novellaaa Chapter 228 Even more like the righteous path than himself!
Chapter 228 Even more like the righteous path than himself!
Chapter 228 Even more righteous than himself!! (4000)
Lin Zhaoxuan's eyes were bloodshot, his hands gripped the Thunder Token, and his whole body was trembling.
He wasn't afraid; rather, the blood energy ignited by the Bloodfire Pill within his body was almost uncontrollable.
He stepped on the ridge with his left foot and the ridge with his right, forcefully assuming the stance of "water and fire in harmony".
Then, he pressed his right thumb firmly on the cloud and thunder pattern on the back of the Thunder Token, and pinched the "Five Thunder Finger" with his left hand!
Thumb presses down on little finger, ring finger bends into palm, index and middle fingers extend together, fingertips aligned with the incomplete "霆" character in the center of the token.
"Master, your disciple is Lin Zhaoxuan."
"Using blood as the catalyst and orders as the medium."
"Thunder roams the three realms, and lightning shakes the nine netherworlds."
"Broken lamp, enter the stage, end the performance!"
As he uttered the last word, "break," Lin Zhaoxuan pushed with both hands.
The thunder caused the bluish-white light to shine brightly.
This time, however, the lightning did not condense into a straight beam of light as before.
Instead, it followed the red line drawn by Lu Yuan, transforming into a thin electric snake, and sped along the altar path.
Wherever the electric snake passed, the red line made a "snap" sound.
Skeletal soldiers rushed forward along the way, but were blocked by the incense railings and forced to retreat by the burning talisman fire.
Several ferocious skeletons rushed into the altar path, attempting to sever the red thread with bone knives.
Zhou Heng roared and threw the peach wood sword out of his hand.
The three yellow talismans on the sword ignited simultaneously.
"Taiyi Divides Light, Sword Slays Yin Soldiers!"
The peach wood sword transformed into a streak of fire, striking the chest of the foremost skeletal soldier.
The ghostly soldier was knocked backward and sent flying, along with several others behind him, all exploding into bone dust.
Zhou Heng himself was thrown back to the ground, his face deathly pale, but he still managed to get up and shout, "Senior brother, don't stop!"
Lin Zhaoxuan clenched his teeth so tightly that blood seeped from his mouth and nose.
The cracks on the Thunder Token grew longer and longer, almost piercing through half of the token.
But the electric snake finally reached the front of the stage.
The pale white wall blocking the stage immediately surged.
The seven lanterns simultaneously contracted inward, from which came a mixture of sounds: a baby crying, an old man laughing, a woman cursing, and a man panting, as if seven heads were struggling inside the lanterns.
The old man sang in a shrill voice, "The light will never go out—"
"Non-stop drama"
"Guests don't leave."
"The spirit never disperses—"
'
This was exactly what Lu Yuan was waiting for.
He suddenly bit his left middle finger, drawing blood, and then smeared the Big Dipper pattern on the blade of the magic sword.
Fresh blood lit up one by one along the seven-star engraving.
Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, Yao Guang.
Seven stars form a line.
Lu Yuan stepped on the Qi, his pace extremely fast, first three steps to the left, then four steps to the right, and finally turning around to step into the center.
This is "Yu Bu Ta Dou".
With each step, the shoulders remain still, the waist sways, and the heels land firmly on the ground.
He shouted, "The righteous spirit of the heavens, the true form of the Big Dipper."
"The seven stars illuminate the way, dispelling illusions and bringing enlightenment."
"I am acting by the decree of the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation and Responding to the Origin of Thunder!"
"The sound of the play being cut off!"
With a flick of the magic sword, the tip struck precisely where the red line and the lightning intersected.
The electric snake seemed to have found its target, and suddenly split into seven.
Seven thin bolts of lightning simultaneously pierced through the seven pale white lanterns.
"Bang!"
The first one exploded.
An old woman's head with white hair rolled out of it, but before it hit the ground, it was burned to ashes by lightning.
"Bang!"
The second one exploded.
A woman's face covered in rouge flew out, only to be shredded into pieces by Lu Yuan's sword energy.
