thefictionvixens Page 120
Page 120
"I'm not after power!"
The martial arts fanatic suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with fierce light.
"Reaching the pinnacle of martial arts is my lifelong ideal. I do it for no other reason than to see the splendor at the end—to see what the true 'Dao' really looks like!"
"Is something so ephemeral and intangible worth risking your entire life to pursue?"
Mu Qinghan gently shook his head. "If the limit of the Dao is the end, then is the Dao we follow and everything we desire just a means to reach that 'end'?"
"But if what one pursues throughout life is merely an end point that will eventually come to a stop, then isn't death also an end point?"
"Ignorant! Do you even know what the Tao is? Do you understand the weight of the Tao?"
The martial arts fanatic's eyes turned bloodshot at these words. "You're just a hothead who takes shortcuts by relying on talent. What right do you have to point fingers at the 'Dao'!"
Before he finished speaking, Mu Qinghan slowly raised his hand and returned the long sword at his waist to its sheath.
His movements were calm and composed, without any fluctuation of magical power or any hint of killing intent, yet they inexplicably brought the martial arts fanatic's frenzied state to a standstill.
"The limit of the Tao is never the end, but only the beginning."
Mu Qinghan's voice was soft, yet it reached the martial arts fanatic's ears clearly.
"Injecting something else into the 'Tao'—whether it be affection for humanity, sorrow for the past, or remembrance for those who protect it—that is the beginning of the second Tao."
He looked at the martial arts fanatic's ferocious face, his eyes calm and unwavering.
"You wouldn't understand, because your path only involves 'guns,' not 'people.' You're nothing but a pathetic beast obsessed with killing."
"Arrogant! How dare you insult me!"
The martial arts fanatic, enraged, laughed coldly, about to kill Mu Qinghan, but…
"The ultimate Tao..."
Mu Qinghan suddenly spoke, her voice light and airy, yet it struck the martial arts fanatic like a thunderclap.
The moment that word was uttered, the martial arts fanatic's pupils dilated suddenly.
He couldn't see Mu Qinghan using any magic power, couldn't sense any gathering of power, and even Mu Qinghan's aura had disappeared.
The boy before me seemed to have transformed into the mountain mist, the moss on the rocks, and the leaves in the wind, completely blending into his surroundings.
But the next second, he felt that Mu Qinghan had turned into a sword—a sword hidden in its sheath, yet capable of cleaving through heaven and earth.
A rainbow flashed before his eyes, and the martial arts fanatic's consciousness suddenly drifted away, as if he had returned to that mountaintop thousands of years ago.
Back then, he was still holding a wooden gun, thrusting it at the rising sun again and again, but he was always hesitant in his heart.
Swords are more agile than spears, while spears are more powerful than swords. Which one can reach the pinnacle?
He chose the gun and never looked back.
But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain exploded in his heart.
The martial arts fanatic snapped back to reality, only to find himself having fallen into the mountain behind him. A long sword pierced his heart, pinning him firmly to the cold rock.
Blood flowed down the blade, staining the moss on the rocks and his shirt.
Mu Qinghan did not turn around or say a word. He simply tapped his toes and his figure transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards the direction of the human race.
He had to rush back; there were people waiting for him to protect them.
The martial arts fanatic lay on the cold rock, watching the receding figure grow ever more distant.
He slightly raised his fingers, and violent purple lightning danced around them.
But in the end, he put his hand down.
A low sigh escaped his throat, carrying an indescribable sense of bewilderment and relief.
The excruciating pain in his chest became increasingly clear, even though the wound from that sword strike had clearly healed.
But the only thing that kept echoing in his mind was Mu Qinghan's words.
"The ultimate Tao..."
It turns out that the "Tao" he had been pursuing for thousands of years hadn't even reached its starting point.
He glanced at the spear in his hand and gently stroked its shaft.
He thought... he needed to see something different.
Chapter 143 White Clothes
"Cough...cough..."
A withered cough echoed across the ruins. Old Man Mu leaned against the broken wall, barely able to stand upright. His gray hair was stained with blood and stuck to his forehead. Every breath he took brought excruciating pain to his chest.
His vision was already blurred, but he stared intently at the figure in front of him, his spine ramrod straight.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"What happened?"
