Chen Chao exerted force, breaking the golden threads. Then, he watched as they gradually dissipated from the blade of his broken saber, eventually returning to calmness.
The golden threads vanished into the air, never to be seen again. The continuously rising white mist gradually filled the world once again.
Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue but did not immediately make a move, even though the situation had shifted significantly in his favor by now.
Yun Jianyue asked, "What exactly is in this ancient ruin?"
He knew Chen Chao had entered this place before, and that was why he asked this.
However, Chen Chao did not provide an answer. He just said, "If we were to start fighting again now, my chances of winning would be much higher."
Yun Jianyue shook his head and said, "Daoism has countless techniques, I haven't used all of them. If we really engage in a fight, you may not necessarily win."
Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, knowing that this was the truth, so he did not refute it.
But Yun Jianyue soon added with grace, "However, since I'm a cultivation realm above you, if I still shamelessly use all those techniques, that would indeed be shameless."
Chen Chao just smiled at this and casually said, "In the end, if you and I have a life-and-death feud, I'll kill you here, even if it means being shameless."
Listening to this, Yun Jianyue neither refuted nor agreed but pondered it seriously. Finally, he nodded and asked, "Did you learn to kill demons in the mountains?"
Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue and said with a smile, "Those demons aren't as cunning. As long as both parties formed a grudge, there's usually no second meeting. It has to be settled on the same day, one of them will never leave the mountain."
In the eyes of ordinary people in the Great Liang Dynasty, both demons and cultivators were terrifying existences. However, if they had to choose to face only one of them, they would probably choose to confront the demons, and not those cultivators. Demons might not understand human language, but they only ate humans. Cultivators could understand human language but would never just eat humans.
The human heart was more terrifying than anything in the world.
Yun Jianyue was deep in thought and did not speak.
He could naturally understand the meaning of that sentence.
After a while, the strange white mist continued to increase, to the point where it far exceeded the density of the mist outside the ruin.
Yun Jianyue took out a talisman and crushed it. Faint ripples spread out, enveloping both of them and blocking most of the dense mist from encroaching. However, outside the ripples, thin wisps of mist still slowly seeped in.
Yun Jianyue furrowed his brow and said, "It seems like we can't stay here for long. Are you leaving?"
Without his cultivation, relying solely on the talisman, they might temporarily resist the mist's intrusion, but it definitely would not last in the long run.
So, Yun Jianyue was prepared to leave.
During this trip to the ruin, he did not find anything. However, since he had advanced to the Great Beyond Realm on this journey, it was a tremendous harvest. No one in the Infatuation Daoist Temple would say anything.
As for Chen Chao, since there was some debt of gratitude from before, leaving together now was not a big deal. Yun Jianyue was not like those ordinary cultivators, he would not consider Chen Chao being alive as a terrible thing. Even if, one day, Chen Chao became a Nepenthe martial artist, becoming an existence similar to that of the Great Liang Emperor, it probably would not be a very significant event to the Dao society either.
A powerhouse was unable to change the world's structure.
The current state of the world was not something that had happened overnight.
Daoism's countless years of foundation was enough to give them the confidence to make their own decisions about many things in the world.
Many times, Daoism could act without considering the consequences.
Because the consequence was not very important to them.
As a disciple of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, Yun Jianyue naturally had the confidence to do these things.
Chen Chao looked at the ripples in front of him and remained silent for a long time before saying, "We'll continue our fight another time."
Yun Jianyue paused and smiled, "Since that's the case, let's call it a draw."
With his higher cultivation level, saying it was a draw was essentially admitting his own defeat to some extent.
"If it's not finished, it's not finished. Why declare it a draw?"
Chen Chao glanced at Yun Jianyue and shook his head.
Yun Jianyue said calmly, "Temporary victories or losses are not important. Great Dao is a long journey, there are still plenty of opportunities."
Chen Chao did not speak, he just took a step and walked out of the barrier on his own.
He landed in the white mist.
He did not look back, walking forward alone, his hair dampened by the lake water that had not completely converged at the bottom of the lake.
Yun Jianyue glanced at him a few times, did not say anything further, and turned to leave, heading back the way he had come.
