Chapter 496

Chapter 496: Nuwa

"The success is guaranteed?"

Yuan Daozong parted the shaggy hair covering his eyes, fixing his gaze intently on Yuan Qingfeng.

"Absolutely!"

Yuan Qingfeng affirmed with unwavering conviction. Then, he added, "However, before that, Ancestor, you must visit the treasure vault to count and prepare the treasures. The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion conducts business solely on the basis of money. He offers no favors."

"How much?"

After a few moments of thought, Yuan Qingfeng answered, "It cost this disciple thirty million divine stones to break through to Seven Tribulations Dao Lord. For Ancestor to break through to Nine Tribulations Dao Lord… it will probably require ninety million."

"Ninety million?"

Yuan Daozong was considerably startled. That was no small sum. Ninety million divine stones—even the Yuan Family couldn’t earn that much in an entire year.

"Ancestor, wealth is but an external possession," Yuan Qingfeng urged. "If you can cultivate to the Nine Tribulations Dao Lord realm and advance one step further, you could achieve Dao Sovereign."

"The Qingyuan Dao Lord of Canglan City became a Dao Sovereign only after receiving the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s guidance."

A flicker of uncertainty passed through Yuan Daozong’s eyes.

"Take one hundred million divine stones to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

"Yes."

Yuan Qingfeng immediately set about gathering the money.

After a stick of incense had burned, two old men flew out of Tianyuan City, heading towards Canglan Divine City.

"Ancestor, we have arrived."

They arrived before Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Yuan Daozong paused, gazing at it with appreciative surprise. "Merely looking at this Heaven’s Secret Pavilion… one can perceive its extraordinary nature."

He held his head high and strode in. Ye Xu and Xixi were playing Go. At his current level, Ye Xu was only capable of toying with the young girl.

"Master, your remarkable wisdom is unparalleled!" Yuan Qingfeng declared, his face wreathed in smiles as he respectfully expressed his gratitude. "This junior has successfully cultivated to Seven Tribulations Dao Lord. I came today specifically to thank you, Senior."

"Master, this is my Yuan Family’s Ancestor. Hearing of your powerful abilities, he specifically came with me to pay you a visit."

"This old man is Yuan Daozong. Greetings, Master."

Yuan Daozong clasped his hands in salute.

Ye Xu, holding a white Go stone between his fingers, smiled. "Please, Daoist friends, be seated."

With a thought, he sealed the Go board and said to Xixi, "We’ll finish this later."

Xixi nodded and served tea to the two men.

"Having long heard of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s reputation, this old man shall not be evasive," Yuan Daozong announced, stroking his beard with a smile. "Might you, Master, be able to assist this old man in breaking through to the Nine Tribulations Dao Lord realm?"

"The price is open to discussion."

"Countless opportunities exist throughout the ages, and there isn’t one unknown to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion," Ye Xu replied with complete confidence. "You wish to advance to Nine Tribulations Dao Lord? This is a simple matter."

"System, inquire what price in Hongmeng points is required to find an opportunity enabling Yuan Daozong to ascend to Nine Tribulations Dao Lord?"

[Seventy-eight million.]

Ye Xu smiled lightly and said, "Ninety million Hongmeng points!"

Yuan Daozong furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "May I ask, Master, is it absolutely certain to be promoted to a Nine Tribulations Dao Lord?"

"I will give you the opportunity; just go and claim it. Regarding the information about the opportunity, I will tell you everything completely," Ye Xu said lightly. "However, everything has unexpected events, and unexpected events are uncontrollable."

"Master, do you mean that if there are no unexpected events, it is one hundred percent certain to succeed?"

Ye Xu nodded.

Yuan Daozong was greatly stirred in his heart. With an almost one hundred percent success rate, of course, he had to give it a try.

"Qingfeng, bring the money."

Yuan Qingfeng immediately produced a cave-heaven.

