Chapter 220 Return! Zhuangzi's Secret
At this time, in the city on the border of Qin and Chu, Gongsun Ce activated the Word Spirit·Tian Yan to the extreme and began to deduce the progress of the three armies.

Gongsun Ce did not stop calculating until it was completely dark.

Arriving at the top of the city wall, Gongsun Ce looked up at the sky, only to find that the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon were flickering faintly tonight, as if something was happening on the other side of the distant starry sky.

Gongsun Ce frowned slightly, then he closed his eyes and relied on the faint perception between him and the Seven Stars of the Blue Dragon to try to find out where the abnormality of the Seven Stars of the Blue Dragon came from.

After a moment, Gongsun Ce opened his eyes, but did not get any response, as if the Blue Dragon Seven Stars had thrown a sword and dodged a few times for show.

At this moment, on the road of starry sky, Lady Jiu Tian Xuan Nu stopped moving forward. In front of Lady Jiu Tian Xuan Nu, there was still an unknown distance of road ahead.

In the vast universe, there is a unique and mysterious road, that is the starry sky road.

This road is like a winding Milky Way, starry sky, each star emitting charming light, they are intertwined together to form a mysterious passage leading to an unknown end.

Lady of the West, the legendary goddess who possesses infinite wisdom and power, is now standing on this starry road.

She was dressed in a white dress that looked like flowing clouds, her long hair fluttered in the wind like a waterfall, and her deep eyes flashed with a determined light.

She looked down at the starry road beneath her feet, her heart filled with fatigue and anticipation.

However, at this moment, Lady Jiu Tian Xuan Nu suddenly stopped moving forward.

She felt an inexplicable fluctuation, which was a signal that the backup plan she left in the human world was no longer effective.

Her face changed instantly, and an indescribable uneasiness surged in her heart.

Lady Jiu Tian Xuan Nu knew that no one had ever been able to reach the end of this starry road.

It seems endless, extending into the unknown distance, making it impossible to get a glimpse of its full picture.

She has walked for thousands of years, going through untold hardships, but she still doesn't know how long it will take to reach the end.

During this long journey, she was always worried about her fate.

In order to deal with possible crises, she left a backup plan in the human world, hoping to leave a way out for herself, that is, the incarnation in the Goddess's Tears and the power accumulated therein.

Once she dies on the road to the starry sky, she can be resurrected again with the incarnation and energy in the Goddess's Tears, and at the same time possess the power of half a step to the state of unity between man and nature.

However, at this moment, she found that the backup plan she had left in the human world had become ineffective.

This means that if she encounters an accident on the road to the starry sky, there will be no possibility of resurrection.

This cruel reality put Jiu Tian Xuan Nu in a dilemma.

She didn't know whether she should continue to move forward. After all, she had already paid too much effort and price.

However, once she chooses to give up, she will lose everything, return to the familiar starting point, and start the endless journey again.

The expression of Lady of the West changed, and her heart was filled with struggle and contradiction.

However, at this moment, she made a decision.

She decided to allocate some of her strength to return to the human world to investigate the reason why her backup plan failed.

This is a difficult decision, as it will further weaken her power and make her more dangerous in the Star Path.

However, she knew she had to do this or she would never solve the mystery.

Moreover, such behavior is equivalent to leaving a backup plan. Compared with losing half of the strength, one more life is considered a small profit.

Then, Lady of the Nine Heavens slapped her palm on her heart, forcing out a drop of blood.

That drop of blood was as dazzling as a ruby, containing part of the essence and power of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady's state of unity between man and nature.

The moment this drop of heart blood was coughed out, Lady Jiu Tian's face turned pale. It was obvious that this was a huge burden for her.

However, she did not give up. Instead, she firmly snapped her fingers, and the drop of blood from her heart turned into a stream of light and returned to the human world.

As the blood from her heart left, Lady Jiu Tian felt a strong sense of weakness.

Her body was shaking slightly, as if she would fall down at any moment.

However, she did not stop moving forward. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and then set foot on the road to the starry sky again.

However, at this time, the speed of Jiu Tian Xuan Nu's advancement was not as fast as before. She could only move forward slowly while recovering her strength. At the same time, she also needed to be careful to avoid the strong wind that came from nowhere.

