Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 97: A Sword Named True Void

"Why did it fly toward the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty?"

Chen Huangpi asked. "Was it going there to kill someone? But it's been so long and it still hasn't come back."

"It didn't necessarily go to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. By that time, the dynasty was already sealed. Perhaps it went to the Nine Dao Sea, the Triple Mountains, or somewhere else entirely."

Yi Qingzhou had already died by the time the sword flew away, so he could only speculate.

Chen Huangpi nodded with a faint sense of loss.

The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

The name felt both foreign and familiar to him.

Foreign, because.

Chen Huangpi had no idea what the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty actually looked like.

Everything he knew of it came from the mouths of others. He had never laid eyes on it himself.To reach the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, one had to cross the Nine Dao Sea and traverse the Triple Mountains.

But the dynasty had been sealed.

As for how to break that seal, Chen Huangpi hadn't the faintest clue.

And yet, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar either.

Yi Qingzhou, Xu Qingshan, and all those Daoists — Master had brought every one of them from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

Master was the brother of Emperor Chen Huang of the Great Qian.

The Deity of Broad Sight also hailed from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

Even he himself had come from there.

Chen Huangpi had not forgotten the dream he'd had.

When he was still an egg, Chen Huang had berated him, calling him a waste — saying he'd squandered so many precious resources only to end up a stillborn.

But Master had firmly believed that once they reached the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there would still be a chance for him to be born.

Master had also said that if he couldn't return himself, his disciple should go back in his stead.

But Master was wrong.

He would definitely save Master. And he would cure his illness.

Master was Near-Dao. Surely Emperor Chen Huang's cultivation couldn't match Master's. The Emperor was probably long dead by now.

Once Master returned, he would become the Emperor of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

Master was getting old, though.

He probably couldn't serve as Emperor for too many years.

When that time came, I shall certainly bestow upon Master a fine posthumous title.

Thinking this, Chen Huangpi blurted out without realizing, "Mm, I don't blame Chen Huang."

"Chen Huang?"

Yi Qingzhou's expression shifted, and he immediately formed a seal with one hand. "Halt!"

The entire altar ceased its rotation in an instant.

Chen Huangpi was startled to find that everything around them had gone completely still.

Only he and Yi Qingzhou remained unaffected.

"The more powerful a being is, the more cautious one must be when speaking of them."

Yi Qingzhou said gravely. "Even if you must speak of them, you should first freeze time as I've done. Otherwise, if that person wills it, they truly can trace their way here through even a few stray words."

"Is Chen Huang also Near-Dao like my master?"

"Not quite."

Yi Qingzhou let out a rueful laugh. "It's just that the Guanzhu has always been magnanimous. Mention him and he wouldn't bat an eye. Besides, this is the Hundred Thousand Mountains — the Guanzhu knows what goes on here regardless. There's no point in being coy about it."

"I see."

Chen Huangpi suddenly understood. "Master is generous. Chen Huang is petty and vindictive — just like me, he loves holding grudges."

Yi Qingzhou said helplessly, "That's not quite right either. His Majesty and the Guanzhu are blood brothers. And in fact, the original Crown Prince of the Great Qian was actually the Guanzhu."

"Then why didn't Master become Emperor?"

"The Guanzhu didn't want to, so he ceded the Crown Prince's position to His Majesty. But many people objected."

"Of course they objected! Seniority and hierarchy exist for a reason — wouldn't it throw all the rules into chaos?!"

Chen Huangpi erupted in indignation. "I've read many books. They all say: the laws of our ancestors must never be changed! Master was far too reckless!"

"Those people said much the same."

Yi Qingzhou laughed in spite of himself. "But the Guanzhu said that rules are made by men. Predecessors could set them, and as a successor, he naturally could too."

"Those who disagreed may not have bowed to his argument, but they certainly bowed to his sword."

"As for His Majesty — well, if someone wants to find fault with him, they certainly can. No one can satisfy everyone. Even a sage couldn't manage that."

"But you shouldn't criticize His Majesty. To bring about your birth, he emptied the entire treasury of the Great Qian — even his private coffers went into it. When we departed, His Majesty issued nine Edicts of Self-Condemnation. Even the resources needed later to seal the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty were seized from the Celestial Realm through war."

Hearing this.

Chen Huangpi was momentarily at a loss.

"Were all those resources spent on my birth really worth it?"

"If it had succeeded, then yes, it would have been."

Yi Qingzhou's voice was soft, yet it still stung Chen Huangpi's heart.

He didn't understand.

There were certainly some unusual things about him.

But aside from those oddities, there was nothing particularly special.

That mountain of resources could probably have produced countless immortals.

And yet without the black smoke, he couldn't even face an ordinary Calamity head-on — he'd have to take a detour.

"I'm not strong. I'm quite weak, actually."

Chen Huangpi said, a note of self-reproach in his voice. "Master brought me to the Hundred Thousand Mountains. I don't know what he sacrificed to successfully birth me from a stillborn. But seeing how ordinary I am, how weak... he must be very disappointed."

"Now that's a question I can't answer."

Yi Qingzhou said. "I was already dead when you were born. Perhaps something went wrong during your birth, which is why you turned out this way. There's no need to blame yourself."

"Thank you, Yi Qingzhou."

Chen Huangpi's mood lifted slightly, and he asked, "So, do you know why Master wanted to create a hundred thousand deities?"

"I don't. But it was definitely more than a hundred thousand."

Yi Qingzhou's tone was uncertain. "The black coffin I lie in has a passage connecting to the Underworld Yellow Spring. I can't go through it, and I can't leave this place, but my corpse can. After I severed it from myself, I cast it into the Underworld Yellow Spring."

