I'll Stand With You

Su Yao naturally understood what the two were worried about.

Although Zilin hadn't finished speaking, her slightly furrowed brows and Yang Xiu's questioning gaze clearly revealed their worries.

Breaking through to the Purple Mansion is not something that can be accomplished overnight. After the Investiture of the Gods, apart from the reincarnation of True Lord and the Heavenly Court officials experiencing the mortal world, the fastest record was nine years, which was set by the founding Taizu of the Qing Dynasty.

To reach the Purple Mansion stage after Foundation Establishment, one must first elevate the Immortal Foundation to the Spirit Platform and Rising Yang, a step that takes about two years. Then, one must condense supernatural Divine Ability, which takes another six to eight years. Next comes the Tribulation of the Fall of Heaven and Earth into Ignorance, which can take anywhere from one year to the end of one's lifespan after Foundation Establishment, depending entirely on one's aptitude and destiny. Finally, there is the Boundless Sea of Illusions, which is the fastest stage, taking only an instant.

During this period, the one breaking through has no power to resist, like a fetus in the womb. If someone breaks the formation, even a cultivator who has just entered the Mystery Opening Realm can be killed. If someone shakes the earth's veins outside the mountain gate, or uses a treasure to cause a great disturbance in the Great Void and affect the present world, or even attacks the mountain gate, causing changes in the spiritual atmosphere of heaven and earth, or if there is a spiritual Spirit Treasure of the secluded cultivation place, any one of these would be enough to cause the person breaking through in seclusion to perish.

However, Su Yao also understood that this opportunity was now extremely rare.

He looked at the two of them and said loudly:

"Gentlemen! Now that the Witchcraft Dao Cave has fallen, the eyes of all the lords, even the three sect leaders, are on this place. No one can or dares to make a move at this time. It is safest of all!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Zilin and Yang Xiu, then raised his voice slightly:

"I presume you two are aware that although my Mysterious Gate is not what it once was, it is our Zhu Household lineages that have fallen into decline, not the Mount Shouyang Eight Sceneries of Shouyang Mountain, the Jade Void of Kunlun Mountain, or the Three Palaces of Biyou Golden Turtle Island. Even when Qing Taizu was alive, he merely humiliated the three gentlemen by preventing them from going out at will. Otherwise, if any one of the three gentlemen had simply taken a piece of the legacy left behind by the three Dao Ancestors, they would have expelled Taizu long ago!"

Upon hearing this, Zilin's brow twitched slightly, as if touched, but she remained silent.

Yang Xiu crossed his arms and lowered his eyes slightly, clearly weighing the weight of Su Yao's words.

Su Yao observed this but remained unhurried, continuing:

"When we left after falling from that grotto, the treasures in the hands of the three lords had already arrived in Nanzhao. The arrival of the treasures means that the three lords must have a part of their spirits residing there. With a part of their spirits there, who would dare to make a move?"

He paused briefly, his expression turning serious, his gaze lingering on Zilin and Yang Xiu for a moment each:

"Furthermore... we will inevitably face the reincarnation of True Lord in the future. Have you two considered that he is not an ordinary True Lord, but the Proclaiming Earth True Lord! It is not impossible for him to emerge from his cave heaven and immediately enter the Purple Mansion. Once he Purple Mansion, the Nanzhao will surely be engulfed in flames of war, and he will certainly lead his people in rebellion!"

Zilin gently bit her lower lip, and Yang Xiu unconsciously lowered his arms, which had been crossed over his chest.

"Considering what we both saw on that wooden box," Su Yao spoke quickly, as if recounting a series of deductions he had been pondering over the past few days, "The future of Nanzhao —no, not just Nanzhao. The Southern Frontier, plus Nanzhao, plus Miao Frontier, and the many Savage Wilderness and desolate lands to the west, including the Wu territory—is absolutely going to descend into chaos. At that point, it's uncertain whether the Nanzhao Kingdom will even be able to continue existing. After all, you and I both saw the edict on that wooden box!"

As he spoke, his tone suddenly softened, his gaze becoming deep and unfathomable, as if he were asking them, or perhaps asking himself:

"As you all probably know, before we arrived in Nanzhao, almost all the adults in our families were summoned to the Jade Void Palace. But is this place for listening to the Dao, or for preparing for war?"

He tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of coldness, as if asking a rhetorical question:

"After all, how could the Second Master, who is preaching, have time to meddle in outside affairs so often?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly, Zilin looked up, meeting Su Yao's exceptionally bright eyes.

Su Yao didn't look away, staring directly at her, his tone low and gentle:

"Now that things have come to this, we must give it our all. If we succeed, we'll gracefully retire."

He paused briefly, then his tone suddenly lifted:

"If we lose..."

He stood up, took a few steps forward, and said loudly:

"It's just death, what is there to fear!"

He paused and then said:

"After all, who would laugh at someone who dies seeking the truth?"

Zilin watched his retreating figure, her lips slightly parted, but she remained silent.

Yang Xiu remained silent for a long time, his brows gradually relaxed, and then he lowered his hands from his chest and gently placed them on the table.

Before the two could react, Su Yao turned around. The excitement on his face had faded, replaced by a calm demeanor born of deep thought.

"Before we came to Nanzhao, we received very little information and were completely guided by the edict on the wooden box. This is completely wrong. The three of us are all successors of the Daoist lineage, and it is impossible that many adults and elders did not tell us even a single word."

He paused for a moment, his gaze slowly sweeping over Zilin and Yang Xiu's faces.

Zilin's brows furrowed again, Yang Xiu's fingers, resting on the table, tightened slightly.

"Then!" Su Yao looked at the two of them, emphasizing each word, "There is only one possibility."

Su Yao stopped, and instantly the hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Then, he took a deep breath and slowly uttered the conclusion that had been lingering in his mind for so long:

"Even the adults in our families probably don't know everything."

Upon hearing this, Zilin's eyelashes trembled slightly, and Yang Xiu's fingers on the table tightened suddenly. Neither of them refuted it.

A silence slowly spread among the three of them.

After a long while, Zilin finally raised her head, her gaze briefly meeting Su Yao's before falling back down to her hands clasped together on her knees.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was calmer than before:

"If you had said these words ten years ago, I probably wouldn't have listened to a word of them. But now, looking back, from the words appearing in the wooden box to Proclaiming Earth's reincarnation, the fall of the grotto-heaven, Renzong's edict of self-reproach... every step felt like being pushed along in a fog."

She paused briefly, then looked up, this time not avoiding Su Yao's gaze:

"If what you say is true, even the adults don't know the whole story, then all we juniors can do is find one path: to forge our own way."

She paused, her delicate and handsome face full of cheerfulness and a smile:

"Since you wish to seek the Purple Mansion here, Fellow Daoist, Zilin will gladly accompany you!"

Yang Xiu tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, then withdrew them.

Then she stood up, straightened her clothes, and quickly walked to Su Yao's side:

"Since Fellow Daoist Su has spoken thus, I, Yang, will gladly oblige! However, my decision is not based on Fellow Daoist Su's words today!"

After speaking, he took a few steps forward, turning his back to the Human Dao:

"My master Golden Court, cultivates the Profound Qi Palm to overcome calamities. After experiencing the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, and after the Investiture of the Gods was completed, deeply feeling the impermanence of calamities, he basically ignored external affairs. Before going to the Heavenly Court Supreme Deity Haotian to borrow the Heavenly Governance Cardinal Stars from the Jade Emperor, and left behind a ' Book of Inquiring into Tribulations '!"