The Dao boy looked at him in surprise. "You know my master's nickname?"
Xu Ying gave a slight nod.
Back then, he had obtained three scrolls of foreign cultivation arts from the Demon Ancestor's private collection. The first was the Ten Cave-Heavens Comprehension Method, the second was the Emerald Rock Inscriptions, and the third was the Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit compiled by Liu Guanyi!
The author of the Ten Cave-Heavens Comprehension Method was actually the present Immortal Emperor Supreme. Yet that method had not been created by the Immortal Emperor either; it originated from his master Qingxuan's Ten Sceneries of Great Void.
The Emerald Rock Inscriptions was a rubbing of the Emerald Rock, which was rumored to have flown into the Earth Immortal Realm from the other shore. The method of the cave abyss was discovered when Emperor Haotian deciphered the Emerald Rock Inscriptions and comprehended the Taiyi Cave Abyss!
Both the Ten Cave-Heavens Comprehension Method and the Emerald Rock Inscriptions were profound beyond measure, representing extraordinarily formidable legacies. For the Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit to sit alongside those two volumes showed that it was by no means ordinary!
Liu Guanyi's Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit recorded ten methods of attesting the Dao, allowing one to cultivate a Dao fruit and attest the Dao ten times.
Even though Liu Guanyi had practiced it ten times and ruined himself ten times, that was merely due to his lacking aptitude; his talent was still remarkable!
*This little Dao boy claims the ten methods of attesting the Dao were created by Liu Guanyi, which is clearly just putting a shine on his master's reputation,*
Xu Ying thought to himself. *The Demon Ancestor made it quite clear that Liu Guanyi was an expert at grave robbing. He gathered those ten methods from the tombs of ancient sages. It's rare to cross paths with someone of the same trade—I must pay him a visit.*
He felt rather puzzled. The Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch was supposed to be ancient. The Demon Ancestor had said he vanished without a trace after the Dao weeping, so how had he ended up in the Mortal Realm?
The Mortal Realm was fraught with peril. When Xu Ying first arrived here, his cultivation had been rendered virtually useless, leaving him unable to employ his dao methods and leaving only martial arts with any potency. It was only now, by comprehending and mending the Heavenly Dao, that Xu Ying could utilize his magic power and divine powers.
Liu Guanyi should have had no way to comprehend the Heavenly Dao. How had he managed to survive in such a treacherous Mortal Realm?
Within the Great Luo bodhimanda, the strange flower of the Heavenly River felt a chill run down its spine. *The Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch, Liu Guanyi? Could he be the expert who called me a meddler? What trick is this fellow pulling by wanting to see Xu Ying? Is he planning to make a move on me?*
He had heard of Liu Guanyi's name before. After all, someone who attested the Dao ten times and failed ten times was unique across all history, famous throughout the world. It was hard not to know of him.
"Since the Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch has extended an invitation, I naturally must go,"
Xu Ying smiled. "Little fellow Daoist, please lead the way."
The little Dao boy assented, adding, "One more thing: when you meet my master, do not call him the Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch. He dislikes that nickname; it makes him sound incompetent."
Xu Ying nodded and asked, "How should I address you, little fellow Daoist? Where are you from?"
"My name is Tong Hao, and I hail from the Ancestral Court. I began following Master seven hundred thousand years ago," Tong Hao replied.
Xu Ying blinked and smiled. "You're a few years older than me, then."
Xu Ying strolled leisurely behind the immortal crane. The crane was a powerful expert of the demon race, poised and graceful, possessing profound cultivation.
Before long, they arrived before a mountain range. The peaks were steep and precipitous, and spirit springs gushed through the valleys, bubbling with rich immortal spiritual qi.
Reaching the summit, he saw a cluster of immortal palaces where numerous disciples bustled about.
Xu Ying examined it closely and noticed four characters written in immortal script above the palace gates.
"Ten Perfections Dao Sect," Xu Ying read aloud.
*The Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch actually named the bodhimanda he founded the Ten Perfections Dao Sect!*
Xu Ying was astonished. Wasn't that a bit too brazen?
The Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch, Liu Guanyi, had attested the Dao ten times and failed ten times. On any single path of attestation, one had only a single chance. If one failed the first time, success would forever remain out of reach.
Liu Guanyi's ten failures meant that for those ten methods, he could never succeed again!
Just as Xu Ying thought of this, a deafening boom suddenly resounded. Golden springs welled from the earth, and a geyser formed of immortal spiritual qi shot straight into the sky from the mountain!
*This isn't the Immortal Realm, yet it too possesses immortal mountains.*
As Xu Ying looked around, hearty laughter suddenly rang out: "A sweet rain after a long drought, and an old friend met in a foreign land! Today, I have encountered both! Fellow Daoist from the Ancestral Court, Liu Guanyi greets you!"
Xu Ying hastily looked over to see an elegant, scholarly man who looked nothing like the Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch he had imagined. Cultured and amiable, he held a folding fan in his hand—Xu Ying had expected him to be carrying a Luoyang shovel instead.
"I am Xu Ying."
