nyslfriends Chapter 39 The Legacy of the Celestial Venerable
Chapter 39 The Legacy of the Celestial Venerable
The void turbulence before dawn is the most ferocious. A chaotic storm, carrying countless tiny fragments of space, swept outwards from the outer edge of the mountains, crashing against the defensive barrier of the floating island and splashing eerie blue ripples. Ironbone stood atop the watchtower at the highest point of the fortress, his demonic bone prosthetic limb pressed against the core of the demonic array at the top of the tower, activating all the defensive runes of the entire island.
"The turbulent void on the right side appears with a gap every half hour, each gap lasting about two cups of tea. The old general has already sent people to place buoys at the gaps; you can cross the turbulent zone by following the buoys. But beyond the turbulent zone lies the outer camp of the demonic cultivators—the old general's men can only take you there. Further ahead is the range of the Heavenly Venerable Sword Formation. The sword formation is still in operation, and the demonic cultivators cannot enter. Whether you can enter, the old general dares not say."
Ling Chen nodded and turned to look at the crowd behind him. Su Qingyuan was already standing at the edge of the fortress, the tip of her Frost Sword touching the ground, its icy blue light particularly cold in the night. Xiao Lie and Han Tie stood side by side, their twin swords, Crimson Flame and Golden Scale, already drawn, their sword light reflecting off the chaotic void like two unquenchable wildfires. Bai Ze removed his hand from the expeditionary force's battle flag; the golden light of the Ghost Shark Scale had completely stabilized on the flag, and the defensive demon array of the entire floating island emitted a low hum. The three hundred men of Iron Bone were already in position throughout the fortress. The old demon soldiers' crossbows were being recalibrated, and women and children had converted piles of rubble into temporary crossbow supply points; even the half-grown children were carrying arrows taller than themselves, tied to the city walls and running around.
"Set off."
Two figures darted out of the city's protective barrier, one after the other, and sped along the buoys laid out by the iron bones towards the gaps in the turbulent void. Beneath their feet lay a vast expanse of void, surrounded by spatial fragments capable of easily tearing apart even a True Condensation Realm cultivator. Yet, the two maintained perfect synchronization—whenever Su Qingyuan's Frost Domain blocked the turbulent currents attacking from the left, Ling Chen's Chaos Sword Light would shatter the approaching fragments from the right. The resonance of the three swords formed a faint yet stable ring of resonance between them, silently dissolving any small fragments that slipped through the net.
Crossing the turbulent zone took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. At the end of the buoy was a half-ruined floating reef, its surface covered with dense traces of demonic energy erosion. Behind the reef was a makeshift demonic army camp. The camp's scale far exceeded Ironbone's estimation—dense bone tents stretched for miles across the reef's surface, demonic energy condensing into a perpetual black cloud above the camp, with patrolling demonic cultivators moving back and forth, at least a dozen of whom possessed the aura of the peak of the True Condensation Realm. In the deepest part of the camp, three streams of demonic pressure at the Void Realm stood like three black stone pillars beneath the black cloud. Above the main tent was a demonic bone banner, which only the demon generals directly under the Demon Lord were qualified to fly during the war between gods and demons ten thousand years ago. The "two old guys" Ironbone mentioned were clearly the remnants of those direct demon generals, waiting for their master's return for ten thousand years.
"The three demon generals are all in the direction of the main tent. The number of patrolling troops on the outer perimeter is twice as many as expected, and it's too late to force our way in. Wait—the main battle is about to begin." Su Qingyuan pressed her hand on the hilt of Ning Shuang sword.
The words had barely left his lips when the void directly in front of the demon army camp suddenly exploded. A golden beam of light, spanning several miles, shot out from the top of the floating island fortress. The main cannon of the Netherworld Fortress-level demon array blasted a gaping hole dozens of feet wide in the outer bone tents of the demon army camp, and dozens of low-level demon cultivators were blown away by the shockwave before they could even crawl out of the tents. Iron Bone had made his move.
"Walk!"
Ling Chen and Su Qingyuan simultaneously emerged from behind the reef, using the cover of artillery fire to flank the demon army camp. Su Qingyuan's Frostbite Sword tip sliced across the ground, silently spreading frost that froze the demon cultivators attempting to intercept them, along with their protective demonic energy. Ling Chen's Severing Thoughts and Burning Heaven Twin Swords clashed, the sword intents of Rending Wind and Returning Thoughts merging into an unstoppable golden-red sword beam that tore through the remaining bone tent defenses ahead. Neither of them lingered in battle; their only objective was to penetrate the camp and reach the edge of the Heavenly Venerable Sword Formation.
A furious demonic roar echoed from the direction of the main tent. A Void Realm demon general had already sensed the breakthrough on the flank and was rallying his elite troops for a defensive retreat. But the demon general had barely stepped out of the main tent when a golden light, brighter than all the previous artillery fire combined, shot from the direction of the floating island, striking the bone tent cluster directly in front of him and blasting all the demon cultivators along the retreat route, along with the bone tents, into fragments. Bai Ze, atop the fortress, used the island's entire demon array's main cannon to clear a path for them.
