Legend of the Great Sage

In the Human realm, a five-sailed ship rose up on the horizon on the ocean, sailing along slowly.

The sails were blindingly white under the sun, taut and shaking with waves of heat, like a great white bird that carried the ship through the waves and over the ocean.

At a closer glance, there were many profound glyphs engraved on the railing that glimmered under the sunlight. That was why the sails could adjust automatically without any sailors or helmsman, constantly ensuring the greatest speed while remaining on track.

The people on the deck were all dressed in daoist robes and possessed striking demeanors, gathering in groups of three and five as they talked and laughed. They even brought many fruits and jerky with them as snacks on this joyful trip, temporarily leaving behind their day-to-day cultivation so that they could enjoy the sun and sea wind to their heart’s content.

Everything seemed so peaceful. An old man stood at the nose of the ship with his hands behind his back, except he gazed into the horizon with his brows furrowed.

Hearing his disciple’s laughter and conversations, he sighed inside. Sigh, the daemon star of misfortune, Yinghuo, has emerged. I wonder how much longer this can last. After this crisis, just how many of the disciples behind me can survive?

Let alone these disciples, even he was nothing compared to the crisis of the world with his bit of cultivation.

However, he was unable to tell anyone about these thoughts.

When they set off on this lengthy journey to Myriad city, he had only said to his disciples that he wanted to take them out to see the world, but in reality, he was considering how to get the entire Qingyang temple to join the Myriad sect.

Following the battle of Black Cloud city, the Myriad sect had sustained severe losses. They had been recruiting disciples far and wide the entire time, welcoming everybody. However, as a master of a sect, he could only qualify as an inner disciple.

He would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond, but without a great ship, he probably would not survive this great storm. Once he perished, then everything was over. He would not even be a fish anymore.

At this moment, he raised his eyebrows and looked back. “Lingxiaozi, go and call your junior sister Miaozhen. We’re almost at the Myriad sect. She can’t afford to miss out on this!”

“Yes, master.” A young, handsome daoist priest immediately cupped his fist and accepted the order with a bow of his head. He thought, Master sure does favour junior sister Miaozhen!

He made his way into the cabin quickly, and the surroundings immediately darkened. He only managed to find his way with the glow from his eyes. As he walked, the laughter and chatter from the deck gradually vanished as well. After taking several dozen steps, it was as if he had entered a tranquil world.

But that makes sense. She can still cultivate in peace in the cabin at a time like this. Using master’s words, her disposition and temperament is truly made for cultivation. It definitely wasn’t luck that she could undergo the second heavenly tribulation in such a short time. A sense of fervency suddenly overcame him, looking forward to seeing her.

In a quiet room within the depths of the cabins, a single lamp shone dimly, curling with smoke.

A female daoist priest sat on a cushion and meditated. Her body swayed gently with the waves, but her eyes were shut, and her expression was relaxed. She was completely unfazed, engrossed in cultivation.

“Junior sister Miaozhen, we’re almost at the Myriad sect. Master has told me to come and call you,” Lingxiaozi’s voice rang out from outside the door.

“Understood.” Yang Miaozhen opened her eyes slowly and said softly, “Thank you, senior brother. I’ll head over soon.” Her voice was like the trembling string of a zither, enchanting within the darkness, but indifferent just like her expression. She was like a noble and elegant zither, yet she did not search for anyone who understood her, playing a voice and sound that belonged to her alone.

“You’re welcome, junior sister.” Li Xiaozi was slightly disappointed, but he was unable to develop any feeling of discontent towards this junior sister Miaozhen.

A while later, Yang Miaozhen emerged from the cabin and arrived on the deck. The dazzling sunlight made her squint her eyes slightly. All she saw were her fellow disciples gathered at the front of the ship, gazing in the same direction.

It was the height of summer, where the proud sun burned like fire. The hot winds filled her face, while the sky and sea was wide and open. She could not help but warm up inside as well. Her mind opened with her horizons.

The rippling light bobbed and flickered with the seawater, extending to the end of the sea. The water evaporated and left the air hazy. At the end of the sky and sea, between the clouds and the heat waves, floated a magnificent, large city, like a mirage, a mystical settlement.

“That’s the Myriad sect…” Yang Miaozhen murmured. Even when she devoted herself to cultivation, where her emotions were impervious to most things, she could not help but become shocked by this sight. She suddenly smiled at herself. If he were here, he would definitely mock her for her limited view!

Then it turned into confidence. However, I’m no longer the same Yang Miaozhen as the past either!

