Chapter 398 - 287: All Variables Are Predetermined, Only Taiyi Is an Exception

"Although her aptitude is slightly ordinary, she excels in her resilient temperament. She has won the deep appreciation of the Daoist, who specially created an ’Immortal Martial Technique’ for her."

Gu Changling glanced over and could tell that the young woman’s blood and vitality were boiling, containing water and fire within, towering in the air like a majestic Vajra Mountain Rock.

"Amazing! Truly amazing!"

Gu Changling’s praise was naturally not aimed at the young woman, but at the Immortal Martial Technique created by the Daoist.

"Nourishing True Blood, Strengthening True Qi, followed by Tendon Refining and Bone Transformation, Transforming Form and Shedding Life, and carving out Divine Wheels within the human body... Such Supreme Dao Wisdom is truly unmatched in this world!"

Hearing that he was praising her master, the young woman accepted it calmly. Then, she bowed respectfully.

"Please take your seats, True Masters. A banquet has already been prepared in Ganlu Hall to host you."

Qu Liu’er and Gu Changling nodded slightly, sitting on the long couches respectively.

"Please forgive this junior for not being able to accompany you. Today, I still have to receive a junior brother into the Changming Celestial Pool."

The young woman politely took her leave, and Qu Liu’er nodded in agreement.

After she left, Gu Changling said with interest, "I heard that the Daoist has taken in the Changming Seven Disciples under his tutelage. It is quite prosperous."

Qu Liu’er smiled. "This girl is named Yao Yun. Although she entered the sect early, she is ultimately just a nominal disciple. The junior brother she is receiving, however, is a rare great talent. His surname is Li, and his given name is Yuanying. He was also brought out from Jiuku Continent.

"To prove the Celestial Fire, the Daoist established an Immortal Race, which happened to be the Li Family. That Li Yuanying is the fifth-generation bloodline of the Li Family. He was reincarnated into the Nanzhan Continent and sent by the Daoist into the Branch Sect to be tempered. Before coming of age, he had already achieved perfection in the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer and was selected into the Lower Courtyard."

Gu Changling nodded. A Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer cultivator who had yet to come of age would be considered outstanding even in the Ancestral Sect. Looking at it this way, both Yao Yun and Li Yuanying were Dao Materials. The Changming Seven Disciples truly lived up to their reputation.

"I wonder who under the Daoist’s tutelage will take the lead and step into the Foundation Establishment Realm," Qu Liu’er said with a smile.

"The Changming Seven Disciples are all hovering at the Qi Cultivation Twelve-Story Floors. It’s not that they can’t cultivate to become True Masters, but rather they are waiting for the right ’timing’." Gu Changling was now in charge of the upper and lower courtyards, holding an honorable status no less than his original True Inheritance position. He often went in and out of the Changming Celestial Pool and was quite familiar with He Shouzheng, Shao Guansu, and several other Direct Lineage disciples of the Daoist. Naturally, he understood the situation of the Changming Seven Disciples.

"We are all under that Dao Foundation opened up by the Daoist, only waiting for Shao Yang to be born and the Golden Position to attract attention. This is also our opportunity to enter the Dao." Qu Liu’er’s beautiful eyes flowed with light. The disciples of the Changming Celestial Pool, and even the many emerging True Inheritance seeds in recent years, mostly cultivated the Daoist’s All Heavens Technique to support his Dao Foundation.

Once the Daoist took that step, ascended to Shao Yang, and overlooked the Five Domains, they would inevitably share in his grace and win the favor of the heavens. Conversely, if the Daoist fell short at the final hurdle, people like the Changming Seven Disciples and Gu Changling would be like ministers of a fallen nation or citizens without a master, bearing the risk of backlash.

"As long as the Daoist ascends the throne, all the providence of the Innate Eight Peaks will merge into him alone," Gu Changling thought to himself. "That should increase our chances of winning by fifteen percent."

***

"Even if the Innate Sect pours all its efforts into grooming him, I see True Master Taiyi’s chances of ascending the throne as no more than thirty percent." In an octagonal pavilion in Qianfeng Grotto Heaven, an old man carrying a copper drum shook his head and sighed.

The person sitting opposite him was Qin Baiyu. In front of him was a chessboard that had reached the middle game. Black and white pieces were scattered across the nineteen intersecting lines, just like two giant dragons biting and fighting each other fiercely and perilously.

"Not necessarily," Qin Baiyu pondered for a long time before placing a black piece. "That child Taiyi has always done astonishing things and possesses world-shocking talent. He definitely won’t act rashly without a ninety-eight percent certainty."

The white-haired old man was exactly the Innate Sect’s Great Kui Xuan Gu, who had recently styled himself as "True Master Gu." He just hummed and hawed, "I don’t know what schemes you and Ancestor Mingxuan have, but over the years, I haven’t seen True Master Taiyi gain much advantage. Whether it’s Jiuku Continent, the North and South Dipper Sword, or even that darned Daoist Banquet, they were all fought for by True Master Taiyi himself with a single blade and spear.

