Blood still trickled from Yu Dibei’s eyes.

His eyelids twitched incessantly, but his eyes remained stubbornly shut.

Far from being disappointed, the little yellow dog’s tongue lolled out and its jowls spread wide, its grin growing even broader.

Because the more Yu Dibei resisted opening his eyes, the more it proved:

Its true master, Yuanbao, had returned!

In its understanding, no matter what setbacks its master faced, or what injuries he sustained, he would always open his eyes the next moment, stand up, and continue fighting.

This time was no different.

Even death could not prevent its master from reawakening.

The rest of its life, no, its remaining memories, were devoted to this task.

The little yellow dog extended its paw and stroked the back of Yu Dibei’s hand.

This was a habit they had formed when it was still a small puppy, not long after it first came to its master’s side.

Its master would hold its paw with one hand and reach out with the other to scratch the fur under its neck.

The little yellow dog noticed that as it stroked, the veins on the back of Yu Dibei’s hand beneath its paw bulged.

“Only the blood of the Yu family can pave the way for master’s return.”

The blood from Yu Dibei’s eyes collected at his jawline, then dripped onto his body.

The little yellow dog lowered its head and licked it.

“Only a talented member of the Yu family, selected under the most rigorous conditions, is fit to become master’s new body.

Yuanbao sealed the gate for sixty years, searching for such a Yu family child.

Fortunately, Yuanbao finally found him for master.

Yuanbao is very pleased with this child.

He is very much like you, master, when you were young. I believe you, master, will also be very pleased.”

The damaged body of Yu Tiannan continued to crack and eventually turned into sand, dissolving into the pool of blood.

The decaying past ended, and a new beginning dawned.

“Master used to like to mutter to himself by the campfire at night.

At those times, I loved to lie at master’s feet, and no matter how sleepy I was, I’d keep my eyes open to accompany him.

Master often patted Yuanbao’s head and laughed, asking if Yuanbao, listening so intently, really understood.

Yuanbao is a dog, silly, and doesn’t understand.

But Yuanbao remembered everything master said.

Later, Yuanbao repeatedly pondered those old memories and finally understood.

Only by destroying the Yu family, letting them be perverse, letting them go mad, letting them turn the Tiangang upside down, could the river water be drawn in.

Master,

Yuanbao really succeeded.”

The little yellow dog turned its head again, wanting to check if Yu Dibei’s eyes had opened.

The twitching of his eyelids was more intense than before.

In the ethereal realm, an invisible pressure was gathering here.

“The calamity energy on Longwang Yu’s head has all been infused into Longwang Ming by me.

So, when master awakens, there’s no need to worry too much about karma.

With so many ancient beings still alive in this world, why can’t there be one more, master?

The chaos in the Yu family is Yuanbao’s first gift to master upon awakening.

Master can suppress the calamities of the Yu family to gain a large amount of merit, completely cleanse his identity, and eliminate future worries.”

At this moment, Ditong returned, carrying Ming Yuwan in its mouth.

Ming Yuwan was still alive, but her face was extremely pale, and she was unconscious.

Ditong opened its mouth, allowing Ming Yuwan to fall into the blood. She sank first, then quickly floated back up.

“At that time, if master wishes, he can continue to use her as a pretext, taking her to walk the river. With master’s strength, he can completely become the ultimate Longwang, one with power but no official title.

Of course, if master finds it troublesome, he can kill her now to prevent her and Longwang Ming from sharing the merit when master suppresses the Yu family’s chaos later.

After all, with master’s awakened strength, he is already capable of dominating the jianghu.”

The pressure on Yu Dibei intensified, and ripples spread in circles on the pool of blood with him as the center.

The little yellow dog lay on Yu Dibei’s knees, constantly adjusting itself to a more comfortable position, its head resting against Yu Dibei’s chest.

Yu Dibei’s head was still bowed, and the little yellow dog lying like this could clearly see his face.

To resurrect its master, the little yellow dog would stop at nothing.

In its eyes, there was only its master, no Yu family.

If destroying the Yu family was the only way to create the conditions for its master’s resurrection, then it would destroy the Yu family without hesitation.

It awaited the moment its master awakened, longing to meet its master’s gaze again.

Even if the next moment its master were to wring its neck, annihilate its body, and erase all traces of its existence, it would be willing.

It only wished for the master in its heart to return.

“Master, please open your eyes quickly and kill Yuanbao for merit!”

Suddenly, piercing, more agonizing howls than before echoed from multiple parts of the Yu family ancestral home.

The evil beings that had emerged from the sealed land immediately joined forces in unspoken agreement to do one thing.

Different auras, different bizarre presences, began to converge on the Yu family ancestral hall.

The array within the ancestral hall, stimulated, activated on its own, but it still could not withstand such terrifying pressure and quickly became riddled with holes.

