Chapter 161: Predestination in the Dark

Soaring stone pillars, "firebirds" fluttering across the sky, and deafening screeches. Lu Xin could not clearly see the true forms of those creatures hidden beneath the flames. However, Cao Fu's trembling voice and the changes in the expressions of the others all indicated the severity of the situation.

"Senior Brother, what on earth are these things? Your expression looks terrible."

"Junior Brother Xie, do you remember what Master said before we left? The Fengdu Ghost Domain is shaped like a primeval world, home to numerous surviving demonic beasts. The most troublesome among them are the Fire-Winged Demonic Bats. These beasts possess the ability to control fire and exist in massive numbers. When encountering enemies, they attack en masse, utterly fearless of death. Once entangled by them, no matter how powerful an Yin-Yang Master is, it is very likely their spiritual energy will be completely drained away."

On the side of the Five-Icons Sect, the Qilin Envoy also spoke with a trembling voice, and his expression could be described as bleak to the extreme. Hearing this, the other four seal-holding envoys held their breath, summoned their respective seals, and suspended them high above their heads. Lu Xin looked around; the only person present whose expression remained unchanged was the young man standing consistently by the Qilin Envoy's side.

Originally, Lu Xin had not paid special attention to this person, but looking back now, this man in coarse cloth garments with ordinary features had maintained absolute composure from beginning to end. His eyes were cast downward, as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

"Miss Jiang, you should also know what these things are, right? I suggest we join forces to form a formation; only then will we have a chance to endure this."

"Very well. Our Hundred-Flower Valley will form the outer perimeter, and your Five-Icons Sect the inner perimeter, interlocking formations for defense. Everyone else, ready yourselves to provide support at any moment."

Facing the Qilin Envoy's proposal, Jiang Yan hesitated almost not at all. With a loud shout, she led the other three in spinning their spell-umbrellas to set up the formation. Five breaths later, countless oil-paper umbrella silhouettes appeared in the sky above the group, layered and densely packed. These oil-paper umbrellas all bore the colors of a hundred flowers, connected by talismans, spinning slowly in the void without the slightest gap.

"Impressive! This is my first time seeing the Hundred-Flower Valley's Exquisite Thousand-Umbrella Formation. It is said that this formation possesses extremely strong defensive power and can rebound all Five-Elements Daoist arts. Back then, the Master of Hundred-Flower Valley, Ji Yunmeng, personally deployed this grand formation to withstand the joint attack of five Realm-Entering Church Patriarchs, shocking the entire cultivation world! It seems we are saved."

Seeing that the people from Hundred-Flower Valley had swiftly established the formation, Cao Fu's expression finally relaxed. Subsequently, the members of the Five-Icons Sect also formed a square barrier beneath the umbrella formation using the seals in their hands. In an instant, a colossal purple qilin roared toward the sky, its entire body flashing with lightning. Lu Xin had witnessed this barrier once before in Qingyang County. At that time, the members of the Five-Icons Sect had relied precisely on this to withstand Ao Tian's myriads of avatars.

"Brother Cao is quite knowledgeable and seems to know everything. And since you dared to venture into the Fengdu Ghost Domain alone, you must have a formidable background, right?"

Seeing that the sea of fire-bats could not breach the formation for the moment, Lu Xin was happy to let the members of the two sects exert themselves, and sat down cross-legged on the ground. The members of the Shadow Dragon Guard were also recovering their spiritual energy. Cao Fu looked around, and seeing that both the formation and the barrier were extremely stable, he sat down next to Lu Xin.

"In the cultivation of Yin-Yang Masters, if one merely practices in seclusion, remains ignorant of worldly affairs, and lacks informed news, they are like a blind person and cannot go far. In this world, there are countless experts and countless kinds of cultivation techniques and Daoist arts. If one can comprehend the principles behind them one by one, it will naturally increase one's cultivation level. Going a step further, if one can master all techniques and Daoist arts thoroughly, one can become an immortal or a sage. Although Hundred-Flower Valley is not among the Five Great Sects, Ji Yunmeng is an extremely formidable woman. The magical treasure she created herself, the Exquisite Hundred-Flower Umbrella, stands uniquely in the cultivation world. I heard that the siblings Yang Yan and Yang淼 relied precisely on this umbrella to escape from Ao Tian's grasp."

