Chapter 245: Adjusted Timeline
Wen Yu had always believed that he was a qualified Palace Master, and even one that was extremely motivated. Though the Forgotten God Palace he inherited was in a terrible state, he still did not give up and abandon his duties, and instead wanted to bring the sect up to a healthy condition, no, he wanted to bring it onto the path towards great prosperity.
He had an overflowing amount of helpless dreams, but reality was cruel to the bone. Though Forgotten God Palace had the mighty descendants of the ancient God Races, even the most trendy and hottest brands, could not stand the test of time. In the beginning, by relying on the additional godly energy they were blessed with, this attribute that could be nearly considered as a cheat, Forgotten God Palace was the unshakable leading goat of the cultivation world. In the recent years however, due to the thinning of their bloodlines, this attribute grew weaker and weaker. Presently, other than the Palace Master who still carried that little hint of bloodline which he himself was unable to sense, and did not have that much godly energy that could be used at all, the other disciples of direct descent basically only had a single descendant of the God Races under each of their names.
In order to retain the blessings of godly energy, it was unavoidable for the previous Palace Masters to take some xenophobic measures, which brought about extremely dire consequences. The most direct exemplification of this was – foreign talents could not enter, and the management turned corrupted, the overall aptitude of the sect took a dive, to their present state where there was basically no disciple that could possibly be called decent.
When he realized the severity of this problem and began to consider accepting talented disciples from outside, it was already too late. Putting aside the fact that disciples with good aptitudes were hard to find, even if there were, they would have long been snatched away by the other clans and sects. How could their turn possibly come?
Especially during the previous great war that implicated the entire cultivation world, Forgotten God Palace had suffered heavy losses. Almost all of the practitioners who could hold their ground had already fallen in that battle. Out of the dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners, merely five remained. The strength of Forgotten Gods Temple plummeted once again, to the point where it was hard for them to raise their heads in front of the other sects.
Wen Yu was worried about this matter every single day, hardly being able to sleep at night. Yet, at this critical juncture, the various sects stabbed another dagger into his heart, by inviting their Azoth Core disciples to participate in the Great Inter-Sect Tournament. However, Wen Yu was aware that this glorified spar between clans and sects, was actually a meeting to measure the strengths of the various sects.
A problem occurred in this competition. The ten Azoth Core disciples dispatched by Forgotten God Palace, were all beaten to a pulp. Putting aside the fact that they did not get into the rankings, not a single disciple entered the top ten. Furthermore, their results were not even comparable to an average first-rate deity sect.
Wen Yu had almost puked out a mouthful of blood. After this competition, forget about being the leading goat, their position as a first-rate deity sect might be at stake, and from then on completely lose their right to speak. Wen Yu even had the desire to die now. At this unsalvageable, irrecoverable and helpless moment, a miracle appeared!
The spiritual light of a Demigod suddenly descended upon the Heaven Returning Forest behind the mountains, and the entire Forgotten Gods Temple was enveloped by tribulation clouds. The thundering tribulation lightning bolts actually struck for a total of ten days, and following after, in a certain stone chamber within the forest, the pressure of a Demigod was emitted out.
A Demigod practitioner was in Heaven Returning Forest behind the mountains. There was actually a Demigod Sovereign! After that battle, there wasn’t a single Demigod left in the entire cultivation world, however, they had gained another one here, alive!
Wen Yu was instantly excited to the point where even his beard was shining, as he gathered everyone outside the stone chamber to personally welcome this Sovereign out of her closed-door training. With a Demigod practitioner stationed, just which sect would still dare bully them?
Wen Yu’s fantasies grew even wilder, and he grew even more excited as he thought about them. And, the more he thought about them, his impression of that Sovereign in the chamber grew even better. You sure have come at the perfect moment. You are that most beautiful rainbow in the sky, and I will have you stay with fragrant wine… Eh, something sounded strange here?
However, when that Sovereign walked out of the stone chamber, he was dumbfounded. Who… is she? Her face looks very foreign.