Xu Ying returned the greeting and said with a smile, "I have long heard of Mr. Liu's renowned name. I was once fortunate enough to read your Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit at the Demon Ancestor's dwelling, and I was struck with profound admiration."
The scholar Liu Guanyi beamed with joy. "You've read my book? Splendid, truly splendid! Please, come this way!"
He gestured politely and led the way, laughing. "It is rare to meet a fellow countryman in a distant land, and rarer still to find a kindred spirit! Having read my Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit, you and I are fellow Daoists. Only those who walk the same path may be called true companions, so you and I are kindred spirits!"
Xu Ying smiled. "I share the very same sentiment."
Yet inwardly he groaned, *The books Lord Seven taught me are almost exhausted after just a few sentences. If we keep talking, won't he see right through my lack of learning?*
Suddenly, observing the alignment of the surrounding ridges and the flow of the waters, Xu Ying had an idea. "Brother Dao, on my way here, I observed that this land possesses Nine Springs and Three Passes, cradled by the Azure Dragon. There must be a grand tomb here!"
Liu Guanyi shook violently. He turned around, overwhelmed with excitement, his voice raspy: "You're in the trade too?"
Xu Ying replied modestly, "I have dabbled a little. In the past, seeking the truth behind the lost cultivation arts, I surveyed geography and landscapes far and wide, searching for the tombs of ancient sages to pay respects to the departed predecessors and exchange insights with them, hoping to piece together the lost arts."
"Me too!"
Liu Guanyi reached out and gripped Xu Ying's hands tightly, overcome with emotion, tears brimming in his eyes.
He choked out, "I too wanted to seek the mysteries of attesting the Dao. I refused to believe there were only one or two ways in this world to attest the Dao, so I sought out those departed sages for a chat. In truth, I harbored not the slightest greed for the treasures in their tombs! Yet the world is so vulgar—they misunderstood me and slandered me as a grave robber!"
Those words struck straight to Xu Ying's heart. Emotionally, he exclaimed, "I feel the exact same way! In my heart, I held only reverence for those predecessors without the slightest disrespect. Seeking them out was merely to engage in a communion that spanned time and space—how noble an endeavor! Yet people still had to point fingers at my back and call me a thief!"
The two stood face to face, hearts resonant, feeling as though no greater soulmate could ever be found under heaven.
Xu Ying said, "I believed the Mortal Realm had been destroyed, never imagining I would encounter surviving humans here, much less cross paths with you, Brother Dao! How did you come to be here?"
Liu Guanyi smiled. "When was the Mortal Realm ever destroyed?"
Xu Ying froze.
Walking side by side with him, Liu Guanyi said with a smile, "In the Mortal Realm, it was only the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth that was destroyed; all living beings remained. Not only did humans survive, but other races did as well. At first, I was like you, thinking the Mortal Realm must be pitch-black, devoid of all life. Only after arriving did I realize that beneath this lawless, heavenly-dao-bereft sky, life continues to flourish. As for why I came here..."
His expression darkened and his tone turned cold. "I was exiled here. Back then, certain living beings harbored wild ambitions. They wanted to swap the dynasty without changing the imperial lineage, retaining power in the New Immortal Court and even acting as retired supreme rulers. They could not stomach rebels like us, so they concocted charges and exiled me here. Heh heh, they thought that because the Mortal Realm had no Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, I would surely die upon arriving. They certainly never imagined that I would live to this day—and live quite comfortably at that!"
Xu Ying's heart stirred. *The New Immortal Court? Swapping the dynasty without changing the lineage? Could he be one of the powerhouses who overthrew the ancient era?*
The Demon Ancestor had said Liu Guanyi vanished after the Dao weeping, but it seemed his story did not end there.
*Liu Guanyi was likely one of the experts who overthrew the Last Lord of Ziwei back then, only to lose in the subsequent power struggle and get purged,*
Xu Ying thought to himself. *For him to overcome the Dao weeping and survive to this day is truly extraordinary.*
He asked, "Brother Dao, were you one of the powerhouses who rebelled alongside Qingxuan back then?"
He had seen Daoist Qingxuan in Daoist Yunhai's memories, along with several figures who had plotted great affairs alongside Qingxuan. However, because Yunhai had been sealed, Xu Ying had never seen their faces.
At the mention of Qingxuan's name, Liu Guanyi showed genuine admiration. "I did not rise in rebellion alongside him; rather, I followed him in rebellion. Supreme Qingxuan possessed immense perseverance and wisdom. Recognizing that the Dao weeping had arrived and that the Heavenly Dao had transformed, he saw how the various Dao sects remained set in their ways while the Immortal Court indulged in debauchery, utterly blind to the suffering of all living beings beneath the chaotic Heavenly Dao. Supreme Qingxuan had great foresight. He believed that entering the Immortal Court as an official to reform the court's flaws would never change anything.
"The Immortal Court had long ossified. Those high-and-mighty immortal officials hadn't shifted their backsides for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years. Even if an official died by accident, his replacement would still come from his own clan. The Immortal Court had turned into one massive aristocratic clan. No matter how talented those below were, they could never climb to the heights, let alone reform the court's corruptions. The only path forward was to overthrow the Immortal Court!"
