Volume Two: Snow in Qinchuan Chapter Sixteen: Another World (Part Three)

Having been away for over a month, Feng Yang returned to Daoming Temple once again. After spending a short while in his room, he finally decided to go and have a chat with the Temple Master.

He and Shi Xie had already had a discussion in front of the Daoming Temple Master, so he had no intention of continuing to conceal his past.

The Daoming Temple Master watched Feng Yang arrive and raised an eyebrow. "Anything you wish to say?"

Feng Yang said, "Master, I come from a very distant place."

The Daoming Temple Master asked, "The Immortal Realm?"

Feng Yang shook his head. "If we define it by longevity, my hometown cannot even compare to the Daoyuan Continent. People there who reach the age of eighty are considered elderly, and those who reach a hundred are seen as having lived exceptionally long lives. People cannot ride objects through the air to travel, yet not everything there falls short of this place. The transmission of information in our world is far faster; even ordinary people can chat face-to-face across the entire world."

The Daoming Temple Master was startled, asking in astonishment, "Even ordinary people can communicate across a thousand miles?"

Thousand-mile communication was an extremely profound cultivation technique. While not overly difficult to learn, very few mastered it, primarily because most people lacked the vital energy required to support such a feat.

If there existed a world where even the most ordinary peasants could perform thousand-mile communication, it could only be the Immortal Realm.

Feng Yang paused, smiled, and shook his head. "It's not that high-end. It's just a technological product, which we call communication."

The moment the words left his mouth, Feng Yang realized that explaining it this way made it sound even more complicated, so he hurriedly corrected himself, "You can understand it as writing letters, except the messenger is not played by a person, but by some... rather hard-to-describe things."

The Daoming Temple Master frowned. "With lifespans so brief, the people over there surely cannot utilize vital energy."

"People without vital energy certainly cannot use thousand-mile communication." He fell into deep thought and said, "Perhaps you rely on some sort of medium? That is what grants you an ability similar to thousand-mile communication."

After a brief pause, his frown deepened. "If that is the case, that medium must be extremely fast; otherwise, if the information received by both sides is out of sync, it defeats the fundamental purpose of writing letters... Ah, light perhaps might work, but the speed of light is far too fast; capturing it is certainly impossible, and one could only make use of it. Yet doing so would strip information of its authenticity. How on earth do you manage it?"

Feng Yang opened his mouth, thinking that the Daoming Temple Master truly lived up to his reputation as the foremost wise man of the Great Tang. With just a single sentence from him, he had already deduced seven or eight tenths of the essence of communication.

Even now, enhancing the efficiency and authenticity of communication remained a major challenge, and since he was not a graduate of science or engineering, he naturally could not answer this question.

The Daoming Temple Master glanced at him. "That is true. Such knowledge is kept strictly confidential no matter where it is housed; the likelihood of you knowing the full picture is slim, and you probably only grasp the superficial details."

Feng Yang smiled awkwardly.

The Daoming Temple Master asked again, "Yet everyone knows that the immortal realm lies tens of thousands of feet above us in the heavens. If, as you say, another world exists that is not the Immortal Realm, is it another continent similar to the Daoyuan Continent?"

Feng Yang frowned. "I do not believe that saying is correct."

The Daoming Temple Master paused, startled. "What do you mean?"

Feng Yang said earnestly, "I do not know how vast the biosphere of the Daoyuan Continent truly is, but since there is a sun here, as well as a starry sky, it can only prove one thing."

He looked directly at the Daoming Temple Master and said seriously, "The Daoyuan Continent and my world exist on the very same plane, merely residing within different star systems. The skies tens of thousands of feet high are not the Immortal Realm, but the universe."

The universe?

A complex expression appeared on the Daoming Temple Master's face. "It seems you know far more than I do."

Feng Yang thought to himself that if it came to the Daoyuan Continent, his knowledge certainly could not compare to the Temple Master's, but when it came to matters of science, the gap between them was vast beyond measure.

