Walking along the winding mountain path, the scholarly-robed elder, though aged, moved with steady steps. “Three hundred thousand years ago, every one of Heaven’s Twenty Heavens was a world-shaking figure, known by name, their might radiating across the four seas. If someone truly returned alive alongside Hao Tian and the Six Ancestors, it would be impossible to conceal. Some rumour would surely have leaked.”
“Therefore, in my view, the third survivor could only have been one of Hell’s Four Heavens.”
“The Four Heavens of Hell change every few millennia due to challenges. The four positions have never been fixed; they shift back and forth. Yet only a scant handful, fewer than ten, have ever successfully challenged their way into the ranks of the Heavens.”
“Those who could fight alongside Heaven’s Twenty Heavens must have shared the same enmity and vision. Thus, it could not have been the later instigator of war.”
“The one who advocated peace has the highest probability.”
With this analysis from the scholarly-robed elder, understanding dawned on Zhang Ruochen. “Senior believes the third person was the previous clan chief of the Yanluo clan, Yan Huanyu?”
The elder smiled. “Matters touching upon heavenly-level figures are all great secrets of the world. Unless one asks the parties involved, who can be completely certain? Yet there is at least a seventy percent chance that the venerable Yan Huanyu was indeed that third survivor.”
“Tell me, young friend Ruochen, are you satisfied with this answer?”
That the elder recognised him came as no surprise to Zhang Ruochen.
“I did indeed make things too difficult for Senior.”
Zhang Ruochen continued, “Since Senior recognises this junior, my second question is easier to ask. Senior should know that beneath Yuchen Divine Temple lies an undying, indestructible old corpse ghost. May I ask who that old corpse ghost truly is?”
A strange light flickered in Bai Qing’er’s eyes as she walked beside them.
Why would Zhang Ruochen ask this?
She was certain the old corpse ghost was Yu Hun.
She had thought Zhang Ruochen would ask why the divine corpses underground in Yuchen Divine Temple had mutated.
The scholarly-robed elder replied, “It seems you have discovered it too. The four great disciples of Venerable Xinghuan were all extraordinary, the elite of their era, each walking a different path.”
“Eldest disciple Yu Long, focused on mental strength.”
“Second disciple Yu Chen, delved deeply into the secret arts of Daoism, the foremost Daoist of that age.”
“Fourth disciple Yu Chan created the Thirteen Cloud Dream Chapters, able to enter the dreams of all living beings and manipulate their consciousness.”
“Third disciple Yu Hun, though weakest in strength, studied all manner of forbidden arts. Especially one called the Corpse-Refining Forbidden Technique, bizarre and unparalleled, capable of refining corpses into his own body and continuously strengthening his physical form.”
“The old corpse ghost you speak of is Yu Hun. But after obtaining the Venerable’s heavenly body and refining countless corpses into himself, Yu Hun leapt to become the strongest of the four disciples.”
“Thus, the old corpse ghost is Yu Hun, yet also half of Venerable Xinghuan.”
“Fortunately, Yu Hun did not obtain the Venerable’s treasure gauze, Venerable World, or Venerable divine source. Otherwise, his cultivation might have reached a level not inferior to Venerable Xinghuan himself, enough to slaughter an entire era.”
Bai Qing’er looked at Zhang Ruochen. “You suspected something was wrong with the old corpse ghost long ago?”
Zhang Ruochen answered, “I simply felt that a mere Yu Hun would not warrant the personal attention of the Immovable Wisdom King. Moreover, when I used the Ming Character Token to control the old corpse ghost, I clearly sensed its power was not fully unleashed.”
The cyan-robed maiden’s face paled slightly. “How can such a grotesque forbidden art exist in the world? Refining corpses into one’s own body without finding it repulsive?”
The scholarly-robed elder said, “Among the Corpse clan, this is perfectly normal.”
Bai Qing’er asked, “Is Yu Hun of the Corpse clan?”
“Naturally not.”
Bai Qing’er continued, “If not of the Corpse clan, how could he refine corpses into his body without fear of corpse poison backlash? To refine a Venerable’s corpse into himself would require not only extraordinarily high personal cultivation but also an exceptional forbidden art. In the entire universe, only one person possesses such a terrifying forbidden technique.”
The scholarly-robed elder smiled. “Yes, only the legendary first supreme of the Corpse clan, Yi Tianhuang, said to have lived nine lives. Only he could possibly have survived in some unfathomable way from two or three million years ago until now. So much time has passed that no one knows whether there is another mighty shadow behind Yu Hun. But it no longer matters.”
“Today we speak merely as idle chatter.”
“On Xing Tian Cliff, one may speak freely without fear of being overheard by any powerhouse,” Bai Qing’er said.
The scholarly-robed elder nodded. “Young friend Ruochen still has a third question!”
“My third question is very simple.”
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at him. “Old sir, who are you?”
“Me?”
The scholarly-robed elder stopped and gazed toward a patch of fiery-red dense forest nearby.
On the bare stone walls grew red trees, trunks thick as millstones, material like red copper. Instead of leaves, the trees bore fruits resembling crows, each wreathed in flames.
The scholarly-robed elder sighed. “It has been so long since I last saw this Red Crow Forest. At last, I have returned!”
Zhang Ruochen looked around and saw the red crow trees stretching endlessly, covering a vast area. In the distance, through layers of branches, he could glimpse white halls, caves, and strange pagodas.
