On the other side of the dimensional divide, the Great Golden Crow witnessed Yang Jian and Yang Chan suddenly vanish into thin air right before his divine eyes. The solar deity's wise gaze widened in complete shock—he had never expected that someone would dare to brazenly spirit away his targets while operating directly under his surveillance.
Just as the Great Golden Crow was building toward explosive rage over this unprecedented audacity, Yang Jian materialized before him once again, though now he was wearing entirely different clothing than before.
"What?" the Great Golden Crow muttered in bewilderment.
No matter how limited his intelligence might be, even the Great Golden Crow understood that some tremendously powerful entity must be intervening in this situation.
However, he had received direct orders from the Emperor of Heaven himself to capture both Yang Jian and his sister. Without explicit countermanding instructions from the Emperor, the Great Golden Crow remained bound to continue pursuing his assigned mission.
Therefore, when Yang Jian reappeared, the Great Golden Crow immediately prepared to seize him. However, Marshal Tianpeng, who had been positioned nearby, quickly stepped forward to restrain his superior:
"Your Highness, Yang Jian clearly has a powerful master protecting him now. Please don't act rashly without considering the consequences!"
"Tianpeng, what exactly are you implying?" the Great Golden Crow demanded with obvious displeasure.
This same individual had been responsible for allowing Yang Jian and his sister to escape in the first place. Now he had the audacity to attempt restraining him again. What could his true intentions possibly be?
"Your Highness..." Marshal Tianpeng began, preparing to offer more detailed persuasion to the Great Golden Crow.
However, before he could complete his argument, the commanding voice of the Emperor of Heaven reached both their ears with divine authority:
"Great Golden Crow, Tianpeng, Yang Jian has now become a direct disciple of the Great Saint Taiqing. I have concluded a formal agreement with Daode Tianzun that for the next three years, the forces of the Heavenly Court are strictly forbidden from attacking Yang Jian under any circumstances. You are both ordered to withdraw immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" both divine beings responded in unison, performing proper bows of acknowledgment.
"Yang Jian, you are indeed fortunate to have become a disciple of Great Saint Taiqing!" the Great Golden Crow declared with bitter resentment before his departure. "However, three years from now, you won't find yourself quite so protected!"
Recognizing that he was currently powerless to harm Yang Jian, the Great Golden Crow could only make threatening declarations before beginning his reluctant retreat.
"Great Golden Crow, in three years' time, I will definitely exact my righteous vengeance upon both you and the Emperor of Heaven for the destruction of my family!" Yang Jian replied with burning hatred as he stared at the enemy who had murdered his father and elder brother.
"Three years represents merely a brief moment," the Great Golden Crow scoffed dismissively. "You're nothing but a mortal human. Even if you've managed to become a disciple of the Great Saint, what significant accomplishments could you possibly achieve?"
The Great Golden Crow refused to believe that Yang Jian could accomplish anything meaningful through just three years of cultivation. Throughout all the heavens and myriad realms, every god and mighty being had endured tremendous hardships and countless epochs before achieving success in their spiritual development.
Even those blessed with innate powerful magical abilities still required tremendous effort and dedication to advance their cultivation levels. The Great Golden Crow himself, despite his distinguished divine lineage, had cultivated for countless epochs to achieve his current impressive status. Yang Jian was merely a mortal—what could three short years possibly accomplish?
For an immortal being like the Great Golden Crow, three years passed like the blink of an eye.
Soon, the Great Golden Crow retreated with all the forces of Heaven under his command. However, Yang Jian remained waiting in that location, because before his departure from the Bamboo Staff restaurant, the Moral Lord had informed him that his eldest senior brother Xuandu would arrive to escort him to the Bajing Palace on Shouyang Mountain.
After waiting for a reasonable period, Yang Jian spotted a Taoist dressed in green robes riding upon a cloud in the distance.
"I believe that person must be my eldest senior brother," Yang Jian thought silently to himself.
Therefore, Yang Jian began waving his hands enthusiastically and shouting:
"Elder Brother, I'm here!"
Meanwhile, in the sky above, Master Yu Ding had calculated through divination that his destined eldest disciple would encounter a significant disaster on this particular day. Consequently, he had hastily mounted his cloud and rushed toward the location indicated by his calculations.
