Chapter 2917 - Ancestral Destiny Artifacts
Not long after meeting with the Qiongqi Mountain Lord, Su Yi went into seclusion.
His friends and allies didn’t know what to make of it.
“Ol’ Qiongqi, what the heck did you give Brother Su? What could have made someone as lazy as him turn so diligent so quickly?” Wang Zhiwu asked.
“I don’t know.” The Qiongqi Mountain Lord shook his head. “I’m just an errand boy.”
Wang Zhiwu laughed coldly; he only half believed it. “A mere errand boy managed to defeat Li Shouhu’s clone? Quit the act, old man, and tell me what’s really going on here!”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao and the others were here too, and their hearts quivered. Wang Zhiwu is just too gutsy. Isn’t he worried that he’ll offend this hidden expert?
But the Qiongqi Mountain Lord thought nothing of it. He just smiled and shook his head. “I told you what I know, and what I do not. Fellow Daoist Wang, if you really want answers, why not ask Fellow Daoist Su?”
In truth, he was quite confused, too. Earlier, his mistress’s imprint had appeared to request a private conversation with Su Yi, but the Qiongqi Mountain Lord had no idea what they were talking about.
Still, this was enough to make him realize that his mistress attached far greater importance to Su Yi than he’d initially realized!
It was for this reason that the Qiongqi Mountain Lord was anxiously mentally replaying his earlier conversation with Su Yi. Was I humble enough? And was I warm and friendly enough?
He was naturally in no mood to hold Wang Zhiwu accountable. Besides, he’d been pretending to be a Heavenly Monarch for countless years now, and he’d grown quite tolerant in the process.
“Nonsense. Brother Su has already gone into seclusion. How could I possibly ask him any questions?” Wang Zhiwu said irritably. “Forget it. Never mind all that. Just tell me who you really are, and where you came from. Also, why have you been pretending to be a Heavenly Monarch? You hid yourself far too deeply...”
He got straight to the point, and he wasn’t the least bit polite, but much to the others’ astonishment, the Qiongqi Mountain Lord didn’t take offense. On the contrary, he smiled. “How about we find a place for a private chat?”
He wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about Su Yi anyway.
Wang Zhiwu rolled his eyes. “We aren’t friends, so quit acting so chummy with me! It’s unsettling.”
But then, a smile spread across his face, and he put an arm over the Qiongqi Mountain Lord’s shoulder. “That said, there’s no reason we can’t chat for a bit. Come on, let’s drink and bare our hearts to each other!”
The Qiongqi Mountain Lord laughed, all too happy to agree.
The others gaped in astonishment. Seriously? Just like that?
“Fellow Daoist Shen Xiao, I’m finding it increasingly hard to understand that ‘worthy younger brother’ of yours,” River Ancestor Lu Shu said with a sigh.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao let out a bitter laugh. He wanted to say, “That goes for me, too,” but in the end, he just chuckled. “Having a brother like him is an honor! Come on, let’s go have a drink, too.”
River Ancestor Lu Shu nodded, then smiled at Star Toad. “Little brother, if you have nothing else to do, why not come with us?”
Star Toad’s mind went blank. He was completely flustered.
But before he could say anything, River Ancestor Shen Xiao took him by the arm and said, “Come on! Who cares if you’ve got other business? Drinking comes first!”
Their sheer warmth and enthusiasm overwhelmed the toad, who could only follow them in a daze.
Star Toad was just a River King, and he ruled over just three thousand miles of water, but ever since reuniting with Su Yi in that restaurant in the Spirit Treasure Celestial City, he’d felt as if he’d entered a new, bigger world.
River Ancestors addressed him as an equal, while River Emperors treated him with respect. Star Toad had never dared to even imagine such a thing before!
But Star Toad was self-aware. He knew that this wasn’t because he was anyone special, but rather, because His Excellency Su was extraordinary.
When a man achieved the Dao, even his dogs and chickens ascended into the heavens. This time, he was just one of those chickens, that’s all.
In the end, only River Empress Lu Ping and River Empress Peacock remained behind.
“Lu Ping, we’ve known each other for years. Why didn’t I know you were acquainted with a human cultivator like Wang Zhiwu?” River Empress Peacock couldn’t help but ask.
River Empress Lu Ping hesitated, then said softly, “Fellow Daoist Wang’s background isn’t simple, but there’s actually another reason I’m following him.”
“What is it?” said River Empress Peacock, instantly intrigued.
River Empress Lu Ping was one of the thirteen strongest River Emperors in the surrounding million miles of water. Here in the Five-Colored Hidden Realm, surrounded by so many terrifying experts, she had little presence, but who in the outside world would have dared to overlook her?
Wang Zhiwu had somehow convinced River Empress Lu Ping to follow his orders. That naturally wasn’t simple.
River Empress Lu Ping hesitated briefly, then decided to tell the truth. “It’s because of the River Denizens’ Cauldron.”
The River Denizens’ Cauldron! River Empress Peacock instantly understood. “He promised you an opportunity to become a River Ancestor?”
River Empress Lu Ping nodded.
River Empress Peacock found it hard to stay calm. She’d thought Su Yi had more than enough secrets already. She hadn’t anticipated that Wang Zhiwu would have such an enormous secret, too!
The River Ancestors of the River of Destiny were like the Heavenly Sovereigns of the Eternal Heavens Domain. They were extremely rare.
Becoming a Heavenly Sovereign required an Eternal Throne. Similarly, becoming a River Ancestor required an Ancestral Destiny Artifact!
