Chapter 491 Part 2

Chapter 491 Part 2: The Last Member of the Qiao Family (2)

The prisoner, a fisherman by birth, had messy hair but bright eyes, and he did not seem very afraid.

He was the first dark pawn used by the Soul Predicting Path, and his talent was indeed remarkable. At this time, he had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining, about to begin Foundation Building.

"Be careful, this is a dangerous criminal being sent to the Zhong Province Imperial Capital," whispered the leader of the Flying Fish Guard to the official beside him.

"After more than a year, the inhumans of Southeast Province are starting to rise again. This is serious…"

"This criminal with the surname Yu was originally a fisherman, and has not yet reached Foundation Building. He is not very important, and it would be easy to kill him, but he is likely just a pawn of the Immortal Gate behind the scenes… He should be sent to the Imperial Capital for Lord Wei to interrogate."

"If we can root out the inhumans behind this… it would be a great thing."

The prisoner transport slowly moved forward, and as they reached the long street at the city gate, more and more people lined the sides of the street.

"The great calamity is coming, the dark tide has arrived, and the foolish king wants to persecute the heavenly master and living gods at this time…"

"When the temples are abandoned, and the statues are toppled, and when people no longer sincerely believe in the gods, that is when the end times will come. At that time, evil spirits will cause chaos, and the world will feel like a prison."

"The heavenly master uses talisman water to help people, to save them from suffering… He is a truly good person…"

The Flying Fish Guard escorting the prison cart frowned deeply upon hearing this, but he only ordered the soldiers to push the crowd away.

Since the Inhuman War over forty years ago, the faith of the Nine Immortal Gates has taken root in Jiu Province.

Over decades of growth, this faith has become ingrained in people’s hearts, and even though there has been destruction of mountains and temples in the past couple of years, many followers still remain.

It does not show on ordinary days, but as soon as a cultivator shows even a little bit of sanctity…

The Flying Fish Guard realized this and felt a sudden chill; dark winds began to blow, and dark clouds covered the sky.

He instinctively drew his sword, but saw countless shadowy figures with green faces and sharp teeth flying towards him, surging like a tide.

"I should seek help from the Imperial Capital… or perhaps from Peach Blossom Villa… Where is the Qiao family member?" The Flying Fish Guard’s eyes widened as a green-faced ghost pierced through his back, tearing him in half.

"Evil spirits are causing chaos; the world feels like a prison." The cultivator named Yu in the prison cart watched the soldiers and the Flying Fish Guard struggle in a fierce battle, seeing Baichuan City turn into a place of ghostly horrors.

"When the Savior returns to the world, evil spirits will naturally disappear."

He stood beside the corpse of the Flying Fish Guard, emitting a faint halo around him. Wherever he went, all evil spirits melted away like snow under the warm spring sun, as if a compassionate sage had descended to the mortal realm.

Thus, the followers on both sides naturally knelt down one after another, praising the holy name with their lips.

The cultivator of the Yu clan pressed his hand on his heart, feeling his heartbeat thumping in his chest, yet his expression remained calm and unchanging.

Since the start of the Inhuman War, the Nine Immortal Gates have had plenty of experience over the past forty years in how to quickly gather incense and manipulate the hearts of ordinary people.

In the teachings he explained on behalf of the Soul Predicting Path, it was clear that the martial artist disrespects the gods, disregards the heavens, and defies the earth by blaspheming the celestial beings and destroying the temples… this is evidently part of the "great calamity of the end times."

When faith is blasphemed and rituals fall apart, the gods will naturally withdraw their protection!

Previously, the Immortal Gate withdrew from the mortal realm simply because the rough and careless mortals angered the gods, returning them to the heavens; this was part of the calamity.

When faith weakens, great disasters arrive, and the world transforms into a realm of evil spirits.

Only by gathering faith again and serving the saving divine beings can we naturally overcome all difficulties…

Among the many gathered believers…

Perhaps some pretend to believe, and some do not believe, but that is not important.

When the world turns into a haunted place, trapped in fire and water, people will naturally pray to the gods.

Once this great situation is established and the incense returns, the Soul Predicting Path cultivators will quickly regain their strength, and then they will come back again…

………………………

The eighth month after Qiao Mu left.

The Soul Predicting Path, one of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates, has returned to the human world.

Although the other Immortal Gates have also hidden away in a small world, they, like the Soul Predicting Path, have left secret messages in the great world of Jiu Province.

During these eight months, although they might not fully understand the actions of the Soul Predicting Path, they have a general idea in their hearts.

Therefore.

Within a few months, one by one, the Immortal Gates returned.

When Qiao Mu left the Great World of Jiu Province for a year.

The four great Immortal Gates: Soul Predicting Path, Long Life Gate, Tongtian Sword Sect, and Liangyi Sect, had all returned to the human world.

