The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 119 Immortal Gourd Discussion

Within the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, the place was pitch black, as if it were a chaotic void, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

Zhang Yunling drifted in the space of the banner, with faint green halos occasionally lighting up around him. Before he could react to his situation, countless black tentacles began to wrap around his body.

Although he didn't know what was going on, Zhang Yunling immediately resisted when he realized he was being attacked. He quickly circulated his golden core in his abdomen, and purple flames instantly ignited all the black tentacles.

Just like the black smoke that was summoned by the Myriad Soul Banner and transformed into weapons, these black tentacles are also immortal. After many were burned, a bunch of new tentacles immediately emerged and continued to wrap around Zhang Yunling.

Seeing this, Zhang Yunling understood An Lushan's intentions: the living people sucked into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner would be endlessly attacked by these black creatures within the banner.

No, these don't seem to be living beings, but rather a kind of energy. Every time these black tentacles touch his body, Zhang Yunling feels some of his spiritual energy being sucked away. In addition, with his constant spells to resist, it won't be long before he is completely drained and dies here.

In desperation, Zhang Yunling quickly used his Swift Ghost Steps and ran in one direction. No matter what lay ahead, he couldn't stay still and waste time fighting those endless tentacles. He had to find a way to escape.

Just then, Zhang Yunling's storage bag suddenly lit up with golden light. He reached out and patted it in confusion, and something flew out of the storage bag. It turned out to be the wine gourd.

He quickly grabbed the gourd into his hand. Having experienced his previous acquaintance with the old man, Zhang Yunling knew that this wine gourd was definitely not an ordinary object.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunling was about to open the cork and take a big gulp when he heard a voice coming from the gourd:

"You brat, you're about to die and you're still thinking about drinking. You're probably going to die drunk!"

"Huh?!" Zhang Yunling's eyes widened. He first stopped and looked around to make sure there was no one else there. Then he carefully examined the gourd in his hand, as if the cursing had come from inside it.

As soon as he stopped, the shadowy figures around him rushed up, this time not only wrapping around his entire body, but also emitting mournful howls, like vengeful ghosts seeking to take Zhang Yunling's life, frantically sucking up his spiritual energy.

"Damn it..." Just as Zhang Yunling was about to summon the purple fire again, the gourd in his hand made the first move. As before, the gourd began to emit a golden light. Wherever the golden light shone, the black tentacles began to spontaneously combust. With each burst of flame, the area became a blazing bonfire in the dark space.

Immediately afterwards, the cork at the mouth of the gourd suddenly opened by itself, sucking in all the still-burning black tentacles. Zhang Yunling could even vaguely hear the gourd making a chewing sound.

Only after the last few dark figures were sucked into the gourd did it put the cork back on, and the surroundings fell back into the silence that Zhang Yunling had felt when he first arrived.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Yunling couldn't help but ask, "Uh... was that you who spoke just now?"

A moment later, a sound like a burp came from the gourd, followed by a voice from the gourd: "Although I think you have some talent after watching you along the way, I definitely wouldn't have made up my mind to help you if it weren't for the sake of Immortal Lord Chang Geng."

Zhang Yunling frowned and asked in confusion, "Immortal Lord Chang Geng? Wait, do you mean that you were already conscious from the moment I took you in?"

The gourd had no facial features, and its appearance revealed no emotional changes. It continued, "Back then, the Immortal Lord accidentally glimpsed the secret core of the Heavenly Realm. I did not know what that secret core was like, but the Immortal Lord was banished to the mortal realm because of it, and his cultivation was also destroyed by more than half. He was even stripped of his qualification to become a loose immortal. Therefore, he chose to end his own life and his body perished and his Dao disappeared."

"His natal magic weapon and my wine gourd both perished in the mortal world along with the immortal lord's remains. Because the world is so far apart, it was not until a thousand years later that they finally landed on the ground, which is what you mortal cultivators call the immortal ruins."

Hearing this, Zhang Yunling was shocked, but he realized a loophole and asked in return, "No, no, no, that's not right. I found you in a sealed wooden box in a cultivator's storage bag. Since you perished with that Immortal Lord, why did the Immortal Ruins only appear in the last few decades, while I obtained you long ago?"

