Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Because of the battle between the Respected God of White Bones and Zhuang Ting, the entire Fenglin City was caught between the realms of the underworld and the mortal world.

It became an indelible ugly scar on the Zhuang realm, standing between Wangjiang City and Sanshan City.

Outside the city, there was a monument to the living beings, made of precious stone and inscribed with formations, which had become a magical tool itself.

It was said that the inscription on the monument was personally written by Emperor Zhuang, confessing his own guilt and declaring the White Bone Path as a national enemy. The purpose of erecting this monument was to transcend the souls and console the living.

However, only those who could truly see the underworld understood that this monument to the living beings was meaningless except for fooling the people.

Because it was outside the Fenglin City, it couldn't transcend anyone at all.

The current Fenglin City neither belonged to the underworld nor existed in the mortal world.

This also meant that the wandering souls here could never transcend, never reincarnate.

They would suffer forever.

Unless Zhuang Gaoxian personally entered the gap between the two realms, his poor subjects would have a chance to be transcended. However, the Fenglin City, which had already been eroded by the underworld's aura, was almost like the home field of the Respected God of White Bones. How could a sovereign take such a risk?

The Fenglin City was silent to the point of madness.

Linghe remembered that there used to be sounds here.

Crying, shouting, howling, screams of pain, curses, weeping...

Those sounds were all sad and uncomfortable to listen to, but at least there were still sounds.

Later, as the aura of the underworld gradually spread, those sounds disappeared bit by bit.

They had been gone for a long time.

He watched helplessly as the little girl with pigtails in his arms died.

Her breath and warmth gradually left her small body.

No matter how hard he tried, searching for food and medicine in the ruins, he couldn't stop her from leaving.

At that moment, Linghe suddenly realized that rescuing her from under the rafters might have only caused her more pain.

"Big brother, big brother! Why didn't you save me?"

"We worked hard, paid taxes to the country, and supported your cultivation. You are a transcendent cultivator! Why didn't you protect us?"

"I'm in so much pain, so much pain..."

Linghe shook his head, trying to forcefully push these images and sounds out of his mind.

They were just painful illusions.

But it was these painful illusions that reminded him that he was still alive.

More and more moments of confusion made Linghe realize that he didn't have much time left to be clear-headed. In a place like this, no one could avoid the erosion of the underworld's aura.

But every time he regained consciousness, he would do his own thing.

He was doing a very simple thing - burying all the bodies he could see, digging graves and reciting scriptures to transcend each and every one of them.

People believed that only by being buried in the earth could they find peace. The earth was a compassionate mother, embracing all her lost children.

The first person he buried was the little girl with pigtails.

He didn't even know her name.

A small grave mound outside Mingde Hall became her new home.

Linghe recited the "Supreme Sutra of Salvation" to transcend her.

The "Supreme Sutra of Salvation" itself didn't have any specific magical powers, but it was indeed a classic scripture that all Taoists would recite for transcendence.

There was a legend about this scripture:

It was said that in ancient times, there was a hunter who shot a tiger and ventured deep into the mountains. He met a Taoist under a pine tree.

The Taoist said that he was burdened with sins and his life was coming to an end. He asked the hunter about his plans.

The hunter begged for an extension of his life, and the Taoist asked him to swear to give up his bow and arrow and never kill again. In return, after his death, the Taoist would transcend him.

The hunter agreed and left.

That winter, the hunter suddenly fell ill and died, but his left hand still had a finger with residual warmth.

His family didn't immediately bury him because of this.

Three days later, the hunter indeed came back to life.

According to him, when he died, two yellow-clad messengers held official documents and led him to the underworld.

An official holding a black book told him, "You have committed grave sins and should go to hell!"

He was very afraid and suddenly remembered the Taoist, so he prayed in his heart.

At that moment, auspicious clouds surged from the northwest sky, and the Taoist descended from a cloud carriage, hovering in front of the hall.

The officials in the underworld bowed to him. The Taoist said, "I have a disciple here, and I have come to transcend him." After saying that, he handed a scroll of scripture to the hunter and told him to recite it.

After the hunter finished reciting the scripture, the Taoist disappeared.

At that moment, a yellow-clad messenger brought the hunter back to his doorstep, where he heard cries coming from inside his house. The hunter was resurrected.

It all seemed like a dream.

But the hunter sat there and recalled the scripture, writing it down word for word.

Afterwards, he recited the scripture and fasted every day, and several years later, he left home to cultivate, disappearing without a trace.

But this scripture was copied and spread, becoming a classic of the Taoist sect.

Its name was the "Supreme Sutra of Salvation."

In the present world, there were various sects. When cultivators chose a sect, they mostly considered the power of its techniques, the depth of its heritage, and the size of its sect.But many people have forgotten the original spirit and ideals of these sects and schools.

For instance, the Confucian school, which advocates education for all and the enlightenment of the people.

For instance, the Legalist school, which establishes rules and regulations to govern the world.

For instance, the Taoist school, which is not only the oldest cultivation sect. Its earliest birth was the beginning of countless human races bravely resisting and summarizing the path of cultivation.

Such as praying for blessings and disaster relief, and guiding the deceased, these are one of the duties of Taoists.

However, in the present world, how many cultivators are aloof and disdainful of all beings?

In a world where power is vested in oneself, the strong are always strong, and the weak are always sad.

The earth's fissure destroyed the entire Maple Forest City, but after everything subsided, this land seemed to silently accept the appearance of ruins.

Ling River painstakingly searched for the bodies of people from the ruins and buried them one by one.

First, all the children in Mingde Hall and their teachers.

Then, Basalt Street, Qingmu Avenue, Flying Horse Lane...

Moving forward bit by bit, leaving one grave after another.

No one pitied this land, no one saved the people here, no one guided them.

So Ling River came to do this.

This is a destined massive project, which may not be completed in a lifetime.

Not to mention that his "lifetime" is destined to be short.

Perhaps tomorrow, or the next moment, he will be completely eroded by the aura of the underworld. Like the other people in this city, he will die quietly and unknown.

But before he dies, he still has to do this.

...

Far away in Qi Country, Jiang Wang didn't know that in the Maple Forest City, which had become a dead zone, there was still a person struggling to move forward.

Just like Du Yehu, who is becoming more and more silent and murderous in Jiujiang County, he doesn't know what kind of efforts the lazy Xiao Wu, whom he always despised, is making now.

At least at this moment, everyone is moving forward alone.

They all can't see the road ahead, can't see hope.

And they all, without exception, never stopped.

They didn't know that in a distant place, someone was responding to them.

They all thought that the response was only in their hearts.

This is an incredibly difficult journey.

It is so for everyone.

...

Jiang Wang never relaxed for a moment. The potential of the Divine Mansion is considerable, but before it is realized, it is just potential.

At this moment, he is sitting in a carriage, heading to Chiyang County.

In the carriage, phantom flowers bloom and wither, thorny crowns form and disperse.

He is making the most of his time, practicing the three newly acquired Taoist arts over and over again.

The benefits of the foundation laid by the Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation are now fully demonstrated, and he hardly needs to worry about the consumption of Taoist elements.

Of course, going to Chiyang County is also to enhance his strength.

For him, as long as it is a Taoist art that is circulated in the world, no matter how strong it is, there is a way to deal with it.

At least so far, the three sword styles that summarize experiences and integrate swordsmanship are his current strongest unique methods.

But before that, he needs a really good sword.