Wang Su gave Kong Hou several magical instruments helpful for cultivation. Kong Hou silently accepted them. Mobile users please browse down.com for reading, for a better reading experience.

“When I opened the door to the small world, you had actually already been moved in your heart. You deliberately pretended to be unwilling to agree in order to make me promise to treat Daoist Zhong Xi?” Wang Su used spiritual energy to light up the stars on the small world’s door.

Kong Hou put the magical instruments into her storage ring, turned to glance at Huan Zong outside the transmission array, and smiled without speaking.

Wang Su laughed with unclear meaning. In his urgency, he had forgotten that although Yunhua Sect disciples were usually carefree and casual, in times of danger, they had never retreated. Lingyou Realm had countless living beings. Yunhua Sect had always emphasized following the heart, virtue, and goodness. To make them completely disregard myriad living beings and seek only momentary pleasure—that wouldn’t be Yunhua Sect people.

The last star lit up. Wang Su stepped back several paces, walked outside the array, and bowed deeply to Kong Hou.

Kong Hou turned around. Her gaze pierced through Wang Su to look at Huan Zong behind him. Their gazes intertwined. Without a single word spoken, it surpassed a thousand words.

Wang Su turned back and saw the smiling Daoist Zhong Xi. He, who had been about to immediately activate the transmission array, paused for a moment and activated the spiritual energy throughout his body.

In that instant, the array blazed with light, dazzling as the midday sun. Wang Su couldn’t help but close his eyes.

Huan Zong watched Kong Hou’s figure disappear in the light. The brilliance gradually dimmed. The transmission array disappeared, and Kong Hou within the array also vanished without a trace. The great hall returned to deathly silence.

Huan Zong glanced at Wang Su and turned to walk outside.

“Daoist Zhong Xi, please wait.” Wang Su called out to Huan Zong. “I wonder if the Daoist would be willing to accompany me in a game of hand talk?”

Huan Zong looked at Wang Su expressionlessly: “No need.”

“Does the Daoist resent me for having Miss Kong Hou enter the small world to cultivate?” Wang Su said. “We cultivators have long lifespans. In our long lives, what do a mere ten years amount to?”

“To me it’s only ten years, but to her it’s a lonely hundred years.” Huan Zong put his hands behind his back, his voice indifferent. “Sect Master Wang Su’s heart encompasses the entire cultivation world—I greatly admire that. But the hope of the entire cultivation world shouldn’t be borne by Kong Hou alone.”

Wang Su didn’t refute his words but instead said: “If the Daoist doesn’t mind, please walk with me.”

Huan Zong glanced at the small world entrance that had become an ordinary jade wall and didn’t refuse Wang Su’s invitation.

Moon Star Sect was built atop a mountain peak. Because the mountain was high, the peak had year-round snow accumulation, and one could never see expanses of flowers and grass. The disciples here were like the frozen earth beneath their feet—cold and hard, almost without emotion.

Moon Star Sect had seven main buildings, each distributed according to the trajectory of the Seven Star Mansions.

“This is our sect’s library pavilion. It records Lingyou Realm’s events throughout the years, its ups and downs.” Wang Su pushed open the door. Inside were endless jade slips, layer upon layer placed on dark wood shelves. “Each jade slip is one year’s story. Many matters that you participants may no longer remember are still recorded in our Moon Star Sect’s jade slips.”

Beside the dark wood shelves, several dozen disciples moved about, organizing jade slips, never tiring, never finding it tedious.

Wang Su beckoned with his hand. Several jade slips fell into his palm. He handed the jade slips to Huan Zong: “Several years ago, your sect’s Sect Master Jin wrote seeking medicine. Because I was in closed-door cultivation, I didn’t reply. These contain records about medicinal ingredients. Take them.”

Huan Zong looked at the jade slips without accepting them: “You don’t want me to be together with Kong Hou, so why go against heaven’s will to save me?”

“Before seeing you two, I did indeed think of separating you.” Wang Su spoke frankly. “I believed there was no emotion in the world that time couldn’t dilute.”

Huan Zong frowned without speaking.

“I saw the way Miss Kong Hou looked at you.” Wang Su’s face showed bewilderment. “I don’t understand emotions, but that gaze made me feel something—it was like hope or vitality. If I separated you two, would this thing in her eyes disappear?”

Huan Zong took the jade slips from Wang Su’s hand without speaking.

Seeing Huan Zong accept the items, Wang Su nodded and took him to another place.

This great hall was very spacious but particularly simple and plain. Inside were rows and rows of life tablets, all dark and lightless, indicating their owners had all perished.

Wang Su lit a stick of incense and placed it in the incense burner. Turning, he saw Huan Zong had also lit a stick of incense and bowed respectfully to the name tablets. His expression gentled somewhat: “Parting a hundred years ago, the Daoist has become much gentler than in the past.”

