Tian Mo Abyss.
Watching the fragments of gourds and sword mud continuously "mending the sky," Ding Muchen's eyes were filled with tears. The remnant soul of the old Taoist was becoming increasingly illusory, on the verge of completely disappearing from the mortal world.
"Old Taoist!"
Ding Muchen called out in a low voice, tears flowing as he said, "Go in peace. I, Ding Muchen, and my junior brother Lin Zhao will not disappoint heaven and earth, nor will we disappoint you!"
"No need for such solemnity."
The old Taoist had his hands behind his back, his remnant soul walking towards the fissure. He suddenly turned around, revealing a less than pleasant smile, and said, "Rather than disappointing anyone, I’d rather you two brothers have good wine to drink every day and see beautiful women every day. It would be even better if beautiful women served you wine."
His gaze was deep: "After all, sword immortals like you, this is the life you should be living..."
Ding Muchen gave a wry smile, "Then we'll try our best?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
The old Taoist's final remnant soul vanished into heaven and earth. His last words drifted on the wind: "Sword immortals like you should be carefree and unrestrained, not bound by such and such principles. If life is not joyful and free, what's the point? In this life, you should do what you believe is right. That is enough."
"Ding Muchen, I have learned!"
Not long after, Elder Wang successfully mended the sky with his lifelong Dao, and the fissure at the bottom of Tian Mo Abyss was completely sealed, seamless.
Ding Muchen took a deep breath. At this moment, his sword intent had returned to its peak. He had to bring this news back to the Upper Realm as soon as possible. He raised his hand, refining the corpses of the Fear Demons and Undefeatable Demons on the ground, obtaining many glazed fragments, which were all matters of the Great Dao.
Afterwards, he opened a path with the Fusou Sword, his figure transforming into a golden lightning bolt that shot up from the bottom of Tian Mo Abyss. With a single sword strike, he cut through the sword qi he had condensed in the air. His three natal flying swords were unsheathed, guarding him.
These three flying swords were named "Xiran," "Linjie," and "Nanfeng." As for the fourth flying sword, no one in the world had ever seen it. It seemed that no one in this world was worthy of the Sword Saint Ding Muchen drawing out his fourth or even fifth flying sword.
Amidst the sky filled with sword intent, the bodies of Undefeatable Demons and Fear Demons were shredded. The fireflies holding oil-paper umbrellas in the wind were even more vulnerable. As he wielded his sword, he threw a punch. The punch of a warrior in the Rebirth Realm instantly turned hundreds of umbrella-holding demons into a cloud of fiery smoke.
...
"Bang!"
On the Fengshen Platform, a golden sword light erupted, followed by Ding Muchen's figure breaking through the air. His arms were covered in streaks of blood. Behind him, a roaring Fear Demon followed, raising its sharp claws and striking directly at Ding Muchen's back.
"Junior Brother?!"
On the Fengshen Platform, Ming Yuechi, clad in a white dress, struck out with her sword, instantly shredding the Fear Demon. She then summoned a natal flying sword that transformed into a purple lightning bolt and blasted into the rift in the sky, immediately shredding countless Undefeatable Demons, Lingyan Demons, and umbrella-holding demons.
Ding Muchen landed gracefully on the Fengshen Platform, his expression grave.
"Senior Wang Xu... sacrificed himself for the realm?" Ming Yuechi asked.
"Yes."
Ding Muchen said in a deep voice, "Senior Sister, the bottom of Tian Mo Abyss hides a colossal secret. At some point, a massive fissure was eroded at the bottom of the abyss, and millions of umbrella-holding demons have already flowed into the Upper Realm. However, they are being guided and protected by a certain power, so the Upper Realm remains oblivious."
"I understand."
Ming Yuechi's delicate eyebrows furrowed, "Senior Sister will guard the Fengshen Platform for you. You go to Baiyu Mountain, Changsheng Realm, and the Sea of All Heavens, and inform them of everything that has happened in Tianwai Tian, so they can make preparations."
"Alright."
Ding Muchen did not hesitate. He summoned a sword light that shot into the dark night sky like lightning.
...
Baiyu Mountain, the ancestral court of Taoism.
Under a ginkgo tree, three people sat around a chessboard.
Ding Muchen took out a storage bag and poured the more than 2,000 glazed fragments obtained from refining the demons onto the stone table. "This is what I harvested in Tian Mo Abyss. I'll share some with Baiyu Mountain to consolidate your vital energy. You should already know about Senior Wang Xu's matter, right?"
"Yes."
The young Dao Saint nodded, his brow furrowed. "Senior Wang Xu was a master of the School of Diplomacy, a Taoist, and one of the founders of our central plains Taoism. His sacrifice for the realm has shaken the ancestral court of Taoism."
"Stop with the pleasantries."
Ding Muchen said, "Tianwai Tian has a scheme in Tian Mo Abyss. They have corroded the dimensional wall and opened an inconspicuous fissure. Wang Xu's temporal deductions saw at least a million umbrella-holding demons infiltrating the Upper Realm from Tianwai Tian, but their whereabouts are unknown and cannot be seen clearly. Therefore, this matter must be investigated."
Beside him, a beautiful woman in a Taoist robe, Wei Huarou, frowned. She gritted her teeth and said, "Senior Wang Xu's sacrifice will surely shake the entire Upper Realm. As for the matter of the million umbrella-holding demons, it should be kept confidential for now, to avoid alerting the schemers. Otherwise, it would truly be like beating the grass to scare the snake."
"Mm."
Ding Muchen said, "I am from the School of Military Affairs. I am not good at tracking down clues. This is why I have come to the ancestral court of Taoism. I hope the ancestral court of Taoism can send a great cultivator to investigate the whereabouts of these million umbrella-holding demons. Otherwise, we will all be in the dark and won't know how to respond."
