NOVPUBLooking at the girl who had just turned and walked away, Chen Chao opened his mouth slightly, his face full of astonishment.
What was going on?
He had not mistaken her identity. The girl just now was none other than Zhu Xia, the Saintess of the Myriad Heaven Palace. Though she had grown in all the places a girl ought to have grown in recent days, it was not enough for him to mistake someone else for her.
But why did she burst into tears the moment she saw him?
Chen Chao was utterly baffled.
The little girl in his arms had her arms wrapped around Chen Chao's neck, muttering who knows what under her breath.
The woman behind him gave Chen Chao a strange look, somewhat curious as well. This young man looked upright and proper, but was he in fact a womanizer? Was there a romantic debt here too?
Chen Chao felt helpless. With a belly full of questions, he had no choice but to step through the mountain gate. After giving his name, the outer sect disciples looked at the young man before them with astonishment and disbelief.
It was simply that this young man's reputation was just too resounding.
Not long after, those outer sect disciples passed along the message. Before long, a middle-aged daoist in robes of yellow and purple appeared at the mountain gate.
The sight startled the family of four quite a bit. Although they did not know this person's exact identity, just seeing him dressed in yellow and purple made it clear he was no ordinary figure. After all, this was not their first time coming up the mountain to offer incense. In the past, they had never encountered such a daoist.
In other words, they all knew that Myriad Heaven Palace was not an ordinary daoist temple. It was only up on the real mountain that the true immortals cultivated in seclusion. This yellow-and-purple-clad daoist before them, what could he be if not one of those immortals?
For a moment, the entire family, including the white-haired old man, grew nervous. Only the little girl in Chen Chao's arms looked around curiously, showing no signs of nervousness at all.
The yellow-and-purple-clad daoist gave them a faint smile, then looked at the little girl in Chen Chao's arms and said with a gentle chuckle, "It seems Lord Warden Commander Chen is fated with this little one. From what I can see, this young girl has quite the spirituality. As this is our first meeting, this penniless daoist has nothing else to offer but a safety charm, for the little girl."
The yellow-purple daoist reached into his robe and took out a safety charm, tied with a red string, and gently placed it on the little girl's head.
The little girl did not dodge. After the charm was put on, she just fiddled with it in her hands and did not try to tear it off.
The woman quickly spoke up to offer her thanks. While it was true that safety charms from the Myriad Heaven Palace could be requested normally, how could one she asked for herself compare to one given directly by such a sagely-looking daoist?
Even the middle-aged man's face lit up with a broad smile.
Chen Chao asked, "May I ask Daoist's title?"
The yellow-purple daoist smiled and replied, "This penniless daoist is Li Yu."
Chen Chao was taken aback, then bowed and said, "So it's Daoist Li."
Myriad Heaven Palace did not have a formal position titled Chief Enforcer, but Li Yu served as the sect's Law Hall's daoist, essentially equivalent to the Chief Enforcer in other sects - effectively the number two figure in the sect.
This Daoist Li, though he had yet to break through to the end of Nepenthe, had long stepped into the Nepenthe Realm. In terms of cultivation alone, he was far beyond that old man from the Windspirit Mountain. He was among the top-tier powerhouses of the current era and should be ranked quite highly even among the daoist sages.
Li Yu gently raised Chen Chao by the arm and smiled, saying, "The Palace Lord previously calculated that Lord Warden Commander would be coming. But for some reason, your path changed midway, leaving this penniless daoist and fellow disciples rather confused."
"Only after the news came did we learn that Lord Warden Commander had made a detour to Windspirit Mountain."
As he spoke, Li Yu's smile was ambiguous, making it hard to guess his true meaning.
Chen Chao looked at Li Yu, but did not hide anything. He said frankly, "Went to Windspirit Mountain to bring back a Nepenthe martial artist. I never thought much about it when watching others manage affairs, but now that I'm in charge, I've come to realize how hard it is to come by every grain of rice, every bottle of oil. Anything that can be roped in, no matter how much effort it takes, I'll rope them in. Little by little, it adds up. It'll be useful in the future."
