Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Witnessing the Upheaval of the Mysterious Universe!

Ding Guniang fell silent.

　　Ye Tianming smiled and said, “But don’t worry, Ding Guniang, I’m serious about this reform — not just because of the bet with your Yang family, but because, as you said before, my Great Dao is all theory, including my Law of All Beings. There’s no practical experience backing it up.”

　　As he spoke, he paused, then continued, “I now have this opportunity to do something for all living beings while also solidifying my own Great Dao theory. That’s genuinely a good thing for me, so I will see this through properly.”

　　Ding Guniang smiled, “If you can think of it that way, that’s truly wonderful.”

　　Ye Tianming smiled as well.

　　He suddenly understood that in life, mindset matters above all else — especially when facing things you have no power to resist. You have to keep your head straight.

　　Because self-pity is utterly useless. It only makes others look down on you. What you can do is simply go ahead and do well what you currently believe is right.

　　Ding Guniang suddenly said, “There’s someone here you should go meet.”

　　Ye Tianming was curious, “Who?”

　　Ding Guniang said, “The owner of the Great Dao Brush.”

　　Ye Tianming was a little surprised, “The owner of the Great Dao Brush?”

　　Ding Guniang nodded, “That’s right. You can go find him. Of course, I can’t be sure whether he’ll get involved, but it’s worth a try…….”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Alright.”

　　With that, he turned and left.

　　Ding Guniang watched his retreating figure and let out a soft sigh.

　　An hour later.

　　Ye Tianming arrived at Dao Market. He was no stranger to this place — back then, Sister Qianqian had brought him here, hoping to find someone who could resolve the curse of fate hanging over him.

　　Because of Xianbao Pavilion, Dao Market had been declining day by day, with very little foot traffic.

　　Ye Tianming arrived at the Boundless Tavern.

　　The tavern was quiet and sparse, with only a few people inside.

　　The tavern owner, Wubian Zhu, was also there.

　　Upon seeing Ye Tianming, Wubian Zhu was briefly stunned, then smiled and said, “So it’s you.”

　　Ye Tianming walked up to Wubian Zhu, “Senior, you recognized me?”

　　Wubian Zhu laughed, “Of course I know who you are. Come on, I’ve been around for quite a few generations — I’m no small character.”

　　Ye Tianming smiled, “Senior, do you know the owner of the Great Dao Brush?”

　　Wubian Zhu shook his head, “That guy, who knows where he’s off wandering. What’s up, you need him for something?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “I do.”

　　Wubian Zhu said, “Is it about the Guanxuan Universe reform?”

　　Ye Tianming asked, “Senior knows about it too?”

　　Wubian Zhu smiled, “Of course. The news about the Guanxuan Universe reform is making waves everywhere right now — especially after you killed so many people in the cabinet. That shocked everyone.”

　　As he spoke, he looked Ye Tianming over, “You knew they would resist, and yet you still did it. Were you trying to settle everything in one go?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded, “Yes.”

　　Wubian Zhu smiled, “If you succeed, then you’re a legend. But if you fail……heh heh.”

　　Ye Tianming said, “Ding Guniang sent me to find the owner of the Great Dao Brush, but honestly, I’d rather find you, Senior.”

　　Wubian Zhu was a little surprised, “Me?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded.

　　Wubian Zhu smiled, “Why?”

　　Ye Tianming said, “I feel like Senior is easier to talk to.”

　　”Ha ha!”

　　Wubian Zhu laughed, “You want me to fight for you?”

　　Ye Tianming shook his head.

　　Wubian Zhu froze, looking curious, “Then what?”

　　Ye Tianming said, “The battlefield can’t be in the real world. I need to carve out an entirely new battlefield. Xianbao Pavilion originally had that capability, but right now it’s not a unified front internally. So I need a senior with solid strength to help me and Qin Feng open up a brand new battlefield, to avoid harming the innocent.”

　　Wubian Zhu stared at Ye Tianming, “That’s your purpose?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded.

　　Wubian Zhu fell silent.

　　He had originally assumed Ye Tianming came to ask him to fight……but he never expected this.

　　Ye Tianming said, “I know that in the eyes of Ding Guniang and many others, the Guanxuan Universe reform feels a bit rushed. But my thinking hasn’t changed — grinding it out slowly with the great clans and sects could take a million years. It’s like that old saying from the Milky Way side: fighting organized crime versus fighting terrorism — fighting crime requires evidence, but fighting terrorism doesn’t.”

　　As he spoke, he took a deep breath and continued, “Going slowly will only make things more complicated. In the years that Guanxuan Sword Master has been away, Guanxuan Academy and Xianbao Pavilion have been completely infiltrated by the great clans and sects. If I try to cultivate new people while still having to follow their procedures and play by their rules……that would be nearly impossible.”

　　Wubian Zhu fell silent. At first, he too had thought Ye Tianming was moving too fast. But hearing Ye Tianming’s words now, he suddenly realized that Ye Tianming was actually right — if they truly took it slow, this reform might not succeed at all.

　　What is reform?

　　Reform always comes with bloodshed. That’s inevitable.

　　After a long silence, Wubian Zhu said, “Do you know who you’re up against?”

　　Ye Tianming shook his head, “I don’t, but I have to prepare for the absolute worst.”

　　Was he fully confident?

