Beneath the Cloud Terrace, as the sound of Huang Tian expounding the Dao rang out, the void answered. Golden lotuses were born one after another, giving off a clear fragrance. Some drifted down among the layered clouds and sent threads of scent curling outward. Others settled slowly onto the heads of the immortals and sages below, so that the one they touched would stare blankly for a time and sink into a long enlightenment.
The sound of the Dao lingered, profound beyond measure.
Every listener, no matter the realm, could draw a deep comprehension from it.
What those below True Immortal heard was the method of condensing the myriad Dao Seeds of the world, and the principle by which they were attained. What True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals heard was the transformation of a Dao Seed blooming and bearing fruit. What the Golden Immortal powerhouses heard was the “Dao” that was mystery within mystery.
This Dao was the Dao of Daluo, which they craved with desperate thirst and yet, through countless yuanhui, had never been able to touch.
Too wondrous! Too profound!
Even listening with every shred of their focus, to grasp one hundredth of its true savor would already have been excellent.
But that was enough.
If they cultivated by their own strength alone, hundreds of millions of years would not let them advance by even one ten-thousandth, let alone one hundredth.
Ding—
No one knew when, but a single strike of a jade chime abruptly sounded in the void and startled everyone awake.
The crowd lifted their heads and saw Huang Tian, upon the Cloud Terrace, speak. “The preaching ends here.”
All of them bowed at once, grateful beyond measure. “We thank the Great Heavenly Venerable for imparting the teaching!”
“If any of you have doubts, ask them now,” Huang Tian went on.
The immortals were silent at first. They looked at one another, and for a time none dared speak. The gap in realms was simply too great. Awe lay in their hearts, and they feared that a foolish question would bring the Great Heavenly Venerable’s displeasure.
Seeing that no one made a sound, the World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha mused for a moment, then was the first to ask, “Dare I ask the Great Heavenly Venerable: beyond Daluo, is there still a road?”
The moment these words were out, the crowd was both astonished and curious.
The astonishment was only natural. Of everyone present, aside from Huang Tian, there was not a single Daluo being. Even the Golden Immortal powerhouses were still very far from the Daluo realm, and yet the Buddha had dared to ask what lay beyond Daluo. It seemed rather like reaching for what was far above him.
As for the curiosity, it needed no explaining. In the legends of every realm, Daluo was already the summit of the cultivation system. No one knew whether any road still lay beyond it.
“There is.” Huang Tian’s answer was brief.
He was certain that Daluo was not the extreme of cultivation, and for two reasons.
The first was that after he attained Daluo and returned to the Earth Immortal Realm, he had, from the unseen, obtained the coordinates of a new world.
That world was named Daluo Heaven!
The name alone made plain that a great many Daluo must be gathered there, and that the appearance of experts above Daluo among them was still a possibility.
Of course, this could not be fully certain.
The reason he truly judged that a road still existed above Daluo was his special ability.
Even at his present realm, he still could not see through that special ability’s origin and root. He did not believe a Daluo of the same rank could deploy any divine ability or art capable of clouding him. The origin of this special ability must stand higher than Daluo.
Hearing Huang Tian’s words, the immortals drew in a sharp breath of cloud qi as one. The World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha was startled and overjoyed together, his eyes full of resolve and longing for the road of the Dao.
For powerhouses whose lifespans were endless, the unknown was a good thing. The broader the road ahead, the more it stirred the heart. If a day truly came when they walked to the end of the Dao, they would instead feel lost and empty.
“We thank the Great Heavenly Venerable for resolving our doubts!” the Buddha said joyfully.
Huang Tian gave a slight nod.
Right after that, others began to ask—of Dao Seeds, Dao flowers, treasures, divine abilities, and the nature of the heart—
And so, after roughly a month had passed, no one asked any more.
Huang Tian’s gaze was calm. He looked around at the immortals and slowly said, “The immortal Dao is hard to seek, and Daluo is even more like a mortal climbing a ladder into the heavens. The chance of attaining it is vanishingly faint. Now that I have proven the Dao, I pity the hardship before you, and so I bestow an opportunity. Its name is Taiyi Space. Whoever enters it may borrow it to traverse the Great Thousand, and with a single thought descend upon endless worlds.”
At these words the immortals were stunned, and then wild with joy.
They could actually traverse worlds! This was absolutely a great opportunity!
One should not look at how an ordinary True Immortal already had the ability to leave the Earth Immortal Realm and walk out into the Chaos, and therefore think that traversing worlds amounted to little. The problem was that the Sea of Chaos held many dangers. Aside from Golden Immortal powerhouses, who dared say they would not die trapped and drowned within the Chaos?
Even Golden Immortals only explored the cluster of worlds near the Earth Immortal Realm, and seldom went any farther. For one thing, the distance was too great; the time spent merely trudging the road was often counted in millions of years. For another, the farther and deeper one went, the more likely one was to meet greater dangers. That being so, it was better to finish exploring the great worlds nearby first.
But if they could use this Taiyi Space to cross worlds directly, then not only would a vast amount of travel time be spared, they would also have no need to worry about the dangers in the Sea of Chaos.