If it were Daoist Zhong Xi of that time, he would only stand expressionlessly to the side. How could he take initiative to light incense and pay respects?

“People will change.” Huan Zong inserted the incense into the incense burner and stepped back behind Wang Su.

“Many of our Moon Star Sect’s successive sect masters have been crowned with titles of being heartless and unrighteous.” Wang Su looked up at these life tablets. “Of course, I’m one of them too.”

Huan Zong glanced at him without speaking.

“For us of Moon Star Sect, whether others detest us or like us makes no difference. Our responsibility from birth is to protect the cultivation world’s peace and minimize casualties among living beings.” Wang Su’s expression was calm. “If sacrificing ten evildoers can save ten good people, we’ll do it. If sacrificing one good person can save ten thousand good people, we’ll also do it. And if we can sacrifice a thousand evildoers to save one good person, we’ll still do it.”

Huan Zong said: “What did that sacrificed good person do wrong?”

“He did nothing wrong. What’s wrong is our cold-blooded heartlessness.” Wang Su said indifferently. “Even if the ten thousand good people we saved resent us, even if the one sacrificed good person resents us, we won’t change our principles of conduct.”

“Even if that sacrificed good person is ourselves, we still persist in this choice.” Wang Su walked out of the great hall. The strong wind whipped up his long robes. “Daoist Zhong Xi, I promised Miss Kong Hou I would do my utmost to treat your body, and I won’t go back on my word. Please follow me.”

“The Evil Sovereign’s true name is Jiu Su. The Sect Master’s name is Wang Su. Is this coincidence?” Zhong Xi walked out of the great hall and calmly asked this question.

“No.” Wang Su’s icy face showed no emotional fluctuation. “He was once Moon Star Sect’s twenty-third generation senior male disciple. But unwilling to stay in the cold Moon Star Sect, he attempted to seize the sect’s secret treasure. When that failed, he fled to the evil cultivator realm. Not only did he become the Evil Sovereign, he also instigated war between prestigious righteous sects and evil cultivators.”

That year’s great war between righteousness and evil had countless casualties. The Evil Sovereign’s life or death was unknown—who would have thought there was such a history?

“The sect treasure he wanted to seize was the star disk forged by successive sect masters’ spiritual energy. Perhaps even he didn’t expect that this treasure he had no chance to obtain would become the magical instrument Hongyan used to gravely injure him.” Wang Su looked up at the falling snowflakes. “Back then he exposed his wolfish ambitions when he failed to steal the star disk. Now he’s gravely injured because of the star disk. Perhaps this is his fate.”

“Your esteemed sect is the world’s foremost divination sect. Why couldn’t you calculate his destiny’s trajectory?”

“Those favored by the Heavenly Dao—we who listen to the Heavenly Dao cannot calculate their trajectories.” Wang Su turned to look at Huan Zong, infinite emotions hidden in his eyes. “Jiu Su’s fate is thus. Miss Kong Hou’s fate is also thus. Even your fate appears ambiguous and unclear.”

The Heavenly Dao had no distinction between righteousness and evil. In its eyes, all things were equal. If evil cultivators seized the opportunity to ascend, from then on living beings in the cultivation world would suffer terribly, unless the next Child of Heaven’s Mandate won back the opportunity for the righteous path.

So what they were fighting evil cultivators for now wasn’t just the opportunity to ascend, but also争ing for survival for ordinary people.

They had no other choice. Only this.

After this conversation, Huan Zong and Wang Su never again mentioned matters like Heaven’s Mandate opportunities.

In the first year living at Moon Star Sect, Huan Zong received a flying message talisman from his master asking when he and Kong Hou would become dao companions. He looked at the flying message talisman for a long time and wrote down: ten years.

In the second year living at Moon Star Sect, Huan Zong began writing letters to Yunhua Sect people. He had thought Yunhua Sect people would blame him for not stopping Kong Hou, but instead he received various pastries Yunhua Sect sent him. Yunhua Sect people said Moon Star Sect people weren’t particular about food, so from now on they would send him delicious and fresh things every month. They didn’t deceive him. Every month thereafter, fresh items were sent to him—sometimes pastries, sometimes dried meat, and sometimes meat dishes stored in temperature-preserving and freshness-keeping magical instruments.

Probably because Yunhua Sect had the most contact with him, even the emotionless Wang Su couldn’t help asking if he had already defected from Liuguang Sect and joined Yunhua Sect.

In the third year living at Moon Star Sect, Jiufeng Sect suddenly sent someone to deliver a small jade bottle containing two drops of extremely precious phoenix blood. But four medicinal ingredients were still missing: fire lotus stamens, thousand-year transformation butterfly grass, cloud-seeking branches, and dragon blood.

