Chapter 1836: Different Paths, Same Outcome (II)

What is he thinking?! Does the path he has chosen really offer any hope of survival?!

Fan Kang was tormented by these thoughts. He was no fool. Someone who knew the future intimately could draw a few conclusions of his own.

He looked up and said, "I understand... You have Lord Wei's interests at heart, Daoist Master. But if you truly wish to help him, you should seek closer ties with Lord Xue. At the very least, you should approach the Chunyi Dao for advice and assistance..."

But those words seemed to strike a nerve. For an instant, fear flashed across Ch'i Lanyan's face. Then his gaze turned cold and sinister as he replied, "Majestic Light and Observation Transformation stand alongside each other as Dao tracks. [Unmoving Temple] was founded long before [Tongxuan Palace]. Even True Monarch Xuxiang belongs to a later generation...

“Although our [Dao of the Observation Transformation Heavenly Tower] was established later, it inherited that Dao lineage and possesses its own dignity. We may have fallen on hard times and live under their protection, but that does not mean we should join their side... If you dare mention this again, do not blame me for purging my disciples."

Those words brought Fan Kang to his senses. He remembered that the man before him was a Purple Mansion Realm Daoist Master who could reduce him to ashes with a breath. Fear immediately displaced his anxiety.

He stepped back and said shakily, "I spoke out of turn!"

Ch'i Lanyan looked at him intently and replied, "You were simply too anxious. Withdraw and attend to your cultivation."

Fan Kang hurriedly bowed and stumbled away. Ch'i Lanyan remained alone in the great hall with a cold and severe expression.

Tao Jiexing has little worldly experience and is easy to sound out. Judging by his stammering, the Tao Family must possess [Flawless Culminated Yin]. They simply refuse to bring it out.

Martial uncle watched Tao Jiexing grow up. Even Guangchan had to acknowledge him as an elder. Given the Tao Family's ties with our Pavilion of Profound Order, they should never have refused to lend it... It seems someone is determined to prevent martial uncle from pursuing the Dao. Everything that has happened now has only served their wishes!

He walked to the doorway, where cool moonlight spilled over the steps. Conflicting emotions filled Ch'i Lanyan's heart.

Without strength, one cannot attain the Dao. Those who have no wish to pursue it have others forcing them toward attainment, while those who seek it face countless obstacles.

He turned the matter over in his mind but remained uneasy. Returning to his desk, he sat down, and an idea started taking shape.

Simply asking Chunyi Dao is no solution. Among the Supreme Yang Dao lineages, that Cheng Family alone makes a pretense of withdrawing from the world. They have the least backbone. I must find a way to meet them again.

While the Daoist Master sat deep in thought, Fan Kang withdrew in a daze, his heart filled with dread. If I keep following him down this path, will I have any chance of surviving...

Fan Kang had not been a great figure in his previous life. He had obtained his opportunity by sheer luck, and even then nearly fallen into the hands of Buddhist cultivators. Ch'i Lanyan had rescued him single-handedly, then accepted him as a disciple despite his lack of background or foundation.

Fan Kang certainly knew that Ch'i Lanyan had selfish motives, but had he not also enjoyed the many benefits of the Observation Transformation Dao lineage? If Ch'i Lanyan merely wanted to use him, there had been no need to take him as a disciple. Yet seeing how stubborn his master was, Fan Kang felt genuine fear, with uncertainty beginning to creep into his heart.

With my Heavenly Plain fate... would joining the Buddhist Dao not grant me an exceptionally powerful fate as well?

Even as a mere nobody back then, his joining the Buddhist Dao would have held considerable value. Now he also bore the identity of a disciple of the Observation Transformation Dao lineage... That would make him all the more valuable. It was only his conscience that he could not overcome.

I'll take things one step at a time. If this becomes impossible... I still have a way out.

————

Gray clouds blanketed the sky, and darkness stretched in every direction.

