The four-corner pavilion has bowl-sized bamboo beams and is covered with thatch, giving it a quiet and natural feel without any ornamentation.
But in the pavilion, Yuan Jinsheng was meditating with his eyes closed. After hearing the movement, he opened his eyes and nodded to the elder Taoist priest. The elder Taoist priest understood the situation and quietly retreated, disappearing into the shade of greenery.
Then he looked at Bai Liming with a smile on his face and pointed at the futon in front of him: "Sit."
Bailiming took a few steps and was about to enter the pavilion. Suddenly he realized that it would be rude to enter so directly, so he knelt down and said respectfully: "Disciple Bailiming, I would like to pay my respects to the leader of Yuan Dynasty."
"No need to be formal, sit down." Yuan Jinsheng's smile did not change.
After hearing this, Baili Ming stood up and walked into the pavilion, sat down on the futon, bowed his head respectfully, and said: "I haven't seen you for several years, and I can see the first beauty again. The disciple is extremely excited. I am grateful to the immortal master for guiding the disciple."
I'm a beginner, I'm so grateful, I don't know what advice the leader can give me when I call my disciples."
Yuan Jinsheng chuckled, waved his hand and said: "Don't be cautious, I have called you here for something, and it is your final test."
Bailiming's heart tightened when he heard this, and he hurriedly said: "The final test? Please make it clear, sir."
Yuan Jinsheng changed the subject and sighed softly: "How is your brother doing?"
Thinking of his younger brother, Bai Liming felt sour in his heart. Seeing that the First Lord was so concerned, he felt a glimmer of hope: "Does the First Lord want to save my brother again?" Thinking of this, he hurriedly said: "Last time, thanks to the First Lord's intervention, my younger brother's soul was stable.
His life is safe, but he still has lost all senses and is like a walking corpse. I hope the leader can take action again to save his younger brother."
Yuan Jinsheng's face was solemn: "As expected, this is not a good symptom. I am afraid that your brother's soul has been invaded by the demon species. It won't be long before he will be completely controlled by the demon species. When the demon king appears in the world, he will kill again and cause disaster.
world."
Bailiming was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly explained: "No, no, sir, my disciple is now able to communicate with his younger brother's spirit. He is no different. He is just a child, ignorant and innocent.
Evil should not be controlled by demons!"
Yuan Jinsheng shouted sternly: "Don't be fooled by the devil's disguise. Look back, is this still your brother?"
When Bai Liming heard this, he turned around and saw that a copper pillar more than ten feet long suddenly appeared outside the pavilion. His younger brother Bai Liping was wrapped tightly by an iron chain as thick as his arm.
Bound on a copper pillar.
At this time, Bailiping no longer looked dull and indifferent. His eyes were glowing with an evil green light, his expression was ferocious, and his face was terrifying. He kept roaring like a beast and struggled to get rid of the shackles of the iron chain.
Seeing his brother like this, Bai Liming slumped on the ground with an expression of disbelief on his face and murmured: "How could this happen? It's impossible, it's impossible..."
At this time, Yuan Jinsheng's voice rang in his ears: "It is the responsibility of the Taiyimen to eliminate demons, protect the Tao, and protect the common people. Baili Ming, go kill him and complete this final test."
As soon as he finished speaking, a three-foot-long sword appeared in front of Bai Liming. But what happened was so sudden that Bai Liming did not dare to accept what was happening in front of him. He hesitantly looked back at Yuan Jinsheng.
But Yuan Jinsheng had a determined expression and said sternly: "What are you waiting for? Are you going to let the devil go and let him cause trouble to the world? Are you going to give up this test and the opportunity to practice Taoism?"
Bai Liming picked up the long sword tremblingly, and moved forward step by step, looking at the increasingly evil look in his brother's eyes, and then thinking about every bit of getting along with his brother, hesitating, contradictory, and struggling in his heart.
When he came to his brother, he was already in tears.
He slowly raised the sword in his hand and brought it close to his brother's chest. The sword trembled even more violently, and he could hardly hold it.
Bailiming closed his eyes in pain, and his tears fell on the bluestone road, but they could not make any ripples. As at this moment, he was powerless and helpless.
…
Suddenly Bailiming opened his eyes, thoughtfully, and then slowly stretched out his left hand and placed it on his brother's chest. After a moment, Bailiming straightened his waist, stopped shaking, and held his right hand tightly.
