Chapter 125: She Wasn’t the Tomb Owner
Chapter 125: She Wasn’t the Tomb Owner
Chang Shan was busy with matters at hand and hadn’t returned to his residence yet.
Chen Changsheng sat in the courtyard, holding a small pagoda in his hand as he studied it.
He had been looking at this black pagoda for quite some days now.
Back then, the Badger Demon had managed to avoid Chen Changsheng’s divination precisely because of this Black Pagoda, proving that its origins were anything but ordinary.
“It can absorb others’ Demonic Power and Magical Power. This Black Pagoda is truly quite sinister.”
Chen Changsheng tried probing the Black Pagoda with his Divine Sense, but without exception, it was blocked every time.
Later, he tried using Magical Power. Remembering the previous jade token, he even tested with a strand of hair. But none worked. Not only that, both the Magical Power and the strand of hair were sucked into the Black Pagoda, vanishing as if they had become sustenance.
Chen Changsheng pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and beckoned.
The Rain-Listening Sword fell into his grasp.
He raised the sword and chopped towards the black lump.
“Ding…”
The sword trembled, but the Black Pagoda seemed to defend itself, erecting a barrier around it that prevented the Immortal Sword from advancing even half an inch further.
Chen Changsheng furrowed his brows, thinking to himself: ‘Has it consciousness?’
Chen Changsheng sheathed his sword, holding the Black Pagoda in his palm. He then said, “Your origins are extraordinary, and since you’re an ancient immortal treasure, you are probably not some common Magical Artifact.”
The Black Pagoda remained perfectly still, offering no response.
“Fine if you don’t answer.”
Chen Changsheng chuckled and said, “I will just cut you open with my sword, and then I’ll know exactly what you are.”
As he spoke, he gripped his sword again.
This time, Chen Changsheng had no intention of holding back.
A Ruthless Aura emanated from this Black Pagoda; it looked like a malign thing no matter how he viewed it. Destroying it wouldn’t pain him.
“Hum.”
The sword hummed continuously as Chen Changsheng raised it.
He was about to bring it down.
Chen Changsheng’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and he swung the sword downward.
The Black Pagoda sensed the danger and wanted to dodge.
But then Chen Changsheng spoke a single word: “Freeze!”
Following the puzzling command, the Black Pagoda froze, unable to move.
The Immortal Sword was about to strike.
Suddenly, a voice emerged from the Black Pagoda.
“Stop!”
The voice was hoarse, as if belonging to someone extremely ancient.
Chen Changsheng’s sword halted, the blade less than a finger’s breadth from the Black Pagoda.
Chen Changsheng said, “I was wondering how long you could keep pretending.”
The voice came from the pagoda again. “If it were back in the day, with your meager cultivation, this honored one could have obliterated you with a flick of my finger.”
“That’s quite the boast.”
Chen Changsheng raised his sword once more and chopped directly at the pagoda.
“Stop it!! Don’t!!”
“Ding!”
This time, the sword strike landed solidly on the Black Pagoda.
The pagoda shuddered, followed by a howl of pain.
“Ah!!”
Chen Changsheng said, “Weren’t you boasting so fiercely? A single sword strike, and you can’t bear it?”
The pagoda seemed furious. “Too much bullying!!”
Suddenly, a surge of Evil Qi erupted around the Black Pagoda.
Chen Changsheng, channeling Magical Power through his sword, spoke again: “Heaven and Earth divine, impurities scatter! Dispel all fierce sins, the Tao’s light endures!”
As soon as the words fell, a beam of Golden Light shot towards the black mist.
In an instant, the black mist dispersed.
The Black Pagoda wobbled slightly, seemingly dumbstruck.
It apparently hadn’t expected this outcome. This was far beyond what it had anticipated.
Chen Changsheng raised his hand and beckoned. A wisp of black mist fell into his grasp.
“Karmic Retribution… Baleful Aura… vicious Qi… Yin Energy…”
Chen Changsheng gave it a light squeeze, and the wisp of black mist dissipated. He stared at the Black Pagoda and said, “So that’s why you’re so yin and sinister.”
The Black Pagoda fell silent. For the first time, it had encountered something like this.
It cultivated by absorbing vicious, baleful energies from all directions, merging them into one. Whether it was Merit, Magical Power, or spiritual devotion, nothing could dissolve this black mist. Yet this man…
With a casual swipe of his sword, he had annihilated it.