"Bang bang bang!"
The third, fourth, and fifth lanterns exploded one after another.
Inside were blackened child bones, tangled hair, and half a piece of old wooden plaque from a theatrical troupe, all of which turned to ashes in the thunder and fire.
But when it came to the sixth lamp, the lightning suddenly stopped.
On the stage, the old actor suddenly bit off his own tongue.
The black tongue landed on the table and transformed into a slippery black snake, which lunged at the sixth lantern and tightly coiled around it.
The lightning struck the black snake, but it swallowed most of it whole.
Lin Zhaoxuan groaned, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt down.
The cracks on the Thunder Order made a series of "crackling" sounds.
Song Qinghe exclaimed, "Senior brother, the command token is about to crack!"
Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold.
This old man actually used his own wicked and mischievous nature to protect the lamp.
If the sixth and seventh lamps do not go out, the opera, though cut short, can still be resumed through the evil eye of the willow tree.
All our previous efforts will be in vain.
At that very moment, Lu Yuan suddenly heard Lin Zhaoxuan chuckle softly.
The laughter was soft, yet it carried a reckless, almost suicidal energy.
"Fellow Daoist Lu."
"Did you previously think we were some kind of heretics?"
Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened.
Lin Zhaoxuan did not turn around, but stared intently at the stage.
"Actually, it's right for you to be wary of us."
"In these chaotic times of war, there are many bearded men outside the Great Wall, and many wicked and unorthodox people as well."
"No one can be trusted easily."
As he spoke, he suddenly stuffed the second Bloodfire Pill into his mouth.
Song Qinghe's expression changed drastically: "Senior Brother!"
Zhou Heng's eyes were red: "Lin Zhaoxuan! You've gone mad!"
Lin Zhaoxuan swallowed the pill after his Adam's apple bobbed.
The next moment, his entire body skin turned a blood red, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged like earthworms.
The Thunder Token made a piercing buzzing sound as he gripped it.
He suddenly bit his left palm and smeared the blood all over the "Thunder" character on the front of the token.
"Whether it's the evil path or the righteous path."
"Someone has to clean up what's here today."
"Grandmaster, please don't blame your disciple for squandering your wealth."
"Today, I, your disciple, will risk my life!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a hand seal.
It's neither the Five Thunder Finger nor an ordinary sword technique.
Instead, interlace the ten fingers of both hands, with the middle finger of the right hand protruding from the web between the thumb and index finger of the left hand.
The left thumb presses down on the base of the right ring finger, forming a very rare "Thunder Formation Combination Seal".
Lu Yuan's eyes flickered.
The handprint is incomplete.
Lin Zhaoxuan had clearly only learned half of it.
Even so, the Thunder Token still emitted a dazzling bluish-white light the moment it was imprinted.
Within that light, a faint, aged command could be heard.
"Ray is coming!"
That's not Lin Zhaoxuan's voice.
Like this Thunder Token, there is a trace of the Dharma intent of an old Taoist master.
The blue-white lightning suddenly surged.
The black snake on the sixth lantern let out a miserable cry and was split in two by lightning from head to tail.
"Bang!"
The sixth lantern exploded.
The severed tongue inside turned into charcoal, fell onto the table, twisted twice, and then remained completely still.
There's only one lamp left.
But just as the sixth lamp exploded, the four wicked actors on the stage—the old male lead, the old female lead, the young female lead, and the martial arts actor—all looked up at the same time.
Their bodies began to melt.
The opera robes, white powder, flesh, and bones flowed like wax onto the stage, then quickly gathered under the last lantern.
The last lantern suddenly swelled up.
From the size of a regular lantern, it grew to half a person's height in the blink of an eye.
A face without features appeared on the lantern's paper surface.
The face slowly split open, revealing a mouth that emitted the laughter of the willow tree.
"whee----"
"Hehehe————"
Willow Tree's evil gaze pierced through the darkness once more, landing on Lin Zhaoxuan.
Lin Zhaoxuan's body stiffened abruptly, and the light on the Thunder Token dimmed instantly.
He was being watched by the evil eye.