This strong wind is very strange. It often appears in places where there should be no wind. Once hit by the strong wind, even a person who is in harmony with nature will be seriously injured.

Once hit by the strong wind several times, it will be shattered by the strong wind, turned into powder and merged into the road of starry sky.

The Queen Mother of the West once witnessed the God of Wood and Spring, Ju Mang, being turned into dust after being struck by strong winds ten times in a row.

Moreover, in the perception of the Queen Mother of the West, the powder that Ju Mang turned into was actually integrated into the Starry Sky Road, as if their failed state of unity between man and nature was the nourishment to maintain the existence of the Starry Sky Road.

In fact, if you stand in the universe and observe the Blue Planet and the Starry Sky Road, it is not difficult to find that the Starry Sky Road is similar to the umbilical cord of the Blue Planet.

Perhaps it is not the state of unity between man and nature that realizes that there is no way forward and then comes out to look for the way to the other side.

Rather, the world itself wants to reach a new world with the help of these beings who have reached the state of harmony between man and nature.

Then, the world can plunder the essence of other worlds and strengthen itself.

However, no one expected that the road to the new world would be so long.

The starry road not only dragged down this group of people who were in harmony with nature, but also dragged down the world itself.

The heart blood of the Queen Mother of the West quickly passed through the starry sky road and passed in front of Laozi, who was also riding a green ox on the starry sky road.

Laozi looked at the blood streaking across his eyes, and his heart moved. He realized that new talents had appeared in the world, and the other party had even destroyed the backup plan left by a predecessor in the world.

Otherwise, the other party would not be so anxious to leave a backup plan for the human world.

So I bit the tip of my right index finger, and a drop of blood flowed out of his index finger. The next moment, I snapped my fingers, and that drop of blood hitched a ride on the blood of the Queen Mother of the West and descended to the human world.

Laozi only wanted to pass on the message, so he did not consume too much energy. He knocked on the horns of the green ox, and the green ox moved forward again.

The green bull that Lao Tzu rides on is not a real animal, but the manifestation of Lao Tzu's Tao. Otherwise, how could a bull easily set foot on the starry sky road, which is full of dangers even in the state of unity of man and nature?

Laozi's blood descended on Taiyi Mountain and fell into Bei Mingzi's forehead.

Bei Mingzi, who was comprehending the Way of Heaven, suddenly heard a somewhat old voice in his mind.

"Young man, the unity of heaven and man has returned. Take care."

Just eleven words made Bei Mingzi's forehead sweat uncontrollably.

Bei Mingzi opened his eyes, full of disbelief. He was sure he had never heard this voice before, but he felt strangely familiar with it.

After Bei Mingzi recalled, he came to the conclusion that before Zhuangzi left, there was a period of time when he imitated a person's voice and way of speaking.

At that time, Bei Mingzi thought that Zhuangzi was somewhat crazy, but now it seems that Zhuangzi should have received the message conveyed by this voice.

Bei Mingzi left the bamboo forest again and prepared to go to Xianyang to find Gongsun Ce.

The restoration of the unity of man and nature can be a big or small matter, it all depends on how to deal with it. In Bei Mingzi's heart, only Gongsun Ce is the most suitable person to handle this matter.

Not only because Gongsun Ce was second only to the emperor in Qin at that time, but also because Gongsun Ce could mobilize Xunzi and Donghuang Taiyi, two fellow practitioners who were at the half-step state of unity between man and nature.

The heart blood of the Queen Mother of the West came to a small town on the edge of the desert and then fell into the center of the eyebrows of the Queen of Loulan.

The expression of the sleeping Queen of Loulan suddenly twisted, and then she calmed down again. Except for the Queen of Loulan herself, no one knew that her heart had been replaced.

At this time, Gongsun Ce, who was still observing the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon, was tilting his head and watching two barely detectable streaks of blood-red light in the darkness heading towards the northwest and northeast respectively.

Gongsun Ce touched his chin. The distance was too far, so he could only perceive two streams of light, which should be two drops of blood from a master who had reached the state of unity between man and nature.

As for the components in the blood, Gongsun Ce could not feel it at all.

