After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

That slap only made Ying Wujue cough harder.

“Careful, careful!” Yu Qingtang hurriedly rescued him from Chi Yantian’s clutches. “Take it easy, Brother Chi!”

“He survived the Esoteric Sect. Don’t go knocking him flat yourself!”

“I’m fine...” Ying Wujue forced a smile. “Naturally, I wasn’t capable of snatching my junior sister away from the Esoteric Sect.”

He lowered his eyes.

“I simply couldn’t accept it. I wanted to ask her whether she truly wanted this.”

“To strip away the sect’s teachings and the judgment of the world, and ask what was in her own heart. Was she afraid? Was this really what she wanted?”

His hand slowly tightened into a fist.

“I know that if she fled, she would never escape the condemnation of the entire world. But when I asked her what she was dying for, all she could say was, ‘for all living beings under heaven.’”

“That is the Esoteric Sect’s responsibility. It is what her teachers taught her. But what about her?”

“If she understood exactly what she was doing and willingly chose to die, then I would follow her through fire and water.”

“But she’s being pushed to her death...”

“She keeps saying it’s voluntary, but she was never given another choice!”

“Ah.” Scholar Xiao sighed softly and looked up at the sky. “Whenever people face a disaster they have no idea how to resolve, they will try everything imaginable to ease their fear.”

“Some charge forward without hesitation. Others are afraid—afraid that an even harsher punishment will fall upon them—so they rush to punish themselves first.”

“It is no different from the ignorant ages, when mortals sacrificed boys and girls to river gods in hopes that the waters would remain calm. Now the Esoteric Sect wants to sacrifice its holy maiden and the greatest talents under heaven. The principle is the same.”

His gaze seemed to pierce straight through the layers of cloud.

“Someone is simply afraid.”

Yu Qingtang nervously reached over and covered his eyes.

Scholar Xiao turned his head. “What?”

“Shh—” Yu Qingtang darted a glance upward. “Do you have a death wish, talking like that? Careful he doesn’t poke your eyes out.”

“Haha.” Scholar Xiao’s eyes curved with amusement. “Brother Yu is right to reprimand me. I forgot that trouble comes from careless words.”

“Perhaps having the master of this realm standing beside me made me a little too complacent.”

Chi Yantian folded his arms.

“Speaking of which, Ji Ruxue doesn’t really have anything to do with me.”

“Oh, I guess you guys crossed paths with her before. I was busy refining artifacts back then, so I don’t even know what sort of person she is.”

“But if you’re going, then naturally I’m going too.”

He said it so casually that he might as well have been talking about heading out together to buy lunch.

Yu Qingtang couldn’t help reminding him, “We’re going to the Esoteric Sect to pick a fight! They have an immortal! It’ll be really, really easy to die!”

“Can’t be helped.” Chi Yantian thumped his chest. “If you’re all going off to get yourselves killed, I can’t just stand there and watch. If we’re courting death, we court it together!”

Scholar Xiao burst out laughing. “Brother Chi, you really are...”

“No.” Ying Wujue raised his head, his gaze resolute. “I am not asking you to come with me to die. I am asking you to come with me so we can live.”

“This is not only about saving one person. It is about saving the world.”

“I performed the divination again and again. This is the only path to survival I could find.”

“My junior sister’s path to survival. The Esoteric Sect’s path to survival. The path to survival for everyone under heaven.”

Ye Chenyan’s expression shifted slightly.

“You divined it too?”

Ying Wujue coughed once.

“I know Senior Tianji Zi’s divination is unrivaled under heaven. I may not compare to him, but...”

Ye Chenyan frowned.

“That old man said you can’t casually divine something like this. Even with his Heaven-Questioning Body, which lets him get away with almost anything, he still has to be extremely careful.”

“You...”

Something flickered in Ying Wujue’s eyes, but he did not answer immediately.

Yu Qingtang froze, then realized something.

“Wait. Don’t tell me your injuries came from the divination?”

Ying Wujue closed his eyes.

“Peering recklessly into the Heavenly Dao always brings punishment. It’s nothing serious. It won’t cost me my life.”

The others exchanged glances.

Scholar Xiao looked thoughtful.

“Then according to your plan, the few of us go rescue the holy maiden.”

“Let’s assume we actually manage to get her out. What comes after that?”

