Chapter 459: Taibai, The Final Act Begins
Dong…
Dong—
The distant bell chime resounded across the Twelve Peaks of Baiyujing in the May spring.
The Taibai Pavilion, isolated, floated above the clouds, connected to the central peak below Taibai Sect by only one ten-thousand-step celestial ladder.
After flying their swords to the central peak, Zu Lingzhi brought Ye Anping and walked up the stairs towards the pavilion above. Along the way, she reminded Ye Anping to observe proper etiquette when he met Zu Yuan:
“Bow three times after entering! If Grandpa Yuan doesn’t speak first, don’t say anything. Answer whatever is asked. Don’t think you’re so amazing; know your place. It’s already a great honor that Grandpa Yuan is meeting you personally! Grandpa is currently the most powerful Void Refining cultivator among the immortal families…”
“He’s probably the oldest…”
“What do you mean?”
Ye Anping replied calmly:
“Literally. Don’t you know, Ancestral Daoist Nun, that Great Ancestor’s lifespan is almost at its end? It’s not exactly a secret. As the great-nephew of Grand-nephew of Grand-nephew of the Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal, you don’t know… this is…”
Zu Lingzhi’s face showed surprise and disbelief:
“How… how is that possible?! My great-grandfather is a Void Refining cultivator, how could he…”
Ye Anping didn’t continue. Seeing that they had already reached the last step and the gate of the pavilion was not far ahead, he interrupted directly:
“Oh, we’re here. Thank you for leading the way, Ancestral Daoist Nun.”
“…”
Zu Lingzhi was stunned for a long time. When she came to her senses, Ye Anping had already reached the grand doors of the pavilion inlaid with twin Tai Chi jade.
Roaring—
The heavy, thousand-pound doors slowly opened inward, and a misty spiritual incense wafted out from the gap.
Ye Anping took a deep breath, glanced back, and saw the ethereal twelve peaks of Taibai Sect below. He then stepped through the threshold alone. After only five or six steps, his figure completely disappeared into the clouds and mist within the pavilion.
The pavilion doors slowly closed. Zu Lingzhi, standing at the entrance, suddenly frowned deeply. She then turned and stepped onto her flying sword, rapidly flying towards the Elder’s Pavilion on the West Peak.
Grandpa Yuan’s lifespan is almost up?
She didn’t believe it! She had to go ask Elder Liu!
…
Upon entering the Heavenly Pavilion, everything was obscured by white mist. But after walking about a thousand steps forward, a ray of spiritual light pierced through the surrounding spiritual mist, and everything around became clear.
A solitary pavilion by the water, standing on the mountain peak, came into view. An old man with a long beard, dressed in a black and white daoist robe, was already seated by the stone table beneath the pavilion, where tea and pastries had been prepared.
Zu Yuan stroked his beard, turned, and looked at Ye Anping, who stood frozen before the pavilion. He smiled and gestured invitingly, saying:
“Since you’re here, make yourself at home. Just think of me as a grumpy old man; there’s no need to be apprehensive… though from the looks of you, you don’t seem to be worried…”
Ye Anping nodded in greeting, then walked directly into the pavilion and sat on the stone stool.
“Over the years, many young cultivators have spoken with me, but you’re the first one to sit down so frankly without saying a word.”
“After all, you told me not to worry.”
“Being straightforward is good, but you seem quite confident.”
Ye Anping shrugged slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a softened tone:
“I do have confidence, after all, I… am meeting you, Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal, for the first time.”
“…I don’t recall meeting you?”
Ye Anping did not answer, lowered his gaze, shook his head, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and continued:
“Several years ago, the Lord of Chi Long Mansion, Li Feng, whose lifespan was nearing its end, fell into demonhood, causing several cultivators from the Tian Mo Sect to form a blood sacrifice formation during the Chi Long Convention, attempting to defy fate. You should have heard the outcome: they failed to change their fate but instead caused more than ten thousand cultivators in Chi Long Mansion to perish under the Scarlet Refining Lotus.”
Zu Yuan’s eyebrows trembled slightly. He had heard about the Chi Long Mansion incident back then.
Although the official story was that Li Feng’s lifespan ran out and he perished with the demonic cultivators of the Tian Mo Sect, thus averting a fire elemental disaster in the Southern Domain, he, being a Void Refining cultivator, could guess what had really happened.