Li Yu smiled and said, "That's quite right. Lord Warden Commander not only seems to be an outstanding martial artist, but would also likely be a shrewd businessman."
Chen Chao sighed and said, "It's all out of necessity."
Li Yu did not say much more and just asked, "Shall we go up the mountain and talk?"
Chen Chao nodded, but then noticed that the little girl in his arms. It was just a short conversation and this lass had fallen asleep without anyone noticing.
Chen Chao glanced at the woman, and she understood. She reached out to take the little girl from him. Although the little girl was fast asleep, she still gripped Chen Chao's clothes tightly. It took a lot of effort before the woman was able to pull the little girl off Chen Chao.
The woman then repeatedly apologized.
Chen Chao and Li Yu's conversation had been confusing to her, but she felt that the young man before her who had a good temperament was of no ordinary status. He was either very wealthy or very noble.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the young man in front of her was truly remarkable.
Chen Chao smiled and shook his head, following Li Yu up the mountain. This time, they were heading to the true mountain pass gates of the Myriad Heaven Palace.
After leaving the temple, Chen Chao turned and glanced at the family. He took the initiative to ask, "Daoist, you mentioned earlier that the little girl and I are fated?"
Li Yu nodded slightly and said softly, "Lord Warden Commander, some years ago you had dealings with qi refiners, so you are familiar with the concept of karmic cause and effect, right?"
"In this penniless daoist's humble opinion, fate is actually contained within karmic cause and effect. When this penniless daoist was younger, I cultivated this kind of spell too, though with limited success. This penniless daoist can only tell that there is a faint fate thread between the little girl and Lord Warden Commander."
"Fate thread?"
Chen Chao did not understand what he meant.
Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "It's a bit profound. Perhaps it's Heaven's will, or perhaps it's fate. But practically speaking, the little girl has a natural fondness for Lord Warden Commander, yet Lord Warden Commander doesn't feel the same way, meaning the fate connection isn't strong. Lord Warden Commander may choose to continue it or ignore it, but what the outcome will be is uncertain."
Chen Chao furrowed his brow, looking at the sides of the mountain path. The mountain path beyond the Myriad Heaven Palace's mountain pass gates had no deliberately constructed scenery. There was only stones of various sizes, each carved with different characters, and they were not written by the same person.
For example, the stone next to Chen Chao, which had the words "Dao is natural," was written with a full, flowing brush stroke, and the Dao rhyme seemed to circulate within it.
Li Yu said, "This was written by the third-generation ancestor. That ancestor was considered the world's number one in daoist spells at the time, but rarely showed his face in the world. Very few people know of his true background."
Chen Chao raised his brows. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Chen Chao paused again in front of a stone inscribed with the words "Heaven and earth is heartless." In a daze, he seemed to see a gray-robed daoist before his eyes, carrying a daoist sword on his back, casually drawing his sword and writing a few characters on the stone.
That must have been many years ago, yet even now, the sword intent on the stone remained vigorous. That daoist must have been a first-rate sword immortal back then in the world.
But aside from inscriptions left behind by these prominent figures, some other writings had already faded, likely left by those of lower cultivation, who had not infused much aura at the time. Now, the words could barely be made out.
Li Yu smiled and said, "Leaving words on these mountain stones has become a tradition of Myriad Heaven Palace. Regardless of cultivation level, anyone can inscribe words upon them, status is not considered."
Chen Chao suddenly asked, "Can outsiders do it too?"
Li Yu was taken aback, then replied, "There has been no such precedent, but there's also no rule in our sect that forbids it. If Lord Warden Commander wishes to leave a few words, you may do so."
Chen Chao thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Forget it. No need to make trouble for you all."
