Yan Zhengming heard himself... no, his master's hoarse voice: "How do you solve it?"

Xu Yingzhi's eyelids drooped, and he said with a somewhat detached indifference: "Tong Ru, if you believe in fate, you should know what 'there is a destiny in the dark'. This is something that ordinary people cannot change. If you don't believe it, you should also read 'foreknowledge is the flower of the Tao and the beginning of ignorance'. The so-called knowledge of 500 years in the past and 500 years in the future are all false. But on the one hand, you firmly believe in what you saw in the 'Three Lives Secret Realm', and on the other hand, you come to me to ask how to interpret it. Isn't it ridiculous? I advise you to let everything take its course and don't get too stuck in a rut."

What about the "Three Lives Secret Realm" and "premature death" and the like? Although Yan Zhengming was completely confused and didn't know the cause and effect, he also felt that this old man surnamed Xu was a bit easy to talk about.

Lord Bei Ming - Tong Ru didn't say anything after listening for a long while, but Yan Zhengming could feel that a familiar feeling of helplessness and even more intense anger was rising and falling in his chest.

He seemed to suddenly understand why he had always been attracted to this master whom he had never met. It seemed as if they had a common suffering.

Xu Yingzhi stretched out his hand and three copper coins jumped into his palm. The thin calluses on his fingertips seemed to be formed by countless brushes against the texture of fate.

He sighed, and said in a slightly slower tone, "Since ancient times, there has always been prosperity and decline, success and failure. For people like you and me who practice Taoism, what is there to be unhappy about? On this road, whether it is open or secret struggles, or karma and chance, in the end, isn't it all for the sake of longevity in the Tao and to escape the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death in the world? Tong Ru, you are extremely talented and have gone further than others. Parents, brothers, teachers and apprentices, they are all worldly ties and delusions. You have already cut them off completely. Don't be obsessed with them anymore."

Tong Ru: "I didn't..."

Xu Yingzhi interrupted him and said, "Greed is obsession. Who are you greedy for?"

Tong Ru slightly turned her head to avoid his gaze, and after a while she asked in a hoarse voice, "If one day you calculated that your life span was coming to an end, would you be able to just say 'this worldly bond should be severed, this is how it should be' and let it go?"

Xu Yingzhi's expression remained unchanged, and he only said, "There is no difference between a morning mushroom and a cricket, an ant and me. Isn't it ridiculous to resent heaven and earth?"

Yan Zhengming finally understood that the owner of the Vermillion Bird Tower was no different from a stone statue when he was alive. He had no idea what was going on and found everything ridiculous. It was pointless to get entangled with him on these things.

Speaking of which——

Even if there are eternal clouds in the sky, does the rise and fall of a family or a country matter?

There are thousands of people coming and going, does the life and death and honor and disgrace of one person matter?

Looking down from a high position, Xu Yingzhi was right. Everyone in the world understands this truth. But in this world, from a person or a family to a country, who doesn't worry about many "trivial matters"? Those separations, love and hatred, and emotions are nothing more than a white flower in the wind and waves, not worth mentioning.

But if it really happens to anyone, wouldn't it be a heart-wrenching pain?

As long as one is not blind, anyone standing in the distance can see the vastness of the mountains and rivers. But once one is in the mountains, who can find where he is in the depths of the clouds and mist?

Yan Zhengming was sniffing and trying to figure out how to get out of this weird place when he saw the perspective change. His master Tong Ru stood up and said, "You are wrong. Countless predecessors have been seeking immortality, but who has achieved it? Lifespan has an end. I am the same as ants, but different. Ants are born in the morning and die in the evening, just like me. However, they will turn into soil from now on, while I can die and my soul will be reborn in the blood of Fuyao Mountain. As long as the inheritance continues, the bloodline will continue. Why should I pursue the illusory immortality?"

Xu Yingzhi felt that he and he were on different paths and could not make plans together. He could not persuade him any further, so he said, "Well, if you insist on thinking this way, I can't help it, but I can't help you. The Three Lives Secret Realm has confirmed that the Fuyao Sect is doomed. What do you want to do? Since ancient times, those who have gone against the will of heaven have struggled to the death, but it has only backfired. Old friend, do you want to take this path too?"

