Martial Arts Domination: Start with the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique-Chapter 738 - 507: Catastrophe and Rebuilding, the Green Emperor Awakens!_2

Chapter 738: Chapter 507: Catastrophe and Rebuilding, the Green Emperor Awakens!_2

Although the Taoist Sect is composed of seven branches, all of whom revere the same ancestral master, it’s often the weaker ones who receive extra favor, is it not?

The old Daoist mused silently, while respectfully presenting three sticks of incense to the ancestral master’s divine statue before him.

The curling smoke accentuated the majestic presence of the ancestral master.

At this moment, the old Daoist turned around to face the young Taoist behind him. The youth stood tall, with an impressive demeanor and extraordinary looks. His aura was profound, as if he were an immortal descending from the heavens, straight out of legend.

Yet, in the youth’s gaze, there was a fleeting trace of doubt.

As the old Daoist turned, the youth quickly concealed his expression of uncertainty, ensuring the old Daoist did not notice.

"Yi’er, it’s your turn to present incense to the ancestral master,"

the old Daoist said kindly.

Lin Yi nodded and stepped forward without hesitation. He reached for three sticks of incense, lit them, then faced the divine statue with reverence and bowed respectfully.

Even as he gazed at the ancestral master’s statue, that faint trace of doubt flickered again in his eyes.

After bowing several times, he placed the incense down.

Turning back, Lin Yi looked at the master who had raised him since childhood—the current Daoist Bai Yun of White Cloud Temple—and said, "Master."

"Hmm,"

Bai Yun Daoist nodded amicably with a smile, then turned and stepped out of the ancestral hall. Lin Yi followed closely behind.

Both of them, being existences at the level of Daluo Golden Number, took but a single step to leave the ancestral hall and arrived in the skies above White Cloud Temple, continuing their journey in a certain direction.

Earlier, they had paid respects to the ancestral master. Now they were heading toward the Central State to participate in the Taoist Sect’s grand competition among the seven branches, vying for dominance over the next ten thousand years.

"Yi’er has been quite distracted recently. Could it be that the looming trial is weighing too heavily on your mind?"

As layers of void passed by, Bai Yun Daoist suddenly spoke.

Lin Yi, who had been lost in thought, immediately regained his composure upon hearing this, shaking his head calmly.

The Taoist Sect’s trial was merely a contest where each branch presented their most exceptional disciple of the past ten thousand years. Given Lin Yi’s realm and abilities, there wasn’t a single individual within the past ten thousand years who could rival him in cultivation.

"Oh?"

Bai Yun Daoist let out a soft chuckle before smiling faintly and stroking his beard, saying, "Come to think of it, that’s true. With my disciple’s aptitude, not just those within ten thousand years, but even existences from the past hundred thousand years couldn’t possibly defeat my disciple."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi couldn’t help but laugh, glancing at the white-haired yet youthful-looking old Daoist beside him, and said, "Master, are you admitting you can’t beat me anymore with that remark?"

Bai Yun Daoist’s expression grew serious. He shook his head and replied, "Not at all. I have cultivated for a span of ten thousand years plus an additional ten months, so I do not qualify as one of those who entered cultivation within ten thousand years. Otherwise, you brat would certainly be captured by me single-handedly!"

"Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! Master’s teachings are profound indeed; no matter what realm I reach, I shall never defeat my master!"

Lin Yi burst into hearty laughter.

Bai Yun Daoist’s face showed a hint of warmth before he spoke again, "Yi’er, I noticed you’ve spent many hours quietly staring at the ancestral master’s statue lately. Could it be curiosity toward the ancestral master?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi’s personality shifted, his laughter gradually subsiding. He fell silent for several moments before asking, "Master, you’ve noticed?"

Bai Yun Daoist smiled gently and said, "When I brought you to the Daoist Temple, you were but a babbling child. Raising you to this day, how could I fail to perceive your changes?"

Lin Yi grew silent once more, and when he finally spoke, his tone grew serious: "Master, can you tell me about the ancestral master?"

Bai Yun Daoist nodded, even though this was common knowledge every cultivator should understand. Yet regardless, he patiently began, "Our sect’s ancestral master descended from the heavens one million years ago as a Divine Being."

"It is said He commands three thousand laws of the Dao, surrounded by countless Immortals. He bestowed the Taoist inheritance upon this world, granting us the means to cultivate and escape the mortality of ordinary humans—no longer bound by the hundred-year lifespan nor the endless cycle of reincarnation and suffering."

"It was also He who left a decree: those of us who reach the Primordial Realm can shatter the void and ascend to the Nine Heavens, becoming true Heavenly Court Immortals!"

"Thus, our ancestral master, upon deeper thought, is in fact the supreme Heavenly Emperor who presides over the Heavenly Court!"

Lin Yi furrowed his brows even tighter upon hearing this.