The mountain range's outline grew increasingly clear at the horizon. At the edge of the sword formation stretched a deep blue sword curtain across the void, its surface swirling with countless extremely sharp Celestial Sword Intents. Sensing the resonance of the three swords, the sword intents did not attack; instead, they spontaneously parted to create a rift just wide enough for two people to pass side-by-side. Behind the rift lay a deep, dark passageway, its end faintly glowing. Ling Chen glanced back. The demon army camp had been thrown into chaos by Tie Gu and Bai Ze's ranged firepower, but the old demon general at the Void Realm had regained his footing and was charging towards the sword formation with a reckless, frenzied attack.
Without further hesitation, he pulled Su Qingyuan into the rift in the sword curtain. The dark blue sword curtain closed silently after the two passed through.
At the end of the passageway lay a colossal underground stone palace. The walls were covered with ancient seal script inscriptions identical to those in the murals of the forbidden area, but its scale far surpassed that of the forbidden land—the dome was incredibly high, and the interior space was large enough to contain a mountain. In the center of the palace, a jet-black stone pillar pierced the dome from the ground, its shaft riddled with countless cracks, each a scar etched by the passage of time. Floating before the pillar was the phantom of a sword. It was not the Sword Servant's Severing Thoughts, nor the Ice Servant's Frost Condensation, nor the Flame Servant's Burning Heaven—it was simple, heavy, and devoid of any ornamentation. The sword's flow was not sword intent, but time itself. It was the Celestial Venerable's natal sword from ten thousand years ago, shattered here after sealing the Demon Lord. Its remaining sword intent refused to dissipate, transforming into a stone pillar that had guarded the foundation of the divine realm's array for a full ten thousand years.
The stone pillar sensed the resonance of the three swords, and for the first time in ten thousand years, a faint light rekindled deep within its cracks. Simultaneously, a phantom figure slowly materialized from the sword intent—a person clad in a cyan sword robe, with long, flowing hair, and a face identical to Ling Chen's. It was not an illusion, not a hallucination, but the Celestial Venerable himself—or more precisely, a wisp of his will remaining within the Celestial Venerable's shattered natal sword intent. After sealing the Demon Lord, he had sealed this final trace of his will here before his remnant soul completely burned away, waiting only to ask that question upon his reincarnation.
"You've finally arrived. Ten thousand years, a little later than I predicted. Is the Demon Lord still here?"
"He fled wounded. The seal has been reinforced, but the core array is missing this piece, so it won't last another ten thousand years."
The Celestial Venerable nodded slightly, then asked the question. He had waited ten thousand years for this question—not how long the seal could last, not whether the Three Attendants were still alive, but Ling Chen himself.
"Who are you?"
Ling Chen was silent for a moment. The Myriad Dao Returning to Nothingness Diagram in his dantian slowly unfolded, and the three attendant swords simultaneously emitted a deep sword hum. He looked at the face before him that was exactly the same as his own, and answered word by word: "Ling Chen. Young Master of the Ling Family in Qingzhou, Eastern Wilderness. Inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect. Master of the Three Swords: Severing Thoughts, Condensing Frost, and Burning Heaven. The reincarnation of the Heavenly Venerable is merely my starting point, not my entirety."
The Celestial Venerable gazed at him for a long time, then smiled. It wasn't a smile of relief, nor a smile of reassurance—but a smile of seeing a successor finally walk the path he himself had failed to complete. The will that had stood guard for ten thousand years in the ruins of the divine realm had finally received the greeting it had waited for for ten thousand years. He raised his hand, and the cracks on the stone pillar began to heal inch by inch from the bottom. Those scars, pressed in by time, were revived like withered trees in spring under the nourishment of the chaotic essence of the Myriad Dao Returning to Ruins Diagram. Countless fine golden light patterns emerged from the depths of the pillar, reforging the entire stone pillar into an indestructible sealing core. The sword intent at the core of the stone pillar transformed into a stream of light and entered Ling Chen's brow.
The Celestial Venerable's innate sword intent returns to its rightful place.
The final gap in the Nine Revolutions Demon-Sealing Array was filled the instant the sword intent returned to its place. The Conferred God Platform, the Divine Realm Stone Palace, and the Sword Seal—the three array bases—simultaneously vibrated and resonated. The sealing laws descended from the heavens, enveloping the three realms in a flawless golden array pattern. This array pattern would not be torn apart by the Demon Lord's bare hands as it had been before—because this time, what suppressed the array base was no longer a remnant soul and a lingering destiny, but a living person standing in the center of the stone palace, grasping their natal sword intent.
