Chapter 94: Sword Named Void (30,000 Words, Seeking Monthly Votes)

Chapter 95: The Sword Named Void Illusion

“Why does it want to go to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty?” Chen Huangpi asked. “Is it to kill someone? But it’s been so long, and it still hasn’t returned.”

“Not necessarily to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. That place was already sealed off at the time. Maybe it went to the Nine Seas, the Triple Mountains, or somewhere else entirely,” replied Yi Qingzhou. After his death, only then did the sword fly away, leaving him to guess.

Chen Huangpi nodded with a hint of melancholy.

The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

The name felt unfamiliar to him, yet not entirely so.

Unfamiliar because Chen Huangpi had never seen the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty with his own eyes; his knowledge of it came solely through hearsay. To reach it, one must cross the Nine Seas and pass over the Triple Mountains.

But the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty was sealed.

How to break that seal was a mystery to Chen Huangpi.

Yet it wasn’t wholly unfamiliar either.

Yi Qingzhou and Xu Qingshan—those Daoist practitioners—were all brought from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty by Master.

Master was the brother of Emperor Chen of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

The God of Broad Vision also hailed from that dynasty.

Even Chen Huangpi himself had come from there.

He had not forgotten the dream he once had.

When he was still an egg, he had been fiercely scolded by Emperor Chen as useless—a waste of countless spiritual treasures, destined to be a stillbirth.

Yet Master firmly believed there was still a chance for him to be born in the Ten-Thousand Mountains.

He even said that if he himself couldn’t return, he would send Chen Huangpi, his disciple, in his place.

But Master was wrong.

Chen Huangpi was determined to save him and cure his illness.

Master was nearly a transcendent being; Emperor Chen, presumably of lesser cultivation, was likely long dead.

When Master returned, he would become emperor of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

Master was old, probably not an emperor for many more days.

When that time came, Chen Huangpi vowed to give Master a worthy posthumous title.

Thinking this, Chen Huangpi unconsciously murmured, “Hmm, I do not blame Emperor Chen.”

“Emperor Chen?” Yi Qingzhou’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately made a hand seal. “Freeze!”

The entire altar abruptly ceased its rotation.

Chen Huangpi was stunned to find everything around them had come to a complete standstill.

Only he and Yi Qingzhou remained unaffected.

“The stronger the existence, the less one should speak of them,” Yi Qingzhou said earnestly. “Even if you must mention them, you should do as I do—freeze time. Otherwise, if the other party wishes, they could truly track you down through those fleeting words.”

“Is Emperor Chen, like my Master, close to the Dao?”

“Not quite,” Yi Qingzhou smiled wryly. “But the Sect Leader has always been magnanimous. Even if spoken of, the Sect Leader would not mind. Besides, this is the Ten-Thousand Mountains; even if we don’t mention the Sect Leader, everyone knows. So hiding it is meaningless.”

“I see now,” Chen Huangpi suddenly understood. “Master is generous; Emperor Chen is petty—he holds grudges just like me.”

Yi Qingzhou sighed, “No, that’s not it. His Majesty and the Sect Leader are biological brothers. Actually, the Crown Prince of the Great Qian back then was the Sect Leader.”

“Then why didn’t Master become emperor?”

“The Sect Leader didn’t want the throne and gave it to His Majesty, though many did not agree.”

“How could they agree? Respect for age and hierarchy are rules not to be broken!” Chen Huangpi was furious. “I’ve read many books, and they say ancestral laws cannot be changed! Master was utterly reckless!”

“That’s what those people said too,” Yi Qingzhou chuckled. “But the Sect Leader argued that rules are man-made; if the ancestors set them, so can the descendants.”

“Those people disapproved, but they still respected the Sect Leader’s sword.”

“And what about His Majesty? If others say bad things about him, well, that’s true too. You can’t please everyone; even saints can’t do that.”

“But you can’t say His Majesty is wrong. To bring you into this world, he drained the entire treasury of the Great Qian Kingdom, even the imperial reserves. When we left, His Majesty issued nine self-accusatory edicts. Even the resources used to seal the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty were taken by waging war against the Immortal Realm.”

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi felt somewhat overwhelmed.

“To bring me into the world, he spent so many resources—is it worth it?”

“If it succeeds, then yes, it’s worth it,” Yi Qingzhou said softly, yet Chen Huangpi felt a pang of sadness.

He didn’t understand.

Though there were some strange things about himself, otherwise, he was nothing special.

So many resources could have produced countless immortals.

Yet without the black smoke, he even had to avoid ordinary tribulations.

“I am not strong; I am weak,” Chen Huangpi said self-reproachfully. “Master took me to the Ten-Thousand Mountains. I don’t know what he sacrificed to bring me from a stillbirth to life, but seeing me so ordinary, so weak, he must be very disappointed.”

“You asked me,” Yi Qingzhou said. “When I died, you were still just a stillbirth. Maybe something went wrong when you were born, which is why you are like this. You need not blame yourself.”

“Thank you, Yi Qingzhou.”

His mood lightened slightly, he asked, “So, do you know why Master wanted to create ten thousand gods?”

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely more than ten thousand,” Yi Qingzhou replied uncertainly. “The black coffin where I lie has a passage connecting to the Netherworld and the Yellow Springs. I can’t cross it or leave here, but my corpse can. After I severed it, I threw it into the Netherworld.”

“My corpse carries my obsession.”