However, Master Yu Ding had not anticipated that upon arriving at the site predicted by his hexagram readings, he would find no one in apparent danger. Instead, he observed only a young man dressed in white robes who was waving his hands and shouting with obvious excitement.
Master Yu Ding performed his divination calculations once more, only to discover that the threads of destiny had become chaotic and confused—his prophesied disciple had seemingly vanished from fate itself.
Therefore, in order to locate his missing future disciple, Master Yu Ding descended to land beside the white-robed youth.
"Young man, were you calling out to me just now?" Master Yu Ding inquired after touching down.
"That's absolutely correct, Elder Brother! I was indeed calling to you!" Yang Jian responded with obvious excitement and recognition.
Master Yu Ding felt puzzled upon hearing Yang Jian's form of address. He assumed the young man must have mistaken him for someone else. As the tenth-ranked among the Twelve Golden Immortals, there was no logical way he could be this youth's senior brother. Moreover, he had never heard that his master Yuanshi Tianzun had accepted any new disciples recently.
"Young man, what is your name? And why do you address me as Elder Brother?" Master Yu Ding asked with growing confusion.
Yang Jian also began to realize that something was amiss at this point. He seemed to have mistaken this person's identity, so he could only answer with complete honesty:
"My name is Yang Jian. My master instructed me that if I waited in this location, my senior brother would arrive to collect me."
Upon hearing Yang Jian's explanation, Master Yu Ding felt completely shocked. Wasn't Yang Jian the very disciple he had foreseen through his earlier divination? How had this youth become someone else's disciple instead?
Master Yu Ding was preparing to demand who exactly Yang Jian's master was and why this unknown entity dared to steal his prophesied disciple. Didn't this mysterious master understand that he was a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Explanation Sect serving under the Jade Purity Saint?
However, just as Master Yu Ding was about to voice these indignant questions, a young Taoist priest dressed in distinctive yin-yang Taoist robes arrived on the scene.
This young Taoist was well known to Master Yu Ding. He was Master Xuandu, the sole direct disciple of the Great Saint Taiqing Daode Tianzun, and also held the position of eldest senior brother among all second-generation disciples across the three great sects of Human, Explanation, and Interception.
Therefore, upon seeing Xuandu's arrival, Master Yu Ding performed a respectful bow and declared:
"Yu Ding respectfully greets Senior Brother Xuandu."
Xuandu returned the formal courtesy:
"Xuandu greets Junior Brother Yu Ding."
Hearing the polite exchange between these two accomplished cultivators, Yang Jian quickly imitated their example by performing his own bow and saying:
"Yang Jian respectfully greets Senior Brother Xuandu."
When Master Yu Ding heard Yang Jian addressing Xuandu as "elder brother," his eyes widened in sudden comprehension and dismay.
"I should introduce you, Brother Yu Ding," Xuandu explained with a pleasant smile. "Yang Jian is my Master's newest disciple. I have come here specifically to escort Brother Yang Jian back to Bajing Palace."
"Greetings, Junior Brother Yang Jian," Master Yu Ding managed to reply, forcing what could barely be called a smile.
After hearing Xuandu's clear introduction, Master Yu Ding could only accept this devastating reality. The eldest disciple he had originally calculated through divination had now become his junior brother instead. No wonder the secrets of heaven had become so chaotic and impossible to interpret.
But what could Master Yu Ding possibly do about this situation? This involved the Great Saint Daode Tianzun, who was his own revered uncle-master. Besides accepting this unexpected junior brother with a gracious smile, did Master Yu Ding have any alternative? Should he break down in tears instead?
"I respectfully greet Senior Brother Yu Ding," Yang Jian replied with appropriate courtesy, performing another formal bow.
"Junior Brother Yang Jian is truly an exceptionally young man, and I can sense that he possesses remarkable talent as well," Master Yu Ding declared through gritted teeth. "Yu Ding would like to offer congratulations to Uncle-Master on acquiring such a beloved disciple."
Having had his destined disciple stolen away, Master Yu Ding had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill with broken teeth and maintain a facade of gracious acceptance.
