141: Chapter 141 Lao Jun Cave, Fairy of Colorful Clouds

Zhou Yan held his umbrella and walked quickly into the Dragon King Temple.

Rainwater slid along the umbrella ribs, gathering into a thin stream before the threshold.

He closed the umbrella and squatted beside Li Xiuyuan, but did not mention Liu Guodong and his group; after all, he was not qualified to interfere in this matter.

"Found it."

His voice was kept very low.

Through his connections in Wudu, he quickly learned that ever since Lin Yaling closed the clothing store the day before yesterday and returned home, she had not gone back to the shop.

After leaving home, Lin Yaling had gone to Laojun Cave and had not left since.

Li Xiuyuan stood up immediately and glanced at the heavy rain outside the hall.

The curtain of rain was like a waterfall, shrouding the entire city in a chaotic white noise.

Ten years ago, that night had been a downpour just like this.

"Let's go."

Zhou Yan nodded and followed behind him.

By the time they left the Dragon King Temple, the people kneeling before the door were lying scattered on the ground; as for whether they would survive, that would depend on their own fate and luck.

The old temple keeper watched that moon-white back disappear into the rain curtain, his lips moving as he whispered, "Dragon Lord, please walk slowly."

His voice was not loud, carrying a kind of cautious reverence.

Although the old temple keeper preached to every person who came to offer incense and pray about how responsive the Dragon Lord was, he had never imagined that one day he would see the Dragon Lord of the Yangtze with his own eyes.

This experience today was something that should only appear in dreams.

The windshield wipers swung back and forth on the windshield, making a monotonous squeaking sound. Zhou Yan hailed a car on the side of the road, and after Li Xiuyuan got in, he told the driver the address.

"Master, go to Laojun Cave. Please hurry, we're in a rush."

As he said this, Zhou Yan gave the other party an extra hundred yuan.

Seeing the extra money, the old driver immediately said happily, "Just sit tight. If we don't arrive in ten minutes, I won't charge you a cent."

The traffic conditions in Wudu were infuriatingly complex; only those old drivers who had driven taxis in this city for decades truly knew how to take the fastest route.

They had a living map in their heads—which alley could be used as a shortcut, which intersection wasn't congested at what time, and which bridge hid an unknown path.

More than twenty years ago, there was a joke on the internet: no matter how good your navigation software was, once you came to Wudu, you had to honestly admit defeat.

The car turned from Binjiang Road into a narrow alley, then passed from the narrow alley onto an uphill road, turning left and right as if drilling into a huge maze.

The buildings on both sides flashed past the car window, and lights shone from window after window, blurring into dim yellow halos in the rain.

In less than ten minutes, the car stopped in an open space at the foot of Nanshan.

The old driver turned his head and smiled triumphantly, "We're here, we're here. Didn't I say it would be under ten minutes?"

Zhou Yan said thank you and pushed open the car door; the sound of rain immediately poured in.

Li Xiuyuan also got out of the car and looked up at the mist-shrouded mountain peak.

In the rain, the flying eaves and upturned corners of a Taoist temple were vaguely visible, half-hidden by the branches of ancient trees.

"Hey, bosses, I have an umbrella here, why don't you take it? The rain tonight is quite heavy."

The driver took an umbrella from the driver's seat and handed it to Zhou Yan.

The latter paused, and before he could act, Li Xiuyuan had already taken the umbrella: "Thank you."

Holding the umbrella, Li Xiuyuan walked forward, and Zhou Yan immediately followed.

The stone steps of the mountain path were half-hidden by weeds, and rainwater flowed down the steps, gradually gathering into a small waterfall.

Two figures walked one after the other, their steps steady; every step they took did not splash any water, as if they had no weight at all.

The winding stone steps seemed endless, with dark forests on both sides; the rain hitting the leaves made a dense, rustling sound.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a stone mountain gate appeared ahead, with the words "Laojun Cave" carved on the lintel.

The handwriting had been eroded by wind and rain until it was somewhat blurry, but it was still distinguishable.

Behind the mountain gate was a small Taoist temple, standing silently in the rainy night.

When Lin Yaling was sixteen, she chose to drop out of school despite her excellent grades. She went out to work, and every month, after deducting necessary living expenses, she sent all the money back home to support Lin Zhanpeng's education.

The villagers of Lin Family Village mostly felt this was a matter of course.

In that era, although it was nearly the millennium, in some remote rural areas, people still held extremely traditional and incorrect views: daughters reading books was useless, it was better to go out and work early; only sons reading books could achieve something.

Even if Lin Zhanpeng didn't achieve anything later, it would not change those deep-rooted old ideas.

But what no one knew was that when Lin Yaling was fourteen, she had an accident on her way home from school one night; her foot slipped, and she fell into a deep ditch.

Although she didn't die on the spot, she was on the verge of death, hanging by a thread.