“After we rescue her... we use the Heaven-Questioning artifact.” Ying Wujue’s eyes burned with intensity. “The Esoteric Sect has a true immortal. It also has an immortal artifact.”

“The Heaven-Questioning artifact can only be activated by someone with an innate Dao fetus. Once in that person’s lifetime, it can ask heaven, earth, ghosts, or gods anything at all.”

He drew a deep breath.

“Only Bu Yetian knows how to activate the Heaven-Questioning artifact. The secret incantation has been passed down from one sect master of the Esoteric Sect to the next.”

For an instant, Yu Qingtang’s expression became rather strange.

Ye Chenyan caught it immediately. He leaned toward Yu’s ear.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Yu Qingtang looked perfectly serious. “I’m trying very hard not to spoil anything.”

“If Bu Yetian gets his way, he intends to have my junior sister ask for the lost formula of the Heaven-Mending Pill, then refine the pill again.” Ying Wujue took another deep breath. “But if we can beat him to it... then we can ask something else.”

Ye Chenyan’s expression shifted.

“Ask what?”

“How to break this deadlock.” Ying Wujue raised his head. “Ask whether there is another way to resolve this besides sacrificing so many people.”

Ye Chenyan: “...”

His expression was perfectly calm.

“What other way is there besides killing our way out?”

“What if there is one?” Ying Wujue leaned forward. “I know you have already obtained the Realm Stone, but your own cultivation has only just reached Integration, roughly on par with the various sect masters.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I feel like I can trade a few moves with your Bu Yetian now.”

“Of course.” Ying Wujue did not deny it. “Bu Yetian may not possess an innate Dao fetus, but he has already entered the ranks of immortals. His cultivation method resonates with the Heavenly Dao, and after guarding it for so many years, he can practically be said to have the Heavenly Dao in his grasp.”

“If he remains in the Nine Heavens, then anyone who wishes to become an immortal must pass through him first. There is no possibility of you ascending right beneath his eyes.”

“That is why Tianji Zi exhausted every scheme he could devise to get you the Realm Stone—so that you could obtain power equivalent to an immortal through another path.”

“But what good is it if you can only deal with him?”

“What you truly need to fight are the otherworldly evil demons.”

“So many immortals existed in this realm back then, and even they could not defeat them. Tianxuan Nü and the Nine Nether Demonic Sovereign were both peerless geniuses. Were they somehow inferior to you as you are now?”

“They fought their way beyond this world, and all they bought was ten million years of peace.”

“Wait.” Scholar Xiao’s ears practically perked up. “Are you saying... the reason there are no immortals left in the world is because Bu Yetian controls the Heavenly Dao and refuses to allow cultivators to ascend?”

Ying Wujue’s gaze flickered.

At last, he nodded.

“Yes.”

He closed his eyes.

“I asked Bu Yetian myself. He... did not hide it from me.”

“The otherworldly evil demons do not carefully choose their targets. Back then, spiritual energy filled the Nine Provinces, and true immortals were not particularly rare. The world was at the height of its prosperity.”

“To the otherworldly evil demons, that made it a perfectly ripened fruit.”

He lowered his gaze, guilt and unease flashing across his face.

“Bu Yetian reached an agreement with all the major sects long ago. Until a path of true transcendence could be found, no one was permitted to become an immortal.”

“But...”

“People’s hearts are difficult to restrain. And there are always a few wandering cultivators in the wilderness who stumble upon extraordinary inheritances. They are impossible to guard against completely.”

“As long as no immortals appear in this world, the invasion can be delayed a little longer.”

“The world can remain at peace...”

“For just a little longer.”

Scholar Xiao’s expression turned complicated.

“No wonder... No one in the world has managed to ascend all these years. There really is a true immortal controlling the Heavenly Dao...”

“Like when Brother Ye underwent his tribulation?”

“If Senior Tianji Zi hadn’t prepared in advance and even brought the Thundercrest Leopard along, Brother Ye might not have survived it either.”

“Bu Yetian... did not want to kill him.” Ying Wujue looked at Ye Chenyan. “You are the son of an old friend. He still bears a trace of goodwill toward you.”

“Or rather, he still bears a trace of goodwill toward this entire world.”

“He kills everyone who attempts to become immortal for the sake of this world. He wants to refine the Heaven-Mending Pill for the sake of this world too.”

“Good intentions, terrible results.” Chi Yantian scratched his head. “The problem is, he’s an immortal. When an immortal screws things up, a whole lot of people get dragged down with him...”

