With the Blade

Chapter 288: Chapter 239: History Is a Cycle

Gripped in the hands of that Yin person, the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix’s heart had already turned to ashes.

Clearly, it had already transformed and ascended to become an Immortal, an undying and indestructible being, yet the creature calling itself a Yin person had still captured it and sealed it within this great blade—and in the process, the techniques and secrets used by that Yin person were unheard of.

So, let alone this Yin person, even the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix itself wanted to know, what exactly was this creature?

"You actually claim to know nothing at all?"

The expression on Yin person Wu Zhao’s face was somewhat displeased.

"These are clearly past events, how could you possibly know nothing... hmm."

Before finishing the sentence, Yin person Wu Zhao fell silent himself.

Indeed, perhaps it truly did not know. After all, even it only knew things from the era it was active, and as for after becoming a Soldier Immortal, though it was concerned with affairs of the future, it did not much care—regarding things before that time, it had never thought about them. If it were asked about events before the existence of the Yin people, perhaps it could not answer either.

In the end, people of this era had no habit of archaeology; even if archaeology could help people understand those past events, what significance did these matters hold for people now?

Perhaps some noble families would preserve this ancient history, as it was deeply related to their ancestors, but unfortunately, this Gray-Black Fire Phoenix was not born into any illustrious family.

"If there must be some historical records, perhaps the former Chu royal family might have had them, but the Chu royal family has long since..."

The feeble Gray-Black Fire Phoenix reluctantly spoke, sharing the most information it could recall.

Yet Yin person Wu Zhao was not inclined to stop there.

"Continue speaking, tell me about the Chu royal family you mentioned, about everything related to this dynasty."

"This..."

In helplessness, the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix shared everything it knew about the Chu royal family.

However, it did not know much, for when it was alive, Great Chu had already been replaced by Great Yu. Before it achieved the consciousness transfer technique, even Great Yu had been overthrown by the Great Chen established by a Chu traitor. If it had to recall, it could only remember Great Yu, where it lived, and earlier, the glorious Great Chu that only existed in legends.

As for things earlier than Great Chu, those were beyond what this Chu remnant, hunted by Great Yu, could know.

"That’s about it."

Enduring the pain that almost drove it insane, the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix shared all it knew.

"As for more, I truly don’t know."

"That’s enough."

Having listened to everything, Yin person Wu Zhao slightly furrowed his brow.

"It’s similar, very similar..."

"Similar to what?"

The Gray-Black Fire Phoenix momentarily thought it had misheard.

But Yin person Wu Zhao did not intend to explain anything to the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix, privately pondering the information he had just heard.

Similar, indeed very similar. Though in detail, the Chu people mentioned were vastly different from the ancient Yin people, in certain aspects, like the reverence for warriors and the understanding and pursuit of power, they were almost identical to the old Yin people—if there were a difference, it was that these Chu people’s path had been skewed from the beginning.

Orthodox Yin people only believed in the ghost within their hearts; though called spirits and gods, they were essentially the hidden power within themselves. Whereas Chu people revered some powerful beasts or creatures as sacred, in the heyday of the ancient Yin people, this was something only the lowest slaves would do.

To the Yin people, only the weak would worship beasts or monsters, as their frail selves were overwhelmed by such power and instinctively led to worship it—but the strong would never do this. The strong could slay those beasts or monsters on their own, so how could they worship defeated foes?

As warriors, the Yin people had their pride, believing only in their power.

Of course, the slaves worshiping beasts wasn’t entirely bad; at least after they became convinced enough to even mutate their flesh, the brave Yin Warriors would have targets to crusade against—the hides and bones of those monsters were fine trophies, whether for crafting weapons or boasting of strength on the walls.

If among those monsters emerged one or two formidable ones, like the blade-resistant Gray-Black Fire Phoenix, all the better. At least for a Soldier Immortal who housed their soul in a weapon, these disembodied creatures were excellent nourishment and, most satisfyingly for the Soldier Immortal, these soulless monsters were hard to kill, meaning they could never be exhausted.

Judging this way, these later Chu people should have been descendants of a certain group of slaves once following the Yin people, mimicking the traces left by the ancient Yin people, even accomplishing deeds much like them despite changing times.

Yet ultimately, they too were overthrown.

Just as the ancient Yin people were buried in history’s dust, the rule of these Chu people was eventually overturned, despite possessing supreme force and brutal might, they were replaced by the emergent Yu dynasty, even completely eradicated.

"Yu dynasty... Scholarly people?"

Yin person Wu Zhao vaguely sensed something. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

To outsiders, this concept might only conjure an image of students shaking their heads with books, but to Yin person Wu Zhao, who had undergone complete priest training, it meant something entirely else—after all, for a priest, exploring and employing the power of the ghost within was a prized skill.

And this so-called reading, the path of sages... the more he heard, the more it resembled some secret ritual.

"Could it be they inherited priest techniques?"

Yin person Wu Zhao contemplated and then shook his head.

Although these Yu people sounded somewhat like the Yin people’s priests, their combat methods were unfamiliar to him—that method that seemed to destroy the enemy’s internal ghost was unheard of by Yin person Wu Zhao.

"More samples will need to be captured for observation."

With this thought, Yin person Wu Zhao stood up and turned back.

Though the Yu people were well-hidden, as a priest, he had indeed detected the presence of these Yu people’s shadows.