Who… was he?
Determination flashed in Chen Changsheng’s eyes. “It seems you cannot be allowed to exist!”
As he said this, he raised his sword again!
The Black Pagoda suddenly became anxious. “Hold… hold on…” it stammered.
Chen Changsheng, however, decisively swung his sword downwards.
In desperation, the pagoda shouted with its hoarse voice, “I can help you achieve Longevity!!”
The sword in Chen Changsheng’s hand stopped again.
The Black Pagoda sighed inwardly in relief. It hurriedly continued, “I speak the truth! I really can help you gain Longevity!”
Chen Changsheng asked, “Then tell me, how exactly do you help someone achieve Longevity?”
The Black Pagoda remained silent for a short while.
Then it explained, “There was once an Arcane Spell… Pile up a million corpses, dye the world in blood… Refining a million ounces of Essence Blood… enables one to grasp Longevity.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the sharp hum of a sword split the air.
“I’m telling the truth!!”
Chen Changsheng lessened his force slightly.
The Rain-Listening Sword struck the Black Pagoda.
Under the blow, the pagoda seemed to shatter violently, accompanied by another agonized scream. The hoarse voice within hissed, “I didn’t lie to you!! I was born because of this!”
Chen Changsheng fell silent.
He pondered whether the Black Pagoda’s words were true or false.
Could such an Arcane Spell truly exist in this world?
Chen Changsheng asked, “Who created you?”
The Black Pagoda paused, then replied, “I… I don’t know.”
“According to me, you don’t seem particularly keen on living either.”
“I truly don’t know.”
The pagoda explained, “Ever since I gained awareness, I’ve wandered this world. My sole purpose has been the accumulation of Blood Qi. At first, I didn’t understand why, but later… a Daoist priest utilized the Blood Qi I had gathered to lay down a formation that extended his Lifespan. That’s when I understood why I came into being…”
“Such a method truly exists?” Chen Changsheng questioned.
“It does. Though few know of it now,” the pagoda answered.
“I’ve witnessed many people. The last one who sought to use this method to extend her life and pursue Longevity… she also died. We were somewhat bound by fate, I suppose. But she couldn’t bring herself to use this path that defied the natural order. And she refused to let the method fall into others’ hands. So she destroyed the method and hid me away with her within her tomb.”
“Later, you were found by the Badger Demon?”
“Yes,” the pagoda confirmed.
It continued, “I haven’t lied to you. All these words are true. If you truly disbelieve, then just… destroy me.”
Chen Changsheng silently contemplated.
He naturally couldn’t trust all of the Black Pagoda’s words. Estimating cautiously, perhaps seven parts of it held truth.
Chen Changsheng asked, “Who was that last person who knew this method? Who was she?”
“Her…”
The pagoda seemed to be recalling. “She was a foolish Cultivator. Foolish beyond measure.”
“How so? How was she foolish beyond measure?”
“The Ancestral Master who founded Long Flow Sword Mountain, Sword Immortal Yu Xuan… Have you heard of her?”
Chen Changsheng paused slightly upon hearing this name.
Yu Xuan…
He remembered this name. Long ago… Zhao Yuqing had spoken of her.
The Black Pagoda continued, voice tinged with disdain, “Truly, she was foolish. She waited for someone… waited over three hundred years. Right up until her Lifespan was about to run out… she still hadn’t seen him.”
Chen Changsheng’s lips parted slightly. “Who… whom was she waiting for?”
The pagoda seemed to reflect. “That, I do not know. She never spoke his name.”
Chen Changsheng suddenly fell into deep silence.
The Black Pagoda observed the heavy expression on Chen Changsheng’s face and seemed to realize something. It said cautiously, “You… you knew her?”
Chen Changsheng snapped out of his reverie. He answered softly.
“Perhaps… I did.”
The Black Pagoda’s tone hitched. It suddenly regretted its earlier tirade and hurriedly backtracked. “Ah, that… I was just saying things casually! She wasn’t foolish! She just…”
Chen Changsheng cut it off. “Weren’t you brought out of the Ancient Immortal’s tomb by the Badger Demon? She… Yu Xuan… couldn’t have been an Ancient Immortal, could she?”
The Black Pagoda hurried to clarify. “That tomb was indeed the tomb of an Ancient Immortal. But she… she was not its owner.”