Laojun, the Rabbit of the Thirteen Zodiacs... these two are both the absolute best of the present day... no wonder... no wonder..." Liu Xingchui gritted his teeth and said.

Under the pressure of those two soul-aspects, his thoughts could not even function. It was as if he saw a chaotic abyss, and again as if he saw that bright moon over the vast sea, forgetting himself, unable to control himself.

"Sigh, you have even united against a common enemy."

Just at this moment, a long, lingering sigh fell slowly, like a lake of autumn water stained with frost across the sky.

Boom—

Suddenly, the entire great hall seemed to darken. The heavens sank, and the earth sank. The world had no light. Where was there any chaotic abyss? Where was there any bright moon over the vast sea...

It was nothing but that eternal black night, nothing but that Great Night of No Light!!! "This... what is this?"

The voices of Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang emerged simultaneously from that body. Their eyes were wide open, filled with bloodshot veins, revealing disbelief, concealing fear and horror...

At this moment, their soul-aspects seemed to have fallen into a boundless void, aimless, with only darkness accompanying them.

Such loneliness was like being banished. There was no longer any light. Where was there any Dao cultivation? Where was there any immortality? What remained was only despair, only annihilation...

One day, their soul-aspects would also be buried in this endless darkness, just like the corpses buried in the yellow sand, sealed by time, with no one to ask after them.

What they had always believed in, what they had always been firm about... at this moment, could only become a foil to the endless darkness. The mockery and ridicule of fate echoed across the sky.

"Older brother..."

"Younger brother..."

In the endless black night, the voices of Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang rang out slowly. They could no longer see each other, but they could feel each other's existence, just like the state when they were fetuses in the womb. They looked at each other, devouring each other, until finally, only this one body remained...

I am in you, and you are in me. The fear under destruction could only turn into numbness.

"No wonder... no wonder the Pig of the Zodiac fell into his hands..."

At this moment, a voice seemed to be echoing in Lin Jianyue's heart. She was trembling, her mind almost cracking. Before her eyes, it seemed dark and vast, an eternal dark night, but she could feel that in this endless darkness, a behemoth seemed to be hidden, looking down at them from a very high place with an indifferent posture.

Such condescension gave her a sense of powerlessness she had never felt before.

"The great trend is already formed!?" Lin Jianyue thought suddenly.

The Zhang Fan before her was simply a different person from the Zhang Fan in the intelligence she had obtained.

"Brother..."

In the distance, the Liu brothers were like outsiders, but they had a different feeling.

In their eyes, on the altar, Zhang Fan stood motionless, staring intently at the statue of the 【Three-Corpse Daoist Lord】, while Qi Delong, Qi Dongqiang, and Lin Jianyue, who had been arrogant just a moment ago, were kneeling to the side, as if paying respects to a god, not moving at all.

Their eyes were ethereal, numb as if they had lost their souls.

Boom—

At this time, that cloud of smoke resembling flames had long been collected by Zhang Fan, entrenched in his soul-aspect dantian.

In the deepest part of his soul-aspect's inner landscape, the mysterious fluctuation became more and more surging, like a river and sea churning, with giant waves reaching the sky. A heavy chain shot out from within, reaching straight into that incense, slowly wriggling, and beginning to absorb it.

Zhang Fan's soul-aspect was moved, wanting to cut off the connection between the two.

However, that incense seemed to have spirituality, surging toward the inner landscape of his soul-aspect involuntarily.

"The God-Demon Sacred Fetus truly has profound mysteries. Not having entered that realm, yet able to harvest great thoughts as medicine..."

Suddenly, that mysterious voice came from the deepest part of his soul-aspect's inner landscape, permeated with a trace of depth and fatigue, as if absorbing the power of incense was also extremely special for it.

"It's just that this kind of power is still too early for you. Keep it; it will have great use in the future..."

"Your path ahead will certainly be filled with calamities."

"Calamities... that is the great medicine of immortality..." The mysterious voice gradually fell silent. It only absorbed half of the incense's power, still leaving the other half for Zhang Fan.

That cloud of smoke resembling flames shrank quite a bit, entrenched at the dantian of Zhang Fan's soul-aspect, as if falling into a deep sleep, yet still emitting unusual fluctuations.

"Is it merely a nascent consciousness?"

Zhang Fan's soul-aspect looked into the depths of the void inner landscape, falling into deep thought.

The various actions of that consciousness made him puzzled. Logically speaking, a merely nascent consciousness would not have any subjective behavior or judgment...

Screech... screech... screech...

Just at this moment, a high-pitched cry suddenly resounded, spreading throughout the Immortal-Imprisoning Temple, exerting pressure on Falling Glow Mountain.

"This is a crane's cry!?"

Zhang Fan woke up suddenly. He looked toward the depths of the Immortal-Imprisoning Temple, and a strong sense of unease could not help but rise in his heart...

That was an unprecedented sense of crisis. In the dark, it seemed destined.

"Jiang Lai..."

Boom—

Zhang Fan's gaze sank. He took a step out, not even caring about Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang, not caring about Lin Jianyue, not caring about the Liu brothers...

At this moment, he vaguely felt that something truly extraordinary had arrived in this Daoist temple.

Immortal-Imprisoning Temple, Hall of No Law.

