Chapter 22: Bai Yunfei's Breakthrough
Chapter 22: Bai Yunfei's Breakthrough
Gaining insight from watching the rain, shattering the shackles that had long bound him, and entering the Seventh Seal — for Lin Jiufeng, this night had yielded an extraordinary harvest.
A golden lotus blooming in a sea of bitterness — this too was a wondrous phenomenon, much like the moon rising over the sea, a famous fragment of history etched into the memory of heaven and earth.
Yet very few had ever truly comprehended it, let alone drawn it forth from the depths of the Divine Soul's hidden sanctuary.
It was all thanks to this rain. For Lin Jiufeng, it had come at precisely the right moment.
Lin Jiufeng closed his eyes and immersed himself in the vision of the golden lotus blooming in the sea of bitterness.
Within his Soul Sea, stars hung high across the nine heavens, a sea of bitterness blanketed the earth, and in the center stood a single golden lotus, bearing Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul upon its petals.
That golden lotus rose from the surface of the sea, its leaves still beaded with dewdrops — radiant and brimming with life.
The sea of bitterness symbolized the mortal world; the golden lotus symbolized Lin Jiufeng himself.
Tonight, his soul was pulsing with life.
Upon entering the Seventh Seal, the energy within Lin Jiufeng's body surged explosively — from the previous strength of one hundred dragons and one hundred elephants, it erupted in an instant to three hundred dragons and three hundred elephants.
And it did not stop there. It continued to rise.
In that moment, all the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth was drawn into Lin Jiufeng. Like a black hole, he devoured every trace of Spiritual Energy surrounding Yuhua Sect.
The sight left Wen Xinyun and the other two staring at Lin Jiufeng in astonishment.
"What's happening?" Yue Dashan asked, gazing at Lin Jiufeng with concern.
"Is Senior Uncle about to break through?" Zhou Tianzi exclaimed in surprise.
"Senior Uncle is already at the Sixth Seal — does this mean he's breaking through to the Seventh Seal?" Wen Xinyun looked at Lin Jiufeng with admiration. The Seventh Seal — and Lin Jiufeng had reached it so quickly.
She knew well that within her own clan, the Seventh Seal was already considered remarkable.
"Everyone keep it down — don't disturb Senior Uncle's breakthrough." Zhou Tianzi immediately pulled the other two away, putting distance between themselves and Lin Jiufeng so as not to interrupt him.
Lin Jiufeng remained deep in his breakthrough.
He had absorbed an enormous amount of Spiritual Energy from heaven and earth. The rain that had just fallen had brought fresh Spiritual Energy into the world, and now it poured into his body, setting his energy ablaze and driving his power ever higher.
Four hundred dragons, four hundred elephants.
Five hundred dragons, five hundred elephants.
Lin Jiufeng's power climbed almost instantaneously, surging upward without pause, until it finally came to a gradual halt at five hundred dragons and five hundred elephants.
It was a staggeringly formidable level of strength.
Meanwhile, his Divine Soul power continued to expand, spreading outward in all directions.
It passed beyond Yuhua Sect, beyond the towering mountains and steep ridges, and everything within the forests and hills became crystal clear to his perception.
From a range of several hundred li at the start, it now stretched to three thousand li — Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul power climbed without limit.
Until, three thousand li away, three elderly men resting and sheltering from the rain sensed Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul power reaching them.
"Bold indeed — how dare you spy on us?" One of the old men let out a cold snort. Having detected Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul power, he raised his hand and struck downward with a palm. Boom — torrents of demonic energy erupted, aimed at shattering Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul power.
Back in the Canon Pavilion corridor, Lin Jiufeng's brow furrowed. He could tell these three were no ordinary figures.
Even after his breakthrough, his Seventh Seal cultivation could not see through these three old men.
"The Eighth Seal!" Lin Jiufeng's heart jolted. If he couldn't see through them, they had to be at the Eighth Seal.
Lin Jiufeng swiftly reined in his Divine Soul power, evading that ferocious palm strike, then carefully observed the three figures.
They were three elderly men — white-haired, their faces covered in age spots, skin sagging, their auras carrying the stench of decay.
These were three Eighth Seal cultivators on the verge of death.
Lin Jiufeng reached that conclusion in an instant.
