Chapter 99: What the hell are you two, master and disciple, up to?!

Morning light completely filled the side hall.

The last trace of gloom and chill was dispelled, the golden warmth gently enveloping that dark, heavy coffin.

The evil technique had been broken, the shackles removed.

The night had ended, the morning light bearing witness.

She, could see.

"Hey!!! Wait, that's not right!!!"

An extremely discordant shout shattered the tranquility. Lu Yuan suddenly turned his head, his voice booming.

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun, who had just caught their breath, were both jolted by this shout, their bodies swaying as they nearly fell flat on their butts.

Almost in unison, they gritted their teeth and cursed:

Lu Yuan took a swift step forward, closing in on Gu Qingwan, staring intently at her eyes that had finally regained their sparkle, his brows tightly furrowed.

"They have spirit, they're focused, but..."

"Why are they still red?!"

The old man curled his lip, cursing in response:

"Bullshit!"

"We only broke the evil technique for her, we didn't get her a new pair of eyeballs!"

Lu Yuan's heart stirred, and he hurriedly pressed:

"So she can see now, right?"

Celestial Master He Xun, who was completely exhausted and slumped on the ground, gasped for air.

"She can definitely see, can't you see the light in her eyes?"

"It's just..."

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Just what?"

Celestial Master He Xun thought for a moment, organizing his words.

"Maybe... the world she sees is different from ours, probably a hazy red."

"Or maybe a hazy gray..."

"Ah, damn it!!"

Celestial Master He Xun suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Isn't she right in front of you?!"

"Just ask her directly!!"

After He Xun finished speaking, Lu Yuan turned to look at Gu Qingwan before him and quickly asked:

"What you see now, is it normal?"

At this moment, Gu Qingwan's clear, cold, yet strangely enchanting crimson beautiful eyes had been fixed solely on Lu Yuan from beginning to end.

As if she wanted to imprint Lu Yuan's appearance firmly in her heart.

Only after Lu Yuan finished speaking and a few more seconds passed did she slowly return from her focused gaze, her vermilion lips parting slightly.

A single word, carrying endless emptiness.

"...Gray..."

Lu Yuan understood.

Indeed.

She could see, but she saw a world devoid of color.

So, she still needed new eyes!

And regarding this, there was no need to trouble his master or Celestial Master He Xun.

Ever since deciding to help Gu Qingwan get new eyes, a new tongue, and reattach her legs, Lu Yuan would take out "The Dao" during his free time to study that section.

This matter wasn't particularly difficult for Lu Yuan, who was now a Celestial Master!

The only difficult part of this matter was the issue of materials.

What to use as Gu Qingwan's eyes.

According to the system-rewarded book "The Dao," the better the material, the better the result.

Of course, that was obvious nonsense.

Since he was going to give Gu Qingwan new eyes, Lu Yuan naturally wanted to use the best!

It had to be the absolute best!

What did the absolute best mean?

It meant it had to be the BiS gear!

Anyone who had played DNF understood that even a one percent damage difference between equipment of the same level meant it wasn't BiS gear.

So, as the material for Gu Qingwan's eyes, what would be the best?

"The Dao" clearly stated: Eyes are the windows of the soul. Giving new eyes is not about replacing an organ, but about building a channel.

Common materials could be colored glaze, crystal, or chalcedony.

But if one wanted the "absolute best," three conditions must be met: able to bear the soul, able to connect with spirits, able to endure long.

Lu Yuan thought and thought, something flashed in his mind. Then he looked up at Gu Qingwan before him and said:

"Stay here!"

Gu Qingwan blinked her still crimson, yet now animated-for-him eyes, softly responding.

"...Okay."

Before her voice faded, Lu Yuan's figure had already turned into an afterimage, disappearing through the side hall door.

In the corner, the two old brothers slumped on the ground didn't even have the strength to lift their heads.

"Where'd he go?"

