Chapter 2458 Elder Ye
……
hum-
The immense pressure receded like the tide.
Wang Qicang groaned, but did not faint or collapse. His feet seemed rooted to the spot on the raft. His eyes were sunken and his stomach was flat, as if he were starving.
The old man sneered, his eyes flashing.
A bridge suddenly rose from the sky.
……
The world suddenly turned upside down, and when it became clear again, Wang Qicang was standing in a desolate world that seemed to be far away from the Yangtze River.
This is an ancient land that has been eternally sealed by heavy snow.
The wind and snow poured down from the sky, unhurried and gentle, as if flowing from ancient times, falling on countless broken altars and collapsed ancient buildings, layer upon layer, burying the former glory under the white expanse.
As far as the eye can see, all that can be seen are reeds bent under the weight of snow—each reed trembling gently, as if a gust of wind could sound the war drums of some bygone era.
The reeds surrounded the densely packed tombstones.
Each tombstone is engraved with the surname of the ancient Ye family and the names of the myriad warriors of the three thousand universes.
Some of them were blurred by the wind and snow, while others were half-buried in snow, but the exposed corners of the monuments still carried a certain indelible sharpness, as if—even in death, they wanted to let those who came to know that what was buried here was not some cowardly rat, but the Ye family soldiers who once charged at the forefront of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms.
The heavier the wind and snow, the quieter the world becomes.
It was as if even the Heavenly Dao itself could not bear to disturb this place.
Wang Qicang's throat tightened, but he couldn't say a word. He saw a broken-winged stone sculpture standing in front of a dilapidated ancient building, half of which was swallowed by the heavy snow, and the stone feathers were full of broken marks.
Old Master Ye slowly walked to the stone sculpture, raised his hand to stroke the broken wing, and his eyes softened for a moment.
That is the guardian spirit beast of the Ye family, loyal to the Ye family for generations.
His white hair was whipped even more tangled by the wind, as if it were about to fall into the snow at any moment.
But in this desolate tomb, he suddenly became incredibly quiet and solemn.
It was as if this mad old man had once again donned the shadow and blood of the former "General of the Ye Family".
His voice was deep, yet it could be clearly heard through the wind and snow:
"This is the end of the Ye family's territory."
"This is also my last hope."
He turned his head to the side, and his nearly cloudy old eyes reflected a sharpness that could not be extinguished by the wind and snow. He spoke calmly:
"My child, remember—"
"What you have entered today is not your sect."
"After the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, it is the only lineage that still wishes to teach people."
The wind and snow seemed to understand his words, howling and causing the reeds to tremble, like the echo of countless fallen soldiers.
Old Master Ye slowly closed his eyes, as if sinking into the long river of bygone generations:
"In the past, too many people from the Ye family died."
"If you want to learn the Way, start by walking on their feet."
He pointed to the boundless sea of graves.
"From today onwards, you shall call me Elder Ye."
"Follow me—cultivate the way of 'survival'."
……
The old man never uttered any grand pronouncements, but simply recounted the Ye family's past and present in a few words.
After a cup of tea.
Wang Qicang was still reeling from the shock; he couldn't understand it...
"Sit cross-legged and practice your Qi with me."
"Yes, Elder Ye."
……
Cultivating immortality has always been an exceptionally tedious affair, requiring one to detach oneself from worldly affairs and immerse oneself in the silent landscape.
Ten years later.
"Food for ferocious beasts." This was Elder Ye's indifferent assessment of Wang Qicang. "He has no right to survive in the Wilderness."
……
A hundred years later.
"Feast food for ferocious beasts." Elder Ye remained calm. "I don't have any cultivation techniques here. You don't need to look at me like that. If you want Qi refining techniques, I do have countless ancient Qi refining methods here."
He always spoke with such coldness, and looked at Wang Qicang as if he were looking at an animal, since animals were more suitable as food for ferocious beasts.
Wang Qicang was speechless, his expression somewhat bitter. His immortal meridians were completely destroyed, and he had been refining Qi for a hundred years, unable to establish his foundation again. However, he said, "Elder Ye, it is not so."
"Ok?"
