Chapter 459: Go Back, to Momenan

Chapter 459: Chapter 454: Go Back, to Momenan

Looking back on the past twenty years.

For Du Youqian, these had been twenty years of rapid wealth accumulation.

They had also been twenty years of spending money like water.

His Cultivation was already approaching the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, a level of progress built entirely on resources.

Once a Cultivator reached the Nascent Soul Realm, the progress gained from meditation and Breathing techniques became negligible; they were mainly useful for healing and restoring Magical Power. Even the quality of one’s Spirit Root no longer provided a significant boost to their Cultivation speed.

There was only one way to rapidly advance one’s Cultivation: throw money at it.

One had to purchase Treasures of Heaven and Earth corresponding to their Cultivation Technique and Spirit Root’s attributes, then analyze them to achieve Enlightenment.

Alternatively, one could “feed” Treasures of Heaven and Earth to their Dharma Aspect, leveraging its growth and improvement to drive a deeper understanding of the Great Dao.

Beyond that, Du Youqian had already spent eight hundred thousand Spiritual Jade to forge two special Tier Four Treasures in preparation for his trip to Momenan.

He felt his preparations were more than sufficient.

When he braved that deadly passage again, he should face a few scares but no real danger.

The time to return to Momenan was ripe.

As the master of two factions, Du Youqian couldn’t just pack up and leave for Momenan without making arrangements.

He had to make plans for his family and the Four Principles Sect.

His plan was to go to Momenan, retrieve the people and souls he was after, and leave immediately.

But he knew all too well that plans rarely keep up with reality.

Who knew what he might encounter in Momenan?

Therefore, Du Youqian had to make arrangements. What should his family do if he didn’t return in ten years, a hundred, or even two hundred? How should they handle Dali City? And what about the Four Principles Sect? He needed to decide on a successor for the Sect Leader, how to continue their cooperation with the Binyin Sect, the Shengxia Sect, and the Demon Race tribes… and so on.

Of course, Du Youqian’s official story was that he was going to travel and seek an opportunity for a breakthrough.

This was a perfectly normal excuse. It wasn’t uncommon for a Nascent Soul Cultivator to wander for decades, even a century or two, in search of such an opportunity.

Neither his family nor the people of the Four Principles Sect could possibly stop him.

After settling affairs in Ruihan City, Du Youqian took a Flying Boat southwest. He then discreetly altered his appearance and aura, doubled back to pass quietly through the territory of the Long-tailed Golden Chickens, and followed the merchant caravan routes through the Chen Kingdom until he reached Huailai City.

Confident in his abilities, he even made a special trip into Huailai City to gather information.

Twenty years ago, Ye Rui Master had ruthlessly plundered Huailai City, causing nearly all of its Artisans to flee.

This had sent the city into a deep decline.

But soon after, Ye Rui Master gathered many of the surrounding Lords of the Immortal Cities and a large number of Core Formation Cultivators, attacking the Chen Kingdom under the pretext of “helping Master Su Quan reclaim what is rightfully his.”

The Lord of Chen, however, had somehow found several powerful allies skilled in Magical Combat and had also subjugated a number of Tribulation Cultivators at the Core Formation Realm.

Naturally, these Lords of the Immortal Cities suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of the Chen Kingdom’s founding lord. Of course, the Chen Kingdom’s side also suffered heavy losses.

An observant person might have noticed that the ones who perished or were severely injured on both sides were all Nascent Soul Middle or Late Stage Cultivators.

The Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivators, on the other hand, were largely unharmed.

As for why… it was probably a coincidence, right?

It must have been a coincidence.

It couldn’t possibly be that the Lord of Chen and “Master Su Quan” colluded to put on a show for everyone, right?

After that, “Master Su Quan,” feeling deeply guilty, went into seclusion and hasn’t been seen since.

Hmmm, and it was right around the time “Master Su Quan” went into seclusion that Du Youqian’s Divinations started warning him it was unsafe to leave the city, lest he be attacked.

Another coincidence. Definitely a coincidence.

Du Youqian pondered, ‘What was that madwoman from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect, Ye Rui Master, trying to achieve by doing all this and crippling the nearby Immortal Cities?’

‘A normal person wouldn’t cripple all the surrounding powers’ Nascent Soul Middle Stage and higher Cultivators just out of boredom.’

‘But the women of the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect… they really might do something like that…’

The above was a quote from a high monk of the Great Compassion Temple.

However, Du Youqian’s intuition told him that Ye Rui Master’s actions weren’t purely out of boredom; she definitely had a purpose.

But Du Youqian had too little information, so the results of his Divination were obscure and ambiguous.

After thinking for a long time, he shook his head. ‘This isn’t my priority right now. My priority is returning to Momenan!’

After staying in Huailai City for a while, Du Youqian moved on.

When he returned to Four Principles Mountain, he was greeted with a warm welcome.

