Those four characters — “divine being’s ancient scripture” — were so striking that they nearly seized the hearts and minds of all three. They stared unblinkingly. Li Tian’s hands were shaking somewhat.
The paper was yellowed — the kind of Heavenly Dao paper distinctive to Taoist arts, refined through many complex ancient methods including comprehension, ritual sacrifice, and deduction. The instant it was opened, a ripple of the Dao permeated outward.
On the yellow paper were only a few characters, their force penetrating through the page, vigorous and powerful — like a dragon leaping through the sea. The hearts of the group gave a start, and an unusual expression crossed their faces.
On the night of the full moon — the Cliff of Feathered Transcendence.
Only these eight characters were on the yellow paper. Was this piercing through the veil of Heaven’s secrets? Was it saying the divine being’s ancient scripture would appear there? Their hearts shook violently, and they could not be still.
“Is it possible for us to meet the Heavenly Secrets Elder one last time?” Li Tian asked, and it was rare for his expression to be so solemn.
“Ancestral Master will achieve sitting-transformation. During his final three days, he will not see any outsiders, nor issue any prophecies — otherwise our ancient dao-sect would be visited by great calamity.” The young Taoist boy’s face was full of sorrow.
The Gates of Heavenly Secrets was a reclusive ancient dao-sect. Throughout the many years of its existence, it had maintained extraordinary low-profile conduct, for it had peered into too many of Heaven’s secrets and suffered many calamities.
In the final moments of every generation’s Heavenly Secrets Elder, they attained near-spiritual omniscience, nearly becoming a deity of prophecy. They could see many images of the future.
Yet at this moment, they must not speak of what they saw — otherwise they would bring great calamity upon those who came after. Dying to pierce through Heaven’s secrets was one thing — but it might also sever the lineage of the dao-sect entirely.
“Two more prophecies remain to be bestowed upon you three. Please return in twenty years.” The young Taoist boy recited a Taoist invocation and offered the ritual salute.
The Gates of Heavenly Secrets had encountered this turn of events. Ye Fan and the others naturally did not wish to impose further. After paying their sincere respects outside the Abyss, they departed.
“Before the passing of the diviner of unparalleled genius who served the Purple Micro Divine Dynasty, he spent the last of his Dao power in a lifetime’s deduction and predicted that the dynasty would greatly flourish, that a divine infant would descend from heaven, and would become the Divine Sovereign. Yet after he spoke those words, his young grandson died in infancy, his eldest son was gravely injured and on the verge of death — one can see how devastating it is for those who pierce through Heaven’s secrets.” On the return journey, Yan Yixi sighed.
“Is there truly a force in the darkness? Why can the future be foreseen? What are Heaven’s secrets, and what is Heaven’s punishment — what is the truth behind all of it?” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
“These things are quite elusive. Given the many strange phenomena of the Gates of Heavenly Secrets, in remote antiquity several sages once studied the subject specifically.” Yan Yixi said.
“Oh — please tell me. What exactly is the truth of it?” Ye Fan was greatly interested.
“In the words of several ancient sages, there is no predestination — all things are in flux, and so-called prophecies are not necessarily accurate.”
Several ancient sages each possessed great wisdom. They explained everything in the most straightforward terms, making it all easy for ordinary people to grasp.
According to what they said, all persons, affairs, and objects have their own trajectories, moving within constant change. Occasionally, someone has a flash of spiritual illumination and captures that trajectory — and that is what it means to foresee the future.
It is like a yellowed leaf in the moment it detaches from a branch and falls — one can foresee that it will land on the ground. It is like a great river in the moment its banks burst — in the midst of terror, people know that the villages downstream will be swept away. It is like a goose in the moment an arrow strikes and it cries out in pain — people can predict that it will fall to earth.
These are all quite simple. People do not find anything remarkable about them and do not think of them as prophecies. Yet one can dig deeper: if these processes are made more complex, then what emerges is what is called the deduction of Heaven’s secrets.
In this world, certain “causes” having come into being, certain “effects” can sometimes be foreseen — and this is what is called piercing through Heaven’s secrets.
