Chapter 67

Qing Wu had no trouble inviting the two; Qing Hu, as a mountain patrol team member, was originally idle, and Qing He even more so needless to say—upon hearing there was a fight to be had, they came without a second word.

At the mountain gate, Qing Wu explained the situation clearly; after hearing it, the two laughed, then clenched their fists, stared at the mountain gate, and prepared to first exchange blows with the Divine Martial Sect fellow cultivators who had come to provoke.

They didn't take the Divine Martial Sect seriously—it was merely a native sect of Bi Li Island; as inner-sect and direct-line disciples, they knew the sect's foundations well, and inwardly looked down on the other sects on the island.

The three were like beasts that pick and devour people, scaring the visitors who had come to the Cloud Hidden Sect into avoiding the path. The two gatekeepers were merely menial disciples; they all knew these few, and although they felt it improper, they dared not remind them.

However, although visitors came in an endless stream, the expected Divine Martial Sect disciples never showed up.

The two weren't lonely either. During the wait, many people came one after another to the gate of the Half-Mountain Villa; many were familiar fellow sect members, and even Elder Xu Ye of the Transmission Hall came. They neither went out nor left, but all crowded beside the mountain gate.

After exchanging greetings, they realized they had all come to assist Qing Mo. Everyone gave an embarrassed laugh, feeling they had made a fuss over nothing, yet also amazed at Qing Mo's good connections.

Naturally, the highest cultivator present was Elder Xu Ye of the Transmission Hall, a great expert of the Integration stage. Seeing that Qing Mo, the main person, still hadn't arrived after a long time, and glancing at Hong Zhi, Hong Le, and Hong Feng—the three Hong-generation disciples beside him—he felt moved and said, "Since quite a few disciples are here and there's nothing else to do, I happen to have some insights; why not share them with everyone?"

Hong Le had come solely to support his subordinates, not to join the fun; he had originally intended to say a few words and leave.

Hong Feng had also come just to go through the motions, purely out of concern for his partner.

As the officer in charge of external affairs at Ke Lai Peak, Hong Zhi had some understanding of the Divine Martial Sect, knowing it was a sect not to be underestimated; he was somewhat clear-headed, and his purpose in coming was to prevent the situation from developing uncontrollably. When he saw that Elder Xu Ye had also come, he breathed a sigh of relief, realizing his trip had been somewhat unnecessary.

With Elder Xu Ye present, there was nothing to worry about. Of course, since Elder Xu Ye was there, the two also couldn't just leave.

I had thought it would be a boring wait, but Elder Xu Ye suddenly felt like giving a lecture; Hong Zhi, Hong Le, and Hong Feng were delighted, not to mention the group of Qing-generation disciples who had arrived earlier.

The group turned to a lawn near the mountain gate; Elder Xu Ye sat cross-legged, and the disciples formed a semicircle before him. The four highest cultivators—Hong Le, Hong Zhi, Hong Feng, and Qing He—sat directly opposite, while disciples such as Qing Ge, Qing Fu, and Qing Niu were scattered to the sides.

"You fellow sect members have cultivated for some years; you each have your own insights into what cultivation method suits you and how to advance. As for that, I won't say more. The Dao Ancestor said: 'The Great Dao numbers three thousand; in fact, it is far more than that. Ultimately, holding to one's original heart and advancing with vigor is the Dao!' However, the insight I will share today differs slightly from the Dao you usually study; I call it the 'Void-Reality Dao,' also known as the 'Twin-Birth Dao.'"

The crowd was shaken; just hearing the name gave them a sense of profound mystery.

"For cultivators, every time they learn a technique, refine a pill, forge a spiritual armor, or execute a move—anything related to the Great Dao—what you see is one thing, and what you don't see is another; that is the Twin-Birth Dao."

"The Twin-Birth Dao is profound and mysterious; I have merely touched its threshold. After years of trial, I have only recently obtained a minor technique that confirms its existence." Saying this, Elder Xu Ye suddenly stopped, his face showing a strange expression.

"Uncle Master, what's wrong?" Seeing Elder Xu Ye remain silent for a long time, Hong Zhi could not help but ask.

"It turns out to be a heavenly secret that must not be revealed!" Elder Xu Ye snapped out of his daze and blurted out.

Hong Zhi and the others all showed expressions of disbelief.

As cultivators, they all understood this principle: once a Dao involves the stability of this realm, the Dao must not be lightly transmitted, or else they will incur punishment from the world's Sovereign.

The Sovereign is the entity that created this world; they may have fallen asleep, may have died, or may be wandering the world—no one knows how the Sovereign cultivates, nor what kind of being the Sovereign is. The only thing known is that each realm has its own method to guarantee balance and stability; once an unstable factor appears, the Sovereign will respond.

For cultivators who have comprehended a Dao on their own, the Sovereign cannot and will not punish them, but such a Dao must not be widely spread.

As for how the punishment is carried out—perhaps a simple warning, perhaps physical annihilation—no one knows the details, and there's nowhere to ask.

Such matters were merely legends of the cultivation world; who would have thought they would actually get to witness them firsthand?

Elder Xu Ye shook his head, glanced at the disciples with their varied expressions before him, and suddenly laughed: "No problem; the heavenly secret that must not be revealed concerns something else, and has little to do with the minor technique I'm about to show—feel free to watch!"

In the eager gazes of the disciples, Elder Xu Ye formed the Heavenly Sword Seal that all disciples know, pointed forward, and a most ordinary lightning-chain attack flew ahead; not far away was a protruding rock.

Everyone stared without blinking, fixed on the lightning chain's flight path. Under Elder Xu Ye's precise control, the attack's speed was extremely slow—slower than a person walking.

Besides that, the lightning chain had nothing miraculous about it. As it was about to strike the target, everyone looked puzzled when another lightning chain appeared out of thin air; the two merged and slammed hard into the rock.

The faces of everyone present changed dramatically; they were not frightened by the lightning chain's attack, but at the instant the second lightning chain appeared, their bodies were completely immobilized—though only for a moment, each person clearly perceived it.

"Heh, calling it the 'Void-Reality Dao' is a bit inaccurate, but it's not wrong enough! Well, that's enough for now—the person we're waiting for has probably arrived!" Elder Xu Ye rose to his feet and looked toward the mountain gate.

The disciples snapped out of the earlier mystery; most remained bewildered, while a few showed delighted expressions.

Two hulking figures emerged from the thick mist, striding toward the mountain gate. The area before and after the gate was lit with phosphor stones, dispelling the ever-present clouds and mist.

In appearance, the two men were about forty and twenty-five or twenty-six years old, both with short hair and short beards, rugged faces, and heights over eight feet, the younger slightly taller. Despite the freezing winter, they wore only plain gray robes; the thin clothing could not hide their knotted muscles, tiger backs and bear waists, making their builds extremely burly, and the tiger-pattern leather boots on their feet suited the weather fairly well.

The middle-aged man bore a massive axe on his back, while the young man had a thick-backed great sword about two meters long slung at his waist.

"Why hasn't Qing Mo arrived yet?" Hong Zhi frowned and couldn't help but ask.

Man Niu, standing nearby, hurriedly sent a message via carrier bird.

Elder Xu Ye looked around at the disciples and said, "Qing He, my junior nephew, go receive them and mind your manners!"

"Don't worry, Grand Uncle!" Qing He, eager to try, stepped forward to greet them.