Chapter 154: Another Lifetime
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
In the Supreme Immortal Realm, eastern Yunzhou.
Immortal Cloud Dao Palace.
The deep and melodious bell toll swept across tens of thousands of miles of mountains, rivers, and countless pavilions, echoing and lingering endlessly in the vast and boundless sky.
"Three strikes of the bell, enter the threshold..."
"Six strikes of the bell, enter the Dao..."
"Nine strikes of the bell, the Dao Lord..."
"The bell rings incessantly. Could the visitor be a Dao尊 (Dao Venerable)...?"
At the summit of an extremely towering peak within the Dao Palace, an elderly man with the demeanor of an immortal gazed toward the mountain gate, his eyes filled with gravity. As his aged murmur escaped, his heart leaped into his throat!
He was Yun Cang, the Master of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace.
"Jian Jingxian of the Qinglin Dao Palace in Yunzhou presents one million top-tier spirit stones as a gift, and earnestly requests the Immortal Cloud Dao Child to grant the honor of an audience!"
Immediately following, as an aged voice rang out, an elderly man clad in a simple long robe, emanating a terrifying aura and with a sword strapped to his back, stepped forward into the empty air.
He stopped a hundred paces outside the mountain gate of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, landed slowly, and bowed deeply with clasped hands toward a towering peak within the Dao Palace.
The old man was somewhat frail, but an aura of sharpness emanated invisibly from between his brows! It gave the impression that a single thought of the mind wielding a sword could tear the vast sky apart!
Clearly, this was a peerless powerhouse!
Enhanced by spiritual Qi, the old man's voice traveled a tremendous distance, and his expression was filled with unspeakable reverence.
The disciples outside the mountain gate felt an extreme gravity in their hearts upon seeing the old man's posture, subconsciously glancing toward the most towering peak within the Dao Palace, awe faintly visible in their eyes!
That was where the Dao Child of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace resided.
Their Dao Child was an unimaginably mysterious and grand figure! Ever since his sudden appearance not long ago, wondrous heavenly phenomena had frequently manifested throughout the entire Immortal Cloud Dao Palace!
Afterward, people came to pay homage from time to time. Yet, what puzzled everyone was that no matter how exorbitant the offerings brought by the visitors, the mysterious Dao Child never once showed himself.
Soon after, news spread that the former Dao Child had ascended the peak to pay a visit and willingly offered to become his follower!
Though the disciples had numerous speculations regarding the identity of the Dao Child, none dared to speak rashly.
The only certain thing was that the Dao Child must be immensely powerful!
As for his true identity, probably only the former Dao Child, Zhuang Wen, knew it.
Meanwhile, deep within the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, halfway up the most towering peak, a gentle young man in plain white robes was walking forward, accompanied by two young maidens of about sixteen or seventeen years of age.
"This... even the Master of the Qinglin Dao Palace has come to pay respects!"
"Jian Jingxian, that is a being who once cleaved a realm asunder with a single sword! To think that even such an existence is so respectful to the Dao Child!"
Hearing the commotion outside the mountain gate, the two maidens showed expressions of shock and cried out in unison.
The two young women were exceptionally beautiful, both being daughters of prominent clans subordinate to the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace. After undergoing rigorous trials, they had now been chosen to serve as handmaidens to the current Dao Child.
"Not long ago, when the Dao Child went out, he happened to give a pointer on cultivation to someone. That person's innate talent was quite good and achieved sudden enlightenment on the spot. Later, I learned that person was Senior Jian's disciple. The senior's visit this time is likely to express gratitude to the Dao Child."
Walking in the lead, the gentle young man gently shook his head, reverence evident in his eyes, as his voice slowly drifted out.
"The Dao Child is actually this formidable..."
Hearing this, the two maidens were also utterly shocked, parting their lips, momentarily at a loss for words.
"The young master's talent is peerless, his demeanor toward others is gentle, and his comprehension of the Dao is profoundly deep. His methods are simply not something we can imagine."
Noticing the shock in their eyes, the young man gave a light, smiling shake of his head and spoke slowly.
"The young master's mastery of Dao arts has long reached the pinnacle. Directing someone at the Dharma-access realm, what difficulty could there be?"
