Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 401 - 22: Expulsion from the Sect

Chapter 401: Chapter 22: Expulsion from the Sect

Reminiscence arose like a gust of wind, its echoes unceasing.

Gu Wen’s spirit wandered upon the great Dao, his Qi Sea’s tiny figure’s hair strands tugging at his body, inch by inch embedding into the the splendor and essence of the Dao.

He understood that all the recent memories were caused by the trial of emotions, they were tribulations planted 800 years ago. The shackles from 800 years past had not vanished; what truly confined him was never an external force, but his own heart.

Perhaps if he saw through the emotional trial, he could be fulfilled. Perhaps he would never be able to see through it, or perhaps "my" feelings stem from the heart.

His state of mind caused a slight ripple, but to the vast ocean that spanned thousands of miles, these ripples were insignificant, not yet enough to stir up towering waves.

Inner peace remained unshaken; as Gu Wen was reflecting on his memories, he still had a third of his attention free to perceive the grand Dao of heaven and earth.

He was in constant cultivation, with the myriad laws of heaven and earth intertwining with his existence. In theory, he needed only to pass a long expanse of time, and even without any action, Gu Wen could prove the Dao with his strength.

The Golden Core was six chi, his fulfillment imminent.

Gu Wen swallowed one steamer after another, his stomach seemingly a bottomless pit. Xuan Yue had made enough Qinghua Cakes for a hundred people; one steamer was larger than his thatched hut, stacked over ten meters high.

Seeing him like this, even the family treasure accustomed to being extremely wary of strangers couldn’t help but reveal its true form, snatching up a piece of cake and swallowing it.

Its small mouth smacked as it chewed, saying, "It tastes of Yu Hua."

"It smells similar to the sachets she often used."

Gu Wen corrected the cat’s ambiguous words; its mouth was now fully stuffed, making its speech unclear.

"Immortal, the cat too can emit this fragrance."

No sooner had the cat finished speaking than it began to release a refined aroma, continuously using its tail to tease Gu Wen’s nose.

"Do you like it, immortal? Do you?"

"Of course, I like it."

Gu Wen nodded earnestly, also giving an answer that he hadn’t spoken out loud 800 years ago.

Afterward, perhaps feeling that the Qinghua Cakes were something good as well, the cat’s body suddenly expanded a hundredfold, swallowing all the remaining cakes in one gulp.

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Xuan Yue stood dozens of steps away, expressionless, but his body, which dared not make any superfluous movements, betrayed his extreme nervousness.

"Old fellow, you really do know how to seize the moment, like a capable person. You only knew you were going to die after seeing the coffin, and only after entering the netherworld did you realize your wrongs."

Chi Yu Zi didn’t have the same reverence for Gu Wen, collecting a small handful of bone fragments from the earth and coming over to Xuan Yue to ask,

"Now’s your chance to atone for your crimes by testifying for this lady; if you do so, I’ll have Gu Wen give you a quick end."

As the current leader of the Devil Clan, whether he acted voluntarily or intentionally, the Sanqing Taoist Sect wouldn’t let him off. Simply providing Spiritual Medicine for cultivators branded as Devil was enough to warrant his live flaying.

"Heh, a little girl puffing herself up under someone else’s power, but I suppose you are qualified," Xuan Yue responded, less restrained around her, aware of the times, fear not affecting his actions.

"But to have me testify against a Returning to Void junior, don’t you think that’s overkill? Why not let me kill the murderer from the Yin Yang Union Sect, and solve all the problems?"

"Heh, you wish, what status do you have to uphold the Law?"

"Your era certainly has a lot of rules, turning what was once a peaceful world into a mess," Xuan Yue sneered, not entirely ignorant of the outside world.

He knew about Qingcang’s goal for a unified world, he knew how the Human Race in each continent mocked an Immortal under Qingcang’s rules, and he knew the origins of these Devils.

The so-called Devils were regular Cultivators, using their power to seek the status they deserved, establishing a simple and unadorned social structure of the survival of the fittest. Other than the sect heritage and the Devil Clan being somewhat different, there was no distinction between human and devil.

All were beings of flesh and blood, all in need of cultivation, but obviously, one lived better outside than in the Jianmu Cave Heaven.

Then Qingcang, under the pretense of virtue, forcefully denigrated countless great powers, and they could only flee in all directions. Simultaneously, this was also the reason Xuan Yue was forced to the opposition, according to Qingcang’s logic, he too should die,

Unless he were to completely submit to the other side, and act according to their wishes.

But if that were the case, why then would he cultivate towards Immortality, why then seek transcendence?

Sometimes, Xuan Yue couldn’t help but sigh, a group of ordinary great powers now vilified as street rats because of Qingcang’s tyranny.

"I don’t want to argue with you; you just need to come with me and identify the culprit from the Yin Yang Union Sect."

"And then what?"

"Then you will be taken to the Sanqing Taoist Sect to be judged guilty, perhaps Gu Wen has other ideas—I will turn a blind eye."

"Heh, so the scrupulously fair Chi Venerable also has personal bias."

"The lady here stayed at the Yuqing Sect just to wait for him; what’s wrong with being a little biased? If anyone else has a problem with it, they can go complain to the Jade Emperor Palace. If it comes to it, I’ll just quit."

Chi Yu Zi crossed her arms and huffed coldly, while she liked to reason, she was also willing to be biased for Gu Wen.

She, too, did not want to continue--patrolling and fighting everyday was less enjoyable than wandering everywhere and drinking with Gu Wen.

"A wise choice, your fortune has finally turned; perhaps your senior sister will die because of you."

"Do you know where she is?"