In the twenty-plus years since, thanks to Du Youqian’s guidance and the vast amount of Core Formation Spiritual Objects he had bestowed before leaving, the Four Principles Sect was flourishing.

About ten more members of the Sect had attempted to break through to the Core Formation Realm, and three of them had succeeded.

Among them was Xiaoli.

Du Youqian made similar arrangements for the Four Principles Sect, laying out a path for the next one or two hundred years in case he couldn’t return quickly.

Although the people of the Four Principles Sect were reluctant to see him go, and Zhou Muzhi and others repeatedly pleaded for him to stay a while longer so they could properly attend to him…

…Du Youqian’s attitude was firm. They could only silently bid him farewell.

~~~~~~~~~

Taiyi Pavilion, the most sacred place in the Taihe Sect, was the residence of the most respected Supreme Elder of each generation.

Ke Rong, hailed as “the one among the non-True Disciples most likely to achieve Core Formation,” gently pushed open the door to the third floor of Taiyi Pavilion.

As expected, she saw a figure with an exquisite silhouette, yet one that held not a trace of sensuality, only a quiet, serene beauty. The person was leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance.

‘Ah, the north again.’

It seemed Supreme Elder Wu Ai never gazed in any other direction. She always looked to the north.

‘What could possibly be in the north?’

Ke Rong had heard a rumor. A long, long time ago, the Elder had a lover.

The Elder’s lover was, naturally, a great hero—said to be the number one Sword Cultivator of his time. It was rumored that he had saved the people of Momenan alongside the Elder on several occasions.

But about two hundred years ago, the Elder’s lover wanted to see what lay at the edge of the world. He disappeared into the north, into a place even farther north than the Desolate Abyss—a dangerous and forbidden land no one had ever reached before.

And he never came back.

Ever since then, the Elder had always gazed north, hoping to see her beloved return.

‘Is it true?’

Ke Rong was not yet a hundred years old.

She could only take these rumors from centuries ago with a grain of salt.

In fact, she was more skeptical than not.

‘The Elder is so solemn and dignified. How could she fall prey to love and romance like an ordinary woman? It’s really hard to imagine.’

“Elder Wu Ai!” Ke Rong came up behind Master Wu Ai, knelt, and performed a deep bow. “Master Hui Feng of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion requests an audience.”

Although she was one of the top prodigies of the younger generation in the Sect, being chosen as Master Wu Ai’s Maid did not make Ke Rong feel the slightest bit humiliated.

On the contrary, Ke Rong felt it was her honor to be able to serve such a legendary figure.

“Is that so? Is it that time again? How fast the time flies.” Master Wu Ai turned around. Her face, as flawless and radiant as jade, seemed to bear no trace of time’s passage.

Ke Rong raised her head slightly and saw Master Wu Ai’s delicate brows, shaped like willow leaves, beneath which lay a pair of eyes that sparkled like gems.

She had a straight and elegant nose, dainty cherry-red lips, and teeth as white as snow.

Some said that after Master Jie Yu’s departure, the Taihe Sect’s Master Wu Ai was the number one beauty in the world.

But Ke Rong felt that saying was completely wrong.

‘Master Wu Ai isn’t just the number one beauty in the world. Even if the Celestial Court still existed, with its countless Immortal Princesses, Master Wu Ai would still be the most beautiful person in heaven and on earth.’

But in that instant, Ke Rong suddenly noticed a small, gray-white strand mixed in with Master Wu Ai’s beautiful hair.

That speck of white was so jarring that Ke Rong’s heart started to pound. THUMP, THUMP. It felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.

She pressed her forehead heavily to the ground to hide her panic.

‘What do I do? What do I do?’

She had heard that when a Core Formation Master was about to die of old age, they didn’t gradually grow old.

But once the slightest sign of aging appeared, they would immediately enter the Celestial Five Declines.

And after just a few dozen days of the Celestial Five Declines, they would pass away!

‘I… I must have seen it wrong just now!’

‘It must have been an illusion!’

‘The Master is only just over six hundred years old. A Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator has a lifespan of eight hundred years, so how could this be! How could she be nearing the end of her life?!’

‘I must have been mistaken!’

“Let her come up,” Master Wu Ai instructed, her tone flat.

“Yes!” Ke Rong’s heart was filled with terror, and even her voice trembled.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep in the Endless Desert Western Domain lay a Forbidden Land. Legend had it that before the fall of the Ancient Celestial Court, the Immortal Slaying Platform had been cast down here.

The incomparably sharp Immortal Slaying Platform had torn numerous rifts in Space, turning this place into a Forbidden Land.

Even Nascent Soul Masters and Divinity Transformation True Monarchs were unwilling to linger here. If a spatial rift were to suddenly appear next to them, it would be too late for regrets.

At this moment, in this place usually devoid of human life, a lone figure trudged arduously through the howling sandstorm.