The reverence in his eyes deepened. "If that were all, it wouldn't have been enough to earn my admiration and devotion. In all my life, I have bowed to almost no one, but toward him, I am utterly convinced. Compiling the Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit makes me quite remarkable, doesn't it? Yet Qingxuan's achievements far surpassed mine. I merely built upon the foundations of predecessors, but he comprehended a new Dao from nothing, organized it, created immortal dao runes, and passed them down to others! That is a true grandmaster!"
Xu Ying felt boundless admiration well up inside him. The immortal dao rune system had actually been created by Daoist Qingxuan!
The immortal dao rune system held astonishing wonders, not in the least inferior to the Dao pattern system of the ancient era, and was even far more concise. Describing a single Great Dao used to require numerous Dao patterns, but now required only a single immortal dao rune!
Daoist Qingxuan's creation of the immortal dao rune system to replace the Old Dao truly earned him the title of a great master!
Liu Guanyi continued, "After creating the immortal dao rune system, he managed another feat beyond mortal ability, leaving all of us awestruck. He actually created the Supreme Realm, becoming the very first person in the New Dao to attain it! That is a realm capable of contending against the Daluo Golden Immortal and the Great Luo Dao Realm!"
He stared blankly into the distance.
Those who cultivated the New Dao had always harbored a knot in their hearts: the New Dao could only be cultivated up to the Heavenly Monarch Realm. To climb higher, one could only cultivate the Old Dao's Daluo Golden Immortal and Wondrous Realm of Great Luo, for which they were often mocked.
Yet Qingxuan pioneered the Supreme Realm and became the first Supreme, proving that the New Dao was by no means inferior to the Old Dao, and perhaps even stronger.
This achievement undoubtedly inspired everyone, allowing the New Dao to truly stand tall and giving it hope for victory!
Liu Guanyi said, "In this life, I admire no one except him. Fellow Daoist Xu, you must be Qingxuan's disciple, right? Did Qingxuan send you to the Mortal Realm to cross your tribulation? He remains as far-sighted as ever. Seeing your extraordinary future, he sent you here—seemingly to suffer hardship, but in truth to temper and fulfill you."
Xu Ying shook his head. "I am not Qingxuan's disciple."
Liu Guanyi was taken aback. He looked Xu Ying up and down, his gaze settling on his Great Luo bodhimanda.
Although Xu Ying had disguised the Great Luo bodhimanda as a halo resting behind his head, it could not fool a grandmaster of his caliber, who saw through the bodhimanda at a glance.
Liu Guanyi sneered, "Your bodhimanda contains ten sceneries of the Great Dao, identical to those of Supreme Qingxuan, yet you claim not to be his disciple? Rest assured. Although I resent that he did not speak up on my behalf when I was exiled, he is still the person I revere most. I won't lay a hand on you just because you are his disciple."
Xu Ying shook his head. "I truly am not his disciple. I merely comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from various Dao sects and derived the Ten Sceneries. I have never even met Qingxuan. In fact, Supreme Qingxuan died six hundred thousand years ago."
Liu Guanyi froze, then shook his head vigorously. "Impossible, impossible! He cannot have died! Someone so powerful, how could he possibly die? He cannot be dead! You are lying to me!"
Xu Ying replied, "Why would I lie to you? In the Realm of the Great Void, I saw his Ten Sceneries of Great Void. By now, six of those ten sceneries have been turned into sacred cultivation grounds for Nuo masters."
Liu Guanyi suddenly flew into a rage, throwing his head back and letting out a shrill, desolate howl into the heavens: "Qingxuan could never have died! If you are dead, who will clear my name? If you are dead, wouldn't my six hundred thousand years of exile cement my guilt?"
Beside himself with fury, he began cursing the heavens at the top of his lungs, railing against the injustice of the Heavenly Dao and the machinations of vile scoundrels.
Xu Ying stood quietly to the side, waiting for him to vent.
After a long time, Liu Guanyi suddenly fell to his knees on the ground and wailed bitterly. He wept for a long while, his shoulders still heaving with choked sobs.
Seeing this from afar, the disciples of the Ten Perfections Dao Sect dared not approach. Though their founding patriarch appeared to be a scholar, he was wild and unrestrained, never placing any fetters on his Dao heart and indulging his emotions freely.
They had long grown accustomed to their patriarch's eccentric antics.
Liu Guanyi stood up and let out a cold laugh. "Back then, Qingxuan was the Immortal Emperor, and it was he who ordered my exile. Now that he is dead, I refuse to acknowledge the guilt of that exile! From this day forth, I am an innocent man! The Mortal Realm will not keep me trapped! Xu Ying, do you want to leave with me?"
Seeing his emotions stabilize, Xu Ying said, "Rest assured, Brother Dao. Once I cross my tribulation and ascend, I will be able to leave the Mortal Realm."
Liu Guanyi shook his head. "You can never restore the Heavenly Dao of the Mortal Realm, and you will never be able to ascend. You do not know the horrors of the Mortal Realm."
Chapter 567