Volume One: The Thousand-Year Stream Chapter 41: The Yingdai Qing Sect

"Fengyang Gate?" Sun Zikai sensed no energy around him, so he flew unhesitatingly into the air. This sect was of a considerable scale, not much inferior to the Yanming Sect. Yet, as a place of cultivation, it felt far purer, lacking the gaudy buildings and objects found in the Yanming Sect.

However, it was now in ruins, mostly destroyed. Sun Zikai did not know the coordinates to which he had been spatially transported, but he was soon captivated by this expanse of ruins.

Crystal bricks? Fiery copper walls? The Heavenly Gua Four Symbols Palace, the Water Mao Thousand Mechanisms Tower... He had never laid eyes on such marvels before. This place seemed like a true sanctuary of cultivation.

He descended and discovered a sword amid the shattered tiles, immediately exclaiming, "What a fine sword!"

Indeed, it was a superb weapon, forged from terrestrial quintessence and hearth-fire steel. When swung, his own spiritual energy was spontaneously driven by the blade, forming a sword technique of its own accord.

Unable to part with it, he hurriedly tucked it into his belt and continued forward. Catching sight of a collapsed pavilion with countless scrolls strewn in the dirt, a surge of even greater delight washed over him. He ran toward them eagerly, but the moment his fingers touched the scrolls, they dissolved into wisps of dust, just like the sword tucked at his waist.

"An illusion? Is this the legendary illusion art?"

Everything around him seemed stained by ink, becoming fluid yet retaining its shape, only to dissolve upon touch. Vaguely, Sun Zikai caught sight of a figure. He walked slowly toward it and recognized the man's facial features.

Sun Zikai observed that the man was looking at him, but his gaze was vacant; he could not truly be seeing him. Everything here must be a phantom scene preserved from the distant past.

Sure enough, the man spoke of his own accord: "The Qingyi Sect, to which generation has it been passed? I am Suo Yi, the Sect Master of the Fengyang Gate, and once a disciple of the Qingyi Sect. The Qingyi Sect is no more."

The scenery around them began to shift, as if reenacting history along with the man's narrative.

"The Qingyi Sect was born in Yingdai. Legend has it that Yingdai was a realm of the heavens that later fell to the mortal world. Initially surrounded by boundless oceans, the heavens and earth subsequently shifted, and a portion of Yingdai was rotated to the core of a crescent-shaped continent, becoming a massive isolated island. Someone attained enlightenment in the Great Dao of cultivation and established the very first sect on this continent upon Yingdai—none other than the Qingyi Sect."

"The Qingyi Sect took the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth as its foundation, creating unique cultivation arts based on the five elements of fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. These corresponded to the creation of: for fire—the Five-Flavored Jiawu Free Fire-Control Art; for water—the Qingyi Thirty-Six Dipper Profound Art; for wood—the Longevity and Bliss Dao; for metal—the Tianshu Xuanji Royal Authority Law; and for earth—the Divine Refining Root-Bone Stepping Art."

"These five cultivation arts were unmatched by a thousand and surpassed by none. Relying on them, one could match the five-dimensional abilities of spiritual consciousness, root-bones, charming soul, comprehension, and destiny, rendering the Great Dao of cultivation supreme, concise, and quintessential, yet infinitely variable in its later stages."

"At that time, everyone believed Yingdai was an isle of immortals inhabited by gods. Countless people sailed from the crescent continent to the island, seeking masters and pursuing knowledge. Centuries later, the continent reached its first peak of cultivation. Countless techniques were created based on the Five-Spiritual Arts, such as the Heaven-Steeling Art, the Big Dipper Golden Elixir Dao, the Seven-Killings Oblivion Art... and so forth. Within a hundred years, thousands achieved the Golden Elixir realm. Vast though Yingdai was, it could not accommodate so many people. Therefore, many immensely successful disciples returned to their homelands with the help of the Qingyi Sect and established their own sects. A hundred years later, the second epoch-making peak of cultivation on the continent emerged. Nine major sects laid their foundations, standing in the crescent continent in distant correspondence with Yingdai. They remembered the teachings of the Qingyi Sect never to pass down the Five Spiritual Arts to posterity, but only to teach the Dao they had each comprehended."

"This was the benevolent intention of the Qingyi Sect, not a monopoly or suppression. They insisted that these children forge their own paths through personal realization so that the sects they built would possess true heritage."

The man sighed with disappointment and continued his narrative, the scenery around them changing tone, shifting toward decay and darkness. "The Qingyi Sect was foolish, and those sects were utterly ungrateful. A millennium later, though the Qingyi Sect still held the position of Holy Lord, the nine major sects grew greedy for more resources and greater cultivation potential. No longer willing to be bound by the monastic rules of the Qingyi Sect, they broke away one by one. The greatest mistake the Qingyi Sect made was not raising the butcher's knife at that very moment, but choosing to retreat into seclusion in Yingdai and ignore worldly affairs, ultimately allowing that butcher's knife to fall upon the Qingyi Sect's own head."

