Chapter 743 - Mirror Worlds, Life Creation and World Sealing - Part 1

Deep in the mountains, the mist wound through the trees like drifting silk.

Amid the haze, the white-haired elder stood still, like a sage descended from the clouds.

Wu Cairen knew without a doubt she had encountered someone extraordinary. One more glance at the dreamlike azure bird only confirmed her awe. She hurriedly rose to her feet, then dropped to her knees again, bowing low with utmost respect.

“I’ll do as you say, sir.”

Li Yuan didn’t turn around. But seeing her obedience, he relaxed if only a little.

That day, he went into the forest to hunt and returned with some wild game. He tossed the carcasses to Wu Cairen and told her to dry the meat for future use.

She complied without complaint, diligent and silent.

Summer came and went, and winter settled in.

When Li Yuan looked down upon the mortal world and saw that his daughter there lay gravely ill, he called out, “Little Wu, I’ll be away for a bit.”

“Yes, Elder,” Wu Cairen replied dutifully. Though they had lived together in these mountains for half a year now, this mysterious elder only grew more inscrutable with time. She still had no idea why she’d been taken, or what he ultimately wanted from her.

Only after Li Yuan left did she hesitantly make her way to the side of the house.

Rubbing her hands together for warmth, she exhaled puffs of white breath into the chilly air.

Her once-soft hands now bore the rough marks of hard labor, and chilblains had bloomed across her knuckles. Her cheeks, wind-burnt and red like ripe apples, gave her the look of a village girl. The glamorous beauty who once secretly met with the Crown Prince in the imperial palace was gone without a trace.

She waited until Li Yuan had truly gone before walking up to the azure bird. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground in a kneel, crying out softly, “Big Sister Bird...”

Sheng'er had been perched under the eaves, quietly gazing at the mountains, lost in thought. Startled by the sudden kneeling, she fluttered down immediately and said, “Oh, get up, get up!”

Wu Cairen sobbed, “I just want to ask you...why did the elder bring me here? If he wants something from me, I-I’ll do it.”

Her name was Wu Mei. That’s what she had once been called.

Sheng'er tilted her head, smoothing down a feather with one wing as she studied the girl. Honestly, she felt sorry for her. Even she couldn’t understand what her father wanted with a helpless young woman like this.

Yes, Wu Mei was beautiful, but her father didn’t seem to have any romantic intentions. It was as if he simply wanted her close. As if he truly believed this girl might one day bring chaos to the world.

But no matter how Sheng'er looked at her, she couldn’t see it. She couldn’t see how this poor girl could possibly upend the mighty Tang Dynasty.

Dragged away from the mortal world without warning, tossed into the depths of some godforsaken forest, Wu Mei now endured a life of bitter hardship in the mountains. The cold was cruel, and the damp mountain air gnawed into the bones. Even in broad daylight, sunlight barely reached through the thick canopy.

But Sheng'er had a kind heart.

In her clear, melodic voice, she gently comforted her. “The elder’s not a bad man. Just stay here for now. You’ll be safe.”

“Alright. I’ll do as you say.” Wu Mei didn’t press further. She stood up quietly and walked off a little way, settling onto a short wooden stool. She rubbed her hands vigorously to warm them, then grabbed the cold handle of the axe beside her and began splitting firewood.

She chopped and chopped, until the skin between her thumb and forefinger split open. Thin lines of blood welled up, marking her hands with crimson veins of pain.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Half a day later.

Li Yuan returned.

He had placed his youngest daughter, Li Chan, into the Deathless Tomb..

Now, his only lingering ties to the mortal world were Xie Yu, Lady Yu, and Tang Nian.

He glanced at Wu Mei, who looked like she had swallowed all her grievances and said nothing. Then he looked at the azure bird perched under the eaves, blinking innocently at him. With a flick of his hand, he tossed over a small booklet.

It contained a third rank cultivation technique from his own lineage. It wasn’t the highest, but more than enough to shield someone from the cold and hardship of the mountains.

“Start training,” he said.

“Thank you, Elder!” Wu Mei bowed repeatedly, full of gratitude.