Their previous conversation about life and death seemed to linger in the air, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
In this perilous place, Yun Jianyue did not need to make choices or stake his life.
In other circumstances, Chen Chao might have chosen to retreat, but not now. Within this white mist, inside this ruin, there was something he had been seeking for a long, long time.
……
……
Yun Jianyue headed back on the path he had come. Along the way, the white mist had noticeably thickened. The density now was much greater than what he had seen earlier. This made Yun Jianyue feel rather uncomfortable. As strong as he was, spending too much time in this white mist would make him feel incredibly uncomfortable too.
Taking out a medicinal pill and swallowing it, Yun Jianyue felt somewhat better, then continued walking forward.
The white mist was so thick that he could only see a short distance of less than a hundred feet in front of him.
All of a sudden, the white mist scattered and a black ox walked out of the white mist.
Yun Jianyue noticed that the nose of this black ox had a golden nose ring with intricate patterns, resembling characters from some daoist scripture. What surprised him even more was that on the back of the black ox sat a middle-aged daoist.
"Martial Uncle."
Yun Jianyue was rather surprised and blurted out.
This middle-aged daoist in front of him was precisely that Infatuation Daoist Temple's Chief Enforcer, a great sage of Daoism.
He was the Infatuation Daoist Temple's number two figure, an existence second only to the Temple Master.
Such a person commanded respect even from someone of Yun Jianyue's status, and the highest level of respect was due.
Therefore, he quickly reacted and gave a bow.
However, at this moment, Yun Jianyue did not quite understand why he could see this Chief Enforcer here. When he left the Infatuation Daoist Temple, this Chief Enforcer was still in seclusion. How did he end up here?
The middle-aged daoist held an oiled paper umbrella and seemed to have seen through Yun Jianyue's thoughts. He looked down at Yun Jianyue from a higher vantage point and said calmly, "One can only be considered a cultivator after crossing the Bitter Sea. If one cannot cross it, they will forever remain an ordinary person; nothing remarkable."
He saw through Yun Jianyue's cultivation realm with one glance and did not show much praise, it was just ordinary.
After all, as a great sage of Daoism, he stood at a lofty height and had a far-reaching perspective. He naturally would not appear excited over some ordinary scenery.
"There's some problem with this place, you've just broken through and your cultivation realm is unstable, return to the temple and stay there for some time. Focus on cultivation and stop thinking about those things."
The middle-aged daoist reached out and took out a yellow talisman, tossing it casually.
Suddenly, a straight road appeared in the white mist. The white mist on both sides was forced far away and could no longer converge.
Yun Jianyue suddenly looked up at the Chief Enforcer and asked seriously, "What are those things that Martial Uncle mentioned?"
The middle-aged daoist glanced at Yun Jianyue indifferently, causing Yun Jianyue's face to pale instantly.
"It seems your master didn't teach you well. A little talented and you forget to respect your seniors?"
The middle-aged daoist withdrew his gaze without saying more. The black ox beneath him glanced sympathetically at Yun Jianyue, thinking that humans were indeed the least considerate creatures in the world.
"The outside world feels that geniuses are remarkable, but in our temple, even if we can't find ten or eight so-called talents, we can still find three or five of these so-called geniuses."
Although the middle-aged daoist did not say it explicitly, his meaning was quite clear.
In such a vast Infatuation Daoist Temple, there must be other young geniuses. Yun Jianyue's existence was not unique.
Although Yun Jianyue's complexion was pale, his gaze remained steadfast. However, he stopped talking and simply bowed, then turned to walk along the path created by the talisman towards the outside.
The middle-aged daoist watched Yun Jianyue's departing figure with no emotion in his eyes.
The black ox made an untimely moo.
The middle-aged daoist looked at those two ox horns and said calmly, "At least he still calls me Martial Uncle. What connection do you, a mere beast, have with me? If you still can't find what I'm looking for, you can forget about living."
While speaking, the middle-aged daoist was extremely cold, making no effort to conceal his killing intent.
The black ox also sensed this killing intent. It had thick skin and could not be affected by the killing intent, but it still felt somewhat wronged.
I slept for so many years, and the world has changed so much. How could I know where those things from back then were placed?"
