"The woman at my side?"
An affectionate silhouette involuntarily rose before Xu Ying's eyes—the woman who had accompanied him through deep attachment for more than forty thousand years.
Could the woman bound by the Reincarnation Curse be Yuan Weiyang?
And who had Yuan Weiyang been in her first life?
What kind of story had unfolded between the two of them?
Together they had journeyed through reincarnation, one muddled and ignorant, his life and fate manipulated by unseen hands, while the other struggled amid the cycle of rebirth like a fish swept again and again into the vortex.
It was at once a romance and an endless torment.
Xu Ying steadied his mind and asked, "She has already recovered her memories of the past and her full cultivation has returned. Shouldn't she have leaped out of the Reincarnation Curse by now?"
The Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden shook her head. "The Reincarnation Curse is still there."
*The curse is still there?*
Xu Ying felt a chill run down his spine. The Queen Mother of the West had helped Yuan Weiyang unseal her dusty memories, recall her past, reclaim her identity as a female immortal, and restore her former might—yet even that had failed to break the Reincarnation Curse?
Could it be that she would still suffer unforeseen disaster and fall back into the cycle of reincarnation?
Was she still trapped under the palm of that terrifying being who had laid the curse upon her?
The Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden said, "The one who cast the curse was extraordinarily powerful. After my death, they borrowed my Dao to lay it down. Even I cannot undo it now. Fellow Daoist Xu, forgive me, but my hands are tied."
Xu Ying reined in his thoughts, setting the matter aside for the moment. "Since the Female Emperor could heal the Little Celestial Venerable, is there any way you can help me restore my six secret depositories?"
His six secret depositories were damaged; he was no longer a Nuo Immortal, merely a Qi Refiner who had cultivated to the Twelve-Story Pavilion stage.
While he could draw upon the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, the Jade Pool, and the Third Heavenly Gate to boost his combat strength, those three treasures had become external magic artifacts rather than his own cultivation realms.
Restoring his six secret depositories was therefore of the utmost urgency to him.
The Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, relying on oneself is better than seeking aid from others. Back then, when you arrived in the Ancestral Court, you comprehended the Xu family's ancestral method and broke through its limits. Why seek outside help now? If I were to help you, it would only keep you complacent and stagnant. Fellow Daoist, let us part ways here. When I have recovered to my peak, there will naturally come a day for us to meet again."
Xu Ying stared blankly, watching her descend Penglai Immortal Mountain. She resembled a bright moon vanishing into the vast expanse of mountains and rivers.
"Back then in the Ancestral Court, I broke through the Xu family's ancestral method? Could she be referring to when I refined the Tushita Palace at its ruins and placed it upon the Cinnabar Palace's other shore?"
Xu Ying pondered. When the Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden spoke of him breaking through the ancestral method, she most likely meant that.
"The me of that year broke through the Xu family's ancestral method amid hardship and adversity. The me of today can surely surpass the me of my first life!"
Xu Ying rallied his spirits, thinking, *Still, some of the things the Female Emperor let slip are rather interesting. The Netherworld's invasion is being driven by Perfected Yuhu of the Immortal Realm, and there is bound to be someone else behind Perfected Yuhu. The invasion of the ghost city and the invasion of the Ancestral Court's demonic realm are also extremely bizarre. Setting Weixu aside for now, what on earth is going on with the demonic realm's invasion?*
He recalled the Little Celestial Venerable's Heaven Mending Plan, and his heart stirred. Was there any connection between the Heaven Mending Plan and the invasion of the Ancestral Court's demonic realm?
He promptly made his way to Hunyuan Palace to find the Little Celestial Venerable and inquire about the matter.
"Master, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Ancestral Court has not even recovered yet. How could it possibly invade the other myriad heavens and worlds?"
The Little Celestial Venerable shook his head. "The revival of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Yuanchu Great World actually has nothing to do with the Ancestral Court!"
Xu Ying was utterly astounded and blurted out, "The invasion of the demonic realm into the Yuanchu Great World has nothing to do with the demonic realm?"
