Chapter 449 – The Sorrow of the Heavenly Dao, That Single Teardrop
by spirapiraChapter 449 – The Sorrow of the Heavenly Dao, That Single Teardrop
Su Xing’s heart stirred when he heard these words.
Sure enough, the test had come!
For a powerhouse like the Celestial Demon General, the only thing that could truly earn his respect was strength!
As long as Su Xing possessed sufficient strength to win the Celestial Demon General’s respect, opportunities to speak privately would naturally follow.
When that time came, getting clear answers wouldn’t be difficult!
And now, the Celestial Demon General’s test for Su Xing had arrived!
Killing a Peak Golden Immortal-level Shadow Deity was no easy task.
But for Su Xing, ranked first on the Earth Ranking… it wasn’t difficult at all!
And so…
Su Xing merely gave a faint nod and said, “Since that’s the case, it would be my pleasure!”
With that, Su Xing extended his hand and tore open a spatial passage, vanishing from the stronghold.
The Celestial Demon General gazed thoughtfully at the spatial passage through which Su Xing had departed.
A gleam of light flashed through Shi San’s eyes as he thought to himself, “What skill! Just from that move alone, his spatial Dao must have at least reached the sixth realm!”
But clearly, Shi San still harbored some concern about Su Xing going alone to kill the Shadow Deity.
He turned to the Celestial Demon General and said in a low voice, “Should I go along… to prevent any accidents?”
The Celestial Demon General gave a slight nod after hearing this, then replied with his characteristic economy of words:
“The one ranked first on the Earth Ranking… won’t have just this much strength!”
Shi San looked in the direction Su Xing had departed, lost in thought.
…
One month later. The Celestial Demon Realm.
A spatial passage appeared abruptly within the stronghold.
The corpse of a Shadow Deity over a meter tall was casually tossed through by Su Xing like a lump of rotten flesh.
Then Su Xing stepped out, unceremoniously snatched a jug of wine from Shi San’s hands, took a great swig, and only then spoke:
“Sorry about that… this fellow was quite good at hiding. It took a bit longer than expected!”
Seeing Su Xing’s return, the powerhouses of the Celestial Demon Prison were shocked once again.
“This… it hasn’t even been that long, and he’s already back?”
A Peak Golden Immortal powerhouse stared at the Shadow Deity’s corpse on the ground, unable to help swallowing hard.
“The younger generation is truly fearsome! This level of strength… far surpasses yours and mine!”
“Tsk tsk… in my opinion, given enough time, this kid’s strength could earn him merit rankings above the top five!”
A group of Golden Immortal-level and above powerhouses discussed amongst themselves, their eyes filled with undisguised emotion.
To be able to kill a second-tier Peak Shadow Deity in merely one month—even across the entire Celestial Demon Prison, you could count on two hands the number of people capable of that!
A second-tier Peak Shadow Deity was equivalent to a Peak Golden Immortal cultivator!
But Shadow Deities excelled at concealment and escape… unless one’s strength firmly surpassed theirs, killing them was extremely difficult!
Moreover, battles at this level typically lasted anywhere from three to five years.
For Su Xing to have killed this Shadow Deity within a single month was absolutely terrifying!
Sure enough, every cultivator present turned their gazes in unison toward the Celestial Demon General at the center of the crowd when Su Xing returned.
The Celestial Demon General narrowed his eyes. After draining a large mouthful of wine, a look of genuine admiration flashed across his face.
After a moment’s thought, he produced a jug of wine and tossed it toward Su Xing.
Su Xing caught it, drank deeply, and couldn’t help but light up with excitement:
“Excellent wine! This wine can actually set the immortal power within my body ablaze… it’s like celestial nectar!”
After just a few sips, Su Xing already felt slightly tipsy, yet his mental state was extraordinarily clear.
Even the magical power and mental energy he had expended during a month of intense combat had been completely restored!
Shi San, watching from the side, couldn’t help but widen his eyes, a hint of jealousy in his tone:
“Boss! That’s way too biased!”
“That’s million-year-vintage Burning Cloud Immortal Brew! It’s made from immortal liquid… there aren’t even a hundred jugs in the entire cultivation world…”
“When I tried to beg you for just a couple sips before, you wouldn’t give me any!”
As he spoke, Shi San swallowed hard.
The other cultivators around them eyed the wine jug in Su Xing’s hand with obvious envy.
For this group of Body Tempering cultivators, aside from slaying foreign races, their only other love was drinking wine and eating meat in generous quantities!
After all, in such dangerous territory, who knew when they might lose their heads…
Su Xing smiled slightly at this and, without any pretense, declared magnanimously:
“I can’t hold my liquor well… how could I keep such fine wine to myself? Let all seniors here share it!”
With that, Su Xing divided the wine among everyone present.
One jug of wine seemed like quite a lot, but in reality, each person present only got about half a bowl.
Yet even this half bowl made these powerhouses—any one of whom could have been a regional overlord in the outside world—handle it with extreme care. Some even only dared to take a single sip, saying they wanted to save the rest for later.