As for the five great Immortal Gates such as Great Dao Sect and Qingxuan Road, they had been completely uprooted by the Qiao family members and removed from Jiu Province.

……………………..

In the Imperial Capital of Zhong Province.

When Founding Emperor Yan saw the intelligence reports from the Flying Fish Guard, arriving like snowflakes from all over Jiu Province in the Imperial Study, he could not help but feel overwhelmed.

He was quite close to the Qiao family members.

So he naturally knew that the unbeatable Qiao Yao was indeed, as the rumors said, no longer in the world.

"No matter how loud the reputation, if it stays hidden for too long, it cannot solely rely on fame to keep the Immortal Gate under control for a long time."

"Those Immortal Sect Leaders are not fools; they will eventually understand the truth."

"But for now…"

Founding Emperor Yan squinted his eyes.

At first, it was the Soul Predicting Path.

Then, there were the Long Life Gate, Tongtian Sword Sect, and Liangyi Sect.

Now, among the four great Immortal Gates returning to the world.

The Soul Predicting Path is the strongest. They not only hid early, but even before the five Immortal Gates attacked Peach Blossom Villa, they had already withdrawn from the world, so the cultivators in their sect suffered the fewest casualties.

The Long Life Gate and Tongtian Sword Sect follow closely behind.

The leaders of these two sects are still alive.

The Liangyi Sect is located in a remote area, has weaker strength, and its leader was already killed by Qiao Shuangtu, making it the weakest among the four Immortal Gates.

But after all… this is one of the four great Immortal Gates.

Even if they secluded themselves for a year, there are still three Soul Changing Taoist Lords alive.

Without the Qiao family members, who else in the Jiu Province could stand against the Soul Changing Taoist Lords?

"Ancestor…" the young Emperor Wuping spoke at this moment.

"Should we send messengers to Nan Province Peach Blossom Villa?"

"The Qiao family has always valued loyalty over life and dares to be the first in the world. They have a fierce rivalry with the Immortal Gate. If they see the Soul Predicting Path and the Immortal Gate rising again, they will surely not stand by."

The Founding Emperor Yan looked surprised.

Ever since more than six months ago, when he took Emperor Wuping to witness the fall of the Great Dao Sect and saw the impressive presence of the Qiao family.

Naturally, Emperor Wuping was also awed by the extraordinary courage of the Qiao family from the past.

Today, when the Immortal Gate rises again, the first person that comes to this young emperor’s mind for help is the Qiao family.

However, Founding Emperor Yan frowned.

"Qiao Yao has already left on the Sky Piercing River, going against the current, and has disappeared with the ancestors of the Immortal Gate. There has been no news of them since."

"But the Qiao family must have other strong members, right?" Emperor Wuping did not think it was unreasonable and continued:

"The Qiao family has a rich heritage and is not inferior to any of the Immortal Gate’s sides. They have many top martial artists."

"At first, the Tide Listening Building had to stop issuing the Martial Arts Ranking List because there were too many strong members of the Qiao family. Otherwise, the Martial Arts Ranking List might have all belonged to Qiao."

"It didn’t take a peerless master like Qiao Shuangtu or Senior Qiao Yao to act; any hidden member of the Qiao family could easily sweep away all opponents."

Founding Emperor Yan turned to look at Emperor Wuping and remained silent.

In fact, many people shared the same thoughts as Emperor Wuping.

Court officials, local officers, and common people… many held this belief.

In reality, during this counterattack by the Immortal Gate, apart from the areas affected like the Southeast Province, others did not take it too seriously.

When the sky falls, tall figures are watching.

And the members of the Qiao family had already risen to great heights.

Since Qiao Shuangtu swept through Jiu Province and became invincible on Earth, starting from when Qiao Yao killed the founder of the Great Dao Sect and brought down the secretly leading Zhong Province Immortal Gate…

The once Immortal Gate seemed like nothing more than rubble in the eyes of those who knew the truth.

The Qiao family member is too powerful.

So much so that many believe Qiao Yao broke through the void and ascended to a higher realm.

But Founding Emperor Yan had some worries.

"I will leave the palace for a while, and it will take some time for me to return," said Founding Emperor Yan, glancing at the Human Emperor Sword at his waist.

"Does the ancestor plan to visit Peach Blossom Villa and meet Lord Qiao Xin?" Emperor Wuping quickly asked.

Founding Emperor Yan did not speak, only quietly left, with a troubled look on his face.

During the battle for the destruction of the Great Dao Sect.

When he heard the storyteller at Tide Listening Building chatting, saying that the Qiao family member had such high momentum that someday even if they fabricated a story about the Qiao family member popping out from the cracks in stones every day, people would still believe it…

A question began to echo in the mind of Founding Emperor Yan.

"Is it possible that the mysterious and unpredictable Qiao family has endless people?"