He realised they had reached the summit of Xing Tian Cliff.
Thud! Thud! Thud…
The loud sound of chopping wood came from within the forest.
One red crow tree after another crashed to the ground!
Bai Qing’er smiled and quickened her pace toward the woods.
Zhang Ruochen hurried after her. Strangely, the scholarly-robed elder and the cyan-robed maiden also walked in that direction.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen saw the woodcutter.
An old woodcutter in a worn cyan-grey robe, thin and withered, face deeply wrinkled, carried a notched chopping axe and was speaking with Bai Qing’er.
Given Bai Qing’er’s usual aloof pride, before this old woodcutter she appeared gentle and obedient, without the slightest trace of arrogance.
Bai Qing’er introduced him to Zhang Ruochen. “This is my eldest senior brother!”
Thunder roared in Zhang Ruochen’s mind. He carefully studied the man, finding it hard to reconcile this honest, unassuming woodcutter with the renowned master of Xing Tian Cliff.
The Star-Sea Angler had taken only two disciples in his life.
Besides Bai Qing’er, there was only the master of Xing Tian Cliff.
It was said that the master of Xing Tian Cliff had followed the Star-Sea Angler since the latter’s youth and was an existence as ancient as his master.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart filled with reverence. He bowed. “Greetings, Cliff Master.”
“Just call me Eldest Senior Brother, like Qing’er does!”
The old woodcutter smiled warmly, then looked past Zhang Ruochen. “Wen Zhi has returned too! Is this your granddaughter?”
The scholarly-robed elder stepped forward and bowed deeply. “Greetings, Master. Tingting, this is your ancestral master!”
“Greetings, Ancestral Master.”
The cyan-robed maiden curtsied gracefully, somewhat nervous and shy.
Zhang Ruochen felt something odd. He glanced at Bai Qing’er, eyes questioning.
Bai Qing’er was equally surprised and gave a slight shake of her head, indicating she also did not know what was happening.
The old woodcutter saw their confusion. “Wen Zhi, this is Master’s newest disciple! He is your martial uncle.”
“Greetings, Martial Uncle,” the scholarly-robed elder bowed again.
Zhang Ruochen felt strangely uncomfortable. The scholarly-robed elder was clearly unfathomably profound in cultivation and far older than them, yet now he had to bow to a woman only a few thousand years old and become the junior.
Bai Qing’er’s generational rank truly was extraordinary.
The old woodcutter knew they were puzzled. “In my life, I formally accepted only one disciple: Wen Zhi! Six Yuanhui ago, after Wen Zhi entered the divine realm, he took Xing Tian Cliff’s place wandering the world and experiencing mortal dust. He returns only once every ten thousand years; sometimes tens of thousands pass before he comes back!”
Bai Qing’er said, “So that is how it is.”
The group walked toward the white buildings atop Xing Tian Cliff.
The old woodcutter carried a shoulder pole with two baskets of firewood, murky and vast inside, who knew how many logs they held.
Faintly, the cawing of crows could be heard from within the baskets.
Along the way, Zhang Ruochen finally learned the scholarly-robed elder’s full name: Xu Wen Zhi.
Thus, there was no need to ask the third question!
Seeing Zhang Ruochen repeatedly glance at the old woodcutter’s baskets, Bai Qing’er said, “Do you know the red crow tree is known as the most ferocious plant in the universe?”
At her reminder, Zhang Ruochen recalled and paled. Looking at the dense red crow trees around them, he asked, “Could it be that Eldest Senior Brother’s mental strength is suppressing them, preventing attack?”
Bai Qing’er replied, “Actually, the most terrifying aspect of the red crow tree is not the strength of any single tree. It is their sheer numbers and terrifying reproductive ability.”
“Once the red crow fruits ripen, their skins split, and fire crows fly out.”
“The red crow trees once covered the entire Xing Tian Cliff. Eldest Senior Brother chops them every day. He has chopped for a million years yet still has not cleared them all.”
Xu Wen Zhi added, “If Master did not chop daily, allowing the red crow trees to reproduce and their fire crows to fly across the universe and take root, it would not be long before the red crow tree clan became a great clan rivaling Hell’s ten clans. The living environment for all beings in the universe would grow far harsher.”
Bai Qing’er said, “Eldest Senior Brother’s aspiration is: until every red crow tree is felled, he will not descend Xing Tian Cliff. Master says that if Eldest Senior Brother fulfils this aspiration, he will reach the realm of perfect heavenly roundness.”
Zhang Ruochen’s reverence deepened.
Chopping trees was also cultivation, a tempering of mind and will.
Such monotonous practice was not something everyone could persist in day after day, year after year.
Arriving at Xing Tian Cliff, Bai Qing’er explained their purpose: they hoped the old woodcutter could help repair the Sundial.
The old woodcutter was agreeable. Upon seeing the Sundial, he immediately began examining and probing it.
Bai Qing’er whispered to Zhang Ruochen, “After Saint Monk Xumi fell, Eldest Senior Brother’s attainment in the Dao of Time is considered the foremost in the present age. Even the master of the Temple of Time may not surpass him.”
“In the Dao of Artifact Refining, Eldest Senior Brother has gone even further. Calling him half a supreme master of artifact refining would not be an overstatement.”
“If anyone in the world can repair the Sundial, it must be Eldest Senior Brother.”
