The Past

A full moon hung high in the sky, casting a quiet glow over the snow-covered mountains and forest. "Kid Xu, are you saying that what makes the Meishen cherry tree truly formidable for a sect is that people can comprehend the Dao through it?" "Old Man Luo, how come you don't know anything?" "What do you mean by 'don't know anything'? The Meishen cherry tree hasn't surfaced in ages. Isn't it only natural that I wouldn't know?" The faint sound of their conversation drifted closer from the distance, accompanied by the gentle crunching of two sets of footsteps in the snow as they passed through the snow-white winter thicket. Under the quiet moonlight, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the Saint's remnant soul floating in midair and patiently explained: "Heh, you're right. The Meishen cherry tree truly can allow people to comprehend Dao Charm. Even someone of mediocre talent at Fourth-Rank Body Integration could use it to grasp the unique Dao Charm of the Meishen cherry tree. Back then, after the Qionghua Sect conducted the blood sacrifice of Yuchu and Jinghe, at least one person broke through to Third-Rank Grandmaster every year. That was the reason for their prosperity." At this point, Xu Yuan broke into a meaningful grin. The world was vast—so vast that it never lacked geniuses. There were plenty of cultivators under twenty years old who had reached Fourth-Rank Body Integration across this great realm, but very few of those prodigies could break through to Third-Rank Grandmaster in a short time. Below the third rank, bottlenecks still existed, but they were limited purely to the physical body and the intent-soul. As long as one's meridians were wide enough, intent-soul solid enough, cultivation arts powerful enough, and medicinal pills plentiful enough, one could cultivate up to Fourth-Rank Body Integration with almost no obstruction. Dao Charm, however, was something profound and mysterious. Even if someone taught you, if you couldn't comprehend it, you might never understand it in your entire life. Yet the Meishen cherry tree allowed people to directly contemplate and grasp Dao Charm. With that thought, Xu Yuan shook his head slightly. "Still, the Meishen cherry tree can only allow one person to comprehend it at a time. Multiple people meditating on the Dao Charm simultaneously would interfere with each other. Even so, it was more than enough to make everyone under heaven flock to it like ducks..." "..." The Saint's remnant soul fell silent for a moment before suddenly grinning, amusement glinting in his eyes. "In that case, you rascal had Ran Qingmo chop down your Chancellor's Manor's treasure. Tsk, tsk... I'd really love to see your family's expressions when they find out. At least one Grandmaster every year! Even the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion back in the day wouldn't have dared make such a guarantee." "..." Xu Yuan's cheek twitched. If word of this got back home, let alone Xu Changge, even his old man would probably be unable to resist beating him personally. With a light snort, Xu Yuan kept a straight face and murmured, "Old Man Luo, how do you think a sect as prosperous as the Qionghua Sect was destroyed back then?" Eager to hear the story, the Saint's remnant soul played along cooperatively. "How?" Recalling the somewhat hazy memories from that 'dream' in his mind, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled. "Old Man Luo, you were wrong about one thing earlier." "What?" The Saint's remnant soul frowned. "My Chancellor's Manor can't compare to the Qionghua Sect," Xu Yuan said, lowering his gaze. "Oh?" The Saint's remnant soul narrowed his eyes. "..." Ran Qingmo's limpid, dark eyes also sparkled with curiosity as she waited for the rest of the tale. Xu Yuan gently shook his head and said softly, "Yuchu struck back then during the Qionghua Sect's Millennium Celebration. "Having obtained the Meishen cherry tree, the Qionghua Sect had developed for nearly two jiazi and reached the pinnacle of its prosperity. On the day of the Millennium Celebration, all the powerhouses of the Qionghua Sect returned to the Qionghua Realm. Great sects like the Taiqing Dao Palace and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion almost all sent delegations led by their sect masters, accompanied by several Saints, along with various disciples to offer their congratulations. The entire Qionghua Realm celebrated together..." "Wait," the Saint's remnant soul interrupted, furrowing his brows. Xu Yuan glanced at him. "What is it?" The Saint's remnant soul looked at Xu Yuan and said, "No matter how prosperous the Qionghua Sect was, it would have been impossible for the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master to leave the Overseeing Heaven Tower lightly. Even to show great respect, they would have sent at most one or two Holy Venerables." Xu Yuan shrugged. "I'm certain that person