"In a mere fifty years, the nine major sects developed into an uncontrollable force without any constraints. The malicious intents of the various sects, previously suppressed out of awe for the holiness of the Qingyi Sect, were unleashed at that time. Once wars broke out, there was no peace to be found on the crescent continent. The catastrophe escalated to the point where the Qingyi Sect had no choice but to intervene. To quell the conflicts among the various sects, the Qingyi Sect spent thirty years during which the core strength of the sect was exhausted. Seven or eight out of ten generations of elites perished, and the newest generation of disciples could not be replenished in time."

"Malicious human nature could still not be reformed. The nine major sects, which had previously been locked in mortal combat, now turned their spears squarely against Yingdai. They launched sneak attacks, poisoned wells... employing every vile trick imaginable. The Qingyi Sect resisted for ten years before suffering a crushing defeat. Disciples and elders were slaughtered almost to the last, with only a handful managing to escape. I was among them, lucky enough to survive. After the Sect Master fell in battle, Bo Huachang, the acting master of the Qingyi Sect, drove the Five Spiritual Arts to disrupt the order of heaven and earth within Yingdai, turning the realm into a purgatory where any living creature perished instantly. This also forced the nine major sects, who wished to breach Yingdai and carve up its treasures, to return empty-handed."

"Yingdai became a dead zone. No matter what methods the nine major sects tried, they could not enter. Even the spiritual treasures in the seas surrounding Yingdai fell into complete chaos. The five spiritual energies raged like mad demons, distorting everything there. The Qingyi Sect was buried within its own spiritual path."

"I escaped, but I still harbored hope. I founded the Fengyang Gate and spent forty years building it into a thriving force. During that time, I heard news of many surviving members of the Qingyi Sect who perished miserably while attacking the nine major sects for revenge. I knew I had to lie low, for the mission I carried was different from anyone else's."

"Yet, I was exposed nonetheless. The Myriad Demons Sect came and exterminated everyone in my sect. Ah—the one who escaped was, once again, myself. I could not die. I drifted along the currents of the sea for over ten days until I collapsed from exhaustion onto a large ship. Traveling aboard it for six years, I arrived at a distant place—a land the nine major sects could never reach. There, I established a small Qingyi Sect. But I have grown old, and my cultivation was heavily crippled when the Fengyang Gate was destroyed. I can no longer develop and expand this sect, and yet my mission has no one to be entrusted to."

"I have no choice but to conceal everything, along with my aspirations, within that small piece of wood. My spiritual energy can only sustain me this far. Whoever you are, if you can discover and open it, you shall be a disciple of the Qingyi Sect. I beg you to return to that crescent continent, avenge your founding masters, and rebuild the true Qingyi Sect upon Yingdai. Of course, I do not force you. If you are unwilling, do not touch the contents within the wood. Should you touch them, you will fall under the oath-curse of the Qingyi Sect. That curse can never be broken. If you fail to fulfill my ardent wish before the age of fifty, you will die, and the contents within the wood will return to the wood, awaiting the arrival of the next Qingyi Sect disciple. You have the right to choose, but I must tell you, this ardent wish is impossible to fulfill. Ah..."

In the blink of an eye, Sun Zikai returned to the cold, dim room, where a wooden tablet had appeared before him. He picked it up and placed it in his palm. A spell formula surfaced in his mind; this was indeed a storage vessel containing spatial arts, much like Jiang Yujin's bracelet. His mind perceived an extremely complex spiritual art—that must be the oath-curse spoken of by the man. Sun Zikai hesitated for a moment. Without touching the oath-curse, he could not access the contents of the wooden tablet; yet once he touched the curse, he would be bound to avenge that fellow. It seemed like a choice, but a moment later, Sun Zikai said coldly, "Sorry, I don't need to choose."

A sliver of energy pierced into the spiritual art, transforming into a pair of scissors that snipped through the threads of spiritual energy one by one. The so-called unbreakable oath-curse was directly obliterated by Sun Zikai.

Sun Zikai instantly felt a pang of regret and muttered to himself, "I shouldn't have destroyed this art; this completely ruins his hope."

Meanwhile, the contents of the wooden tablet were revealed with crystal clarity. It was a pile of rare treasures, but what attracted Sun Zikai the most were five books cradled by those treasures: for fire, *The Five-Flavored Jiawu Free Fire-Control Art*; for water, *The Qingyi Thirty-Six Dipper Profound Art*; for wood, *The Longevity and Bliss Dao*; for metal, *The Tianshu Xuanji Royal Authority Law*; and for earth, *The Divine Refining Root-Bone Stepping Art*.

That fellow truly carried a distinct mission, for he had been entrusted with the five foundational spiritual arts of the Qingyi Sect. Sun Zikai promptly placed the wooden tablet back onto the shelf, kowtowed three resounding times, and declared, "Senior, I shall fulfill this wish for you, but the oath-curse is unnecessary. No one can strip away my freedom."