Chapter 149: Following the Heavenly Secret Southward, Meeting a Scholar Named Caichen【6k】(Two-in-One)

The surroundings were clear and bright, the sky was sunny and serene, with only patches of white clouds drifting back and forth.

The drinking and merrymaking had come to an end.

Fang Longye leaned lazily against a pine tree on the mountain, his eyes half-open and half-closed as if he had not yet woken up, gazing at the sky with sleepy eyes.

In reality, his consciousness had long since submerged into the Grotto-Heaven he had opened up within his own body.

This Grotto-Heaven seemed to be within his true form, yet it also seemed to reside outside the void; it was neither real nor illusory, neither existent nor non-existent, profound and peerless.

The vast sea stretched out, with a continent spanning over a hundred thousand miles in the center.

The Yin and Yang Two Qis circulated through the heavens and earth, nourishing each other, giving birth to pure thunder essence, which merged with the thunder tribulation essence that Fang Longye had taken in on a whim when he previously underwent his tribulation.

Crack—

Above the void, wind and clouds gathered, thunderous energy swirled, and accompanied by thunder and lightning, it continuously transformed water vapor into rain, pouring it down below.

A torrential downpour descended, washing over the entire continent like the Heavenly River flowing backward.

Everywhere the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of water.

Only in the center of the land did a massive, eighteen-thousand-foot-tall giant tree stand resolutely amidst the raging ocean.

Stretching out its branches and leaves, with millions upon millions of aerial roots sprouting beneath, the single tree formed a forest, appearing like a colossal banyan tree.

It was precisely the object supporting the heavens that had transformed into this Grotto-Heaven—the Post-Heaven Spiritual Root, the "Third Generation Xun Wood."

Fang Longye's consciousness was like a fish born from the void, swimming freely through this Grotto-Heaven.

However, he remained detached from the scene where the Grotto-Heaven was overwhelmed by excessive water vapor, resulting in endless rain that left the entire continent submerged in a marsh.

Even as the master of the Grotto-Heaven, with a single thought, he could instantly clear the clouds and rain, turning the entire Grotto-Heaven into a sunny and beautiful immortal paradise.

In fact, he had deliberately maintained this scene. The reason, of course, was to follow the Dharma of nature and comprehend the Great Dao.

Opening up a Grotto-Heaven was not the goal, but merely a means of cultivation. Allowing the Grotto-Heaven to evolve naturally, comprehending the principles within, and nourishing his own Great Dao was the ultimate objective.

Given the foundation of this Grotto-Heaven world, he could certainly have achieved a magnificent Grotto-Heaven complete with Yin and Yang and all Five Elements in one go.

After all, this Grotto-Heaven was generated after the origin of the "Canghai Map" was melted into his body, giving it a deep foundation.

But that would inevitably mean missing out on many things that seemed trivial but were actually extremely important.

Furthermore, Fang Longye associated this with his previous life's theories regarding the formation of the Blue Star, so he deliberately let the Grotto-Heaven world experience this rain that lasted for who knows how many tens of thousands of years.

Because this happened to align with Fang Longye's cultivation path and Great Dao philosophy regarding the Five Elements.

Water! The Five Elements of heaven and earth circulate without end. Some revere fire, such as Feng Mu... some revere earth, such as Zu Qilin, Zhenyuanzi, and the Yellow Emperor... some revere wood, such as Qing Long Shen Zun... each has its own logic, and all are the Great Dao.

And he, Fang Longye, reveres water.

Water is the most yielding, yet it nourishes all things.

Water is the source of life, the mother of all things; only with water can there be life; only with water can life exist.

It is the beginning of everything and the source of civilization. In the very beginning, living beings lived by the water, because only water could allow people to survive.

This is the creative side of water; likewise, the destructive side of water remains peerlessly powerful.

Water does not only nourish all things, nor is it only the source of civilization and life; it is also the source of the destruction of all things and the destruction of the world.

Water can nourish people, and it can also drown them; water can nurture life and civilization, and it can also destroy them.

In the legends of his previous life, when Jehovah destroyed the world by sending down the Great Flood, this was the principle being spoken of.

Or take the Yellow River with its nine bends; as the Mother River, when she rages, she likewise annihilates everything. She who nourishes civilization also brings endless suffering.

All things have Yin and Yang, and water is no exception.

When water is violent, it can destroy all things; when water is gentle, it can nurture all things.

This is the characteristic of water, and it is also the characteristic of all things.

