Chapter 377

Chapter 377: A Sudden Rift

Listening to the seniors argue, Yu Sheng rubbed his chin and thought it over.

“Either way, we need to go at least once—to that planet called Shu Ji. I want to see it for myself.”

“Agreed.” Immortal Yuan Ling nodded, grave. “At the very least, we should investigate the roots of those heretical cultivators. They’re numerous, organized, and supported by an immortal ancestor patriarch. They’ve clearly become a real force. If we don’t deal with them early, trouble will explode later.”

Xuan Che, who had been quietly listening and barely spoken, stepped forward. “Master, this disciple is willing to go with Mr. Yu.”

“Mmm. I’m fairly at ease with how you handle things,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. “But with someone like Yun Qing Zi behind this, we should bring a few capable hands, or it’ll be extremely dangerous—”

Before he could finish, Immortal Yuan Hao waved a hand. “Easy. I’ll go with Xuan Che. I’m familiar with that place too, so you can relax.”

Instead of relaxing, Immortal Yuan Ling looked even more uneasy. He stared at his senior brother for a long time before finally saying, “If you go, I’m even less at ease.”

Yuan Hao’s expression stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yuan Ling fired back without hesitation. “Seventy years ago you took Xuan Che down the mountain to go clubbing. Sixty years ago you taught him how to race flying swords with people. Fifty years ago you took him to crash into someone’s celestial ship at the top of the atmosphere. You walked away without a scratch, and Xuan Che was bedridden for over a month. Basically every ten years you drag him out to cause trouble. Only twelve years ago—when you got wrecked by a romantic disaster yourself—did this child finally calm down—”

“You can’t put it like that!” Yuan Hao flailed both hands, offended. “When a child grows up, they need to see the world. Xuan Che was honest to begin with, and if he stays with you brewing pills every day, he’ll go stupid. As his martial uncle, how could I harm him? Also, that thing fifty years ago—you really misunderstood me. I was protecting Xuan Che immediately…”

“Right. You protected him by standing in front of him—and then shoving him behind you with a palm. You’re at the Supreme Dao Union Stage. Getting your head hit by a celestial ship wouldn’t even hurt you. But Xuan Che got slapped all the way to the Remote Mist Sect.” Yuan Ling’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, and the money to repair the Remote Mist Sect’s mountain gate—that was paid by your Junior Brother Yuan He for you. You still haven’t paid it back…”

“Hey, hey, hey. There’s a guest here. A guest here…”

“You know there’s a guest here?!”

The two elders bickered rapid-fire. Yu Sheng and Irene stood off to the side and didn’t know where to put their eyes, so they edged back half a step to avoid catching stray blows. When Yu Sheng looked up, he saw Xuan Che on the other side also edging back half a step.

Without a word, Yu Sheng and Xuan Che drifted farther away. Irene even gave Xuan Che a sympathetic look.

“It hasn’t been easy for you, huh.”

“I-I actually like Elder Senior Uncle,” Xuan Che said quickly, as if afraid someone would misunderstand. “He taught me a lot.”

Yu Sheng didn’t know what to say to that. One look at Xuan Che and he knew Yuan Ling’s fury was wasted. The disciple he’d cultivated for years had already been led down a point of no return by that multitalented elder senior uncle. That earnest face was probably just the incubation period.

Then Yu Sheng remembered Immortal Yuan Ling’s online handle and felt, with sudden certainty, that someone who could call himself Four Thousand Wayward Disciples had probably made peace with this kind of thing long ago.

Right then, his pocket vibrated, cutting his thoughts short.

Yu Sheng pulled out his mobile phone. Zheng Zhi’s name lit up the screen.

Just seeing it made Yu Sheng’s heart jolt. He answered instantly. “Hello, this is Yu Sheng—”

His nephew’s voice came through the speaker, flustered and forcing itself steady. “Brother Yu, I… I’m seeing something that doesn’t look right here! Come over quick—and it’d be best if you bring the old immortal too…”

Yu Sheng’s reply came out sharp. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

“I’m on the Cloud Viewing Terrace,” Zheng Zhi said, lowering his voice as if something dangerous was moving in front of him right now. “The sky split open. There’s a rift that goes straight into the mountain, but everyone else says they can’t see it!”

“Holy shit,” Yu Sheng blurted. Then he snapped into command mode. “Got it. I’m coming right now. You, immediately go into Wu Tong Road No. 66, or into your little house—whichever is closer. Shut the door and don’t move. Don’t come out until I get there, no matter what!”

“Okay, okay! Brother Yu, hurry!” Zheng Zhi said, and hung up.

