Chapter 309 - 131: Great Power Cave Mansion, Epochal Reincarnation

Eternal life! To be undying and indestructible!

For a Cultivator, this is the ultimate desire.

The Righteous Dao, the Demon Dao, the Great Xia Dynasty, the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, the entire world, and even countless other worlds...

It is a topic that no Cultivator can ever avoid.

After all, once you’re dead, what’s the point of Cultivation?

Longevity, eternal life, imperishability, immortality, permanence...

The desires of a Cultivator are thousands, even tens of thousands of times greater than those of a common mortal.

He wouldn’t underestimate the Feather Transformation Realm, nor did he believe that experts at that level were without desire.

The longer you live, the less you want to die.

This is an immutable, ancient truth.

Before Su Bai had even finished speaking, the color drained from Tianyunzi’s face. His smile became forced and stiff.

It was, indeed, irrefutable.

The Celestial Secret Sect Master’s life was drawing to a close; his days were numbered. This was an indisputable fact.

He had reached the Feather Transformation Realm many years ago. No one could say for certain if he could live for another thousand years.

And no one believed he *didn’t* want to keep on living.

HUFF!

At that moment, Tianyunzi took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to storm off. He spoke again.

"It is not a disciple’s place to guess his Master’s thoughts. However, my Master has the world in his heart. This action he is taking is surely not for his own selfish gain!"

"As time passes, people’s hearts are ever-changing. Perhaps he once had the world in his heart, but now has become extremely selfish. You can’t rule it out."

"Who can say for certain?"

Su Bai leisurely poured himself a glass of wine.

’Having viewed the memories of so many criminals, he certainly had some authority to speak on the matter.’

’In the countless memories he had witnessed, some criminals originally set out on their Cultivation path with the dream of being a chivalrous hero.’

’Riding a white horse, bathed in the gentle breeze, sword in hand, roaming the ends of the earth.’

’To right all the world’s wrongs, to slay every last evil Demon!’

’But as time passed, everything they saw and heard, everything they observed and thought, began to reshape their worldview, eventually twisting their very souls.’

’In the end, the young hero’s sword was lost, his horse was slain, his heart grew cold, and his ideals vanished.’

’The man himself had changed.’

’That is reality, both cold and cruel.’

"It’s clear we have nothing more to say. Elder, perhaps we will meet again if fate allows!"

Tianyunzi spoke no more. With those somber words, he clasped his hands, rose to his feet, and stepped into the air, vanishing from sight.

Only after he had left Zhangyun City did he have a sudden realization.

’Wait a minute! This is my disciple’s territory! Why was I the one who left?’

But he had already left; there was no point in turning back.

With a dejected expression, he could only flick his sleeve in frustration, sigh, and continue on his way.

"Elder, why didn’t you agree? That Leader of Gui Chen Sect is so despicable!"

The Silver-White Dog Demon wagged its tail, speaking in the human tongue.

"You’d do well to remember this."

Su Bai glanced at the Silver-White Dog Demon and said with profound meaning:

"Those who are masters of Celestial Secret Divination..."

"They all have filthy hearts!"

The Silver-White Dog Demon was visibly stunned.

Su Bai put down some silver and rose to leave.

The Bat Demon, hiding and watching from the back kitchen, only let out a slow sigh of relief after seeing him depart into the distance.

He then discovered that a large patch of his robes was soaked through.

He wasn’t sure if it was from the hustle and bustle, or from pure fear.

He just felt that the human world was too dangerous. He would be better off returning to his home in the Demon Race’s territory; it was safer there.

At the very least, he wouldn’t run into such terrifying humans.

The thought of retreating had already taken root in his heart.

...

After leaving Zhangyun City, Tianyunzi didn’t pause for a moment, continuing his flight through the air.

Two hours later, he had crossed a distance of hundreds of thousands of miles, arriving amidst a mountain range.

The peaks here were elegant and beautiful, the vegetation was lush, and the scenery was like a painting.

The harsh winter had just ended, yet the grass and trees on the mountains remained as vibrant as new. Mist, like a jade belt, wound its way around the peaks.

In the mountain ravines, clear springs flowed.

The mountains were nameless, and the waters were nameless.

By the bank of a long river, atop a large bluestone rock, sat an old Daoist. He was fishing, though he looked as if he were about to doze off.

WHOOSH!

Tianyunzi descended from the sky, landing by the riverbank. He bowed slightly. "Master."

The old Daoist lifted his fishing rod. The hook was bare; there was no fish.

"Even catching a fish isn’t easy."

The old Daoist looked at the empty hook and sighed softly.

"Master, Elder Su did not agree. It seems he has no intention of making an enemy of the Gui Chen Sect. Could your divination have been mistaken?"

Tianyunzi respectfully recounted the events exactly as they had happened, without any additions or omissions.

He held the Celestial Secret Sect Master in the deepest awe, and not just because the man was his Master and possessed profound Cultivation.

It was also because the Celestial Secret Sect Master’s Innate Divination Skill was powerful to an extreme degree.

And he had lived for an incredibly long time.

Having lived so long, there was almost nothing in the world that could be hidden from him.

No one could lie in his presence without being seen through.

Therefore, Tianyunzi did not dare embellish his report.

"The human heart is ever-changing. No matter how profound one’s Cultivation, one cannot divine its every turn, just as the heavens themselves are chaotic and difficult to perceive."

The Celestial Secret Sect Master put down his fishing rod, seemingly lamenting.

"It is a slight pity, but it is of no great consequence."

Tianyunzi listened in silence.

Only after the Celestial Secret Sect Master had finished did he ask with some hesitation:

"The Incense and Candle Grand Assembly is not far off. Master, can you tell me... what does the Leader of Gui Chen Sect truly want?"

"And you... what do you want?"

"Is it about the Seven Heroes and Three Li?"

This question had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

Ever since the Celestial Secret Sect Master had simply sat back and watched as the Gui Chen Sect grew to dominate, Tianyunzi had been questioning it deep in his heart.

Having finally voiced it, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

"It seems that Elder Su truly is extraordinary, to make you begin to doubt me, your own Master?"