Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 338 - 214: Imprisoning the Dragon in the Well

Chapter 338: Chapter 214: Imprisoning the Dragon in the Well

The Hut.

Li Yunshang watched the two figures before her, a man and a woman both hanging their heads in shame. Her elegant brows would occasionally furrow, then her face would reveal a sense of helplessness.

Having dealt with battles and killings, Li Yunshang, this peerless True Immortal, found herself somewhat at a loss when it came to educating her younger successors.

The man had displayed a talent beyond her expectations. Had she known what today would bring, she would certainly have had Gu Wen sleep until the dust settled. Yu Hua, too, had followed Gu Wen, disregarding her own life in sacrifice.

Gu Wen tugged at the corner of Yu Hua’s clothing and asked softly, "Is Master alive? How did she come back to life?"

Yu Hua answered, "Three months ago, the Longevity Pill flew out of my mouth and upon touching the ground, it transformed into our mentor’s ancestor."

"What are you whispering about there, stand up straight," Li Yunshang’s stern voice came through, this was the most severe punishment she could think of.

She remembered her own youth, being punished to stand by her masters and elders, tears welling up in her eyes. Yet these two still found the mood to whisper among themselves, with Gu Wen, the ’chief culprit,’ having the look of a pig not afraid of the scalding water.

In the end, she could only massage her temples and ask, "What do you expect me to say?"

"No need for thanks."

Gu Wen replied, and Li Yunshang gave him a glare before saying, "You lack propriety. Do you realize your current situation? The item in your possession was originally intended for your master, borrowed from the power of the Heavenly God and the lifespan calamity of the Earth Realm’s Lord, combined to kill your master."

The Emperor, the Lord?

Gu Wen took note of the two names and asked, "Are both Saints targeting us?"

"Not at all, a Saint wields no power, but the Law endures. If they wished to kill me, there would be no need for such complication."

Li Yunshang cut off her words mid-sentence, then pinched Gu Wen’s ear and gave a light tug, saying, "You’re changing the subject again. The only strategy to save you now is for me to condense the Dao Fruit within a hundred years and become a Semi-Saint. Only then can I contend with the Law of Jianmu."

"Demi Immortal, Semi-Saint, why so many half measures?"

Gu Wen made a quip, and Yu Hua couldn’t help but giggle with her hand over her mouth.

"Don’t talk rubbish. A Semi-Saint is not a realm, but one’s own consolidation of Law, yet not merged with heaven and earth. The former Celestial Emperor and the underworld’s Lord, as well as the current Jianmu are of this realm."

Li Yunshang was beside herself with frustration, having lost her usual composure.

Her own life and death she could face with equanimity, having lived for a thousand years, slept for three thousand, slain so many demons, and saved so many people; her life had already been splendid enough.

But Gu Wen was different; he was not yet a hundred years old and had never left the Immortal Land. There were still too many wonders he had yet to experience, and an even vaster world out there for him to explore.

He shouldn’t be confined to the Immortal Land.

"The chances of me condensing the Law within a hundred years are negligible; you may die, and your master would be powerless to help."

Having said this, Li Yunshang’s brows remained tightly knit, showing for the first time a hint of uncertainty.

"That’s a matter for a hundred years hence. There are still three thousand nights and more than three hundred springs and autumns before then."

Gu Wen spoke calmly, his mood undisturbed by fear or agitation, "If we look on the bright side, should the master perish, the Human-Demon War would soon erupt. Having left the Immortal Land, I would have no way to reverse the inevitable. Nor would I be likely to sacrifice myself for the world. I would lie low until I was confident of overcoming Jianmu, which also no telling how long it might take or how many would die."

When they had switched positions and it was Gu Wen’s turn to die, he suddenly realized that there really wasn’t much to fear after all.

He had lived for decades, and in his previous life, he had seventy years as well. There was still a hundred years ahead.

To live a life is to keep one’s spirit; saving a Saint was surely enough.

He said jokingly, "Conversely, because you were saved by me, I’ve also saved who knows how many people."

"It’s not the same, a million people do not compare to you, nor you to a million people. Life cannot be compared."

"Factually speaking, among the Human Race, they would prefer you to live, as only you can save many more."

"Don’t argue fallacies with me. If saving more lives is right, then would it be right for the Emperor, a mere child, to sacrifice a million subjects in exchange for saving countless beings from beyond our world?"

"Hard to say."

"Rebel!"

After gazing at each other in silence for a while, Gu Wen’s ear turned bright red from the pulling. Seeing this, Li Yunshang stopped tugging at his ear and instead began to stroke it gently, her eyes soft but shadowed.

"My disciple, I’m not blaming you, but this time you truly made a mistake. An old person can die a proper death, but a child, no matter the reason, cannot be said to have died a proper death."

"I’m already forty-three, not so young. And you do not look old."

Gu Wen took a step back, freeing himself from his master’s touch, hinting that he was no longer a child.

It’s a common problem for those who have children late in life to spoil their offspring excessively. And his master was like one lying on the coffin board, who suddenly sprouted a disciple when she should have had no descendants.

Gu Wen was the only one to have forged the Yuqing Daoji, but when he met Qingcang he had already been weathered by many years in society. He was well past the age for suckling, and could not have an excessive dependence on Qingcang.

"With things as they are, let’s rather look to the future. What shall we eat this afternoon?"

"..."

Li Yunshang was speechless, finally letting out a long sigh.

Now, she indeed had no effective solution at hand, as the calamity of lifespan made all secret techniques for extending life useless.

It wasn’t just the Immortal Land that could not extend life; even in the Cultivation World it was impossible. The complexity of all creation and the calamity of lifespan combined, such that even if Li Yunshang were to refine herself back into an Immortal Pill, it was doubtful this could enable Gu Wen to break out of the Immortal Land.

Only Law could resolve the issue of Law. The strategy Jianmu had been plotting for thousands of years. If Li Yunshang could resolve it, there would not be so many complications.