"I'll go."
Wei Huarou stood up and looked at the young Dao Saint. "Senior Brother, I have killed no less than fifty thousand umbrella-holding demons. Let me be the one to investigate."
"Mm."
The Dao Saint nodded. "I am at ease with Junior Sister investigating this matter, but you must be extra careful. The righteous path of the Upper Realm has already lost Elder Wang. It cannot afford more losses."
"Senior Brother, rest assured."
Wei Huarou pursed her red lips. "My true body will remain in Baiyu Mountain. Only a spiritual body will go to investigate."
"Good."
The Dao Saint looked at Ding Muchen. "Where are you going next? I'll accompany you. Your injuries are severe. I don't want you to become another Elder Wang Xu."
Ding Muchen gave a wry smile, "I never thought I, Ding Muchen, would reach a point where I need an escort."
"Circumstances change."
"Let's go. We'll head to the Changsheng Realm and see what those old monsters think."
"Alright."
Two beams of light shot towards the Changsheng Realm.
Wei Huarou, with her delicate figure, leaned against a white jade railing, watching the two saints, enfeoffed by heaven and earth, depart. She then transformed into a spiritual body, a golden compass spinning in her hand. Holding the compass, she headed directly towards the Sea of All Heavens and Wuwang Mountain.
In the Upper Realm, the Sea of All Heavens occupied the largest territory, and their schemes always ran counter to the righteous path of the Upper Realm. Therefore, the Sea of All Heavens was the most suspicious in the matter of luring millions of umbrella-holding demons.
...
Real World.
In the evening, Lin Zhao and the others logged off. It was time for dinner.
While online, Lin Zhao had already finished cultivating the Eternal Sword Scripture. He logged off after his character rested at his residence. This arrangement was more reasonable; he couldn't keep wasting online time by sleeping online, which even he felt was a pity.
There were more people at dinner today, with Murong Feiyue and Ning Yu adding two more sets of chopsticks.
The dinner was exceptionally rich, filling the entire table.
While they were eating, Nangong Jilin walked in from outside and whispered a few words to Shen Xingchen. Shen Xingchen pursed her lips and said nothing. Then, Nangong Jilin left.
"What's wrong?" Lin Zhao asked.
"It's almost New Year's..."
Shen Xingchen glanced at the calendar on her phone. "Today is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. There's one more day until New Year's Eve, so my dad wants me to go home for the New Year. I'll probably be back around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Of course, Dad's intention is for me to come back after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth."
"It's actually until the Lantern Festival. That's a bit much."
Ding Chi grumbled, "No company would dare to take such long holidays."
Shen Xingchen smiled, "Lin Zhao, when do you want me to come back?"
"Then come back after the fifth."
Lin Zhao said, "It's alright."
"Mm!"
Shen Xingchen smiled and nodded.
Lin Zhao looked at the others. "Everyone else, if you're going home for the New Year, let us know. We'll arrange for Feiyue Transport's private jet to take you, to avoid any accidents."
"Me, me, me!"
Luo Man raised her hand. "My parents are in Xicheng and have been urging me to come home. Although I want to spend more time with my brother, tomorrow is really the last deadline. I have to go home tomorrow and will be back on the second day of the Lunar New Year."
"Back on the second day of the Lunar New Year?" Murong Feiyue asked with a smile.
"Mm."
Luo Man's pretty face turned slightly red. "After visiting my parents, it's time to come back."
"That's good."
Murong Feiyue looked Luo Man up and down with a smile. With her shoulder-length short hair, delicate features, and bright eyes, she was such a beautiful young girl. She said, "Not bad, not bad. Little Zhao, why don't we marry her? The Lin family should have some heirs soon..."
Lin Zhao was speechless, "Sister!"
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more."
Murong Feiyue smiled, "Let's eat, let's eat."
"Where's A Xue?"
Lin Zhao looked at Chen Xue.
"I'm not leaving."
Chen Xue held a chicken leg and said, "I don't have a home. This is my home."
A little sad!
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Me too..."
For a moment, Chen Xue pursed her red lips, feeling a sense of emotional resonance.
Ding Chi said, "My home is close, only twenty minutes away. I'll go home at noon on New Year's Eve and come back after lunch on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Can I borrow a Yunying-class aircraft? I'm rarely home, so my parents have a lot of opinions. They've prepared a lot of New Year's goods."
"Got it, got it."
Zhang Jun smiled, "You just want a Yunying-class aircraft to take you home to show off, right? We all understand, we all understand..."
Ding Chi glanced at him. "Brother Jun, your words are so unpleasant to hear. No wonder you're going bald early."
Ning Yu smiled with dimples, "Here we go again, hurting each other..."
...
Ning City Center.
On a large bed, a beautiful woman removed her helmet-style gaming equipment. She kicked off the covers with her long, slender, and fair legs and got out of bed to drink water. She looked out the window at the neon lights of Ning City and suddenly felt a sense of loneliness.
Leng Yan had always preferred solitude. She didn't like going shopping with girlfriends or watching movies. She kept her distance from all sorts of social games, believing them to be a waste of time.
But sometimes, she also felt lonely.
Just like now, the New Year came every year, and every year was the same.
This year was a little different.
Perhaps... on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, she should go to Lin Zhao's place to pay her respects? She heard that his only relative in the world, his cousin Murong Feiyue, had also gone home. She should meet her.
"Hoo..."
She took a deep breath. Going alone would be embarrassing. So, she would drag a reluctant companion, letting that kid Xu Ran go with her.