…………………………..

At first, not many people paid attention to the temples that reappeared in various states of Jiu Province.

The Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates had nearly perished, and the remaining ones were just insignificant, like a minor illness.

Whenever any strong member of the Qiao family took action, they could suppress the decline of belief in the four great Immortal Gates once again.

They just needed to wait for a hidden member of the Qiao family to catch wind of the situation, and then they could turn the tide once more, stepping on the four great Immortal Gates.

Just as the Qiao family members had done countless times before.

However, as time passed, the number of temples in places like Southeast Province gradually increased, but the famous member of the Qiao family did not appear.

A few months later.

On Tongtian Mountain in Northwest Prefecture, a major event occurred, shaking both the Immortal Gate cultivators and the mortal martial artists.

The founder of the Great Yan, who was over three hundred years old, used the Human Emperor Sword to defeat the leader of the Tongtian Sword Sect.

Although victorious, he returned heavily injured.

When the news spread, the people of Jiu Province were naturally excited.

However, when the news reached the ears of the Soul Predicting Path leader in the small world.

He laughed loudly on the mountaintop in the small world.

"This is where their skills end."

"Why does the sect leader laugh?" The other disciples in the small world were very surprised.

The Soul Changing Taoist Lord, before he entered the small world at the Immortal Gate, was the strongest cultivator in the human realm.

In today’s time, there are only three people left.

With the Immortal Gate masters gone and the Soul Changing Taoist Lord killed by Founding Emperor Yan, this is undoubtedly a great shock to all of the Immortal Gate.

However, the Soul Predicting Path Lord laughed loudly, and his reaction was very different from what they expected.

"Ha! Who doesn’t know about the terror of the Human Emperor Sword?" the Soul Predicting Path Lord could not stop laughing.

"In the past, after the Human Emperor Sword showed its power in Zhong Province, every one of the Nine Immortal Gates, including the Zhong Province Great Dao Sect, avoided its sharpness and instead supported the Martial Arts King to establish the Earthly Immortal Kingdom, breaking apart Jiu Province and dividing the followers."

"What was this for? Was it not just to avoid a direct confrontation with Founding Emperor Yan, who held the Human Emperor Sword?"

"When Jiu Province was filled with smoke from battles, with the people angry and complaining, and the Earthly Immortal Kingdom rising everywhere, the Great Yan Imperial Court naturally existed in name only, with Zhong Province being the only place left—if not for the Qiao family members."

"At that time, the power of the Human Emperor Sword would naturally vanish, losing its sharpness and becoming no longer threatening."

"The founder of the Flame Kingdom clearly understood this truth. Throughout the years he held the Human Emperor Sword, he rarely used it lightly…"

"Until today!"

The Soul Predicting Path lord could not help but smile, his joy was completely evident.

"The Human Emperor Sword is his last resort. Now that he has even used the Human Emperor Sword, and the Qiao family members are still nowhere to be seen, it naturally indicates one thing…"

"My initial guess was indeed true: that martial arts Qiao family has most likely vanished for good."

Speaking of this,

The Soul Predicting Path lord was filled with pride. He activated the teleportation array within the small world, intending to step out and return to the human realm.

"Have you thought carefully, sect leader? If this small world has no sect leader to oversee it, it might be easy to enter but hard to leave…" the other cultivators advised.

"No need for more words, my mind is made up," the Soul Predicting Path lord said impatiently.

After the Qiao family members disappeared along with the Immortal Gate master, there have been no top warriors above the Tao Achieving Stage left in the great world of Jiu Province.

The Founding Emperor Yan defeated the leader of the Tongtian Sword Sect and returned badly injured.

This also means…

As the Soul Predicting Path Lord, without realizing it, he has survived in this small world just by leaning back, becoming one of the only two Soul Changing Taoist Lords in the great world of Jiu Province!

In both the human realm and the cultivation world of Jiu Province, he is one of the only two strongest beings!

"My time is about to come; perhaps this is a chance for me to become an immortal… If I am a moment too late and the leader of Long Life Gate gets ahead, I will truly regret it!"

In the past, the common people in the Jiu Province could create nine Soul Changing Taoist Lords and over a hundred Nascent Soul Immortals.

So, if he, the Soul Predicting Path Lord, absorbs the remaining Immortal Gates, in this era without Qiao, he could become the only super Immortal Gate on the land of Jiu Province…

Then, this Soul Predicting Path Lord might be able to gather the offerings of all mortals, raising his immortal abilities to be on par with the master, or even surpassing the master!

He was naturally eager!

"The sect leader really doesn’t want to think it over, perhaps you should try a divination?"

"Divination? Nonsense! If divination worked, Patriarch Tianshu would not still be missing. Besides, anything related to the Qiao family is likely to be uncertain!"