“No. We still can’t let him run wild.”

“We need to figure out a way to beat him up.”

Ye Chenyan gave a low laugh.

“You’ve got some nerve even thinking about it.”

Scholar Xiao’s eyes shifted.

“Senior Tianji Zi is famous for leaving nothing outside his calculations. I imagine that although Bu Yetian does not possess the Heaven-Questioning Body, he is already an immortal, so his divination cannot be much worse.”

“Are you certain the path you’re taking isn’t part of his calculations too?”

“Of course... it has not escaped his expectations.” Ying Wujue lowered his eyes. “He simply does not care.”

“He is already defying Heaven himself. Over the past ten million years, countless people have risen to oppose him. He has long since grown accustomed to it.”

“Besides...”

Ying Wujue lowered his head and looked at his own palm. A self-mocking smile crossed his face.

“I possess nothing but the bones of an ordinary mortal.”

“In his eyes, I may not even be worth noticing.”

“Perhaps watching me run around and struggle is no different from watching some tiny insect crawling through the mortal world. He simply...”

Yu Qingtang patted his shoulder.

“You’re already amazing.”

Ying Wujue seized his hand.

“No. It still isn’t enough.”

“What I want is more than this.”

“I beg all of you—help me one more time!”

“Even with nothing but the bones of an ordinary mortal, I still want to...”

“Defy the Heavenly Dao!”

Ye Chenyan reached over and pulled Yu Qingtang’s hand back, speaking as if it were the most casual thing in the world.

“Give me a minute.”

Ying Wujue looked confused.

“I...”

“I’m going to tell the old man.” Ye Chenyan grinned. “We’re heading to his master’s doorstep to beat him up. Obviously I need to give him a heads-up.”

Ying Wujue froze for a moment before understanding.

Joy exploded across his face.

“Ye—”

He had not even finished when Yu Qingtang sucked in a sharp breath and yanked Ye Chenyan back.

“Wait!”

Ye Chenyan let himself be pulled back and looked at him innocently.

“What?”

Yu Qingtang pointed at him.

“Tell me. What exactly are we going to the Esoteric Sect to do?”

Ye Chenyan’s eyes widened slightly.

“Beat up an immortal.”

Yu Qingtang closed his eyes in anguish.

“I knew it.”

“Wrong! We’re going to save someone!”

“Oh.” Ye Chenyan finally remembered. “Right. Ji Ruxue is still being held there.”

He waved a hand.

“Eh, Ying Wujue can rescue her when we get there. I need to help you guys hold off the immortal.”

He looked completely justified.

Yu Qingtang opened his mouth wordlessly.

“...”

“And what about the Heaven-Questioning artifact?”

Ye Chenyan scratched his temple.

“I don’t have an innate Dao fetus, so I can’t use it. Once Ji Ruxue is rescued, have her do it.”

Yu Qingtang fell into deep thought.

Ye Chenyan grinned and patted his shoulder.

“See? In the end, all I really need to do is deal with Bu Yetian. Right?”

Yu Qingtang tilted his head and looked toward Scholar Xiao for help.

“I think he just talked me in a circle.”

Scholar Xiao burst out laughing.

“It’s fine. Brother Ye may have a certain amount of personal feeling mixed into this, but...”

“He isn’t actually wrong.”

Yu Qingtang silently looked away.

“Fine.”

“If even you say so.”

Ye Chenyan was just about to turn around when Tianji Zi appeared behind them, wine gourd in hand, staggering along beside Wen Tianxia.

“Let’s go.” Tianji Zi smacked his lips. “Oh, right. Lend me that sect-master token of yours.”

Ye Chenyan suspected nothing and tossed the token over.

Tianji Zi caught it and flung it into the sky.

Boom!

Countless streaks of light shot across the Nine Provinces.

Throughout countless sects, the sect-master tokens that had only just been recovered after going missing began to tremble all at once.

Yu Qingtang stared blankly upward.

“What’s this now?”

“Calling in the alliance.” Tianji Zi grinned like a fox. “The Esoteric Sect is running around recruiting people, so we’ll call some too!”

“Whether they actually show up is another question, but at least we’ll make a grand show of it!”

He raised his wine gourd.

“Come on! I’ll make this trip with you!”

“To the Esoteric Sect!”

Author’s Note:

Tianji Zi: We can’t lose on appearances!

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