Pure Yang!

Chapter 445 Past Debts! Come quick, there's a big fish!
The primordial spirit is the foundation of life.

Stillness is like the elixir of immortality; movement is like the deadly intent of heaven and earth.

Zhuang Yumin was originally a disciple of Luyin Mountain, and he himself had the cultivation of a Great Master. His nature was radiant and his divine will was all-encompassing. He could perceive and react instinctively to any slightest movement.

however……

Zhang Fan suddenly appeared, and she felt everything go dark. In the darkness, it seemed as if an invisible force was surging in, like a bottomless abyss, like a long, dark night, with the sun and moon seemingly sinking into oblivion, and not a ray of light visible.

This power is incredible, seemingly designed to counter the primordial spirit.

When Zhuang Yumin came to her senses, her primordial spirit was already imprisoned in Zhang Fan's palm.

"You... what kind of magic is this?"

Zhuang Yumin's primordial spirit trembled, and she looked at Zhang Fan in disbelief, a deep fear welling up in her beautiful eyes.

She considered herself exceptionally talented and her cultivation level not weak either. She could accept that some of her peers were stronger than her. However, in the blink of an eye, her primordial spirit was captured without any room for resistance...

Such methods and such facts were simply appalling and beyond her comprehension.

"Binding the spirit? Is this a Daoist technique of the Wuwei Sect?" Zhuang Yumin said in a deep voice.

"As long as one path exists, all laws will arise; all the laws of the world, though different, lead to the same goal..." Zhang Fan said calmly.

“There is a method called ‘Entangling the God’ on Zhenwu Mountain, and another called ‘Guarding the Corpse’ on Laojun Mountain. Even your Luyin Mountain has a Taoist method called ‘Summoning the God’, all of which have the power to restrain the spirit.”

"How can you be so sure it's a Daoist practice of the Wuwei School without any explanation?"

Zhuang Yumin remained silent. Similar Taoist techniques to "Binding the Spirit" were common among the major sects with long histories. However, the Wuwei Sect was naturally condemned as a heretical sect, so these major sects would not cultivate such techniques. Even if they did, they would keep them secret, and very few people outside the sect knew about them.

Zhang Fan was intimately familiar with the Taoist practices of all schools and sects under heaven, and even knew a thing or two about the secrets of Mount Luyin, which were not passed down to others.

This made Zhuang Yumin even more curious about Zhang Fan's identity.

“I have long lived in the Xijiang region, often in the deep mountains, but I never knew there were heavens beyond heavens. In fact, the Taoist sect has produced a person like you, my fellow Taoist.”

Zhuang Yumin sighed, feeling dejected and powerless. All her talent, pride, and years of cultivation seemed to have vanished under Zhang Fan's restraint.

Years of hard work have been like a dream; in front of this man, they are nothing.

At this moment, her state of mind was quite similar to that of Shen Mingchan on that day.

"My skills are inferior to yours. Whether you kill me or torture me, fellow Daoist... you may do as you please."

Zhuang Yumin's mind returned to normal; there was no fear, no shock, only a calm acceptance of life and death.

"As expected of a top disciple of Luyin Mountain, he certainly has the bearing of a great sect of Xuanmen," Zhang Fan murmured.

With a flick of his finger, Zhuang Yumin's primordial spirit flew out and returned to his body.

"You're not going to kill me?" Zhuang Yumin's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Zhang Fan with curiosity.

"Am I some kind of psychopathic killer?" Zhang Fan said calmly.

"I just want you to know that there has never been any competition between you two. What you've stepped into now..."

"This is my sacred site!"

Zhuang Yumin was slightly shaken and moved. From those calm words, she did not see proud confidence, but rather a matter of course.

“Among the masses of people, from all walks of life, even those within the Taoist community, there are all sorts of people. I have never seen anyone like you before,” Zhuang Yumin exclaimed.

Inside the Pure Land Temple's Sword Offering Hall, this man could conceal his fame and fortune, willingly sitting in the lowest seat, with no distinction between high and low status in his eyes. Yet, with a single thought, he possessed a thunderous presence, extremely domineering, and possessive of everyone.

Such a contradiction, yet so perfectly natural.

“There’s another reason why I won’t kill you,” Zhang Fan suddenly said.

"what?"

“Now that the Dharma has come to an end, the mortal world is becoming increasingly filthy. It will be difficult for great cultivators to emerge in this world. Pure Yang is hard to attain, and immortality is impossible. In another hundred years, how will the Dao be passed down, and how will the Xuanmen (mysterious gate) be opened?” Zhang Fan sighed.

"It's truly remarkable to have cultivated to such a level as yours; it would be a shame to kill you."

"You actually have such composure!?" Zhuang Yumin's beautiful eyes trembled as she looked at Zhang Fan in astonishment, the disbelief in her heart even more intense than when she had just been detained.

