Chapter 229: Qingshi Sect
Chapter 229: Chapter 154: Qingshi Sect
One of the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces.
The Qingshi Sect.
This sect used history to Enter the Dao, and its various Mysterious Techniques were terrifying. It was said that the Sect Leader of the Qingshi Sect could even intercept a segment of history and manifest it in reality.
Just as everyone was wondering, a streak of green light didn’t linger but flew directly into the main peak of the Qingcao Sword Sect.
“That’s… the Sect Leader of the Qingshi Sect, Xue Mingjing.”
Using history as a mirror, one can correct their conduct and know the future.
Seventh Realm Yao Guang of the Qingshi Sect—Xue Mingjing.
The Sect Leader of the Qingshi Sect actually came in person for this Celestial Dao Grand Competition?
While everyone was still marveling, only Qiu Yuehan furrowed her delicate brows, carefully watching the back of the Qingshi Sect’s Sect Leader.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Brother Xue, it’s really been a while!”
Li Dashu clapped Xue Mingjing forcefully on the shoulder and said boisterously, “What’s this? Brother Xue, you’ve come to visit my Qingcao Sword Sect. Is this Celestial Dao Grand Competition really that important?”
It was held once every ten years.
It was important, but not *that* important—at least not important enough to require a Yao Guang to attend in person.
Xue Mingjing, dressed in the long white robes of a scholar, shook his head woodenly. “The prize for the champion is indeed important this time. For my Qingshi Sect, the history of the Chang’an Daoist is a crucial piece of the puzzle.”
‘No wonder the Qingshi Sect, which had never participated in the Grand Competition before, has come this time.’
Li Dashu laughed. “If your sect’s disciple is strong enough to win the championship, you can naturally take the sword back. But you can’t break the rules, Brother Xue.”
Xue Mingjing replied dryly, “Everything will be done according to the rules.”
“By the way, Brother Xue, have you made any progress with your technique of observing history?”
“Not yet.”
This Sect Leader of the Qingshi Sect was a genius in his own right. His path of Cultivation was unorthodox; he attempted to summarize the histories of his predecessors and then compile the histories of future generations.
To be more specific, he wanted to construct a history in which he himself ascended beyond the Yao Guang realm.
But the difficulty of this task was heaven-defying. Perhaps his only chance of success was to draw from the legendary history of the Chang’an Daoist.
“Enough, enough. Let’s not talk about these things. Bring some wine! Brother Xue and I will sit here on this high platform, drink, and watch the young ones compete.”
Li Dashu smiled as he looked out at the Cloud Sea.
The Clan Leader of the Dream Demon Race had sent word that he wouldn’t be coming, giving the reason that he was in seclusion.
His aura was still at the Sixth Realm.
‘Forget it.’
‘After the Celestial Dao Grand Competition, I’ll make a trip to the Cloud Sea myself.’
~~~~~~~~~~
“This Cloud Sea is a bit too thick.”
Lu Changyuan cut through a swathe of clouds, pursuing the Dream Demon at full speed with Su Youwan.
The Silver-haired Maiden’s hair was flecked with bits of white cloud. On closer inspection, the clouds were not nearly as soft or lustrous as her hair.
“Watch out!”
The maiden used a thread to yank Lu Changyuan sharply toward her, only to realize it wasn’t necessary.
The flash of light rushing toward Lu Changyuan was completely cleaved apart by him.
A monkey with a black face and a thunder god’s sharp muzzle, shouldering a staff, appeared before them. That flash of light had come from the monkey.
Lu Changyuan frowned. “A Black Ape?”
Back in the dreamscape in Chang’an, Lu Changyuan had wanted to ask why the Dream Demon’s guards were a few Ape Demons. At first, he had just assumed the Dream Demon had materialized a few monkeys from its dream, but now it seemed those monkeys might have been incarnations of these very ones.
‘When did the Ape Race get in league with the Dream Race?’
Su Youwan’s voice quickly followed. “The Ape Race is closer to the Black Realm. Previously, a Sixth Realm ape went on a killing spree in the Black Realm, acting like a mad demon. Youwan came here this time to investigate this matter.”
Before he could think further, the staff was already rushing toward his face.
Lu Changyuan blocked the staff with his sword, kicked out, and followed up with a sword thrust.
‘A Fifth Realm monkey?’
‘A mere Fifth Realm monkey dares to block us?’
The clouds answered Lu Changyuan’s question. Two more staves emerged from the clouds, striking at Su Youwan and Lu Changyuan simultaneously.
“Something’s not right. There’s something strange about these three Fifth Realm monkeys.”
With Lu Changyuan and Su Youwan here, it didn’t matter if there were three Fifth Realm monkeys or ten of them—it was only a question of how long the fight would take.
