Chapter 2704 - Facing the Mists and Rain

Demon God Lin once used the Cauldron of Epochs to Bring Order to the River of Epochs?

Su Yi found this a bit surprising, but he was even more curious about something else. “Miss Lin, is your father a sword cultivator, too?”

“He both is and isn’t,” said Lin Jinghong, taking a moment to mull it over seriously. “My father practiced the Dao of the Sword, but he isn’t a pure sword cultivator.”

The inch-tall old man on the blue jade record said, “This old man dares not speak Jinghong’s father’s name, so I’ll call him ‘that unparalleled existence’ instead. I humbly request your understanding, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yi subtly inclined his head. “The Grand Dao is without name. If we must speak of it, we can only call it the Dao. I understand.”

“Well said!” exclaimed the old man. He continued, “That unparalleled existence once said that the Cauldron of Epochs hides enormous secrets and karma. He dared not seize it by force, for he knew that if he did, he’d suffer a karmic backlash.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“Ah, but since you won the Cauldron of Epochs’ recognition, you needn’t fear a backlash. This old man just wants to warn you that the existence of the River of Epochs is extraordinarily meaningful.

“You just need to remember this: any changes to the Cauldron of Epochs will be reflected on the River of Epochs, and any changes to the River of Epochs will affect the River of Destiny, causing unknown variables.

With that, the old man’s figure dissipated into flecks of light and vanished into the blue jade record.

He gave Su Yi no opportunity to ask any follow-up questions.

Lin Jinghong explained, “I’m sure that’s all the old codger knows. Otherwise, given his personality, he’d have wanted to keep showing off.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. Still, the old-timer’s explanations had given Su Yi a deeper understanding of the Cauldron of Epochs’ value.

They conversed a while longer. Su Yi tried inviting Lin Jinghong and A’Cai to Sunset Perch Island again, but they refused again.

According to Lin Jinghong, she was disappointed and upset, and she needed to go hunt for rare and precious treasures on the River of Destiny to feel better.

Su Yi didn’t push any further.

Just as the two women were about to set off, Su Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Just what have you been searching for all these years?”

He found the daughter of Demon God Lin quite strange. She’d explored the Human Realm, then the Immortal Realm, before coming to the God Domain. Moreover, she’d headed straight to the area around Red Pine Mountain. It was all quite mysterious, and it seemed she was searching for something.

Lin Jinghong blinked. “You want to know?”

“Of course.”

Lin Jinghong laughed. “Well, I’m not telling you!”

With that, she took A’Cai’s hand, and the two of them soared into the sky.

A crisp, direct departure.

A’Cai, however, turned back and waved Su Yi goodbye.

Su Yi smiled and waved back.

He pondered briefly, then exerted his will. The Laws filling the firmament of the God Domain silently parted, creating a path. Lin Jinghong and A’Cai smoothly passed through it, and soon, they’d vanished into the endless expanse of time and space beyond.

Once I’m finished with my business on Red Pine Mountain, it’s time I returned to Sunset Perch Island,

thought Su Yi.

The curtains had fallen on the Battle for Order, and the Dark Days of Legend had ended.

The entire God Domain was in uproar. Everyone was talking about the Battle for Order.

And Su Yi’s reputation had reached unprecedented heights, his name as prominent as the midday sun!

“In the past, we called him Sword Venerate Su. What... should we call him now? The Incarnation of the Heavens?” asked an older-generation cultivator with a sigh.

The Grand Dao was like the heavens. Now that Su Yi had restored order to the God Domain, he was like its ruler of heaven!

“No matter what you call him, there’s no denying that Su Yi ended the Dark Days of Legend and saved the God Domain! He restored peace and prosperity to the world!”

This was how the vast majority of cultivators saw it. Countless prominent experts had arisen over the years, but who among them could compete with Su Yi?

None could reach his level, so why even speak of competing with him?

Some of those with higher cultivations had grown cautious even when speaking of Su Yi. This was called “avoiding the name of the distinguished!”

Su Yi was now the heavens of the God Domain. What in this world could elude Su Yi’s notice?

If they spoke poorly of him, divine lightning might well descend from the heavens and strike them dead!

“I heard that numerous Eternals died out in that endless expanse of time and space, including the clones of several Heavenly Sovereigns!”

“Just how strong are Heavenly Sovereigns, anyway?”

“I don’t know... but they’ve got to be stronger than ordinary Eternals, right?”

“No matter how strong they are, they couldn’t stop Su Yi from becoming the Bringer of Order, now could they?”

Those who understood the inside story felt lingering terror at the thought of that battle just outside the God Domain.

However, none of them knew what Heavenly Sovereigns and Heavenly Monarchs were. They naturally had no idea how incomparably brutal the battle in the endless void of time and space really was.

Had it taken place on the River of Destiny, it would have caused widespread astonishment. It’d have caused a commotion in any age.

...

Sunset Perch Island.

Just seven days had passed, barely any time at all, but as the God Domain’s spiritual energy recovered, its peach blossoms returned. Now, the island was bright with fiery flowers once more.

The misty light of dusk burned like fire, illuminating the waves.

Su Yi and his old friends had gathered on the beach, feasting on seafood and drinking divine brews.

A grand battle had ended, so this was a rare moment of leisure. Su Yi was thoroughly relaxed. No matter who offered him a toast, he accepted it boldly.

Many of his old friends seized the opportunity to ask all manner of unusual questions.