"In fact, there are rumors that the young master has met a Supreme and once discussed the Dao with them!"
The young man's gaze was fixed tightly on the mountain peak, his voice slow yet carrying boundless reverence, resembling a devout believer chanting hymns to his deity.
Yet, upon closer inspection, one might notice a subtle flicker of a guilty conscience deep within the young man's eyes.
"Discussed the Dao with a Supreme!"
Hearing this, the two maidens instantly drew in sharp breaths. As their startled cries rang out, their eyes widened to the maximum, filled with sheer disbelief!
A Supreme!
That was the strongest foundation of the Supreme Immortal Realm!
Over the past hundreds of thousands of years, the Immortal Realm had experienced countless wars of varying scales, and dozens of times, the Immortal Realm had teetered on the brink of annihilation!
In those moments of life and death, it was the two Supremes of the Immortal Realm who intervened, instantly turning the tide!
Amidst those battles of blood and fire, the names of the two Supremes, as well as the Immortal Realm itself, gradually resounded throughout the starry sky!
To this day, the Immortal Realm had been conferred the name of Supreme by the three thousand lower realms and even the myriad realms of the starry sky! None dared to violate it in the slightest!
And those two Supremes were regarded like gods in the eyes of all living beings in the Immortal Realm!
The Supreme Immortal Realm suppresses the heavens!
All of this was entirely because of those two Supremes!
Everyone yearned to catch a glimpse of a Supreme and pay homage, and even just a distant view would make others green with envy!
Yet this young Immortal Cloud Dao Child had actually discussed the Dao with a Supreme!
What on earth was the identity of that Dao Child?!
Just how terrifying was his strength?!
No wonder Senior Brother Zhuang Wen was willing to submit to this person...
The two of them harbored no doubt whatsoever about the truth of these words, because the young man who spoke them was none other than the former Dao Child of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, Zhuang Wen!
An undisputed prodigy of the contemporary era!
"Of course, a level like the young master's is not something we can easily fathom."
"Take these words you heard today and keep them to yourselves; do not speak too much of them to others, lest you incur the young master's displeasure."
After a pause, Zhuang Wen swept his gaze over the two deeply shocked maidens. The guilty conscience deep in his eyes vanished in a flash as his voice calmly sounded.
"We will strictly follow Senior Brother's instruction!"
Meeting the young man's gaze, the two of them felt their hearts tighten, hastily lowering their heads and cupping their fists in respectful compliance.
"Very well, let us ascend the mountain."
Seeing this, Zhuang Wen's expression returned to gentleness. With a slight shake of his head and a soft smile, he led the two toward the summit.
Before long, the stone steps of the mountain path reached their end, and what came into view for the three of them was a stone tablet.
The tablet was not small, standing roughly three zhang tall.
Seemingly weathered by the erosion of time, it was covered in traces of vicissitudes. Despite this, the tablet still radiated an overwhelming, sky-piercing sword intent!
It seemed to tell the world that even a decaying body harbored the intent to overturn the firmament!
"This tablet..."
Noticing the sword intent emanating from the tablet, the pupils of the maiden in blue brocade suddenly constricted! In her perception, the tablet was an ordinary tablet, and the only extraordinary thing was the inscription carved upon it!
Contained within those few short lines of words was precisely that unyielding intent to overturn the firmament!
The person who carved these words was no simple figure!
Their cultivation must be terrifying!
And their swordsmanship ought to be the pinnacle of the current era!
Who could it be...
Could it be that Dao Child...?
The brocade-robed maiden wore a grave expression, her eyes filled with reverence.
"Pointing the sword to the heavens and laughing at tribulation, slaying the Asuras of the ten directions with a single stroke!"
"If any barrier dares to approach with malicious intent, a flick of the finger scatters the firmament..."
At this moment, the other maiden, whose eyes sparkled with vivacity, finished reciting the poem on the tablet before her. Gazing at the young man ahead with immense reverence, she murmured softly:
"Living freely and untrammeled, fearing no enemy in the world, the shackles of worldly thoughts fail to reach the heart, desiring only to roam the boundless universe..."
"Such an open-minded and carefree poem..."
"Indeed."
