Chapter 1956: A Heart Like Morning Dew Reflecting the Light of the Heavens

Over the past half year, a dense layer of chaos clouds had gradually formed beneath the dome of heaven, like rising, churning floodwaters. Countless colorful divine lights flickered within the clouds.

The clouds were having an enormous, extreme impact on the natural order of the Immortal Realm. Every immortal in the Immortal Realm could sense it.

As time passed, everyone realized that when the Path of Divinity appeared, the Epoch Battlefield would appear within the chaos clouds gathering beneath the sky. Those of higher cultivations guessed that the chaos clouds were, in fact, a manifestation of the Immortal Realm’s source power. Moreover, the endlessly flickering colorful lights were the very opportunity to achieve divinity that Great Profound Stage cultivators longed for even in their dreams!

Alas…. The opportune moment had yet to arrive. None could draw near.

“Finally… I can finally go outside….” an old-timer of the Great Profound Stage said with a deep sigh. Over the past half year, the power of divine misfortune had faded from the Laws of the Immortal Realm. Now, it had almost completely vanished.

By now, its impact on Great Realm cultivators was negligible.

The Great Realm experts who’d gone into hiding for fear of the threat of divine misfortune were coming back out into the open. This caused a worldwide disturbance, and stirred up no small number of waves.

But Jiang Tai’e, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign, Nan Pingtian, and the other ancient hegemons of the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals had yet to make an appearance. They could hardly be any lower profile.

Of course, most of the world’s immortal cultivators had anticipated this. The reason was simple: with Sovereign Venerate Su around, his old enemies wouldn’t dare to show themselves before the Path of Divinity arose.

Such was Su Yi’s prestige. Even though he’d been in seclusion of late, and even though he now paid no heed to worldly affairs, his mere presence was an invisible threat!

“They say you’re ‘deep in seclusion?’ And that you ‘pay no heed to worldly affairs?’” Jiang Tai’e laughed coldly. “Seems to me that you’re just frantic! You’re desperate to raise your cultivation high enough to vie for a shot at godhood when the Path of Divinity appears!”

He held a jade slip. An emissary of the unparalleled divine son Huo Jianfeng had sent it. Its contents were simple: it told Jiang Tai’e in no uncertain terms that Su Yi had yet to step into the Great Profound Stage.

The reason for his confidence was simple. The gods had been watching Su Yi’s path of cultivation. The moment he invited a grand tribulation and broke through, he’d draw their attention. But as of yet, no such thing had happened. That meant that Su Yi was still in the Great Unity Stage!

“Huo Jianfeng told me this because he wants me to serve as his dog and attack Su Yi on his behalf,” said Jiang Tai’e, his face utterly disdainful as he toyed with the jade slip. “But although he doesn’t know it, as much as I’d love to destroy Su Yi, I care most about achieving divinity! After all, if I become a god, won’t killing Su Yi be as easy as turning over my palm?”

Crack!

Jiang Tai’e crushed the jade slip, his gaze cold and cruel, “Su Yi… No, Wang Ye. Just you wait!”

……

The wind rose and the clouds surged in the outside world. Dark currents flowed beneath the surface, but Su Yi wasn’t concerned with any of it.

At first, he really did try various methods of breaking through, but none of them came to fruition. It wasn’t that he

couldn’t

break through,

but that every time, he felt the moment wasn’t right. He was after a supreme, perfect breakthrough.

By now, there were no flaws in his mentality or cultivation. All he needed was the right opportunity, but he

had

to wait for that opportunity. He couldn't force it. Sometimes, stubbornness only achieves the opposite of the intended effect.

Su Yi understood and accepted this. His breakthrough would be as natural as water flowing over the edge of a cup. Thus, he took this time to settle his accumulations instead.

He delegated all trivial tasks to other people, while he spent his time writing a Daoist canon. It encompassed everything Wang Ye had learned in his life, as well as his revelations in this lifetime. He called it the Heavens’ Immortal Canon!

Su Yi predicted that it wouldn’t be much longer before he could fuse with Li Fuyou’s Dao Imprint. When he did, he could further perfect the Heavens’ Immortal Canon.

When he left the Immortal Realm, he’d leave this Daoist canon in the Academy of Eternal Night for future generations to learn from.

It was the purpose of a sage to establish the three imperishables: merit, virtue, and teachings. By writing the Heavens’ Immortal Canon, he’d pass on his teachings!

Su Yi didn’t have too many ambitions or plans regarding this. He just figured that his fifth and sixth incarnations had both left their marks on the Immortal Realm, so he ought to leave the Immortal Realm a little something too. In doing so, he wouldn’t let everything he’d learned go to waste.

It was as simple as that.

A clear breeze blew past, stirring up gentle waves. Several pink lotuses swayed in the wind, their verdant leaves glistening with pearls of dew.

Su Yi stood on the shore, one hand behind his back, holding a writing brush as he practiced calligraphy on a scroll of white paper.

“Master, all of your orders have been completed.” Lin Feng approached from afar and bowed in greeting.

“Hm,” said Su Yi without so much as raising his head. “I’ve troubled you and Ning Xiu of late.”

Over the past six months, he’d made numerous arrangements and backup plans in preparation for the arrival of the Path of Divinity. If anything unexpected happened, even if he wasn’t around, he needn’t fear disaster befalling his old friends or the academy’s disciples.

