strictlysupreme Chapter 387 Yuan Tiangang, the Sage of Numbers
Chapter 387 Yuan Tiangang, the Sage of Numbers
Chapter 387 Yuan Tiangang, the Sage of Numbers
The man before them was exceptionally handsome, dressed in a Taoist robe with Bagua symbols. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his gaze toward Lin Fei carried a hint of displeasure.
This person appeared suddenly, almost like a ghost, without Lin Fei noticing at all.
There are not many people in this world with such cultivation that they can hide from Lin Fei's eyes and ears, and there is no one else in this space in front of him.
The identity of the person in front of him was already obvious—it was Yuan Tiangang, the ancestor of the Yuan family and one of the ancient saints with the title of "Sage of Numbers".
Lin Fei was just worried about not being able to find Yuan Tiangang's whereabouts when, unexpectedly, Yuan Tiangang appeared right in front of him. It was truly a case of "searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly!"
Lin Fei took two steps forward and stood about ten meters away from Yuan Tiangang, maintaining a safe distance.
After all, the spirit of the Black Serpent said that Yuan Tiangang had probably been corrupted by demonic energy, and to a considerable degree. Although he didn't seem to be acting any differently now, no one could say for sure what might happen. Maintaining this distance would at least ensure Lin Fei's self-protection.
Lin Fei stopped about ten meters away from Yuan Tiangang, bowed to him from afar, and said, "This junior greets Senior Sage!"
"What senior?" Yuan Tiangang frowned even more deeply upon hearing Lin Fei's words, and snorted, "I am your ancestor!"
Yuan Tiangang didn't mean to insult anyone; he simply regarded Lin Fei as his descendant. Lin Fei then explained, "Senior Sage, I am not a descendant of the Yuan family."
"What?" To everyone's surprise, Yuan Tiangang became even more agitated upon hearing this. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Lin Fei and reached out to grab him.
Yuan Tiangang's actions startled Lin Fei, who feared that the man was experiencing a demonic outburst. He quickly dodged backward and maintained a safe distance from Yuan Tiangang.
Yuan Tiangang was clearly surprised that Lin Fei could react so quickly, preventing him from catching him. A strange light flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "Your cultivation is not bad, kid. You must be someone important."
This time, he didn't approach Lin Fei again. Instead, he stood still and asked with a slightly melancholy look, "You just said that you are not a descendant of the Yuan family. Does that mean my Yuan family has already perished?"
Fearing that Lin Fei was deceiving him, he quickly added, "Don't worry, everything that rises must fall, and everything that succeeds must fail. The Yuan family was founded by me, so naturally it will decline one day. Just tell me the truth, and I won't hold a grudge against you."
It's no wonder Yuan Tiangang had such a misunderstanding; the place where the stone tablet was kept was a forbidden area for the Yuan family. Yuan Tiangang had also passed down an ancestral rule that no descendant of the Yuan family was allowed to enter the cave.
Now that Lin Fei is no longer a descendant of the Yuan family and has entered this world of stone tablets, unless the Yuan family is destroyed, it's unlikely that an outsider would be allowed to violate the Yuan family's ancestral precepts.
Having figured out the crux of the matter, Lin Fei couldn't help but feel that his previous worries had been somewhat unfounded. He then explained to Yuan Tiangang, "Senior, please don't misunderstand. The Yuan family is still the National Protector Celestial Master of our Southern Tang Kingdom, passed down through generations. It is still prosperous and has not declined."
As he spoke, Lin Fei bowed to Yuan Tiangang again: "It was my oversight that I did not make myself clear before. I am Li Longyuan, the current ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty. I pay my respects to the venerable elders!"
Yuan Tiangang was one of the ancient sages, a contemporary of the founding emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Even the capital of the Southern Tang was chosen by him after divination and surveying. Lin Fei, naturally, wouldn't put on any airs of an emperor in his presence.
"So it was the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty!" Hearing Lin Fei's words and knowing that the Yuan family had not perished, Yuan Tiangang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he spoke of the principles of rise and fall, he did not want to hear news of the Yuan family's decline.
As he spoke, Yuan Tiangang looked at Lin Fei suspiciously and asked, "Since you are the emperor of the Southern Tang Kingdom, how come you are here? I made an agreement with your founding emperor of the Southern Tang Kingdom that my Yuan family would serve as the Heavenly Masters of the Southern Tang Kingdom for generations, divining the fortunes and misfortunes of the Southern Tang. Your royal family has no right to interfere in the affairs of my Yuan family."
"Could it be that your royal family has broken the original agreement? They've even entered the forbidden area of my Yuan family?" Yuan Tiangang couldn't help but wonder.
It seems that unless I explain things clearly to him, let alone talk about the power of reincarnation, I'm afraid he'll only refrain from attacking me out of respect for the founding emperor.
Lin Fei then told Yuan Tiangang all the difficulties the Yuan family was facing. This included the changes in Yuan Yuanshan's body caused by the forced prolongation of his life, Yuan Daotong's intention to sacrifice his own life to save the entire Yuan family, and how Lin Fei learned about the situation and came to this place to tell Yuan Tiangang everything in detail.
After saying that, Lin Fei couldn't help but ask with some doubt, "Since you are a sage from the Middle Ages, who has seen through the secrets of heaven and created the unparalleled skill 'Tui Bei Tu', how come you know nothing about the current situation of the Yuan family?"
After listening, Yuan Tiangang remained silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "If I could still deduce the secrets of heaven, how could I be trapped in this godforsaken place? To be honest, nowadays, let alone deduce the secrets of heaven, I am extremely cautious even when using a trace of true energy, for fear of any unexpected events."
He chuckled and said, "I was just bluffing you. Even if your royal family really bullies my Yuan family, there's nothing I can do about it right now."
It's unexpected that this renowned ancient sage would have such a temperament. He bears a striking resemblance to Yuan Daotong's lazy and unassuming manner, showing absolutely no airs of a great figure.
After a long silence, Yuan Tiangang spoke again: "I never imagined that my Yuan family would reach the point of having no successor. It was all because of my carelessness back then. Seeing the restrictions left by an ancient powerful being on this stone tablet, I was overjoyed and impetuous, wanting to test whether I could break the restrictions left by the ancient god. That's how this situation came about. It has caused my Yuan family descendants to suffer greatly. I regret it so much, I regret it so much!"
Yuan Tiangang sighed and shook his head repeatedly, almost as if he wanted to slap himself in front of Lin Fei.
It seems that the situation is indeed as the spirit of the Xuan Snake predicted. The restriction left by the True Martial Emperor within the Reincarnation Stele was indeed broken by the ancient sage Yuan Tiangang.
Although Yuan Tiangang possessed extraordinary skills and abilities, he lacked the Six Paths Incarnation Technique passed down by the True Martial Emperor. Even though he broke the restrictions left by the True Martial Emperor, he was unable to resist the demonic energy contained within the power of reincarnation. This not only harmed himself but also caused the descendants of the Yuan family to be corrupted by the demonic energy.
The reason why the heads of the Yuan family throughout history have never lived past fifty and have not been able to rest in peace after death lies here.