The Heaven Returning Forest, situated behind the mountains, was the place where the sect disciples go into life-death isolations. Every single practitioner who entered would be near the end of his or her, with the intention of making a desperate attempt to break through. However, a large number of disciples never returned. Those who did return had slim chances of living on as well, and they were all existences who were easily forgotten by others.
However, this was a Demigod Sovereign. In other words, before she entered, she was at least a Nascent Soul practitioner. But, how could he not have seen her before either?
Wen Yu gritted his teeth. He couldn’t be bothered about it anymore. The sect could not lose this Sovereign. Let’s just take it as though the heavens have gifted her to us.
Thus, without hesitation, pata, he knelt on the ground and loudly shouted. “This disciple greets Old Ancestor.”
Hence, the young maiden Zhu Yao, who had a youthful appearance and had only gotten a boyfriend just recently, became their ancestor just like that.
“Old Ancestor, may I ask which blessed land does dear elderly wish to have as your cave residence?” Wen Yu welcomed her with a chuckle, and he was grinning to the point where his eyes could barely be seen.
Elderly Zhu Yao: “…”
Can you please not address me as your ancestor? She still wanted to marry, you know! “Just call me directly by my name.”
“That definitely can’t do.” Wen Yu’s expression sharpened, and he said with a stern look. “There are orders when it comes to seniority and ranks. As the Palace Master of Forgotten God Palace, this disciple naturally has to lead by example. May I ask Old Ancestor not to decline.” His face was filled with the ‘you’re stepping on my pride as your junior’ look.
The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched, silently enduring it. If not because of how aged you look!
“Just choose a place at random then. As long as I can take residence in it.” She did not have any demands to make when it came to a place to stay. In any case, her goal was just those mystic artifacts.
When Wen Yu heard this, he did not take her for another blind stroll either, as he directly headed to a lush green mountain peak.
She wondered if it was a coincidence, but that was the highest mountain among all of the floating mountains here. Next to it was the Main Peak, and a forest was situated on the right. Though, several kilometers away, there was actually a mountain dyed completely in pitch-black. Not a single grass or tree was present on that mountain, and spiritual energy was not emitting out from it either. Yet, it was still stably floating in the sky.
Zhu Yao was a little curious. “What’s that?”
“That’s the Sword Seeking Peak.” Wen Yu explained. Suddenly, as though he had recalled something, he said. “Soon, the Day of Sword Seeking for the various sects will arrive. When that time comes, may I look forward to Old Ancestor protecting our sect.”
“Sword Seeking? What’s that?” Zhu Yao casually asked.
Wen Yu was startled for a moment, as he looked at her a little strangely. “Sword Seeking is naturally an event for practitioners to find weapons or forging materials that they are compatible with.” Just how long had the Old Ancestor gone into isolation for? She was not even aware of something like this. “This Sword Seeking Peak rose into the air on its own several thousand years ago, and residing within are countless materials used to forge mystic artifacts. However, because this mountain resides above our sect’s spiritual pulse, the weapons forged by the materials here are naturally birthed with spirituality, and they will choose their owners on their own. Before finding a suitable owner, even if the weapon has been successfully forged, it will make its way back here to wait for the destined individual. This is why our sect organizes the Sword Seeking Convention every ten years.”
It was that incredible? Then wouldn’t the other clans and sects be envious to death? After all, the other clans and sects could only visit once every ten years, while they were just at its doorsteps.
However, after listening to his explanation, Zhu Yao began to look forward to it a little. She might be able to use this Sword Seeking Convention to find out the locations of the five mystic artifacts and borrow them for a while. Even if they were unwilling to lend them to her, she could still snatch them!
Zhu Yao stayed on the mountain peak for five days, and she inquired about the current state of the world from the few disciples who came to serve her. She wouldn’t have known if she did hear about them, but after hearing them, her entire body felt uncomfortable.
Initially, she had believed that Realmspirit had given her another avatar which had its own backstory, however, that was not the case. In this sect, there was not a single person who knew her. Though, because the location she appeared in was coincidentally in a stone chamber at the back of their own mountains, by logical deduction, that Palace Master took her as one of their own.
