Chapter 519

And just as Ren Yidao was traveling and sightseeing with his Senior Sister, Junior Sister, and beloved dog (wolf) toward the Divine Path Sect, some people were not as relaxed and carefree as he was.

Or rather, Ren Yidao and his group, who could remain as they were on any other day when the world was undergoing such a great upheaval, were the true anomalies in the cultivation world.

There is a brave man under a heavy reward.

Cultivators across the entire Shenzhou land were becoming agitated for the sake of the Central Divine Continent, and there was a constant stream of fearless, valiant men attempting to find a way to breach the Heaven Gate.

This was especially true after various ancient legends about Zhongzhou were unearthed.

Things like "There is immortal medicine in Zhongzhou; smelling it can increase one's lifespan, and consuming it can grant Chang Sheng," and "In the east of Zhongzhou, there is ginseng that has become a spirit; consuming one root can extend life by eight hundred years," were merely the basics.

Some even said, "The Heaven Gate is not a dead end, but a test from the Heavenly Emperor for pilgrims; those with sufficient talent can obtain great opportunities!" and "Those who leap through the Heaven Gate can become true dragons and obtain the Dragon Qi of Heaven and Earth!"...

These legends were varied and strange, their truth unknown, but they were all told with such vivid detail that many spoke as if they had truly seen them with their own eyes.

Especially after news spread that a mysterious man from the Eastern Wasteland had successfully passed through the Eastern Heavenly Gate with a child holding a cat, it stirred up a thousand waves with a single stone.

This was not false information; although it was late at night, many people gathered outside the Eastern Heavenly Gate had seen that scene at the time.

These believers had been cultivating for the afterlife since birth, spending their entire lives in suffering; if they could have a chance to end this painful life, they would accept it willingly.

Although this stirred up the dissatisfaction of many cultivators, because the Immortal Sect Grand Competition had just ended not long ago, the muscles flexed by the super sects were still fresh in their memories, and while ordinary cultivators could not truly grasp how deep the foundation of the Northern Qian Dynasty—which stood above the three great sects—actually was, it did not prevent them from choosing to cooperate obediently.

And after that day, quite a bit of news came out from the other Divine Continents; the successful cases were not isolated, and those people had all obtained great fortunes.

The Kings of the Eastern Wasteland Divine Continent, unable to bear it any longer after not hearing orders from the Chu King for a long time, privately organized hundreds of exploration teams using bounties and other forms, plunging headlong into the Eastern Heavenly Gate, resulting in countless casualties, yet several teams truly did successfully pass through the Heaven Gate.

The Fozhu of Spirit Mountain had already promised them that they would no longer be so destitute in their next lives and would be able to enter the Fozhu's Pure Land, no longer needing to struggle in this human world.

And among the four Divine Continents, the most special one was the Western Desert Divine Continent, which chose what appeared to outsiders to be the most cruel and heartless approach.

The situation in the Beiming Divine Continent was still relatively good; the Northern Qian Dynasty stationed tens of thousands of soldiers in front of the Beitianmen, drawing up a long battle line in one go, blocking everyone outside the line, and only those who reported to the dynasty and were approved were qualified to attempt to break through.

However, perhaps it was not that they were making no moves, but that outsiders could not see them.

Even those Western Desert believers with firm faith did not take a single step back, all disappearing after passing through the Heaven Gate.

The voices of complaint dissipated under the powerful suppression of the Northern Qian Dynasty, and everyone had no choice but to cease their activities and honestly cooperate with the work of the soldiers.

At the same time, the Divine Dynasty also organized ten special Divine Guard Army units to explore alongside others; some noticed that the armor of these people was exceptionally ancient and carried a thick aura of death.

The approach of the Southern Border Divine Continent was relatively conservative; the Divine Dynasty neither blocked them nor offered rewards, basically tacitly allowing the existence of the Heaven Gate and letting the cultivators who wanted to explore challenge it on their own.

Because those believers were all participating voluntarily.

Especially when they saw the seemingly ordinary fat cat immediately transform into a ferocious demon tiger after passing through the Heaven Gate, it made them believe the rumor that leaping through the Heaven Gate could lead to Dragon Transformation.

Such an approach appeared cold and heartless to outsiders, running counter to the compassion they usually preached, but it did not stir up any waves in the Western Desert.