Ancestral Destiny Artifacts were a type of primeval, naturally formed treasure full of unbelievable, secret power.
And the River Denizens’ Cauldron was an Ancestral Destiny Artifact famed throughout the River of Destiny!
However, rumor had it that the River Denizens’ Cauldron had been lost during the Devastation. No one had seen it since.
Who could have imagined that a human cultivator would acquire it?
“Are you sure you aren’t mistaken?” River Empress Peacock couldn’t help but ask. There was so much on the line that she couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“There’s absolutely no mistake,” River Empress Lu Ping said firmly. “When I sensed the cauldron’s aura, my true name reacted instinctively.”
Her eyes dimmed. “It’s just a pity that, according to Fellow Daoist Wang, the River Denizens’ Cauldron is damaged. Even if I refine it, it’s up to fate whether I can successfully become a River Ancestor or not.:
“No wonder you were willing to follow his orders,” said River Empress Peacock. “Who wouldn’t have been tempted?”
River Empress Lu Ping gazed at her a bit strangely. “Fellow Daoist, you’re now acquainted with Destiny’s Chosen. Isn’t that an enormous blessing in its own right?”
River Empress Peacock paused, then nodded silently.
......
Su Yi examined the snow-white jade slip in a bit of a daze.
Who could have imagined that a paltry little jade slip like this could contain an entire orthodoxy’s ancestral grounds!
And not just any orthodoxy. This was Fangchun Mountain!
Earlier, Ling Ran’s mother, Ruo Su, explained the secrets of the jade slip.
Fangchun Mountain had long since ceased to accept disciples, and her apprentice siblings had all followed Grandmaster Bodhi to the All-Wonder Dominion to continue their cultivation.
She, however, had remained behind, looking after the ancestral grounds of Fangchun Mountain in accordance with her master’s commands.
Not even she knew why her master had commanded her to entrust their ancestral grounds to Su Yi, but those were her master’s orders, so she didn’t question it.
According to Ruo Su, the ancestral grounds of Fangchun Mountain were uninhabited, as everyone living there had left. However, its source energies and legacies remained.
It was effectively a blessed ground for cultivation, and an excellent one at that. Even if you searched all thirty-three continents of the Eternal Heavens Domain, you wouldn’t find its equal!
Furthermore, Grandmaster Bodhi and his disciples had personally renovated and improved the place. It now hid numerous unbelievable facilities and secrets.
When Ruo Su first explained the situation, Su Yi’s first impulse was to refuse.
Was this some kind of joke? How could you give your sect’s ancestral grounds to someone you just met?
The very idea was unbelievable. Su Yi in no way dared to accept something like that lightly.
Ruo Su didn’t push. Instead, she said, “Our founder left nineteen legacies on Fangchun Mountain, and the sect’s disciples left fifty-five legacies in total, as well as eight thousand Daoist canons, nine hundred Buddhist scriptures, three thousand Confucian tomes, and six thousand books of Demonist inheritances...
“These legacies and classics aside, Fangchun Mountain has seventy-two grottos, each a blessed ground with a wondrous spirit vein. They’re inestimably beneficial for cultivating.
“Then, there are thirty-three trial grounds, and the treasures, elixirs, and medicines Master and my sectmates gathered from all across different epoch civilizations.”
As Ruo Su continued her explanation, Su Yi was unwittingly stunned. He felt as if a cat were clawing at his heart; it was like an unbearable itch.
All of this belonged to one sect?
Su Yi now had his second incarnation’s Dao Imprint, so it was immediately obvious to him that the Heart-Tempering Sword House was far, far from comparable to Fangchun Mountain.
More than that, even some of the Heavenly Sovereigns’ sects lacked such an abundance of scriptures and all-encompassing wealth.
Discussing all this moved Ruo Su deeply, too. Everything Fangchun Mountain had was the product of Grandmaster Bodhi and her sectmates’ hard work.
But it was their junior-most apprentice brother who’d contributed the most. His accomplishments far eclipsed those of his senior apprentice siblings. Even Grandmaster Bodhi sighed that having a disciple like him was a blessing for the entire sect!
Fangchun Mountain was like a home to Ruo Su. Normally, giving away even a single blade of its grass would have been enough to make her heart ache, let alone giving away its entire ancestral grounds!
But Ruo Su could accept giving it to Su Yi.
This was primarily due to Su Yi’s first incarnation, but she was also certain that entrusting the ancestral grounds of Fangchun Mountain to Su Yi would be a good thing. Given his disposition, he’d take good care of it. There was no way he’d desecrate it.
In the end, Su Yi agreed, but he swore to serve only as its temporary guardian. When the disciples of Fangchun Mountain returned to claim it, he’d naturally give it back.
Ruo Su was all too happy to agree.
She then went on to tell Su Yi that if he wanted to control the ancestral grounds of Fangchun Mountain, he’d need to earn its disciples’ recognition. Otherwise, it would amount to no more than a jade slip and provide no benefits whatsoever.
As for how he was to go about earning their recognition? He’d naturally understand when he arrived.
This imprint of Ruo Su’s power served as a key.
When Su Yi agreed to accept custody of the ancestral court of Fangchun Mountain, Ruo Su’s imprint transformed into a beam of light and blurred into the white jade slip. In doing so, she opened the gates to Fangchun Mountain’s ancestral grounds.
In other words, Su Yi could now enter whenever he pleased!
