A Bond Between Master and Disciple

The cave was filled with a chilling aura and was incredibly damp; without a lantern, it was almost impossible to see. A layer of sticky fluid quickly clung to the silken robes, and dripped continuously from the surrounding fleshy walls, like a persistent spring rain. A smell of spring rain...

Ah, that's why it's called a shadow? It's reasonable and well-founded...

Holding up the leather lantern, Zheng Zetian observed the scene illuminated by the light. He saw that the writhing flesh wall in front of him was layered upon layered, twitching in waves, and occasionally producing granulation tissue, cysts, and other things, as if it was constantly evolving and changing the layout of the tunnel. It only stayed in one place for a short while before it could no longer recognize the surrounding scenery.

He thought for a moment, then covered the lantern under the shadow cloak, held the Thunder Pearls in his hand, concentrated his Dao power, and enveloped the thirty-six Thunder Pearls in flashing lightning, raising them to provide illumination. But the flesh wall in front of him had inexplicably sprouted many branch paths, and pink cracks and fissures had appeared on the flesh wall, as if some hidden secret passage was calling him to crawl in.

Is this a misguided path created by illusion? It seems only the light from the lantern illuminates the right way.

When Zheng Zetian first saw the motorcycle at the station, he knew it was probably a demon that the Giant had captured from some unknown world. However, he never expected that the Giant would set up such a strange formation inside the demon's intestines.

Indeed, it is a formation, and a superior maze that changes its path periodically. Without a basic formation diagram, an understanding of the formation's layout, advanced mathematics, and a strong destiny to save oneself in time, or without a magical artifact to pass through and a guardian to guide the way, those who stray into this formation will likely have their Dao Breath and digested by its viscous fluids.

However, since it's used as a passenger transport vehicle, this monster shouldn't be able to just eat people or 'ghosts' indiscriminately...

Zheng Zetian thought for a moment, then used his lightning to illuminate a fork in the road and a crevice. He then switched to holding a leather lantern and shone the light on it. Sure enough, he found that the meat here was different from that elsewhere. It felt drier to the touch and had only a thin membrane that could be torn apart with little force.

Zheng Zetian lifted the Azure Clouds Silk Robe, rolled up his sleeves, and tried to insert his hand into the gap to feel around.

There was space inside, and the inner walls were no longer sticky flesh and blood, but rather cavities resembling dried blood clots and ribs.

Hmm, it must be a carriage prepared for 'ghosts'.

Zheng Zetian noticed that milky white foam and thick fluid were seeping out of the wound he had torn open. He withdrew his hand and saw that the crack quickly healed itself, forming a red and white mesh that not only sealed the exit but also caused the inner cavity to begin to seep fluid. The transparent, yellowish-green liquid, like amber, seeped from the gaps in the wound, clearly filling the inner walls and making them bulge. Unlike soft, bubbly pustules, it quickly solidified, forming a hard, swollen cyst.

It seems that these illusionary 'paths' also have the function of traps and captures. It's likely that the 'ghosts' that board the train are sealed inside the carriages in this way to prevent them from going out of control and eating people.

Of course, it's also possible that it didn't run 'out' to eat people.

Zheng Zetian raised the lantern, illuminating the seemingly endless intestines, where bulging cysts were embedded in the fleshy walls.

Isn't this arrangement just a private room on one side of the carriage aisle... Then maybe, in fact, the herringbone passengers also... Sigh, I never want to take a train again...

Zheng Zetian sighed, picked up his lantern, and walked forward along the fleshy corridor illuminated by the light.

Anyway, there's only one road. Whether it's your master, grandmaster, Railway Warden, or anything else, once you get on the train, you'll eventually meet them.

They cautiously probed forward, and after walking for about half an incense stick's time, Zheng Zetian heard Ying Shuo say...

"Next stop, Li Family Village. Next stop, Li Family Village. Passengers getting off, please prepare in advance..."