“Brother Fuyou, can you sense every corner of the God Domain at will?”

“Have you really become the lord of the heavens?”

“After the Battle of Order, can you really kill whoever you want at will, no matter where in the God Domain they are? Could you, say, sit here on Sunset Perch Island and send a divine tribulation to smite an enemy millions of miles away?”

And so on and so forth. All of their questions were about Bringing Order.

Su Yi didn’t hide anything. He answered their questions, one by one.

He wasn’t really the “lord of the heavens” because, after Bringing Order, even he had to act in accordance with the Laws of the natural order.

If he violated them, he too would suffer a backlash.

The reason for this was simple. He hadn’t used his own Dao to supplant the Will of the Heavens.

However, he could command the yellow finch to act on his bidding. That let him indirectly draw on the power of the natural order!

“Brother Su, you’ve proven your Dao and entered Eternity. Does that mean you’ll be leaving the God Domain soon?” asked Wan Zitian.

Silence followed the question. All eyes were instantly on Su Yi.

Su Yi nodded. “That’s right.”

He had to suppress his cultivation base and obscure his presence to exist in the God Domain. Even so, it was dangerous and unpleasant.

It was like walking through a swamp; it dragged him down with every step, and a moment’s incaution could lead to sinking into the muck.

He finally understood why the experts of the River of Destiny saw the God Domain as a shallow pool.

Ultimately, the God Domain couldn’t hold Eternal-level powers of the Grand Dao!

Su Yi naturally could have chosen to stay, but that would mean turtling up in a shallow pool, and his cultivation would end here.

“Argh. It’s only been a few years since you arrived in the God Domain, but you’ve already proven your Dao and entered Eternity, and you’ll soon leave for the River of Destiny. It’s all happening far too quickly,” the Lord of Sleepless Nights said wistfully.

The others felt the same. Still, none of them tried to convince Su Yi to stay, no matter how reluctant they were to part with him.

After all, his cultivation was on the line. If they really wanted what was best for him, they wouldn’t ask him to stay.

As they drank and feasted, Yi Chen took it upon himself to offer Su Yi three cups of wine in a toast.

Su Yi smiled and took out a jade slip. It contained some of his experiences and revelations regarding cultivation, and he’d prepared it specifically for Yi Chen.

Yi Chen accepted it silently, then asked, “Will... will you ever come back?”

Su Yi nodded. “I will!”

Yi Chen felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. Without another word, he returned to his seat and started whispering with his mother.

Shortly after, the little monkey, Xin Yuan, walked up and begged Su Yi to take him with him when he left for the River of Destiny.

This time, Su Yi refused. The River of Destiny was far too dangerous, and the monkey still had a long path left to walk. Taking Xin Yuan to the River of Destiny would be as foolish as trying to catch a fish in a tree.

By the time the banquet ended, the night had receded, and the light of dawn appeared over the horizon. Its radiant glow illuminated the water, bright and resplendent.

Su Yi stayed on Sunset Perch Island for a while after, making all manner of arrangements and getting everything in order. He even left behind every treasure he didn’t have use for.

Half a month later, Su Yi finally bade his old friends farewell and left Sunset Perch Island.

...

Red Pine Mountain, Five Elements Peak.

“For a man, you sure are dragging your feet! It’s not like this is forever. Why are you so reluctant to part with those unable to keep up with you?” the black sheep wrote in the dirt, clearly displeased.

Su Yi laughed, thinking nothing of it. “Have you ever gotten lost in your pursuit of the Grand Dao?”

The black sheep was stunned.

Su Yi continued, “All of those people, and everything that happened leading up to this, are like anchors in my pursuit of the Grand Dao. With them here, no matter how far I go, I won’t get lost.”

The black sheep uncharacteristically refrained from mocking him this time. It seemed she had nothing to say.

When cultivating and pursuing the Dao, the further you climbed, the lonelier you got. What if you ultimately found yourself all alone? Would that be joyful or sorrowful?

How bleak would life be if a high cultivation meant you could just throw away your past?

Su Yi called the yellow finch over, then ordered, “If you can help my friends within the confines of the rules, do it.”

He paused, then added, “But you cannot violate the rules, not even... if they face disaster.”

The yellow finch nodded. “Understood!”

The black sheep was flabbergasted. She wrote, “You won’t help your friends and family even if their lives are in danger? Why make an inexplicable rule like that? Aren’t you being overly cold-blooded?”

Su Yi shook his head slightly. “You don’t get it.”

Everyone in the God Domain knew that Su Yi presided over the heavens. Those around him were effectively blessed by the heavens themselves. Who’d dare to provoke them?

If his friends and family wanted to abuse the yellow sparrow’s power to further their own ends on top of that, it’d be far too greedy.

Someone like that was unworthy of being his friend!

“Let’s go,” said Su Yi. He’d decided to head out immediately.

The sheep suddenly wrote, “Don’t you want to leave a little something behind first?”

Su Yi paused. Then, perhaps because the sheep’s words had moved him, or perhaps due to a sudden impulse, he used his finger as a brush to carve a line of text on the stone beside the Five Elements Altar.

“I am a drifter in this world. I face the mists and rain with a sword in hand.”

He’d written this same line back in Guangling City, when he was still a live-in son-in-law.

In Guangling City, this line had marked the start of his pursuit of the Grand Dao.

This time, it marked the start of his journey to the River of Destiny.