By observing a leopard through a tube, one can see the whole; Fang Longye uses water to manifest the Dao, peering into the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

"Starting with water, ending with water." The whispered Dao sound resonated throughout the Grotto-Heaven.

Fang Longye's consciousness observed this raging Grotto-Heaven and, from the very beginning, dictated the fate of this Grotto-Heaven.

Above the Grotto-Heaven is a Small World.

Above the Small World is a Small Thousand World.

Above the Small Thousand World...

For this Grotto-Heaven, the road ahead is still long! When water and wood nourish each other, all things revive, and life flourishes, that will be when this Grotto-Heaven has evolved to its limit.

That will be the time for Fang Longye to perform the act of destroying the world, annihilating everything, absorbing all creation, and reopening the heavens and earth.

In fact, he could have chosen the path of evolution, going from weak to strong, simply by continuously expanding the realm and filling in the rules, without needing to cycle the heavens and earth to continuously promote the world.

But in that case, he would lack the comprehension of the principles of creation, termination, and so on.

For Fang Longye, who is greedy for greatness and completeness, this is absolutely unacceptable.

Furthermore, creation is a rule, and destruction is also a rule.

All things are born according to rules and perish according to rules, and rules are the Dao.

All things in heaven and earth have Yin and Yang, good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, immortal and Demon, life and death; they should likewise have creation and termination.

World-destroying and world-creating, destruction and creation—Fang Longye intends to seek the Great Dao that belongs uniquely to himself amidst the cycle of heaven and earth.

"I have heard that the Western Saint Jieyin opened up a Buddhist world in a dream; when it reached its peak, he extinguished all living beings in the dream and absorbed the creation of all things. Afterward, he cycled and rotated, using this to comprehend the Great Dao."

"I do not claim to have the talent to manifest the Dao in a dream, but using a real world to perform this act of enlightenment is still possible."

"After all, if the monk can do it, why can't I?"

Fang Longye thought to himself.

After examining the Grotto-Heaven within his body for a long time, Fang Longye's consciousness returned to reality with satisfaction.

This Grotto-Heaven, after all, was born from his melting of the origin of the "Canghai Map," and it naturally possessed some characteristics of the Dinghai Divine Pearl: solid, stable, and heavy.

Solidity and stability gave his Grotto-Heaven a higher carrying capacity, while heaviness, by utilizing the Grotto-Heaven upon his body, gave him stronger offensive capabilities.

Every attack was more heavy and possessed Great Strength than before, like Mount Tai Pressing Top.

And—

Fang Longye waved his hand, and a divine light, suffused with the colors of Yin and Yang and heavy with condensation, fell upon the surrounding space.

Heaven and earth became a cage, and space became a barrier.

The power of restraint filled and permeated the area.

"Space—"

Fang Longye's gaze was like lightning; under his piercing vision, black and white lines emerged in the surrounding space. The intersections of the grid were fine, dense, and packed, where moving one hair would affect the whole body.

In the past, no matter how powerful the force he unleashed, it would transmit in all directions and disperse; even if he tried his best to restrain it with technique, there was still a limit.

This was also the reason why his every full-strength strike was so grand in momentum; it was not that he insisted on showing off his power.

But now, by utilizing the Grotto-Heaven world and the myriad large and small spaces breeding within his body, he had indirectly mastered the power of space.

Not only was the suppression force when facing an enemy as heavy as a mountain, but future attacks, aided by spatial conduction, would be as solid as one, with the full might poured into a single point.

As for his comprehension of Dao principles, although he had previously appeared to wield the Pot Heaven Divine Ability and opened many Sumeru Spaces, he still knew the 'what' but not the 'why'.

His understanding of spatial Dao principles had been negligible. Now, he finally had a not-insignificant realization regarding the path of space.

Fang Longye closed his eyes to savor this profoundness, sighing in his mouth: "It is truly intoxicating!"

At present, it was just that his power was insufficient, and his realm was still lacking.

Otherwise, wherever his power reached, he could break the load-bearing capacity of the spatial nodes themselves and tear through space with ease. Thereby, he could achieve the effect of the 'Flying Body Tracing' divine ability.

Of course, Flying Body Tracing was more of a clever utilization of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, while the former was more of an exertion of tyrannical power.

The two were not the same.

But I digress.

Fang Longye pulled his thoughts back and looked at the Cloud Cliff not far away, where the portal to the Middle Thousand World transformed from the Honghu World was located.

