Chapter 251: Chapter 109: False Orders
This Elder Zhou, named Zhou Cang, was the controller of the Cooking Dao Destiny.
The Cooking Dao Destiny, despite not having strong combat power, but in cooking the world’s delicacies, and controlling the world’s gourmet foods, was also pursued by countless powerful beings.
Not to mention others, the green and black duo who had been looking for him were loyal followers; for the sake of a delicious meal, they were willing to fly millions of miles, searching everywhere.
Cultivators, as long as they haven’t transcended fragments of the heavens, must be subjected to the restraints of fate, with limited longevity; when they could no longer progress further in their cultivation, many powerful beings would indulge in the desire for gourmet food, that’s why his status was always high.
This kind of destiny, without talent, would be extremely slow to cultivate. Although Zhou Cang had trained numerous disciples in his life, almost none could truly inherit his mantle.
Seeing his life approaching its end and still unable to find a successor, numerous cuisines he had painstakingly researched would be directly lost to time.
Therefore, knowing that someone had come to an understanding and unable to hold back any longer, he even rushed over without bothering to eat the Seven-Section Worm he had been searching hard for ten years.
“To cause such a big commotion, it must be that someone has just found their destiny, and if lucky, the person is still within Heaven Mandate Hall and hasn’t left…”
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Cang quickly flew towards the center of Zouyi City, arriving shortly after, and finding himself facing the ruins with a bewildered expression.
Heaven Mandate Hall, considered the most important building of a city, even if the royal palace could be attacked and flattened, who would dare to lay a hand on this place?
Why does it look so tragic?
Forget it, I’ll first ask around to see what happened, then go look for the disciple who has grasped the Cooking Dao Destiny.
…
At the grand hall of the Wanxiang Sect, Mo Hong had just walked not far when he saw Mo Baiye stride over.
Mo Hong hurriedly stepped forward to meet him. After saluting, he showed a trace of confusion, “Teacher, how come you are here?”
“Heaven Mandate Hall suddenly collapsed. As one of the Vice Hall Masters, I came to see what exactly happened,” Mo Baiye said, gesturing dismissively.
Mo Hong suddenly understood.
His teacher was not only the leader of the Mo Blade Sect, but also a Vice Hall Master of the Zouyi Heavenly Fate Palace. It was for these reasons that he had the opportunity to become an Elder.
Otherwise, despite the strength he and his two junior brothers possessed, they were still quite far from the position of an Elder.
“What about you? Didn’t I ask you to investigate the matter? Why did you run here?” Mo Baiye queried.
“It’s like this…”
Mo Hong quickly relayed the information he had gathered, recounting it in detail.
“Do you think the saber art Min Jiangtao practices was taught to him by this Zhang Xuan?” Mo Baiye asked.
“Yes!”
Mo Hong said, “However, whether it actually was or not still needs to be verified…”
“There’s no need to verify, it must be this person nine times out of ten!” Mo Baiye stood with his hands behind his back.
Mo Hong was puzzled, “Teacher, why are you so certain?”
Mo Baiye narrowed his eyes, “First, some days ago, the Mo Blade Incense suddenly appeared; someone must have grasped the second realm of Mo Dao. At that time, considering the direction, I thought it was Ling Buyang, so I sent Mo Qing to investigate. Later Mo Qing was killed, so I sent Min Jiangtao to look into it.”
“A few days ago, three sticks of Mo Blade Incense appeared; I thought it was Min Jiangtao breaking through. You tested him before, he only comprehended a peculiar saber art, and his cultivation realm did not break through. Thus, I speculated whether someone else had also grasped Mo Dao and their realm had reached the same as mine!”
“Based on the timing, it was on the day Min Jiangtao arrived in Zouyi City, so we just need to find out who was with him, and that person would be the one who taught the saber art!”
“You also saw just now, that young man made the Wanxiang Monument flicker with several colors. I suspect he has some special method to hide fragments of the heavens within his body! And that yellow one, should be the light brought out by the Mo Dao Destiny…”
“Hiding fragments of the heavens?”
Mo Hong looked over, puzzled, “Isn’t destiny unique? Can there actually be someone who cultivates several types of destiny?”
“I always thought that Unique Destiny was the only type until this Ten Thousand Sabers Alliance convention, which made me aware of some secrets unknown to others!”
A glint flashed in Mo Baiye’s eyes.
Mo Hong, curious, “Secrets?”
The Ten Thousand Sabers Alliance convention was a grand meeting where all saber art practitionerrs gather. His teacher had attended once more than two months ago and met countless experts.
Mo Baiye said, “You are still weak, it’s better for you not to know for now. Just understand that there is real and fake in everything, genuine and counterfeit in destiny. Some powerful experts, fearing being killed over their destiny, often resort to special secret art to cultivate one or more false destinies!”
“These fake destinies can often save one’s real life in times of crisis, which is what’s known as ‘sacrificing the plum tree for the peach tree’… Many top experts have apparently perished, but in reality, they changed their identity and continue living… Of course, as for the specifics, with my current cultivation, I am not qualified to know yet.”
“False destiny? Sacrificing the plum tree for the peach tree?”
Mo Hong was speechless.
This was his first time hearing such things, as if a new world had been unveiled to him.
