Chapter 768(2): Ninth Heaven (2)

“You can’t come with me.” Su Yi shook his head. “It wouldn’t be good for you.”

When he said this, he seemed to sense Wen Xinzhao’s despondency, so he added warmly, “Xinzhao, don’t tell me you haven’t realized it? When I’m here, I can shield you from wind and rain, leaving you nothing to fear. However, I’ve made your path too smooth. Inadequate tempering will only hurt you.

“And I cannot protect you forever. That’s true for you, and it's true for the others too. It’s only if I leave that you can truly rise to prominence and learn to stand on your own. If you live under my protection forever, it’ll only hurt your cultivation.”

Earlier, Wen Xinzhao was indeed a bit despondent.

But when she heard this, she nodded instinctively.

She said softly, “Brother Su, you’re absolutely right. I won’t lie to you: lately, I’ve felt completely useless. Whenever anything happens, you resolve it for me. I haven’t experienced any trials at all. As pleasant as it is, it’s true that my path lacks tempering.”

When she said that last part, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sheepish.

Su Yi laughed. “I’m just glad you understand. Why is it that factions of cultivators arrange for their disciples to wander far and wide, entering the world to temper themselves? Why do they make disciples overcome endless trials? It all comes down to tempering. This is why they say uncut jade is of no use to anyone.”

Here, he paused, falling briefly silent. “I’ll naturally be back. The Azure Continent is, ultimately, just too small. When the time comes, I’ll bring you to see a larger world!”

A hint of longing rose unbidden in Wen Xinzhao’s heart.

That night.

The Xia Emperor and Weng Jiu arrived, bringing with them the spoils of war.?These were the trophies the experts of the seven allied factions had left behind: spiritual materials, medicines, spirit stones, and various other treasures.

Their value was inestimable.?After all, these had once belonged to an army of Spirit Dao cultivators. They were naturally extraordinary.

When he saw this, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t think you'd really sweep the battlefield for spoils.”

The Xia Emperor let out a burst of hearty laughter. “Fellow Daoist, when you give an order, how could I possibly disregard it?”

The Xia Emperor was obviously in high spirits. He looked utterly delighted.

When Su Yi thought about it, it made sense. Seven great factions had fallen. Who else beneath the heavens would dare provoke the imperial family?

It was no exaggeration to say if they relied on Su Yi’s name going forward, every other faction would have to treat them with respect!

Su Yi mulled it over, but in the end, he still reminded the emperor, “Remember: sooner or later, I’ll leave, and the imperial family will have to rely on its own strength to compete in this new era.”

The Xia Emperor was briefly stunned, then solemn. “Fellow Daoist, I won’t lie to you: I’ve long since predicted that a man of your talent couldn’t possibly remain in the Azure Continent forever.”

He paused, then continued, “Fellow Daoist, please rest assured. No matter where you go, I will never forget your benevolence!”

He spoke with utter conviction.

With that, the highest authority figure of the Great Xia bowed solemnly to Su Yi.

When Weng Jiu saw this, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude too.

However, Su Yi waved them away. “No need for gratitude. When I leave, I’ll have to trouble you to look after those close to me. That’ll be enough.”

The Xia Emperor straightforwardly nodded his agreement.

……

Days passed, one after another.

And the world’s balance of power shifted.

The Huan Family’s lair fell overnight. Other factions surrounded and trampled it. Just like that, the clan that had established itself as the world’s top demonic faction more than thirty thousand years ago crumbled and disappeared from this world.

Shortly after, the Burning Sun Sect disbanded, and its disciples dispersed. Other cultivators coveted their treasures and legacies and saw them as targets.

Tianji Dao Mountain and the Pure Emptiness Buddhist Sect soon followed in the Huan Family’s footsteps. Both were subsequently destroyed.

This was the cruel reality of worldly conflict. There was never a shortage of people eager to throw stones at you after you fell down a well.

When the powerful fell, ravenous beasts would swarm to devour their flesh.

The House of the Skywalking Sword, the Tiandou Spirit Cult, and the Incarnation of Stars Sect all left the Azure Continent immediately, leaving nothing behind.

At the same time——

Messengers arrived from the Hidden Cloud Sword Manner, the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace, the Dongguo Family, and the remaining top ancient factions. All of them chose to lower their heads and submit to Su Yi.

This news threw the world into uproar.

Bluecloud Tower Master Fu Qingyun even went so far as to predict that, now that the remaining ancient factions had submitted, this was the beginning of a new era of the Radiant Epoch!

An era in which Su Yi alone reigned supreme!

It’s worth mentioning that neither the Bright Sky Realm’s Purple Moon Fox Clan, nor the Celestial River Realm’s Frigid North Sword Pavilion, nor the Mysterious Blue Realm’s Kunwu Mountain Ye Family had appeared on the Azure Continent of late.

The reason was easy to guess.

Emperors could not enter the Azure Continent, so Spiritual Revolution cultivators reigned supreme.

And Spiritual Revolution cultivators had long since ceased to threaten Su Yi!

Under such circumstances, who’d dare send their people here to their deaths?

A storm swept through the world, and seven great factions fell. Gradually, the people ceased to discuss them.

At the same time, countless new factions sprung forth, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and countless young elites rose to prominence.

However, Su Yi had long since ceased to pay the hustle and bustle of worldly affairs any heed.

The thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month.

Inside the courtyard.

Su Yi sat in his wicker chair and asked, “So you’re saying that the gray sparrow accompanying you… has already died?”

A’Cang sat beside him, visibly grief-stricken. She nodded bitterly. “When we left the Ninth Star Ruin, we planned to come visit you, but that jailer attacked us the moment we left Sumeru Immortal Island. The little sparrow fought the jailer, but unfortunately, he fell in battle…”

The cool and ethereal beauty had only just woken from her coma, and it was only after Wen Xinzhao explained the situation that she realized she’d been saved.

Su Yi said warmly, “My condolences. I’ve already killed the jailer in question, so consider the sparrow avenged.”

With that, he flipped over his hand, revealing a command token. “I obtained this from the jailer’s body. Have a look. Do you recognize the image on it?”

The command token was palm-sized. It was iron-like, but not iron, jade-like, but not jade, it was carved with a strange and contorted blood-colored diagram. The red was as bright as fire.

The words “Ninth Heaven” were carved on the back in an ancient script, the writing as sharp and forceful as a knife’s edge.

A’Cang looked it over, then said, “All I know is that the jailer called himself Ninth Heaven. That might have been his real name, but it could also have been a code name.”

“And the blood-colored totem shaped like a blazing, blood-colored?Daoist?altar? I can’t discern its origins either.”?She paused, then said, “But there was a similar blood-colored totem on the jailer’s forehead. Do you think it's the symbol of the sect behind him?”

Su Yi nodded. “It’s very likely. I examined the token, and it’s made out of an extremely rare material, Magnetic Origin Profound Iron. There’s a formation inside the medallion made of mysterious markings, and it’s most likely the work of a Profound Serenity Realm expert.”

He fiddled with the medallion as he said, “Unless I’m mistaken, the markings are a sort of key. However, it’s hard to say what it’s supposed to open.

“It’s likely that it's for the gates to some prison, or perhaps, a sealed treasure. Of course, the former is more likely. He called himself a jailer, after all, so he’s surely responsible for overseeing some?prison. It’s probably only accessible to those carrying the key.”

When she heard that, A’Cang was stunned, and her face filled with bewilderment. “Fellow Daoist, aren’t you a bit too perceptive? You actually inferred so many leads from a single command token!”

Su Yi laughed. “It’s nothing but conjecture.”

Although he didn’t say it out loud, he found it an awful pity that he’d had to kill the jailer in a single attack to save A’Cang.

Had he captured the jailer alive, he’d have more than just conjecture. He could have interrogated him and gotten the truth out of him directly.

A’Cang said seriously, “But it seems to me that your hypothesis makes perfect sense. I doubt it’s far from the truth.”

She spoke with heartfelt agreement and admiration. This type of perfectly natural, unaffected praise had always been the most pleasing to the ear.

Especially since A’Cang was a cool and ethereal young woman of unsurpassed beauty. Compliments were even more enjoyable from someone like that.

This was on a different order of magnitude from Ying Que and Yuan Heng’s bootlicking.

“Fellow Daoist, do you think Ninth Heaven’s medallion is a key to the Azure Continent?” A’Cang thought for a moment, then said, “This is the world of the Ninth Star Ruin, and his name includes the word ‘nine.’ Do you think he’s the jailer responsible for keeping watch over the Ninth Star Ruin?”

“It’s entirely possible,” said Su Yi.

The faction behind the jailers worked in accordance with the phrase, “the Dao of Heaven subtracts where there is excess and adds where there is deficiency.” They claimed that they were carrying out the will of the heavens.

The title “Ninth Heaven” likely had two layers of meaning.

“Heaven” referred to the faction behind the jailers, while “Nine” represented the star ruin Ninth Heaven oversaw!

Were this hypothesis true, then the other eight star ruins each had a jailer, and their titles were perhaps First Heaven, Second Heaven, Third Heaven… and so on.

A moment later, Su Yi shifted gears. “But what I can say with certainty is that the command token isn’t a key to the Ninth Star Ruin. In truth, with Ninth Heaven’s Profound Illumination Realm power, entering the Ninth Star Ruin wouldn’t have been at all difficult.”

Thirty thousand years ago, Ye Xun had fought this jailer, and he’d mentioned his cultivation base to Su Yi not long ago.

A few days ago, when he killed Ninth Heaven in the Glittering Ghost Domain, Su Yi sensed it too.

However, Ninth Heaven’s foundations in the Grand Dao were so severely damaged that his life force was waning. He really was like a phoenix without its feathers.

Had Ninth Heaven been at his peak, it wouldn’t have been so easy to kill him.

Before long, Su Yi put the medallion away.

It undoubtedly hid numerous secrets. He couldn’t see through them now, but eventually, all would surely become clear.

“Right, do you have any plans after this?” Su Yi asked softly.

A’Cang shook her head, looking lost. “When I left the Ninth Star Ruin, I planned to come looking for you, then lead the little sparrow into the depths of the starry skies in search of the origins of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness.

“But the sparrow is no longer with us, and my vitality is badly damaged… Even if I wanted to proceed into the stars, I couldn’t…”

The young woman looked utterly lonely and melancholy.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then looked directly at?A’Cang’s?beautiful face.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“I have a suggestion for you,” he said warmly. “You might as well hear it.”