Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable

Ye Tianling nodded. "This trial of yours is extremely severe," he said. "Your chances of survival are slim. And... Li Jiuling, Li Jiuxi, and your five junior brothers—in fact, everyone here is the same. An aura of death permeates this place, and their Life Charts are severed... At present, only Li Jiuchen has a sliver of a chance to live."

Ye Tianling’s Eye of Celestial Secret swept over the others, and then over the many Cultivators in the vicinity.

And just as he’d seen, nearly all of their Life Charts were severed.

In other words, all who entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Demon Cave this time were fated to die.

Ye Tianling did not conceal this, speaking loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Upon hearing this, the hearts of many Cultivators sank.

Had anyone else said this, they would have refused to believe it. They might have even flown over and slapped the person across the face a few times.

But the one who spoke was Ye Tianling!

The Celestial Secret Divine Son!

The Celestial Secret Divine Son, master of the Divine Skill of Celestial Mandate Inference and the peerless Celestial Secret Divine Dao!

When an existence like him spoke, it was as good as a final verdict!

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, thank you for your concern. But let me ask you this: if you knew you were heading to certain death, would you still go to the Ten Thousand Beasts Demon Cave? I’m sure you would. And I, Li Jiuxu, am the same.

If I retreat from a known danger, how far can I truly walk on the path of Cultivation? I might be able to avoid it this time, but what about the next? There is no retreat on the path of Cultivation. To retreat even once is to lose everything."

Li Jiuxu paused in thought for a moment before speaking his mind.

Originally, after hearing Ye Tianling’s words, many of the Cultivators had begun to have second thoughts about proceeding.

But as Li Jiuxu’s voice rang out, their Dao Hearts became all the more resolute.

Ye Tianling’s Eye of Celestial Secret observed the changes in the situation.

After Li Jiuxu finished speaking, although his Life Chart shifted slightly, the fracture within it became even more severe.

It wasn’t just him. All the Cultivators present were the same—their Life Charts were almost completely severed, leaving no hope of survival.

’Just as I thought... once the trajectory of fate is diverted, it naturally corrects itself. Any situation that has been interfered with will only be made worse!’

’The self-healing ability of the Celestial Dao Rule Domain is also a form of its own Guardian Power. If I can harness this, it would be an excellent method for both inferring the changes in fate and for killing enemies!’

’Good. Very good!’

Ye Tianling felt little regret.

He had given his warning. He could not interfere any further in the life or death of Li Jiuxu and the others.

Besides, Li Jiuxu was right. It wasn’t that a Cultivator could never retreat in the face of danger, but the question was whether a Dao Heart that yearned to advance against all odds would be scarred by such a retreat.

"Having such a Dao Heart is a good thing, but sometimes you must step outside yourself to truly comprehend the meanings of the True Self, the Dao Self, the Past Self, and the Primal Self. I wish you good luck."

A hint of admiration appeared in Ye Tianling’s eyes, simply because Li Jiuxu possessed such a powerful Dao Heart.

That was why he offered one more piece of appropriate advice.

If they could grasp his meaning—that to withdraw is not necessarily to retreat—they might have a chance to survive their fated trial.

"The True Self, the Dao Self, the Past Self, the Primal Self..."

At this, it wasn’t just Li Jiuxu who fell into deep thought.

Even Li Jiuchen, Li Jiuxi, Li Jiuling, and many of the other Cultivators began to ponder his words seriously.

Not a single person doubted Ye Tianling.

Because Ye Tianling was a proud man, an unrivaled killer who never bothered with lengthy explanations.

Furthermore, when a man who had grasped some of the very rules of fate gave a warning, how could they not take it seriously?

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, the True Self... is it not the same as the Primal Self?"

Li Jiuxi’s beautiful eyes were fixed on Ye Tianling’s face.

She was completely captivated by Ye Tianling’s unrestrained and transcendent aura, a charm so peerless that she even forgot her favorable impression of Li Jiuxu.

The question she posed was the one that all the Cultivators present found most difficult to grasp.

Ye Tianling smiled. "Celestial Secrets cannot be divulged," he said. "If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, I could explain for a million years and you still wouldn’t understand."

Li Jiuxi gave a bitter, helpless smile. "Alright, Celestial Secret Divine Son. Thank you. Can I... can we accompany you into the Ten Thousand Beasts Demon Cave?"

