<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
Gu Changge’s plan was rather simple. Judging by the current situation, Yao Yao was quite dependent and trusting of her mentor. As the Dao Fruit of the mysterious peach tree, the power she possessed surely exceeded her expectation.
Lately, something happened to Yao Yao. As Gu Changge predicted, she was unable to cultivate. Naturally, the obedient little girl felt dejected and started to grow concerned.
“Master, did I let you down?” Within an ancient city in the Sky Domain, Yao Yao peered at Gu Changge’s pondering face with remorse and uneasiness filled in her eyes. Grandma Yin Hua, on the other hand, also grew restless as she didn’t even dare to take a breath.
As of late, through her interaction with Gu Changge, she realised that he wasn’t the apathetic Immortal the rumours claimed him to be, though his pride towards her remained unconcealable and he would only feign affection whenever he was speaking with Yao Yao.
Even when Gu Changge finally talked to Grandma Yin Hua, he would only talk about Yao Yao, and that indicated how important the little girl was to Gu Changge as well as how much he liked her. Moreover, he never stopped providing her with numerous techniques and heavenly herbs and pills.
Now, everyone in the Sky Domain was living in fear. The intimidated people of Mystic Mountains and forbidden areas would even put themselves down before Gu Changge, guiding him into their territory, where he would demand cultivation material from their leaders to help with Yao Yao’s physique.
Witnessing such a treatment, Grandma Yin Hua couldn’t help but feel envious. She was flabbergasted when she discovered new ways to enhance one’s physique since her insight was limited by her cultivation level. She even witnessed how a force from the Ancient Mystic Mountains had turned into ash as a result of opposing Gu Changge.
The occurrence led to earthquakes and deafening sounds. The unwavering Mystic Mountains were regarded as sacred as an ancient being dwelt beneath it. The being would sometimes wake up and cause dire disturbances, and his might was unfathomable. Yet, unable to defend himself, the ancient being was disintegrated by Gu Changge. Therefore, the more Grandma Yin Hua knew about Gu Changge, the more terrifying and unpredictable he would appear.
Unfortunately, Grandma Yin Hua found something atrocious that bugged her mind—something happened to Yao Yao’s body. No matter what Gu Changge did, including murdering an old living being in the Sacred Realm to obtain his soul in order to forge a pill to help Yao Yao ascend. Sadly, as usual, she could not cultivate, so despite the amount of resources spent on her, she showed no promising result.
As a matter of fact, Gu Changge spent a lot of effort and time for her recently, only to find his own contribution go in vain. In that instant, to put it bluntly, a boar mutating into a godly beast was more probable than Yao Yao encountering any breakthrough in her cultivation.
Thus, Grandma Yin Hua grew perturbed as she sensed that Gu Changge was in a bad mood seeing how there was always a contemplating frown on his face.
In this world, no kindness was ever unconditional. Initially, Gu Changge taking Yao Yao in as his disciple was only because her Talents piqued his interest, which led to him thinking that she was more than meets the eye. Nonetheless, after so many days, the conclusion he came to proved to be a ferocious smack on his own cheek.
Although Yao Yao certainly seemed extraordinary, her inability to cultivate was the harsh truth. Normally, anyone with a soul would be unable accept the massive disappointment, especially after how Gu Changge invested so much resources and effort in her.
And now, Grandma Yin Hua was on the edge of seat, fearing that the Immortal would feel vexed as if he was being deceived.
Undoubtedly, the tactful Yao Yao acknowledged that she let her mentor down as she had no way of cultivating despite the fine resources spent on her. Distressed, she started to clutch the hem of her garment. All this time, she grew accustomed to Gu Changge’s teachings and guardianship, and if he decided to leave her over her incompetence, she would be devastated, but she would hold no grudge towards her mentor as she was the one to be blamed.
Hearing that, Gu Changge acted as if he returned from his contemplation. Looking at the insecure Yao Yao before him, he feigned ignorance and smilingly asked, “Yao Yao, what did you do to let me down?”
Naturally, he was aware of what Yao Yao and Grandma Yin Hua were thinking. Nonetheless, he had already predicted that Yao Yao would not be able to cultivate, so he wasn’t at all surprised, though he had to reveal some sort of sternness and disaffection to avoid setting the impression that he was a pretentious mentor that bore no regards for his disciple’s inability to cultivate.
That moment, in Gu Changge’s eyes, was the perfect time to gain Yao Yao’s complete trust. [Can’t cultivate, little one? Don’t worry, your powerful master shall raise you then!]