"Don't forget, 'The Great Dao has fifty paths, and the Heaven has forty-nine paths.' Nothing can be perfect, but there is always a glimmer of hope," Tong Ru said, "I will definitely find that glimmer of hope."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xu Yingzhi suddenly stopped him and said, "Wait, Xiaochun..."

Tong Ru paused for a moment, lowered her head and sighed: "It's not what you think."

Xu Yingzhi: "So how do you treat him?"

Tong Ru: "Jiang Peng has been just a figurehead for many years, and I can't even see him. Xiaochun is my only disciple these years, and I don't have any dirty thoughts about him, it's just..."

When he said this, he seemed to think that it was a bit boring to explain this to others, so he suddenly sneered, took a few steps away, and disappeared without a trace.

Yan Zhengming: “…”

He clearly felt the boundless bitterness that suddenly surged in his master's heart. The loneliness of thousands of years in the prehistoric world melted away in just one person. They had been dependent on each other for so long that their bond had long been as deep as the North Sea. Just one more look at that person and his heart would be filled with the prosperity of plants and trees.

As for the rest...how dare I, the teacher?

Yan Zhengming suddenly felt unwell and suspected that there must be something wrong with his six senses or his brain. Was the so-called "dirty thoughts" what he understood?

A bunch of bizarre and erotic folk legends suddenly burst out of Sect Leader Yan's mind, and he felt completely dirty. The dignity of a Sect Leader was shattered to the ground, and he couldn't clean it up.

At this moment, the situation in front of him suddenly changed. His perspective quickly turned, and the next moment, he had returned to Fuyao Mountain with his master.

For a moment, Yan Zhengming didn't even care about speculating on the dirty love history of his elders. His heart was gripped tightly and he hoped desperately that his master would slow down so that he could take another good look at Fuyao Mountain with the eyes of the past.

But the master ran faster than a rabbit, taking him along the way, and in a flash they reached the back mountain.

The Demon Valley was already wide open, and True Man Zi Peng and several big demons that Yan Zhengming didn't recognize seemed to come out to talk to Tong Ru. The voices were chaotic and Yan Zhengming couldn't make them out for a moment, but he felt that this group of demon fighters seemed to want to stop him.

Tong Ru, however, jumped into the valley under the abyss like a turtle eating a weight.

Yan Zhengming's eyes almost popped out of his head. The next moment, his vision went blurry. Through the body of his great-grandmaster Tong Ru, he felt a sharp pain as if thousands of arrows were piercing his heart. Even though he had the fortitude of a sword cultivator, his vision went dark for a moment and he was bounced out in an instant.

When Yan Zhengming woke up, panting and grimacing, he saw Tong Ru kneeling on a high platform not far away.

Is there such a place behind Fuyao Mountain?

Yan Zhengming couldn't remember. He had only walked that road in the back mountain many times. He always felt that there was something extremely terrifying in the deep valley, so he never dared to look down.

He couldn't help but look along the stone steps of Tong Rulai Road. He saw that the stone steps seemed to be so long that it stretched from the earth to the sky. There was no sight to the bottom. Countless steps were stacked one upon another, and the middle was hidden by clouds. There were bloody footprints on every step, which was a bit shocking. It seemed that it was not easy to climb.

Yan Zhengming turned to look at Tong Ru again, only to see that he was actually kneeling in front of a stone.

Yan Zhengming rubbed his eyes, moved closer to identify it carefully, and thought to himself: "Is this how the stone in Xiao Qian's yard came from? So it is really the wish-fulfilling stone that everyone on Qinglong Island covets? But... is there really a stone in the world that can make people's wishes come true?"

Before this, he had never coveted any rare treasures. Yan Zhengming had seen a lot of good things in the black market. Some of them he sold, some he kept, and most of them were given to his fellow disciples as toys. As a sword cultivator at his level, he needed the least help from external objects. But as he stared at this magical stone, a thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly became fascinated with it that he could not suppress.

When they were young, they all chased and played in Cheng Qian's yard, but except for cooling off in hot weather, no one would even look at the stone. Thinking about it now, they were probably truly innocent at that time and did not ask for anything.

Yan Zhengming thought like a demon, if he had this stone now, could he make a wish to have the Fuyao Mountain's mountain closure order lifted? Could he go back to the past - Han Yuan hadn't been possessed by a demon, Cheng Qian hadn't disappeared for a hundred years, the master had come back to life, the Yan family was wealthy, and they lived on that mountain away from the world, living a carefree life, those who wanted to work hard worked hard, and those who didn't want to work made trouble for each other...

