Chapter 129: Dongfang Bubai’s Shattered Worldview

A sudden shock struck Dongfang Bubai’s heart. Could it be that Yue Buqun was coming? Even Yue Lingshan was so difficult to deal with; if Yue Buqun appeared as well, Dongfang Bubai feared that this trip to Mount Hua would be far from favorable.

Just as Dongfang Bubai was preparing to leave, his eyes widened. A woman identical to Yue Lingshan leapt down the mountain toward them. She did not use the usual lightness skill common in martial arts but hopped like a toad, each leap covering a distance and speed far surpassing that of any martial artist’s lightness skill.

“I never heard you had a twin sister or younger sister,” Dongfang Bubai said incredulously, staring at the newcomer.

The woman from the mountain took two or three leaps and soon stood before Yue Lingshan and Dongfang Bubai. She raised her right hand, slightly crouched, then swung it beneath her left waist in a respectful bow. “Greetings, Sister Dongfang.”

“A礼多人不怪,” Dongfang Bubai responded politely, placing his left hand over his right at his waist and returning the bow. “Greetings, younger sister. May I ask who you are in relation to Lingshan? What is the meaning of this greeting?”

“Hee hee~” The newcomer smiled. “This is the Great River etiquette learned from Mo Shanshan, the Mountain Master of the ‘Evernight’ dimension. As for who I am, let Lingshan introduce me to you.”

As she spoke, she handed Yue Lingshan a scroll. “This is from the Grand Senior Uncle Tai Shang, to be delivered to Leader Dongfang.”

After finishing, the woman clasped her hands together and vanished like a wisp of smoke.

“Japanese ninja arts?” Dongfang Bubai narrowed his eyes and spoke gravely.

“Not quite,” Yue Lingshan quickly explained, seeing Dongfang Bubai’s disbelief. “It’s like the Byakugan, from the ‘Naruto’ world—the Shadow Clone Technique.”

“Watch,” Yue Lingshan said, forming hand seals. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”

“Puff~ puff~ puff~” Six identical Yue Lingshans appeared before Dongfang Bubai.

“Right now, with limited chakra, I can only create five shadow clones. My father can create up to nine. As for Grand Senior Uncle Tai Shang, he can generate clones spread across the entire land,” Yue Lingshan explained, glancing at her clones. “Greetings, Sister Dongfang.”

The clones bowed deeply in the Great River style, then dissipated into white smoke one by one.

“This is beyond belief. This transcends martial arts. Could Master Yang truly be an immortal?” Dongfang Bubai’s mind was shaken.

Since stepping into the Immortal Yue Sect, everything Dongfang Bubai had seen, heard, and felt shattered his previous understanding. The calm composure he once had was lost, replaced by shock with every step. It felt as if a new world had opened before him.

“Release!” Dongfang Bubai watched as Yue Lingshan unrolled the scroll marked with the character for “artifact.” She formed hand seals and struck the scroll with her palm. A mist appeared, and numerous items belonging to Dongfang Bubai materialized out of thin air.

“This is a sealing scroll. Sister Dongfang, don’t be too surprised. I was the same at first, but with time and exposure, it becomes normal,” Yue Lingshan said, sorting through the items before handing Dongfang Bubai a transparent bottle filled with water from the Maiden’s Spring.

“Sister Dongfang, you came to our Immortal Yue Sect seeking the Maiden’s Spring water, right? Here, hand over the ‘Tai Chi Boxing Manual’ you’re hiding,” Yue Lingshan said.

Dongfang Bubai instinctively took the bottle, surprised, looking at Yue Lingshan. “How do you know I possess the Tai Chi Boxing Manual?”

Yue Lingshan smiled silently and pointed to her eyes.

Instantly, Dongfang Bubai understood. Under the scrutiny of the Byakugan, nothing could hide.

“Are you not afraid I might take this Maiden’s Spring water and run?” Dongfang Bubai asked, unwilling to concede.

“No fear! Because you can’t escape,” Yue Lingshan said casually.

“Are you confident in your own martial skills?” Dongfang Bubai inquired curiously.

“It’s not confidence in myself, but in my Grand Senior Uncle Tai Shang,” Yue Lingshan replied, looking at Dongfang Bubai. Seeing a hint of disdain on Dongfang Bubai’s face, she spoke with sharp conviction, “Sister Dongfang, you have broken through to the innate realm, haven’t you? Do you think becoming an innate master makes you invincible, able to go anywhere without fear?”

“Do you know that innate is not the end but the beginning? Above innate is Grandmaster; above Grandmaster is Great Grandmaster; beyond that is the Void Shatterer; and beyond that are the Wandering Immortal, Earth Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, Great Luo Golden Immortal, Quasi-Saint, Saint, Heavenly Way Saint, and Great Dao Saint…”

“Do you really believe that reaching innate mastery makes you invincible?” Yue Lingshan spoke rapidly and eloquently, overwhelming Dongfang Bubai. Now she understood Yang Xin’s bitterness—her joy was built upon others’ pain.

Watching Dongfang Bubai’s bewildered expression, Yue Lingshan felt immense satisfaction. She recalled how she herself once doubted life under Yang Xin’s scorn.

“Sister Dongfang, Sister Dongfang…” Yue Lingshan waved her small hand vigorously before Dongfang Bubai, whose dazed eyes finally regained focus.

Had anyone else spoken to Dongfang Bubai so bluntly, she would have taught them a lesson with the needle in her hand in an instant. But these words seemed less her own and more the voice of Yang Xin. Moreover, Yue Lingshan had displayed powers Dongfang Bubai had never heard of—chakra, ninjutsu, Byakugan, and other extraordinary abilities—leaving Dongfang Bubai utterly stunned.

“Is what you say true, younger sister?” Dongfang Bubai asked cautiously. The joy of ascending to the Innate Realm vanished in an instant. She had thought that reaching innate mastery meant reigning supreme in the martial world; instead, she realized she was a frog at the bottom of a well, seeing only a fragment of the sky, blinded to the vastness beyond.

“Of course it’s true! In fact, your advancement to the Immortal Sky was thanks to Grand Senior Uncle Yang,” Yue Lingshan said.

“What do you mean?” Dongfang Bubai’s eyes widened, her heart filled with astonishment. “How is my advancement to innate related to Yang Xin?”

“How long have you been stuck at the peak of the postnatal realm? Quite a while, right? Years, even. Why couldn’t you advance before, but suddenly did these past few days? According to Grand Senior Uncle Yang, since the thirty-fourth leader of the Ming Cult, Zhang Wuji, no innate martial artists were allowed to emerge in this world.”

“No innate martial artists allowed in this world?” Dongfang Bubai’s voice rose two octaves, disbelief written all over her face.

“Yes. Since the thirty-fifth leader, Zhu Yuanzhang, used the Ming Cult’s power to drive out the Mongol Yuan and establish the Ming Empire, Liu Bowen severed the Dragon Vein and the Heavenly Earth Bridge. Since then, this world forbids innate martial artists. Feng Qingyang, our Mount Hua Grand Senior Uncle, was stuck at the peak of the postnatal realm for decades and couldn’t break through. Yet just the day before yesterday, he suddenly advanced. Why do you think that is?”

“Why?!” Dongfang Bubai asked instinctively, overwhelmed by the flood of information.

“Because the world’s restrictions have loosened, allowing those like you and Grand Senior Uncle Feng, stuck at the postnatal peak, to break through and ascend to innate.”

“All this is connected to Master Yang?”