Legend of the Great Sage

However, only the heavens knew just how lonely she had been in the small world dominated by martial arts practitioners as a cultivator. She was like a seabird born into a world without any of her own kind, flying towards an indistinct target in the distance alone and stubbornly.

She had also possessed endless fantasies for the future before as a little girl, yet despite clearly being born a beauty, faced with countless suitors and temptations, she remained unfazed. She had also wished that she could shake up the jianghu as a female hero, not just some Ten Great Beauty, yet she could only remain locked up in the daoist temple despite possessing the talent to become a great martial arts practitioner.

She gave up everything for it, yet the only thing she could rely on was a vague and ungrounded legend. As she advanced alone through the darkness, even she felt like she could not hold on for much longer. Afterwards, he appeared and told her that the path she had chosen was correct!

His light illuminated everything.

Even after all these years, she could still remember her trembling emotions back then, which were even more intense than when he claimed her for the first time. Of course, she was extremely happy back then as well. Even though they had only met recently, she basically did not reject him. Emotions and desires had always been common in people, let alone the fact that it was him.

Others said she was cold in personality, but he said the path of cultivation was destined to be lonely. She could still remember what he said when they parted, “No matter how indifferent you seem, I know you are a person who values your relationships and your feelings. I’m afraid you still have something you can’t let go of.”

Little did he know that the only relationship she valued in her life was him. There was nothing else she could not let go of either.

That was why she had to constantly remind herself that Li Qingshan was only a regular cultivator, and his cultivation back then was only around the third heavenly tribulation, a Soul Nascence cultivator. Perhaps he seemed very powerful and very special in the small world, but there were countless others like him in the Human realm, which she could also achieve as long as she continued working hard.

That was how she had tried to dilute the impression he had left behind.

However, several decades later, when she suddenly heard his name once again, she suddenly realised at that moment that all of her efforts had been futile. It was like a birthmark she was born with. It was not something that could be washed away with water.

For a moment, she basically had no idea how to respond.

Lingxiaozi was taken aback as well. Never had he seen such a lively expression on Yang Miaozhen’s face. She was basically several times more enchanting than any of his memories. If he could spend everyday with her and see that kind of expression all the time, that was a life unlike a god’s, but even better than a god’s. Even whether he could attain enlightenment no longer mattered.

However, the disciples were all engrossed by the legend. They all discussed together.

“Even Yang Soul cultivators perished. Are demonfolk really that terrifying?”

“Is Demon God Taowu a True Immortal?”

“You don’t say! Of course, he’s a True Immortal. All twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain are True Immortals!”

“Then senior brother, just how is that Li Qingshan so powerful?”

Everything that Lingxiaozi said was far too distant to them. Yang Soul cultivators were already existences beyond their reach, while Demon Gods were even more inconceivable. As for exactly what kind of monster that Li Qingshan who had managed to force back a Demon God was, they basically could not even imagine it.

The Qingyang Master shook his head and interrupted them. “That Li Qingshan is not just powerful. It’s said that it’s only been several decades since he ascended to the Human realm. In the beginning, he was only at the third heavenly tribulation, but he’s said to have reached the sixth heavenly tribulation already, having been taken to Sukhāvatī to serve as a sangharama guardian.”

Clearly, he had closely investigated the situation of the Myriad sect before this. As the leader of the direct disciples, first senior brother Li Qingshan was an existence he could not ignore. However, when he said that, he also furrowed his brows in disbelief, no different from the disciples around him.

“How’s that possible!?”

The disciples all cried out in an uproar. Even Lingxiaozi was no exception. Clearly, he had only overheard some rumours about Li Qingshan. He did not know the details as well as the Qingyang Master.

To them, Yang Miaozhen was already a supreme genius to have undergone the second heavenly tribulation in just a few decades, reaching the peak of Golden Core, yet during the same time period, he had consecutively undergone the fourth, fifth, and sixth heavenly tribulations that were even more difficult. It did not seem possible no matter how they thought of it. Their surprise was so intense that they even forgot their respect for their master, unable to hide their doubts over what their master had just said.

Only Yang Miaozhen was unsurprised. She only found some slight understanding, confirming her judgement—back then in the small world, Li Qingshan’s cultivation really was just at the third heavenly tribulation.

Of course, while there were many people who shared the same name in the world, and “Li Qingshan” was not a particularly uncommon name either, she basically had no doubts at all. She was one hundred percent certain that Li Qinsghan was that Li Qingshan. No matter how many Li Qingshans there were in the world, there was no other Li Qingshan who could do something like that apart from that Li Qingshan.

The hero king who had his fun back then in the small world had continued to the Human realm to have his fun. It did not seem very strange at all.

That’s just how that man is!

However, to her fascination, the Qingyang Master also became rather uncertain when faced with his disciples’ doubts. “Yeah, there’s always a possibility that he didn’t undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation! He is a Yang Soul cultivator at the very least though, or it would have been impossible for him to become the first senior brother of the Myriad sect.”

She almost wanted to laugh, even though she had no idea why.