Yan Zhengming stared at the stone across the infinite void, and somehow stretched out his hand, almost overlapping with Tong Ru's hand.

In an instant, he seemed to hear the sound of a huge bell in his ears, a thrilling roar that almost shook his soul.

Tong Ru walked up the mountain road leaving blood with every step, and his century-long search was intertwined with his experience. Cheng Qian gradually became cold in his arms, and his master's soul was scattered. Yan Zhengming screamed, and his eyes suddenly turned red. The inner demon that had been brewing for many years finally pierced through his eyebrows and fell in front of him, turning into the appearance of Cheng Qian.

Cheng Qian was covered in blood, and the bloody hole in his chest seemed to never stop. Yan Zhengming suddenly forgot where he was. He staggered forward and reached out to catch Cheng Qian: "Someone come and save him! Master... Master, Grandmaster... Where the hell have you all gone to? Please help me take care of Xiao Qian..."

At this moment, an indigo light suddenly burst out from the Dream Come True Stone behind him, slowly spreading over, wrapping around Cheng Qian's body, filling the fatal wound on his chest, and all the blood disappeared bit by bit.

Yan Zhengming's heart was filled with ups and downs, sorrow and joy. He knelt on the ground, his mind blank for a moment, and he just stared at Cheng Qian infatuatedly. Xu Yingzhi's question to Tong Ru seemed to be in his ears: "So how do you treat him?"

Cheng Qian in his arms seemed to be asleep, motionless, lying obediently in his arms. Yan Zhengming stretched out his fingers as if possessed, slowly sliding them down his cheek, and finally landing on Cheng Qian's lips. He touched it lightly at first, and as if burned, his fingers suddenly retracted, and after a moment, he tentatively put them on again.

How do you treat him?

Yan Zhengming seemed to be split into two people. One of them said angrily, "Cheng Qian is your junior fellow apprentice. Are you a beast? Ridiculous!"

The other one couldn't help but stare at Cheng Qian's pale lips. He didn't know whether the emotion in the Master's Seal that day came from Bei Mingjun or from his own heart. He was churning in his chest: "This is my little Qian."

At this moment, he finally saw clearly the inner demon that had been lingering around him for many days.

The sharp pain seemed to pierce through his chest. Yan Zhengming held Cheng Qian tightly, refusing to let go no matter what. Then, everything around him faded away quickly as if it had exploded, and Yan Zhengming's soul was suddenly pushed back into his body.

He opened his eyes wide and saw Li Yun shaking him anxiously and yelling something.

At that time, Yan Zhengming suddenly fell down without any warning, and a circle of small snakes around him rushed towards him like crazy.

Logically speaking, Feng Jianxiu was filled with viciousness, and the demons should have been afraid of him, as he was immune to all poisons. However, those snakes, who knew what they were, were not at all frightened by his pressure.

They were just a little afraid of the frost blades, and Cheng Qian swept them across with his sword, but he could force them back but not kill them.

These snakes were not afraid of fire or water, and could not be blown away by wind or cut by swords. The frosty air could only make them retreat slightly. However, even though the Suzaku Tower felt cold and damp, it was a place of great fire after all, and Cheng Qian was somewhat powerless here.

The puddle flapped its wings and turned around, chirping and asking, "What are these things? Second Brother, didn't you say that the five elements are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, and there is always something to be afraid of? What's going on with this thing! What kind of incense did the eldest brother change recently, why does it attract lice?"

...Fortunately, her senior brother has not yet come to his senses, otherwise he would have roasted her and eaten her after hearing these words.

Cheng Qian's heart was slightly moved, and he suddenly remembered what Tang Zhen said, "The five elements are mutually generated and restrained, but only the inner demons are indestructible and can penetrate any hole. No matter how wise and brave you are, you can't defend against them and you are powerless."

Cheng Qian suddenly restrained his temper, cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, and became as clear as a piece of jade covered in frost.

The effect was immediate. All the snakes treated him as a dead object like the Frost Blade and avoided him along the cold air. Cheng Qian forcibly withstood the violent fire energy surrounding the Suzaku Tower and froze the entire Suzaku Tower from the inside out.

