Give me a break!
Looking at the Sword Lord in the scene, who seemed particularly sincere, Lu Yang almost threw up. What "protecting the myriad living beings of the sea of light"? It was clearly playing moral kidnapping.
'I see.'
'So that's why she deliberately cultivated the Great Sword Ancestor into having such a highly moral personality. After all, if he had no morals, how could she morally kidnap him?'
Sure enough.
In the scene, before the Sword Lord's voice even faded, the Great Sword Ancestor immediately responded: "Master, rest assured. As long as Sanhe breathes, I will not let the Ancestral Dragon break free!"
Back then, in order to use the [Five Elements] to accommodate the Five Great Heavenly Destinies, the Ancestral Dragon used the Immortal Nexus as a ritual altar, plundering the entire sea of light. A large number of cultivators and mortals died because of this. The Great Sword Ancestor witnessed this with his own eyes. Even someone like him, a half-step Dao Sovereign, would have found it hard to escape the fate of perishing if not for the timely intervention of the Dao Lords.
And among those who perished, there were also his close friends and fellow disciples.
Therefore, regarding the Sword Lord's entrustment, the Great Sword Ancestor hardly had any hesitation. And looking at the result of this segment of history, he indeed accomplished it in the end.
Within a cycle of sixty years, slaughtering everyone under heaven.
In history, these were just eight simple words, far from being able to express the Great Sword Ancestor's inner feelings at the time, let alone explain his comprehension back then.
The reason was simple.
'With the Great Sword Ancestor's strength as a half-step Dao Sovereign, even if the target was the Heavenly Lord, he shouldn't have needed a full cycle of sixty years to kill all the Perfected Lords under heaven.'
At least this was not quite the same as the Great Sword Ancestor he saw in the false history. In the false history, the Great Sword Ancestor's battle with the Heavenly Lord—while it couldn't be called an evenly matched fight—could at least be described as easy win. The Heavenly Lord almost had no power to resist at all. Given this, why would it take the Great Sword Ancestor sixty years of time?
So he could be certain:
'The Great Sword Ancestor in the false history was stronger than the Great Sword Ancestor during the sixty years of vanquishing demons. And not just a little stronger, he should be much stronger!'
Moreover, this kind of strength had nothing to do with cultivation.
'It should be the heart.'
'The false history's Great Sword Ancestor had stronger cultivation of the Dao Heart, which drove his stature a step further. This was why he had an almost crushing effect on the Heavenly Lord.'
Why was this so?
In Lu Yang's eyes, the firelight originating from his Primordial Spirit shone increasingly brighter, illuminating karma, parting the heavy fog, and soon seeing the secret hidden within.
The scene didn't change.
It was still in the Sword Pavilion, in the place where the Great Sword Ancestor and the Sword Lord had their conversation back then. Only this time, the Sword Lord had already disappeared, leaving only the Great Sword Ancestor alone.
He was covered in blood and looked to have suffered no small injuries. Yet his aura flourished, like an unparalleled divine sword that had been polished for a long time, only lacking the final step of sharpening the edge to truly emerge into the world. But it was this final step that forced him to remain at his current level.
Lu Yang could see what had happened to him.
Sixty years of vanquishing demons.
Bu Tianque, Pill Cauldron, the Six Dragon Lords, Emperor Cang, Pan Huang, the Heavenly Lord... After the Dao Lord War, almost all Perfected Lords were killed by him.
He had already perfectly completed the Sword Lord's task.
Having lost these high-level cultivators, the Ancestral Dragon, who might originally have had hope of breaking free, now had no one to borrow strength from. The hope of breaking free was infinitely close to zero.
No, that's not right.
"Still short one..."
Suddenly, the Great Sword Ancestor spoke, his tone faint and profound. His originally sharp, unstoppable eyes were now plunged into unprecedented confusion and contemplation.
Yes, it still short one.
Himself.
Speaking of the Perfected Lords of the present world, below the Dao Lords, who was higher than him, this half-step Dao Sovereign? He was the true target of the Ancestral Dragon, the best object to borrow strength from!