"Now, I wonder if I have the qualifications to step into this Middle Thousand World."

Thinking it, he did it; he immediately stood up and arrived before the cliff, his eyes bright, and through the space-time barrier, he began to carefully test it.

……

Drip—

Fang Longye extended a finger and squeezed out a drop of fresh blood. The blood hit the ground and instantly surged, rapidly transforming into a man identical to him in appearance, only devoid of any cultivation, as if a mortal.

Creating a clone from a drop of blood was, for him now, an easy task.

The clone and Fang Longye looked at each other, nodded, and immediately stepped into the Honghu World.

A moment later—

"The one hundred and thirty-first time, the clone has perished, dying at the hands of a wolf pack."

Fang Longye summarized with an expressionless face.

The situation was not as simple as he had imagined; previously, his level was insufficient, and he had not discovered that within this Middle Thousand World, there was an indigenous immortal god on the verge of the Taiyi Realm.

Aided by the World Will of this Honghu World, this indigenous immortal god on the verge of the Taiyi Realm could enter a state similar to 'merging with the Dao of heaven and earth', and when necessary, could exert the strength of the Taiyi Realm.

With insufficient strength, entering rashly—if he were truly exposed, he wouldn't even be able to run.

He had sent in clones, and the results were as seen: a hundred-odd varieties of ways to die, each different.

"So be it, I can only say the timing is not yet right." Fang Longye stopped his probing and sighed lightly.

As for continuing to learn by trial and error and planning slowly, forget it. Right now, what was more important before him was the improvement of his cultivation realm. To stubbornly persist here for a Second Generation Xun Wood was not worth it.

Moreover, there were plenty of opportunities and fortunes in the world; why must he hang himself on one tree? "Pack up, it is time to set off for another territory!"

Fang Longye patted the dust that didn't exist on his body and muttered to himself.

Through Heavenly Secrets calculation, he had already confirmed the general direction of the opportunity and fortune he had previously sensed concerning Qingli and Ao Ying.

It was just unclear which of the two this opportunity and fortune belonged to.

……

Cang Ming Guo.

Located hundreds of thousands of miles to the southeast of the Cang Lan Shi Guo.

Within the territory of its Jin Hua Fu, on the official road, there was a beautiful woman, cold-faced and frosty, as if a Heavenly Immortal, dressed in green lotus robes, sitting outside a magnificent carriage, driving a crimson treasure horse forward.

"Young Master, there is a dilapidated mountain villa ahead; shall we stop there for the day?" The beautiful woman transmitted her voice respectfully toward the inside of the carriage.

This beautiful woman driving the carriage was undoubtedly Qingli.

Inside the carriage, Fang Longye raised his eyes to size up the mountain villa a hundred miles away, let out an 'oh', and immediately said: "You have chosen a good place."

"The predestined affinity is about to come knocking."

Qingli did not understand, but she knew that her Young Master's current skill in divination had already reached a high level, and he would certainly not speak recklessly.

She immediately drove the red colt, which was a transformed Bishui Jinjing Beast, and proceeded at a fast pace.

After resting and reorganizing at the Yuanyang Sect base, Fang Longye had brought the two women, Qingli and Ao Ying, and followed the Heavenly Secrets he had deduced, traveling south all the way.

They climbed mountains and waded through rivers, traveling and sightseeing along the way. Sometimes they rode the clouds and mist to fly, and sometimes when the mood struck, they would descend from the clouds, transform into mortals, and savor the mundane world.

Along the way, although they hadn't gained much in the way of cultivation resources, they had seen quite a bit of local customs.

The structure was not much different from Xi Jiang Guo and the Cang Lan Shi Guo; basically, every region had an 'emperor emeritus' entrenched there.

Fang Longye had also come to understand that in this southern territory of Beiju Luzhou, although there was a large Human Race population multiplying and living there compared to the north, and they had formed all sorts of numerous mundane countries.

Yet, each one was controlled by various cultivation forces—be it demon immortals, Demon sects, or evil factions.

Humans and demons had actually formed a strange harmony, and these mundane countries looked quite prosperous.

Except for the occasional commoner being used as a snack by demons, or the occasional city of commoners being blood-sacrificed by evil cultivators, life was still manageable.

Naturally, there were also strongholds of forces like the Buddhist, Dao, and Heavenly Court involved.

However, apart from being less bloody, in Fang Longye's view, they were not much different from those countries that worshipped demons and evil spirits.

