Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 726 (1): Jiuyou

Ye Wuzong had been unconscious for some time, and despite his stubborn protests, the witch doctor—quietly arranged by Sisi—had already completed a round of treatment while he was out cold.

When the group arrived to check on him, Ye Wuzong was awake but fuming. “I’ve kept myself pure and untainted all my life. Who would’ve thought I’d end up this defiled in my old age!”

Sisi: “...”

Zhao Changhe poked his head in. “To hear someone speak so proudly about being a virgin—this is one of the reasons why the senior generation is endlessly impressive to me.”

“Shut up!” Ye Wuzong exploded, practically leaping off the bed. “I’m talking about the poisonous bugs and blood they pumped into me! What are you even talking about?”

Zhao Changhe wisely refrained from continuing the discussion. With a casual shrug, he entered the room alongside Sisi and Yue Hongling. Together, they greeted him in unison. “Master, how is your health?”

Ye Wuzong blinked, taken aback, his gaze flicking between Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling with an expression that grew increasingly peculiar.

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

Why are the two of you calling me Master?

The seriousness in their expressions was undeniable, though there was a hint of awkwardness.

It felt especially odd to Ye Wuzong that Yue Hongling was also calling him Master. After all, they barely knew each other. It seemed as though Zhao Changhe was calling him Master because Sisi did, and Yue Hongling was merely following suit due to marital obligation.

Wait, are those young ladies from the Four Idols Cult going to end up calling me Master as well?

Ye Wuzong could not help a grin spreading across his face. The thought of so many powerful and influential figures regarding him with such respect left him feeling exhilarated. “Changhe, make sure you gather more disciples for me—especially those powerful ones with status. It’s good for my reputation.”

Sisi’s brow furrowed, her voice sharp as she said, “Whose side are you on?”

Ye Wuzong coughed lightly, feigning weakness. “Ahem... My condition hasn’t improved yet...”

Sisi scowled, but as she was unsure whether he was exaggerating or genuinely unwell, she ultimately suppressed her irritation. Reluctantly, she walked over with a sour expression and handed him a bowl of medicine. “Seriously, how are you feeling now?”

Ye Wuzong chuckled. “Underworld Guide’s strike really was too much for me. This time, I truly won’t be living for much longer.”

Sisi fell silent for a moment before saying, “Don’t joke about that.”

“I’m not joking,” Ye Wuzong said softly, taking a sip of the medicine brought to him. “I told you before, my lifespan is nearly up. My body has been in decline for years. Unless I break through to the Profound Control Realm, this really is the end for me. People talk about this being the era of gods and demons, but in the end, we’re still mortal. Mortals have their limits, especially when it comes to lifespan. I had a master too, you know? Back then, he was a powerhouse on the Ranking of Earth. Would you like to have a guess as to how he died?”

Sisi ventured a guess. “He got old, his speed declined, and he was caught while stealing?”

“Wrong. He couldn’t handle the idea of losing his speed and looking like a decrepit old turtle, so he took his own life.”

Sisi: “...”

Zhao Changhe was suddenly reminded of the current King of Penglai, Hai Changkong. At fifty, his body was beginning to falter, and with it, his ambition to conquer the Central Plains. His master, Hai Pinglan, had done much the same—his final outburst and suicidal attack against his enemies had been driven by the realization that his life was nearing its end.

Even Xia Longyuan, for all his might, had a similar story. He could have clung to life, but what kind of life would that have been? A hollow existence, propped up by his daughter and son-in-law. Xia Longyuan could not accept such a fate and chose instead to burn out gloriously alongside the four divine swords of the mountains and rivers.

In a world of martial arts, where the body dictated so much, even the strongest were subject to the frailties of mortality. They were not immortal.

Sisi said, “But you’ve already reached the third layer of the Profound Mysteries Realm. Can you really not strive to break through to the Profound Control Realm?”

“Everyone has their strengths. My cultivation of the Profound Mysteries is primarily rooted in wind and speed, which offer little in terms of extending lifespan. Someone like Yuxu might live a bit longer. As for breaking through to the Profound Control Realm, given my current state, I don’t have the confidence to succeed,” Ye Wuzong said, his tone unhurried. “Even those who break through to the Profound Control Realm don’t achieve true immortality unless they have some treasure to sustain them. But even then, they’re often just lingering remnants with undying spirits. They cling to life while their bodies decay into grotesque husks, no more than shadows of their former selves. What’s the point of living like that? Enough of this. Don’t get sentimental about something so trivial. We have more pressing things to discuss.”

Turning his gaze to Zhao Changhe, he asked, “You came to ask about the divine axe, didn’t you?”

Zhao Changhe steadied himself and nodded. “I thought you might have brought the divine axe here deliberately. It seemed to me as if you already knew something... Master.”

Ye Wuzong shook his head. “How could I have possibly known what was going on thousands of li away? I brought the axe here because Kunlun was too chaotic. Carrying the axe into Kunlun would have been no different than sending myself to my death while handing the divine axe over on a silver platter. I needed a safe place to leave it, and my only options were either delivering it to you in the capital or bringing it to my disciple here. Tell me, were we close enough at that point for me to go running to give you the axe just like that?”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

I overestimated you. I thought you were more farsighted...

