Ye Changqing's face was deathly pale in the chaos. He couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh.
Perhaps he was the shortest-lived Saint in the history of the Primordial World.
He had worked hard for tens of thousands of years, only to experience it for such a brief moment. It really had been short and powerless.
What he hadn't expected was that after all these years, he would be discovered at the very last moment.
That's right!
He was a transmigrator!
When he had first transmigrated to the Primordial World, Old Ancestor Hongjun had yet to become a Saint, and the Heavenly Dao was damaged.
On top of that, his soul had been weak at the time, so he had luckily escaped the Heavenly Dao's notice.
The Primordial World was perilous beyond measure. He had lain low for a long time, but never received the standard golden finger that transmigrators were supposed to get.
He had no choice but to seek a powerful patron. That was how he waited for the Three Pure Ones on Buzhou Mountain and became Sect Master Tongtian's disciple.
Even after becoming Sect Master Tongtian's disciple, he had never done anything particularly remarkable. He had even been outshone by Daoist Duobao and the others.
It wasn't until the Witch-Demon War ended tens of thousands of years ago that he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
To prepare for the approaching Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, Ye Changqing had begun cultivating desperately, and his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Today, as he sought to achieve Dao, his body had been destroyed, exposing his soul and drawing the Great Dao's attention...
Pfft!
Ye Changqing spat out another mouthful of blood. Sect Master Tongtian hurriedly took out countless spirit pills and panaceas and fed them to him.
The Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Pill, personally refined by Laozi, could bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bare bones, yet it had no effect at all on Ye Changqing's Dao wound.
"Changqing, you'll be all right..."
"I'll definitely find a way to heal you!"
Sect Master Tongtian kept reassuring him.
To ask Dao Ancestor Hongjun to intervene, he had taken Ye Changqing to the gates of Purple Heaven Palace.
But the gates of Purple Heaven Palace were firmly shut, and the two of them had been turned away.
Watching his master kneel before the gates of Purple Heaven Palace and refuse to rise, Ye Changqing's gaze grew resolute.
"Master, take me back!"
His tone left no room for argument. It was the first time he had ever shown disrespect to his master.
He didn't want his master to abase himself like this, nor did he want Sect Master Tongtian to make some kind of bargain on his account.
Most importantly, his wound was the result of a Great Dao backlash. Dao Ancestor Hongjun was merely a minor representative of the Heavenly Dao. How could he possibly dare to defy the Great Dao?
"All right. Let's go home!"
Looking into his determined eyes, Sect Master Tongtian finally relented.
He knew all this himself, of course. He had simply been grasping at straws in his desperation.
Sect Master Tongtian sighed. How was he supposed to explain this to his other disciples?
Golden Ao Island was shrouded in gloom and silence. It no longer looked like a blessed immortal paradise or a Saint's abode.
Every Jie Sect Disciple wore a look of unwillingness. Their Senior Disciple Brother had clearly succeeded, so why had things turned out this way?
"Senior Disciple Brother is extraordinarily gifted. How could he have suffered such a calamity?"
"Could Heaven be jealous of him?"
Zhao Gongming asked, frowning in sorrow and confusion.
He thought back to the scene from earlier, when Senior Disciple Brother had defeated three Quasi-Saints with a single move, and found his answer.
Heaven was jealous of the gifted. Senior Disciple Brother was someone even Heaven feared!
Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, Bixiao, and the other female immortals had all cried until their eyes were red.
A beam of azure light pierced the heavens and earth, returning from the chaos to land on Golden Ao Island.
The light faded, revealing two figures: Sect Master Tongtian and Ye Changqing.
"Greetings, Master!"
"Greetings, Senior Disciple Brother!"
The ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect wiped away their tears and bowed to the ground, paying their respects to Ye Changqing.
In their hearts, Senior Disciple Brother was no different from a Saint.
Ye Changqing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at those familiar faces.
He smiled faintly, feeling that it had all been worth it.
Sect Master Tongtian said nothing. He took Ye Changqing away with him.
Ye Changqing's condition was still uncertain; he needed treatment as soon as possible.
Outside Azure Palace, the ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect gathered at the entrance and waited in silence. Not one of them left.
"Master is a Saint. He'll surely find a way!"
Daoist Duobao, now the central figure among the personal disciples, spoke to the others.
He was trying to comfort his junior brothers and sisters, as well as reassure himself.
Senior Disciple Brother was the Interception Sect's only inheritor!
What did it mean to be an inheritor?
One day, Ye Changqing would inherit everything from Sect Master Tongtian, including the Interception Sect and the Four Immortal Slaying Swords.
But Daoist Duobao had never felt jealous. He had even thought it only right.
Inside the main hall of Azure Palace, Sect Master Tongtian sat cross-legged on a cloud bed, the Great Dao flowing around him as he drew upon the power of heaven and earth.
The many wondrous signs faded. He channeled streams of energy, pure to the extreme, into Ye Changqing's body.
If those energies were poured into an ordinary living being, they could make him an immortal on the spot and carry him straight to the rank of Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
But when that spiritual power entered Ye Changqing's body, it had no effect at all.
Sect Master Tongtian furrowed his brows, his expression grave. He beckoned to the sun, moon, and stars, and the essences of the sun and moon and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth came surging toward him.
Above Azure Palace, energy gathered into a vortex. He refined it into a great medicine brimming with vitality.
Even with Sect Master Tongtian's methods, he couldn't ease Ye Changqing's injuries.
All he could do was slowly nourish his life essence and replenish the vitality rapidly draining from him.
The Great Dao's curse was aimed directly at Ye Changqing's True Spirit, which was slowly dissipating.
It was an irreversible process. Once his True Spirit had completely vanished, Ye Changqing would be utterly destroyed, his soul scattered forever!
Sect Master Tongtian sighed again. He had never felt so hopeless since the day he had taken form.
Although he was a Heavenly Dao Saint, all he could do was watch his disciple slowly die.
"Master, how long do I have left?"
Ye Changqing asked.
"A thousand years... No, perhaps eight hundred..."
"Maybe only five hundred..."
"But don't worry. I'll find a way to keep you alive!"
Sect Master Tongtian replied.
After receiving a definite answer, Ye Changqing instead felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
Compared to ordinary living beings, who had only a few short decades, he still had plenty of time.
He still had time to put his affairs in order.
Seeing Ye Changqing's unruffled face, Sect Master Tongtian felt even more heartache.
His disciple had the steadiest Dao heart Sect Master Tongtian had ever seen. If only nothing had gone wrong...
This disciple of his would surely surpass him and lead the Interception Sect to greater heights!
Sect Master Tongtian's figure slowly faded away, leaving Ye Changqing to recover on his own.
Outside the gates of Azure Palace, he instructed the ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect, "No one is to disturb Changqing. Anyone who disobeys will be expelled from the sect!"
Watching Sect Master Tongtian walk away with heavy steps, the Interception Sect disciples sank into despair.
Could even their Saint master do nothing?
"No! Senior Disciple Brother absolutely can't die!"
"I remember there's an immortal medicine somewhere that might help..."
After speaking, Yunxiao rose into the clouds with her two younger sisters and soon disappeared from view.
Only then did the ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect come to their senses. They left Golden Ao Island one after another to search for sacred medicines that could heal Senior Disciple Brother and prolong his life.
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