Whether person, object, or event, each possesses its own trajectory. If one has witnessed the first half of that trajectory, it is sometimes possible to predict the next segment.
Of course, all things are in flux. No one has any means to truly determine the future. Just as a yellowed falling leaf need not necessarily land on the ground — very possibly a great wind might pick it up and set it down inside a tree hollow. Just as a great river that has burst its banks might change course midway and never sweep away the villages downstream. Just as a goose struck by an arrow might fly away bearing its wound and never fall to earth.
Ye Fan listened, and felt it was all very reasonable. The simple exposition of several ancient sages had made everything clear and easy to understand.
“Does that mean the two pages of prophecy paper the Heavenly Secrets Elder gave us before his sitting-transformation might change — and might not necessarily be accurate?” Li Tian said.
Though persons, affairs, and objects each moved along their own trajectory, there were ultimately unpredictable variables.
Yet the group was not particularly troubled by this. The road ahead was full of uncertainty to begin with — even the Heavenly Secrets Elder had said only the four words “Beyond the Domain: Permissible to Go.”
“What then is Heaven’s punishment?” Ye Fan asked.
“According to several ancient sages, it is nothing more than a kind of Dao-force.” Yan Yixi said.
When a person has an occasional flash of spiritual illumination and their perception transcends outward, ascending above their own trajectory, glimpsing the path ahead and penetrating into the “future” — in that process, they have also triggered the force of their “original trajectory.”
The force of that trajectory is terrifying. In the act of penetrating ahead, one has interfered with that trajectory. Its fluctuations will necessarily exert a kind of reaction-force and influence upon that person.
“Very reasonable.” Ye Fan nodded. The ancient sages of old were truly formidable — they had nearly thoroughly expounded and exhausted the mysterious depths of this subject.
“If I stand on this mountain and see the road ahead, does that count as piercing through a kind of trajectory, with a Dao-force acting upon me as a result?” Li Tian said.
“Yes — but infinitesimally small. This is the most basic kind, one that each and every one of us faces at every moment of our lives.”
“Why complicate things so greatly — I walk my way, I travel my Dao. As for trajectories and Dao-forces — I’ll shatter them all. Anything in my way, I’ll cut down!”
The group conversed as they moved away from the Abyss.
The Cliff of Feathered Transcendence was located at the far eastern edge of the Divine Continent, bordering the boundless emerald sea. It was a place of legendary renown.
The legends of immortals were an eternal topic. Whether in the Northern Dipper Star Domain or on this ancient star, it had always been an unsolved mystery.
Some said that ancient great emperors had achieved feathered transcendence here and left this world — which was why no emperor’s secrets, no extreme Dao weapons, had been passed down.
Others said this was a cliff-face that had fallen from the immortal realm, and that in the most ancient of times, a great sage of the human race had witnessed that moment with their own eyes.
Still others said that immortals are without name, yet this was indeed a place of transcendence — and that any immortal, if there be such, must pass through this path.
Whatever one said of it, ancient texts did indeed record that both the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang ancient emperors vanished from this place. Though there was no evidence, this was accepted by many.
“The divine being’s ancient scripture. A night of the full moon. The Cliff of Feathered Transcendence. This timing…”
If they did not go and see for themselves, Ye Fan and the others truly could not let it rest. Yet it would conflict with the timing of their attack on the Eight Scenes Palace — a choice that left one feeling helpless.
“Whatever the case, let us go to the Cliff of Feathered Transcendence first. Afterward we rush to the Eight Scenes Palace. If we truly cannot make it in time, we will wait for the next full moon night.”
The great sea was boundless — billions upon billions of emerald waves, tides rising and falling, stretching without end.
No matter how great one’s power, when faced with this spectacle, one could not help but feel a genuine smallness rise within — compared to the vast ocean, compared to the boundless cosmos, a single individual was truly insignificant.
“At times like this, it makes me feel a sense of futility. All the beauties in the world cannot fill this much water.” Li Tian said.
