Chapter 1636: Each to Their Own Fortune
“How times have changed, how fickle the world is. I never imagined that after so many years, within this vast Tai Yi Palace, it would be the two of us meeting again.”
The Grandmaster gazed at the Understanding Dao Infinite Wall, observing it for a moment before nodding slightly. “It seems you’ve been doing alright for yourself.”
The Infinite Wall chuckled. “It’s all thanks to the blessings of the Great Master and you, Young Master. How else could I have reached where I am today? But still, I’m nothing compared to you. This Dao Palace is truly magnificent. It’s quite reminiscent of the old days!”
“It was a simple matter, just a way to reminisce,” replied the Tiandu Grandmaster, also known as Wuji. Back in the Immortal World, he had always enjoyed flattery.
Despite all he had been through, that particular trait remained unchanged.
The fact that the praise came from an old acquaintance from the former Tai Yi Palace brought the Grandmaster a long-forgotten sense of pleasure.
He had initially planned to meet briefly, dismiss the wall, and return to his cultivation and contemplation.
But now, he felt there was no need to rush.
At last, the Wall’s single eye swiveled, focusing on the illusion of Tai Yi.
“Young Master, how is the Great Master’s illusion so lifelike? The moment I first saw it, I was so intimidated my whole body went weak.”
The Grandmaster sneered. “Although my Master has undergone Immortal Dissolution, he still left behind an illusion to support the crumbling heavens. Though it is merely an illusion, it retains a portion of my Master’s divine might. You may have made some progress over the years, but to distinguish the difference at a single glance...”
“That would be nothing but wishful thinking.”
A flash of fury sparked within the Infinite Wall at the Grandmaster's words, but its surface remained the very picture of reverence as it continued to listen.
“When my Master was present, he was the Great Dao of[Tai Yi]in this world. Now that he is gone, only this illusion remains, yet it is still enough to represent[Tai Yi].”
“However, with the shattering of the Immortal World, the Great Dao is fragmented, and the Dao of Tai Yi has changed accordingly...”
“The[Tai Yi]of today is not the[Tai Yi]of the past.”
The Grandmaster’s words were somewhat convoluted.
But both the Infinite Wall and Rinsing Moon Bai, who was hidden within it, understood perfectly.
The Infinite Wall stared intently at the illusion of Tai Yi, an irrepressible greed rising in its core.
But the Saint’s might, like a primal instinct, weighed upon its heart, making it hesitate, unable to act.
“With the Great Master’s divine power, since he left this illusion behind, surely it can be used to contact him,” the Infinite Wall probed, its tone filled with envy.
The Grandmaster snorted. “There’s some truth to what you say. But that’s predicated on the Master *wanting* to see and hear.”
“Precisely because my Master’s true power is so immense, even if he departed normally and left only an illusion of himself, he could still perceive everything around it. That would have contradicted his original intentions.”
“Therefore, he used the method of[Immortal Dissolution], truly severing his existence in this world and completely cutting all ties. In essence, it is no different from perishing.”
“This illusion is merely the[Tai Yi]of this world, not my Master. If you truly wish to contact him, you would have a better chance chanting his name a thousand times a day in your heart than placing your hopes in this illusion.”
The Infinite Wall was suddenly enlightened. “In that case, I can rest assured.”
“Hm?”
The Wall’s reaction was unexpected. As the Grandmaster paused in momentary confusion, a figure leaped out of thin air.
Wielding a white staff, concealed beneath a straw cape and conical hat, the figure swung down at his head!
“Courting death!”
The Grandmaster’s fury turned to laughter.
He simply couldn't believe that a mere tile from the old Tai Yi Palace would dare to attack him.
“Could it be that I misjudged? Is this not the original, but someone who has possessed it?”
That was the first thought that sprang into the Grandmaster’s mind.
Though stunned, the Grandmaster’s hands moved without pause.
“You stand before Wuji, why do you not disperse!”
The pride of being Wuji was such that even though he had perceived Rinsing Moon Bai’s move an instant before, he did not dodge or evade.
He spoke with detached authority.
But in the next moment, he realized something was wrong.
That staff... it seemed somewhat familiar. It was unaffected by the Great Dao of Wuji.
And that conical hat, that straw cape...
After years of comprehending the Great Dao of Tai Yi, the Grandmaster had derived the myriad forms of all Daos within his own heart, and his memories of the past had grown hazy.
But now, the sudden appearance of the jade pillar, the conical hat, and the straw cape awakened a distant memory from the depths of his mind.
“Aren’t these all relics from the Tai Yi Palace?”
Shocked and enraged, the Grandmaster lost his composure and retreated rapidly.
However, the staff-wielding figure clung to him like a shadow he could not shake.
The staff, carrying the weight of the heavens, drew ever closer.
“Insolence!”
