Chapter 2526 - The Dark Days of Legend, the Trend Is in My Favor

The place depicted in the map was called the Thousand Mirrors Lake. It was in the Ancient Nirvana Divine Continent.

More importantly, it wasn’t at all far from the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains’ original location!

Over the years, Buddhist adherents had referred to the Thousand Mirrors Lake as the Sacred Ground of Buddhist Light.

“You’re saying the Dipankara Buddha basically brought his entire sect back to its original location?” Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising.

When the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains vanished into seclusion, it sent a wave of uproar across the entire god Domain.

Who could have imagined that they’d then turn around and go right back to their original location?

“Sometimes, the most dangerous places are actually the safest. Everyone understands that in principle, but few dare to put it into practice,” said the Goddess of Silent Darkness. “If I hadn’t pieced together the hints in Gu Huaxian’s message, I would never have imagined that they’d do such a thing.”

Su Yi pondered briefly, then shook his head. “Seems to me that if I go to the Thousand Mirrors Lake now, I’ll leave empty-handed.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness was stunned. “Do you suspect the Dipankara Buddha evacuated everyone again?”

Su Yi said casually, “I don’t suspect it; I’m certain of it. In order to find Lu Qingmei this time, I openly threatened the Dipankara Buddha. That’s how I managed to find you. I’m sure this incident alerted him. Given his disposition, I’m sure he’s already taken action.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness lowered her head, looking a bit ill at ease. After all, she was the one who’d threatened Lu Qingmei.

“But,” Su Yi continued, “No matter what, I have to investigate the Thousand Mirrors Lake.”

“I’ll go with you,” volunteered the Goddess of Silent Darkness.

Su Yi didn’t refuse.

...

Three days later, on the shore of the Thousand Mirrors Lake.

The clear light of the heavens poured onto the surface of the lake, dazzling to behold.

The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s guess was right on the mark: the people of the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains really had hidden themselves in a hidden realm at the bottom of the lake.

But Su Yi was correct, too. By the time they arrived, the Dipankara Buddha had already gathered his followers and evacuated.

“It really is just as you predicted, Fellow Daoist...” The Goddess of Silent Darkness stood on the shore, rather unwilling to accept this.

“Even if I really found the old-timer, it’d be hard to take him down with my current strength,” said Su Yi. He most certainly hadn’t forgotten that the Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future were originally from the River of Destiny. Their foundations ran deep, and they had an abundance of methods at their disposal. They were far from comparable to his more ordinary foes.

Furthermore, they’d recently rid themselves of their Karmic Tribulations just as Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming had. Their strength had surely increased since.

“You’d best be careful going forward. I’m certain the Dipankara Buddha will be able to guess that you sold him out.” Su Yi glanced at the Goddess of Silent Darkness.

She nodded, but not only was she not worried; she actually sighed in relief.

Because... Su Yi had actually expressed concern for her safety! The way she saw it, this was unquestionably a good sign.

“Farewell.”

Without any further hesitation, Su Yi said goodbye and set off.

......

Not long after Su Yi left, the Goddess of Silent Darkness pondered, then took out a talisman and sent a message.

“Ancient Aberrant, hard work really doesn’t let you down. I finally managed to win a bit of acknowledgement from Fellow Daoist Su. He still doesn’t trust me, but I’m confident that he won’t pursue past enmities any further.

“Also, there’s something I need to report to you in detail.”

She went on to explain their meeting with Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. Then, she asked, “Do you... have any orders for me?”

When she finished the message, she sent it, then waited in silence.

She didn’t have to wait long. Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming got back to her almost immediately. “Bear this in mind: you are not to report on Fellow Daoist Su going forward. Doing so will make him question your motives.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s expression shifted. She really hadn’t considered that possibility, but looking back on it now, if Su Yi found out about this, it really might well lead to unnecessary misunderstandings!

The letter continued, “Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran has origins shrouded in mystery. I’ve yet to figure out her background. However, you needn’t concern yourself with her, as she won’t become our enemy.

“As for my orders... just wait patiently for the Dark Days of Legend to arrive. That will be enough for now.

“When the Battle for Order begins, I’ll need you to do something for me.”

The message ended there.

Just what does the Ancient Aberrant want me to do during the Battle for Order?

The Goddess of Silent Darkness couldn’t even begin to guess.

Still, she at least knew what to do for the next few years. Without any further hesitation, she turned and left.

...

The sun fell, and the moon rose. When night fell, even the Thousand Mirrors Lake, the “Sacred Ground of Buddhist Light”, was shrouded in darkness.

Suddenly, a lotus bloomed in a pile of stones on the shoreline. The lotus swayed, its petals fluttering to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, it withered, then crumbled into ash.

Meanwhile, in a hidden realm.

The Dipankara Buddha was seated beneath a bodhi tree. He flipped his palm, and a lotus seed floated into the air.

