I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 926: Chapter 220: The World is Restless

“Gouchen?” The Bone Taoist glanced at the mask on Tang Luo’s face and shook his head with regret, “The master still doesn’t trust this old Taoist.”

“I simply can’t understand what could be so tempting for Blood Tower to make a move, enticing the renowned Bone Taoist of Zhongzhou to risk offending Buddha’s Country to help assassinate the Xiushi Emperor. Would the Daoist Priest care to resolve my confusion?”

“Cough cough… It’s not as mystical as the master describes. Assassins are humans too, and they need to eat and drink, relieve themselves. People like Feng You, who are pitiful enough to be hunted by the Dutian Heavenly King, can only stealthily take on jobs to get by. Here in this Kralahome God Temple, there is a roof over one’s head, food and wine, beautiful women to serve by the bed—what more could one be dissatisfied with?”

The Daoist Priest laughed through his coughs on the bed, his tone filled with self-mockery.

“Save those words for Jiuta. Since the Daoist Priest is unwilling to tell the truth, then there’s nothing more to talk about.”

Tang Luo stood up, ready to take his leave, “The waters of Nede City are too murky; it’s better for me to keep my distance.”

...

Feng You hadn’t expected Tang Luo to be so cautious, ready to withdraw at the first sign of trouble, not even taking into account the deep-rooted Blood Fiend within him.

It all ended before he even had the chance to invite Tang Luo, leaving him feeling quite helpless, “I didn’t expect the master, with his divine level of cultivation, to maintain such caution. I fall short in comparison.”

“With your level of cultivation, Daoist Priest, you could easily lead a carefree life, yet you chose this thorny path full of divergence, which is truly admirable.”

Without turning his head at the door, Tang Luo said indifferently, “It is just a pity for the common people of the Wilderness, who will have to endure many more years of turmoil.”

Leaving the side hall, Tang Luo’s face was clouded with worry. The further he traveled, the more he could sense the inexplicable unrest of the Mortal Realm. A thousand years after the great flourishing of the martial path, who knows how many clans are no longer able to restrain their ambition and have started to wage war. Even a sect like the White Bone Sect, which had vanished for hundreds of years, couldn’t help but reemerge in the form of an assassin organization.

Below the peaceful facade of Zhongzhou, it was already riddled with a thousand wounds.

Just on the remote Vimazhita Plains alone, there were so many powerful forces entangled.

Initially, I thought Jiuta had merely found an assassin, but the Bone Taoist’s presence here meant that things were definitely not simple. This was a ruthless person who would kill even a Heavenly Patrol Envoy—no one would believe there weren’t deep-seated hatreds with the holy lands involved.

I had initially intended to use Jiuta to enter the Nede Divine Temple, but it seems now that this path must not be taken. Blinded by his desire for the papacy, Jiuta may not understand what the Appearance of the Bone Taoist signifies, but as long as he appears alongside the Bone Taoist, he will undoubtedly be marked by the Dutian Heavenly King as belonging to the Blood Tower lineage.

Getting entangled with the Ancient Blood Tower right after leaving the mountains and being targeted by the Dutian Heavenly King—that’s a hellish start no one would choose. I definitely won’t be choosing it.

But I still need to find a way to deal with the Blood Fiend within me, so I must come up with another method. And right now, an opportunity has conveniently presented itself.

Tang Luo followed the path back to the inner hall. Jiuta was nowhere to be seen, with only a disconsolate and shivering Dong Zhi clutching the Yuan Magnetic Divine Pearl against a column near the temple, his face full of loss and sadness.

It seemed that the boy couldn’t accept the fact that Jiuta, whom he regarded as hallowed in his heart, was actually such a person. The taste of shattered faith must be rather bitter.

With a wave of his hand, Tang Luo summoned the Fallen Imperial Magnetic Beads, which flew up with a “whoosh,” also startling the heartbroken Dong Zhi.

Engulfed by boundless fear and confusion, Dongzhi raised his head, his eyes brimming with a sense of desolation and doubt that found no place to rest. Looking at Tang Luo, he parted his dry, defeated lips several times but failed to utter a single word.

After securing the Yuan Magnetic Divine Pearl within his Star Robe, Tang Luo grabbed the scrawny boy’s collar and hoisted him up. Stepping out of the inner chamber, they soared into the sky and soon vanished into the clouds.

Not long after Tang Luo left the side hall, Jiu Ta made his way there via a different path and respectfully inquired of the Bone Taoist inside, “Daoist Priest, now that this man knows of our plan, might he interfere?”

The Bone Taoist, who had reclined back on his bed inside the room, lazily answered, “What are you afraid of?”

“Jiu Ta is just worried…”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Although this man is quite knowledgeable and his cultivation has reached a divine level, he’s as timid as a mouse. It seems he must be someone like a visiting noble or sectarian dignitary who cannot reveal his true identity. Such a person would be too eager to disassociate from me; how could he possibly take trouble upon himself? However, since he has appeared in the Wilderness, there may indeed be a way to utilize him.”

With a turn of his eye, Feng You instructed, “Send a message immediately to the Imperial Palace of Ned, inform the Xiushi Emperor that a powerful individual has entered our territory, who brazenly killed Kelu Da during the sacrificial rites. This person’s cultivation is extremely formidable; we must request the Great Zen Master’s presence in Kela Huo at once.”

…

The sacred mountain where the Kela Huo temple resided towered into the clouds, perennially capped with snow. Tang Luo carried Dongzhi skyward, straight to the peak, and at a hot spring surrounded by endless snow, he tossed him down.

With large lakes rare in the Wilderness, and Dongzhi ignorant in swimming, he floundered helplessly upon suddenly falling into the hot spring. Fortunately, as a warrior of the Mortal Realm, he was much stronger than ordinary people and managed to thrash his way to the edge of the spring.

“It seems losing faith isn’t such a big deal after all; I thought you’d drown in the hot spring,” Tang Luo said mockingly to Dongzhi, who was coughing violently.

Tang Luo took off his Star Robe, revealing his well-built, tall, and lean body, and sat down in another hot spring. Resting his arms on the edge, the bubbles caressing his body were like gentle touches from a maiden, eliciting a comfortable groan from him.

In the next hot spring, Dongzhi, who had coughed up the choking water, had already climbed out and was lying on the snow, gasping for air. Swirling mists of steam obscured whether his face was wet from water or tears.

Tang Luo, enjoying the hot spring, looked disdainfully at Dongzhi, who was sprawled out like a drenched dog, and said, “If you don’t want to die, then live well. If it’s really that painful, the hot spring is right next to you; a jump would set you free.”

“Whimper, whimper, whimper.”

Finally, Dongzhi burst into tears, curling his body into a ball and hugging his knees as he sobbed softly.

Everyone goes through many moments when faith shatters—just like how, from a young age, my mother told me to be kind, honest, humble, courteous, tolerant, and compassionate.

But as you grow up, a wish takes root in your heart, sprouting stronger with each passing day: the hope that everyone in the world could have a mother like yours.

At this moment, the scrawny boy felt as helpless as someone who just found out his mother wasn’t his real one but a human trafficker. This kind of pain is likely known only to the person suffering it. Yet Tang Luo, heartlessly whistling while soaking in the hot spring, seemed to mock Dongzhi with every note.

All Dongzhi could do was desperately cover his ears. However, the whistling was so persistent and loud that even as his fingertips bled from being jammed into his ears, the sound still pierced through.