Chapter 23: The False Dao Patriarch Suffers a Brutal Beating

"No, I don't have much time left."
The Dao Ancestor sensed things were going awry, gritting his teeth in desperation. "I need more power."
Golden light pulsed on the hook as a strand of azure-violet energy shot forth and merged with it. Instantly, a vast, transcendent force thundered across the heavens and earth.
"The Dao Ancestor's origin!"
Ning Peach Blossom was astonished. Was the Dao Ancestor always this reckless? Or had he lost composure, his mind unraveling? No, this was entirely out of character.
That was the Dao Ancestor's very origin. Though only a trace, its potency multiplied hundreds or thousands of times—unreasonably overwhelming, enough to kill anyone.
Had the Dao Ancestor lost his mind? He had once merged with the Heavenly Way, and this so-called origin, in truth, was partly stolen from the Heavenly Way itself.
Yet no matter how shocked Ning Peach Blossom was, the power was real. The golden hook underwent a complete transformation, and the Dragon of Mist, who had been holding its own, was abruptly pierced and shattered.
The Dragon of Mist could no longer play its part, but the Dao Ancestor felt no triumph—only a sudden, bone-deep chill.
The Dragon of Mist had arrived trailing thunder and lightning. Though it perished swiftly, that thunder, once insignificant, now grew rapidly. Violet divine lightning materialized, breaking all conventions. Before the Dao Ancestor could react, the golden hook was cleaved in two by the divine bolt, its force beyond imagination.
"Heavenly Way!"
The Dao Ancestor was filled with regret. "I was too reckless. Using even a trace of my origin was rash."
He had wanted to secure victory quickly, knowing every moment spent increased the risks. But unexpectedly, the Heavenly Way intervened.
Deeply remorseful, the Dao Ancestor stamped his feet in frustration. Had he known, he would have exercised more caution, but now it was too late.
The Heavenly Way, too, descended in fury. When foes meet, hatred blazes.
Though the Heavenly Way had no independent personality or intelligence, such a lofty existence, even acting on instinct, could hold grudges. No matter how dull its mind, the pain lingered—the Dao Ancestor had forcibly torn its origin. Such a grievance would be remembered for a lifetime.
Perhaps, in the Heavenly Way's ledger of grudges, the Dao Ancestor was enemy number one.
No longer daring to stay, the Dao Ancestor turned to flee.
"Dao Ancestor, you resort to underhanded tactics again. But since you're here, you won't leave."

In the Sea of Rules, a furious shout rang out. Divine lights cascaded, coalescing into gigantic hands like mountains sweeping across the void.
The Dao Ancestor was alarmed. "Have I been set up?"
Unexpected, but not surprising—he had offended many. Once exposed, a beating was inevitable.
A deafening roar erupted, a peerless strike tearing apart the heavens and earth. Countless rules thundered in unison. The Dao Ancestor could not escape, forced down into the Sea of Rules.
This was disastrous. Though the Dao Ancestor was powerful, his enemies were formidable too. Failing to escape at the start, his situation was dire. A vague omen stirred within him—was this the end? Would he die here? No, it shouldn't be so.
The Dao Ancestor blazed with light, his world-shaking Dao revolving mountains and seas. Immortal radiance crashed into the highest heavens, revealing his bloodied face.
"Seems the Dao Ancestor's face is swollen from the beating," Ye Chen couldn't help but chuckle. It was a formidable foe, now wholly lacking dignity. Ye Chen's schadenfreude was understandable—he wished nothing more than for the enemy to keel over for good.
But this was the Dao Ancestor, the fountainhead of Immortal Dao. Could he be so easily outmaneuvered? Surely not.
"Something's off," Ning Peach Blossom's eyes brimmed with confusion. The scene felt familiar, as if it had happened before.
Those besieging the Dao Ancestor were bathed in divine light, their forms indistinct. Yet among them stood a colossal peach tree, scattering blossoms like rain, striking at the heavens alongside the Dao Ancestor.
"That's me!"
Ning Peach Blossom was stunned, momentarily lost. The battle was fierce, fragments of rules fell like shooting stars, shaking the Sea of Rules as if it were being blasted apart. The world trembled; the myriad Dao shattered; even time unraveled into streams.
"I understand now," Ning Peach Blossom murmured, dazed. "So that's it. It's merely a replay of an ancient scene. Only you and I are out of place, unable to distinguish truth from illusion."
"What on earth is happening?"
Ye Chen was puzzled, unable to grasp why Ning Peach Blossom seemed so shaken, nor could he fully comprehend her words.
"In fact, that Dao Ancestor is a fake," Ning Peach Blossom said solemnly. "Think about it—since the Heavenly Medicine is a phantom, the Dao Ancestor being fake isn't odd. The Heavenly Medicine is wondrous; lingering too long in one place produces a shadow. The Dao Ancestor can be seen as the vessel of the Great Dao in the mortal realm, forming a similar phantom. At least, that's logical."

In the lost annals of ancient history, the Dao Ancestor used the Heavenly Medicine as bait, though what he finally caught is unknown. As time flowed and the world changed, everything seemed to cycle anew. After you blazed a new path, you fell into the Sea of Rules, and the old events repeated themselves.
Ning Peach Blossom paused, gazing deeply at Ye Chen before continuing, "This is fortunate—it means the real Dao Ancestor isn't scheming against you. It makes sense; no matter how wary or murderous he might be, the Dao Ancestor is not in this realm and can't plot so precisely."
"So you mean it's just a coincidence?"
Ye Chen was skeptical. If only it were so, but he was not so naive.
"Of course not," Ning Peach Blossom shook her head. "I mean the fleeing Dao Ancestor currently has no designs on you, doesn't even know you exist. The one targeting you is that fake Dao Ancestor."
"It's not hard to understand. After the real Dao Ancestor fled, his phantom remained, embodying his original obsession. Using the Heavenly Medicine's phantom as bait, it hunts prodigies who forge new paths. Unfortunately, you've caught its eye."
"The Dao Ancestor's phantom doesn't know it's fake. Its temperament and power are flawed."
"Once exposed, it's beset from all sides—unable to escape. Watch and see; the real Dao Ancestor won't be so easily defeated. The fake one will bear the consequences, likely to be sacrificed to seal the Sea's Eye."
Ye Chen pondered, feeling relieved. A fake Dao Ancestor posed far less threat.
Besides, its fate would be miserable; Ye Chen need not worry about it.
This meant Ye Chen wouldn't have to face the real Dao Ancestor from the start, which eased his mind.
The gap was too vast—no amount of desperation could avenge him.
Ye Chen began to doubt Ning Peach Blossom's true identity. Such secrets couldn't all be gleaned from ancient texts.
Some matters could only be known by those involved; outsiders would barely catch a glimpse. Ning Peach Blossom seemed far from ordinary.
Despite her current battered state in the peach grove, struck by lightning, could she once have been glorious? Had she once roamed carefree, enjoying unimaginable brilliance?