Chapter 324 - 319: Du Youqian Fishing

For the world at large, the death of a woman named Du Sumin was a small, insignificant event.

As for Du Youqian, her departure wouldn’t have any major impact on him either.

At most, it brought a fleeting moment of melancholy, a touch of sadness.

But he quickly regained his composure.

After all, in a life that now spanned over seven hundred years, he had gained and lost far too much. The people who rushed into his life only to rush out again were simply too many to count.

Du Youqian attended Du Sumin’s funeral briefly before returning to Grass Tower Temple to begin preparations for the major event to come.

Soon, the Celestial Master’s messengers dispatched notices to every country.

It was decreed that on a specific day three months from now, the Nine Countries would simultaneously worship Heaven and Earth!

This would be nothing like the minor affair of the Celestial Master’s sixtieth birthday celebration from years past.

That birthday celebration was only held in the Capital City of each country.

This time, however, massive ceremonies to worship Heaven and Earth were to be held in every province and county across all the nations!

This was, of course, to create the necessary conditions to unleash that one sword strike.

Not long ago, when Du Youqian went to the Taihe Sect to discuss the details with Elder Wu Fei, the elder had dismissed Wu Ai, keeping Du Youqian behind to speak with him alone.

He had been brutally honest: Master Wu Ai’s understanding of the Celestial Dao Sword was still insufficient, and her strength had not yet reached the Golden Core Middle Stage. Forcing her to act now was rushing her into something she wasn’t ready for.

If they wanted to achieve the desired effect and halt the decline of Spiritual Qi, she would be severely weakened after unleashing this sword strike—it might even cost her her life.

Master Wu Ai herself was prepared for the sacrifice, but the problem was that this single sword strike could only prevent the sharp decline of Spiritual Qi for a few decades—a century at most.

After that century passed, they would once again have to balance the Yin and Yang and clear the Earth Veins.

If Master Wu Ai were to die, and a century later the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion hadn’t trained a new successor for the Celestial Dao Sword, what would they do then?

They couldn’t just give up and accept their fate, could they?

Therefore, they needed a more strategic approach to nurturing and utilizing the Daoist Nun, one that would minimize the toll on her.

Thus, by making more thorough arrangements, strengthening the Human Dao Fortune on the day of the ceremony, and having Du Youqian shoulder more of the burden, they could just barely manage to keep the Beautiful Daoist Nun alive.

Over the past forty years, Du Youqian’s Cultivation had not stagnated. Aided by the Human Dao Fortune, his Cultivation had climbed rapidly, and he was now on the verge of breaking through to the Golden Core Middle Stage.

With such a major event looming, however, Du Youqian cautiously held off on the breakthrough to avoid a potential backlash from failure.

Master Wu Ai, on the other hand, had progressed with her Cultivation at a steady, conventional pace, and was still some distance from the Golden Core Middle Stage.

This was especially true given that she had spent nearly half of the past forty years in the Mortal World, residing at the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

This, of course, had a highly detrimental effect on her Cultivation.

Meanwhile, nothing improper had occurred between Du Youqian and the Beautiful Daoist Nun.

Neither was the type to fall in love easily, and both possessed profound Cultivation and unwavering resolve.

The idea of sparks flying between them—of heavenly thunder igniting an earthly fire—was utterly impossible.

Even while living at the Celestial Master’s Mansion, Master Wu Ai was not one to cling to Du Youqian. In fact, it was normal for them not to see each other for weeks at a time.

However, over the years they had spent together, they had come to hold each other in high regard.

While there was no romantic attraction between them, they definitely held a mutual fondness.

During his recent visit to the Taihe Sect, Elder Wu Fei had privately asked Du Youqian if he would be willing to become Dao Companions with Master Wu Ai.

Du Youqian had replied that as Dao Companions who could support each other in climbing toward the Great Dao, Master Wu Ai was a very suitable candidate.

"However, I have other plans for the next century or two, and for now, I do not intend to become Dao Companions with anyone."

Elder Wu Fei did not press the matter.

’He must have asked Master Wu Ai the same thing in private. I wonder what she said?’

Du Youqian was somewhat curious, but he felt no need to get to the bottom of it.

’Best to focus on the task at hand for now.’

Although Du Youqian seemed to be dabbling in various things at once, his actions appearing random and unfocused, he actually had only one core objective: to leave Momenan and enter the Human World.

And at present, the only way to the Human World was to brave the passage.

Everything else was secondary to this goal.

He practiced Body Refining and Cultivation to strengthen his physique and increase his chances of surviving the Death Channel.

He cultivated the Human Dao Sword and agreed to the Taihe Sect’s request to balance the Yin and Yang of all Momenan in order to halt the decay of Spiritual Qi, lest he become unable to advance to the Middle and Late Stages of Golden Core.

He was 103 years old in this life, and it had been eighty-five years since he had overcome the Mystery of the Womb. For all those eighty-five years, everything he did revolved around that single purpose.

He had never lost his way, never slackened his efforts.

Master Wu Ai was beautiful, alluring even.

But if she was irrelevant to his goal of crossing the passage, then Du Youqian would not waste his time on her.

Conversely, if marrying her as a Dao Companion would give him a better chance of crossing the passage, Du Youqian would naturally strive to make it happen.

Such was Du Youqian’s attitude toward the Beautiful Daoist Wu Ai.

After forty years of development, not only had the population of the Mortal World doubled, but its productivity and administrative efficiency had also seen massive improvements.