Zhuang Wen nodded, devotion evident in his eyes and a look of deep respect on his face:
"This poem was improvised by the young master in a moment of inspired amusement after partaking in wine."
"Follow me."
Pausing slightly, Zhuang Wen did not tarry further. With a soft call, he turned and walked toward the end of the stone steps.
Seeing this, the two maidens hurriedly followed.
Soon enough, the stone-step path came to an end.
Standing at the summit and gazing into the distance!
Faint mists drifted with the wind, sweeping across endless clusters of peaks. Accompanied by countless intersecting rivers below and the faint outlines of exquisite pavilions, a majestic and magnificent painting unfolded before the eyes of the three.
"That is..."
Gazing at the scene before them, the shock in the hearts of the two maidens reached an insurmountable peak! But soon, their gazes fell upon the figure standing proudly with hands clasped behind his back beside the locust tree in front of the immortal hall at the summit—the young man in white who seemed completely integrated into the landscape!
Like snow and immortals descending to the mortal dust, falling robes and gentle eyes concealing immortal essence!
He was a slender youth, surrounded by wisps of immortal essence. Even his subtle action of gazing into the distance gave one the feeling of flowing Dao intent and hidden Great Dao!
Resembling an immortal fallen into the mortal world, untainted by the slightest trace of mortal thoughts!
Set off by his snow-white robes, his skin, as translucent as mutton-fat jade, emitted a faint, divine luster, like a sacred deity in person!
The three of them felt as though, standing before the youth, they were mere mortals who could only look up in awe!
His facial features possessed a heaven-sent elegance, and a faint, elusive smile always lingered at the corners of his lips. Combined with the indescribable profundity in his eyes, he gave the impression that all matters of the world were within his grasp!
If one had to find a single word in this world to describe him, it would only be: Immortal!
Throughout Yunzhou—no, across the entire Supreme Immortal Realm—it was truly difficult to find anyone possessing more immortal intent than this youth.
That detached ease of calculating heavenly secrets without sinking into them was something no one in the contemporary era could match!
"Mountains and rivers are magnificent, cultivation reaches the absolute peak, at the summit of asking the Dao..."
"An immortal descends..."
Gazing at the carefree figure at the summit, Zhuang Wen could not help offering soft praise. As a devout light emerged in his eyes, he knelt down with utmost reverence, bowing respectfully toward the youth:
"Zhuang Wen pays respects to the Young Master..."
This person was none other than the Dao Child of Xianlin, Meng Fan!
"Qingli pays respects to the Young Master!"
"Xuelan pays respects to the Young Master!"
Seeing this, the two maidens did not dare to delay, hurriedly imitating Zhuang Wen's posture and kowtowing respectfully.
Hm?
At this moment, Meng Fan, who stood proudly with hands clasped at the summit, also sensed the presence of the three and turned sideways to look.
Their gazes met.
In an instant, the air grew exceptionally quiet! The breathing of the two maidens turned slightly rapid, and their cheeks quickly flushed red! They stood there in a daze, staring unblinkingly at Meng Fan before them.
It was hard to imagine that anyone in this world could be so extraordinarily handsome!
The man is like jade, and the young master is peerless—truly an apt description!
"Audacious!"
Sensing that something was amiss with the two maidens, Zhuang Wen let out a low shout of displeasure!
"Forgive us, Young Master!"
The two maidens hastily lowered their heads, their delicate bodies trembling faintly.
Just now, they had actually behaved with such loss of composure!
Yet the Dao Child was truly overwhelmingly handsome...
"Young Master, these two were specially selected to serve you after a grand audition involving tens of thousands of disciples of the Dao Palace."
Zhuang Wen bowed respectfully toward the youth turning sideways at the summit, his voice slowly sounding.
"Is having you alone not enough to cause a ruckus on Asking Dao Mountain?"
Hearing this, Meng Fan frowned slightly, a trace of profundity flashing deep within his eyes as he spoke lightly:
"Of these two, keep one, and let the other leave."
"Dao Child..."
Hearing this, Qingli, the maiden in blue brocade, felt her heart tighten. Just as she opened her mouth with a respectful look, wanting to say something, Meng Fan's breezy voice drifted over once more:
"If you say another word, all three of you shall leave together."