A tall general stood in the air with a crimson axe in hand. After lingering in the dark night for a while, he turned toward the woman beside him, raised his brows, and said, "[Banished Essence] and [Supreme Shaman] are both Dao lineages that excel at defense rather than offense. Their strengths lie mostly in transformations and delaying tactics. They cannot overwhelm and slay their enemies outright. Yang Ruiyi may possess many treasures, but he has yet to cross the Purple Mansion Threshold. Rest assured, fellow Daoist."

Those words sent a slight chill through Kong Tingyun's heart. Gongsun Bei had brought Mingxiang and the others south to attack Great Song, but she had long realized that Ch'i Lanyan had no intention of securing any gains. Their strength would have been considerable elsewhere, but hoping to seize Jiangnan, where Great Song contested every inch of ground, was plainly a fool's dream.

They have brought just enough people to tie down Great Song's forces and keep its attention here.

Sure enough, Gongsun Bei had no spirit treasure. Even working together, they could do little more than advance and withdraw freely through Banished Essence. His words now clearly signaled that the situation was about to turn against them.

She replied, "It is the north that worries me."

Gongsun Bei sighed. "This is beyond either of us. We need only attend respectfully to our orders."

Those words could be considered comforting, yet they only deepened Kong Tingyun's helplessness. Her heart jolted as she concluded, There has probably been a major defeat.

To put it kindly, Kong Tingyun was a puppet. More bluntly, she was merely a figurehead. Yet precisely because this intelligent woman understood her position, she had developed an unusual perceptiveness.

Previously, Ch'i Lanyan had been composed, or at least maintained the dignity expected of the Observation Transformation Dao lineage. He had pretended to treat her as a fellow cultivator, and consulted her on most matters. Now, however, there was not a word of news. That alone revealed the panic at Xuanmiao Temple, or perhaps its heightened wariness.

He has too much to deal with. He no longer has the time to keep up the pretense.

That was Kong Tingyun's sorrow. Stripped of all pretense, she was once again merely a puppet, able only to gaze silently at the black clouds overhead.

Beside her, Gongsun Bei glanced at her and asked, "Where is the formation plate for the great formation?"

Kong Tingyun returned his bow. Sneering inwardly, she answered with a calm expression, "Naturally, that information was not entrusted to me."

Nearby, Kong Xiaxiang knelt silently beneath the steps, as motionless as a stone statue.

Gongsun Bei gave an awkward laugh, unable to conceal the worry in his eyes as he stared into the night sky. A streak of silvery-red light, like mercury mixed with water, was rapidly rising.

As though trying to ease his embarrassment, he frowned and said, "To think Chengqian has joined them as well... His mystics are quite formidable. Fortunately, his cultivation is not high, or he would be a serious hindrance."

Kong Tingyun said evenly, "You cultivate [Radiant Essence], after all, general. This Dao lineage has an unstable Principal Position but a strong Intercalary and Surplus branch. Moreover, Radiant Essence arises through threefold transformation. Against [Whole Pill], which governs transformation, he naturally has many ways to counter your arts."

Gongsun Bei clearly had not expected such an explanation from her. He replied, "You are well informed, fellow Daoist!"

Kong Tingyun replied unhurriedly, "My place in the [Mount Zhaoyao] lineage has been formally recognized, after all. Strictly speaking, I can be counted as a disciple of Tongxuan. I have read a Daoist manual or two, though that hardly compares with your wealth of experience campaigning far and wide, general."

Although Kong Tingyun was generous and gentle, she was hardly someone who would meekly accept mistreatment. Her soft words concealed a barb and a quiet warning. Gongsun Bei was exceptionally talented and had earned great renown through his own efforts, but before the north's many True Monarch bloodlines and the direct Dao lineages of the Three Profundities, he counted for little. Otherwise, he would not have been reduced to being ordered from place to place.

A thousand years earlier, with her Purple Mansion Realm cultivation and standing in the [Mount Zhaoyao] lineage, even Gongsun Bei would have had to address Kong Tingyun as his superior!

He hesitated, growing more wary, then said, "My apologies... My apologies!"

Only after a considerable while did a streak of light withdraw from above. It was a monk holding a treasure, his face pale and his body riddled with wounds. He descended without a word.