In the next second, the Great Sword Ancestor in the scene suddenly split, one body transforming into three. Each one's expression was completely different. One of them looked extremely indifferent and spoke coldly: "What a joke, am I the same as the others? I am not a sacrifice, but the maintainer of the rules of this world."
"Although there are no longer any Perfected Lords under heaven right now."
"But as time passes, there will always be new Perfected Lords emerging. As long as the Dao Lords do not return, they will still have the hope of being utilized by the Ancestral Dragon to assist his escape."
"So I must live."
"To supervise, to control. This is not a thought of living a degrading life just to survive, but for the sake of the greater good. Do you not understand such a simple truth?"
Another figure shook his head upon hearing this.
Unlike the extreme indifference of the first figure, this one's face was full of worry, seemingly anxious for the Immortal Nexus and the myriad living beings of the sea of light.
"Your words are wrong."
"When humans supervise, there will always be oversights. We only need to leave behind a streak of sword light and set up restrictions, ensuring that only Grotto-Heaven Method cultivators can achieve the Perfected Lord realm."
"Our death is necessary."
"Because the Ancestral Dragon has already found us."
In the next second, both figures turned in unison to look at the third figure. As a result, what entered their sight was an eerie, demonic face radiating a sinister aura.
Clearly having the same face as the Great Sword Ancestor like the other two figures, yet this one bared his fangs. He didn't look human, but rather like a great demon that had taken human form. His eyes were even more like magma, red tinged with gold. At this moment, facing the gaze of the other two, not only did he have no fear, he instead laughed loudly:
"Sanhe, oh Sanhe."
"I've told you countless times, and you actually know it in your heart too, don't you? That slut Nian Yao deceived you! She has been deceiving you from beginning to end!"
"What 'persuading Sisui'? They had long colluded with that bastard Primordial Saint!"
"The Primordial Saint killed me and used me to forge [Paramita]. If that slut wants to forge the [Heavenly Dao], who do you think is the most suitable material?"
"It's Sisui!"
"This is a conspiracy, just like when all the Dao Lords besieged and killed me back then. They want to besiege and kill Sisui, another grand play of disciples killing their teacher!"
"If you want to stop all of this, you must release me. Because only I possess sufficient strength. Even you are far from qualified!"
Three Great Sword Ancestors, three kinds of ideologies.
Releasing the Ancestral Dragon, seeking to survive alone, or sacrificing oneself. For ordinary people, these were nothing more than a change in thoughts. But for the Great Sword Ancestor, born with the innate [Three Spirits], it was an interrogation.
An interrogation of the Dao Heart.
The extremely cold and indifferent Great Sword Ancestor said in a low voice: "Seek survival! We are already the number one cultivators in the current world, tying our hands and committing suicide? That's simply the biggest joke in the world!"
The worried Great Sword Ancestor shook his head: "You have seen it too, the Ancestral Dragon has already set his sights on us. If we don't die, the Ancestral Dragon's sliver of hope will forever hang upon us. Conversely, if we die, as time passes and new people replace the old, the Ancestral Dragon might not necessarily be able to borrow strength to break free."
"After all, the cultivation of later generations will inevitably be dominated by the Grotto-Heaven Method."
"The essence of the Grotto-Heaven Method is special; it's digging at the Ancestral Dragon's Dao roots. It is a Dao Lineage specifically designed by the Primordial Saint to counter the Ancestral Dragon. The Ancestral Dragon will have no way to borrow strength from it."
The eerily sinister Great Sword Ancestor: "Bullshit!"
"The Primordial Saint has the wild ambitions of a wolf, he just looks morally upright on the outside. The Sword Lord appears aloof on the surface, but is actually a slut. Cang Hao is shrewd and deeply scheming, Myriad Laws is fond of plotting but lacks decisiveness, and Dou Xuan looks fierce, but is timid at heart."
"Can you really not see clearly?"
"These people only look like humans, but inside they are no different from me... they are all beasts!"