Volume One: Youthful Encounters in Humble Times Chapter 138: The New Dawn 3

The Daoist Lin calculated the odds, and the Nether Beast, having no choice but to resign itself to fate, could only yield. Before it was completely suppressed into the sea of Li Yu’s divine consciousness, it roared to the heavens, "Daoist Lin, I will remember you for as long as I live!"

Its voice echoed for a long time within Li Yu’s consciousness. From that moment on, a formal bond was established between Li Yu and the Nether Beast. Li Yu could sense the beast trapped within his spirit in real-time; its very breath and heartbeat were transmitted directly into his own perception.

Li Yu looked up at Daoist Lin, his eyes filled with inquiry and confusion. "Why trap the Nether Beast within my consciousness?"

Daoist Lin was growing increasingly weak, though he did not let it show on his face. He looked at Li Yu and explained, "It is true that I want it to guard your path, but it is also true that I want to protect it and let it serve you. After today, Tianmen Town will no longer be a place devoid of the Dao. This means that people from all factions can enter. Apart from the Confucianists, other factions have a far greater curiosity about Tianmen Town than they do about the Heavenly Gate itself. They will inevitably come to explore the Nether Sea, and whether the Nether Beast could survive such an ordeal is a question no one can answer."

Li Yu asked, "Are you saying that even the Nether Beast cannot handle those people?"

Daoist Lin’s gaze deepened. "Do not underestimate them. Their strength may appear to be at the peak of the mortal fourteenth realm, but that does not mean their limits end there—not like your master. When not facing the masses, my strength is also at the peak of the fourteenth realm, but if I were to choose to break through, it would take me only a moment. Moreover, I could borrow other Great Daos to bypass the Heavenly Tribulation and become a pseudo-immortal. They might be able to do the same!"

The Daoist paused here. Thinking of something else, he looked at Li Yu, deciding it was best to be honest. "Furthermore, the ones you face in the future may not just be these hidden giants, but even sages from ages past. After countless years of tempering and cultivation, no one knows what heights they have reached."

Li Yu felt a chill of trepidation, but then he wondered, "Master, will I truly have to face them? Do you have such faith that I will eventually reach a height where they will take notice of me?"

The Daoist never doubted his faith in Li Yu. Li Yu was too unique—so unique that the moment he stepped onto the path of cultivation, he would naturally draw the attention of many. Moreover, as the spirit of the Immortal had suggested, it was highly likely that Li Yu did not originate from the mortal realm. The Daoist had considered this before, but after his dialogue with the Immortal’s spirit, he was certain: Li Yu was absolutely not of this mortal world.

Regardless of where he came from, since he existed, he would not be easily extinguished. He must have a mission to fulfill, and before that mission was complete, he would not die easily. With Li Yu’s talent, climbing to the pinnacle was merely a matter of time.

The Daoist patted his head and smiled. "You probably don’t realize how special you are. If you cannot attain the Dao and reach the summit, I cannot imagine anyone else in this world who could."

Before leaving, the Daoist looked once more at the surrounding Ruins. He said to Li Yu, "Little Fish, if you ever achieve success in your cultivation, remember to return here. I can feel that this place is not as simple as it seems. Sometimes, what we see is merely what others want us to see. Between the so-called real and the illusory, we must find the true answer for ourselves."

Li Yu nodded, engraving every word into his heart, for these were the Daoist’s final parting words. The realization brought him great sorrow, but there were too many things in the world that even the powerful, like the Immortals or Daoist Lin, were powerless to change.

Dawn was approaching. Instead of taking the path back to the Yi-Yi Temple, the Daoist led Li Yu to another location.

The Blade Saint was trapped by two old hags within the Dead Domain of the Netherworld, and his situation was not as optimistic as one might have hoped. The Blade Saint was currently at the middle stage of the fourteenth realm, far from the threshold of ascension, making it difficult to cope with the Dead Domain. Had he not reached the pinnacle of the mortal blade path, the pervasive death energy would have long since corrupted him, turning him into a walking corpse.

However, in this world, fortune and disaster are inextricably linked. He used this crisis to hone his blade path, making it more refined and pure. He had always wondered: was the mortal path of the blade and sword truly the limit? Was there no further realm or transformation of power?

