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Chapter 397 The Secret of Heaven Remains Unseen
"Steward Qin has given the order to activate the mountain gate formation."

"Activate the mountain gate formation?"

"Yes, activate the great formation immediately. Do not stop any carriages coming from the west from entering the courtyard."

On a cool afternoon in autumn, the disciple on duty at the mountain gate received a message from the head of the academy, and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Because the Heavenly Academy's mountain gate array is never fully opened, and carriages are never allowed inside, even when the three major immortal sects sent envoys a few days ago, they stopped their carriages on the Nishan Divine Path.

This inevitably raises the question: who exactly is coming?

Despite their doubts, the disciples on duty still took the command tokens and opened the mountain gate ahead of time to wait.

Before long, five carriages from the west city arrived with a whoosh. Without stopping for a moment, they drove along the Nishan Sacred Way into the courtyard, and then sped towards the inner courtyard, entering the vast forest. Amidst a cloud of dust, they headed towards the Zizai Hall.

When the carriage stopped on the white lawn, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu immediately jumped off the carriage and went to the third carriage.

Yan Shuyi had already gotten out of the car, followed closely by Yuan Caiwei. Ji You was lying in the carriage, just as before, with her eyes closed and no breath showing.

"Master of Appraisal..."

“Send him into the palace.”

"Yes."

After Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu responded, they helped Ji You out and, together with the others who ran over after him, led him toward the deep hall.

At this moment, Yan Shu, who should have followed, paused slightly in front of the palace gate.

As the footsteps echoing from the empty hall faded into the distance, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she turned and headed down the mountain, leaving Mount Ni alone.

The disciples guarding the mountain gate were trying to guess the identity of the person in the carriage when they suddenly saw the young master of Lingjian Mountain descending the mountain from the courtyard, and they were slightly taken aback.

When they came to their senses, they found that she had already left Nishan and headed towards the city.

They were somewhat surprised that the young appraiser was at the Heavenly Academy, but they were even more surprised that the young appraiser of Spirit Sword Mountain seemed different from before. She was no longer as aloof and confident as before. On the contrary, her incomparably beautiful face was filled with timidity and fear.

Meanwhile, Ji You had already been brought into the palace.

Zuo Qiuyang had been waiting in the front hall for a long time, and when he saw Ji You, his Dao heart trembled.

To be honest, even though Cao Jingsong's message was very clear, he still didn't believe the so-called story of Ji You's "soul returning to heaven".

Because his master was extremely concerned about Ji You when he passed away, he felt that Ji You would not die, and even if he did die, it should not be so quiet.

But when he actually saw Ji You, he realized that the other person really had no soul left in his body.

More accurately, he felt that what he saw was not Ji You, but an empty shell, just like the porcelain vase in the hall, which was gorgeous on the outside but empty inside.

How could this be?
"Place him on the bed in the back hall."

You Yingqiu also looked at Ji You with a solemn expression, and after observing for a moment, she gave instructions.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu nodded in agreement and immediately joined the others in helping their son-in-law toward the back hall.

Having lost all breath, Ji You offered no resistance whatsoever, like a puppet that could be manipulated at will, and was easily transported to the inner palace.

"It truly has lost its soul..."

"There was no breath, and the pulse was dead."

Zuo Qiuyang and You Yingqiu first examined Ji You in their own way, and the more they looked, the more serious they became.

"What did Sect Leader Yuan say?"

They looked at Yuan Caiwei, and saw this daughter of the Dan Sect speak in a hoarse voice, telling them everything about her father.

After hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang didn't say anything more. He got up and took a few steps away, while You Yingqiu instructed the disciples in the hall to close the door and sat cross-legged in front of Ji You.

With the soul gone, the Pill Sect naturally had no way to deal with it.

They wanted to use divination techniques to observe the secrets of heaven because they felt it was their last hope.

You Yingqiu focused her mind and silently chanted, and in the next instant, an endless and mysterious aura erupted from her body, and her eyes instantly flashed with a surging silver light.

It was a light unlike any other divine light, pure and pristine, which in an instant resonated with the heavens and earth, enveloping the entire Zizai Peak.

At this moment, within You Yingqiu's third eye, countless things began to dissipate. The main hall, the bed, and the people surrounding her were all scattered into long lines that suddenly stretched into the distance.

This is the supreme secret technique in the Heavenly Book inheritance, a kind of insight technique that points directly to the Great Dao. The practitioner can see through the appearance of all things and glimpse the "Dao" and "Li" intertwined behind them.

