Chapter 3097 - The Guide

Yi!

It was such a unique name that Su Yi instantly realized who the Heavenly Sovereign in the coffin was: Sovereign Venerate Yi, the ruler of the Primordial Divine Court and the Sovereign Among Sovereigns!

That was him? Su Yi couldn’t help but find the situation absurd.

He almost immediately sent a thread of his divine sense into the Cauldron of Fate to confirm his hypothesis with True Progenitor Shi Yin.

“He wants to keep you quiet because he’s afraid of losing face? Hah! That’s got to be him. Others see Sovereign Venerate Yi as a beacon of endless, radiant light, the man who stands proudly above all other Heavenly Sovereigns and gazes down on all of creation, but... as his old enemy, I understand him better than anyone else. Deep within his bones, he’s a narcissistic, obnoxious show-off!”

True Progenitor Shi Yin’s voice was full of mockery.

A moment later, he realized something. “Wait, Senior, does that mean his true body is still alive?”

“The one I saw was a clone,” said Su Yi. “The clone has been destroyed, but apparently, his true body yet lives.”

True Progenitor Shi Yin was instantly stunned. As old enemies, he was naturally keenly aware of Sovereign Venerate Yi’s strength. He was the unquestioned number-one expert of the Primordial Era!

True Progenitor Shi Yin might have looked down on Sovereign Venerate Yi’s conduct, but he couldn’t deny his terrifying strength.

Yet now, this senior had destroyed Sovereign Venerate Yi’s clone. How could True Progenitor Shi Yin remain calm knowing that?

Just how terrifying is this senior’s cultivation base?

True Progenitor Shi Yin had no way of knowing it, but that “Senior” was stunned too.

That really was Sovereign Venerate Yi! The ruler of the Primordial Divine Court!

When he thought back to the details of their encounter, Su Yi couldn’t deny that Sovereign Venerate Yi’s bearing and breadth of spirit were extraordinary.

The man had obviously taken him for an Immeasurable Realm junior. Moreover, he’d remained calm and relaxed even as his clone was destroyed. How could any ordinary person compare?

He clearly earned his reputation as the greatest Heavenly Sovereign of his age, thought Su Yi.

Su Yi quickly withdrew his divine sense, ending his conversation with True Progenitor Shi Yin. He then gazed into the tribulation clouds once more.

The Untethered Boat hovered there, clearly visible. It hadn’t moved or reacted in any way when the tribulation clouds destroyed Sovereign Venerate Yi’s clone.

But now, when he examined the mysterious black boat more intently, a strange, inexplicable feeling washed over him. When he looked at it, it felt as if the little boat was staring back at him with a pair of invisible eyes.

Su Yi knew he wasn’t imagining it, but this only increased his curiosity. The Untethered Boat was hiding in the clouds earlier. It only emerged after I took out the Cauldron of Fate.

I expected it to do something, but... it’s just sitting there quietly, unmoving. There’s no sign of anything strange about it.

In the end, Su Yi retracted his gaze. I’d best leave. I came here to lay eyes on the Untethered Boat, no more.

Both True Progenitor Shi Yin and Ruo Su had warned him against approaching the mysterious black boat, so he had no intention of touching it.

Now that he’d found it, he could leave.

Next, I’ve got to refine one of the Heavenly Fate Elixirs. That should be enough to get me to the peak of the Immeasurable Realm.

Then I can head to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. Who knows? I might well be able to break through while I’m here...

As Su Yi pondered, he turned to leave, blue robes swaying around him. Soon, he’d faded into the distance.

Along the way, he gathered seven more varieties of Heavenly Fate Elixir floating on the Sea of Fate. Each was the type of good fortune even a Heavenly Sovereign would drool over, yet he’d just picked them up for free.

He was increasingly confident that his next breakthrough would go smoothly.

“Why not board the boat?”

Suddenly, a voice emanated from afar, clear yet ethereal, with a soft, distinctive magnetism.

Su Yi came to a sudden halt, then turned and gazed into the distance.

The Untethered Boat still floated silently amidst the tribulation clouds. When he looked around, there was no one else in sight.

But before Su Yi could give the matter any further thought, that ethereal voice rang out once more.

“If you’re willing, I can bring you straight to the Source of the River of Destiny. There, you can see what the beginning of this Chaos Epoch looked like.”

Su Yi’s gaze focused. He was finally certain that the voice was emanating from the Untethered Boat!

“A treasure spirit?” probed Su Yi.

“No, I’m just... a guide.” Tribulation clouds silently churned, and countless streaks of dazzling tribulation light gathered on board the Untethered Boat. A mysterious, ethereal figure took shape. From her curves, it was obvious that she was female.

She wore plain, old-fashioned gray robes and a black conical hat. Her sleeves were wide and loose, like flowing clouds. Standing amidst the dazzling tribulation clouds, she seemed mysterious and ethereal. Su Yi couldn’t see her features clearly.

From a distance, she was like an incarnation of tribulation light. Her whole body was brimming with mysterious flair.

This surprised Su Yi. The Untethered Boat actually has a mysterious ‘guide?’ Neither Ruo Su nor True Progenitor Shi Yin mentioned anything of the sort.

He couldn’t help but ask, “What do you mean, ‘guide?’”

