Chapter 38
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Chapter 38: Tension Mounts
The sound of the Dao was ethereal, Ye Hongchen was utterly intoxicated.
Her comprehension of the heavens and earth deepened continuously with the passage of time. She felt as if she had merged with the Heavenly Dao itself. A terrifying tremor suddenly surfaced in Ye Hongchen’s heart.
"I don’t want to merge with the Heavenly Dao."
"I am Ye Hongchen!"
"I don’t want to be an unfeeling, heartless rules machine. I want to be a flesh-and-blood person!"
Ye Hongchen abruptly awakened. If she continued allowing the Heavenly Dao to assimilate her, she would turn into an unfeeling machine, devoid of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, love, or hate.
This ran counter to the doctrine of the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra.
Only by dwelling within the red dust could she transcend the red dust.
How could one understand the cold and warmth of the mundane world without witnessing its splendor? How could one cultivate true ease and liberty?
Ye Hongchen opened her eyes. Within those eyes, clarity shimmered like water.
Instantly, Ye Hongchen escaped the trap of merging with the Dao.
She had her own path.
Just as Ye Xu had perceived, Ye Hongchen possessed a sturdy Dao heart. Realizing something was amiss, she could immediately extricate herself from the trap of merging with the Dao, averting assimilation into the Heavenly Dao.
As Ye Hongchen regained clarity, the sound of the Dao faded away, dissipating like scattered sublime verses.
A stream of pure, refined power surged into Ye Hongchen’s physical body, solidifying her foundation, aiding her transformation, and propelling her definitively into the Saint level.
Only now could Ye Hongchen be considered a true Saint.
"Congratulations."
Yang Xuanzhan’s gaze was complex, mingling envy and jealousy with a sense of relief.
It had ultimately been a felicitous conclusion.
"Congratulations, Sect Master Ye."
Mu Yunsheng and Mu Chenfeng cupped their hands together in congratulation.
High in the sky, the clouds of tribulation dissipated, revealing thousands of miles of clear azure, as if the heavenly tribulation had never occurred.
However, an area spanning nearly ten thousand miles around Mount Taicang had been razed flat by the Divine Thunder of Great Annihilation. Birds and beasts perished completely; plants and trees were obliterated; the earth lay scorched black and cracked.
The power of the thunder had extinguished all vitality within ten thousand miles.
"The Heavenly Dao is unfeeling…" Ye Hongchen sensed the devastation across the ten thousand miles and sighed softly. She felt guilt in her heart for the countless lives extinguished within Mount Taicang’s lands all because she alone had become a Saint.
The profundity of the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra lay precisely in this: Ye Hongchen would not mask her inner feelings. She was utterly unlike Qi Qingsi, who was nearly an unfeeling machine.
Her heart belonged to the red dust, her body resided within the red dust; she could intimately feel everything.
Ye Hongchen gazed towards the Cave of the Ziwei Saint. Although its protective barrier had been shattered by the thunder, thanks to Ye Hongchen, the cave itself had escaped destruction.
Within the cave, spiritual energy mist swirled luxuriantly; plants and trees thrived vibrant and lush– a veritable blessed land.
And behind the group, stood a cultivator sitting in lotus position.
He sat cross-legged, his long hair spilling onto the floor, hands forming seals resting upon his knees, maintaining a meditative pose. His countenance was serene and kind, seemingly still alive.
He was the Ziwei Saint.
He had died over thirty thousand years ago, but the body of a saint did not decay, so the Ziwei Saint appeared as healthy as a living person.
"How exactly did he die?" Yang Xuanzhan questioned with confusion.
He had inspected the body of the Ziwei Saint; though it bore injuries, they were insufficient to cause his demise.
"His Dao heart died," Ye Hongchen spoke up, her voice tender yet brimming with authority, as though her words were absolute truth. "He genuinely suffered severe harm, but what truly led to his demise was the death of his Dao heart."
She, upon entering the cave, had initially seen the Ziwei Saint without knowing the cause of his death.
Only now, as she had become a saint, did she grasp the true reason for the Ziwei Saint’s death.
The Dao heart died.
For cultivators, irrespective of how mighty they were, once the Dao heart died, it signified total annihilation.
"Dao heart death?" Yang Xuanzhan frowned and sank into deep thought.
Could such a supernatural art exist in the world that could cause a saint’s Dao heart to die?
"I don’t understand either," Ye Hongchen shook her head. Even as a newly ascended saint, she had no insight into what brought about the Ziwei Saint’s Dao heart death.
Boom!
Suddenly.
Two terrifying powers descended upon the void above Mount Taicang. They were unmistakably Lu Fengming and the Jade Sky Saint.
The instant the two saints arrived, they unleashed their Divine Sense and swiftly locked onto the Cave of the Ziwei Saint.
A breath later, two horrifying auras descended.
The saints’ majestic authority pressed down on Mu Yunsheng and Mu Chenfeng, choking them until their bones creaked throughout their bodies. They nearly kneeled to the ground.
