It was actually him!
Su Che looked at the white-haired Daoist before him, whose face seemed as youthful as a boy's, and immediately understood who this man was.
The Daoist schools of the world were indeed divided into sects and branches, as that old Daoist had just said. Setting aside the heights of their Daoist arts and the legitimacy of their lineages, in terms of sheer prevalence throughout the world, the Celestial Master Sect, Yellow Heaven Sect, and Divine Firmament Sect stood foremost.
The Divine Firmament Sect was a rising newcomer, while the Celestial Master Sect and Yellow Heaven Sect were both great sects that had endured in the world for ages.
No one knew how profound the cultivation of the Yellow Heaven Sect's leader was, but its six Preceptors were all Third Grade Immortal True Persons of the Daoist School.
That Old Lion in the depths of Mystic Mountain had only been Third Grade while he was alive.
The Duling Su Clan had worshipped the Yellow Heaven Sect for generations. They had even built a Founders' Hall within their ancestral shrine, where they enshrined portraits of accomplished Yellow Heaven Sect Daoists who had connections with the family.
When Su Che had been in Jiankang, he had visited the Founders' Hall and paid his respects. Every portrait inside had seemed as lifelike as a true person, and the hall had carried an unceasing fragrance even without incense being burned.
Wei Zhisheng was one of those enshrined in the Founders' Hall. He also had the Daoist name Yulizi. His cultivation realm was unknown, but according to the records, he had formed ties with the Su Family more than three hundred years ago. Among the many portraits in the Founders' Hall, his ranked second.
"So it is Immortal Elder Wei. This junior of the Su household pays respects to Immortal Elder."
As Su Che spoke, he moved to perform a grand kowtow. Daoist Wei flicked his horsetail whisk, and a strange force supported Su Che, preventing him from bowing down.
"There will be plenty of time for bows later. There is no need to hurry now."
Old Wei looked at Qingqiu, who stood nearby holding an umbrella.
"This young lady looks rather familiar."
Qingqiu felt a little uneasy. Her meager cultivation likely could not conceal her from this Daoist of unknown depth.
But this body of hers had been transformed from a paper effigy. What familiarity could there possibly be to speak of?
"This servant greets the master."
Quick-witted, she held up the umbrella and gave a deep curtsy. "This servant's cultivation is insufficient, so I can only keep hold of the umbrella..."
"The Heavenly Demon Soul-Splitting Technique is convenient when first used, but once one's realm deepens, its troubles become apparent. If you wish to seek the Great Dao in the future, young lady, please use this art with caution."
Infinite thunder seemed to be born and perish within the Daoist's eyes.
With only that one glance, Qingqiu felt signs that her divided soul-body was becoming unstable.
"Mo Sang, Fellow Daoist Mo, of the Cloud-Deep No-Return Place in the Eastern Sea—is she related to you?"
"She is this servant's aunt."
Hearing him mention the name of an elder from her family, Qingqiu was momentarily dazed.
Mo Sang was precisely her aunt's personal name. Ever since her aunt had attained the Fourth Grade realm, she had rarely heard anyone call her by those two words.
Just what realm was this Daoist in, that he dared address her aunt directly by name?
"The demon clans value bloodlines; Daoist sects value inheritances. The Cloud Fox aura upon you runs deep—you cannot hide it from me." Daoist Wei used the tip of his horsetail whisk to point at Su Che. "And what is your relationship with Young Master Su?"
Qingqiu glanced at Su Che beside her. Even with her quick wits, she did not know how to answer for the moment.
From the Daoist's words just now, he was clearly someone who hated evil as though it were his mortal enemy.
Communication between humans and demons might well violate one of his taboos.
What a nuisance. One wrong word, and perhaps they would be planted in the ground like melons.
"This one would not dare deceive you, Daoist Elder. The two of us..."
Su Che answered without thinking, stumbling over his words and looking as though he could not bring himself to explain their relationship.
This Daoist Wei had just said that urging people toward goodness was useless effort. He presumably was not someone who rigidly clung to the distinction between righteousness and evil.
Daoist Wei glanced at Little Fox. "This young lady's background is even more exalted than his. I fear she has married beneath herself."
Little Fox babbled incoherently, not knowing what to say either.
"What is taught here must not reach six ears. Since you have not entered the sect, young lady, please avoid this for a moment."
As Daoist Wei spoke, he raised his sleeve. In an instant, Little Fox vanished without a trace.
