As the agreed day drew near, Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng finished counting the things Yue Yao needed and set off for Bihai Taohua Island.

When they passed through Yongning City, they intentionally lingered there for a while and replenished some supplies.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few cultivators of various levels.

Most of these cultivators were carrying weapons, their expressions cold and serious, moving quickly through the streets.

As a materials hub, Yongning City was always bustling, but the atmosphere now felt different, with a more ominous air.

Chu Xinghui exchanged a glance with Xie Liufeng, who took his hand and, along with a large sack, walked into a nearby tea stall.

They found a spot to sit, and Xie Liufeng glanced at the simple menu, casually ordered a pot of tea and a few other items, and subtly asked the stall owner: “It seems very busy in Yongning City lately.”

The stall owner couldn’t help but glance at the large sack they were carrying and explained: “Well, a lot of people are here because of Bihai Taohua Island.”

Xie Liufeng continued asking: “But didn’t Bihai Taohua Island announce its closure already?”

The stall owner sighed: “That’s right. Many cultivators have been stuck here because they can’t find the island. There are still plenty of people searching for its exact location.”

“Bihai Taohua Island’s actions have become public, so saying they closed the island at this time just seems like they’re trying to avoid responsibility,” the stall owner added. His usually cheerful face, which always wore a smile, now showed a bit of disgust: “If you ask me, Bihai Taohua Island’s people were already hiding and showing their heads only briefly. Who knows, they might have been a demonic sect all along, afraid to show themselves and get exposed.”

After grumbling, the stall owner remembered his duties and shook his head as he went to prepare the things they had ordered.

The matter concerning the Destiny Book was related to everyone in this world. To maintain stability and prevent malicious people from causing trouble, the details of the situation hadn’t been widely spread. However, now that various sects were taking action, some background information was inevitably leaking out.

Even if the different forces could temporarily avoid taking a clear stance on Bihai Taohua Island, the cultivators’ opinions were uncontrollable, and they would inevitably intensify with time.

Xie Liufeng used spiritual power to clean the teacup on the table and placed a clean cup in front of Chu Xinghui: “Earlier, it didn’t feel real, but now, seeing all this, Bihai Taohua Island’s fate is indeed urgent.”

No wonder Yue Yao had hurriedly contacted them as soon as they returned to the sect.

Chu Xinghui looked at the cultivators moving around not far away: “Even if we solve the issue of Bihai Taohua Island helping to steal the world’s fortune, the island’s future days won’t be easy.”

Xie Liufeng shook his head: “That will be something Bihai Taohua Island will have to deal with themselves in the future.”

The two didn’t speak further, focusing on waiting for the stall owner to bring the tea.

After a while, Chu Xinghui began to feel a bit bored.

He glanced around and dragged a small plate of peanuts, a complimentary item for every table, towards himself. He took out the peanuts, neatly arranged them in three rows with three peanuts each, and was quite pleased with the result.

Chu Xinghui admired his handiwork for a moment.

Xie Liufeng, also feeling quite bored, noticed the peanuts on the table and began to peel and eat them.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He quietly took a few more peanuts from the plate and silently filled the gaps where Xie Liufeng had taken them.

Then Xie Liufeng reached over again and took the peanuts he had just placed.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He stared at Xie Liufeng with a deep gaze.

Xie Liufeng, feeling the weight of his gaze, turned around and fed him the peanuts he had peeled earlier.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He pushed the entire plate towards Xie Liufeng and lowered his head, silently eating the peanuts.

After finishing the tea, the two of them didn’t linger in the city. They continued heading east, eventually arriving at the sea.

Just as the stall owner had said, many cultivators were searching the sea for the traces of Bihai Taohua Island.

Xie Liufeng and Chu Xinghui didn’t disturb these cultivators. Following the route Yue Yao had given them, they took a different path, finally stopping at a quiet stretch of sea.

Chu Xinghui took out the fan pendant, which served as a token, and tossed it into the sea.

A whirlpool suddenly appeared on the calm surface of the water.

Xie Liufeng casually tossed the large sack he was carrying into the whirlpool as well and looked at Chu Xinghui: “Shall we go?”

Chu Xinghui nodded, and the two jumped into the whirlpool together.