Huang Tian continued, “However, I will force no one to enter the Taiyi Space. If you are willing, enter. If you are not, withdraw.”
The immortals hastened to say, “We are willing! We are willing!”
As if there were any question. If Huang Tian meant to do them harm, what need was there to specially devise some Taiyi Space? A single thought from him, and they would die. So this Taiyi Space must be an opportunity!
To have an opportunity and not seize it—would that not make one a fool?
Even the Dao Ancestor, whose true body had already gone far into the Chaos, was gladdened by it. Heaven have mercy—back when he had searched for a great realm, the journey alone had cost him more than two million years!
For those two million and more years he had trudged almost without a moment’s rest. It had truly wearied the heart—
Seeing that all of them were willing, Huang Tian lightly waved his sleeve. Specks of spiritual light scattered onto their heads and slipped into their bodies.
In the next instant the scene before every eye blurred, and they found themselves upon a plaza paved in white jade.
“This is—a personal panel?”
Full of interest, the Dao Ancestor opened a screen of light. He had roamed many worlds and was no stranger to technology. What was called a game panel, he naturally understood.
The screen trembled like ripples on water and revealed all manner of information: World Plaza, Mystic Dao Sanctum, World Traversal—
He casually opened the World Plaza forum. It was empty. Not a single post could be seen.
This was normal. Huang Tian had divided things according to different worlds. The channel for Reincarnators of the Earth Immortal Realm was not the same as the channel for Reincarnators of Blue Star, so they naturally could not view one another’s posts or converse.
And in the future, the Reincarnators of different worlds would explore different clusters of worlds as well.
After he proved the Dao and attained Daluo, Huang Tian’s light shone through all directions, and the number of worlds he discovered multiplied many times over. These new worlds would be divided into regions by the Brain of Justice, and each region would be explored by the Reincarnators of one world.
While the immortals studied the functions of the Taiyi Space with great enthusiasm, Huang Tian moved his will, and his figure scattered away like the wind.
The Five Directions Realm. Qin Province. Kunyun Commandery.
Baoqing Ward. A wine house.
The second floor was filled with diners. There were youths in brocade robes, and martial men wearing sabers and bearing swords, bolting meat in great mouthfuls and drinking wine in great gulps. Merry as could be.
“Father, this place is so lively. It isn’t much worse than the provincial city of Yun Province.”
At a seat by the window, a youth craned his head to look out. On the street, carriages and horses streamed like a dragon, and pedestrians were woven thick as cloth. Caps and canopies gathered like clouds. Shop signs stood in rows along the street, and market banners swayed: teahouses, rouge shops, weapon shops, gold and silver shops, theaters and pleasure quarters—
“Kunyun once produced an expert of the Void Realm. Of course it is lively,” Qin Hao said with a smile. “And right now several Grandmasters hold sway in the city. To call it a holy land of the martial world would not be too much. Martial artists from every province are coming here. That it flourishes is only to be expected.”
The youth looked at Qin Hao and said quietly, “I remember you told me once, Father, that you received pointers from that person?”
At those words Qin Hao sank into memory. Only after a good while did he say, “That was ninety years ago.”
He sighed softly. “Ninety years ago, your father was still only an ordinary seventh-grade martial artist. I was wandering the four quarters then, and I entered Qin Province. On the road I happened to meet Senior Huang, who at that time was overawing the Five Great Sects of Kunyun.
“At the time, Senior Huang seemed to have fallen into a sudden enlightenment. Thousands upon thousands of strands of blade astral qi circled his body. When I saw the Heavenly Blade divine intent, my heart flew toward it. I comprehended it where I stood, and gained quite a bit—
“Looking back now, if I had not met Senior Huang that day, my saber art could not have advanced so quickly, and the pace at which I stepped into the sixth grade would naturally have slowed. One step behind, and every step is behind. In this life, I fear I could never have become a third-grade Grandmaster of the Ordinary Realm.”
The youth’s eyes lit up. “So there was a bond like that! Father, what did Senior Huang look like? How strong was he?”
Qin Hao shook his head and laughed. “What he looked like, I have truly forgotten. Too much time has passed—ninety years. As for how strong he was, that unprecedented battle between him and Yin Fenghai—I happened to be one of those watching. I can only tell you: strong! So strong! Yin Fenghai could be called the greatest genius in ten thousand years, and yet facing Senior Huang, who had cultivated for only a year or so, he was still no match.
“You ought to know Chief Commander Wan Shenyang, yes? He is one of the experts today most likely to break through to the Void Realm. But back then, he lost to Senior Huang in merely two moves—”
The youth listened, spellbound, and then heaved a great sigh. “I hate that I was born decades too late. Otherwise I could have seen Senior Huang’s bearing!”
When he finished, he suddenly remembered something. “Father, there is a rumor in the world that after Senior Huang stepped into the Void Realm, he did not ascend, but that some mishap befell him?”
Qin Hao lifted his brows. He had heard this rumor too, and quite a few people believed it.