"So they didn't die?"

Lu Xin's gaze shifted slightly. Seeing this, Cao Fu suddenly grew interested and let out two low, strange chuckles.

"The Night Walk of the Underworld Soldiers, passing through Xuanzhou, reaching Chizhou, and finally arriving at Qingyang County—if you were present the whole time, Daoist Brother, you should know the entire course of events, right? I heard that the reason Ao Tian suffered a corpse metamorphosis was because a mysterious force shattered the Five-Elements Daoist arts upon his body. At that time, the Master of Shangxuan Heavenly Sect, Yan Fu, and the Master of Hundred-Flower Valley, Ji Yunmeng, were both present. Which of the two do you think that force came from?"

"Is this matter important?"

"Hahaha, perhaps it's not important to you, but to me, I can figure out a certain matter through this."

Cao Fu's eyes narrowed slightly. After a smirk, he suddenly lowered his voice, his expression solemn, not looking as though he were joking. Lu Xin hesitated for a moment, then looked up beyond the barrier.

"If I told you that power did not come from Yan Fu or Ji Yunmeng, would you believe it?"

"I believe it, of course I do. In this world, how many grotto-heavens and blessed lands are there, and how many hidden masters? It's not only Ao Tian who could live for three thousand years. In the pre-Qin and ancient times, there must have been other Qi practitioners remaining in this world. Sixty years ago..."

Cao Fu suddenly mentioned sixty years ago, but stopped halfway through the sentence and ceased speaking. Lu Xin understood that he must know certain secrets, but since Cao Fu chose not to speak, it was not appropriate for him to pursue the inquiry, so he instead brought up what happened after Ao Tian fled to Lingyang Mountain.

"Lingyang Mountain ranks thirty-ninth among the seventy-two blessed lands of Daoism. The dragon veins within it are extremely powerful. After Ao Tian's corpse metamorphosis, his physical body became demonic, coupled with the immortal power of the Undying Rebirth Grass. Once he completely refines the entire dragon vein, relying solely on his physical strength, he could probably reach the peak of the Heaven-Joining Realm. What a pity, he should never be able to become an immortal."

"I heard that after Ao Tian fled into Lingyang Mountain, Yan Fu sent thousands of disciples south to search for him. But later, the matter was dropped without a trace, and there weren't many rumors in the pugilistic world. Could it be that Ao Tian has already been captured?"

"Hmph, is Daoist Brother joking with me? Just by relying on a single Shangxuan Heavenly Sect, could they deal with an ancient Heaven-Joining Realm expert? Come to think of it, at that time, it wasn't just the Shangxuan Heavenly Sect looking for Ao Tian. Hundred-Flower Valley, the Five-Icons Sect, the imperial court, and even people from the Boundless Buddha Mountain and Lingjun Daoist Sect all came. The reason there was no news later is because the imperial court stepped in, suppressed the entire matter, and forbade all sects from spreading it further."

"The imperial court? Heh, the imperial court cannot possibly have such immense prestige. Brother Cao, you must be concealing something."

"Hahahaha, Daoist Brother truly is a clever man. Indeed, the strength of the imperial court is not yet sufficient to suppress the sects of the world. However, Li Shimin only needed to invite one person out of seclusion, and all parties had to show some respect. Even the Boundless Buddha Mountain and Lingjun Daoist Sect would not dare to offend this person."

"You mean Xuanzang?"

"Correct."

Cao Fu nodded, but then seemed to find something strange, staring intently at Lu Xin for a moment. Only when he saw the young man frown did he look away.