The seed scattered a dreamlike rain of light. It reflected the scene from the day prior, in which Su Yi and the Goddess of Silent Darkness had appeared on the shore of the Thousand Mirrors Lake.

“See that?” said the Dipankara Buddha, his expression not so much as rippling. “That’s the consequence of your recklessness. You thought the Goddess of Silent Darkness was trustworthy, but little did you know, the moment you began your correspondence, you planted the seeds of unpredictable danger.”

Gu Huaxian’s face was ashen. Her eyes blazed with fury. She gnashed her teeth. “I would never have guessed that she’d ally herself with Su Yi. She... she even sold me out!”

The Dipankara Buddha flipped his palm. The lotus seed vanished, and with it, the curtain of light.

He looked at Gu Huaxian. “If you hadn’t taken it upon yourself to communicate with her, how could this have happened? And how could I have been left with no choice but to evacuate the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains yet again?”

Gu Huaxian’s beautiful face was bleak. She lowered her head, unable to argue. This came as a heavy blow.

The Dipankara Buddha said, “Oftentimes, you’re at your most foolish when you think you’re being clever. Listen carefully: this will not happen again!”

Gu Huaxian fell silent.

The Dipankara Buddha slowly closed his eyes, but he wasn’t as calm as he looked.

He knew a little about the Goddess of Silent Darkness’s origins, including her Aberrant legacies and the Ancient Aberrant backing her. He also knew that she’d started targeting Su Yi a long, long time ago.

But he couldn’t figure out how Su Yi had managed to turn her to his cause without shedding so much as a drop of blood.

Su Yi... is really getting harder and harder to deal with,

sighed the Dipankara Buddha.

As Su Yi’s enemy, the Dipankara Buddha had watched him establish himself in the God Domain one step at a time, pointing his sword at the world and fighting battles near and far...

And he’d watched as Su Yi traveled unimpeded, seeking retribution...

By now, no one in the God Domain could blunt the sharpness of Su Yi’s edge! This came as an enormous shock to the Dipankara Buddha.

You really do have to re-evaluate a man after just three days apart.

Still, it isn’t too late. During the Dark Days of Legend, the trend will be in my favor!

......

On the way back to Sunset Perch Island, Su Yi and Lu Qingmei conversed.

Su Yi no longer cared one way or another about the woman who’d tricked and hurt him in his past life. He neither resented her nor felt compassion for her.

More than anything else, it was this cold indifference that finally helped Lu Qingmei realize that there was no room to repair her relationship with Su Yi.

You could put a broken mirror’s pieces back in place, but the cracks remained!

Any lingering hope in her heart finally went out.

“You can rest assured. I won’t try to change anything going forward, and I’ll do my best to vanish from your field of view,” she said softly. Her face was pale, and she gazed into the distance, deep-seated exhaustion on her face.

“I’m over it,” said Su Yi. “If you can get over it too, it’ll be a form of release.”

Su Yi took a sip of wine. “We cannot return to the past, but we still have a future to look forward to. Let’s each seek our own peace of mind. That’ll be enough.”

“Peace of mind...” murmured Lu Qingmei.

She said no more. She just walked over to the railing and gazed into the distance in silence. Her beautiful figure looked utterly alone and forlorn.

Su Yi gazed at her briefly, then silently looked away and returned to the cabin.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Yi Daoxuan’s love and hatred of Lu Qingmei was, to the current Su Yi, no more than a passing cloud. He’d gotten over it. None of that hatred and resentment mattered anymore.

Especially since... he didn’t want Yi Chen to follow in his footsteps, not in this regard. He didn’t want the tragedy of his youth to play out once more on his son.

His father, Su Hongli, had killed his mother, Ye Yufei. If he killed Lu Qingmei, the mother of his child... What would Yi Chen do?

Would he seek revenge against his father, just like his father before him?

It was hard to say.

...

Su Yi sprawled out in his wicker chair in the boat’s cabin, gently drawing his fingertips along the armrests. He was suddenly a bit moved.

In this lifetime, he’d started out in the Human Realm, only to fight his way to the Immortal Realm and then to the God Domain. His old friends were no longer by his side, but this wicker chair had always been there for him.

He couldn’t help but feel that even as people come and go, some things stay the same.

“In my pursuit of the Grand Dao, I got my loved ones settled in, then left, leaving a thread of sentiment and concern behind that keeps us connected, no matter how far away we are. Isn’t that a kind of good fortune in its own right?” Su Yi whispered to himself. “Only those without loved ones will lose themselves to loneliness.”

Su Yi’s heart inexplicably relaxed. A calm, tranquil look appeared on his face.

Just like that, he reclined languidly in his wicker chair and drank, scenes of his lives past and present flashing through his head as if he were reading a book.

A thunderclap silently went off in his heart.

As if... something had broken.