“Master, I am a worthless person that wasted so much of your resources and time for being unable to cultivate. I have let you down…” Upon Gu Changge’s question, Yao Yao lowered her head and muttered. Filled with remorse and nervousness, she dared not to look him in the eyes.
Initially, she was so thrilled, assuming that she was some sort of peerless prodigy, only to realise now she possessed no capabilities of cultivating. She was nothing but a worthless drag, just as the cultivator from Celestia Holy Land who took her brother away said. The process of a drastic change disturbed Yao Yao greatly.
“Is that it?” In response, Gu Changge looked rather dazed, after which he let out a chuckle. “Ah, so you’ve been worried about this? Well, even if you can’t cultivate, you’re still my disciple, aren’t you? Oh, little girl, why do you stress yourself over such a matter? Have you forgotten what I said to you previously, Yao Yao?”
Yao Yao was taken aback, feeling dense emotions all over her worried face upon the answer. She thought it was the reason she would be abandoned by Gu Changge.
“Master… you s-said that a master can become someone closest to you, even closer than family.” She held the quote closely to her heart as she found it profound.
“Good, keep remembering that, and don’t worry about anything else. Even if you can’t cultivate, I am committed to you forever, and you can just remain as my follower,” Gu Changge assured with a tender smile as he softly pinched Yao Yao’s nose.
“You are so nice to me, Master…” At once, Yao Yao could feel her nose tingling.
“Silly girl, fate brought us together. Since I’ve promised to take you in, I’m bound to my words, so don’t blame yourself. Besides, cultivation is a hassle anyway,” Gu Changge smilingly added. “So you being unable to cultivate saves me the worry, since teaching can be a hassle too.”
“Understood, Master. I won’t be worried anymore.” Moved, Yao Yao nodded like an obedient girl.
She was aware Gu Changge was only trying to comfort her. Essentially, no mentor would ever want a disciple that could not cultivate, so it was obvious that Gu Changge was attempting to stop her from blaming herself.
[Master is so nice!] In that instant, Gu Changge’s position in Yao Yao’s heart was now equivalent to that of her brother and grandmother.
[Great! It seems that my assumptions were wrong.] Seeing that, Grandma Yin Hua heaved a sigh of relief. Although she was surprised by Gu Changge’s words, she grew more understanding of the Immortal, realising how fortunate Yao Yao was to have him as her mentor.
“Yao Yao, what do you think of coming to the Upper Realm with me? After I came to the Lower Realm, I’ve paid my debt and accepted you as my disciple, and it’s about time I returned.” At that moment, Gu Changge suddenly asked with a smile, mentioning his return to the Upper Realm.
Despite his intention to subdue the Mortal One’s reincarnation, he couldn’t afford to reveal any flaw at such a critical moment, so he decided to be subtle, manipulating Yao Yao into bringing up the matter regarding her brother by herself, and him, as his mentor, could only comply after putting her safety into consideration. [Isn’t that the perfect plan?]
Hearing that, Grandma Yin Hua was stupefied. [Returning to the Upper Realm? If Immortal brings Yao Yao to the Upper Realm, she would be able to contact the mysterious, vast world, and might even uncover the secrets hidden within her body. After all, the Upper Realm is said to be where Immortals dwelt. There are even stories of beings greater than Immortals there…]
As for herself, she wasn’t quite fascinated by the Upper Realm as she was mainly thinking in Yao Yao’s stead, hoping that the little girl could follow Gu Changge to the Upper Realm.
[Hmm, little girl must miss her brother too much to leave the Lower Realm so quickly.] She sighed in her heart as she knew what Yao Yao was thinking.
“Master, are we leaving here right away?” Yao Yao turned to Gu Changge. Her thoughts were as predicted by Grandma Yin Hua, evidently given her troubled face. She was making a choice between her mentor and her brother.
A year ago, her brother was taken away to cultivate in Celestia Holy Land, but there was never news about him anymore. And some time ago, when Northern Mountain Village was under attack, if it weren’t for Gu changge’s intervention, Yao Yao and her grandmother wouldn’t have been able to survive from the hands of those thugs.
Back then, she prayed for her brother to return and rescue them, but he was nowhere to be seen. Therefore, Yao Yao assumed that he must be caught up in something while cultivating in Celestia Holy Land, forbidding him to return to the village to visit his family.
Now, however, with such a powerful mentor by her side, Yao Yao’s identity was no longer that of her former self, and she was now totally free to visit her brother in Celestia Holy Land. She could even lend him a hand if he was in an unpleasant situation in Celestia Holy Land. Needless to say, not only was Yao Yao a mature girl, but a kind one as well.