"Legend has it that Xuanzang only said a single sentence at the time, which made the sect masters of the major factions change their expressions. After that, he entered the depths of Lingyang Mountain alone and did not emerge from the mountain until three whole days had passed. Ever since then, the people from all the major sects withdrew entirely, and no one ever dared to mention Ao Tian or the matter of the Night Walk of the Underworld Soldiers again. And then, Xuanzang traveled west to Tianzhu in the name of the Tang imperial court, vowing to seek the Buddha for the sake of all living beings in the world. You should have heard of this matter, Daoist Brother, right?"

"Mm, I've heard a bit about it."

Lu Xin nodded, but inside, his emotions were surging with boundless complexity. Far from merely hearing about it, he had been present on the very day Xuanzang departed from Chang'an. The gaze the monk cast toward him was something he would never forget for the rest of his life. At this moment, recalling that scene back then, combined with what Cao Fu had said and everything that happened on the night of the Night Walk of the Underworld Soldiers, Lu Xin suddenly felt that Xuanzang's hasty journey west a few months later must be related to Ao Tian. Otherwise, given Xuanzang's cultivation and Daoist attainment, it was impossible for him not to have foreseen the impending slaughter in Chang'an days later. Yet he preferred to disregard the lives of millions of mortals in Chang'an City and insisted on traveling west, which sufficiently demonstrated the urgency in his heart.

"Lu Tingfang has also said more than once that he wants to pacify everything before Xuanzang returns. This is a tone of racing against time, clearly anxious about something. Yuan Tiangang is a Daoist Yin-Yang Master, while Xuanzang is of the Buddhist school. The things the two sides need to do should be exact opposites. But what on earth do that master and disciple want to do? And how is this related to Xuanzang's journey west?"

Lu Xin took a deep breath, feeling all the more alarmed the more he thought about it. Perhaps in the dark, the development of certain things had reached some unimaginable critical juncture, and these matters would affect the entire world and concern the future of billions of living beings!

"What's wrong with you? You look as if you're afraid."

"It's nothing... Brother Cao, according to your meaning, is Xuanzang's journey west related to Ao Tian?"

"Hm? Heh, perhaps it's related, perhaps not. Xuanzang had already submitted a memorial to the imperial court two years ago to travel far to Tianzhu to seek the Dharma, but Li Shimin never approved it. I heard that after Ao Tian's corpse metamorphosis, he uttered a sentence. This heaven and earth can no longer produce immortals, is that right?"

"He indeed said it. Two years ago, the first year of Zhenguan..."

Lu Xin's brow furrowed heavily. The more deeply one analyzed the matter of the Night Walk of the Underworld Soldiers, the more far-reaching it felt, far from being as simple as it appeared on the surface. One could even say that Ao Tian's appearance had accelerated the pace of everything happening. And it was only after that that he had met Li Chunfeng. If he hadn't contracted the corpse poison, he wouldn't have ended up drifting to Huanggang Village, wouldn't have been saved by the old man, and wouldn't have crossed paths with Cao Fu's group in Raozhou City. If none of this had happened, Lu Xin might not have been able to become Li Chunfeng's disciple.

"Indeed, in the dark, everything seems destined. Cao Fu is the key to my becoming an Yin-Yang Master. And now, we run into each other again in this Fengdu Ghost Domain. In the future, what kind of entanglements will I ultimately have with this descendant of Cao Cao?"

Sighing inwardly, Lu Xin experienced a mixture of emotions. After glancing at Cao Fu, he stood up from the ground. Meanwhile, Cao Fu seemed still deeply immersed in their recent conversation.

"No matter what kind of changes befall this heaven and earth, I hope that Xuanzang returns a bit later. Otherwise, it will be too late."

"Too late for what?"

Cao Fu's sudden remark caused Lu Xin's expression to change drastically. This sentence was far too similar to what Lu Tingfang had said. Yet just as Lu Xin was about to ask in return, the ground violently shook.

"Everyone, look! The Eight-Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron is falling down!"