Chapter 110: Arrival at Last

"No fated connection again? You're picking again?"

Upon hearing the young Daoist's reply, the voice suddenly rose in pitch by several octaves. After a brief silence, it erupted into a loud, indignant tirade:

"Your North Pole Garden is already short-handed, barely any different from the Tai-Fu Palace. You neither establish separate mansions nor open new Daoist lineages, yet you are still here being so picky and choosy? When the Great Calamity arrives and all your lifespans are exhausted, won't you be left without successors to carry the torch?!

"Furthermore, if you didn't like him, you didn't like him—why not tell me sooner? You've wasted my time here for these past few days for nothing! Liang Wenxian, you really are a piece of work! Just like in the old days, you're still full of wicked schemes; just looking at you is enough to make a man sick with rage!"

Accompanied by this shouting, a man in dark robes holding a great imperial seal manifested from the dark, chaotic void. The moment he laid eyes on the young Daoist, his eyebrows twitched ferociously, as if he longed to smash the seal in his hand onto the Daoist's head. One strike of that seal would have surely unleashed a storm of devastation!

"Back at the Dianyuan Assembly, you were defeated by my hand, and you agreed to my terms: you would find me a talented disciple—one capable of inheriting my lineage—in exchange for your freedom. It is for this very reason that I spared your life." Liang Wenxian smiled faintly, glanced at him, and said calmly, "Junior Brother Du, have you forgotten?"

The dark-robed man’s expression stiffened. He quietly retracted the great seal he was holding, gritting his teeth in secret. His name was Du Ao, an elder of the Xuanfeng Cave, one of the six great demonic sects. He was a master of primordial divination and calculation, and had once been a favored candidate for the position of Daoist Heir of his sect.

However, he had failed to take the top spot at the Dianyuan Assembly and had nearly been beaten to death by this very Liang Wenxian, who hailed from the North Pole Garden. Left with no other choice, he was forced to enter into a magical contract with Liang Wenxian, promising to use his innate divination skills to find a worthy successor for him. Only by doing so did he manage to save his life and retreat in disgrace from the assembly. Because of this, he had fallen out of favor with the sect leaders of Xuanfeng Cave, who felt he had lost the dignity and decorum expected of a true disciple. Later, after losing ten consecutive bouts to Jia Rong in the sect’s grand competition, he had completely lost any hope of competing for the position of Daoist Heir, relegated to continuing his quest for the Immortal Path merely as a true disciple.

Yet, Du Ao was, after all, a genius who had achieved a superior-grade Golden Core. Even though his reputation had been dragged through the mud after his losses to Liang Wenxian and Jia Rong, he did not lose his resolve. After thousands of years of life-and-death struggle on the outer-heaven battlefields, he forged ahead with indomitable courage and finally attained the Return to Void stage. To this day, he had even survived the first of the three disasters—the Wind Disaster—and had plucked the fruit of Pure Yang!

However, before Du Ao could fully relish his success or consolidate his newfound power within the sect, Liang Wenxian had summoned him with that golden contract, demanding he fulfill the vow he had made at the Dianyuan Assembly. That magical contract had been witnessed by the Daoists of the Eight Sects and Six Schools, with countless great powers of the outer heavens watching as well. Under such scrutiny, even if Du Ao wanted to break the contract, he could not; to do so would turn him into a laughingstock across the universe.

But Liang Wenxian’s standards were incredibly high—practically detached from the mortal world. Du Ao prided himself on having put in his best effort; if not ten out of ten, he had certainly given seven or eight. Yet, after nearly three hundred years, Liang Wenxian had still not found a "talented disciple" to his liking. If not for the fact that he truly could not beat him, Du Ao would have long since turned hostile and fought him to the death.

"No fated connection here, no fated connection there—what exactly are you plotting, Liang Wenxian?" Du Ao did not hide the frustration on his face and sighed, saying, "Even if this person's background is a bit troublesome, can't your North Pole Garden handle it? You’ve been eyeing him for so long; now that the moment of truth has arrived, you're just going to discard him? Are you afraid of Chen Yushu? Are you afraid to offend this rebel of the Dou-Shu?"

At this point, Du Ao’s tone grew mocking: "If you're afraid of Chen Yushu at this late hour, just say so; I won't look down on you. He was the champion of our Dianyuan Assembly. Not to mention me, even if Jia Rong and you joined forces, you wouldn't be a match for him, and you’d likely lose your lives. It’s only natural to be wary of such a figure. Between brothers, just speak plainly; there's no shame in it!"

...