To enter the ninth rank of cultivation, one didn’t need rare beast meat, just enough nourishment in a place where Yang energy still lingered. Even in the thin, frigid air of these mountains, Wu Mei’s natural talent shone through. It only took her four months to reach the ninth rank. The numbers floating faintly above her head shifted from 0~1 to 10~11.

That level of power was enough for her to move freely through the mountains, unafraid of wild beasts.

As for Li Yuan, he continued his own cultivation.

With a surplus of unused stat points, he focused on digging deeper into power itself. Every breakthrough could now be achieved with ease, so long as there was strength to be gained, he could attain mastery.

But acquiring second rank skills? That was another story.

Still, Li Yuan’s ambitions weren’t limited to just the second rank.

His earlier cultivation had been rushed, so much so that only his primary combat power had reached the peak of second rank. Other skills like weaponsmithing, beast taming, and movement abilities had remained at much lower levels.

Over time, though he still hadn’t unlocked another second rank skill besides World Destroying Finger, he had forcibly pushed weaponsmithing, beast taming, and movement abilities all to peak third rank.

With beast taming, he could now control any third rank creature or lower. These beasts would instantly become extensions of his senses, connected through his spirit. But the truth was, Li Yuan could already reach any corner of the Ancestral Land with a mere thought, crush any enemy with a single finger. So what use were lowly beasts now?

With weaponsmithing, he could craft spirit artifacts at fifth rank, domain weapons at fourth rank, and realm banners at third rank. In the old days, Li Yuan hadn’t even touched the art of making banners. But now, he had achieved mastery.

As for movement skills, at ninth rank one could track, at eighth rank one could sense, at sixth rank one could suppress one’s aura, and at fifth, they could create illusions. Back in the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain, Li Yuan’s abilities had stopped at illusion. That was why he’d been unable to hide his presence and forced to fight the cultivators of the Eastern Sea head-on.

In these quiet days of secluded cultivation, Li Yuan finally comprehended the essence of the fourth and third rank human seal. With that insight, he could now fully conceal his presence within the fabric of heaven and earth. One thought, and all traces of his aura would vanish. Even if he walked past someone in broad daylight, if he chose not to be seen, no one, not even those using detection magic, could perceive him.

The human seal spanned from the ninth to the third rank.

Above that was the heavenly seal, starting from lesser insight and culminating in true will.

The peak of the third rank human seal was roughly equivalent in power to the pinnacle of true will in the heavenly seal. From that point on, only those who attained the state of heavenly will could surpass it.

To truly walk the Dao, one needed the solid foundation of the third rank. Without it, any second rank power was just a castle in the sky, grand on the outside but hollow within. A slight shift in the external world could bring it all crashing down.

In other words, if Li Yuan chose to hide himself now, only those who had reached the level of Heavenly Will would have any chance of perceiving him.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Another autumn rolled around.

Wu Mei wielded her axe with practiced speed, chopping firewood in smooth, rhythmic strokes. Once she had the water boiling and the rice cooked, she ran over to Li Yuan again to ask for guidance.

She’d hit a bottleneck in her cultivation and was stuck at the eighth rank.

Li Yuan knew immediately what the issue was. She lacked Yang energy.

Seeing how earnest and hardworking she was, he didn’t hold back. He stirred a thread of Yang energy into the hearth, lighting a steady flame, then said simply, “Train here.”

Wu Mei didn’t hesitate. She rolled up a quilt and made her bed right beside the hearth. Day and night, when she wasn’t working, she was immersed in cultivation.

Time passed slowly but steadily.

Her way of addressing Li Yuan began to shift too. She had once called him

Elder

. Then came

Master Elder

. And finally, one day, she dropped the

Elder

altogether.

“Masterr,” she said.

But the moment the word left her lips, Li Yuan’s response was cold and absolute: “If you call me

Master

, you must never again interfere in mortal affairs. If you do, I’ll kill you myself. Do you accept this?”

Wu Mei was stunned, caught off guard. Just as she opened her mouth to respond, he spoke again.

“If you don’t agree, I’ll still continue teaching you. I’ll help you extend your life and strengthen your cultivation. Consider it compensation for bringing you here against your will. After that, I’ll send you back to the mortal world. You’ll become a steward or elder within one of the rising sects. From then on, you’ll be free.”

