Don't let Yu Ding take on any more disciples.

Chapter 388 I've Realized Something Better

"you……"

Yuan Hong paused for a moment, recalling the words Yu Ding had given him when he descended the mountain. He sighed inwardly, and as he sat down, he said defiantly:
"I haven't made a name for myself after coming down from the mountain for many years, so I'm ashamed to go back."

Yang Jian held up the jade tablet in the sunlight and said, "Speaking of which, this treasure is quite magical. See the gems on it? The one in the middle is for inputting the holder's aura, and the others are for inputting the contact person's aura. When needed, you can activate it with magic power to make a call."

Yuan Hong's eyes flashed, and he scoffed, "Is it really as mysterious as you say?"

Yang Jian glanced at him, a smirk playing on his lips. He formed a sword-finger gesture, channeling his magic power into the jade tablet, which then lit up.

Inside Jinxia Cave, Yuquan Mountain.

"Who!"

Yu Ding, who was meditating with his eyes closed, impatiently opened them and reached into his sleeve to pull out a jade tablet that was glowing and vibrating slightly. His expression became strange.

To be honest, he hasn't used this thing much since he got it.

After a moment's hesitation, Yu Ding connected to Yu Gui and held it to his ear: "Hello? Is that Yang Jian?"

By the river, upon hearing a familiar voice emanating from the jade tablet, Yuan Hong's eyes widened as he stared at it, a hint of excitement in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

"Master, it's me!"

Yang Jian glanced at Yuan Hong and deliberately sighed, "Well, the reason I came to you today is to ask for your help. Here's the thing, didn't you ask me to pass on another jade tablet to Long Ji? I was incompetent and it was stolen by a demon."

It was stolen… Yu Ding was stunned when he heard this. Yang Jian was now a Golden Immortal, how could anyone steal something from Yang Jian, who was at the Golden Immortal level…

Yu Ding said in a deep voice, "What kind of demon is so bold as to dare to steal my disciple's things? Tell me, and I will stand up for you."

Yang Jian glanced at Yuan Hong beside him, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Yuan Hong, the leader of the Seven Monsters of Meishan!"

Yuan Hong stared at Yang Jian with wide eyes, both surprised and bewildered. Yang Jian waved his hand to signal him to be quiet and gave him a reassuring look.

"Yuan...Yuan Hong? It's him. How did you two end up together again?"

Yu Ding's expression changed, then he smiled and said, "You young people should handle your own affairs. Relying on your elders for everything is not a good habit. Besides, aren't you about the same level of magical power as him?"

Yang Jian casually remarked, "This fellow's magical power has increased greatly recently. If we let him continue cultivating, this dormitory will surely become a great calamity in the future, Master."

Yu Ding hurriedly laughed and said, "No, no, my disciple, you are mistaken. I think that having such a powerful enemy by your side is not a bad thing, but rather a great benefit."

Yang Jian raised an eyebrow at Yuan Hong and asked, "What are the benefits?"

Yuan Hong stood aside, lost in thought, head bowed, listening attentively.

Yu Ding laughed and said, "Let me explain. First of all, this is to put pressure on you so that you dare not slack off in your cultivation; secondly, your relationship with the Heavenly Court is delicate. Having such a powerful enemy at Guanjiang Estuary makes the Heavenly Court feel at ease. What do you say?"

“Master, what you say makes sense, but Master, I have also discovered something else,” Yang Jian said solemnly, holding the jade tablet.

Yu Ding asked, "What is it?"

Yang Jian said in a deep voice, "Master, I have discovered that Yuan Hong also seems to be practicing the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. His Taoist techniques and supernatural powers are almost identical to mine. I have fought him for 30,000 rounds over the years but have not been able to break his moves."

Yu Ding guiltily wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Who told you two to follow the same master and learn from the same teaching materials...?

Yang Jian asked cautiously, "May I ask, Master, besides you, is there anyone else who knows the Eight or Nine Arcane Arts? Who is this prodigy from?"

"Good lad, you're testing your master..." Yu Ding said, "There are naturally many people who understand the profound skills of the First Protector of Jade Void. As for Yuan Hong, he is a naturally born monkey, and his nature is not evil. He must have had some extraordinary adventures to achieve what he has today."

After speaking, Yu Ding's expression became somewhat uncertain.

Yang Jian suddenly asked, "Master, do you think... Yuan Hong might be a disciple of one of my senior uncles or master's disciples?"