She saw a kind of compassion in Zhang Fan, a great compassion, different from the great compassion in secular ethics. It was like the patriarchs of all ages who, seeing the Dharma obscured and the suffering of all beings, made a great vow to save them from suffering and descended to earth.

"Are you going to kowtow to me?"

"..."

Seeing Zhuang Yumin's expression, Zhang Fan couldn't help but laugh and sat down on his own.

Zhuang Yumin looked at Zhang Fan with a rather complicated expression.

"You're quite an interesting person. You have the shadow of great alchemists from all the past dynasties, but you can't escape the vulgarity of the common people," Zhuang Yumin sighed.

"This is nature, just like the boundless universe, where everything, good or bad, is part of it."

"Just like the masters of various schools and sects in these mountains, although they are rivals, they are also fellow practitioners."

Zhuang Yumin seemed to be deep in thought. She subconsciously sat down opposite Zhang Fan, the two of them no more than a meter apart.

"They are both adversaries and allies..."

"So, your lifelong enemies are also your allies? Can you let go of your hatred and forgive them?" Zhuang Yumin suddenly changed the subject.

Zhang Fan shook his head.

"To put it bluntly, it all comes down to lust," Zhuang Yumin said with a light laugh.

Once the will to kill is set in, one no longer cares about whether they are on the same path or not.

"The Way of Heaven is boundless and undifferentiated, without distinction between good and evil," Zhang Fan said calmly. "It's like a tiger eating a person, and a person eating a tiger..."

"In this cycle, there is no good or evil, no right or wrong; everything is in harmony with nature and follows the way of heaven."

“I killed them, not because of their good or evil deeds…”

“They messed with me, and then they died. That’s natural.”

The standards of good and evil are created by humans. As far as the Way of Heaven is concerned, everything is done without doing anything. Just like tigers eating people and people eating tigers, it is just a cycle, just nature, just the Way of Heaven.

“Killing them is in accordance with the will of Heaven,” Zhang Fan said softly.

Every cause has a consequence.

"you……"

Zhuang Yumin looked at Zhang Fan with a somewhat dazed expression. She saw a completely different temperament in Zhang Fan, which contained divinity and revealed demonic thoughts. It was unclear and confusing, yet it was fascinating and made people want to explore it.

This feeling was unprecedented, and for a moment she was unable to calm herself down.

"Hmm? Your consciousness is agitated," Zhang Fan suddenly said.

With his level of understanding, he could naturally tell that Zhuang Yumin's breathing was somewhat rapid, her thoughts were in turmoil, and her primordial spirit was somewhat drowsy.

"No, nothing." Zhuang Yumin turned her head away, her expression unreadable.

"I was just talking nonsense," Zhang Fan said, pursing his lips.

His unintentional remark was like pointing out a girl's smudged makeup—a truly typical straight man's comment.

"By the way, you are a disciple of Luyin Mountain. Does your sect have someone named..."

"Su Xiangling's senior?" Zhang Fan suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"Um!?"

Zhuang Yumin's eyes lit up, and she turned around: "You know my martial uncle?"

"She's your martial aunt?" Zhang Fan scoffed. Zhang Lingzong was the remaining flame of the Southern Zhang clan, and the Northern Zhang clan had a lot of information about him. This matter was the least important, but Zhang Wuming just happened to spill it out as gossip.

He said that when Zhang Lingzong was young, he had visited Luyin Mountain several times with the elders of the Southern Zhang clan. He had a childhood sweetheart relationship with a woman in the mountain. Later, when the Southern Zhang clan was destroyed, he encountered a calamity and was at his wit's end. He even went up the mountain for help.

The woman's name was Su Xiangling.

The woman had a childhood friendship with him, and she had also saved his life.

"If your dad hadn't met your mom, she might be your mom!"

"Nonsense, if my dad hadn't met my mom, would I even exist?"

Zhang Fan recalled his conversation with Zhang Wuming that day, which is why he asked this question.

At this moment, Zhang Fan remembered that when he was a child, Li Linglong had given him a cold look when he recited the poem "Looking at the Waterfall at Mount Lu". She even looked at Zhang Lingzong with a strange expression.

When Zhang Fan recited a poem and needed his parents' signature, Li Linglong would always say, "Let your dad recite it for you; he really likes this poem."

Looking back now, the wit in my parents' words was truly unfathomable.

“I…I’ve heard of it…” Zhang Fan chuckled.

"Have you heard of it?" Zhuang Yumin asked suspiciously.

“My junior uncle hasn’t left the mountain for over twenty years. She lives a secluded life and is not well-known. Even some of the disciples in our sect may not have seen her. Where did you hear about her?”

Zhuang Yumin's face showed even more suspicion.

“I…I just heard that there is a treasure in Luyin Mountain called the ‘Three-Inch Spiritual Light.’ More than twenty years ago, it shone brightly in the hands of this senior Su Xiangling, and I heard that it killed many people.” Zhang Fan suddenly changed the subject.

According to Zhang Wuming, more than 20 years ago, many people died in that incident, and the capital sent an investigation team, which caused a great uproar.

