"Master, why are you here?"

Yi Nian looked at Dowling, and for a while he was in a trance, he didn't know if this was a hallucination generated by himself or a real existence.

"Yinian, I came to you to tell you something." Dowling looked at him with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"Master...... Is the master here to arrest me back? I know I've done a lot of wrong things...... But ......"

Dowling shook his head and interrupted, "I'm not here to get you. Just wanted to tell you, your master...... Keiyin ...... He...... He has passed away. ”

"What...... What? Master...... Master, he ...... He's dead? Yi Nian was stunned, he didn't expect such a result, "He is...... How did he die? Was it killed by anyone? Who is that person? ”

"No one killed him, he killed himself, he killed himself."

Yi Nian was stunned for a moment before he said, "Why?" ”

"He wants to defend the honor of Jialan Temple with his life, and he wants to atone for your sins with his life...... I want to use my life to persuade you to turn back! ”

"Turn back?" Tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, "Turn back? Back? Can I go back? Master, tell me! Can I go back? Hahahaha! ”

"Amitabha, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha. Let go of the thought, and be at ease. ”

"No!" A thought leaped to his feet, and he let out a hysterical roar at Dowling, "No! You say put it down? How to put it down? How to put it down? I have nothing left but my mother! Without! Growing up, I didn't understand why others had the love of their parents, and I could only kneel in front of the Buddha and meditate! You all say I'm talented, but I'm not happy! Master often says to let go, but how can you let go if you don't have it? Why put it down? Why should I go back? I don't look back! I'm going to keep going like this! Hahaha! ”

Yi Nian cried and laughed wildly, then ignored Dowling's call and rushed towards the vast sea of sand.

Dowling let out a long sigh and muttered to himself, "One thought, one thought...... If you are attached to one thought, you will also be trapped by one thought...... Qingyin, Qingyin, what should I do? Hey......"

A gust of wind blew and rolled up a cloud of sand, and Dowling's figure also dissipated with the wind and sand, leaving only a bare sand dune.

……

Ling Ning opened his eyes, and there was ice and snow all around. The cold wind mixed with the ice slag-like snowflakes crashed wildly on his face, blowing his face painfully.

"This is ......"

He felt a biting cold on his body, and even his eyelids were frozen by the cold wind. He wanted to use Zhenyuan to warm himself up, but he found that the dantian was empty, and Zhenyuan disappeared without a trace! The snow had covered his knees, and it was difficult to take a step forward.

Suddenly, he noticed a little orange-yellow light in the distance, and he tried to "crawl" towards the light, but the extreme cold made his body stiffen, and he couldn't stop shaking wildly, and finally fell headlong in the snow and lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, my body was much warmer, but I still felt a cold. Looking around, he was lying on a bed with an oil lamp at the head of the bed, glowing dimly. Wood was crackling in the fireplace, and the wind was howling outside the window, and it was impossible to see anything except the white snow. He tried to dispel the drowsiness in his mind, and thought to himself, "Is this the so-called Xuanyuan Secret Realm?" It seems to be worse than expected. ”

"Are you awake?"

A gentle voice rang out, and a young girl pushed the door open, holding a bowl of hot soup in her other hand.

The girl was very sweet, with two jet-black braids hanging down her shoulders, and although she was wearing a gray-brown animal robe, it set off her delicate figure, and her long round and straight legs were tightly wrapped in boots made of animal skins, which attracted people's attention.

"I ...... Ahem...... Where am I? Seeing that the girl noticed his "dishonest" gaze, she quickly turned her face embarrassedly.

The girl smiled slightly, revealing two dimples, and did not shy away from sitting on the edge of the bed and handed him the hot soup, saying, "Come, drink a bowl of hot soup to warm up your body first!" ”

Ling Ning nodded, wanting to take the hot soup, but his arms were so weak that he couldn't catch it, and he almost knocked over the bowl. Seeing this, the girl did not shy away from feeding him herself. He took a sip, only to feel the thick taste of bone broth sweeping through his mouth, and then turned into a hot torrent slowly flowing into his stomach, and his body gradually warmed up, and he couldn't help but stretch out his mouth and gulp the bone broth dry.

