Above the Great Dao

Sect Leader Jing Hong died, the heavenly disaster immediately disappeared, and Yu Lingzi awoke from his daze, exclaiming in surprise. He found himself completely exposed, not wearing a thread, and hurriedly covered his shame, hastily finding a random pouch and putting on the other person's clothes.

"To live in this world, we come naked, so being naked now, why feel ashamed?"

An old voice came, and Yu Lingzi looked towards the source. The speaker was Jing Tai Daoist, one of the four elders of Taihua.

This old Taoist stood naked at a high point under the sun, without a hint of shame.

He gazed towards the place where Sect Leader Jing Hong had died, where flesh still covered the mountain, wriggling.

Yu Lingzi randomly picked a Taoist's robe, took it off, walked forward, and draped it over Jing Tai Daoist.

"I don't like wearing it."

Jing Tai Daoist huffed and shook off the robe, sneering, "At my age, what's wrong with being naked? Why can't I be naked? I was born naked!"

Yu Lingzi said, "Uncle Master is right. But clothes are for keeping warm and also for etiquette. Not wearing them might be impolite."

Before Jing Tai Daoist could speak, another old voice came: "When a person is born, what etiquette is there?"

Yu Lingzi turned around to see that Jing Yue Daoist, also one of the four elders of Taihua, was coming over naked, boldly standing alongside Jing Tai Daoist.

Yu Lingzi was at a loss and hurriedly said, "When a baby is born, it knows to cry without being taught, naturally knows to drink milk, depends on its mother. Isn't that etiquette?"

"Nonsense, what do you know!"

Jing Dong Daoist, also one of the four elders, came over, naked, standing alongside the two old Taoists, saying, "The old Sect Leader is dead?"

"Dead."

Another, Jing Shan Daoist, came over, the four old Taoists standing in a line, naked, said, "It's a pity we couldn't verify if the old Sect Leader's path could really achieve Ascension."

Jing Yue Daoist said wistfully, "I always felt the old Sect Leader's path might be viable, but Despair Slope intervened, and we had no chance to try."

Each old Taoist expressed their regret.

Yu Lingzi distanced himself from them, thinking, "The four Uncle Masters are risking their lives for Ascension."

However, cultivators are indifferent to fame and wealth, and the primary goal of cultivation is to become immortal. The physical body lifespan of the four Taihua elders is already at its limit, with not many years left to live, so they are willing to take the risk.

Yu Lingzi even suspected the four elders didn't even resist before falling into evil transformation, perhaps they willingly gave up resistance.

Chang Ying Daoist also awoke, and he was neatly dressed, busy commanding the awakened Taoists to care for their peers.

Yu Lingzi went to help, and Chang Ying Daoist glanced at him, whispering, "Many young Taoists have died."

Yu Lingzi's heart sank, asking, "How many junior brothers and sisters died?"

Chang Ying Daoist, bearing the responsibility of the Sect Leader, was not as carefree as the four elders, more concerned about the sect's gains and losses, and had already sent people to count the death toll. However, the mountain was covered with shed pouches, lifelike, making it difficult to calculate in a short time.

"About thirty percent, probably. They can't really be called dead; they simply shed until they completely disappeared."

Chang Ying Daoist said, "No physical body, no bones, no soul, no primordial spirit, completely vanished, like becoming part of the void, entirely nonexistent."

Yu Lingzi silently went to help other Taoists clear the shed pouches, find clothes, and treat the wounded.

Hundreds of miles away in Youzhou City, Fu Xiu also awoke. Having experienced the turmoil, he had become more composed, first calming the talisman masters of the Red Mountain Hall's Youzhou branch, stabilizing their emotions, and then leading them to help the citizens of Youzhou City.

This heavenly disaster didn't last long, just about one hour, but its impact was immense. Many people and livestock shed several times, then disappeared into thin air, as if they had never existed in the world.

Many others transformed a few times, became short in stature, their physical bodies seemingly aged by ten years, becoming weak and sickly.

Fu Xiu led the talisman masters of the Red Mountain Hall, drawing talismans everywhere, healing and saving people, replenishing their primordial qi.

They worked from morning until night, not taking time to eat or rest. Many cultivators were inspired by them and came to help, and the number of talisman masters grew.

Fu Xiu dispatched several teams to nearby villages and towns, treating the villagers, working until the middle of the night before returning to the Youzhou Government Office.

He arrived at the office, intending to raise the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in the air to prevent evil spirits from entering the city. It was then that he saw Youzhou Prefecture Gao Fenghua sitting on the steps of the office, looking lost.

Gao Fenghua rested his elbows on his knees, seemingly aged by many years, his eyes vacant. Fu Xiu called to him several times before he came to his senses, staring blankly at Fu Xiu.

"It's Lord Fu, you're back?" Gao Zhifu lowered his head again.

"My lord, didn't you flee with your family?"

Fu Xiu was somewhat angry, his words tinged with sarcasm, saying, "Now that the heavenly disaster has disappeared, are you back to be the magistrate again?"

Gao Zhifu slowly shook his head: "No more, no more. I have nothing left, I won't do anything..."

Fu Xiu was stunned.

Gao Zhifu laughed bitterly, saying, "I tried to fly out of the disaster's range with my wife and children, but while flying, I was transformed by evil, and fell from the sky. Lord Fu, I have nothing left, wife and children, nothing at all!"

He held his head and wept bitterly.

He was a master of the Divine Descent Realm, and falling from a great height wasn't much harm to him, but his wife and children were in the process of transformation and turned to mush from the fall.