MTLNOVEL Chapter 86: Rebirth
After Xie Xuanyi departed, the Dao Furnace Hall returned to its desolate state.
The divine radiance was still erupting forcefully.
Three Grotto Heavens, dead here, their blood dyed the floor of the hall red.
Dao Jiu was alone, floating in the middle of the hall, looking somewhat resentfully at the Starfire portal...
Dao Jiu did not doubt Xie Zhen's promise.
However, he now regretted opening the door so readily, allowing Xie Zhen to proceed to the Seeking Tao Domain.
"Tap. Tap. Tap."
The Secret Tomb's array patterns were activated, but Dao Jiu heard footsteps in the distance.
The sound was very light.
Yet each step seemed to fall upon one's Heart Lake.
Dao Jiu frowned as he looked toward the very front of the hall.
A figure with white hair and a white robe slowly emerged from the darkness.
The sound of footsteps stopped there.
The white-haired figure, standing in a pool of blood, gazed at the hall, the Dao Furnace, and Dao Jiu from afar.
Time seemed to freeze.
"I think I've seen you before..."
Dao Jiu looked at the white-haired man, his eyes somewhat puzzled.
"Not bad memory,"
Lu Yuzhen smiled and said, "Indeed, we have met once, but it was just a fleeting glimpse."
Dao Jiu remembered.
Years ago, the last time the Secret Tomb opened, many cultivators stepped into this place—
At that time, this figure was there.
In the past, to contest for the [Dao Furnace], many Demon Cultivators fought fiercely, and many also overcame their greed and chose to withdraw.
The white-haired man before him was one who had chosen to withdraw.
"Erosion Sun Swamp... Carp Tide River..."
Dao Jiu rubbed his temple, recalling the words Xie Zhen had told him.
Xie Zhen said that the last time the Secret Tomb was in the Demon Country's Erosion Sun Swamp, this time it was in the Human Race's Carp Tide River, places ten thousand miles apart—could it be a coincidence that this man entered the tomb on both occasions?
Is this guy a Demon Cultivator or a human?
"It's no coincidence."
Lu Yuzhen's voice, bearing foreknowledge, echoed throughout the hall, "Don't misunderstand, I am not a Demon Cultivator."
Upon hearing this.
Dao Jiu's expression changed drastically.
He gazed at the white-haired man in front of him as if he had seen a ghost.
Had his Divine Thought been spied upon?
Or did this guy possess a Spiritual Treasure that could peer into the Heart Lake?
Dao Jiu stared intently at Lu Yuzhen, attempting to discern any clues from him, but then something even more bizarre happened.
In his Divine Thought perception.
The Lu Yuzhen standing in the hall's pool of blood was like a breeze.
He seemingly did not exist at all.
As an Artifact Spirit, he should not possess human emotions, but under the influence of the [Dao Brush], Dao Jiu had cultivated a human form, slowly experiencing emotions only humans could possess.
He could feel joy and sorrow...
But staring directly at Lu Yuzhen now, he felt an unprecedented sensation welling up within him.
Dao Jiu felt fear.
The drapes of the great hall were stretched tight as a sword, pointing to the ground, and the [Dao Furnace] also erupted with a fiery, boiling breath, divine lights spiraling above the hall.
"Dao Jiu, there's no need to be afraid,"
Lu Yuzhen sighed softly.
He tried to make his voice gentle, but it didn't have much effect.
The taut drape pointed at him.
Lu Yuzhen hurriedly raised his hands, displaying a surrender gesture, and he said with a wry smile, "Actually, I am not here for you."
Dao Jiu kept staring intently at Lu Yuzhen, without lowering his guard in the slightest.
"I am here for her."
Lu Yuzhen extended his finger, gently pointing at the woman at the stonewall's end, whose breath had ceased.
In the puzzled gaze of Dao Jiu.
A drop of crystalline, golden dew swept from Lu Yuzhen's fingertip, hovering in the air, slowly drifting away, and eventually landing on Chu Man's parched lips.
In the battle with Xie Xuanyi, Chu Man had been thoroughly defeated.
Her ancient zither was shattered, her Flying Sword taken—
In the end, she was pierced through the heart by a sword, all of which Dao Jiu witnessed himself.
But moments later.
With a "thump"!
A faint heartbeat echoed in the silent hall.
Chu Man, pierced through the heart by a Flying Sword, still had her eyes closed, but numerous golden lights arose from the position of her chest, as vigorous vitality enveloped her.
Dao Jiu saw it very clearly.
Chu Man's rigid body even slightly trembled in the fingertips.
He was astounded beyond measure by this scene.
"How is this possible!"
Even as an Artifact Spirit, even without having ventured into the outside world.
Dao Jiu very well understood.
The Dao of life and death is an iron law not to be defied between heaven and earth!
Even as powerful as his master, the carefree great saint Bai Ze, there was still a day of demise and Dao dissolution.
But this white-haired Taoist, with just a drop of "water," had revived Chu Man, who had been pierced through the heart by a Flying Sword!
This scene completely overturned Dao Jiu's understanding.
"Xie Zhen takes action, as harsh as ever," he said.
Lu Yuzhen looked at the woman who was still unconscious, his eyes became much softer, "But fortunately, it's just a piercing through the heart, not a decapitation... There's still time."
The divine glow evaporating from the golden droplets enveloped Chu Man.
Layer by layer of mist enveloped the woman, transforming into a huge sphere.
The unconscious Chu Man slowly floated up, arriving beside Lu Yuzhen.