“Is there anything else, Yao Yao?” Seemingly stunned, Gu changge then smilingly asked, as if he remembered something. “You may tell me. Once we are settled with your problem, I can then bring you to the Upper Realm.”
“Master, I wish to see my brother,” Yao Yao answered.
“Oh, your brother?” Gu Changge was dazed, as if he was trying to remember Jiang Yang.
Of course, Yao Yao understood that her brother was nothing compared to her mentor, just like an insignificant grain of sand that no one would ever remember.
“Since it’s your brother, why not.” As if he recalled it, Gu Changge agreed to her request with a smile.
“Thank you, Master!” Yao Yao was delighted.
With that, Gu Changge caressed her head wordlessly as he was awaiting those words.
“By the way, your brother has been gone for more than a year, yet he doesn’t return to look after you. A cultivator that can’t protect his family…” In that instant, Gu Changge shook his head, seeming somewhat displeased with Yao Yao’s brother, and he almost burst out claiming that her brother was a dishonourable man that abandoned his own family.
If someone else were to degrade her brother this way, Yao Yao would have countered with arguments, but Gu Changge was only being reasonable, and she wasn’t exactly prepared either. “I’m sure something’s troubling Brother…”
Gu Changge then stopped talking
…
In the meantime, Yue Mingkong arrived at the Sky Domain with her men after her fruitless search for the Mortal One’s reincarnation in other Domains.”
“The Immortal is here too? With a little girl?” Yue Mingkong scowled.
Healing this news, she found it strange. She assumed that the Immortal would return to the Upper Realm after dealing with his affair in the Wonder Domain in Heavenly Star Realm, but that apparently wasn’t the case as he, too, came to the Sky Domain.
Furthermore, Illusion Gates’ extensive recruitment of disciples seemed to be a facade for a search for a person. And failing to find the person he was looking for, the Immortal came to the Sky Domain.
[Is he here for the Mortal One’s reincarnation as well? Perhaps someone from Mortal Palace?] All sorts of thoughts flashed across Yue Mingkong’s mind as she grew concerned and uneasy. She didn’t quite want to reveal her origin from the Upper Realm unless an urgent situation called for it.
[I guess I’ll have to investigate who that Immortal is.] Her eyes grew deeper on her face of unrivalled beauty. Lately, she ascended to the Advanced Enlightened King Realm, and was approaching the Quasi-Sacred Realm.
“Princess Mingkong, there is nothing special about the little girl. She came from a tiny village called Northern Mountain Village, and she was rescued by the Immortal from the hands of some thugs…”
After listening to the report of her trustworthy follower, Yue Mingkong tensed her brows as things were getting out of her control.
[If I fail to locate the Mortal One’s reincarnation, I’ll have to sever his World Purifying Green Lotus in advance…] Recently, she minimised the triangulation on the location of the World Purifying Green Lotus, and eventually determined it to be in a lake somewhere. Thus, she would have to hurry over there before the Mortal One’s reincarnation did in order to seize the World Purifying Green Lotus first.
[Without the World Purifying Green Lotus, the Mortal One’s reincarnation’s return would be greatly delayed. It seems the Mortal One had it all figured out. He even predicted that the World Purifying Green Lotus would be spawning in this life, which was why he decided to reincarnate now. If I’m not mistaken, Changge must be looking for a new scapegoat. The list of names I’ve provided to him contains all suitable candidates…]
As she suddenly remembered Gu Changge, tenderness surged in her eyes. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have taken such a big risk, venturing to the Lower Realm to stop the Mortal One.
[Changge must not know I’m doing this for him. I wonder if he’d trust me more if he knew…] Yue Mingkong heaved a sigh. Followingly, she started giving out orders to her followers as they were headed to the lake.
…
Celestia Holy Land, as the most daunting, mysterious force in Heavenly Star Realm, had stood for the longest, and centuries of time failed to waver its position. No forces in the Sky Domain could rival Celestia Holy Land, which was mostly thanks to the fact that the latter’s Prime Ancestor was someone who reached the Sacred Emperor Realm. Regardless, any visitor that set foot in the territory of Celestia Holy Land wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful as they were all feigning gratification.
The centre of Celestia Holy Land was extravagant and aesthetically ornamented. In a grand, dazzling palace, the Celestia Archbishop was walking with his hand resting behind his back. As he opened his eyes, traces of energy and divine light wafted around them. He was visibly a secretive man. Meanwhile, numerous influential Sect Elder were standing below him, as well as the Saintess of the holy land.