At that time, every blade of grass and every tree was no longer an ordinary thing in his eyes, but a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth, and an extension of the Dao.

When one's gaze falls upon a person, one can see the endless threads of cause and effect that entwine them, including past karma, present circumstances, and future possibilities, all clearly discernible like the lines on one's palm.

At this moment, Ji You was also a line in her eyes, straight and long.

Then she gently waved her hand, and saw the lifeline representing Ji You begin to shrink rapidly toward her, flowing inch by inch through her palm.

A person's life is extremely long, and the cause and effect are even more complex and vast. Trying to see all the connections puts immense pressure on the practitioner's soul.

But You Yingqiu knew that she didn't need to see that much.

They were unwilling to accept Ji You's death and just wanted to find a glimmer of hope. She also didn't believe that Ji You's soul would return so suddenly, so she only needed to look at his fate.

She wanted to see his future to confirm whether that glimmer of hope existed.

Suddenly, suddenly, suddenly——

The long thread that Ji You conjured kept wrapping around her palm. After an unknown amount of time, the thread suddenly tightened, and in an instant, all that followed was a void of darkness.

Upon seeing this, You Yingqiu fell silent, and only after a long while did she slowly open her eyes.

"how's it going?"

"He has no future."

Cao Jingsong was already suffering from internal injuries, and upon hearing this, a trickle of blood immediately spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes instantly lost their light, while Yuan Chen suddenly shouted "Sister!" and rushed towards Yuan Caiwei, who was suddenly unsteady on her feet.

Only Zuo Qiuyang remained with a furrowed brow.

The revelation left by the master when he ascended to heaven was that if they didn't know what to do next, they should see what Ji You would do. But if he really died like that, how would they see it?

As he pondered, Zuo Qiuyang's eyes suddenly widened slightly as he noticed something amiss.

"Wasn't it said that the Junior Appraiser also came along? Where is the Appraiser?"

"Master of Appraisal..."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who were already on the verge of tears, hurriedly turned around, only to find that their master was really not in the Zizai Hall, and their eyes couldn't help but become somewhat surprised.

Something's not right. Our master clearly followed us all the way here, never leaving the young master's side for even a moment. Why isn't he in the palace now?

The two were stunned for a moment, then quickly walked towards the outside of the hall. They first looked at the carriage on the white lawn, and then flew all the way to the gate of the Heavenly Academy, but did not see any trace of the Master of Appraisal.

The two stood frozen on the sacred path of Mount Ni, staring at the vast city of Shengjing for a moment.

Although their mistress had visited Shengjing many times, she always stayed with her son-in-law and didn't go to many places. The place she stayed most often was her son-in-law's residence, so they felt that their mistress would definitely not go too far.

While they were pondering, the two suddenly looked at each other and simultaneously remembered a place. Then they flew towards the city.

The sun was tilting slightly downwards, and the sudden autumn breeze added a touch of coolness to the city.

Before long, two figures landed in front of the Wulu Trading Company.

When they pushed open the wooden door, they saw the young master of Lingjian Mountain standing silently in front of the threshold of the main hall.

"Have you finished reading it? Did you say when he'll wake up?" Yan Shuyi couldn't help but ask when the two of them arrived.

"Master of Appraisal..."

“Even sleeping for a long time takes time, whether it’s a year or two, or ten or eight years, it will take time. Anyway, it’s just a stranger I’ve met a few times, so I’m not afraid to wait too long, really.”

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu both lowered their heads upon hearing this, and then shook their heads in response.

It's not that he'll wake up, nor is it that he'll sleep for a long time; this head shaking means he won't wake up.

Upon hearing this answer, the appraiser fell silent for a moment.

Her relationship with Ji You has always been strange, aloof and full of complaints, but she is actually quite attached to him, so she never thought that he might leave her.

How could this happen? Everything was going so smoothly.

Yan Shuyi's eyes trembled slightly; she couldn't understand it at all.

Seeing her reaction, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who had been holding back their tears all the way, finally couldn't hold back anymore and they started to fall.

They felt they shouldn't have come; the judge had been watching over the young master the whole way, and perhaps already knew the outcome.

But the appraiser was really timid and didn't want to hear it from someone else's mouth, which is why she suddenly left. But even though she hid here, she still couldn't escape this bad news.

I was meditating in the mountains when I suddenly saw a flash of light. I followed it and flew over to investigate, and that's how I ended up here.

【What I mean is, how many children does Your Excellency want?】 【Hurry up, call me husband.】

[He only loves roasted sweet potatoes; the high and mighty Little Appraiser of Spirit Sword Mountain is really easy to please.]

