Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 219 Doing Subtraction to Find the Short
Quack, quack, quack!
Black Whirlwind stood on Chen Ye's shoulder, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

Chen Ye listened and nodded, saying to Black Whirlwind, "Hmm, hmm... They encountered trouble delivering the letter to the Incense Burning Sect, they were bullied... The letter was eventually delivered... Hmm... Good..."

Lan Yu stared at Chen Ye in shock. Only after the man and the bird finished their conversation did she ask in surprise, "You can even understand the cawing of crows?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "I don't understand."

"I don't understand... then you..." Lan Yu realized what was happening and said angrily, "You lied to me again!"

Chen Ye explained, "I'm not lying to you. Although I don't understand it, I've spent so much time with Black Whirlwind that I can guess some of the meaning. Besides, I just cast a divination, and the divination shows that Black Whirlwind will encounter obstacles in delivering the message, but he will eventually achieve his goal. However, the recipient of the message seems to be facing a very bad omen."

Lan Yu asked doubtfully, "Really?"

"How could I joke about something like this?"

Chen Ye shook his head; he had indeed calculated a less than favorable outcome.

However, the divination could be interpreted in several ways at the time, and Chen Ye was unsure. It wasn't until Black Whirlwind returned with the message that he was able to confirm that Mo Suixin was indeed about to encounter danger.

Lan Yu asked doubtfully, "You're delivering a message to the chief disciple of the Seven Star Hall of the Burning Incense Sect, aren't you? He's the chief disciple and he's within the Burning Incense Sect. What danger could he possibly be in?"

Chen Ye reminded him, "Have you forgotten the rumors of Wujiu Demon Lord's resurrection?"

Lan Yu frowned. This matter had been widely circulated, and she had naturally heard about it, but at the time she only listened to it as a story, after all, the Demon Lord and such were too far removed from her.

But considering the demon lurking beneath the imperial city, the Incense Burning Sect might truly be in trouble.

Lan Yu asked, "Then how should we deal with this?"

“I’ll handle this. Just don’t cause any trouble, you’re just a kid. Let Black Whirlwind take you back to Qinghe. Report the potential troubles of the Incense Burning Sect to your sect leader. Master Zhang will make the decision.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu quickly asked, "And what about you?"

"I should also return to the Yellow Springs Sect. This matter has far-reaching implications, and I must go back to take charge."

Although Lan Yu was somewhat reluctant, she knew that time was of the essence and this was not the time to be petty.

"Well... my benefactor, come visit me in Qinghe another day. My master and I will treat you to some delicious food."

"Hehe, then I'll have to eat you out of house and home."

Chen Ye gave Black Whirlwind half a gourd of blood pills, instructing his spirit beast to be clever and make sure to safely deliver Lan Yu back to the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Black Whirlwind ate the Blood Pill and nodded repeatedly.

Although the demonic shadow has now appeared, Chen Ye is not worried about Black Whirlwind. This guy would rather die than learn any other spells, and he has maxed out his alertness. Many times, before Chen Ye notices anything is wrong, this guy is already preparing to run away.

Having raised him for so long, I've never seen Black Whirlwind encounter any danger.

With Black Whirlwind escorting Lan Yu back, Chen Ye felt relieved.

After seeing the young girl off, Chen Ye did not leave. Instead, he chose a place to meditate and call upon his omnipotent grandmaster.

In his sleep, Grandmaster Qu Heng looked at Chen Ye with disdain and said, "You brat, do you really treat me like a servant you can summon and dismiss at will? What do you want from me now?"

Chen Ye had no time for jokes and quickly said, "Grandmaster, you should have sensed something, right? Something must have happened to the Incense Burning Sect."

In terms of divination, this grandmaster was far superior to Chen Ye. In his words, his identity was too sensitive to be exposed casually, otherwise he would be the number one divination master in the world, and Pang Duoduo of the Burning Incense Sect would not stand a chance.

Hearing Chen Ye say this, Qu Heng nodded without surprise and said, "Of course I know. The mutation of the corpse of the Demon Lord Wujiu caused the entire Qingguan Mountain, which is eight hundred miles away, to tremble. Such a major event should have been sensed by not only me, but by all the cultivators in the world with some ability. However, what does this have to do with our Huangquan Sect? The Fenxiang Sect would love to skin you alive and tear you apart. It would be best if they were dead, or if they would be completely wiped out."

Qu Heng is no good person and wouldn't care about the fate of the Incense Burning Sect.

Chen Ye said, "The resurrection of the Demon Lord is not a good thing for the people of the world."

Qu Heng retorted, "Zhang Qi hasn't left yet. He'll just be killing a resurrected Demon Lord with his last sword before he dies, which can be considered a perfect deed." Chen Ye sighed and said, "Alright, Grandmaster, I won't beat around the bush. Miss Mo from the Incense Burning Sect has been kind to me. I foresaw that she was in danger, and I want to lend a helping hand. I believe you, Grandmaster, will definitely have a way to help me."

Qu Heng laughed loudly, "Haha, I knew it! You've been a womanizer, it's time for you to get your comeuppance. You want to save someone, but you can't go to the Incense Burning Sect, so you want to ask me for help?"

Chen Ye said earnestly, "Grandmaster, you were able to lend your magic power to the bitten cultivators and enhance their protective golden flames back then. I suppose you can do the same this time. If Miss Mo is in danger, these protective golden flames might be able to save her life."

This was the only solution Chen Ye could think of.