　　Honestly, no.

　　But it was winner takes all, loser takes nothing.

　　Just go for it.

　　If he succeeded, then Ye Tianming was a legend. If he failed, then Ye Tianming was a fool — not even as good as Yang Jia.

　　After a long silence, Wubian Zhu smiled and said, “Drinks?”

　　Ye Tianming smiled as well, “My thoughts exactly.”

　　Wubian Zhu opened a bottle of wine for Ye Tianming, then said, “Opening up the battlefield — I can help with that.”

　　Ye Tianming said nothing. He simply raised his cup and drained it in one go. Setting the cup down, he looked at Wubian Zhu, “What does Senior need in return?”

　　Wubian Zhu smiled, “Nothing. It’s purely because of something you said.”

　　Ye Tianming was curious, “Which words?”

　　Wubian Zhu looked at Ye Tianming steadily, “Not harming the innocent.”

　　Ye Tianming fell silent.

　　Wubian Zhu drained his cup in one go, then looked at Ye Tianming, a flicker of complex emotion passing through his eyes. He said softly, “To be young — how wonderful.”

　　Ye Tianming said, “Senior once had great ambitions too.”

　　Wubian Zhu shook his head with a smile, “When you’re young, everyone has grand dreams and wants to do something earth-shattering. But as you get older, you realize just how brutal this world is. And in the end……peace and good health is all you can ask for.”

　　Ye Tianming fell silent.

　　Wubian Zhu continued, “I’m someone who’s died once or twice already. Kid, let me give you one piece of life advice — don’t let yourself become a person with no desires. Pursuits are pursuits, ideals are ideals, desires are desires. A person must have desires. A life without desire — how dreadfully dull that would be!”

　　As he spoke, he grinned mischievously, “You know what I mean?”

　　Ye Tianming: “…….”

　　Wubian Zhu said, “I don’t just run a tavern — I also run a foot massage parlor. It’s quite large, with all kinds of food, drink, and entertainment…….”

　　As he spoke, he suddenly pulled out a purple-gold card and stuffed it into Ye Tianming’s arms, “Whenever you come across a Boundless Foot Massage Parlor in the future, just walk right in and spend freely — it’s on me!”

　　Ye Tianming said seriously, “Senior, let’s talk business…….”

　　”Ha ha!”

　　Wubian Zhu laughed, “You really are young, kid. Do you know where serious business usually gets done? Heh heh…….”

　　Ye Tianming: “……”

　　About half an hour later, Ye Tianming left Dao Market. Thinking back on what Wubian Zhu had said over drinks, Ye Tianming couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile — this senior was really something else.

　　As if remembering something, he took out the purple-gold card Wubian Zhu had given him. He didn’t know what material it was made of, but it felt incredibly smooth to the touch, and it looked unmistakably luxurious at a glance.

　　”Boundless Foot Massage Parlor…….”

　　Ye Tianming murmured to himself, then vanished from the spot.

　　Inside the tavern.

　　After Ye Tianming left, the owner of the Great Dao Brush walked in.

　　Wubian Zhu glanced at him and said nothing.

　　The owner of the Great Dao Brush said, “Yang Jia has begun his trials again, and this time, his great-great-grandfather personally…….”

　　”Alright, alright!”

　　Wubian Zhu said with some impatience, “All you know is picking sides and playing chess. Damn it, you’ve lost your mind.”

　　The owner of the Great Dao Brush said gravely, “Haven’t you suffered enough from last time?”

　　Wubian Zhu shook his head, “I’m helping him not because of any chess game or side-picking, but because he said he wouldn’t harm the innocent……sigh!”

　　As he spoke, he looked at the owner of the Great Dao Brush, “We both started from nothing, we’ve both been ordinary people. Honestly, having more people like Xiao Guanzi and Ye Tianming in this world isn’t a bad thing. Why does everything have to have a purpose? Can’t you just follow your heart sometimes?”

　　The owner of the Great Dao Brush let out a low sigh, “You……

　　Wubian Zhu took a long swig of wine, “That kid’s a good person. Don’t be so hard on him. If Yang Jia turns out well, I’d help him just the same — but the way he was before……calling the Tower Ancestor a dog, damn it, I wanted to slap him twice myself. Sigh, I hope this round of trials changes him.”

　　The owner of the Great Dao Brush glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

　　After Ye Tianming returned to Guanxuan Hall, he stood in silence in the great hall for a long, long time. Finally, he walked to the writing desk, sat down, picked up his brush, and began to write a letter.

　　Write another one!

　　The next day.

　　Qin Feng suddenly appeared before Ye Tianming, his expression more grave than Ye Tianming had ever seen.

　　In a vast and boundless starry sky, a terrifying army was sweeping toward the real world with unstoppable force.

　　The aura of this army was utterly terrifying — even the weakest among them were at the Circle-Breaking Realm.

　　The Guanxuan Expeditionary Force!

　　At the front of this expeditionary force, a towering banner tens of thousands of feet tall billowed in the wind. In the center of that banner were three large characters: Purge the Emperor’s Advisors!

　　Almost simultaneously, banners were raised above the great clans and sects throughout the Guanxuan Universe, each bearing the same three blood-red characters: Purge the Emperor’s Advisors!

　　The Guanxuan Universe was turning upside down.