After witnessing Su Xing’s actions, a look of appreciation flickered across the Celestial Demon General’s face.
He then produced another jug of Burning Cloud Immortal Brew and declared loudly:
“Su Ye has joined our core battlefield… from now on, we all have one more brother worth entrusting our lives to!”
“This is a great occasion—tonight, no one leaves sober!”
At these words, the surrounding powerhouses grew animated, faces flushing with excitement as they cheered:
“Boss is mighty!”
“Welcome, Brother Su Ye…”
Su Xing’s heart stirred as he watched this scene, knowing that the Celestial Demon General had completely accepted him.
At this feast, Su Xing drank plenty and consumed much blood essence.
He thoroughly experienced the boldness of these Body Tempering cultivators and their “masculine romance”!
After several rounds of drinks, the cultivators gradually departed for their respective missions or began cultivating.
Su Xing finally prepared to set his plan in motion.
“Senior Celestial Demon General…” Su Xing had barely opened his mouth when the Celestial Demon General waved his hand to cut him off. “Just call me Boss, like the rest of them!”
Su Xing nodded slightly and corrected himself. “Boss… I have some personal matters I’d like to discuss with you.”
A look of surprise crossed the Celestial Demon General’s face when he heard Su Xing’s words. He glanced at the cultivators still drinking nearby.
He beckoned Su Xing aside and erected a barrier before asking:
“Speak. What is it?”
Su Xing nodded slightly and wasted no more time, getting straight to the point:
“Boss… I was sent here by your clone in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm of the Azure Origin Domain!”
“My clone in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm of the Azure Origin Domain?”
The Celestial Demon General looked puzzled for a moment, then after careful consideration, recalled that he did indeed seem to have such a clone in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.
However, the clone technique the Celestial Demon General cultivated could produce hundreds of clones or more.
Combined with the fact that this particular clone had been dispatched hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was understandable that the Celestial Demon General didn’t immediately recall it.
After a moment of hesitation, the Celestial Demon General asked:
“So, what did my clone send you here for?”
Su Xing didn’t hesitate. He directly released a wisp of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s aura before the Celestial Demon General.
Upon sensing this familiar aura, the Celestial Demon General froze for an instant, then carefully scrutinized Su Xing before saying uncertainly:
“You’re… a descendant of the Luotian Sect?”
At this, the Celestial Demon General also realized what Su Xing had come to him for.
With a long, wistful sigh, the Celestial Demon General lamented:
“I never expected that tens of millions of years after that lineage’s destruction… there would still be successors!”
“And one of considerable talent at that… you have the bearing of that person from back then. There is hope for the Luotian Sect’s revival in your hands!”
After a pause, something occurred to the Celestial Demon General, and he said:
“So… you’ve come for the Luotian Ancestor’s legacy, haven’t you?”
“Before the Luotian Ancestor fell, she entrusted me with certain things… and asked that if any descendants of the Luotian Sect ever appeared, I deliver those things to them in full…”
“I had thought there was no longer any hope for this matter. I never imagined that after tens of millions of years… a worthy successor of the Luotian Sect would actually appear!”
The Celestial Demon General carefully examined Su Xing and said:
“A dual cultivator of qi and body, cultivated to Late Golden Immortal… with impressive mastery of the spatial Dao, Sword Dao, Five Elements Dao, and more… and ranked first on the Earth Ranking!”
“Even the Luotian Ancestor back in her day was no more than this…”
Su Xing had been rather nervous just moments ago.
After all, before this point, Su Xing couldn’t be entirely certain of the Celestial Demon General’s attitude toward the Luo Tian legacy.
But now, hearing the Celestial Demon General’s words, Su Xing was basically certain that the Celestial Demon General and the Luotian Ancestor had been on the same side…
Even if their goals weren’t perfectly aligned, they were at least not enemies.
Otherwise, the Celestial Demon General could have easily captured Su Xing right now and seized the Luo Tian legacy.
And so, Su Xing summoned his courage and asked:
“Boss, so what exactly did the Luotian Ancestor leave behind for her descendants?”
Upon hearing this, the Celestial Demon General fixed Su Xing with a deep gaze, then let out a sigh and said:
“Before I give you the answer… come with me to a few places first.”
With that, the Celestial Demon General casually tore open a fissure in the void, half his body already through it, before beckoning to Su Xing.
Su Xing’s eyebrows rose at the sight.
He could clearly see that when the Celestial Demon General tore open this spatial fissure, he hadn’t used the power of space at all. What he relied on was… purely the strength of his physical body!
…
Moments later, Su Xing followed the Celestial Demon General through the spatial passage and arrived at a peculiar region.
“Hm? This place…”
The moment Su Xing stepped into this area, his brow furrowed tightly as waves of emotion rose unbidden in his heart.
After tempering his heart to achieve immortality, this was the first time Su Xing had experienced emotions akin to “sorrow” and “rage”…
This was utterly absurd. An immortal’s mental state was unshakable and should not be easily affected.