Tribulation light flowed over the boat, dreamlike and illusory. The woman in the conical had said in her clear, ethereal voice, “I steer the Untethered Boat to the Source of the River of Destiny. To guide others is to guide oneself. That’s what it means to be a guide.”

Su Yi mulled that over, then changed the subject. “Were you involved in the earlier changes to the Cauldron of Fate?”

The woman shook her head slightly. “The Cauldron of Fate did that of its own accord. Just like the Untethered Boat, it is not of this place, but rather, of the Source of the River of Destiny. You’ve yet to truly master the cauldron, so you naturally cannot make it submit to you.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose, but this explanation made sense.

Moreover, the woman had revealed a shocking secret in passing: the Cauldron of Fate and Untethered Boat originated from the Source of the River of Destiny!

“Do you wish to visit the Source?” the woman asked once more. “If so, you can board immediately.”

Su Yi shook his head. “Maybe later.”

The woman in the conical hat was obviously stunned, and she seemed disappointed. “On you, I sense the aura of the very beginning of this Chaos Epoch. I thought we were similar, and that I might call you my fellow Daoist, but now, it seems...”

She trailed off, then shook her head, unwilling to say more.

But Su Yi was stunned. “The aura of the very beginning of this Chaos Epoch? What do you mean?”

The woman was obviously stunned, too. “You mean you don’t know?”

Su Yi shook his head. It was his first time hearing of such a thing, and he was completely bewildered.

After a moment’s silence, the woman chose not to explain. She just sighed and said softly, “It seems the time is not yet right, and there’s no forcing it. If you understand later, come back and see me.”

Then, she vanished before her voice had even finished echoing through the air. The tribulation light filling the sky faded away.

Su Yi had lots more questions to ask, but it was too late. Even the Untethered Boat silently sped off, vanishing into the tribulation clouds in the blink of an eye.

All was as it had been before. It was as if everything that had happened had been a mere illusion.

Su Yi stood there, rubbing his brow. He dared say with certainty that the self-proclaimed guide knew numerous secrets of the Source of the River of Destiny, including information about the Cauldron of Fate.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t speak with her any further. He had only his ignorance of the Source of the River of Destiny to blame. He had no idea what she meant by the aura of the very beginning of this Chaos Epoch.

It would be so much better if my first incarnation’s heart devil were here. I’m sure he’d understand who or what the guide was and answer my questions.

Su Yi couldn’t help but miss the heart devil and wonder how he was doing.

After a while, he set aside his scattered thoughts and conversed with True Progenitor Shi Yin in the Cauldron of Fate again.

He asked about the guide, but True Progenitor Shi Yin didn’t know anything either. On the contrary, the realization that there’d been a mysterious guide on board the Untethered Boat astonished him.

Now he admired Su Yi more than ever. It seemed to him that this “senior” had far-reaching, omnipotent strength.

He hadn’t just defeated Sovereign Venerate Yi’s clone. He’d learned some of the secrets of the Untethered Boat!

Next, Su Yi changed the subject and started asking about the Cauldron of Fate. Unfortunately, True Progenitor Shi Yin couldn’t answer these questions, either.

Even though he’d acquired this treasure long ago, he’d never truly refined it, either.

Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised to hear that. True Progenitor Shi Yin was from the early days of the Primordial Era, and he’d once fought Sovereign Venerate Yi and reigned over the Chaos Fiends. His power was readily obvious.

Who could have imagined that someone like him would fail to refine the Cauldron of Fate?

Su Yi couldn’t help but recall something his first incarnation’s heard devil had told him. The Cauldron of Fate was highly unusual, and he suspected that it was connected to the Source of the River of Destiny. He warned Su Yi not to touch it, or anything else connected to the Source, until he’d become a Heavenly Sovereign.

At the time, Su Yi had subconsciously assumed that the cauldron’s lead to the Source of Destiny involved True Progenitor Shi Yin. Now, it seemed obvious that that wasn’t the case at all!

Because the guide had told him that the Cauldron of Fate itself was from the Source of the River of Destiny!

“Senior, even though I never managed to refine the Cauldron of Fate, I did manage to use it, and I understand a portion of its powers and applications,” said True Progenitor Shi Yin. Just like before, he volunteered everything he knew before Su Yi could even ask questions.

“In the early days of the Primordial Era, I was a hair weaker than Sovereign Venerate Yi. However, with the Cauldron of Fate in hand, the two of us were evenly matched!

“I won’t lie to you. Over the course of my life, this treasure served as my ultimate trump card and killer weapon. That should make it obvious how powerful it is.

“Alas, perhaps because I was lacking in fortune or due to my inadequate strength, I never managed to refine the cauldron. If I had... I would never have been defeated in the Battle of Rulers...”

There was no disguising the despondency in his voice as he said this.

“This treasure is from the Source of the River of Destiny. Not just anyone can refine it,” Su Yi said casually.

True Progenitor Shi Yin was astonished, then enlightened. “So that’s it... No wonder, no wonder... Thank you so much for resolving my doubts, Senior!”

True Progenitor Shi Yin’s estimation of this senior instantly rose even higher.

Su Yi’s gaze was suddenly a bit strange. How will he react if he finds out who the ‘senior’ he reveres really is? Would he be able to bear it?

The thought of it intrigued him.