Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 583, Section 604: Young man, don't make a mistake for yourself!

Chapter 603

A faint, indistinct "aura" emanated from him, seemingly out of place in this world. Though weak, it was essentially similar to Xu Ran's own perceptual abilities.

Clearly, the other party was also a knowledgeable person.

"Young man, don't make a mistake." Seeing Xu Ran's silence, the old man's tone carried a hint of warning. "This thing is not something an ordinary person like you can get involved with. It will not only be of no benefit to you, but will also be harmful."

That's not entirely wrong.

Trees that bury the dead are highly poisonous to any living being.

But Xu Ran's situation is different.

His "dream" granted him the ability to create life, but this ability was an unbearable "heavy burden of the heavens" for his mortal body.

His body was like a newborn, ever-expanding universe.

And his vitality is the fundamental energy that supports the expansion of this universe.

However, the "mass" of this physical body is too small to support the birth of a "universe".

Therefore, his vitality is being consumed rapidly, and his body is irreversibly heading towards collapse.

This is the root cause of all his illnesses.

He wasn't sick; he was... "creating the world."

The price of creation was his own "annihilation".

This is an unsolvable deadlock.

Unless... he can find a way to bring this expanding "universe" into a balance between "life" and "death".

And this "Burial Wood" before him is the only opportunity to inject the law of "death" into his nascent universe!

Fight poison with poison, live against death!

Therefore, he was determined to get this piece of wood!

"Twenty thousand." Xu Ran spoke again, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

The old man selling goods on the street became breathless. He had never seen so much money in his entire life.

The old man's face finally darkened.

He stared intently at Xu Ran: "Young man, are you sure you want to go against me, Wei, for such a worthless piece of stuff?"

“I don’t know who you are.” Xu Ran shook his head, his gaze falling on the piece of black wood. “I only know that this thing is destined to be with me.”

"What a coincidence!"

The old man, referred to as Elder Wei, laughed in extreme anger.

He stopped bidding and instead took something out of his pocket.

It was a bronze compass, about the size of a palm.

The compass was extremely ancient in design, covered with densely packed, mysterious symbols resembling tadpole script. Under the dim light, it gleamed with a cold, eerie luster.

Old Wei muttered incantations, flicked his finger, and a drop of crimson blood landed in the center of the compass.

hum!
A buzzing sound, seemingly from ancient times, resounded deep within everyone's souls.

The compass needle began to spin wildly, so fast that it almost became a blur.

The surrounding air instantly became viscous like water, and an invisible pressure enveloped the entire alley.

The old man at the street stall was so frightened that he turned pale and scrambled backward.

Xu Ran remained standing quietly in place, his expression unchanged.

He could "see" that as the compass rotated, the spiritual energy within a hundred meters was stirred up. Countless invisible energy threads were forcibly gathered, forming a small vortex above the compass.

This is an extremely crude and primitive application of the power of heaven and earth.

It's like a primitive man who has just learned to make fire by rubbing sticks together, showing off his fire to a future person who has a nuclear fusion reactor.

"Edict!"

Old Wei suddenly let out a low shout and pointed to the "Burial Wood of the World".

The wildly spinning pointer suddenly stopped, pointing steadily at the piece of black wood.

On the bronze surface of the compass, the ancient symbols began to glow with a blood-red light, one after another!
"This...this is...a terrible omen! The three stars of Po Jun, Qi Sha, and Tan Lang are all gathered together! It's a deadly trap!" Looking at the strange phenomenon on the compass, the greed on Old Wei's face was instantly replaced by extreme fear.

He suddenly took two steps back, looking at the piece of black wood as if it were some kind of terrifying monster.

"This thing is ominous! Ominous!" he cried out, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He had studied feng shui and metaphysics his entire life, and had never seen such a terrifying ominous sign. This compass was a ritual implement passed down from his ancestors, capable of bringing good fortune and avoiding misfortune, locating auspicious sites, and had never made a mistake.

This piece of wood is not a treasure at all, but a cursed object that can bring about death or even the extermination of one's entire family!

He dared not look again, turned around and shouted at the two bodyguards, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he turned and left the alley without looking back, as if a vengeful ghost was chasing him.

A tense struggle thus came to a dramatic end.

Xu Ran watched Wei Lao's retreating figure, a faint smile curving his lips.

He turned around, looked at the terrified old man at the street stall, and handed over all the cash in his wallet, 7,325 yuan.

"Fellow villager, you keep all the money. This piece of wood is mine."

"Huh? Oh... Oh oh! Okay! Okay!"

The old man seemed to wake from a dream, hurriedly took the money, and didn't even glance at the piece of black wood, as if it were a hot potato, afraid of getting any bad luck on it.

Xu Ran bent down and stretched out his hand.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch that "wood that buries the world".

hum...

The whole world seemed to have fallen silent.

The sounds of wind, people, and vehicles vanished.

Before Xu Ran's eyes was no longer the alley of Jiangcheng, but an endless, cold void of the universe.

One by one, the stars went out before his eyes.

Galaxy after galaxy collapsed before his eyes.

The entire universe is heading towards death, towards its end.

And he stood in the center of this grand funeral, witnessing firsthand the complete annihilation of a world.

A sense of desolation and loneliness, originating from the depths of his soul, instantly overwhelmed him.

His body began to become transparent, as if he might merge into this nothingness at any moment.

"Wake up!" At this critical moment, a low shout, seemingly from another dimension, exploded in his mind.

Xu Ran suddenly jolted awake, and the illusion before his eyes receded like the tide.

He was still standing in front of that stall, his fingertips less than a centimeter away from the piece of black wood.

But that one centimeter made him break out in a cold sweat.

so close!

He was almost assimilated by the "law of annihilation" contained within this "tree that buries the world".