Li Yu remained silent. He did not try to persuade him further or say anything more.
Then Chen Chao suddenly said, "Daoist Li, could you explain this matter of fate in more detail?"
Li Yu glanced at Chen Chao, nodded, and was not in a hurry to continue walking. Instead, he sat down on a nearby stone and said softly, "To speak of fate, we must begin with what happens after death."
"Whether a cultivator or an ordinary person, once they die, their soul departs from the body and must journey to the netherworld. It's said that there lies the place of reincarnation, but before reincarnation, the soul must pass through three calamities and six tribulations. Each trial is extremely difficult, and a single misstep could cause the soul to disperse into the world, never to exist again. Without a strong obsession or lingering desire, there is no next life for a person."
"Even if one overcomes those trials, the soul will lose all memory. Once reincarnated, it is absolutely impossible to recall anything from the previous life."
Li Yu said calmly, "There are probably laws in heaven and earth that we do not understand, but since ancient times, they have never changed."
Chen Chao murmured softly, "So one life is truly just one life?"
Li Yu shook his head and said, "No matter how meticulous the rules are, there will always be exceptions. Perhaps it's due to an obsession too deep, or perhaps for some other reason, but outside of Heavenly Dao, there must be a way out. Some people, after their souls reincarnate, may not remember anything from their past lives. But there will be some residual imprints that instinctively drive them to pursue their former obsessions, that's the so-called fate."
Chen Chao asked curiously, "According to Daoist, when a man and a woman manages to come together, this so-called fate is actually entanglement from a previous life?"
Li Yu looked at Chen Chao and smiled. "Broadly speaking, everyone you meet in this life had some connection with you in the last. But in a narrower sense, only those who seem particularly special the first time you meet them are truly so, like that little girl."
Chen Chao remained silent. These mysterious and unfathomable sayings were hard to discern as true or false.
But the way that little girl had been so affectionate from the first moment she saw him was indeed hard to explain with common sense.
Li Yu said softly, "Regardless, if it’s not too difficult for you, Lord Warden Commander. Actually, it would be best to resolve this karmic connection. Otherwise, it's very possible that the entanglement will continue into the next life, and the life after that. Your Excellency may not care, but for her, it would be suffering."
"She is searching for you, Lord Warden Commander. Who knows how long she's been searching. Perhaps this is the final life, and after this, she will forget. But it's also possible she's been searching for many lifetimes already, endlessly caught in this cycle of reincarnation."
There was a trace of sorrow in Li Yu's eyes. Perhaps it was due to the secret art he cultivated, when he saw that little girl, he could sense a faint echo of it.
Chen Chao asked, "Then if there truly was entanglement from the previous life, what was my relationship with her?"
Li Yu shook his head. "No one can say for sure. But if it's meant to be, Lord Warden Commander will know."
After saying this, Li Yu slowly got up and continued along the mountain path.
Chen Chao, on the other hand, was deep in thought.
As they neared the true mountain pass gates, Chen Chao suddenly asked, "Is it possible that it's something recent? In other words, could someone who passed away just last year already be a youth or an elderly person this year?"
Chen Chao thought of that young girl he had failed to save before. But if he really calculated it, the timeline did not match.
Li Yu looked at him and said, "Such matters cannot be judged using common logic. Because they can't be calculated, that's why it seems more difficult."
Chen Chao fell into silence.
Li Yu said, "But I will offer Lord Warden Commander one piece of advice. Some things, even if you're not certain, shouldn't be dismissed outright. A cultivator first cultivates the heart. If your heart is flawed, how can you walk far on the path?"
Chen Chao murmured, "Is it all just for the sake of cultivation?"
"Not for cultivation, but to follow your true heart, that's the greatest virtue in this world."
Li Yu stood before the mountain gate, looking up at the three characters for 'Myriad Heaven Palace,' and sighed, "Lord Warden Commander is actually quite a promising seedling to cultivate the Dao."