The moment they entered the whirlpool, they were gently enveloped by a formation.

When they passed through the formation and landed, they found a young disciple in the attire of Bihai Taohua Island waiting for them.

Chu Xinghui first looked around at the surroundings.

The island’s scenery wasn’t much different from the illusionary Bihai Taohua Island he’d seen earlier. A few scattered disciples walked among the peach blossoms, giving off a peaceful and beautiful vibe.

The young disciple, holding the fan pendant Chu Xinghui had tossed into the sea, bowed slightly and asked: “Are you guests invited by the Senior Sister?”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “Exactly.”

The young disciple sighed in relief, returned the pendant to Chu Xinghui, and respectfully gestured: “Please follow me.”

He led them toward Yue Yao’s residence.

However, before they reached the place, they could already hear soft sobs.

A slightly shorter young girl stood at Yue Yao’s door, crying softly.

Chu Xinghui looked at the familiar figure and couldn’t help but ask the disciple next to him: “…Who is this?”

The young disciple looked a bit awkward and hesitated: “You two should recognize her. She is… the former island master of Bihai Taohua Island, uh… now she’s Senior Sister’s ‘apprentice’.”

To be precise, Yue Yao had sealed off Cultivator Biyun memories and unilaterally assigned her the identity of an apprentice.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He couldn’t help but feel concerned about Yue Yao’s mental state.

It seemed like Yue Yao had been disturbed by the sobbing outside, as she finally opened the door and stepped out.

Looking down, she saw the girl at the door and showed a smile full of malice: “Ah, isn’t this Little Yun? Why are you crying at my doorstep?”

Biyun, her eyes full of tears, looked at the person who had come out: “They all say… that my master doesn’t treat me well, that it’s not to train me but because she dislikes me. Is that true?”

Yue Yao bent down, affectionately rubbing her nose, and smiled as she responded: “Yes, of course, Master dislikes Little Yun the most.”

Biyun’s tears welled up and she ran off, crying.

Yue Yao happily wiped her hands and looked up to see Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng walking toward her. She greeted them enthusiastically: “Oh, you two are right on time.”

She noticed the large sack they brought and raised an eyebrow. Using her fan to cover half her face, she said in a teasing tone: “You could’ve just come, no need to bring gifts.”

Chu Xinghui opened the sack, revealing the unconscious bodies of Xie Huai and the mouse he was carrying, and succinctly said: “The two items you asked for.”

Yue Yao: “…”

The three of them exchanged looks, all feeling that the situation was quite ridiculous.

Chu Xinghui recalled the person who had just run off and couldn’t help but confirm: “Was that Cultivator Biyun?”

Yue Yao nodded without hesitation: “Yes. I mixed her broken soul with some of the black mist to create this thing. But since her soul isn’t complete, she can only last a year or two at most… It was a bit rushed, but the time should be enough.”

Chu Xinghui looked at Yue Yao, feeling more and more speechless: “…I thought you, Cultivator Yue, would have sent her on her way long ago.”

Yue Yao shook her head in disagreement with such a simplistic and crude approach: “That would be too boring. My master has been plotting for so many years, she should have a fitting end.”

She had her own aesthetic for Cultivator Biyun’s death.

Chu Xinghui dared not interfere with her taste and could only respect her preferences, though reluctantly.

Yue Yao chuckled lightly, finally shifting the topic to something more serious: “Alright, no more nonsense. I invited both of you here for business. Please, follow me.”

She took the sack they had brought and led the way ahead.

Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng followed behind Yue Yao. The farther they walked, the more familiar the scenery around them became.

Sure enough, Yue Yao stopped in front of a familiar wooden building.

The wooden building had three floors, its exterior dull and unremarkable. However, the wood used to construct the building appeared to be extraordinary, with different patterns carved into every exposed piece of wood.

Yue Yao observed the expressions on the faces of the two men and seemed to notice something: “It seems like both of you have been here before?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t hide anything: “We came here previously, in the illusion of the Cultivator Fu Guan. He mentioned that this is the ‘spiritual eye’ of Bihai Taohua Island.”

Yue Yao turned around and began drawing the symbols to open the door: “Mm, my master was right. This is indeed the spiritual eye of Bihai Taohua Island.”

