Chapter 379 - 158: Mountain Village, Spacetime Fluctuation, The Man from the Future, Chen Shaoyou
Through his eyes...
The sky was stained as if by ink. Across the boundless night, a shower of fiery meteors suddenly streaked through the deep, starry expanse.
’Has It sensed something? In recent years, It seems to have grown more active. Can the Venerable Lord no longer isolate Its influence on the world?’
Bai You murmured to himself, the light in his eyes slowly receding.
’I can feel the fluctuations of spacetime. Is this Its roar? Has It begun to make Its move?’
A deep weariness surfaced on his face as he mused to himself.
’Soon. Very soon. Only ten more years until the Venerable Lord’s sacrifice...’
Behind him, in a city of the dead in the truest sense, countless Demon Ghosts with dazed, wooden expressions wandered the streets and alleys.
These Demon Ghosts shuffled toward an altar in the city’s center, an altar taller than any mountain peak in the entire Netherworld.
WHOOSH!
A sinister wind howled past, scattering a wisp of dark mist that shrouded the great city and revealing four words inscribed above the altar, each imbued with a profound Dao rhythm:
Netherworld Venerable Lord Sacrifice!
* * *
It was late autumn. Though the mountains and land had not yet seen the white of frost, a chill was already in the air.
The early morning hours were the coldest of all.
This was evident from the growing number of old charcoal sellers in Yangshan Prefecture.
Yangshan Prefecture was located in Ling Province and governed several dozen counties, making it quite a prosperous area.
In the center of Yangshan Prefecture stood a large residential estate.
Its vermilion gate was particularly striking. Before it stood two tall stone lions, their lifelike gazes seeming to watch the passing pedestrians from all directions, as if they were living creatures.
This estate was the residence of the Dingyang Marquis in Yangshan Prefecture.
The Dingyang Marquis had joined the army at a young age, participated in quelling rebellions, and later assisted in implementing the new laws. He was quite well-known in Yangshan Prefecture, and even throughout Ling Province.
Though his household was wealthy, he was an upstanding man whose fortune was honestly earned. Even more commendably,
after becoming rich, he used his wealth to help many of his fellow townsfolk, earning him great love and respect.
"Cough! Cough!"
Painful coughs echoed from a quiet, secluded courtyard in the rear of the Yangshan estate.
WHOOSH!
Chen Shaoyou pushed open the window, and wisps of smoky air drifted out.
’This... how is this possible?!’
’But my memories... they can’t be fake, can they?’
Chen Shaoyou touched the window frame and took a deep breath, a dazed look still on his face.
After a long while, he finally came to his senses. He sat down by the window, his mind still reeling with disbelief.
It was now the fifth year of the Dayu New Calendar!
And he was from the year 63,600 of the New Calendar!
He had actually traveled through time and space to the past!
Ever since the new laws were enacted, the Dayu Immortal Dynasty had started a new calendar, with year one marking its implementation.
’Legend says there have been many eras throughout history. The future I come from is the twenty-first era of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, the year 63,600 of the New Calendar. And now... it’s only the fifth year of the New Calendar!’
’In other words, not only did I not die in that cataclysm, but I actually traveled through time to the past?’
Chen Shaoyou silently sorted through the memories of his two lives, a storm of emotion raging in his heart!
These were the very first years of the Dayu New Calendar!
This was the twentieth era of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, the dawn of the New Calendar—an age that countless Feathered, Spirit Immortals, and even Celestial Destiny Realm Great Powers from later generations dreamed of!
In later generations, the Dayu Immortal Dynasty would have a total of twenty-one eras.
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
According to legend, the shortest of these twenty-one eras lasted only fifty or sixty thousand years, while the longest spanned 129,600 years. The one he knew best was the twentieth era of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty!
This era was also the one that had the greatest impact on future generations!
Legend had it that during this era, an unprecedented and peerless existence was born.
The Elder Celestial Master who suppressed countless evils, Cui Yanliang!
The legends about this Elder Celestial Master were innumerable.
It was said that he survived the collapse of the heavens and the earth, the destruction of the world itself, forcing his way from the twentieth era into the twenty-first!
Though it was only a legend, it was enough to show what incredible heights this person had reached!
’They say the twentieth era of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty was one of unprecedented brilliance.’
’But starting from the tenth era, an immortal Great Demon Ghost would be born into the world with each passing era, each one possessing the power to destroy humanity. And these Great Demon Ghosts...’
