Mad Dean slowly turned his palm over, letting rainwater drip from it. "Time is an elusive thing. I don't know whether it's real or not. I'm no different. Climbing the Star Picking Tower again and again drove me mad, but yesterday's madness brought today's good fortune. Only after seeing through the world can the heart return to peace. This place suits you."
As far as combat strength went, Mad Dean was no match for Lu Yin. Though he had tempered his heart in the mortal world and was a powerful Half-Ancestor, he still couldn't compare to Lu Yin, who had enshrined several Ancestors and could fight Ancestors with his own strength. But when it came to state of mind, Lu Yin couldn't hold a candle to Mad Dean.
And that was true of more than just Lu Yin. How many of those Ancestors could match Mad Dean?
Looking across the ages, who could claim to have only just broken through to Half-Ancestor, yet be ready to become an Ancestor at any moment? Who could say that, after losing the power of cultivation, they could still break through by drawing on their past experiences? Mad Dean alone.
Everyone's cultivation began with the most basic resources, such as star energy. Mad Dean had been no different, but he had walked a path no one had ever taken before. No one could see where it ended, just as with Lu Yin's path.
No one could guide someone along such a path. They could only explore it for themselves.
Lu Yin looked at Mad Dean solemnly. "Dean, there's something I'd like to ask you to do."
Mad Dean regarded him calmly. "Go ahead."
"If the Heavenly Sect faces a crisis, I hope you'll become an Ancestor and protect the Heavenly Sect and the Fifth