He couldn't go to the Incense Burning Sect, and even if he did, it would be useless. There were so many cultivators there; one more wouldn't make a difference. The dangers Mo Suixin might encounter were mostly because those cultivators were busy dealing with their own troubles and couldn't pay attention to her; it might just be an oversight, a minor accident.

In this kind of danger, the protective golden flame comes in handy.

If she can hold off Mo Suixin for a while at a crucial moment, her elders in the sect will likely be able to react.

Qu Heng replied, "It's not that simple. The protective golden flames require devout worship of Buddha to receive blessings. Although I can control the Crimson Serpent Dragon Buddha, I set rules when I became a Buddha, which cannot be easily changed. Those who do not believe in Buddha will find it difficult to receive the protection of the Dharma. If this rule is forcibly broken, the foundation of the Crimson Serpent Dragon Buddha will be damaged. That is the very foundation of our Yellow Springs Sect, and I will never allow the Dragon Buddha to suffer any loss."

In short, unless Mo Suixin can sincerely recite the prayer and is willing to believe in the Dragon Buddha for at least a moment, she will not be able to use this protective golden flame.

Chen Ye quickly said, "Isn't there any other way? Grandmaster, you are so powerful, you must be able to think of a way."

Qu Heng shook his head and said, "Flattery won't work, I can't control this. But you can give it a try, it'll just be a bit troublesome."

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Me? How could I possibly have the ability to travel thousands of miles to help?"

"Don't underestimate yourself. I've told you this many times. You're no longer some unknown junior. Besides, I've wanted you to try this move for a long time. Chen Ye, have you ever thought about creating a god of your own, just like my Crimson Dragon Buddha?"

"Using incense to summon deities? Doesn't the Yellow Springs Sect already have a ton of those?"

Chen Ye felt that his grandmaster's words were a bit strange.

The two hundred deities in the City God Pavilion were all formed by the incense and prayers of the people of the Northern Frontier over a thousand years. What use would one more be?
Qu Heng said in a serious tone, "It's completely different. You're too ambitious, wanting to establish cause and effect and reincarnation for the world. This kind of pressure would have crushed an ordinary person long ago. You're lucky to have lasted this long and even achieved some results. But I think you're not entirely without selfishness, and your soul hasn't reached the realm of divine perfection."

"You must understand that mortals have seven emotions and six desires. You cannot remain unaffected by emotions for your entire life, as cold and hard as a stone. If you do anything against cause and effect in the future, everything you have built will collapse, and our Yellow Springs Sect will be destroyed because of your one wrong thought."

"What you are trying to establish is a set of laws governing the universe, a shackle that will eventually be placed on everyone's heads, and it will also end up in your hands. Therefore, if you have the key, you will eventually unlock this shackle, and then there will be trouble. Those who achieve great things bear greater burdens and achieve greater success, but the greater their success, the harder it is for them to transcend these burdens."

"We are destined to ascend to heaven; we cannot remain in the mortal realm to await death. If you cannot relinquish these shackles, how can you ascend?"

Chen Ye was stunned by these words, not because he couldn't understand them, but because he had experienced them firsthand.

When the eighteen Qi Seas evolved into the eighteen levels of hell, Chen Ye already had a feeling that if he himself was hell, he would be subject to the six paths of reincarnation. How could he then ascend to the immortal realm?
We can't just dismantle the eighteen levels of hell and take them with us.

Qu Heng continued, "My shackles are the legacy of the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect. Now I have passed this heavy responsibility on to you, so I can be generous to you, my grand-disciple. If you want cultivation techniques, I will give you cultivation techniques; if you want magic treasures, I will give you magic treasures. If you complete this great undertaking for me, I can transcend and ascend to immortality."

"This is what is called 'reducing to seek emptiness.' Your karma in this world will be taken over by the person who inherits your lineage, so that you can leave in peace and not be bound by this mortal realm. Otherwise, why would the eighteen Demon Lords establish lineages and sects? Do you think it was just to find a few servants to do their bidding?"

Chen Ye hadn't expected this kind of saying; his cultivation time was still too short.

Chen Ye couldn't help but ask, "According to your statement, Grandmaster, is it because no one in the Qinghe Sword Sect can inherit his position that Master Zhang didn't ascend to immortality?"

Qu Heng shook his head and said, "The reasons are half and half. Zhang Qi does indeed possess extraordinary abilities that no one in the world can replace. But the Qinghe Sword Sect is already here, and it's not entirely incapable of bearing his own karma. It's just that Zhang Qi himself is unwilling. This burden, which has weighed on him for a thousand years, might not last more than a hundred years on someone else."

"Moreover, he must have seen some secrets that others don't know, which is why he would rather die than ascend. As for what exactly it is, your grandmaster hasn't reached that level, so I can't say for sure. But speaking of which, my good grand-disciple, if you were to establish the cycle of cause and effect, the pressure would be even greater than Zhang Qi's. Who would inherit this great undertaking?"

Chen Ye pondered for a moment and said, "It's too early to consider this now. The establishment of the cycle of reincarnation is still in its infancy."

Qu Heng, however, said excitedly, "It is a bit early, but isn't this just a coincidence? If you want to save that little girl, you just need such a deity to solve the problem of borrowing the power. I painstakingly nurtured this Crimson Serpent Dragon Buddha, which was originally intended to ward off disasters and help people overcome tribulations. Everything of the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect can be thrown onto this Dragon Buddha. Whoever inherits my Dragon Buddha will inherit my responsibility."

"The same goes for you. Create your own deity, and when you ascend, give this deity to your successor. Then everything will be fine. There's no time like the present. You need it now, so let me teach you how to use incense to create a divine body!"

(End of this chapter)