Celestial Master He Xun leaned against the wall behind him, breathing slightly heavily.

The old man beside him shook his head, his peripheral glance catching the dining table not far away. He directly stretched out his arm, grabbed a dumpling, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Don't know."

Seeing this, Celestial Master He Xun's mouth twitched:

"Ew!!!"

"You can still eat?!"

Pfft!

The old man moved his mouth, casually spat out a coin onto the ground, then reached out to grab a second dumpling to stuff into his mouth, saying:

"Been up all night, hungry."

Celestial Master He Xun:

"......"

...

Lu Yuan, who had just left the side hall, didn't go anywhere else.

He rushed straight back to his room in the backyard.

He dragged out a heavy large wooden chest.

This was precisely the sect's inherited ritual tools passed down through generations of Zhenlong Temple, which the old man had handed over to him a few days ago!

Lu Yuan rummaged through it, and soon, an ancient small box was retrieved.

Inside the box, on faded bright yellow silk, lay quietly a string of prayer beads.

Exactly twelve beads, no more, no less.

Each was about the size of a longan, made of a material that was neither metal nor jade, but a bluish-green crystal Lu Yuan had never seen before.

Inside the crystal, it seemed as if clouds and mist were slowly swirling. Staring closely, one could even discover starlike glimmers flickering within.

The beads were strung together by an unknown silvery thread, both flexible and sturdy.

Lu Yuan picked up that nearly-falling-apart tattered book again, his fingertips brushing over the pages.

"If I remember correctly..."

He flipped through rapidly.

Soon, he found the origin of this string of beads!

This object was named "Sky-Blue Colored Glaze Beads."

It was obtained by Zhenlong Temple's thirteenth-generation patriarch, Xie Linfeng, during a chance encounter with immortal fate deep within the Zhongnan Mountains.

Twelve beads, each taken from "Sky-Blue Stone Marrow."

That was said to be the essence condensed from the purest strand of clear qi rising when heaven and earth first separated, deeply buried within the Earth Veins.

It took ten thousand years to produce one drop, one drop condensed into one bead.

This object had three wondrous uses.

First, 'Dispelling Illusions.' Holding it allows one to see the true nature of things; all illusion techniques and deceptive methods cannot hide before it.

Second, 'Connecting with the Unseen.' Able to perceive the energies of both the yin and yang realms; ghosts, spirits, and apparitions all reveal their forms.

Third, 'Nourishing the Soul.' Worn close to the body, it can warm and nurture the spirit soul, evil entities cannot invade.

Able to bear the soul, able to connect with spirits, able to endure long.

Perfect fit!

Lu Yuan stared at the Sky-Blue Colored Glaze Beads in the box, his eyes shifting.

Snap!

He abruptly closed the box, turned, and strode toward the side hall.

He clearly understood what his next actions would mean.

Great rebellion and impiety.

This was the sect's supreme treasure, a passed-down ritual tool nurtured by the heart's blood of successive patriarchs.

Taking apart the beads was like severing the meridians.

Once this string of prayer beads was disassembled, the 'spiritual connections' nurtured within it for centuries would break, and less than one-tenth of its power would remain.

A top-tier ritual tool would thus be reduced to an ordinary object.

Of course, whether to do this or not, Lu Yuan hadn't decided yet, nor was it his decision to make.

Even though the old man doted on him, Lu Yuan couldn't just casually take the sect's inherited top-tier ritual tool out to mess around with.

Of course, Lu Yuan didn't think this was messing around.

But it definitely had to be the old man's call.

In fact, even the old man's decision might not be enough; this matter required seeking permission from the thirteenth-generation patriarch, Xie Linfeng!

Lu Yuan couldn't go ask for that permission.

Daoist sect rules: When the master is alive, do not seek permission directly.

Simply put, the living master is greater than heaven. If you have something to ask, ask your master. Your master decides.

If permission needs to be sought, your master will seek it. As a disciple below, if your master is still alive, you cannot bypass your master.

