Chapter 657 – Start of the Change

　　As Hidden Spirit Sect’s chief disciple, Chang Sheng was naturally duty-bound.

　　Dark clouds pressed down, thunder and lightning struck, and even the air seemed somewhat cold and grave. Hidden Spirit Holy Sect valued the color white, which represented a noble character unsullied by the dust of the mortal world.

　　During that time, with Huarong Venerable leading them, Hidden Spirit Sect’s disciples, dressed in robes as white as snow, could be seen holding swords and blades every day and every night. They stood watch underneath this big tear in the sky in order to kill every monster that came out so that they’d die in Youshan. They didn’t let even a single monster escape to the Nine Lands. Other sects also contributed and sent many young talents to help guard the hole.

　　The dark hole torn by the collapse of a Pillar of Heaven was called “Heaven’s Wail” by the Daoist sects. In this location, spiritual Qi leaked out, and death Qi and evil Qi came out from the tear, which mixed with strange monsters and harmed the common people in extremely cruel ways.

　　Several powerhouses of Hidden Spirit Holy Sect went all-out to refine an array, risking their lives to temporarily patch up a piece of the sky inside Heaven’s Wail. Only then were they able to temporarily stop the disaster.

　　In the first month, everything was peaceful.

　　In the second month, there was no trouble.

　　The third month was the same as before.

　　Chang Sheng had also been standing guard here for three years. During these three years, he stayed in Youshan, and Lingyu also accompanied him as they watched over Heaven’s Wail together.

　　In the fourth year, the two suddenly received a secret order from Cang Rong. Because this secret order had passed through Dao Zu’s hands, it reached Youshan — which was 100,000 miles away from Hidden Spirit Holy Sect — as quickly as possible.

　　Cang Rong said in the secret order, “Lian Hua is missing, return quickly.”

　　As a matter of fact, it was normal for disciples of the Spirit Sect to disappear for two to three days. Nobody would deliberately look for them. However, if anyone wanted to find a person by means of thousands of miles of sound transmission, then something major must’ve occurred. Chang Sheng and Lingyu prepared to return immediately to look for Lian Hua.

　　At this time, however, another secret order was transmitted to Lingyu.

　　After reading it, Lingyu looked up at Chang Sheng. “Shixiong, Sheng Ren said that this place can’t be left unattended. You can go back and look for Lian Hua Shixiong, and I’ll guard the Heaven’s Wail here.”

　　At that time, Sheng Ren was the one who actually managed Spirit Sect’s affairs. In today’s terms, Sheng Ren’s status was equivalent to that of the Emperor. At that time, the orthodox Dao and the secular world were still combined into one, and the Hidden Spirit Holy Sect was the leader of the Daoist sects and the top of the secular world, which could command the world.

　　Since it was an order from Sheng Ren, Lingyu naturally had to abide by it.

　　Chang Sheng looked at Lingyu’s clear eyes, which could almost see through his heart at a glance. If he said that he was completely unmoved, he would be lying to himself. In the end, men getting together went against the Dao of Heaven. What’s more, he and Lingyu were martial brothers. As Spirit Sect’s chief disciple, he should lead by example with his words and actions, and he dared not make any mistakes.

　　Chang Sheng was slightly helpless. “Lingyu, whenever you can use this enthusiasm and persistence to pursue the great Dao instead, Shixiong will feel reassured.”

　　Lingyu’s eyes, which were full of enthusiasm, dimmed a little.

　　Still not discouraged, he just smiled and replied, “Shixiong, I’ll wait for your return. I’m just this kind of stubborn person. From the moment you took my hand and gave me a name, I knew you were the only one for me.”

　　Chang Sheng suddenly didn’t know what to say, so he finally patted Lingyu’s head and turned to leave. It was only seven days after this departure when Chang Sheng, who was in Spirit Sect, received news that foreign invaders had appeared from Heaven’s Wail and were currently battling the forces on Youshan.

　　Lingyu resisted the enemy with his power and eventually suffered serious injuries. Exhausted, he fell off the cliff of Youshan. For six months, nobody could find any trace of him. All the disciples from other sects who guarded Heaven’s Wail together with Lingyu died, and Youshan was stained red with blood. The Nine Lands’ Daoist sects suffered heavy losses.

　　On a certain day half a year later, Lingyu dragged his body out of there with a lame right leg, a broken hand tendon, and half of his face ruined. He climbed up the Hidden Spirit Holy Sect with a sword in his left hand, his whole body covered in blood. He fainted in front of the gates and was saved by the gatekeeper.

　　When Lingyu woke up, the first thing he said was, “Evil Qi cultivators have invaded the Nine Lands.”

　　It was the first time that Chang Sheng heard the expression “evil Qi cultivators”.

　　Lingyu was unconscious for several days, and when he woke up again, Dao Zu asked him what he had experienced. First he was silent, but then he said that he had simply fallen down the cliff and had a hard time climbing up — that’s all.

　　Although Lingyu’s injuries looked serious, they weren’t difficult to treat. Dao Zu loved his disciple dearly and sent him the best medicinal pills and spiritual medicine. In a few days, Lingyu’s external and internal injuries were basically healed. But this young boy who was always so carefree and mischievous became increasingly silent, always sitting alone in a daze in a remote place, staring at the sky or staring at a leaf, saying nothing. Nobody knew what he was thinking.

　　Lian Hua was still missing.

　　Ever since evil Qi cultivators invaded from Heaven’s Wail, all the sects sent elders with higher cultivations to mend and stand guard over the tear. So far, nothing major had happened, and nobody ever found a trace of the evil Qi cultivators that Lingyu had spoken of.

