Chapter 1305: Taking Leave (II)

Purple Smoke Gate.

Clouds drifted ethereally in the Purple Smoke Blessed Land as heavenly glow rose. A field of golden light intertwined with flashes of purple that appeared and vanished within the clouds, merging atop the highest purple platform into a single violet gold radiance that was dazzling to the eye.

The two Dharma Protectors before the platform wore solemn expressions. Beyond the flowing clouds of Purple Essence, the Dharma seat above shone brilliantly, its patterns profound and mysterious.

Daoist Master Tinglan, clad in autumn yellow robes, stood amid the surging clouds. Today, she was not seated in the place of honor but stood to the side instead, slightly bowed and showing great respect. Instead, someone in a violet gold daoist robe was seated upon the main Dharma seat, carefully reading through a daoist manual.

He seemed very youthful, with eyes like stars, and slightly thin lips. His features were almost excessively perfect, like an immortal statue within a temple. Yet he possessed a bearing that surpassed the ordinary. He had simply lowered his head to read, yet it was impossible to look away.

Tinglan's bearing was already exceptional, yet standing beside this man who looked like an immortal effigy, she seemed like a mere attendant deity, not daring to move an inch.

No one knew how much time passed before the violet gold radiance on the platform slowly receded. The man closed the book in his hands, and only then did Tinglan raise her hands and present the box of pills she carried, saying respectfully, "Martial uncle, the Heavenly Quintessence-Expelling Pill has already been completed. Daoist Master Zhaojing of the Wei's Li lineage was invited to refine it. A total of four pills were produced and they are all here."

She also took out the earthen jar she had earlier and said respectfully, "The Boundless Water-Fire is also here."

The man she addressed as martial uncle slightly closed his eyes and accepted the pills with a flip of his hand. He opened his eyes to reveal violet gold pupils, and then pinched his fingers to calculate, truly resembling a deity from a temple.

The purple robed Daoist Master spoke in a voice like a deep bell, "The Founding Emperor... has manifested in the world."

Tinglan nodded respectfully and replied, "Martial uncle, after seeing you in the Southern Sea that day and returning, all Supreme Yang Dao lineages gathered and discussed the matter together. It was decided that my gate and the Azure Pond Sect would handle this matter."

It was now clear that this person was Daoist Master Zimu, who had been missing for many years. He was also the only remaining Grand Daoist Master in the Yue State's Supreme Yang Dao lineage to have fully perfected five divine abilities.

Daoist Master Zimu had clearly only just appeared. After hearing her reply, he said, "The one sent by Xiukui Temple was Houfu. The one sent by Hengzhu Dao Gate was Hengxing."

Tinglan cupped her hands and said, "Martial uncle's divine abilities are vast. Even without being present, you still know the figures of every sect."

Zimu's face, with features upright like a divine statue, showed no change in expression, yet his tone was clearly tinged with disappointment, "Heaven does not favor our Supreme Yang Dao lineage."

Tinglan froze, at a loss for what to say, while Zimu sat quietly and continued, "Louxing was once hailed as the Dao Child of the Xiukui Dao and was regarded as the next Grand Daoist Master. Yet even though his combat abilities are formidable, his cultivation fell short. He lingered at the Purple Mansion Threshold for so many years, who knows how many life shortening methods he expended trying to break through. Now he cannot even be disturbed by matters like this. It seems he does not have much life left."

Daoist Master Louxing was also a figure of the same era as the three Yuans of the Azure Pond Sect. Zimu could sigh over it, but Tinglan could not withstand even a single divine ability from such a person, so how would she dare judge him?

She lowered her head and listened as the man said, "When he and I pass from this world one after the other, the Supreme Yang Dao lineage will have no outstanding figures left. The final afterglow of Green Pine Temple's golden age may also have to be declared at an end."

Those words made Tinglan look up sharply. Zimu spoke softly, "So vast an Azure Pond, a sect level power of great dignity, nearly failed to draw its next breath. Now it relies on a Daoist Master who cultivates frost and snow and has only just entered the Purple Mansion Realm to hold it up. As for Sword Gate, with all its former renown, it once sought to emulate Thunder Palace and uphold the morality of Jiangnan, yet it has declined without cease over these past centuries. Now it relies on someone surnamed Li for backing and dares not even leave its mountain gate.

"Xiukui and Hengzhu are both branches of Moonlight. Great Xiukui Temple will soon be left with only Houfu and Kuiqi. Hengzhu Dao is rigid and unrestrained. They clashed fiercely with the Murong Family and forcibly snapped a Dao lineage that had only just begun to show some promise. Hengli and Hengxing, even the last bit of Hengzhu's foundation, are all that remain to prop it up.

"Yue Cultivating Sect has sealed themself off from the world and is no longer in Yue State. If I let matters go like this, the blessed land of Purple Smoke Gate will be left with only you."