“Archbishop, it was as we witnessed back then. An ominous aura gushed out of the altar along with some black blood as a loud noise thundered across the surrounding mountains, as if it was a groan of a dragon. We should have demolished the mountains back then…” A green, ghostly living being was voicing his reports in the palace.
His name was Qing Gui. He was responsible for the construction of the Immortal Path in the Soaring Mountains of Celestia Holy Land. In that instant, he was recounting the events of some days ago with a disturbed face. As the Celestia Archbishop had entered retreat recently, he was clueless to the incident, after which the Elders of the holy land were gathered to discuss the matter.
“So that’s what the other Elders saw too. It seems we’ve accidentally dug up something truly inauspicious. Going against the order of the universe has always been risky. Well, is this the end of the Immortal Path?” The Celestia Archbishop said with a frown. His figure was sturdy but blurry, and his cultivation level was unfathomable.
Compared to the Archbishops of other holy lands, there was no telling how much stronger he was. Besides, he was a man of true craftiness as he was the one who arranged for the construction of the Immortal Path.
Some time ago, an accident took place in Soaring Mountains, wherein an altar was shattered and ended up killing numerous slaves, and they even dug up black blood from the ground. At the same time, they were surrounded with the frightening calls of dangerous beasts. As the incident left the entire Celestia Holy Land startled, their men were ordered to retreat and put the building of the Immortal Path on hold.
“Forget that. We’ll come to a decision once the details are in. What about the disciple who underwent a strange occurrence that triggered the figure of the Prime Ancestor. Is that true?” The Celestia Archbishop then asked about something that he was concerned about.
Despite his confusion, Qing Gui respectfully answered, “Indeed, Archbishop. The slaves were all killed by the ominous blow, and that discple was the only survivor. As he was intact back then, I assumed that he must possess something unique within him, hence I brought him back to the holy land.”
“Still, it was a surprise how he triggered those anomalies. To be able to cast a beacon of heavenly light and cause the figure of the Prime Ancestor to appear, leaving the Elders and fellow disciples thoroughly dumbfounded. Now, many Elders and ancient beings even showed up to investigate the disciple. Additionally, the curse of Barren Sacred Physique seems to have been dispelled by him too.”
Naturally, the disciple Qing Gui was referring to was Jiang Yang, who possessed the Barren Sacred Physique.
When Jiang Yang was living in a small village, he was taken away to Celestia Holy Land, but after the flaw of his physique was discovered, he was, out of disappointment, sent to Soaring Mountains to be a slave. Out of anyone’s expectation, at such an opportunity, he returned to Celestia Holy Land once again and earned the respect of numerous Elders.
Feeling embarrassed by it, Qing Gui could only admit that Jiang Yang was blessed with immense luck.
“Perhaps it was a happy accident…” Astounded by the event, the Celestia Archbishop revealed a glower. The curse of the Barren Sacred Physique was no easy curse to dispel, and perhaps it was really the ominous auras cancelling each other out.
“Impossible. The Prime Ancestor is in the Sacred Emperor Realm, a being that devastates all lives, while someone with the Barren Sacred Physique, at their peak, could at most attain the Sacred Lord Realm. How could he possibly trigger the silhouette of the Prime Ancestor to appear? He must possess more than we know! He just might just be the hope of Celestia Holy Land!” Excitement surged in the Celestia Archbishop’s eyes, while the Elders below him were also fascinated.
As of now, Jiang Yang’s identity in Celestia Holy Land was no longer that of his past self. Even the Saints and Saintesses were obviously inferior compared to him. Under the personal guidance of a few Sacred Noble Realm ancient beings, his identity naturally skyrocketed. It had to be noted that Elders of the holy land were mostly in the Quasi-Sacred Realm, which showed just how important he was to receive just great teachers. Thus, Jiang Yang’s status now was incomparable to before, such that even the Archbishop himself put him in high regard.
All of a sudden, a disciple with a shocked face stormed into the palace. He stuttered with his uncontrollably shivering voice as he was visibly horror-stricken.
“Archbishop, at the gates… The Immortal came!”
*Whoosh!* Silence instantly filled the palace of Celestia Holy Land as everyone was dazed, unable to regain their senses upon hearing the news. The next moment, everyone including the Archbishop himself fell into a state of shock and disbelief as their faces blanched.
“Immortal? The Immortal who obliterated the Ethereal Mystic Mountains with one palm?”
Many thanks
Many thanks!
Many thanks