As she worked, she continued explaining: “Neither of you are diviners, so the concept of ‘spiritual eye’ might be hard to grasp. To put it simply, the entire Bihai Taohua Island can be considered a spiritual tool that assists all disciples in cultivation, and the spiritual eye is the tool spirit that remains stationary.”

“You should recall that I mentioned before, my master’s ability to maintain a ‘living’ form depends on something unusual… what she relies on is precisely this place.” Yue Yao scoffed, half-jokingly, half-complaining: “Honestly, everyone treats Bihai Taohua Island like their personal tool, and in the end, I’m the only one left cleaning up their mess.”

She didn’t wish to dwell on it and waved her hand to push open the door, inviting them inside: “Come on in.”

Unlike the mess of altars in the illusion, the interior of the wooden building was empty, except for a table and several chairs that Yue Yao had prepared in advance.

The three of them sat down, and Yue Yao got straight to the point: “Did you bring the master’s tool spirit with you?”

Xie Liufeng placed the transparent ball on the table: “Here.”

The Cultivator Fu Guan, trapped in the ball for such a long time, had become much more cautious. His gaze slowly swept over Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng, his old acquaintances, before landing on Yue Yao, who he had never seen before.

Yue Yao respectfully introduced herself: “Master, I am the current island master of Bihai Taohua Island.”

Seeing her respectful attitude, Fu Guan felt a glimmer of hope and adopted a lofty, immortal-like demeanor: “Since you are a younger generation of Bihai Taohua Island, you should understand what needs to be done, right? If you release me, I will not mistreat my own descendants.”

Yue Yao watched him with a curious smile, finding the situation quite amusing.

Fu Guan slowly began to sense that something was wrong. Before he could say anything, Yue Yao suddenly reached out and pushed the transparent ball, sending it rolling back and forth. She laughed, causing the ball to spin around and Fu Guan to tumble inside: “Master, what makes you think you still have a say here?”

The instigator deserves no burial.

Xie Liufeng, seeing the ball roll back to Chu Xinghui’s side, felt it was bad luck and reached out to push it back to Yue Yao: “Since it’s your island’s master, you should keep it.”

Fu Guan, dizzy from being pushed around, nearly cursed out loud.

Yue Yao retrieved the ball and placed it next to herself. She wiped the smile off her face and began explaining her plan: “I recently asked a few seniors skilled in crafting spatial magical tools to embed a cave world inside a holy object. I will send the entire Bihai Taohua Island into that small world within the holy object, cutting off the Book of Fate’s ability to monitor it, and stopping it from siphoning the fate of this realm through the island.”

She fiddled with the ball again: “However, as Cultivator Chu said, before the contract between Bihai Taohua Island and the Book of Fate is severed, all the disciples of the island rely on the Book of Fate for their life force. So I need to put something inside that small world to replace the Book of Fate and supply life force to the disciples of the island. The Book of Fate itself is in the upper realm, and originally, there was nothing that could be done. But as luck would have it, its tool spirit still desires to become a true god and managed to sneak back into this realm… how convenient, this is a perfect opportunity.”

Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng were still contemplating the feasibility of her plan when Cultivator Fu Guan, who had been tumbling in the ball, suddenly shouted in protest: “No! You can’t do this!”

He was unusually panicked.

He had considered many ways these people might deal with him, but he had never actually been afraid.

But the situation was different now. He was not an ordinary tool spirit created by regular means. If his energy was completely exhausted and he lost contact with his true form… he would die. He truly would die!

However, he had no right to oppose. Yue Yao shot him a cold glance and sealed off the mouth of the ball.

She continued explaining: “Once I take action, Bihai Taohua Island will temporarily ‘disappear’ from this realm. Only when the tool spirit’s power is completely exhausted, and it can no longer maintain that small world, will the island reappear in this realm.”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and asked: “If Bihai Taohua Island reappears in this realm and the issue with the Book of Fate is still unresolved, what will we do?”

