9 One Should Experience Doing What Shouldn’t Be Done

Ye Huang entered the house after eating his fill. Behind him, Xiao Guan finished talking to the house's chef cook about some matters regarding the Dao of Cooking and entered the house as well.

At this time, Ye Han and Ye Shin had already finished their meal as well. Ye Hung had already taken his leave in a hurry.

- Ma, Pa, I ate!

- Greetings to the Founder. - Xiao Guan said, while cupping his fists

- That is good son. Greetings to the Guardian Master. Come and sit. I have to properly thank you for the help you gave my son earlier.

- This old servant shall take his seat then. - Xiao Guan held no pretenses in front of Ye Han. The only reason both kept a greetings routine was because the servants would whisper about that if they were to notice the lack of politeness between two cultivators who should be of different stages.

Still, being at the Peak of the Origin realm of the Return stage meant Xiao Guan's body had already returned to the earth while his souls returned to the heavens. At this kind of stage, he could be compared to a living ghost, and there was no point in fussing over the matters of mortal moral restrain. He lived by his own ethic code, not by the traditions of earth, and, therefore, had no need for old morals - which, in truth, were even younger than he.

Beyond the Origin realm, nothing would ever be the same, and no cultivator would care about life and death - or even about foolish things like the distinction between mortals and cultivators!

- In a few months, me and my wife will go to the Illusionary Stage Bridge in order to reach the Ma family. They shall be eradicated and we will then allow for the horde to take in the spoils.

Ye Han's face was resolute and had a tinge of regret. He didn't enjoy doing such tasks.

- Therefore, you shall be allowed to come with us, and revendicate whatever you find suitable for yourself. This will be my gift as a means of thanking you for helping me.

- This humble servant enjoys the Founder's benevolence.

Xiao Guan rose from his seat and bowed from the waist.

- Good. Now sit. Let's talk about important matters.

All this time, Ye Huang had been hugging his father's side. Ye Han did not care, and this level of gossip between the servants would be tolerable.

- Yes. We intend on bringing Ye Huang along, and his protection should be left for you. - Ye Shin said.

Xiao Guan became stunned. Protecting the Young Master was a great burden for someone as weak as him.

- Don't worry. He won't suffer at all. However, during the procedures, he must learn about the duties of a Sect Master and why we earn our food without seeming like it.

Comprehending what would come to be, Xiao Guan bowed, this time sincerely.

- This Xiao Guan humbly accepts master's Ye Han and Ye Shin's request.

Ye Huang heard a few strong words but didn't particularly cared - he didn't understood what they meant.

***

Ye Huang's birthday came and then he was four. The next day, his parents prepared to leave the Immortal Clouds and head to the Great Dragon Gorge. The Immortal Clouds could be said to be a parallel dimension, a divine dimension, in which those of the sect who had surpassed the Divine Ascendance Stage could enter by means of the Illusionary Divine Bridge, while those on the Illusionary Divine stage could be helped to cross by someone of the Divine Ascendance stage or higher.

Obviously, from the founding of the sect a hundred thousand years ago to this day, only three people had managed to do so. One of them was Ye Hung, the East Gate General. The other was the messenger, Ye Huan, and the other was Ye Zhong, the Chief Cook for the Ye family.

All other members of the sect which lived on the Immortal Clouds were people who had either ascended only half-heartedly, by help of someone from the other side, or brought in directly by the master of the sect, Ye Han.

The catch was that, in order to ascend without being in the Divine Ascendance stage or at least on the Illusionary Stage, one needed to have help from the Sect Master, Ye Han, or his wife, Ye Shin!

Without that, the Immortal Clouds could only be forcefully opened, and that was no easy feat, even for those on the same level of cultivation as those two.

