Chapter 1249: Yao Sheng
“Yao Sheng, it’s you!”
Everyone was stunned. The Sixth Immortal was someone they had believed was dead long ago. His name wasn’t foreign to them.
Yao Sheng of Law Follows Words.
“Who is Yao Sheng?” The Midheaven Emperor-Lord frowned. He had never heard of that name before.
Lu Yang cast a glance at the Midheaven Emperor-Lord beside him. Why do you not recognize anyone? But since the Dao-Seeking Sect had always maintained a tradition of treating prisoners well, he obligingly explained, “He’s that cultivator who mastered Law Follows Words in ancient times.”
“It’s him?” Realization dawned upon the Midheaven Emperor-Lord. He had only known that there was once a prodigy in the ancient era who had mastered the long-lost Law Follows Words. He had heard that this prodigy was unbeatable among his peers and was never defeated in his lifetime. However, shortly after advancing to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, he perished, causing Law Follows Words to become a lost art.
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord had searched repeatedly for any leads on Law Follows Words, but to no avail.
In the ancient era, when prodigies were countless and Transcendent Tribulation cultivators and half-immortals were ubiquitous, Yao Sheng hadn’t been particularly conspicuous. In fact, his name wasn’t even passed down.
The reason was that he had perished too early. Before reaching the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, he had indeed enjoyed unparalleled glory, and legends of him had spread across entire galaxies.
But which prodigy didn’t have similar legends in ancient times? Which prodigy hadn’t defeated countless rivals who claimed to be unbeatable among their peers, stepping over their heads to claim the title of number one in their galaxy?
The true test of their strength came at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage.
Unfortunately for Yao Sheng, he had perished too early. He had died at the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s hands before confronting other prodigies, leaving behind no notable achievements to his name.
Even the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the others had only heard of Yao Sheng’s name without ever exchanging blows with him. None of them had imagined that he would be such a formidable adversary.
Lu Yang recalled the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s account. She had wounded Yao Sheng, and with how well Yao Sheng had protected himself, he had hardly ever suffered a beating. In the end, he cried out, “The pain is killing me!” and died.
His death was rather anticlimactic. You could say it was suicide.
“In the ancient era, you broke through my absolute defense; now, you’ve pierced through my black mist. Everlasting, you’re truly a difficult one to deal with.” Yao Sheng’s tone was laced with resentment. It’s like fate, with how things repeat in an endless cycle.
As the caster of Law Follows Words, he had faced countless assassination attempts. How could he not have used this ability to reinforce his defenses? Yet he had never imagined the Everlasting Immortal Fairy to be so powerful, shattering the absolute defense he had cast with Law Follows Words.
That absolute defense had been designed to withstand even a battle against the Epoch Immortal, who had yet to become an immortal then. In addition, it could block all kinds of attacks, including spatial ones and curses. However, despite his thorough preparations, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had pierced it with sheer brute force.
It was utterly inconceivable to him. He wondered, Are prodigies from other galaxies this powerful?
Long before that encounter, he had used Law Follows Words to prepare himself a life-preserving method to help him feign death and slip away, guarding against such eventualities.
However, through that exchange, he came to realize that there would always be someone stronger out there. Hence, he faked his death and went into hiding, biding his time as if he didn’t exist.
“Everlasting, you ambushed me when I was caught off guard. That was not an honorable victory! Yet you have the nerve to question why I killed you?”
“You were the one who annihilated an innocent small tribe first!” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy shot back in fury.
At the time, Yao Sheng had been about to wipe out a small tribe. Due to the urgency of the situation, she had no choice but to intervene.
However, she was also forced to launch a sneak attack. Since both she and Yao Sheng were at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, if a fight broke out, that small tribe would surely have been caught in the crossfire.
Her own tribe had been obliterated when two powerhouses clashed, leaving her as the sole survivor. But that wasn’t even on purpose; they were merely collateral damage. She did not wish to witness such a tragedy again.
