Chapter Sixteen: The Traitor

“That was my dispatched traitor, originally a disciple of Celestial Heaven Temple, sent to that Eastern Chen world with the purpose of spreading our temple’s doctrine. However, he became dissatisfied, believing the founder was biased for not passing the position of sect leader to him. So, he simply established his own branch in Eastern Chen, styling himself as the Grand Celestial Lord…”

Though Wang Zhenling had anticipated something of the sort, hearing that the Grand Celestial Lord who had attained the Heavenly Dao was actually a traitor from Celestial Heaven Temple still sent chills down his spine. The followers of the Heavenly Dao numbered in the tens of millions, their sect was teeming with masters; years ago, they stirred up the world, causing immense turmoil. Rumor had it that the Grand Celestial Lord’s cultivation had reached a realm where he could pierce heavens and earth.

Such a figure originating from Celestial Heaven Temple meant the temple’s true power far surpassed Wang Zhenling’s imagination.

At this point, Wang Zhenling understood everything; he had fallen into the Grand Celestial Lord’s trap. That Lord had left the sect, founded his own, and named it the Heavenly Dao, clearly intent on rivaling Celestial Heaven Temple. The manipulation within the spiritual water was a ruthless, poisonous move, intended to wipe out successors.

“This isn’t something you can really be blamed for,” said the Lotus Child, who was reasonable enough to know Wang Zhenling had nothing to do with the temple’s inner feuds. How could Wang Zhenling have known the grievances of Celestial Heaven Temple? Still, Wang Zhenling felt ashamed, having nearly committed a grave mistake.

He recounted how he had slain the robed Taoist, acquired the letter and the spiritual water.

“So that’s it! I thought as much. This scheme was originally meant for Zhao Zhenyun, but unexpectedly… Wait, what happened to Zhao Zhenyun?” Lotus Child inquired.

Zhao Zhenyun was True Cloud Child.

“Dead,” Wang Zhenling replied.

Lotus Child was silent for a moment. The last time he witnessed the blooming of the Heavenly Lotus, the one who returned was not Zhao Zhenyun, but a stranger, so he had already suspected Zhao had met misfortune. He had observed Wang Zhenling closely; had Wang shown any sign of treachery, he would have been killed instantly. But later, he realized Wang was not an enemy, and in the end, Wang’s willingness to inherit Celestial Heaven Temple’s doctrine earned him his freedom.

At that time, Lotus Child’s situation was dire. Wang Zhenling’s willingness to carry on the temple’s legacy was preferable to letting it fade into obscurity.

“Killed by that traitor Yu Feng?”

“No… died at the hands of several county officers.”

Wang Zhenling couldn’t help but find this absurd. Someone like True Cloud Child—a transmigrator, burdened with great responsibility, possessing a powerful inheritance—by all accounts, should have been the protagonist or at least a major figure. One would expect such a character to die heroically, slain by a great villain. Yet, who could have foreseen that True Cloud Child would die at the hands of ordinary county officials? Where was the justice in that?

Lotus Child, however, did not find it strange, only sighed, “As expected, the rules of that world are too strict. Invading Eastern Chen was never an easy task…”

“You mean, many people who transmigrate to Eastern Chen die?” Wang Zhenling asked thoughtfully.

“Yes. Celestial Heaven Temple has sent disciples to invade Eastern Chen for generations, but only Yu Feng managed to establish himself. The others all perished… In fact, not just our temple, other major sects met the same fate.”

“You mean many sects have transmigrated to Eastern Chen?” Wang Zhenling’s expression grew peculiar.

“Of course. Otherwise, Eastern Chen would have been a purely divine world—where would cultivation practitioners and qi refiners have come from?”

So, the entire cultivation path in Eastern Chen was brought in from other worlds! Did that mean all these practitioners were actually outsiders? But Wang Zhenling didn’t care; he himself was a transmigrator, a soul migrant.

He did not dwell much on his identity. As a cultivator and transmigrator, his position was naturally clear. There was nothing to agonize over.

After so much conversation, Lotus Child’s form grew more indistinct, barely able to sustain himself. He said to Wang Zhenling, “In the days to come, you must take care of the cave and the Heavenly Green Lotus. Also, you must find a way to replenish the spiritual pool’s energy. If its essence runs dry, the Heavenly Green Lotus—the foundation of our sect—will wither. Never forget this!”

With those words, his body collapsed, a spark of spirit light merging into the Heavenly Green Lotus, vanishing completely.

Now, only half a pool of spiritual water remained—barely enough for this trip. In the future, he would need to find a way to gather much more spiritual energy. He had been excited to collect a flask of essence, but hadn’t expected such troubles, leaving him disheartened.

Fortunately, Eastern Chen world was rich in spiritual energy, with abundant ley lines; it would be much easier to gather essence there than in this world.

Since he had come, Wang Zhenling did not rush to return. Instead, he began reading through the handbooks of Celestial Heaven Temple’s past masters. These were records of the temple’s history, interwoven with the various upheavals of the cultivation world. More specifically, they were the notebooks—the working journals—of successive sect leaders, meant for their successors.

The collection contained nearly a million words; reading it all would not be easy. Previously, Wang Zhenling had only skimmed parts, focusing mostly on True Cloud Child’s last actions. Now, knowing how deeply Celestial Heaven Temple was entwined with Eastern Chen, he resolved to study them carefully and uncover hidden histories.

Luckily, everything Wang Zhenling sought was documented in the handbooks of Celestial Heaven Temple’s leaders.

Over a hundred years ago, when this world’s spiritual energy began to wane and its laws shifted, Celestial Heaven Temple was not the only sect with a prophecy. Nearly every great immortal sect had similar predictions circulating.

At that time, it wasn’t only Celestial Heaven Temple that discovered the method to transmigrate to Eastern Chen. But then, the divine powers of Eastern Chen were even stronger than they are now, and every sect treated this matter as a top secret, refusing to share.

As a result, the experts who invaded Eastern Chen from various sects were almost all destroyed by the gods of that world. And the cultivation arts and qi-refining techniques of Eastern Chen were spread during this period.

On one side, spiritual energy in their own world was dissipating; on the other, Eastern Chen possessed powerful, hostile deities.

This invasion war lasted over a hundred years. Only in the past decade or two, with spiritual energy almost entirely depleted and no experts remaining, did the war finally come to an end.