Chapter 1 The Game

“Go on, go on! Why are you chickening out!”

“Damn it, Old Zhang, calm down, calm down… Wait for me, I’ll be right there.”

“Wait my ass!”

“A man’s blade rises, its power surpassing the five peaks, eclipsing even Chicheng!”

“Watch me get a pentakill!”

Accompanied by the clashing of weapons and sharp, high-pitched kill notifications, the old Celestial Master’s screen turned gray. The old man seemed to have burned out, his eyes lowered, his nose pointed at his heart, staring deeply at the screen with a look of wisdom, as if it were his beloved.

Undoubtedly, he had lost again.

Lin Shouyi sneered, “Celestial Master Zhang, any thoughts? Care to share?”

The old Taoist was silent, then weakly said, “I really think I could have turned it around.”

“Turn what around, you ass!”

The old sect master of the Shangqing Sect cursed outright.

He glanced at the red screen of failure, his eyes twitching.

The soft-shelled Celestial Master, rendered speechless by his old friend, shrank his neck and chuckled, “Yes, yes, an ass, an ass. Old Lin, calm down, calm down.” The old Taoist poured his friend a cup of tea and then, like a lackey, massaged the shoulders of the only friend who would still play games with him after a twenty-game losing streak.

Everyone on Mount Longhu knew that.

This old Celestial Master, who had lived for more than a century, had a great temper, always carrying candy in his pocket. Any young Taoist could get more candy than they could eat from him. If you wanted to ask him about the Taoist scriptures, he would happily explain them to you.

Of course, besides that, he was terrible at video games, with awful mechanics but a love for charging ahead.

He liked spicy food, and was a passionate cat lover.

Recently, he seemed to take medicine for his heart often.

He also particularly liked to drink, but all the little Taoists on Mount Longhu watched him and wouldn’t let him. If he was caught drinking by a little Taoist, he would have to obediently hand it over. Many little Taoists on Mount Longhu had experience playing hide-and-seek with the old Celestial Master.

The old Celestial Master sighed, wondering what was wrong.

Recently, the teammate who often played with him hadn't been online today.

It seemed he had gone out to fight a heroic boss in another game. Without a teammate as bad as himself, the old Celestial Master was the worst player on his friend list. When that guy came back, someone would keep him company.

He sat back down and, with a smile, asked if they should play another round.

Lin Shouyi was helpless.

The old Celestial Master was the kind of guy who was terrible but addicted to the game.

Just as he was about to say yes to another round, Zhang Ruosu lowered his head and saw his phone vibrate again. A special tone indicated that the good-for-nothing museum director had sent another message. The old Taoist’s face froze, and his mouth twitched.

Again?!

You’ve already gone abroad, what can you possibly dig up now?

This old Taoist has long been immune to your ‘attacks’!

The old Taoist lowered his head, and a line of text appeared in his eyes: “The Dao Ancestor’s Relic is Returning to the Country.”

Zhang Ruosu’s first reaction was—

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

My Mount Longhu Ancestral Master’s tomb is well protected!

He blurted out:

“Go, Ah Xuan, go check the Ancestral Master’s tomb…”

He realized what it meant in the next second.

The old Taoist's voice stopped abruptly.

Wait…

Dao Ancestor?!

Not the Ancestral Master, but the Dao Ancestor?

Zhang Ruosu's expression froze, and then he jumped up, muttering, "Dao Ancestor, Dao Ancestor…"

“Lao Dan?”

“The West?!”

Lin Shouyi came back with a pot of tea and looked at the old Taoist, who seemed to have been electrified, puzzled. He casually started matchmaking and said, "What's wrong? You should always remain calm during big events. I don’t know what to say to you."

