Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Luo Budao's injuries were relatively minor; he was focused on escaping and didn't engage in any real fighting, so his meridians weren't damaged.

Zhu Wuyao seemed somewhat disappointed and frustrated.

She, the Silent Daoist, had slain countless evil cultivators from north to south, yet her own mule had become the one being bullied, failing to learn any of her former glory.

She didn't say these words aloud.

Firstly, because Luo Budao had taken human form, he shouldn't voice his own biases towards his possessions;

Secondly, given the circumstances at the time, Luo Budao's choice to flee, given his inferior skills, was the right one.

Occasionally, when Zhu Wuyao looked at Luo Budao in human form, she would feel a pang of regret. She still preferred mules; animals were more reassuring.

How did a perfectly good mule turn into a human?

Fortunately, Luo Budao hadn't fully learned how to behave like a "human," and was occasionally naive to the point of being foolish. Otherwise, even with that past relationship, Zhu Wuyao wouldn't have easily categorized him as one of her own.

"What's wrong with your cultivation technique?"

Upon hearing Zhu Wuyao's question, Luo Budao replied:

"My master once said that one should observe all things in the world but not enter into worldly affairs, one should maintain a state of mind of chaos and still have a sense of purpose, one should not empathize with the characters in the story, one should be moderate and have no bias, and if one is to be a storyteller, then one cannot be a character in the story."

"He rambled on and on, but that's roughly the gist of it!"

Zhu Wuyao nodded thoughtfully.

Clearly, Luo Budao is not capable of doing these things yet. He has only been a person for a few years. In terms of his level of worldly involvement, he is still a child. It is too much to ask a mule to talk about transcending the world.

“I recently wrote a new storybook. If you’re bored, I’ll introduce you to the young master of Mohen Bookstore tomorrow, and you can tell him the story in the book.”

I should find a job.

Auction houses with good items don't operate openly. In the days leading up to his meeting with Luo Budao, Zhu Wuyao had already gotten a pretty good grasp of the clandestine business dealings in Dongji City.

She changed her appearance.

Luo Budao and I went to the auction house.

He had plenty of spirit stones and was quite generous, but to avoid being targeted by thieves, he only bid on two items.

One was a jade pendant used to conceal Luo Budao's aura. It was considered one of the better items of its kind, as it could not only conceal demonic energy but also his cultivation level.

The other item is a Buddhist item.

To outsiders, it's practically a chicken rib.

Who would kill someone and then think about quelling the resentment of the deceased?

However, for Zhu Wuyao, this was a perfect opportunity to settle the matter of the Pinghe Cauldron.

They went to the deep mountains overnight. Zhu Wuyao spread his spiritual sense and covered the entire mountain. It was some distance from Dongji City. After surveying the area with his spiritual power, he found that there were no caves, formations, or cultivators there.

The Pinghe Ding was brought out.

It emitted faint ripples of spiritual energy in the night.

This Soul-Seizing Cauldron imprisons the souls of many cultivators that should have dispersed, trapping their "spirits," which should have returned to heaven and earth, within the cauldron and making them usurp the power of others.

May the deceased rest in peace.

At that time, Zhu Wuyao was in a dangerous situation. If he were to release the divine soul bound in the cauldron, it would be tantamount to cutting off his own limbs.

But he never forgot the promise he made that day.

Luo Budao looked up with some curiosity, watching as the Buddhist scriptures emerged with golden inscriptions, seemingly confronting the resentment within the cauldron. He asked:

"After the transformation, can this cauldron still be used?"

Zhu Wuyao shook his head and said:

"The reason why this cauldron has such power is because it contains the lingering spirit of a cultivator."

"Huh? The cauldron is destroyed just like that?"

Zhu Wuyao used his spiritual power to unleash the power of the Buddhist scriptures. As the scriptures were imprinted on the cauldron, the power of the Pinghe Cauldron began to decline, and its aura gradually weakened.

Countless pure spiritual energies from the origin of heaven and earth are spreading outwards.

They returned to the universe.

Like fallen leaves returning to their roots, cultivators seize the creation of heaven and earth for themselves. When their time comes, as their consciousness fades, their spiritual power returns to heaven and earth.

