Chapter 396 - 287: All Variables Are Predetermined, Only Taiyi Is an Anomaly

Time flew by in a flash.

One day, the Copper Drum of the Innate Sect suddenly vibrated, emitting a resounding BOOM.

Its sound pierced the passing clouds and echoed outward, prompting the various bells and chimes within the Eight Peaks Grotto Heaven to respond in kind, merging into a continuous melody.

Within the Kan Water Palace, Qu Liu’er, who had been promoted to Chief Disciple of Kan Peak, took light, graceful steps across the threshold. Above her head floated a Fifth Layer Chongqing Cloud, with myriad auspicious mists and cascading auspicious light, making her look exactly like an Immortal Truth.

Qu Liu’er extended her fair fingers and did a quick divination. "So the Daoist has returned to the sect. No wonder there is such a grand spectacle."

She smiled gently and waved her wide sleeves. The Water Element True Light rippled and surged, transforming into a majestic celestial river. Faintly, a thousand mountains and valleys could be seen floating and sinking within this vast ocean! Qu Liu’er pointed a finger, harnessing the profundity of the Unceasing Stream. Wrapping her Dharma Body within it, she tore through the Void and headed straight for the Changming Celestial Pool.

The Void was boundless, dim, and desolate.

Draped in the color of water light and treading upon vast waves, Qu Liu’er was traversing through when she suddenly saw a young Yellow Robe Daoist walking leisurely. Above his head hovered a patch of murky yellow earth qi about the size of an acre. Within it evolved towering mountains and steep ridges, along with various topographies, brewing a majestic aura.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Gu." Qu Liu’er’s beautiful eyes fluttered as she smiled sweetly and bowed. "I heard that you have been in seclusion for a long time to increase your Merit. Now that you are no longer at Gen Peak and are freely roaming the Void, you must have reached the Realm of Perfection as a True Master."

The Yellow Robe Daoist was none other than Gu Changling. His Dharma Body had been rebuilt from scratch. After being personally guided into the sect by the Changming Celestial Pool, barely a hundred years had passed for him to advance from the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer to his current Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer. His talent was overflowing and his reputation widespread; even in the Nanzhan Continent, he was considered a top-tier figure.

"Back then, to sever karmic ties with the True Monarch, I nearly became a cripple. It was thanks to the Daoist’s magnanimous grace that I was given the chance to cultivate anew for another lifetime." Gu Changling smiled freely and said leisurely, "The Daoist has gathered all of the Five Elements. The weight of his Merit is scarcely inferior to that Emperor of the Immortal Dao.

"I merely basked in a fraction of his glory to achieve my current progress.

"Now that the Daoist is returning to the sect, I naturally felt a connection in my heart. Therefore, I ended my seclusion to go pay my respects."

Qu Liu’er covered her mouth and chuckled. Gu Changling was once a True Inheritance of Gen Peak. Later, he defied True Monarch Luo, completely severing his path of the Dao. In order to ’repay’ the kindness of the Upper Cultivator, Gu Changling imitated the Ancient Cultivators by scraping off his flesh and shaving his bones. He dispersed his Merit and demoted himself to the Lower Courtyard. Only then did he manage to luckily secure a sliver of survival.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could clearly see that despite Gu Changling’s ruthlessness toward himself, he was merely lingering on his last breath, with little hope of ever turning his life around. Who could have expected that the Daoist would take pity on him? The Daoist met with Gu Changling once, allowed him to undergo body dissolution and reincarnate, and then used the Divine Pill Technique of the Ancient Demon Cultivators from Jiuku Continent to reshape his physical body, allowing him to continue his path of the Dao.