Especially… for merely arriving at a place for the first time to cause such emotional turmoil in Su Xing.
After carefully sensing for a while, Su Xing’s expression grew solemn, his eyes carrying a tinge of compassion.
The sorrow didn’t belong to Su Xing…
It belonged to this heaven and earth itself!
“It’s… the Heavenly Dao of the entire Celestial Demon Domain that is grieving…”
“Here, one can easily perceive the Heavenly Dao’s sorrow! It’s far, far more intense than what can be felt in other regions!”
Su Xing drew a deep breath, a hypothesis already forming in his mind.
The Celestial Demon General closed his eyes, feeling the faint yet pervasive sorrow permeating this space.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. A rare trace of pity had appeared in them as he turned to Su Xing and said:
“You felt it too, didn’t you?”
“The weeping of… the Celestial Demon Domain!”
As he spoke, the Celestial Demon General pointed toward a certain direction in the void.
Su Xing looked where he indicated, his gaze piercing through endless void…
And beheld a wondrous… teardrop!
It was a single, crystalline, enormous teardrop…
Shaped like a water droplet, it hung suspended in the void, supported by nothing at all.
“That is… the tear of the Celestial Demon Domain’s Heavenly Dao… and the root cause of everything that has come to pass!”
The Celestial Demon General gazed at that crystalline teardrop in the void, his eyes flickering with endless reminiscence, sorrow, pity, and… regret!
Su Xing said nothing, listening to the Celestial Demon General’s recollections.
“With your comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth… you should have already sensed the sorrow within the Celestial Demon Domain when you first arrived, correct?”
“Why is the Celestial Demon Domain so different from the Heavenly Secrets Domain and the Azure Origin Domain? Why do we harbor such hatred for the foreign races?”
At this, the Celestial Demon General sighed and said:
“Because… the Celestial Demon Domain was where the foreign race invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds’ Five Great Domains began!”
Su Xing’s heart lurched. Sure enough, his suspicion had been confirmed!
So that was it—the entire Celestial Demon Domain’s cultivators’ deep hatred of the foreign races, the sorrow of the Celestial Demon Domain’s Heavenly Dao… it all made sense now!
The Celestial Demon General’s weathered voice reached his ears.
“Thirteen million years ago… at the core of the Celestial Demon Domain—the very location you’re looking at now—a strange passage was born!”
“No cultivator noticed its emergence, and none knew where it had come from…”
“Until cultivators discovered that a terrifying new race had appeared in the cultivation world.”
“They were bloodthirsty and cruel, feeding on the flesh and blood of human cultivators, growing stronger by consuming them!”
“They were violent and horrifying, devouring everything in sight, launching indiscriminate attacks against all living beings in the cultivation world…”
“At that time, it was the tail end of the ancient era. The cultivation world’s upper and lower realms had separated… cultivators of the ten great domains were frantically competing for resources, seeking the path to eternal life.”
“At that time, it was an age of chaos. Countless heroes and prodigies rose to prominence… and countless immortal sects waged war.”
“That war of the cultivation world lasted millions of years… bringing devastation to all living beings. Countless cultivators perished, and countless cultivators and sects rose in their place!”
“It was precisely because of this chaotic war that the human race’s top powerhouses had their attention fixed on other supreme sects… and failed to notice this suddenly appearing race…”
“And it was precisely that great war that gave the foreign races the best possible nourishment and room to grow…”
“But by the time the war ended… and the cultivation world finally turned to face the foreign races, it was already too late!”
At this, a look of deep remorse appeared in the Celestial Demon General’s eyes.
“By the time the cultivation world reacted… everything was already too late!”
“The foreign races’ growth system was completely different from ours as cultivators… and they didn’t need to undergo long years of arduous cultivation. They were like… favored children of heaven and earth!”
“It was as if… they existed specifically to replace the human race…”
“During that epoch-defining war, the foreign races developed at a frantic pace, swallowing who knows how many lesser worlds.”
“And they possessed a peculiar mastery over the void…”
“The void that was like poison to our cultivators was, for the foreign races, like water to fish…”
“And so, they spread through the cultivation world like a virus… the Celestial Demon Domain, the Azure Origin Domain, the Luotian Domain… the Heavenly Secrets Domain!”
“After that war, the remaining Five Great Domains all suffered the foreign races’ devastation.”
“And the most severely affected was… the Luotian Domain!”
“After the war thirteen million years ago, the Luotian Ancestor led the entire Luotian Sect—seventy-two Supreme Unity Golden Immortals, hundreds of Golden Immortals—to rise against the tide, becoming the undisputed foremost power in the Three Thousand Worlds!”
“And the Luotian Ancestor herself was a truly extraordinary woman… having cultivated for merely a million years, she had already reached the apex of the Great Firmament through her mastery of the Spirit Realm!”
“After that war, while other supreme powers licked their wounds in silence… the Luotian Sect forcefully unified the Luotian Domain.”
“After becoming the foremost power in the Three Thousand Worlds… for a time, there was a sense of ten thousand immortals paying court…”