Thus, life continues endlessly.

The butterfly shadow that served as the main soul emerged from the Pinghe Cauldron.

Lingering and yearning, it seems as if the obsession has not been extinguished and the desire to perish has not been fulfilled, yet within the cage formed by the scriptures, it gradually becomes uncertain and flickering.

The act of guiding the deceased to peace is simply following the rules of the world, allowing the deceased to return to tranquility. Zhu Wuyao does not expend much spiritual energy.

Luo Budao, who was watching from the side, suddenly spoke up:

"Is this butterfly still clinging to its obsession? It seems unwilling to leave. If it simply disperses into the world like this, where will its obsession go?"

Zhu Wuyao actually knew something about this matter.

Since talking with Ye Xiaozhou in the Demon Clan's Flying Lake and learning that the current abnormal operation of the Heavenly Dao was probably related to divination cultivators, she took some time to visit the library after returning to the Star-Picking Tower.

If the Heavenly Dao is similar to a program that maintains order, then the powerful beings of the Moon-Benyue Pavilion probably forcibly rewrote the code and the rules of heaven and earth, thus enhancing the fortune of the human race.

This is what caused the demon race, which originally held the upper hand, to decline during the primordial era.

However, rewriting code often introduces new bugs.

Zhu Wuyao explained in a way that Luo Budao could understand:

"It is estimated that when one's obsession reaches a certain depth, it can merge into the Great Dao and become a mark of the Great Dao. This is something that only a great being can do."

Luo Budao nodded.

Above, the Pinghe Cauldron began to tremble violently. As the butterfly shadow dissipated, the power that could support it finally disappeared, and it gradually lost its mystical qualities, becoming a mortal object of decent material.

It was about to shatter under the tearing force of spiritual energy.

But at that moment, the mountain that Zhu Wuyao had examined and found to be completely normal suddenly began to emanate layers of spiritual light from its base.

It is shaped like a large formation.

Zhu Wuyao's expression hardened slightly. He quickly abandoned his attempt to destroy the Pinghe Cauldron, withdrew his spiritual power, and protected himself and Luo Budao.

Be alert to changes in the surroundings.

The array of spiritual light climbing up from the foot of the mountain was not aimed at the two of them, but rather surrounded the Pinghe Cauldron that should have been destroyed. From who knows where, it cast a series of magical seals into the cauldron, and a fire without source ignited, turning the entire mountain into a furnace for refining weapons.

Refining materials, of unknown origin, were melted and forged, then thrown into the center of the formation and fused into the soon-to-be-destroyed Pinghe Cauldron, adding luster to it.

A verse appeared before my eyes—

"Heaven and earth are the furnace for forging precious artifacts; mountains and rivers remain unchanged, but people's hearts change."

"Things are things as they are, why destroy them? Turning back is the time for creation."

Pinghe Ding's brilliance is understated.

A bell mark appeared out of thin air and was branded onto the body of the cauldron. It was none other than Guan Baoshan, the most renowned weapon-refining master in the cultivation world.

The opening line of the poem subtly reveals the name of this master weapon refiner.

When Zhu Wuyao first entered the world of cultivation, he, Ji Yuezhang, and Gu Lang staged a play in the Huijin Pavilion to compete for treasures, in order to draw out the news that a rare treasure was about to appear in Nanli City.

The "Mountain-Seeking Disc" that they fought over in their act was a magical artifact forged by Guan Baoshan, only it was damaged.

It is said that this person was a genius at crafting magical artifacts, and the magical artifacts he forged became highly sought after as soon as they were released.

Guan Baoshan thus secluded himself from the world, unwilling to cause further bloodshed among people because of the magical artifacts he forged. It is said that before Guan Baoshan went into seclusion, he left behind many treasures, but no one could find them and regarded them as mere rumors.

Zhu Wuyao had no intention of searching for a mountain, but instead found a treasure mountain.

She bowed to the bell to show her respect.

This is probably Guan Baoshan's revenge on those who seek treasure—those who seek treasure will never see it, but he will give the opportunity to those who destroy it.