Chapter 260 The North (1/2)

When Shen Lian took a leap into the clouds, Ye Liuyun was already there waiting for him.

”Brother Shen, you now seem to care more about women, this is different from before. I start to wonder whether you will one day find a Daoist partner,” Ye Liuyun spoke as he smiled.

Shen Lian said, ”I often just follow the flow. If I one day decide to have a change in lifestyle, don't be surprised.”

Ye Liuyun said, ”For the both of us to do as we please is not such an easy task anymore, even your Senior Apprentice-Brother, Chen Jianmei, who had been through a lot of challenges, can you really tell he is truly free?”

Shen Lian spoke softly, ”I realize Brother Ye seems to be really familiar with Qing Xuan, is it because Underworld Demon Sect has been studying Qing Xuan for a while?”

”I told you I know something you don't, and for the place I need to get to, not only do I need your help, whether I will be able to be released perhaps depend on you.” Ye Liuyun knocked on the throne softly and it made a pleasant sound, like the knocking of the jade between gentlemen.

Shen Lian said, ”If I can help, I will not say no.”

As the cloud and smoke went by with thousands of changes, Ye Liuyun said, ”I am leaving now, and I will inform you when I need you to help me get there.”

He intended to leave after he finished. Shen Lian said, ”Brother Ye, do you indeed not know where Ming Wang Temple's Huike the Venerable is?” Shen Lian respected Huike, and he also saw the terrible condition Ming Wang Temple was in, but he still hoped nothing happened to Huike. Speaking of which, for such an ancient temple to go through such a tragedy was worrying to Shen Lian. It was harder to read the message of the Gods now, and he could not say for sure that it would not happen to Qing Xuan.

Ye Liuyun said, ”Huike is unlike the previous generation of Acalas. He will still appear again, and till then there will be more interesting things happening at the Buddhist sect.” As he spoke, he was actually rejoicing at other people's misfortune – the Buddhist sect had some issue with the Underworld Demon Sect.

After Ye Liuyun left, Shen Lian was in deep thoughts. The condition at Ming Wang Temple was unexpected, and he could say the same for Ye Liuyun's appearance. He gained nothing from this, but now he owed Ye Liuyun. It seemed like there was an invisible force behind all these.

Ye Liuyun's mysterious aura, Huike's disappearance, the master celestial of sword who took the Chart of Celestial Extermination and another powerful person – they all made the world not as simple anymore. However, if one lacked power, the truth had no use to him.

The mana he possessed now was less than half of what it used to be. While it seemed to be purer and thicker, it was hard to say whether it was a gain or a loss.

If he chose a place and retreated for three to five years, it was possible for him to recover his mana to the peak, but he had no time for it. Thankfully, Shen Lian had other ways to improve quickly, and the only precondition was for the bestowment of the Empress to be successful.

Qingshui River had a wide flow region, and the widest river path was perhaps about five hundred miles. Even for the narrower place, it was about a hundred miles, and it was not even the widest river region in Yuan Continent. At the north of Yuan Continent, there was another river called Tongtian River. Its source was not known, but some said it led to heaven. Rarely did anyone managed to find its source.

Shen Lian landed from the cloud and the Qingshui River Deity Temple was in front of him. The spiritual power of up to a perimeter of a thousand miles all were gathered at the temple, and the power was expanding.

The door of the temple opened even without wind. The Empress walked out from within and looked at Shen Lian, ”You're finally back. I've been observing a perimeter of a thousand miles to look for you. I realized you have met a strong enemy, but unfortunately, I still can't leave this river, and hence I wasn't able to lend you a hand.”

Shen Lian said, ”The person has unpredictable power. Even if you helped me, it probably would not matter. It seems like you are not as powerful as I expect you to be after the bestowment.”

”I only took half of his real dragon blood. He managed to escape with a broken tail. Guangqing Celestial Sect is indeed powerful. Five days ago, Huang Longzi's Senior Apprentice-Brother, Huanzhen came, and he was looking for a student of Guangqing. There is no Guangqing's student here, but he thought I was lying. In addition to Huang Longzi's issue, he then fought with me. If not because of the imperial seal and the unlimited spiritual power of the river region, he almost destructed the temple,” the Empress spoke with a cheeriness. While she called them to be powerful, it seemed like it was not a big deal to her.

Shen Lian said, ”You've become one with the Qingshui River. Other than the ultimate technique that can separate you and the river, there isn't anything that can kill you. The Emperor Sealing Technique is indeed a legitimate path of Shen. However, it will be difficult for you to part from here. You probably can't escape from the tragedy of the world.”

With incredible benefit, naturally came harsh consequences. Tragedy of the world meant any tragedies which could affect the world – it could change the landscape of the world entirely. As the Empress was now the River Deity of Qingshui, her life was now tied to the rise and fall of the river. She could no longer escape.

”We will talk about the future when it comes. I realize something is odd after I become the River Deity.”

”What is it?”

”Follow me.”

The Empress did not lead Shen Lian to the temple but an odd space, or the divine region. Unlike Lvluo's divine region where it looked the same as the temple of the Goddess of Grains, this divine region was placed in the river. It looked like a crystal palace where it was surrounded by fish. Shen Lian knew that the outside world could not see it, and they could not enter either. This was the space of Dao.

When they took a seat, the Empress said, ”I found the Heaven.”

”What happened?” Shen Lian felt slightly shocked, as while the Heaven existed since ancient time, it had now disappeared. It was considered to be an organization that was built to rule the deities and the Celestials and Buddha. One could also call it a divine region or a place of enlightenment and some would even call it a Lingbao. It was located next to the Milky Way. During those days, where the Heaven was, was also referred to as Tianjie, another term for Heaven. It was nice as there was more than one Tianjie which welcomed the immortals.

”When I was cultivating, I felt the call from Heaven, but it was very minor and it was hard for me to detect,” The Empress spoke with a low voice.

”There are a lot of rumors about the Heaven. How do you know it was the calling from there?” Shen Lian asked.