Desire trod on the broken blue bricks, her bare feet crushing a patch of charred wood chips. She tilted her head, a honey-like smile on her lips, but ice in her eyes.
"Is that all? You still have your lifespan left."
"Keep going. Trading your life for the lives of your people is such a good deal."
"hurry up."
Before she finished speaking, her slender fingers suddenly rose.
A hundred meters away, a child with pigtails was trembling behind a water tank. The next second, he was pulled up and his thin neck was gripped in the palm of lust.
The child's face instantly turned bluish-purple, his little hands futilely grasping at the air, emitting mournful "hoarse" sounds.
"Stop...stop!"
Old Man Mu's eyes were bloodshot, and a metallic taste filled his throat.
He bit his tongue hard, and his blood and residual magic power exploded in his palm. Even though his bones were creaking under the strain, and every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, he was determined to rush forward.
Those were the children of the shepherd family, the hope of the tribe, and his family.
He roared and lunged at lust, his exhausted body bursting forth with its last glimmer of light.
But lust merely raised her eyes casually, the smile in her eyes completely fading, leaving only impatience.
"Sigh, is that all there is to it?"
"It's so boring."
She was tired of the game. With only one hour left before the time set by the adults, she still needed to check if the little guy was dead.
A slender hand gently clenched in the air, and a violent force instantly gathered, forming a pitch-black vortex. The space at the edge of the vortex was twisting and tearing apart.
Her voice was soft, but her hand slowly swung down with a devastating force.
"Puff-puff--"
The remaining members of the Mu family were no match for this force and were forced to their knees, their knees hitting the gravel and bleeding.
They tried their best to get up, but their arms felt like they were weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, and they couldn't even move their fingertips. They could only watch helplessly as the huge hand that covered half the sky slowly descended.
Old Man Mu stood still, overwhelmed by despair.
He looked at the black hand so close to his face, felt the chill of death, and slowly closed his eyes.
My wife's gentle smile and my sons' bright faces flashed through my mind.
Alas, what a pity, I never got to hold my grandson in this lifetime.
I'll never see my wife and children again...
A soft sound, like a clear spring dripping onto a calm lake, rippled outwards across the desolate ruins.
The next second, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted!
The dazzling golden light pierced through the dark clouds, illuminating the entire ruins of the Mu family as if it were daytime.
A massive golden sword appeared out of thin air, its blade covered in ancient runes, each one shimmering with a divine light.
A figure in white slowly emerged from the spatial rift cleaved open by the giant sword.
He was dressed in a plain white robe, the hem of which moved without wind, his eyes were closed, and his face was calm.
With a light touch of his foot, he created golden ripples in the air, as if walking on invisible water, stepping out of the crack and landing in front of the giant sword.
A soft sigh, filled with indescribable weariness and helplessness, made everyone present feel a sinking feeling in their hearts.
The smile on her face vanished instantly. She took a step back and stared at the figure in white. "It's you... How did you get here?!"
"Have you forgotten your promise to the adults?!"
The man in white didn't open his eyes, but slowly raised his hand and pointed into the distance: "Get lost..."
A single word, yet it carries an undeniable authority.
The surrounding space trembled violently, and the enormous black hand instantly shattered into a cloud of black mist, disappearing without a trace.
Lust trembled all over as he looked at the white-clad man's tightly closed eyes, as if he could see the terrifying sight of those eyes opening.
She gritted her teeth, but in the end dared not resist. She could only glare fiercely at the Mu family members and grit her teeth.
"Fine, I'll leave... I hope you... won't regret your choice today!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared hastily into the horizon.
The man in white slowly opened his eyes, and his golden pupils shot out a dazzling golden light, sweeping over the Mu family members who were stunned in place.
They hadn't yet recovered from the life-or-death crisis they had just faced, and their eyes were filled with shock as they looked at the man in white before them.
His gaze lingered on Old Man Mu for a moment, then swept over the rescued child, and finally settled on the pale-faced pregnant woman in the crowd.
A golden light gently circled around the pregnant woman, leaving a faint golden mark before slowly dissipating.
After doing all this, he slowly closed his eyes again, his figure gradually became transparent, and finally turned into specks of golden light, dissipating in the spot.
"Quick! Faster!"
Mu Qinghan was extremely anxious. His family's fate was unknown, and he had spent too much time with Wu Chi.
He forced down his trembling fingertips.