Three days later, [Sky-Shrouding] and the Old Dragon Lord both arrived in Jiangnan. Subsequently, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao personally emerged to welcome the two into the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion.
The news spread rapidly throughout the world.
At first, even the disciples of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion were skeptical. After all, [Sky-Shrouding] was a Perfected Lord of the Primordial Saint Sect, and the Old Dragon Lord was a beastly existence from Overseas.
Are the likes of them worthy of entering my Sword Pavilion?
This must be absolutely fake news!
However, as soon as Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao transmitted his voice throughout the Sword Pavilion to issue an official statement, the direction of public opinion shifted immediately:
Undoubtedly, it must be the Sword Pavilion's righteous style that attracted the Saint Sect Perfected Lord [Sky-Shrouding] to abandon the darkness for the light, finally choosing to cast himself into the embrace of the Righteous Dao.
As for the Old Dragon Lord, the True Dragon clan was, after all, the nobility of heaven and earth in the past, and could not be crudely classified as mere beasts with fur and horns.
In short, the Sword Pavilion had always been very flexible.
However, some Golden Core Perfected Lords keenly perceived the underlying issue: What exactly had happened to prompt these three mighty figures to join forces?
Soon, someone associated it with the heavenly phenomenon that occurred not long ago.
Immediately after, aided by intentional leaks from the Sword Pavilion, some Perfected Lords finally calculated the karma involved. They fell into even greater shock.
"The Saint Sect produced two Perfected Lords comparable to Feixue?"
"How is this possible?"
What kind of figure was Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue?
One must realize that before [Sky-Shrouding] appeared in the world, and before Patriarch Nether Whisper attained the Dao, she was the only existence in the Immortal Nexus who had completed the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual.
Everyone knew this.
If not for this, where did Perfected Lord Feixue's title of [Five-Thousand-Year Combat Supreme] come from? It was because she had announced it to the world back then!
Yet now, the Saint Sect had suddenly popped out a few more as powerful as her?
What a joke!
…
Jiangnan, Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion.
On the Extreme Heaven Cliff, a streak of light descended from the sky, splitting open abruptly. A handsome young man walked out from within. Shockingly, it was Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde.
The young man's face was clouded with gloom.
Do not be fooled by his outwardly flourishing appearance; beneath the seemingly young body, a deathly aura was already permeating. He was only a few years away from his thousand-year lifespan limit.
But soon, he composed himself and rallied his spirits.
Immediately after, he looked around the Extreme Heaven Cliff, only to see a full five figures standing there. Each one's aura far exceeded his imagination.
Gangxing, Perfected Lord Gaishuang Lingfeng, Perfected Lord Tengguang Yehui, [Sky-Shrouding], and the Old Dragon Lord...
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde swallowed hard, but doubts gnawed at his heart: Gangxing has never invited me to private gatherings before.
He actually came to find me this time?
Could it be that, seeing my lifespan nearing its end, he has some desperate task to entrust to me? These sword maniac... aren't incapable of doing such things!
Realizing this, Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde instantly felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
After all, even knowing this, what could he do? If he wanted to return to the position of Perfected Lord after reincarnation, he still required the favor of these mighty figures.
Thinking of this, he immediately adjusted his demeanor and cupped his hands.
"Zhengde greets Fellow Daoists."
"Fellow Daoist, no need to stand on ceremony."
Hearing this, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao chuckled and raised his hand slightly. "We are discussing important matters with Fellow Daoist [Sky-Shrouding]. Fellow Daoist came just in time."
Important matters?
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde was stunned for a moment. Then, he subconsciously looked at [Sky-Shrouding], quickly noticing a figure manifested in the other party's hand.
White robes, white hair, a young man.
However, his features were obscured by a layer of hazy halo, making his identity difficult to distinguish; only a transcendent temperament stood out with particular clarity.
This person looks so familiar.
In the next second, a memory buried deep in his heart—one he thought had completely died—suddenly began to revive, freezing his expression in place.
"It is this mysterious Perfected Lord."
"Following myself and Feixue, he is the third Perfected Lord to complete the Dao Fruit Sublimation Ritual. Yet no karma can be calculated, nor can his specific origins be found."