The entire experience was probably like a child who constantly worked hard to surpass his father, until one day, the child gradually grew up and become larger and stronger, only to discover that his father was not as large and strong as he once remembered, even shorter and skinnier than other people, only to suddenly discover that his father’s hidden identity was a billionaire.

There probably were not a lot of people in the world that had experienced such a strange feeling.

Yang Miaozhen smiled. The deck suddenly fell silent. All of the disciples stared at her blankly.

The male disciples glanced at her before immediately shifting their gaze, but they could not help but look over again. It was as if they were faced with an overly dazzling ball of light, one that they could not stare into but also not ignore. Instead, the female disciples were all glued to her. There was no envy, only admiration.

Lingxiaozi basically could not control himself anymore. His head had begun to spin. He had no idea why she had suddenly smiled like that. Despite knowing her for all this time, he felt like she had never smiled like that before.

“Miaozhenzi, y- you know that Li Qingshan?” Even the Qingyang Master became slightly excited. He was not like his own disciple, blinded by lust. He clearly noticed Yang Miaozhen’s abnormal behaviour.

“Master, I do.” Yang Miaozhen kept talking to a minimum, but she did not lie.

“Junior sister, you know Li Qingshan?” “Surely it’s not just someone else with the same name!”

The disciples were all astonished. No matter how much they respected Yang Miaozhen, they struggled to connect the distant legend with the person right before their eyes.

“Then… what is your relationship with him?”

The Qingyang Master became more and more excited, basically looking at Yang Miaozhen with even more fervency than how Lingxiaozi looked at her. He wanted to join the Myriad sect, but he also wanted to get his worth. If he could, he wanted a little more resources, giving him the chance to take a step further and undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation. The situation between a direct disciple and an inner disciple, a Yin Soul cultivator and a Yang Soul cultivator, was drastically different.

If he could use any relationships with the firsts senior brother of the Myriad sect and have Li Qingshan recruit him into the sect, the treatment he would receive would definitely be better than if he joined himself. At the same time, he would have someone to rely on when the crisis arrived. At the very least, he would not be simply cast aside as a sacrificial piece.

Yang Miaozhen hesitated. She wanted to say that he had once been her husband, but when they parted back then, he had said himself that they were not husband and wife. He was helping her let go, but it had always been something that she had cared very much about.

She deliberated over her thoughts. “In the small world, I gave birth to a child for him.”

“No, that’s impossible!” Lingxiaozi shuddered in disbelief. “They must just share the same name.” He refused to believe it, yet he was also convinced. If it was not a man like that, how could he have stolen her heart?

However, the Qingyang Master was overjoyed, except he still had some doubts, afraid that they really just shared the same name and he was celebrating over nothing.

By now, Myriad city had already arrived right before their eyes.

On the shallow ocean, the imposing statue of a person gradually emerged from the misty water vapour, thick-browed, resolute, and daring in appearance, clad in armour with a blade in his hand as if he was guarding the Myriad sect. It was probably the product of some direct disciple’s attempt to suck up to him. Everyone believed the struggle over the position of first senior brother since Lin Xuan’s passing had now settled, and the Myriad sect was about to welcome another lengthy reign.

The Qingyang Master pointed at the statue and asked, “Like that?”

Yang Miaozhen stared at the statue. She also seemed to be enamoured, murmuring, “Identical.”

Lingxiaozi was ashen. The last of his fantasies were extinguished.

Why would the Qingyang Master still care about his first disciple’s feelings? Holding back his excitement, he asked, “My disciple, how did you end up parting?” With her legs of unparalleled beauty, why did she have to come to his measly daoist temple to cultivate? If she had joined the Myriad sect right from the beginning, she would have already become a Soul Nascence cultivator at the very least with her talent and Li Qingshan’s care. Surely there were not any ill feelings involved?

TL: Remember, the Chinese aesthetic of beauty is long, slender legs.

My disciple? Yang Miaozhen wanted to roll her eyes. The thing that had left her quite disillusioned after arriving in the Human realm was that cultivators were not as free of desires and devoted to enlightenment as the legends said. They probably did not have Li Qingshan’s valiant, unwavering, and resolute spirit either.

Often, within a group of people, she would instead resemble a cultivator the most, including this master of hers, the master of the Qingyang temple. Most of the time, he did not conduct himself properly, not only possessing a penchant for drinking, but also going out travelling all the time.

She said like it was common sense, “I wanted to ascend!”

“Was he good to you?” the Qingyang Master asked his last probing question.

“He was very good to me,” Yang Miaozhen answered without hesitation.

“My dear disciple, how do you think I’ve treated you?” The Qingyang Master rubbed his hands together, actually revealing a flattering smile towards his own disciple, but no one found it strange. Apart from Lingxiaozi, the other disciples of the Qingyang temple all looked towards Yang Miaozhen in admiration as well as if the statue just then was her.

Dear disciple? Yang Miaozhen finally could not help but roll her eyes.

By now, the ship had entered the bay and docked at the wharf. They had arrived at the Myriad sect.