Ye Tianling, who had started walking, suddenly stopped. He answered with a nonchalant air, "Of course, no problem. However, I did just slaughter the entire Celestial Overpass Holy Land, so news of my return is spreading like wildfire. Add to that the extra dose of misfortune from the Venerable Soul Curse I carry... if you follow me, I promise you won’t even last half a day."

"Ah—in that case, Celestial Secret Divine Son, perhaps we’ll meet again some other time."

Though reluctant to part, Li Jiuxi was left with no choice but to abandon the idea.

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, please take care."

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, we will be extra cautious this time. Thank you for the warning."

...

The listening Cultivators couldn’t help but gasp.

They quickly bid Ye Tianling farewell, clearly having no intention of accompanying him.

Ye Tianling was unconcerned by this outcome. He had spoken nothing but the truth.

Paying the others no more mind, Ye Tianling stepped into the Celestial Desolate Forbidden Array.

The Array activated, and Ye Tianling’s figure transformed into a streak of Flowing Light, vanishing into its depths.

The Star Disc began its calculations. Within the depths of Ye Tianling’s mind, the Space-Time Law manifested, unfurling like a Star River, a Celestial Curtain.

Instead of immediately moving through the Celestial Desolate Forbidden Array, Ye Tianling began to perform an Inference with his Star Disc.

After a full day and a half, Ye Tianling finally finished his Inference, pinpointing the location of the East Mountain Ice Cave.

Then, activating the Star Disc, he overrode the random teleportation function of the Celestial Desolate Forbidden Array and stepped directly into the outer region of the East Mountain Ice Cave.

HUMMM—

A projection, rippling like water, manifested directly in the air.

Ye Tianling’s figure quickly materialized in this new space.

...

"Tianqing Goddess, don’t say I’m not giving your Holy Heaven Ancestral Land face, but this Ice Cave is simply impossible to break! If you don’t agree to perform the Harmonization Dao of Yin and Yang with me and boost my power, my Earth Elemental Divine Fire won’t be able to open a path of Flame and shatter the shackles of this Ice Cave! You better think this through!"

Yang Yuhun, the Divine Child of the Fire Qilin Divine Land, stared at the Tianqing Goddess with a burning gaze, his eyes flashing with a sinister and wicked charm.

"Shameless bastard! If you can’t do it, then you can’t! Don’t use your own incompetence as an excuse!"

Xia Xinyan stepped forward, her tone frosty.

"Divine Lady Xinyan, what is the meaning of this? The Great Xia Royal Family and my Fire Qilin Divine Land have always been on the closest of terms. Are you doing this to side with this common bitch from the Human Race?"

Yang Yuhun’s voice grew menacing.

"And what if I am?"

Xia Xinyan’s tone turned colder still.

"Divine Lady Xinyan, thank you for your kindness. I’ll handle this."

The Tianqing Goddess stepped forward.

Her beautiful eyes were glacial, and the look she gave Yang Yuhun was exceptionally harsh.

"Yang Yuhun, I know you look down on the Human Race, and even more on its women. I never invited you on this journey; you followed me of your own shameless accord. Now that we’re in a predicament, you’ve shown your true colors. You’re revealing your despicable nature, making up laughable and pathetic excuses to satisfy your lust. Don’t you find that utterly pathetic?"

Tianqing’s voice was cold and dripping with sarcasm.

"Pathetic? You’ve never tried me. How could you possibly know how incredible I, Yang Yuhun, really am?"

Yang Yuhun sneered, his words heavy with innuendo.

Tianqing’s tone grew even colder. "The kind of man I, Tianqing, admire is one with the charm and unrestrained spirit of the Celestial Secret Divine Son, not a hypocrite like you! If you’re going to attack, then attack. But you want me to perform Harmonization Dao with you? In your dreams!"

Hearing this, Yang Yuhun’s expression turned foul.

"The Celestial Secret Divine Son again! It’s always that damn bastard! He’s just a piece of trash who relies on the Venerable Soul Curse and his Weapon! What’s there to praise? A true genius never relies on external power! Tianqing, since you insist on being so stubborn, don’t blame me, Yang Yuhun, for what I’m about to do!"

Yang Yuhun’s eyes turned blood-red, and his very blood began to boil with rage.