Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 519 - 258. The Unspeakable Secret of Patriarch Ye (Combined Chapter)_2

Henceforth, Chang’an was referred to as the old capital or Xijing, still guarded by the Royal Family. Even after the Tang Emperor left the capital, he would occasionally return to Chang’an.

As for the bears and wolves Ye Wei mentioned, they were the two dominant Great Demon clans of the Northern Border, both equivalent to the Human Race’s top Great Demons at the Ninth Heavenly Layer realm—incredibly fierce and brutal.

The two clans stood in opposition, one to the east and one to the west of the Northern Border. They were usually at odds with each other and rarely acted together.

This time, they made a rare alliance and, with special assistance, silently moved southwards. Moreover, they crossed the treacherous Grand River without alerting the outside world.

Caught unprepared, Pure Yang Palace immediately suffered a great loss.

It also revealed the truth that Sect Leader Huang Xuanpu had, in fact, never fully recovered from his injuries.

Back when the upheaval of the Demon Race in the Western Regions was quelled, although the disaster caused by the Western Regions’ Demon Race was resolved, its adverse effects lingered to this day.

Huang Xuanpu, as expected, has not yet recovered... Ye Moquan pondered deeply.

Ye Wei said, "Yes. After the recent battle, his injuries worsened, damaging his Nascent Soul and Tao Fetus. Before word got back, his condition hadn’t stabilized, preventing him from defending the old capital and repelling the Great Demons."

He continued his brief explanation, "This time, when Zhongnan Mountain was breached, it was confirmed that among the Pure Yang Palace Elders who had been in reclusive cultivation, four in total emerged: one had undergone Nascent Soul Transformation, and three had achieved the Nascent Soul Realm."

In fact, before this incident, the number was even greater.

However, Pure Yang Palace had already sustained heavy casualties during the upheaval of the Demon Race in the Western Regions. With Elder Huang himself injured, some Pure Yang Palace Elders—who were originally in secluded cultivation to preserve their vitality and slow their aging—were forced to come out of seclusion to stabilize the situation back then.

But now, Pure Yang Palace had once again suffered a severe setback.

"Among these four, two fell to the claws of the Great Demons. The remaining one, an Eighth Heavenly Layer Nascent Soul Transformation cultivator, and another, a Seventh Heavenly Layer Nascent Soul cultivator, retreated into the old capital with Master Huang."

Ye Wei then said, "As of now, it can be confirmed that besides Master Huang, Pure Yang Palace only has three Eighth Heavenly Layer Nascent Soul Transformation cultivators remaining. Two of them—Guan Jing and Lü Jinduan, who had previously gone to Jinzhou—have already rushed back to Guanlong. Additionally, there are seven Seventh Heavenly Layer Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, though most are injured."

After pausing, he continued, "Among them, Yue Xiling is quite special. Before the Great Demons from the Northern Lands attacked the mountain, this gentleman had left the mountain for secluded cultivation elsewhere for a long time. He has yet to show himself amidst the current chaos in Guanlong."

If it were indeed a life-or-death closed-door cultivation, considering Yue Xiling’s past situation and talent, this top disciple of Pure Yang Palace’s younger generation is very likely attempting to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer Nascent Soul Transformation realm of the Taoist Dan Ding Sect.

If he succeeds, Pure Yang Palace will currently have four Eighth Heavenly Layer cultivators and six Seventh Heavenly Layer cultivators.

This would be a slight consolation amidst a great catastrophe.

However, suffering two major setbacks in just over a decade has also significantly drained the reserves Pure Yang Palace had accumulated over the last few hundred years.

Since Huang Xuanpu took charge of Pure Yang Palace, it had gradually developed the prestige of being the foremost Sacred Land of the Taoist Sect, and even the greatest Sect’s Sacred Land in the Great Tang.

But now, although it hasn’t fallen to as low a point as Celestial Master Mansion had earlier, its upward momentum has been completely broken, making them truly companions in misfortune.

However...

"What about Wang Xuan?" Ye Moquan asked.

Ye Wei replied, "After Pure Yang Palace was breached, his whereabouts became unknown. With the Great Demons running rampant, we haven’t received clear information yet. However, both the Snow Bear and Gray Wolf clans have explicitly reported that although there is a traitor within Pure Yang Palace working with them, the identity remains uncertain. It’s only known that it’s an Upper Three Heavens cultivator from the Taoist Dan Ding Sect."

Indeed. Such an outcome was also beyond the expectations of Ye Moquan, Ye Wei, and the others.

They also hadn’t anticipated that the battle of Zhongnan Mountain would be decided so quickly, nor that it would have such an outcome.

While the result was satisfying, the process—being beyond their control and understanding—was very unsatisfactory.

Ye Moquan looked at Ye Wei.

Ye Wei shook his head slightly. "Qingzhou, Suzhou, and Jingxiang all indicated that Wang Xuan did not arrange this. It’s also unclear whether it was Wang Xuan himself, someone within Pure Yang Palace with a personal grudge against Huang Xuanpu, or if other parties intervened..."

Speaking of which, Ye Wei looked up. "Vajra Temple indeed holds profound secrets. Great Void Temple suffered a significant loss there!"

Ye Moquan asked, "The specific details?"

Ye Wei replied, "We are still awaiting further confirmed information. Currently, we only know that an area exceeding a hundred-mile radius around Vajra Temple is enveloped by golden Buddhist light. Yuanmie of Great Void Temple was almost trapped inside and couldn’t escape. We are still awaiting more detailed confirmation."

Taken aback, Ye Feishan hadn’t yet had the chance to see this intelligence report and had come with his father to meet his grandfather.

Now, hearing Ye Wei’s description, Ye Feishan expressed his surprise, "The Vajra Realm of Vajra Temple shouldn’t cover such a large range. Such a technique..."

Vajra Temple is one of the Four Sacred Grounds of the Buddhist Sect, but it has always been the most mysterious and reclusive.

During the previous upheaval of the Demon Race in the Western Regions, Vajra Temple was also affected and suffered considerable losses.

Subsequently, when they welcomed their new Abbot, they were ambushed by a joint attack from the White Lotus Sect and Great Void Temple, suffering grievous casualties. Since then, they have had no choice but to close their gates and seal their mountain.

Admittedly, Vajra Temple’s legacy is special. The consecration technique passed down to successive Abbots can almost be described as the fastest method in the current age for creating Upper Three Heavens cultivators.

Never mind Ye Feishan himself being unable to compare; to his knowledge, not even Tang Xiaotang of Celestial Master Mansion could necessarily surpass the cultivation speed of Vajra Temple’s Abbot.

However, this method is too unique and is only passed down from one Abbot to the next; thus, only one person can benefit from it at any given time.

Moreover, the primary focus of this technique is rapid cultivation.

Their ultimate potential, however, still depended on the Vajra Temple successor themselves.

Although this generation’s new Abbot of Vajra Temple has progressed rapidly, there was no prior indication that he could reach a level surpassing Great Void Temple’s new Abbot, Yuanmie, in just a few short years.