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The Cui Family.
A thoroughly lamplit lakeside pavilion.
This was the residence Cui Chang’an had arranged for Su Yi and the old blind man earlier that day.
When Su Yi returned, the old blind man, who’d been waiting all this time, hurried up to greet him. “Your Excellency Su, you’re finally back.”
Su Yi nodded. “Tomorrow, you and I are going to cultivate before the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos. Rest up tonight.”
The old blind man nodded.
Su Yi walked right up to the second floor and into his room, but he had little desire to sleep.
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This was only his first day in Ziluo City, but so much had happened already.
Su Yi wasn’t overly concerned about that, but he had no choice but to consider the problem of his low cultivation.
The Netherworld was far larger than the Azure Continent. Here, ancient orthodoxies were as numerous as trees in a forest.
More importantly, the Netherworld’s peak experts were all Emperors!
At Su Yi’s current level, taking care of a few early-stage Profound Illumination Emperors was no problem.
But at the same time, he was well aware that he’d yet to encounter any top-notch early-stage Profound Illumination Emperors.
If he did, with his current cultivation, he’d have little hope of victory relying on his own power. He’d have to resort to borrowing external power sources.
Take tonight’s operation in the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication. Without borrowing the Heavenly Evil-Smiting Formation, he couldn’t possibly have suppressed Emperors like Fei Changting, Qu Mingwei, and Cui Weizhong so easily.
Similarly, without Clear Shadow and the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern, he would have struggled to take the old monsters imprisoned within Heavenly Tripod Mountain away safely.
The crux of the matter was that while Su Yi might be invincible within the Spirit Dao, against Emperors, he wasn’t just a realm behind; they were in entirely different Daos!
“If I cultivate and contemplate before the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos, I should be able to reach the Spiritual Revolution Realm before the Lantern Festival.
“Furthermore, I should be able to refine the true Apex of Genesis Dao Intent! Then, even peak experts of the Profound Illumination Realm will pose no further threat to me…”
After pondering for a while, Su Yi started his silent meditation.
….
Morning the next day.
Cui Chang’an came calling as soon as the sun rose.
Over the course of the previous night, the head of the Cui Family had interrogated Fei Changting, Cui Weizhong, and Qu Mingwei, obtaining quite a bit of valuable information.
According to them, the Denglongs’ involvement, Qu Mingwei’s appearance, and Cui Weizhong’s betrayal could all be traced back to Cui Longxiang’s encounter with the Netherworld Vessel.
The world believed that Cui Longxiang had already encountered disaster and that he wouldn’t be coming back.
Given the circumstances, the Denglong were eager to take action. They wanted to use the Lantern Festival as an opportunity to save Fei Kongdong from imprisonment beneath Heavenly Tripod Mountain.
The ancient Qu Family, meanwhile, already had a feud with the Cui Family. They naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity to take down their old enemies.
As for Cui Weizhong’s betrayal? It wasn’t that he’d been threatened, but that he wanted to ensure he had a way out.
His reasoning was simple. Cui Weizhong figured that if Cui Longxiang wasn’t coming back, the Cui Family would surely suffer devastating losses during the upcoming Lantern Festival. It was even possible that they’d be eliminated.
And the Qu Family had made a deal with him in secret, promising that, so long as he did them a few favors, they’d ensure his safety, as well as that of his relatives.
Alas, their plan failed last night, just as it neared fruition.
“Fortunately, you were here, Uncle Su. Otherwise, had that bunch managed to sneak into the ruins, they would surely have sown the seeds of future disasters,” sighed Cui Chang’an.
Had Fei Changting placed a transmission array in the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication, when the Lantern Festival arrived, a group of enemies would have suddenly appeared in the third layer of the dungeons and freed the old monsters trapped there…
How terrifying would the consequences of that have been?
After all, during the millennial Lantern Festival, Ziluo City would face a terrifying onslaught of strange power.
If the Qu, Tantai, and Hong Families seized advantage of it to attack, the Cui Family was sure to suffer devastating losses. It really was possible that they’d be wiped out!
‘Didn’t your father make arrangements before he left?” asked Su Yi.
“He did,” said Cui Chang’an, “but I’m afraid he never considered the possibility that that bastard Cui Weizhong would betray us.”
As he said this, he couldn’t hide his rage and indignation.
“What arrangements did he make?” asked Su Yi.
“Before he left, he taught me the secret method of controlling the source power of the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos,” said Cui Chang’an. “He said that if I encountered difficulties too great to resolve, I should bring our clansmen there, then borrow the tree’s power to flee Ziluo City. After all, where there’s life, there’s hope…”
Su Yi sneered. “That really is your father’s style. He starts by planning for failure and assuming the worst possible outcome. He’ll never fight to the bitter end.”
Cui Chang’an considerately refrained from responding.
He was the man’s son; how could he comment on his father?
Instead, he smiled and changed the subject. “Fortunately, with you here, everything is settled.”
Su Yi glanced at Cui Chang’an. “I naturally won’t just stand back and watch you die, but don’t get excited prematurely. You’d best investigate the entire Cui Family before the festival to ensure there are no other double agents. You have to resolve internal conflicts before worrying about external conflicts.”