In that era, she had no mobile phone at all. Just as she was in despair, the comb she had bought from town began to flicker with a faint light.

Immediately after, a consciousness entered Lin Yaling's mind. The other party claimed to be the Xingyun God of the Ancient Heavenly Court, Fairy Caiyun, and stated bluntly that she could save Lin Yaling's life, but from then on, she would share the same physical body with Lin Yaling.

Lin Yaling agreed immediately, and then she passed out. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying at home, with no traces of injury on her body.

After waking up and asking her mother, she learned that she had walked home the night before as usual, eaten, done her homework, bathed, and slept; there was nothing unusual, only that she spoke much less than usual.

Her mother thought Lin Yaling was feeling unwell, so she didn't wake her up for school before dawn as she usually did.

From then on, Lin Yaling and Fairy Caiyun shared one body with two souls, and she also learned many incredible things from the other party, as well as the upcoming spiritual energy recovery and the great changes in the world.

Fairy Caiyun said that the spiritual energy recovery brought not only opportunities but also unpredictable dangers. In order to let her mother and older brother adapt to that new world one step ahead of others, Lin Yaling quietly began to set up a formation in Lin Family Village that could summon a spiritual energy rainstorm.

It was just that the activation of that formation required time because the spiritual energy in this world was too thin.

After the formation was set up, Fairy Caiyun said that just staying in Lin Family Village wouldn't work; they had to find a blessed land to practice and prepare for the era of great contention as early as possible.

It was precisely because of this reason that Lin Yaling voluntarily dropped out of school and left her hometown.

She walked through many places and stayed in many cities. With the guidance of Fairy Caiyun, her strength improved step by step. That was until one day later, when she sensed that the formation she had set up in Lin Family Village had finally activated.

Before Lin Yaling could even be happy, not long after, she received a call from Lin Zhanpeng reporting a death.

"Fairy, can this spiritual energy rainstorm really awaken the thing underneath?"

Inside the Taoist temple, Lin Yaling looked at the rain curtain in front of her and asked in her heart.

"It can."

Fairy Caiyun's voice echoed in her heart, "The purity of the spiritual energy brought by this rainstorm is extremely high; it will certainly be able to awaken that fierce object."

"That fierce object possesses astonishing vitality; if you capture and devour it, you will possess the ability to communicate with ghosts and gods."

"Now the underworld has suffered changes, the Six Paths of Reincarnation have been overturned and disordered, and the Yellow Springs road of Yin and Yang cannot be entered. Finding your mother's soul is not difficult—after that, use the flesh and blood of that fierce object to reshape her human body."

That calm female voice flowed slowly in Lin Yaling's heart.

After coming to Wudu, Lin Yaling had settled down for many years, not for anything else, but for the fierce object sleeping under this mountain city.

According to Fairy Caiyun, that fierce object had burrowed into the ground and fallen asleep before the Ancient Heavenly Court collapsed and the spiritual energy dried up.

It was named Meat Ganoderma; in modern terms, it was a flesh spirit mushroom.

However, this Meat Ganoderma was completely different from ordinary ones; it already possessed self-awareness and was an extremely fierce monster.

In these ten years, besides the guilt towards her mother, Lin Yaling's heart had been focused on how to remedy the situation. Fairy Caiyun said that if she could catch that Meat Ganoderma, kill it, and swallow it, she would be able to possess the ability to know ghosts and gods and could summon back her mother's soul to resurrect her.

As for whether her mother's soul was still there after ten years, Fairy Caiyun's answer was that the underworld could not be entered, so it was highly probable that her mother's soul was still there.

"They are here."

Fairy Caiyun said in her heart.

At the same time, Lin Yaling looked up and looked outside the Taoist temple.

With the pouring rain, two figures holding umbrellas walked in one after the other.

The figure in the lead had a pair of brilliant golden eyes, staring at Lin Yaling.

Her waist-length hair fluttered in the rain and mist, and the corner of her moon-white robe was lifted by the wind.

"I didn't expect that the little white snake from back then could cultivate to this point today."

Lin Yaling looked at Li Xiuyuan and sighed.

Many years ago, when Lin Yaling was still at home, she had seen her mother take a few pieces of watermelon to feed Li Xiuyuan. At that time, she was already in a state of two souls in one body, but she did not stop her mother.

After all, her mother and that little white snake got along very well and there would be no danger.

Li Xiuyuan walked into the Taoist temple and closed his umbrella. His voice was flat but carried an unquestionable oppression: "You caused the rain?"

He did not specifically refer to today, or rather, he was asking whether the current rain and the rain from back then were all related to Lin Yaling.

The latter nodded: "Yes."

As soon as the words fell, an extremely fierce aura rose spontaneously from Li Xiuyuan's body.

Lin Yaling did not want to fight with him and immediately spoke: "But things are not as you think."

Then, she organized her language and recounted the origin of the shrine in her hometown, the original intention of setting up the formation, and the cause and effect of all this.