Marks appeared on Yu Dibei’s forehead.

They knew who their true threat was, so they were collectively imposing a seal on Yu Dibei.

Ditong beside him could not help but roar. It knew the little yellow dog desperately wanted the man in front of him to open his eyes, but these creatures were disrupting that process.

The seal was complete.

The blood at Yu Dibei’s eyes stopped flowing, the bulging veins on the back of his hand receded, and the invisible pressure that had just gathered was now completely gone.

Countless screams and sinister laughs echoed throughout the Yu family ancestral home.

Then, figures began to move towards the main gate of the Yu family ancestral home.

Next, as soon as they left this place, it would be equivalent to returning to the human world.

The pain and torment endured for countless years needed to be vented; the emptiness caused by being suppressed for endless time needed to be filled with fresh blood and food.

They wanted to feast, they wanted revenge, they wanted to reassert their existence with sky-high blood and wails.

“Woof woof woof.”

Ditong was still barking until the little yellow dog, which had come down from Yu Dibei’s arms, waved a paw at it.

Ditong immediately fell silent, lowering its head. The little yellow dog sat on Ditong’s head.

“Don’t worry, as long as master is willing to awaken, these seals cannot stop him at all.

In master’s view, for a Longwang to awaken after death is an extremely shameful thing.

But,

Master,

If you do not open your eyes and awaken soon, once they rush out of the Yu family ancestral home gate, this catastrophe will be completely unavoidable.”

The little yellow dog patted Ditong’s head. Ditong ran out of the deliberation hall, then leaped, arriving outside the ancestral hall.

The various large and small flies that had been buzzing around the ancestral hall had all disappeared earlier, sensing the surge of evil.

The old men who had stormed into the Yu family earlier, believing that after slaughtering the Yu family’s demon beasts, they could justly divide the Yu family’s inheritance.

In fact, the Yu family’s demon beasts, no matter how they tried to appear dignified, were far from a match for these old men from established jianghu lineages.

It was precisely because the demon beasts were defeated too quickly that the old men had relaxed early on, treating the remaining task as a round of claiming territory, and even taking the opportunity to use underhanded tactics to eliminate young talents from other families.

They assumed that the seals on the evil beings in the Yu family ancestral home were still intact; the demon beasts neither had the ability to break those seals nor would they think of releasing those evil beings, having made this place their nest.

Therefore, when those terrifying evil beings collectively manifested, the old men panicked instantly. By instinct, they began to rush towards the Yu family gate, which was the exit.

After all, this situation was not part of the initial plan. If it had been considered, the number of people dispatched by each family would certainly not have been so small.

Moreover, for these old men, there was no need to bravely resist. At worst, they could return and send messages to their respective sects, then hold another meeting to discuss how to deal with this completely rotten mess.

The outcome was simply one of two: let it completely fall apart, or each family pay a considerable price to extinguish this great fire together?

According to historical precedent, such a high-level, large-scale event should be handled by the Longwang issuing a Longwang Ling to solicit assistance from various sects.

The remaining river-walking teams, some quickly emerged from their ancestral sites, others came out of hidden healing, and after a moment of hesitation, they all made the same choice, quickly moving towards the main gate of the Yu family.

Those on the river and those on the shore had different stakes.

Every river-walking team knew that if this matter could not be resolved, it meant their current wave had failed.

But it was also unwise to stay alone now, surrounded by such a terrible situation. It was better to gather in a place where everyone would go.

At this moment, the dark night still enveloped the entire Yu family ancestral home.

But the illusions and physical forms of those evil beings could penetrate this dense darkness.

There were enormous beings slowly moving, each step a tremor;

There were enchanting red and white skeletons, singing songs that could shatter souls;

There were zombies spewing corpse qi, leaping short distances in an instant, leaving withered vegetation in their wake;

There were giant ghost faces formed by invisible qi, soaring in the air, their laughter deafening;

There was an evil Taoist monk, draped in a kasaya, with half his body decayed and fallen off, reciting Taoist chants while absorbing nearby demon grievances into his body.

There were…

These terrifying evil beings were all moving in one direction.

Inside the Yu family ancestral hall, the spirit tablets of generations of Yu family Longwangs shook violently.

On the rock layer above the ancestral home, red light spots appeared.

The red spots fell one by one, landing on the edges of the ancestral home.

These were the Yu family’s Longwang steles, carved with blood by generations of Yu family Longwangs during their lifetimes.

The first stele glowed red, releasing a line that encircled a part of the ancestral home.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth…

The red lines spread longer and longer, and soon, the remaining areas were mostly framed by red lines.

Only one gap remained, which was the main gate of the Yu family ancestral home.

If chaos erupted in the ancestral home, that was the most vulnerable and also the most important position to breach.

According to Yu family tradition, the stele placed at the main gate of the ancestral home should be erected by the youngest generation of Yu family Longwang.