Good heavens. Su Che looked at the sleeve of Daoist Wei's black robe. Could this be the divine art of Heaven and Earth in the Sleeve?
"I returned to the sect several days ago. I never expected such a major incident to arise at home." Daoist Wei shook his horsetail whisk, and a yellow cloud the size of a lotus flower flew out from within his sleeve.
The lotus-sized yellow cloud spun round and round, expanding into the size of a millstone.
"Come up."
Yulizi flicked his horsetail whisk.
"A few years ago, I ascended to the Outer Nine Heavens to gather the purest Mystic Truth. I never expected that after being gone for several years, such changes would arise at home."
Su Che stepped onto the yellow cloud and felt as though he had put on a pair of boots woven from clouds, indescribably comfortable.
The yellow cloud rose with the wind, gradually speeding straight above the blue clouds.
Yulizi raised the cloud higher and circled above Shanyin County Town. His eyes flashed like lightning as he swept them over the rolling terrain of Shanyin County.
"Several hundred years ago, I heard that someone at White Deer Grotto Academy wrote the Explanation of the Taiji Diagram, and later someone else wrote the Commentary on the Explanation of the Taiji Diagram. Confucian scholars had always upheld the boundaries of the Human Path, taking benevolence and righteousness as the foundation of their doctrine. White Deer Grotto wished to use Confucian teachings to explain the transformations between Heaven and man; that could be considered an innovation. Though I am a man of the Daoist School, I was glad to see it succeed."
"White Deer Grotto kept explaining and explaining, until they came up with a method to make exceptional people into tinder for chaotic times. If the realm was to enjoy lasting peace and stability, then anyone who might become the lord of troubled times had to be carved away. They wished to sweep away the future kings of men. Whether it was the Northern Kingdom or the Southern Dynasty, both naturally welcomed it. That was simply how the matter stood."
"Your earlier troubles were likely the same." Wei Zhisheng turned his eyes toward Su Che. "A few years ago, I went to cultivate in the Outer Nine Heavens. I had thought that with your uncle holding the fort for the Su Family, there would be no trouble. I never expected White Deer Grotto to act with such reckless abandon now."
"Su Che, look down below."
Standing upon the cloud, Su Che cast his gaze downward.
He saw verdant mountains condensed in emerald hues, jade-green waves winding like ribbons, city walls like ripe fruits formed upon the earth, official roads stretching thin as threads, and human habitation so faint it seemed almost invisible.
The great sun was nearing its zenith, Sun Essence spilling everywhere. Between heaven and earth, only he and Yulizi stood riding the wind.
"Either return home and become a wealthy man. With your uncle and me here, White Deer Grotto presumably will not press you too harshly."
"Or cultivate with me. Drink the essence of sun and moon, swallow the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, rise on rosy clouds and ascend, climb to the heavens and gaze over the vast sea. Even should a disciple of my Yellow Heaven Sect possess an emperor's fate, he should serve as the Mount Tai Prefect Lord or the Azure Florescence Emperor Lord."
Was there even a choice to make?
Su Che immediately knelt on the cloud.
"This disciple is willing to cultivate under Master. The wealth and glory of the mortal world, the lingering ties of love—from this day forth, none shall have the slightest connection to me..."
"Didn't you just find yourself a Cloud Fox?"
"This disciple was ignorant. Fortunately, Master enlightened me. All that came before, all ten thousand bonds—I shall cast them aside..."
"That is enough."
Yulizi flicked his horsetail whisk.
"You need not sing such lofty tunes. I am the direct disciple of the Yellow Heaven Sect's leader, and even among the Daoist schools of this realm, I am counted among the notable figures. By the rules of our Daoist School, disciples must undergo seven trials before they may enter the sect. No matter how grandly you speak here, it is useless."
Su Che looked at his nose, and his nose looked at his heart, listening to this man's judgment.
"Today, I will pass on to you a set of the Secret Register of the Yin Heaven of Zhoujue. Without a register, one is not of the Dao. This art is a secret inheritance of my Yellow Heaven Sect; it is not set down in writing, but passed from heart to heart. If you can cultivate thirty-six secret registers within twenty-one days, then you shall count as a disciple of my sect. If not, then your affinity is too shallow, and you can only remain a registered disciple."
As soon as Yulizi finished speaking, the fingertip of his right hand pressed directly against Su Che's brow.
At once, a set of ancient and mysterious characters was imprinted upon Su Che's heart.