"I just wanted to let my mother and older brother accept the spiritual energy baptism in advance and let them live a good life, but I never imagined that the formation for borrowing spiritual energy to summon rain could actually invite a flash flood, and I even less expected that those tragedies would happen later."

Speaking of this, a deep sadness welled up in Lin Yaling's eyes; it was the remorse and self-blame that had been accumulated for ten years.

Her explanation did indeed make sense.

But Li Xiuyuan did not let down his guard.

"Since Fairy Caiyun has already become one body with you with two souls, can you please ask her to come out?"

Li Xiuyuan asked again.

Lin Yaling was slightly silent, and then, her entire aura changed suddenly, and her facial expression became much colder.

"What is the matter with seeking this immortal?"

After speaking, not only her temperament but even her voice was different.

Li Xiuyuan said: "Regarding the collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court, you are a witness. I have met several gods before, but without exception, they were all crazy."

"Not bad, more than half are crazy, and their ways of doing things are completely different from before," said Fairy Caiyun.

Li Xiuyuan asked: "What happened back then?"

Fairy Caiyun said: "I don't know the whole picture either, I only know that before the Ancient Heavenly Court collapsed, there were already some signs. The one that left the deepest impression was that the Great Emperor of the Western Peak held a large-scale human sacrifice at Mount Hua, totaling 39,990 people: 30,000 boys and girls, 9,000 young and strong men, 900 pregnant women, and 90 elderly people."

"The object of that human sacrifice was himself. While shouting that he wanted to help all spirits survive the catastrophe and sweep away evil spirits and demons, he was bathing in a sea of blood."

Perhaps thinking of that scene which was almost like a blood prison, Fairy Caiyun's voice trembled slightly.

Hearing this, Li Xiuyuan felt a chill in his body.

Zhou Yan beside him was even more horrified, his pupils slightly constricted.

"Later, more and more became crazy, everyone fought, and in the end, both sides suffered."

After hearing this, Li Xiuyuan's mood became increasingly heavy. Even existences like the Great Emperor of the Western Peak had gone crazy; what exactly was the thing that made those gods crazy?

Would it also appear along with the spiritual energy recovery?

"Are you still wanting to ask if I am the same as them?"

Fairy Caiyun asked again.

Li Xiuyuan paused; he was indeed considering this, but he had no intention of asking it directly.

"I did have this consideration, but asking directly is too stupid."

As he spoke, Li Xiuyuan's tone changed, and his terrifying and fierce aura climbed step by step: "Shall we fight first?"

Fairy Caiyun's expression was cold as frost. She seemed to roll her eyes and shook her head: "I won't fight you; it has no meaning."

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan's aura also dropped. This Fairy Caiyun before him seemed to be truly not crazy.

Whether it was Fang Xiang, or Heavenly Sovereign Jiehuo, or the later released Xin Huan and Chen Geng, these crazy gods all had a very special common point: they had an indescribable desire for battle.

And this Fairy Caiyun was very calm and very rational.

"You led me here; there must be other things, right?"

Li Xiuyuan asked.

Fairy Caiyun nodded: "It concerns the thing under this mountain city, as well as her obsession."

Subsequently, she told Li Xiuyuan everything about Lin Yaling's obsession and the situation of the fierce object under the mountain city.

The reason she was waiting here was to borrow Li Xiuyuan's power to subdue that fierce object.

But unexpectedly, after Li Xiuyuan heard all this, he frowned: "Impossible. The dead cannot be resurrected. Although they cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation, their souls have long since dissipated; it is impossible for them to exist in the world for so long."

"Who says that the soul must have dissipated?"

Fairy Caiyun frowned.

In her view, Li Xiuyuan was just a monster who had achieved success in cultivation; how could he understand such profound things as reincarnation?

As a result, Li Xiuyuan said an answer that left Fairy Caiyun speechless.

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said so."

To be precise, it was Jingxin who said it. Earlier, Li Xiuyuan had asked if there was a possibility of resurrection if the soul could not enter the underworld.

Jingxin said that it was indeed possible, but only for those who had died recently.

And for those who had been dead for a long time, even if they used means to preserve the soul, it would be of no avail.

Moreover, resurrecting the dead was by no means so simple and casual; it required paying a considerable price.

Fairy Caiyun was stunned in place, and it was a long time before she spoke: "Is it really impossible?"

Her tone was even a bit weak, no longer having the previous certainty.

"Impossible."

Li Xiuyuan shook his head.

As soon as he finished speaking, the rain outside seemed to increase a bit more.

Just at this moment, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake for no reason.

That vibration was extremely light and subtle at first, like a sigh coming from the depths of the earth.

But immediately after, the vibration became more and more intense, and the entire Taoist temple was trembling; tiles slid off the eaves and smashed to pieces on the ground.

Something was about to come out.