Zhang Ruosu took a deep breath, his face blank, and said:

"The Dao Ancestor… that kid Wei Yuan, he dug up the Ancestral Master's Relic…"

"Huh?! When did that kid learn such geomancy skills? Wait… Ancestral Master? That’s not right, Zhang Daoling, the Ancestral Celestial Master, is clearly in…"

Lin Shouyi’s expression froze, and he muttered:

"Is it *that* Ancestral Master?"

"It's that one."

"The biggest one?"

"The biggest one."

"Damn it!"

The usually refined Lin Shouyi stood up abruptly. His heart felt stifled, as if he couldn't breathe, and then it began to beat rapidly. His lips trembled slightly, "Lao Dan, Li Er… the true Dao Ancestor?!"

No later compilations of the Three Pure Ones, no other Honored Ones.

That was the beginning of all Dao.

The true prototype of the real Lord Lao Zi.

The Supreme!

The two old Taoists, over two hundred years old combined, were dumbstruck. Zhang Ruosu slowly stood up:

“Old Lin.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to notify the other Daoist disciples.”

Lin Shouyi's expression changed slightly.

Zhang Ruosu took out the Celestial Master’s Seal from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying in a gentle tone, "The Three Caverns, Four Supplements, and Seven Sections, with the Jade Pivot as the main guide. The thirty-six grotto-heavens and seventy-two blessed lands of the Divine Land, as long as they still exist in this world, all disciples above the third generation in each sect, unless on official business, must carry their magic swords and jade talismans, and head to the West."

"Go where?"

"Hangu Pass, to welcome the Ancestral Master's remains."

Zhang Ruosu said, "You lead the team."

Lin Shouyi held up the Celestial Master's Seal with both hands and said, "Respect the Celestial Master’s decree."

"Wait, what about you?"

He reacted.

Zhang Ruosu smiled and said, "I'll go pick him up."

The old Taoist, with a good temper, candy in his sleeves, and eyes squinting when he smiled, gestured with his palm and said softly, "The journey might be troublesome. The Ancestral Master is leaving Hangu Pass heading west, so we, as his disciples, must go and receive him. The Trimurti and the like are not good people."

"As for the seal here, with the Celestial Maiden Ba here, there shouldn't be any problems."

The Daoist Celestial Master took off his gray Daoist robe and placed it on the table, then turned and walked out.

Each step was like a thunderclap.

The lotus pond behind the mountain was filled with rich Longhu Qi, and the purple-gold lotuses on Mount Longhu bloomed silently, one after another. Lin Shouyi was stunned, as if he had seen the scene from his youth again.

It was the Daoist Sword Immortal who had roamed the world with his sword and walked back to the Divine Land.

And those eyes, indifferent and cold, devoid of emotion.

In his youth, he was wild and arrogant, with a sword in hand, daring to overturn the four seas.

He defeated all the Daoist sects with a single sword.

And took on the mantle of Celestial Master.

Recalling those years, the old sect master of the Shangqing Sect couldn't help but murmur:

"Rainbows for robes, wind for steeds, the lords of the clouds descend in droves…"

"Tigers play the zither, phoenixes turn their chariots, immortals line up like hemp."

He still remembered the sword immortal in Daoist cyan robes sealing his sword.

Only occasionally would the Taoists on night watch hear the hissing of sword energy in the clear night.

At that time, the sword energy pouring out of the scabbard was as cold as the moonlit night, penetrating the bones.

"It's an ominous sword, having killed too many living beings."

The jade-like sword immortal whispered with a smile, "I can still feel their souls screaming inside the sword. My sword will definitely kill something when it is drawn, but it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I will always guard their unwilling souls."

"I will."

In terms of Daoist foundations, he could be compared to Zhang Daoling; and in terms of sword skills, he was not inferior to Lu Dongbin of the Tang Dynasty. The Five Elements Thunder Technique, unparalleled in the Divine Firmament. The number one true cultivator of the Daoist sect for thousands of years, a Land Immortal, a Daoist who directly changed the rules of the transcendent era in the last era, the Celestial Master.

