Chapter Nineteenth: Howling Moon Sky Wolf
At dawn, it was the most important time for cultivators to practice. When the first ray of sunlight appeared on the eastern horizon, Lu Yun had already opened his eyes with a smile, quietly gazing at the vastness of the world. The mysterious and secluded True Person looked at him and smiled: "It seems that your cultivation has made rapid progress, Purple Yang Master is indeed lucky. This time, your Yang Institute will probably become famous throughout the land because of you, work hard."
Xuan Yin Zhen Ren finished speaking, seeing the other three people wake up, smiled slightly and led the four of them to set off towards Jue Yin Valley. When they arrived at the entrance of the cave where Lu Yun and the others had entered that day, Xuan Yin Zhen Ren said in a low voice: "Now we have plenty of time, because this time, we are going to the most mysterious place in Jue Yin Valley - the You Yue Dong Tian. Inside lives the most ferocious demon in all of Jue Yin Valley, the Xiao Yue Tian Lang. It is said that this demon has been cultivating for over 2,000 years, so we must be extra careful this time. According to our Yi Yuan's records, the Xiao Yue Tian Lang will only appear on the night of the full moon. That means it will only appear in two days' time. What we need to do now is slowly pass through the layers of restrictions and reach You Yue Dong Tian. This time, we are not going to kill that demon, because with your abilities, you cannot kill it. We just want to see its ferocity for ourselves, so remember this point. Let's go." After finishing speaking, he led the way into the cave.
Five people in a row, quickly entered the cave. Although Lu Yun and his four companions had eliminated many demons over the past seven days, the demonic energy inside was still very heavy, truly worthy of being one of the places where the Seven Great Demons of the Cultivation Realm gathered.
Xuan Yin Zhen Ren walked while saying, "There are numerous caves within this mountain range, no less than a thousand paths. If one is not careful, it's easy to get lost. To enter the You Yue Dong Tian, we must pass through hundreds of caves. Among them, some you have been to before, and some you haven't. Therefore, there are still many demonic creatures ahead, so be cautious. Let's all cheer up now and proceed together."
Under the leadership of Xuan Yin Zhen Ren, Li Hongfei, Zhang Ao Xue, Lin Yun Feng and Lu Yun continued on their journey, slaying demons and monsters. Before they knew it, a day had passed. Due to the darkness within the mountain caves, no one could tell whether it was day or night, so the five of them pressed on without stopping. They didn't know how many caves they had traversed or how many demonic creatures they had killed. At this moment, Xuan Yin Zhen Ren suddenly spoke up: "Alright, everyone is tired, let's take a rest. We will soon arrive at the location of the seal that guards the entrance to Jue Yin Valley. Once we break through that seal, we can enter the mystical You Yue Dong Tian. At that time, everyone must be fully prepared to face what lies ahead. So for now, let's rest and recover our depleted spiritual energy."
Lin Yunfeng spoke up at this time, saying: "Master, what's going on with that seal you mentioned? Since an array was already laid out outside the valley, why add another seal here, what's the reason for that?" The other three people also looked at him, wanting to hear his explanation.
The mysterious and powerful being, Xuan Yin, spoke in a low voice: "Actually, this seal was not set by our Yi Garden, but rather it has always existed. We only discovered it later, unintentionally, and that's how we found out there's another hidden world inside. According to Yi Garden's records, this seal might have been laid down by a certain immortal thousands of years ago. The purpose was to prevent some cultivators from accidentally entering and losing their lives. At the same time, it's also possible that something unknown is hidden inside. Unfortunately, for many years, the interior has been occupied by the extremely rare and powerful demon, Xiao Yue Tian Lang. Our Yi Garden sent people to investigate several times, but they were all blocked by the Tian Lang, so we still don't know what's really inside."
As soon as this was said, Lin Yunfeng's eyes lit up and he chuckled: "Master, since there are treasures inside, why don't we join forces this time and kill that Xiao Yue Tianlang together? Then we can look for the treasure together. What do you think? I think that since there is a treasure, how can we just give it up like that? What do you all think? Lu Yun, what do you think of my proposal? Isn't it wonderful?"