Zheng Zetian felt a jolt and almost fell, as if a giant beast crawling at high speed had come to an abrupt stop.

We've already arrived at the station? Then that means...

At that moment, the lights came on from the bend in the opposite intestine.

Is it for garrison duty? Or something else?

Zheng Zetian immediately hid the lantern under his raincoat, turned around and broke through a crevice in his flesh to hide in the cavity. He held his breath and hid in the layers of blood scabs, feeling the cool and sticky sky and misty clouds sticking to his face.

As the light shone closer, the gap gradually closed up, and yellowish-green fluid seeped out and into the side cavity. Fortunately, this fluid could not seep through the Tianqingxia Yanluo. Zheng Zetian turned his face to the side and looked out through the thin membrane that had been sewn up.

A figure carrying a lantern led the way, followed by five shadowy figures draped in cloaks who passed through the fleshy hole just a membrane away from him.

Li Family Village is not part of the normal stop sequence at Five Sons Peak. Those who get off at that stop are clearly things that deliberately 'sneaked in'. In any case, they are definitely not 'people'.

Zheng Zetian waited cautiously, but he didn't feel the train start moving again, nor did he hear Ying Suo's reminder. It was as if time had stopped, or as if the train had already arrived at its destination.

However, judging by the time, those people should have gotten off at their stop by now.

So he tore off the scab, squeezed out from the flesh crevice, returned to the flesh corridor, raised the lantern to shine behind him, thought for a moment, and realized that going to Li Family Village to find the giant's things was probably not something a Foundation Establishment child could handle, so he continued forward, searching in the direction the other party had come from.

He quickly found the Railway Warden's hat... and the skullcap...

Zheng Zetian glanced at her. This guard was clearly a Nascent Soul Stage demon in human form, so she must have some skill to guard the railway. Moreover, she had a token with the character 'Mo' on it, so she should be a disciple who had received the true teachings of Mo Mountain. But it seemed that she hadn't even had time to transform before she was killed.

Zheng Zetian then held up the lantern again and took two steps forward to illuminate the way.

Okay, judging from the scene, it seems like they met head-on and he was smashed to pieces with a single punch. Limbs and torsos were scattered everywhere, and blood was everywhere. Many pieces of flesh and internal organs had already been absorbed by the corridor. However, the strange uniform of the Railway Warden was probably made of different materials, as fragments of it were still intact, showing how horrific the scene was.

Zheng Zetian didn't stop, but continued forward, holding the lantern.

Then he saw a dead Qilin.

The Thunder Kylin, with its deep blue scales, snow-white mane, and silver horns, had most of its horns broken off, its four hooves snapped and torn apart, its eyes pierced, its abdomen ripped open, a large hole in its chest cavity, and its heart and inner core removed. From its mouth, nose, and the huge laceration, silvery spiritual blood imbued with lightning power flowed out, forming a pool of blood in the corridor.

Unlike the guardian who was instantly killed, it was clear that the other party had tormented this Qilin for a long time. Even if a sacred beast like the Qilin had strong vitality, it probably couldn't withstand such torment and would have already died.

Zheng Zetian looked at Qilin silently, then raised the lantern, and saw a shadow raincoat lying on the ground beside him. There was a ticket with the word "" stuck on the raincoat.

Zheng Zetian squatted down and touched the Qilin's face, "... Master."

He's completely cold, his spirit is gone, there's no saving him even with medicine.

Then the lantern suddenly went out.

In the fleeting moment of light and shadow, Zheng Zetian saw a shadow appear behind him.

At that very moment, Zheng Zetian unleashed his full Dao Breath, accumulating it throughout his Dao Breath. His meridians were pierced painfully by the overloaded lightning, to the point that his skin and flesh were steamed by the Dao power, turning red and emitting a burnt smell.

Provoked by this, Zheng Zetian instantly lit up three thunder pearls and six thunder seals on the Supreme Thirty-Six Divine Thunder Fire Banner in his hand, and then flicked his hand to strike the shadow behind him.