"My corpse carries my obsession."

"So after reaching the Underworld Yellow Spring, it would eventually seize an opportunity during an earth dragon's turning to return to the mortal world, then instinctively gather materials to build a vessel — a ship capable of crossing the Nine Dao Sea."

At this.

Chen Huangpi sheepishly said, "Your corpse was a good one. It traded all those materials to me."

"I know."

Yi Qingzhou said gently. "But it doesn't matter anymore. Its return was decreed by fate. Fate would not let me find my way home. In any case, once my corpse came back, everything it saw and heard became known to me."

"It saw many shattered remnants of gods in the Underworld Yellow Spring." "And it saw that some beings there were creating gods."

The gods of the mortal world and the gods of the Underworld Yellow Spring were different.

The former were called deities. The latter, ghost gods.

The former were of yang nature. The latter, of yin.

At this point, Yi Qingzhou's brow suddenly furrowed. "But that was thousands of years ago. I don't know whether it's still the same now. When you descend into the Underworld Yellow Spring, you must proceed with extreme caution. That place is nothing like it used to be."

"Then can you teach me some techniques to protect myself?"

Chen Huangpi figured that if he could learn a few more skills, he'd at least have more means of self-defense in the Underworld Yellow Spring, and wouldn't end up in such sorry shape.

But.

Yi Qingzhou's answer disappointed him.

"I know many techniques, but I cannot teach them to you."

"Why not?"

"Compared to the Guanzhu's arts, mine are trivial. How could I presume to teach you?"

"Master only taught me the Five Viscera Spirit Refining Art and the Yin-Yang Harmonization and Spirit Transformation Art. Nothing else."

"Then all the more reason I cannot."

Yi Qingzhou's tone was dead serious. "If the Guanzhu chose not to teach you additional techniques, he had his reasons. I've never even heard of those two arts you mentioned. And you don't need to tell me what they do — that's not something I should know."

"In short, if the Guanzhu won't teach you, I certainly don't dare."

Chen Huangpi was too unusual.

Yi Qingzhou was willing to share certain secrets with him, but he didn't dare take any real action.

Because.

Chen Huangpi's current state was clearly not what a successful birth should have produced.

He was far too frail.

Like a premature infant.

Seeing Yi Qingzhou's resolve.

Chen Huangpi decided not to press further.

But Yi Qingzhou offered a faint smile. "You needn't be disappointed. Though I can't pass on techniques, I can give you a sword for protection."

"The sword reflection in Calamity Eye!"

Chen Huangpi's eyes lit up. "You can extract it and give it to me?"

"More or less."

Yi Qingzhou smiled. "My mother was a sword immortal. Though I never walked the path of the sword myself, I picked up a thing or two. Watch closely."

With that.

Yi Qingzhou pressed his palms together.

Calamity Eye was already in his grasp. Now, as his palms ground against each other, a faint true fire ignited between them.

It was like a sword furnace.

The ringing clang of metal on metal filled the air.

"The Guanzhu's sword is named True Void. Since this one is but a sword's reflection, let it be called Dongxu — Void Piercer!"

As the words left his mouth, Yi Qingzhou parted his hands, and a three-foot longsword emerged from between his palms.

Three feet long, sheathed.

It looked entirely unremarkable — no different from an ordinary blade forged by a common blacksmith.

Chen Huangpi took the sword into his hands. He was about to draw it when a pained screech rang out.

There was a slit running along the scabbard.

The slit snapped open, revealing a single eye — black and white, starkly distinct.

"Calamity Eye!!!"

Chen Huangpi froze. "It's not dead?"

Yi Qingzhou said, "I forged it into the scabbard and hilt. Draw the blade and you can unleash sword light."

"However, this sword light is not unlimited."

"If you use it to kill Disasters, or draw it for every minor Calamity you encounter, you'll bleed Calamity Eye dry before long."

"Remember: this sword exists to protect you."

"How you use it is up to you."

Yi Qingzhou gazed at the sword, his eyes clouded with something complex.

He had been imprisoned here for a very long time.

Having become an evil spirit, many of his memories had grown dim and blurred.

But he remembered the night before they left the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. His mother had called him to her chamber, wanting to give him a sword for protection.

Back then, the mere mention of sword cultivation grated on his nerves. The very sight of a sword made his stomach turn.

Naturally, he'd refused.

Now, standing in this moment, how could Yi Qingzhou possibly let it go?

"Such bitter fate."

Yi Qingzhou covered his face with his palm and wept softly. "Today, I cannot even recall my mother's face. I cannot summon the sound of her patient, gentle voice. Chen Huangpi, I am not as selfless as you might think. In helping you, I have my own reasons."

Looking at Yi Qingzhou.

Chen Huangpi smiled gently and said, "I know. 'A cup of rice earns gratitude; a bushel of rice breeds resentment.' You've already given me a bushel. If you had nothing to ask of me in return, you'd surely take it back."

The Deity of Broad Sight had committed a wrong.

That was why it helped him so readily — to ease its conscience.

But Yi Qingzhou had no such obligation to him.

Therefore, all this generosity surely came with a purpose.

"I want to go home."

Yi Qingzhou jerked his head up, tears streaming down his face. "I cannot leave this place. My corpse couldn't find its way home either. In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, I will lose myself completely. I have no more chances."

"But you can. You can walk out of here."

"When your cultivation is strong enough, come back and kill me. Take my head to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. Would you do that?"

"My mother is a sword immortal. With the Great Qian sealed, perhaps she is still alive."

"My family is in the Southern Dao Province, at the Myriad Sword Pavilion..."