Chapter 363: Before Bai Xianwu
Zou Yan, a name both familiar and strange.
Familiar, because this name has resounded in Jianghu for five hundred years.
Strange, because five hundred years is too distant for ordinary people.
Five hundred years, while not enough to cause vast changes, represents a lengthy period.
It is enough to witness the rise and fall of dynasties, the shifting of people and places.
Donghuang Taiyi’s identity truly surprised everyone.
No wonder he was always cloaked in a black robe; even the disciples of the Yin-Yang School found it hard to glimpse his true appearance.
Imagine, if a figure from five hundred years ago were still alive today, what kind of uproar it would cause.
It’s no wonder the Yin-Yang School has always used ancient deities from the ‘Chuci’ as codenames, changing the person but not the name.
Thus, nobody would suspect that Donghuang Taiyi has always been the same individual.
As Li Mo finished speaking, a look of surprise quickly flashed across Donghuang Taiyi’s stiff face.
He seemed astonished that Li Mo could see through his identity so easily.
It was no surprise that Fei Yan would know.
Because in the Yin-Yang School, there is a statue of him, Zou Yan.
And such a forbidden area could only be entered by high-ranking members of the Yin-Yang School, like Fei Yan and the Moon Goddess.
Li Mo, being an outsider who hadn’t even been to the Yin-Yang School, how did he know, and how could he assert with such certainty that Donghuang Taiyi was Zou Yan?
If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t even dare to think in that direction.
Even though people of their level live longer than ordinary individuals, they certainly couldn’t live for five hundred years.
“Is he truly Zou Yan?”
“How could a person from five hundred years ago possibly live this long?”
Li Wu and the Grand Priestess turned their gaze back towards Li Mo, questioning him one after another.
The surprise that briefly flickered across Donghuang Taiyi’s face and Fei Yan’s tacit acknowledgment seemed to provide an answer.
Li Mo was correct!
Li Mo answered calmly, “Ordinary people indeed cannot live this long, but in this vast world, there’s no shortage of wonders, wouldn’t you agree?”
If Chiyou can still have evil spirits lingering in the world, and the Lady of the Nine Heavens can assist the Yellow Emperor in defeating Chiyou, what’s so impossible about a person living five hundred years?
Besides, this is not the first time such a situation has occurred.
The body that Li Wu currently inhabits, previously Bai Xianwu, had similarly gone through over a decade without any change in appearance.
If not for some errors in between, this body might have continued in such a state.
The reason humans age, from a scientific perspective, is due to metabolism.
Cells gradually age.
However, Bai Xianwu does not.
She is not a living being, lacks metabolism, and therefore doesn’t experience cellular aging.
However, this Donghuang Taiyi in front of him felt somewhat strange even before Li Mo had clashed with him.
The living have their own vigor, while the dead have their death aura.
Only the living dead, who are neither alive nor dead, lack any breath at all.
Although Donghuang Taiyi’s strength was considerable, it surely could not be much higher than Li Mo’s.
With comparable strength, coupled with his acute perceptive abilities, he had almost missed Donghuang Taiyi’s existence.
This was because he had no aura whatsoever.
He was like an object that could easily be overlooked.
Li Mo’s perception flicked over Li Wu’s body and then he suddenly chuckled softly and said, “I think I understand something.”
The others immediately turned their curious gazes towards him, waiting for his next words.
Li Mo spoke confidently: “The Yin-Yang School has been in pursuit of the mystery of the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon for generations. They avidly seek out this elusive power, spending hundreds of years across generations to unlock this secret.”
While the strength of the Yin-Yang School was not small,
it ranked among the foremost factions among the various schools of thought.
However, those that could be compared to it include only the strategists, military philosophers, farmers, Confucianists, and Daoists of Ghost Valley.
And they all have their own pursuits.
Daoists study the mysteries of the Way, Confucianists aspire to change the world.
Meanwhile, the strategists aim to stir the winds and clouds of the world.
Only the Yin-Yang School has continued its search for the intangible Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon.
“This is because others believe the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon are merely a legend, but you, the head of the Yin-Yang School, Donghuang Taiyi, must have witnessed the power behind it personally, which is why you wish to reclaim that power, right?”
Li Mo asked Donghuang Taiyi.
Donghuang Taiyi’s eyes narrowed as he stared at him, darkly replying, “It seems you know quite a bit.”
Li Mo smiled and said, “Just a bold guess. If I’m not mistaken, you must have come here before.”
Upon hearing this, the Grand Priestess’s expression shifted dramatically as she exclaimed, “He has been to Loulan?”
Li Mo replied, “Not just Loulan; he even entered what’s behind it.”
As he spoke, he pointed to the enormous bronze door beside him.
Then he continued, “Before Bai Xianwu, the Chiyou Demon Spirit had a better candidate, and that was Zou Yan from five hundred years ago.”
“Five hundred years ago, the Chiyou Demon Spirit chose you, intending to use you as a vessel.”
“At that time, your life was already at its end, yet you wished to continue living, so you agreed to him, and you struck a deal.”
“Thus, you ended up in this half-alive state.”
“Though alive, it’s no different from being dead.”
“You cannot eat or drink, and even sleeping and breathing are impossible.”
“But what you find most unacceptable is that your strength cannot grow through cultivation; you can only absorb the life essence of the living using the methods provided by the Chiyou Demon Spirit to improve.”
“However, Zou Yan was an ambitious man. Five hundred years ago, you left Daoism and founded the Yin-Yang School, vowing to reach levels of Yin-Yang techniques unattainable by your predecessors. How could you willingly give up your well-crafted techniques to practice the dark arts offered by the Chiyou Demon Spirit?”
“So you breached the contract!”
“You broke free from its control, leaving the Chiyou Demon Spirit to seek the next target, the inherently cursed Han state scholar, Bai Xianwu.”
Li Mo’s voice was not loud, but it reached everyone’s ears clearly.
Donghuang Taiyi stared at him without blinking, and after a while, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, splendid, truly splendid.”
“Your Excellency’s conjecture is spot on, as precise as if you have personally experienced it.”
The booming laughter echoed in the vast underground, causing the surrounding walls to tremble.
Li Mo slightly furrowed his brow and spoke, “Unfortunately, there is one thing I cannot deduce. How did you break free from the Chiyou Demon Spirit’s control?”
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