“Uncle — do beauty-seekers only think about beauties? I really don’t want to be one.” Tong Tong interjected at just the right moment.
“Go — go wherever is cool and stay there.”
“What gains and losses, what heroic words — what does any individual amount to? Every time I face this vast ocean, it fills my chest with openness, and I forget everything.” Yan Yixi said.
On the emerald sea, a figure like a dream, like an illusion, came walking across the waves. Seen from afar — as radiant as the sun rising through the morning glow. Seen up close — as dazzling as a lotus flower emerging from green waters.
A slender figure, a perfect bearing, flowing and dancing tresses, skin like the white of mutton-fat jade — the entire person shimmered with crystalline luster. A delicate oval face, pupils like black gemstones, the whole person radiating an inner spiritual grace, approaching with light and airy steps.
Ye Fan had made the arrangement — Yi Qingwu had arrived. Tonight, in all likelihood, there would be a great battle; and perhaps also a great opportunity, for the divine being’s ancient scripture was involved.
The sea breeze blew in. The sky gradually dimmed. When the last fragment of shattered gold on the shimmering sea surface disappeared and the setting sun was gone entirely, night had fully descended.
The Cliff of Feathered Transcendence rose up along the sea coast — not especially tall, yet in the darkness of night it appeared grand and majestic, like an ancient divine peak soaring aloft, suppressing the boundless Eastern Sea.
All of them had already concealed themselves, waiting quietly, wanting to know what would actually transpire here.
Time passed. The bright moon hung high. A round silver disc scattered wide its soft white radiance. The sea looked as though it had been draped in a layer of light gauze — hazy and snow-white.
The Cliff of Feathered Transcendence revealed its extraordinary nature. Like a gleaming immortal platform of crystal, it drew in the essence of heaven and earth, resonating with the stars that filled the sky — making one mistakenly believe that standing upon it, one truly could achieve feathered transcendence and ascend.
On this bright moonlit night, ten thousand sounds were stilled. Even the emerald sea seemed to have gone still — like a vast mirror reflecting the radiance of the jade disc above.
“They’ve come!” Li Tian said in a low voice.
In the distant sky, eighteen warships sailed in like eighteen clouds, blotting out the moonlight, casting great swaths of shadow over the earth — a sight that weighed upon the heart.
“These are the warships of the Human King Palace — this is the pomp deployed only when their most revered figures make their way somewhere.” Yi Qingwu’s voice carried a magnetic quality, stirring the heart — like the sound of heaven, melodious and divine.
On the other side, Yan Yixi also whispered: “More have come.”
The boundless emerald sea — like an enormous gemstone, without a single ripple, gleaming with the pure bright reflection of the moon. And at this moment, a magnificent ancient Taoist abbey was flying over it, arriving without sound.
“This is the upper-ancient long-life Taoist abbey from Underworld Ridge. That ancient structure has stood for no one knows how many tens of thousands of years without perishing — yet today it has risen from the earth and arrived here.” Yi Qingwu said in a low voice.
The group was all startled. This ancient dao-sect maintained extreme low-profile; it had only ever had a handful of people throughout the generations, yet each one was extraordinarily powerful — like the Three-Deficiency Daoist of the current age, whose depths were unfathomable.
Clearly, the Human King Palace and the Long-Life Abbey were about to exchange the divine being’s ancient scripture. This time, they had come with such great fanfare that they were certain to go through with it — unlike the previous occasions, which had each come to nothing!
The ancient scripture left behind by a divine being, only a single page, torn into upper and lower halves — incomparably mysterious, passed down from remote antiquity to the present day. No one could say how many hearts it had stirred over the ages.
The legend surrounding it consisted of only two words: Deathlessness.
It was for this reason that people revered it as an immortal scripture. It was said that if one obtained the complete page and successfully cultivated from it, death itself would become impossible!
“On this night of the full moon, there is destined to be a great calamity. You were able to know of this — certainly others will also have perceived it. Fully accomplished kings who are supposedly in sitting-transformation will most likely ‘awaken’ for several of them…” Yi Qingwu sighed softly.