It was Mingxiang.

Gongsun Bei immediately stepped into the air and left the formation to take his place. Mingxiang brushed the Banished Essence from his body and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Yet he showed little concern, smiling at Kong Tingyun as he said, "Thank you for your protection, fellow Daoist."

Kong Tingyun had never been rigid in her views. Moreover, since reaching the Purple Mansion Realm, she had gradually learned of the little-known side of Daoist Master Changxi. She even knew that Changxi had once been on friendly terms with Tianlang Zhi, and the Great Desire Dao was far crueler than Lotus Temple.

She therefore brought her palms together and said, "You are too kind, Venerable One."

Mingxiang smiled and said, "You worry too much, gate master."

Kong Tingyun sighed. "With Banished Essence filling the sky, how could I not worry?"

Mingxiang waved a hand and changed how he addressed her. "Rest easy, benefactor. The great formation here is scarcely inferior to the one Yang Ruiyi established at Mount Tangdao. The south may be able to break it, but doing so will be no easy task."

The monk chuckled. "These northern cultivators may all possess profound cultivation, and the Buddhist cultivators may swagger about, but their position is actually worse than yours, benefactor. If something truly goes wrong, they die, and that is that... But you? At least the entire Pavilion of Profound Order protects you, and perhaps even greater figures."

Kong Tingyun looked at the monk as he continued, "What you should do now, benefactor, is cultivate and advance as quickly as you can, rather than fret. If you cross the Purple Mansion Threshold, even Tongxuan will regard you more highly!"

"Thank you for the advice, fellow Daoist!"

Kong Tingyun was exceptionally intelligent and understood this well. Yet of all the cultivators who came and went, it was Mingxiang, a monk, who set aside distinctions of lineage and standing to speak to her of such things. Her regard for him grew, along with her bitterness.

But how much time will I be given? Fifty years? A hundred? Cross the Purple Mansion Threshold? My aptitude is poor. Even reaching the Purple Mansion Realm was terribly difficult. How can I cultivate faster than people like Ch'i Lanyan?

She lowered her gaze and thought to herself, Even... with the Profound Method of Continuation, the prospect remains remote.

Kong Tingyun remained silent. After an unknown length of time, gray winds suddenly churned across the sky, and the radiance receded. The various mystics were withdrawn at once, like water drawn into a great whale's mouth, flowing back into the dark hall. For a time, the sky grew calm.

Both were taken aback. Kong Tingyun immediately formed a hand seal and cast an art, only to hear thunderous cheers from the foot of the mountain, rising in waves, each louder than the last.

"A great victory at Baixiang Valley!"

The cries seemed ready to pierce the heavens, leaving Kong Tingyun momentarily speechless. Beside her, however, Mingxiang clapped his hands, his face full of wry amusement.

"Oh!"

Now and then, another cry rang out, "Guangchan has been slain!"

The monk seemed even more delighted. His lips moved in a soundless murmur, and Kong Tingyun could just make out the word, Excellent!

But she could spare no attention for these disputes among monks. In the distance, she could see myriad colors filling the southern sky. Shimmering colors appeared in succession, and what seemed like a vast rain of blood fell from the sky. Amid the billowing blood clouds, a great tomb was sealed shut, and countless burial offerings tumbled down.

Kong Tingyun asked quietly, "Who has fallen?"

Mingxiang frowned and began calculating on his fingers. Yet the threads of fate had become hopelessly entangled. Relying on a few broad deductions, he shook his head and said, "No one has fallen... Someone in Great Song has broken through to the Purple Mansion Realm."

Kong Tingyun studied the sight intently. After a moment of silence, she murmured, "It is in Linhai Prefecture."

Mingxiang looked thoughtful. "Could it be... the Lingu Family, the rulers of Nanjia?"

"No... The Lingu Family lacks the talent. Even producing Lingu Lanying was unexpected. How could there be a second? Such an earth-shaking phenomenon must come from an extraordinary Dao lineage and cultivation foundation..."

Kong Tingyun closed her eyes and said with a shudder, "It is Great Xiukui Temple."

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