"Master, inside this, there are forty million divine stones, two treasures of a Six Tribulations Dao Lord, and one artifact of a Five Tribulations Dao Lord. Please, Master, count them."

"System, exchange."

[Congratulations host, you have obtained ninety million Hongmeng points.]

Not a single point more, not a single point less.

"Truly worthy of being a businessman," Ye Xu thought to himself.

"Immediately inquire about an opportunity suitable for Yuan Daozong."

Ding!

[Wuwang Divine Mountain, located in the northern part of Tian Cang Immortal Domain, is an ownerless land. A peak Nine Tribulations Dao Lord passed away here, leaving behind a pure Yang Dao fruit.]

Ye Xu’s eyes flickered slightly. This opportunity was truly simple; one only needed to break the inherited restriction left by the predecessor to obtain the Dao fruit, without any danger.

Swoosh!

A jade slip flew towards Yuan Daozong.

"Daoist friend, the information you seek is all within this jade slip," Ye Xu said.

"Tian Cang Immortal Domain? Wuwang Divine Mountain?" Yuan Daozong’s gaze sharpened.

Tian Cang Immortal Domain is the territory of the Third Young Master.

"I will use tea in place of wine to wish you immediate success, Daoist friend," Ye Xu raised his cup and said with a smile.

"Thank you, Master."

Yuan Daozong raised his cup and drank it.

"Ancestor, without delay, go quickly and return quickly," Yuan Qingfeng urged.

"You stay here."

Yuan Daozong said boldly, "Once I return from Tian Cang Immortal Domain, I will definitely go to the Lu Family estate to see Lu Xuanyin and let her know how impressive I am."

Yuan Qingfeng was stunned.

Whoosh!

Yuan Daozong transformed into a stream of light and flew out of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Ye Xu’s gaze was profound.

The cultivation method of the Dao Lord in the Yuan Family lineage was not difficult; it was focused solely on the pure yang method, thus making breakthroughs simpler.

"One cave world already required tens of millions of Hongmeng points; if someone like the Mad Daoist, who cultivated one hundred and eight Great Dao Worlds, wanted to break through, wouldn’t it take one hundred and eight times more?"

"Cultivation is indeed an abyss."

However, Ye Xu also felt puzzled.

His Book of Changes, as the system declared, was the most powerful method in the world, but for him to break through to the Dao Lord realm, even to the level of a Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, it only cost seventy-six million eight hundred thousand Hongmeng points.

Compared to Yuan Daozong and others, it wasn’t much different.

He only had one world.

But once the innate Easy Dao formed to one percent, it changed in myriad ways and could even evolve into Hongmeng.

"This should be my perk…" Ye Xu thought to himself.

Meanwhile,

Yuan Daozong flew out of Canglan City, and half a month later, he finally entered the territory of Tian Cang Immortal Domain; a golden flying ship appeared, exquisitely carved and painted like a celestial palace, surrounded by strands of divine patterns, sailing out from Tian Cang Immortal Domain.

On the flying ship, a gold flag fluttered in the wind.

"People of the Third Young Master!" Yuan Daozong’s gaze fell on that flag, and his pupils immediately contracted.

On the flag, countless images of living beings were embroidered, but one figure stood like a divine emperor above the heavens, revered by all.

Even that embroidered figure alone held an unfathomable profound aura, seeming as if it might step out of the flag into reality in the next moment.

Yuan Daozong immediately avoided it.

From a distance, he looked over, his sight piercing through the void, vaguely seeing three figures.

On the flying ship,

Two people sat opposite each other, with fine wine and delicious dishes covering the table.

They were a man and a woman.

At their side, there was a young man who looked honest and loyal, standing on the woman’s side; his cultivation wasn’t high, only at the Early World Master stage.

All three were enveloped by an aura of Virtue and Fortune.

"This time, the Emperor dispatched the two of us to Canglan Immortal Domain to visit the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, and I don’t know the intention behind it," a man said with displeasure; he was a Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, incredibly powerful.