"Also...... Is there any ......" He chewed on the meat in his mouth, slurred his speech, and the long-lost hunger made him want to drink another bowl.

"Of course, there is, but you can only drink one more bowl! Drinking too much is not good for the body. ”

The girl got up and left, and after a while she served him another bowl. This time he drank more "elegantly" and tasted it seriously. It is also strange to say that a cultivator like him has already "opened the valley" for a long time, and basically does not eat the grains of the world, and if he eats, he will only choose some nectar and spiritual fruits with abundant spiritual power to satisfy his hunger, and he has rarely eaten meat. Unexpectedly, a bowl of bone broth whetted his appetite, and he felt as if he had become an ordinary mortal.

He tried to run the True Yuan, but found that the sea of qi was still empty, as if it had been emptied.

"You don't have to try, there is no Dao Fa in this world, you are just an ordinary mortal like me."

Ling Ning was stunned for a moment, but quickly accepted the reality and asked, "Dare to ask the girl's surname?" Did you save me? ”

"Am I not who am I? Hee-hee, my name is Zora, outsider, what's your name? ”

"My name is Ling Ning. What is this place and why is it so cold? ”

"This is the 'Valley of Spring'."

"Spring Valley? But I don't think it's spring outside, so I might as well call it the Valley of Winter. ”

Zora sneered and said, "What is the Valley of Winter, this place is really called the Valley of Spring!" ”

"Why? I don't see anything like spring. ”

"The Valley of Spring is called the Valley of Spring because it is like spring all year round, and the mountains are full of wild flowers...... "Zora's eyes showed an undisguised yearning, making it difficult to suspect that she was false.

"Then why is this happening now?"

"It's because you're here."

"We? You mean that when the Xuanyuan Secret Realm opens, it will turn into a cold winter? ”

"Yes, that's it!"

"That'...... So where is the Xuanyuan Sword? By the way, are there other monks, are they all here? ”

"I don't know where the Xuanyuan Sword is, but there is a mountain temple here, maybe there will be an answer in it...... As for the other monks, I didn't see them either. Honestly, it's been too long since the last time it was turned on...... It's been so long that there's almost no one left, and I only happened to 'pick you up' you, and maybe the other monks have already froze to death. ”

"You're saying there's almost no one here? Are you the only one left in the entire Spring Valley? ”

"Of course not......"

"I knew how it was possible to be left with you......"

"And my grandfather, it's just the two of us who depend on each other."

"Huh? How so? How did those people die? Is it some kind of plague? ”

"No, maybe it's because it's too closed...... The Valley of Spring is small, and one mountain, two mountains, three mountains, four mountains are everything......"

"What's behind the mountain?"

"It's an endless fog, and everyone who goes into it is nowhere to be found, some say they're dead, some say they've left here for the real world, but no one knows what it really is...... Even so, there are many, many people who are heading towards the fog without hesitation. ”

Ling Ning sighed and said, "People always explore the unknown. You just said that the mountain temple will have the answer, where is the mountain temple? ”

"The mountain temple is on the top of the hill to the east, and there is only one path to go up. It's good to walk in the spring, but now ...... I'm afraid it's going to take a whole day. ”

"All day?"

"Well, there's another question......"

"What's the problem?"

"The problem of keeping warm. The weather here is too cold, in addition to warm clothing, you also need to wear 'fiery jade' to move outside, otherwise you will freeze to death. As she spoke, she pulled out a piece of crimson jade from her neck and showed it to him, this piece of jade exuded bursts of warmth, and the spiritual power lingered on it for a long time, which showed that it was a treasure.

"Blazing Jade? Is this thing rare? You should have a lot of blocks, right? ”

"I ......," Zora's eyes dodged slightly, "I only have one, and if I give it to you, you won't be able to go up to the top of the mountain without my guidance." ”

Ling Ning scratched his head and said, "Maybe I don't need that, it's not that I'm boasting, my body is very strong." Can you help me find some thick clothes, I'd like to try. ”

Zora got up and said, "The clothes are there, but they are a little old, they are clothes from a long time ago. ”

She went out and searched for it for a while before bringing him a few gray beast clothes.

