Chapter 887
The Cause and Effect, The Pursuit of the Three Strange Beasts
Lu Qing pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something else.
"Master, I have another question to ask."
Guixu Daoren said, "Speak."
Lu Qing said, "It's about a force called the Black and White Temple. I'd like to ask you, Master, for advice."
"The Black and White Temple?" Guixu Daoist was slightly taken aback, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "What kind of force is this? I don't recall ever hearing of this name when I left."
Lu Qing explained, "This is a rising power that emerged more than 100,000 years ago."
Their ancestor is said to have entered the Dark Abyss and brought out an opportunity from it.
In the short span of a few thousand years thereafter, the Black and White Viewpoint established such a massive force.
The Black and White Sect now wields influence across multiple immortal realms, acts erratically, and seems to be brewing some conspiracy.
Then, Lu Qing explained the situation of the Black and White Temple in detail.
From the time when he was in the Tianyuan Great World, when the old demons of the Dao Integration Realm sent by the Black and White Temple to intercept him, to the six old demons of the Dao Integration Realm who were guarding him with array diagrams when he was undergoing his tribulation, and then to the recent time when he felt a tremor in his mind and, after calculation, discovered that the source was the Black and White Temple.
He also talked about Qiu Ruofeng's views on the concept of black and white in the Netherworld Palace, as well as the prophecy.
Upon hearing this, Guixu Daoist's face showed surprise.
“I never expected such an evil force to emerge outside over the years.” He murmured, his illusory figure swaying slightly. “It rose more than 100,000 years ago, and its founder entered the Dark Abyss… This timing is quite interesting.”
Lu Qing asked, "Master, what do you think?"
Guixu Daoist shook his head: "I have been away for too long and do not know much about the forces that came later in the starry sky."
I can't really say what the foundation of this black-and-white view is.
However, one thing is certain: since the founder of this faction explored the Dark Abyss, we must be wary.
He looked at Lu Qing with a solemn expression: "Those who can be associated with the Dark Abyss are likely related to those evil creatures."
That place is not a place that ordinary cultivators can enter.
Those who survived either had a great stroke of luck, or... were corrupted by that dark power.
Lu Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Master, is it possible that the founder of the Black and White Temple was possessed by an evil creature from the other world?"
Guixu Daoist was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
He paused, then continued, "The remnant will of the Xuanhua Grandmaster back then told me that when he suppressed that world passage, he could only restrict the passage of experts above the Dao Integration Realm."
Evil beings below the Dao Integration level, even if they tried to sneak in, would be instantly annihilated by the power he left behind, but…
He looked at Lu Qing, his gaze deep.
"This does not mean that the other side has no way out."
It's hard to guarantee that they have no way to transmit some kind of will.
After all, the powerful beings in that world are far more terrifying than we imagine.
They have their methods for invading so many worlds.
Lu Qing seemed to be deep in thought.
Guixu Daoist continued, "If that's the case, the Black and White Temple Ancestor you mentioned may very well have been controlled by that dark power, or even become its puppet, working for the other side."
He sighed, then suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of which, my so-called 'confidant' who committed heinous crimes back then was very likely also influenced by some will from the Dark Abyss."
Lu Qing was taken aback: "What does Master mean?"
Guixu Daoren said, "When I first met that person, although he was arrogant and regarded the lower beings as ants, he was not crazy enough to go that far."
Later, he refined the beings of dozens of worlds in succession. The cruelty of his methods and the twisting of his mind made him completely unlike a normal Dao-transforming immortal.
He looked at Lu Qing, his eyes filled with contemplation.
"Now that I think about it, he was probably corrupted by that dark power during one of his travels."
His eventual escape into the Dark Abyss was likely due to some kind of summons.
Perhaps he's in that other world right now, living among those evil creatures.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Master, when you left this world, were you heading to that other world to hunt down that demon?"
Guixu Daoist nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.
"You guessed right."
He sighed and continued, "Back then, because of my momentary compassion, I let that demon go, which resulted in the refinement of billions of living beings in dozens of worlds."
I cannot escape this great cause and effect, this great sin.
"Unless I can personally slay him and completely annihilate his soul, my Dao heart will forever be haunted by inner demons, and I will never achieve perfection."
"If my Dao Heart cannot be perfected, I will never have the chance to reach the realm above the Dao Transformation stage in this lifetime."
Guixu Daoren's voice carried a hint of heaviness.