Yu Ding said meaningfully, "Perhaps so. You don't need to worry about Long Ji's jade tablet anymore. I have other plans for it."

After saying that, he cut off the contact and looked at Yu Gui with a cold smile.

Two little monkeys dared to trick him today...

He knew that if these two brats stayed neighbors for too long, something was bound to happen sooner or later.

One of them is witty, and the other is cunning.

Even if Yang Jian didn't know Yuan Hong's lineage, Yuan Hong should know that Yang Jian was his junior brother.

It's possible that two such shrewd individuals might clash when they first meet.

But now, so many years later, they're still bickering. He's 100% sure their relationship has been exposed. As for the jade tablet being stolen, it's probably just been given away.

However, now that the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods has arrived, even if he cannot grant Yuan Hong the title of a third-generation disciple of the Jade Void Sect, he must at least let the disciples know.

Two streams of pure energy burst forth from Yu Ding's body, one of which flew out of the cave and disappeared without a trace.

Another entity, appearing as a clone, took the jade tablet in its hand and muttered, "Did you see clearly? Did you hear clearly...?"

This clone was responsible for deciphering the hidden meaning in Nuwa's words, while the Jade Cauldron severed its connection with this clone to avoid affecting itself.

The Jade Cauldron itself sat cross-legged, concentrating its spirit. The four characters "Three Flowers and Five Qi" were the theme of the Golden Immortal Realm.

The Golden Immortal Realm can also be divided into eight minor realms: Five Qi and Three Flowers. When the Three Flowers gather at the top and the Five Qi converge, it becomes the ninth realm, also known as the Great Power, signifying perfection. This is also the realm where the Jade Cauldron True Man and the Twelve Golden Immortals originally resided.

After slaying the Three Corpse Worms, one can attain the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, and the Twelve Golden Immortals were originally stuck at this step.

“Great Luo Golden Immortal…” Yu Ding pondered. With the great calamity beginning, it was simply unrealistic to attain the Great Luo Dao Fruit in a short period of time.

The development of Nuwa Palace made him realize that there was an uncontrollable force causing everything to develop in the original script.

He has done almost everything he could do.
All he can do now is return to his original Jade Cauldron realm as soon as possible, while waiting for the bullets to fly—oops, let the Investiture of the Gods continue to progress a little longer…

……

By the river.

Watching Yang Jian leisurely take down the jade tablet, Yuan Hong frowned. Suddenly, Yang Jian tossed a jade tablet over, so he had no choice but to catch it quickly.

“You shouldn’t have brought me out to put pressure on Master,” Yuan Hong said.

Yang Jian smiled and said, "I gave it to you, but did you hear that? Master was originally all murderous and about to take charge of things for me, but he immediately shut up when he heard it was you. That shows that Master hasn't forgotten you."

"You still need to tell me?"

Yuan Hong gave a light snort, a look of joy flashing in his eyes, and turned to leave.

Yang Jian said lazily, "Where are we going? It's such a nice day, it would be a shame not to enjoy it. Besides, didn't your form stabilize before the last time you went to Heaven?"

"I've realized something even better!"

Without turning his head, Yuan Hong said, "Also, if you want to enjoy it, come and enjoy it in your true form." Before he finished speaking, his figure flashed and disappeared.

"Better?"

Yang Jian suddenly sat up, his eyes narrowed, recalling the scene of Yuan Hong being engulfed in golden flames and slaughtering everyone in the battle to seize the heavens.

The fighting power displayed at that time already put him under immense pressure.

What, then, should this so-called 'better' look like now...?

……

After Yu Ding left, the events unfolded exactly as he had predicted.

Nuwa unfurled the Demon-Summoning Banner to summon all the demons, then left only the three demons from Xuanyuan Tomb, giving them a secret decree and entrusting them with important responsibilities.

Of course, on the other hand, the Shang king, who had been in a daze all the way back to the palace, slowly regained consciousness.

"Am I writing a poem in the Nuwa Palace?"

Di Xin slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his expression grim: "Impossible! I would never do such a thing."

However, several close ministers in the palace, including the king's uncle Bigan, wanted to offer some advice, but seeing his behavior, they could only hesitate and remain silent, their expressions filled with surprise and doubt.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of his ministers, Emperor Xin turned to one of them and asked, "Feihu, tell me, was that poem written by me?"

Huang Feihu, who had been called out, had no choice but to step forward and said with a forced smile, "It was indeed Your Majesty who wrote this. All the ministers who entered the palace today saw it. Does Your Majesty not remember anything at all?"

