In the First History, how did the Great Perfected Lords die?
Lu Yang voiced this doubt. After hearing it, Lingxiao's expression also became bizarre: "How should I put this... I actually do know this."
"But in my era, no one believed it."
"Including me, it was very hard to believe such a thing could happen... However, after crossing blows with Fellow Daoist, I feel this kind of thing might not necessarily be impossible."
After speaking, Lingxiao's voice deepened:
"Ancient texts record that a thousand years after the Dao Lords detached from the mortal dust, the first-generation Dao Court's Son of Heaven, Emperor Cang, established a new dynasty and inaugurated the Immortal Calendar to mark the arrival of a new era."
"For the next two hundred years, both sides temporarily ceased hostilities to seek peace."
"Until the Sword Immortal came out of seclusion."
"In the year 204 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded the Dao Court's Son of Heaven, Emperor Cang."
"In the year 224 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded the first-generation Master of Heaven-Mending Peak."
"In the year 240 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak."
"In the year 252 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded the Master of the Tianhun Diagram, Pan Huang."
"In the year 260 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded the Yellow Millet Dream Immortal Miao Le."
"In the year 263 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal beheaded Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin."
Lingxiao enunciated word by word the events that transpired in the First History. The bloodiness within it, even without seeing it with his own eyes, Lu Yang could somewhat comprehend.
"The Sword Immortal... is the Great Sword Ancestor of the Sword Pavilion?"
Lu Yang was somewhat surprised. This was a text Lingxiao read in the Saint Sect. Given the deep-seated hatred between the Saint Sect and the Sword Pavilion, they actually called him some 'Sword Immortal'?
Regarding this, Lingxiao appeared very calm and even smiled: "The flexibility of my Saint Sect's disciples has always been very high. That ancient text is full of traces of deletions and alterations. At first, it seemed to call him Sword Madman, then Sword Fanatic, then Sword Fiend, and in the end, it became Sword Immortal throughout the whole text."
Hm... that's quite reasonable.
Lu Yang stroked his chin, feeling this was very much in line with the Saint Sect's style. However, even so, the strength displayed by the Great Sword Ancestor still made him somewhat alarmed.
Is he still at the Heaven Treading Realm?
One must know, according to Lingxiao's account, the First History back then was absolutely a gathering of heroes. Perfected Lords and Great Perfected Lords were innumerable, and there were even Heaven Treading Realms!
Even leaving the Great Sword Ancestor himself aside, Pan Huang in the First History was undoubtedly at the Heaven Treading Realm. After all, Sisui there wasn't dead yet. Then there were the World Honored One and Dao Tianqi. These two—one created the Foundation Establishment Realm, the other created the Netherworld—they were definitely Heaven Treading as well. What about Pill Cauldron and Heaven-Mending?
The false history has no Dao Lords.
Since that's the case, the remnant lineage of the Ancestral Dragon shouldn't exist either, let alone the seal of the [Five Elements]. But these two are undoubtedly unparalleled outstanding heroes.
If one path is impassable, they would naturally seek another.
The first-generation Four Peak Masters each had their own merits. Perhaps they couldn't all become Dao Lords, but at the Heaven Treading Realm, Lu Yang felt they each always had the means to achieve it.
Calculating it this way, how many Heaven Treading Realms were there?
Lu Yang's expression grew increasingly solemn:
A full five. The first-generation Four Peak Masters, Pan Huang... even if Dao Tianqi and the World Honored One successively detached because they became Dao Lords, there are still at least three.
This number was no joke.
Not to mention that among the three, Pan Huang also had the blessing of the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram] and the grand array left by Sisui. Even in his peak state, Lu Yang asked himself and felt it would be a bit uncertain.
Yet the Great Sword Ancestor won.
Could he have broken through?
This was Lu Yang's only thought. Fighting one against three and killing them all—this was no longer simply Heaven Treading. He strongly suspected the other party had become a Dao Sovereign!
But that's not right.
Lu Yang frowned tightly: If that's the case, when I went to the false history in the lifetime I attained [Heavenly Fire], why didn't the Great Sword Ancestor appear?
The Dharma Body Dao had not been destroyed; it was impossible for him to have lifespan concerns.
Soon, with Lingxiao's further narration, Lu Yang learned the answer.
"In April of the year 204 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal charged into Jiangdong, consecutively slaughtering twenty-four Immortal Cities and exterminating three hundred and twenty-seven sects. Wherever he passed, blood flowed like rivers."
"In May of the year 204 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal fought his way out of Jiangdong."