The lingering image of the Celestial Venerable began to dissipate. He poured his last strength into the three swords: Severing Thoughts, Frost Condensation, and Heaven Burning. The old wounds on the swords healed completely in a warm golden light. The old scar deep within the spine of the Severing Thoughts sword, which almost pierced the entire blade; the fine lines on the Frost Condensation sword caused by the Void Realm demon general; the hidden wound on the Heaven Burning Sword's hilt that had never faded since his fall—all the scars of ten thousand years were smoothed away with this touch. Before the Celestial Venerable's natal sword intent shattered, he couldn't repair the Attendant's sword; now, reincarnated, he completed this final task for him.
"The three swords are now repaired. Return her sword tassel to her."
The last words before the afterimage dissipated were not an order, not a request, but an apology that transcended ten thousand years. Ten thousand years ago, he owed the sword servant a chance to turn back; now, reincarnated, he took over the burden of severing ties for him. The light on the stone pillar slowly stabilized, and the Nine Revolutions Demon Sealing Array finally resumed full operation after its period of silence. And between Ling Chen's brows, the sword-shaped mark of his natal sword intent was slowly fading beneath his skin. From this moment on, he was the foundation of the array. As long as he was alive, the seal remained.
Behind the stone pillar was a sealed side door. The seal on the side door automatically dissipated when the Celestial Venerable's sword intent returned to its place, revealing a small stone chamber. In the center of the chamber floated a jade slip the size of a fist, beside which lay a yellowed ancient scroll. The scroll's cover bore only two characters—"Myriad Paths." Opening the scroll, the title page contained the Celestial Venerable's handwriting, powerful yet familiar: "The Myriad Paths Returning to Ruins Diagram is not an offensive treasure; it is a key. The Myriad Paths Celestial Venerable Technique is not merely a devouring technique; its essence is transformation and balance—transforming demonic energy into spiritual energy, destruction into repair, and turning an unfulfilled vow from ten thousand years ago into karmic debts that can still be repaid in this life."
Ling Chen stored the ancient scroll into the Myriad Dao Returning to Ruins Diagram and picked up the jade slip. The jade slip was warm to the touch, and a line of small characters was engraved on its surface: "For my reincarnated self." He infused it with chaotic spiritual power, and the jade slip slowly unfolded. The voice of the Celestial Venerable came from ten thousand years ago, calm and magnanimous, as if he had known all along that his reincarnation would stand here to hear these words.
"I don't know how many years have passed since you arrived here. Perhaps the seal is still there, perhaps the Demon Lord has returned, perhaps the Three Attendants' swords have long since turned to dust. But if you can still stand here, it means that my reincarnation has accomplished what I could not—to live to the end."
"The true use of the Myriad Paths Returning to Nothingness Diagram is not to devour all things, but to transform cause and effect. The biggest mistake I made ten thousand years ago was not the failure of the seal, but taking everyone's sacrifice for granted. When the Sword Servant stood in front of me, I didn't turn around. When the Flame Servant plunged the Burning Heaven into the scorched earth to cover my retreat, I only said 'I know.' When the Ice Servant knelt on the Conferred God Platform, exhausting his life essence—I didn't say anything. If there is an afterlife, do for me something I should have done ten thousand years ago."
"Say it to them in person—" The voice paused here, "not an order. Not a responsibility. It's what you, as yourself, as someone who fought alongside them, truly want to say from the bottom of your heart. What you say is up to you. I just want you to know—I wanted to say it ten thousand years ago too, but it was too late. This jade slip contains my trust in you. You are not my continuation, you are you. Having come this far, you are already stronger than me. The rest of the way, you walk it yourself."
Ling Chen closed the jade slip, remained silent for a moment, and then put it into his robes. From the end of the passageway outside the hall, the faint roars of the demon generals and the sounds of battle as Xiao Lie and the others provided support could be heard. He didn't rush out; instead, he turned and respectfully bowed in the direction where the Heavenly Venerable's afterimage had vanished. "What you owed them ten thousand years ago, I will repay. The seal you owed the world, I will guard. But you're wrong about one thing—you said I arrived stronger than you, but in truth, I've only traveled longer. The path you've walked for ten thousand years and still haven't finished, I will continue."
He turned and pushed open the stone palace door. Outside, Su Qingyuan was using her Frost Condensing Sword to prop up the crumbling ice wall, blocking the charging demon generals. Xiao Lie and Han Tie, with their combined swords, repelled the demon cultivators on the other side, while Bai Ze continued to provide flank cover with precision-guided golden light artillery fire from the city walls. Iron Bones' three hundred expeditionary troops had shifted from defense to pursuit, gradually compressing the remaining forces of the demon army camp towards the void turbulence abyss on the outskirts of the mountains.
Ling Chen drew the Broken Thought Sword. All the cracks on its blade had healed, and the golden light deep within its spine shone as brightly as ever. The three swords resonated once more at the entrance to the stone hall, this time not merely to open the ruins—but to bring everyone home.