All the traditional tricks—large-scale construction, burning incense and worshipping Buddha, collecting herbs and tributes—were all there; people died just the same.

At most, the harm is mostly done by the secular elite acting as proxies, making it appear that the various high monks, virtuous masters, Daoist priests, Heavenly Immortals, and divine beings remain spotlessly pure.

Cang Ming Guo is in the southeast region and can be considered a major nation. It is a coastal country, stretching tens of thousands of miles with tens of millions of households.

Various cultivation forces all have intersections here, truly a place where dragons and snakes dwell together.

It can be considered a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers reside; the opportunity and fortune concerning the two women, Qingli and Ao Ying, have their Heavenly Secrets manifested and should be fulfilled right here.

They traveled along the way.

Hills rolled and forests stretched continuously; a main road passed in front of the hills.

Crossing the hills, a mountain villa sat on the edge of the forest, but the villa's originally sturdy walls had already become broken ruins. A layer of dark red bloodstains had also appeared upon them.

"We've arrived!"

Qingli stopped the carriage, and Fang Longye, served by Ao Ying, finished dressing and stepped off the carriage.

He looked at this dilapidated mountain villa with great interest. Broken walls and ruins, wild grass growing in clusters, bamboo growing in the corners, and birds of unknown species nesting above.

They resembled crows, with blood-red pupils and black feathers, iron beaks and steel claws, emitting harsh "caw-caw" sounds.

He strolled toward the back mountain, where vines were intertwined and leaves cast dark shadows.

From time to time, there was black water, deep and gloomy.

Looking at it, one only felt a chill.

"It seems some fellow practitioners just had a meal here not long ago!" Fang Longye's eyes were clear and bright; he examined some bloodstains within the villa, probed the remaining traces of aura, and then spoke.

At the same time, his gaze swept over; the villa walls and stone pillars were covered in sword marks. One could even sense a trace of sword intent from these marks.

"And three cultivators with the level of Loose Immortal at that. The villa has been abandoned for a long time. I suppose they were just passersby. Could it be they saw this villa occupied by Demon and came in to subdue the demons?"

Fang Longye looked toward the northwest, at an Origin Immortal blood eagle that had already flown one hundred thousand miles away, and wore an amused expression.

He immediately reached out his hand like a claw, casually snatched the eagle demon back, held it in his palm, and finished the Soul Searching Technique in an instant.

"Sure enough, just as I expected."

He casually tossed the eagle demon into the Refining Immortal Pot, refined it into a pill, and put it away.

He turned and returned to the villa courtyard.

Without much tidying up, he simply used Dharma to clean up a guest room to serve as a place to rest.

The next day.

Fang Longye had just finished swallowing the Purple-Green Qi from the east and completed his morning practice; no sooner had the sun risen in the east than the sound of horse hooves and carriage wheels came, clearly heading toward the villa.

Fang Longye smiled slightly and said to Qingli and Ao Ying beside him: "The predestined connection has arrived!"

"Young Master, who is this predestined connection?"

Fang Longye spread his hands and said: "That I am not clear about. Your Young Master here hasn't mastered Heavenly Secrets calculation to that extent yet. But, aren't the people coming?"

"Once it reaches this point, you and I will know at a glance."

The three of them then paced to the front of the villa and looked toward the distance.

A group of people approached from afar, clad in Iron Armor, wearing embroidered red robes, with Precious Sabers hanging at their waists, riding tall horses; there were about thirty or forty of them, escorting a simple yet imposing carriage, traveling along the main road.

The leader was a middle-aged man with brows like blades and stubble on his face; he looked like someone who had weathered many storms, and his face was expressionless.

Seeing Fang Longye and the two others in front of the villa, the man's expression changed slightly. His eyes held a hint of gravity, and he reached out to stop the procession.

He looked vigilant, his whole body trembling slightly, and the other thirty or forty men were in the same state.

It was no wonder they were so terrified.

As the saying goes, when things are abnormal, there must be a Demon.

Fang Longye was handsome, wearing a brocade robe, his hair tied with a Golden Crown, his long sleeves fluttering; if he had a folding fan in his hand, he would look just like a young master from a noble family out for a spring outing.

Beside him, Qingli and Ao Ying were both stunningly beautiful, truly peerless beauties, their clothes fluttering, looking otherworldly.

If they had appeared in a place for sightseeing, the man would not have had any doubts.

But now—just looking at the broken walls stained with dark red blood and this gloomy, eerie villa, how could this be a place for leisure? A handsome man dressed as a noble son appearing here with two maidservants who looked like Heavenly Immortals, with no guards accompanying them, naturally looked very discordant.