After hesitating for a moment, he looked towards his master and slowly asked, "If we are part of the Taoist Sect, shouldn’t we be venerating the Dao Ancestor? Why do we venerate the Heavenly Emperor? Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor is the Dao Ancestor, or the Dao Ancestor is the Heavenly Emperor?"

Bai Yun Daoist’s brows furrowed slightly as though contemplating. After some hesitation, he nodded and said, "The Supreme Heavenly Emperor rules over three thousand laws of the Dao; it stands to reason that He is the Dao Ancestor."

Seeing this, Lin Yi probed further, "But Master, have you ever heard of the ’Three Pure Dao Ancestors’?"

Bai Yun Daoist furrowed his brows tighter, as if searching through the immense ocean of his mind’s ten-thousand-year memory for any trace related to the ’Three Pure Dao Ancestors.’

Yet after a moment, he shook his head and replied, "I have not heard of the ’Three Pure Dao Ancestors.’ Yi’er, where did you learn that?"

Lin Yi felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in his heart. He dared not reveal that fragments of alien memories and knowledge had persistently surfaced in his mind recently.

So he simply shook his head and said, "I once heard about them from a storyteller in the mortal realm, who spoke about the ’Three Pure Dao Ancestors’ as though it was fact. I remember it because it sounded somewhat convincing."

Bai Yun Daoist chuckled knowingly upon hearing this, understanding now why his disciple had been so absent-minded. It turned out his doubts stemmed from the tales of mortal storytellers.

"This is my fault," Bai Yun Daoist said with a smile. "Yi’er, your talent is extraordinary, reaching the realm of Daluo Golden Immortal in less than a century. But it seems you’ve lacked experiences among mortals and their ways."

"Let me tell you, the stories and figures depicted by mortal storytellers are fabrications for their livelihood and are mere illusions—they cannot be trusted as truth."

"Yi’er, do not let these tales cloud your judgment. Should falsehoods become entangled with reality, it may lead to tribulations when attempting to transcend into the Primordial Realm in the future."

Bai Yun Daoist’s words grew stern and his tone serious toward the end.

Lin Yi naturally nodded in agreement.

Fragments of shattered images and information continued to flicker and puzzle his mind. They were incoherent, making it difficult to discern whether these sporadic memories and visions were real or fabricated.

After hearing Bai Yun Daoist’s warning, Lin Yi resolved to stop overthinking. He decided to approach these memories from the perspective of a ’bystander’ and slowly examine them.

Should anything prove harmful, he would sever it immediately.

Even if it was the echoes of Spiritual Wisdom from a previous life awakening within him, there was no reason to let it endanger his cultivation and progress.

With such thoughts in mind, Lin Yi’s gaze turned resolute, abandoning his earlier bouts of distraction and absent-mindedness.

Seeing his disciple’s firm expression, Bai Yun Daoist nodded quietly to himself, feeling as though his concerns had finally eased.

The two then pressed onward, chasing stars and moonlight, and half a day later, stepped out from the layers of void to arrive at the trial grounds of the Central State. This was the territory of the leading sect among the Taoist Sect’s seven branches: the Sun and Moon Dao Sect.

As soon as the pair appeared, they released their Daluo Golden Number aura without disguise, instantly provoking multiple streams of energy to rise within the Sun and Moon Dao Sect.

Bai Yun Daoist remained motionless, prompting Lin Yi to also stand still behind him.

Soon, numerous figures ascended swiftly to meet them, with one at the forefront smiling and saying, "Ah, who am I to see here! It turns out to be Daoist Bai Yun!"

The speaker extended both hands in greeting.

Bai Yun Daoist dared not accept the gesture, instead returning it with deep respect, saying, "Brother Sun and Moon, you’ve attained the Primordial Realm yet remain uninterested in the splendor of the Nine Heavens, choosing to oversee this trial personally. Bai Yun humbly gives you his respects!"

The person before them was none other than the aged Sect Master of the Sun and Moon Dao Sect. Centuries ago, he pierced through the veil of mysteries, was granted the Dao by the ancestral master, and achieved the Primordial Realm—envied by cultivators across the Taoist Sect.

He was not one to linger here much longer, likely intending to oversee this trial to leave valuable insights and legacy for the Sun and Moon Dao Sect, foster alliances with White Cloud Temple, and then depart this world to ascend to the Heavenly Court.

The Sun and Moon Sect Master chuckled lightly and did not interrupt Bai Yun’s gesture, knowing full well the gap between them—it was a difference akin to heaven and earth.

The Daluo and Primordial Realms were truly two distinct forms of existence!

His eyes briefly scanned past Bai Yun Daoist to focus on Lin Yi and remarked with a smile, "So this is Daoist Bai Yun’s brilliant disciple, a peerless prodigy scarcely seen even once in a million years?"

With those words,

Bai Yun Daoist smiled softly.

But Lin Yi felt a sudden and overwhelming shock within his heart, as though an unseen, supreme Godless Emperor behind the Sun and Moon Sect Master had cast a towering gaze down upon him as well!