"You saw everything?" A look of surprise flashed in Di Xin's eyes, and his face darkened.

The dignified ruler of the Shang Dynasty and the king of the human race has been subjected to such a bizarre and inexplicable event.

This inevitably cast a shadow over his heart.

"I am a little tired. You may all leave now!"

Emperor Xin dismissed the ministers in the palace and sat alone for a long time.

In the dead of night, a figure silently left the palace, his true energy condensing into wings as he sped along at lightning speed, arriving outside Ghost Valley at dawn.

Looking at the unchanged scenery around me and recalling the days when I was learning my craft, I couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

"Huang... Ziyu requests an audience with his master!"

The sound resounded through the sky, startling countless birds that flew towards the valley.

"Yu'er, who won the contest between you and Xiao Wu?"

A familiar yet aged voice echoed from within the valley.

Ziyu shook his head: "I didn't win, and Xiaowu didn't lose either. We haven't even seen each other since."

Guiguzi's voice drifted over: "Have you forgotten what your master once said? Only the victor among you can return."

Ziyu was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "Master, I have come here without any other intention than to ask for your guidance on something that has happened to me that no one can explain."

"To clear up the doubts..."

Inside the thatched hut, Guiguzi looked troubled, though he knew the whole story clearly from the original Guiguzi.

But how did he resolve this confusion?

Tell him that your fate and that of your dynasty have been ordained by Heaven, and that the gods will use you as a pawn in their battle of magic.

Tell him that their plan is to turn you from a wise and capable ruler into a foolish one, and then find someone to seduce you.
There are some things you are destined to know, but you are not allowed to reveal.

Ziyu knelt outside the valley for a long time without making any move. Just as he was about to leave, a scroll suddenly flew out of the valley.

Ziyu's expression shifted, and he quickly took the scroll, opened it, and blushed as he looked into the valley. The first four characters at the beginning of the scroll were: 'Methods of Fierce Battle'.

"Yu'er, as you depart, I offer you this piece of advice: remember, seven parts are determined by fate, and three parts depend on your own efforts."

Guiguzi pondered, "In the original Investiture of the Gods, Di Xin was undoubtedly quite decent at the beginning."
However, he was later misled by the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb, and his intention to deal with the four major lords was too obvious and he was too hasty. Moreover, he had a bunch of traitors under his command... which led to problems in the end.

In short, the Investiture of the Gods was a grand scheme, and his influence was quite limited. As an important figure, Di Xin could not interfere much, and his destiny was something he had to fight for himself.

"Three points...rely on yourself..." Ziyu pondered, preparing to take his leave.

"Oh, there's one more thing. Soon, a man named Kong Xuan will be recommended to you. He's a great talent and deserves your great trust," Guiguzi's voice came.

"Kong Xuan..." Ziyu nodded slightly, memorizing the name. As she prepared to take her leave,

"Oh, right... never mind, you can go now!"

After kneeling and bowing three times, Ziyu soared into the sky, the sword energy behind him transforming into wings, and disappeared into the horizon.

"Martial Dao Immortal, Horizontal Sword Technique, Kingly Aura..."

Guiguzi appeared, gazing at the departing figure with a sigh. The Human King Qi was the condensed power of humanity.

If any human king had such a configuration, even a Golden Immortal wouldn't dare to speak loudly. But this kid just happened to encounter one...

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

In the eighth year of Emperor Xin's reign, in the fourth month of summer, it was also the day when the four major feudal lords of the world paid homage to the emperor.

The four major vassal states each led two hundred of their subordinate vassals, bringing jewels and tributes, to pay homage to the Shang Dynasty.

In the procession of the western lords, Ji Chang, the Marquis of the West, sat high in his chariot, leading the procession, holding a tortoise shell in his hand, seemingly divining something.

"and many more!"

While Ji Chang was divining, he suddenly noticed a guard peeking at him from beside the carriage: "Raise your head."

The guard, seeing that he had been discovered, did not panic. He looked up, revealing a young and handsome face, and said with a grin, "Father!"

"What are you doing here?" Ji Chang asked irritably.

The young man laughed and said, "Of course, it's to protect your safety, Father."

Ji Chang glared and said, "I don't need your help. The divination shows that my journey will be safe and sound, though fraught with danger."

"That won't work!"

The young man looked at Chaoge with a glint in his eyes and said, "I've heard that a martial arts genius has emerged in Chaoge. He might be my destined nemesis..."

(End of this chapter)