In other words, Gongsun Ce had no idea who the two drops of blood belonged to.

However, Gongsun Ce had a hunch that the blood heading northwest was related to the Queen Mother of the West.

Gongsun Ce returned to the county magistrate's mansion. At this time, Yan Lingji noticed Gongsun Ce's arrival. She didn't think much about it, but pestered Gongsun Ce when he approached her.

Gongsun Ce felt Yan Lingji's fiery passion and patted Yan Lingji on the back helplessly.

"Yan Lingji, things have changed. I have to go to the edge of the desert. Are you going back to Xianyang, or are you going to stay here and wait for me to come back?"

Perhaps it was because Gongsun Ce's tone was too serious, Yan Lingji opened her eyes and looked at Gongsun Ce in a daze.

"I will stay here and wait for the young master to return triumphantly."

After Yan Lingji finished speaking, she gave Gongsun Ce a sweet kiss, and Gongsun Ce also felt a little reluctant to leave.

For a long time, the lips are divided.

Gongsun Ce placed his forehead against Yan Lingji's and said softly, "This is the specific control method of the Soldier Demon God. You should learn it well."

The next moment, some of Gongsun Ce’s memories wrapped in the Grand Master’s intention flooded into Yan Lingji’s mind.

Word Spirit Hypnosis

After Yan Lingji accepted the memory, Gongsun Ce picked up Yan Lingji by the waist, and the two of them took off into the air, flew out of the County Magistrate's Mansion and entered the control room of the Demon God of War.

"I'm still a little worried. You should stay in the Soldier Demon God until I come back."

"Ah."

Yan Lingji nodded, Gongsun Ce sighed lightly, and then he left and rushed all the way to the small town on the edge of the desert.

Just when Gongsun Ce was about to approach Xianyang, he saw Bei Mingzi who was hurrying on his way below. Even though he was hurrying on his way, Bei Mingzi was still sitting cross-legged in the air and flying forward.

The key point is that Bei Mingzi flew very fast. When Gongsun Ce was thinking about Bei Mingzi's purpose of going to Xianyang, the old man had already crossed several miles and was approaching Xianyang.

Gongsun Ce lowered his body, landed in front of Bei Mingzi, and intercepted Bei Mingzi.

"Where are you heading, Senior Bei Mingzi?"

"Go to where General Gongsun is." Bei Mingzi replied as a matter of course.

At the same time, Bei Mingzi stopped walking and looked at Gongsun Ce. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "General Gongsun, you may not know that last night, my ancestor Laozi sent me a message, which mentioned the return of the state of unity between heaven and man. After thinking about it, I decided to tell General Gongsun and discuss this matter together."

"Ah." Gongsun Ce nodded, "As expected, last night I observed the stars and found the presence of a powerful being at the state of unity between man and nature.

One is heading towards Taiyi Mountain, and the other is heading towards the small town at the edge of the desert. If Senior Bei Mingzi is interested, why not go to the edge of the desert together to find out what’s going on.”

"Good! I will naturally go with the commander to have a look. But, does the commander know where the strong man who has reached the state of unity of man and nature is?"

"In the boundless starry sky, they built a starry sky road in an attempt to reach the other side and gain an opportunity for a breakthrough."

Bei Mingzi was greatly shocked, but he still had some questions.

"Could it be that the sages of the Hundred Schools of Thought also tread this path?"

"How else can I pass on the message?" Gongsun Ce looked up at the sky, "But I'm afraid that only a few of those sages are still alive."

"Is it because General Gongsun's path to Confucianism is now unimpeded?"

At this moment, Bei Mingzi thought of an argument that Zhuangzi once mentioned. Unless a strong person who has reached the state of unity between man and nature dies, no one will be able to follow the path of his predecessors and reach the state of unity between man and nature.

“That’s not the case.” Gongsun Ce shook his head. “It’s just that I saw the residual image of the Fire God Zhurong, and he told me the difficulties and dangers of the Starry Sky Road.”

"I see."

After Bei Mingzi finished speaking, Gongsun Ce waved his hand, and the wind supporting Gongsun Ce lifted Bei Mingzi up. The next moment, the two of them turned into a stream of light and headed for the small town on the edge of the desert to find out what was going on.