Someone south of Wuwang Sea had once claimed to witness a divine dragon appear. Fire lotus stamens and thousand-year transformation butterfly grass were both in Tingfeng Valley. Only cloud-seeking branches had no trace to follow. The people Liuguang Sect sent searched Wuwang Sea for three years without seeing any trace of a dragon.

In the fifth year living at Moon Star Sect, Wang Su invited two of the cultivation world’s most famous medicine masters: Nameless Elder and Yunhua Sect’s Qingyun Peak Master. These two old men near a thousand years old often argued until red-faced over this ancient formula, raising medicine cauldrons to smash at each other.

Nameless Elder looked down on Qingyuan needing to burn incense and bathe before refining pills. Qingyuan also found Nameless Elder’s attitude of acting like the world’s number one annoying. The two argued and quarreled, but in the sixth year, they received thousand-year transformation butterfly grass—not found by Liuguang Sect, but sent over by Qingfeng Sect.

Thousand-year transformation butterfly grass was extremely precious. Between Qingfeng Sect and Liuguang Sect, due to the question of whether to embed gorgeous gems on swords, a strong conflict had arisen. Qingfeng Sect was willing to hand the transformation butterfly grass to Yunhua Sect to forward to Huan Zong, considering themselves extremely magnanimous. From then on, whenever they saw Liuguang Sect disciples, they couldn’t help wanting to wave their gorgeous swords before them three times.

Soon after, news spread that Qingfeng Sect had affiliated themselves under Yunhua Sect. The female disciples of the two sects often intimately gathered together to discuss which gems looked good and which dress better matched the sword in their hands, close as family, providing the cultivation world much entertainment to watch.

Some people were curious where Fairy Kong Hou and Daoist Zhong Xi had gone, why their traces hadn’t been seen these past years. However, cultivators sometimes spent decades in closed-door cultivation, so no one investigated deeply.

“Here again?” Qingyuan walked to the great hall entrance and saw Huan Zong sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion drinking tea. He tossed him the porcelain bottle in his hand. “One pill per day. Don’t interrupt.”

“Thank you, Martial Uncle Qingyuan.” Huan Zong caught the porcelain bottle and, before Qingyuan’s eyes, took out a pill and put it in his mouth.

Seeing him trust the pills he refined so much, Qingyuan didn’t mind him thick-facedly calling himself martial uncle. He walked to sit beside Huan Zong and poured himself a cup of tea. “You guard here day after day, year after year like this, yet Kong Hou can’t see you. What’s the point?”

“Though she can’t see, perhaps she can sense it.” Huan Zong looked at the star patterns on the jade wall. “I’m only waiting outside for ten years, while she must stay inside alone for a hundred years.”

Qingyuan touched his nose. From the cultivation perspective, actually Kong Hou was getting the advantage. Cultivating in a small world with abundant spiritual energy was twice the result with half the effort. That Moon Star Sect made such a grand gesture to open the small world door, yet let their Yunhua Sect disciple benefit—he felt embarrassed to say much about this matter.

As for the Child of Heaven’s Mandate matter, Qingyuan’s thinking was very straightforward. Anyway, Kong Hou was already the Child of Heaven’s Mandate. Whether she cultivated or not, she would face off against evil cultivators. Better to seize the opportunity to cultivate—perhaps the chances of winning would be greater.

Seeing Huan Zong like this, he sighed: “Kong Hou can only emerge after four more years. You’ll sit here for four years?”

Huan Zong didn’t speak, but from his expression, Qingyuan knew the other person might really want to wait here for another four years. He took a sip of tea and changed the subject: “There’s already news about fire lotus stamens. Our Yunhua Sect and Liuguang Sect people went together to Tingfeng Valley to search for traces. There should be no problem.”

“Thank you to your esteemed sect.” Huan Zong stood and bowed to Qingyuan. “This junior is incompetent, troubling everyone.”

“Already at Divine Transformation Stage cultivation at such a young age—if this is incompetence, then this old man should go commit suicide.” Qingyuan, whose cultivation had just advanced to Out-of-Body Stage, waved his hand. “No need for polite words. You’re Kong Hou’s future dao companion, so you’re our Yunhua Sect’s junior. Finding a few medicinal ingredients for our own junior is what we elders should do. What’s there to thank?”

He only worried about one thing—if Daoist Zhong Xi permanently resided at Yunhua Sect in the future, would outsiders mistakenly think their Yunhua Sect used a honey trap to lure away Liuguang Sect’s most promising disciple?

In the eighth year of Huan Zong living at Moon Star Sect, under cooperation between Yunhua Sect and Liuguang Sect, they finally found fire lotus stamens in Tingfeng Valley. But dragon blood and cloud-seeking tree branches couldn’t be found no matter what, as if these two ingredients no longer existed in the world.