However, so much time had passed, and Li Feng had once been a trusted subordinate of Dan Yue. No one dared to speak of it, nor was there any evidence.
Seeing Ye Anping’s confident expression, as if he were a firsthand witness, a question arose in his mind:
—Why bring this up?
“Oh?”
“Lord Li was just an insignificant failure among the countless cultivators in the world who wished to defy fate.”
“Why bring this up all of a sudden?”
Ye Anping narrowed his eyes and retorted:
“So, Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal, do you also wish to follow in Lord Li’s footsteps?”
The moment he said this, Zu Yuan’s previously amiable face changed instantly. His eyebrows lowered towards his brow, and the azure sky curtain within the grotto-heaven, which had been warm and vast moments before, was now tinged with a dark cloud.
The pavilion suddenly darkened.
Zu Yuan tilted his head slightly, revealing a hint of displeasure, and asked:
“Ye Anping, while I’m not as petty as Dan Yue, you’ve gone too far by slandering me to my face.”
“Being petty is true, but I find her rather cute.”
“?”
“Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal, I’ll be direct.” Ye Anping nodded slightly, his expression becoming serious. “The Spring Aspect Spiritual Energy cannot help you break through to ascension. Your destiny is set; the Void Refining realm is your limit.”
“How dare you, a Core Formation cultivator who has lived for less than half a century, talk about my fate?!”
“You have deduced for twenty-two thousand three hundred years. Your fate book can hardly accommodate another stroke. You should know better than I do. This Spring Aspect is merely your hope, but… as I said, the Spring Aspect Spiritual Energy cannot help you break through to ascension.”
“Ye Anping, don’t push your luck.”
Zu Yuan raised his right hand, his index finger and thumb pinching slightly. Instantly, within the grotto-heaven, the dark clouds condensed above transformed into an endless void.
As if at the dawn of creation, everything in Ye Anping’s eyes turned pitch black in that instant, leaving only the sound of the breeze and Zu Yuan’s breath across the table.
“Insubordination requires knowing one’s own limits.”
Ye Anping’s tone remained calm:
“If I didn’t know my limits, I wouldn’t have risked coming before you, Daoist Immortal. I merely wish to advise you. You can seize my Spring Aspect Spiritual Energy, but the result will be the same…”
“How do you know it won’t work if you don’t try?”
“Are you sure you want to try? Li Feng, because of one mistake, caused the deaths of nearly ten thousand guards in Chi Long Mansion. Daoist Immortal, if you make a mistake, how many disciples in Taibai Sect will die? Do you have any idea?”
At this point, a golden point of light suddenly appeared within the previously dark grotto-heaven.
Then—
Boom—!
A dragon’s roar echoed, and nine golden dragons leaped from the imperial seal in Ye Anping’s palm, their golden radiance illuminating the grotto-heaven once more. They surrounded the small pavilion from nine directions, staring at Zu Yuan across the table.
Zu Yuan narrowed his eyes, glanced around, and stroked his beard:
“Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal? This is Taibai Sect, not the Central Domain.”
Then he raised his hand, intending to take the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal from Ye Anping. But as his hand reached out, a surge of profound ice blocked his fingertips, stopping him within three inches of the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal.
The Snow Jade Myriad Spirit Sword flew out of Ye Anping’s storage bag. The bandages wrapped around it suddenly unraveled, revealing its ice-blue sword body.
“Yun Tianmi’s sword?”
Ye Anping nodded:
“Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal, you ask what gives me the confidence to be insubordinate? These immortal artifacts are the confidence I have to persuade you to turn back.”
“What good are immortal artifacts? These are merely remnants of those past Void Realm cultivators. Are you trying to say you are destiny?”
“Indeed, I am the current destiny. Dan Yue Immortal is my Dao Companion.”
?
Zu Yuan was slightly stunned. His serious expression instantly dissolved, and three forehead wrinkles appeared. He fell silent.
“…”
“That is the fact. After I form my Nascent Soul, Dan Yue Immortal has agreed to become my Dao Companion.” Ye Anping shrugged, a hint of helplessness on his face. “For years, Dan Yue Immortal has been posing as a disciple of Xuan Xing Sect, coming to find me for dual cultivation whenever she has time, and even made me serve her. Actually, I knew her identity from the beginning.”