Henceforth, it was very difficult for the regular disciples and elders of the Blue River Mountain Sect to see the face of their Sect Master and Founder. Those who had reached at least the Origin realm of the Perpetual Return Stage would find it prohibitively difficult to talk to the Sect Master, and those on the Illusionary Divine stage where the only ones who would receive an invitation to come to the Immortal Clouds to meet him - before being exiled back to the Mortal Realm and becoming Buried Ancestors for the sect until they reached the Divine Birth Stage, when the Sect Master would have them enter the Immortal Clouds again to give them pointers on cultivation. Then, only when they reached the Divine Ascendance Stage, would they then be allowed to live in the Immortal Clouds with the Ye Family.

So, for this project of his to bring his son to the sect bellow the clouds, Ye Han and Ye Shin decided to go in person. Had they decided to send Ye Hung, and the Ma family may have had a chance of survival, but they just had the bad luck of serving as learning material for Ye Huang.

The Ye's preparation to go down were very simple. Ye Han gave his son a small dagger, and Ye Shin hung a talisman on his neck. Both objects seemed completely normal, as if the dagger was made of common steel and the talisman was just a small pendant with a rolled paper inside.

Still, Ye Hung knew his own life was worth less than those two items, which had been handcrafted by Ye Han and Ye Shin.

- You may open the bridge, General Ye.

- As you wish, my lord.

As soon as Ye Han gave the command, Ye Hung looked at the horizon and gave a single step. Still, this "Ascendance Step" was the one thing needed to breach the "Infinity Space" between the existence of the Immortal Clouds themselves and the horizon.

For those living on the clouds, it seemed as if they lived on a beautiful piece of floating land, many hundreds of thousands of miles long, and where a great river flowed. However, if they managed to cross the distance until the end of the clouds and look bellow, then they would be able to see the world bellow then, but not get there. An invisible barrier would make it so, by trying to get to the real world, they managed to only get back to the Blue Mountain at the center of the Immortal Clouds.

It was no simple spatial distortion art, as well. It was a great new world existing by itself amidst the Dao that can be spoken about.

Only by Ascending would one be able to cross that space and reach the other side, and once they did so, a wondrous bridge would be formed - a bridge of seven metals, all shining in different colors with different patterns and intricate formations drawn on them.

This was the Illusionary Divine Bridge. Once someone at least on the Illusionary Divine Realm of the Illusionary Divine Stage crossed it, it would be possible to come in and out of the Immortal Clouds.

Henceforth, after Ye Hung opened the bridge, a few hundred of the Ye family's own trained guards of the Illusionary Divine stage or higher made way, followed then by Ye Han and Ye Shin. Ye Huang and Xiao Guan simply followed by their side, disregarding the bridge's limitations.

***

The Dragon Gorge Eternal Sect's Sect Master was named Zhi Dao. On his entire life, never had he heard of the Blue River Mountain Sect.

The Dragon Gorge, known at the Blue River Mountain Sect as Great Dragon Gorge, was a blessed land of unsurmountable proportions.

The Divine Blue River flowed from the skies and strongly hit the Gorge at its center. Its strength was so great no one could ever survive getting close to it.

However, after carving the center of the Gorge like a hungry monster, the river than flowed smoothly, creating a blessed land of such great proportions a simple radish planted on it could gain sentience on no less than three years!

This was considered the greater blessed land of the known world, and it was of such great might the Dragon Gorge Sect stablished at its borders was considered to be the greatest of all times.

Or, at least, that was what the regular disciples and elders thought. Once Zhi Dao reached the position of Sect Master five hundred years ago, his previous notions of life and world were all shattered in a single moment.

- Is this the new boy?

- Yes.

- Pretty weak. Is the quality of the new disciples so low?

- It should be. Gao Dan was one of those useless people, after all.

"Sect Master Gao Dan was an useless person?" - Zhi Dao shuddered after thinking about it.

He had reached the Springtime of Youth stage. For most people in the world, this should be considered the last stage on cultivation - the one where one would release themselves from the shackles of mortality and become immortal and forever young!