Ling Ning suddenly felt much warmer after putting it on, and in order to cope with the snowstorm outside, he added a few more, and he refused to give up until he couldn't put it on, but his mobility was also greatly limited.

Despite Zora's objections, he pushed open the door and the thick snow instantly submerged his calves. Even though he was wearing several layers of animal skins, he could clearly feel the cold wind burrowing into his body like a needle through the bones, making him shiver. He gritted his teeth and struggled towards the mountain in the blizzard, I don't know how long it took, and a thick layer of ice slag was also attached to his eyelashes, and when he looked up, he had just walked to the foot of the mountain. The white snow-capped mountain squatted in front of him like a behemoth, silently looking down at him.

"How could it be...... So cold......" was the last thought in his mind, and he immediately lost consciousness.

After waking up, he lay down on the warm bed again, Zhuo La pushed the door in, and said, "It's good that I have been following you, otherwise you would have been buried by the blizzard!" ”

"Thank you, it seems that you are right, it really can't be done without Blazing Jade, it's too cold!"

Zora poured him a cup of milk tea, and after drinking it, he felt much warmer. If there is cultivation in his body, this cold is nothing, but now he is no different from a mortal, and he can't help but feel timid when he thinks of the ice and snow outside.

"How long will this blizzard last? Will it go on like this? ”

Hearing his words, Zora was visibly hesitant, but replied truthfully: "The blizzard will last for seven days, and then ......"

"What happened after that?"

Zora sighed and said, "After that, the blizzard will stop, and if you don't leave, you'll be trapped here forever." ”

Ling Ning was slightly taken aback and said, "Is the exit the Mountain Temple?" ”

Zora nodded and said, "It should be so, in the past, those outsiders who came here went out from there, and the murals on the mountain temple are recorded." ”

"It's the first day when I came, and today is the second day......"

"What? Getting nervous? You don't want to rob my jade, do you? Zora clutched her chest slightly nervously.

Ling Ning smiled and said, "How come, don't worry." I think there's going to be a way to get out...... Besides, what's so bad about staying here, didn't you say that spring here is beautiful? I really want to see it! ”

Zora sneered and said, "You're really an optimist, don't you want the Xuanyuan Sword?" If you don't get out of here quickly, the Xuanyuan Sword will be won by someone else! ”

"You seem to want me out? Even if I wanted to, what could I do? You only have a piece of fiery jade, and I can't recognize the way up the mountain, so I have to slowly seek other ways. ”

"Alright, it's getting dark, I'm going to cook. Hope you can find another way. ”

Ling Ning lay on the bed and meditated, still puzzled. He is just an ordinary mortal now, how can a mortal defeat the heavens? After a while, the smell of food interrupted his thoughts, and he followed the fragrance to the main room, where Zora was serving a bowl of wild vegetables, and when he saw him coming, he said happily: "You have a good nose, come and help." ”

Ling Ning helped her set the dishes and chopsticks, and dinner consisted of a bowl of stewed bacon with potatoes, a bowl of wild vegetables, and a small plate of pickled vegetables. Zora put the food on a wooden plate, and brought another bowl of white porridge into the house, and then the voice of the old man was heard inside. He searched for the sound and followed, only to see an old man half-leaning on the bed, the old man had a sallow face, a thin figure, and wrinkles on his face like ravines, as if he was seventy or eighty years old.

Seeing him come in, Zhuo La said, "Grandpa, he is an outsider, his name is Ling Ning." ”

The old man grinned and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen a living person in this place, outsider, I hope you can get used to it." ”

Ling Ning smiled bitterly in his heart: "It's really difficult to get used to the cold here. ”

He suddenly noticed that the old man was wearing a red rope around his neck, and he could vaguely see a piece of red jade inside his clothes, and he couldn't help but let out a "huh" and said, "Is that a blazing jade?" You don't mean there's only one piece ......"