"Therefore, I must catch up with him and personally end this karmic entanglement."
Lu Qing nodded, indicating his understanding.
For cultivators, the law of cause and effect is of utmost importance.
Especially when one reaches the level of the Daoist Guixu, the entanglements of cause and effect are even more difficult to escape.
If this cause and effect is not resolved, the Dao heart will always have a flaw, and cultivation will be difficult to advance any further.
Guixu Daoist continued, "Of course, besides this reason, there is another reason."
Lu Qing asked, "What's the reason?"
Guixu Daoist said, "The residual will of the Xuanhua Great Power tells me that he died suddenly back then, and his other comrades probably did not know about his situation."
The existence of the Dark Abyss is ultimately a huge hidden danger to our home world.
If his comrades are unaware of the passage's layout, and given enough time passes, he may become unable to suppress it, which would create a major problem.
He looked at Lu Qing, his gaze serious.
"Therefore, he asked me to go to that world for the greater good and inform those powerful beings about the situation here."
At the same time, we hope they can find a way to completely seal this passage and eliminate any future trouble.
Lu Qing was silent for a moment, then asked, "So Master has decided to go?"
Guixu Daoist nodded.
"From any perspective, I have to go."
He paused, then continued, "Originally, I intended to leave alone. After all, the journey is fraught with danger, and my fate is uncertain. I didn't want my disciples to risk their lives with me, but..."
He gave a wry smile.
"What I didn't expect was that after those disciples learned that I was leaving, they all vowed to follow me to the death."
They said they would go wherever their master went.
Even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, they would be willing to follow.
Instead of waiting here in vain, why not go and explore with Master?
Guixu Daoren's voice carried a mixture of emotion and helplessness.
“I tried to persuade them for a long time, but it was no use. They were determined and refused to stay no matter what I said.”
He sighed and continued, "And, I've also thought of another problem."
"What's the problem?" Lu Qing asked.
Guixu Daoist said, "My disciples and I have a deep karmic connection."
If I were captured in another world and fall into enemy hands, the enemy would likely use the art of cause and effect to deduce the location of my disciples.
If that's the case, they wouldn't be safe even if they stayed in this starry sky.
The enemy might find their way here by following the cause and effect.
"And I do not possess the supernatural power to sever cause and effect like those ancient sages."
He looked at the old Azure Dragon and the others, his eyes filled with apology.
"So, after much deliberation, I made a difficult decision: I will leave only the three of you behind and take everyone else with me."
Old Azure Dragon was taken aback: "Why are there three of us?"
Guixu Daoist said, "Because you are exotic beasts with special bloodlines and long lifespans."
You can live a very, very long time until the person destined for you arrives.
Moreover, the karmic connection between you and me is shallower than that between others.
Furthermore, the Celestial Palace also possesses the ability to shield itself from cause and effect. Even if enemies trace their path through cause and effect, the chances of them finding you are far smaller.
He paused, then continued, "As for the others... I'm taking them with me, firstly to fulfill their desire to follow me, and secondly to take them away from this starry sky so they won't be found by the enemy."
The old dragon fell silent.
It finally understood why its master had left only the three of them behind and placed restrictions on them, forbidding them from leaving the Celestial Palace.
It's not because we don't value it, but precisely because we value it too much.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing suddenly asked, "Master, did you leave through that world passage back then? Wouldn't that mean you fell directly into the enemy's lair?"
Guixu Daoist shook his head.
"The remaining will of the Xuanhua Grandmaster told me that he would use his last bit of power to teleport me to a certain location in another world through that world passage."
That location was one he had explored years ago; it was relatively safe and wouldn't lead him directly into the enemy's lair.
He paused, then continued, "However, he also said that this is just his speculation, since he hasn't fully explored that world either."
Sending data is risky and accidents may happen.
He told me to prepare myself mentally.
Guixu Daoist smiled slightly, a smile that carried a hint of nonchalance.
"In retrospect, his plan back then was successful."
The fact that my consciousness still exists after hundreds of thousands of years proves that my physical body has not perished.
Although we don't know where he is or what he's doing now, at least he's still alive.
When the old dragon heard this, his eyes reddened again.
It finally understood why its master had left and never returned.
It's not that I don't want to come back, it's that I can't.
The owner lied to them, saying he was going to the upper realm, just so they wouldn't worry.
The old dragon choked back tears, saying, "Master..."