A thin layer of ice formed on the stone statue of Xu Yingzhi, and it seemed as if a snowstorm had hit the tower. All the snakes were forced into the corners by him like fallen leaves swept by the autumn wind. At this moment, Cheng Qian caught a glimpse of a black shadow flashing by, trying to get into the only source of fire here - the small oil lamp.

Cheng Qian was waiting for it. He chased after it with a sword and cut the black shadow in half.

A roar startled the bells hanging outside the Suzaku Tower, and the two halves of the black shadow suddenly grew larger, twisting and merging into one in the air, forming a human shape, revealing a familiar face, which smiled grimly at Cheng Qian, "Little Senior Brother, are you going to kill me to avenge yourself?"

Cheng Qian's sword-holding hand trembled suddenly, and the sword tip turned like a rolling tide, brushed past the black shadow, and hit the Suzaku Tower heavily. His seamless disguise was immediately broken. The monster laughed softly, stepped forward, and met Cheng Qian's gaze with its scarlet eyes. There was only a palm-width distance between the two, and Han Yuan's grown-up face was clearly visible.

"Brother," he dragged out the deep voice of an adult man, and the ending tone seemed to carry a bit of the flavor of a child's coquettishness, and said softly, "There is a river ahead, and I wanted to catch fish for Master and Brother, but there was a big dog by the river, and it chased me..."

It was exactly what the little beggar said to Cheng Qian while his master was sleeping when Master Mu Chun brought Cheng Qian and Han Yuan back that year, not a single word was wrong.

The monster's claws had already reached out to Cheng Qian's neck.

But the next moment, a ball of ice suddenly jumped up under his feet and almost pierced the monster through. The monster retreated in panic, but ice cones on the ground popped up one after another from all directions.

The monster was very afraid of the coldness coming from the ice pond. When it was retreating, it got stuck between the icicles. It was desperate and shouted, "You cold-blooded person!"

"I have already avenged myself." Cheng Qian said calmly, "I will not touch a hair of my junior brother."

Even if the master's sect rebelled in the future and wanted to purge the sect, and wanted to punish Han Yuan for his misguided actions, Cheng Qian decided not to help either side. If he really hated Han Yuan, he would have killed him with a sword on the deserted island that year.

Cheng Qian had his own set of principles in his mind, which were as clear as a mirror without any ambiguity.

The cold air in the Suzaku Tower suddenly exploded, and a handful of white fireworks bloomed around the monster. The broken ice fragments scattered and quickly gathered together. Cheng Qian shouted in a low voice: "Seal!"

The monster with Han Yuan's face on it was frozen in an icicle that was more than one meter tall.

All the black snakes in the Suzaku Tower disappeared into thin air, leaving only the half body of the unknown playboy lying in a corner, motionless.

Cheng Qian stared at the icicle silently for a moment. The puddle bird also landed on his shoulder and looked at it together. Yan Zhengming pushed Li Yun away, stood up with a heavy heart, walked to Cheng Qian, took a look, and said, "It's not a living thing, nor is it Han Yuan. This thing just deliberately turned into his appearance."

Cheng Qian's face showed unabashed disappointment.

Yan Zhengming instinctively wanted to raise his hand to pat his back and say a few words of comfort, but halfway through raising his hand, he remembered the unreasonable thoughts wrapped in his inner demons, and his eyes suddenly dimmed as if there was something stuck in his throat. He looked away stiffly and said, "Let's go, the Suzaku lock has been opened, let's not delay here."

After saying this, he didn't wait for anyone and was the first to walk down the dark stairs and leave the Suzaku Tower.

Before leaving, Yan Zhengming turned his head to glance at the cliff on the side of the Vermillion Bird Tower, and felt only a thousand-foot abyss, not as deep as the Peach Blossom Pool in his heart.

The author has something to say: Note: "Preconception is the flower of the Tao and the beginning of ignorance" - Tao Te Ching

"The Great Way is fifty, the Heaven's Derivation is forty-nine" - from "The Great Derivation is fifty, and its use is forty-nine. Divide it into two to represent two, and hang one to represent three. Divide it into four to represent the four seasons, and return the odd number to the tread to represent the leap year, so tread twice and then hang it." "The Book of Changes"