Xu Erxiao shouted, "Brother Lu!"
Lu Yuan was prepared.
With his left hand, he ripped off the charred amulet from his chest, and with his right hand, he used his magic sword to pick up the ashes of the amulet and flung it toward Lin Zhaoxuan.
"Changing forms and shadows, shifting stars and crossing constellations!"
Fu Hui transformed into a blurry human figure in mid-air, blocking Lin Zhaoxuan and Liu Shuxieyan.
"puff!"
The gray figure exploded instantly.
Lu Yuan felt as if he had been hit in the chest with a heavy hammer, and he took half a step back, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
But the pressure on Lin Zhaoxuan finally eased for a moment.
That one moment is enough.
Wang Chengan suddenly tossed the copper bell high into the air.
The copper bell rotates in mid-air, with its opening facing south.
He formed the "Jade Emperor Seal" with both hands, pressing his thumb against his middle finger and bringing his index and ring fingers together forward, and chanted in a stern voice: "The sound of the bell reaches the Three Pure Realms above and connects to the Nine Nether Gates below."
"Keep your evil voices shut, and let the righteous voices ring out!"
"Imperial Edict!"
The copper bell rang on its own.
"bite"
It was silent, yet extremely clear.
It was as clear as ice cracking in the twelfth lunar month outside the Great Wall, the sound of which cracked open and filled the valley with a chilling noise.
The singing on the stage was interrupted by the sound of the bell, which broke the rhythm by half a beat.
Taking advantage of the situation, Song Qinghe stuck the last cold talisman on Lin Zhaoxuan's back, crying and shouting, "Senior brother, hit him!"
Zhou Heng got up from the ground, his mouth full of blood, but he grabbed a skeleton soldier who was lunging at Lin Zhaoxuan.
The bone knife pierced his shoulder, but he refused to let go, instead pressing his forehead against the ghostly soldier's skeletal face and roaring, "Attack!"
The last bit of doubt in Lu Yuan's heart completely dissipated at this moment.
If this is acting, then it's gone too far.
Lu Yuan no longer held back.
Lu Yuan took out a black cloth bag from his bosom.
This time, however, he did not untie the last two red ropes, but instead gently patted them through the cloth bag.
Inside the black cloth bag, the top-tier magical artifact seemed to be awakened for a moment.
A heavy yet majestic aura emanated from it.
Only half a point.
However, this caused the tablets of the Three Pure Ones and the ancestral master on the altar to tremble slightly at the same time.
Using the force of the shock, Lu Yuan held the sword with both hands, the tip pointing directly at the last lantern.
"The Patriarch borrowed half a seal."
"Disciple slays evil."
"Obey the command of thunder, march forward in righteousness!"
He stomped his foot on the central palace and thrust his magic sword forward.
A golden-white aura shot out from the tip of the sword, following the red line and crashing into the Thunder Token in Lin Zhaoxuan's hand.
Lin Zhaoxuan was startled.
He felt a powerful and majestic magical force coming from outside.
It wasn't about taking away his command token or suppressing his laws, but rather about holding back the Thunder Command token that was about to crack.
Before he could even be shocked, his eyes widened in fury, and with his last breath, he pushed the Thunder Token forward.
"Thunderbolts the Evil!"
The blue-white lightning and the golden-white sword energy merged together.
It transformed into a thin, extremely bright lightning sword.
The thunder sword pierced through the darkness, through the churning shadows in front of the stage, and through the filthy blood and grime left behind by the melting of old men, women, actors, and martial arts performers.
Finally, right in the center was that pale lantern that had swollen to half a person's height.
For the first time, the faceless figure on the lantern paper showed terror.
It opened its mouth as if to sing.
But Wang Cheng'an's copper bell drowned out its sound.
It wanted to hide.
But Song Qinghe's cold talisman froze the corner of the stage.
It wanted to summon ghost soldiers to block it.
But Xu Erxiao's three nails firmly pinned down the red-threaded ghost road.
It wanted to use the evil eye of the willow tree to oppress people.
But Lu Yuan's magic sword had already blocked it.
"boom!"
The last lantern exploded.