Li Hongfei and Zhang Aoxue were both silent, while Lu Yun just smiled helplessly without saying a word. However, Xuan Yin Zhenren glared at Lin Yunfeng and scolded with a smile: "You little brat think you're a god, capable of killing anything? Now you're being stubborn here, if you have the ability, go try it yourself when you see that demon later. You really don't know your place, why don't you learn from me more often instead of just bragging and embarrassing me?" Lin Yunfeng's face turned awkward, he stuck out his tongue and made a silly face at Xuan Yin Zhenren before pulling Lu Yun to the side and whispering about something else.
Standing in front of the stone wall, Xuan Yin Zhenren said in a deep voice: "The most mysterious passage to Jueyin Valley is behind this stone wall. And on this stone wall, there are three extremely powerful seals that isolate the passage. We must break through here before we can enter. To train your abilities, now it's up to you four to break through these three seals. One by one, Li Hongfei, you're the eldest senior brother, you go first."
Li Hongfei nodded silently and walked to the front of the stone wall, where he began to meditate quietly. A soft, mysterious blue-green glow emanated from around him, and a green light strip swirled around his body in a strange pattern. Li Hongfei's hands were clasped together in front of his chest, with his fingers interlocked, as he drew intricate patterns in the air while muttering incantations under his breath. Suddenly, he pushed his hands forward, and a blue-green Taiji diagram appeared on his chest, slowly moving towards the stone wall. When it was three inches away from the wall, a dazzling flash of light burst forth from the stone wall, and a layer of white light flickered back and forth, opposing Li Hongfei's Taiji diagram.
Several people on the side looked carefully, and their eyes all showed a hint of surprise. At this time, Li Hongfei's body suddenly took another step forward, and instantly, dazzling light filled the air, and in an instant, a white mist dispersed. The first seal was finally lifted. Li Hongfei's face remained calm, and he retreated six feet, the light around his body disappearing instantly.
Before the mysterious and true person could speak, Zhang Aoxue drew his sword, and instantly a purple light burst forth, illuminating the entire cave with a bright purple glow. The divine sword Purple Shadow let out a mighty roar, shooting out of its scabbard in an instant, striking the stone wall. A red light appeared on the surface of the stone wall, blocking the purple light. In front of the stone wall, two powerful lights, one red and one purple, stretched and contracted, each advancing and retreating, locked in a standoff. Zhang Aoxue's body was filled with a surging purple light, and his divine sword also burst forth with light, breaking through the red light barrier in one move, shattering the second seal.
Lin Yunfeng smiled slyly and suddenly appeared in front of the stone wall, his hands each drawing a different spell, as he chanted: "Qiankun yinyang, all things return to one, yinyang spell, I summon you! Break!" His two hands, one yin and one yang, quickly merged together, pressing towards the stone wall. On the stone wall, a mysterious black light flowed endlessly, instantly connecting with Lin Yunfeng's yinyang spell. Suddenly, a blindingly bright light shot out, forcing the five people to close their eyes and look away. After the strong light passed, an incredibly powerful gust of air, like a tornado on flat ground, suddenly appeared, sending all five people stumbling backward several steps. Lin Yunfeng was even more miserable, being blown flying to the other side of the stone wall, crashing into it, and falling down powerlessly.
Lu Yun caught him and asked softly, "Yun Feng, are you okay? This little wind shouldn't hurt you, right? You're the youngest and most promising talent in Yi Garden, with profound Taoist skills. How could you be injured by this gentle breeze?" Lu Yun teased him with a smile.
Lin Yunfeng heard this and originally wanted to pretend to be seriously injured, but now that Lu Yun had said so, he could only get up. Looking at everyone, Lin Yunfeng chuckled and said: "This gust of wind is just a breeze, how can it possibly hurt me? I was intentionally not dodging, wanting to see the power of this wind, and the result is, it's nothing to mention." After finishing speaking, he deliberately raised his head and puffed out his chest, with an air of nonchalance. Lu Yun secretly laughed in her heart, while Xuan Yin Zhenren's face turned gloomy.
