Cultivation Online

”I have also never seen Senior Bai in such a condition before,” Yuan remarked with a sigh.

”You should talk to him now. I can wait,” Meixiu then said.

Yuan nodded and quickly chased after Senior Bai.

”Senior Bai!” Yuan used Void Manipulation to appear before him.

”V-Void Manipulation?!”

Senior Bai’s face twisted with shock for a moment before he gradually calmed himself.

”You’ve grown tremendously since our last encounter…” he muttered with a weary sigh. ”But then again, this seems to happen every single time, so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised anymore…”

”Senior Bai… is everything okay?” Yuan asked him with a worried frown.

”We can talk about this later—”

Yuan shook his head and interrupted.

”I don’t think I will be able to enjoy my reunion with Meixiu like this…”

He continued before Senior Bai could respond, ”Is this… about the Celestial Overlord’s sudden drop in karma?”

”So it really was you, after all…” Senior Bai released a deep sigh.

Even though he had already suspected it was Yuan, hearing the confirmation directly from him carried an entirely different weight.

”Although I trust that you had a good reason, I still need to hear it myself. Why did you clash with Heaven’s Mandate—the Celestial Emperor’s soldiers?”

Yuan fell silent, pondering how to explain the situation to Senior Bai without sounding ridiculous.

”You already know that the Celestial Emperor and I share some sort of hostility toward each other, right?” Yuan suddenly asked.

”Yes,” Senior Bai nodded. ”Though I still can’t understand how that’s even possible. There should’ve been no way for you to have met the Celestial Emperor in the first place, much less offend him.”

”That’s because I haven’t met him in this life yet… but I have met him in the past… in my past life.”

Yuan faced Senior Bai with a solemn expression.

”Your… past life?” Senior Bai swallowed nervously as he muttered in a daze.

Yet despite the shocking revelation, there was no true bewilderment in Senior Bai’s gaze, almost as though he had already anticipated such a possibility to some extent.

”The founder of the Celestial Overlords…” Senior Bai suddenly muttered.

Yuan nodded, confirming in a calm voice, ”Indeed, one of my past lives was Tian Yingzhe, the founder of the Celestial Overlords.”

He continued, ”Remember when I handed over his techniques—his legacy to Xu Jiaqi, saying that I’ve found it? In truth, I regained some of Tian Yingzhe’s memories and recovered the technique in that manner.”

”I see…” Senior Bai fell silent for a moment to digest this information.

Then, he spoke, ”But that doesn’t explain the Celestial Emperor’s hostility towards you.”

Yuan sighed before responding, ”To be honest, I don’t think I can fully explain the situation to you without sounding crazy. Moreover, I will have to reveal some forbidden information that requires sacrificing your longevity.”

”Information that requires longevity?” After a brief moment of silence, Senior Bai continued, asking, ”Is this related to the ’Gods’ in the Starry Sky?”

Yuan’s eyes widened with surprise.

”How did you learn about that?”

A prideful smile tugged at Senior Bai’s lips as he replied, ”There is a reason some call me the Sage of Knowledge. Throughout my life, I did not merely collect techniques to expand the Myriad of Techniques—I also gathered countless ancient records covering all manner of subjects.”

The Myriad of Techniques was not merely the largest collection of cultivation techniques within the Nine Heavens. It also functioned as a vast hub of information.

Of course, very few people were aware of this, as most visitors only came seeking techniques.

”Although I admittedly do not know much about them, I am at least aware of their existence. I also did not pursue such knowledge, as I became afraid of the consequences after losing a tremendous amount of longevity just learning of their existence.”

”Well, since you already know about them, it will make explaining things much easier,” Yuan said afterward.

”While I cannot reveal too many details, these so-called ’Gods’ are my enemies. Since the dawn of time, they have been responsible for countless major incidents that led to innumerable deaths… all in pursuit of their own goals.”

”As for how they’re related to the Celestial Emperor… well, the first Celestial Emperor was their creation, and the current Celestial Emperor is nothing more than their puppet.”

Senior Bai’s jaw dropped at the heaven-shattering revelation.

Ignoring his shock, Yuan calmly continued, ”And I have been fighting the Celestial Emperor and these Gods since the very beginning… across multiple lifetimes.”

Senior Bai suddenly fell back onto his buttocks, his eyes wide with disbelief.

After a long minute of silence, Senior Bai remained on the ground as he asked in a nervous voice, ”What… What am I supposed to do with this information?”

Yuan shook his head and said, ”You don’t need to do anything. I simply want you to understand my situation. Not only are you Xu Jiaqi’s most trusted aide, but you’ve also helped me countless times since the very beginning.”

”Is that so…”

Senior Bai no longer spoke afterward.

Seeing this, Yuan asked, ”How are the Celestial Overlords and Xu Jiaqi doing?”

Senior Bai sighed deeply. ”Terribly. The others are aware that Lady Xu recruited you, and even without concrete evidence, they’re blaming her for the lost karma. Not only has she lost many of her followers, but she’s also been pushed to the sidelines entirely. At this rate, forget becoming the next leader—she may even end up exiled from the faction.”

”That’s…” Yuan was left speechless, the situation turning out far worse than he had imagined.

Senior Bai slowly rose to his feet and stood before Yuan, staring at him with a solemn expression.

”Yuan… you must do something to help Lady Xu.”

He nodded.

”I will. Just give me a little more time. I have some unfinished business with the Demon Sealing Clan.”

”Speaking of the Demon Sealing Clan… Are you actually the Divine Paragon, or are you simply pretending to be him?” Senior Bai then asked.