The True God of Third Heaven Continent
“Sorry, I know it’s a problematic decision, but Third Heaven Palace have the final say. We don’t have the audacity to question them. As you’re Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s disciples, he’s bound to help you leave.”
The decision regarding Celestial Prison was made decades ago, which was before Tian Ran was even born. It wasn’t her fault she was born in that camp.
“What about everyone else? What about those who were just born today? Do they deserve to die when they turn ten?”
“… Arguing with me is pointless; you must not know who set the formation.”
“Who?”
“Sword Shadow Dust Gale. In other words, your shifu.”
“What sort of tripe is that?”
Shifu is a man who doesn’t fight with anyone for anything. That’s preposterous.
Tian Ran anticipated Mu Yu’s reaction. She decided to share a story her seniors told her, one that she could imagine as clearly as if she was personally there. “You still don’t realise Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s significance at Third Heaven Continent, do you? He is a god to its populace; the masses revere him. Practically everyone there grew up with his legends.
“The elemental demons were at the prime over ninety years ago. That was when their five Spirit Lords showed up and led the invasion into the human realm. Third Heaven Palace was unable to stop their onslaught. Countless humans dropped, and the race as a whole was on the cusp of extinction. That was when Sword Shadow Dust Gale emerged as the equivalent of a deity descending to aid humanity.
“Sword Shadow Dust Gale singlehandedly turned the tables, blitzing the five Spirit Lords. He was the saviour of humanity. That is why we worship him as a true god. Shrines to worship him are ubiquitous at Third Heaven Continent. You will see his statues pretty much everywhere there, too.”
That was the last thing Mu Yu imagined when comparing it to what his shifu often did, which included gardening, occasionally cooking and telling stories. He was dressed in ordinary garments and had absolute control over his emotions. He, therefore, questioned, “Are you kidding?”
“No. You can ask your shifu. I thought you’d all be informed considering the significance of the accomplishment.”
“Why would he set the formation if he saved humanity already?”
“Because the remaining elemental demons fled into Moyun Mountains’ mountain range. That’s their natural barrier; it was impossible to finish them there. Thus, Third Heaven Palace made the call to trap the demons inside the formation to prevent them returning.
“Celestial Prison utilises one’s cultivation as the formation’s key. The individual’s cultivation has to be unfathomably advanced to qualify. Sword Shadow Dust Gale was the only person who qualified. Third Heaven Palace approached your shifu to ask him to cast it, and he agreed for a reason unbeknownst to me. As such, neither the elemental demons nor anyone who hadn’t reached Primordial Infant Realm could escape from the formation.”
Going by the wood demons’ elder’s direction, which was to kill the formation key if he wanted to emancipate humanity, Mu Yu would have to kill his shifu! He couldn’t bring himself to kill the man equivalent to the world to him. The dilemma was he couldn’t justify letting Moyun Mountains’ inhabitants perish.
Mu Yu’s emotions and his newfound knowledge were at war in his mind. His mind said his shifu wasn’t the kind of man to sacrifice so many lives. His shifu taught him to answer to his conscience and how to be a true cultivator. Did his shifu believe the decision to be correct, though? He wanted to see his shifu shake his head with a smile and deny it.
“You must be mistaken. My shifu is only a Golden Core Realm cultivator. True god of Third Heaven Continent, yeah right.”
“Taking on the role of Celestial Prison’s key will cause irreversible damage. The only people who know that are Third Heaven Palace and your shifu. I know you still aren’t convinced; however, have you ever questioned what happened to his cultivation? Why do you think he’s only a Golden Core Realm cultivator now? In the past, his word was the rule. Doesn’t it seem strange to you?”
“Shifu sacrificed his cultivation to cast the formation.”
“Exactly. If I didn’t happen to learn Ghost Gate was searching for Sword Shadow Dust Gale, I wouldn’t have known he had left Third Heaven Palace long ago to come here.”
“What does Ghost Gate want with him?”
With a furious undertone, Tian Ran expounded, “The techniques they practice are unorthodox. They use cultivators’ souls as their magic weapons. Third Heaven Palace forbade its usage owing to how cruel it was. Ghost Gate, therefore, made a compromise to get around the loophole. The way they train their disciples is to find two individuals with identical potential and have them train together from childhood. They call them ‘twins’. Once the two are ready, they have the two square off in a life and death match. The winner kills the loser and extracts the loser’s soul to forge their own magic weapon. Third Heaven Palace turn a blind eye to it since Ghost Gate are killing their own members.
“By coincidence, I heard Gui Xuanyue – his surname obviously derives from the Ghost part in Ghost Gate – state twins’ souls weren’t enough if they wanted to improve their cultivation level. They couldn’t brazenly commit murder under Third Heaven Palace’s strict surveillance. Consequently, they turned to Moyun Mountains. We know Moyun Mountains will be home to hundreds of thousands of corpses in a decade from now. What would that make Moyun Mountains for them?
Since Sword Shadow Dust Gale locked every human’s soul in Celestial Prison, and those outside couldn’t express hostility within its boundaries, the only way to trigger a cascade of deaths was to instigate war between those living within Celestial Prison. I don’t know how they found out about your shifu’s cultivation taking a hit, but their plan was to have someone at Primordial Infant Realm capture him once he dropped to Golden Core Realm. Next, they would use slave pill to manipulate him. I don’t think I need to elaborate on what they planned to do next.”
Tian Ran didn’t need to be any more explicit. There was no way Mu Yu was going to sit back and let Ghost Gate have their way. As the situation stood, the only tool at hand that could stop the Primordial Infant Realm cultivators was his shifu’s formations.
“The youth I mentioned is controlling Daoist Qing Song using a slave pill. Can we conclude the youth is with Ghost Gate?”
“As I told you, I’m not sure who the youth is. Green Pine Sect and Jiuhua Sect are the only two remaining factions at this point. We both know they’ve been at logger heads for ages. That’s enough to spark deaths. Maybe the youth you mentioned is also with Ghost Gate. Perhaps they intend to sow discord between the two. They can sit back and wait to collect souls while the two factions stake their lives for them.”
“Why do you want to help my shifu?”
Mu Yu’s hairs stood up as Tian Ran ran her eyes up and down him with an enthralling look.
“Because I’ve admired Sword Shadow Dust Gale since I was a kid. I want to see the elder I respect most. I was going to share what I heard Gui Xuanyue said, but I figured nobody would believe me unless I had proof. That’s why I’m here now.
“I don’t have the foggiest idea how Gui Xuanyue discovered your shifu is Sword Shadow Dust Gale. Nonetheless, it’s not hard to see why he wants to take you all hostage. I only caught wind of your shifu’s true identity two days ago from Reverend Jiuhua.”
The two fell silent. Tian Ran incessantly stole glances at Mu Yu, awaiting his response.
“What?”
“You’re Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s disciple, so I also respect you,” coyly replied Tian Ran, with a giggle.
Mu Yu, to the contrary, was in no mood for laughs.
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