Chapter 491 – Events from Eight Million Years Ago: The White Emperor and the Celestial Secrets Girl!
by spirapiraChapter 491 – Events from Eight Million Years Ago: The White Emperor and the Celestial Secrets Girl!
【In this era, the Luotian Sect had already been destroyed for three million years, yet the human race still remained at its peak!】
【And the White Emperor of this time had already been a renowned, veteran Great Firmament Golden Immortal for many years!】
【At this moment, the White Emperor was in a foul mood, seemingly having failed to catch that streak of white light…】
【And you, having tracked the White Emperor for three months, had long since been discovered by him.】
【This irritated him greatly, so the White Emperor decided to teach you a lesson…】
In the Real World, Su Xing raised an eyebrow at this.
“So it’s the White Emperor in his youth?”
“This encounter… seems rather interesting!”
“In that era… it’s certainly possible that ruins containing the Bewilderment Branch existed…”
“Very well, I’ll go see for myself! Getting to spar with the White Emperor… is quite a fine opportunity!”
Su Xing glanced at his Sword Dao, still lingering at the Beginner-level of the sixth realm.
Thinking this, Su Xing silently intoned:
“Use immersive simulation… duration: 100 years!”
【Ding… remaining origin energy: 2,437,620,000…】
As the simulation Chime faded, Su Xing’s consciousness entered the simulated world.
……
When Su Xing opened his eyes, he saw a familiar figure before him, along with that languid voice.
“Hey, you… you’ve been following me for three months!”
“What exactly are you after?”
The White Emperor from eight million years ago looked much the same as he did now, only appearing slightly younger and more inexperienced.
“Are you looking to challenge me?”
The White Emperor, visibly displeased, unsheathed the wooden sword at his waist and pointed its tip at Su Xing.
Su Xing blinked upon hearing this, wanting to explain but not knowing how.
After all, he had indeed followed the man for over three months. There really was no good explanation, was there?
While Su Xing was still pondering, the White Emperor had already launched his attack.
“Hmph, those shifty eyes of yours… you’re definitely up to no good! And you ruined this young lord’s plans!”
The White Emperor raised his sword in a single stroke.
Upon the ordinary wooden sword, threads of piercing sword intent lingered.
It was merely an ordinary strike, yet it carried the elegance of the Great Dao in its simplicity.
But Su Xing could tell — in this sword strike from the White Emperor, there was only fighting spirit, no killing intent…
“A test and a spar, then?”
Su Xing raised an eyebrow, knowing that while the White Emperor was unrestrained by nature, he was by no means one to kill indiscriminately.
Most likely, Su Xing’s stalking had annoyed him, and he simply wanted to teach Su Xing a lesson.
With that thought, Su Xing wasted no time. He summoned his life-bound Blackice sword and met the strike head-on.
The wooden sword and the Blackice sword clashed, and the erupting sword aura sent Su Xing’s robes billowing.
After a single exchange, Su Xing retreated more than ten steps, while the White Emperor retreated only half a step.
“Kid! Your swordsmanship’s not bad!”
“Those who can force me back with a sword… there aren’t many in this world!”
The White Emperor had originally only intended to teach Su Xing a lesson, but seeing that Su Xing’s swordsmanship was actually quite impressive, a genuine desire to spar arose in him.
“Senior White Emperor, please hear me out…” Su Xing was about to speak.
But the White Emperor chuckled lightly. “Kid, cut the chatter! Fight first, talk later!”
The White Emperor in his youth seemed even more impulsive than the one Su Xing had met in reality.
Seeing this, Su Xing offered no further explanation, and thus a swordsmanship spar began.
From sword techniques to sword aura, from sword energy to sword intent…
Then down to the most fundamental thrusts, cleaves, flicks, and strikes…
The two seemed to forget everything else, focusing solely on the sword before them.
However, even though it was merely a spar, given the cultivation realms of Su Xing and the White Emperor, the resulting devastation was utterly terrifying…
Mountain peaks that had once stood ten thousand zhang (33.3 km) tall were carved apart as the two fought, with countless streaks of sword energy crisscrossing, and terrifying sword intent permanently etched into the massive boulders.
This sparring match lasted a full three days!
The White Emperor grew more spirited as he fought, his sword speed ever increasing, his sword intent ever strengthening.
In the end, Su Xing “narrowly lost by half a move”!
Sheathing his sword, Su Xing performed a swordsman’s salute and said:
“As expected of Senior White Emperor. Such swordsmanship is truly the finest in the world!”