"In the same month, the Sword Immortal returned to Jiangdong."
"In August, he beheaded the Dao Court's Son of Heaven, Emperor Cang."
"In February of the year 224 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal charged into Jiangbei, destroying seventeen great families and sects. Over a million cultivators' souls perished beneath his sword, desiring to use this to forge a Supreme Sword Spirit."
"In June of the year 224 of the Immortal Calendar, he beheaded the first-generation Master of Heaven-Mending Peak."
"In August of the year 240 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal emerged from seclusion after recovering from his injuries. He charged into the Heaven-Connectiong Cloud Sea again, broke through Thirty-Three Heavens Intersecting Go Grand Formation, and beheaded the first-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak."
"In April of the year 252 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal charged into Jiangxi, broke the [Dao-Conquering Tianhun Diagram], and beheaded Pan Huang."
"In January of the year 264 of the Immortal Calendar, the Sword Immortal sheathed his sword and returned to Jiangnan."
Speaking to this point, Lingxiao's voice abruptly paused.
After a moment, he spoke a sentence that made Lu Yang's mind chill slightly:
"In the same month, blood flowed like a pestle in the Sword Pavilion, and blood qi fluttered, not dispersing for ten thousand miles. It was only after three months that cultivators went to investigate, only to see the Sword Immortal had slit his own throat at Extreme Heaven Cliff."
Dead!
Lu Yang was dumbstruck, entirely not expecting the result to be like this. The Great Sword Ancestor, who had slaughtered all the world's experts within sixty years, actually committed suicide in the end?
On the other side, Lingxiao sighed with similar emotion:
"I have to admit, when I was reading the ancient texts, I was a bit frightened at the time. After all, these records read almost like they are writing about a madman."
Killing people on sight, killing ghosts on sight.
The most outrageous thing was that he really killed them all. Invincible wherever he went, no one could block that unparalleled sword edge. All became souls dead beneath his sword.
"At the very end of the ancient text, only eight characters were left."
[The sea of light attains silence, the Immortal Nexus is clear and peaceful]
When Lingxiao spoke these eight characters, Lu Yang instantly felt an intense, weighty concept of history blowing against his face like a breeze.
"This is still not all."
Speaking of this, Lingxiao shook his head: "After that, a Heavenly Sword hung high. Unless one cultivated the Grotto-Heaven Method, no one could ever again become a Great Perfected Lord."
"If anyone acted willfully, the Heavenly Sword would inevitably arrive, severing their Dao and beheading them."
"The Ancient Method subsequently perished."
"By my era, this restriction even spread to the heads of Grotto-Heaven Method Perfected Lords."
"Besides this, the maximum lifespan of a Grotto-Heaven Method Perfected Lord was only a thousand years. Once a thousand years arrived, the Heavenly Sword would inevitably arrive, cleaving through the Grotto-Heaven and causing them to fall from their fruit position."
"Only at the Mid Stage of Golden Core can one be exempt from death."
Speaking of this, a look of admiration surfaced in the depths of Lingxiao's eyes: "Even I had to use [Inversion] to execute a feigned death method to deceive that Heavenly Sword."
—No wonder.
Lu Yang let out a long breath. No wonder when he went to the false history, what he saw was a scene almost identical to his memories, with almost no difference.
A single Heavenly Sword caused the false history and the true history, although having countless discrepancies in details, to form an astonishing consistency in the general trend.
But why?
Why did the Great Sword Ancestor in the false history do this?
"...Interesting."
Thinking of this, Lu Yang glanced at Lingxiao: "Slaughtering the whole world within sixty years. It seems the place we are heading to will be a rather bad place."
"So what?"
Lingxiao's eyes were calm. Although he marveled at the Great Sword Ancestor's achievements, he was not afraid. Being able to walk to this day, he was confident that few in the current world could compare.
"Could it be Fellow Daoist is afraid?"
"Fellow Daoist jests."
Lu Yang shook his head calmly. Despite learning of such a bloody past in the false history, fear never surfaced on his face from beginning to end.
He had to admit, the Great Sword Ancestor's strength was clearly somewhat overpowered.
Compared to that, according to the World Honored One's words, not only did he have to enter the false history in a nascent state, but he also had to spread his Dao Lineage anew and slowly accumulate strength.
As one fell, the other rose; the disadvantage was so great that nothing could be added.
However, Lu Yang felt:
"...It should be exactly like this."
A great disadvantage is what makes it fair.
"If not so, how can I prove my invincibility in the world?"
(End of chapter)