Chapter 301: Didn’t Want You to Forget Her
Chapter 301: Didn’t Want You to Forget Her
The moment that youth fell, the barren plains on both sides exploded with chaos.
Bestial roars reached his ears.
The Demon Race stationed over ten miles away stirred wildly.
Amid the endless white,
Chen Changsheng stood up, his gaze fixed on the Azure Heaven above.
“Since you’re so impatient, breaking the rules,”
“then don’t blame Chen for bending them a little too.”
He raised his hand, and the Taiqing Sword landed in his grasp.
The sword pointed toward the Demon Race encampment, a flicker of sword-light swirling at its tip.
“Clang!”
A sword chime rang out, followed by a sweeping arc of light.
High in the heavens, an Immortal Sword descended from afar.
“Hummm!”
Sword Qi roared, vibrating against the ears.
That sword blocked Chen Changsheng’s strike.
Then, the figure holding it slowly materialized.
Chen Changsheng’s eyes narrowed, focusing on the sword wielder, but his attention locked onto the blade itself.
“Shangqing!”
The Taiqing Sword in Chen Changsheng’s hand trembled. The three Pure Ones were once one entity; meeting again now, it was hard to suppress the reaction.
‘Yu Xuan,’ who held the sword, sheathed it. She glanced once at Chen Changsheng, then leaped lightly away, heading into the distance.
Chen Changsheng formed a hand seal with his fingers and swiftly gave chase.
The Demon Race seemed dazed for a moment, then erupted.
“Break the human pass! Kill!”
“Break the human pass!”
Snow collapsed across the desolate plain as, in the blink of an eye, ten thousand demons surged, trampling the swirling flakes to breach the fortress.
Within the city walls, ten thousand Martial Artists of the Jianghu and several dozen Cultivators gripped their swords and blades tighter.
Spear points aimed at the onrushing demons, Mu Cang shouted fiercely, “We swear not to return until the demon scourge is broken!”
“Until the scourge is broken!”
“Until the scourge is broken!”
Mu Cang’s cold eyes swept over the plain. “Open the gates! Slay the demons!”
“Slay the demons!”
“Kill!”
Battle cries blotted the sky.
In an instant, the two races collided on the open plain.
Metal clashed; blades and swords met their marks.
Fangs and bloody maws tore; Demonic Qi surged in vast waves.
In mere moments, the once white expanse was stained a deep crimson…
…
Chen Changsheng pursued ‘Yu Xuan’ into a place of deep stillness.
Forests ringed the mountains; below lay only a spring, its waters flowing without cease.
Chen Changsheng looked at ‘Yu Xuan’ standing by the mountain spring and asked, “Why is that sword in your possession?”
‘Yu Xuan’ raised the sword in her hand and glanced at it. “The Shangqing Sword of Intent. Restless mind, wandering thoughts. She gave it to me.”
Chen Changsheng looked again. The sword was unmistakably the Shangqing Sword – Yu Xuan’s personal blade.
But the being before him now was Heaven and Earth itself.
“Gave it to you?” Chen Changsheng studied her.
“Yes. To me.”
‘Yu Xuan’ held the sword at her side, its blade emitting a faint, resonant hum.
“Compared to destruction, Shangqing is inferior to Taiqing. But in severing hearts, Taiqing falls far behind. The Mortal Sword split into the Three Pure Ones; each has its wonders, each has its flaws.”
‘Yu Xuan’ gave a light snort. “Chen Changsheng, Heaven and Earth’s grand design is set. This world is due for its ending.”
Chen Changsheng frowned. “The Sutra of Rebirth… it’s nearing completion?”
‘Yu Xuan’ answered, “Demons invade the mortal realm, Heaven and Earth stained crimson, humankind extinguished, souls flowing like water… then the Sutra will be whole.”
Chen Changsheng’s grip on his sword tightened minutely. He stared at ‘Yu Xuan’. “To complete one Sutra of Rebirth, you’d exterminate an entire race of this world? As Heaven, what use is such a dharma sutra to you?”
‘Yu Xuan’ shook her head, looking back at him. “It wasn’t meant for me.”
Chen Changsheng’s brows lifted slightly as ‘Yu Xuan’ spoke again.
“It was meant for you.”
Her words made Chen Changsheng freeze.
‘Yu Xuan’ added, “She left it for you, when she departed.”
Chen Changsheng’s pupils contracted.
‘Yu Xuan’ exhaled softly, sheathing her sword. “The conflict between the two races is now unstoppable. By merely delaying you, I remove all variables. You would learn some truths sooner or later; better you hear them now.”
Chen Changsheng’s gaze remained locked on her, offering no reply for a long while.
The tight grip on his Taiqing Sword slowly relaxed.
He sheathed his blade. “How much of what you say can I trust?”
“Belief is your concern.”
‘Yu Xuan’ stated, “I only tell you what I am meant to tell you.”
Chen Changsheng didn’t question further. He waited for her to continue.
“This realm was founded over thirteen thousand years ago. Its rules gradually perfected, Reincarnation and Rebirth established, the Spiritual Energy of all things gathered and rose.”
“She created this world. As the Celestial Sovereign, I too regarded her as my master.”
“I understood her purpose, foresaw the coming carnage. I sought to dissuade her, but she merely told me: ‘Perfection will come one day. Let things unfold as they must.'”
“Back then, I couldn’t fathom it. If this was her intent, why go to such lengths, stealing me away to forge this world?”
“Later, I heard the answer from her lips: because she had eternity to wait.”
“And so it was. In the one hundred and forty-four thousand years that passed in this realm, Heaven and Earth experienced an era of tranquility.”
“She seldom visited, though she’d sometimes come to talk, speak of events elsewhere, see how this world had grown.”
“It was clear. Back then… she truly loved this place.”
“And I truly loved her.”
‘Yu Xuan’ smiled warmly. “Often, I saw her like a little girl – bright, cheerful. Though rarely serious, utterly endearing.”
Chen Changsheng listened, memories of Yu Xuan surfacing.
It rang true. That girl who’d clamored about robbery was indeed rarely serious.
“Time flew. Who knows how many years passed in a blink. Then, for a long, long time… I didn’t see her.”
“I thought she must face some trial and would come when ready. But when we met again, she was exhausted, weariness deep in her eyes, their former light gone.”
“That same day, she declared,”
“‘I fear I can wait no longer.'”
“She told me everything.”
“As much as I regretted it, this world was ultimately hers.”
“Alone, she severed the River of Time, cutting it off five thousand years prior. The era of the End of Dharma thus commenced.”
“Disasters, human-made and natural, plagued the world. She seeded the Demon Race, unleashing calamity upon Heaven and Earth.”
“In these five thousand years alone, the lives lost—human and demon—number in the billions!”
“Now, barely ten million humans endure; mere tens of thousands of demons remain.”
“And the burden of all this Karma? Borne by her alone.”
“Everything… aimed fundamentally at you.”
‘Yu Xuan’ took two steps forward. “From the start, the Sutra of Rebirth was penned for you, Chen Changsheng!”
Chen Changsheng seemed dazed. He asked, “If truly meant for me… what purpose? She should have known.”
After all, he had always existed within that river of time.
‘Yu Xuan’ sighed softly, pondering. “Perhaps…” she murmured, “she just didn’t want you to forget her.”