But these three monkeys had surrounded them, forming a strange pincer-like Array that was somehow withstanding their assault.
“Young Master Lu, be careful! These aren’t just three Ape Demons. They have Dream Demons of the same realm attached to them!”
‘There’s a tactic like this?’
With Dream Demons attached to them, the effect was definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two. These monkeys were far stronger than ordinary Fifth Realm cultivators.
Su Youwan threaded her needle, and a net of threads blotted out the sky.
Lu Changyuan watched the Needle Technique of this Little Ancestor from the Compassionate Palace… It looked somewhat familiar.
‘Whatever.’
‘No time to think about it now. I’ll just ask later.’
A pulling sensation washed over him.
Su Youwan’s expression changed, but she quickly returned to normal. “Young Master Lu, someone is playing tricks behind the scenes.”
“Mm.”
Lu Changyuan had of course realized it too. Something was anchoring his fate… or to be more precise, anchoring the future of this battle.
The pulling sensation wasn’t very distinct, but both Lu Changyuan and Su Youwan had a profound understanding of destiny. The moment that person made their move, both of them sensed it.
“Miss Su, there’s someone else in the shadows.”
The person in the shadows had initially tried to use a Magic to ensure victory in this fight, but found it impossible. So, they settled for the next best thing: stalling Lu Changyuan and Su Youwan.
But even with this reduced goal, they were still struggling.
The Silver-haired Maiden let out a soft scoff.
“Trying to write history in front of Youwan?”
Whether it was the Dao of the Future, the Time Dao, or any other Dao, attempting to anchor the future was fine if you succeeded, but failure would inevitably lead to a massive backlash.
That was why cultivators of similar paths were extremely cautious about interfering with events that had not yet occurred.
But in the face of the Destined Celestial Dao, such a backlash was practically nonexistent.
There was no reason why.
It was simply… almost nonexistent.
That was the true value of the Destined Celestial Dao.
The Silver-haired Maiden’s threads began to spin wildly in her hands. Her white blindfold fluttered down, revealing red eyes that stared at someone within the clouds.
It was as if a Bodhisattva had seen a man-eating demon.
“Condense!”
The maiden’s thin lips parted slightly.
The fate in which she and Lu Changyuan would win took shape directly within her threads.
She succeeded.
This meant someone else had to suffer the backlash. A sound like something tearing came from within the clouds, followed by an explosion that sent the Cloud Sea roiling.
The Silver-haired Maiden’s face was expressionless as she said, “Break!”
Another fate immediately followed.
This time, Su Youwan embroidered a fate where a wind would come, blow away the clouds, and reveal the hidden person.
And so, a wind truly did come, swiftly blowing the clouds aside and exposing the wretched figure hidden behind them.
It was a person who looked like a scholar on his way to the imperial examinations, holding a writing brush in his right hand and a scroll in his left.
“Qingshi Sect? No, has he been possessed?”
Su Youwan could see that the threads on the Qingshi Sect member were as tangled and chaotic as Su Minghan’s.
With the Magic broken, Lu Changyuan felt a weight lift off him. When he used his sword again, there was no resistance. He smoothly lopped off the arm of the Monkey Demon in front of him and, with a bend of his elbow, slammed into the other Monkey Demon, making it cough up blood.
The scarlet blood splattered against the Cloud Sea, staining and tearing through the clouds.
Blood Burst!
The two apes immediately turned crimson, a bloody glint in their eyes. Before their furious roars could even escape, Lu Changyuan’s sword arrived again.
Lu Changyuan called out, “Qingshi Sect? Can you handle it?”
The Silver-haired Maiden just gave a small “Mm.”
Below in the Cloud Sea, though the man was bathed in blood, his brush was still moving. “A historian does not change a single word!”
This seemed to be some kind of decree, but it had yet to take effect.
The Silver-haired Maiden was heard to say, “Amend, Mend, Correct, Imperial Decree!”
The maiden was clearly stronger, interrupting his yet-unformed Magic.
Two powers collided in the sky, and the resulting storm threatened to engulf the heavens.
Just a moment later, the man’s eyes bulged, then filled with blood and burst. His entire body followed, exploding like a firework.
His array of techniques was indeed impressive, but he had the misfortune of running into Su Youwan, who simply defied all reason.
Within the same realm, the Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace had almost no rivals… except for a few people from Lu Changyuan’s family, whom she might not be able to defeat.
Lu Changyuan plunged the last monkey’s staff into its own head, then cut down the Dream Demon that was trying to escape. Only then did he turn to the exploding firework of blood and ask, “Who was that? Did you know him, Miss Su?”
Su Youwan nodded. “The Young Sect Leader of the Qingshi Sect, Li Qiuran.”