Chapter 38: The Five Continents Await the Dragon Palace

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This step forward caused countless demons and specters to dissipate without a trace in an instant.

Even though Bai Yao was carrying Xiao Yunshan’s remains on her back, she still felt her entire body lighten, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.

She looked back and saw a stone bridge, its head shrouded in gray mist.

From the outside, there was no telling what kind of hellish ordeal lay within.

“We really escaped?”

Bai Yao murmured to herself, still dazed.

“Little girl, you’re truly something. This old man nearly thought you wouldn’t make it out.”

The Dongling Lark flapped its wings and flew to Bai Yao’s side.

Its hurried tone suggested it was still shaken.

“Dongling, when I was groggy just now, I thought I saw you turn into an old man. Was that you?”

“Old man? What old man? This old man knows nothing of it.”

The lark quickly tilted its head away, as if unwilling to meet Bai Yao’s gaze.

Bai Yao naturally smiled knowingly and didn’t press further.

She decided to first carry Xiao Yunshan’s remains to some remote spot and wait quietly to be teleported out.

But just then, a familiar voice came from the mountain path not far away: “I thought I’d need to lend a hand, but you actually crossed that stone bridge on your own, little girl. Quite surprising.”

“Storyteller?”

Bai Yao turned her head and saw the familiar gray-haired young man approaching slowly, that ineffable ancient weariness still lingering in his eyes.

“Lu Li, Senior, it seems this old man’s bet paid off, haha!”

The lark chirped and fluttered about gleefully, apparently quite satisfied with having chosen Bai Yao.

“Xinyin,” the Storyteller said, shaking his head at the lark with some exasperation, “burning your own essence to pull her out—you nearly threw away ten thousand years of accumulated cultivation. But well, a great scholar like you has convictions of your own. Since you’ve fulfilled your duty admirably, how you choose to proceed is your own affair.”

“Xinyin… Senior? Dongling, aren’t you the innate will born from the Cave Heaven?”

Bai Yao looked at the lark and the Storyteller with some confusion.

“Hahaha, he—under his former name, he was Master Xinyin. He’s also the founding ancestor who created the Xuan Kingdom’s royal art, the Violet Yang Grand Harmony Art.”

The Storyteller’s tone was calm, yet he revealed a truth that left Bai Yao stunned.

This Dongling Lark was actually the founding ancestor who created the Violet Yang Grand Harmony Art?

But upon reflection, this Cave Spirit named Master Xinyin’s insights into the Violet Yang Grand Harmony Art were indeed far more exquisite than the annotations of successive generations of royal descendants that Bai Yao had seen in the transcripts.

“The Cangjie Grotto-Heaven has more than one Cave Spirit,” the Storyteller continued.

“Each came seeking something. I transformed them into Cave Spirits using the method of deceptive arts, promising that their missions would be fulfilled after ten thousand years, granting what they sought. After all, I cannot sit vigil over this Cangjie Grotto-Heaven at all times. But now that the merit is complete, this Cave Heaven will gradually collapse and dissipate.”

“Then… Senior, you just now, to pull me out of the stone bridge…”

Bai Yao realized that the Storyteller had mentioned earlier that the lark Xinyin had sacrificed some of its essence power to bring her out of the stone bridge.

“Little Baiyao, don’t overthink it.”

After a burst of chirping, the lark flew back down to Bai Yao’s shoulder, its tone returning to calm.

“Since you cultivate the Violet Yang Grand Harmony Art, you should know what it means that nothing exists outside the mind, and that knowledge and action are one.

This old man… died ten thousand years ago.

Entering the Cave Heaven and becoming a Cave Spirit was merely fulfilling my duty to the Xuan Kingdom’s royal family.

Now, with a junior like you who can cultivate Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness, resurrection or rebirth as a human—none of that matters anymore.”

Hearing the lark Xinyin’s words, Bai Yao didn’t know how to express her gratitude and could only nod slightly in thanks.

She had already silently resolved that once her cultivation was high enough, she would one day seek celestial treasures to forge a new physical body for the lark Xinyin.

“Bai Yao, don’t celebrate just yet.”

But at this moment, the Storyteller’s calm tone suddenly took on a hint of seriousness.

Bai Yao quickly realized that what the Storyteller was about to say next was the true purpose of his visit.

“Currently, the Sea Queen Ming Ge has two Mingzi, but the Heavenly Dao of Taiyuan World has only acknowledged the birth of one Mingzi. This means that once you and that other Mingzi leave this Cangjie Grotto-Heaven, you—who have not received the Heavenly Dao’s acknowledgment—will very likely be blasted to ashes by the Annihilation Divine Thunder.”

At these words, both Bai Yao and the lark Xinyin drew in sharp breaths.

Especially the lark Xinyin—in life, he had been a great Confucian cultivator and naturally experienced heavenly tribulations.

He knew exactly what the Annihilation Divine Thunder was.

Even a true dragon struck by it would suffer broken bones and torn sinews.

“May I ask… Senior Lu Li, what should this junior do?”

Bai Yao understood that since the Storyteller had raised the matter, he would surely point her toward a path.

Seeing that Bai Yao understood the stakes of life and death, he smiled lightly and spoke in a leisurely, storytelling cadence:

“This world is called the Taiyuan World.

Legend has it that it is the birthplace of Taiyuan Shengmu, who cut down the heavenly pillar to ensure peace for ten thousand generations.

The Taiyuan World is vast beyond measure.