Yue Yao turned to Chu Xinghui and gave a faint smile: “That will be up to you two. If the matter isn’t resolved before the deadline, then it will be the fate of Bihai Taohua Island. I’ve done everything I can. Though I may not be a saint of righteousness, at least in terms of Bihai Taohua Island, I can say I’ve acted with a clear conscience. After that… it won’t be my responsibility.”

Her words sounded odd, and Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but frown as he looked at her.

Yue Yao, however, didn’t elaborate further and changed the topic: “To ensure that Bihai Taohua Island’s magic works at its maximum potential and to minimize the chances of failure, we’ll need to wait for an auspicious day. The action won’t take place for another two days. In the meantime, we have time to attend to something else—let’s try searching the soul of my extraordinarily lucky master.”

Upon hearing this, Cultivator Fu Guan inside the transparent ball became frantic.

He had been sealed off from speaking, and now he could only desperately struggle inside the ball, attempting to express his resistance.

But no one paid him any mind.

This was part of the agreed-upon payment, and Yue Yao had already prepared the necessary items. She quickly set them up on the table, then took out an array plate inscribed with complex formations. She placed the transparent ball containing Cultivator Fu Guan at the center of the formation.

Yue Yao turned to Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng, saying: “Please place your hands on the formation. If successful, we can all observe the results of the soul search.”

Chu Xinghui looked at Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng gave a slight nod, and the two of them followed Yue Yao’s instructions, placing their hands on the formation.

Yue Yao quickly activated the formation.

Her year of study proved fruitful, as, after a moment, the three of them were able to witness Cultivator Fu Guan’s memories.

Everyone was already aware that the Book of Fate had come from the East Sea and had been intercepted and used by Cultivator Fu Guan to forge his own life artifact. As for how smug he had been back then, no one was particularly interested in reliving that part.

Yue Yao swiftly skipped past this segment and continued searching for more relevant information.

The Heavenly Dao’s fairness meant that the punishment of heavenly thunder, which caused death and the obliteration of one’s soul, was a severe consequence. Simply harboring greed and turning the Book of Fate into his own life artifact wouldn’t necessarily provoke the wrath of the Heavenly Dao, unless Cultivator Fu Guan had done something else.

And indeed, that was the case.

At first, Cultivator Fu Guan had merely used the Book of Fate’s powers to calculate the fates of people in this realm and hadn’t done anything particularly outrageous.

But one day, a great being, who had been told of a looming death calamity by Fu Guan, brought a rare treasure and begged him to alter their fate.

This treasure was precisely what Cultivator Fu Guan had been searching for, without success, for years.

As the owner of the Book of Fate, Cultivator Fu Guan knew far more than most, and he knew exactly how to alter a fate.

Thus, he tricked one of his newly accepted disciples into offering up their luck, using it to change the fate of the great being. After the alteration, the great being successfully avoided the death calamity, while the disciple, on the other hand, tragically drowned in the sea the very next day and was never seen again.

Once desire opened a door, it became impossible to close it.

According to the Book of Fate’s records, Cultivator Fu Guan himself had no fate for ascension.

Thus, he began stealing fortunes from all over, hoping to alter the Book of Fate to grant him a destiny for ascension.

And he succeeded.

But on the day Cultivator Fu Guan finally achieved what he desired, changing his fate in the Book of Fate, he had a dream.

In that dream, a divine sword descended from the sky, piercing through him, and the heavenly ladder was severed by the sword.

For a diviner, such a dream was no different from a prophecy.

Upon waking, Cultivator Fu Guan immediately searched for the divine sword and located 9,999 deadly blades, suppressing the one that would inevitably pierce his heart.

He didn’t dare waste any time and immediately began searching for a chance to ascend.

But Cultivator Fu Guan had committed too many vile acts by using the Book of Fate, and before he could find his ascension opportunity, the Heavenly Dao’s retribution thunder struck first.

The retribution thunder would strike for a total of seventy-seven days and nights, ensuring complete death and soul obliteration.

By some twist of fate, the thunder that struck Cultivator Fu Guan happened to be of the same origin as the thunder that had been resonating in the exile lands.

The exile lands were a prison for the pseudo-gods, isolated from all worlds. This was an extremely rare occurrence that allowed the exile lands to reconnect with another world.