When she ascended to the Human realm from the small world, it was like when she went from the cabin to the deck, seeing the vast ocean all of a sudden. Only then did she realise just how insignificant she had been back then, while the invincible “hero king” who shook up the world was merely a slightly stronger cultivator. He only seemed so powerful in the small world, but his true cultivation was not even close to her current master’s!

She could not help but look at the old man at the front of the ship. She clasped her hands and bowed, while the old man smiled and nodded back at her.

Her master, the Qingyang Master, was a Yin Soul cultivator who had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. He founded the Qingyang temple all by himself, but in the Human realm, that was only a small sect.

Yet, she heard that in the Myriad sect that they were about to reach—the mystical city at the end of the sky and sea—fourth heavenly tribulation cultivators could only become inner disciples. Only Yang Soul cultivators that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation could become direct disciples.

And that was only the disciples. Further up, there were the Human Immortal sect masters that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, as well as the grand sect master that was a True Immortal.

True Immortal—that was an unbelievable existence beyond what she could fathom, but it was also her life goal.

She wondered whether he was still trapped in the small world—no, with his abilities, he probably had broken free already! Perhaps he had already returned home to the World of the Nine Provinces he spoke of, or perhaps he had ascended to the six realms of saṃsāra. Perhaps he might be in the Human realm too! And perhaps she might meet him again some day.

Though, don’t even think about harassing me like before!

When Yang Miaozhen gazed into the distance and thought of the past, there were also others staring at her—her appearance without any makeup possessed a sense of allure by itself. Her hair was tied up, revealing her snowy-white neck, while her tall and slender figure made her graceful like a crane.

However, in her indiferent eyes, there would always be a feeling of gentleness, while her slender figure wrapped in daoist robes gave off a charm of maturity. That was the mark left behind from being a wife and a mother in the past, which was something that many people in the Qingyang temple refused to believe. They were also deeply impacted by it, struggling to imagine just what kind of man she had pledged herself to.

When she was asked, she only answered indifferently, without hiding anything, only wanting to reduce any potential problems.

No matter what kind of man he is, he’s already worlds apart from you. He won’t be able to keep up with your footsteps. He’s no longer worthy of you. The one who’ll remain by your side in the future will definitely be me. Lingxiaozi silently made up his mind and made his way over to Yang Miaozhen.

Yang Miaozhen sighed inside. Some problems would always be unavoidable.

After all, while the small world was not very large, those who could become the Ten Great Beauties were still at the standard of being the prettiest within several hundred thousand kilometres. Their views were limited, but they did end up developing a certain kind of bearing and confidence.

Meanwhile, she had managed to remain inside for twenty years without setting a single foot outside, devoting herself to cultivation and enlightenment in a world of thin spiritual qi where martial arts practitioners reigned supreme. Even regular Golden Core cultivators could not match her disposition.

With the two combined, her charms came forth naturally.

The ship gradually approached Myriad city, and the mystical city shrouded in mist gradually cleared up, becoming even grander.

“Junior sister Miaozhen, do you know what the most powerful cultivation method of the Myriad sect is?” Lingxiaozi began a conversation with her.

“It seems to be called the Myriad Heavenly Tomes,” Yang Miaozhen said in thought.

“That’s right. The Myriad Heavenly Tomes contains countless heavenly tomes. Every tome is enough for a person to become a Human Immortal.” Lingxiaozi could not help but show admiration as well. The cultivation method he practised right now was nowhere close to any of those heavenly tomes.

Yang Miaozhen listened intently. She was still someone who paid great concern to matters regarding cultivation. The other disciples gathered over as well.

Lingxiaozi became even more excited. “However, there’s another saying, that the Myriad Heavenly Tome itself is just one entity. It’s not just the name of the collection of heavenly tomes. It contains all the cultivation methods and paths the world has to offer. All of the heavenly tomes manifested from it. It’s exactly through this Myriad Heavenly Tome that the Myriad sect managed to remain so prosperous even after war.”

“It’s said that just recently, the Myriad sect fought the demonfolk in a great battle. The Demon domain sent an army of several million under the lead of twelve Demon Sovereigns and Demon God Taowu’s consciousness descended. The battle was extremely intense. Even half of the Yang Soul direct disciples perished. They were almost annihilated. They completely relied on their first senior brother Li Qingshan to force back Demon God Taowu, which allowed them to save the situation.”

He was not bold enough to compare himself to the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, but he still was a first senior brother after all!

“What!?” Yang Miaozhen widened her eyes. She was stunned.