Chapter 204: Who Are You Really? (Requesting Monthly Votes! Requesting Subscription!)

Seeing this, Wang Chonglou turned pale with shock, his body trembling with faint purple-gold light as he tried to activate his Great Yellow Court to save his junior brother.

Yet at this very moment, his once obediently responsive inner strength was now utterly locked down by a domineering aura, completely suppressed within his qi sea and dantian, unable to move an inch.

"Boom!"

As the sword light was about to strike the young Taoist boy's third eye, a vast aura suddenly erupted from within him, manifesting a grand celestial phenomenon that caused the eighty-one peaks of Mount Wudang in all four directions to churn with swirling mists, layer upon layer converging toward him.

At the same time, in the Tai Zhen Palace atop the main peak, the sword hanging beneath the great gengjiao eave—said to be a relic left by Lu Zu—suddenly vibrated and rang out, then shot through the air, arriving at the Little Lotus Peak in the blink of an eye.

"Zheng…"

The sword's ringing echoed endlessly, blocking before the young Taoist boy and intercepting the razor-sharp sword qi capable of instantly killing a Great Celestial Phenomenon cultivator.

When the young Taoist saw the familiar yet strange sword, his eyes first went blank, then his expression shifted constantly—half joy, half sorrow—until finally he let out a bitter smile, looked at Wu Xian, and reached out to grasp Lu Zu's sword, causing it to hum with delight.

"Awake?"

Wu Xian narrowed his eyes, silently watching the young Taoist, his gaze deep and profound, as he withdrew the immense aura suppressing Wang Chonglou.

"Weng…"

The restraint vanished; Wang Chonglou's Great Yellow Court resumed its flow, his aura trembling once more—then abruptly halted.

For he too had just witnessed what had occurred: the sword of Lu Zu, motionless for five hundred years, now flew like a homing swallow toward his junior brother Hong Xixiang, and now rested quietly in his hands.

Moments later, his gaze shifted from Lu Zu's sword to Hong Xixiang, meeting a pair of warm, serene eyes.

Their pitch-black depths were bottomless, reflecting infinite heaven and earth, embracing all things in the world.

Wang Chonglou's heart surged with emotion, his body trembling as he tentatively whispered, "Ancestor Master."

Hearing Wang Chonglou's address, Hong Xixiang's eyes dimmed slightly; he sighed softly, his entire demeanor shifting into something ancient and profound, starkly contrasting his childlike appearance.

He did not deny it.

Wang Chonglou wept silently, kneeling without a sound.

Hong Xixiang… no, he had now reclaimed his past-life memories; he should now be called Lu Dongxuan, the founding patriarch of Mount Wudang.

"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap—"

Sharp clapping suddenly echoed as Wu Xian smiled and clapped his hands, drawing both their attention. "A truly touching scene. Wu Xian congratulates you on your return from reincarnation—but tell me, what will you do next? Will you continue cultivating your Celestial Dao, or will you seek out that red robe you long for?"

Lu Dongxuan said nothing, only frowned at Wu Xian, silently calculating—yet the boy before him remained shrouded in mist, impossible to discern.

He then turned to the fourth person present—Jun Pianjian, whom Wu Xian had brought up the Little Lotus Peak—and calculated again, his face instantly filled with shock.

"Fate is in chaos… this should not be."

Seeing this Western Chu Empress, who should never have been here, Lu Dongxuan's heart lurched; he began calculating once more—and immediately understood the identity of this lifetime's red robe, and her current circumstances.

In the original story, Hong Xixiang met Xu Zhihu after Xu Xiao became Prince of Beiliang—but due to Wu Xian's interference, this encounter never occurred, so Lu Dongxuan had never seen his current life's red robe.

As for Xu Zhihu, since Xu Xiao entered the capital, he had kept his eldest daughter by his side, bringing her into Tai'an City together.

After the White Robe Incident, Wu Su was forcibly detained by Wu Xian in the Liyang Imperial Palace; Wu Xian had not forgotten Lu Zu's beloved, and now she was with Wu Su, secretly relocated by Wu Xian to Huishan in Jianzhou—a fact known to few.

After piecing together these events, Lu Dongxuan sighed again, looked up at Wu Xian's smiling face, and said solemnly, "Brother Dao, what is your true purpose in all this?"

Wu Xian smiled, then asked in return, "Brother Dao, for whom have you cultivated your Celestial Dao for seven hundred years?"

Lu Dongxuan replied calmly, "For the righteous path of the world."

"Really? Or is it not for that one red robe?"

Lu Dongxuan fell silent, unable to refute.

Wu Xian spread his hands. "Don't be shy—everyone has selfish desires. Even sages aren't truly impartial. Cultivating for someone you love is natural, nothing to be ashamed of—but… Brother Dao, the question remains: you've cultivated in the mortal realm for seven hundred years. Is your true goal truly only that one red robe?"

Lu Dongxuan remained silent, but his pupils contracted slightly.

"I once heard the Confucian Ancestor say that the Five Celestial Emperors of Heaven have reached heights beyond Great Immortality, their souls unbound from reincarnation, able to attain the Dao through reincarnation and elevate their realms—a feat no other heavenly immortals can achieve."

"As far as I know, the Green Emperor and White Emperor have both done this—but it seems you are the only one who has reincarnated repeatedly. And I began to wonder… why?

Why can you, a man who has never truly ascended, treat reincarnation like a game, repeating it endlessly, and reclaim your power more easily than even the Five Celestial Emperors?"

"Then I thought of one possibility: could you be a reincarnation of one of the Celestial Emperors? Your cultivation of the Celestial Dao is not merely cultivation—it's the awakening of reincarnation's true meaning, refining your heart in the mortal world, and perhaps… that red robe is a trial you set for yourself. Once your vow is fulfilled, your merit is complete, and you transcend reincarnation."

"Moreover, I boldly speculate: the future conflict between mortals and heaven—including the future glimpsed by that fool Huang Longshi—is merely one part of your grand design."

He thought he had reached the upper atmosphere, but in truth, he was still in the basement. Everything is your scheme, crafted to orchestrate this grand salvation drama, using extreme chaos to refine your heart and awaken the Dao."

"So the final question: who are you? Southern Red Emperor… or the most mysterious Central Yellow Emperor?"

"…And you—who are you?"

Lu Dongxuan no longer remained silent; he asked calmly—but whether Wu Xian, Wang Chonglou, or Jun Pianjian listened, all sensed a chilling coldness beneath his tone.

"What? Did I guess your secret, and now you're furious?"

Wu Xian laughed loudly, then stepped forward and swung his ordinary fist straight at Lu Dongxuan's face.

The next instant, the space where Lu Dongxuan stood shattered; his form vanished, reappearing a hundred meters away in midair, his immortal sword erupting with profound sword intent, its aura vast as ocean, deep as abyss.

In a single breath, he slashed one hundred and eight times—sword qi like rainbows streaked across the sky, forming a razor-sharp net that engulfed nearly the entire Little Lotus Peak.

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(End of chapter)