One could guess with their toes that this man and two women were definitely not ordinary humans. Coupled with the gloomy, blood-stained, dilapidated villa, it was inevitable to suspect that they were more likely transformations of Demon.

"Head Escort Zhou, why have we stopped?" A calm, unhurried voice came.

Hearing this, Head Escort Zhou immediately dismounted, bowed to the side of the carriage and said: "Master Ning, there are three non-human beings ahead. I do not know if they are good or evil, so I lost my composure."

Head Escort Zhou looked respectful toward the carriage. This Master Ning was a scholar who had passed the national examination, and in this Jin Hua Fu territory, he was very precious.

If he had entered the Dao through martial arts, that would be another matter, but unfortunately, his talent was limited; after practicing martial arts for thirty years, he was still just a secular martial artist, so he naturally had to bow to secular rules.

"Oh—" This Master Ning was quite bold; he immediately lifted the carriage curtain, holding a book in his hand, and looked toward Fang Longye's group.

Fang Longye felt the gaze and immediately returned a smile. He saw that the person in the carriage was dressed as a scholar, with a kind face and a beard; even though he was over thirty, one could still see the handsomeness of his youth.

Above his head, Golden Flower and tassels were rising, and there were cloud-shaped fungi growing, with Purple-Green Qi swirling around him.

Fang Longye turned to Qingli and Ao Ying and said: "Look, isn't the predestined connection here?"

But then he frowned and calculated for a moment: "To be precise, it is an indirect predestined connection. The true predestined connection should be with those close to him."

Ao Ying said in surprise: "This scholar's fortune has such strange signs, and he has cloud-shaped fungi with him; he is clearly an exiled immortal descending to the mortal world. Is the predestined connection not fulfilled in him?"

Fang Longye shook his head and waved his hand to indicate that he was not sure either.

After all, being able to calculate to this extent was already considered excellent divination.

This scholar surnamed Ning naturally did not know the thoughts of Fang Longye and his group; he only saw the appearance and demeanor of Fang Longye's group from afar, and his eyes lit up, and he could not help but praise: "Truly not an ordinary person!"

He rubbed the sword bag hanging at his waist, and since there was no reaction, he laughed heartily at Head Escort Zhou: "It's nothing! Even if they are non-human beings, there are good ones and bad ones. I observe this gentleman and his maidservants, and they are definitely not evil."

"You all rest here. I have been feeling stifled along the way, and I have finally hoped for a friend who looks like he can be befriended."

He spoke and laughed freely, with a dashing and magnanimous air.

"Master Ning, you are a man of letters; you should have heard the principle of 'respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance' once spoken by the Saint Confucius. I personally think it is better not to disturb them." Head Escort Zhou tried to persuade him earnestly.

He thought to himself, others would give anything to avoid this, yet you, on the contrary, are insisting on getting close.

Hearing this, the scholar surnamed Ning immediately glared: "Is it that I have read more of the Saint's words, or have you?"

"Do not try to persuade me further; my mind is made up. You shall simply wait here; if there truly is any trouble, you need not concern yourselves with me."

Zhou thought to himself, "You make it sound easy, but if anything were to happen to you, what use would it be even if we returned home safely? Wouldn't we just be seized by the authorities to be buried along with you, a scholar?" "How about this? I shall accompany Master Ning on this trip!" Zhou gritted his teeth, gripped his waist-sword, and spoke.

This scholar surnamed Ning glanced at him, saw that his expression had become resolute, thought for a moment, and said, "Then I shall have to trouble you, Zhou."

Having made his decision, he did not drag his feet; he immediately stepped down from the carriage, straightened his clothes and cap, and under Zhou's escort, strode forward with long, swift steps, arriving before the mountain villa's gate in no time.

He bowed to Fang Longye and the other two, saying politely, "Ning Caichen of Golden Flower greets you all."

Ning Caichen? That Ning Caichen who claimed to have "never looked at another woman in his life"? That "great man" jokingly referred to in his past life as the "undead knight"? Fang Longye looked at the middle-aged scholar before him, who was in his thirties, had a dignified appearance, and a meticulously groomed beard, and noticed a worn leather Sword Pouch hanging from his waist.

He immediately understood and thought to himself, "It seems I understand where the fated connection for Qingli and the others lies!"

Nie Xiaoqian! First chapter today~ (End of chapter)