Free Web NovelChapter 310: Chapter 39: The Truth of History?
Mozhou Road.
At a tea house outside Yuanning County Town, the autumn wind rustled bleakly. A dozen or so men armed with blades were surrounding a middle-aged man. The man was a Qi Cultivator, and his Sword Control Technique was a magnificent sight to behold.
But the dozen-odd men were no pushovers. They were covered head to toe in hidden weapons, clearly specialized in fighting Qi Cultivators. Moreover, their attacks were methodical, and their coordination was flawless.
A dozen breaths later, one of the men used his breastplate to block the middle-aged Qi Cultivator’s Longsword. At the same instant, another man beside him unleashed a masterful saber technique. In a flash of cold light, his blade, imbued with sharp saber-qi, struck nine times in an instant, shattering the Protective Shield generated by the Qi Cultivator’s Magical Artifact.
The Qi Cultivator hastily recalled his Longsword, but he was a step too slow. Five paces away, a man raised a hand-crossbow, aimed it at his chest, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
HISS!
A sharp pain shot through the middle-aged Qi Cultivator’s chest. His eyes quickly swept over everyone present as a savage aura flared around him for a moment. Ignoring the men attacking from his sides, his hands rapidly formed a Spell. As his Longsword circled around him, at least five of the armed men were killed on the spot, but two long sabers slashed into his own back and chest, leaving his flesh torn open.
"None of you are getting out of here alive!"
In his final moments, the Qi Cultivator activated the two Power Pills he had fought so hard to obtain. A piercing explosion vanished as quickly as it came, followed by a flash of white dust. Centered on the Qi Cultivator, everything within a two-zhang radius was annihilated, leaving a perfectly circular crater in the ground.
"Dammit, all that work for nothing again!"
A frustrated voice called out, "Fall back! Now!"
The surviving men retreated from the scene in an orderly fashion. A long time later, a few common folk who had been hiding behind the tea house emerged, their hearts still pounding with fear.
The tea house owner was tremblingly putting his chairs back in order when two Qi Cultivators finally arrived. After their questioning yielded no results, one of them, as if to vent his frustration, drew his Longsword and cleaved the entire tea house in two. He then tossed down two silver ingots and left.
The owner pocketed the silver and, without a second thought, headed for the city gates, not even bothering with his tea stall for the moment.
「Above the clouds.」
Wang Ping and Ruan Chunzi had been silently observing everything that happened at the tea house. Noticing a fluctuation in the spiritual nature of the Inspiration Realm, Ruan Chunzi extended his left hand and flicked a finger. A streak of light descended into the county town below, stabilizing the spiritual energy that was on the verge of chaos.
"All this, just for a marrow-cleansing technique. Unless a Lord intervenes, Mozhou Road is destined for turmoil." Ruan Chunzi sighed. "A pity about this beautiful scenery. I always loved the beaches of Mozhou Road at sunset."
"Xiao Shan Lord is already in seclusion."
Wang Ping gazed down at the county town below, past memories flashing through his mind for just a moment.
Ruan Chunzi fell silent for a few breaths upon hearing this. "It’s only been peaceful for a little over five hundred years," he said. "The system they spent years devising is already starting to fail. Two hundred years ago, everyone blamed Xiao Shan Lord for disrupting the peace in Zhongzhou. Now, two hundred years later, that excuse no longer holds water."
Wang Ping looked slightly surprised. He hadn’t heard this version of events before.
"The world has never truly been at peace. The Human Dao has flourished for over five thousand years, and we’ve tried dozens of methods—chaos, order, high-pressure tactics, you name it. But the complexity of human nature exceeds our imagination."
Ruan Chunzi’s words were tinged with a hint of resignation.
Wang Ping replied, "The Human Dao is but five thousand years old. The Cosmos may have existed for an infinite number of five-thousand-year spans. Perhaps there was even an age when Saints existed. Yet look at the world now—still no peace. If this is a problem that even Saints couldn’t solve, why should you let it trouble you?"
"What you just said nearly made me lose control of my Spirit Vein Consciousness."
Ruan Chunzi looked at Wang Ping. As their eyes met, he said, "For a long time now, I’ve been wondering how the Five Profound Sects and the two Heavenly Gates were formed, and where the first Cultivation Techniques came from. I once had the opportunity to meet a True Monarch, so I boldly asked him this question."
He suddenly trailed off, deliberately pausing for several breaths. Wang Ping, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "And what did he say?"
Ruan Chunzi shook his head and let out a sudden, inexplicable chuckle. "He said nothing at all. The Ancestral Master acted as if he hadn’t heard me, completely ignoring my question."
Wang Ping processed this for a moment before asking, "You seem to have some theories of your own, though?"
"We seized the world’s fortune from the hands of the Demon Race. When I first advanced to the Third Realm, I explored countless ruins of the Demon Race and found some vague answers."
Ruan Chunzi’s tone was more like he was telling a story than recounting history. "When the Demon Race controlled the world’s fortune, we of the Human Race could only huddle in the Southeast Sea Region. At that time, our greatest protector was True Monarch Yuan Wu. He not only blessed our harvests but also guaranteed our safety."
"Until one day, the Taoist Ancestor emerged from the Mist Sea Region. With his fragile divine soul, he brought out seven Secret Techniques. After passing these seven techniques to his seven disciples, he passed away on the spot."
After listening, Wang Ping frowned. "That story is full of holes."
"It is indeed full of holes. To pass down the highest Mystic Sect Secret Technique, one must have the power of a True Monarch Level at the very least." Ruan Chunzi smiled. "But this is what all the Demon Race ruins record. Our own records, however, consist of only a single sentence..."
He cleared his throat and adopted the tone of a storyteller: "Since the rise of the Human Dao, the Five Profound Sects and the two Heavenly Gates have stood side by side, and the Human Race has escaped the cruel dominion of the Demon Race..."
After speaking, he gave an open-hearted laugh. "Later, I came to terms with it. The world is as it is, and the Human Dao is flourishing. Even if I knew the truth, what could I change? Besides, you were right earlier. The Cosmos has existed for an infinite number of five-thousand-year spans. We are far too insignificant."
As they spoke, they had already flown over Changwen Prefecture. A number of Second Realm Cultivators in the city sensed their presence. After identifying them from a distance, they all bowed respectfully from afar before minding their own business. The chaos in the city below immediately began to subside.
Wang Ping stared at the vast land below. "Perhaps only by ascending to a higher realm can one grasp the truth. Xiao Shan Lord might be as perplexed as you are, or perhaps he’s simply unwilling to be trapped in his own world. That’s why he’s attempting to ascend to the Realm of True Monarch."
"Everyone in the world admires him. His courage puts me to shame."
Ruan Chunzi’s gaze turned grave as he looked in the direction of the Six Heart Sect, then back at Wang Ping. "The disciples of the Taiyan Sect have always been so fearless. Back then, your ancestor actually planned to turn everyone in the world into puppets just to stabilize spiritual energy. Then there was Elder Yuxiao, who bravely charged into the Mist Sea Region. And now, we have Xiao Shan Lord, gambling the world’s fortune on the ethereal True Monarch Position."
Wang Ping didn’t respond, merely meeting Ruan Chunzi’s gaze with a noncommittal smile.
Ruan Chunzi studied Changwen Prefecture City for a moment longer before saying, "I’ve now seen what’s happening on Mozhou Road, and I’ve had your wine. Will you head north with me now, or do you need to wait a while longer?"