Because no one had ever seen the scene of Huang Tian’s ascension. The Gate of Void Origin had never opened at all, so some suspected that Huang Tian had gone astray in his cultivation and had been living in seclusion, shut away in cultivation, all this time.
Of course, others said Huang Tian had traveled far to the great desert or the vast ocean and ascended somewhere barren of human traces. None of it could be known.
“Do not believe rumors of that sort.” Qin Hao shook his head. “None of you have seen Senior Huang. You do not know just how—how peerlessly brilliant he was! It is absolutely impossible that he went astray in cultivation. All the martial artists of the world put together still could not compare to him alone—”
As he spoke, he glanced casually out the window and suddenly froze. It was as if a current of electricity raced across his scalp, and a jolt ran through his whole body.
“Senior—”
His eyes widened, full of disbelief. Because just now, amid the crowd, he had seen a back that was both familiar and strange!
At his words the youth immediately leaned out to look.
A moment later Qin Hao came back to himself and slowly said, “Don’t look. I must have seen wrong. Senior ascended long ago. How could he—”
Ding—
With a clear, crisp chime, a line of illusory text suddenly appeared before him. “Do you wish to ascend the pinnacle tier of the martial way—do you wish to roam the Great Thousand and contend for the Supreme?”
He shot to his feet, wild with joy, then leapt straight down from the open window and stood in the street, looking all around.
He left behind only a blank-faced youth, and the diners and shop hands whom Qin Hao had startled into shock.
Huang Tian did not meet Qin Hao. He walked unhurriedly through the crowd. In an instant his consciousness covered this world, and he understood everything.
Since he had left the Five Directions Realm in days past, nearly nine years had passed by Blue Star’s time, while ninety years had passed in this realm.
Ninety years: the snap of a finger.
And yet no few things had happened.
Fu Yunjue, cult leader of the Demonic Cult, ignored worldly affairs and devoted himself wholly to closed-door cultivation for several decades, and so the power of the Demonic Cult had greatly declined.
Wan Shenyang, Chief Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard of Great Gan, had advanced a step further. He was only one opportunity short of breaking through to the Void Realm.
The five armament masters had one after another become perfected Celestial Beings. Among them, Wei Shen, who wielded the Juntian Ocean-Subduing Ruler, was regarded as foremost of the armament masters. His strength was on par with Wan Shenyang’s, and he too was one of those closest to the Void Realm.
Huang Tian’s old acquaintances, such as Bai Yuanfu and Yu Jingcheng, had both advanced to first-grade Grandmasters with Wei Shen’s help. Xia Hong, Tie Qi, Luo Chan, Instructor Xu, and the others had all risen to the Grandmaster realm.
As for Heng’er, relying on the resources Huang Tian had left behind back then, and on a stubborn drive, she had stepped into the second grade of Grandmaster.
As for Aunt Qin, although she also cultivated the martial way and lacked for no resources, she had in the end been unable to step into the Grandmaster realm. By means of certain life-extending pills and spiritual materials she had lived until now. She was nearly one hundred and twenty, approaching the limit of her lifespan.
About fifteen years ago, Aunt Qin missed her old home so badly that she decided to return from the capital to Kunyun. By then Heng’er had already stepped into the third grade and could protect herself without worry, so she accompanied her back to Kunyun, and from then on they never left again—
Qinghui Garden. The rear courtyard.
The rockeries stood jagged, and a stream murmured. Beside a profusion of flowers, an old woman sat in a chair, gazing in a daze at the crystalline spray leaping in the stream. After a long while, with hardly any strength in her voice, she said, “—So beautiful. A pity. Such a pity.”
A woman in a green skirt kept her company and did not speak. Only sorrow was hidden between her brows.
The old woman turned her head. Her withered hand slowly rose and caught the woman’s palm. “Heng’er, I’m afraid Mother cannot keep you company for much longer.”
Heng’er’s eyes reddened. “Mother—”
Aunt Qin gave her palm a light pat. “Don’t cry. Has this life of mine been a poor one? Even if I die, it will be a happy passing.”
As she spoke, she sighed softly. “I have lived all these years, and enjoyed wealth and rank to the full. I stopped fearing death long ago. There are only two regrets. One: if I go, you will be living all alone in this world, and that is too bleak. Two: I never got to see the young master again. Ninety years. I have nearly forgotten what he looked like—”
At those words Heng’er’s eyes grew redder still, tears brimming.
Whoosh—
Just then a breeze rose, swaying all the flowers of the rear courtyard, and a rich fragrance of blossoms spread.
Smelling the flowers, Aunt Qin somehow felt her whole body grow light. She glanced down, only to find the age spots on her hands rapidly vanishing. Skin that had been withered grew full of luster again, and her grizzled hair turned jet-black.
“This—”
Aunt Qin was stunned, not knowing why she had suddenly “grown young again.”
Heng’er, however, was as if struck by lightning. She whirled around, and there, deep in the courtyard, a tall, graceful figure was looking at her with a smile.
“Silang—”
The tears filling her eyes could no longer be held. They pattered onto the ground.
Huang Tian smiled. “I said it. Through all realms and the ten directions, there is nothing I do not hear, and nowhere I do not reach—”
Chapter 225