Throughout this ordeal, he polished his blade work. While he had yet to see how his hypothesis could be realized, his suspicion grew deeper. Under the pressure of his blade, the Dead Domain, though not broken, no longer carried that aura of hopeless despair. His path was one of hegemony and tyranny, a path of absolute annihilation that recognized no master in heaven or earth. When it encountered a stronger force, if it could not be extinguished in an instant, it would feed back into itself, questioning: *Am I still the strongest? Am I still the path of absolute annihilation?*

By being trapped in the Dead Domain, his blade path—having not been immediately swallowed—began this process of reinforcement. After a long period of trial, the Blade Saint finally confirmed his suspicion: there was indeed a realm higher than the mortal stage of "returning to simplicity." Otherwise, how could those so-called Immortals maintain their status after ascending if their own Daos did not advance?

Could the Immortal Realm truly be peaceful? Was there no strife? The Blade Saint did not believe it. He had always held that wherever there are people, there is a world of conflict, and where there is conflict, there is blood, hidden schemes, and struggle.

Now, he had found the proof. To him, this was a blessing and a rare opportunity. But for the two old hags of the Ghost Clan, it was a disaster. Maintaining the Dead Domain was already a grueling task; the fact that the Blade Saint was constantly attacking it made it nearly impossible for them to sustain. Initially, they thought victory was only a matter of time, but the outcome had left them devastated. Now, escaping with their lives had become the greater challenge.

A Dead Domain, once deployed, cannot vanish on its own. It only breaks if the trapped person cuts their way out, if they are killed, or if the creators themselves are destroyed. As they fell into despair, they sensed that the third old hag, who had gone to track the Nether Beast, had vanished entirely. This meant their excursion to Tianmen Town was a total failure—a complete wipeout.

When Daoist Lin arrived with Li Yu, they saw a dark, spherical object pulsing with an aura of hopeless silence. Suddenly, a beam of light burst from within, slicing the surrounding space and bringing clarity to the void. Daoist Lin had kept a portion of his focus on the Blade Saint; losing such a talent here would be too great a loss. He arrived just in time, and it appeared the man had even made progress in his cultivation—now only a step away from the upper stage of the fourteenth realm.

Daoist Lin looked at the Blade Saint and smiled sincerely. "Congratulations. You are only a step away from the fourteenth realm."

The Blade Saint looked at the Daoist without a word. Instead, he unleashed an invisible strike—his most satisfying, soul-infused blade, the strongest he had ever unleashed in his life. Yet, before it could even reach the Daoist, it was dissolved into nothingness by the faint, primordial aura surrounding him.

Seeing this, the Blade Saint sheathed his blade. "I thought that since you were so weak and not in your true form, I might be able to compare notes. I didn't expect that I wouldn't even be qualified to get near you."

The Daoist laughed. "It is not that you are weak; it is that I am too strong."

The Blade Saint did not comment, though his attitude acknowledged the truth of the statement. He then asked, "Is your Dao truly that powerful?"

"Hard to say," the Daoist replied. "But it is stronger than most Daos in this world."

"What is this Great Dao?" the Blade Saint asked.

The Daoist saw no reason to hide it now. "The Dao of Primordial Beginning."

The Blade Saint muttered the name, then looked at Li Yu and asked the Daoist, "Will he master it?"

His meaning was clear: if Li Yu mastered it, he would challenge the Dao of Primordial Beginning once Li Yu had attained his own path.

Li Yu shook his head. "I will not." After a moment, he added, "But I will master others."

The Blade Saint did not ask what those others were, only asking the Daoist, "Which is stronger—yours or his?"

Daoist Lin felt a surge of pride and smiled. "A disciple should, of course, be stronger than his master!"

Li Yu looked at the Daoist as if to say, *Master, you shouldn't be swindling people like that!*

Daoist Lin ignored him, for in his heart, he truly believed it. He felt Li Yu’s path to the Dao would be even more extraordinary, and his final achievements would surely surpass his own.

Having received the answer he sought, the Blade Saint bowed to the Daoist and said, "Farewell," before vanishing into the distance.

Daoist Lin watched him go, sighing to Li Yu, "Little Fish, he is a good man. If you ever meet him again, treat him with honesty."

Li Yu nodded. He found the man simple—perhaps difficult to talk to, but at his core, a straightforward person. Dealing with such a man was far less exhausting than dealing with those who hid knives behind their smiles.

At that moment, the sun broke through the surface of the sea, gilding the horizon with gold and washing the ocean in a bright, yellow hue. It looked as if a fire were burning in the distance, consuming the darkness and leaving no place for shadows to hide.

Daoist Lin looked toward the distance and whispered, "The sun has risen."