Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  In the evening, Wang Lu received a letter in the main inn of Gorgeous Town, which was delivered from the beak of a multicolor-winged bird that hovered on the spirit wind.

  "Oh? What is this?"

  Wang Lu curiously opened the letter and looked at the bird standing on the window lattice, combing its feathers. The bird's attitude was very proud and looked up in disdain.

  After opening the letter, Wang Lu found out that the letter was actually sent by the person in charge of the Temple of Heaven in Gorgeous Town. The content of the letter was not long. The gist of it was that when the honored guests visited the temple, the host failed to uphold the etiquette by not respectfully welcoming them. So she hoped that the honored guests to visit again at midnight at Temple of Heaven for a feast. It would wait respectfully for the guests to honor with their presence… Of course, according to Wang Lu's understanding, the translation of this letter was: The two foreigners, please come here to report.

  The Temple of Heaven was indeed the tyrant of the Heavenly Earth. Although in theory, it was only a religious organization that served the Heaven, in fact, its influence tentacles had already spread and deeply rooted. Right now, the presence of two unknown cultivators in Gorgeous Town had aroused its interest. The scope of their management was indeed very broad. However, this was not that strange, because during the day, Wang Lu and Liu Li had visited the Temple of Heaven and brought back a few Heaven News without deliberately hiding their whereabouts. And if the Temple of Heaven could not even find two foreign cultivators who had walked into their own home, then they would not be qualified to be the hegemon of Heavenly Earth.

  It was just that, Wang Lu didn't expect the other side to be so decisive. It was just in the evening when the invitation came to the door… Then, should they go to the appointment?

  As he was thinking, he saw the multicolored spirit bird was impatiently tapping the window lattice with its talons, which made cackling sound as if to urge him. Wang Lu impatiently waved his hand. "I have received the letter, you can go."

  That spirit bird immediately widened its eyes, incredulously looking at Wang Lu as if it was a maiden who had just been molested by a hentai pervert.

  "… Hey, why are you looking at me? Don't tell me you want me to pay the postage bill? Tsk, the grand Temple of Heaven is actually so tasteless, sending a letter but asking for the delivery fee." While grumbling, Wang Lu took a peanut from the table and then threw it toward the window. "Here you go, eat it."

  That bird angrily flapped its wing, sweeping the peanut aside and excitedly screeching. Its sound was actually crisp and pleasant.

  "Tsk, a mere broken bird is so picky." Wang Lu thus threw it a spirit stone, which was caught by its beak. It then spread its wings and flew away. However, when it was about to leave, its wings and tail fluttered, and then a large piece of dusty fallen leaf came in from the window.

  After sending away that proud messenger bird, Wang Lu turned around and saw Liu Li curiously looking at the bird's departure, seemingly reluctant to part with it. He could not help but laugh and say, "Haha, I forgot to ask you if you like roast bird."

  Liu Li's voice contained a bit of resentment in it. "Senior Brother, why do you regard me as…"

  Then she quietly made a swallowing gesture.

  That night, Wang Lu and Liu Li appeared in front of Temple of Heaven.

  After thinking about it for a while, Wang Lu thought that it would be more interesting to go to the appointment. First, when the wording in the other party's letter was polite and respectful, it seemed that there was no evil intention behind it. If he refused rudely, it would make him to appear to have a guilty conscience. Second, an opportunity to talk directly with the middle-level personnel of the Temple of Heaven was necessary at this stage.

  After all, most of the information that had been learned from the Heaven News was speculative, and many specific details could not even be guessed. If he could talk directly with the temple monks, he would have the opportunity to gather more information.

  At night, the temple was no longer open to the public, and the gate was already closed. When Wang Lu walked to the temple gate, a plain-dressed young girl quietly opened the gate, greeted the two, and then led them all the way into the temple.

  The banquet in the inner hall had already been prepared, and there was only one person on the table. A beautiful madame who looked about thirty years old, and from the point of view of her dress, she was the person in charge of the Temple of Heaven of Gorgeous Town. Her name was Li Yan. The madame's gorgeous and elegant dress meant that in the Temple of Heaven, she was the fifth rank in the ninth layers of heaven, the backbone of the temple system. The phoenix hairpin on her head was embedded with a blue stone, which symbolized the position of the first leader.

  After a simple greeting, Wang Lu and Liu Li took their respective seat. Then, after Wang Lu and Li Yan did a round of small talk, the main key point of this banquet was thus decided.

  Sure enough, as expected, this was a simple dinner meant to deepen the mutual feelings. After all, no matter how hegemonic the Temple of Heaven was, it was impossible for them to be so arrogant as to offend all the cultivators in the world for no reason. Li Yan inviting them to come was more about friendly exchange, sitting down and talk.

  Now that the key point of the banquet had been established, which was a friendly exchange, after a lot of toasts, the topic quickly warmed up. Li Yan inadvertently asked the life experience of the two of them. Wang Lu claimed that they were mountain hermits. In any case, the Heavenly Earth was vast, so even the Temple of Heaven could not possibly control the overall situation. At least, in the Heaven News, it was recorded that, when the lower realm invaded, there were many hermits in the Heavenly Earth that came out to help in the war.

  However, Li Yan did not delve in this hermit life excuse either. After the identity issue was over, the three of them discussed the issue of cultivation. Wang Lu and Liu Li came from a righteous sect, while Li Yan was backed by the Temple of Heaven, so they were all knowledgeable and had a deep foundation. The cultivation systems of the two party were very different, but there was also no lack of common ground. For a time, the discussion turned very lively, and both sides felt that they had benefited a lot.

