“Great Qi…”
The Taiyan Sect cultivator’s eyes narrowed slightly, light and shadow seeming to flicker rapidly within them.
“Great Xuan?”
“Huh?”
Whatever he had seen, his tone turned exceedingly surprised as he looked toward Sun Erlang. “In just a few years, such a massive deviation has occurred? How did this happen?”
Sun Erlang was utterly baffled, having no idea what the man was talking about.
“Interesting. Follow me.” The Taiyan Sect cultivator scrutinized Sun Erlang once more before speaking.
With those words, his figure instantly turned translucent.
A phantom silver road formed beneath his feet, leading straight into the mountain's interior.
Sun Erlang transformed into an escape light and followed closely behind.
Once they entered the mountain, the silver road vanished behind them.
Even the pit Sun Erlang had dug earlier on Mount Taixuan quietly restored itself without a trace.
“My name is Yi Shu. The skeleton you brought back belonged to my clan brother.”
As they walked, the Taiyan Sect disciple said to Sun Erlang, “Back then, when great tribulations like the rule that dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently and the immortal-mortal miasma struck all at once, my elder brother chose to bow out at the peak and take refuge in a mortal pocket world to escape disaster. Though he was severed from the immortal path from then on, he still attained the position of a mortal sovereign emperor. You could say it was destiny.”
“To meet again after thousands of years in such a state... Even though we had already anticipated this when we parted ways back then, still...”
“Fate truly plays tricks on us!”
“Simulated illusions still differ from the real thing!”
Yi Shu sighed softly, falling silent.
“Simulated? The real thing?” Sun Erlang keenly caught the two key terms in Yi Shu’s words.
*In antiquity, this Taiyan Sect was renowned throughout the world for its art of deduction. Could the simulation and deviation he spoke of refer to the future they deduced?*
They continued deep underground, but when scenery reappeared before their eyes, they were already high in the sky.
The azure sky was washed clean, while rolling, fertile farmland stretched for thousands of li below.
Sun Erlang could distinctly perceive the aura of a vast number of mortals dwelling here.
Meanwhile, Yi Shu was flying forward through the sky.
Sun Erlang quickly kept pace, a shred of doubt suddenly rising in his heart.
Ever since entering this pocket world, Yi Shu seemed to have undergone a subtle change.
Yet for the moment, Sun Erlang could not put his finger on what that change was.
*I don't sense any danger, and Master certainly wouldn't harm me...* Suppressing the strange sensation in his heart, Sun Erlang continued to follow.
Before long, a floating city suddenly emerged in Sun Erlang's previously empty view.
Surrounding the perimeter of the city was a layer of transparent crystal wall. It was precisely because of this crystal barrier that Sun Erlang had failed to notice this airborne city earlier.
*They truly have some extraordinary methods, managing to completely isolate a city of such scale,* Sun Erlang mused to himself.
Yi Shu finally spoke again. “The Taixuan Realm was originally borrowed by our Taiyan Sect. Immortals and mortals dwell apart. To avoid disturbing the mortals of this world, we erected this crystal barrier.”
Sun Erlang took Yi Shu's words about not disturbing mortals with a grain of salt.
However, he did not voice any objection, merely nodding slightly.
Passing through the transparent crystal barrier, they officially entered the Taiyan Sect.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, Sun Erlang suddenly sensed countless pairs of eyes turning toward him simultaneously.
Among them were the auras of several Dao Integration powerhouses.
Sun Erlang was secretly astonished. *The Taiyan Sect’s strength has been preserved all too well—how do they still have so many cultivators? How did they cope with the rule that dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently?*
Venturing deeper into the floating city, the strange sensation in Sun Erlang's heart grew stronger and stronger.
*It's too quiet here. It doesn't look like a normal, lively city at all.*
*Moreover...*
Sun Erlang paused in his tracks.
He finally realized where the anomaly in his mind came from.
The Taiyan Sect cultivators here were just like the treemen in the Spirit Wood Realm; though they had different faces, they all radiated the exact same aura.
It was as if they were countless bodies of a single person!
Though startled, Sun Erlang did not panic or let his thoughts run wild. Instead, he asked directly, “Senior Yi, your Taiyan Sect...”
Yi Shu seemed to perceive Sun Erlang’s confusion and smiled. “Once you meet Senior Brother Chen, you will understand everything. Rest assured, young friend, our Taiyan Sect has always been clear about debts of gratitude and grievances. Returning the remains of a Taiyan Sect disciple counts as a favor to our sect.”
“Although the alliance you proposed might not come to pass, your personal safety is absolutely guaranteed.”
Sun Erlang gave a noncommittal response, swallowing the words that had reached the tip of his tongue.
Following Yi Shu to the center of the floating city, they entered a building made of blue, transparent crystal.
Sun Erlang felt as if he saw images of countless versions of himself entering simultaneously. Once he snapped out of the hallucination, a rather handsome man with waist-length hair stood right before him.
“Senior Brother Chen,” Yi Shu cupped his hands in greeting.
“Yi Xing also went to the Great Xuan pocket world to carry out a sect mission. Back then, because of his aptitude, he was never permitted into the inner sect to cultivate, a matter he always held close to his heart...”
“Now times have changed, and things like inner and outer sects have long since become a joke. Let Yi Xing return.”
Senior Brother Chen—none other than Chen Tianhai of the Taiyan Sect, whom Li Fan had once met—spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.” Yi Shu bowed with utmost solemnity.
Then, his figure blurred into blue starlight and vanished.
Only then did Chen Tianhai turn his gaze to Sun Erlang.
His next words fell like thunder: “According to the original trajectory, you, Sun Erlang, after repeatedly seeking immortality on Mount Jieli to no avail, settled down completely, took a wife, and fathered children. Seven years later, resentful over the excessive demands of a newly arrived prefect, you killed in anger. Later, alongside your companion Wang Xuanba, you claimed a mountain as bandits and terrorized the countryside.”
“After making waves for over a decade, you were ultimately eradicated by the imperial army. You and Wang Xuanba fought to the death without surrendering, only to be hacked to pieces by wild blades.”
Hearing what was supposed to be his own 'fate,' Sun Erlang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
“Yet now, everything is different.”
“Your future...”
Chen Tianhai's figure turned azure and hazy.
Moments later, it reverted to normal.
“Fascinating! Beyond the variables!”
“The Sacred Dynasty of Qi, is it...” A strange gleam flickered in Chen Tianhai's eyes.
“In just a few short years, to bring about such a tremendous divergence...”
He muttered to himself, seemingly having discovered something thrilling beyond measure.
“Do you know the origins of that master of yours?” Chen Tianhai asked.
Sun Erlang merely watched Chen Tianhai in silence.
“Indeed, never mind that you don't know. Even if you did, you probably wouldn't say, nor would you be able to speak of it.” Chen Tianhai offered an inscrutable smile.
Sun Erlang suddenly felt an unease creeping in.
“Wait, the cultivation technique you practice...” Chen Tianhai, observing Sun Erlang, suddenly changed the subject, his voice tinged with surprise and suspicion.
“Is it the Divine Wood Sect's Mountain-Sitting Art?”
Chapter 1193