Seeing no path of retreat, the Grandmaster’s own ferocity was ignited. He pointed a finger at the figure in the straw cape, and in an instant, hundreds of thousands of different figures, like a rain of swords, shot forth.
Each figure had a corresponding counterpart among the living beings of Source Dao Province.
They were all tools the Grandmaster used to comprehend the Great Dao of Tai Yi, and now, transformed into a divine ability, they possessed world-destroying power.
A torrential downpour of attacks hammered down on Rinsing Moon Bai.
If not for the protection of her eternal straw cape, she might have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
Though her advance was hindered, the momentum of the heaven-overturning staff technique did not wane.
And as she swung the staff, Rinsing Moon Bai noticed the countless figures blooming like fireworks, blocked by her defense.
“It seems... each image corresponds to a certain Great Dao?”
“Tai Yi, born before the heavens, from which the ten thousand Daos are derived...”
The accumulated comprehension from nearly thirty reincarnations was truly terrifying, so much so that Rinsing Moon Bai could grasp profound insights even in the heat of battle.
Initially, the storm of Dao figures was a great obstacle.
But as Rinsing Moon Bai understood them, she could instantly turn them to her own advantage.
The resistance she faced at the start was immense, but as she comprehended and adapted, she slowly began to move like a fish in water!
To the Grandmaster, this scene was utterly horrifying.
The staff-wielding person before him seemed to know the myriad Daos of the world, just as he did.
His killing moves were utterly useless against her.
He could only watch, helpless, as the heaven-overturning staff descended upon his head.
In a daze, the Grandmaster was cast back to a memory from long ago.
A True Immortal, who had not yet made a name for himself, had somehow found his way to the Tai Yi Palace. Blocked by the restrictive formations and unable to enter, he refused to leave, insisting on an audience with the Sage Lord.
But Saint Tai Yi had long since ceased to involve himself in the affairs of the Immortal World.
So, the Grandmaster went out to dismiss him.
“Immortal Master, please, be so kind as to announce my presence. Just let me see the Sage Lord.”
But the man still refused to leave. He even produced a jade slip in a clumsy attempt to curry favor with the Grandmaster. “This is a staff technique I chanced upon. It holds the power to overturn heaven and earth. If you read it, Immortal Master, you will surely gain some insight...”
With the Grandmaster’s discerning eye, how could he possibly value the enlightenment of an unknown True Immortal?
The man’s attempt to curry favor backfired, infuriating the Grandmaster.
He slapped the jade slip to the ground and forcefully drove the True Immortal away.
“This staff technique... could it be the one recorded in that jade slip?”
“That person back then... why was he so insistent on seeing my Master?”
Before his consciousness faded to black, these were the thoughts that surfaced in the Grandmaster’s mind.
...
*Clang!*
A sound like striking metal rang out, its echo reverberating through the nine heavens.
Rinsing Moon Bai’s jade staff struck the Grandmaster squarely between the eyes.
Though the Grandmaster was knocked unconscious by the blow, the jade pillar also suffered from the rebound force, and thousands of cracks instantly appeared across its surface.
“Quick, quick! Before he wakes up, restrain him!”
The Infinite Wall was ecstatic. It manifested its true form, unleashing a torrent of treasured lights.
Some of the lights morphed into ropes, binding the unconscious Grandmaster tightly.
Others seemed to be cast aside, flying into the corners of the room as if simply to clear enough space to suppress the Grandmaster.
A massive fissure appeared in the center of the Infinite Wall, like a cavernous mouth.
Countless ropes, attached to the Grandmaster, slowly began to pull him inside.
“This Wuji isn’t dead?” Rinsing Moon Bai asked in a muffled voice.
“He may be a fool, but he is the Great Dao of Wuji! How could he be killed by a single blow from you? You’ve only temporarily rattled his spirit and knocked him unconscious.”
“Quickly, help me drag him into my belly so I can suppress and slowly refine him!”
“Hahaha, I never thought this brat would see such a day!”
The Infinite Wall cheered with glee, and Rinsing Moon Bai hurried to assist.
The Grandmaster had the body of a mere child, yet trying to drag him was like moving a mountain.
It took a great deal of effort before they finally managed to haul him into the Infinite Wall.
The Infinite Wall pulsed with immeasurable light.
The halo of light twisted and struggled. It seemed the Grandmaster was already regaining consciousness and could break free at any moment.
Rinsing Moon Bai watched from the side, her heart pounding with anxiety.
Fortunately, it seemed that years of gluttonous consumption had greatly expanded the Infinite Wall’s appetite.
Eventually, the Grandmaster’s struggles grew weaker and weaker, until they ceased altogether.
“Is it over?”
“For now. To truly digest him will take a very long time. And I’ll need your help.” Perhaps because it had overeaten, the Infinite Wall’s thoughts were affected; its responses were sluggish and sometimes incoherent.