Lu Yun saw the expression on Xuan Yin Zhenren's face and immediately understood that Lin Yun Feng was in for a severe scolding this time. Because the two people before him had easily broken through the seal, but when it came to him, not only did he fail to break through, but he also ended up losing face. Wasn't this a slap in Xuan Yin Zhenren's face?
Lu Yun said, "This last seal, it seems like it won't be easy to break. I'll give it a try too. Hopefully, we can succeed." Lu Yun slowly walked up to the stone wall, his right hand slowly reaching out towards the stone wall, with a hint of true energy in his palm. As soon as he got within three inches of the wall, a mysterious black light appeared on the wall, swirling and flowing.
Lu Yun's right hand activated the Easy Sky Seal, and a strong aura slowly made contact with that beam of light. Suddenly, a powerful airflow carrying the Shocking Character Seal shook Lu Yun's entire body. A hint of surprise flashed in Lu Yun's eyes as he took a step forward, his right palm radiating intense light. Amidst a burst of cyan light, a scarlet glow emerged, clashing head-on with that beam of light. The entire cave was filled with flickering lights, sometimes surging with cyan and red hues, other times flashing with dark mysterious colors, intersecting and flashing in an enigmatic dance.
Lu Yun rapidly adjusted the frequency of his true energy inside his body, constantly probing with different frequencies of true energy to make contact with that black light. He soon found a way in. At this time, Lu Yun adjusted the frequency of his true energy waves to 360 times per breath, and suddenly his hand passed through that light. Immediately afterwards, that black light was instantly absorbed into Lu Yun's body and disappeared.
A bright light flashed, and a passageway suddenly appeared on the stone wall, extremely strange, no one could see how this passageway came out of thin air. Xuan Yin Zhenren looked at Lu Yun, with a hint of strange light in his eyes, wondering what he was thinking. Li Hongfei looked at Lu Yun in surprise. Lin Yunfeng patted Lu Yun and rushed in.
After passing through the seal, the five of them entered the passage and walked together for two hours before finally arriving at a mountain cave. Looking around here, Lu Yun suddenly felt a very mysterious aura rising in his heart, so familiar. Xuan Yin Zhenren pointed to the mountain cave ahead and said softly: "This mountain cave is the legendary You Yue Dong Tian, it's said that this is the only place with light in the entire Jue Yin Valley. But where does that light come from? No one can say clearly. Now there are many hidden demonic creatures lurking around us, everyone be careful. Let's slowly approach and pay attention to our surroundings."
Li Hongfei drew his sword, and a white light illuminated the surroundings. The sword hovered lightly above his head. Zhang Aoxue also drew her sword, and a purple light covered everything, filling the entire cave with a deep purple hue. The dark creatures let out eerie screams as the swords were drawn. The remaining three people each released their protective true energy, and three green lights appeared against the purple background, looking very beautiful.
At this time, Li Hongfei discovered a wolf demon, and with a cold drink, the Split Cloud Sword instantly enveloped the wolf demon's head. The wolf demon let out a wolf howl, and suddenly the entire cave was filled with wolf cries, countless wolf shadows pounced on Li Hongfei from all sides. On the other side, a group of leopard demons in the darkness also took advantage of the situation to launch an attack, pouncing on Zhang Aoxue. Next, the entire cave was full of demonic creatures, and they were all old demons with cultivation above 800 years, extremely formidable. Plus the large number, it made the five people busy and flustered.
Lu Yun took advantage of the other four people's busy schedule to deal with the demon, and quietly sent out a divine thought wave to carefully observe the surroundings. Lu Yun's body was in the dark cave, constantly rotating and dodging to avoid the demon's attack. At the same time, he slowly moved away from the other four people and approached the mysterious Demon Moon Cave Heaven. With a backhand slap, he split open a wolf demon, and Lu Yun's body flashed with a faint light, suddenly shooting towards the cave entrance.
A flash of light, the entrance to the You Yue Dong Tian suddenly emitted a silver glow, sending Lu Yun flying back. Lu Yun's face changed as he glanced at the others, who were all busy dealing with the large group of demonic creatures and didn't have the energy to notice him. Lu Yun's divine sense suddenly vibrated at high speed, emitting three different frequency waves to carefully probe the seal on the entrance.
