I am a living immortal.

Chapter 531 The Return of the Saint

The old man turned his head sharply, but where was the Holy Lord? His eyes widened. He knew, he remembered where he had seen it before—it was a lost statue of a deity.

It was said that this deity was a truly remarkable one. He had saved several nations from danger and was prayed to by billions of people. But the brief description was impossible to ignore:

"At the beginning of the eleventh year of the war, the Holy Lord slew the Heavenly Dog with three sword strikes, and the sun set over the western mountains. He suppressed the Earthworm with one seal, and blood flowed for thirty miles west of the corridor.

During the fourteen years of the war, wildfires spread across the prairie, and the Holy King fought on the ancient plains. The brilliance fell, the sword energy crossed the sky, and the Bifang was destroyed, and all the fires surrendered.

During the nineteenth year of the war, a flood was raging. The Holy Lord, carrying the shadow of a mountain, fell into the Wangxi River to control the flood and slay the tiger and dragon between the rising and falling waters.

At the end of the twenty-third year of the war, the Holy Lord fought against the heavens at the foot of Mount Kunlun. He fought until the heavens and the earth collapsed and all things returned to ruins. In the end, he was defeated and died at Kunlun Mountain, exhausted. The heavens and the earth wept and the blood rained down.

He had seen it on the stele beside the stone statue, and that time could only be considered a coincidence. Yet, just now, the young man's figure gradually overlapped with the statue. The Holy Lord of the Way, who relieves disasters and brings blessings, has returned...

The old man remained in a state of daze for a long time. Did this mean that the powerful gods would return one by one? He remembered what the Holy Lord had said before. He answered the prayer and struck with the sword. Could faith, the prayers of all beings, really bring back the once-lost gods? Perhaps it was possible. Thinking of this, the old man didn't know whether to be excited or afraid that he was just imagining things. He needed to ask someone, and the gods knew the gods best.

The next moment, he vanished into the deepest recesses of the dojo. That place, where the samsara realm intersected, was filled with a chilling breeze. A red-robed demon sat atop it, its long black hair cascading to the ground. Its closed eyes opened slightly, revealing dark golden pupils. Its once empty gaze gradually focused, gazing at the old man before it. This demon was immense, practically occupying half the sky.

"How did you find the time to come here?" The voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't spoken in centuries. Indeed, this person was the ghost god who collaborated with the old man. He single-handedly supported the entire underworld. During that war, countless underworld officials perished, leaving only a few powerful gods barely alive until its end. Their condition was precarious, however, and they relied on the faith of the living to sustain their lives. Ghost gods, on the other hand, served as intermediaries in the cycle of reincarnation, screening the souls that entered, preventing the innate gods from tampering with them.

It could be said that the old man supported the vast outer world, while this ghost god supported the entire underworld. These two, one yin and one yang, have supported the underworld for over a hundred years. This is the typical configuration of all underworlds. To regain their strength, these ghost gods typically fall into a deep sleep to recover from their injuries. Of course, this doesn't mean they are inactive; their spirits are constantly working, never stopping for a moment.

In fact, the old man was not much different, he had not slept for over three hundred years. But now there was no fatigue on his face, instead there was a sense of confidence.

"I have something to talk to you about. I want to know if there's any chance of the annihilated god being revived." The two of them were already familiar with each other, so there was no need to beat around the bush, so he asked directly.

"It's possible. Why do you ask?"

When the old man heard this, his eyes lit up again, and he said directly: "I have seen the Holy Lord of the Way, who can relieve disasters and bring blessings to all."

"Who?!" The ghost's narrowed eyes suddenly opened, and the huge voice made the underworld tremble. The huge head approached the old man and asked again uncertainly: "What did you just say?"

The old man was not afraid of the oppressive head, but smiled and said, "Just as you heard, I saw the Holy Lord."

“How is this possible!”

"So I asked if it was possible for the gods to return."

There was a moment of silence in the space, and the ghost god raised his head again and said slowly: "I didn't lie to you just now. It's not impossible. In fact, gods are very similar to innate gods. The immortality of innate gods depends on the world. As long as the world is not destroyed, they can always return; while gods rely on faith, which comes from the deep desire of all living beings. If there is enough faith and fervent desire, then those gods that have long been buried in history can be awakened to revive. But that is just a legend. After so many years, you should also know that there has never been a god's return..."

"How do you know there is nothing?" the old man asked.

"This..." The ghosts and gods were speechless for a moment. They didn't know if the gods had returned. They had already exhausted all their strength to support the temple, and they no longer had the energy to pay attention to the outside world.

"But...how is this possible? Are you sure you saw the Holy Lord?"

"I'm not sure. If he hadn't been standing right in front of me, if I hadn't known every single person in the dojo so well, I wouldn't have been able to spot him. Even if I were standing right in front of him, I still wouldn't have known how powerful he was. I only know that he has the same aura as you. Furthermore, I've seen the statue of the Holy Lord before, and while his appearance was different, his demeanor and movements made me feel like he was the Holy Lord. It was an intuition. You should know that for beings like us, intuition is reality."

“So I was surprised and excited. Does this mean we don’t have no chance?”

The Saint Sovereign's arrival brought him immense hope, a hope that kept him going. Even though only the Saint Sovereign had returned, it was a powerful boost for someone who had endured centuries of sleepless nights and toil. Now he understood what the Saint Sovereign meant. He would ignite the spark.

The god and the immortal exchanged bewilderment, each knowing that something had changed. The Saint's sword had finally torn apart the chaotic world, and a brilliant light shone in, transforming everything.

“Do we need to notify other dojos?”

"No, there's no need to do this. Now that the Holy Lord has appeared in the world, he can no longer remain unknown. Sooner or later, everyone will know about it." The old man swept away his previous dejection.

"The Holy Lord has returned. I feel like I can hold on for another three hundred years." The old man laughed.

The ghosts and spirits didn't disturb the old man's smile. The reality wasn't as rosy as the outside world imagined. All this tranquility and peace was merely a burden they carried. The Daoist temple was said to be a paradise, but for over three hundred years, 111,600 days, not a single day could one relax their vigilance. This wasn't physical pain, but a torment of the spirit, unbearable for those with only a strong will.