Chapter 622 Retired Teacher

The figure in the blue monk's robe pressed his palms together, lowered his eyes in silence, and continued his daily climb, ignoring the skeleton's words.

The skeleton continued, "All illusionists in the world can obtain it, except for you. You are not chosen by the gods; you are a heretic among illusionists.

"If you are willing to return to the real world, there may still be a chance of survival when the world turns upside down in the future. If you dare to covet the authority of the gods, only destruction awaits you. The past leaves no trace; you were much more sensible back then."

Hearing this last sentence, Master Wuhen finally raised his eyes, his voice as heavy as a bell and as deep as a drum. "My retreat back then was only because my cultivation was insufficient. I have endured for twenty years since then, all for today."

"What good is twenty years of endurance? Twenty years ago, you were level 9, and twenty years later, you are still level 9. What's the difference?" the skeleton said with seeming disdain.

Master Wuhen slowly said, "Then why do you fear me?"

These words seemed to stimulate the skeleton, and the flames of soul in its eye sockets rose. It said in a "stern" voice, "Back then, you rats sneaked into the Temple of the Gods and almost destroyed the balance of the Lingjing. The curse didn't kill you, so you should have hidden yourselves well. Now you come to steal divine power again. This is courting death, courting death."

Master Wuhen's expression flickered for a moment. "They are already dead, and Ling Tuo has also fallen. Back then, we were too hasty. If we had waited for Ling Tuo and Zhang Tianshi to advance to demigods, or waited for Chu Shang to digest the authority left by the Chu family's ancestor, the outcome would have been different."

After a pause, Master Wuhen's expression became neither happy nor sad, as if he had achieved great enlightenment. He said, "The past is gone.

"I will not die. I will only advance to demigod. If I occupy that part of the authority, there will be one less Illusion God in the world, and your so-called god will be weakened by one point. When the great calamity arrives, the Illusionist profession will never be complete. He is not a god either; do not defile the gods. I know his name... Extraterrestrial Demon."

"Bold!" The skeleton's "voice" shook the entire world. "You must not call the name of God directly."

Master Wuhen continued, "You cannot stop me. I am an illusionist, and I am qualified to enter the palace to obtain authority. This is the rule of the Lingjing, and your god cannot stop it."

The skeleton sneered. "Since you refuse to embrace yourself and refuse to follow your heart, then you will never be able to obtain divine power. I am curious as to what has made you persevere for twenty years."

Master Wuhen suddenly stopped and looked at the gatekeeper of the palace, slowly saying, "Because I am a member of the Xiaoyao Organization. The organization's creed is... to prevent the world from being destroyed."

He took a step across two steps.

"To protect the peace of the world."

He took another two steps.

"We can do anything."

He took another two steps.

At this moment, he and the skeleton were less than a meter apart, with only two steps left, but Master Wuhen stopped. These two steps seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

The skeleton seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the soul fire in its eye sockets burned gently. "More than twenty years ago, you also stopped at the last two steps. The past leaves no trace, as I said just now. If you are unwilling to embrace your nature, how can you advance to Illusion God? You cannot cross it. The power of the Illusion God will destroy your reason and turn you into a madman even more depraved than Ling Tuo."

Master Wuhen stood in place and calmly asked, "So, you think I came here again after twenty years to reminisce about the past?"

The soul fire in the skeleton's eye sockets stagnated.

Master Wuhen pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist prayer in a low voice, "Amitabha, this old monk has sealed himself for twenty years, just to cultivate his heart!"

He took the last two steps in one stride.

After more than twenty years, he finally finished the steps and arrived at this place that symbolized the pinnacle of illusionists.

"You..." The soul fire in the skeleton's eye sockets trembled violently, and it was difficult to tell whether it was anger or fear. It roared, "Why can't you follow your nature? Why don't you embrace yourself? You are an illusionist! You are an illusionist!"

Master Wuhen did not look at it, but gently pointed a finger. "Amitabha, Buddha says you should return to nothingness."

The soul fire in the skeleton's eye sockets went out.

This gatekeeper, who should have been a dungeon boss, fell into eternal silence.

.........

Dream Palace.

The Great Elder of the Southern Faction on the golden throne suddenly raised his head and looked at the highest point in the dark.