Lu Yun suddenly smiled, a hint of complacency on his face, and his body instantly transformed into a green light that shot straight at the cave entrance, passing through the barrier in an instant. The green light flashed, and Lu Yun slowly reappeared, carefully looking around him. On Lu Yun's face, there was a look of shock, his eyes filled with incredulity, and he had a kind of ethereal feeling all over. Standing inside the cave, everything around him was bright, completely different from the darkness outside. Everything was so familiar. It was just three days ago that he was still here chatting with Xiao Tian. But now, everything had become so unexpected, so unreal.
Looking at the empty cave, Lu Yun sighed: "Xiao Tian, it turns out that 'Xiao Tian' refers to the wolf of Xiao Yue Tian. Unfortunately, I didn't react in time back then. No wonder when I first asked him, he was unwilling to mention what this place is. In fact, he didn't want to say it, just didn't want me to know and get angry, what's the point of that?" Pausing slightly, Lu Yun looked up at the sky and said softly: "Xiao Tian, I know you're here right now, I can sense your presence. Come out and see me. Since we were friends back then, we are still friends now. I have something to ask you."
In the vast and bright cave, a silver light flashed, and Xi Tian's figure finally appeared. Looking at Lu Yun, Xi Tian smiled faintly and walked to his side, saying in a low voice: "I didn't explain earlier, hoping to leave a good impression on you. Unfortunately, it seems we are destined to meet again, perhaps this is also an unchangeable fate. Now that you know my identity, you still treat me as a friend, I'm truly grateful. To me, you're the only friend I have in the mortal world. Ask whatever you want, my time is limited, the moon has risen, and the time is almost up." After finishing speaking, he looked up at the top of his head.
Lu Yun was perplexed by his last words, and followed his gaze. At this moment, Lu Yun was suddenly stunned. He could not have imagined that in this cave, at this moment, he could clearly see the round moon in the sky, which was simply unbelievable. Lu Yun took a deep breath, calmed down, and asked: "Three days ago, why did you want to pass on the technique of traversing space? Was it just because we were friends? And when you said you wanted to leave, what did you mean? Now time is running out, the moon is rising, what does that mean?"
Looking at him, Xiao Tian smiled calmly: "I passed on the technique to you because I didn't want this set of techniques to be lost in the world. Also, between us, we can be considered to have a good affinity, so I taught it to you. As for my departure, I was just about to tell you. I've been cultivating here for 2,000 years and have broken through the final bottleneck, reaching the realm of ascension. Tonight, when the moon is full, is when I will ascend. The moon has already risen, and when it reaches its peak, I will leave the world by stepping on the moon. Now you understand, I hope you won't forget that there was an old friend here who once had a heart-to-heart talk with you."
Lu Yun's expression changed slightly, looking at Xiao Tian, and said with a blessing: "I didn't expect your cultivation to be so high, you've already reached the realm of ascension. I'm truly happy for you. Don't worry, in this life, I will always remember you as a good friend. It's just a pity that from now on, I won't have the chance to see you again."
Looking up at the round moon above his head, Xiao Tian let out a soft sigh and said: "It's been a while since we last met, but it feels like just yesterday that we parted ways. This is the impermanence of things in life, don't take it too much to heart. As for whether we'll meet again in the future, who can say for sure? You have your own path to follow in this life, I hope you'll work hard. There's something hidden within you, I'm not sure if you understand what that is." Xiao Tian looked at him quietly, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
Lu Yun nodded slightly and said, "I know this. I understand that my life is full of ups and downs, but I won't give up. I want to make the world change because of me, and make the earth more beautiful." Xiao Tian patted his shoulder and whispered, "Remember to work hard, take care of yourself, my friend. Your companion will rush in soon, and my time is almost up too, goodbye. I hope we'll meet again somewhere else, I'll be waiting for you there." A flash of silver light, and Xiao Tian's figure vanished instantly.