Having said that, Meng Fan turned and walked toward a locust tree, sitting down slowly and leaning sideways against it.
With a wave of his hand, a wine gourd materialized in his palm, held casually as he took sip after sip.
Only the boundless profundity reflected in his gaze as he looked toward the distant horizon seemed to suggest he was contemplating the Great Dao...
As divine light circulated around his body and immortal essence coiled about him, the locust tree Meng Fan leaned against faintly exuded a misty, wondrous Dao sound. For a moment, an endless white light arose over the entire summit of Asking Dao Mountain.
Immortal sounds rippled like flowing water, and amidst the boundless white light, the hazy shadows of numerous immortal palaces and sacred halls manifested...
Yet, upon careful observation, one could notice a subtle, imperceptible flash of profundity deep within Meng Fan's eyes...
"The Dao Child is comprehending the Great Dao once again!"
"The Dao Child's talent is peerless and unmatched. What is there to be surprised about by mere fairy palace phenomena?"
"Indeed, with the Dao Child in Xianlin, why worry that our name will not shake the Immortal Realm in the future!"
Meanwhile, within the Xianlin Dao Palace, a crowd of disciples gazed at the summit of Asking Dao Mountain with profound reverence, their voices filled with boundless respect slowly spreading out.
Outside the mountain gate of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, the elderly swordsman had maintained his deep bow with clasped hands, remaining unmoving even when the phenomena manifested at the summit of Asking Dao Mountain.
"Dao sounds flowing, wondrous phenomena appearing—it closely resembles an Innate Dao Physique..."
"Could that be... the First Sequence...?"
Profound ripples flickered in the old man's eyes as his mind turned unceasingly. He was gambling.
Gambling that this Immortal Cloud Dao Child was not a native of Yunzhou!
The Dao art imparted by the Immortal Cloud Dao Child to his disciple was truly profound. After studying it for several days, the conclusions he drew were awe-inspiring!
That Dao art actually carried the aura of a Supreme technique!
Clearly, the two Supremes of the Immortal Realm would not show themselves in public without reason to impart Dao arts.
Thus, the one who imparted this technique could only be that person walking the mortal world as a quasi-Supreme!
Meng Fan, the Qilin child of the Zhongzhou Meng family!
It was said that on the day that Qilin child was born, a Supreme descended in person to bestow upon him the title of First Sequence!
Innate Dao Physique, wondrous phenomena manifesting, monstrous aptitude, and terrifyingly near-limitless talent!
He forged the Dan pill at age three, reached the Nascent Soul at four, attained Spirit Refining at five, entered Dharma-access at seven, and asked the Dao at nine!
Although the Meng family later used various methods to obscure news of Meng Fan, deliberately fading him from the view of the living beings of the Immortal Realm, they could not prevent prying eyes.
Occasionally, news leaked that a Supreme had descended upon the Meng family and was actually discussing the Dao with Meng Fan!
Gradually, the world became convinced that Meng Fan was bound to become the third Supreme of the Immortal Realm!
Such a person—why would he come to a remote place like Yunzhou?
Jian Jingxian did not know the answer to this question, but the Dao art mastered by his disciple indeed possessed the aura of a Supreme technique!
Based on this alone, Jian Jingxian concluded that the Xianlin Dao Child, Meng Fan!
There was a high probability.
He was that very same Qilin child of the Zhongzhou Meng family who shook the Immortal Realm!
Meng Fan!
Today, no matter what, he had to pay respects to this young Dao Child!
At this moment, within the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, the void at the summit of Asking Dao Mountain suddenly trembled, and an elderly man with white hair, a long beard, and plain white robes stepped out.
The old man's expression was serene, and he looked like a person of immortal caliber. Yet, upon closer observation, a wisp of worry was hidden deep within his eyes...
This person was none other than the Master of the Immortal Cloud Dao Palace, Yun Cang.
"The one outside the gate is the master of Yunzhou's foremost Dao Palace... Are you truly not going to leave him even a shred of face...?"
Gazing at the carefree and unrestrained youth beneath the locust tree not far from the summit, Yun Cang wore a bitter expression, his voice tinged with helplessness.
"Correct."
Meng Fan glanced calmly at Yun Cang, his voice sounding somewhat chilling.