The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit

"This can't go on. No one's been hurt or killed, but keeping everyone on edge is no solution."

Tao Ye felt he needed to discuss things with Di Yi again. If this continued, could the Heaven Mending Pavilion still call itself the Heaven Mending Pavilion? It might as well change its name to the Haunted Pavilion.

Just as he rose to leave his spirit mountain, he saw Di Yi coming straight toward him.

"This isn't working. That Elder Paranormal won't confront me, and my original idea had a major flaw." Di Yi walked up to Tao Ye and got straight to the point. "I want to meet the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit and see whether there's a way to make that Elder Paranormal show himself."

"Meet the Sacrificial Spirit?" It wasn't as though Tao Ye had never considered seeking the Sacrificial Spirit's help. But the Sacrificial Spirit had kept its lips tightly sealed on the matter; otherwise, it would never have dragged on from ancient times to the present.

Still, he felt Di Yi was special. The Sacrificial Spirit might keep silent with them, but that didn't necessarily mean it wouldn't tell Di Yi the truth.

With that thought, he readily agreed.

There was no other choice. They couldn't keep dragging this out, or the entire Heaven Mending Pavilion would be paralyzed.

Of course, there was another reason: he felt he could use this opportunity to tell Di Yi a few things concerning the Heaven Mending Pavilion's future and safety.

Soon, Tao Ye brought Di Yi to a mysterious part of the Heaven Mending Pavilion. It was an enormous garden filled with all kinds of vegetation, pavilions and towers, little bridges and flowing streams.

Strangely, however, the buildings here were nothing like the Heaven Mending Pavilion's other grand, imposing structures. Instead, they were old and dilapidated, as though no one had tended to them for a very, very long time.

If he had to describe it, this place could be called a ruin. It was ancient beyond measure, almost completely submerged beneath the scouring currents of time.

"The Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit lives somewhere like this?" Di Yi felt the contrast was far too stark. The disciples' quarters might not have been lavish, but they were orderly, and considerable care had gone into choosing their building materials.

That went doubly for the residences of the Heaven Mending Pavilion's elders.

He felt that the being a great sect enshrined and worshipped should at least live in something comparable to an ancient temple, however poor its surroundings might be. How could this place be so desolate and run-down?

"This is where the Heaven Mending Pavilion was first built. Later expansions brought it to its present size," Tao Ye explained. "We did ask the Sacrificial Spirit to move elsewhere, but our request was refused."

"So that's how it is." Di Yi nodded.

As they continued onward, he gained a general impression of this mysterious area. Although it had fallen into neglect, traces of its former grandeur were still discernible.

But as he ventured deeper into the mysterious area, his brows slowly furrowed in puzzlement.

The farther they went, the scarcer the vegetation became. The ground was bare, like a desert wasteland, until eventually nothing remained but gravel and stones.

"Why is it like this?" Di Yi found it very strange. An entire expanse of greenery had died out. That shouldn't have happened, considering this was the home of the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit.

"All living beings must eventually die. Even gods are no exception." Tao Ye bowed toward the Sacrificial Spirit's dwelling before slowly continuing, "Our Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit has existed since our teachings were established in ancient times. After such long ages, it naturally cannot avoid entering the decline of its life."

This had originally been the Heaven Mending Pavilion's greatest secret, something known only to its elders and a few others.

But since he had chosen to bring Di Yi here, some things could no longer be concealed. Even ordinary disciples could sense the uncanny force devouring the essence of heaven and earth when they entered this area.

How much more so would Di Yi?

Besides, he felt there was no need to hide this from Di Yi.

Even if the affair with the Elder Paranormal hadn't prompted Di Yi to seek out the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit, he would have chosen a suitable time to bring him here anyway.

The Sacrificial Spirit's condition determined whether the Heaven Mending Pavilion survived or perished. He felt they could try relying on Di Yi's strength to revive their Sacrificial Spirit.

"Entering the decline of its life... is the Sacrificial Spirit about to pass away?" Di Yi knew very well what a Sacrificial Spirit meant to a clan or a great sect. It was not merely their strongest fighting force, but also a living fossil of their cultivation history.

If the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit fell, the consequences would be grave, bringing a catastrophe whose extent could scarcely be estimated.

Quite apart from anything else, the forces hostile to the Heaven Mending Pavilion would launch thunderous assaults. From what he had learned during his stops along the road to the Heaven Mending Pavilion, such things were hardly uncommon.

"Our Sacrificial Spirit's power plumbs the mysteries of creation. Although decline is inevitable, that final stage is still some distance away," Tao Ye said. "But in recent years, the Sacrificial Spirit's condition has grown steadily worse. There are things we must face, and preparations we must make."

"Is there no way to save the Sacrificial Spirit?" Though Di Yi asked this, he knew very well that, to the people of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, their Sacrificial Spirit's importance loomed greater than the heavens.

There was no way they hadn't thought of methods to ease their Sacrificial Spirit's decline.

The answer, then, was obvious. They had no solution either, no way to reverse their Sacrificial Spirit's slide toward death.

"When life runs dry, there is no remedy. Those were the Sacrificial Spirit's own words to us." Tao Ye's eyes reddened slightly. "Even with our preparations, even after obtaining the Undying Spring and stockpiling Tribulation Liquid, we may ultimately be powerless to turn back the heavens."

"How much time is left?" Di Yi asked.

"According to what the Sacrificial Spirit told us, a hundred years at most." At this, Tao Ye bowed deeply to Di Yi. "You are a capable man, with strength that defies all common reason. You can see through the runes laid down by the Sacrificial Spirit. I hope you can help our Sacrificial Spirit."

