Chapter 158: Chapter 135: [Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven] Chooses a New Master (Part 2)

’A Lower Cultivator trying to latch onto an Ancestral Sect is harder than ascending to the heavens. And as for stumbling upon an Opportunity, nine out of ten are traps, and the last one is already taken.’

’The strange encounters written about in storybooks can’t be taken seriously at all.’

Jiang Yi grumbled inwardly. As the thoughts flickered through his mind, the Ancient Gate formed by the evolution of the Thunder Core’s laws had already smashed into Goose Mountain as if the sky itself were collapsing.

BOOM—

A sound so great it was silent!

Jiang Yi’s ears rang, and the spot between his eyebrows throbbed violently. For an instant, the world around him seemed to freeze.

Under such immense power, the Disciples of the Youquan Sect entrenched on Goose Mountain and the numerous Loose Cultivators had likely all been shaken to death, with not even their bones remaining.

The clash of Yin and Yang erupted with heavenly might!

A vast, dazzling white light appeared like a thin line, then slowly unfurled.

Like the dawn of creation when chaos was first parted, a heavy gate leading to an infinite, profound abyss was faintly revealed.

Fengdu had finally appeared in the world!

"Cat Master, can we still slip in while the water is muddy?"

Jiang Yi tilted his head back, gazing at Fengdu from afar, his mind still set on that Fire Life Destiny.

’If I can form the Innate Fire Virtue Body, I’ll definitely earn a second look from a True Inheritance of an Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage. I might even be accepted as a disciple.’

’Even just getting a foot in the door of a Lower Courtyard Villa would be a step up the ladder.’

"Fu Lizi will definitely drag you in there."

True Master Xuanmiao lay lazily on his shoulder.

"That scoundrel never has good intentions. He went to all this trouble to open Fengdu, so he must be looking for some fun."

Jiang Yi’s mouth twitched. The dispositions of the True Inheritance Disciples from Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineages were truly fickle and hard to fathom.

"Fu Lizi’s Dao path in this life is doomed. A great enemy cut off his chance to reach the Perfection of Life Essence, so he wants to find another way, cultivating only life and not essence. That’s why whenever he sees a Fate Shuzi, he’s like an old glutton eyeing a rare delicacy."

True Master Xuanmiao spoke as if it were an expert, seemingly very familiar with the inside story.

"But you can rest assured, Xiao Jiang. With your meager destiny, Fu Lizi will never notice you."

His words made Jiang Yi’s heart stir, and he keenly sensed that something was wrong.

He held a True Monarch Level Dao Inheritance, had won a second-class prize in Zhizhen Garden, and had successively been entangled with Xuan Chanzi and a True Inheritance from the Taifu Sect.

’With such encounters, could his destiny still be called "meager"?’

"Cat Master, you can also read fortunes?"

Jiang Yi asked casually while keeping a close eye on the activity at the Fengdu gate.

"I know a little, a little. I wouldn’t call myself an expert," 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

True Master Xuanmiao immediately puffed out its round belly and said smugly:

"This True Master doesn’t need to see your birth date and time. With just a glance, I can tell the length of a person’s fortune and the thickness of their destiny.

"Take you, for example. I saw it during your offerings. Xiao Jiang, your fortune is long, and your destiny is decent. You’re a good seedling who can cultivate to the Twelfth Layer and has a hope of reaching Foundation Establishment."

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow, a smile of unclear meaning spreading across his lips.

"Then why did you just say my destiny was meager, Cat Master?"

’Oh no!’

’The cat’s out of the bag!’

A chill ran down the back of True Master Xuanmiao’s neck. Its round eyes darted about, clearly racking its brain for an excuse.

Before it could think of a reason, Jiang Yi slowly added:

"It couldn’t be because I accepted your Dao Inheritance, could it?"

His words pierced the veil. True Master Xuanmiao instantly stopped all its fidgeting, hugged Jiang Yi’s neck softly, and said in a sickly sweet voice:

"Xiao Jiang, you are the Disciple this True Master values most! How could I possibly harm you!

"When a Dao Inheritance reaches Perfection, it incurs heavenly jealousy, which shaves off some of your destiny. There’s nothing to be done about it! It’s not like we can take our anger out on the Celestial Lord!"

"What Cat Master says is reasonable. Everything has its pros and cons; it all depends on one’s personal choice."

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but sigh. In truth, ever since True Master Xuanmiao had mentioned the tribulations, he had suspected that this world-shocking Dao Inheritance was a hot potato.

Otherwise, how could learning "Mixed Refining Origin" and "Nurturing the Dao Embryo" have attracted the attention of that Immortal Dao Emperor?

To the number one True Monarch in the Yanfu Vast Land, a Qi Cultivation Lower Cultivator was more insignificant than an ant, utterly unworthy of notice.

"But as long as you join an Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage, everything will be solved."

True Master Xuanmiao rubbed its round head against Jiang Yi’s cheek and whispered:

"Once you leave the Qianji Sect and cancel the wisp of Life Qi you entrusted to that Dharma Lineage, we can take our pick of the Eight Sects’ Lower Courtyards."

"The Innate Sect’s ’Changying Villa,’ the Taifu Sect’s ’Six Islands of Xiuchuan,’ the Xuan—oh, and the Hidden Origin Sect’s ’Sheyun Small Tower’... This True Master has a way into all of them!"