After being shocked, he continued to ask, “Could this Zhang Xuan be one of those experts who cultivate false destinies you mentioned, Teacher?”
Mo Baiye responded, “It’s possible! But whether he’s an expert or not is yet to be determined! It’s also possible that he’s just someone with a good background, who obtained the secret art in advance…”
All roads lead to Rome, but some people are born in Rome.
For these secret arts, it’s the first time they are heard of by “grassroots” practitioners like him, while for some scions with exceptional backgrounds, it’s very likely they’ve been exposed to them since childhood.
“If he’s a scion of a family… should we still proceed?” worry flashed in Mo Hong’s eyes.
If he comes from a very good background, it’s not something they should get involved in lightly, or else they would invite a catastrophe.
“Of course!”
Mo Baiye’s gaze flashed, “Firstly, he cultivated the Mo Dao Destiny, which means he’s already competing with me. If he enters the fourth level before me, my destiny would automatically become subordinate to his!”
Mo Hong was startled, “Can a false destiny become real?”
Mo Baiye nodded, “False becomes real when real becomes false! Right now, it’s false, but as long as he enters the fourth level before me, or he kills me, it automatically becomes true…”
“This…” Mo Hong’s face showed disbelief.
This news overturned his understanding of destiny.
Seeing his disciple’s expression, Mo Baiye shook his head.
The first time he learned of these things, his reaction hadn’t been any better.
“That is to say, we are already at a point of no return! It’s either his death or mine! Since that’s the case, why not continue? Secondly, since he has cultivated a false destiny, he naturally knows the Cultivation Mantra of this secret technique. If we can obtain it, even if we have to give up our current identity and live in obscurity, so what…”
Mo Baiye’s expression turned ruthless.
Mo Hong nodded.
If they could obtain this level of a secret technique, even being hunted down by a powerful clan wouldn’t matter.
Recalling something, Mo Hong looked over curiously, “Teacher, there is something I still don’t understand. Cultivating destiny is difficult, and to cultivate one to the limit requires countless years. Some people cannot do it in their lifetime, so how could they have the energy to cultivate a false destiny?”
Just like him, after following his teacher for decades, he had only reached the second level of Mo Dao, with an unknown gap to the third level…
To ask him to cultivate another destiny would be impossible.
Mo Baiye shook his head, “You’re still naive. You don’t really think that these clan scions or experts are cultivating these false destinies themselves, do you?”
Mo Hong, “Isn’t that the case?”
“Of course not!”
Mo Baiye nodded, “Some powerful, large clans will train some Life Masters, just like death soldiers. They provide the best training resources and cultivation techniques, and when needed, they would extract the destiny from their bodies… Of course, this is just one method; the really big clans and strong individuals are even more brutal when it comes to surviving, even to the extent of being ruthless toward their own talented descendants!”
Mo Hong shrank his neck.
He had always thought his teacher was ruthless enough, but now he understood that compared to those high and mighty figures, he was still very far off.
Behind every strong person, countless blood flows.
“Alright!”
Mo Baiye waved his hand, his gaze flashing, “Now that we know it’s this guy who taught Min Jiangtao the saber art, I’ll just go test his actual strength. If weak… find an opportunity to kill him! If strong, find a way to make others do the deed! In any case, there’s no turning back now, either he dies, or I die…”
Mo Hong nodded, his face set with gravity, “The disciple understands!”
“Let’s go!”
Without further words, Mo Baiye strode off toward the direction of the Wanxiang Sect.
…
“This represents the identity of the Fate Master, take good care of it. From today onwards, you are registered Fate Masters of the Zhou Yi Dynasty…”
Inside the grand hall of the Wanxiang Sect, Shi Yunjing handed out the prepared tokens to Zhang Xuan and the others.
When it was the turn of the thousand-li horse and the little yellow chick, he still couldn’t help but hesitate.
After Elder Zhu Xun finished speaking, he had them tested as well; the Wanxiang Monument did indeed emit a red light…
Meaning they not only possessed the cultivation of the Dharma Form Realm but were indeed genuine Fate Masters.
But now… have the standards for Fate Masters dropped so low?
“Practice well and come back to the Heaven Mandate Hall more often…”
After patting Dao Li’s head and saying some routine words, Shi Yunjing looked towards Zhang Xuan not far away, “Young Master Zhang, do you have time now? I want to have a chat with you to clarify a few things…”
Although it was confirmed that the collapse of the Heaven Mandate Hall was due to Elder Zhu Xun’s failure to comply with the regulations, there were still some details he wanted to inquire about.
“It would be my honor!”
Zhang Xuan bowed his fist.
“Hall Master Qian, may I use your side hall for a moment?” Shi Yunjing asked.
Qian Yuhuan nodded, “Of course, however, I also have questions I would like to ask Young Master Zhang. I’d like to go along, Hall Master Shi wouldn’t mind, right?”
“Of course not…” Shi Yunjing nodded.
Zhang Xuan turned to Sun Qiang and the others, “I need to discuss matters with Elder Shi, please head back first!”
“Yes!”
Sun Qiang and the others nodded, just as they were about to leave, a berating voice resounded from the door.
“Hold on!”
Immediately after, everyone saw Mo Baiye stride in.