Chapter 243: Chapter 182: Yuqing Ancestor Master, The Fated One, The Peach Talisman Token

“Daoist Academy Cultivators, hear my command! Form your array!”

Above the void over the Pearl White Sand Islands, Sui Yuqing’s sharp cry echoed.

She threw out a Duster, its tassels transforming into thousands upon thousands of golden threads.

Dozens of Daoists raised their Flying Swords in unison. A Heaven and Earth Array, woven from a golden net, unfurled to cover the sky. From a distance, it looked like a massive golden bowl enveloping the Cultivators at its center.

A moment later, a violent, raging demonic wind kicked up.

A man with black, fleshy wings and two long, slender fangs protruding from his mouth commanded the Demon Kings under him:

“Bring out your Magical Treasures and destroy the Human Race’s Teleportation Array! They’re trying to leave the Pearl White Sand Islands!”

“Yes!”

The Blood-Eyed Crow King and the Ant King of Human Armor quickly complied.

They couldn’t afford to provoke the one before them. He was the Purple Lightning Bat Lord, master of the Ancient Blood Secret Technique, who could drain the blood of any living creature from thousands of miles away.

The Demon Kings on the scene all took out their Life-Saving Treasures: beads the color of dark, congealed blood.

They looked very similar to the Qilin Thunder Pearl in Zhang Jiao’s hand, but their quality was much lower, and the aura they emitted was far inferior to the Qilin Thunder Pearl.

But they had the advantage of numbers. Each Demon Pearl radiated a terrifying power, as if a Great Demon had opened its eyes and exhaled, forming a wave of destructive energy.

Over a dozen Demon Force shockwaves combined, erupting with a resounding BOOM that left the Teleportation Array shaking and on the verge of collapse.

The Purple Lightning Bat Lord was not standing idly by; he was busy intercepting a Prince in a dark Python Robe.

He was met with resistance from numerous masters along the way.

Fortunately, the Cultivation of these Human Race masters was not as high as his. The most powerful among them were only at the Eleventh Realm.

Even among Demon Monarchs of the Twelfth Realm, there were different tiers. Their understanding of the great Dao, the strength of their techniques, and the number of trump cards they held all varied. A single minor realm could make a world of difference.

Even though he had only just entered the Twelfth Realm, his cultivation was not something these Eleventh Realm Human Race Cultivators could even dream of challenging.

The Purple Lightning Bat Lord clenched his fist. A Tenth Realm Qi Cultivator from the Endless Pavilion, a Tributor at Lu Guangjing’s side, exploded into a mist of blood. His pure, untainted Nascent Soul Body was revealed and tried to flee.

But the Purple Lightning Bat Lord opened his mouth, inhaled, and swallowed it whole.

Seeing this, Lu Guangjing’s expression turned ugly.

On this trip to the Pearl White Sand Islands, he had lost more than half of his men. Some were poisoned by local Demons, others had died suddenly while scouting the path. Now, the Purple Lightning Bat Lord had killed even more. It was a massive headache.

The men he had brought with him were the elites of the Endless Pavilion, all people he trusted.

This loss of manpower gave him a profound sense of crisis.

His four A-Grade Tributors—the Red-eyed Witch, Elder Du, Hidden Kill, and a white-robed man carrying a sword with a Jade Talisman at his waist—remained unmoved as they watched the other Tributor fall. Clearly, their top priority was guaranteeing Prince Jin’s life, not the safety of their fellow Tributors.

The Purple Lightning Bat Lord, understanding their mindset, began to slaughter the members of the Endless Pavilion with impunity.

Lu Guangjing felt as though his heart was bleeding.

’But the people from the Taoist Sect… don’t they seem to have any intention of helping?’

’This is outrageous!’

’Of course it is.’

’I’ll have to settle accounts with them when I get back!’

And so he roared at the Red-eyed Witch and the others, “We can’t let this continue! If all of my men die, how will I fight that bastard Lu Yunqing? All of you, attack! We absolutely cannot let this Demon Monarch do as he pleases!”

“But Your Highness, your safety is the top priority…” the Red-eyed Witch, with her waterfall of red hair, bewitching features, and blood-red lips, said with concern.

Lu Guangjing snorted coldly. “You don’t need to worry about me. On this trip to the Little World, the other Princes’ momentum has weakened and there’s a disturbance in the Dragon Fortune. It’s obvious some Princes have died in the Grotto Heaven. My Confucian Realm has already started to recover. As long as I break through to the Ninth Realm of Qi Cultivators and condense the Nine Revolutions Golden Core, ordinary Tenth Realm cultivators will be no match for me.”

“Protect me and deal with the Purple Lightning Bat King! Once I break through to the Ninth Realm, these Demon Kings will be nothing!”

