For over fifty years, Bai Nianchen diligently cultivated within the Immortal Palace of Creation. During this time, he challenged Ye Liuyun several times, failing four times. Now, with his own strength reaching the late Void Return stage, he could finally fight Ye Liuyun to a draw.
Ye Liuyun was not surprised by this outcome, and neither was Bai Nianchen. From that point onward, the rift between them seemed to vanish, and they became good brothers. Before this, during his fights with Bai Nianchen, Ye Liuyun, despite winning each time, had never taunted or humiliated Bai Nianchen, nor had he publicized the results of their battles.
In Ye Liuyun's view, what was the point of spreading the news? It would only be the Immortal Palace of Creation that would be laughed at in the end. Bai Nianchen finally realized that the former Daozi was not an unreasonable person. On the contrary, as an outsider who had suddenly taken Ye Liuyun's original position, he was the one being unreasonable.
When their conflict was rumored, many factions that wished ill upon the Immortal Palace of Creation secretly contacted them, attempting to sow discord within the sect. Clearly, they had failed.
Later, Bai Nianchen proposed a formation duel to Ye Liuyun. Ye Liuyun's research in formations was naturally not as profound as Bai Nianchen's, as formations were Elder Bai's ultimate secret art. However, the reality was that Bai Nianchen was playing formations with him while simultaneously explaining how his own formations operated and how magnificent they were. Ye Liuyun understood then that Bai Nianchen was teaching him formations. For cultivators like them, any ability that could enhance their strength was extremely precious. Learning formations allowed them to trap and kill powerful enemies when encountering them outside, and also prevented them from being ganged up on.
Others might have thought they were at odds, but in reality, both understood each other implicitly.
"Senior Brother Ye, actually, there's something I lied to you about."
"You want to talk about your origins?"
Bai Nianchen was shocked. "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate! How did you know?"
Ye Liuyun sneered and said, "Who do you think you can hide from? Not just me, but the elders have known your background for a long time. Emperor Creation had already used the 'Dao Heaven Bell' to transmit a message to the sect, stating that you were here to learn skills."
Bai Nianchen's eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief. "Is there such a thing?"
"Then why..."
Ye Liuyun took a sip of the strong liquor from his flask and said, "Our Immortal Palace of Creation has never held such narrow values. We know your world faces a crisis of life and death, and Emperor Creation treats all humans as kin. Our world is so peaceful now, so the Immortal Emperors have actually been crossing the planar barriers to help humans in other worlds. As members of his sect, we have always practiced his teachings. Some people in our sect were actually brought back by the Emperor from surrounding planes. I knew about this from the moment you appeared, but what displeased me about you was that you didn't even dare to fight me! This position of Daozi, it will be mine after you leave anyway, so do you think I cared that much?"
Bai Nianchen fell into contemplation. Good heavens, as expected of Emperor Creation, to have such a grand vision for his sect. This made him feel rather ashamed! No wonder the elders always looked at him with a hint of pity, as if thinking, "This child must have suffered a lot."
"Ahem, I am ashamed, I am ashamed. If Senior Brother Ye could return to Blue Star with me, we could definitely slaughter these damned Heaven-Slaying clans together!"
"Heh, you think I need you to say it? Also, can you shave that beard? Are you addicted to pretending to be old? Don't think I don't know, your hair has turned black again, and you've dyed it white yourself!"
"Senior Brother Ye, you don't understand. This is a form of disguise. People have natural trust in the elderly. If I encounter an enemy I cannot defeat, they might not bear to bully an old and weak man like me, thus saving my life!"
Ye Liuyun: "Get lost! Don't try to corrupt me!"
"Senior Brother Ye."
"Get lost!"
Bai Nianchen's life was without any major issues, and he had never encountered any life-or-death crises. The sect elders also favored him greatly. However, there were times when he had to step forward to deal with provocations from other sects. When he lost to Ye Liuyun, he could still contend with him fifty-fifty. Facing provocations from other sect's Daozi, he was not afraid at all, as long as they were not at Ye Liuyun's level. He then stayed in the sect, unsparingly using its resources. Relying on his heaven-defying talent, he did not fall behind Wang Teng, who was fighting desperately.
...
And then there were two other individuals, Liang Zifan and He Guangxin. These two had also stirred up a bloody storm in the 421st Cultivation World. He Guangxin, as Mo Wuji's right-hand man, after being brought to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion by Mo Wuji, also became a top genius within the sect, relying on his own talent and strength.
The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion was now experiencing severe factional competition. The conservative faction believed that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion must remain as it was before, not interfering with the karma of the world, lest it attract trouble. The reformist faction, however, believed that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had existed for hundreds of thousands of years, with no new blood entering the sect, and its credibility in the entire Immense Gathering Divine Continent was weakening. The sect needed to break conventions; only by entering the world and participating in competition could the sect's strong cultivators gain more opportunities and re-establish the reputation of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
Mo Wuji was a member of the reformist faction and the new leader promoted by them. Although he was only 150 years old, his strength had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and his talent was among the best in the current era. The representative of the conservative faction, Ji Chunqiu, was completely inferior to Mo Wuji in terms of talent. However, He Guangxin defeated him, becoming the new representative established by the conservative faction. What Mo Wuji intended to do was to eliminate these old guards one by one, so that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's emergence into the world would face no resistance.
He Guangxin was regarded by the conservative faction as a genius to counter Mo Wuji. His sword was filled with extreme malevolent energy, and he had stirred up a bloody storm within the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.
Finally, in his forty-third year in this world, He Guangxin had gained the trust of all members of the conservative faction. As a result, he became the mole. With a single sentence, he declared, "Sorry, I'm an inside agent. I'm actually Mo Wuji's subordinate."
All members of the conservative faction were ambushed. He Guangxin led them into a killing formation prepared by Mo Wuji. Under duress and temptation, the conservative faction was forced to surrender. At the same time, they could not help but be impressed by Mo Wuji's methods. He Guangxin, whom they thought was one of their own, had unexpectedly been subdued by Mo Wuji.
The opportunity for the sect to re-emerge into the world lay in the opening of the Daoist Field of Emperor Yuanwu. Emperor Yuanwu was an emperor who existed millions of years ago. However, he later went out to conquer various realms, but his strength was insufficient, and he perished. Yet, he left behind a Daoist Field, aiming to pass on his legacy to the younger generation of the Immense Gathering Divine Continent. It seemed he had exerted too much force, and after millions of years, the Daoist Field finally showed signs of loosening. This was, after all, the legacy of an Immortal Emperor, so only cultivators below the Mahayana stage could enter.
This was Mo Wuji's opportunity. He wanted to make a name for himself here, to forcefully announce to the world that their Heavenly Secrets Pavilion was going to emerge into the world, to get involved in the karma of this world, and to participate in the grand competition of the Great Dao!