“…”
“However, Dan Yue doesn’t seem to know that I already knew. Because she’s quite petty, I had no choice but to play along, alas…”
After a sigh, the pavilion fell into a silence so deep that not a needle could be heard.
But then, Zu Yuan’s laughter broke the silence:
“Heh heh… Hahahahaha…”
“Why are you laughing, Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal?”
“Heh heh… I just think you’re quite amusing when you tell jokes. To be frank, I can’t imagine that girl Dan Yue would become anyone’s Dao Companion. It’s laughable! How could a Void Refining cultivator be deceived by someone like you…”
Ye Anping tapped the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal in his hand and shrugged, interrupting:
“The fact is not a joke.”
Zu Yuan looked at the Heavenly Seal in his hand, then glanced at the Snow Jade Myriad Spirit Sword beside him, and finally returned his gaze to Ye Anping’s face, raising an eyebrow and asking:
“Really?”
“Do you need me to swear an oath?”
“That brat actually has this day? Deceived by a Core Formation cultivator? You tell me this, and she finds out, aren’t you afraid she’ll bury you?”
“She wouldn’t bear to.”
“Wouldn’t bear to…”
Zu Yuan lowered his gaze slightly, then let out a disdainful sneer.
“Hmph…”
Then, he closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and looked at Ye Anping’s now calm face again, shaking his head slightly.
“Destiny?”
“Yes.”
“How are you so certain?”
“There is a book in this world, written since the beginning of the Great Desolation. On the first page, it bears my name.”
“Heavenly Scroll of the Dao… Then I must hear you tell it…”
Ye Anping lowered his gaze, pondered for a moment, and calmly recounted:
“Born in Tianhe Town, Southern Domain. My parents were a Dao Companion couple of Foundation Establishment Stage. My father’s name is ‘Zu Qinghe’, and my mother’s name is ‘Lin Zhiruo’. At seventeen, I encountered demonic cultivators in the forest and was saved by an elder of Taibai Sect. The following year, I entered Taibai Sect to cultivate. I formed my Core at three hundred and twenty years old and my Nascent Soul at six hundred. The previous Dao Ancestor of Taibai Sect believed you would stop at Nascent Soul, but you achieved Deity Transformation on your twelve-hundredth birthday and began your Void Ascension at five thousand seven hundred…”
“Heh heh, that’s enough.”
Zu Yuan raised his hand to stop him, then stood up, walked out of the pavilion, waved his hand, and dispersed the nine golden dragons back into the Heavenly Seal in Ye Anping’s hand.
“Yun Tianmi, Nancheng City, Dan Yue, and then me?”
“And a big fox.”
“Demon Emperor… Heh heh.” Zu Yuan shook his head and sighed. “Ye Anping, how could I not know that I cannot ascend? Don’t think I’m so old and my eyes are blurry that I can’t distinguish right from wrong. I would never use another’s life to overcome my own tribulation.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Zu Yuan walked back to Ye Anping’s side, appraised him slightly, and said with a smile:
“So-called destiny is after all just a cultivator with dual spiritual roots, with even worse aptitude than mine.”
“Irrefutable.”
“Did you lure the Six-Eyed of Gu Poison Sect and the old demon of Hehuan Sect here?”
“The Empress of Hantian Kingdom informed me of the Spring Aspect Spiritual Energy. How could they sit still?”
“Sun Juehu… Then I’ll just watch. What will be the final outcome for those who oppose you, the ‘destiny’? I can afford to wait out the remaining few hundred years of my lifespan.”
Zu Yuan formed a sword finger with his hand, pointed it at his own forehead, closed his eyes, and gave a slight tug. A golden thread, like a strand of hair, flew out from his forehead and drifted onto the tabletop.
“Nancheng City gave you the Nine Dragon Heavenly Seal, Yun Tianmi passed on his spirit sword legacy to you, and Dan Yue, that brat… Pfft, heh heh… Shouldn’t I also give something? You want my spiritual root, don’t you?”
Seeing Zu Yuan unhesitatingly peel off his own spiritual root and give it to him, Ye Anping was taken aback. He had initially thought he would have to wait until Zu Yuan returned from fighting the leaders of Gu Poison Sect and Hehuan Sect.