It was no wonder that old man wouldn’t call her by her name no matter what. It was not because he did not want to, he basically did not know who she was. Because he was afraid of offending a Demigod practitioner, he had no choice but to exalt her with ‘Old Ancestor’ and even more ‘Old Ancestor’. As expected, people who could become Sect Masters were all thousand-year-old foxes. He was evidently trolling her.
After realizing the truth, Zhu Yao immediately headed over to Wen Yu to express that she did not wish to stay in this sect.
Wen Yu however stopped her with tears in his eyes and snot coming out from his nose. As he cried, he spoke of the sect’s heart-aching history. From the establishment of the sect, he cried his way to the sect’s glorious era, and then cried all the way to their current embarrassing predicament. All this while, he was hugging onto her thigh without letting go.
A white-haired old man who looked like he was above his fifties, cried, shouted, and pleaded for her to stay. He begged her to overthrow their current situation, and become a good young maiden with five disciplines and four graces. She really could not bear to kick him away, and in the end, gave her consent.
Wen Yu instantly became energetic. His waist was no longer sore, his legs were no longer aching, he stopped hugging onto her thigh as well, and the tears and snot had all been retracted. “May I ask for Sovereign’s Daoist title?”
The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. “Yu Yao.” Face changing was definitely an essential skill which all Sect Masters had.
“So it’s Sovereign Yu Yao.” The old man respectfully gave her a bow. “For Sovereign to face her Demigod tribulation in our sect, and have even chosen to stay in our sect, it can be said to be the work of fate. Forgotten God Palace definitely will not forget Sovereign’s grace and kindness.”
Zhu Yao replied him with two words. Ho ho.
Forgotten God Palace. If she was not mistaken, it should be the home of that Yi Luo girl, the main base for all descendants of the God Races! Were they not really incredible in the given scenario? Why were they in such a miserable state now? They did not even have a single Demigod Sovereign in the sect either.
As though he discerned that she had doubts, old man Wen Yu proactively explained. “Sovereign may not be aware of this, but in that battle a few hundred years ago, dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners from our sect fell. That incident destroyed our foundation, which thus led to us falling into such a predicament.”
“A few hundred years ago?” Zhu Yao was stunned, what kind of battle would cause the deaths of so many Nascent Soul practitioners? “Even the combined forces of dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners were not enough to achieve victory?”
Wen Yu sighed. “How can the Devil possibly be so easily defeated?”
“Devil?” Zhu Yao widened her eyes, a thought flashed through her mind. She had a faint feeling that her reincarnation this time was amiss.
“Sovereign must never have thought that the Devil Race would resurface, right?” Wen Yu shook his head with a sunken and heavy expression. “If the former Palace Master’s sister, Ying Luo, did not risk her life to seal the Devil, how could a peaceful world like this still exist? In just a short few hundred years, the various sects have already begun to plot against our Forgotten God Palace.”
“Wait a minute!” Zhu Yao was a little confused, as she looked at the old man sternly. “You said that Ying Luo sealed the Devil a few hundred years ago?”
“That’s right!” Wen Yu nodded. Looking down, he pondered for a moment. “Let me recall just how many years it has been… About nine hundred years or so?”
“The hell!” She finally realized what was wrong. The resentment birthed by Ying Luo appeared a thousand years after the Devil was sealed, while Realmspirit had actually sent her to the time period before Ying Luo was revived. Not only had she arrived at the girl’s world, she had even crossed through time, arriving in the past.
“Old man, then are you aware, where is the girl’s… no, that Palace Master Ying Luo’s body?”
“Obviously, it’s on the God Sacrificial Altar.” He said in a matter-of-fact manner. “Only by using one’s own body as sacrifice, can the ancient sealing arts be activated.”
“Where is that place?”
Wen Yu pointed to a spot in the south. “It’s located at the sacred pond just behind our Forgotten God Palace… Eh?” When he turned back, Zhu Yao’s figure was no longer in front of him. There was merely a white figure flying in the southern direction.
It seems like Sovereign is very curious about that world saviour. It seems like she won’t be leaving anytime soon. He instantly felt at ease.