"But why would three Eighth Seal cultivators nearing the end of their lives come to the vicinity of Yuhua Sect?" Lin Jiufeng wondered inwardly.
Just as he was puzzling over this, one of the old men suddenly spoke: "Your Divine Soul power originates from within Yuhua Sect. Though its magnitude surprised me, it has not surpassed the Seventh Seal. All of Yuhua Sect's disciples and Elders have departed — the only one who could possess such vast Divine Soul power is the Yuhua Sect Master himself: Bai Yunfei."
Lin Jiufeng watched calmly. This old man had mistaken him for Bai Yunfei.
"Sect Master Bai Yunfei, we three brothers hail from the Demon Sect. Hundreds of years ago, our names still circulated throughout the cultivation world — they called us the Three Wanderers." Another old man spoke in a deep voice.
Lin Jiufeng's brow rose slightly. He knew of the Three Wanderers — he had read about them in books.
The Three Wanderers were triplets, and thus shared a telepathic bond, never having been separated their entire lives. When cultivating together, the three of them achieved twice the results with half the effort, and all three had broken through to the Eighth Seal.
Their most glorious days were three hundred years ago, when the three of them fought as one — advancing and retreating together, relying on their telepathic connection — and could hold their own even against four or five Eighth Seal masters.
But as the years passed and they grew old, they had gradually faded from the scene and retired from the world. Lin Jiufeng had never expected to encounter them here.
In that moment, Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul power surged forth like a great river — vast, torrential, and mighty — manifesting before the Three Wanderers as a phantom image of Lin Jiufeng himself, bathed in starlight, facing three Eighth Seal cultivators without the slightest trace of fear.
"Three Wanderers — what brings you to my Yuhua Sect?" Lin Jiufeng asked.
The three brothers turned their gazes toward Lin Jiufeng. The eldest spoke: "We brothers are nearing the end of our days. We heard that Yuhua Sect's [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] can extend one's lifespan, so we traveled ten thousand li to come and beseech Sect Master Bai Yunfei to pass the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] on to us three brothers. We will not speak of gratitude — if you ever have need of us in the future, simply say the word."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jiufeng shook his head directly: "The [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] is the foundation of my Yuhua Sect, passed down by our founding patriarch — how could it be transmitted to outsiders?"
The eldest of the Three Wanderers was not surprised by Lin Jiufeng's outright refusal. He said, "We brothers came here this time with courtesy before force. Our days are numbered, and we only wish to extend our lives — we have no desire for bloodshed. But if Sect Master Bai Yunfei refuses to hand over the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture], then we brothers have no choice but to stake everything on one desperate gamble."
Lin Jiufeng frowned. "Are you threatening me?"
"We would not dare — this is simply the truth. In fact, the reason we three brothers came here at all is because someone from the Taishang Sect told us to." The eldest continued.
"We brothers have long since withdrawn from the affairs of the cultivation world, so there is much we do not know. The Taishang Sect told us the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] could extend one's lifespan, and so we came." The second brother said.
"We are well aware that the Taishang Sect intends to use us as a borrowed blade. But we brothers have no other choice — our time is running out, and we can only throw caution to the wind. If Sect Master Bai Yunfei is willing to pass on the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture] to us, then we brothers can help you resist the Taishang Sect in return." The third brother offered.
The three brothers worked in perfect coordination — one playing the villain, one playing the peacemaker, and one offering persuasion from the middle.
Their goal was to coerce Lin Jiufeng into surrendering the [Yuhua Ascension Scripture].
Lin Jiufeng's brow creased. Three Eighth Seal cultivators making a desperate final gamble at death's door — he could not afford to take it lightly.
After all, Yuhua Sect currently had not a single Eighth Seal cultivator.
Just as Lin Jiufeng was weighing his options, from the direction of Yuhua Sect's golden-roofed main hall, a magnificent pillar of light shot into the sky.
Boom — a deep, surging, and overwhelming wave of energy came rushing from the direction of Yuhua Sect.
In a fleeting moment, that energy descended beside Lin Jiufeng's Divine Soul and slowly coalesced into a human silhouette, hovering in midair.
Like a divine being descending upon the world, it utterly crushed the aura of the Three Wanderers.
Lin Jiufeng stared in astonishment at Bai Yunfei beside him.
He had broken through.
The Eighth Seal.