Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

The Golden Cauldron Taoist at this moment was also ruthless. He sat upright at the center of the formation, bit his tongue, and a mouthful of scalding blood sprayed onto the Treasure Mirror. Suddenly, the golden light intensified once again, assaulting Su Ziyu with the momentum of annihilating heaven and earth.

Su Ziyu smiled slightly and took out a piece of silk. Written on it was an ancient human tribe character: "Forbidden."

Just as the golden light was about to reach Su Ziyu, the seemingly ordinary "Forbidden" character suddenly burst forth in golden brilliance, and from it, an immense Dragon Qi of the Human Path gushed forth.

The originally fierce golden light, upon contact with the Dragon Qi, crumbled instantly as if meeting its natural enemy. All the aura in the surroundings seemed to be affected by this character. The Golden Cauldron Taoist felt as though the mana in his body had lost its function, unable to marshal even the slightest effort despite his struggle.

He then thought of something; his expression turned somewhat incredulous, but also somewhat resigned, and in the end, even somewhat proud.

"Could this be the handwriting of the Ancient Human Emperor!" he said in an aged voice.

"Indeed, this character was personally written by Emperor Yu!" Su Ziyu replied.

"To think that in this life, I would have the chance to see the Human Emperor's own writing, 'With the mandate of heaven in my mouth, the law follows my words'—the ancients truly did not deceive me." The Golden Cauldron Taoist exclaimed with emotion and slowly closed his eyes.

It turns out that in the process of confronting the handwriting of the Human Emperor, he had already exhausted all his mana, and was only supported by sheer willpower. Now that he had his question answered, his body could no longer hold on.

In fact, during this period, the Golden Cauldron Taoist had also sensed his impending death. Those people and matters buried deep in his heart kept emerging in his mind, as if telling him the time for reunion was near.

With the death of the Golden Cauldron Taoist, the Golden Light Formation vanished, and with a spatial shift, Su Ziyu stood before the gates of Shencheng, reaching out and grabbing a Treasure Mirror, which seemed to still have remnants of golden light.

Su Ziyu carefully examined the Treasure Mirror in his hand and murmured to himself, "Indeed, it is one of the Treasure Mirrors from the Golden Light Formation consecrated by the Holy Mother, to think it has fallen here. It seems my luck is not bad on this trip."

With the fall of the Golden Cauldron Taoist, his soul departed from his body and did not follow the guide to Izumo Mountain but instead ventured into the heart of Shencheng.

Sheng Hong was anxiously waiting for news in his residence. When he had left his home earlier that day, the Golden Cauldron Taoist had stopped him and told him to wait at home for news.

Just as he paced back and forth within Great Tang, a familiar figure appeared outside the gate—it was the Golden Cauldron Taoist who had gone to the challenge.

The Taoist's demeanor was serene, completely devoid of his previous despondence. He stood under the orange tree outside the door, gently caressing the trunk, his face revealing a rare smile.

"Did Taoist Priest win?" Sheng Hong asked in astonishment and delight.

"The old Taoist lost. Lu Zhang is the one favored by destiny. I have used my life to sever your ties with Great Chen. There's no need for guilt in your heart, surrender," the Taoist said with a smile. Discover more content at empire

Sheng Hong was shocked upon hearing the Taoist's words, not expecting that the Taoist would actually lose. Upon closer inspection, he realized there was no shadow beneath the Taoist and was suddenly alarmed, remembering the old saying that ghosts have no shadows.

"Taoist Priest, this is..." he asked fearfully.

"Indeed, the old Taoist has died, and what has come now is merely my soul and spirit," the Taoist replied with a calm smile.

Before Sheng Hong could continue to ask questions, he heard the Taoist continue, "I see that Lu Zhang is a man of thick Fortune and Destiny, and behind him, there is the support of a superior. Sooner or later, the world will belong to him. Do not foolishly pledge blind loyalty; joining him early may well secure you a good future."

Sheng Hong listened quietly to the Taoist's words, but his heart no longer harbored the previous idea of serving Great Chen with utmost loyalty. What he did not know was that the Taoist had severed his connection with Great Chen's Fortune and Destiny at the cost of his own life, which had cleared his mind and freed him from the influence of Fortune and Destiny.

"The earthly ties have ended. From now on, you must take care of yourself. The old Taoist is leaving!" Having said that, he turned into a gust of wind and headed straight for Izumo Mountain.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

At that moment, the orange tree that had been blooming with flowers suddenly bore fruit all over, an astonishing miracle that stunned everyone in the residence.

As Sheng Hong gazed at the miraculous scene before him, he reminisced about all the moments he had spent with the Taoist and realized that the Taoist Priest had always treated him as an elder. He couldn't help but wonder, "Who exactly is Cui Cui, and what does she have to do with me?"

"Did you mention Cui Cui, sir?" As Sheng Hong was murmuring to himself in confusion, a voice came from an old nanny who had just returned to the residence.

Sheng Hong recognized the old nanny. She was a long-time servant of the house, having served his grandmother and mother. After growing old, she had left the residence to live with her children. When the war approached the city and chaos reigned in the residence, she was worried about him and had come specially to help him out.

"Nanny, have you ever heard this name before?"

"Where did you hear this name, sir?" Instead of answering, the nanny asked urgently.

"It's a relative of the Taoist Priest who helped me hold off the army, but I have searched the entire residence and found no such woman," Sheng Hong truthfully recounted the Golden Cauldron Taoist's matter.

"Cui Cui is the childhood nickname of Madam. Naturally, you youngsters wouldn't know. Could it be that the Taoist Priest is Madam's elder brother, who went out to study the Tao?"

The nanny's words made Sheng Hong suddenly understand. If that was the case, everything fell into place. The orange tree was said to have been planted by his grandmother for her elder brother, who had once said that when the oranges ripened, he would return home.

Unfortunately, his grandmother had waited her entire life and had not seen her dear brother return, and even on her deathbed, she had never forgotten him.

Looking at the now-ripened orange tree, Sheng Hong suddenly felt a wave of sadness. His grandmother's long-awaited brother had finally returned, but sadly, she had not lived to see that day. Recalling the Taoist Priest's words on his deathbed, Sheng Hong finally made his decision.

Meanwhile, Su Ziyu had already returned to Lu Zhang's camp and told Lu Zhang and the others, "I have accomplished my mission without dishonor and have broken the Golden Light Formation."

Lu Zhang was overjoyed and said, "Our success is all thanks to the master's skills. Please wait a moment, I will instruct someone to prepare a feast!"

"This achievement is all due to the General's deep Fortune and Destiny, naturally turning misfortune into fortune. I should not claim the credit from heaven. Now that the task is done, I shall return to the mountains to cultivate in seclusion," Su Ziyu, however, made a formal bow.

"Little Liang, seeing that you're doing well now, I can leave with my wish fulfilled. This is goodbye!" He turned to Hu Shengliang and spoke, then without waiting for Lu Zhang and the others to ask him to stay, he ascended into the clouds and departed.

"Such a carefree individual, nothing like us who waste away in this mundane world," Lu Zhang said wistfully as he watched Su Ziyu's departing figure.

"Why should you envy others, my lord? If we can pacify the world, end this age of chaos, and ensure the people live and work in peace and contentment, isn't that also a way of life?"

Hu Shengliang's words seemed to ignite passion within Lu Zhang's heart, and he spoke with a burst of spirited assurance, "You're right, ensuring peace for all under heaven is indeed what we should aspire to."