Gu Wen approached from a distance, and Xuan Yue subconsciously held his breath at the sight of this unremarkable face that seemed to contain some ineffable great fear.

But he soon calmed down, as Xuan Yue sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

Gu Wen seemed entirely normal, so normal that he would care about past grievances, more worldly than him.

Xuan Yue steadied his spirit slightly and replied, "Senior Sister, knowing Qingcang wants to kill her, has already fled far into the Void, perhaps to hide for tens of thousands of years. But don’t you have methods to find senior sister? Divination, star-gazing, calculating cause and effect, and other methods."

He asked cautiously, fostering a sense of exploration about the nature of Gu Wen while also feeling an extreme fear of it.

Every Immortal’s emergence signals the ascension of a great Dao, such as the Immortal Sword elevating the Sword Dao to the pinnacle of attack and defense in the world, or Qingcang accelerating the cultivation speed of the Human Race, and Jianmu making Grotto Heaven more solid.

Yet Xuan Yue’s role was small; he merely strengthened the Pill Fire of the world by a fraction.

The original Pill Fire was like ordinary flames, only easier to control. True Alchemy Masters wield violent True Fire and potent medicine to refine Immortal Pills.

But True Fire belongs to Divine Skills, unattainable for most full-time alchemists. If they had the talent for cultivating divine skills, they would not be mere alchemists, and vice versa, they would lack True Fire.

Alchemy Masters often are also powerful beings.

Now that Pill Fire is on par with True Fire, alchemists who lack True Fire might also become masters in the future.

He said he was a Little Saint, and yet Xuan Yue had seen Qingcang had seen Jianmu. These two in comparison to Gu Wen were not on the same level. But strangely, Gu Wen was not omnipotent. He could extract laws from the world, with all Daoist Skills being achieved through the laws.

This power was once wielded by the ancient Heavenly Emperor and the Lord of the Underworld; Gu Wen should be able to as well.

But it seemed like he could not.

Gu Wen shook his head, honestly replying, "I don’t know any of these, aside from various Divine Skills, my current method is just the Alchemy Dao. Can these methods find Chi Ling?"

Alchemy Master, not yet a Great Grandmaster.

The Divine Skills learned in the Immortal Land were all for combat due to the pressing situation at the time.

Xuan Yue said, "Now that Qingcang hasn’t found her, it must be extremely difficult to figure out. But if it bothers you, I could do it on your behalf and search for her for you."

"No need, you should first go to the Daoist Sect and face the consequences."

Gu Wen shook his head, willing to set aside past grievances for the sake of Qinghua Cake.

But Chi Yu Zi told him that in these years, Xuan Yue had clearly not been doing human affairs. He wasn’t a terrifying member of the Devil Clan, but that didn’t mean an arms dealer who sold weapons to terrorists was blameless.

Xuan Yue shrugged as if resigned and said, "I’ll just go with you guys. Hopefully Qingcang will calm down a bit now that he sees you’ve come out."

Now, refusing was certain death, but going to the Daoist Sect there was only a possibility of death.

"There’s another matter we came to you for; your Pill Furnace on your chest is an item from the Heavenly Court."

Gu Wen’s gaze landed on Xuan Yue’s chest. The latter’s expression changed slightly, but knowing he couldn’t resist, he reluctantly took off his upper clothing.

On his lean and fit body, a palm-sized Pill Furnace burned brightly on his chest, emitting an aura similar to the Immortal Sword, yet many times weaker than it.

"A minor hook Furnace of the Heavenly Court, once used by the Supreme Golden Child to deal with the dregs from the Furnace of Eight Trigrams."

He first answered Gu Wen’s question, then asked, "Who told you guys?"

Chi Yu Zi recounted the whole story from learning about the Pill Furnace to coming to Huajian Continent and then finding Qinghua Cake.

Everything seemed like a fortunate coincidence but was actually inevitable, because no one could escape Gu Wen’s searching. As long as Xuan Yue stayed hiding here, one day Gu Wen would dig him out.

"People of the underworld, they actually haven’t all died out."

Xuan Yue furrowed his brows, feeling that something was amiss — the Heavenly Court and the underworld, which had disappeared a hundred thousand years ago, were reappearing at the same time.

Gu Wen stepped forward to examine the Pill Furnace, lightly tapping it with his fingertip, a thread of law following his fingertip into the Qi Sea.

"Alchemy Dao, nine feet, Great Grandmaster."

His progress in the realm was as easy as drinking water, reminiscent of the sensation of Heavenly Marrow in the Immortal Land. Now, Gu Wen no longer had a Fate Diagram, but he possessed an ability similar to it.

The Red Dust Immortal’s Fate Diagram was an object belonging to the Lord of the Underworld. Now as a Little Saint, he could comprehend the Dao without expending any materials.

"Did you consume all the dregs inside?"

"They were already refined into Pills and assimilated a hundred years ago."

Gu Wen withdrew his gaze, his expression calm without any opinion or annoyance. He turned to console Chi Yu Zi, saying, "Since it is not fated to be ours, we will find another way. As long as I do not die, you will not be extinguished."

Now, killing Xuan Yue wouldn’t get back the dregs, and the Spiritual Medicine in the Inheritance Treasure Cave Heaven also had similar effects, though many times weaker.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Gu Wen and another left the cave with Xuan Yue.

Outside, Xie Yunnan presented a letter, saying, "Junior Master Gu, this is a letter from Qingcang Immortal."

Gu Wen took the letter, opened it, and saw a few bold characters.

"Expelled from the Sect!"

"When Huajian State ends, let’s go back to the Daoist Sect."