Chapter 658: Time is Too Short (23)

Ren Yidao did not leave; he sat cross-legged atop the shrine, silently watching the mortals coming and going, watching them pray devoutly.

From that day on, Xianhu Temple recovered its former bustle, becoming even busier than in its most glorious days, with incense burning more vigorously than ever.

There were originally no Daoists in the temple; he did not choose to use disciples from the Divine Path Sect, but instead, Ren Yidao fished out a few small foxes from the Fox Cafe in Wentian City.

He enlightened them into the appearance of Daoists, concealed the Demon Race characteristics on their bodies, and let them help him manage Xianhu Temple.

The leader was the Fox Demon Zhang Wuqiong, who looked like a Tibetan Fox; his human form was a youth in his thirties, with eyes that did not look very large, and his appearance was not much different from his true form.

Ren Yidao had only done it on a whim back then, setting up a place in Wentian City where one could pet foxes at will, trying to find a bit of the feeling from his past life.

But he had not expected that it would actually come in handy at this time.

It truly was a case of "unintentionally planting a willow that grows into shade," giving him a strange feeling that there was an arrangement in the dark.

As for the reason for choosing Fox Demons instead of Divine Path Sect disciples, there were two.

On one hand, for reasons that those who know, know—expecting that group of shut-ins from the Divine Path Sect to honestly entertain guests would be too difficult for them; it would be better to just give them a quick end.

On the other hand, Xianhu Temple was, after all, Ren Yidao's own family business, and there was no need to drag the Divine Path Sect into it as well.

One can only say: it is possible, but unnecessary.

To say nothing else, based solely on the matter of being the Founder of the Dao, Ren Yidao alone was already worth more than the entire Divine Path Sect at this moment.

It should be the Divine Path Sect that takes pride in having Ren Yidao, rather than Ren Yidao using the Divine Path Sect as capital.

At this point, dragging the Divine Path Sect into it would not only be of no benefit to Ren Yidao, but would actually be harmful to the Divine Path Sect, especially since his opponents were now only Immortal Gods; ordinary disciples would have no power to deal with them and would only be caught in the crossfire in vain.

It was better to make some appropriate cuts and keep the two separate: Ren Yidao is a disciple of the Divine Path Sect, and Xianhu Temple belongs to Ren Yidao, but Xianhu Temple has nothing to do with the Divine Path Sect.

This way, even if an Immortal God wanted to take revenge on Ren Yidao, they would choose to target only Xianhu Temple, rather than provoking the Divine Path Sect as well.

After all, that was the number one sect of the current age, with three Immortals in one sect.

Although, in reality, the three Immortals on the surface—Sikong Yu, Yaoyue, and Ren Yidao—were actually all Demon Gods, and not one of them was a true member of the Human Race.

Not to mention, these three fellows were merely the tip of the iceberg of the Divine Path Sect's foundation, within which many old things that had self-slashed were hidden; even Ren Yidao could not say for sure what their true identities were.

Xianhu Temple would not only have this one location in the future; if he were to establish branch temples elsewhere, he could also use other members of the Demon Race at that time...

And the arrangements for that would have to wait until Sister Huang Huang arrived; there was no need to rush.

"Won't it be a bit too risky?"

Ren Yidao was thinking when a soft voice suddenly sounded above his head, causing Ren Yidao to look up.

"Hmm?"

He blinked his eyes and discovered that his Master had appeared in the Daoist Temple at some unknown time; she was currently sitting on the roof beam, bored, dangling a pair of snow-white jade legs that swung back and forth.

Outsiders could not see the two of them and naturally had no fortune to enjoy this rare beautiful sight; only Ren Yidao was able to catch a glimpse of this scene.

He looked up and admired it for a while, then raised his hand to grab her slender ankle, wanting to pull her down from above.

Hey!

But Yaoyue gave a cunning smile, dodged nimbly, and let out a silvery, triumphant giggle.

Her legs swung back and forth, just like a small animal using its tail to fish, constantly provoking the swimming fish.

And Ren Yidao was not annoyed; he just played with her for a while without using Dharma Power, the two of them going back and forth, never tiring of it.

Finally, after persistent efforts, he finally relied on a "lucky chance" to successfully pull Yaoyue down and make her sit on his lap.

The two of them were just sitting there, brazenly embracing intimately in such a solemn place as a shrine; it was truly too blasphemous to the gods... oh, the one being worshipped below was myself, so that's fine.

"Why did you come out of seclusion so quickly?"