Had this been forty years ago, if Du Youqian had issued a notice to hold a grand event of this scale in just three months, it would have been an incredibly rushed affair, perhaps even impossible to organize successfully.

Now, however, the organizational and mobilization capabilities of every country had been greatly enhanced.

Du Youqian was confident that his plan would proceed smoothly.

That evening, Du Youqian sought out the Beautiful Daoist Nun.

He told her he was taking her somewhere.

"Where to?" Master Wu Ai’s eyes filled with curiosity and surprise.

"We both need to get into peak condition for unleashing that sword strike three months from now. So... we’re going to a place with reasonably abundant Spiritual Qi. You could consider it my private domain. There will be no external forces to interfere and no one to distract us."

The Beautiful Daoist Nun didn’t hesitate. She smiled and said, "That sounds wonderful. Then I shall impose on you."

Du Youqian planned to take Wu Ai to Soul-shaking Mountain to stay for a while.

However, his excuse didn’t really hold up under scrutiny.

’If the Beautiful Daoist Nun returned to the Taihe Sect to continue her Cultivation, would there truly be external forces interfering? Would someone really show up to distract her?’

Du Youqian was mainly concerned that after the grand ceremony of worshipping Heaven and Earth, just as he and the Beautiful Daoist Nun were about to unleash their swords, Pang Master would intervene.

All previous members of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion who had cultivated the Celestial Dao Sword to a certain level of proficiency had been killed by Pang Master. Du Youqian refused to believe this was a coincidence.

’So,’ he thought, ’rather than wait passively, I’d better lay a trap to fish him out.’

As for Fang Hua, Du Youqian had entrusted her with inspecting the preparations in the various countries.

In reality, this was to create the illusion that his own forces were depleted. Du Youqian had already given Fang Hua his Thousand-Mile Shuttle; if trouble arose, he could contact her instantly through a Communication Array, and she, by consuming a Spiritual Diamond, could return to provide support in a short time.

As for whether he himself could hold out until Fang Hua returned...

Du Youqian was very confident in himself.

Even if Shi Shentong were to return to Momenan and join forces with Master Wu Ji, Du Youqian was sure he could hold out for a day or so, as long as he played his cards right.

Pang Master was strong, but he couldn’t possibly be stronger than those two combined, could he?

Just as Du Youqian and Master Wu Ai were preparing to leave for Soul-shaking Mountain, Ai Miao arrived.

More than forty years ago, the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion had sealed its mountain to purge internal traitors and had recalled all of its disciples. Ai Miao was, of course, no exception.

Although the purge had long since concluded with a number of people being punished—and for the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, punishment naturally meant slaughter—Ai Miao never returned to the Celestial Master’s Mansion. He remained in the Sect to focus on his Cultivation and attempt Core Formation.

Evidently, however, his attempt at Core Formation had failed.

He managed to keep his life, but that sharp, keen aura of a Sword Cultivator had completely vanished.

"My grandmaster sent me to report to the Celestial Master and await your orders," Ai Miao said calmly.

It was less calm and more the deadened expression of a broken man.

Only when he saw the Mingyue Puppet, which Du Youqian had just upgraded, did a spark of light flash in his eyes.

"You’ve come at just the right time," Du Youqian said with a smile. "I happen to need an extra pair of hands."

He immediately gave Ai Miao his assignment, having him and Fang Hua each take responsibility for half of the countries.

Ai Miao listlessly agreed, then added, "My grandmaster has a letter for the Celestial Master."

With that, he produced a Jade Slip.

Du Youqian scanned it with his Divine Sense, and after reading its contents, he gave it a gentle squeeze, crushing the Jade Slip to dust.

He smiled. "Understood."

In the slip, Zeng Baoming explained that during the ambush years ago, three Core Formation cultivators had died, and Xia Chuchu of the Yue Kingdom had escaped injured. After investigating, however, he had come to believe that Xia Chuchu’s "injured escape" was suspicious and that she may have played a dishonorable part in the events.

He also mentioned that Ai Miao had been in contact with Xia Chuchu back then, and since he wasn’t sure if Ai Miao had betrayed them, he had arranged this test.

If Du Youqian was able to see this message, and the secret mark on the slip was untouched, it would mean Ai Miao was mostly cleared of suspicion.

If Du Youqian never received the slip... or if the secret mark was gone, it would mean Ai Miao was indeed in collusion with Xia Chuchu. He had also arranged an alternate channel to warn Du Youqian in that event.

Du Youqian was quite pleased that Ai Miao was cleared of suspicion. The young man was simple-minded, happy to just tinker with his Puppets. He was at peace with the world and harmless to others.

Having someone he knew so well continue to work for him was much better than relying on some unreliable or self-important expert.

But Xia Chuchu... Du Youqian recalled his past encounters with her. He truly couldn’t see her as the type of person who would side with Pang Master.

But then again... human nature is a complex thing.

If that really was Xia Chuchu’s true nature, it wouldn’t be that surprising.

He wondered what Pang Master was plotting. For over forty years, he had remained dormant, making no major moves. It was as if killing three Core Formation cultivators from the Nine Great Sects had been a meal so large he was still struggling to digest it.

He never even made good on his earlier promise to "have another chat" with Du Youqian.

For the past forty-odd years, it was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

If it weren’t for Lin Sha, Meng Xiao, and Luo Jinyu occasionally relaying bits of information that confirmed the mastermind was still alive—just less active—Du Youqian would have suspected the man had either died from a cultivation deviation or had found some other way to leave Momenan.