Chapter 492: Speaking Out of Turn
Do I really have more strong relatives?!
Ye Guan became even more curious about his family members.
He was indeed quite unfamiliar with his relatives from the previous generation and the generation before that. He had no idea just how many relatives he had, but it was clear that quite a few relatives were still unknown to him.
Ye Qingqing suddenly asked, "Has your Sword Dao entered the Divine Realm?"
The Divine Realm? Ye Guan was taken aback, but he was soon overjoyed. His Sword Dao had reached the Divine Realm! He had also made a breakthrough into the Great Destiny Sovereign Realm.
Ye Guan was so overjoyed that he whipped around and thrust Xuanyuan toward the sky.
Boom!
A sword to split heaven and earth! Ye Guan's eyes glimmered in excitement. His strength had increased by several times, and he had gotten strong enough to kill weak Time Reversers.
How about Great Destiny Sovereigns? They had become ants to him.
Just then, Ye Guan recalled something and turned to Ye Qingqing.
"Aunt, what comes next after the Divine Realm? Divine Transcendence?"
Ye Qingqing shook her head. "No."
"What comes next, then?"
"Don't bite more than you can chew. Your priority at the moment is to stabilize your cultivation base and sword dao realm. You've just made a breakthrough, after all."
"All right," Ye Guan replied with a nod. Then, he sounded confused as he asked, "How come they haven't attacked us yet?"
Ye Qingqing looked up and replied, "They're waiting for reinforcements, too."
Ye Guan’s expression darkened.
"Let’s go," Ye Qingqing said, disappearing into a ray of sword light.
Ye Guan followed closely behind her.
Half an hour later, the two arrived at the summit of a mountain.
They looked around and could see a mountain range that stretched for hundreds of kilometers in all directions.
Ye Guan looked up and saw quite a few ancient palaces suspended in the air.
There were thousands of them, creating a magnificent view.
Ye Guan was curious. "What are those?"
"Let's go there so you can see for yourself."
Ye Qingqing tapped the ground lightly with her toes and vanished. She reappeared more than ten kilometers away. Ye Guan hurriedly chased after her.
The two soon arrived in front of the biggest palace. Every single palace in the air looked even more dilapidated upon closer inspection, and they emitted a desolate aura. There wasn't a trace of life anywhere, which made the place appear eerie.
Ye Guan looked up and saw a plaque hanging above the palace doors of the biggest palace—Abandoned Heaven Clan.
Abandoned Heaven Clan? Ye Guan's curiosity was piqued.
Ye Qingqing walked into the palace, and Ye Guan chased after her.
A musty smell struck their nostrils the moment they entered the palace.
Ye Qingqing waved her sleeve, and the stale air was swept away by a powerful killing intent.
The grand hall was devoid of any furnishings, and there was only a white-robed old man sitting cross-legged inside the hall. The white-robed old man's hands were folded in front of him, and his head was lowered close to his chest.
He wasn't emitting any aura.
Ye Qingqing looked at him and muttered, "Sealed..."
"Let’s go," Ye Qingqing said, turning around to leave.
Ye Guan hesitated briefly before bowing slightly to the white-robed old man. Then, he turned around to leave. Ye Guan's bowing was a long-standing habit of his—the habit of being respectful toward elders.
Ye Guan had decided to be respectful, as it might bring him surprises.
The two were about to leave when the white-robed old man opened his eyes slowly.
Ye Guan stopped in his tracks upon sensing the movement. He turned and found that the white-robed old man was already staring at him.
This old man is still alive?
Ye Guan bowed slightly once again and greeted, "Senior!"
Ye Qingqing glanced at the white-robed old man without saying a word.
The white-robed old man looked at Ye Qingqing for a while before he turned to Ye Guan and smiled. "So you're the advocate of the Virtuous Dao..."
Ye Guan was puzzled. "Do you know me, Senior?"
The white-robed old man nodded. "Not too long ago, someone came here, hoping that I would kill you."
Ye Guan’s face instantly darkened.
The white-robed old man continued, "But I didn't agree to their request."
"Why not?"
The white-robed old man smiled but remained silent.
Ye Guan was confused; he couldn't understand why the white-robed old man had declined such a request.
The white-robed old man asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes."
"The Time Reversers want to kill you to achieve immortality. What's wrong with immortality? Also, have the myriad beings of this vast expanse committed any crimes? If so, what crime have they committed?
"The grand principles of the Great Dao—Okay, let me ask another question. If this lady next to you was near the end of her lifespan, would you use the Order to suppress her?"
Ye Guan frowned.
Ye Qingqing glanced at the white-robed old man indifferently, but she didn't say anything.
The white-robed old man smiled. "What? Are you hesitating?"
Ye Guan was silent.
The white-robed old man said, "These Time Reversers are mere strangers to you; they aren't your relatives or your friends. In other words, it's not strange that you have no feelings for them.
"However, if the people you cherish are one day at the end of their lifespans, would you be able to remain impartial by then?"
Ye Guan pondered briefly before saying, "Senior, I'm the weakest in my family."