Within the habitable territory of humanity, there are four directions and five prefectures:

Southern Ridge Cloud Prefecture, Eastern Abyss Cang Prefecture, Northern Wasteland You Prefecture, Western Desert Yuan Prefecture, and the Central Earth Shen Prefecture.

Among the five prefectures, Southern Ridge Cloud Prefecture has the most pleasant climate, best suited for mortals to settle, and also boasts the greatest number of low-rank cultivators.

The cost, naturally, is that the mortal lands reek of turbid qi.

A Thousand-Peak Transcendent Mortal entering them would feel like dining in a latrine.

Opposed to the turbid qi-choked mortal lands are the spirit-rich tranquil grounds, suitable for Human Immortals to refine heaven and earth’s spiritual qi for cultivation.

Yet because Southern Ridge Cloud Prefecture has such a dense population, its area is far smaller than the other four prefectures.

In other words, in terms of cultivator strength, Southern Ridge Cloud Prefecture ranks dead last among humanity’s five prefectures.

Let alone comparing with the strongest Central Earth Shen Prefecture—even the harsh Northern Wasteland might hold a considerable edge over it.

Of course, ancient sects of the Southern Ridge with long lineages, such as the Qinglan Sect, Cihang Cult, and Huangtian Dao, are exceptions.

They neither depend on the seven kingdoms of the Southern Ridge for new prodigies, nor have any interest in fighting over the Southern Ridge’s cultivation resources.

For these three ancient sects serving as the Southern Ridge’s superior sects, the Southern Ridge Cloud Prefecture’s minor sects and seven kingdoms being a scattered mess, each embroiled in internal strife, saves them considerable managerial trouble.

After all, spiritual roots manifest with a degree of randomness, and the foundation of a cultivator population ultimately depends on the size of the mortal base.

Too many people, and resources become insufficient to share; too few, and various orthodox lineages face crises of severed inheritance and withering genius.

Hence, no one tolerates heretical cultivators who practice sacrificial blood rituals on human lives, and no sect is pleased to see Human Immortals wantonly slaughter mortals.”

Having said this, the Storyteller first looked at Bai Yao, who had already gained an understanding of the Taiyuan World’s situation, then pointed at her storage pouch and continued:

“Remember the improved Xuan Yu Hidden Sword Art I gave you when you first entered the Inner Illusion? Hmm… by now you should be calling it the Ziyang Hidden Sword Art, right?”

“Yes. Senior, you mean…”

“The Hidden Sword Within Heaven and Earth—that is a technique you comprehended yourself by combining the Opening and Closing Qi Control Art with the Ziyang Hidden Sword Art.

The true function of the hidden sword technique I gave you is to seal both your Righteous Qi and your sinister thoughts as a Mingzi within your heart sword simultaneously.

I imagine this should be of great help to your Hundred Refined Martial Form, which you failed to fully shape?”

According to the Storyteller, her Hundred Refined Martial Form had indeed been ruined because she drew her heart sword too early and unleashed her cultivation.

So much so that breaking through to the mid-Hundred Refinements Realm would almost require starting over.

But if she cultivated by concealing her sword in this manner, when that sword was drawn, it would unquestionably be the strongest sword below the Human Immortal level.

Even contending with prodigies like Luo Huai’an and Ye Tingyu might not be impossible.

“Senior, then what is the price?” Bai Yao understood that everything has a cost, and cultivating the hidden sword technique was no exception.

“You will be unable to use your Purple-Gold Haoran Righteousness, nor the heavenly authority of a sinister Mingzi. You will become an ordinary Hundred Refinements Realm cultivator—or even… as the master acknowledged by the Sky Devourer, you will carry a subtle aura of sinister strangeness. Being mistaken for a heretical cultivator would hardly be surprising.”

Having said this, the Storyteller paused briefly, then his serious tone seemed to ease somewhat: “However, perhaps it isn’t entirely a bad thing for you.

One more point: the longer you keep your sword concealed, the longer it will take the Heavenly Dao to discover that you are a Mingzi who cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth once it leaves the sheath.

As long as you re-sheathe your sword in your heart before the Heavenly Dao finds you, you can evade the tribulation’s erasure.”

“Then, how do I stop having to hide from the heavens?” Bai Yao had no complaints about her current situation, but she keenly grasped the crux of the matter.

“Hahaha! Master Xinyin, you truly have an excellent successor.”

The Storyteller first smiled approvingly at the lark, smiling so much that the lark bashfully tilted its head away to peck at its own feathers.

Then, the Storyteller nodded at Bai Yao and continued:

“Break through to the Qianfeng Realm and become a Celestial Immortal. Undergo the heavenly tribulation’s baptism and obtain the Heavenly Dao’s acknowledgment—that is your only way to escape the Heavenly Dao’s erasure.”

But at this point, the Storyteller’s tone paused once more, and he fixed Bai Yao with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Unfortunately, your spiritual root is a Four Attribute Mixed Spiritual Root. To successfully ascend the immortal path will be difficult… but not without opportunity.”

Four Attribute Mixed Spiritual Root—this was the aptitude measured when Bai Yao’s predecessor joined the Xuan Yu Sect at the initiation ceremony through spiritual root testing.

There was no mistake.

Cultivating with such a mixed spiritual root, one would be unlikely to ever step into the Qianfeng Realm in an entire lifetime.

But judging from the Storyteller’s tone, there seemed to be a glimmer of opportunity after all.

Bai Yao’s mind worked quickly, and in an instant she grasped what the Storyteller was implying.

“Senior, do you mean… the opportunity lies in the Eastern Abyss Cang Prefecture, the Dragon Palace Secret Realm?!”