Chapter 341

Chapter 341: Were Her Years of Cultivation for Nothing
After hearing Sect Master Ji Yuan’s words and thinking of Qing Kui and She Jun’s identities, Yu Zhao roughly understood what had just happened.

Quan Ye’s identity had been exposed, and the Demon Race could no longer sit still.

Yet misled by the memories of his previous life, Quan Ye believed that if he left with them, he would live a life where his word was law and everyone obeyed. He did not realize that he had made an extremely wrong choice.

The Demon Race already had the Bixi Dragon-Tortoise. Quan Ye was no longer the only one with the Azure Dragon bloodline, so his special bloodline would not become his strength. On the contrary, it would drag him into danger.

The Demon Race did not have any moral rules against slaughtering their own kind.

What they believed in was a more primitive law: the strong prey on the weak.

Yu Zhao could only silently wish Quan Ye good luck. She hoped he could endure a little longer and not die too quickly.

“Little Zhao.”

Master Qing Yan walked over to Yu Zhao and called to her softly.

Yu Zhao acted as if she had not heard him. She turned instead to Sect Master Ji Yuan and bowed, saying: “Sect Master, I have something I wish to ask for your guidance.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan glanced at Master Qing Yan’s worried face, then at Yu Zhao’s calm expression, and secretly rejoiced in his heart.

[Qing Yan, Qing Yan, you finally have a day like this.]

He waved his hand and said cheerfully: “Come, let us talk inside.”

He turned and walked a few steps toward the main hall, then acted as if he had just noticed Master Qing Yan still standing to the side. He said: “Master Qing Yan, the matter is settled. You should go back first.”

Master Qing Yan glared at him, then softened his voice when he addressed Yu Zhao. He said gently: “Little Zhao, if you run into any problems, you can also come to me.”

Yu Zhao replied, “Thank you for your kindness, Master.”

But the perfunctory tone in her voice was too obvious. Not wanting to arouse even more of her dislike, Master Qing Yan could only leave.

Yu Zhao, Zhou Jin Yue, and Sect Master Ji Yuan entered the main hall again.

Sect Master Ji Yuan sat at the head seat, clearly in a very good mood. He asked: “Yu Zhao, what kind of trouble have you run into? Tell me about it.”

Zhou Jin Yue quietly watched Yu Zhao.

Yu Zhao had never mentioned any difficulties to her before. If this was not just an excuse, then it had to be a major problem that even Yu Zhao could not solve. She had to treat it seriously.

Within the Five Elements Dao Sect, Yu Zhao only trusted two people.

One was Zhou Jin Yue, and the other was Sect Master Ji Yuan.

So she did not avoid Zhou Jin Yue and took this chance to directly ask about the mystery of ascension that had troubled her for a long time.

The smile on Sect Master Ji Yuan’s face instantly froze.

Zhou Jin Yue’s pupils shrank, and she instinctively looked at Sect Master Ji Yuan.

The Sect Master’s usually gentle eyes suddenly turned sharp. His gaze fell on Yu Zhao, carrying a silent sense of pressure and intimidation.

But very soon, the aura around him dissipated, and his face showed exhaustion. He said quietly: “I should have known you would be the first to discover this problem. Tell me, how much do you know?”

Zhou Jin Yue felt a thunderous roar in her mind.

Her Master’s words clearly admitted that something was wrong with the Cultivation World’s Ascension Channel.

Yu Zhao pondered for a moment, then said: “The Spiritual Energy of the Cultivation World is growing thinner with each passing day, making it almost impossible for cultivators to reach Divine Transformation Great Perfection.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan gave a short “Mm” in acknowledgment, but did not continue speaking.

Yu Zhao felt more certain and went on smoothly: “In addition, for some unknown reason, the Heavenly Ladder of the Cultivation World has been unable to appear again, which has caused the Immortal Path to be cut off.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan’s face did not change, but inside, mighty waves were crashing in his heart.

How had Yu Zhao learned the greatest secret of the entire Cultivation World?

Within the whole Five Elements Dao Sect, including him, only two people knew about this matter. Even Master Qing Yan did not know anything.

Fortunately, Yu Zhao was not his personal disciple. Otherwise, he would have started to suspect that he had let this secret slip out while talking in his sleep.