It was Lin Feng, Ning Xiu, the Sword-Bearing Ape, and the Red Dragon Dao Monarch who were responsible for carrying out his plans. And now, all of his arrangements were in place. That was one load off Su Yi’s mind.

It was always best to plan for the worst-case scenario even as you strove for the best possible outcome, and to mend your roof before it rained. Only then could you avoid disaster.

Lin Feng smiled. “As your disciples, it’s only right that we attend to such things.”

A moment later, he hesitated and said in a low voice, “Master, when the Epoch Battlefield appears, can you bring me with you?”

His voice was tinged with eagerness.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate. You’ve only just recovered your physical body, and you’re in no way ready to prove your Dao and achieve divinity. Moreover, when I go, I’ll be the target of countless arrows. If you come with me, you’ll only be a burden.”

Su Yi raised his writing brush and casually drew it across the page.

Lin Feng smiled bitterly. His master had just called him a burden. This was unquestionably an enormous blow to his self-esteem, but he couldn’t argue.

“Back then, I granted each of my four disciples a Mystery of Chaos. In doing so, I paved your paths to divinity a long time ago,” Su Yi continued, entirely unperturbed. “Sit this mess out and watch over the Academy of Eternal Night. Your shot at divinity will arrive soon enough.”

Lin Feng was still unwilling to accept this, but he could only nod. His Master’s orders were not to be disobeyed.

Furthermore, he’d long since anticipated that when the Path of Divinity appeared, all manner of perils would target his master. Given the circumstances, someone who couldn’t help was sure to become a burden.

Su Yi then stood upright, tossed his brush to the side, and evaluated the line of text on the white paper. He couldn’t help but nod approvingly. The words were like the voice of his heart. Every brush stroke was full of mysterious charm.

This was a rare moment of leisure, and he did as his heart told him. The words written on the page were in perfect accordance with his mentality.

Lin Feng glanced at the calligraphy, and it instantly drew him in. His heart shook. The characters looked naturally formed, with no sign of artifice. Every stroke was emblazoned with inscrutable charm. The more he looked, the more intoxicated he felt, as if the calligraphy were a mysterious Daoist canon full of endless profundities.

“Master, might you give this treasure to your disciple?” Lin Feng couldn’t help but ask.

Su Yi grinned. “Go ahead and take it.”

Then, he took his jug of wine and sauntered off, leisurely, relaxed, and at ease.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, cautiously put the unfurled masterpiece of calligraphy away. It read: “a heart as smooth as jade and as sharp as the edge of a sword.”

Every stroke was like a gentle breeze, or the beads of dew on the verdant lotus leaves. They were natural and unassuming, yet capable of reflecting the full radiance of the heavens.

Like a thunderclap amidst silence or the mysterious truths found in the tiniest of places.……

……

A dilapidated temple.

Jia Yun knelt with his head on the ground, piously prostrating before a foot-tall Buddhist statue niche.

The statue niche was black, and it contained a statue of a Buddha stepping on a serpentine dragon and holding a bronze lamp. Its face was swathed in auspicious clouds, making it seem extremely mysterious.

“Reporting to the Buddha, all preparations are in order. We’ll begin as soon as the Epoch Battlefield appears...” Jia Yun chanted Sanskrit sutras in a low, inscrutable voice.

Within the black statue niche, the Buddha suddenly opened his eyes.

“Excellent.”

A voice like grand and ethereal chanting resounded throughout Jia Yun’s heart. His expression was instantly even more pious.

……

“I have to retrieve those nine Divine Puppets no matter what!”

Huo Jianfeng’s eyes flashed with imposing light. As one of the Three Purities Daoist Court’s Sons of the Dao, he too had means of making contact with his sect even from the Immortal Realm. He’d received orders from his sect not long ago. Now, all of his preparations were in order.

“Now I just have to wait for the Epoch Battlefield to appear…” muttered Huo Jianfeng.

……

Kcch!!

A bundle of golden flames appeared at Wenren Qingyu’s fingertips, incinerating a jade slip containing a secret message.

She then let out a deep breath. “No wonder Su Yi is in no rush to break into the Great Profound Stage. It’s not that he doesn’t care about

this

opportunity to achieve divinity, but that as someone who’s mastered reincarnation, he has no need to worry about finding an opportunity to become a god.”

It was only after reading the message she’d received from her clan elders that she understood this. The crux of the matter was his mastery of reincarnation!

“Fortunately, so long as he steps foot in the Epoch Battlefield, he’s doomed. And if he stays behind, he’ll die anyway. To the world’s Great Realm experts, this is a one-in-a-million chance at achieving divinity, but to the gods, this is a similarly rare and precious opportunity to wipe the Heretic Reincarnator out once and for all! And all I have to do is act in accordance with my orders.”

Wenren Qingyu sank into thought.

The divine children weren’t the only ones preparing for the imminent arrival of the Path of Divinity. Throughout the Immortal Realm, Great Profound Stage experts were getting ready too.

A storm would soon be upon them. Everything was for the sake of realizing their desires when the Epoch Battlefield appeared!

The curtains would soon open on the spectacle the whole Immortal Realm was waiting for!