But Rinsing Moon Bai, who was already in sync with the Wall, could more or less understand its meaning.
“Let’s go. Find a safe place.”
The Infinite Wall could barely move. It urged Rinsing Moon Bai to carry it away.
Pointing at the illusion of Tai Yi, which had witnessed the entire capture without reacting, Rinsing Moon Bai hesitated. “What about... this?”
“I feel that this illusion might be even more valuable than Wuji.”
“Your feeling is correct. But we shouldn’t covet the Sage Lord’s illusion.”
For the ever-greedy Infinite Wall to say such a thing was quite surprising to Rinsing Moon Bai.
But since the Wall itself said so, she was even less inclined to feel any greed.
They fled in a hurry.
The Heavenly Capital of Source Dao Province once again fell into its former deathly silence.
Only the illusion of Tai Yi remained, sitting silently on its dais.
An unknown amount of time passed before a figure arrived outside the Heavenly Capital.
Its form was strange; it had no physical body, but was shrouded in a pale blue halo of light.
Like a single feather, it floated slowly into the Heavenly Capital.
Meeting no resistance, it followed its old memories and came directly before the illusion of Tai Yi.
The chanting of the Dao, which had vanished in the Grandmaster’s absence, began once more.
The blue feather, bathed in the sound of Tai Yi’s Dao, began to glow with a faint golden light!
...
The Infinite Wall and Rinsing Moon Bai were, of course, unaware of what was happening back in the Tai Yi Palace.
They were still on the run, and the Infinite Wall was explaining to Rinsing Moon Bai its reasons for abandoning the illusion of Tai Yi.
“For one, what Wuji said might not be the truth. Just because he said it’s a pure illusion, does that make it so?”
“What if the Great Master *can* perceive what’s happening through the illusion? Though I look down on Wuji, in the Great Master’s eyes, his status might indeed be more important. If he found out I committed such insubordination, he might punish me,” the Infinite Wall grumbled.
“Besides... biting off more than one can chew. The Dao of Wuji alone will be enough for us to digest for a while. Adding the illusion of Tai Yi would only throw our minds into chaos.”
Rinsing Moon Bai eyed the Infinite Wall with suspicion. “Are you sure you weren’t possessed by Wuji? Those words don’t sound like something you would say. Biting off more than you can chew?”
“Hmph. Don’t think I collected all those treasures just to eat them all. Of course, that was part of the reason. But the main purpose was to have them as reserves. They might just save our lives at a critical moment.”
“If I find something better, I’ll replace them. If I don’t have that kind of luck, then slowly devouring them is also fine,” the Infinite Wall explained, shaking its form.
Recalling the methods the Infinite Wall had used to save her from that faceless figure in the previous life, Rinsing Moon Bai couldn't help but nod slightly.
“You’re about to devour and digest Wuji, yet you’re still afraid of the Sage Lord’s punishment? You might be able to hide for a while, but you’ll have to face him eventually, right?” Rinsing Moon Bai asked again.
“Who said I was really going to devour Wuji?”
“I have no desire to become the new Wuji. Isn’t the fundamental goal to help you break through your cultivation shackles?” the Infinite Wall retorted, as if scolding an underachieving child.
Rinsing Moon Bai was stunned by its words.
“I’m only imprisoning him in my belly for a while to borrow his power. When you achieve transcendence, I’ll naturally let him go. And given his temperament, he certainly won’t tell anyone he was captured by us...” the Infinite Wall said, immensely pleased with itself.
“Here, try holding me.”
The Infinite Wall suddenly said to Rinsing Moon Bai.
Rinsing Moon Bai reached out and gently touched the surface of the Infinite Wall, which had taken on a strange hue.
A sense of chaotic clarity and emptiness bloomed in her heart.
“No wonder he was so arrogant... So this is[Wuji]?”
It was not a matter of one Dao being stronger or weaker than another, but a kind of generational suppression, like an elder looking upon a junior.
Holding the Wuji-infused Infinite Wall, Rinsing Moon Bai scanned the Xuanhuang Realm.
She felt that the various shackles of the world, the crisscrossing Dao Net of heaven and earth...
They no longer seemed as indestructible as before.
It was as if she only had to reach out her hand to tear them all apart!
“Perhaps we don’t even need to find another safe place to cultivate.”
“Right here in the Xuanhuang Realm, we can ignore all the rules,” Rinsing Moon Bai suddenly declared.
“This is the wonder of Wuji! See, was I wrong? And this is only the beginning. Later, when Wuji becomes a bit more... cooperative, we’ll be able to borrow even more of his power.”
“So, stop researching your new-fangled methods. Just focus on breaking through as soon as possible.”
Hearing this, Rinsing Moon Bai’s expression, for the first time, showed a trace of hesitation.
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