Lu Yun's lips moved a few times, but in the end he didn't say that sentence. He slightly turned around, and at the entrance of the cave, there was a loud noise, four figures with different lights flashed in. Lin Yunfeng saw that Lu Yun wasn't there, so he loudly scolded: "Lu Yun, you really are not considerate enough, you went in first by yourself, making us worry about you. How is it? You came in first, did you find any treasure or something?" After finishing speaking, he looked around him for a while, and finally shook his head disappointedly.
Xuan Yin Zhen Ren glanced at the four of them and said, "Don't make a fuss, this is the You Yue Dong Tian. Everyone be careful. Inside here, the spiritual energy is abundant, it's really beyond one's expectations. Who would have thought that the Xiao Yue Tian Lang wolf would occupy such a treasure land? No wonder its cultivation is so profound. Now everyone pay attention to their surroundings and beware of being ambushed by that demon wolf."
Lu Yun's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he stared at Xuan Yin Zhenren for a moment before looking away without saying anything. At this time, Lu Yun suddenly discovered that the full moon had slowly risen to the center of the cave ceiling, emitting a dazzling yellow glow. Zhang Aoxue looked up at the sky along with Lu Yun, and her eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed: "Everyone look up! We can actually see the moon here, it's incredibly mysterious. This cave is supposed to be hundreds of feet underground, how is it possible to see the moon? It's strange!"
Li Hongfei and Lin Yunfen both looked up at the top, Xuan Yin Zhenren opened his mouth and said: "This is why it's said that this is the most mysterious place in Jueyin Valley. It's also why this place is called Yaoyue Dongtian. The name Yaoyue was also derived from this. But what's strange is that every full moon night, the howling wolves of Yaoyue would come out to absorb the essence of the moonlight, but tonight there's no sign of them?" Xuan Yin Zhenren's eyes showed a hint of puzzlement, he didn't understand this either.
Lu Yun gazed at the full moon above, saying nothing, but silently wishing his old friend a smooth journey and a successful ascension. Just then, Lin Yunfeng suddenly let out a startled cry, exclaiming: "Look quickly, it's appeared! How strange, it's really unbelievable."
The moon had risen to the middle of the sky. A silver wolf shadow appeared in the moon, slowly becoming clear and growing larger and brighter, very mysterious. On the round moon, a silver heavenly wolf was seen, howling towards the sky, a shocking wolf howl that clearly entered the ears of Lu Yun and his group. The silver wolf on the moon slowly rotated its body, occasionally spitting out a ball of silver light from its mouth, flashing with piercing light. On the pale yellow moon, a yellow light was deeply attracted to the silver light, constantly approaching the silver light ball.
Lin Yunfeng, Li Hongfei and Zhang Aoxue were all seeing this situation for the first time, and they felt shocked, strange and puzzled in their hearts. The three of them involuntarily shifted their gaze to Xuan Yintian's face, hoping to get some answers from him. But Lu Yun was staring straight at the horizon, his eyes fixed intently.
Xuanyin Zhenren's face changed greatly, and a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes. Looking at the three disciples staring at him, Xuanyin Zhenren said softly: "It's really unexpected, this time coming here, seeing such a scene. You must think it's strange, right? Actually, I'm just like you. I didn't expect this either, and yet I encountered the ascension of Xiao Yue Tian Lang. What a coincidence! Many people go their whole lives without seeing something like this. You're lucky, so take a good look."
Li Hongfei asked: "Master Uncle, you said that the demon wolf flew up, won't it be a mistake? Such a demon can also cultivate the Tao, and it's really rare for disciples to hear about it."
The True Person of Profound Darkness gazed at him for a moment, seeing the look of disbelief and disdain in his eyes. He let out a soft sigh and said: "Actually, all things in this world can be cultivated. Once you reach a certain level, you can ascend to immortality, which is not exclusive to humans. To tell the truth, the first beings to cultivate into immortals were not humans. You haven't heard of it because you've been focused on cultivating your techniques and have no distracting thoughts. In this mortal realm, all things that cultivate are called 'spiritual anomalies.' Among cultivators of the Truth, spiritual anomalies aren't bad; they're no different from us. They also want to cultivate successfully, live a bit longer, and break free from the constraints of heaven and earth. The so-called 'demonic creatures' in the mouths of cultivators today are actually just a part of the spiritual anomalies between heaven and earth."