Since Li Yuan had scattered the seeds of the old era back into the mortal world, the landscape was flourishing once again.

Sects like the Arcane Supreme Sect, Five Spirits Institute, and the Bladeseekers, some remembered in dusty histories, others long lost to time, had all been rebuilt. These factions now allied with the Church of Light, freely sharing their teachings among each other.

Those who had only studied the heavenly seal began to supplement it with the human seal. Those steeped in the human seal sought to ascend into the mysteries of the heavens.

Li Yuan had already planned it out. When the time was right, he would send Wu Mei to the Bladeseekers, where she would serve as an elder.

Seeing her hesitate, he added one last warning:

“Don’t think that becoming my disciple means you’ll keep all these privileges. I do not go back on my word. If you take me as your master, you will be barred from returning to the world forever.”

A long silence passed before Wu Mei finally spoke.

“I’ve seen so little of the world,” she said softly. “My heart still clings to earthly desires. I’m restless, unsure, and afraid I wouldn’t be able to serve you with a clear mind. But...if you would allow me 20 years, just 20 years to walk among mortals... Then I swear, after that, I’ll return to the mountain. Would that be acceptable?”

Li Yuan considered for a moment. “Alright, 20 years. Then, return when the time is up.”

Wu Mei blinked in surprise, the excitement blooming across her face barely contained. But she immediately dropped to her knees in a deep bow, voice trembling with emotion.

“Master...you possess powers beyond imagining, while I am just an ordinary girl. I don’t understand... Why would someone like you care so much about someone like me?”

That question had gnawed at her all along.

Li Yuan only replied, “It’s Heaven’s secret. Don’t ask again.”

“Yes, Master.”

He added, his tone suddenly cold, “Once you return to the mortal world, if you interfere in matters of the royal court, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

“The royal court?” Wu Mei gave a bitter little laugh. “You think too highly of me, Master...”

But when she saw the seriousness in his eyes, she nodded solemnly and swore an oath.

Only then did Li Yuan give a slight nod and quietly vanish into the mist.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Ten years slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Li Yuan, honoring the unspoken agreement he had once made with Yan Yu, did not intervene in worldly affairs during that time.

He gave this solitary mountain a name,

Everpeak.

From then on, he spent his days moving back and forth between Everpeak and the Underworld, walking his path in silence.

Then came the day Wu Mei, now a sixth-rank cultivator under his tutelage, bid him farewell and asked for permission to enter the world for her promised 20 years.

Li Yuan led her to a place thick with Yang energy and captured a seventh rank demonic horse, which he offered to her on the condition that she had to tame it herself.

And what he witnessed next...was exactly like the scene he remembered from Earth’s history books, before he crossed into this world.

Wu Mei failed to tame the beast. So, in typical fiery fashion, she drew her blade and held it to the creature’s neck. The demonic horse instantly submitted.

Victorious, Wu Mei leapt down from the saddle, radiant and heroic, and turned with a proud smile toward the immortal-looking old man.

But all she saw in return...was his grave and distant gaze.

Li Yuan had already linked his soul to the demonic horse, quietly making it his eyes and ears. Then, he handed her a handwritten letter.

“Go to the Bladeseekers when you descend the mountain,” he instructed. “Give this letter to the sect leader. She will take you in. Begin your 20 years in the world from there.”

The current master of the Bladeseekers was Zhao Chunxin, one of the old world’s chosen seeds, that he’d released from the Deathless Tomb..

Within the letter was a secret code known only to Zhao Chunxin, a signal that would be understood instantly.

Wu Mei received the letter with both hands and bowed once more before setting off.

The spirited woman, now a full-fledged martial heroine, swung up onto her horse. Her strong legs clamped tight, and the beast burst into motion, thundering off into the distance.

Behind her, the white-haired elder’s form shimmered and transformed back into that of a young man.

He stood quietly, gazing into the far horizon.

Lately, fragments of Earth’s history, memories from before he crossed over, had begun to return to him.

Now, by letting Wu Mei leave, Li Yuan was testing a question that had haunted him for some time. Would history repeat itself?

Even after all his interference, after shaping her path so deliberately, would Wu Mei still return to the palace? Or, if she didn’t...would another

Wu Zetian

appear to take her place?