Tinglan found it hard to put into words and replied, "But... But no matter what, it is still the Supreme Yang Dao lineage."

Zimu gave a cold laugh and said, "What Supreme Yang Dao lineage? A Supreme Yang Dao lineage that does not cultivate Supreme Yang."

Tinglan did not dare speak again. The Grand Daoist Master took a step forward and said softly, "The Origin Mansion has avoided the world for many years. Li Jiangqun was even besieged and killed at Moongaze Lake. Where do you think the deterrence of the Supreme Yang Dao lineage lies now? Back then there were Dharma relics, one Pristine Water, and one Yue Cultivating. Those two are still battling in the heavens. Others may not know what kind of person Pristine Water is, but how could you and I not know? The only one who might have acted to protect us, Yue Cultivating, no longer even comes to Jiangnan, while Jade True went to the Northern Sea to establish another Dao lineage.

"In the end, it is still the Supreme Yang Dao lineage. All the families can sit together. One family's Purple Mansion Realm is five families' Purple Mansion. One Grand Daoist Master is the Grand Daoist Master of the entire Yue State. Put nicely, it is mutual assistance. Put bluntly, it is collusion to intimidate Jiangnan. Now that Louxing and I depart, look at the five families together and see whether they can compare to a single Golden Feather Sect's family.

"Most importantly, there will be no Grand Daoist Master left. The Yuandao will not involve himself. The Supreme Yang Dao lineage will no longer have a Grand Daoist Master."

His gaze turned toward the distant sea of clouds, and he said quietly, "Li Jiangqun allowed the Supreme Yang Dao lineage to extend its life by five hundred years, but even that has its end. Cultivators have repeatedly failed to break through to the Golden Core Realm; the Azure Pond Sect ceded Stone Pond; and someone as domineering as Louxing did not even ask a single question."

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Tinglan saw his pupils, solemn like those of a divine statue, turn toward her as he said, "Whether he is still alive is not yet known."

After pondering for a long while, Tinglan said respectfully, "But how could the Supreme Yang Dao lineage decline? There are astonishing talents among the younger generation. One could gather a number of Purple Mansion Realm cultivators equal to both hands in a single breath. If such a great war were to be stirred up in Jiangnan, the Underworld judiciary would not allow it."

Zimu lightly hefted the book scroll in his hands, his tone calm, "The Underworld judiciary has been far too indulgent toward you, to the point that you have come to rely on it. When that time comes, Jiangnan will not only lack a Grand Daoist Master, it will not even have cultivators with the chance to become one. Who knows how long it would take to harvest Metallic Essence? Could the Underworld judiciary not form other plans? If the thought arises one day, the few of you would become like homeless dogs."

He finished indifferently, "Majestic Light Luoxia herding the Fruition Attainment in this era makes each of you tremble in fear, feeling as if thorns are at your back, guarding day and night with unspoken resentment. Yet the Underworld judiciary and the northern powers are forces of the same level, and you do not fear them. It shows that you have been kept too long, to the point that you cannot even see where the other side is placing its pieces."

Tinglan was left without words and could only bow and say, "Martial uncle, please give guidance."

Zimu was tall and imposing. Before him, Tinglan appeared petite and delicate, not even reaching his shoulder. Her expression was filled with both confusion and unease.

Zimu smiled faintly and paced around the purple platform, as if bidding a final farewell to the blessed land that had given birth to and nurtured him. He reached out and gently patted the woman on the head, as though offering comfort. "Do not worry. No matter what happens, you can retreat into the blessed land. The spiritual canopy will be left for you. The Boundless Water-Fire does not need to be returned to me either. For each day there is no news of me, the blessed land can be preserved for one more day. If I perish and my Dao is extinguished, offering up the Dharma relic can also follow the precedent of the Tuoba Family.

"What was left behind by the ancestor masters, the senior sisters, and even Ancestor Master Taixu has already probed the mysteries of the Heavenly Cultivation Purple Qi Immortal Essence. I will set out at leisure toward the far eastern lands where Purple Essence arises to seek it."

He lifted his brows. His eyes gleamed with purple gold; his lips were as red as if painted; and his face was like porcelain jade. Layers of Purple Essence surged up from beneath his feet, and his voice rang like a sacred chant, "On this journey to the far eastern lands to seek Fruition Attainment, if I see purple qi coming from the east and the Clear Capital's Purple Palace and hear the vast music of the center of the sky with a hundred immortals chanting in unison, then the remaining incense will be made whole. Fallen trees will become scriptures, while deer, birds, and sparrows will all come to worship me. The Purple Essence blessed land of twenty three mountains and one realm will rise from the earth and go beyond the heavens, transforming into a grotto heaven."

Tinglan knelt down and kowtowed without stopping. After completing nine kowtows, she raised her eyes and saw that the Dharma seat before her was empty, leaving only a gleaming, perfectly round violet gold bead.

"Dharma relic, the Purple Essence Immortal Origin Profound Canopy!"