Though the medicinal ingredients hadn’t been completely gathered, under the treatment of Wang Su, Nameless Elder, and Qingyuan, Huan Zong had already recovered all his cultivation. His spiritual platform had also solidified considerably. Only the crack in the middle couldn’t heal no matter what.

Facing the three people’s increasingly worried expressions, Huan Zong instead felt at ease.

“I’m already at Divine Transformation Stage cultivation. Even if my cultivation can’t progress further, I can still live seven or eight hundred years. With Kong Hou’s natural talent, after seven hundred years she would have long since been able to ascend to immortality.” Huan Zong smiled. “Being able to accompany her on the path to becoming an immortal—this is already very good.”

Wang Su nodded: “What you say makes sense. Eight hundred years is already enough for ordinary people to reincarnate many times.”

Nameless Elder turned to glance at Wang Su. This kind of emotionless sect master—how could he understand that lovers, even if they stayed together ten thousand years, would still feel it was too short?

Instead, Huan Zong smiled upon hearing this: “Indeed.”

Only this smile was somewhat distant, not reaching his eyes. He was unwilling to separate from Kong Hou—there was too much unwillingness. But when Kong Hou was willing to endure a hundred years of loneliness for the world’s living beings, he suddenly gained understanding. If he couldn’t see through it, couldn’t see clearly, and developed mental demons, then his time together with Kong Hou wouldn’t even have eight hundred years.

Meeting Kong Hou in this life was already his most beautiful accident.

Qingyuan looked at Huan Zong. After a long while, he said: “When Kong Hou emerges, I’ll urge Second Senior Brother to hold your Dao-binding ceremony sooner. Do you think the Dao-binding ceremony should be held at Yunhua Sect, or would it be better to hold it at Liuguang Sect?”

Huan Zong smiled. This smile was like a hundred flowers blooming: “Fellow daoists of the cultivation world all like Yunhua Sect’s food. The Dao-binding ceremony will have to trouble the various elders.”

Qingyuan stroked his beard and nodded: “No trouble, no trouble. It’s just that our Yunhua Sect hasn’t held a Dao-binding ceremony in several hundred years. We’ll still need your esteemed sect to help worry about it together.”

Nameless Elder raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t expected the renowned Daoist Zhong Xi of the cultivation world would actually be willing to hold the Dao-binding ceremony at Yunhua Sect for Fairy Kong Hou. However, from Yunhua Sect’s meaning, they didn’t seem to plan to keep Daoist Zhong Xi at the sect, but rather let the two juniors belong to their respective sects.

Worthy of being Yunhua Sect, which excelled at eating, drinking, and playing yet could stand firm in the cultivation world for many years. They neither made the junior lose heart nor created discord with Liuguang Sect. Who said this sect acted casually?

Clearly there was deep meaning hidden within the casualness. Not to be underestimated.

In the tenth year of Huan Zong living at Moon Star Sect, dragon blood and cloud-seeking branches still hadn’t been found. Liuguang Sect and Yunhua Sect had already prepared all items needed for the Dao-binding ceremony. Jinyue even thick-facedly sent a flying message talisman to Wang Su, asking him to calculate an auspicious date.

Wang Su expressionlessly used his divine sense to read the flying message talisman Jinyue sent, his face becoming even more stern. Didn’t Jinyue know he only cared about Miss Kong Hou’s cultivation? He was even asked to calculate such auspicious dates?

Wang Su stared at the flying message talisman for an hour, stood up, walked to Constellation Hall to glance at the seated Huan Zong, and summoned his life-bound magical instrument.

He wasn’t a soft-hearted person. He was just idle at the moment and casually helping with a divination.

In any case… it wasn’t any big matter.

The divination fell. Wang Su stared at the hexagram for a long time. This year’s best auspicious date was actually the eighth of next month? But Miss Kong Hou was still in the small world, not knowing when she could emerge. This date couldn’t be used.

As he picked up the hexagram, preparing to calculate another date, suddenly Constellation Hall shook violently. Heavy snow fell from the mountain peak. A great power was manifesting in the world.

Putting away the hexagram, Wang Su walked out expressionlessly. It seemed he didn’t need to calculate again. Such mundane matters truly weren’t worth him calculating another time.

In Constellation Hall, Huan Zong stood up and looked at the jade wall suddenly blazing with light.

Before long, the star patterns on the jade wall began rotating rapidly. As spiritual energy became increasingly abundant, cracks began appearing on the jade wall. Finally, unable to bear the burden, it shattered into pieces.

The instant the jade wall shattered, a young woman in red robes was unceremoniously thrown out.

Huan Zong quickly reached out to catch her in his embrace, holding her tightly.

“Huan Zong.” The young woman wrapped her arms around his neck, her smile brilliant. “I’ve returned. Let’s go back to the sect and get married.”

“All right.” In Huan Zong’s eyes, except for the person in his arms, everything in the world was dim and lightless.