Zhu Yao immediately arrived at the location Wen Yu pointed at. In front of her was a pond so clear its bottom could be seen, and formations were revolving all around it. Above the pond water, laid a young maiden dressed in a blue robe, and chains formed by spiritual energy were wrapping all around her body.
As expected, she was that girl from the scenario. She had not resurrected yet.
She finally understood what was the fine adjustment Realmspirit spoke of. He adjusted the timeline!
Back then, she said she wanted to deal with the source of the problem, and she did not expect that Realmspirit would really send her back to the source. The source where the girl had yet to be betrayed by the people of her world.
The hell, it seemed like all of her plans had to be adjusted.
Initially, she had thought that her main mission was to gather the mystic artifacts and release the girl’s soul. Then, she would engage in psychological counselling with her that might not have a high rate of success, have her put down her resentment and reincarnate properly.
From the looks of things, her main mission had changed to how she should prevent people from betraying her, and how she would reverse her miserable life.
In an instant, she felt a large wave of troubles that was about to assault her.
Presently, Zhu Yao had no choice but to stay in Forgotten God Palace. She did not know when Ying Luo would awaken, and she had to save her before the various sects find out about her awakening. Otherwise, a frail girl who had lost all her cultivation could only suffer at the hands of others. Also, she had to hurry and collect those five mystic artifacts.
Those five objects were also part of her misery.
Her journey to another world to give a psychological counselling, had instantly turned into saving that miserable, frail girl. This sour and refreshing taste was simply unbelievable!1
As for the Sword Seeking Convention Wen Yu spoke of, was about to open in full swing in five days’ time as well. The practitioners from various sects and clans had all gathered at Forgotten God Palace. Though in his heart, Wen Yu resented the methods used by these clans and sects, he still welcomed them with a courteous expression.
However, the number of people who came this time was especially huge. Inside, the numerous Nascent Soul Reverends who led their groups here, explained that they were bringing disciples over to seek swords. Though, they might as well say that they were demonstrating their might. Evidently, the drinker’s intentions were not on the wine.2
Though Wen Yu was able to endure his anger and did not immediately run up the mountain to seek help from Zhu Yao, as he kept welcoming the disciples from the various sects in a passionate manner. When all of the famed deity sects of the cultivation world had arrived and all of the leading figures had settled down, he walked back to the hall.
The various sects were evidently getting impatient, as a practitioner immediately stopped Wen Yu and made clear of his intent in an instant. “Palace Master Wen, it has truly been laborious for Forgotten God Palace to safeguard Sword Seeking Peak for so many years, and it has also been extremely troublesome for our disciples to seek their swords once every ten years. So, the various sects had come to a conclusion, why not have this Sword Seeking Peak be managed by other deity sects from today onwards? It will also relieve Palace Master’s worries.”
Wen Yu turned to glance at him. Sword Seeking Peak was something which belonged to Forgotten God Palace in the first place. Opening it once every ten years was also because of the ability to choose their own owners which the artifacts in the mountain possessed. The artifacts were unwilling to stay buried, which was why the various sects were invited to enter. They were clearly here to snatch something away, yet they even wanted to use the excuse of relieving Forgotten God Palace’s worries.
Wen Yu coldly laughed, and walked to the main seat of the hall. Suddenly, his eyes shifted. He did not sit on the main seat, but had instead waved his hand to have one of the disciples add another seat in the position below it. He sat down and scanned the people present. When he thought of the certain someone at the top of the mountain, his back instantly straightened upright.
The time to blow off steam had arrived!
‘This sour and refreshing taste is simply unbelievable!’ was actually a tagline in a Chinese commercial selling beef-flavoured instant noodles. It is now often used to express feelings of ecstasy due to an unexpected turn of events.
‘Drinker’s intentions are not on the wine’ is a Chinese proverb. In the original source of the proverb, the intentions of the drinker in the pavilion was actually enjoying the mountain scenery, instead of drinking the wine. Nowadays, it’s used to express that someone has ulterior motives behind his actions.