Li Hongfei asked inexplicably, "Master uncle, what do you mean by this? I don't quite understand, please enlighten me." Zhang Aoxue and Lin Yunfeng on the side also looked at Xuan Yin Zhenren. This was something they had never heard of before, so they were very interested. Lu Yun, however, seemed to have not heard it, still quietly looking up at the top.
The True Person of Profound Yin thought for a moment, then sighed softly: "The path of cultivating the truth is fraught with difficulties and obstacles. Without innate talent, opportunities, or perseverance, there is no hope of success. Therefore, among the countless cultivators of spiritual mysteries, some begin to seek shortcuts by any means possible. They want to shorten the time it takes to master the techniques that normally require thousands of years, even tens of thousands of years, to just a few hundred years. As a result, all sorts of strange and unusual methods have emerged. While many of these methods are effective, more than 90% of them go against human moral principles. That's why they've become forbidden ways in the mouths of people."
As the spirit of all things, humans have had a long history and moral style, loving peace. Therefore, humans prohibit learning and using methods that go against common sense. Those who use such methods will be attacked by everyone. Over time, in people's minds, a fixed theory has formed. So, the orthodox cultivation of truth opposes those who use evil methods to improve their cultivation and spiritual powers. From then on, the legend of demons and monsters began to spread throughout the world. As time passed, people gradually referred to those who used evil methods as "demon heads" or "evil demons", while the spirits were called "monsters and ghosts", advocating for killing them at sight. In fact, many spirits are not inherently bad. They just want to cultivate an immortal body.
Due to those strange methods, they were very useful. So, countless cultivators couldn't resist the temptation and changed to learn those methods, secretly practicing them. As a result, what was originally a peaceful human world slowly appeared with numerous bloody incidents, many heinous crimes occurred one after another, causing the common people to suffer greatly. In order to prevent these things from happening, many cultivation sects joined forces, issuing a statement together, and exerting their full strength to crack down on those evil people. Therefore, the slogan of "beheading demons and eliminating devils" echoed throughout the Divine State's land. And that's how there were cultivators like us, who cultivated to strengthen ourselves for peace, beheaded demons and eliminated devils to protect our homes."
Li Hongfei's face revealed a hint of skepticism upon hearing this. Zhang Aoxue's eyes, however, showed a glimmer of understanding. Lin Yunfeng had an odd expression on his face and didn't say anything, he just looked at Lu Yun beside him.
Lu Yun listened intently, and at this moment, he was very much in favor of Xuan Yin's words. All things cultivate the truth, originally without distinction, why must they look down on those alien spirits? Their cultivation is actually far more bitter than that of humans, and their time is also several times longer than that of humans. Just as Lu Yun was thinking wildly in his heart, a thunderous wolf howl suddenly shook the sky and pierced the earth. Lu Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly focused his attention on the round moon above his head, staring carefully at it.
The bright moon was still there, but the wolf-like moon in the sky had begun to undergo a strange transformation. Its body shone with a brilliant silver light, reflecting the pale yellow moonlight and creating an interesting contrast. From a distance, it looked like a large yellow circle with a silver ball of light slowly flashing, growing brighter, and undergoing strange changes. As time passed, the silver light suddenly burst forth, and a giant wolf in the moonlight grew larger and then slowly shrank back down. After seven repetitions, the silver light converged into a beam that shot straight from the moon to the cave where Lu Yun and his companions were located.
At this moment, a strange light pillar appeared in the sky, connecting the Youyue Cave Heaven and the round moon in the sky. In the mortal world, countless powerful cultivators felt the strangeness of this moment and couldn't help but look at the light pillar that pierced the sky. As for Lu Yun and the others who were in the Youyue Cave Heaven, their feelings were even clearer. Lu Yun's first feeling was that Xiao Tian was about to ascend. The second feeling was that the spiritual energy throughout the cave was rapidly disappearing, heading towards the round moon in the sky. The third feeling was that this brightly lit mountain cave was slowly darkening.
The other four people looked at this wonderful scene, all showing a surprised expression, carefully watching the next development. What will happen next?