Any random physicist from Earth could become an absolute authority here.

"The things we pursue are different. The Daoyuan Continent pursues longevity, whereas my hometown pursues truth."

The Daoming Temple Master gave him a long, deep look. "What is the name of that place?"

"Earth." Feng Yang suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia for that azure sphere. "It is a very beautiful place. If you ever manage to ascend one day, I suggest you go and take a look."

The moment the words left his mouth, Feng Yang instantly regretted them.

Given the Daoming Temple Master's strength, what would happen if he went to Earth?

Would they have to deploy nuclear weapons? Yet just how fast was someone in the Hedao Realm?

How could a nuclear missile possibly lock onto him?

Wouldn't this bring disaster upon his homeland?

However... judging by the state of Earth when he left, the Daoming Temple Master might not necessarily rule supreme even if he went there.

"Before the Demon race is eradicated, I will not leave the Daoyuan Continent." The Daoming Temple Master glanced at him. "Then, the second question... Never mind, there is no need to ask."

Feng Yang let out a soft sound of acknowledgment.

The Daoming Temple Master said, "Regardless of whether your intentions toward this world are benevolent or malicious, I cannot interfere."

Feng Yang uttered a surprised sound. "Why?"

The Daoming Temple Master replied, "Since it is the will of the heavens that brought you to the Daoyuan Continent, how could the Mandate of Heaven fail to protect you?"

Feng Yang thought to himself that if the Mandate of Heaven were willing to protect him, would he have ever fallen to such a state?

Plagued by a severe illness, with his time running short, he was on the verge of death.

Perhaps guessing his thoughts, the Daoming Temple Master said calmly, "There is only one person in this world who has ever broken the curse of the Ten Desolate Meridians. Coincidentally, I had a good relationship with that person."

Anyone well-read in the Daoist canons knew that the Daoming Temple Master and Wei Sanmu were close friends. The reason the Daoming Temple Master had previously remained utterly silent regarding court politics, aside from the last imperial family's attitude toward him, was precisely the death of Wei Sanmu.

Or rather, it was precisely because he had always harbored lingering grief over Wei Sanmu's death that the imperial family viewed him with such suspicion.

Putting aside the Temple Master's personal character and ideology for the moment, toward Wei Sanmu, he had truly exhausted every possible ounce of benevolence and righteousness.

Feng Yang asked, "What is the Senior planning to do?"

The Daoming Temple Master answered, "I intend to make you the second Wei Sanmu."

...

Feng Yang did not trust what the Daoming Temple Master had said.

There had only ever been one Wei Sanmu in human history; attempting to forge a second Wei Sanmu was nothing short of wishful thinking.

Even the Daoming Temple Master was utterly incapable of accomplishing such a feat.

Moreover, setting aside whether this plan could even succeed, the resources required would undoubtedly be astronomical. Why would the Daoming Temple Master use his own resources to help a disciple who hadn't even reached the Hunyuan realm?

"My father taught me since I was a child that no pie falls from the sky. I don't believe you would be so kind-hearted," he said, weighing his words. "Furthermore, my Feng clan has guarded the northern frontier for the Divine Dynasty, and every generation of the Prince of Yanbei has been a pillar of loyalty and righteousness. I do not believe you have no other motives."

The Daoming Temple Master looked at him and chuckled softly, "Indeed, still a child."

Feng Yang replied, "Pardon my bluntness, but in a few months, I will be seventeen."

The Daoming Temple Master said, "Which means in a few months, you will be dead."

To repeat: life and death are never trivial matters, and that holds true for everyone.

Feng Yang paused. "I have already prepared myself mentally."

The Daoming Temple Master remarked, "Of course I know you have prepared yourself. You began preparing the moment your Ten Desolate Meridians were diagnosed at the age of six. But the preparation you speak of will only make you fear death all the more."

Feng Yang remained silent for a moment. "I do not want to die, not because I fear death, but simply because I feel my existence has meaning."

