Chapter 1052 - The Painter’s Origins
Su Yi stood in the air, his expression shifting and uncertain.
The man in white was extraordinarily handsome and elegant, with the proud bearing of a god. Even though he was just a trace of remnant will, he was extraordinarily terrifying.
Su Yi didn’t even need to think to know that the man in white’s true body had long since transcended the Profound Dao. He was most likely a World King!
The path beyond the Profound Dao was called the Path of Heaven’s Ascension, and it was divided into three major realms: Heavenly Longevity, Oneness, and Cosmic Enlightenment.
In the depths of outer space, those who stepped onto this path were known as World Kings!
People like that were already peak powerhouses of entire Star Realms. They could dominate entire worlds, and they were incomparably mighty.
In the Heavenly Prayer Star Realm, the three Heavenly Libationers were all true World Kings!
Similarly, in the Church of the River of Stars, the Palace Masters of the Solar, Lunar, and Celestial Palaces were all World Kings too.
When he left the Netherworld, the Netherworld King gave him a jade slip with information about the Three Realms of the Path of Heaven’s Ascension.
He could naturally tell that the man in white was a World King!
Furthermore, the guy had almost destroyed his soul in the blink of an eye.
“The Painter…Why does that title sound a bit familiar…?” Su Yi furrowed his brow.
Based on what the old man in hemp had told him, Su Yi knew that he came from a faction from the depths of outer space, the Studio of the Heart.
And the imprint of will left in his soul had been left there by its founder.
There was no doubt about it! The man who’d just called himself “the Painter” was the founder of the Studio of the Heart!
“The Studio of the Heart, the Painter…” Su Yi’s gaze focused. He finally remembered.
Back in the Netherworld’s Reincarnation Grounds, the leader of the Church of the River of Stars, the Fisherman, had asked the Temple Master a question:
“But if you’re still alive, why did you disappear inexplicably?
“And why weren't you there when the Painter appeared? Don’t forget: you’re the one who said that so long as the Painter dared show his face, you’d cut off his head and feed it to the dogs.
“And why would the Antique Dealer, one of your closest friends, proclaim that you’d never return?”
He’d mentioned two people: the Antique Dealer, who the Fisherman saw as one of the Temple Master’s closest friends.
The other was the Painter!
Furthermore, the Fisherman’s words implied that when the Temple Master was around, the Painter dared not show his face amidst the starry skies.
It was only after the Temple Master disappeared that the Painter dared venture out once more!
It seems that the founder of the Studio of the Heart is the Painter the Fisherman spoke of… Su Yi’s eyes shone with strange light.
According to the Fisherman, so long as the Painter dared show his face, the Temple Master would cut off his head and feed it to dogs.
That meant that as strong as the Painter was, he was no match for the Temple Master!
And when he considered that the Temple Master was one of his past incarnations, Su Yi naturally felt a bit strange.
The Temple Master had given him three warnings. The first was about his Profound Unity Realm cultivation. The second was about the Fisherman, the leader of the Church of the River of Stars.
And the third was that Su Yi had to be on guard against a mysterious character known as the Tailor. He was the progenitor of the Dream-Eating Tapirs, but the Temple Master suspected he’d pledged himself to a mysterious faction.
None of his warnings so much as mentioned the Painter. In other words, perhaps out of contempt, the Temple Master didn’t even think the Painter was worth mentioning…
In that lifetime, I scared you to the point that you dared not show your face. In this lifetime, I’ll naturally take it a step further! thought Su Yi.
The only part that troubled him was that the Painter’s subordinates had shown up in the Wilds, and it seemed they were working with Pi Mo!
Could Pi Mo’s betrayal have something to do with the Studio of the Heart?
Su Yi felt like he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it all.
A little while later, he sighed. It seems that in my past life, I was so fixated on achieving rebirth that I overlooked an awful lot…
Why had Pi Mo betrayed him?
And why had Qing Tang hidden her cultivation base, only revealing her true strength after he reincarnated?
Both questions were buried in Su Yi’s heart. They’d once made him feel melancholy and bleak.
But now that I’ve reincarnated and returned to the Wilds, I’m sure I can get to the bottom of these mysteries and learn the full truth!
As Su Yi pondered, he returned to Profound Sky Academy.
The academy was badly battered, with scenes of destruction all over the place.
By the time Su Yi returned, the two surviving Levitating Sword Hall Profound Illumination Emperors and five surviving Spiritual Revolution cultivators had already been captured.
“Fellow Daoist, you have our utmost gratitude for coming to our aid and saving Profound Sky Academy from disaster!” Yu Changming immediately led the survivors of Profound Sky Academy in bowing. Many of them wept with gratitude.
Su Yi only gently inclined his head. “No need for excessive formalities. I have questions for the prisoners.”
As he spoke, he approached the two captive Emperors of the Levitating Sword Hall, then fixed his gaze on an old man in gray.
He was in the late-stage Profound Illumination Realm, but he’d already been captured. He was now no more than a prisoner.
“What… What are you going to do?” the old man in gray asked in a quavering voice. He looked terrified and uncertain.