From then on, Su Xiangling never went down the mountain again.

Rumors circulated that she was being held in a state of de facto confinement, imprisoned in a mountain, and forbidden from ever setting foot in the secular world again.

"That was a long time ago, I didn't expect you to know about it," Zhuang Yumin sighed softly.

"Back then, my uncle went down the mountain to save his old friend without hesitation."

"The three-inch spiritual light is not in the hands of my uncle, but belongs to that person."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan's heart stirred slightly. Just as Zhang Wuming had said, the relationship between Nan Zhang and Lu Yin Mountain was quite close. When Zhang Lingzong was young, he had obtained this treasure from Lu Yin Mountain for him.

After the fall of the Southern Zhang, Zhang Lingzong escaped pursuit several times, and this treasure played a crucial role in that.

"To be so reckless with his life, that old friend must be very important to your martial uncle, right?" Zhang Fan murmured softly.

“Many people died that night. My uncle’s old friend was seriously injured and lost his spiritual light,” Zhuang Yumin sighed.

Lost?

"That night, blood flowed like a river, and countless people died, perhaps taken away by the enemy as spoils of war."

"In that situation, being able to survive was already an incredible stroke of luck."

At this point, Zhuang Yumin's expression sombered.

For cultivators, such killing is already a taboo.

Although it had nothing to do with Su Xiangling, she was eventually dragged into it and helped that person escape.

Even with Luyin Mountain stepping forward and Sanqing Mountain acting as guarantor, there still needs to be an explanation and a proper account.

"Junior Uncle was confined to the mountains for more than 20 years, entirely to take the blame for that person."

"She spent the most youthful years in the mountains, in quiet contemplation."

Zhuang Yumin looked somber. Countless nights, she had seen that lonely figure standing before the Five Old Peaks, listening to that song and gazing into the distance.

This exceptionally talented junior uncle spent her entire life trapped in the mountains, and her heart seemed to be trapped in that night as well.

She looked into the distance, perhaps knowing that her waiting would ultimately be in vain.

Perhaps she knew that this parting would be forever.

"This feeling is impossible to dispel; for whom do I stand through the long night in the wind and dew?"

Zhang Fan murmured softly, his heart filled with many emotions.

"Do you think my junior uncle is very stupid?" Zhuang Yumin suddenly asked.

"I..." Zhang Fan pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

“She carried so much burden for that person, but he disappeared without a trace and never came back,” Zhuang Yumin said, shaking her head.

"Perhaps he doesn't even know all that Junior Uncle has sacrificed."

As she finished speaking, a trace of pity rose in Zhuang Yumin's eyes.

"In life, there are always things we can't control, and perhaps there are reasons why that person can't come back," Zhang Fan sighed.

In fact, Zhang Lingzong did come back once.

Ten years ago, he took Li Linglong, Zhang Fan, and Zhang Sheng back to Xijiang, and even wanted to reopen Longhu Mountain and return to the Zhang family's ancestral home.

It's unknown whether Zhang Lingzong took the opportunity to visit Luyin Mountain that time.

"Really? I don't think so." Zhang Fan muttered to himself, trying hard to recall that trip.

From beginning to end, it seemed that Zhang Lingzong never left Li Linglong's sight.

"You're right." Zhuang Yumin nodded.

"Although I don't know that person's identity, he must be extraordinary to have committed such a murderous act. He has many enemies, all of whom are highly skilled."

"Perhaps that person has already died outside, otherwise, how could he bear to not show his face for more than 20 years?"

"..."

“If I die out there, your junior uncle will be heartbroken,” Zhang Fan said with a dry laugh.

“I’d rather that person were already dead,” Zhuang Yumin suddenly said.

"Why is that?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

"Human hearts are fickle; anything can happen in the past twenty years."

“My junior uncle waited for that person in the mountains for more than 20 years. If that person hadn’t died, and was still married and had children in the secular world, wouldn’t you say it would have been better if he had died?” Zhuang Yumin suddenly said.

"This……"

Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment. At first glance, it seemed that it really would be better to die outside, but after thinking about it for a while...

hum...

Just then, Zhang Fan's brow twitched, and a wisp of light rose up, accompanied by a hissing sound in the surrounding environment.

"A voice transmission over a thousand miles!?" Zhuang Yumin asked in a deep voice.

This is a method of transmitting sound through the primordial spirit. By synchronizing the frequency of the primordial spirit, messages can be transmitted over extremely long distances, just like a walkie-talkie. As long as the primordial spirits are on the same channel, they can send messages to each other.

This is a technique for utilizing the primordial spirit. Different sects have different agreed-upon frequencies for the primordial spirit.

There is no signal in Tongluo Mountain, and any technological means will be interfered with by the magnetic field. This is the only way to communicate with fellow disciples.

"Come quickly, there's a big fish."

Just then, Zhang Wuming's voice resounded within Zhang Fan's primordial spirit.

(End of this chapter)