On the edge of the vast desert, there is a small town that was once quiet and peaceful, but now it is filled with a mysterious and solemn atmosphere.

When Gongsun Ce and Bei Mingzi set foot in this small town, they saw from afar that statues of the Queen Mother of the West stood in every corner of the town, and the residents knelt down and chanted her name.

Gongsun Ce frowned, he felt an invisible force gathering, it was the power of legend condensed from the devout faith of the residents.

This force is like an undercurrent, quietly surging in every corner of the town and finally converging in the center of the town.

Gongsun Ce and Bei Mingzi followed this legendary power, hid at the end of the residents' team, and came to the center of the town.

There was a high platform there, and on the platform sat a woman, dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing a golden crown on her head. She was the original queen of Loulan.

However, at this moment, her eyes were bright and full of ambition, completely different from the previous Queen of Loulan.

At this moment, Gongsun Ce noticed that there was a blood-red gem inlaid between her eyebrows. From the gem, Gongsun Ce felt an aura similar to that of the Goddess's Tears.

Gongsun Ce judged that it was the crystallization of the power of the Queen Mother of the West that crossed the sky yesterday.

At this moment, some residents of the town were gathering under the platform, their eyes filled with awe and fanaticism.

They believe that Lady of the West is their savior and the deity who will lead them to light.

They chanted the name of Lady of the Nine Heavens, and their voices rose and fell, lingering in the town.

Gongsun Ce understood the intention of Lady Jiu Tian Xuan Nu. She wanted to use the power of the legends of the townspeople to further accumulate her own power.

When her power reaches a certain level, she will expand the scope of her faith.

After accumulating strength comparable to the state of unity between man and nature, she will hunt down Gongsun Ce, the culprit who destroyed the power of the Goddess's Tears.

The Queen Mother of the West has already attained the state of unity between heaven and man, so the crystallization of her power cannot attain the state of unity between heaven and man again, but she can accumulate pure power, comparable to the power of the state of unity between heaven and man.

Just like Bai Yan and Bai Yifei, the mother and son before, they possessed the true Qi at the grandmaster and master levels, but did not have the corresponding power of will.

Gongsun Ce looked at Bei Mingzi and asked for his opinion.

"Senior Bei Mingzi, how are you prepared?"

"Let me try the power of the state of unity between heaven and man."

"Emm, Guiguzi has lost before."

Gongsun Ce poured a basin of cold water on Bei Mingzi, but Bei Mingzi just frowned slightly.

"Please, General, protect me!" (If I am not your opponent, give me a hand.)
Gongsun Ce understood the hidden meaning of Bei Mingzi and nodded. Since Bei Mingzi wanted to die, it would be difficult for him to stop him.

Bei Mingzi smiled slightly, moved his body, and came in front of the Queen Mother of the West.

He started with a move that made heaven and earth dim. His true energy surged and turned into a mysterious force that instantly enveloped the entire town.

Under the influence of this force, the town turned into black and white, as if all colors had been taken away from it.

The residents of the town were stunned by this sudden change. They felt their five senses being gradually suppressed, as if they were in a static world.

"The warriors of later generations are indeed extraordinary!"

The Queen Mother of the West stood there, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

The Queen Mother of the West was well aware of the severity of the loss of the luster of heaven and earth, but she did not care.

She took a deep breath and mobilized the power of heaven and earth in her body. A powerful aura emanated from her body and instantly broke through the shackles of the heaven and earth.

She moved her hands, as if to dispel the black and white around her, and the colors of the town began to gradually return.

Bei Mingzi saw this and secretly admired it in his heart.

He didn't expect that the aura of the Queen Mother of the West at this time was only half a step away from the unity of man and nature, but she could so easily break through his own world of eclipse.

He became more and more solemn, so he decided to use more powerful martial arts to test the strength of Lady of the West.

Then, Bei Mingzi drew out his sword Qiuli Sword, a famous sword he got by accident. It was extremely sharp, with powerful sword energy, and the sword tassel was shaped like a whisk.

He lightly wiped the sword, and saw endless airflow accompanied by the power of heaven and earth rushing towards the Queen Mother of the West.