The people in the exile lands, using every means possible, had carefully crafted an evil technique, sent to Cultivator Fu Guan through the thunder, allowing him to refine himself into the tool spirit of the Book of Fate. Once completed, the Book of Fate would also fall into the exile lands, following the same path as the thunder.

The rest of the events unfolded as expected. Cultivator Fu Guan, who had once dared to turn the Book of Fate into his personal life artifact for his own gain, later dared to learn the evil technique sent from the upper realm to preserve his life.

Even though he clearly understood that once the Book of Fate was taken to the upper realm, it could bring both blessings and disasters to this realm.

Through Cultivator Fu Guan’s memories, the three of them finally glimpsed the “upper realm” for the first time.

It was a truly barren land, struck by heavenly thunder every day, from beginning to end.

The pseudo-gods, who had achieved eternal life, would also receive the eternal punishment of the Heavenly Dao’s thunder.

Everyone in the exile lands, without exception, longed for the day when they could become true gods and ascend to the real upper realm.

Thus, all their attention turned to the one link between the exile lands and the lower realm—an unfortunate connection that had opened between the two.

A normal lower realm would continuously produce destinies that could lead to ascension, and among them, the destiny of the Heavenly Dao’s child was the most stable, the perfect candidate to replace a god and ascend.

Everything changed into a reachable possibility when Old Zheng accidentally created a loophole in the Heavenly Ladder.

Cultivator Fu Guan, hiding in the Book of Fate, closely monitored the Heavenly Dao’s child.

The name on the Book of Fate had appeared far before the birth of the individual.

Xie Liufeng’s page had glowed with golden light but was quickly locked by chains… Cultivator Fu Guan waited for 500 years until another page glowed with golden light—the name “Chu Xinghui” appeared.

The birth of a Heavenly Dao child signified a destiny that could absolutely lead to godhood.

Before anyone could descend into the lower realm, the people in the exile lands, who had been eyeing this new Heavenly Dao child, first clashed with one another.

Cultivator Fu Guan, hidden in the Book of Fate, silently watched everything unfold.

He was unwilling to remain a mere tool spirit, unwilling to be controlled by the pseudo-gods in the exile lands forever.

He wanted to become a god.

At the beginning, when he was still in Bihai Taohua Island, he had thoughts of ascension. Even after countless years, although he had lost his human form and identity, his ambition remained unchanged.

Thus, he resorted to trickery, helping the most foolish and powerless person—Qin Suyun—to exploit a loophole.

At that time, the loopholes in the Heavenly Ladder were rare, but with the help of the Book of Fate, a passage to the lower realm had opened, though it only allowed one person to descend at a time.

This quota was taken by Qin Suyun, and the others could only wait.

And he had absolute confidence in Qin Suyun’s abilities.

As long as this opportunity was handed to Qin Suyun, she could find a thousand ways to ruin everything.

And he was just a tool spirit—not a human, but with the benefits of not being human. For example, when Qin Suyun used the power of the Fate Book to descend to the mortal realm, he could descend with her.

As long as he could catch the Son of Heaven or obtain the divine name made by the previous pseudo-god… he still had a way to become a god.

After that, everything would be simple. After Fu Guan descended, he first tried to activate the broken divine names, but those divine names were sealed by the bones of Xie Liufeng, and he couldn’t get close. So, he had to try another method, hiding in Changyang Mountain and waiting for the arrival of the Son of Heaven… Until today, his dream was shattered. He was locked in the ball and was about to become an important material to help Yue Yao protect Bihai Taohua Island.

…

Yue Yao released her grip.

The act of peeking into the upper world was still too much of a strain for the people of this world. Her face turned pale as gold paper, and she began to vomit blood on the spot.

Chu Xinghui handed her a bottle of pills.

Yue Yao trembled as she took the pill bottle, popped a few pills into her mouth, and closed her eyes to adjust her breathing. After a long while, she finally recovered.

Xie Liufeng glanced at the person inside the transparent ball and couldn’t help but sigh: “A life full of evil deeds.”

Yue Yao caught her breath, then sneered: “Indeed. Thanks to the founder, this life of his is about to end.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t speak. He threw the transparent ball onto the ground, and it rolled for a while.

Such a thing being alive was a misfortune for everyone.

 

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