"Daoist friend Nuwa, the Emperor treats you as a friend, do you know?" Nuwa had an oval face, eyebrows like distant mountains, her hair pulled up high, and her demeanor was dignified.

Her cultivation had reached the level of a Seven Tribulations Dao Lord.

In the path of Virtue and Fortune mastery, she was exceptionally talented, highly valued by the Third Young Master, who instructed her meticulously; her cultivation journey was smooth sailing.

Although her cultivation paled next to the man’s, her status was no less than his.

"As subordinates, how could we rashly guess the will of our superior?" Nuwa lifted a cup of wine and said, "Daoist brother Moro, since we last parted, over a hundred thousand years have passed; this young lady toasts you with a cup."

Moro smiled and raised his cup to drink.

Dusk fell as the sun set, painting the sky with crimson clouds.

Nuwa bade farewell and withdrew, taking the young man beside her with her as they entered a palace. Watching Nuwa’s receding figure, Moro’s gaze gradually turned icy.

"What exactly is the background of this master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?" Moro murmured as he withdrew his gaze.

"Yi."

Nuwa spoke.

"Your child is here."

The young man was Yi Tianxing.

Having ascended to the immortal domain, he was guided by Third Young Master to Tian Cang Immortal Domain and had remained by Nuwa’s side ever since.

Third Young Master’s mastery in the Dao of Virtue and Fortune was beyond the comprehension of spirits and ghosts, unmatched among the younger generation across the vast Hongmeng Dao Realm.

The immense Tian Cang Immortal Domain had long been unified, forming Third Young Master’s foundation. He established the immortal court, proclaimed himself an imperial monarch, conferred titles upon numerous deities, promoted the path of virtue, and wielded formidable power. Three surrounding immortal domains also fell under the immortal court’s rule.

Nuwa served as an immortal official within the court, sustaining her strength through Offerings of Incense and Fire from the mortal world.

Thus had her cultivation advanced with such astonishing speed.

"What instructions do you have, Mother Goddess?" Yi Tianxing inquired.

Nuwa asked, "Do you know the true purpose for which the Imperial Monarch has ordered us to seek the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Yi Tianxing pondered.

"The Master’s reputation has spread throughout the realms. Sending us to Canglan Divine City, the Imperial Monarch likely seeks more than mere courtesies. He probably wishes you and Lord Moro to test the Master’s capabilities."

"Moreover, the Monarch likely intends to invite the Master to the immortal court."

During his time cultivating within the immortal court, Yi Tianxing had understood Nuwa’s exalted status. Third Young Master assigning her this task underscored its immense importance.

"Correct."

Nuwa gave a slight nod. "The Imperial Monarch possesses a prideful nature, tolerating not the slightest hint of defiance."

"Yet, from your accounts, the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion appears a figure of even greater depth. The Monarch’s plans are likely to be thwarted."

"Therefore, you cannot return to the immortal court."

Yi Tianxing looked startled. "Why?"

"Moro has rendered meritorious service, and I, too, hold the Monarch’s deep trust. Even if we fail this task, he will not censure us," Nuwa explained, her eyes fixed on Yi Tianxing. "But you are different."

"He will hold you accountable."

Cold sweat instantly drenched Yi Tianxing’s back.

"He will not kill you."

Nuwa’s voice remained clear and cool. "Knowing your relation to me, he will undoubtedly seize you, using you as a pawn to maneuver against me."

"Your child understands."

Enlightenment dawned on Yi Tianxing’s face.

"My sole concern is… whether the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion will take you in…"

Nuwa sighed, her voice fading softly.

She had crafted humans from clay, pouring her deepest essence into the human ancestor and the Witch Ancestor. Yet, Mad Daoist had long succumbed to madness for the Dao. Yi Tianxing was the only one remaining, and she was determined to protect him with all her strength.

She truly regarded Yi Tianxing as her own child.

Yi Tianxing, too, felt uncertain.

The Master’s intentions were impossible for anyone to fathom.