Then he died.

A hand emerged from the shadows, and lightning bolts struck it, but the lightning didn't even shatter the sleeve; it was deflected by the protective aura, as if the hand were being dusted off with a whisk.

That hand was ruthless, reaching out and tearing through the azure mist with its five fingers, plunging into Zheng Zetian's head and crushing it like a grape.

And so he died.

Then Zheng Zetian opened his eyes.

He saw himself sitting in an endless, dark wilderness, with a person in a purple Daoist robe standing before him, speaking in an expectant voice,

"How about it?"

Zheng Zetian was stunned, speechless for a long time, "What do you mean, how?"

The empty Daoist robe flapped its sleeves like a rooster flapping its wings.

"Laozi's Dao Fruit, what do you think of it after you've tasted it? Awesome, right!"

The memories of the dead suddenly flooded back. Zheng Zetian was silent for a while, then reached out and touched the top of his head. The feeling of being grabbed and having his skull pierced, the bone cavity shattered, and his eyeballs flying out was still vivid in his mind. His entire skull was throbbing with a faint, phantom pain...

"... I'm not dead?"

"Huh? Death? Could it be?!"

The Daoist robe paused for a moment, then flew up and wrapped around Zheng Zetian. It took Zheng Zetian's hands, patted his head, and then flew away, beginning to dance in the open field.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! It's a success! It's a success! Hahaha! I can't believe it actually worked! My Dao has been achieved on the first try! Hahaha! Ze Tian Ze Tian! It's truly the best hexagram ever! Hahahahahaha!"

As Zheng Zetian stared at the strange-looking, gesticulating Daoist robe, a wild conjecture vaguely surfaced in his mind. Even the reincarnated immortal, who had once been the founder of a sect and had seen everything, was now sweating profusely and feeling cold all over. He thought to himself, "Damn, I've never seen anything like this before."

"What have you done?!"

"Hmph! Hehehe! Hahaha! Wow-- Hahahahahahahahaha! Didn't you witness it with your own eyes, fellow Daoist?"

The purple-robed figure stopped dancing, laughing loudly as it spun around countless times.

"This is the Great Fiend! The Empty Star! The Great Dao of Time Reversal! Essential for Time Travel! Supreme and Invincible! The Rewind Technique!!! Awesome!"

Zheng Zetian couldn't understand it, much less believe it.

"... No, impossible... Just now, spacetime, no! Could this be an illusion? Or some kind of profound mathematics?"

But mathematics and magic, at best, can only offer a glimpse of inspiration; they could never possibly deduce things so far back, so realistically...

"Hmph, hahaha, fellow Daoist, you don't believe me? Hmph, hahaha! It's alright, it's alright. The reason I invited you to test Unit-01 was precisely to verify this Dao!"

Don't worry, don't worry, you'll get used to saving your game quickly after a few tries. Here, have another one, save your game now."

The Daoist priest rolled up his sleeves and took out a dark purple apple, handing it over.

Zheng Zetian stared at the apple, then jumped up as if he had seen a ghost.

Dao Yi didn't let him dodge; he went straight up and stuffed the apple into Dao Zi's hand.

"Hehehe, fellow Daoist, don't miss the chance to save your game here. My Dao is still in the closed beta stage, and each save can probably only be used once. Moreover, we don't know if there is a limit to the number of uses, or what kind of hidden dangers it may pose to the Dao body and primordial spirit. Although it seems that your primordial spirit can withstand it at the moment, you still need to test it many times. In short, just treat every life as if it were your last."

Zheng Zetian stared blankly at the apple in his hand, and couldn't help but swallow.

"Hmm? You're not scared, are you? What?! The mighty Ancestor Luo! You can't even get past a mere killing tribulation, how could you possibly die two or three times? No way! But then again, fellow Daoist died a bit too quickly, only one day and you're already dead. I thought the first pass would at least trigger your mortal tribulation!"

