Chapter 1581 : Stepping Stone of Transcendence
The Eastern Monarch Sun Crow retracted all his demonic powers in front of Dao Monarch Lu Ya, making him seem no different from other crows other than his additional leg.
Yet, he was still a Demon Race Great Sage, comparable to Daoism’s Heavenly Lord.
The Nuwa Sovereign created the Golden Crow Race based on the demonic figure Lu Ya harnessed during the Ancient era.
Due to this layer of relation, the Golden Crow Race recognized Dao Monarch Lu Ya as their ancestor, while Dao Monarch Lu Ya didn’t show any objections. Hence, their close ties continued until today.
As the only Great Sage within his race, the Eastern Monarch Sun Crow was the strongest among his kind. Yet, he didn’t inherit the position of the patriarch and didn’t reside within the Golden Crow Race’s ancestral land. Instead, he followed Dao Monarch Lu Ya closely, as if he was a disciple or a trusted aide.
His knowledge far surpassed a large majority of others, and he held no feelings of courteousness when speaking with Dao Monarch Lu Ya. As such, Dao Monarch Lu Ya didn’t hide anything from him as well.
“Naturally, the qin was given to the Tushita Palace.” Dao Monarch Lu Ya said, “Or rather, given to the Three Clear Lineage.”
A look of pity appeared on the Sun Crow’s face.
Dao Monarch Lu Ya smiled, “Only by willingly parting with something will you gain something in return. Such progress is inevitable.”
“With the qin in their possession, after the final Immortal Extermination Four Swords appears, they’ll have much more convenience, won’t they?” The Sun Crow was still filled with worries, “They have the Immortal Extermination Formation’s blueprint already. After obtaining the final sword, won’t they be even harder to deal with?”
The edges of Dao Monarch Lu Ya’s mouth curled up, and he stroked his beard, “It’s not that simple. I’m not certain about it, but if I didn’t make a mistake in my deduction, the final Immortal Ending Sword would either be in the Immortal Court or the Western Pure Lands. If not, it would be with the Nine Underworlds.”
“Oh?” The Sun Crow was startled.
“According to what the Earth Mother said, the orthodox Daoism are already aware of the Immortal Ending Sword’s general direction.” Dao Monarch Lu Ya smiled and said, “But, instead of hurrying to take it now, they still aren’t making any moves. Why do you think that’s the case? Because the sword already has an owner, and it could even be one of the Dao Realm bigwigs.”
“If neither the Astro Mountains Starry Seas nor the central Blessed Lands of Saha possess it, then only those three would be included within the scope of possibilities. Of course, the chances of the Nine Underworlds having it is significantly lower compared to the Immortal Court and the Western Pure Lands.”
Dao Monarch Lu Ya smiled and said, “If orthodox Daoism wants that final sword, then even if the qin was given to them, they’ll only use it to deal with our opponents.”
“No wonder why the Immortal Court and the Western Pure Lands barely deployed anyone for the Immortal Extermination Sword. So they already have this layer of confidence backing them up.” The Sun Crow started contemplating, “Did the Earth Mother purposely reveal that information to you?”
“Naturally. If we joined in, the situation would become much more chaotic, which gives them more leeway to do as they please.” Dao Monarch Lu Ya said, “Otherwise, I doubt they can escape from the trap which they willingly jump into, lest the Elder Lord makes his move.”
Then, Dao Monarch Lu Ya chuckled, “These two sides have their very own plan in mind, but the victor has yet to be decided. The Immortal Extermination Formation is something of major significance, so of course, our Astro Mountains Starry Seas would need it as well.”
He turned his head to the Sun Crow and said, “It’s still not the time to concern ourselves with the Immortal Extermination Four Swords yet. Before that, let’s focus on dealing with our current priorities.”
The Sun Crow lowered his head, “Yes, ancestor.”
He kept the red gourd and extended his wings, flying away from the Fusang Divine Tree.