“So after it reaches the Netherworld, someday it will seize a chance with the earth dragon’s overturning to return to the mortal realm, instinctively searching for various things to build a ship, a vessel capable of crossing the Nine Seas.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Huangpi felt embarrassed and said, “Your corpse is good; it gave all those things to me.”

“I know,” Yi Qingzhou said. “But it doesn’t matter now. Its return this time is fate. Fate won’t let me rest in peace. Anyway, after my corpse returned, I have already seen what it saw.”

“It saw many remnants of gods in the Netherworld and Yellow Springs,” he added. “It even saw some beings creating gods.”

The gods of the mortal realm and those of the Netherworld and Yellow Springs are different.

The former are called deities; the latter, ghost gods.

The former belong to yang (light); the latter to yin (dark).

At this, Yi Qingzhou suddenly furrowed his brow. “But that was thousands of years ago. I don’t know if it’s still the same now. When you go to the Netherworld and Yellow Springs, be cautious. It’s completely different from before.”

“Can you teach me some protective techniques?” Chen Huangpi hoped that if he could learn more methods, he could protect himself better even in the Netherworld and Yellow Springs.

However, Yi Qingzhou’s reply was disheartening.

“I have many techniques, but I cannot teach you.”

“Why?”

“My techniques, compared to the Sect Leader’s, are mere minor arts. How could I be worthy to teach you?”

“Master only taught me the Five Organs Spirit Refining Method and the Yin-Yang Harmonization Transformation Technique; nothing else.”

“In that case, I am even less qualified to teach.”

Yi Qingzhou’s tone was serious. “The Sect Leader doesn’t teach you the methods for a reason. These two techniques of yours are unheard of to me. You don’t need to tell me about them; it’s not something I should know.”

“In short, since the Sect Leader won’t teach you, I dare not teach you either.”

Chen Huangpi was too unusual.

Yi Qingzhou dared to reveal some secrets to him but dared not truly act.

Because Chen Huangpi’s current state was obviously not how one looks after a successful birth.

Far too frail.

Like a premature infant.

Seeing Yi Qingzhou’s insistence, Chen Huangpi dared not press further.

Yi Qingzhou smiled faintly. “Don’t be so disappointed. Though I cannot pass on techniques, I can give you a sword for protection.”

“The sword shadow in the Tribulation Eye!”

Chen Huangpi’s eyes lit up. “You can take it out for me?”

“Almost,” Yi Qingzhou smiled. “My mother was a sword immortal. Though I never walked the sword path, I have some skill. Watch closely!”

With that, Yi Qingzhou clasped his hands together.

The Tribulation Eye was already in his palm. Now as he rubbed his palms, a faint true fire ignited, like a sword forge.

Clang, clang—the sound of metal rang out.

“The Sect Leader’s sword is called True Void. Since this sword is but a shadow, let it be called Void Illusion!”

At his words, Yi Qingzhou parted his hands, and a three-foot-long sword emerged from his palm.

The sword was three feet long and sheathed.

It appeared ordinary, like a common longsword forged by a mortal blacksmith.

Chen Huangpi took the sword, about to draw it, when a painful shriek sounded.

A slit appeared on the scabbard.

The slit suddenly opened wide, revealing a stark black-and-white eye.

“The Tribulation Eye!!!”

Chen Huangpi was stunned. “It’s not dead?”

Yi Qingzhou explained, “I refined it into the scabbard and the hilt. When you draw it, you can unleash sword light.”

“But this sword light is not infinite.”

“If you use it to kill disasters or weak tribulations frequently, the Tribulation Eye will be exhausted and die by your hand sooner or later.”

“Remember, the sword exists to protect you.”

“How you use it is up to you.”

Yi Qingzhou looked at the sword with mixed emotions.

He had been suppressed for many years.

He had become corrupted; many memories were blurred.

Yet he remembered the night he left the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, when his mother called him into her room to give him a sword for protection.

At the time, he was annoyed by the sword path and felt sick at the sight of swords.

Naturally, he refused it.

Now, in this moment, how could Yi Qingzhou feel at ease?

“Bitter, yet destiny,” he murmured, covering his face with his palm, quietly weeping. “To this day, I cannot recall my mother’s face nor her caring voice. Chen Huangpi, I am not as selfless as you think. I help you with selfish motives.”

Looking at Yi Qingzhou now, Chen Huangpi smiled. “I know. You’ve already given me a measure of rice. If you had no ulterior motive, you would have taken it back.”

The God of Broad Vision had sinned.

That was why it helped Chen Huangpi so much—to ease its conscience.

But Yi Qingzhou had nothing to do with him.

So his giving and taking must have a purpose.

“I want to go home,” Yi Qingzhou suddenly lifted his head, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t leave here. My corpse cannot rest in peace. In less than a tea’s time, I will completely lose myself. I have no chance left.”

“But you can. You can leave here.”

“When your cultivation is strong enough, come here and kill me! Cut off my head and take it to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, alright?”

“My mother was a sword immortal. The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty is sealed. Perhaps she is still alive.”

“My home is in the Southern Dao Prefecture, Ten-Thousand Sword Pavilion...”

The story of the God Burial Tomb ended here.

The next chapter would wrap things up.

As for why True Void wanted to attack the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, that would come later. In this storyline, it seemed unnecessary to explain because Yi Qingzhou had died early, and there was no point in guessing what he did not know.

(End of chapter)