Jiang Yi’s eyebrows rose. This time, the Cat Master wasn’t just boasting. The Celestial Book had also clearly indicated the few Ancestral Sects it had mentioned.

"How could this Disciple blame you, Cat Master? The Great Dao is rugged and full of hardships. Without you by my side, I would feel like I’m walking on thin ice at the edge of an abyss, my fear beyond words.

"It is only because you are here that I feel at ease."

He stroked True Master Xuanmiao’s ears and said softly.

These words deeply moved the gluttonous and lazy Cat Master. Even its previous master had never been so understanding.

’This True Master’s judgment really is flawless.’

’Xiao Jiang is so much better than that loudmouth who uses a sword.’

Thinking of this, True Master Xuanmiao no longer hesitated. It painstakingly used its front paw to untie the small Golden Bell from its neck.

"Xiao Jiang, force out a drop of your blood Essence."

Surprise flashed in Jiang Yi’s eyes, but he didn’t ask any questions.

He condensed a drop of crimson blood Essence on his fingertip, and it hovered in mid-air.

"I was going to have to hand it over to you eventually anyway."

True Master Xuanmiao sighed endlessly, its tone uncharacteristically solemn.

The Golden Bell was its previous master’s only "Dao-Manifesting Artifact" left in the world.

It hadn’t given it to Jiang Yi before because it was worried that Xiao Jiang might die young and never reach the step of attaining his position.

But now, True Master Xuanmiao was no longer thinking about a way out.

Things had already reached this point. The Dao path to attaining that Golden Position could only be entrusted to Xiao Jiang!

"Cat Master, are you sure about this?"

Jiang Yi took the Golden Bell. It was quite light in his hand, as light as a feather.

But he understood that this object was likely a great treasure of a Dharma Lineage, representing the last trace of that True Monarch’s existence on the Great Dao.

"Take it, Xiao Jiang."

True Master Xuanmiao hugged Jiang Yi, as if in the vastness of heaven and earth, across the Five Domains of Yanfu, the young man before it was the only one it could rely on.

"From now on, you are the new master of Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven."

"And the successor to that shattered Golden Position."

...

...

As if held aloft by ten thousand heavens, stood the magnificent and boundless White Jade City.

A lone Golden House was suspended in a sea of stars.

This was the Mixed Element Imperial Calendar and the Golden Palace of the Bright Dao, the Dao-Manifesting Artifact of the Tai Yang’s revered position.

It possessed the miraculous property of being indestructible through ten thousand calamities and unmoved by countless disasters.

It was supremely solemn and magnificently unparalleled, just like the Immortal Dao Emperor seated within.

"Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven has a new master?"

Ji Fuyao seemed to sense something and slowly lowered his gaze.

Below the Golden House was the boundless ether, like an endless abyss that swallowed all directions.

The Immortal Dao Emperor’s gaze fell, seeming to pierce through tens of millions of feet to quietly watch an object that bobbed up and down, silent and unmoving.

The object was originally perfectly round and flawless, but it looked as if someone had shattered it, creating several shocking cracks that crisscrossed like dragons and snakes.

Its surface was as brilliant as light, appearing bright and ethereal, yet its interior contained an endless, heavy iridescence.

Just a moment ago, the object had given a slight leap.

It was only a momentary tremor, but it was like a giant spirit beating a drum, striking with a heavy mallet, causing the Golden House to tremble violently.

At the junction of heaven and earth, it was as if everything had been completely overturned. Yin and Yang were in disarray, the four phenomena were reversed, and long, chapped cracks tens of millions of feet long burst open.

Nearly endless slivers of light leaked in, evolving into scenes of earth, wind, water, and fire, as chaotic qi spun wildly and spewed forth.

It was a veritable sign of world-ending annihilation.

And the object trembled desperately, as if it were about to be guided away to fly out and return to the Great Dao.

"But I cannot let you escape."

Ji Fuyao suddenly smiled, gently raising his palm before flipping it over and pressing down.

The terrifying fluctuations that shattered all phenomena and shook ten thousand heavens vanished in an instant.

The Golden House returned to tranquility.

The sudden shift from motion to stillness made one feel as if what they had just seen was an illusion.

"A supreme Golden Position is truly extraordinary. Its nature is immortal, unable to be worn down by a billion calamities; its substance is indestructible, unable to be shattered even if heaven and earth collapse."

Ji Fuyao sighed softly, his meaning unclear, seeming both pleased and regretful.

"Shao Yang finally has a new master."

...

...

「Outside Hanyang Prefecture, at the Exquisite Magic Tower.」

Fu Lizi’s brow furrowed slightly, as if he had heard an extremely faint, almost inaudible clap of muffled thunder.

But when he focused his mind to listen, the surrounding ether was as silent as before, as if he had been hearing things.

"How strange."

Fu Lizi performed a divination of karma but found no clues. He then checked the flow of destiny for a while but saw no fluctuations.

"Forget it, forget it. It must be the unease caused by the convergence of Yin and Yang."

He flicked his wide sleeve, and holding the Daoist Register, he was the first to fly into the Fengdu gate.

He had not yet arrived, but his voice thundered out:

"Lady Xuan’nv, this old Daoist has found the husband you wanted!

"Within the lands of the Three Peaks and Four Waters, I will surely find a Yin Celestial Emperor for you, to match you in a yin union and arrange a marriage!"