[You seem to have gained some weight? Well, being a little chubby is cute too.]

Yan Shuyi sat quietly on the threshold, touching her lower abdomen, the image of the strange man constantly appearing in her mind.

I had many opportunities to write to him, but he always commented that I had gained weight.

She regretted it a little, regretting that she hadn't told the scoundrel directly that she hadn't just gained weight, but was pregnant with his child.

"What did you say? Ji You is dead?"

"Impossible, wasn't it that the one who died was the Divine Ascension Realm cultivator from the Dao Inquiry Sect?"

In the council hall of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, the Huo family elders, who had not slept all night, were filled with shock upon hearing the news from the sacred site of their ancestors.

Upon hearing this, the disciple who came to deliver the message immediately bowed and said, "He is indeed dead. It was the senior brother who came from the mountains who told me. They said that Ji You suddenly fell from the sky after successfully breaking through to the next realm. The sect leader of Danzong examined him and said that his soul had returned to the heavens."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire council chamber fell silent.

Before long, they all stood up, their eyes trembling as if the earth had turned upside down: "The soul has returned to the heavenly realm, did they witness this news with their own eyes?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"He was saying he was about to break through to a higher realm just the night before, so why did he die so suddenly?"

"Some people say it might be a problem with the cultivation technique, because Ji You just happened to lose his breath at the moment he broke through the cultivation realm."

As soon as the words were spoken, the elders of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion were stunned again. After a short while, they suddenly felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.

Why did they stay up all night?
It wasn't because Shenyou of the Dao Asking Sect died, nor because Ji You was about to break through to the next realm, but because they had been pondering the Sect Master's words, "It's unnecessary."

Ever since Ji You grew up, he has been opposing the Immortal Sect and even killed several elders. Now he is probably even more difficult to deal with, which is something the whole world understands.

But why would the sect leader think that eliminating him would be a pointless endeavor?

Indeed, it would be difficult for a rural cultivator to catch the eye of a supreme being like the sect leader of an immortal sect. But the problem is that Ji You is no ordinary rural cultivator; he has already threatened the Dao heart of a direct disciple.

Suddenly, they had their answer.

No wonder, no wonder Ji You repeatedly defied the immortals' might but was ignored by the sect leader. It turns out that this is what happened in the end when he cultivated his physical body!

He was not a menace to the cultivator community. From the moment he became famous for his body-refining technique, he was destined to be just a brief interlude!

Since Ji You is destined to die, wouldn't sending someone to assassinate him be pointless?

The Chen Clan and the Dao Seeking Sect members, who were also shocked, received the messages one after another.

They also went through a phase of disbelief and heated discussion, leaving them speechless with astonishment.

"When one cultivates to the point of enlightenment and reaches the realm of divine travel, one's divine sense gradually begins to abandon the physical body, allowing it to decay. When one ascends, one even needs to specifically shatter the shell that imprisons one. It is no exaggeration to say that the divine soul kills the physical body."

"So, in the later stages of body refinement, does it turn out the other way around, allowing the physical body to kill the soul?"

In particular, Shang Xingkong, the vice sect leader of the Dao Asking Sect, stared intently, thinking to himself that even if he did nothing, that rural private cultivator was destined to die, because he was cultivating a path that led to certain death.

Yes, where in the world is there such terrifying talent, able to kill a Divine Realm cultivator with bare fists at just over twenty years old?

It turns out that everything comes at a price, but because body cultivators are extremely rare, no one knows that the price will be so severe.

The autumn wind is chilly, and the setting sun is sinking in the west.

Many members of prominent families who had gone to the sacred site of the sages to observe Ji Youchongjing quietly returned home, and then the story began to circulate.

A mysterious expert at the Divine Realm came to assassinate him. Ji You killed the expert during his second breakthrough, and then fell when he reached the peak of his breakthrough. After being examined by the sect leader of the Pill Sect, he was declared to have returned to the Heavenly Dao.

Just like the old saying in Qingyun, "Good news doesn't go out the door, but bad news spreads throughout the world," this news spread like wildfire in an instant, from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

"I don't understand. Is the Ji You you're talking about the same Ji You from the Heavenly Academy?"

"It's him. I've heard several people say that."

"How is that possible? You all saw what happened at the Dao Discussion Conference. Even the Immortal Sect had a hard time dealing with him. How could he suddenly die?"