Chen Chao exerted force, breaking the golden threads. Then, he watched as they gradually dissipated from the blade of his broken saber, eventually returning to calmness.
The golden threads vanished into the air, never to be seen again. The continuously rising white mist gradually filled the world once again.
Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue but did not immediately make a move, even though the situation had shifted significantly in his favor by now.
Yun Jianyue asked, "What exactly is in this ancient ruin?"
He knew Chen Chao had entered this place before, and that was why he asked this.
However, Chen Chao did not provide an answer. He just said, "If we were to start fighting again now, my chances of winning would be much higher."
Yun Jianyue shook his head and said, "Daoism has countless techniques, I haven't used all of them. If we really engage in a fight, you may not necessarily win."
Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, knowing that this was the truth, so he did not refute it.
But Yun Jianyue soon added with grace, "However, since I'm a cultivation realm above you, if I still shamelessly use all those techniques, that would indeed be shameless."
Chen Chao just smiled at this and casually said, "In the end, if you and I have a life-and-death feud, I'll kill you here, even if it means being shameless."
Listening to this, Yun Jianyue neither refuted nor agreed but pondered it seriously. Finally, he nodded and asked, "Did you learn to kill demons in the mountains?"
Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue and said with a smile, "Those demons aren't as cunning. As long as both parties formed a grudge, there's usually no second meeting. It has to be settled on the same day, one of them will never leave the mountain."
In the eyes of ordinary people in the Great Liang Dynasty, both demons and cultivators were terrifying existences. However, if they had to choose to face only one of them, they would probably choose to confront the demons, and not those cultivators. Demons might not understand human language, but they only ate humans. Cultivators could understand human language but would never just eat humans.
The human heart was more terrifying than anything in the world.
Yun Jianyue was deep in thought and did not speak.
He could naturally understand the meaning of that sentence.
After a while, the strange white mist continued to increase, to the point where it far exceeded the density of the mist outside the ruin.
Yun Jianyue took out a talisman and crushed it. Faint ripples spread out, enveloping both of them and blocking most of the dense mist from encroaching. However, outside the ripples, thin wisps of mist still slowly seeped in.
Yun Jianyue furrowed his brow and said, "It seems like we can't stay here for long. Are you leaving?"
Without his cultivation, relying solely on the talisman, they might temporarily resist the mist's intrusion, but it definitely would not last in the long run.
So, Yun Jianyue was prepared to leave.
During this trip to the ruin, he did not find anything. However, since he had advanced to the Great Beyond Realm on this journey, it was a tremendous harvest. No one in the Infatuation Daoist Temple would say anything.
As for Chen Chao, since there was some debt of gratitude from before, leaving together now was not a big deal. Yun Jianyue was not like those ordinary cultivators, he would not consider Chen Chao being alive as a terrible thing. Even if, one day, Chen Chao became a Nepenthe martial artist, becoming an existence similar to that of the Great Liang Emperor, it probably would not be a very significant event to the Dao society either.
A powerhouse was unable to change the world's structure.
The current state of the world was not something that had happened overnight.
Daoism's countless years of foundation was enough to give them the confidence to make their own decisions about many things in the world.
Many times, Daoism could act without considering the consequences.
Because the consequence was not very important to them.
As a disciple of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, Yun Jianyue naturally had the confidence to do these things.
Chen Chao looked at the ripples in front of him and remained silent for a long time before saying, "We'll continue our fight another time."
Yun Jianyue paused and smiled, "Since that's the case, let's call it a draw."
With his higher cultivation level, saying it was a draw was essentially admitting his own defeat to some extent.
"If it's not finished, it's not finished. Why declare it a draw?"
Chen Chao glanced at Yun Jianyue and shook his head.
Yun Jianyue said calmly, "Temporary victories or losses are not important. Great Dao is a long journey, there are still plenty of opportunities."
Chen Chao did not speak, he just took a step and walked out of the barrier on his own.
He landed in the white mist.
He did not look back, walking forward alone, his hair dampened by the lake water that had not completely converged at the bottom of the lake.
Yun Jianyue glanced at him a few times, did not say anything further, and turned to leave, heading back the way he had come.