The Red-eyed Witch exchanged a look with Elder Du and Hidden Kill, then nodded. “Alright. In that case, we’ll attack together to buy Your Highness some time.”

Just as they made their move,

the sky churned and changed color as vortexes of malevolent demonic clouds began to form.

Seeing the Human Race experts attack, the Purple Lightning Bat King laughed arrogantly, his sharp voice sounding as if it could shatter eardrums:

“Hahaha! So you’ve decided to act now? Too late!”

“Our Demon Race army will be here soon as reinforcements! When they arrive, you can all just wait to die!”

…

「At this very moment.」

Inside the Grand Thousand Canglan Map.

Lu Mingyuan, who was in the Scroll World, saw this scene and asked with doubt,

“Yuqing Ancestor Master, are you really not going to intervene?”

Ever since learning the identity of the person before him, Lu Mingyuan had been deeply shaken.

’Within the Taoist Sect, who holds the highest Cultivation and status?’

’The Taoist Ancestor, of course.’

The Taoist Ancestor was publicly acknowledged as the number one person in the Central Plains World, standing at the pinnacle of the Qi Cultivator cultivation lineage, his own Cultivation unfathomably deep.

Tens of thousands of years ago, he was already number one in the world, the source of the great Dao. He single-handedly founded the Taoist Sect. After the end of the Mythical Era, he created the Qi Cultivator system, eventually merging his Magic and the Dao into one.

After founding the Taoist Sect, the Taoist Ancestor took three disciples, who became the future three Daoist Ancestor Masters: Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing. Each lineage represented its own unique cultivation system, giving rise to numerous traditions and establishing tens of thousands of Sects.

As disciples of the Taoist Ancestor, their own strength could not possibly be weak.

Each Ancestor Master possessed the terrifying power of the Peak of the Fourteenth Realm, an existence that others could only look up to with awe.

Reaching the Twelfth Realm already meant being on par with existences like Daoist True Monarchs, Confucian Temple Saints and Sages, or Buddhist Arhats. For them, looking upon the Peak of the Fourteenth Realm was like a frog in a well gazing at the moon in the sky.

But for someone who had just reached the early stages of the Fourteenth Realm—a Confucian Saint or a Buddhist Bodhisattva—looking upon the Peak of the Fourteenth Realm was like a tiny ant seeing the vast blue sky.

Each of the three Ancestor Masters was a paramount figure who presided over an entire world.

Yet they were all gathered in the Taoist Sect.

It was precisely because of their existence that the Human Race had enjoyed peace and stability for tens of thousands of years. The Demon Fiends and the Netherworld did not dare to invade the Central Plains Dynasty.

It was knowing this old man’s identity that made Lu Mingyuan even more cautious.

’I absolutely must latch onto this powerful backer!’

The Yuqing Ancestor stroked his beard and smiled. “Rest assured. Fairy Ci Hang is not as weak as you imagine. An ordinary Demon Monarch is no match for her. Besides, she carries the Destiny of an entire continent for our Taoist Sect. It’s not so easy for her to fall into peril.”

“Besides, you should be quite happy to see Lu Guangjing in such a miserable state.”

Lu Mingyuan gave a slight smile, ignoring the latter half of the comment. Instead, he asked quizzically, “Since Elder Sui is so powerful, why would she come to the Great Yan Dynasty on business? And how did she end up as Daoist Changqing’s assistant?”

“That’s something you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

The Yuqing Ancestor smiled but said no more.

Sui Yuqing came to Lu Mingyuan’s side for a more important reason than just her own idea of escaping her many suitors.

It wasn’t an official order from the Taoist Sect, but someone had played matchmaker.

As a member of the new generation of the Taoist Sect who had already come into her own, Sui Yuqing had been in charge of the Celestial Master’s Mansion for some time. In the future, she was destined to take over the position of Sect Leader of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Both the Celestial Master’s Mansion and the Dao Alliance saw her as an heir, a successor to carry the banner of the Taoist Sect, rather than a candidate for Immortal Ascension or passing through the Heaven-Transcending Gate.

The Yuqing Ancestor hoped that in the future, the relationship between the Taoist Sect and the Great Yan Dynasty would improve.

And it would start with Sui Yuqing.

Lu Mingyuan seemed to remember something and asked again, “A moment ago, Ancestor Master, you mentioned a ’fated person.’ What did you mean by that?”

The Yuqing Ancestor laughed. “Did you think the Thousand Mechanism Blood Divine Jade could truly obscure the Celestial Dao? That everything you did in the Cold Palace and the Grotto Heaven went unnoticed? You’re unaware that a certain someone has been covering your tracks this whole time. Otherwise, other interested parties and schemers would have discovered your activities long ago.”

Hearing these words, Lu Mingyuan recalled the moment he broke through to the Ninth Realm Dragon Gate.

That ancient face that had appeared in the Cloud Dome Heaven.