“Do you know what that old-timer’s connection with Pi Mo was?” asked Su Yi.
When he first arrived at Profound Sky Academy, he captured another Emperor of the Levitating Sword Hall. However, a secret spell had been placed on his soul, preventing Su Yi from searching it.
Thus, he could only resort to direct interrogation.
Situations like this weren’t at all uncommon in the cultivation world of the Wilds.
Every major sect left means of preventing this sort of thing from occurring in their inheritors’ souls. This was to prevent others from capturing them and stealing the sect’s legacies and secrets.
“I don’t know.” The old man in gray shook his head. “We were just following orders. All I know is that Elder Feng came here on His Excellency Pi Mo’s orders. We don’t know anything else about him.”
“Truly?” Su Yi furrowed his brow.
The old man in gray said bitterly, “I’m a captive, and I’ll be dead soon. How could I dare lie about something so trivial?”
Su Yi looked at Yu Changming. “I’ll let you deal with him.”
Yu Changming clasped his fist. “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist!”
“In a bit, visit me on the mountain for a private chat,” said Su Yi. With that, he drifted off.
“Understood.” Yu Changming nodded.
He was quite curious too. Just who is this young man who arrived just in time to save Profound Sky Academy from disaster? Where did he come from?
……
The peak of Phoenix Perch Mountain.
Clouds drifted by, and the mountain wind blew past.
Gazing down from the peak, more than half of Parasol Tree City was visible, including the parasol trees planted throughout the city. Their radiant flowers were in full bloom, and the sea of flowers was a spectacular sight.
Su Yi sprawled out comfortably in his wicker chair, admiring the scenery. As he drank, he pondered his return to the Wilds.
Before long, Yu Changming hurried over, smiled, and clasped his fist. “I kept you waiting, Fellow Daoist.”
Su Yi didn’t move. He said warmly, “How are your wounds?”
“They’re no major impediment,” said Yu Changming. Here, he hesitated.
Su Yi said thoughtfully, “Have you perhaps guessed who I am?”
Yu Changming stiffened in apparent disbelief. “Are you… really… His Excellency Su?”
Su Yi’s gaze was inscrutable. “Your Jade Pearl Spirit Heart is a top-notch natural talent for a Confucian, and you haven’t wasted it, you little blockhead.”
He’d visited Profound Sky Academy as a guest before in his past life, and he’d sat and discussed the Dao with the old glutton. He’d met Yu Changming then, too.
At the time, Yu Changming was still a promising young man. He was the “phoenix chick” of his generation at Profound Sky Academy, but he’d yet to become its dean.
However, the old glutton had smugly praised Yu Changming as the only natural bearer of Jade Pearl Spirit Heart he’d encountered in the past eight thousand years. He was a good seedling who’d surely excel on the Confucian path.
However, when Yu Changming faced Su Yi, he was stiff and intractably stubborn. Su Yi laughed and called him a little blockhead, hence the name.
When he heard this familiar nickname, Yu Changming’s mind buzzed, and he couldn’t help but murmur, “Just now, I sensed something strangely familiar about you. At first, I dared not believe it, but now, it seems you really are His Excellency Su!”
The dean of Profound Sky Academy had obviously lost his composure, and he didn’t quite know what to do. He was too excited for words.
But Su Yi sighed. “Although disaster didn’t befall Profound Sky Academy because of me, my unfilial disciple cannot escape blame for this. I’ll naturally get justice on your behalf.”
Here, he gestured to a nearby boulder. “Have a seat.”
Yu Changming calmed himself, straightened his clothes, and sat down. However, he still looked a bit dazed.
He suddenly recalled what the founder had told him: “Had Su Xuanjun died, he would surely have gone out with a bang. There’s absolutely no way he could just up and die for no reason!”
Furthermore, the founder had said with great assurance that Su Xuanjun must have uncovered the secrets of reincarnation. “Just you wait! He’ll return to the Wilds sooner or later!”
There was no doubt about it: the young man before him was almost certainly the reincarnation the founder had spoken of!
“Where’d the old glutton go?” asked Su Yi.
Yu Changming sat upright and said solemnly, “Your Excellency Su, the founder left Profound Sky Academy a few hundred years ago with your second disciple, Jing Xing.”
Su Yi’s heart shook, and he sat upright. “Where did the old-timer take Jing Xing?”
He’d come here to see the old glutton because he wanted to ask about Jing Xing’s whereabouts.
But according to Yu Changming, the old glutton had actually left with his second disciple hundreds of years ago!
“I don’t know.” Yu Changming shook his head. “Before he left, the founder said he was taking Fellow Daoist Jing Xing out to see the world, and that he’d teach him some sense while he was at it. He’d teach Fellow Daoist Jing Xing why it’s better not to read at all than to blindly believe everything you read. Then, Jing Xing would surely be able to create his own Grand Dao of scholarship, author books promoting his theories, and become an ancestor-level figure in his own right.”
Su Yi was stunned. He muttered, “Don’t tell me the old glutton took advantage of my absence to kidnap Jing Xing and make him his disciple instead…”
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