Their previous conversation about life and death seemed to linger in the air, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
In this perilous place, Yun Jianyue did not need to make choices or stake his life.
In other circumstances, Chen Chao might have chosen to retreat, but not now. Within this white mist, inside this ruin, there was something he had been seeking for a long, long time.
……
……
Yun Jianyue headed back on the path he had come. Along the way, the white mist had noticeably thickened. The density now was much greater than what he had seen earlier. This made Yun Jianyue feel rather uncomfortable. As strong as he was, spending too much time in this white mist would make him feel incredibly uncomfortable too.
Taking out a medicinal pill and swallowing it, Yun Jianyue felt somewhat better, then continued walking forward.
The white mist was so thick that he could only see a short distance of less than a hundred feet in front of him.
All of a sudden, the white mist scattered and a black ox walked out of the white mist.
Yun Jianyue noticed that the nose of this black ox had a golden nose ring with intricate patterns, resembling characters from some daoist scripture. What surprised him even more was that on the back of the black ox sat a middle-aged daoist.
"Martial Uncle."
Yun Jianyue was rather surprised and blurted out.
This middle-aged daoist in front of him was precisely that Infatuation Daoist Temple's Chief Enforcer, a great sage of Daoism.
He was the Infatuation Daoist Temple's number two figure, an existence second only to the Temple Master.
Such a person commanded respect even from someone of Yun Jianyue's status, and the highest level of respect was due.
Therefore, he quickly reacted and gave a bow.
However, at this moment, Yun Jianyue did not quite understand why he could see this Chief Enforcer here. When he left the Infatuation Daoist Temple, this Chief Enforcer was still in seclusion. How did he end up here?
The middle-aged daoist held an oiled paper umbrella and seemed to have seen through Yun Jianyue's thoughts. He looked down at Yun Jianyue from a higher vantage point and said calmly, "One can only be considered a cultivator after crossing the Bitter Sea. If one cannot cross it, they will forever remain an ordinary person; nothing remarkable."
He saw through Yun Jianyue's cultivation realm with one glance and did not show much praise, it was just ordinary.
After all, as a great sage of Daoism, he stood at a lofty height and had a far-reaching perspective. He naturally would not appear excited over some ordinary scenery.
"There's some problem with this place, you've just broken through and your cultivation realm is unstable, return to the temple and stay there for some time. Focus on cultivation and stop thinking about those things."
The middle-aged daoist reached out and took out a yellow talisman, tossing it casually.
Suddenly, a straight road appeared in the white mist. The white mist on both sides was forced far away and could no longer converge.
Yun Jianyue suddenly looked up at the Chief Enforcer and asked seriously, "What are those things that Martial Uncle mentioned?"
The middle-aged daoist glanced at Yun Jianyue indifferently, causing Yun Jianyue's face to pale instantly.
"It seems your master didn't teach you well. A little talented and you forget to respect your seniors?"
The middle-aged daoist withdrew his gaze without saying more. The black ox beneath him glanced sympathetically at Yun Jianyue, thinking that humans were indeed the least considerate creatures in the world.
"The outside world feels that geniuses are remarkable, but in our temple, even if we can't find ten or eight so-called talents, we can still find three or five of these so-called geniuses."
Although the middle-aged daoist did not say it explicitly, his meaning was quite clear.
In such a vast Infatuation Daoist Temple, there must be other young geniuses. Yun Jianyue's existence was not unique.
Although Yun Jianyue's complexion was pale, his gaze remained steadfast. However, he stopped talking and simply bowed, then turned to walk along the path created by the talisman towards the outside.
The middle-aged daoist watched Yun Jianyue's departing figure with no emotion in his eyes.
The black ox made an untimely moo.
The middle-aged daoist looked at those two ox horns and said calmly, "At least he still calls me Martial Uncle. What connection do you, a mere beast, have with me? If you still can't find what I'm looking for, you can forget about living."
While speaking, the middle-aged daoist was extremely cold, making no effort to conceal his killing intent.
The black ox also sensed this killing intent. It had thick skin and could not be affected by the killing intent, but it still felt somewhat wronged.
I slept for so many years, and the world has changed so much. How could I know where those things from back then were placed?"