was the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master." Because that person had been Tianrui. Unlike with Xu Yuan and Tianyan, Jinghe had severed only one arm of the Holy Son back then—the arm bearing his Sumeru ring. That had also been one of the reasons why the Qionghua Sect was able to withstand the pressure and protect Jinghe. The eyes of the Saint's remnant soul flickered uncertainly before he let out a sigh and said softly, "Fine, keep going." Xu Yuan cleared his throat. "In short, the celebration proceeded smoothly. Right as that brat Tang Jiuqing... cough, right as the Qionghua Sect Master stood before the palace hall to announce the opening of the Millennium Celebration, Yuchu made her move." Recalling those scenes, Xu Yuan's gaze turned strange and complicated. "The way Yuchu acted was very simple: she used Meishen flower poison." "Meishen flower poison?" The Saint's remnant soul had an odd expression. "There were so many powerhouses gathered in the Qionghua Realm at that time. How could that be possible?" Xu Yuan didn't address the skepticism directly and simply continued: "Relying on Yuchu alone naturally would have been impossible. But the instant she struck, all those experts who had comprehended the Meishen Dao Charm instantly became sources that unleashed the Meishen flower poison!" "..." The Saint's remnant soul froze. "..." Ran Qingmo's small mouth parted into an 'O' shape. Xu Yuan glanced at the two of them. "In almost a single breath, the entire Qionghua Realm was engulfed by an ocean of Meishen blossoms. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators who had come to celebrate were all plunged into the illusion." Pausing briefly, Xu Yuan continued: "Old Man Luo, you ought to know how terrifying that sea of cherry blossoms was when Yuchu self-detonated earlier, right? The sea of blossoms ten thousand years ago was several tiers more potent than the Meishen effect from her self-detonation. "Mm... Tianrui, that Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master, barely managed to stay conscious and tried to escape, but Yuchu took control of the other Saints and beat him to death." "..." Hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul went silent. His eyes flickered for a few moments, and then his pupils abruptly shrank as he let out a long sigh. "So that's how it was..." "What?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Old Man Luo had realized. "The great catastrophe from twenty thousand years ago," the Saint's remnant soul said. "..." Xu Yuan's brow twitched. "What catastrophe? Aberrant ghosts?" "Aberrant ghosts weren't the only kind of catastrophe." The Saint's remnant soul shook his head. "No wonder the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master went in person back then. He likely intended to use the celebration as an opportunity to inform the world and rally their combat strength." With that, the Saint's remnant soul wore a wry smile. "Only to be completely wiped out in one fell swoop at the celebration." Understanding dawned on Xu Yuan. Wrapping his hand in Source Qi, he patted the Saint's remnant soul on the shoulder and said, "So you see, the Meishen cherry tree is a double-edged sword. One careless slip and you suffer a terrible backlash. My father and the others won't blame me." The Saint's remnant soul shook his head, then asked again, "Then why was that illusory realm you spoke of so vast? That was more than half the world." "..." Hearing that, Xu Yuan suddenly halted in the snow and shot the Saint's remnant soul a knowing, faintly amused glance. "..." The Saint's remnant soul grimaced. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Kid Xu, I told you everything you wanted to know. Don't play this game with me." "Pfft." Xu Yuan couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Once he had laughed his fill, he let out a wistful sigh. "Don't be nervous. Actually, early on, Tian... well, I was always very curious about this matter too. "It wasn't until I heard Yuchu explain it herself that I learned that illusory realm was formed by the aggregate of all the soul traces of those who died at the Millennium Celebration. "Hundreds of thousands of cultivators, the soul traces of the greater part of the world's powerhouses, converged to create that illusory world!" Just as the words left his mouth, before Xu Yuan could break into a grin, Ran Qingmo raised a hand and clamped it over his mouth. The next instant, a colossal surge of Source Qi swept past from the distance, frightening Xu Yuan into immediate silence. It was Tianyan. It had been four days since they arrived in the Wanxing Mountain Range through the secret teleportation array Tianrui had left behind. Tianyan's Source Qi fluctuations had first appeared on the second day. That washboard Saintess... had been frantically searching all over the Wanxing Mountain Range like a madwoman these past few days.