[Sky-Shrouding] continued to explain. Compared to Lu Yang, Patriarch Nether Whisper's existence made him feel more apprehensive.
After all, this was the first time he had encountered a character whose origins were completely unknown.
Bringing it up now was an attempt to consult with Gangxing and the Old Dragon Lord to see if they could identify him.
However, after consulting for a long time, they found nothing.
Seeing the matter fall into a deadlock, [Sky-Shrouding] couldn't help but sigh, forced to temporarily give up investigating Patriarch Nether Whisper's identity. However, just at this moment—
Clang!
The Spiritual Sword in Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde's hand suddenly fell, smashing heavily onto the ground. Yet he seemed unaware, wearing a look of disbelief, as if in a dream.
"Nether... Nether... Nether Whisper..."
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde's abnormality immediately attracted everyone's attention, especially [Sky-Shrouding], whose eyes lit up upon seeing this. "Fellow Daoist recognizes this person?"
"I don't recognize..."
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde shook his head almost subconsciously, but quickly reacted, his face instantly flushing red with inexplicable shame and anger.
"No, I do recognize him."
The next second, he shook his head again. "No, wrong. Impossible... How is this possible? There must be a mistake, but this temperament..."
Unlike [Sky-Shrouding] and the Old Dragon Lord, who failed to recognize Patriarch Nether Whisper because the impression he left on them wasn't that deep—if Patriarch Nether Whisper revealed his true face, perhaps they could still recognize him, but based only on temperament, it was hard for them to distinguish.
However, Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde was different.
For a thousand years, Patriarch Nether Whisper had practically become his inner demon. This obsession was unique among Golden Core Perfected Lords; he would recognize him even if he turned to ash!
It was just that although he recognized him, he was unwilling to believe it.
After all, in his memory, Patriarch Nether Whisper was merely at the peak of Foundation Establishment. But the figure before him was a supreme powerhouse comparable to Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue— far surpassing himself!
How was this possible?
It was completely unreasonable!
Moreover, the transcendent temperament of Patriarch Nether Whisper shown by [Sky-Shrouding] seemed even more exaggerated than the Patriarch Nether Whisper in his memory.
Various signs made him subconsciously deny the guess in his heart.
"Impossible to be Nether Whisper..."
Absolutely impossible!
Ignoring Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde, who was obviously in turmoil, [Sky-Shrouding] narrowed his eyes slightly, almost immediately recalling who Nether Whisper was.
Then, he was stunned.
Nether Whisper... that stunning rogue cultivator at Foundation Establishment, it was actually him?
Could it be he faked his death back then? If so, it would make sense.
A stunning Foundation Establishment cultivator from a thousand years ago... if he faked his death to escape and secretly attained other Dao Fruits, reaching this level in a thousand years was exaggerated, but not completely incomprehensible.
After all, Perfected Lord Feixue had a similar speed back then; Patriarch Nether Whisper was just a bit faster.
In short, knowing the origins was better than knowing nothing.
"Great Perfected Lord!"
Just at this moment, the originally dazed Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde suddenly raised his head, staring straight at Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao, his voice pressed low with urgency:
"You... you must save me!"
Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde gritted his teeth. "Back then, it was your action that helped me suppress Nether Whisper. You know as well as I do... this person must be eliminated!"
"I know."
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao spoke faintly. "I have already discussed the matter with Fellow Daoist [Sky-Shrouding]. You don't need to worry; your life is safe this time."
"Really?" Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde's eyes lit up.
"Of course." Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao nodded. "Fellow Daoist [Sky-Shrouding] has actively proposed to accept you. You don't need to worry about the thousand-year lifespan limit either."
"As for Nether Whisper and that mysterious Perfected Lord..."
Speaking to this point, a deep killing intent suddenly surfaced in the depths of Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's eyes. "Leave it to me. I will find a way to deal with this person."
Just at that moment, a brilliance suddenly flashed.
It was shockingly a jade slip for communication. However, the name of the contact party surfacing on it made Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Bodhisattva Precious Lotus of the Pure Land... Why contact me now?"