Still, the divine axe arrival here was not entirely coincidental. It was a choice born of necessity, tied to the fact that Kunlun itself was too... chaotic.

“Kunlun has always been a nexus of heaven and earth,” Ye Wuzong continued, leaning in his chair back and sipping his medicine. “Its vastness is unparalleled. If a heavenly realm existed and shattered, most of its fragments would naturally fall in Kunlun. You’ve seen it for yourself—random pill-refining chambers turn into small secret realms, the insides of mountains could also be small secret realms, and Yuxu Peak contains yet another grand secret realm. And that’s just around Yuxu Peak. Imagine how many more lie across the thousands of li that make up Kunlun.”

“So your time spent hiding in Kunlun was also about seeking fortune and advancement?” Zhao Changhe asked.

“Isn’t that the case with everyone? Kunlun attracts so many villains because everyone is after its opportunities. I’m just one of them—a wanted man on the Demon Suppression Bureau’s bounty list for how long now?”

“...”

Ye Wuzong sighed. “Take Yuxu, for example. If he truly was content, why remain in Kunlun? The three cottages by the stream are but a facade. Behind his serene poetry and wine lies a burning ambition that refuses to admit defeat. I’ve spent my days laughing in the streets, boiling a pot of chaos and pretending to be content. But the truth is, I’m full of desires, always wanting more. Whether we’re fooling others or ourselves, it’s hard to say.”

His words mocked both himself and Yuxu. Zhao Changhe thought for a moment before smiling. “That’s just a way of approaching life. Living is living, and work is work. It’s not necessarily self-deception.”

“Hah, you’ve got a way with words.” Ye Wuzong obviously knew there was a distinction between life and work, but the compliment felt good enough that he did not bother arguing. Instead, he said, “Yuxu’s goal has always been the path to the heavens. This is the case for all those in the ways of Buddhism and Daoism; they truly aspire to become immortals. Once someone has such a goal, they can no longer indulge their whims. He may be willing to forgo the Heavenly Tome, but he can’t abandon his Daoist lineage. That’s his contradiction.”

“And the one behind him is some ancient Dao Lord?”

“Most likely. I have no idea about their identity, so let’s just call them the Dao Lord for now. As for the nature of their relationship with Yuxu and Yuxu’s ultimate intentions, I have even less of an idea. What I can tell you is this: under no circumstances should you set foot in Kunlun right now.”

Ye Wuzong’s expression grew more and more serious as he spoke.

“When Yuxu allowed you to take the Heavenly Tome, his ties with the god or demon backing him became incredibly strained. The fallout from that was so widespread that even I caught wind of it. If you were to return to Kunlun now, there are only two possible outcomes...”

Zhao Changhe finished the thought. “Either Yuxu compromises with his backer and they both come after my head, or I somehow manage to drive a wedge between Yuxu and the Dao Lord.”

“There’s an eighty percent chance of the first outcome, so I strongly advise against betting on the second,” Ye Wuzong warned him. “Kunlun is not only chaotic because of the Dao Lord. The revival of gods and demons is already an unstoppable trend. Unlike in the past, when they operated from the shadows, they now act openly. And among the villains in Kunlun, how many will continue to follow Yuxu’s lead? I suspect that even without you, Yuxu is leaning closer to aligning himself with the Dao Lord. His resistance has always been too mild, and at this point, he might not even be able to control the situation. That’s why I left Kunlun in the first place.”

I see...

Zhao Changhe thought but said nothing, merely asking, “Is there any other reason why Kunlun is so chaotic?”

“As I mentioned earlier, Kunlun is vast and full of secret realms,” Ye Wuzong said. “That means the Dao Lord isn’t the only divinity pulling strings. For example, the Snow-Listening Pavilion is rumored to have its base hidden in Tianshan, and the Mounted Brigand Brotherhood dominates the Hexi Corridor. Do you think they operate without backing? Consider the Snow-Listening Pavilion assassins who showed up this time. Why were they working with Underworld Guide? Underworld Guide was already very powerful, but if he was willing to risk himself as a pawn, it suggests he wasn’t acting alone. Even if he wasn’t directly following orders, he was, at best, a secondary player in a broader alliance of gods and demons. There’s someone even stronger behind him.”

Zhao Changhe mused, “Given the nature of the Snow-Listening Pavilion, it aligns somewhat with your own methods. Did they approach you? Could that be why you left Kunlun?”

Ye Wuzong clapped his hands and laughed. “Exactly. Did you notice that Underworld Guide’s corpse has already disappeared?”

Zhao Changhe blinked. “Did he escape alive, or was the body stolen?”

“He’s truly dead, but he’s likely already been turned into someone else’s corpse puppet,” Ye Wuzong replied with a faint smile. “You once wondered if Underworld Guide was qualified to be regarded as the Underworld Emperor. Well, let me tell you now, he isn’t. Before Jiuyou, he’s no more than a minion like Ox-Head or Horse-Face[1].”

“Jiuyou[2]?”

“Yes. The embodiment of annihilation, death... and chaos.”

Zhao Changhe exchanged a glance with Yue Hongling. Both nodded, understanding dawning between them.

1. These are immortal demons that act as jailers in the Chinese underworld. ☜

2. Note that the name being mentioned here, Jiuyou (九幽), can also refer to hell or the underworld. ☜