“Speaking of which, how did orthodox Daoism manage to see through their plans and knew of the Immortal Ending Sword having an owner already?” Dao Monarch Lu Ya crossed his knees while sitting on a tree branch. The smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a look of deep contemplation, “Also, the Earth Mother used the Immortal Extermination Sword as a diversion for her to enter the Jade Illusory Palace. Could the sword have been kept in the Tushita Palace all this while?”
…
“We received news from the Tushita Palace.”
In the Awakened Sky Hall, within the Pill Hall situated in the Sky beyond Skies’ Broad Creed Mountain, Yan Zhaoge let out a long sigh as he told Yan Di, Xue Chuqing, and Xu Fei.
“The previous opportunity obtained through the Jade Illusory Glazed Lamp has been secured successfully.” He explained, “While we’re still far away from success, at least we now have more hopes for it.”
Joyous expressions appeared on all their faces.
“Let’s just do our parts for now and await the opportunity to arrive,” said Yan Di.
Beneath the undercurrents, everyone was making their very own moves. The bewildering sights happening in all spaces far surpassed what one could see from the surface level.
Many battle outcomes had already been decided before the battle even started.
The true start of the battles came far earlier than the public anticipated.
Only, right now, each faction who had their intentions hidden deep within prevented a clear victory from being discerned.
Everyone could only accumulate their strengths in secret and fight strategically to obtain more bargaining chips for themselves, increasing their chances of winning.
As for Yan Zhaoge and the other Daoism successors residing within the Awakened Sky Hall, their following days weren’t as fine as it previously was.
The Dipankara Archaic Buddha himself personally led a group along with the Demon Race bigwig – the Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles to encircle the Awakened Sky Cosmos.
Yan Zhaoge and the others stopped their frequent exit to the void’s boundless outskirts to prevent exposing their location.
Suppose the enemies noticed one or a few of them. In that case, their enemies could determine the vague location of the Awakened Sky Cosmos, allowing the enemies to use the Sea Suppressing Pearl and other methods in conducting the encirclement.
For this reason, Yan Zhaoge’s information network for understanding the outside world’s situation suffered significantly.
This had brought about a direct influence upon them. Any treasures found from the void’s outskirts became precious to the Daoism martial art practitioners who resided within the Awakened Sky Cosmos.
Fortunately, the Awakened Sky Cosmos itself could produce abundant treasures or resources, so it wasn’t a significant problem overall. At the very least, it wasn’t like the Jade Spring World where they could only lie in wait for their doom as they watched their resources dry up.
However, some resources could only be found within the void’s boundless outskirts. If one from the Awakened Sky Cosmos sought these items, the difficulty they had to face would skyrocket.
Even if a crucial treasure was deeply in need, one could only patiently wait for the opportunity to arrive.
Such situations only applied to the minority, so overall, no major changes occurred.
What made Yan Zhaoge and the other higher-ups more concerned was that the momentum of flourishment in orthodox Daoism for the past few decades seemed to have stopped in place.
The so-called “momentum” couldn’t be seen nor felt, but it truly existed in reality.
This wasn’t significant enough to affect the older generations like Gao Qingxuan, Yue Zhenbei, Long Xingquan, and others.
After all, in the past, they had experienced far darker and harsher ages.
However, to the younger generation, especially those born after the Awakened Sky Cosmos’ establishment, the unfavorable situation filled everyone with worries.
Under Yan Zhaoge’s control, the entire Awakened Sky Cosmos was still pushing for its development.
In fact, the speed of development was accelerating faster and faster.
Only, the momentum it had wasn’t as swift as before.
Yan Zhaoge and the others retained their calm composure and remained unfazed by the situation. On the contrary, they continued to cultivate their strength quietly and slowly awaited the opportune timing’s arrival.
Laying low temporarily was for the sake of a much impactful explosive force.
The next hurdle would become a stepping stone of transcendence for them.
During the following years, facing the Dipankara Archaic Buddha and the others’ relentless pursuit, along with the battle of wits and bravery, Yan Zhaoge and the Awakened Sky Cosmos nonchalantly passed through their days.
In the blink of an eye, time advanced hastily.
Another forty-nine years passed.