Ren Yidao felt Yaoyue's body and easily figured out her current state.

It was not her true body, but only a split soul; it was just that because her technique was exquisite, it looked no different from a physical body, and only when truly fighting could one notice the difference.

And being able to control a split soul, did that mean Yaoyue's true body had also finished its seclusion?

But Yaoyue hugged Ren Yidao's neck, shook her head with a light laugh, and denied his conjecture: "Not yet. I am just a wisp of a split soul right now, with no connection to the true body. I just came out to see the situation; the true body is still slowly digesting the insights after Ascending to Immortality."

"Oh~"

For Luoyue Shangren, who had once split herself countless times to try and find the path, splitting off a wisp of a soul that could walk around while the true body slumbered was truly the simplest of matters.

Her foundation was truly too deep, far exceeding everyone else's, much deeper even than Ren Yidao's!

The path of the Demon Race, she had cultivated to the end.

The path of the Human Race, she had likewise touched the peak.

It could be said that if not for the freak Ren Yidao who appeared halfway, then Yaoyue's radiance would have been destined to make the entire cultivation world look on in awe.

But it was precisely because of the appearance of the freak Ren Yidao that his overly dazzling battle record and radiance overshadowed her, attracting too much firepower, which allowed others to ignore her, this dangerous existence, and hide away for a time to develop in peace and properly sort out her own gains.

The two of them sat there for a while, watching the mortals below come and go, constantly kowtowing and burning incense.

After a long time, Ren Yidao asked softly:

"So, even you are worried that I won't be able to do it?"

These words were exactly asking about the doubt Yaoyue had when she appeared just now.

Yaoyue turned her head, looked at Ren Yidao quietly, shook her head, and then gently leaned her illusory body against his chest.

"I have never doubted your talent."

"You are the most talented, the most perceptive, and the one with the best natural constitution I have ever seen. I have always firmly believed that you can reach the final step."

"Even without that Dao Fruit, you would definitely be able to become a Supreme and save this world."

Yaoyue looked at Ren Yidao and said earnestly: "But Yidao, this requires time."

Yaoyue was rarely serious, and Ren Yidao did not make jokes, but instead nodded gently.

Yes, time.

The deal with Di Zui had indeed solved a small trouble, but it had also tied him to it.

Thirty-five years—it is not short, but to say it is long, it is truly not long.

"You are still young, you had not entered the Heaven Realm before, and you have not spent too much time cultivating until now; you have not experienced too much in cultivation and have not understood this feeling, so it is hard to have such insights."

Yaoyue watched Ren Yidao lost in thought and said gently, "But believe me, thirty-five years is truly too short; it will pass in the snap of a finger."

She waved her hand toward the space below, and a stick of incense flew up out of thin air, igniting mid-flight and extinguishing the moment it landed in her hand.

And this had taken less than a single breath of time.

Yaoyue toyed with the incense, which had only suffered superficial damage, and said softly, "If we compare your path of cultivation to this stick of incense, then this segment already far exceeds those thirty-five years; for your entire life, it is simply imperceptible."

Was Yaoyue exaggerating?

No, this was even a very conservative statement.

To step into the Ascension Realm is to become an Immortal God, sharing the same lifespan as Heaven and Earth, possessing the long life of an eon; the length of this eon far exceeds the imagination of mortals.

If one were to truly calculate it, these few decades, when placed on the scale of a mortal's lifespan, might only be equivalent to a few days.

To want to take the final step and ascend to the Supreme in a mere few days?

Is this truly possible?

"Even with your talent and the guidance of the Sect Leader and Senior Uncle, this path is not easy to walk. We are all only in the Ascension Realm and cannot provide you with enough help on the path to the Supreme."

Speaking of this, Yaoyue also felt somewhat helpless; she wanted to provide help to Ren Yidao, but she was not as special as her own disciple and could not leap to the heavens in one bound, needing to proceed step by step.

She had not even fully comprehended her own Ascension Realm insights yet and was fundamentally powerless to delve into the path to the Supreme; she truly had the heart but lacked the strength, unable to help.

Insights require time, finding the path requires time, and deduction likewise requires time.

And what Ren Yidao lacked most right now was time.

He clearly had plenty of time to waste, yet what he lacked most was precisely time.

The Dao Fruit was about to form, heroes across the world were rising together, and his greatest competitor, Di Zui, was only half a step away from success; all of this was forcing him forward.

Ren Yidao could not stop, and he dared not stop at all.

Because... the time left for him was truly too short.