631: Chapter 621 Imperial Tutor (21)

Qin Yun's gaze swept across the surroundings.

He could see the lingering Dark Laws in this region.

He could see the foul Qi still writhing within the ley lines.

He could also see more disasters that had not yet had the chance to spread.

Therefore, he did not stop.

The void book, Dao book, and book of life trembled simultaneously.

A layer of pale cyan light spread from beneath his feet, instantly sweeping across the entire region.

The fractured ley lines were suppressed.

The rampaging Dark Laws were subdued.

The black light in the eyes of the Cultivators who had been on the verge of corruption was also fading.

An entire region was forcibly brought back onto the right track.

In the city, someone finally wept.

It was not out of despair.

It was because they had survived.

The old veteran looked at the figure on the city wall; his throat tightened. He wanted to kneel but feared causing offense, so in the end, he simply lowered his head heavily.

"Senior..."

Qin Yun finally turned around.

He did not look outside the city.

Instead, he looked toward the city, toward the Mortals, toward the severely injured but living Cultivators, and toward those faces filled with bewilderment, lingering fear, and overwhelming, bewildered joy.

He spoke calmly.

"My name is Yun."

The city wall trembled.

Some older Cultivators were stunned at first.

Immediately afterward, their expressions changed.

A severely injured old Cultivator stared fixedly at him, his lips trembling.

"Yun..."

"Immortal Yun?"

Qin Yun did not deny it.

He simply continued, "I have always been here."

"Together with the Mortal World."

In an instant, many people's eyes turned red.

To the younger generation, Immortal Yun was just a name in ancient history, a myth spoken of by storytellers, a person enshrined in temples whom they had never truly seen.

But to those who had truly endured the embers of the old era and grown up listening to the legends of the Dark Turmoil, this name was too heavy.

So heavy that people dared not speak it lightly.

And now, this person was standing before them.

An old veteran suddenly knelt down.

Then a second, a third.

The entire Linyuan City—on the walls, inside the city, in the alleys, under the eaves—knelt in unison.

There were no thunderous cheers.

Only suppressed sobbing.

Qin Yun watched quietly, not avoiding it.

He accepted this bow.

It was as if he were also accepting it on behalf of those who were no longer there.

A moment later, he spoke again.

"Xuan Zhao is my Disciple."

"Lu Xingzhou is also my Disciple."

As these two sentences fell, everyone in the city forgot even to cry.

Xuan Zhao.

Lu Xingzhou.

These two names carried too much weight in later generations.

One was the later Heavenly Emperor of the Xuanyang Heavenly Palace.

The other was Master Lu of the Nine Continents Academy, a legendary figure who had once suppressed the Heavenly Abyss with his own body and returned from it.

Now, Yun had personally said that both men were his Disciples.

The severely injured old Cultivator was stunned for a long time before offering a bitter smile.

"No wonder."

"So that's how it is."

Qin Yun did not explain further.

Especially when mentioning Xuan Zhao, he paused for a moment.

By this time, the situation in Linyuan City had completely stabilized.

The darkness had retreated.

The people had survived.

This region was also temporarily calmed.

Qin Yun did not continue to stay.

He took a step forward.

Before his figure disappeared, he left only one sentence.

"Guard this city."

"I will handle what comes after."

...

Ancient Battlefield.

The wind was still harsh.

On the ground were still broken weapons, shattered armor, and dried old blood.

It was even more desolate here than it had been many years ago.

Yet, that sense of fate was even heavier.

When Qin Yun came here again, he brought no one.

He opened the four books simultaneously.

The Book of Fate locked onto Karma.

The Time Book chased the years.

The book of life protected the remnant life.

The death book sought the embers.

The dao rhyme of the four books unfolded simultaneously, and the entire Ancient Battlefield slowly faded in his eyes, leaving only layers of traces deposited beneath the years.

Lu Xingzhou had been besieged and killed here back then.

The "Zhao" character left behind by Xuan Zhao was also awakened here.

Therefore, there must still be something here.

The first to light up was the Time Book.

Scene after scene of old shadows emerged on the Ancient Battlefield.

There were old troops fighting to the death.

There were Quasi-Emperors holding the line.

There was Lu Xingzhou giving up Undergoing Tribulation, reversing his Sacred Dao, just to protect those behind him.

The images were extremely fast.

They flashed by.

Qin Yun did not let his attention wander.

The Book of Fate quickly locked onto a thin, weak thread.

It was incomplete.

Yet it was still there.

The death book sank down along that thread.

It sank all the way to the deepest part of the battlefield, beneath a stone platform that had long since cracked.

The book of life lit up at this moment.

It was like protecting a flame about to be extinguished in the wind.

Qin Yun raised his hand and pressed down; the stone platform split open silently.