Without further hesitation, he mobilized the vast creative power within his body, originating from the "dream," and carefully enveloped his palm.

Chapter 604

A faint, invisible glow, full of life, flowed across his skin.

Then, he steadily grasped the "Burial Wood" in his hand.

icy!

Extreme cold!
It wasn't cold in terms of temperature, but rather a kind of "absolute zero" at the level of laws, as if it could freeze even the soul.

In an instant, Xu Ran felt the life force within his body surge wildly towards the black wood in his hand, like a flood that had been released from its dam.

His already weak body began to wither visibly under this terrifying suction force.

His skin had lost its luster.

His hair turned dry and yellow.

In just a few seconds, he seemed to have aged more than ten years.

But Xu Ran's eyes became brighter than ever before!

He could clearly feel that as his life force was fading, a completely opposite force, representing "end" and "death," was slowly returning to his body from the "Burial Tree."

This power, after entering his body, did not cause widespread destruction. Instead, like a stream that had found its course, it began to flow slowly through his damaged meridians.

Wherever it passed, the cells and tissues that were on the verge of collapse due to the excessive expansion of the "power of creation" seemed to be injected with a tranquilizer and gradually calmed down.

That feeling of being torn apart was actually... relieved!

it works!

A surge of ecstasy welled up in Xu Ran's heart.

He made the right bet!

The "universe" within him was no longer just a crazy "Big Bang," but began to have a "collapsed" gravitational force.

"Life" and "death," these two diametrically opposed and supreme forces, achieved a fragile yet delicate balance within his body!

Without further hesitation, he carefully placed the "Burial of the World - Wood" close to his body.

The feeling of life force slipping away immediately lessened considerably.

He knew this was only temporary.

To truly master this power, he needs time and an absolutely safe, undisturbed environment.

He straightened up, nodded slightly to the old man at the street stall who was already stunned, then, leaning on his cane, turned around and walked steadily out of the dark alley.

His silhouette was stretched long in the dim light.

It was still that same slightly frail figure leaning on a cane.

But for some reason, at this moment, he possessed an indescribable, desolate, and ancient aura that seemed out of place with the rest of the world.

It's like a lonely traveler carrying the weight of the entire universe's life and death on his shoulders.

Stepping out of the ghost market, the hustle and bustle of the city once again hits you.

The glow of neon lights replaced the dim glow of lanterns, and the roar of traffic drowned out the whispers in the alleyways. The warmth of everyday life, thick as an unyielding soup, enveloped every mortal walking through the world.

However, in Xu Ran's perception, this bustling scene presented a completely different picture.

His left eye saw the "life" of all things. It saw the vibrant, fiery life force within the children on the street, the slowly flowing essence of the wood element within the old trees by the roadside, and the countless tiny specks of light floating in the air—seeds of life, manifestations of primordial energy. In his left eye, the whole world was a radiant, vibrant tapestry of life.

But his right eye saw the "death" of all things. It was the faint, almost imperceptible aura of death on the child, representing aging and disease; it was the lingering, decaying, and annihilating message clinging to the withered branches of the old tree; it was the concrete jungle, where buildings, from the day they were built, were destined for final collapse. In his right eye, the entire world was shrouded in a thin, gray veil called "entropy increase."

Life and death, creation and destruction, order and chaos.

These two originally diametrically opposed laws have now achieved a strange harmony through his broken body.

The "Burial Tree" in his arms was like a cold heart. With each "beat," it would draw a portion of his life force from his body, while simultaneously feeding back a purer "annihilation" law, repairing his body that was on the verge of collapse due to "creation."

His body was no longer flesh and blood, but an ancient battlefield being carved out. The horns of life and the drums of death sounded simultaneously, the torrents of creation and the waves of destruction washed over, collided and annihilated each other, and finally, in the center of that chaos, a delicate balance was formed.

Xu Ran, leaning on his cane, walked with unusually steady steps.

He could feel that the deep-seated weakness was fading away, replaced by an unprecedented sense of "control".

He was no longer a mortal passively enduring the suffering of "creation," but began to truly harness the ultimate power of these two universes.

Although this control is still very immature and rough, it's like a child wielding two giant axes that split the heavens and the earth.

The slightest misstep could lead to utter ruin.

But, in the end, this is... just one path!

A path to survival.

As night deepened, Xu Ran didn't take a taxi but chose to walk home. He needed time to adjust to the dramatic changes happening within his body.

He walked slowly, his shadow stretching and shrinking under the streetlights, like a solitary traveler trudging through the river of time.

However, a hint of coldness suddenly flashed deep within his calm, still eyes.

He stopped and stood on a pedestrian overpass, looking down at the endless stream of cars below.

"After following us for so long, shouldn't we come out by now?"

His voice was soft, yet clear, reaching into the shadows on the other side of the overpass.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

A few seconds later, three figures slowly emerged from the darkness.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a lean and muscular build, dressed in martial arts attire. His temples were bulging, and his eyes shone with a sharp light. He walked with a steady gait and long, deep breaths, clearly a master of internal martial arts.

Behind him followed two young men, their expressions arrogant, exuding an aura different from ordinary people. In their hands, each held an ancient jade pendant, from which a faint light shimmered.

Xu Ran's gaze lingered on the two jade pendants for a moment.

In his perception, it was no ordinary object. Inside the jade pendant, a trace of the primordial energy of heaven and earth was sealed using a special method. Although weak, it could be activated at crucial moments, unleashing power far exceeding that of ordinary people.

This is one of Old Wei's men.

"Your perception is quite keen." The middle-aged man at the head of the group stopped ten meters away from Xu Ran, his voice loud and full of energy. "Mr. Wei invites you to come in, have a cup of tea, and talk about that piece of wood."

(End of this chapter)