txolops Chapter 164 First Meeting with Lü Dongbin
Chapter 164 First Meeting with Lü Dongbin
Taibai flew towards Wuyi Mountain, thinking that there would be no more unexpected troubles along the way.
However, just as the outline of the green mountains came into view, a familiar aura was breaking through the air at an astonishing speed from his diagonal rear.
Taibai focused his senses and immediately realized that the newcomer's cultivation level was at the Quasi-Saint realm. Moreover, the newcomer was so anxious that he had not paid any attention to his surroundings while flying, and naturally did not notice Taibai's presence.
"Emperor Donghua? Why is he in such a hurry? Could it be that someone is chasing him?"
Seeing the streak of light flash past his side, Taibai couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
After a moment's hesitation, he abandoned the original route and instead used his magic to follow.
Emperor Donghua moved with great speed. Even with Taibai's full efforts, he was gradually pulled away from the distance until the aura in front of him stopped. Taibai then flew for a while longer before finally catching up.
There stood the Eastern Emperor, standing beside a jagged rock, with a young Taoist lying under the shade of an old pine tree.
The boy was dressed in a Taoist robe, and his face was still young, but there was not a single mark on his body, only his aura was extremely weak.
Emperor Donghua looked down at the young man, his brows furrowed with deep worry.
Taibai stood quietly a few feet away, secretly using his divine sense to carefully investigate.
Upon this discovery, my heart trembled slightly.
The young man was actually entangled with the karmic traces of the Eastern King Duke.
After standing still for a few breaths, Donghua Dijun continuously poured his magic power into the boy's body, but the boy's vitality still showed no improvement.
Taibai stepped forward, bowed, and said:
"This humble Daoist is Taibai, and greets Senior Donghua. May I ask why you have stopped here? Is this fellow Daoist before me related to Fellow Daoist Dongwanggong?"
Taibai's voice rang out, and Donghua Dijun turned around, his eyes focusing as he said:
"So it's you, young friend Taibai."
Taibai looked at the boy under the tree who seemed to be the reincarnation of the Eastern King Duke. He was barely breathing, which made his condition even more peculiar.
With a quasi-saint like Emperor Donghua protecting him, let alone ordinary calamities, even if three or five Great Luo Golden Immortals came together, they would find it difficult to harm this young man in the slightest.
Moreover, judging from his bone age and cultivation level, this young man is merely a minor cultivator at the first stage of Qi Refining, still a long way from becoming an immortal.
Who would deliberately target such an insignificant cultivator with such deadly intent, leaving even the Eastern Emperor helpless?
"If you have any questions, senior, please feel free to speak to me. This child seems to be in critical condition. Perhaps I can do my part to save this fellow Daoist's life."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Donghua sighed deeply, looked again at the boy under the tree, and slowly said:
"To be honest, young friend, this boy Lü Dongbin is the reincarnation of the Eastern King Duke. He is born with a pure Yang Daoist body and had already joined the Human Sect to cultivate. His future should have been bright."
But he actually succumbed to depravity for a mere mortal woman, not only losing all his cultivation...
He paused, his face growing even more worried:
"He has no desire to live now, and no amount of external force can keep this remnant soul. Helpless, I rushed to Shouyang Mountain, hoping to ask the Sage for a Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill, but alas, the Sage was not at the Daoist temple, and I had to return empty-handed."
After listening quietly, Taibai understood.
The key to this matter lies in the fact that Lü Dongbin abandoned himself.
He voluntarily relinquished his cultivation, even to the point of being heartbroken and devastated, and even gave up his pure yang body.
Life originates from the mind; once that mind is extinguished, even the all-powerful Donghua Emperor cannot forcibly pull a person who does not wish to live back into the world.
In such a situation, reversing the situation is beyond the reach of human power; one must rely on a miraculous elixir that can rival the power of nature.
However, while ginseng fruit and peaches, which are products of innate spiritual roots, have miraculous effects, they are also extremely rare and precious. Given Emperor Donghua's current situation and his superficial relationship with the owners of those treasures, it would be very difficult for him to obtain them.
Since Lü Dongbin was a disciple of the Human Sect in this life, it was the most logical choice for Donghua Dijun to first go to Shouyang Mountain to seek help from the Taiqing Sage.
Taibai also clearly saw that Lü Dongbin's past karma had not yet been cleansed, and this calamity was also a part of fate.
Even if we manage to get through this ordeal, the karmic burden remains, and the path ahead will likely be fraught with thorns.
Suddenly, Emperor Donghua raised his head, his gaze abruptly falling on Taibai. A hint of urgency flashed in his previously unfocused eyes:
"Young friend Taibai! You are a direct disciple of the Sage Taiqing, and you often serve by the Sage's side. Do you carry the Great Rejuvenation Pill with you? If you are willing to help, I am willing to owe you a debt of karma."
He asked directly, and the hope and anxiety in his eyes were almost tangible.
"Senior, I do indeed still have a Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill. However, please forgive my bluntness, Fellow Daoist Lü is entangled in past karma and his karmic burdens are not yet cleared. This tribulation may be a test of destiny, and you should be aware of this, Senior."
After saying that, Taibai handed the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill in his hand to Emperor Donghua.
"Perhaps the senior could arrange for him to become a disciple of Master Taiqing."
Master Taiqing is a direct descendant of the Daoist Ancestor, possessing profound spiritual cultivation; he may be able to unleash supreme power to resolve this calamity.
Having said all he wanted to say, Taibai offered another reminder before turning and speeding off towards Wuyi Mountain once more.
Having said all he wanted to say, Taibai offered another reminder before turning and speeding off towards Wuyi Mountain once more.
Looking back at the reasons why Taibai helped Lü Dongbin this time, on the surface, it was because Lü Dongbin did indeed have a connection with his master, and they were vaguely destined to be master and disciple.
But hidden beneath this surface is another, even more important reason.
Taibai intended to take this opportunity to make a powerful figure like Donghua Dijun owe him a real debt of karma.
This cause and effect is by no means an ordinary human sentiment, but a key piece that Taibai laid out in advance to deal with the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods.
The fundamental purpose of the Investiture of the Gods was to fill the Investiture of the Gods list according to the principles of the Heavenly Dao.
The Jie Sect was known for its multitude of immortals paying homage, and its disciples were numerous, among whom many were indeed burdened with karmic debts.
However, although there are many disciples, the proportion of those with profound cultivation who are qualified to fill the rankings is not necessarily very high.
Many disciples have shallow cultivation, and even if they all perish in the tribulation, their cultivation level would probably be insufficient to meet the requirements of the Investiture of the Gods.
Therefore, Taibai had no choice but to turn his attention to the scattered immortals in the primordial world.
However, there are certain requirements for being listed. It is not enough for any cultivator to perish; only those who have reached the Golden Immortal realm or above are qualified to be listed on the Investiture of the Gods.
According to Taibai's calculations, half of the disciples of the Jie Sect could be filled by those with karmic burdens, and another quarter could be filled by those destined for calamity on both sides of the confrontation between the Yin Shang and Western Zhou camps.
Thus, a quarter of the Investiture of the Gods list remains vacant, waiting to be filled.
The remaining quarter of the spots naturally fell to those qualified evil gods and wandering immortals.
However, it would be like the Foolish Old Man trying to move mountains if Taibai were to capture the evil god by himself alone; it would be extremely difficult to complete the task within the time limit of the Great Tribulation.
Sending these powerful beings who owe him karma to capture the scattered immortals burdened with karmic debts, and then killing them to fill the Investiture of the Gods list, is a perfect choice.