Under the unified coordination of Spirit Mountain, these 108,000 believers came to the Western Heavenly Gate together, then divided into different batches, numbers, and times, following the path built by Spirit Mountain, kowtowing every step of the way to ascend the Heaven Gate, observing the changes in them along the way to find the pattern.

Even a cat can become a demon tiger; could we possibly be inferior to a cat?

And while the people of the Four Great Divine Continents were testing it, the Butian Alliance did not make any response, seemingly tacitly allowing these people's attempts.

All the lucky ones who successfully passed through the Heaven Gate, although their Soul Lamps remained intact, not a single person walked out from the Heaven Gate.

The 10,800 temples on the land of the Western Desert each sent ten people, totaling 108,000... mortal believers.

These various pieces of news stirred up a craze among cultivators to ascend to Zhongzhou, and they rushed to the Heaven Gates of various Divine Continents one after another.

Although this result made some people hesitate, most were unaffected, and even firmly believed that they had obtained benefits by not returning!

And as the Four Great Divine Continents tested it with either extreme or conservative methods, the patterns of the Heaven Gate were gradually becoming clear.

Everyone knew that the day when they could truly find the pattern was not far off.

"It is not far off."

Ren Yidao pulled the reins with one hand, stroked the head resting on his lap with the other, and pinched the ears under Cang Lan's hood.

The sleeping Cang Lan's ears twitched, and her body twisted a few times, but she did not leave, instead changing to a more comfortable position.

She had been left alone for a long time, and now that she finally had a chance to act spoiled, she would not let go easily.

"We will be at the sect soon; we'll reach Chongzhou City in another half an hour." Ren Yidao turned his head and asked into the carriage: "Little Yu, do you want to go home first?"

"Can I?" Yu Yu's little head poked out from behind, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Yu Yu had been cultivating at Wentian and hadn't seen her mother for a while; although Ran Guifei treated her like a daughter, treating her and Li Lingling equally, and gave her maternal love.

But that was not her own mother after all; not having seen her mother for a long time, she still missed her very much.

"Why wouldn't you be able to?"

"But..." Yu Yu still had some concerns; although she didn't go out often during her time at Wentian, she had felt all kinds of rules every time she went out.

"There are no 'buts'; when has our Luoyue Peak ever had so many rules?" Ren Yidao smiled, turned his head back, and raised his hand to pat her head, "If you want to go back, then go back; why be afraid of this and that."

After speaking, he sought the opinion of the leader of Luoyue Peak, who had been slacking off for many years: "Peak Master, what do you say?"

"Go~ of course we're going~ why not go home if you have one?"

Jing Yueqin's lazy voice came from the carriage; she was currently lying in Li Lingling's arms, saying with a grin: "Give my regards to Lady Yu~"

And although Jing Yueqin spoke lightly, her eyes were full of envy as she looked at Yu Yu's back.

As an orphan picked up from the foot of the mountain by her master, she had never felt the love between close relatives, and her master, who had played the role of a mother, had disappeared after giving her maternal love.

For a child like Yu Yu who could go home to find her mother's embrace, Peak Master Jing, though she didn't say it, had always been very envious in her heart.

"Don't make Lady Yu angry when you go home~"

Child, cherish this time while your loved ones are still here.

"Mm! Thank you, Senior Sister!"

Yu Yu gratefully threw herself into Jing Yueqin's arms and rubbed against her; after this period of physical contact, the group, who changed combinations to cuddle every day, were clearly much better in terms of emotions than before and could all perform such acts of acting spoiled.

"Hehe..."

Jing Yueqin held Yu Yu, her gaze exceptionally gentle, and she gently rubbed the top of her head.

Suddenly, Jing Yueqin's expression froze, and her eyes widened, because her own head had also been gently rubbed by someone.

Master? Is it Master... No, it is not Master.

If it were Master, she would not be this gentle, would not be this careful.

So...

She narrowed her wide-eyed gaze, shook her head with some helplessness, and leaned back, "Lingling, you have quite some nerve, daring to rub your Senior Sister's head! I am a Peak Master, you know~"

"Hehe, anyway, you've been leaning on me for so long, just let me rub your head; you won't be losing out." Li Lingling, as a mere disciple, rubbed the Peak Master's head with overstepping familiarity, showing not a hint of panic.