After all…
Seeing Ye Anping’s expression, Zu Yuan couldn’t help but laugh heartily:
“Heh heh, you didn’t expect me to agree so readily, did you? Ever since you entered the pavilion, you’ve had me completely in your grasp. Now it’s my turn to regain some face.”
“It’s not that I didn’t expect it, but I didn’t imagine it would be so smooth.”
Ye Anping smiled helplessly, stood up, and cupped his hands:
“Thank you, Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal!”
“Putting on an act, as expected…” Zu Yuan shook his head, looked towards the direction outside the mountain with his hands behind his back. “Since the Six-Eyed of Gu Poison Sect and the hag of Hehuan Sect dare to set foot in the Southern Domain, how could I let them leave safely?”
Ye Anping pondered for a moment, understanding that Zu Yuan was going to fight. He cupped his hands:
“…I bid farewell to the Daoist Immortal.”
Zu Yuan waved his hand and threw a jade talisman into Ye Anping’s hand, saying:
“Guard Baiyujing well. I’ll be back soon.”
Seeing Ye Anping accept the jade talisman, Zu Yuan transformed into a golden light and shot out of the grotto-heaven in the blink of an eye.
Ye Anping looked at the jade talisman he handed him, then walked back to the stone table where he had stopped, and picked up a golden thread from the table with his finger.
However, at this very moment.
Roaring—!
Within the grotto-heaven, after Zu Yuan’s departure, thunderclouds gathered again in the returning azure sky curtain. The spiritual energy of the entire cave dwelling condensed into countless small dots converging towards the sky above.
Ye Anping looked up and couldn’t help but frown deeply:
—His Nascent Soul Tribulation had arrived.
“Tsk, what a timing…”
…
————
Roaring—!
A thunderclap echoed across Taibai Sect.
Feng Yu Die, who was playing mahjong with three other people in the guest hall of the central peak, trembled. The “One Bamboo” she had just drawn fell from her hand.
Xiao Yunluo, beside her, glanced at her and said with a look of disdain:
“Second, a mere thunderclap can startle you. Look at you! The spring in the Southern Domain is unpredictable, so thunder and rain are quite normal.”
“But…”
Feng Yu Die pursed her lips slightly, feeling a sense of unease. She took a deep breath, hurried to the window, and looked up outside. Above the central peak of Taibai Sect, golden lightning swirled like a coiled snake above the Heavenly Pavilion.
Xiao Tian, who had been helping her peek at the cards, flew over from Xiao Yunluo’s forehead. He squinted at the tribulation clouds and exclaimed in alarm:
“Yu Die!! That’s Nascent Soul Tribulation Cloud! Someone is forming their Nascent Soul!”
Upon hearing “forming Nascent Soul,” Feng Yu Die’s heart skipped a beat. Her golden eyes widened slightly, and she clutched her collar.
“Young Master Ye…”
However, at that moment, another deafening sound occurred.
Boom—!!
But this time, it wasn’t like thunder; it was as if the entire mountain had been shaken. Dust rained down from the ceiling of the guest hall.
“Oh my… What happened?”
Xiao Yunluo had just stood up when she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
She patted the beehive on her head and quickly ran to Feng Yu Die’s side, looking out the window at the sky. Twelve streams of spiritual light shot up from the peaks of Taibai Sect’s twelve peaks, forming a massive Yin-Yang Formation Diagram.
“Huh? Taibai Sect’s sect formation… Could it be…”
Before she could finish, a fireball the size of a mountain, pushing aside the dark clouds above, hurtled towards the Yin-Yang Formation Diagram.
Boom—!!
The dazzling spiritual light immediately caused Feng Yu Die and the other two to avert their gazes.
When they came to their senses, they saw dense black dots rushing down from the clouds, sweeping towards various peaks of Taibai Sect like locusts.
The three stared into the distance and finally realized what was happening.
—Demonic cultivators had attacked.
And in the next moment, Ye Anping’s voice boomed from the Heavenly Pavilion above Baiyujing:
“Disciples of all peaks, heed my command! Heavenly Rhyme Daoist Immortal has gone to engage the Sect Leaders of Gu Poison and Hehuan Sects. Disciples of all peaks, defend the formation eyes of the Twelve Peaks, fight the demonic cultivators on your own!”
…