Cui Chang’an said solemnly, “Rest assured, Uncle Su!”
Su Yi had nothing further to say on the matter. “Come on, let’s go visit the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos.”
……
The Cui Family estate was enormous, with halls and palaces as numerous as trees in a forest. It was like an independent world.
The Tree of Ten Thousand Daos stood within Jinluo Grotto, a hidden realm.
The tree was a Xiantian Divine Lifeform, and it had stood there since ancient times, spreading its roots into the Cui Family’s territory. It was the clan’s central divine lifeform.
Cui Chang’an led Su Yi and the old blind man to Jinluo Grotto.
It was about thirty thousand feet across, a small-scale hidden world, but it overflowed with the accumulated power of the Grand Dao. Resplendent, divine radiance poured down from the heavens, making the entire realm seem holy.
A tree grew at the center of Jinluo Grotto. It was big enough that it’d take several adults working together to wrap their arms around it. The bark curled like hornless dragons, and the trunk was a thousand feet tall. The canopy of dense leaves was like an umbrella holding up the heavens.
Throughout its length, the tree was shrouded in dazzling, multi-colored light, as illusory and ethereal as a rainbow.
This was the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos.
Rumor had it that it produced the purest power of the Grand Dao in the Netherworld, and that different cultivators could comprehend different truths of the Grand Dao by cultivating before it. This was where the tree got its name.
The old blind man was an inheritor of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers. He wasn’t at all ignorant of the world’s wonders.
However, when he “saw” the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos from afar, he couldn’t help but feel astonished.
The Cui Family’s Tree of Ten Thousand Daos was absolutely one of the most famous Xiantian Divine Lifeforms in the Netherworld. Throughout history, countless Emperors had gone red-eyed with desire over it!
“Young Lord Su, I won’t disturb you any longer. All you two need to do is cultivate quietly here,” said Cui Chang’an with a smile.
With the old blind man around, he naturally couldn’t call Su Yi “uncle.”
Su Yi nodded.
He was well aware that after everything that had happened last night, Cui Chang’an, as the leader of his family, had numerous matters to attend to.
Cui Chang’an rushed off, while Su Yi led the old blind man right up to the tree.
“Meditate beneath the tree and cast aside all scattered thoughts. Empty your mind completely until you’re one with the universe. Then, you can sense the source of the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos,” said Su Yi. “When the time comes, don’t forget to use its power to repair your Dao Wounds.”
The old blind man took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and nodded.
He then sat cross-legged, circulated his cultivation base, and quickly sank into a state of enlightenment, forgetting himself completely.
It wasn’t that his powers of comprehension were all that extraordinary, but that before the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos, even a dim-witted cultivator could sense the aura of the Grand Dao; it practically smacked them right in the face.
Su Yi stood there with his hands behind his back, staring up at the towering trunk and leafy canopy. He spread out his divine sense and uttered a strange and inscrutable syllable.
Whoosh~
The tree, which moments prior had been utterly still, suddenly swayed, stirring up a rain of radiant Dao Light.
As the misty light poured down, it manifested an ethereal female figure.
Her hair was white as snow, and there was a red mark between her eyebrows. Her figure was indistinct, ethereal, and shrouded in the misty light of the Dao.
When she saw Su Yi, her expression filled with surprise. “Are you really Fellow Daoist Su?”
Even her voice seemed ethereal, like the music of the heavens.
Su Yi pointed to the meditating old blind man. “Don’t disturb him.”
The woman smiled, then gestured.
Whoosh~!
Dao Light descended, forming a barrier around the old blind man.
Then, she sighed. It seemed she could tell exactly who Su Yi was. “When you died, Cui Longxiang said you’d surely uncovered the secrets of reincarnation and realized your goal of cultivating anew. It seems he was right.”
She had a tranquil, elegant bearing, and her gratified yet rueful tone made it sound like she’d just reunited with an old friend.
Su Yi smiled. “That old fox might be a bit on the cowardly side, but he’s always been perceptive.”
The woman looked Su Yi up and down, then asked curiously, “Might you share with me the secrets of reincarnation?”
Su Yi shook his head. “The secrets touch upon a few taboo powers. You cannot understand unless you’ve experienced rebirth yourself; there are no words to describe it.”
The woman thought it over. “The secrets of heaven are not to be revealed?”
Su Yi laughed. “You can interpret it that way.”
The woman whispered, “Indeed, the truths of reincarnation have long since been obscured. The answers are known only to the heavens. Although we know of the existence of reincarnation, its mysteries are difficult to describe. This is why they say the Dao is formless, and its shape cannot be described.”
As she spoke, a smile tugged at her lips. “However, seeing you now, I at least know that the ancient stories of reincarnation are no mere legends. There really is such a thing.”
Su Yi suddenly laughed. “You once said that if Su Xuanjun successfully uncovered the secrets of reincarnation, you’d consider leaving with him. Well? Have you reached a decision?”
The woman froze, stunned. Her expression turned a bit strange.