Paying Respects

In the sky, a white mark appeared like a wound slashed open by a sharp blade. Endless waters of the Heavenly River poured down from the white mark, like a waterfall cascading from the heavens, its power immense and its sound resounding throughout the land.

The many Purple Mansion present stared at the white mark with varying expressions. Some were horrified, some were solemn, and some had already secretly sent messages.

Su Yao's gaze fell on the white mark, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. He looked at Zilin and said:

"The Five-Colored Stone left behind by the Orthodox God of Soil and Grain was originally made by combining the Golden Nature of the Five Emperors' Five Virtues and the methods left by the Three Sovereigns with the wondrous power of the Womb Earth to nurture all things, in order to mend the sky. Now, a corner of it has been shaken off..." he whispered, "If the sky is breached, the world will once again be a vast ocean."

Zilin stood beside him, her Purple Gauze Umbrella unconsciously opening slightly, the Three Yangs patterns flickering faintly in the sunlight.

"Are you going back?" she asked.

Su Yao nodded. "Qinghe Commandery, Qixia Mountain, borders the South Sea and is the first to bear the brunt. I must return to Qixia Mountain immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zilin nodded without asking any further questions.

She knew that Qinghe Commandery and Qixia Mountain were Su Yao's roots. Although Mount Zhongnan was the ancestral home of Qixia Temple, it was no longer a suitable place for Zhongnan Yao to go. It wouldn't be like him if Su Yao didn't go back.

"Alright," Zilin said, "Then I'll go with you..."

Before he could finish speaking, a surge of Purple Qi rose from the depths of the Great Void in the southern sky.

The Purple Qi was like incense boiling for the first time, with purple smoke rising and dyeing half the sky a brilliant purple. Within the Purple Qi, dozens of figures appeared and disappeared, with the leader exuding the cultivation of the Purple Mansion Peak realm.

Su Yao and Zilin turned around at the same time.

Where the Purple Qi receded, the leader was a middle-aged woman whose face bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to Zilin, but whose brows and eyes held a more mature and aloof air, honed by the passage of time. She wore a purple robe, the hem of which was adorned with flowing patterns of true and purple aura, and a deep Purple Qi mark between her brows, as dark as black jade.

It was Zique, the abbot of Ziyang Purple Yang Temple and Zi Zilin's elder sister.

Zique approached and glanced at Zilin first.

That glance was extremely brief, but Su Yao, standing to the side, clearly saw the complex emotions that flashed through it—concern, comparison, and a hint of inexplicable estrangement.

Then, Zique turned to Su Yao, curtsied, and spoke in a clear, melodious voice:

"Greetings, Abbot of Qixia Temple. Because Flourishing Wood is close to the Three Yangs, he rushed over earlier to observe and was not able to come to see me immediately. I apologize for that."

Su Yao returned the greeting, his expression composed:

"It was my fault for not paying a visit; I was indeed impolite. Divine Lord, the Supreme True Person seeks gold, and the Flourishing Wood is closely related to the Three Yangs; it is only natural that the Abbot is eager to observe."

He paused, then said:

Wishing the abbot success in his prayers for gold.

Upon hearing this, Zique smiled slightly. Although the smile didn't reach her eyes, it was still polite.

"Thank you for your kind words, Abbot," she said. "This journey to the Purple Mansion Continent to seek gold is no small matter. Although I cannot compare to Qixia Temple's extraordinary talent of achieving Purple Mansion in nine years and attaining two Divine Ability in forty years, I must still give this quest for gold a try."

She paused, shifting her gaze from Su Yao's face to Zilin, and said softly:

"My sister has been fortunate to receive the abbot's care during her years in Nanzhao."

Upon hearing this, Zilin turned her face slightly away and did not reply.

Seeing this, Su Yao remained expressionless and spoke calmly:

"Fellow Zilin possesses exceptional talent and unwavering resolve, and has contributed greatly to many affairs in Nanzhao. It is she who has looked after my Qixia Temple, not the other way around."

Upon hearing this, Zique's gaze lingered on Zilin's face for a moment before slowly withdrawing. She didn't continue the topic, and after a moment, she raised her head, looking at the white streak in the sky and the falling waters of the Heavenly River, her voice lowering slightly:

What does the Abbot think?