"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother Yu Ding," Yang Jian responded with genuine gratitude.
"Master is still waiting for me to escort Junior Brother Yang Jian back to report at Bajing Palace, so we should depart immediately," Xuandu announced, having noticed that Master Yu Ding's emotional state seemed somewhat unstable.
He couldn't understand the cause of this strange behavior, but remembering his master's specific instructions before his departure, Xuandu felt it was important to bring Yang Jian back for his formal introduction as quickly as possible.
"Of course, of course! Senior Brother Xuandu, please escort Junior Brother Yang Jian back to report quickly. We mustn't keep Uncle-Master waiting with any unnecessary delays," Master Yu Ding replied with a smile that appeared more painful than tears, watching helplessly as Xuandu and Yang Jian departed together.
"Elder Brother, what was wrong with Brother Yu Ding just now?" Yang Jian asked with obvious puzzlement during their journey toward Bajing Palace.
"I honestly don't know," Xuandu replied with equal confusion. "Perhaps Junior Brother Yu Ding encountered some difficulties with his cultivation practice!"
Xuandu had also found Master Yu Ding's behavior today quite strange and unusual, and could only offer speculative explanations for his peculiar emotional state.
Within the magnificent Bajing Palace, the true body of the Moral Lord had returned from his negotiations in the Nine Heavens and was now seated in the main hall, awaiting their arrival.
Yang Jian followed Xuandu to Shouyang Mountain, and even before they approached closely, he could observe from a great distance a grand hall standing majestically upon the mountain's peak. Although the structure possessed a relatively simple architectural design, it emanated a mysterious and profound Taoist charm that was entirely worthy of serving as a saint's dwelling place.
"Master, Xuandu has successfully brought Junior Brother back as instructed," Xuandu announced in the main hall, bowing his head respectfully as he reported to the Moral Lord.
"Thank you for your diligent efforts. You may withdraw now. I have important matters to discuss with your junior brother," the Moral Lord replied, opening his cosmic eyes and addressing Xuandu with gentle authority.
"Yes, Master," Xuandu responded with proper obedience.
After hearing the Moral Lord's dismissal, Xuandu slowly departed from the hall, leaving master and new disciple alone together.
"Yang Jian," the Moral Lord called.
"This disciple is present," Yang Jian quickly responded upon hearing the Moral Lord addressing him.
Although the true body of the Moral Lord and his self-corpse appeared identical in physical form, there existed a tremendous difference between them upon actual contact and interaction.
The self-corpse of the Moral Lord had behaved exactly like an ordinary elderly man from the mortal world—appearing amiable and kindly, inspiring people to feel comfortable approaching him. However, the true body of the Moral Lord remained impossible to fathom or comprehend. He was clearly present before Yang Jian, yet somehow people couldn't sense his existence—a paradox that defied description or understanding.
"Yang Jian, since you have officially become my disciple, you should receive a proper Taoist name," the Moral Lord declared with cosmic authority. "Today, I shall bestow upon you the Taoist name Qingyuan. Do you find this acceptable?"
Although phrased as a question, the Moral Lord's words carried an unmistakable quality that brooked no refusal or alternative suggestions.
"Qingyuan humbly thanks Master for this honor," Yang Jian responded immediately, expressing his heartfelt gratitude.
"Qingyuan, I have concluded a formal agreement with the Emperor of Heaven that establishes a three-year deadline," the Moral Lord continued with solemn gravity. "After these three years have passed, you will depart from the Bajing Palace on Shouyang Mountain. Whether you prove capable of rescuing your mother will depend entirely upon your own cultivation efforts and achievements."
The Moral Lord had absolutely no intention of directly assisting Yang Jian in rescuing his imprisoned mother. After three years of intensive training, whether Yang Jian could succeed in his quest would rest completely upon his own merits and abilities.
"Yes, Master. Qingyuan understands completely," Yang Jian replied with deep appreciation.
Yang Jian recognized that being accepted as a disciple by the Moral Lord represented an tremendous favor and blessing beyond measure. Therefore, he dared not presume to request any additional assistance or special treatment beyond what had already been so generously provided.