Actually, he was full of resentment. He was merely playing the fool, wandering aimlessly through the Nine Provinces and Four Seas with Liang Wenxian. The only reason they had come to Fuyu Lake was because True Lord Zhuojing had inadvertently leaked a trace of his power, which Du Ao had detected through his calculations. He had dragged Liang Wenxian along to join the fun and see what was happening. And now, they had been stuck here for days.

Du Ao had assumed Liang Wenxian would finally find his so-called "worthy disciple," otherwise, why pay so much attention? He had even gone to the trouble of preparing a single-wheeled flower cart, clearly intending to test the disciple—just as Fire Dragon Supreme of the Yuchen Sect had tested Gong Taichu. Once he took a disciple, Du Ao’s miserable days would finally be over, and he could return to Xuanfeng Cave to enjoy his life and focus on his Pure Yang path. Who would have thought that at the very last moment, Liang Wenxian would just shake his head and refuse? Hearing this, Du Ao’s fury flared, and he longed to fight Liang Wenxian to the death.

...

"Chen Yushu? He is indeed a man of great talent. I did narrowly lose to him at that Dianyuan Assembly. The victor takes all; there’s nothing to argue about there. But to say I am afraid of him? That is laughable." Liang Wenxian glanced at Du Ao and said with a smile, hands behind his back, "Not to mention the seniors in our sect, our North Pole Old Immortal is already a True Immortal who has attained the immortal fruit. Even if Chen Yushu were to attain the Dao, would our North Pole Garden fear him like a lion or a tiger?"

"Then why didn't you take this Chen Heng into your sect? You clearly showed a lot of interest in him before." Du Ao’s expression was blank.

"This child... his disposition is not suited to my lineage. It is a pity." Liang Wenxian pondered for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "I had intended to imitate Brother Fire Dragon and test him, but upon closer inspection, it is unnecessary. There is no fated connection of master and disciple between him and me."

Du Ao frowned, his eyes practically spitting fire. Thinking of something, he sneered again: "Fated connection? Liang Wenxian, I haven't seen you for years, but you've become increasingly superstitious! By the way, do you remember Yan Xi?"

"Yan Xi?"

"The one who was recruited as a son-in-law by the East Sea Dragon King and now commands a million aquatic troops? I hear that with the help of a group of old dragons, he has opened up a heavenly cave called 'Shunlie Biyun Yuangu'. He is already at the Return to Void stage, and the Pure Yang fruit is within his reach. Do you remember him?" Du Ao asked.

Liang Wenxian nodded.

"Three hundred years ago, I had just survived the Wind Disaster and attained Pure Yang, and you forced me to fulfill the contract from the Dianyuan Assembly. I gave it my all back then, calculating with everything I had, and that was how I found Yan Xi." Du Ao sneered repeatedly, "But you, Liang Wenxian, looked down on him just because he only attained a ninth-grade Yellow-White Golden Core. Later, because his conduct didn't suit your temperament, you completely gave up on the idea of taking him as a disciple. But did you ever imagine that Yan Xi would achieve what he has today? He is already at the Return to Void stage, and he is not far from Pure Yang! The little cultivator you once discarded like a worn-out shoe is now on the verge of becoming one of our peers. Is this not the fickleness of fate?"

"I truly did not foresee that he would have such great fortune... I was mistaken." Hearing Du Ao’s mockery, Liang Wenxian remained calm. After a moment of reflection, he admitted, "But the ways of heaven are unpredictable. As a mere Pure Yang practitioner, how can I know every twist and turn of fate?"

"You already misjudged Yan Xi once, treating him as nothing and losing a great potential ally for nothing! And now you believe Chen Heng lacks the fated connection to be your disciple—are you not repeating your mistake?" Du Ao pleaded earnestly, "You said yourself that the ways of heaven are unpredictable. How do you know that Chen Heng isn't another Yan Xi? Even if he is inferior to Yan Xi and cannot attain Pure Yang, he is at least a seed worth nurturing."

"How about this," he spread his hands, "I will bring Chen Heng back for you. Let him become your disciple, you take him back to the North Pole Garden, and I return to Xuanfeng Mountain. How does that sound?"

"Is the fellow Daoist so homesick?"

"Nonsense! Who wants to waste their time here with you?" Du Ao cursed. Since becoming a Pure Yang practitioner and finally grasping power in his sect, he had been looking forward to living a life of leisure and freedom. Instead, he was bound by Liang Wenxian’s contract, running around like a headless chicken. Meanwhile, Jia Rong, who had defeated him ten times, had been nearly beaten to death by Chen Yushu in an outer-heaven battle and was now lingering in his cave, his prestige within Xuanfeng Cave plummeting. This was his golden opportunity to shine! Everywhere he looked, there were places to demonstrate his power! How could he be content running around like this?