’By the twentieth era, there were already ten of them, known as the Seven Heroes and Three Li!’
’And the Elder Celestial Master was the one who truly suppressed the Seven Heroes and Three Li for countless years. It wasn’t until just before my death that legend says some of the Seven Heroes and Three Li managed to escape!’
As these thoughts raced through Chen Shaoyou’s mind, he suddenly grew excited.
WHOOSH!
He shot to his feet and began to pace back and forth, his excitement growing with every thought.
In the twenty-first era of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, the legends of the Elder Celestial Master were still a household name, and Chen Shaoyou had specifically studied every one of them.
It was said that the Elder Celestial Master first made a name for himself...
...in the fifteenth year of the Dayu New Calendar, during something called the Netherworld Monarch’s sacrifice.
In other words, ten years from now.
It was said that during those ten years, the Elder Celestial Master traveled through many provinces, using his medical skills to heal the sick and save lives, and his Thunder Skill to exorcise demons and evil. He had already built up a considerable reputation.
’If I take the initiative and go find him, couldn’t I become his disciple?’
At this thought, Chen Shaoyou’s heart skipped a beat.
However, the original owner’s memories were incomplete. He didn’t know if the Elder Celestial Master was famous yet, or where he might be.
But he could hardly contain himself.
Chen Shaoyou strode out of his room and shouted twice. A few servants came rushing over.
"Young Master!"
"Mm."
Chen Shaoyou gave a light cough and, mimicking the original owner’s manner, slowly began to speak.
"Have you... ever heard of Cui Yanliang?"
"Daoist... Daoist Cui?"
Hearing this name, the two servants shivered. They stared at Chen Shaoyou in horror, as if they had just seen a ghost.
"Y-Young Master, have you been possessed?"
"What?"
’This is bad,’ Chen Shaoyou thought, though he didn’t let it show on his face. He deliberately rubbed his brow.
"Yesterday, at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, I drank too much. I’m still a bit foggy..."
Seeing the two servants still not answering, Chen Shaoyou kicked out at them.
"Spit it out!"
"Oof!"
Each of the servants took a kick, but any strange feelings they had vanished instantly. They immediately replied, their faces wreathed in smiles.
"Young Master! You really must have been dead drunk!"
"That Daoist Cui came to Ling Province a few years ago to implement the new laws. You even went to see him because you admired him so much."
"Daoist Cui praised your outstanding aptitude and bestowed upon you the introductory Chapter of the Fist Scripture and a Dao Talisman."
"I think he said... if you could cultivate to the Extraordinary Realm, you could seek him out to become his disciple?"
As the two servants spoke, they were filled with envy, but not jealousy.
Although their young master was a bit of a profligate, he treated them extremely well.
"So... so that’s how it was?"
Chen Shaoyou muttered to himself as more memories surfaced in his mind, and he was suddenly overjoyed.
It turned out that two or three years ago, when Cui Yanliang came to Ling Province to implement the new laws, he had used the Dingyang Marquis’s reputation to get a lot done.
And that was how the Dingyang Marquis received his title, and how he himself had gotten to meet Master Cui.
’Doesn’t that mean I’m already a disciple of the Elder Celestial Master?’
In the Future World, although his limited aptitude meant he never broke through to the Void Realm in his entire life, he was still a Nine Tribulations Realm Cultivator.
Breaking through to the Extraordinary Realm was, for him, naturally a simple matter.
"Haha!"
The two servants hadn’t even finished speaking when they heard a loud laugh.
They looked up to see their young master, for some unknown reason, suddenly burst out laughing before turning and heading back into his room.
The door slammed shut with a BANG.
"The Young Master is..."
The two servants stared at each other, bewildered.
"Don’t anyone bother me! I’m going into seclusion!"
Chen Shaoyou called out, then shut the door and windows tightly. He sat down cross-legged and began to recall the various memories in the original owner’s mind.
He was particularly interested in the introductory Chapter of that Fist Scripture!
This introductory Chapter of the Fist Scripture was far more profound than any Cultivation Technique he had learned in his later life.
’The version of the Fist Scripture passed down in later generations was actually a castrated version!?’
Chen Shaoyou was astonished shortly after he began to review it.
The next moment, numerous memories flowed through his mind.
Chen Shaoyou silently sorted through them.
At a certain moment,
he was suddenly startled and his eyes flew open.
A look of profound shock was written all over his face.
"Boxing Saint Daoist Su Bai!?"