This move is exactly the Taoist Tianzong's unique skill, Wanchuan Qiu Shui. The sword energy is as surging as a river and unstoppable.

Seeing this, the Lady of the Nine Heavens did not dare to be careless. She clenched her fingers, and the power of heaven and earth condensed into a powerful energy wave in her hand, rushing towards Bei Mingzi's Wanchuan Qiushui.

The two forces met in the air, erupting with amazing sound and light.

Bei Mingzi felt the power of the attack from the Queen Mother of the West and couldn't help but admire her secretly in his heart.

He knew that he could not withstand this blow, so he decisively gave up the attack and flashed out of the battle range.

He gave the power of attack to Gongsun Ce, who was standing aside and watching the battle.

"General Gongsun, I am no match for Xuannv. Please let me go."

Gongsun Ce looked at Bei Mingzi in surprise. Bei Mingzi was unexpectedly able to distinguish the strong from the weak, unlike Guiguzi who was stubborn and hard-headed.

Gongsun Ce held the Tianwen Sword in his right hand and merged his true energy with the sword. Then, he suddenly drew the sword and a mighty energy gushed out from the tip of the sword and soared into the sky.

This is Gongsun Ce’s unique swordsmanship—the gentleman’s style.

Gongsun Ce combined his own true energy with the power of heaven and earth, transforming it into an unparalleled mighty wind that swept towards the Queen Mother of the West in the distance.

At this moment, Lady Jiu Tian also felt the sharp sword energy of Gongsun Ce.

She frowned slightly, then mobilized the power of heaven and earth, trying to forcibly dissolve this gentlemanly demeanor.

However, when Lady Jiu Tian began to mobilize the power of heaven and earth, she discovered a shocking fact.

The Gentleman's Wind is not only incredibly powerful, but it is also constantly plundering the power of the surrounding heaven and earth.

The power of heaven and earth at the edge of the desert was already limited. Now that it was plundered by Junzi Feng, Jiu Tian Xuan Nu found that she could not quickly mobilize enough power of heaven and earth to fight against Gongsun Ce.

The Queen Mother of the West's face darkened. She knew she couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

So, she took a deep breath and released all the legendary power she had accumulated.

The Queen Mother of the West transformed this power into a gust of wind and rushed towards Gongsun Ce's gentleman style.

The violent wind and the gentleman wind met in the air, and an astonishing energy fluctuation instantly erupted.

The residents of the small town only felt bursts of deafening roars in their ears, as if countless thunders were exploding above their heads.

They looked up in horror and saw two rays of light intertwining in the sky to form a huge energy vortex.

Under the impact of this energy, the residents of the town felt a strong sense of dizziness.

Their bodies swayed involuntarily, as if they would fall to the ground at any time.

However, at this moment, they were surprised to find that they had actually escaped from the control of the Queen Mother of the West.

It turned out that when Lady Nine Heavens was mobilizing the power of heaven and earth, she inadvertently relaxed her control over the minds of the town's residents.

At this moment, they were finally able to regain their freedom.

When the residents of the town saw this spectacular scene of gods fighting, they screamed and fled the town.

They knew that if they were affected by the aftermath of this battle, they would be dead, so they had to stay away from this place.

Gongsun Ce and Lady of the West continued to fight under the impact of this energy.

The Tianwen Sword kept colliding with the hands of the Queen of the Nine Heavens. At this time, the Queen of the Nine Heavens was using the body of the Queen of Loulan, and the Queen of Loulan's hands were almost as white as jade because of years of pampering.

However, this pair of hands with untouched fingers are able to resist the edge of a famous sword with the power of the Queen Mother of the West.

Their figures shuttled quickly across the sky, and every collision would produce astonishing energy fluctuations.

However, the gentleman's style and the violent wind collapsed at the same time during the confrontation.

The violent wind that broke out was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, raging over the town.

It blew down houses, overturned trees, and kicked up dust...the whole town became a mess in an instant.

However, in this catastrophe, Gongsun Ce and Lady of the West seemed to be in another world.

Their figures appeared and disappeared in the strong wind, as if they had merged into one with the heaven and earth.

(End of this chapter)