Yu Sheng’s outburst had already reached the others. The two elders stopped bickering in an instant. Immortal Yuan Ling read the seriousness in Yu Sheng’s expression and strode over.

“What happened?”

“Zheng Zhi saw a large-scale abnormality on the Cloud Viewing Terrace,” Yu Sheng said quickly. “I’m worried the otherworld is about to do a door opening again. Forget the old grudges. Let’s go—now!”

As he spoke, he reached into the air beside him. A phantom door formed in his hand in an instant, and through it was the Cloud Viewing Terrace.

Xuan Che stepped through without a word. Immortal Yuan Ling moved to follow, then abruptly stopped and looked back at the two who still hadn’t moved.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry.”

Immortal Yuan He snapped back to himself. He crushed his doubts and strode through the door.

Immortal Yuan Hao paused at the threshold. He lifted his head, white brows furrowing as pure confusion took over.

“How does this work, exactly?”

Yu Sheng nearly choked. “Why does everyone have to ask this?!”

He didn’t get the chance to explain. Immortal Yuan Ling grabbed his senior brother by the collar and shoved him through, giving him no time to start investigating.

Yu Sheng ran after them, Irene on his shoulder.

The heavily warded courtyard fell silent in the blink of an eye. Soon only Lin Lang remained in the open ground, dressed in black and veiled. She watched Master, Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle, and Senior Brother vanish one by one through a door that shouldn’t exist. In the end, even that strange guest took off the same way.

After a long moment, she blinked and muttered to herself, “…You’re supposed to register when leaving the Heart Questioning Pavilion.”

But by then, Yu Sheng was already on the Cloud Viewing Terrace.

The high platform behind the Parted Clouds Palace looked perfectly normal. Beyond its carved railings and jadework, the sea of clouds rose and fell lazily in the sunlight. The distant light and scenery were unchanged, as if nothing had happened at all.

Yet the moment Yu Sheng arrived, he saw Princess Rapunzel and Cinderella standing tensely at the door of Wu Tong Road No. 66. Their faces made it clear something had happened.

“Where’s Zheng Zhi?” Yu Sheng demanded.

“He went inside,” Rapunzel said, pointing at Wu Tong Road No. 66. Then she jabbed a finger toward the sky, her jaw tight. “Bro, we saw it too just now!”

Yu Sheng froze. “…What? You saw it too?”

“Yeah. Just for a blink. It was really blurry when Zheng Zhi went through the door,” Princess Rapunzel said, nodding hard. She pointed toward a patch of sky near the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain’s main peak. “Up there. A rift tore open—like a nearly transparent bolt of black lightning—and it split straight down into the forest. It was scary as hell.”

Yu Sheng turned to look where she pointed, but all he saw were normal mountains, trees, and clouds.

At that moment, the door to Wu Tong Road No. 66 cracked open. Zheng Zhi poked out half his head, spotted Yu Sheng, and hesitated.

“Brother Yu, you’re here. Can I come out now?”

Yu Sheng laughed despite himself. “Come out. Come out.”

Zheng Zhi finally worked up the nerve to step outside.

A beat later, Foxy and Luna pushed their way out too—and both were already in battle mode. Luna’s fingertip blades gleamed on both hands, and behind Foxy floated eight fox roaming cannon, humming with restrained power.

Immortal Yuan Hao and Immortal Yuan He stared at Wu Tong Road No. 66, wide-eyed, not even sure what to be shocked by first. Yuan Hao had layered seven or eight talismans on himself and still couldn’t figure out how a door had appeared out of thin air. Meanwhile, Yuan He looked ready to pop his eyeballs out at the sight of all those tails floating behind Foxy.

After holding it in for ages, Immortal Yuan He slapped his own palm. “Hey! Aren’t these like a hundred times better than my unfilial disciples who can only refine amphibious roaches and battle-hardened mosquitoes?!”

“A hundred times? Ten thousand.” Immortal Yuan Ling let out a long sigh, almost heartbroken. “If you don’t rein in that bunch of bratty apprentices on your Beast Taming Peak, my herb garden is going to get completely wrecked by the freak beasts they raise!”

Immortal Yuan He lowered his head, awkward. “I-I will. I will.”

While they argued, Yu Sheng was already dragging details out of his nephew—where it appeared, what shape it took, how long it lasted, what shadows gathered around it. As he pieced it together, something clicked.

His stomach dropped. He jabbed a finger toward the mountains and turned to Immortal Yuan Ling.

“Look at that direction… isn’t that where the Demon Suppression Tower is?”

The Cloud Viewing Terrace went dead silent.

Immortal Yuan Ling followed Yu Sheng’s finger. Two seconds later, he slapped his palm.

“…Not good!”