Chapter 112 - 101: Nether Monarch
The Daoist Sect.
The Cultivators watched the sky, on high alert.
They had been standing here for three days. The tension around them mounted, as if all they needed was a single order from Jiang Jiayi to begin another world-cleansing crusade against the demons.
The azure sky was still shrouded in blackness. They had all witnessed the scene: their Sect Leader, sword in hand, charging into the expanse Beyond the Heavens.
Oddly enough, no one found this sight strange.
For two generations, from the Chang’an Daoist to the current Daoist Sect Master, charging into the sky to fight unknown entities had become something of a tradition for the Daoist Sect.
"The sky... it seems to be getting brighter?"
Someone spoke up.
The sky, once shrouded in thunderclouds and pitch-black, was torn open as if by a great gash. Light poured through, flooding the world.
Jiang Jiayi’s voice rang out. "Nothing is amiss today. Fellow Daoists, please continue to temper yourselves and elevate your Dao Realm."
"Yes."
The Daoist Disciples breathed a sigh of relief. It was best that no crisis had occurred; otherwise, they would have faced endless toil, which was not conducive to their quiet cultivation.
Jiang Jiayi said little else. Her expression was unreadable, but a trace of worry furrowed her fine, elegant brows.
She soon arrived at the foot of the Celestial Mountain.
Xia Lianxue was still supervising her senior sister’s sword practice.
In the quaint pavilion, Xia Lianxue’s expression also seemed troubled.
"Something happened."
Jiang Jiayi walked up to Xia Lianxue.
She trusted Xia Lianxue implicitly, a trust that stemmed from Xia Lianxue’s relationship with Lu Changyuan. Thus, Jiang Jiayi could confide in her about matters she couldn’t discuss with the other sect members.
Besides, she was the Miao Yu Palace Master, one of the few top-tier Cultivators in the entire White Realm. She might have a different perspective on the matter.
The Little Fairy in a White Skirt nodded, a thoughtful look in her eyes. She was the first to speak. "Just now, I think I felt a tremor in time. Someone was touching time."
Jiang Jiayi’s immortal bearing faltered for a moment.
She hadn’t expected Xia Lianxue to bring this up.
As a practitioner of the Cultivation Sword Dao, she wasn’t particularly sensitive to time, so she could only listen to Xia Lianxue’s explanation.
Xia Lianxue said softly, "Someone must have leveraged a connection to pry at time. I just don’t know who it was."
Now that Xia Lianxue had not yet recultivated back to her Yao Guang level, her command over the Time Dao was naturally far from what it once was, so she could only sense things vaguely.
If time were a net, Xia Lianxue was someone who could see it. And just a moment ago, the net had trembled. But it was only a slight quiver, so naturally, Xia Lianxue didn’t know who had caused it, or where on the net of time it had occurred.
The Red-clothed Sword Immortal asked, "How is the Chang’an Sect Master?"
Xia Lianxue cupped her chin, her gaze on Qiu Yuehan, who was still locked in a battle of wits with the clouds. "He should be fine. The Demon Pattern on my senior sister’s shoulder is very stable."
That proved Lu Changyuan was okay.
As long as the connection with Qiu Yuehan remained, he was at least alive.
Jiang Jiayi let out another sigh of relief, but then her expression turned grave. "The Desire Demon just tried to descend to the mortal realm."
The Little Fairy in a White Skirt hummed in acknowledgment. "I saw. The Demonic Qi was about to spill from Beyond the Heavens and defile the earth. That must be why she took up her sword and charged there. Now the sky is clear, so I imagine the Desire Demon was repelled once again."
She was, of course, referring to the Daoist Sect Master.
Logically, that should be the case. If the Desire Demon hadn’t been repelled and had truly descended, Jiang Jiayi, holding the Sect Leader’s Token, would have sensed it.
The Sect Leader’s Token remained inert, which meant the Desire Demon had been repelled. But if the Desire Demon had been repelled...
Why hadn’t the Daoist Sect Master returned?
This was what worried Jiang Jiayi the most.
With the Daoist Sect Master’s level of Cultivation, even a Desire Demon with overwhelming demonic flames shouldn’t have been able to prevent her return.
What’s more, the Desire Demon in the sky was only a projection.
So Jiang Jiayi said, "She went up, but she didn’t come back. I can no longer sense her sword."
The Red-clothed Sword Immortal practiced the True Sword Dao; she was intimately familiar with the Daoist Sect Master’s sword. But now, she could no longer sense the aura of the Daoist Sect Master’s blade.
"Don’t panic."
With a gentle lift of her fair hand, Xia Lianxue passed a cup of steaming tea to the Red-clothed Sword Immortal’s side.
Jiang Jiayi sighed. ’Perhaps because Xia Lianxue cultivates the Time Dao, her senses and emotions have been diluted by the sheer weight of time,’ she thought, calming down slightly.
She took a sip of tea.
Xia Lianxue said, "Though you can’t sense her sword, you can still see her Dao Star in the sky, can’t you?"
Jiang Jiayi nodded.
She felt that Xia Lianxue was acting more and more like a master’s wife.
’She has lived much longer, after all. I, Jiang Jiayi, have only been cultivating for a few hundred years, while she is a figure from over a thousand years ago. It’s only natural that her experience and temperament are superior.’
"In that case, she must still be alive. Your Chang’an Sect Master always says that as long as one is alive, nothing else matters. Furthermore, with her Cultivation and divine abilities, to be alive is to be at full strength."
A calm atmosphere gradually filled the pavilion, like a gentle, drizzling rain that soothes the heart.
Jiang Jiayi thought about it. ’That’s true,’ she conceded to herself.
’I’m worrying too much.’
’But this Miao Yu Palace Master... how is she a bit like the Daoist Sect Master? No, she’s more like the Chang’an Sect Master. The Daoist Sect Master also learned from the Chang’an Sect Master. It’s only right that a disciple should resemble their master.’
’As for this Miao Yu Palace Master, it’s probably a case of "the wife echoes the husband." People who become a married couple tend to grow more and more alike, I suppose.’
The Red-clothed Sword Immortal held her tea and asked, as if making small talk, "I’ve actually always been curious about the wonders of the Path of Time. Can you sense it whenever anyone in the world touches time?"
"More or less."
Xia Lianxue’s answer was vague. "But most of the time, I only know that time has rippled."