"I... I seem to see spiritual energy, but it's not quite the same as the spiritual energy of immortals."
"Food for ferocious beasts."
Old Master Ye snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and left, leaving only his lingering voice in the place, "It seems that you are indeed a mediocre person. It is your greatest honor to be able to live and die here."
When he said his aptitude was mediocre, he didn't mention his talent for immortality at all.
Rather, he simply didn't understand the importance and value of the countless immortal cultivation techniques he possessed!
Countless introductory texts on Qi cultivation were created by great masters of their time.
Throughout the three thousand great ages and the eternal immortal path of the immortal realm, countless cultivation techniques have become increasingly powerful, but only the various Qi Refining techniques have remained eternally popular.
The Three Thousand Great Worlds lacked the favorable conditions of the Immortal Realm, making it impossible for the myriad Qi Refining Techniques to be born.
But the immortal realm has it, and so does he; however, this young Wang family member failed to grasp his true meaning, which shows his mediocre talent.
“Yes…” Wang Qicang lowered his head, his expression becoming increasingly bitter.
however.
Just as Old Ye turned around, a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.
He wasn't lying. Ancient cultivation techniques, if used in the current Immortal Realm, would be suicide in a battle. They might be enough against the myriad races of the Three Thousand Immortal Domains, but they wouldn't be enough against that group of rats.
Descendants of the Changsheng Wang family...
If you want to truly survive in this immortal realm, those rat-like creatures are an insurmountable hurdle.
Even considering the current dire state of the once-powerful Changsheng family, he couldn't see how the weak and feeble cultivators of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms could have driven them to such a desperate situation without the machinations of the rat descendants.
……
Thousands of years later.
Amidst the swaying reeds covered in ice and snow, faint voices of reproach drifted over.
"Boy, you can't even accept this much? Your Dao heart is as useless as I expected. You have never disappointed me on this path of immortality."
"Elder Ye..."
Blood trickled from the corner of Wang Qicang's mouth, and the ancient books in his hands were stained with faint blood. "How could the true history of immortals be like this...!"
"roll!"
……
Another thousand years.
The ice and snow-covered reeds shimmered with fluorescent light, illuminating the dim lights.
Wang Qicang was not cultivating, but reading ancient books.
“During the ancient times of the Great Age, at your age, there were already ancient ancestors who had comprehended the Dao of Immortality and laid the spiritual foundation of the Dao of Immortality that has influenced the vast and endless ages of the Great Age.”
"In the ancient times of the Great Era, when you were your age, the Immortal Emperor Gu Shenyu had already vowed to conquer the Divine Continent. He later established the Taiyi Immortal Court, and his actions influenced the entire future era."
"In the era of great chaos and slaughter among all races, at your age, the Human Emperor Ji Jiuxiao was already leading the rise of the Blood-Eating Human Race and laying the foundation for the eternal prosperity of the human race."
……
"Jiang Jixiu, the last ruler of the human race in the Great World, was determined in his youth and studied the history of the human race by lamplight. Later, he took over the human race and made it flourish again for a period of time."
……
"In ancient times, when the heavens were at their peak, he took over the great responsibility at the young age of twenty. Later, he became a loyal minister of heaven and earth, and with one sword, he cleaved the heavens."
……
"The Five Elements Dao Ancestor declared war on the Nine Heavens Immortal Alliance, which was full of immortals, during the Mahayana stage. In later generations, he dominated the world and established himself as an eternal figure in the Immortal Realm."
……
"The world is full of waves of the times, and countless outstanding figures and heroes have emerged. I tell you this not so that you can set lofty goals in your youth, but simply to tell you that if you know something too late or understand it too late, you will never have the youthful vigor you once had."
"Just like those rat descendants in the Heavenly Palace of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms, although there are many immortals, those who lack youthful spirit will be nothing more than useless pigs and dogs, even if they become immortals in the future."
"For many years, I have not taught you the path of immortality, so that you may first see the world clearly and understand the true lineage of immortality in my Three Thousand Immortal Realms. Only then will you be worthy of being a true cultivator, and only then will you be worthy of becoming my disciple."