Of course, I can't blame you. Judging from the echo before you died, the guy who killed you was at least a Demon God General. With your Foundation Establishment strength, he was indeed difficult to deal with, hehehe! Can you handle this, fellow Daoist? Should I give you a little cheat without affecting the gameplay?"

Whether it was spurred on by 'Ancestor Luo,' 'hehe,' 'no way, no way,' or 'can you do it, fellow Daoist?', Zheng Zetian suddenly regained his composure, glanced coldly at the robe, and took a bite of his apple.

"So that's how it is. The method of time reversal that the Grand Master comprehended can only be triggered upon death. You haven't personally tested it either, which is why you specially guided me into the Dao... I was wondering how such a good thing could happen to me when we're not even that close..."

The man in the Daoist robe came up, put his arm around Zheng Zetian's shoulder, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Fellow Daoist, don't get stuck on this. My save-and-load technique is invincible! Such a heaven-defying cheat is worthy of someone as talented and gifted as you! Don't underestimate yourself!"

Of course, I don't need to elaborate on how extraordinary this path is!

I estimate that this path is far too heaven-defying. If it were to be revealed, one would surely be struck by lightning, suffer endless calamities, and perish. It might even result in the complete annihilation of one's body and soul! Perhaps you, fellow Daoist, have encountered such a calamity on your very first day here, which is probably due to your overly aggressive use of cheat codes!

In short, to be on the safe side, you should be careful. Don't say things you shouldn't say, don't try to change your fate, and if you do try to change it, don't give yourself away.

Of course! These arrogant fools actually dared to come to my Li Family Village! Over the years, my village has accumulated so many valuable possessions; I feel heartbroken even when they break the flowers and plants! Especially since they killed my Moshan disciples! This is truly intolerable! I will not be satisfied until I have beheaded them a hundred times! Don't worry! I will definitely protect you!"

Zheng Zetian frowned, his mind involuntarily recalling...

"Does the Grand Master currently have the resources to deal with those ghosts?"

The Daoist robe shrugged its shoulders.

"Where would I get the 'hand' now? And I've already given you such an awesome cheat code, so aren't you my 'hand'?"

Don't worry, don't worry. On my turf, a few demon generals can't cause any trouble. Come closer, I'll teach you two cheat codes. You'll take care of them easily."

Zheng Zetian frowned. "What? Cheating...?"

But before he could ask any more questions, Dao Yi had already finished speaking in hushed tones, and then patted Zheng Zetian on the shoulder.

"Alright, these two tricks are enough to handle it. If things go wrong... well, you can always revert to a previous save file."

Alright! Let's go show them how powerful my Dao is!

Then he waved his Daoist robe with wide sleeves.

A strong wind blew, Zheng Zetian opened his eyes.

He found himself back at Qingting Peak, in the Revered Heavenly Demon Dojo at the summit.

The Revered Heavenly Demon with a dragon's body and a human head, Lei Shilong, was sleeping peacefully on the altar, as always.

"To be able to enter a dream Abyss-Gazing on the very first time Moon Worship... truly worthy of being Dao Seed..."

Zheng Zetian turned his head and saw Song Dayou, holding a black paper umbrella and wearing round sunglasses, limping over to his side. Song Dayou asked with concern,

"Ze Tian, how did it go? Did you go to Lei Marsh? Did you see Lei Shi?"

Zheng Zetian looked at him,

"I think I dreamt of a Qilin."

"Really!"

Upon hearing this, Song Dayou Dayu's old face beamed with a smile as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum.

"The one I've been observing is Lei Lin! That's wonderful! We really are destined to be master and disciple! Excellent! Our Qingting Sect has a worthy successor!"

A master-disciple relationship.

Those who had a master-disciple relationship in their previous life cannot be saved.

I hope the ending will be different in this life.