Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 320 - Peerless Beauty

“The Godfiend Palace and the Imperial Gold Bloodline…”

This was not the first time Ye Fan had heard of them. Before coming to the Celestial City, he had even seen people from the Northern Reaches’ Imperial Gold Bloodline, galloping through the air, trampling over others’ heads as they passed.

“They’re both supreme forces, on equal footing with the great holy lands,” Blackwater said with a quiet laugh. “Tonight, we’ll just sit back and watch the show.”

“Over there, another dragon boat, much larger than ours. That must be a prince of Grand Xia Dynasty,” Ye Fan said, glancing to the side.

“Indeed. And that ethereal little nun in white came too. How amusing, the royal siblings both show up in a place like this,” Blackwater chuckled.

In the distance, the Grand Xia Dynasty prince stood tall, black hair flying, heroic and radiant. His God-Iron Armor gleamed brilliantly, nine coils of draconic might swirling around him. He looked like a heavenly emperor descended to the mortal realm, exuding power and majesty.

Beside him stood a pure, innocent-looking young nun, her big dark eyes darting curiously about, full of simple wonder.

Ye Fan froze for a moment. “He came too…”

On the shore, a golden qilin roared, its whole body shining like burning divine fire. Upon its back sat a man in white, refined and elegant, with a quiet air of heroism.

Some people stand out even in a vast sea of faces. They are like heaven’s chosen, impossible to ignore.

“Jiang Yifei…”

He was from the Jiang Clan. Years ago in the Southern Region, he had taken the little girl and Elder Jiang away, bringing them safely home. Ye Fan remembered him deeply, he had even once suspected Jiang Yifei was the fabled God-King Physique of the Jiang clan.

“Little Tingting… is she well? How about Elder Jiang?” Ye Fan murmured to himself. Time had flown, four years had passed in the blink of an eye. He didn’t know how the grandfather and granddaughter were faring now. Though they had spent little time together, that short stay had been the first time Ye Fan truly felt a sense of home in this world, warm and peaceful days.

The golden qilin stepped across the water, its hooves leaving ripples of light. Jiang Yifei in white looked as if he were descended from heaven itself, dazzling, refined, beyond mortal dust.

“Such a man… he’s clearly extraordinary,” even Blackwater said with admiration.

“Do you know who the Jiang Clan’s God-King Physique is?”

“No one does. It’s a secret,” Blackwater shook his head.

“Maybe... it’s him?”

“What!? Impossible!” Blackwater was startled.

Soon, they reached the deepest part of the great lake. Cold mist drifted over the surface, sacred energy filled the air, and the crystal water shimmered like a sea of jade.

“There are too many powerful figures tonight,” Blackwater muttered, looking in another direction.

There stood a great black ship, shimmering with dark light. Upon it stood a man dressed all in black, cold and distant, as if rejecting the entire world.

“That’s Xu Heng, grandson of the Third Warlord Xu Tianxiong, the foremost master among the bandit princes, undefeated across the East,” Blackwater said.

“So that’s Xu Heng?” Ye Fan studied him closely.

Xu Heng’s skin was pale and crystalline, like frost or snow, yet not the least bit effeminate. His power was concealed, sharp as a divine sword sheathed in silence.

“You and Tu Fei really have guts, suppressing his brother like that. Don’t let him find out.”

All the ships stopped at the lake’s center. Ahead floated the Phoenix Barge, covered in blossoms.

In the sky above hung a celestial palace, resplendent and towering, almost unreal, heavenly music drifting down like it came from the Ninth Heaven itself.

Nine women danced gracefully beneath the moon, as if celestial fairies had descended to earth. Their movements were mesmerizing, divine, impossible to look away from.

Even Ye Fan had to admit, female cultivators truly possessed a kind of beauty mortals could never touch.

For ordinary women, no matter how beautiful, could never dance upon the air with such immortal grace. To many, this sight was pure dream.

A beam of sword light streaked through the night, illuminating the lake. A man in yellow landed, heroic and refined.

“That’s the Saint of the Grand Ascension Sacred Ground, Xiang Yifei,” Ye Fan said in surprise. “Why are all these people showing up so openly?”

“You’re right,” Blackwater frowned. “The Godfiend Palace’s heir, the Imperial Gold Bloodline’s descendant, the Grand Xia Dynasty’s prince, a Jiang prodigy, and now the Saint of Grand Ascension… their sects stand among the clouds. They shouldn’t reveal themselves so easily, something’s not right.”

Ye Fan nodded. “Exactly. The Exquisite Desire Temple’s reputation is… questionable. None of them should appear here in person unless there’s more to it.”

They both agreed, there must be something hidden behind all this. Otherwise, such figures would never come openly.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Silence fell. In front of everyone, a woman in white, An Miaoyi, stood facing the wind, ethereal, untouched by the world, as if she might drift away with the breeze.