Su Yao followed her gaze.

The white streak Spanning the Heavens like a wound that would never heal. The waters of the Heavenly River poured down from the white streak, and although the flow of the water was temporarily restrained by some force, it was still slowly expanding.

"The Five-Colored Stone left behind by the Orthodox God of Soil and Grain has been shattered, and now a corner of it has been knocked off. Although it is only a corner, if no one repairs it, over time, the sky will inevitably leak..." Su Yao said slowly. "Moreover, no one has ascended to the position of Womb Earth anymore, so the task of mending the sky will probably be even more difficult than before. I must hurry back to Qixia Mountain. Qinghe Commandery is located near the South Sea, and if the sky leaks and causes a disaster, it will be the first to be affected."

Zique nodded slightly after hearing this.

She looked at the white mark, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly said:

"In the opinion of the abbot, who knocked the Five-Colored Stone down?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao's gaze sharpened slightly. He hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking:

"The Five-Colored Stone is a relic left behind by the Three Sovereigns Five Emperors. It was forged by the Orthodox God of Soil and Grain using the Golden Nature of the Five Virtues, and it is difficult to shake it with ordinary means. Although the Divine Immortal Dao and Supreme True Person Immortals are the pinnacle of the Divine Dao and immortal paths, it would take at least the intervention of an Immortal or Dao Lord to move the Five-Colored Stone."

He paused, his voice deepening slightly:

"It's just that I wonder which immortal or Dao Lord would do such a thing."

Zique remained silent after hearing this.

She didn't press further or respond; she simply shifted her gaze from the white marks to Su Yao's face.

"We hope the abbot can resolve the temple's problems as soon as possible. If you have the time, we hope the abbot can come to Mount Lao; there are some matters that need to be discussed in person."

Su Yao nodded.

He didn't ask what they were discussing—some things are best left unsaid.

He exchanged a glance with Zilin, then bowed slightly to Zique:

"In that case, I'll take my leave."

Zique returned the greeting. "Please take care, Abbot."

After saying this, Su Yao turned to Zilin and said in a deep voice:

I'm going back to Qixia.

Zilin nodded, took out the Purple Gauze Umbrella, and as the Purple Qi surged, her figure rose into the air along with Su Yao.

After escaping for several miles, she glanced back at Zique, her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately said nothing, only nodding slightly.

Zique looked at her without saying anything, only nodding slightly.

The two sisters remained silent.

Su Yao saw all of this but remained silent.

A moment later, Su Yao increased his speed, golden light suddenly appeared beneath his feet, and he unleashed the Golden Light Across the Land, transforming it into a beam of golden light that shot towards Qixia Mountain.

Zilin followed closely behind, her Purple Qi like smoke, leaving a pale purple trail in the Great Void.

Behind them, the verdant Hundred Flowers Worship the Origin Array Mount Jing slowly closed its light curtain, shrouding the two figures, like pear blossoms and peach blossoms covering the mountain, back into the vast expanse of mist.

Above the sky, the white streak remains, and the Heavenly River Way continues to pour forth.

Zique stood in the Great Void, gazing at the departing streak of white light and its pale purple trail, then at the white mark in the sky. After a long silence, she whispered:

"Female college graduates are not allowed to stay."

Then she withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the direction where the Purple Yang Temple was.

As the Purple Qi surged, her figure gradually disappeared into the purple aura resembling the first boil of incense.

A voice from the Purple Mansion asked in a low voice, "Master, why didn't you say more just now? What about the Abbot of Qixia Temple and the Second Miss...?"

Zique paused. She didn't turn around, but simply said:

"Any further discussion would be excessive."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Purple Qi dissipated, and his figure completely disappeared.

There is a word cloud:

Who wielded a sword from beyond the heavens, cleaving through the clouds for ten thousand miles?

The Heavenly River poured down with a thunderous roar.

Two phoenixes rise from Mount Jing, like two verdant peaks of sisters.

They exchanged a silent smile, and their purple smoke drifted into the vast sky.

Saying any more would be a betrayal of my life.

The road home from Qixia is long; everywhere is rugged and majestic.