The young girl was not just acting on a whim; she had sensed Jing Yueqin's low mood in that instant and had taken the initiative to comfort her.

Yu Yu also sensed Li Lingling's thoughts through their spiritual connection and hugged Jing Yueqin even tighter.

"Hehe..." Jing Yueqin's eyes widened slightly, then she gently hugged back, rubbing Yu Yu's hair while whispering helplessly, "What a bunch of spoiled little things."

What a spoiled little thing she is.

"..."

Cang Lan opened her eyes at this moment, blinked at Ren Yidao, and gestured toward the back.

Those three in the back, should we not worry about them?

Can you refrain from joining in?

Ren Yidao smiled and shook his head gently, raised his hand to make a shushing gesture, and then pressed his hand onto her head, his fingertips rubbing softly.

Although Cang Lan did not know why her master chose to stay at this time, she had received the benefit, so she decided not to think about this complicated problem anymore, squinting her eyes comfortably and making a contented sound in her throat.

Ren Yidao looked down at Cang Lan, but focused more of his energy on Jing Yueqin behind him, feeling her emotions gradually stabilize, and smiled silently.

"Senior Sister, in the entire Luoyue Peak, you are actually the most spoiled little thing! You are the lucky child loved by everyone."

"Then we will head to the sect first; you all can return to the sect on your own later." Ren Yidao said goodbye to Yu Yu and the others at the entrance of the Yu Mansion.

"Mm-hmm." Yu Yu nodded vigorously, not letting go of Lady Yu.

"Goodbye Senior Brother, goodbye Senior Sister." Li Lingling waved her hand, not looking like she was parting at all.

She chose to stay at the Yu Mansion, and Ran Yeting had prepared many gifts for Lady Yu, even including honorary titles similar to those of a noble lady, which would take time to explain properly.

Cang Lan was left behind by him to guard the two Junior Sisters, and also to let her formally experience human customs, to truly experience the customs of the Human Race.

Although she wanted to be by Ren Yidao's side, Cang Lan understood the importance of these two to Ren Yidao and obediently followed Yu Yu.

"Madam, no need to see us off further; if needed, I will come again... to pick them up."

Ren Yidao left the carriage at the Yu Mansion as well, setting off lightly with Jing Yueqin, the two of them on one horse.

Leaving in such a hurry was definitely not because the resentful gazes Lady Yu cast from time to time made Ren Yidao feel a chill down his back.

Definitely not!

Jing Yueqin sat sideways on the horse's back, hugging Ren Yidao's waist, pressing her entire body against Ren Yidao's back, and chuckled softly: "Hey, my dear little Junior Brother, you sent them all away, what bad things do you want to do to your sister?"

In her view, Ren Yidao's actions were entirely about shaking off annoying little tails, wanting to squeeze out some time for the two of them to be alone.

Jing Yueqin misunderstood, but not entirely; Ren Yidao doing this indeed meant he wanted the others to avoid them first.

"Because I want you to meet someone."

"Oh? Is it a woman?" Jing Yueqin blinked as she listened to Ren Yidao's unusual tone, sniffing out an extraordinary scent, "What kind of woman requires such a big setup? Are you afraid that she and I will fight?"

Little brother, you underestimate your sister too much, don't you?

Jing Yueqin secretly curled her lip, feeling that Ren Yidao was making a mountain out of a molehill.

What haven't I, your sister, seen in this world?

"This person, you should know."

"Someone I know? And you have to make it so secret... Could it be!" Jing Yueqin thought of a possibility, her eyes widening into perfect circles, and she said in shock: "You... Duan..."

Duan Hong has a family!

This, I really haven't seen before...

"Where is your mind wandering! It's not her!"

Ren Yidao interrupted her indignantly, finally giving in to her train of thought.

What Duan, what Duan!

Little Duan is more like it!

"Sigh, forget it, I'll just say it directly: she is the person you have been looking for for a long time."

"Looking for for a long time, what am I looking for... wait, what did you say?" Realizing something, Jing Yueqin's heart trembled, and she gripped Ren Yidao's robe tightly.

Could it be?

Could it be!

Ren Yidao did not answer, but pulled the reins tight, slowing the horse's speed.

Then, Jing Yueqin heard a familiar chuckle.

"Little Yueqin."