"Do not be impatient. It has only been three hundred years," Liang Wenxian said dismissively. "Good things take time. If we succeed in the future, your reward, Junior Brother Du, will naturally be substantial."

"What is that reward worth?" Du Ao cursed inwardly, his expression sour.

"Since we are finished here, we need not stay in the southern region of the Dongmi Province any longer. The corpse-immortal beneath this abyss is not yet dead, and being here makes me feel as if I am being watched." Liang Wenxian shook his head. "Junior Brother, you are proficient in divination. Where is the next one located now?"

"According to the signs you gave me, it is vaguely in the direction of the Xisu Province. As for the precise location, I will have to enter that territory before I can perform further calculations."

"However..."

At this moment, Du Ao added, "Are you going to save Chen Heng? If he has no help, I suspect he will not survive the next few days."

Liang Wenxian was slightly startled. He cast a spell, activated his Great Dharma Eyes to peer into the void, and after nearly two cups of tea’s time, he wiped his eyes and withdrew his power.

"So that is how it is. Junior Brother Du’s innate divination is truly remarkable. In my opinion, it is only a few shades behind the Central Heaven Dou-Shu of Chen Yushu." Liang Wenxian retracted his shimmering radiance and chuckled, "However, why should I save Chen Heng?"

Du Ao stared at him.

"I am not afraid of Chen Yushu. His Pure Yang Lightning Tribulation is different from ours. He is currently trapped within his cave, unable to take even half a step out. Though fierce, he is a caged beast and cannot hurt anyone." Liang Wenxian shook his head. "Even so, I have no relation to Chen Heng; why should I block this disaster for him? Even if I save him once, can I save him for a lifetime?"

"But you," Liang Wenxian smiled inexplicably, clapping his hands, "asking this suddenly... could it be you want to help Chen Heng? I suspect it is because of that girl, Chen Yan, isn't it..."

"Enough! If you still want my help, Liang Wenxian, behave yourself! Why so much nonsense?" Du Ao snapped in embarrassment. "Are we going to Xisu Province or not? Let's go!"

Liang Wenxian smiled slightly, performed a Daoist salute, and said, "Then I shall head to Xisu Province first. Junior Brother, do as you please, just don't delay too long."

With that, he flickered, a flash of light danced, and he vanished from the spot.

Only Du Ao remained, standing with his hands behind his back. He looked into the distant clouds for a long time, then withdrew his gaze with a heavy sigh.

"I had hoped to invite Liang Wenxian to use the influence of the North Pole Garden to save you, but this man has no mercy... Chen Heng, do not blame me. I alone dare not face Chen Yushu and incur his wrath."

With that sigh, the image of a smiling young girl seemed to float before his eyes. Du Ao smiled bitterly, his heart wavering. "Chen Yan, forgive me for once again prioritizing my own survival... If nothing goes wrong, your brother is truly doomed this time..."

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his face was cold and indifferent. With a gust of wind, Du Ao vanished into thin air.

Two days later.

As the Canhe carriage descended from the high heavens, a canopy of light poured down. A few moments later, Chen Heng dismissed the artifact and stepped out from the clouds. Tu Shan Ge, having already received the news through their mental contract, hurried over with a smile.

Ignoring the pleasantries, Chen Heng inquired about his time at Fuyu Lake and, upon learning that everything was fine, opened the meditation room in the heart of the mountain. He flicked his sleeves and sat down on the cushion. Looking around, the furnishings were just as he had left them—the vessels and chairs were dust-free, clearly cleaned daily. He wondered if Tu Shan Ge had done it himself or if the foxes below had been assigned the task.

"The four gates of desire: wine, lust, wealth, and anger; exhaust the mind and spirit to transcend the mortal world. Do not hang a single thought on the spiritual source; for if you do, the Golden Core will never form."

Closing his eyes, Chen Heng whispered to himself, sweeping away all distractions and clearing his mind.

As Chen Heng took out his talisman money and immersed himself in Qi cultivation, dozens of thousands of miles away from the southern region, at the Linjiao Island of the East Sea:

Great waves surged and the tides battered the sky. A ten-thousand-foot-long Ba serpent suddenly lunged down from the thousand-foot-high firmament, letting out a sharp screech that shattered the currents for miles! The sound shook the region for a hundred miles around!