The Daoming Temple Master smiled. "That is the truth, at least. Whatever your purpose in coming to the Daoyuan Continent, the person behind you must have paid a heavy price. If you were to die now, it would be a terrible waste."

Feng Yang glanced at him and said softly, "The meaning behind what I said earlier is that the reason I traveled thousands of miles to Jiangnan for medical treatment is not out of fear of death."

For ten years, he had constantly pondered this matter.

And he pondered it with the soul of an adult.

He did not want to die, but if this was fate's arrangement for him, then he would accept it.

He felt not the slightest bit of resentment toward the person who had sent him to the Daoyuan Continent.

Earth was already in utter chaos by the time he left, and whoever sent him must have been aware of it.

Those in the know were, nine times out of ten, the culprits behind it all, or at the very least, inextricably linked to the masterminds.

That being the case, whether he lived or died no longer held much significance.

It was merely a pity that if he could somehow ascend, he might have had a chance to return to Earth and save a world torn apart by natural and man-made disasters.

The Daoming Temple Master looked into Feng Yang's eyes, confirming that he was truly prepared to face death, and smiled faintly as he shook his head. "May I know why you are unwilling to accept my help?"

Feng Yang said, "The Feng family never owes anyone a favor in this lifetime. I can roughly guess your arrangements for me—they are nothing more than having me inherit Wei Sanmu's *Three-Wood Art*. Only through the formidable vitality bestowed by 'Withered Wood Spring's Return' would I have a chance to break through to the Hunyuan realm. Only then could I draw vital energy into my body, and subsequently use 'Transplanting Flowers onto Trees' and 'Wood-Penetrating Insight' to unblock my meridians one by one, thereby alleviating my blood-coagulation condition."

He stood up. "Yet the *Three-Wood Art* is hailed as the supreme cultivation technique in the world. Just hearing that title leaves me at a loss for how I could ever repay such a debt, let alone the support received along the path of cultivation?"

The Daoming Temple Master shook his head. "I believe you are mistaken."

Feng Yang asked, "How am I mistaken?"

The Daoming Temple Master stated, "Firstly, I never said I would directly hand the *Three-Wood Art* over to you. Secondly, I am not as despicable as you make me out to be."

Behaviors that could be described with the word 'despicable' were few and far between, but trading favors for personal gain was certainly one of them.

The Daoming Temple Master chuckled softly, "Whether it is the Daoming Temple Master you have read about in history books, or the Daoming Temple Master standing right before you at this very moment, does he look like a man who trades favors for leverage?"

Feng Yang thought to himself that he truly did not.

Although the Daoming Temple Master's appearance was unremarkable, judging by his eloquence, scholarship, and the air of carefree detachment vaguely revealed in his words, he looked nothing like a petty villain.

Furthermore, while evaluations of the Daoming Temple Master in history books were hardly saintly, they generally depicted him as open and above board, bearing no resemblance to a mere scheming advisor.

The incident that most damaged his reputation was probably his advice to Emperor Suzong to indiscriminately slaughter half the common populace, an action he had never once evaded even when questioned by the Carefree Pavilion afterward.

Would a man like that truly leverage kindness for repayment?

"I will say it again: pies do not fall from..."

The Daoming Temple Master interrupted him. "As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I save your life, and naturally, I have a favor to ask of you in return."

Feng Yang said, "I do not believe I am qualified."

The Daoming Temple Master replied, "You are certainly not qualified right now. You may not even be qualified within a hundred years. But I have faith in your future. Besides, I still have a long time to live; I have plenty of opportunities."

Feng Yang understood the Temple Master's meaning and asked, "So, the task you wish to ask of me... you haven't even decided on it yet?"

The Daoming Temple Master listed, "First, do not violate the ancestral teachings of the Feng family; second, do not violate human ethics and moral principles; third, do not violate the code of chivalry and martial justice. What do you think?"