Below, there were no treasures.

Nor were there any remains.

There was only a very, very faint light.

Within the light, there was a faint "Zhao" character.

It was still there.

Xuan Zhao had indeed not completely disappeared.

What he had left behind was not a complete remnant soul.

Nor was it a complete Origin.

It was a trace of undying dao marks, a wisp of a residual line of will that had not yet completely dissipated.

This was enough.

Qin Yun stood in place, not moving for a long time.

A moment later, he raised his hand and very carefully collected that wisp of a remnant trace into the intersection of the book of life and the death book, then locked it together with the Book of Fate and the Time Book.

It was like hiding a seed that could shatter at any moment in the deepest place.

He finally confirmed it.

Xuan Zhao would have a day to return.

Only, not now.

With his current level, he could not yet do it.

At this moment, the shell in Qin Yun's heart, which had always been very stable, finally cracked.

There were no tears.

Nor were there any unnecessary words.

He just stood there quietly, and after a long time, he whispered one sentence.

"Wait for me."

The wind swept across the Ancient Battlefield.

It was as if the laughing youth from a very long time ago had turned back to look one more time.

...

After leaving the Ancient Battlefield, Qin Yun did not leave immediately.

He sat cross-legged among some old monuments.

Xuan Zhao's remnant trace.

Lu Xingzhou's old haunt.

Discussing Immortality in the ruined temple.

Ling'er handing over candy.

Chen Yang calling him Brother Yun.

Gu Zhan blocking at the very front.

That sword strike from You Chen.

Everything flowed slowly before his eyes.

The Mortal World was not something that had to be severed before Immortal Ascension.

Nor was it a burden on the path of the Dao.

The Mortal World was, in itself, the path.

Human joys and sorrows.

Meetings and partings.

Half a bowl of porridge.

A piece of candy.

A snowfall.

A city that could not be guarded.

A person who was still willing to stand up.

If these did not count as Dao, then there was no Dao in the world.

Inside Qin Yun, the nine books and Nine Treasures hummed simultaneously.

The Acquired Chaos Body trembled slightly.

The Dual Emperor Body returned to one.

The Immortal Sutra turned its pages on its own.

The Laws of Heaven and Earth began to resonate.

But they did not fully open.

It was more like they were hesitating, testing, acknowledging that he had already walked to the door, yet was still missing the final step.

Qin Yun opened his eyes.

Four words floated into his heart.

Red Dust Immortal.

He had not yet truly achieved it.

But he had already touched the edge.

One foot was already stepping on the threshold.

The Laws of the Nine Continents pressed down on him, not letting him move forward any further.

It was not that it was forbidden.

It was just not yet the time.

Qin Yun did not force his way through.

If this step went wrong, everything after would be wrong.

He suppressed his Qi.

The surrounding heaven and earth became quiet again.

Only, from this moment on, he was already different from before.

...

At this moment, the azure pagoda also vibrated.

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, rays of extremely distant light lit up.

Before, he only knew there were branch towers.

Now, he could clearly perceive their locations and outlines.

One was in the Desolate Ancient Fire Region.

One was beneath the East Sea Heavenly Canopy.

One was in the Far North Frozen Earth.

There were a few more, even further away and more blurred.

Qin Yun did not delay.

In the following time, he crossed several Continents in succession, retrieved two branch towers, and followed the resonance to find the location of the third branch tower.

Every time he merged a branch tower, the Origin of the azure pagoda was replenished by a portion.

By the time the third branch tower returned to its place, an unprecedented resonance finally erupted between the azure pagoda and the nine books and Nine Treasures.

Boom.

It was not a sound.

It was a vibration deep in his Sea of Consciousness.

The azure pagoda stood at the center.

The nine books and Nine Treasures circled around it.

Void, life, death, time, body, treasure, fate, Dao, luck—the nine great dao rhymes circulated simultaneously.

They were originally keys to the Origin of the Nine Continents.

At this moment, however, they seemed to be circling the azure pagoda, piecing together another, more complete outline.

It was not the old Immortal Path.

It was not the path of the Luoyun Heavenly Abyss.

It was something else.

A path that did not require fighting for, did not require climbing, and did not require being subject to the Heavenly Abyss and the "Emperor."

It was very blurred.

Just a shadow.

A bit of an outline.

But Qin Yun still saw it.

It looked like an Immortal Ascension path established by oneself.

It was not going through someone else's door.

But opening a door oneself.

The old path was broken.

A new path was born.

Qin Yun stood between heaven and earth, not moving for a long time.

The old friends taken away by the Immortal Path were still on that road.

And the path that truly belonged to him had finally revealed a corner.

He raised his head and looked into the far distance.

His gaze was calm.

Yet it was brighter than at any other time.