"Master? Master Uncle Jade Sky?" Yang Xuanzhan’s expression shifted subtly as he turned his gaze toward them.
"Nephew-disciple, are you also here?" The Jade Sky Saint’s eyes flickered as he caught sight of Yang Xuanzhan, surprise surfacing on his features.
Ye Hongchen had become a saint? Why was Yang Xuanzhan present at this place?
"Xuanzhan, what exactly occurred?" Lu Fengming fixed his stare on Yang Xuanzhan, his aged eyes deep as an abyss, seeming poised to swallow him.
Yang Xuanzhan reflexively averted Lu Fengming’s glare, promptly pointing at Ye Hongchen to respond. "Master, this disciple arrived one step too late. Ye Hongchen snatched my opportunity."
Immediately after, Yang Xuanzhan narrated the fabricated tale he had prepared long before to Lu Fengming.
This was a scheme he and Ye Hongchen had prearranged.
Ye Hongchen ascending to sainthood would inevitably rock the Southern Wilderness. The saints of the Southern Wilderness were certain to converge on Mount Taicang.
At that juncture, Yang Xuanzhan would undeniably confront interrogation.
"Ye Hongchen, how dare you steal the opportunity rightfully belonging to my Xuanfu Palace?" Anger flared across the handsome visage of the Jade Sky Saint. The void began fracturing inch by inch, transforming the hundred-mile vicinity into the Chaotic Sea.
Lu Fengming was filled with murderous intent.
His hatred could hardly be concealed.
He had painstakingly trained Yang Xuanzhan and watched him nearly attain the saint realm, but Ye Hongchen snatched it all away; Lu Fengming wished he could immediately subdue Ye Hongchen.
However, his killing intent surfaced only for a moment before he reined it in.
On the surface, he was only an early-stage saint.
He could not expose himself yet.
At least not now.
"Opportunities of sainthood belong to the virtuous," Ye Hongchen glanced at Yang Xuanzhan lightly and said, "Yang Xuanzhan has done nothing but bad deeds on usual days; how can he be called virtuous?"
The corner of Yang Xuanzhan’s mouth twitched—since he gained the benefits, why insult him further?
Mu Yunsheng and Mu Chenfeng were clueless about what was happening.
"Elder brother, about those two…" Mu Chenfeng started to speak.
"Shut up."
Mu Yunsheng pinched Mu Chenfeng’s arm, hurting him so much he gasped.
He was not as simple-minded as Mu Chenfeng.
The two brothers had rushed to the Cave of the Ziwei Saint earlier, where Ye Hongchen and Yang Xuanzhan were chatting happily, barely resembling enemies and more like old friends of many years.
Yet at that moment, Yang Xuanzhan embellished things, and Ye Hongchen did not expose him; clearly a secret was afoot.
"Aren’t those two having an affair?" Mu Chenfeng muttered.
Mu Yunsheng’s face darkened in annoyance.
"Seniors, surely you aren’t trying to bully the weak with your seniority, targeting a junior like me?" Ye Hongchen smoothed a strand of dark hair by her ear and revealed a faint smile.
The Jade Sky Saint gave a cold snort. "This lord shall not trouble you unduly."
"You just need to hand over six sacred artifacts, and this lord will consider the matter settled."
Mu Yunsheng and the other rolled their eyes.
Six sacred artifacts—that would practically bankrupt the Red Dust Demon Sect.
Since Ye Hongchen was already a saint, she certainly would not agree.
Moreover, with Ye Hongchen becoming a saint and counting the Myriad Phenomena Saint of the Red Dust Demon Sect, they now had two saints.
That Myriad Phenomena Saint was even a grand master at the late stage of the saint realm.
At that moment, the Red Dust Demon Sect’s power had clearly surpassed Xuanfu Palace.
The sky over the Southern Wilderness would likely shift soon.
"Isn’t this forcing me, a junior, to become a traitor?" Ye Hongchen shook her head gently. "I beg for your understanding, seniors; I truly cannot do it."
"If you seniors wish to fight, then strike."
"So you think achieving sainthood makes you invincible under heaven."
The Jade Sky Saint emitted a cold laugh, and his saintly aura erupted fully, shifting the heavens and earth.
The vast clear sky turned pitch black, with thunder rolling loudly.
Countless black dragons swooped down from the heavens, earth-shattering.
Ye Hongchen’s gaze sharpened faintly.
The Jade Sky Saint was not at the early stage of the saint realm as rumored; he was at the middle stage.
Even Yang Xuanzhan was shocked.
Indeed, saints were all sly old foxes; each hid themselves extremely deeply.
Lu Fengming was the most despicably deceitful.
Yang Xuanzhan added that thought silently in his heart.
"Little girl, you hadn’t even been born when this lord attained sainthood—dare you oppose me now?"
The Jade Sky Saint’s sleeves billowed as vast magical power surged forth; the black dragons transformed into thunder, blanketing thousands of miles, and charged straight for Ye Hongchen to annihilate her.
"Then let this lord see just how bold you are!"
