Jade Palace Lotus Pond
But just after entering the thatched cottage, he turned to glance back at Su Yao and thought to himself:
Though I do not hold the Rainbow Cloud Fruition, I am still a True Lord of a subordinate rank to Rainbow Clouds, as well as an inheritor of Qixia Temple.
Though I have been shut away on this mountain for nearly ten thousand years, I can still sense the Rainbow Cloud Fruition. Besides, the patriarch's Book of Words on the Mysterious states in no uncertain terms:
"The path of Rainbow Clouds never clings to the mortal world or bestows fate."
But where did the fate on this boy come from?
No wonder Qizhenzi insisted on spending a favor to ask Yuanfu to conceal it, then came up the mountain to find me and had me use the means the patriarch left behind to add a passage on the essentials of the Seven Virtues of Rainbow Clouds to the original Book of Words on the Mysterious. Only then could Qizhenzi take it to Jade Void Palace.
I thought Qizhenzi was making a mountain out of a molehill because he had spent these years in fear and dread, but now it seems he was preparing for rain before it fell.
Fortunately, Qixia Temple has never involved itself in outside affairs. The last person outside Qixia Temple to read the original Book of Words on the Mysterious was the third-generation Jade Void sect master, Heavenly Venerable Jade Pure One Yuanshi Hengzhao.
And the current one is the fourth-generation sect master, Heavenly Venerable Jade Pure One Yuanshi Jiansu.
He was about to put the matter aside, but something else occurred to him, and he murmured:
"I was trapped by that old thing earlier and nearly let something happen to this boy. Qizhenzi is sure to come looking for trouble with me. If anything happens to the protectors or the like that Qizhenzi found for him, I'm afraid he really will come up the mountain to fight me to the death..."
He sighed and shook his head.
"Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality-ultimately, one must cultivate until one can face one's own heart without shame. Forget it, forget it. Besides, I was the one who harmed the ancestors of these families back then."
With that, he waved a hand, and the peachwood sword at his waist flew down the mountain.
After all, the old thing had been wounded by his peachwood sword earlier and truly was not in as good a condition as before. It could no longer stop him.
Down the mountain, Li Siyi and Liu Yunhe, along with Little Red and Little Orange, were trapped in the mist, slowly making their way toward the ruined temple from before.
The two were in even worse condition than Su Yao had been.
Su Yao had still managed to retain a trace of awareness, but their minds were utterly muddled and their spirits entranced; they knew not heaven from earth.
Just as the two were about to step into the ruined temple, a peachwood sword came whistling through the air.
In an instant, the mist dispersed, and a little clarity returned to their eyes.
They summoned the last of their Law Power and swiftly flew after the departing peachwood sword.
When they reached Qixia Temple's mountain gate, they saw the peachwood sword heading for a path along the mountainside and hurried after it, only for the sword to smack them twice.
The two froze for a moment, then saw the peachwood sword point toward the path below.
Only then did they realize their mistake. They landed on the mountain path, full of chagrin. Their minds had been so muddled that they had actually forgotten about this.
They first cupped their hands in salute, then continued along the mountain path.
By evening, the two people and two birds finally reached the little hill.
As soon as they set foot on the summit, the two saw Su Yao lying on the ground. The birds swiftly flew over and landed beside him.
They gazed at Su Yao listlessly.
The two also hurried to Su Yao's side and began examining him.
But as soon as they started, a mysterious voice came from the thatched cottage, falling on their ears like immortal music:
"There is no need. Let him sleep for a while."
As the voice fell, a streak of light flew out.
"You two, take the pills and go down the mountain to recuperate."
The two exchanged a glance and understood. They took the pills and respectfully backed away. They were about to pick up the two birds and carry them down the mountain when the mysterious voice came again:
"Let the two birds stay here for now."
"Yes," the two answered.
After they had gone down the mountain, a ray of rosy light flew out, swept up the two birds, and brought them to the entrance of the thatched cottage. The light flowed continuously, brushing over their bodies.
Inside the cottage, the Daoist looked grave as he thought to himself:
How curious. This boy has had a fortuitous encounter too.
No wonder Qizhenzi does not cultivate Rainbow Clouds, yet made up this theory of the seven virtues.
These two birds seem to be linked to that strand of Rainbow Cloud fate within the boy, their lives bound to his. They happen to correspond to two of the virtues Qizhenzi spoke of. It seems Qizhenzi noticed this long ago, and besides asking about Jade Void Palace, he came here for this as well. But if these two birds follow the boy through the mortal world year after year, outsiders will notice sooner or later.
He pondered for a while and came up with an idea. After all, someone had to inherit Qixia Temple's Dao lineage.
In years past, he had had a few Loose Immortals under him as protectors, but for the sake of his attainment of the Dao, some had fallen and others had reincarnated.
Yet in the end, he had failed to break through and had even been forced to hole up here on Mount Zhongnan.
Fortunately, the patriarch had left Qizhenzi and that old fellow behind back then. Otherwise, when Qixia Temple moved south, it would long since have been devoured down to the last morsel in a place like the shores of the South Sea.
But Qizhenzi and that old fellow could only protect the boy in that remote place. It seemed that until the boy reached the Purple Mansion, it would be best for the two birds not to go down the mountain.
After all, his own Dao Path had now been severed. He was merely clinging to life like this for the sake of continuing his Dao lineage.
After thinking it over, he murmured to himself:
"I had better take action to conceal it."
He then waved his hand, and outside the door, the rosy light vanished.
Freed from their restraints, the two birds immediately flew back to Su Yao's side, chirping incessantly.
Inside the thatched cottage, he looked through it at the two birds, his heart full of feeling.
He did not know how much time had passed.
But to Su Yao, it felt as though he had been immersed in the opera ever since hearing it, and only a moment had passed.
He slowly opened his eyes, but the glaring sunlight made it difficult to keep them open.
He gradually adjusted and struggled to sit up. Then he heard Little Orange's voice and looked over, only to see joy beginning to show in Little Orange's anxious eyes.
He raised a hand, stroked Little Orange's forehead, and asked softly:
"What happened?"
As his voice fell, Liu Yunhe's voice rang out behind him:
"Wonderful, Dao Son, you've finally awakened!"
Su Yao turned at the sound and saw Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi standing not far away, holding a basin of clean water.
Their eyes were full of worry.
Little Red, who was above them, saw that Su Yao had awakened and swiftly flew over, crashing into his arms.
Having only just awakened, Su Yao nearly fell over from the impact. He laughed and scolded:
"Why are you so excited?"
But as he spoke, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. How had he become so weak?
Coming to his senses, he looked at the two.
"How long was I unconscious?"
Li Siyi seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Liu Yunhe answered instead:
"Dao Son, you were unconscious for more than a month."
Su Yao nodded, though he was inwardly shocked. Still, he held back the questions in his heart and asked:
"Where are we now?"
Liu Yunhe was about to speak, but the next moment he lowered his head and said nothing. Li Siyi had not uttered a word the entire time.
Seeing this, Su Yao frowned and said in displeasure:
"What are you afraid to say?"
As his words fell, Liu Yunhe and Li Siyi became even less willing to speak.
Then their bodies began to tremble, and they actually dropped to their knees facing Su Yao.
Su Yao was about to rebuke them, but he realized what was happening in an instant and started to turn around.
But just then, a mysterious voice came from behind him:
"This is Zhongnan's rear mountain, where the Three Pure Ones, the Dao Patriarchs, preached the Dao in years past, beside Qixia Temple's Jade Palace Lotus Pond."