It was precisely because the demonic Dao from the Yuanchu Great World had invaded and contaminated his Primordial Spirit that he had undertaken this journey to the Ancestral Court. Never had he imagined the Little Celestial Venerable would claim the demonic realm's invasion had nothing to do with the demonic realm itself.
This was simply absurd!
The Little Celestial Venerable explained, "Master, the so-called invasion of the demonic realm in the Yuanchu Great World would be better termed restoration—the reclamation of former territory! The Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Yuanchu Great World was originally supposed to match the Great Dao of the Ancestral Court, rather than the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth present today! The Ancestral Court is more than happy to see such a change. I call it the ancestral Dao awakening!"
Xu Ying was lost in thought for a moment before suddenly asking, "Do you think it's possible that immortals are behind the ancestral Dao awakening in the Yuanchu Great World?"
The Little Celestial Venerable asked in surprise, "Immortals driving it? Immortals regard the Great Dao of the Ancestral Court as a demonic Dao, and view the Ancestral Court as a demonic realm. Why would they push for the ancestral Dao awakening? What benefit could that bring them?"
Xu Ying mused, "Struggles in the mortal world are merely the lower-realm manifestations of struggles among the magnates of the Immortal Realm. The Netherworld invasion, the Weixu invasion, and the demonic realm invasion might all be overt and covert clashes between giants of the Immortal Realm. And there is one more thing—me!"
He paced back and forth, saying, "In the past, whenever I broke free from the monitors' watch and began cultivating, various heavenly gods would immediately descend to suppress me, and the Immortal Realm would even dispatch immortals to handle it personally. Yet over these recent years, not only have I resumed cultivating, but I've even begun breaking seals and unlocking memories that were once buried. And still, the Immortal Realm has made no major moves, almost as if they have no time to bother. That is exceedingly strange."
Hearing this, the Little Celestial Venerable also sensed the eerie undercurrents at play.
The primal gods of Kunlun had revived, Kunlun was spinning out of control, and the four titans of the Netherworld had returned one after another, heralding massive upheavals there as well—yet none of this had drawn the Immortal Realm's serious attention. It was truly bizarre!
Not long ago, Xu Ying had caused an enormous commotion in the Dao Revelation Ground, yet the Immortal Realm had merely staged a token suppression and then let the matter drop.
Could it be that the Immortal Realm was lying down on the job as well?
The two exchanged a look and spoke in unison: "Something strange is definitely going on!"
Xu Ying spoke rapidly, "Little Celestial Venerable, what are the specific contents of your Heaven Mending Plan? How is it implemented? Have you ever mentioned it to outsiders? Most likely someone learned of your plan and decided to go with the flow, using it to stir up a monumental storm across the myriad heavens and worlds!"
The Little Celestial Venerable said, "Master, the Heaven Mending Plan was proposed by you in the first place. Over all these years, I have merely been refining it. Follow me."
He led Xu Ying to a moon gate and said, "I gathered various fragments of the Ancestral Court's Great Dao precisely to complete your Heaven Mending Plan. When you departed back then and my uncles and seniors all went into seclusion, I was left alone to organize these things. While quite a few in the Ancestral Court know of this, whether any immortals are aware of it is impossible to say."
Xu Ying stepped through the moon gate and let out a soft exclamation of surprise. Passing through the threshold led into an entirely different realm of space.
Greeting him was a colossal shard of an immortal artifact, massive as a mountain peak, bearing peculiar Dao markings that flickered with light from time to time.
It was a broken immortal artifact from an ancient era, already dead and devoid of spirituality.
Beside this fragment stood row upon row of bookshelves. Xu Ying picked up a book and flipped through it. The pages recorded the Little Celestial Venerable's annotations on these Dao markings, as well as his attempts to complete them.
Xu Ying set the book down and walked forward. Before long, he encountered another immense remnant of an immortal artifact, resembling the bronze knob of a bell.
Beside it stood many more bookshelves laden with volumes.
Xu Ying took to the air and looked around. This space was strewn everywhere with massive fragments of magic treasures, their varied Dao markings waxing and waning unpredictably!
And next to these treasure fragments stood forests of bookshelves, packed full of writings!