Her voice was pure as heavenly sound. Her dark hair flowed freely in the wind, her presence radiant and sacred, jade-boned, divine, peerless.

Everyone froze. The meaning was clear enough to all. She longed to transcend worldly desire yet remain true to her heart.

“Is she really seeking a path that spares both the Dao and the heart?” someone whispered. “Does she mean to leave Exquisite Desire Temple, to escape its worldly stain?”

Many on the jade boats were shaken. The most beautiful woman in the East truly was extraordinary.

“Fairy An, I understand your suffering! I’ll go with you into the mountains, to live in peace!” someone suddenly shouted.

Splash!

The speaker was promptly blasted into the lake.

“Fairy An, you’re pure as the moon, you should leave that sullied temple. Let us travel together!”

Splash!

Down went another man.

“Peerless lady, abandon your cage, walk the Middle Continent with me!”

Splash!

Another fell. No one dared speak further, afraid of becoming the next target.

“Difficult, difficult, difficult,” An Miaoyi sighed softly. “Enough. Tonight, let us speak only of the Dao.”

Her voice was clear and melodic, drifting like divine music.

“Does she truly mean it?” Blackwater whispered. “Is she really trying to become a pure immortal, leaving behind the stain of Exquisite Desire Temple?”

An Miaoyi invited the guests to discuss the Dao through the night, but first, she decided to play one last piece beneath the moon.

She rose lightly into the air, her snow-white dress billowing. Behind her, a great silver moon appeared, three meters across, enveloping her figure in holy light. She seemed like the Moon Goddess herself.

A crystal zither floated before her, shimmering like starlight. Her pale hands brushed the strings, and each touch sent divine notes flying through the night, striking distant strings and returning as celestial echoes.

Her dance was transcendent; her music divine. Even Ye Fan was moved, this woman’s beauty, both form and spirit, approached the realm of Dao itself.

The moonlight glowed, flowers rained from the sky, birds circled her carrying jeweled blossoms in their beaks, an impossible, dreamlike sight.

Even the fish leapt from the lake, swaying to her rhythm.

Music, dance, and song, all three perfect as one.

When the last note faded, the world went still. For a long time, no one spoke, all were entranced.

“Tonight, Miaoyi invites you all to speak of the Dao,” she said softly, rising like a spirit of moonlight into the celestial towers above.

The palace glowed with ethereal radiance, like an immortal realm descending. She vanished into one of the jade towers.

The spell broke, and the crowd surged upward, each desperate to follow her.

“I’m done for,” Blackwater sighed. “That woman… she’s stolen my heart.”

“Bro... already?” Ye Fan teased.

“Listen, little Ye, don’t act like you’re above it all. A young man faced with such a woman should fall. Otherwise, he’s not human.”

Ye Fan smiled faintly. “Alright then. Whether she truly wishes to transcend Exquisite Desire Temple and become the purest saint of the East, or is merely toying with hearts, let’s find a way to take her with us. What do you say?”

Blackwater shot him a sidelong glance, then clapped his shoulder. “Let’s go, brother. I’ll win that beauty tonight!”

In the night sky, the jade palaces gleamed like heavenly towers. A radiant gate barred the way, the Gate of Enlightenment. Only those who had left the mark of Dao upon their souls could pass through.

“Anyone below the Four Pillars Realm will be stopped, except perhaps a few special cases,” Blackwater said in awe.

The Grand Xia Dynasty prince strode forward, dragon might surging. The divine gate opened before him without resistance, and he led the little nun inside.

A flash of purple, the Godfiend Palace heir entered next. Then Xiang Yifei of Grand Ascension rode his holy sword in a blaze of light, disappearing within. A golden qilin trod the moonlit air, Jiang Yifei followed, calm and elegant, passing through with ease.

Ye Fan’s heart tightened. “He really might be the Jiang Clan’s God-King Physique…”

“But why are all these people revealing their true selves?” he wondered aloud.

“Brother, it’s up to you now,” he said quietly. “I can’t use my full power, if that Jiang God-King Physique senses me, it’ll be trouble.”

“No problem. Leave it to me.”

Blackwater stepped forward, releasing a mark of the Dao. The gate opened automatically, and the two of them walked through together.

Inside the palace stood only a dozen people, all supreme young experts, each at the Four Pillars realm or higher. Ye Fan recognized half of them. The Godfiend Palace heir, the Imperial Gold Bloodline’s successor, Xu Heng, Xiang Yifei of Grand Ascension, Primordial Beginning Sacred Ground’s Saint, Jiang Yifei, the Grand Xia Dynasty prince, and the nun in white…

They had all begun to speak of the Dao. Ye Fan and Blackwater found a quiet place to sit.

Then, An Miaoyi’s voice rose like moonlight itself, “Miaoyi has heard,” she said softly, “that the Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique is said to be unmatched in the same realm. Do any among you know the truth of it?”

Her eyes shone clear as water, no trace of seduction, only divine grace.