"Zhang Ruosu…"

Lin Shouyi's heart trembled, filled with complex emotions.

"Are you finally going down the mountain?"

A Land Immortal…

His eyes were lost.

Then he saw the imposing Celestial Master hurriedly return, walking quickly and awkwardly saying, "That, I forgot, forgot…" He went straight to his bedroom, squatted on the ground like a toad, reached in and grabbed half a point, pulled out a package, and rummaged through it, but couldn't find it.

Finally, he found his sword in a gap in the wall.

He held the hilt with both hands, one foot on the wall.

He exerted force and pulled the sword out.

The old man said awkwardly, "Forgot, haven't used a sword for a century or two."

"Cough, well, Old Lin, I'll take a step first."

"You bring the people behind quickly. Let’s play games when we get back, okay? Don’t worry, I promise I won’t be a burden."

Lin Shouyi, immersed in the memories of the incomparably powerful young sword immortal, his face alternating between green and white, couldn't help but want to curse. 'The number one sword immortal, my ass, get lost!' And so, the old Celestial Master scurried down the mountain, promising to buy candy for the little Taoists, promising not to secretly drink anymore, and pointing the way for the young couples who came to Mount Longhu to seek a divination.

At the foot of Mount Longhu, he patted the gray hem of his robe, and the old Taoist’s voice was unrestrained:

"May all the heavens be cleared, and my Dao flourish daily."

The sword travels among mortals.

And Lin Shouyi, amused by his old friend, finally reacted, and his expression froze.

He turned his head sharply.

In the place where the sword was just stored, the sword intent was clear like water.

The strongest sword immortal of the Daoist sect for thousands of years.

Holding the sword.

Going down the mountain.

………………

Outside of Kanyakubja.

The Harichandra sword was humming slightly, after Wei Yuan left, the wind blew through here, slowly, a wisp of true spirit flowed out of the sword, after all, it was once a king who was in the era, and has a legend of being reborn from the sun. This place is also the homeland he misses most. In the end, this wisp of true spirit turned into a tall man with a beard.

The last true spirit of King Harichandra no longer had himself.

It was just a pure, something left after the washing of history.

It was also Wei Yuan who left him here that allowed the thoughts of this king remaining on the land to re-gather.

He sat next to the place where Wei Yuan had been sitting, quietly watching his country, watching the traces left by his legend. Although he had no memory, his heart gradually calmed down, as if he could still see the man drinking with him next to him, a trace of ripples appeared in his eyes, and he stretched out his hand to hold the wine bowl.

Suddenly,

King Harichandra’s true spirit stopped.

A cyan blue arm directly pierced his heart.

King Harichandra’s expression froze.

The aura of the true spirit unique to the legendary rebirth of the sun god was condensed. This was also the reason why his true spirit still retained a bit, and then he was held. He lowered his head, looked at the palm that pierced him, and an unbelievable look appeared on his face, and then suddenly became angry and hideous, and roared, the eyes that had been dazed and empty, were focused on his will.

He turned around abruptly and saw the existence that had attacked him.

King’s attire, wearing yellow silk clothes, with a cyan skin tone, and a face like a full moon.

His eyes were like blooming lotus petals, and he had a gemstone on his chest.

“Vishnu!!!”

King Harichandra’s right hand had already grasped the sword. He mustered his last courage and wanted to draw the sword, but at this moment, Vishnu suddenly retracted his palm, and the remaining true spirit of the sun god dissipated, the bearded man’s palm turned into powder when it touched the Harichandra Sword, and scattered like smoke like the past Harichandra Empire.

His sight became dim and dark, in the afterglow.

Even the Harichandra sword, which represented friendship, was turned into powder.

The powder fell into the wine bowl with the wind, polluting the fine wine from Chang'an.

“Yuan…”

This was the last voice left by King Harichandra.

“Run…”

ps: Today's third update... 3,400 words, a buffer chapter... Thank you for the reward!