The wine gourd sighed and said, "The Immortal Sword you wield, like mine, is a magic weapon of Immortal Lord Chang Geng. However, since its master is dead, our connection with the Immortal Lord has been severed. Therefore, it fell to the mortal realm first, and after being used by several generations of cultivators, it finally ended up in your hands."

"Coincidentally, it was during these decades that Immortal Lord Chang Geng perished and turned into Immortal Ruins. To obtain the inheritance of the Immortal Sword, one must possess me, then enter the illusion created by the Immortal Lord using his remaining power, undergo numerous trials and tribulations, and finally gain the Immortal Lord's approval in order to obtain this inheritance."

Zhang Yunling recalled everything he had experienced in this secret realm. The only hardship he seemed to have been was fighting An Lushan and his men; before that, he seemed to have been indulging in a life of pleasure under the guise of Li Bai...

Zhang Yunling remained silent, listening intently as the gourd continued its explanation:

"Along this journey, I have witnessed you kill the false sect leader of Quanzhen Sect, refuse the position of sect leader for fame and fortune, fight wits and courage with Pei Yao, cultivate for forty-nine days to cross the tribulation of Xuandao Zidan, and then try every means to free me from that sealed wooden box, using all the knowledge you have learned in your life."

"Although your decision to abandon your sect members and infiltrate the secret realm alone was somewhat ruthless, it was in line with your style of doing things."

"In my opinion, although you are selfish, two-faced, ruthless, cunning, and a petty thief, you are actually quite ignorant yet pretend to be a genius..."

"Stop, that's enough, say 'but'." Zhang Yunling couldn't stand the gourd's insults anymore, even though they were all true. The language was just too vulgar.

It's fortunate that this gourd doesn't have facial features, otherwise it would definitely roll its eyes at Zhang Yunling. It continued:

"However, I can also see that you are exceptionally talented. Whether it is cultivation or the pursuit of the Dao, you have good comprehension. Moreover, I can always feel a wonderful energy in you, which is a feeling I have never had in hundreds of years. This is the biggest reason why I decided to choose you. It is enough to overshadow your many shortcomings."

"Through this experience, I've also noticed that your character is beginning to change subtly. You may not have noticed it yourself, but at first you would leave a few survivors after killing someone. But look at what you've done now. You've ambushed Li Linfu from behind and slaughtered all of An Lushan's ordinary soldiers."

"Although I don't know if you know that killing mortals in this illusion won't be recorded by the Heavenly Dao's karma, you are unleashing your bloodlust here without any restraint. How can you cultivate to enlightenment or become an immortal in this way?"

Zhang Yunling frowned and retorted, "Although I don't know anything about the Heavenly Dao and cause and effect, the cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world. What's the difference between mortals and cultivators? Pei Yao and An Lushan kill people without any scruples. Compared to them, I'm just a drop in the ocean."

Before Hulu could speak, Zhang Yunling continued, "What you said makes sense, but you can't deny that it's not just me, other cultivators are the same. Can they really control their desires and have a lot of cultivation but not use it? Cultivators are also human beings. No matter how high their cultivation is, their most difficult enemy to defeat is themselves, their own humanity."

This time, it was the gourd's turn to remain silent.

Zhang Yunling continued, "It is possible to attain immortality through cultivation alone, but the problem is that many people are not willing to devote themselves to cultivation alone. They want to rely on other resources to speed up their path to immortality. How many people can resist the temptation?"

The gourd snorted coldly and summoned the Immortal Sword from Zhang Yunling's storage bag. Realizing it couldn't refute Zhang Yunling's words, it could only say in a deep voice, "We can discuss the matter of comprehension later. These vengeful spirits have returned with renewed force. We must deal with the immediate problem first!"

"Alright!" Zhang Yunling nodded vigorously, gripped the Immortal Sword, and the two of them, one man and one gourd, began to fight within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

The gourd didn't say that he had completely inherited the legacy; perhaps what he was experiencing now was part of the trial.