  While the discussion was still lively, Wang Lu tactfully changed the topic and raised a question he was most concerned about.

  "Fellow daoist Li Yan, I have watched all things work in this world, and everything contain the supreme dao, but there is one thing that makes me puzzled."

  "Do tell, fellow daoist."

  "I see that all the living beings in the world can be divided into male and female, yin and yang. The yin and yang can live together and reproduce life, like the animals on our plates… but why do we human beings are different? Has fellow daoist ever thought that maybe we humans should be like other creatures…"

  Li Yan took a sip of her tea and then revealed a hint of smile as she said, "The question raised by fellow daoist seems ordinary, but in fact, it is the key point. Why are we humans different from the others? I believe that more than one person are curious about this problem, but the answer is very simple. Because in creating all the living beings, the Heaven made us the spirit of all living beings, the head of the living beings, so we possess unique advantages that other creatures do not possess! Ordinary creatures need to be divided into yin and yang, each with half to live on. However, we humans can monopolize both sides of yin and yang. I think this is one of the manifestations of human beings being higher than other creatures. As for what fellow daoist said that yin would be lonely without yang, I believe it is just the illusion of cultivation. You see, there's no imbalance between yin and yang in my body… Of course, if speaking about the root attribute, I indeed belong to the yin side. But this is because we are merely the descendants of the Human Immortals, not really an immortal in the true sense. Therefore, there's still a bit of deficiency. When we cultivate until our stage is high enough, this deficiency will disappear, then we will become the true perfect creature."

  For this speech, Wang Lu almost knelt on the floor. Li Yan was indeed the fifth rank in the ninth layer of heaven of the Temple of Heaven. Her professional priest look was exceptionally serious that she was actually able to say such a ridiculous theory deadpanned-ly!

  "So, has fellow daoist ever considered that some organs in our body look very suspicious…"

  Li Yan blinked. "Suspicious organs? Fellow daoist mean is…"

  Wang Lu simply pointed her groin area.

  Li Yan felt a bit puzzled but also somewhat funny. "This is the source of our happiness."

  Whoa, the Temple of Heaven's joy is actually this vulgar?

  Wang Lu had to be more patient and further explained, "I mean it's a bit more inside… the internal organ part."

  Li Yan suddenly got it. "Oh, you mean that! Indeed, I don't know what it is for. Except for making ordinary people who don't cultivate have the monthly bleeding, it is meaningless."

  Wang Lu thus asked, "If we are now close to perfection, don't you think that it's unnecessary for that thing to exist? For creatures similar to human, it is there to give birth to the next generation, but we don't need to, instead, our next generation is given by the Heaven, then…"

  Li Yan smiled. "Still that same sentence. Us Human Immortals are not really immortals. So it is also excusable to leave some traces of imperfections on our body. In fact, there are so many useless things on our body other than what you said, like the appendix, right? I think fellow daoist is probably too attached to the so-called perfection."

  Speaking to this, perhaps due to being slightly intoxicated due to the wine, Li Yan continued to say a few more words.

  "Actually, I know very well what fellow daoist really want to say. Over the years, many people have asked questions like yours, including me, wondering if there should be another human being, different from us, born Yang 1 , and… But when I seriously read the scriptures of the Temple of Heaven, I gradually realized how stupid I was. Perhaps in the age of chaos, we humans are indeed divided into male and female, but then, the Heaven sublimated the Earth, becoming the Heavenly Earth, and our ancestors stood out from the ordinary human being; presumably, from that time on, we gradually changed."

  "…"

  Wang Lu was speechless. It was a waste of time to talk with this fanatic who attributed everything to the Heaven. At this time, Li Yan had also lost her interest in talking, so she began to get up to send them off.

  Just before they parted way, Li Yan gave Wang Lu a letter.

  "Fellow daoist has a wide range of interests. Many of the ideas are deeply inspiring, and they have also answered many problems that have been plaguing me for a long time. Unfortunately, I can't answer all of your questions. However, the Temple of Heaven is full of talented people. Above me, there are open heaven, harmonious heaven, and other ranks. Presumably, they can answer your questions. However, you, fellow daoist, are not the people of Temple of Heaven, so… take this letter. With it, you can go to the Palace of Heaven to pay a visit to the Lord of the Moonless Harmonious Heaven, and ask her to answer your questions and clear up your confusions."

  Wang Lu received the letter of recommendation and then thanked her profusely before being sent off to the gate by Li Yan.

  "Actually, you don't have to thank me. In tonight's banquet, my harvest is bigger than yours. Many of your understanding of cultivation are eye-openers. Coincidentally, just a few days ago, I have also hosted a few cultivators, and many of their views are similar to yours, if you have the opportunity to meet them, you all probably would have a great time talking with each other."

  Upon hearing this, Wang Lu was surprised, many of their views are similar to me?

  At the banquet just now, some of Wang Lu's statements deeply inspired Li Yan, which were basically different from the cultivation system of Nine Regions and this immortal dream. And if the view of those people were similar to Wang Lu, it probably meant…


  In this immortal dreamland, there were other people besides Liu Li and Wang Lu! Moreover, they have already taken the first step by visiting Li Yan earlier than him!

  … The problem was, who were those people?