"Master?"

The Great Elder stood up and looked up at the sky.

No one responded, but immediately afterward, the palace shrouded in thick fog began to become illusory. The pillars supporting the dome disappeared, the red carpet disappeared, and even the golden throne beneath him began to disappear.

The entire palace was like an oil painting that was disappearing, and the only thing that was not affected was the six-meter-tall cloaked figure.

The Great Elder of the Southern Faction.

After a moment, the palace completely disappeared, and a new picture was born. The blue sky unfolded like a curtain, and the sun was also outlined. Then there was the endless prairie, spreading out in the field of vision, spreading to the horizon.

After the prairie formed, a jewel-like lake "bubbled" out in the depression.

Then, herds of horses appeared, and flocks of birds appeared.

A magnificent scene of the prairie was outlined, but in the next second, the scene of the prairie turned into a desolate Gobi, and the Gobi turned into a sea aquarium-like seabed.

In just a dozen seconds, the Great Elder experienced landscapes such as the ocean, prairie, Gobi, and forest.

These were both illusions and reality.

Finally, all the scenery faded away, and thin dark clouds spread from the horizon, the sky light dimmed and was pale, and the dark brown earth undulated, with decaying bones like sores growing on the earth.

This seemed to be an ancient battlefield. In addition to human bones, there were also bones of large animals. Some bones were even grotesque, with six legs, three cervical vertebrae, and nine tails...

Some bones cracked and rotted in the erosion of time, but some bones shone brightly, rich in spirituality, and were extremely high-quality materials.

In the center of the earth was a lake of blood, and a towering ancient palace floated on the lake. The figure in the blue monk's robe stood in front of the palace.

The painting froze here.

The Great Elder looked around this world, his eyes finally falling on the figure in the blue robe.

The dark light under the cloak flickered one after another, like an ever-changing face. The Great Elder exclaimed, "Wuhen has advanced to demigod?"

A vast, ethereal voice came from the high altitude: "Contact Ling Tuo!"

The dark light under the cloak flickered again, and then he lowered his head. "Yes, Master!"

.........

September 20th.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, stood at the P2 entrance of the underground parking garage and waved happily to the mature woman walking from afar.

The woman was wearing a white shirt and a black skirt. The hem of the shirt was tucked into her waist, outlining a graceful waist. Her beautiful hair was slightly curled and draped over her shoulders and back.

A pair of black sunglasses framed her smooth forehead, and under the sunglasses was a delicate and three-dimensional face.

She dragged a small boarding case in her hand and ran towards Zhang Yuanqing with a smile on her face, her high heels making a "da da" sound.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his arms to greet her and hugged the woman. "Mom, I missed you so much. I haven't seen you for a month. You're getting younger and more beautiful. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were my sister."

Fu Xue giggled at his flattery. "Save that mouth of yours to sweet-talk Guan Ya. Don't you dare use it on other women."

Zhang Yuanqing felt wronged. "Can't I even use it to sweet-talk you?"

Fu Xue glared at him.

Zhang Yuanqing diligently took his mother-in-law's suitcase, opened the car door, and invited her into the car.

He was so diligent for a reason. After the scholars of the "Mechanical Research and Development Company" worked day and night to tighten the screws, the first batch of mechanical weapons had been built and it was time to deliver them.

This delivery wasn't as simple as a one-hand-pay-one-hand-goods deal. It was probably because they knew that Fu Qingyang was not around, and the headquarters was making trouble again, making two requests.

First, they wanted to pay a deposit first, try it out for two months, and then pay the final payment.

Second, they requested a free three-year warranty.

It was difficult to settle the project payment, which was a traditional skill of the officialdom.

And within this, there were personnel in the relevant departments who needed to be taken care of, and the relevant person in charge took the opportunity to ask for benefits, etc. They had to face cumbersome procedures and haggle with the officials.

Xia Hou Aotian was definitely not able to handle this.

The protagonist would only slam the table and arrogantly say, "How dare you act like this instead of obediently handing over the money? Are you looking for death?"

Zhang Yuanqing would not do this either. Although he was good at socializing, he could not stand the behavior of using power for personal gain and embezzling public funds.