If he really made such a low-level mistake, it would cause a huge mess.

Zhou Jin Yue was very familiar with her Master’s expressions and mannerisms. Seeing his face remain calm while the corner of his eye twitched slightly and his posture became straighter, she knew at once that Yu Zhao’s words were not rumors.

Her heart shook violently, and a thick fog seemed to settle over her mind.

[If ascension is impossible, then weren’t all her years of bitter cultivation for nothing?]

“Senior Sister Zhou? Senior Sister Zhou? Senior Sister Zhou!”

“Ah!”

Zhou Jin Yue was startled awake by the voice. She looked up and met Yu Zhao’s worried gaze.

She forced a small smile and said: “I am fine.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan saw Zhou Jin Yue’s pale face and absent eyes, and his heart ached for her.

“Jin Yue, do you want to go down and rest first?” he asked softly.

“No, I want to stay here.”

Zhou Jin Yue’s attitude was very firm.

She had only been shocked for a moment, but she absolutely would not allow herself to run away from this.

Besides, in her heart there was also a kind of hard-to-speak guilt and heartache.

[She was the First Senior Sister of the Five Elements Dao Sect. She should have helped her Master share his burdens, yet she knew nothing at all. Instead, Junior Sister Yu had been running around everywhere, bearing enormous pressure. She really had been far too negligent as First Senior Sister.]

Sect Master Ji Yuan thought it over and also felt it would be better for Zhou Jin Yue to stay, so he no longer tried to persuade her. He turned his head to look at Yu Zhao, his gaze full of both helplessness and admiration.

“Yu Zhao, everything you said is correct. Those two problems do indeed exist.”

Hearing this, Yu Zhao suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if the dust had finally settled.

“The sect’s Ancestral Patriarch discovered a thousand years ago that the Spiritual Energy of the Cultivation World was weakening year by year,” Sect Master Ji Yuan said slowly. “He took all kinds of measures, but the results were minimal.”

“The Human and Demon Clans set aside their old grudges and chose peace to a large extent because they did not want to further damage the balance of the Cultivation World.”

“People in the world all say that the pattern of One Sect, Two Schools, Four Clans has remained unchanged for a long time, but they do not know that this is also a deliberately controlled situation.”

Those who could cultivate for hundreds of years and stand at the top of the Cultivation World were rarely fools.

Even if they did not know the truth, they could keenly sense the hidden crisis.

So the Cultivation World had remained peaceful for hundreds of years, with very few large-scale wars. This was not because of the effort of just one side, but the result of many sides working together.

Yu Zhao and Zhou Jin Yue were hearing this for the first time and were both greatly shocked.

No wonder the great sects often had friction but rarely came to open warfare. No wonder the Demon Race and the cultivators each stayed in their own territories. It turned out this was also part of the reason.

Sect Master Ji Yuan asked in a low voice: “Since you know about the Cultivation World’s plight, have you perhaps found a way to resolve it?”

Yu Zhao honestly shook her head.

She had no clues at all right now.

Even if she knew the cause of the illness, without a prescription that matched it, she was still helpless.

Sect Master Ji Yuan had clearly expected this and was not disappointed. He handed a command token to Yu Zhao.

“Since you were able to discover the Cultivation World’s problem, perhaps you can also find a way to solve it. With this token, you may seek an audience with the Grand Elder. She might be able to guide you.”

“Grand Elder!”

Yu Zhao’s eyes lit up.

Of course she knew that the Five Elements Dao Sect had a Grand Elder who had been in closed-door cultivation for many years, but she had never had the chance to meet her.

If she could see the Grand Elder’s true face, then even if she found no clues, just a few words of guidance from the Grand Elder would benefit her greatly.

Yu Zhao accepted the token gratefully.

Sect Master Ji Yuan then reminded her: “This matter is extremely important. You must not reveal it to any outsiders.”

Zhou Jin Yue’s Dao heart was already the firmest among the disciples of their generation, yet she had still been thrown into chaos upon suddenly learning about this. If outsiders were to find out, it might cause a wave of unrest, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Yu Zhao and Zhou Jin Yue both promised repeatedly to keep it secret, and only then did Sect Master Ji Yuan feel slightly at ease.

Even so, the waves stirred up in his heart because of Yu Zhao did not calm down for a long time.