"Wasn't he trying to break through to the next realm at the Holy Land of the Sages? It's said that there was a big problem with his cultivation technique. The Dan Sect Master, Yuan Li, personally said that he had already returned to the Heavenly Dao. Many people saw it."

"This...this is too sudden?"

“Body refinement is a thankless and arduous path. In the thousand years of Qingyun, so many people have tried in vain, but he seems to have divine assistance. I felt something was strange at the time. Think about it, if this body refinement technique is so powerful, why don't the immortal sect bloodlines cultivate it?”

"It makes sense..."

The news spread quickly and soon reached Shengjing.

First were the aristocratic families who had close ties with the Central Plains, followed by the young men from the capital who often drank and made merry with the sons of these families.

Zhao Yunyue and others were all astonished, and it took them multiple confirmations with the messenger to confirm that the news was true.

In fact, long before the news came, they had noticed that the Heavenly Academy had suddenly opened its mountain gate formation and welcomed in five carriages. They were wondering why, but now they suddenly realized that it was because of Ji You.

He actually cultivated himself to the point where his soul returned to the heavens.

As the setting sun dipped westward and dusk slowly descended, a scholar stumbled and staggered towards the Nishan Sacred Way in the brightly lit Chunhua Lane.

The disciples guarding the mountain gate knew the visitor's identity and had also heard the rumors. Unexpectedly, they did not stop him but silently let him into the mountain gate.

Brother Ji, everyone outside is talking nonsense...

Kuang Cheng entered the vast forest, traversing through the dense thickets.

He was just an ordinary mortal who had studied the classics for over a decade but was too weak to even kill a chicken. Moreover, when this place was originally planned, no ordinary person was expected to enter, which is why the forest was full of dangerous peaks and dead ends.

So even though the disciples of the academy tacitly allowed him to pass, he still stumbled and staggered through the forest for more than an hour.

When he ran out of the forest and into the inner courtyard, the fiery sunset clouds had dissipated, replaced by a deep night and a sky full of stars.

His robes were completely torn, and blood seeped from his knees, dripping down his trousers.

"Has Ji You truly returned to the heavens?"

"That's right, the disciples of the Freedom Hall witnessed it with their own eyes."

"Was it really not another immortal sect that secretly assassinated him?"

"It is said that someone ambushed him when he broke through to the next realm, but that person was killed in the end. He did indeed die the moment he broke through."

In the cool evening breeze, Kuang Cheng, who was walking through the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest, heard countless discussions, but he ignored them all and gritted his teeth as he headed up the mountain.

Fake, all fake.

You scions of noble families are just jealous of Brother Ji's exceptional talent because he has no background, so you spend your days idly making up stories.

He muttered to himself as he climbed to the Zizai Hall. Under the watchful eyes of the hall's disciples, he entered the depths of the hall, but stopped abruptly at the sight before him.

Inside the main hall, Ji You lay quietly on the bed, while Cao Jingsong sat beside him, his face ashen and his eyes bloodshot.

To his right, Wen Zhengxin and the Lu sisters stood with their heads bowed, their faces streaked with tears and their eyes red and swollen.

In addition, there was Ban Yangshu, who kept sighing, and the Fengzhou disciples who stood silently in place, forming a circle.

Like Kuang Cheng, they all came after hearing the rumors. It took them a long time to accept the truth, but they found that they simply couldn't accept it.

Kuang Cheng was stunned for a long time before looking at the Dan Sect disciple who was curled up in a ball in the hall: "Yuan Chen..."

Hearing someone call his name, Yuan Chen blankly raised his head, and after seeing who it was, he couldn't help but open his mouth: "Brother Kuang."

"Why is Brother Ji sleeping here?" Kuang Cheng's voice trembled slightly.

"Brother Kuang, my brother-in-law has passed away."

"What exactly is going on?"

"It happened suddenly when I was breaking through to a higher realm. Father said it might be a problem with my cultivation..."

You scholar, your heart is truly yellowed with greed!

Have you received your monthly salary yet? I'm broke and have no money for food. Could you lend me ten or twenty taels of silver?

[You're always doing these serious things, when are you going to have a big, healthy baby boy?]

The word "gentleman" is too much; I am not worthy of it.

Come here, let me see if your dog head has been chopped off by the demon race for talking nonsense.

The past events flashed before Kuang Cheng's eyes, one after another, each one seeming to tear him apart.

Amidst this endless fear, Kuang Cheng turned and walked out of the hall.

The Imperial Library has a vast collection of books, including some ancient texts passed down from antiquity. He needs to find a way to...

(End of this chapter)