Lu Mingyuan began to ponder.

’Come to think of it, how could powerful figures with heaven-reaching abilities like Xun Yu, Jiang Shan, and Li Sheng not know my every move? Had they really not noticed me? So it was the Taoist Ancestor cleaning up my mess all along?’

’My backing is truly immense.’

Lu Mingyuan sucked in a sharp breath.

Then again,

’If the Taoist Ancestor is so powerful, why doesn’t he just act directly?’

’Including the Confucian Temple’s Supreme Sage Ren Sheng and its five Great Saints like Li Sheng, the successive Buddhas of the Buddhist Sect up to the Seven Ancestors, and the Taoist Ancestor of the Taoist Sect… why have they all vanished from the Central Plains World without a trace?’

’If they were all still here, what would there be to fear from the mere Demon Race or the Holy Netherworld?’

The Yuqing Ancestor saw through his thoughts with a single glance and warned him:

“Even with someone backing you, you must never let your guard down. What you see is but a small corner of the vast universe. Even the Taoist Ancestor has things he cannot do. The Wilderness World and the Holy Netherworld also have incarnations on par with the Taoist Ancestor. There are some truths that, for now, you are better off not knowing.”

Lu Mingyuan did not have the curiosity to ask further and simply nodded lightly.

Seeing his discretion, the Yuqing Ancestor nodded in satisfaction. “Continue on your path. The day you sit upon that throne, you will understand.”

“Furthermore, here are three different types of Divine Techniques related to the Martial Dao. They are called Carefree Travel, Five Elements Shaking Heaven, and Great Wilderness Fist. Take them.”

The Yuqing Ancestor pointed a finger, and a wisp of Golden Light instantly shot into Lu Mingyuan’s mind.

Mysterious scriptures, page after page, were inlaid in his mind as if carved by a knife and chisel. Just a single glance made him dizzy and his head throb. It seemed they truly contained Supreme Divine Techniques.

“This is a token from the Taoist Sect. Take it as well.”

After speaking, a plaque-shaped Peach Talisman appeared in Lu Mingyuan’s hand.

As far as he knew, when the ancients bid farewell to the old year and welcomed the new, they would write the names of the two gods ’Shen Tu’ and ’Yu Lei’ on peach wood boards, or draw their images on paper, and hang, embed, or paste them on their doors. This was meant to pray for blessings and ward off disaster, which was the main purpose of a Peach Talisman.

The Peach Talisman in his hand looked quite ordinary. He had no idea what it was for.

After accepting the Divine Techniques and the Peach Talisman token, Lu Mingyuan asked seriously, “Does the Taoist Sect absolutely require me to contend for the Emperor’s Throne?”

The Yuqing Ancestor raised an eyebrow, a rare sight, and a mischievous smile, like that of an eight-year-old child, appeared on his face. “Or what? Should I take the Divine Techniques back?”

Lu Mingyuan quickly pursed his lips. “How can an Ancestor Master be so petty!”

The Yuqing Ancestor laughed heartily. “I know what you’re thinking. Forcing a struggle is inferior to inaction; to not contend is the highest form of contention. Isn’t that how you’ve always operated?”

Lu Mingyuan pondered for a long time.

’As he was now, he had long been qualified to contend for the Emperor’s Throne.’

’All he lacked was an opportunity.’

So he gave his answer, “Alright. Since I have Elder Yuqing as my backer, I suppose I’ll give it a try.”

But to his surprise, the Yuqing Ancestor shook his head, his gaze sharp. “But I am not the only one.”

“You will understand when you return to the Imperial Capital.”

As the two conversed, Lu Mingyuan looked at the water screen again.

He discovered that at some unknown point, that fellow Lu Guangjing had actually run up to Fairy Ci Hang. He was coercing the people of the Taoist Sect, ordering Sui Yuqing to let him leave the area first.

At this moment, a troubled expression flashed across Sui Yuqing’s face.

If she let Lu Guangjing go first, she would have to abandon many of the Human Race Cultivators and activate the Grand Array prematurely.

“Letting Lu Guangjing escape just like that? He’d be getting off way too easy,” Lu Mingyuan snorted.

“What do you want to do?”

the Yuqing Ancestor asked curiously.

Lu Mingyuan’s eyes darted around. ’It’s probably impossible to get the Yuqing Ancestor to act personally,’ he thought. ’He didn’t even intervene to save the geniuses of the Human Race, clearly he’s wary of methods from the Thirteen Realms of the Throne. It’s even less likely he’d stoop to killing Lu Guangjing.’ So he asked:

“Elder, can you open a door and let me through? Or perhaps teleport Prince Jin somewhere else?”

The Yuqing Ancestor guessed Lu Mingyuan’s intention and smiled faintly. “You want to kill him?”

“Yes. For a long time now, I just haven’t found the opportunity.”

…

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