Chapter 147

While everyone was joking, someone in the Chaos began to come toward the Primordial.

Amidst everyone's teasing, someone in the Chaos began to head toward the Primordial.

Strands of green willow branches wove through the Chaos; the chaotic qi along the way could not impede them, easily split apart.

Looking at the Primordial within reach, Yang Mei hesitated slightly; the Great Calamity had just begun—was it too soon to enter?

Having lingered in the Chaos for ages, now the Primordial lies before me, yet I dare not enter rashly, fearing to stir karma; Yang Mei, you've become ever more withdrawn.

All that was heard was Yang Mei's sigh; the willow branches appeared again, slowly piercing the membrane of heaven and earth and spreading into the Primordial.

The membrane of heaven and earth is growing thicker; coming and going will be hard from now on, so lingering a while longer this time is acceptable.

Yang Mei stared at the daunting membrane of heaven and earth before him, realizing that if it continued to thicken, someday even he might be unable to pass through.

Should the Great Dao leave, this foray into the Primordial could be his final one.

I don't know how those few little ones are doing now, or if they still remember this humble daoist.

Yang Mei smiled, looking forward to seeing how the crowd would react when he met Qi and Di Jun.

He pondered how, after entering the Primordial, to avoid those karmic ties, especially those concerning Hongjun and Luo Hou.

At this thought, Yang Mei grew irritated; he knew that unless he went to a place they both dreaded, they would come after him.

He simply didn't know where in the current Primordial one could evade them; otherwise Yang Mei feared he couldn't hold back from striking.

Luo Hou and Hongjun are both masters at reading hearts, each holding many fine treasures; perhaps something could sway him, urging him to join their rivalry.

Those two noisy trinkets—I don't know how long they'll allow me to stay peacefully in Cloud Dream Marsh; at most, perhaps a thousand years.

At this thought, Yang Mei felt a spark of ignorant fire rise in his chest, and he snapped:

Indeed, these two disasters are better off dead; the God-Reverse, those spawned of moisture and egg, are nothing but mud that cannot hold up a wall.

Whenever he recalled that the God-Reverse had listened to Luo Hou and squandered this chance, Yang Mei felt a sting of regret.

Yang Mei still did not know that the present Cloud Dream Marsh, protected by the Cloud Dream Star River Grand Formation, would admit neither Luo Hou nor Hongjun a single step.

He could weather the early phase of the Great Calamity in peace, needing only to wait for the later moment to witness their showdown.

Chaos continued to swell, soon to outstrip the Primordial world; when Chaos exceeded the Primordial, that would mark the departure of the Great Dao.

Cloud Dream Marsh.

Qi and the crowd were in high spirits, the feast filled with music and dance, joy and laughter abounding.

Bai Ling lingered outside the Pond-Center Pavilion, in a spot where she could always hear the crowd, sipping a little wine and feeling quite at ease.

He didn't need to fret over whether the crowd's food and drink were lacking; the dancers cared about it far more than the gathered guests.

He had already pulled fruit and wine from the storehouse; should the banquet run low, they would themselves go fetch more.

Although he had hired these dancers, Bai Ling disliked them, thinking they were too refined, fit only for the lord.

He would just bother himself to go see the flashy, vulgar dancers.

These proper dancers allowed no liberties and would not let the old bull lay a hand on them—utterly dull.

At this thought, Bai Ling suddenly missed her old friends; all were common folk, and their fun was utterly carefree.

Too bad he had rushed out before paying the tab; he didn't know which brother had generously footed the bill.

Fellow daoists, may the Great Dao accompany you!

May the Great Dao be with you!

Qi and the crowd drank their fill, and the dancers would casually top off their cups—even Nüwa was not missed.

They spoke only when prompted; whenever the crowd had a question, someone would reply, and then they would flutter away.

This was their first encounter with such a style; Qi and the crowd found it intriguing, and only by asking did they learn that dancers of this sort had long become the mainstream of Cloud Dream Marsh's music and dance.

The dancers Qi remembered, who only needed to dance quietly and play music, had long been phased out because of differing service standards.

To the dancers of today, those were things of the ancient past.

This struck Qi deeply: to the gods, ordinary beings live all too briefly and change too swiftly.

For the gods, a brief seclusion or journey, if they ignored the changes within, would swiftly leave them out of step with the Primordial.

Qi was already a little tipsy, and failed to notice that outside the Cloud Dream Star Grand Formation, a figure hovered in midair.

Yang Mei's hesitation now even exceeded what he felt when he was about to enter the Primordial; this formation struck him as overly perilous.

He wanted to enter, yet feared mishap; he wanted to depart, yet also longed to see the crowd in Cloud Dream Marsh.

Yang Mei lightly tripped the formation outside Cloud Dream Marsh, hoping to notify the crowd, but Qi and the others were mostly drunk and noticed nothing.

Left with no alternative, Yang Mei could only force his way in; he worried that Qi and company might have met some accident, for otherwise even his triggering the formation would have elicited no reaction.

A lone green willow branch cautiously wove through the great formation; only after suffering more than half damage did it reach the interior of Cloud Dream Marsh.

This point, too, lies within the formation; if Qi so desires, the whole of Cloud Dream Marsh can be struck at will by the Cloud Dream Star Grand Formation.

Under normal circumstances, Yang Mei's intrusion would have been spotted long ago; no one could just walk right in.

But only Yang Mei could manage this, for his Spatial Great Dao is wondrously extraordinary.

Qi stared at Yang Mei before him, blinked, then turned and smiled at the crowd:

Friends, I'll step away; I must be drunk, for I seem to have seen Yang Mei the Great God.

Qi's steps swayed a little as he approached Taiyi, put an arm around his neck, gestured toward Yang Mei, and said:

Look, I said I was drunk, yet I can still see!

Taiyi, too, was bleary-eyed, and said:

I also seem to have seen it; looks like I'm drunk too.

Qi's motion drew the crowd's eyes, all turning to where Yang Mei stood.

Qi was also roused by Taiyi's words, came to his senses, and stared intently at Yang Mei.

Yang Mei the Great God! x5

Seeing the crowd snap to, Yang Mei gave a half-smile, walked to Qi's side, and said:

You're drunk? You can't even tell whether this humble Daoist is real or fake, could it be that you want me to sober you up!

Yang Mei didn't know what posture to adopt at this moment; he had never imagined that upon entering he would see this scene.

"I never thought that this poor Taoist would actually meet such a bunch of drunkards, and still place high hopes on you all; it seems heaven intends to destroy my Divine Way."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mei himself laughed; isn't it precisely for this reason that he was willing to befriend them?

However, at least there is now a piece of good news: he has found a way to let Luo Hu and Hongjun not disturb his place.

(End of chapter)