“Mortals who failed to recognize divine might and dared to offend me—why shouldn’t they be killed?” Yao Sheng said coldly.
He had been born exalted, superior to others. Mortals were mere playthings to amuse him; even cultivators were merely slightly larger toys in his eyes. If a plaything disobeys me, what’s wrong with killing them?
“How did Yao Sheng secretly become an immortal? Did he use Law Follows Words to block my probing?” the Heaven Mandate Immortal murmured. Some of his questions were still unanswered.
My Tribulation Mandate Dao Fruit governs heavenly tribulations. The Immortal Ascension Tribulation couldn’t have escaped its notice.
This means that Yao Sheng had become an immortal before I did.
No, that’s still not right. Law Follows Words is a divine ability and not an Incipient Dao Fruit. A divine ability couldn’t have deceived my Tribulation Mandate Incipient Dao Fruit.
Unless...
Realization hit the Heaven Mandate Immortal. “His Dao Fruit is Law Follows Words!”
Only by elevating Law Follows Words into a Law Follows Words Incipient Dao Fruit could he have fooled my Tribulation Mandate Incipient Dao Fruit and secretly become an immortal!
The Law Follows Words Dao Fruit is unfamiliar to all of us. No one knows just what it’s truly capable of.
“How lively.” A familiar voice sounded beside Lu Yang.
He turned and saw Jiang Ping’an, dressed like an unremarkable old farmer. He quickly bowed in greeting. “Senior Jiang Ping’an, what brings you here?”
Jiang Ping’an gave Lu Yang a pointed look. Isn’t it obvious? Such a huge commotion has occurred in my territory, threatening to punch a hole through the world. How could I not come?
Do you really think the whole world belongs to you just because you have Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi and Fellow Daoist Everlasting protecting you?
Besides, without my permission, how could Yun Zhi have freely mobilized the power of the national fortune? Do you truly believe anyone can just borrow this power?
To prevent Yao Sheng’s escape, Jiang Ping’an had allowed Yun Zhi to harness the full power of Great Xia’s national fortune.
Lu Yang pondered for a moment and realized he had never seen Jiang Ping’an in action. “Since you’re already here, why not show off a move or two up there?”
Jiang Ping’an rolled his eyes at Lu Yang in exasperation. This kid is up to no good. He had already arrived when the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and Yao Sheng were battling. That’s not a fight I can join.
“Don’t even think about it. My old bones can’t endure such torment. Besides, my Dao Fruit isn’t suited for combat. Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi asked me to come over here to help you keep an eye on the Midheaven Emperor-Lord, lest he try anything funny.”
Yun Zhi was aware that it would be challenging for Lu Yang alone to keep the Midheaven Emperor-Lord in check, so she had summoned reinforcements.
Jiang Ping’an smiled amiably at the Midheaven Emperor-Lord. “That said, he seems pretty well-behaved.
“Fellow Daoist Mo Qingshui, you built the Great Qian Dynasty upon the ruins. Your reputation precedes you. You’ve probably heard of me too. Come to think of it, this is our first meeting.”
“Get lost!” The Midheaven Emperor-Lord growled, showing no courtesy.
In truth, there was no real enmity between them. It was simply that both were founding emperors, yet one was now reduced to a captive while the other stood high above the rest. The contrast made Jiang Ping’an’s face utterly detestable to him.
Jiang Ping’an was not a petty man. Even after being cursed at, he remained polite. “Why so irascible, Fellow Daoist Mo? I heard you’ve been searching for the Four Ancient Immortals all this time. You even said that if they didn’t cooperate, you would get rid of them and replace them with your four divine lords. What a coincidence; three of the Four Ancient Immortals are gathered here today. Would you like to meet them, or shall I call them down to meet you?”
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord fell silent for a moment, then cupped his fists in greeting. “Fellow Daoist Jiang Ping’an, you swept across the world and established Great Xia, accomplishing monumental feats. Your reputation precedes you.”