This incident was also regarded as the first chess piece placed by the Daoist in his bid to rule over the Innate Eight Peaks. Afterward, the Changming Celestial Pool grew increasingly powerful, gradually winning the hearts of the people and roping in a multitude of Disciples from both the Upper and Lower Courtyards. Not to mention, Daoist Jiang presided over the North and South Dipper Sword. He suppressed Lou Zhenxiao of the Taifu Sect with his vigorous Magical Power and repelled the current chief of the Eight Sceneries Palace of the Immortal Dao with a single shout.

This completely solidified his strength as an Ancestral Sect Daoist. The portion of True Monarchs who governed the Eight Peaks could no longer shake Daoist Jiang.

"I see there are many True Monarchs coming out in support today," Qu Liu’er said as she looked up.

For Foundation Establishment True Masters, traversing the Void was like trekking over mountains and wading through rivers; while it was not overly exhausting, it could hardly be called easy. Only when one reached the True Monarch Level could they stroll leisurely and come and go as they pleased.

Currently, within the Void, various colors of Dharma Light flared up, competing with each other and occupying their own corners. Some were like a vast ocean, some were a dazzling display of colorful clouds, some filled the sky with magnetic light, and some resembled imperial carriages clearing the way... Such a majestic spectacle clearly indicated that the Eight Peaks True Monarchs were mobilizing in unison.

"The Daoist traveled far to the Outer Universe to attend the Daoist Banquet jointly hosted by the world-ruling Eight Sects," Gu Changling lamented with deep emotion. "By my calculations, it has been forty-three years."

"I have heard some widely circulated rumors," Qu Liu’er chuckled lightly. "In the previous generation of the Eight Sects’ Daoists, the one who took first place was naturally Zhang Yuansheng, who verified the Divine Qi out of thin air.

"That Mingcang True Monarch, Lin Ru of the Chaos Sect, and Pei Fangxiu of the Formless Sect all had bouts against each other to compare their Divine Techniques."

Gu Changling listened quietly but did not reply.

It was only because Qu Liu’er was deeply favored by True Monarch Cunyuan Cunjing and had been entrusted with the position of Peak Master early on that she dared to openly comment and list off such matters. Otherwise, for someone at the True Master level to recklessly discuss the distinguished True Monarchs would result in severe repercussions.

"At this session’s Daoist Banquet, the figures our Daoist will face are no inferior to Zhang Yuansheng.

"The long-vacant position of Daoist in the Juechen Sect has been claimed by ’Wei Wei’. This person’s age and Cultivation remain entirely unknown, yet he has mastered an extremely tyrannical Divine Technique known as the Supreme Profound Register Divine Light." Qu Liu’er slightly parted her red lips, revealing his background.

Gu Changling’s brows arched up, visibly moved. In his early years, he had been a True Inheritance of Gen Peak, so his knowledge was quite extensive.

The Supreme Profound Register Divine Light was not part of the Five Elements, nor was it within the Yin Sha; its nature was closer to Yin and Yang. In truth, it was a Cosmic Forbidden Technique. The key to its cultivation was not complex either. One only needed to refine their Dharma Body into a Profound Talisman, using it to absorb the Outer Universe marvel, the Taiqing Cosmic Light. Once mastered, one would possess a nearly eternal and indestructible body, making it virtually impossible for any Divine Technique to obliterate it.

The first time this Great Divine Technique appeared in the world was not in the Yanfu Vast Land, but in a Great Heaven known as the Yanghuan Realm. A world-suppressing great religion, the Taiyi Sect, had been established there. They wielded two supreme Dharmas: one was the Upper Radiance Coincidence Treasure Contract, and the other was the Supreme Profound Register Divine Light. One evolved the character for ’Universe’, while the other expounded on the character for ’Cosmos’.

Daoist Monarch Fuji Shenhai of the Juechen Sect had accidentally set foot there and wished to enact enlightenment, but he was slighted by the Taiyi Sect, which sparked a bit of anger in him.

Thus, a battle ensued. He shattered the Yanghuan Realm, took away the characters for ’Universe’ and ’Cosmos’, and hung them at the mountain gates of the Juechen Sect.