Lu Yuzhen reached into the golden mist, caressing Chu Man's cheek. With a gentle wave of his sleeve, her already tattered gray robe completely shed off, falling to the ground, revealing a curvaceous but scarred soft body.
"She is a pitiful person."
"In the grand currents of the era, how many can avoid being swept away?"
Lu Yuzhen admired Chu Man, his eyes full of pity, "Born in a cage, even if she is an uncut jade, she will never be seen, and she can never shine her own light. In Chu Lin's eyes, there's only 'revenge'. He doesn't even care about his own life, how could he care about you?"
His fingertips inch by inch swept across the woman's body.
With every inch he swept,
the ghastly scars disappeared by an inch.
Dao Jiu stared blankly at this scene... This was already beyond his understanding of "Heavenly Person's Means."
It didn't take long.
Chu Man's body was rid of all ugliness, like a piece of brand-new mutton fat jade.
"Come with me,"
Lu Yuzhen looked at Chu Man, seriously and earnestly said, "I will give you a new life, and I will give you freedom."
As he said this,
his gaze shifted to Dao Jiu in the hall.
This was not only said for Chu Man to hear, but also for Dao Jiu.
The fear in Dao Jiu's heart had been replaced by another emotion—
Many, many years ago,
when the [Dao Furnace] had not yet fully awoken, and following the Saint Bai Ze of the Demon Race, he witnessed the brilliant glory of this ancient saint's cultivation reaching its peak.
At that time, most moments in Dao Jiu's heart were filled with the emotion of this moment.
Reverence! Submission!
This seemingly ordinary white-haired Taoist, emitted an aura completely different from the former lord—
But to reverse life and death, to grant a new life,
was an "Immortal Law" that even Bai Ze could not achieve!
"No..."
Dao Jiu struggled inwardly with his fear and reverence.
He clenched his teeth, looking towards the door widened by stardust, "I can't go with you."
"Because of Xie Zhen?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuzhen's expression didn't change much.
He smiled slightly, saying, "I heard all those words between you and Xie Zhen earlier. Although I do not like those rigid rules, I still understand the principle of 'first come, first served.'"
Dao Jiu was stunned.
"It is precisely because Xie Zhen refused your acknowledgment that I extended this invitation,"
Lu Yuzhen said with a smile, "Staying here waiting for him, is that really the best choice for you? Even if he takes you away from the Secret Tomb, in the future, you will not obtain 'freedom'. He cannot accept the sorcery of Blood Refining beings, nor will he permit the [Dao Furnace] to shine brightly outside."
At these words, Dao Jiu's expression changed, "You mean, if I leave the Secret Tomb with Xie Zhen, I will be sealed again?"
Lu Yuzhen didn't answer directly but shook his head sincerely, "At Da Sui Sword Palace's Lotus Peak, there is a Sword Washing Pool. This pool can cleanse the soul, washing away evil influences. If you go with Xie Zhen, you may be thrown into the Sword Washing Pool… If your soul can withstand the cleansing of the pool, then you might have a chance for a new life."
"Sword Washing Pool, cleanse the soul, wash away evil influences?"
Dao Jiu froze, asking confusedly, "Am I an evil presence?"
"Evil presence? In Xie Zhen's eyes, perhaps you are. But in my eyes, you definitely are not."
Lu Yuzhen spoke indifferently, "Of course, you can choose to wait for Xie Zhen, meet him and clarify whether what I said about the 'Sword Washing Pool' is true or not. If you insist on leaving with him, I will definitely not stop you. But before making a decision, ask yourself, what kind of 'new life' do you really want?"
Dao Jiu looked at the young woman enveloped in the golden mist.
His eyes were full of bewilderment.
"If I go with you..."
Dao Jiu murmured, "Will I gain a new life?"
"Of course."
Lu Yuzhen heard this and smiled: "The ultimate wish of all Artifact Spirits is to break free from shackles. Someday to leave the Treasure and live a lifetime as a 'person'. Being trapped in the North Sea is not a new life, nor is enduring the cleansing of Sword Intent in the Sword Washing Pool a new life... Being able to ignore rules and live freely, that is what 'new life' means."
Upon hearing these words, Dao Jiu's eyes lit up.
It seemed like a dream, unbelievable.
Dao Jiu whispered inquiringly, "Breaking free from shackles, no longer being an Artifact Spirit... Can such a thing really happen?"
"Haven't you seen it with your own eyes?"
Lu Yuzhen spoke calmly, "The last time Secret Tomb landed in Erosion Sun Swamp, who left?"
Dao Jiu shuddered.
The last time the Secret Tomb landed in Erosion Sun Swamp, he was only focused on the 'acknowledgment' ceremony.
But now, reminded by Lu Yuzhen, he realized something—
After the Secret Tomb closed, the Dao Brush disappeared.
The sound of Dao was never heard again.
So...
Did the Dao Brush break free from its shackles?!
Dao Jiu looked at Lu Yuzhen in shock.
"Boom Boom!"
Thunderous rumbles echoed once more above the grand hall.
"Of course, you also have a third choice,"
Lu Yuzhen looked up, gazing at the crumbling ceiling, he whispered, "That is to follow no one, stay here, accompany Bai Ze's Secret Tomb into the North Sea, waiting for the next coming... However, considering the current situation of Lichao City, after this Secret Tomb sinks, it may never resurface."
"Dao Jiu, think it over thoroughly."
Lu Yuzhen stared at the ceiling for a long time, then took two steps back, murmuring, "It's almost over outside... There isn't much time left for you."