This was the most inconspicuous side hall in the depths of the Immortal-Imprisoning Temple.

"No Law" does not mean lawless.

On a stone tablet in front of the hall, it was written: "Ten thousand laws are originally non-existent, naturally there is no law; if there is no law, how can one seek the law, and how can there be law?"

Inside the side hall, the candle holders on the walls were lit with the firelight of dusk, illuminating the small side hall.

At this moment, a beautiful figure stood under the shrine at the very top. Her short hair reached her shoulders, and her temperament was ethereal. It was none other than Jiang Lai, who had been missing for a long time.

On the shrine was a small iron box, extremely inconspicuous, yet sealed with talismans. On the wall hung a scroll, but it was covered with yellow silk cloth.

Jiang Lai stood in front of the shrine, looking at the portrait on the wall, as if thinking.

"If one can comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth, one will naturally have the supernatural power to imprison immortals and gods... Is this the place where the Three-Corpse Daoist practiced?"

Just at this moment, a light and slow voice came from behind her. One could not tell if it was a man or a woman, one could not hear if it was angry or happy; it was natural, just like the sound of the wind, just like the sound of the rain, originally existing, harmonious and lingering, making one feel happy and comfortable to hear.

Jiang Lai turned around to look. I do not know when, but a strange young man had appeared in this side hall.

His appearance could not be called handsome, but his temperament was otherworldly, like a banished immortal, especially those bright eyes, resembling stars in the sky, making one unable to move their gaze away once they saw them.

His hair was gathered up, combed into a Daoist bun, and he wore plain clothes, as if he were a Daoist priest practicing in the mountains in ancient times.

"Who are you?" Jiang Lai asked in a condensed voice.

"I heard that the Three-Corpse Daoist practiced in closed-door meditation here in those years, had great opportunities, and finally achieved 【Three-Corpse Illumination】..." The young man said to himself, slowly walking to the front of the shrine, standing side by side with Jiang Lai, also looking up at the scroll covered by yellow silk on the wall.

"My name is Li Changgeng!!"

"I know you."

There was not a ripple on Jiang Lai's face. After a brief silence, she whispered in a condensed voice.

"You have practiced 【Heaven and Earth Seizing Luck】, so you are the protagonist of this era."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Li Changgeng could not help but turn his head and look at Jiang Lai, only then beginning to examine her seriously.

"You know quite a lot."

"Luck... luck has ups and downs, and trends have heights and lows. If a person can seize the luck of heaven and earth, they must bear the trend of the universe..." Jiang Lai said lightly.

"Such a person is the protagonist of this era."

"This trip was not in vain."

Li Changgeng looked at Jiang Lai, the brilliance in his bright eyes becoming more and more intense, like the brightest star in the northern extreme sky.

"There is no such thing as a person without a soul-aspect in this world. There was none before, there is none now, and there will be none in the future..." Li Changgeng whispered in a condensed voice.

"You are not a human!"

"Are you scolding someone?" Jiang Lai asked.

Li Changgeng shook his head: "You are really not a human."

"What is a human?" Jiang Lai asked in return.

"The soul-aspect is innate. What is innate? Before the human body is formed, the soul-aspect is already there... Cultivation is merely borrowing that false body to cultivate the true self..."

As he spoke, Li Changgeng looked at Jiang Lai.

"Since you have no soul-aspect, then who is the true self in this body?"

With just this one sentence, he entered the original heart.

Jiang Lai remained silent, looking at the scroll covered by yellow silk on the wall, murmuring: "Cultivate the true self, and then what?"

As the words fell, Li Changgeng was stunned for a moment.

"Everyone is cultivating, just to not waste this limited time." There was not a ripple on Jiang Lai's face; she seemed to be talking to herself.

"They all know that no one can cultivate that so-called true self."

"Long cultivation is just waiting, waiting for the oil to run out and the lamp to dry..."

As she spoke, a trace of sadness appeared on Jiang Lai's face, which rarely had expressions: "I have also waited for a long time."

"You are indeed very interesting. Someone once said such words before." Li Changgeng said lightly.

"Who?" Jiang Lai asked.

"The Three-Corpse Daoist." Li Changgeng said lightly.

As an existence holding the reins of the Daoist Sect, I am afraid there is no one in this world who understands this former number one expert in the world better than the 【Bai He Temple】.

Every trace of his existence in this world, every statement... was recorded and hidden deeply by the Bai He Temple as a taboo.

In the eyes of the Bai He Temple, the Three-Corpse Daoist was a dream of the Daoist Sect, a nightmare.

Now, this nightmare has already awakened.

"Three-Corpse..."

This name seemed to touch Jiang Lai, but it caused a ripple in her eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well.

"Small talk ends here. Come with me."

Li Changgeng's tone changed suddenly, and the words he said seemed natural and logical.

A woman without a soul-aspect naturally had some value in Li Changgeng's eyes; it was not in vain that he had made this trip himself.

"Go with you? Impossible..." Jiang Lai shook her head and whispered.

"There is nothing impossible in this world..."

"Just like no one would have thought that this former number one expert in the world... he also has the surname Zhang!"

Li Changgeng's gaze condensed slightly, looking at the dim ancient hall, but a clear breeze rose around his body, blowing up those plain clothes.

(End of chapter)