"If I can help, I certainly will. But what can I do?" Di Yi helped Tao Ye straighten and asked.

If they wanted him to fight, or truly comprehend an underlying essence, he might be able to help.

But saving someone's life was outside his present expertise.

After all, his cultivation was only at the Heavenly Passage realm. What help could he offer? The essence of heaven and earth he could draw in probably fell short of Tao Ye's in both quality and quantity.

"Then this old man will speak frankly. Might I ask you to give us a little of your blood?" Tao Ye said earnestly. "With your strength that defies all common reason, the vitality within your blood may rival that of a god. Rest assured, we won't take it for nothing. We will exchange the Heaven Mending Pavilion's rarest treasures for it."

"That won't do." Di Yi shook his head.

It wasn't because he considered his blood so precious that even everything the Heaven Mending Pavilion owned would be insufficient payment.

Rather, his body harbored a hidden affliction that had never fully healed. He didn't know whether the blood flowing within him was clean and untainted.

If Black Blood escaped, it would bring a calamity as vast as the heavens, with devastating consequences.

Back in that place that formed a world of its own, when he had first forced himself to endure without entering the Rotten Wooden Box, the Black Blood he coughed up had instantly corroded the vast red river, causing swathes of islands to collapse and raising storms resembling manifestations of Divine Radiance runes.

It wasn't hard to imagine what might happen if Black Blood appeared in a newly born world like this one.

Forget saving lives-he might become the very source of their destruction.

"It won't do..." Tao Ye's spirits immediately sank. Still, he didn't dwell on it too much. After all, it was their Heaven Mending Pavilion asking a favor.

Besides, he had already considered all kinds of possible answers from Di Yi, including refusal.

"It's not that I don't want to give it. I truly can't." Di Yi explained that he wasn't refusing to save someone in mortal danger; he genuinely couldn't do this. If his blood appeared, this world would be unable to withstand it.

"Then let's leave it at that. Don't let this weigh on you, and don't feel any misgivings. Our Heaven Mending Pavilion will think of another way." After hearing Di Yi's explanation, Tao Ye felt he had indeed been too presumptuous. In his eagerness to save the Sacrificial Spirit, he hadn't thought through the consequences.

Thinking carefully about it, a man whose strength defied all common reason surely had nothing ordinary about his body either.

Ancient legends said that a single drop of a god's blood could destroy mountains and rivers. Di Yi was likely stronger still. If his blood appeared, it might truly possess lethal, destructive power.

After this brief interlude, Tao Ye led Di Yi onward, out of the range of that uncanny force and into a garden within the garden.

Here, grasses and other plants appeared again, bringing signs of life. Ancient enclosing walls were also visible, mottled with the marks of time.

This was an exceedingly old courtyard, severely weathered. Only foundations and stones remained; its former buildings had long since collapsed and been covered by weeds and vines.

Tao Ye led Di Yi through three successive courtyards and over a broken stone arch bridge, arriving in the rear courtyard.

"Greetings, Sacrificial Spirit!" Tao Ye looked toward the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit and bowed again with heartfelt respect.

Endless showers of light fell in the rear courtyard, filling it with rising silver radiance, peaceful and sacred.

Not far away, a plant grew across a pile of stones. Clearly, this was the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit, whose true form was a Gourd Vine.

"This is the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit?" Di Yi found it hard to believe.

Although Tao Ye had already said that the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit was in decline, he hadn't expected its condition to be this terrible.

The Gourd Vine held no splendor, and its green had vanished. Its sparse leaves were dry and yellow, sickly, as though they might wither and fall at any moment.

Even bathed in the shower of light and surrounded by the aura of the rising sun, its withering decline could not be eased. It drooped listlessly, gravely lacking vitality.

"Please awaken, Sacrificial Spirit. Your junior, Tao Ye, has an important matter to report." Receiving no response, Tao Ye knew the Sacrificial Spirit was sleeping to slow the loss of vitality.

He hadn't wanted to disturb that slumber further. After all, the Sacrificial Spirit's safety affected the entire Heaven Mending Pavilion.

But now he had no choice. Quite apart from the Elder Paranormal keeping everyone in the Heaven Mending Pavilion on edge, he had to introduce Di Yi. Perhaps that would give the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit some hope of revival.

"Ah, Tao Ye. I know why you have come. It is not yet time for the Hundred Broken Mountains to open. Let him make his trouble. Nothing will come of it." Though the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit had been sleeping, it still knew what had happened within the sect.

"Lord Sacrificial Spirit, this time is different. That Elder Paranormal has disturbed the peace of the entire Heaven Mending Pavilion. We can no longer leave the matter aside." Tao Ye didn't know why the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine was protecting that Elder Paranormal. Helplessly, he could only insist that this time, they truly couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Just where did that ghost come from? Was he once a disciple of the Heaven Mending Pavilion, or did he render some outstanding service to it?" Di Yi spoke up at the right moment. He genuinely wanted to know the Elder Paranormal's origins.

"Hmm?!" Yet upon hearing Di Yi's words, the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Divine Vine was suddenly startled. Its voice reverberated with the Dao, manifesting rune after rune as a terrifying aura surged outward, utterly frightening. "Who is speaking? Tao Ye, is someone beside you?"

At this reaction, Di Yi was instantly speechless.

He had thought the Heaven Mending Pavilion's Sacrificial Spirit would be different from Stone Village's stone Sacrificial Spirit and Cloud-Rushing Town's Sacrificial Spirit. Instead, the result was the same: none could perceive his existence.

Well, time to explain all over again.