Luo Yu and Zachary Justice parted ways. Luo Yu still had matters to handle for the Immortality Society. Before leaving, Zachary Justice told Luo Yu, "Never be at odds with yourself. If you can't accept yourself, you'll never accept anything in front of you."
Watching Zachary Justice leave so freely, it was clear that wherever he went, he remained carefree and happy. But Luo Yu knew that was only because Zachary had never experienced the destruction of something truly important to him. That's why he could be so happy.
The mission was executed perfectly. Luo Yu was introduced by several Blue-Faced Men of the Immortality Society. He knew he would soon receive guidance from a Golden Mask Man and thus be promoted to Blue-Faced Man. Moreover, because of his unique constitution, he was even tougher than other members of the Immortality Society.
After the mission, Luo Yu began searching everywhere for Zhang Jizheng’s whereabouts. He was Luo Yu’s enemy—someone he had to kill with his own hands. He also vowed to slaughter everyone who had attacked the Luo Family that day, leaving none alive.
So many years had passed, and Luo Yu had tracked down some of his enemies, killing them himself. But the main ones still eluded him. In his search for Zhang Jizheng, he learned from some practitioners he drove to desperation that Zhang Jizheng had resigned from his position as one of the Nine Daoist Scions because of a grave crime of slaughter in the past, and had since gone into hiding.
To find Zhang Jizheng, Luo Yu attacked many people from the Daoist sects. Eventually, he learned Zhang Jizheng was hiding deep within a mountain. Luo Yu went to find him, but realized he couldn't take his revenge—Zhang Jizheng was even stronger than before.
However, as Luo Yu was about to leave, he was discovered by Zhang Jizheng’s departing spirit. Luo Yu didn’t continue to hide. Zhang Jizheng seemed to know who Luo Yu was, said nothing, and immediately attacked.
After several fierce rounds of combat, Luo Yu felt himself gradually losing. He knew he had to survive to get his revenge, but he was trapped in Zhang Jizheng’s formation, his body slowly consumed by its power. Just as Luo Yu thought he was going to die, Zhang Jizheng let him go.
Zhang Jizheng told Luo Yu he could come for revenge anytime—he’d be waiting here, no matter how many years it took. Luo Yu didn’t look back as he left, his heart heavy, heading toward the Immortality Society’s base.
After returning, Luo Yu immediately requested guidance from the Golden Mask Men. He wanted power, but was told to stay at the base for disobeying orders. Luo Yu had caused a lot of trouble lately, killing hundreds in the world of practitioners, and now the supernatural community had begun investigating.
Luo Yu was imprisoned. The Blue-Faced Man above told him that he would only be released once things had calmed down; after all, if he ran off again, he would bring trouble to the Immortality Society. Luo Yu roared in anger from his cage, but at that moment, a man calling himself Xu Fu arrived—the same Mentor Cotton who had once given Luo Yu guidance. Xu Fu was willing to instruct him.
During the instruction, Xu Fu told Luo Yu about the Nether Syndicate, explaining that it was the Immortality Society’s most formidable rival. He insisted that the threat must be eliminated in advance. Xu Fu hoped that, once Luo Yu completed his training and rose to the rank of Blue-Faced Man, he would be the one to make contact with the Nether Syndicate and carry out a thorough purge of the Arcane Society.
Luo Yu agreed to Xu Fu’s plan. Over the next several years of guidance, Luo Yu gradually mastered even greater powers and finally became a Blue-Faced Man, gaining his freedom. Aside from obeying the Thirteen Golden Masks, he could now act freely in the outside world—but he was forbidden to do anything that might harm the Immortality Society. Luo Yu was also branded with a supernatural art that prevented him from revealing any information about the Immortality Society to outsiders.
Even as a Blue-Faced Man of the Immortality Society, Luo Yu knew his own limitations—he was still no match for Zhang Jizheng.
However, when Luo Yu arrived at Gourd Village, he found that aside from the living residents, all the revenants had vanished. He knew they had retreated into the Nether Syndicate, so he lingered in the village, hoping to see them again.
After more than a month, Luo Yu had to move on. He thought of someone—Zhang Zhiqing. Although he didn’t know whether Zhang had succeeded in finding a master, Luo Yu still wanted to see him.
At that moment, Luo Yu received news: agents of the Underworld Court had emerged from the Shadow Realm, searching relentlessly throughout the Living World to recapture seven evil ghosts who had escaped from Abyssal Hell.
Meanwhile, Xu Fu sent an order: Luo Yu must find the revenants at all costs. With no other choice, Luo Yu returned to the ruins of the old Luo Family Village, hoping to track down traces of corpse energy.
Sure enough, upon arriving at the overgrown ruins of Luo Family Village, Luo Yu sensed the presence of Luo Yichen’s corpse energy—he had returned here. Yet after countless days and nights of waiting, Luo Yu never saw Luo Yichen again.
Desperate to find the revenants, Luo Yu searched everywhere, returning to Gourd Village several times and even investigating the cave at the edge of the village. The cave was only a few meters deep, and beyond that, there was nothing left to find.
A massive joint search, led by the Underworld Court and the Arcane Society, was launched across the Living World. Xu Fu also ordered Luo Yu not to cause trouble. He could only wander aimlessly, but one day, Luo Yu was startled to spot a man in his forties, loudly debating among the crowd.
Luo Yu instantly recognized him as Zhang Zhiqing. Strangely, Zhang now possessed a unique power within his body and seemed far more spirited than before. At the marketplace, Zhang tried to sell protective talismans he had made, but these talismans were unlike any others people had seen. Most kept their distance, skeptical of Zhang’s claims—he looked rather destitute. By his side was a young apprentice, a boy of only six or seven.
Seeing how hard Zhang and his apprentice had it, Luo Yu decided to help once more. That night, he brought wine and meat to the ruined house outside town and found Zhang Zhiqing, revealing his identity. The young apprentice was named Zhang Wuju—an orphan who had lost his parents and now wandered with his master. Zhang named him Wuju, meaning ‘without a home.’
Both master and apprentice enjoyed a hearty meal. Luo Yu was curious about the strange power within Zhang Zhiqing, and the supernatural arts he used were unlike anything found in the Daoist sects—Luo Yu had never seen anything like them.
At that moment, Zhang Zhiqing took out a delicate pouch from his belongings and handed it back to Luo Yu. Luo Yu was stunned to see gold inside and asked why Zhang hadn’t spent it. Zhang simply smiled, saying he had always been this way. But, seeing Luo Yu’s goodwill, he did not refuse the gift. He kept the money with him, never using it—a constant reminder to resist temptation. That gold could have covered all of Zhang’s expenses for the past ten years, even bought him several large houses.
When Luo Yu saw Zhang Zhiqing again, he felt little had changed. That night, the two drank and talked at length. Zhang Zhiqing revealed that after returning to the village, he continued teaching for a time. He had once hoped to find a master, but one night, he dreamed of an old man who told him, 'Everything you see can be your teacher.'
The next morning, Zhang Zhiqing understood—he didn’t need a master at all. He studied the Daoist, Buddhist, and other sects’ classics with great care. Most people spent their lives pursuing nature, but everything around him could be called nature.
So Zhang Zhiqing began to take nature as his teacher, learning and understanding on his own, even teaching himself. Day by day, he found himself growing younger and able to comprehend the teachings of Daoism and Buddhism. He developed many supernatural arts himself, and they proved quite effective.
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