Because he, relatively speaking, had died most recently, and the spiritual essence and will in his blood were more concentrated.

The last generation Longwang of the Yu family was Yu Tiannan.

At this moment, from the sky, his stele was falling, directly pointing towards the main gate of the Yu family.

The old men running towards the Yu family gate sighed with relief at this sight:

“Fortunately, the former Longwangs of the Yu family had made arrangements for this.”

“Although this great array cannot completely seal these evil beings, it can trap them for a period, giving the sects in the jianghu enough time to react.”

“Oh no, hurry up, if the great array is completely formed and we haven’t left, we’ll be trapped inside this Yu family along with them!”

This great array, involving the spirits of the Longwangs, would only activate when a true great rebellion of evil beings occurred. In its initial design, it certainly wouldn’t have considered whether it would harm the “innocent”; it would only assume that all members of the Yu family had already died in battle at that time, powerless to stop the evil beings.

The Longwangs of that era could never have foreseen that the Yu family would face such a situation in the future.

The rapidly advancing river-walking teams also felt a sense of relief upon seeing this. As long as the situation remained under control, their current wave was not yet a failure, and there was still much room for recovery.

The little yellow dog’s paw scratched Ditong’s head.

Ditong’s back split open, white steam rose, and inside was boiling blood.

The little yellow dog leaned back and fell into Ditong’s body.

The split back rejoined, the wound quickly蠕動, and at the same time, Ditong slowly rose from all fours to stand upright, its white fur receding to reveal the image of an adult man.

His left eye was gold, and his right eye was yellow.

Ditong raised its right hand, pointing at Yu Tiannan’s stele falling from the sky.

Runes emerged from Ditong’s five fingers, and as he gently clenched his fist, the stele’s descent speed in mid-air instantly slowed.

When Yu Tiannan carved this stele, it sat on Yu Tiannan’s shoulder, so it naturally remembered the array patterns on the stele.

Ditong looked back at the Yu family ancestral hall behind him; there was still no reaction.

“Master, are you still unwilling to awaken?”

If this stele didn’t fall in time, a large gap would appear in the great array, which was overseen by the spirits of generations of Yu family Longwangs and specifically designed to prevent the evil beings in the ancestral home from escaping.

Silence, silence, silence…

At this moment, even the once extremely arrogant evil beings were moving and looking up, staring at the stele.

After waiting,

Ditong’s right hand instantly clenched!

“Boom!”

The stele exploded in mid-air.

“Master, this stele shattered, and the great array, it’s broken.”

The evil beings immediately let out joyful roars and shrieks, continuing their advance towards the Yu family gate.

“It’s over, what’s wrong with this great array?”

“Now all these evil beings are going to escape; there’s no time to wait for reinforcements, not even to call for help.”

“Catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe is coming, this is a catastrophe!”

“Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack…”

Many of the Longwang spirit tablets on the offering table in the Yu family ancestral hall all cracked.

The Yu family Longwang steles that had already settled, though unable to form an array, were still fighting independently.

The steles trembled, each applying its unique pressure on these evil beings.

The evil beings’ progress slowed considerably, as if stuck in a quagmire.

Because those now pressuring them were the Longwangs who had personally defeated and suppressed them in the past, inherently possessing a natural suppressive force.

However, the characters written in Longwang blood on the Longwang steles were slowly fading.

This meant that this temporary suppression could not be maintained for too long.

Moreover, a small group of evil beings was not greatly affected. They had been suppressed by Yu Tiannan, and now Yu Tiannan’s stele had exploded. Therefore, this small group of evil beings was able to maintain their previous speed and continue towards the Yu family gate.

The evil beings also understood that even if the Yu family had fallen into disarray, this jianghu was not home to just one Longwang family.

Only by escaping here quickly and plunging into the mortal world could they have a chance to regain their former strength and reclaim great freedom.

Ditong’s yellow eye showed a hint of confusion.

“Master, are you still unwilling to awaken?”

Ditong’s golden eye suddenly sharpened.

“Hmm? There’s someone in the ancestral hall? And able to hide from my perception for so long? Interesting.

All the flies, big and small, have flown towards the door, yet someone dares to settle in this very center.”

Ditong’s figure flickered, appearing in the ancestral hall courtyard in an instant, then flickered again, appearing before the offering table, and after a third flicker, arrived at the deliberation hall behind the offering table.

When he appeared, a Yellow River shovel and a pair of golden maces blocked his path.

Behind them stood a young woman holding a jade flute.

On the beam, a “monkey” was squatting, scratching itself.

Everyone was on high alert for him.

But Ditong was indifferent. His gaze fell into the pool of blood, on the young man standing before Yu Dibei.

The young man’s hand had just moved from Yu Dibei’s forehead.