This explosion didn't shatter an ordinary lantern.
The entire stage shook violently.
The stark white lights went out instantly.
A palm-sized black wooden plaque flew out of the lantern.
Two blurry words were written in blood on the wooden sign—
"Theatrical performance".
The moment the wooden sign appeared, Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold.
"So that's where the root of the problem lies!"
He spun his sword and drew the character "破" (break) in mid-air.
"Thunder and fire refine the filth, swiftly destroying the true form!"
Lin Zhaoxuan, with his last breath, pressed down with the Thunder Order.
Blue and white lightning struck the black wooden plaque.
"Snap!"
The black wooden plaque split in two.
The next moment, all sound on the entire stage came to an abrupt halt.
The gong stopped.
The drumming stopped.
The sound of the erhu has stopped.
The old-style male lead singing is gone.
The sounds of laughter and crying were gone.
A terrifying silence suddenly fell over Yeren Gully.
The silence lasted for less than a breath.
Subsequently, the stage began to collapse from the four corners.
The blackened wooden planks rotted away, the faded red silk on the pillars turned to ash, and the yellowed paper flowers crumbled into powder.
The melted blood of the evil spirits on the stage seemed to have lost its support, quickly drying up, cracking, and finally turning into a layer of black ash.
A gust of cold wind blew it away completely.
The spectators below the stage were also stunned.
Wisps of black mist seeped out of their empty eye sockets.
The old man at the front, who was smoking a pipe, lowered his head, as if he had suddenly forgotten why he was standing there.
His lips moved.
This time, it's no longer about "watching a show".
Instead, it was a very soft, almost inaudible, "It's over."
"The play is over."
As soon as those words were spoken, large numbers of onlookers began to disperse.
Their old clothes, tattered jackets, long gowns, and red silk all turned to dust.
The skeletons of the ghostly soldiers, which had been pieced together, seemed to have had their skeletons removed, scattering all over the ground with a clatter.
The embers were extinguished.
The bone knife and rusted spear broke into pieces.
The second wave of evil spirits, which had almost reached the edge of the altar, receded like a tide, turning into countless plumes of black smoke as they retreated.
The candlelight on the altar returned to its dim yellow hue.
The cigarettes finally stopped flying horizontally and began to rise slowly.
Only in the center of the valley, the old willow tree still stands.
The evil eye on the tree trunk stared intently at the group.
But unlike before, there was now a clear trace of resentment and fear in those evil eyes.
Once the stage was destroyed, a piece of the "incense offerings" it gathered through the opera were severed.
The willow branches lashed the ground wildly, making a cracking sound.
No matter how much it shook, the onlookers and the skeletal soldiers who had already dispersed did not rise again.
Lu Yuan let out a long breath.
The play is finally resolved.
"Thump!"
Lin Zhaoxuan could no longer hold on and collapsed to his knees.
The Thunder Token slipped from his hands, but he caught it with both hands at the last moment, preventing it from hitting the ground.
The ancient token was riddled with cracks, and its luster had almost completely dimmed.
But it didn't break in the end.
Song Qinghe hurriedly helped Lin Zhaoxuan up, tears streaming down her face.
"Senior brother! Senior brother, how are you?"
Lin Zhaoxuan's face was deathly pale, but his lips were frighteningly red, clearly a sign of the Bloodfire Pill's backlash.
He took a couple of breaths and even grinned.
"He's not dead."
Zhou Heng clutched his shoulder, hissing in pain, but still stubbornly retorted, "You're still laughing! Two Bloodfire Pills, are you out of your mind?"
Lin Zhaoxuan looked down at the Thunder Token in his hand, his voice weak: "The token isn't broken."
"The patriarch has been very kind to us."
Lu Yuan looked at Lin Zhaoxuan and the other two with a somewhat complicated expression.
One was desperately swallowing pills, another had his shoulder pierced by a bone knife, and yet another, his face covered in tears, was still applying talismans to protect others.
If this is considered heretical, then there are probably very few righteous paths left in this world.
To be honest —
Lu Yuan felt————
Damn it, these three seem more like the righteous path than I do!