Nameless Scripture

Outside the Celestial Master Temple.

The Old Celestial Master watched Yuan Tianzong leave, his expression complicated.

The Dao Heart Breaker's ability had activated, unsettling the mind of this gifted prodigy, who had grown up amid countless words of praise, and filling him with the dejection of "Meeting Tianzong makes all the paths seem empty."

I was never the one destined to find it. Sigh.

With a long sigh, the Old Celestial Master trudged back, blood on the corner of his mouth and his injuries worsening.

The Sect Leader Celestial Master hurried over with Xue Ding, his face full of worry. He quickly reached out to support his master.

"Master, why did you do that? You knew how badly you were injured, yet insisted on getting up to meet him. You could've waited until you were feeling better."

After his "reproachful" words, the Sect Leader Celestial Master couldn't help asking with concern, "How are you feeling now? You look frighteningly pale."

The Old Celestial Master waved a hand and smiled. "It's nothing. I'm not going to die, so don't worry."

"Listen to yourself. Hurry back and rest. I've already told them to prepare spiritual treasures."

"Enough, I know. Which one of us is the master here, you or me?" the Old Celestial Master teased, feeling like the apprentice whose master kept him on a tight leash.

"I'm the Sect Leader. Isn't it only right that I keep you in line?" the Sect Leader Celestial Master said matter-of-factly.

"Quite right. Thank you for looking after me, Sect Leader~"

"Mm. You need to take good care of your injuries. After all, you're the face of our Celestial Master Temple, one of the Top Ten Experts of Huaxia, and a heaven-sent prodigy."

Unlike before, when the Old Celestial Master heard this, he shook his head. "Compared to him, we prodigies are nothing but grains of sand at the bottom of a river. Nothing worth mentioning, nothing worth mentioning."

The Sect Leader Celestial Master's smile faded. He asked seriously, "Master, do you truly think so?"

"Of course."

After receiving his firm answer, the Sect Leader Celestial Master and Xue Ding exchanged a look, both deeply shaken.

The gifted prodigy considered himself far inferior to Yuan Tianzong, even likening himself to grains of sand at the bottom of a river. It was hard to imagine just how great that man's talent was.

At that moment, Xue Ding, the Senior Disciple Brother, spoke at an inopportune time.

"Master, Grandmaster, Wangwu Mountain is undergoing dramatic changes. The Jin City Wang Family has entered the Quanzhen Sect with overwhelming momentum, so the two sides have likely reached an agreement. They're probably after the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao, which may appear before long."

"Grandmaster's injuries are severe. That puts us at a disadvantage."

The Sect Leader Celestial Master glared at Xue Ding. "Why bring that up now? Master needs to rest. We'll deal with the Divine Smoke of Entering the Dao ourselves. There's no need for you to say more."

Though it was an inopportune thing to say, Xue Ding felt it was necessary to bring it up.

He knew his master planned to handle it alone, and he also knew his master didn't have any good plan. He didn't want to disturb his injured grandmaster, but he was worried his master would overestimate himself.

If his master wouldn't say it, then he had to. He hoped his grandmaster might have a solution.

"What are you yelling for? Your disciple is right."

The Sect Leader Celestial Master rolled his eyes. The way grandparents favored their grandchildren was truly infuriating.

"Xue Ding, you were the one who brought Daoist Yuan to Celestial Master Cave, weren't you?"

Xue Ding shook his head. "No, it was Ninth Junior Sister."

"Heh. Still pretending. I'm not going to punish you."

"I really didn't," Xue Ding insisted.

"Fine, if you say you didn't, then you didn't. It's just that Daoist Yuan showed you a bit of goodwill."

"Why don't you go out of your way to be around him when you have time?"

The Old Celestial Master was clever. He knew that someone like Yuan Tianzong made friends based on how he felt, not on status or family background.

Xue Ding had gotten lucky and made a good impression on him. Sending Xue Ding to build a friendship with him was the best approach, and the one most likely to work.

"Grandmaster, you know what I'm like. I'm not good with words. You're serious about sending me to spend time around him?"

"Mm. Go," the Old Celestial Master said with a firm nod. Having met countless people, he couldn't possibly be mistaken.

The Sect Leader Celestial Master said, "Do as Master says. Go!"

"Why are you raising your voice?" the Old Celestial Master snapped.

"I wasn't raising my voice, Master," the Sect Leader Celestial Master protested. I'm trying to help you, and you still treat me like this, you old coot.

Xue Ding raised a hand. "This disciple will obey Grandmaster's orders!"

"Mm, mm. Go on, then. I'll be waiting for good news," the Old Celestial Master said warmly, his face full of affection.

After Xue Ding left, master and disciple walked slowly back to Celestial Master Cave. The place was rich in vital energy and home to spiritual treasures, making it very beneficial for recovering from injuries.

"Master, Daoist Yuan is certainly powerful. But you've already gone out of your way to show him goodwill. You even gave him the Nameless Scripture, a legacy passed down through generations of Celestial Master Temple leaders. And he still gave you the cold shoulder. Why bother?"

The Celestial Master Temple had its own dignity. If the other party wanted nothing to do with them, why keep trying to get close?

The Old Celestial Master patted his disciple's hand and said softly, "First of all, the Nameless Scripture doesn't belong to our temple. Giving it to him wasn't a gift from me."

"The Nameless Scripture doesn't belong to our temple?" The Sect Leader Celestial Master was astonished. From childhood, he'd often seen his grandmaster studying the scripture. Later it had been passed on to his master, and he'd studied it himself, though he'd gained little.

He'd heard that the scripture had been passed down from ancient times.

A scripture that had been handed down through the generations of Celestial Masters at the Celestial Master Temple didn't belong to their temple?

The Sect Leader Celestial Master couldn't understand.

"As for the Nameless Scripture, the temple's predecessors decreed that I should tell the next Celestial Master about it when I passed away. Now that I've given the scripture to Daoist Yuan, there's no harm in telling you."

"No one knows which Sect Leader Celestial Master first received it. It's been passed down ever since."

"When it was passed on, there was a message with it. It said only someone destined to find it could comprehend the scripture, and that person had to possess extraordinary talent."

"Every generation of Celestial Masters tried to comprehend it, each thinking they might be the one with unparalleled talent who was destined to find it. You know how that turned out. Not one of us, myself included, could grasp the mysteries of the Nameless Scripture."

"Daoist Yuan has the most terrifying talent I've ever seen."

"After seeing him with my own eyes and confirming my suspicions, I'm certain he's the one destined to find the Nameless Scripture. He can comprehend its mysteries."

"To be honest, I'm quite curious about what the Nameless Scripture contains, and what it might reveal."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one. Every Celestial Master before me must have been curious, too. Heh."

Wooden hut in the valley.

"Tok, tok."

When Bone saw Yuan Tianzong return, he hurried over excitedly. The sound of his wooden fish must have been calling "Master" again and again.

After interacting with Bone for a few minutes, Yuan Tianzong went straight into the wooden hut and took out a scroll made of unusual material. It was the scripture the Old Celestial Master had given him for free.

Yuan Tianzong unrolled the scroll. There wasn't a single word on it, only a strange image—something resembling a space-time tunnel. The longer he looked at it, the more it seemed as if his gaze would be drawn inside.

"Not a single word. A scripture?"

Yuan Tianzong murmured to himself, curiosity filling his eyes.