Soon, Lu Yuan returned to the side hall.

He walked straight to the old man who was slumped on the ground, reaching for the dumplings on the table.

Tap.

He opened the box and pushed it in front of the old man.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Celestial Master He Xun beside them merely glanced, his pupils suddenly constricting, his breath halting for an instant.

"Holy shit?!"

"Sky-Blue Colored Glaze Beads!!"

He abruptly looked at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with a mix of shock and confusion.

"How the hell is this thing in your hands??"

The next second, as if he thought of something, he suddenly turned his head, staring fixedly at the old man still chewing beside him, his voice changing pitch.

"You... you passed this top-tier ritual tool to him?"

The old man unhurriedly swallowed the dumpling in his mouth, looked at Lu Yuan, then at the Sky-Blue Colored Glaze Beads in the box.

Then.

Pfft!

Clink-clank-clank—

A shiny silver dollar coin was spat out from his mouth, rolling and clattering until it hit the large coffin before stopping.

Only then did the old man slant a glance at Celestial Master He Xun, asking leisurely:

"He's already a proper Celestial Master. Passing him the sect's ritual tools, what's the problem?"

Celestial Master He Xun was taken aback, thought for a moment.

You know what, there really wasn't any problem with this matter.

It was just that this kid Lu Yuan was too damn outrageous, reaching the Celestial Master realm at such a young age.

It made Celestial Master He Xun somewhat uncomfortable, feeling that obtaining the sect's ritual tools at such a tender age didn't conform to the rules!

Now, thinking carefully, Lu Yuan had already become a Celestial Master, receiving the sect's inheritance—there was absolutely no problem with that.

Thinking this, Celestial Master He Xun's tense body slowly relaxed, leaning back against the wall again, his expression complex.

This thing...

Back in the day, he had wanted it so badly...

But his own master didn't give it to him, gave it to He Yin...

Now He Yin passed it to Lu Yuan...

Sigh...

Huh?!!!

Wait!!!

What the hell does this kid mean by taking this thing out??!!!

Fuck!!!!

Celestial Master He Xun had just relaxed, leaned back against the wall, when suddenly he shuddered, his body stiffening, and he abruptly sat up straight again.

Celestial Master He Xun widened his eyes, staring at Lu Yuan and shouting loudly:

"What the hell are you trying to do?!"

"What the fuck are you taking this thing out for?!?!"

Lu Yuan ignored Celestial Master He Xun, just looked at the old man before him.

The old man didn't make a sound, stuffed another dumpling into his mouth, chewed.

Pfft!

Another silver dollar coin was casually spat out by the old man.

"Made up your mind?"

Lu Yuan looked at the old man, his words sincere:

"Can you help me ask the Patriarch?"

The old man stuffed another dumpling into his mouth, shook his head.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Indeed, directly using the sect's inherited treasure for eye replacement was a bit too much.

Of course, Lu Yuan could say he promised to find two replacement beads later, definitely repair the Sky-Blue Colored Glaze Beads.

But what guarantee could Lu Yuan offer?

What was the timeframe?

What if he couldn't find them?

Wouldn't that be empty boasting, so...

Just as Lu Yuan was about to withdraw the box.

Pfft!

Yet another silver dollar coin was spat out from the old man's mouth.

"Can't ask!"

"What if the Patriarch says no?"

"You do the replacement first, later the two of us will go kneel and beg for forgiveness."

After speaking, the old man grabbed another dumpling to stuff into his mouth.

The next second, his movements froze, he violently threw the dumpling back onto the plate, cursing loudly!

"Ah, fuck me!"

"Why am I like a damn frog, spitting out money every time I eat a dumpling!"

"Is this thing really that accurate, am I really gonna spend a fortune this year??!"

Beside him, Celestial Master He Xun watched this scene with a face full of question marks.

What the...

What the hell are you master and disciple actually trying to do?!?!?!