Sheng Ren tried to endure it but couldn’t. He rolled his eyes. “Did water enter your brain?”
Dao Zu said expressionlessly, “Are you asking for a beating?”
Sheng Ren said, “If you keep picking up trash everywhere you go, I’ll beat up the trash first.”
Dao Zu frowned. “Don’t say that. They are all good children.”
“It’s one thing for you to bring back Chang Sheng and Xi He. After all, they’re innately talented spiritual Qi cultivators, but what’s wrong with you? Why did you pick up that little demon?”
Sheng Ren suppressed his anger and continued, “For one thing, demons are different from us. Moreover, he comes from the dark abyss, and the demonic Qi on his body can’t be completely purified for tens of thousands of years. Spirit Sect has spiritual Qi everywhere. If he stays here, he will only create future trouble for Spirit Sect.”
“What you said is wrong.” Dao Zu said slowly, “All things have sentience; there are good demons, and there are also spiritual Qi cultivators who fool the world and usurp a good name. I think he and I have a predestined relationship, so I brought him back. If you have any objections, just keep them in your heart and digest them slowly. There’s no need to voice them.”
Sheng Ren was speechless with anger. He flung his sleeves harshly, then turned and left. “I will never care about you again!”
“Walk slowly, I won’t send you out,” said Dao Zu.
After all, it was the demonic Qi that invaded his body, so Dao Zu went into closed-door cultivation in the secret chamber. At night, Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen sat on a silver lotus petal that had just bloomed and watched the moon together.
Yan Tianhen said, “I never knew that Master’s body couldn’t tolerate demonic Qi, and the backlash was actually so serious. He never told us, which always made me believe that he disliked me.”
Lin Xuanzhi replied, “Master has always been very kind to his disciples, and he has always been one to endure silently. No matter how much he suffered or how exhausted he is, he was never willing to say anything about it. If I hadn’t returned to Spirit Sect today and seen the past, I also wouldn’t have known that Master couldn’t touch demonic Qi.”
Yan Tianhen suddenly felt that his guilt was about to drown him. He always thought that there was a thorn in his heart. He felt that Master didn’t like him enough and even threw him directly to Chang Sheng. Even his name was given by Chang Sheng, not Master.
But now, Yan Tianhen found out just how narrow-minded he was. He was simply measuring the depth of a gentleman’s generosity using the heart of a petty person.
As the cold wind blew, Yan Tianhen shook his wings and leaned towards Lin Xuanzhi’s warm wings. “Did you hear what they said? The Pillars of Heaven are already having problems.”
Yan Tianhen sat next to Lin Xuanzhi to keep warm as he remarked, “I thought the problems with those pillars would only start ten to twenty years later.”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I thought so, too.”
Yan Tianhen said in surprise, “Master trusted you so much, but he didn’t even tell you?”
Lin Xuanzhi repliee faintly, “This is normal. Master has always stood in front of us. The matter of repairing the Pillars of Heaven is a major trouble for anyone who has deal with it. Didn’t you hear Sheng Ren? Because he repaired those pillars, Master’s health has deteriorated greatly and his lifespan has been cut short.”
Speaking of this, Lin Xuanzhi was silent for a moment. “Later, Master was unable to repair the southeast Pillar of Heaven again when it collapsed. It turned out that it’s because he had been seriously injured as early as right now.”
Master really deserves to be the first person in the Nine Lands.
After becoming bees and butterflies, their perspectives became very different from that of human beings. It was also very interesting to see the flowers as a world of their own.
Petals had become soft cushions and nectar was the purest silver lotus honey. In addition, Heavy Snow Peak was full of spiritual Qi, so Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen gained a lot of benefits.
In particular, Yan Tianhen’s cultivation could vaguely break through to the Grandmaster Stage. It’s just that their pair of bodies weren’t too suitable for dual cultivation, otherwise…
It was unknown how long they stayed in the mountains. At last, Dao Zu stepped out of closed-door cultivation. Dao Zu still looked like a solitary, noble, and aloof person. His pace was light and stable, and his temperament was like the silver lotuses on his peak. People only dared to admire him, but didn’t dare to look at him, for fear that looking at him any further would be blasphemy.
The first thing Dao Zu did when he left secluded cultivation was to see Lingyu, the little disciple he had never seen again ever since he accepted Lingyu as his student.
At this time, Lingyu had grown up a little, and the smile on his face had become wanton. He ran crazily behind Xi He and Lian Hua all day. When he didn’t cultivate properly, he was caught by Chang Sheng and beaten up, and then forced to practice the sword under Chang Sheng’s strict watch.
Dao Zu was very pleased and said to Sheng Ren, “Look, I said this child was very obedient, didn’t I?”
While Dao Zu spoke, Lingyu was holding a grasshopper and secretly stuffed it into Lian Hua’s collar.
The corners of Sheng Ren’s mouth twitched. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and asked, “How’s your body?”
Dao Zu said, “Excellent.”
“Like I believe you.”
Dao Zu smiled. “Are the Nine Lands peaceful?”
Sheng Ren glanced at him. “Nothing major has happened.”
Dao Zu said, “That’s good.”
Time flew by, and things changed.
Ten years passed like this.
Recently, some strange things were happening in the Nine Lands. Some demonic beasts died inexplicably. The spiritual plants that had grown for many years all withered overnight, and even the roots rotted.
There was also a team that escorted the sparrow spirits from the North Land to the South Land. When they opened the box for inspection, they found that all these sparrow spirits had turned into normal stones.
These anomalies soon attracted Dao Zu’s attention.