Zhuo La hurriedly got up to block his sight, and said vigilantly: "Grandpa is weak, this piece of jade is used to continue his life, and he must not leave his body!" ”

Seeing her nervous expression, Ling Ning said, "I see, I don't mean anything else, don't think about it......"

"Alright, alright, let's go out and eat your meal!" Zora couldn't help but push him out.

At night, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. If you want to get out of here, there is only one way to get the Blazing Jade. Grandpa Zola's fiery jade naturally can't be moved, but what about Zola's own? But without Zola's guidance, would he be able to find the mountain temple on his own? Did Zora hide something from him? There are so many unknowns that perhaps the only way to do this is to let Zora willingly take her up the mountain, but there is no way to do it, unless......

A bold thought came to his mind, if her grandfather died, wouldn't Zora be able to take him up the mountain? But this idea was only a flash of time and was vetoed by him, how could Zora say that she had saved herself, how could she hope that her grandfather would die? But if you don't, you need to find another way to leave as soon as possible, is it true that you want to stay here for the rest of your life?

The next day, after Ling Ning's repeated pleas, Zora agreed to take him outside to explore the way. Because there was no Blazing Jade, Ling Ning walked much slower than Zhuola, and under her guidance, he finally went up the mountain this time. The trail was more difficult to climb than he had imagined, and his fingers were almost frozen to the wood, and he could not exert his strength at all, and finally failed. The only difference was that this time he didn't faint from the cold, thanks to the presence of Zora, an experienced guide. Even this was useless, there was still a long way to go from the mountain temple, and he could only look at the peak and sigh.

When he returned to the hut, his hands and feet were already purple from the cold, and Zora brought him a basin of warm water to soak his feet, and a stove to warm his hands, and it was a long time before he became bloody. He had frostbite on his hands and feet, and although he was smeared with medicine, he was afraid that he would not be able to go out again tomorrow, so he could only rest so as not to aggravate his condition. He knew that he didn't have much time, but he couldn't do anything but hurry.

In the evening, the two sat around the fire, watching the beating fire, listening to the "crackling" sound of the burning wood, and fell into a brief silence.

Seeing him frowning, Zora said, "The outside world ...... What does it look like? ”

Ling Ning was bowing her head and thinking hard about countermeasures, and when she heard her ask, she reacted slightly for a while before saying, "Is it outside?" Well...... When I think about it, maybe the change of the seasons is not much different from here, but it is much more vast, with mountains, plains, deserts, grasslands, and endless oceans...... There are many, many places I've never been to, and many, many different people...... Compared to here, the outside world is more exciting and cruel. ”

"Really? You know what, I haven't seen anyone in a long time...... I mean, except for grandpa. If grandpa he ...... I guess I'm the only one in the world. There was a deep gloom in Zora's voice.

"One man's world? Have you ever thought about leaving here and going out into the world? ”

"I ...... Of course I wanted to, but I just didn't know how to get out. ”

"Maybe the exit is in the mountain temple, and those of your people may have left from there."

"Perhaps, it's a pity that there are only two pieces of Blazing Jade......"

"I've been thinking that when the blizzard stops, we still have a chance to get out. I don't believe that this little world can trap us, and if we can't find an exit, it must mean that there is something we don't know here. ”

"Do you want to wait until the blizzard stops? Aren't you afraid of being stuck here all the time? Don't you want the Xuanyuan Sword? As far as I know, every outsider is scrambling to get out of here in search of the artifact of their dreams. ”

"Hmm...... A lot of things are in a hurry, and I'm not the kind of person who will do whatever it takes. As for the Xuanyuan Sword, of course I would like to have it too, but ...... But can I really have it? It hasn't chosen a master for thousands of years, can it be elected this time? Maybe it's just a null again. ”

"Na......" Zora stared at his face and said seriously, "If you really get it, what do you want to do?" ”

"What do I want to do? Well...... "He had never thought about it, it made him think.