　　Chang Sheng, Cang Rong, and even the entire Spirit Sect spent all their attention looking for Lian Hua, but as for Lingyu, who came back from the dead and turned peril into safety, they didn’t pay too much attention to him.

　　They were merely thankful that he had returned.

　　But no one knew whether the person who came back was still the same Lingyu as before.

　　……

　　Even if evil Qi cultivators had appeared again, Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen still had to return to Myriad Dao Academy first. They rented a phoenix feather stork at the suburban post outside the Royal Heavenly Capital and rushed to Myriad Dao Academy in the northeast as quickly as possible. The wind whistled in their ears, almost blowing Yan Tianhen’s bangs into a mess. In reality, he could’ve used magic treasures or Daoist techniques to block the wind, but he did not do so.

　　He wanted to calm down by feeling the wind, but the tormenting anxiety in his heart still didn’t improve at all. In the next second, the wind lost its original majesty. Yan Tianhen turned his head and looked at Lin Xuanzhi.

　　Lin Xuanzhi embraced him. “Being in a bad mood is no reason to torture yourself so. Although your physical body is much stronger than before, it’s still your own body. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

　　Yan Tianhen turned around on the back of the bird and hugged Lin Xuanzhi tightly. Only then did he feel the suffocating guilt and depression that almost drowned him recede a little, giving him some space to breathe.

　　It was impossible to say that those evil Qi cultivators had nothing to do with him. If he hadn’t chosen to leave himself a chance of survival and allowed that blood cypress tree to survive, the evil Qi cultivators who’d been sealed in the dark for so long would probably already be dead ten thousand years ago. Youshan Lingyu didn’t want to die without any hope of reincarnation; he didn’t want to part with Chang Sheng forever. Therefore, he went against Dao Zu’s dying wishes and failed to live up to the expectations of the Spirit Sect. Instead of allowing himself to be completely destroyed, he chose to reincarnate himself and merely sealed the evil Qi cultivators. Originally, he thought that the seal wouldn’t be so easily broken.

　　But now it seemed that he was very wrong.

　　If the Nine Lands became a living hell again, then he would be the one to blame for everything.

　　Yan Tianhen gripped Lin Xuanzhi’s clothes tightly, and his breathing was somewhat short.

　　When Lin Xuanzhi noticed his trembling, he couldn’t help but frown. He made the bird slow down and patted Yan Tianhen’s hair. He asked softly, “Ah Hen, what’s the matter? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? We can fly slower; we’re not in a hurry to get to Myriad Dao Academy.”

　　“No.” Yan Tianhen asked in a muffled voice, “Dage, if you find out that I’ve done something wrong one day, and the consequences are even very serious, what will you do?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s hand gave a slight pause, but then continued to pat Yan Tianhen’s hair. “What did you do wrong?”

　　Yan Tianhen shook his head. “I won’t say it.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi also didn’t insist. “It’s alright if you want to say it later. No matter what you want to do or don’t want to do, I won’t force you. If you made an enormous mistake, I will bear the responsibility together with you and try every means to make up for the loss caused by this mistake.”

　　Yan Tianhen stayed silent in his embrace.

　　Lin Xuan had a better idea of Yan Tianhen’s worries.

　　Yan Tianhen likely made a really big mistake behind his back and now felt anxious, fearful that Lin Xuanzhi would look down on him and abandon him when his mistake was exposed.

　　But they were together every day, and Yan Tianhen was so lovely and obedient, so what mistakes could he make?

　　Lin Xuanzhi continued, “Ah Hen, no matter what, Dage will be with you.”

　　Yan Tianhen’s heart felt even more miserable.

　　I don’t want you to pay for my mistakes together with me.

　　I don’t want you to become a bad person who will become the target of everyone’s scorn together with me.

　　I just want you to live well and live proudly.

　　Never bend your knees and back for anyone.

　　When one evil Qi cultivator appeared, there would be a second, third, and fourth… The evil Qi cultivator who had his cultivation personally crippled by Youshan Lingyu and his neck broken had been thrown by Lingyu into the dark prison like a dead dog and sealed. But now, with Youshan Lingyu’s reincarnation, with his resurrection and the return of his memories, and with the collapse of Youshan Capital, that evil Qi cultivator had climbed out of that dark prison.

　　In that life, Youshan Lingyu had suffered for a hundred years, lost half of his cultivation and half of his lifespan, and finally managed to seal that evil Qi cultivator, but now everything was back to the beginning.

　　Yan Tianhen thought about that dark time and felt that lonely, sorrowful, and painful time again. But at that time, Chang Sheng was not with him.

　　Therefore, all this had never involved Chang Sheng.

　　But now?

　　That evil Qi cultivator was very vindictive, and he was also a monster who pursued monstrous power. Youshan Lingyu once played him and hurt him. Now that he had returned, how could he easily let go of his biggest enemy? Yan Tianhen was nervous, but he didn’t dare and didn’t want to say it and drag Lin Xuanzhi down to become a target of the evil Qi cultivator’s hateful grudge as well.

　　Can’t say it.

　　Can’t involve innocent people.

　　He was the one who didn’t listen to Dao Zu’s advice and warning back then. Because of his own selfishness, he left such a big hidden trouble for the Nine Lands and Lin Xuanzhi.

　　Yan Tianhen raised his head with difficulty, and a pair of clear eyes turned gently for a few minutes. Then he said very calmly, “Dage, that evil Qi cultivator will likely recruit more forces soon, so we’d better make preparations in advance.”