Dao Zu personally went to these abnormal places to investigate, and the pair of bee and butterfly came along with him, almost traveling the entire world.
At the same time, Lingyu had become strong enough to complete tasks on his own. He took on many missions and traveled outside every day. Sometimes he was alone, and sometimes he was with his senior martial brothers — his life was happy and carefree. These were the most stable and happiest years for the Spirit Sect disciples.
None of them knew that for Dao Zu, these few years felt like pins and needles, and none of them knew what a heavy burden he carried.
Dao Zu soon found out the root of the abnormalities. With his cultivation and talent, he could find out the truth as soon as there was any trouble in the Nine Lands.
“I’m afraid this is an ominous sign.” Dao Zu stared at the wreckage all over the ground, and the sword in his hand dripped with blood, staining a large area of land. “Heaven’s Wail is imminent, and the calamity of the Nine Lands is coming. The Pillars of Heaven will fall. I’m afraid this situation can’t be reversed.”
Sheng Ren stood next to Dao Zu, looking unusually calm. “If that happens, let’s go back to the Boundless World.”
Dao Zu turned to look at Sheng Ren. “To just abandon everything and leave — is that something I would do? The Nine Lands shouldn’t suffer such a disaster. I’ll find another way to solve it.”
Sheng Ren looked at him. “As long as you’re happy.”
Dao Zu turned and walked into an array. In the blink of an eye, he had already appeared in Spirit Sect thousands of miles away. At that time, Spirit Sect was between the Southeast Land and the Purple Emperor’s Heavenly Capital. It was quite close to Youshan. As soon as he got back, he was blocked by Xi He, the sacred Jianmu tree.
Xi He’s black hair was tied up high. His appearance was handsome and clean, and his personality was also very lovable. He was quite carefree in daily life, and his relationship with his martial brothers and sisters was very good.
It was just that as soon as he was in Dao Zu’s presence, he instantly became an ostrich.
“Master, you’re back.” Xi He’s expression became a little cautious and grave. Looking at Dao Zu, he said, “I have an important matter to inform Master.”
Dao Zu looked at Xi He. “What’s the matter?”
Xi He followed Dao Zu and walked towards Heavy Snow Peak. While walking, he said, “During your absence, I noticed subtle changes in the Qi field between heaven and earth. The Pillar of Heaven in the Southeast Land showed faint signs of loosening. Moreover, there seemed to be a mass of very evil Qi constantly colliding with the barrier of heaven and earth, wanting to break through the ground.”
Xi He was the only Jianmu tree in this world. His true form was a spiritual life form that could absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and could communicate with heaven and earth. In this world, even the tiniest movements in spiritual Qi couldn’t escape Xi He’s eyes.
However, this Jianmu tree that could receive everyone’s worship merely by standing still stubbornly insisted on cultivating swordsmanship.
Even without any active effort, Xi He could still sense the change in the world.
Dao Zu slowed down slightly as he looked at Xi He. “What else did you sense?”
Xi He was stunned and asked, “Is there really going to be a problem? Is it true that the Pillars of Heaven won’t be able to last for much longer?”
Dao Zu hesitated. “Within ten years, the Pillars of Heaven will collapse.”
Xi He suddenly froze.
The Southeast Land was the place where Jianmu grew up. The land was guarded by 100,000 mountains, and the spiritual Qi was pure and abundant — only these conditions could nourish the sacred Jianmu tree, a spirit of heaven and earth. If the Pillar of Heaven in the Southeast Land collapsed, then the Jianmu tree would bear the brunt of the damage.
Although he had been able to leave his original body and travel all over the world, if the Pillar of Heaven collapsed, the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth would leak out, and dirty Qi would also invade the world.
Even if Xi He was a tree that had already gained sentience, he absolutely wouldn’t be able to bear such a blow.
Xi He asked, “Ah? Then what should I do?”
Dao Zu said, “Don’t you always call yourself the tallest, largest, and strongest tree in the world? When the Pillar of Heaven collapses, how about you hold the sky up?”
Yan Tianhen could clearly see Xi He’s tearful expression. “Master, I can only help people ascend, but I can’t hold up the sky ah. Our functions are different. The Pillars of Heaven are made of stone, but I’m wood ah.”
Yan Tianhen felt that this Xi He was particularly foolish and naive.
Master was clearly teasing him, but who would’ve thought that Xi He would take it seriously?
After listening to his cries, Dao Zu said leisurely, “Alright, I know you can’t hold up the sky, so I’ll think of other ways.”
Xi He replied, “This is no trivial matter. Does Master have any good solutions? It’s not like Master can personally hold up the sky, right?”
Dao Zu seemed to smile. “Why not?”
He was Xi He’s master. Naturally, if the sky collapsed, Dao Zu would block it, and if the ground sank, then he would fill it in. So, why not?
Dao Zu flicked Xi He’s forehead. “Don’t wrinkle your face. Go and play.”
Xi He rubbed his forehead and looked at Dao Zu’s retreating figure.
Dao Zu went into closed-door cultivation again.
However, Yan Tianhen and Lin Xuanzhi clearly felt that this secluded cultivation was different from the past, because Dao Zu began to practice soul division.
This was a situation that could only occur after one’s Dao attainments had reached an absolute height. It was equivalent to cultivating another self, but it also had its disadvantages.
First, only when the main soul had its three souls and seven spirits could it be intact. If the souls or spirits were separated and given to a clone, that would naturally impact the original body. It was often a last-ditch method people only used when they were running for their lives.
However, both Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen knew why Dao Zu did this.
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