These books were the Little Celestial Venerable's attempts at mending heaven over more than forty thousand years!
He had searched through the ruins of lost civilizations, unearthing treasure remnants buried in the rubble, sorting out the textures of the Great Dao from their markings, and attempting to deduce and restore them from those incomplete traces!
It was a task so vast that completing it seemed impossible—one beyond mortal capability, beyond mortal intellect!
Regardless of whether the Little Celestial Venerable had succeeded in mending heaven, persevering for over forty thousand years alone commanded utmost admiration!
Xu Ying's heart swelled with deep emotion. After a moment of silence, he said, "I was the one who proposed the Heaven Mending Plan, yet I ascended and deserted. Why did you insist on carrying it through?"
The Little Celestial Venerable thought for a moment and smiled. "Who says it had to remain only your dream? Master, you taught me to keep the world in my heart. Why couldn't it become my dream as well?"
"Keep the world in my heart?"
Xu Ying murmured, "I couldn't even manage that myself, so how could I demand it of you? Oh, right!"
Xu Ying perked up and laughed. "I have always called you Little Celestial Venerable, but I still don't know your real name. Since you still acknowledge me as your master, you ought to tell me your true name."
The Little Celestial Venerable hesitated. "This disciple doesn't remember either."
Xu Ying smiled. "I picked you up and raised you myself. Are you still going to hide it from me?"
The Little Celestial Venerable grew bashful. After hemming and hawing for quite a while, he said, "My childhood name was Ergouzi. I didn't know who my parents were, so I had no surname. Later, when I met Master, you gave me a surname: Xu."
"Xu Ergouzi?" Xu Ying asked.
The Little Celestial Venerable nodded reluctantly.
Xu Ying was silent for a moment before saying, "I think I'll keep calling you Little Celestial Venerable."
The Little Celestial Venerable nodded eagerly in agreement.
Aside from shattered immortal artifacts, there were also stone walls and engravings on bronze cauldrons depicting fragmentary cultivation methods.
Xu Ying stopped before a stone wall and observed it closely. He attempted to channel his vital energy according to the incomplete method inscribed upon it, and unexpectedly, it actually circulated.
However, because the technique was fragmented, running it was exceedingly dangerous, carrying the constant risk of qi deviation.
Beside these stone walls stood another series of bookshelves filled with the Little Celestial Venerable's attempts to complete the methods.
Xu Ying gazed at the rows of stone walls, imagining the millennia the Little Celestial Venerable had spent here, trying to reconstruct the Dao methods and divine abilities of the Ancestral Court.
Suddenly, Xu Ying recalled something and asked, "Where did you obtain your Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art?"
That art was remarkably formidable. In the decisive battle against two Immortal Kings, it had forced both of them to retreat. Had there not been flaws and gaps in the Little Celestial Venerable's technique, it might not have been him who perished, but the two Immortal Kings instead.
"I found the remnant text of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art on this stone wall."
The Little Celestial Venerable led him before the wall bearing the inscription. "However, too much of this ancient technique was lost. I was only barely able to deduce up to the Seventh Revolution."
Xu Ying inspected the incomplete art on the stone wall. It was a method for physical sanctification, but because so much of the text was missing, practicing it was fraught with peril.
After looking through it once, Xu Ying grasped the core principles of the art.
This technique followed the path of using vital energy to chart an inner miniature world and reverse acquired being into the innate. The First Revolution was extremely simple, serving merely as a rough entry into the Great Method, providing only the overarching framework.
The Second Revolution added numerous pathways within the great heavenly circulation. The Third Revolution introduced many more fine details.
The Fourth Revolution evolved the primary pathways into Dao markings. The Fifth Revolution transformed the minor branches and twigs into Dao markings as well.
The Sixth Revolution evolved Dao markings into Dao chains, and the Seventh Revolution enriched the details of those Dao chains.
In the Eighth Revolution, the great heavenly circulation transformed into a Dao sanctuary. Once the Dao sanctuary was forged, the inner miniature world would mirror the true world of heaven and earth, thereby reversing acquired into innate and elevating the Primordial Spirit into an innate divine being.
