Chapter 231

Chapter 231: My Era Is Over!

Take care, both of you!

　　Watching Ye Tianming walk away, Xiao Ta let out a deep sigh, his heart more conflicted than it had ever been.

　　No hatred!

　　Not even a trace.

　　He knew that the bond between them had truly run its course.

　　”Wait!”

　　Xiao Ta suddenly called out.

　　Ye Tianming stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Xiao Ta.

　　Xiao Ta smiled and said, “Do you still remember Xiao Bai and Er Ya that I mentioned to you before?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded.

　　Xiao Ta said, “They’ve arrived. Didn’t the young lady Qianqian once help you get a string of tanghulu? You can give it to her and exchange it for a treasure.”

　　Sister Qianqian!

　　Ye Tianming’s expression suddenly darkened.

　　Xiao Ta continued, “They’re already here, playing in your back mountain. Want to go see them?”

　　Ye Tianming said nothing.

　　Xiao Ta smiled and said, “This is an opportunity your Sister Qianqian found for you. Don’t let her kindness go to waste.”

　　Ye Tianming gave a slight nod, “Alright.”

　　Xiao Ta said with a smile, “Follow me.”

　　With that, it headed outside.

　　Ye Tianming followed.

　　Before long, Ye Tianming followed Tower Grandpa to the back mountain. After Jiang Zuo’s development, the back mountain of the Buddha Demon Sect had transformed into a sea of flowers. He had also diverted a river to wind around the mountain, and on top of that, he had purchased a great many birds and beasts from the Xian Bao Pavilion to release there. Cranes in particular numbered over a hundred, and their duty was to circle the mountain three times a day, each time for half an hour.

　　When they took flight, the entire Buddha Demon Sect instantly took on the air of an immortal realm.

　　This was exactly the effect Jiang Zuo had wanted.

　　Ordinary people judging a sect would first look at whether it had grandeur and presence. In his view, a sect had to be imposing, had to carry an immortal aura, the kind that made anyone who laid eyes on it involuntarily think “holy shit.”

　　In that sea of flowers, Ye Tianming spotted a little girl and a small fluffy white creature.

　　At that moment, the cranes were gathered around them, looking utterly fawning.

　　The little girl and the white creature each held a bowl and were feeding something.

　　Ye Tianming could see that the cranes’ eyes were filled with greed.

　　What Ye Tianming didn’t know was that many, many years later, these cranes would all become founding ancestors of the Buddha Demon Sect.

　　At that moment, Er Ya and Xiao Bai noticed Ye Tianming and Xiao Ta approaching.

　　Er Ya stopped and looked Ye Tianming over.

　　Xiao Bai was also watching Ye Tianming with curiosity, blinking her big eyes.

　　Xiao Ta glanced at Ye Tianming, and Ye Tianming took out the tanghulu and held it out in front of Xiao Bai. Xiao Bai’s eyes lit up, and she immediately covered her mouth and started laughing.

　　Ye Tianming: …….

　　Xiao Bai took the tanghulu, then looked at Ye Tianming and waved her little paw with an air of exaggerated seniority.

　　Ye Tianming couldn’t make sense of it.

　　Xiao Ta smiled and said, “She says she can grant you one wish.”

　　Ye Tianming recalled something Sister Qianqian had once said, and so he asked, “Can you give me a treasure that you actually remember?”

　　Something you remember!

　　Er Ya looked at Ye Tianming, a little surprised.

　　Something she remembers!

　　Xiao Bai furrowed her brow in thought. After a good while, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she reached into the little pouch in front of her and pulled out a small furnace. It was only the size of a palm, an antique greenish-grey in color, with ancient and vivid patterns on its surface depicting a figure crouching in a field, trying out various medicinal herbs.

　　The moment Xiao Bai brought it out, Er Ya immediately pressed it back down.

　　Er Ya said seriously, “Would you like to… pick something else?”

　　Xiao Bai blinked and waved her little paw.

　　She meant that there weren’t many things she could remember, and this was one of them.

　　Er Ya said, “The karmic weight is too great. He might not be able to bear it.”

　　Xiao Bai blinked, then looked toward Ye Tianming with an inquiring gaze.

　　Ye Tianming knew this was his chance, and said without hesitation, “I’m willing.”

　　Xiao Bai broke into a grin.

　　Er Ya glanced at Ye Tianming and said nothing more to stop Xiao Bai.

　　Xiao Bai held the furnace out to Ye Tianming. The moment Xiao Bai let go, his expression changed drastically — he was suddenly overcome by a sense of foreboding.

　　Then Xiao Bai placed her little paw on him, and that feeling of dread vanished just as suddenly as it had come.

　　Ye Tianming stared at Xiao Bai in shock. Xiao Bai gave him a sweet smile, then gently patted his head with her little paw as if he were a small child.

　　Ye Tianming: …….

　　Feeling Xiao Bai’s warmth and goodwill, Ye Tianming smiled back at her kindly.

　　Er Ya suddenly reached out and pressed lightly on the furnace. At that touch, a terrifying aura of dread surged violently out from within it.

　　In an instant, Ye Tianming felt a sense of danger unlike anything he had ever experienced.

　　A flash of ferocity crossed Er Ya’s eyes, and she transformed into a streak of blood-red light that shot straight into the furnace.

　　Bang bang bang bang.

　　Almost immediately, earth-shattering collision sounds began erupting from inside the furnace.

　　Ye Tianming: …….

　　Beside him, Xiao Ta smiled and said, “That is called the Dao Furnace. A prehistoric beast is sealed inside it, and she is helping you suppress it. Without that, you wouldn’t be able to use this furnace at all.”

　　Ye Tianming asked, “What is this furnace for?”