"The path to greatness is competitive; one slow step means falling behind. Today is the day I, from the Soul Predicting Path, surpass the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and become the only Immortal Gate in the world!"

From this day on, all cultivators of the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate returned to the human realm!

…………………………….

Early winter.

A thin layer of white snow covered the palace, and the air was filled with a chilling cold; it was the season where breath turned to frost.

The orange sun hung high in the cloudy sky, but it brought little warmth. The palace maids and eunuchs walked about in padded clothing, shivering slightly from time to time.

Emperor Wuping looked quite well, his face rosy and his steps light and strong.

Although he was still young, under the direct supervision of Founding Emperor Yan, he had trained in martial arts and now reached the 8th rank, with a strong and agile body, not easily afraid of the cold or heat.

"Leave it to me, I will do it myself."

Emperor Wuping took a bowl of steaming medicine from the hand of a palace maid and walked into the sleeping chamber of Founding Emperor Yan.

"Ancestor, it’s time to take the medicine."

"Hmm, just leave it there for now." Founding Emperor Yan lay on his sickbed, coughed lightly, and looked up.

At this moment, Founding Emperor Yan was no longer as imposing as before; he only looked a bit pale, but his spirit was lively, and his eyes shone remarkably.

As the Medicine Spirit Body, as long as there was enough spiritual medicine and he didn’t suffer any life-threatening injuries, he could recover quickly.

Although he nearly died in Tongtian Mountain and suffered severe injuries.

But in just half a month, his injuries were almost completely healed.

For a martial arts genius like Founding Emperor Yan, fighting and winning against the Soul Changing Taoist Lord was a rare experience that was very beneficial.

It will surely be useful next time!

However, Founding Emperor Yan clearly did not feel well.

The Human Emperor Sword was hanging on the wall opposite the bed, with a dusty yellow glow flowing over it, but it seemed much weaker than before.

The Soul Changing Taoist Lord was a terrifying enemy, and it was only thanks to the Human Emperor Sword in Founding Emperor Yan’s hands that he could fight and win against the weakened Soul Changing Taoist Lord.

His body had healed, but the problem was that the power of the nation’s fortune in the Human Emperor Sword was nearly exhausted.

"There should be two more Soul Changing Taoist Lords from the Immortal Gate in the human world, known as the leaders of Soul Predicting Path and Long Life Gate."

Founding Emperor Yan shook his head and said:

"Killing the Immortal Sect Leader can happen only once. If it happens again, the Immortal Gate will be prepared. Besides, the Human Emperor Sword won’t let me try a second time."

A member of the Qiao family does not appear in this world.

The Founding Emperor Yan, who is over three hundred years old, is the greatest martial artist in the human world.

However, even with the Human Emperor Sword in hand, facing the Soul Changing Taoist Lord remains very dangerous.

"Then… what should we do?" Emperor Wuping hesitated for a moment.

At that moment, he gradually regained his senses and realized that something might have gone wrong with the Qiao family member.

"I will go out of the palace once more. I will be quick and won’t stay too long," Founding Emperor Yan said with a light cough.

"Is the ancestor still thinking about assassinating the Immortal Sect Leader? But the Human Emperor Sword…." Emperor Wuping clearly looked worried.

"No, this time, I am going to Nan Province Peach Blossom Villa."

"Ah?"

Emperor Wuping was surprised.

Before, he thought Founding Emperor Yan was going to Peach Blossom Villa for help, but it turned out he was actually going to assassinate the leader of the Tongtian Sword Sect.

This time, almost all the martial artists in the world guessed that something had happened to the Qiao family, and the situation turned upside down.

Founding Emperor Yan’s gaze was calm as he continued:

"I heard that the Qiao family’s martial arts, like Qiao Yao, have been hidden away, but there is still one person, Qiao Xin, who is still alive."

"He has never made a move or left Peach Blossom Villa, but he is still living well."

At this point, Founding Emperor Yan paused slightly and said:

"Once famous in Jiu Province, now only Qiao Xin remains of the Qiao family."

"It seems that only he knows what really happened to the Qiao family…"

"Besides, maybe… perhaps Qiao Yao left something behind before leaving Jiu Province…"

The Human Emperor Sword has already been used, and the Founding Emperor Yan has no other options.

The two great Soul Changing Taoist Lords have arrived, and the four Immortal Gates have returned to the mortal world. Even the Founding Emperor Yan finds himself helpless and decides to visit Peach Blossom Villa.

The Founding Emperor Yan stepped out of his palace, facing the south, as snowflakes like willow seeds gently fell onto his shoulders.

Emperor Wuping watched the figure of his ancestor from behind and suddenly felt that he was not as tall and grand as before, giving off a sense of desolation that he did not usually have.

He had always been strong-willed, but now, going to Nan Province for help is truly for the survival of Great Yan and Jiu Province, and he has already decided to put aside his past pride.