Ditong had a damn familiar feeling about this young man, but unfortunately, that memory had been forgotten by him.

Now, the young man daring to appear here again proved the importance of that familiar feeling.

He shouldn’t have forgotten, but there was nothing he could do. With memory degradation, he had to forget too many things, just to keep the most important ones clear.

Chen Xiyuan’s hand, gripping the jade flute, was slightly sweaty. She could sense the power and terrifying nature of the man before her. He was the “old dog” that her little brother had mentioned earlier.

When the evil beings’ rampage occurred, Chen Xiyuan had thought her little brother would also issue an order to retreat towards the Yu family gate, because many people around them had simply run away.

If her little brother had made such a choice, Chen Xiyuan would have understood and been willing to obey.

But her little brother always seemed to make her feel alienated just when she thought she understood him.

At that time, her little brother had calmly said, “Let’s go in.”

This place was indeed very dangerous.

Even with the help of Run Sheng and the other two, she was not confident she could safely leave with her little brother.

Because the “old dog” in front of them was far, far more terrifying than the old men they had encountered before.

Just then, an even more astonishing command was given to Chen Xiyuan.

“Stand down.”

Run Sheng put down his shovel.

Lin Shuyou was puzzled but still suppressed the fear in his heart facing the “old dog” and put away his maces.

Tan Wenbin leaped down from the beam.

Chen Xiyuan was the last, because the others were already accustomed to obeying Xiao Yuan Ge’s commands at all times, no matter how absurd they seemed; they always proved to be correct in the end.

However, Chen Xiyuan eventually put away her jade flute and dispelled her domain.

Ditong tilted its head, continuing to watch the young man while raising its hand, its killing intent unmistakably clear.

He didn’t know what game the young man was playing. Anyway, he didn’t have time for such games now; it was better to kill them all and be done with it.

Until the young man’s voice sounded again:

“You want to resurrect Yu Tiannan, right, Yuanbao?”

Ditong’s hand also dropped.

Li Zhuiyuan: “We also want to resurrect Yu Tiannan to quell this catastrophe, so now, our goal is consistent.”

Since their goals were consistent, there was no need for a battle to the death.

Ditong chuckled, “Hehehe… Could it be that you have a way to help me resurrect my master?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “It seems, Yuanbao, you no longer remember me, and Ditong, you don’t remember me either.”

Ditong fell silent.

Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze returned to the seal on Yu Dibei’s forehead and he spoke:

“This seal…”

Ditong: “Even if you can break this seal, it will…”

Li Zhuiyuan: “…there’s no need to break it.”

Ditong fell silent again.

Li Zhuiyuan: “If he is willing to awaken, these seals will not be a problem; they cannot stop him.”

Ditong walked into the pool of blood, approaching the young man.

Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou simply followed silently, not obstructing.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Yuanbao, do you know why he hasn’t awakened yet?”

Ditong: “Master is unwilling to awaken, naturally there is master’s reason.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Your master is not unwilling to awaken, but unable to awaken.”

Ditong stopped and questioned, “What do you mean?”

Li Zhuiyuan pointed at Yu Dibei and asked:

“Are you sure you transplanted Yu Tiannan’s memories into Yu Dibei’s brain?”

Ditong: “Of course!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “When suppressing that evil being together, Yu Tiannan perished before you. When did you copy Yu Tiannan’s memories, when he was still alive?

Not to mention you hadn’t yet acquired that ability from the evil being then, even if you had, would you have dared before Yu Tiannan perished?!”

Ditong was stunned. His yellow eyes first showed thought, then were filled with confusion.

Some things he didn’t remember, but the young man was right. Memories could only be copied when a person was alive. Before his master’s demise, he would only unconditionally obey his master’s commands, desperately suppressing that evil being.

But if it was after his master’s demise, from where did the master’s memories in his mind, which he preserved perfectly by willingly forgetting so many other things, come from?

Ditong cradled its head, squatting in the blood.

It was evident he was in great pain, tormented by the empty feeling of sensing a problem yet being unable to trace it due to forgotten memories.

Li Zhuiyuan:

“I just checked, the memory you implanted in Yu Dibei’s brain doesn’t even have a main subject.

It doesn’t even possess the basic conditions to become an ‘I’—no self-cognition, no self-perspective, no self-experience, no self-feelings. How could he possibly awaken?

You could simply make one up, a simple but normal one, allowing him to open his eyes as an ordinary person, and it would be incredibly easy.

Unfortunately, what you implanted was not Yu Tiannan’s memory at all, but…”

Ditong suddenly raised its head, looking at the young man, reaching out, eager for the answer:

“What is it, what is it, what is it?!”

Li Zhuiyuan:

“It’s Yu Tiannan as you see him.”

This chapter was difficult to write and slow. Tomorrow, 20,000 characters will be written to make up for the missing word count.