　　Xiao Ta looked toward Xiao Bai, who began waving her little paw rapidly…… After a moment, she suddenly pulled out a handful of spirit herbs and placed them inside the furnace.

　　At the base of the furnace, a mass of blood-red flame ignited. Before long, the furnace began to emit smoke, and a moment later, a thumb-sized pill dropped out from the bottom.

　　The pill was a deep violet all over, and the moment it appeared, dazzling rainbows began to arc across the sky in every direction, blanketing the entire world, growing more and more numerous by the second. On top of that, mysterious sounds of the Great Dao began to flow gently and unhurriedly, like a babbling stream.

　　Ye Tianming was completely dumbfounded.

　　Xiao Ta was clearly stunned as well.

　　A pill omen!

　　This thing could trigger a heavenly phenomenon just from refining a single pill at random?

　　What in the world?

　　Xiao Bai clapped her little paws in delight, then held the pill out to Ye Tianming. The moment he took it, he felt a surge of pure energy instantly envelop him, and right after that, he felt his physical body begin to transform!

　　A breakthrough, just like that!

　　Holy shit?

　　Ye Tianming’s face was filled with disbelief. He hadn’t even swallowed it yet, and he was already about to break through?

　　Ye Tianming quickly handed the pill back to Xiao Bai, swallowing hard. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

　　Xiao Bai: ……

　　Watching the bewildered Ye Tianming, Xiao Ta sighed inwardly. This child had lived a hard life, had never had many good days. Now that a good day had finally come, it didn’t feel real to him.

　　Xiao Bai grinned, then handed the pill back to Ye Tianming again, gently patting his arm with her little paw and giving him a sweet smile.

　　Xiao Ta smiled and said, “She says you’re not dreaming. You’re just too poor.”

　　Ye Tianming: ……

　　Feeling a little indignant, Ye Tianming showed Xiao Bai the storage ring that Xian Bao Pavilion had given him. Xiao Bai glanced at the ring, then looked back at Ye Tianming with a face full of puzzlement.

　　Ye Tianming said earnestly, “I have a lot of money now.”

　　Xiao Bai blinked, then gently patted his head with her little paw, her expression full of pity.

　　Ye Tianming: …….

　　Just then, the Dao Furnace suddenly began to tremble, and Er Ya emerged from within it, holding a bloody black horn in her hand that had clearly just been torn off.

　　Er Ya tossed the black horn directly to Ye Tianming.

　　Ye Tianming gripped the horn, his expression grave, for within it he could sense an utterly terrifying power.

　　In that moment, his mindset truly settled.

　　Before this, after establishing his Dao, he had been somewhat inflated with pride — understandably so, given that he had established a dual Dao, that the Tianming Sword had also established its Dao, and that he held the Law of All Beings. Under those circumstances, a swollen head was hard to avoid.

　　He knew it wasn’t right, but he just couldn’t bring it down.

　　Yet now, having witnessed this little girl and the terrifying beast within the Dao Furnace, he truly understood — so what if he had established his Dao?

　　Before the truly great powers of this universe, wasn’t he still nothing but an ant?

　　Ye Tianming put the horn away, then looked at Er Ya and said sincerely, “Thank you, senior.”

　　Er Ya glanced at Ye Tianming. “Don’t mention it. It’s just a piece of trash anyway.”

　　Ye Tianming had a pretty good read on this little girl’s personality by now — the type with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He bowed deeply to both Er Ya and Xiao Bai. “Thank you.”

　　He knew that both the furnace and the horn were extraordinarily precious, at the very least surpassing his Zhizhen Ancestral Artifact.

　　Xiao Bai waved her little paw, indicating there was no need for thanks.

　　Er Ya pulled out a string of tanghulu and started munching on it.

　　Looking at the gentle and innocent Xiao Bai before him, a smile spread across Ye Tianming’s face.

　　Er Ya suddenly said, “Time to go.”

　　Xiao Bai nodded, then waved her paw at Ye Tianming.

　　Er Ya scooped her up, turned, and vanished into the distant horizon as a streak of light.

　　In the clearing, the cranes immediately broke into a chorus of mournful cries.

　　After Er Ya and Xiao Bai left, Xiao Ta suddenly turned to Ye Tianming. “I just asked Xiao Bai about it. The furnace it gave you is called the Dao Furnace. It normally uses it to refine pills. As long as you have medicinal ingredients, it can refine pills on its own, and the pills it produces are of the highest grade…….”

　　As he spoke, he took out an ancient tome and handed it to Ye Tianming. “This is a copy of the Pill Refinement Compendium that Xiao Ling’er left behind back in the day. For where you are right now, it should still be of some use. Keep it. Also, the Dao Furnace is definitely capable of far more than just refining pills. Xiao Bai only had a passing interest in pill refinement, so that’s all it ever used it for. You can explore its other uses over time.”

　　Ye Tianming didn’t refuse. He accepted the Pill Refinement Compendium, then looked at Tower Grandpa and bowed deeply. “Tower Ancestor, take care.”

　　Xiao Ta smiled faintly. “Take care.”

　　Ye Tianming bowed deeply to Tower Grandpa once more, then turned and walked away.

　　Watching Ye Tianming grow smaller and smaller in the distance, Xiao Ta couldn’t help but murmur, “Little one, take good care of yourself……”

　　In the distance, Ye Tianming stopped. He turned and bowed to Tower Ancestor one last time. “Tower Ancestor, you take care too.”

　　With that, he turned and left.

　　Xiao Ta watched Ye Tianming until he disappeared from sight. After standing still for a moment, it slowly raised its head and gazed toward the far edge of the sky, and said softly, “My era…… has also come to an end.”