"Don't dodge my question," the white-robed old man said.
Ye Guan stared at the white-robed old man without saying anything.
The old man continued, "Imagine this lady beside you is reaching the end of her lifespan and is about to turn into dust. You’re given the chance to shatter the Order and grant her eternal life, but you have to sacrifice—"
"I'd do it," Ye Guan replied immediately, "I'd shatter the Order and grant her eternal life."
Ye Qingqing stared at Ye Guan.
The white-robed old man sneered.
Ye Guan merely smiled in response to the white-robed old man's sneer.
"Senior, I understand what you're trying to say, and I can see that you're mocking me for being biased. However, it doesn't really matter to me. I want to establish a new Order to protect the vast expanse and the myriad beings.
"However, I will never sacrifice my loved ones for it."
The white-robed old man chuckled and jeered, "But sacrificing the lives of others is acceptable to you, right?"
Ye Guan calmly replied, "Senior, I think you shouldn't sit here. I know a place in the Milky Way, and it's called Leshan. There's a giant Buddha statue there. You should probably bring that statue down and sit in its place."
"Pfft!" Ye Qingqing burst out into laughter, but she quickly regained her composure.
An amused light shone in her eyes as she stared at her nephew.
The white-robed old man had no idea what to say.
"My goal is to protect the vast expanse and the myriad beings. I’m working toward it at the moment, but if it hadn't been for my aunts and loved ones, I wouldn't have dared to even have such thoughts.
"Without my aunts' help, what order can I even establish? I wouldn't have accomplished anything without them!
"Even if I somehow manage to succeed, it'll surely be because of their help. If you want me to remain unbiased once I've succeeded and force them to adhere to my Order by allowing them to return to dust... I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.
"Once I have to make a choice by then, I'll leave a backdoor for them. If I have to choose between them and the Order I’ve established, then I will personally shatter my Order."
The old man was quiet for a long time before muttering, "You've surprised me..."
"I've never claimed to be a saint. It'd be great if I could do anything for the myriad beings and the vast expanse, but if I have to sacrifice my loved ones to do that, then I'm sorry, but I'll have to take a rain check.
"I'm useless without my aunts, after all. Just take this instance for example, would you treat me seriously if it weren't for Aunt Qingqing standing next to me?"
Ye Qingqing's gaze toward Ye Guan softened drastically. Ye Qingqing had never really interacted with Ye Guan, and her brother, Ye Xuan, was the reason she had decided to help Ye Guan.
However, Ye Guan's words just now had made her become fond of him. Ye Qingqing hated hypocrites the most—especially those who talked loudly about moral righteousness!
The white-robed old man sighed, and his eyes revealed a complicated light.
The white-robed old man wanted to see if he could shatter the young man’s faith. After all, a biased individual was full of contradictions. However, the white-robed old man was caught off guard when Ye Guan turned out to be pretty clear with his principles—family comes first!
Establishing a brand-new Order was just him doing something nice for the vast expanse and the myriad beings. It wasn't something that he had to do at all costs, which meant he would never sacrifice his family for the myriad beings.
The white-robed old man sighed once again.
Kind and good people weren't scary, as they were bound by their own moral standards and righteousness. The scariest people were those who were neither good nor evil. A perfect example of such people was Ye Guan.
Ye Guan was willing to do good deeds, but he would never sacrifice his family for the sake of it. On the flip side, he was willing to commit evil deeds for the sake of his family.
How could he shatter the faith of someone like that?
Ye Guan stared deeply at the white-robed old man before turning to Ye Qingqing.
"Aunt, let’s go!"
Ye Qingqing nodded. "Okay."
The two then turned around to leave. Just as they were about to step out of the door, Ye Guan suddenly stopped in his tracks. He then turned around to look at the white-robed old man.
"How much longer can you live?"
"I've got less than a hundred years left," the white-robed old man replied.
Less than a hundred years... It was no wonder the white-robed old man had chosen to stay here. However, Ye Guan reckoned that if the white-robed old man had less than ten years of lifespan rather than less than a hundred, the latter would have joined the Time Reversers' camp.
Ye Guan pondered briefly before asking, "I guess you're not willing to die so easily. Are you interested in forming a good relationship with me?"
The old man frowned and asked, "Forming a good relationship with you?"
Ye Guan nodded. "The Great Daoist Brush Master and I have agreed to establish a new Order in a hundred years. A hundred years is my deadline. How about this? Help me, and I’ll open a backdoor for you once I've succeeded."
The white-robed old man’s expression changed drastically. "Really?"
Ye Guan nodded. "Of course. I won't promise, but when the time comes and I’ve already subdued the Great Dao, I'll go and talk to her. I believe that with a sword at her neck, we can surely discuss anything. So, what do you think?"
The white-robed old man hurriedly stood up. Then, he cupped his fists respectfully, saying, "Young Lord Ye, I apologize for speaking out of turn. Please forgive me!"
Ye Guan was truly stupefied by the white-robed old man's abrupt change in attitude.
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