Guixu Daoist waved his hand, interrupting it.
"No need to say more. You have suffered all these years, but now you have found Aqing, and my legacy has been passed on. I can finally rest easy."
After he finished speaking, he looked down at his hands.
Those hands had become even more ethereal, almost transparent.
The old Azure Dragons became tense upon seeing this.
"Master, you..."
Guixu Daoist smiled slightly, a smile that carried a hint of composure.
"Don't worry, this wisp of my will has been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, and it was meant to dissipate anyway."
"To know that my legacy has a successor, and that among my disciples has emerged an unprecedented genius, before I vanished, I am already immensely gratified."
He looked at Lu Qing, his eyes full of expectation.
“My child, you have attained the Dao through the nine great paths; your future is limitless.”
But I still want to remind you that the path of spiritual practice is long, so you must never be arrogant or complacent.
Remember, there's always someone better than you. Your achievements today may be unprecedented, but they may not be the last.
We must continue our efforts and keep moving forward.
Lu Qing nodded solemnly: "Disciple will keep Master's teachings in mind."
Guixu Daoist continued, "And be careful of that Black and White Temple."
Since they are connected to the Dark Abyss, they are very likely pawns of that dark power.
If you intend to deal with them, you must be fully prepared and not underestimate them.
"The disciple understands."
Guixu Daoist then looked at the old Azure Dragon and the others.
"Old Azure Dragon, Black Ox, Little Phoenix, you'll all be following Aqing from now on."
Although he is my disciple, you do not need to address him as your master.
You are free to follow him if you want, or you can stay here if you don't.
The Celestial Palace is your home, and always will be.
The old dragon said with tears in its eyes, "Master, don't worry, we will follow Aqing. Wherever he goes, we will go."
The black bull nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, we'll follow him. He's so powerful, we'll definitely see our master if we follow him."
Although Mingfeng did not speak, her phoenix eyes were full of determination.
Guixu Daoist nodded with satisfaction.
"Good, good, good."
He said "good" three times in a row, and then his figure became fainter and fainter.
"My child, I'll be waiting for the day you come to me."
After he finished speaking, his figure completely disappeared, turning into specks of light that merged into the statue.
The main hall was completely silent.
The old dragons stared blankly at the statue, remaining silent for a long time.
Lu Qing stood quietly, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.
After a long while, the old dragon finally let out a long breath.
"Master...is gone."
The black bull wiped away its tears and said in a muffled voice, "Master said he's still alive, that's good, we'll see him again in the future."
Mingfeng nodded without saying a word.
After they calmed down a bit, Lu Qing asked, "Senior Azure Dragon, what are your plans next?"
The old dragon looked at him and said, "We are restricted by the Immortal Palace and cannot go out. Unless you refine the Immortal Palace, we can only stay here indefinitely."
"Refine the Immortal Palace?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.
The old dragon nodded: "This Immortal Palace itself is a magical treasure, which was personally crafted by the master back then."
It's just that it's too big for ordinary people to refine.
But now that you've reached the Dao Integration Realm and possess the Great Dao of Space, you should be able to give it a try.
It paused for a moment, then said, "Ah Qing, if you ever go to another world, you must take us with you. We want to find our master."
The black bull nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, take us with you. We may not be as strong as you, but we can still fight."
Mingfeng also said, "We are willing to follow you."
Lu Qing looked at them and began to ponder.
His next target is the Black and White Sect, a force that is unfathomable and backed by dark power.
If we could have the help of the three great Dao Integration Realm beasts, such as the old Azure Dragon, it would indeed be a great help.
Moreover, they have lived for hundreds of thousands of years, are experienced, and know many secrets.
With them around, many things become much more convenient.
With that thought in mind, he had already made up his mind.
He raised his head and looked at the old Azure Dragon and the others.
"Alright, I will refine the Immortal Palace and take you with me."
The old dragons were overjoyed upon hearing this.
Lu Qing didn't speak again, but a thought flickered in his mind.
Countless miles away, in his home world, the original body, who was meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.
A glint of light flashed in those eyes.
The next moment, his figure had disappeared from the spot.
With the shifting of space, the endless starry sky rushed past beneath his feet.
A moment later, his figure appeared outside the Guixu Secret Realm.
He stood in the starry sky, looking at the enormous star array in front of him, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
Then, he took a step forward and disappeared into the great formation. (End of Chapter)