Chapter 371: Yao Lao's Identity

Jiang Feng heard Yao Lao's words, slightly lifted his head, and in his numb gaze at last a ripple of Clarity appeared.

He looked at Yao Lao, and saw Yao Lao's gaze gently fall upon him.

Yao Lao spoke lightly, his voice still even.

"Are you not very curious why I can come and go freely in this Da Qian Mi Jing? Are you also curious about my true identity, and all the secrets behind Taoyuan Village?"

At those words, Jiang Feng's heart and spirit jolted sharply.

Indeed, he had been curious for a long time.

Since being rescued by Xi Er from the foot of the Mountain back to Taoyuan Village, this village has been strange everywhere.

And by a twist of fate he became a Yao Lu apprentice, plunging headlong into this Secret Realm, tasting Herbs day after day, year after year, almost forgetting the Outside world. Until Yao Lao mentioned it now, Jiang Feng was bewildered and finally came to his senses.

He opened his mouth, and because he had not spoken properly for so long, his throat had become extremely hoarse.

"So then? Now, Yao Lao, are you planning to tell me the whole truth?"

Yao Lao looked at him, and slowly nodded.

"Yes. In three years you have tasted all the Ten Thousand Herbs of this realm; your temperament, perseverance, and talent have all passed my tests. So from today onward, I will tell you, verbatim, the origins of everything here and all the secrets of Taoyuan Village."

Jiang Feng said nothing, just stood quietly in place, listening attentively.

Yao Lao turned, his gaze fixed on the depths of the Secret Realm, his eyes becoming distant.

"Long, long ago, in this world, there existed a top-tier cultivation sect that shook the heavens and swept the eight directions, called the Yao Shen Temple."

"The Yao Shen Temple was one of the very top sects in the world at that time, indeed without equal."

Yao Lao's voice carried a hint of nostalgia.

"This sect did not focus on killing or warfare; it only cultivated the Medical Dao. Within the sect, it gathered the world's top physicians, each possessing abilities that could pierce heaven and earth."

"Precisely because the Yao Shen Temple's power was so overwhelming, the physicians within each became proud, believing their own Medical Dao was the true orthodoxy, refusing to submit to one another. Over time, irreconcilable intense Conflict arose within the Yao Shen Temple, the contradictions deepened, and eventually it shattered completely, breaking apart."

Jiang Feng heard it and his heart startled; he couldn't help holding his breath.

"To be called the most top-tier sect of the ancient ages, and to make even Heavenly Human Realm masters bow, what terrifying existence is this Yao Shen Temple?"

Yao Lao did not pause, and continued speaking slowly.

"In those days, the Yao Shen Temple was divided into four great sects: Wang, Wen, Wen, and Qie."

"After the sect split, the four great sects scattered. And the ancestors of Taoyuan Village were precisely the core descendants of the Wang Sect and the Qie Sect among the four."

"Unfortunately, the Qie Sect's luck was not good. The entire sect was completely annihilated, leaving only a few heritage Tokens, which the ancestors of the Wang Sect brought here together."

"As for the Wen Sect, they chose another path back then; instead of secluding themselves, they took the heritage into the world to cultivate, becoming the now-famous Medicine King Valley in the jianghu."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng raised an eyebrow.

"So the origin of Medicine King Valley is actually this terrifying?"

"Medicine King Valley's medical arts, alchemy, inherited from the Yao Shen Temple's Wen Sect, are top-level today, but still a notch below the ancient Yao Shen Temple."

"Back then, the Wang Sect's ancestors, with supreme divine power that could pierce heaven and earth, traversed the world, found this hidden place, used great magical force to open space, set up a boundary, built this settlement, named it Taoyuan Village, intending to forever avoid disputes."

Yao Lao's gaze fell back on Jiang Feng.

"So for these thousands of years, Taoyuan Village has remained hidden within the boundary, isolated from the world, allowing it to survive to this day. Most villagers are descendants of the Wang Sect ancestors; the Zuo Family, as direct descendants of the Wang Sect, have long served as Village Chief, guarding Taoyuan Village's heritage."

Jiang Feng silently nodded, many of his doubts clearing.

"To be frank, the Zuo Family over these many years has contributed greatly to Taoyuan Village."

"Unfortunately, the generation of Zuo Liangchen is short-sighted and greedy, long having lost the demeanor of the ancient Wang Sect ancestors. They are single‑mindedly trying to control Yao Lu, actually to seize that Supreme Treasure, revitalize the Zuo Family, even to recreate the former glory of the Yao Shen Temple, but their heart is impure, so they ultimately cannot become great."

Jiang Feng recalled Zuo Liangchen's arrogant and overbearing demeanor and couldn't help nodding.

"As for the Yao Lu you are currently in..."

A hint of amusement suddenly appeared on Yao Lao's face.

"This Yao Lu is the supreme artifact Yao Shen Ding that the ancestors of the Wang Sect and the Qie Sect, on the brink of destruction of the Yao Shen Temple, risked their lives to bring out!"

"Boom!"

These words, like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploded in Jiang Feng's mind!

His whole body jolted sharply, his complexion changed abruptly, his pupils contracted to the extreme in an instant, and his face was covered with an incredulous horror.

"Yao Shen Ding? You mean... you mean the Yao Shen Ding that the ancient Tai Gu Shen Nong Da Di personally forged, capable of refining all things of heaven and earth?"

He had once seen related records in ancient books from Kunlun Mountain.

Tai Gu Shen Nong Da Di was a top Great Being of the ancient ages.

He tasted a Hundred Herbs, discerned their properties, and brought the Medical Dao to all living beings under heaven.

And the Yao Shen Ding was the Tai Gu Shen Nong Da Di's life‑bound artifact.

It not only contains boundless power, but can purify Ten Thousand things, and is the supreme treasure coveted by countless cultivators.

Jiang Feng never dreamed that the legendary artifact would be right before his eyes!

The Yao Lu Secret Realm he had been staying in was actually the interior space of the Yao Shen Ding?

"Exactly."

Yao Lao looked at Jiang Feng's shocked expression and slowly nodded.

"It is indeed that Yao Shen Ding. When the Yao Shen Temple was founded, Tai Gu Shen Nong Da Di bestowed the Yao Shen Ding upon the temple as its sect's treasured talisman. When the temple split, the ancestors of the Wang Sect and the Qie Sect strained all their strength to bring the Yao Shen Ding out of the chaotic battle, which led to the later Taoyuan Village."

"The interior of this Yao Shen Ding forms its own realm, containing massive vitality and Spiritual Energy, capable of nurturing Herbs on its own, which is why you can see Ten Thousand Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures everywhere here. And the reason I can move freely in the Secret Realm and even control everything here is not because I am a descendant of the Zuo Family, nor because I am a descendant of the Yao Shen Temple..."

Yao Lao, upon reaching this point, suddenly halted, his gaze becoming deep and unfathomable, and the aura around him underwent a subtle change.

His previously aged body seemed to become somewhat ethereal, and the surrounding Spiritual Energy began to converge toward him, forming faint halos.

"You might not believe the true identity of this old man..."

Yao Lao's voice seemed to carry a weariness that spanned Ten Thousand ages.

"I am not a flesh-and-blood body, but this Yao Shen Ding itself, which, after countless ages, has independently birthed an instrument spirit!"