If he were to handle it, he would probably end up in the Tribunal again.

After thinking about it, only his mother-in-law, who had first-class social skills, first-class business skills, and was also a shareholder of the company, could handle it.

So Zhang Yuanqing called her, saying that the three-year period had passed and invited Dragon Queen Fu to return to her throne.

As the car drove out of the airport, Fu Xue elegantly sat in the seat, opened a small mirror to touch up her makeup, and said casually, "Why didn't that dead girl come to pick me up?"

"Tired, sleeping."

"Tired?" Fu Xue stopped applying powder, turned her head to examine her son-in-law, and after a few seconds, as an experienced driver, she understood.

The mother-in-law smacked her lips. "As expected of a Night Wanderer, your energy is really旺盛 (wang sheng, vigorous)."

Zhang Yuanqing snorted coldly. "No matter how 旺盛 (wang sheng, vigorous) I am, your daughter is still an unparalleled beauty. Have you found a Main Level knight yet?"

The smile on Fu Xue's face slowly disappeared. "Alas, it's all my fault. I was too impulsive back then and shouldn't have let Guan Ya make that oath."

Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to pua her, saying, "Forget it, Mom, you just need to take care of the company's affairs. Anyway, by the end of the year, the oath will expire."

.........

Songhai, Chaomen District.

In a certain residential complex, a man wearing a baseball cap knocked on a deep red anti-theft door.

The person who opened the door was an old woman with gray hair and wrinkles all over her face. She was about sixty years old and dressed neither plainly nor extravagantly.

"Who are you looking for?" The old woman's Mandarin was clear and standard, without the Songhai accent that old women of this age often had.

The man in the baseball cap was expressionless, even a little serious. He took out his ID while saying, "Is this Yao Yilin's home? I'm a security officer from the Chaomen District Second Security Department. I have something to ask him."

When the old woman heard that he was a security officer, she didn't react as exaggeratedly as ordinary people. She calmly stepped aside and said, "Come in. He's home today. Comrade, what do you want to ask him?"

"I have a case to consult him about." The man in the baseball cap entered the house and hooked the corner of his mouth. "Don't worry, it's just an inquiry. It has nothing to do with him."

The old woman led him to sit on the sofa in the living room, poured a cup of tea, and shouted into the bedroom, "Old Yao, there's a security officer looking for you."

Although she was old, her voice was still loud.

The man in the baseball cap glanced over the living room. The decoration and furniture of this house, like their owners, looked a bit old.

There should only be two elderly people in the family, because the man in the baseball cap did not see anything that young people used.

An old man walked out of the bedroom. His silver hair was already a bit sparse, and he was slightly hunched over. His nasolabial folds were very deep, setting off his drooping corners of his eyes, making him look stern and serious.

The old man had a pair of reading glasses hanging around his neck.

"Comrade from the Security Department?" The old man sat down opposite the man in the baseball cap, looked him up and down, and asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

The man in the baseball cap did not answer, but stared at the old man and asked, "Yao Yilin, retired teacher. The unit you worked for was Songhai Kangyang Middle School. You retired two years ago, correct?"

The old man nodded, and the old woman sitting next to him couldn't help but say, "Actually, he retired internally four years ago due to health problems. He wasn't happy at the time and just wanted to teach. Fortunately, he retired. If it had been a few years later, his life would have been over. What kind of old age would he be living?"

The man in the baseball cap ignored the old woman's complaints, looked at the old man, and said, "We are investigating a theft case. We suspect that the suspect used to study at Kangyang District Middle School, but the teachers and students of the school do not remember this person, so we can only bother you."

As he spoke, he took out his mobile phone, opened a photo, and handed it to the old man.

Yao Yilin was the sixteenth retired middle school teacher he had investigated. There were many more retired teachers like Yao Yilin on the list.

Currently, the investigation into Yuanshi Tianzun has yielded nothing, and the patience of the Pure Yang Sect Leader is running out.

He only hoped to identify Yuanshi Tianzun's identity as soon as possible.

The old man took the phone and carefully looked at the young man in the photo. He tried hard to remember for a long time, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "I remember him. That's right. He was indeed a student at our Kangyang Middle School."

........

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Urban legends have become a reality in the mysterious era.

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