Chapter 49: The Azure Ox: I Won't Let You Be Bullied in Vain

"Am I going to die?"

His chest pierced by the True Fire of the Sun, the intense pain made Lu Ge's consciousness somewhat hazy.

His body fell backward limply.

The aroma of roasted meat rushed straight to his nostrils.

The azure sky and floating white clouds were the last scenes Lu Ge saw.

Amidst the haze, where life and death intersect, the Dao rhymes lingered in Lu Ge's heart.

"So this is what death feels like."

Inspiration burst forth in Lu Ge's mind.

All the previous confusions regarding the Dao of the Big Dipper Reaping Life were suddenly resolved at this moment.

Within his sea of consciousness, the divine channel talisman of the Big Dipper Reaping Life Sword Qi bloomed with brilliant radiance.

The sword qi bearing the load was peeled away, transforming into specks of starlight that scattered across the heaven and earth of his sea of consciousness.

The divine channel talisman left behind was now the purest Dao of the Big Dipper Reaping Life.

From then on, this divine power was thoroughly mastered by Lu Ge, transforming into a great divine power of his own.

However, this still could not change the fact that Lu Ge's chest had been pierced by the True Fire of the Sun.

Blinking his eyes slightly, Lu Ge closed them limply.

A tiny bit of lucid consciousness gradually sank, wandering in the darkness.

I know not how much time had passed.

A wisp of light suddenly illuminated ahead.

Dim and hazy, trance-like.

Lu Ge's consciousness instinctively swam toward the light.

At this moment, Lu Ge's perception of time had become close to zero.

He did not know how long he had been swimming, relying only on the instinct to survive, wanting to grasp that wisp of light.

Suddenly, that wisp of light expanded abruptly, rapidly dispelling all darkness and enveloping Lu Ge's consciousness within it.

"Hoo~~~~~"

Lu Ge woke up with a start, his consciousness fully returning.

Looking left and right, everything was a vast expanse of white.

"Where is this?"

"I remember... did I kind of die?"

"Could this be the Underworld?"

"But why is there nothing here?"

Lu Ge looked up and down, left and right.

There was only pure white, with no other objects whatsoever.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind.

"Yo, who is this?"

"Isn't this little Lu?"

"How come a few days not seen, and you've fallen so low?"

This voice sounded so familiar.

Lu Ge turned his head abruptly and saw a cyan ox standing there, its eyes full of smiles.

"Old Ox."

Overjoyed, Lu Ge sprang up in one motion and rushed toward the cyan ox.

Reaching it in two or three steps, he hugged the ox's head with both hands.

"Go on, go on, go on."

The cyan ox shook its head, looking utterly disgusted.

But Lu Ge was simply too happy to let go.

Helpless, the cyan ox could only let Lu Ge embrace it.

"It's so great to be able to see you again after death."

"Oh, right, where is Old Li?"

Lu Ge asked with doubt, while looking around.

The cyan ox said snortingly, "You should call him Teacher."

Lu Ge said sheepishly, "Hahaha, I had only been his disciple for less than a day when I got separated from you guys."

"And I've called him Old Li for sixteen years, I'm used to it, used to it."

The cyan ox bent its knees, lying down in place, and rested comfortably.

Lu Ge also let go of his hands, leaned against the ox's belly, and lay down.

"That Taiyi played no martial ethics this time, actually making a move against a junior like you."

"The Master was furious and has already gone out to seek justice for you."

The cyan ox turned its head slightly to look at Lu Ge, a trace of anger flickering faintly in its eyes.

Lu Ge was startled and said, "Huh?"

"That avatar of the deity Taiyi was summoned by East Emperor Taiyi sacrificing ten years of his lifespan."

"My skills were inferior to others, so losing is losing."

"There's no need for Old Li... for Teacher to make a trip on my account, is there?"

The cyan ox glared at Lu Ge.

"The universe is vast, with infinite worlds."

"That Taiyi has countless avatars distributed across the heavens and myriad realms."

"This fellow is extremely aloof; he has always just bestowed divine powers and made his believers work like beasts of burden."

"No matter how his believers sacrifice, he never responds in the least."

"This is the first time he has ever descended an avatar for a believer."

"And he materialized in the mortal world by sacrificing merely ten years of lifespan."

"It's simply laughable."

"Back in the Canyun Great World, even when an entire nation of living beings was directly sacrificed, he didn't even bother to lift an eyelid."

Lu Ge suddenly realized, "You mean, he is deliberately targeting me?"

The cyan ox gave Lu Ge a weird look.

"Not really."

"You're purely overthinking it."

"You haven't even achieved the status of a Human Immortal yet; he's not worth coming to target you."

Lu Ge instantly reacted.

"Then it's targeting Teacher?"

The cyan ox nodded slightly and said, "It should be just that."

Lu Ge scratched his head and said, "Teacher should be stronger than him, right?"

"Since he acts like this, isn't he afraid Teacher will finish him off?"

The cyan ox was also somewhat puzzled as it said, "Even I can't quite figure this out."

"He was originally the first sun in the universe to attain the Dao, practicing the Dao of He-Me Manifestation."

"Within the universe and across the heavens and myriad realms, all suns have been refined by him into his He-Me avatars."

"Thus, he proved the characteristic of omnipresence, condensing the Taiyi Fruit of Dao with it, comparable to our Daoist Golden Immortal of Da Luo."

"Yet even so, he hasn't even touched the threshold of a Quasi-Hunyuan."

"I still can't figure out how he dared to actively provoke a Hunyuan."

"Unless..."

Lu Ge's eyes moved, and he said, "Unless he has nothing to fear."

"And the one who can give him this kind of confidence must be another Hunyuan."

The cyan ox nodded. "Only that can explain it."

"Looking at it this way."

"It's not him targeting the Master, but another Hunyuan wanting to test strengths with the Master."

Lu Ge smiled and said, "Whether it is or not, we'll know when Teacher returns."

"Now that Teacher has gone to seek justice, the Hunyuan behind him will surely step forward to protect him."

As he spoke, he stretched lazily.

Looking at the vast white sky, he leaned against the cyan ox.

A familiar faint, exotic fragrance rushed into his nostrils.

Lu Ge felt an extreme sense of peace at this moment.

In a trance, it felt as if he had returned to the days when he used to herd cattle.

Though the cyan ox was an ox, it was no ordinary beast.

Not only did it lack any foul odor, but it also carried a refreshing fragrance that calmed the mind and spirit.

"Although I died this time, being able to see you again and see Teacher once more..."

"It's not a loss at all."

Lu Ge chuckled and said.

The cyan ox rolled its eyes.

Silly boy, is dying such a wonderful thing?

Not a loss, my foot.

You're a total fool.

If you really want to see us, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

If worst comes to worst, I can just sneak down.

"Go on, go on. This time was a special circumstance."

"If you die next time in a battle with someone of the same realm, the Master and I won't care about you."

"We might even hold a grand feast to celebrate after you die."

Lu Ge rolled over and patted the cyan ox's belly.

"Rest assured, this time was a miscalculation on my part."

"I truly didn't expect the divine avatar summoned by that jerk to be so ruthless, finishing me off in a single move."

"Can this game even be played without a nerf?"

"But I'll definitely be more careful in the future."

"The next time we meet, it will surely be when I successfully prove the Immortal Dao and see you all in the Da Luo Heaven."

The cyan ox turned its head to look at Lu Ge and said, "I hope so."

"However, you don't need to worry either."

"If someone even stronger makes a move against you in the future, don't panic and don't be afraid."

"Below Da Luo, you have me."

"Above Da Luo, there is still the Master."

"We certainly won't let you be bullied in vain."