Chapter 712 - 25: The Mist Daoist Makes One Move, and the Grand Scheme Is Not Yet Set in Stone

Little Yan Jiangxue pouted and grumpily pulled her finger from her mouth, clearly unhappy.

Meanwhile, outside.

The crowd of people waiting for a visit were all a bit disappointed.

At the head of the group, Chu Shuangtian, the master of the Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall, clicked his tongue in disappointment but didn't dare say more. He bowed respectfully, left his name, and prepared to depart.

As they were leaving, the group saw another figure approaching through the heavy snow. The form was indistinct, as if shrouded in mist.

Ji Bochang called out casually,

"Director Ao isn't seeing any more visitors. You should turn back."

The newcomer paused. He turned his head, his gaze piercing through the chaotic mist to land on Director Ji, then on Chu Shuangtian, who stood a short distance away. With a wistful look, he smiled.

"Thank you for the warning."

As he spoke, the onlookers finally sensed that something was amiss. The strongest among them was Chu Shuangtian, who was nearing the Celestial Human Level.

But now, as they looked closer at the Daoist within the mist, a shiver of dread ran through them, their hearts beginning to pound uncontrollably.

Within the roiling, indistinct mist, they could faintly make out countless dark cosmoses rising and falling, accompanied by terrifying visions: a Great Buddha kowtowing, a great universe collapsing, the sun and moon shining in the same sky...

A sudden chill seized everyone's hearts.

"Who... who are you?"

Ao Chengzhong, who had been about to head back inside, froze. His expression was grim, the hairs on his body standing straight on end. A moment ago, he had tried to use his Divine Power Cave Temple, but had seen nothing. Instead, every cell in his body had begun to scream!

They screamed a warning: 'Invincible! He's invincible!!'

'A True Immortal?'

'A Grand Grade?'

'No, not even a True Immortal of the Grand Grade has ever made me feel like this!'

The snow began to fall even heavier, yet the long street descended into a deathly silence. The guests who had come to pay their respects didn't dare to breathe. Ji Bochang hunched his shoulders, pulling Ji Boduan behind him for protection.

Chu Shuangtian's legs were trembling, and his scalp tingled with numbness...

The Daoist in the mist continued forward, drawing near the villa. With each step, though he trod on soft snow, a sound like the tolling of a morning bell and the beat of an evening drum echoed heavily.

The toll of the bell cleansed the soul; the beat of the drum was a thunderous awakening.

"It's you..."

Yan Huang had stepped outside at some unknown point, his expression grave, his back slick with cold sweat.

"Dad!"

A small head poked out from behind the door, only to be roughly pushed back by Yan Huang. Trembling slightly, he stared at the Mist Daoist and asked in a dry, raspy voice,

"Senior, I was unaware of your arrival. To what do we owe the honor?"

The Mist Daoist chuckled.

"Chairman Yan, there's no need to be so tense. This humble Daoist felt a calling and came on a whim, intending to bestow a fateful opportunity."

'He was certain the previous Qing Xuan Daoist hadn't done this, but some changes had to be made.'

At this moment, Chu Shuangtian, Ji Bochang, and the others felt their heads spin. It was as if they'd fallen into an illusion; nothing felt real!

'Chair... Chairman Yan??'

One of the visitors collapsed, slumping into the snow.

Yan Huang grew even more tense. After a moment of hesitation, he still offered a formal bow.

"This opportunity you speak of, Senior..."

"It is not for you."

The Mist Daoist smiled and beckoned to the space behind Yan Huang. The little girl toddled out, still gnawing on her finger.

Yan Huang's face fell. He wanted to shield her, but ultimately did nothing. 'This mysterious man is simply too terrifying,' he thought. 'If he really means harm, fighting to the death would be useless...'

Little Yan Jiangxue walked forward obliviously, tilted her head up, and spoke in a soft voice while still chewing on her finger.

"Mister, who are you?"

The Mist Daoist reached out and gently stroked the little girl's head. A stream of Chaos Qi flowed across her skin, making her feel a little ticklish.

