Chapter 322: He Tian
Within Tianze City, Shen Daoxing gazed up at the sky, looking past one thick Snow Tree after another.
Just then, outside Tianze City, three colossal figures were locked in fierce combat. The sky thundered with incessant explosions, bursting into brilliant showers of sparks as the very ground trembled and swayed.
Even while facing a pincer attack from the Celestial Secret Elder and the Steward Hall Master, He Yi remained fearless. On the contrary, he projected an immense aura that steadily overwhelmed the two of them.
It was hard for Shen Daoxing to imagine that this hale and hearty old man was the same mischievous little brat he knew from Taoyuan Village.
At that moment, the Tianze Emperor, He Qian, He Yong, and the others emerged from the Formless Profound Spirit Array. They too gazed up at the sky, utterly shocked.
As everyone watched, enthralled, a Snow Tree before them suddenly began to sway, though there was no wind. A branch slowly lowered itself, shifting and transforming until it coalesced into a human figure.
Then, He Yi’s form appeared, and he detached himself from the Snow Tree, leaping to the ground.
"Ancestor!"
At the sight, everyone stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
But the Tianze Ancestor fell to his knees with a THUD before He Yi. "Please forgive me, Ancestor! This is all my fault. I should not have colluded with the Celestial Profound Sacred Land! I should not have plotted to harm Shen Daoxing! Please forgive me, Ancestor!"
As he spoke, the Tianze Ancestor began to kowtow, his forehead striking the ground with a series of heavy thuds.
He Yi looked down at He Cheng and said calmly, "The one you should be apologizing to isn’t me. It’s your ancestor!"
As he spoke, He Yi pointed at Shen Daoxing.
The Tianze Ancestor, He Cheng, froze for a moment. He then turned to Shen Daoxing and slammed his head on the ground. "Please forgive me, Ancestor! Please forgive me, Ancestor! I was insolent and dared to plot against you."
Being called ’Ancestor’ by a man over two hundred years old felt incredibly awkward to Shen Daoxing. He quickly reached out to help He Cheng up. "This isn’t the time for this. Right now, we need to stand united against our common enemy."
Nearby, the Tianze Emperor looked up at He Yi, then turned to look at Shen Daoxing, his face still a mask of disbelief. "Ancestor, is Shen Daoxing... really our ancestor?"
He Yi shot the Tianze Emperor a cold look. "What? You think I’d lie to you? Without him, there would be no Tianze today."
The Tianze Emperor froze and immediately fell silent.
He Yi fell silent for a moment, then approached Shen Daoxing and said with sudden gravity:
"Shen, it looks like you need to leave Tianze as soon as possible! The Celestial Profound Sacred Land has gone to such great lengths to come after you; they won’t give up easily. I’m afraid other Holy Mountain Masters might show up later, or even the Saint Master himself might take action. You have to leave right now. You have to escape.
I’ll hold off the people from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land and open a path through the Snow Forest behind the city. You can slip away from there."
"What about all of you?"
Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but ask. ’The Celestial Profound Sacred Land has gone to so much trouble,’ he thought. ’If I just leave, they’ll never spare the people of Tianze.’
He Yi smiled faintly. "Don’t worry, Shen Daoxing. I can handle those two out there. However, we probably won’t be able to stay here after this is over. Once I’ve dealt with them, I’ll leave with the people of Tianze. But before that, I have no intention of just handing the entire Celestial Essence Ore Vein over to them."
With that, He Yi turned to the Tianze Emperor. "Give the order. Prepare the entire nation to evacuate the Celestial Lake Swamp!"
"Yes!"
The Tianze Emperor nodded respectfully and turned to issue the command. ’As long as it’s the Ancestor’s decision,’ he thought, ’it can’t be wrong.’
While they were speaking, He Qian stood at a distance, gazing at Shen Daoxing and muttering something to herself.
"Young... Young Master Shen!"
He Qian whispered the name, then abruptly shook her head. ’No, I can’t call him that. He’s... he’s...’
Nearby, the Eldest Prince, He Yu, noticed her turmoil. He couldn’t help but sigh. "Sister, if you really can’t let this go, why not be a little bolder? Try to pursue your own happiness."
"But... but he’s..."
He Qian trailed off, unable to finish.
The Eldest Prince, He Yu, shook his head again. "So what? It’s just a title. Sister, if you want to find your own happiness, you must be brave enough to break free from all constraints."
He Qian paused, then, as if she’d suddenly understood something, her gaze grew increasingly determined.
Just then, however, He Yi seemed to think of something. He turned to Shen Daoxing and asked, "Oh, right, Shen, are you married?"
Shen Daoxing blinked, confused by the question, and shook his head.
Seeing this, He Yi’s face lit up with joy. "That’s wonderful! You know, my older sister is still waiting for you!"
"Your... your sister? He Tian?"
Shen Daoxing’s eyes widened. He remembered the graceful figure from Taoyuan Village, but in the next instant, the image of a withered, ancient woman appeared in his mind’s eye.
"Yes! My sister! She’s waited five hundred years for you, and she never married. She’s in Cangzhou right now! Shen Daoxing, you have to go find her!"
He Yi said, his voice full of sudden excitement.
"She’s in Cangzhou!"
Shen Daoxing froze.
"???"
"???"
Nearby, the Tianze Ancestor and the Tianze Emperor stood frozen to the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
As members of the Tianze Royal Family, they knew their people had originated from a remote town in a secret realm. It was their ancestor who had led them here to establish their own kingdom.
They also knew that their ancestor had an older sister—another one of their progenitors, in a sense. Legend had it that she had never married, waiting a full five hundred years for a certain man.
CRACK!
It was a sharp, cracking sound.
He Qian felt as if something inside her heart had just shattered.
Nearby, He Yu’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide with disbelief. He was speechless. He couldn’t—he couldn’t possibly let his sister compete with their own ancestress for a man, could he?
"Alright, we’re out of time. Shen, you need to go now."
He Yi paused, his voice tinged with reluctance, but he knew he had to say it.
Shen Daoxing nodded.
He Yi then began to glow, his form reverting to that of a tree branch before falling to the ground.
The instant He Yi’s physical form vanished, his colossal Golden Body Dharma Aspect outside Tianze City erupted with blinding light. The longsword in its hand slashed out with the force of creation itself, unleashing a beam of sword light that seemed to stretch from one end of the world to the other.
BOOM!
The entire surface of the Celestial Lake Swamp was split in two. A long moment passed before the parted waters slowly began to flow back together.
The Celestial Secret Elder and the Steward Hall Master stumbled back in terror.
At the same time, at the rear of Tianze City, the colossal Snow Trees that formed a canopy over the city began to move, parting to reveal an exit to the outside world.
With a push from his feet, Shen Daoxing instantly leaped toward it.
Just then, Elder Mu hurried to Shen Daoxing’s side, carrying Xin in his arms. "Young Master, the Celestial Profound Sacred Land used a Secret Technique to break the Restriction over the Celestial Lake Swamp! We can leave on a Cloud Ship."