In the Ninth Revolution, the Dao sanctuary transformed into the Luotian gateway.
However, for the Eighth and Ninth Revolutions, the stone wall only described portions of their effects; no actual cultivation methods were recorded.
Too much of this Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art was missing. Furthermore, because it relied on charting an inner world to reverse into the innate, the First Revolution was of paramount importance. The slightest flaw in the beginning would cause the subsequent errors to multiply and expand exponentially.
The Little Celestial Venerable had likely encountered a minor misstep while practicing the First or Second Revolution, leaving behind a hidden defect. By the Seventh Revolution, that defect had been amplified countless times, allowing the two Immortal Kings to spot it and leading to his death in battle.
In front of the stone wall for the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art stood several more bookshelves. Xu Ying picked up a book and flipped through it, finding that the Little Celestial Venerable had consulted vast amounts of reference material to refine and complete the Dao markings.
The Dao markings cultivated in ancient times were similar to Immortal Dao runes—both were mediums used to record the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Xu Ying simply stood by the shelves, reading book after book, working his way through the volumes the Little Celestial Venerable had written drawing from far and wide.
He had never been one for reading, especially when it came to dry texts; a few sentences were usually enough to make him drowsy. And the Little Celestial Venerable was a dry person by nature, hardly capable of writing engaging treatises on the Dao markings of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.
Forcing himself, Xu Ying pushed through all the books on the shelves. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "When I unsealed the Dao Revelation Ground and revived its Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, I gained many insights into the Great Dao. Some of the Dao markings you wrote do not match what I comprehended. Let me correct them for you."
His revival of the Dao Revelation Ground's Great Dao had brought him tremendous gains; the Dao markings the Little Celestial Venerable had supplemented seemed full of gaps to him.
Taking up a brush, Xu Ying began correcting the flawed Dao markings. Before long, he had organized the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art all the way through the Seventh Revolution. On the stone wall, the Eighth and Ninth Revolutions contained only concepts without actual methods. Having reached the Seventh Revolution, Xu Ying was about to set his brush down when a flash of inspiration struck his mind. Following the art's underlying logic, he continued writing.
As his brush flowed with boundless momentum, his comprehension of the Dao resonance from the Dao Revelation Ground deepened, and he involuntarily slipped into an extraordinary state of harmony with the Dao!
Dao markings radiated outward from his body, drifting unbidden into this fractured, remnant realm. Strands of Dao markings stretched across the void, floating and unfurling like gentle clouds of rosy dawn.
The Little Celestial Venerable was struck with incomprehensible shock. Looking around, he saw different Dao markings connecting with the immortal artifact fragments he had gathered, mending the broken markings etched upon them!
"The Heaven Mending Plan... the completion of the Heavenly Dao..."
The Little Celestial Venerable's Primordial Spirit trembled, and his scalp went numb. This was the very Heaven Mending Plan of his dreams!
This master of his—who had abandoned them, ascended to the Immortal Realm, and betrayed the Ancestral Court—had returned and brought fresh hope for the Heaven Mending Plan!
This spatial pocket had been refined from a fragment of the Ziwei Remnant Realm found by the Little Celestial Venerable to store the shattered immortal artifacts and incomplete cultivation methods he had collected. Now, with Xu Ying's body radiating Dao markings that resonated and linked with every artifact fragment, wondrous Dao tones began echoing through the realm.
The Dao Revelation Ground was, after all, only one corner of the Ancestral Court and could not encompass all of the Ancestral Court's Great Dao. Some of the Dao markings within these fragments did not belong to the Dao of the Dao Revelation Ground. Yet as Xu Ying harmonized with the Dao once more, those markings naturally merged with him.
The profound mysteries contained within the Dao markings settled into his own foundation of knowledge.
After a long time, Xu Ying suddenly drew himself out of the Dao resonance. He tossed down his brush and chuckled. "Little Celestial Venerable, on a whim, I deduced the Ninth Layer of this Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art as well. Still, there are probably major flaws in it. Take it and cultivate it first, and in the future we'll see if it can be perfected."
Chapter 371