However, after setting foot on the Immemorial Chamber inside the Sect's Ancestral Grounds, Zhi Dao felt such strong pressure upon himself, that he decided to accept the fact that he was but an ant.

- This is bad. The Ancestors will be unpleased.

- The Ma Family may be punished because of this.

The innumerable burial coffins around him scared him out of his wits. Each single one of them exuded such a powerful aura, and yet couldn't see how many existed, even with his heavenly gaze. Call this being a frog in the bottom of the well and it would be an understatement!

- If such is the case, then this is more the reason for us to inform the Ancestors.

- Let's do this.

Zhi Dao wanted nothing but to die at that moment. All his life had he thought these buried ancestors were the mighty people who protected the sect, people one or two realms above him - but not only were then at least two whole stages above him, they weren't even the true ancestors!

What exactly was his Dragon Gorge Sect?!

***

Illusionary Divine Bridge. It was a great bridge which connected the Immortal Clouds to the Great Dragon Gorge - or, more adequately said, to the five corners of the Great Dragon Gorge.

At the end of the bridge, one could see a great city. It's five corners were composed of a Yellow corner at the center, where the bridge ended. A White-Gold colored corner at the East, where the Ma family resided. A Green corner at the West, were the Jin family resided. A Black corner at the North, where the Mao family resided. And a Red corner at the South, were the Zhou family resided. On this city, then, one could see five gates. Beyond, only a heavenly nothingness could be seen. It was as if the city hanged suspended on space.

The Yellow Court held the Dao Portal were the bridge ended, and, around it, several buildings could be seen. However, all of them formed nothing but a huge cemetery, for those buildings were all crypts!

In these crypts, one could feel the auras of the disciples of the Blue River Mountain Sect which had reached at least the Illusionary Divine Stage.

Then, at the four corners, one would see crypts at the edges where they touched the fifth corner, and other buildings alongside those, including small cottages, tree-houses and such other small, unadorned places. A number of disciples cultivated leisurely near those houses, some standing still for such a long time their bodies had been covered by vines already!

Still, no eeriness could be felt alongside the city districts. Each of its' corners was full of energy, and grass, vegetation, animals and so on could be seen all over the place.

This city was called Immortal City, and the regular disciples of the Blue River Mountain Sect here resided. Perpetual Return, Illusionary Divine, Divine Birth and Divine Ascendance. These four stages where the ones where the cultivator would give up on his or her mortal body and souls, forming divine bodies and souls afterwards.

Henceforth, it wasn't weird for one to find graves on Immortal City. Indeed, it was at least expected for this to happen!

Near the Dao Portal would be the Buried Ancestors of the Blue River Mountain Sect, which had reached at least the Divine Birth stage. Then, at the four corners of the city, those at the Illusionary Divine, Perpetual Return, First Death and Forgiven Youth stages would refine themselves by passing through the baptism of the four elements.

- Pa, what are those? - Ye Huang asked, after seeing the graves all around him.

- Those are called graves, son. They hold the dead.

- Dead? What is this?

Ye Han smiled.

- The dead are those who have done what shouldn't be done, son.

Ye Huang, full of doubts, looked at his father with an inquisitive face.

- Then, are they bad people?

- No, they are not ignorant. - Ye Shin answered - However, they are not right either.

His mother's words just made Ye Huang more confused.

- Then, why don't we help them?

Ye Han and Ye Shin had imparted a certain wisdom on their son: All bad things come from ignorance. And all ignorance, once cleared, makes the world wholier. So, helping to cleanse ignorance is to help ourselves and dissipate all evil.

- They don't need our help, son. All they need is time. Time will cleanse their ignorance, and then they shall receive Ascendance. - Ye Shin answered.

- But can't we help?

- You will understand once we get to their stage on your cultivation. Until there, hold into this: Sometimes, one need to help themselves.

Ye Huang rubbed his forehead. That was weird!