With a long sword and a stern gaze, a cold light like a green edge flashed in his eyes. At this moment, he finally made up his mind.
With a clang, the long sword was thrown heavily to the ground. Bai Liming turned around and looked at Yuan Jinsheng, with firm eyes, and said word by word:
"Is this still an illusion? I'm still on the floating bridge."
Yuan Jinsheng replied expressionlessly: "Oh, how do you say this?"
"There are two reasons why this is an illusion. Since establishing soul communication with my brother, the disciple is very aware of his current situation. Although the soul is stable, it is trapped in a golden space and cannot connect with the body. The spirit and body cannot
Unity, so the first thing you said about the soul being eroded or even controlled by the demon species is impossible to happen. This is one of them." Bai Liming's eyes were bright and he stretched out a finger.
"Oh, what about the second point?"
"Secondly, since a few years ago, my father has been putting a leaf of fairy horse grass inside my brother's clothes every day to check if anyone is prying at him. When my disciple just turned his back to you, the leader, he reached out and touched the inside of his brother's clothes.
, and didn't find the leaves." Bai Liming raised two fingers and pointed behind him.
He said firmly: "So everything in front of you is fake, it's just an illusion on Duyun Bridge!"
There was a sneer on Yuan Jinsheng's lips: "Even if this is an illusion, it is also the final test. The test is whether you can put demon elimination and defense first. Even your closest relatives, as long as they fall into the demonic way, they must be eradicated with your own hands.
.So if you want to pass this level, you must kill your brother with your own hands!"
Bai Liming did not hesitate, shook his head and said: "That's wrong. Since I have seen through this illusion, if I kill another illusion, the test will lose any meaning. My brother is possessed by the devil, but he did not hurt innocent people. Why?
Want to kill them all? This goes against my original intention. If my relatives make mistakes, I will correct them. If my relatives are humiliated, I will protect them. Therefore, as long as I am here, no one can hurt them!"
After saying this, Bai Liming picked up the sword and protected it in front of his younger brother.
Yuan Jinsheng sneered: "That's a pity. We've already reached the last step. It's obviously a very simple thing, but we stick to some principle and don't know how to adapt. It's really pitiful."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a flash of cold light, and a sword shadow came straight towards Baili Ming's throat. Like a sudden appearance, the sword light was so fast that no one had time to react. Looking at the sword light flying towards him, Baili Ming glared angrily.
Open your eyes wide, take root in your footsteps, don't hide or avoid.
Suddenly, the starlight flashed in his Yintang, and the sword light in front of him disappeared like the wind and the remaining clouds. Then a little starlight slowly appeared in the depths of his pupils, which was almost undetectable. As the starlight became brighter and brighter, Baili Ming revealed Chang
Ran smile.
"I see, you are the leader of this illusion." After saying this, he held his sword in both hands and ran towards Yuan Jinsheng.
One step, two steps, three steps... The long sword was getting closer and closer to Yuan Jinsheng, but he sat still. Finally, the long sword came to Yuan Jinsheng. The sword light was hesitant, and when he saw it was about to stab, Yuan Jinsheng's figure changed.
It became more and more illusory and dissipated like smoke. The entire illusion gradually disappeared as Yuan Jinsheng dissipated.
…
Bailiming returned to the pontoon bridge. The pontoon bridge rose and fell with the ripples of the water. It was silent. Although the eyes were blocked by mist, the distant lake shoreline could be vaguely seen.
"It seems that this final test points directly to the heart of Taoism. Whether to follow the original heart, be firm and unswerving, and not be shaken can break the illusion. If I really kill my brother, my parents and relatives will appear one by one. On the contrary, I will
Falling into an endless cycle of evil thoughts, losing one's original intention, and ultimately failing." Thinking of this, I felt a little at ease, and finally reached the final step.
There was a cloud of mist on the pontoon, which stuck to the body with dampness and coldness. Bai Liming waved his hand to disperse the mist, and suddenly a slender figure appeared in front of him, staggering towards the outside of the pontoon, and was about to fall into the lake.
Bai Liming didn't have time to think, and instinctively reached out to grab the man's arm and pulled him up. Due to the excessive force, the figure staggered and fell into Bai Liming's arms.