The Daoist spoke softly,

"You're a big girl now, why are you still chewing on your finger? You shouldn't do that."

Little Yan Jiangxue pouted.

"Mister, you sound just like my dad... Why are you hiding in the mist?"

As she spoke, she pushed her little head forward into the mist. She stared up blankly and saw an old man. His eye sockets were empty, yet one seemed to hold the sun, and the other, the moon.

"Whoa!"

Little Yan Jiangxue exclaimed,

"Mister... no, wait, Grandpa, your eyes are so cool!"

The Daoist didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'This little girl... isn't she supposed to have social anxiety? Why was she so lively when she was little?'

Resigned, he gently pinched Little Yan Jiangxue's cheek. Inhaling the deeply familiar scent of peaches, he said softly,

"I will bestow a blessing upon you. Forget the events of today. If, in a future year, the peach blossoms on Jade Capital Mountain should bloom, you will remember this again. Remember, you are *Cultivation*."

'He remembered clearly that the Path Xiaoyan would later come to symbolize was the Path of Enlightenment.'

With that, the Daoist gently tore off half of his own True Spirit and pushed it into the deepest recesses of Little Yan Jiangxue's spiritual world, where a Peach Spirit lay sleeping.

The fragment of his True Spirit descended further, finally settling behind the Peach Spirit and transforming into an unremarkable peach tree, seemingly ordinary and devoid of any mystical qualities.

The Qing Xuan Daoist picked up Little Yan Jiangxue and handed her back to the sweat-drenched Yan Huang. He then reached out and booped the little girl on the nose.

"No more chewing your finger, now."

"I know, Grandpa!" Little Yan Jiangxue nodded obediently.

Watched by countless pairs of trembling eyes,

the Mist Daoist slowly departed.

He walked upon the snow, ascending to the heavens in three steps. Each step conjured a vast and magnificent vision, accompanied by the tolling of a Golden Bell and the grace of the Celestial Realm.

This was an event that had not occurred in Lu Xuan's original past. Qing Xuan had acted to see if interfering with the history of this Great Era would cause it to change in real-time.

He sensed his own childhood memories from his time as Lu Xuan shifting, overwriting what had been there before. The change was seamless, with no sense of incongruity.

In his new memory, in his ninth year, on a day of heavy snow, wondrous visions appeared, a Golden Bell tolled, and the Celestial Realm showed its grace. Grandpa Chu, who had just taken him in, was beside himself with terror.

The Mist Daoist smiled.

...

The Daoist returned to Guangcheng Palace. Unhurried, he put himself in order, contemplated the great principles, and occasionally fished in the Celestial Realms. However, the three grievous injuries he carried caused him to grow ever more frail with age.

「And so, another seven years passed.」

New Calendar, Year 6823.

Accompanied by the fledgling Divine Technique, *Mediation of Creation*, a single grain of Innate Spirit Rice appeared in the slums of East Sea City.

Less than a month later, a Jade Box, an heirloom from ancient times, materialized before the Qing Xuan Daoist. Inside the box was the *Celestial Book*, left personally by the Primordial Great Celestial Venerable.

"Qing He, take our disciples, wield the Heaven-Flipping Seal, and go to East Sea City. Follow the instructions in the *Celestial Book* and find this Lu Xuan."

"Yes, Senior Brother Qing Xuan."

Inside the Guangcheng Daoist Palace, the old Daoist watched Qing He depart with three disciples. He coughed softly, a broad smile on his face.

'It's finally starting.'

'Next up was to use his final, remaining opportunity to interfere.'

'If my judgment and predictions are correct...'

'...then the grand outcome might just be set in stone.'

The Qing Xuan Daoist straightened his back with difficulty. The Great Sun within one empty socket blazed brilliantly, while the Taiyin in the other shone with a scorching light.

He exhaled a breath of pure qi and smiled.

"Fu Xi, when did you first set your sights on Lu Xuan?"

"And when was it that you replaced the history of my Creation of Lu Xuan?"

"I'll be waiting for you."