"I’m telling you, Qin Baiyu, if you’re really unwilling to put in the effort to help the younger generation, you might as well send True Master Taiyi over to the Chaos Sect. I see that Daoist Monarch Qiting Doukui over there appreciates Taiyi very much."

Qin Baiyu couldn’t help but laugh and said helplessly, "So Master Gu is here to complain about the injustice suffered by Taiyi."

Relying on his seniority, the Great Kui Xuan Gu was not intimidated by Qin Baiyu and spoke bluntly.

"The situation regarding Shao Yang is known to all the Five Domains, and the world is watching. It is no longer just the ’family business’ of the Innate Sect.

"Back then, when Shao Yang shifted its gaze and favored the sexagenary cycle, Ancestor Mingxuan was half out of spite and half making a move. He took the initiative to ruin the Taifu Sect’s plans, linking the Daoist position with the new monarch of Shao Yang.

"Now, fifty-eight years of the sixty-year limit have passed. If you guys don’t do something, do you really intend to let Taiyi fight single-handedly against Ji Fuyao, who is supported by the Immortal Dao?

"Are you going to let him, a peak Great True Monarch who has been invincible for five thousand years relying on the brilliant might of Tai Yang, bully Taiyi, this little Foundation Establishment True Master who might not even ascend to the Golden Position?"

Qin Baiyu remained calm and composed. After thinking for a long time, he slowly set down a white piece. "Master Gu, don’t be so hasty just yet."

Great Kui Xuan Gu sneered, "Why would I be hasty? How much time do I have left to live anyway? When the time comes, I’ll just close my eyes and lie down in a coffin. I’m just afraid that you, Qin Baiyu, are so arrogant as to think your calculations are infallible, only to offer milk after the child is already dead!"

Qin Baiyu frowned slightly. Master Gu’s words were truly too crude.

"Do not worry, Master Gu. Back when our Daoist returned from Jiuku Continent and Ancestor Mingxuan bestowed him the Dao title ’Taiyi,’ I had a conversation with him. All variables are predetermined, except for Taiyi, who is an anomaly." Qin Baiyu placed another black piece, perfectly blocking the white dragon and completing a capture. "Just wait and see."

***

Meanwhile, less than a quarter of an hour after Gu Changling and Qu Liu’er entered Ganlu Hall, the hundred halls, thousand pavilions, countless ravines, and sweeping mountains of the Changming Celestial Pool all began to tremble.

The two stood up and looked over. They saw a vast stream of Purifying Qi stretching across the sky, filling the heavens for an unknown tens of thousands of miles. Its radiant brilliance even eclipsed the light of the sun and moon.

"The Daoist has returned to the sect!" Gu Changling’s Heart Spirit shifted. With such cultivation merit, the Daoist had likely reached Fifth Layer Perfection, unable to advance any further.

RUMBLE!

Loud noises crashed like moving mountains and overturning seas, sweeping across the Eight Peaks Grotto Heaven. Everyone looked up, their gazes fixed on the cluster of Chaotic Primordial Qi suspended above, seeming to suppress the eight poles and illuminate the Void. Within it, countless mysteries coiled and Dao rhythms presented themselves, as radiant as the sun and moon crossing the sky.

A massive amount of Spiritual Energy was drawn to it, rising and falling like the tides, rolling outward.

With a clear whistle, that cluster of Chaotic Primordial Qi, which connected the nine heavens above and the ten earths below, stirred slightly. Accompanied by the thunderous roar of explosions and flickering lightning, a tall and straight figure quietly materialized.

The man wore a golden robe and a black crown, standing with his hands behind his back. The surging airflow around him expanded further and wider, enveloping the waters and skies for tens of thousands of miles.

"I have disturbed you all," Jiang Yi said calmly.

Celestial flowers scattered from the sky, suddenly falling and rising again, like stars surrounding and gods worshiping.

"What a grand phenomenon! Master’s All Heavens Technique has succeeded!" Yao Yun stood on the deck of a flying ship. Beside her stood a fair and handsome young boy with red lips and white teeth. It was Li Yuanying, the sixth of the Changming Seven Disciples.

"Master...?" He stared at the celestial phenomena in the sky. The towering auspicious energy and boundless auspicious light shone down, dyeing the Eight Peaks Grotto Heaven with incomparable brilliance, turning it into a pure and bright world.

The unmoving young Daoist was surrounded by dense cloud light, making it difficult to see his original appearance. It merely left one’s Heart Spirit shaken, not daring to look directly at him.

A moment later, an unknown person took the lead and called out:

"Respectfully welcoming the Daoist!"

Within the Innate Sect’s Eight Peaks Grotto Heaven, all the cultivators offered their congratulations, cheering in unison:

"Respectfully welcoming the Daoist’s return to the sect!"

Their voices were like ocean tides, each wave higher than the last. Like world-shattering thunder, it grew increasingly grand, agitating the mountains and rivers, and shaking the stars.

The Great Kui Xuan Gu in the octagonal pavilion also let out a loud BOOM, pushing this momentum to spread throughout the Nanzhan Continent!

Surrounded by this surging tide of cheers, Jiang Yi slowly lowered his cloud and landed in the main hall of the Changming Celestial Pool.