If you get the Xuanyuan Sword, it means that you have gained absolute control of the Mortal Dust Continent. At that time, he could easily eradicate the Sword Ling Sect to avenge his father, he could also fly with Qian Mei'er, and he could also mobilize all the resources of the entire Mortal Dust Continent for his own cultivation. I believe that soon he will be able to create the top power in the human world...... But are these really what he wants? In his mind, the scene of the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood in the abyss came to his mind, thinking of the pregnant woman who was strong for the survival of her child, Qin Fei, who was eager to bring true happiness to the people of Zhao State, and Qin Xi, who seriously helped his brother realize his dream......

He suddenly realized that the responsibilities of becoming the master of the Xuanyuan Sword were much more and heavier than he had imagined. He didn't know if he could do it, could he watch the billions of beings on the Mortal Dust Continent give everything for his selfish desires? Where is he going to lead the Mortal Dust Continent? Is it the avenue of light or the endless hell? If he ascended, would the Mortal Dust Continent lose the protection of the Xuanyuan Sword Array, and would hundreds of millions of living beings be enslaved by the monks? He didn't have an answer to all of this, and he wasn't even sure if he would be able to think so "soberly" after getting the Xuanyuan Sword.

"What are you thinking? Why don't you speak? ”

Ling Ning shook his head, trying to clear those chaotic thoughts from his mind, these were too far away for him.

"To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do after I get the Xuanyuan Sword...... But now I want to bring true peace to the Mortal Dust Continent, and I don't want so many people to die anymore...... Maybe you don't know that every time the Xuanyuan Secret Realm is opened, there will be a bloody storm outside, and hundreds of millions of mortals will lose their lives. ”

"What? Do you sympathize with them? This is quite unusual, and few monks think from the perspective of mortals. ”

"I'll sympathize ......with mortals," he sighed, "probably because of my father." ”

"Your father?"

"yes. He has passed away, to save me. ”

"Can you tell me about him?"

Ling Ning hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said, "To be honest, I've been deliberately avoiding it, not wanting to remind myself of him...... Because until now, I still don't believe he really left. I should have avenged him a long time ago, but ...... But I never wanted to re-enter the Sword Ling Sect, I was afraid that I would think of him...... I...... I'm probably a child picked up by my father, and I grew up in the Sword Ling Sect since I was a child, and there are too many memories of me there. I remember Wancheng under the mountain, when I was a child, during the Chinese New Year, my father always took me to the city to play, we sat in the attic and listened to the opera, and watched the happy people coming and going downstairs, and always felt that I couldn't help but be happy. My father said that this is 'the fireworks of the world', hehe, I still remember the expression on his face......"

At this point, he closed his eyes, and the corners of his eyes moistened a little. After leaving the Sword Ling Sect, he rarely recalled the bits and pieces of his time with his father like today, he didn't dare to recall, maybe deep down he still couldn't accept his father's death, it was like a dream.

Memories of this thing are like a floodgate, and once opened, they will rush towards him in waves, and it is difficult to suppress the sadness for a while. He buried his face in his sleeve, tears beginning to flow uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ......"

"No, it's not your business. I was just...... I'm just really...... I really miss him so much. I don't have a single relative in this world except him. Xuanyuan Sword ...... I don't want the Xuanyuan Sword, I just want my father to live......"

At this moment, Ling Ning was no longer strong, he seemed to have become a child who was talking angrily. Zora stopped talking, but patted him gently on the back. After crying for a while, his mood calmed down a lot.

"I'm sorry, I'm ...... I lost my temper. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, "Xuanyuan Sword, it's not really important to me. Strength is probably used to protect important things, and the more powerful the power, the more things to protect. I don't have that much ambition, and the only thing I want to protect is my close friends......"

Zhuo La looked at him quietly and said seriously: "Xiao Ning, you are really a very gentle and powerful person, it's really good to know you......"

"Really? If it really is...... Then ...... Great......"

Perhaps because he was tired of crying, exhaustion swept over, and he gradually fell asleep.