With the fight concluded, the White Emperor’s mood had improved considerably, and he said:
“Kid! I see your swordsmanship has a certain flair reminiscent of mine…”
“With your magical power and cultivation, you’re at least at the Supreme Unity True Master level… you should be on the rankings. Yet I’ve never heard of someone like you!”
Su Xing raised an eyebrow at this. His Sword Dao had been greatly informed by the White Emperor’s guidance, so naturally it bore some resemblance.
As for Su Xing’s reputation, he certainly wasn’t on the Prodigy List — that much was certain.
So Su Xing could only explain:
“Ahem, I’m just a wandering hermit who enjoys roaming the mountains, playing in the waters, drinking wine, and dancing with the sword… I’ve never been one for fighting, so I’m not on the Heaven Ranking!”
“Years ago, I once witnessed Senior White Emperor strike in battle, and from that, I comprehended a move or two… So one might say Senior White Emperor has the grace of a teacher to me!”
Upon hearing Su Xing’s words, the White Emperor’s eyes immediately lit up.
Loving wine and swordplay, roaming mountains and waters — this was exactly to the White Emperor’s taste!
Add to that Su Xing’s claim of having observed his swordsmanship and learned a move or two, and the White Emperor’s fondness grew even more.
So the White Emperor said with keen interest:
“Oh? Is there truly such a coincidence!”
“No wonder you’ve been following me these past months. Meeting today… this is truly a fateful connection!”
“Hahaha, I’m in good spirits today — this calls for a grand toast!”
“So, uh… kid — er, fellow Daoist, what’s your name?”
Su Xing’s mouth twitched as he replied, “My name is Su Xing, and my title is Spirit Dragon True Master…”
Su Xing said casually.
Upon hearing this, the White Emperor sheathed his sword, his entire aura withdrawing until he instantly resembled nothing more than a wandering swordsman from the common world.
“Hahaha, Brother Su Xing… what a regret we didn’t meet sooner! How about we go drinking!”
“Here in Celestial Secrets City, there’s a tavern called the Celestial Brew Pavilion, run by the Celestial Secrets Pavilion. It houses every fine wine under heaven — I should share a drink with you!”
Su Xing didn’t refuse. He produced a jar of wine — none other than the Burning Cloud Immortal Brew gifted to him long ago by the Celestial Demon General, which Su Xing had brought out during a previous simulation.
At the sight of the fine wine, the White Emperor’s eyes went wide, and he hurried forward.
“Haha! Brother Su Xing, let’s go drink together at once!”
With that, the two headed toward the Celestial Brew Pavilion.
Su Xing smiled wryly at the sight. The White Emperor in his youth was even more unrestrained and spirited than he would become later!
Su Xing and the White Emperor drank and made merry in the Celestial Brew Pavilion for a full forty-nine days!
The Celestial Brew Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation of housing every fine wine in the world.
They feasted on the flesh of great demons — fresh and delicious — and the wines they drank were immortal brews beneficial to cultivation.
Even with Su Xing’s level of cultivation, he felt some improvement!
Of course, the expenses from these forty-nine days of drinking also made Su Xing click his tongue in astonishment.
Converted to immortal liquid, it would cost a full hundred thousand drops!
And the White Emperor, unrestrained by nature and unconcerned with material things, was a dignified Great Firmament Golden Immortal who somehow didn’t have that much money on him at the moment.
And so, Su Xing and the White Emperor now found themselves facing this very predicament.
Inside the Celestial Brew Pavilion.
The White Emperor looked at the dancing girl who had come to collect the bill, and immediately felt a headache coming on. He lowered his voice and said:
“Little miss, I didn’t bring any money with me today… How about I put it on a tab?”
“With the name of the Sword Immortal White Emperor… running a tab shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”
As he spoke, the White Emperor shot several meaningful glances at the dancing girl, then looked over at Su Xing.
Clearly, in front of his new friend Su Xing, he didn’t want to lose face.
Su Xing found the scene quite amusing.
But the dancing girl shook her head and said:
“Senior White Emperor, over the past thirty thousand years… you’ve run up a tab a total of 7,896 times… The outstanding debt is simply too much!”
“Calculated in immortal liquid, it comes to a total of 657,680,000 drops…”
“Our proprietress has said… if you don’t settle your account today, she won’t let you leave no matter what!”
Hearing the dancing girl’s words, the White Emperor’s face alternated between green and red. He looked at Su Xing with visible embarrassment, clearly feeling that he had lost tremendous face.
Su Xing cleared his throat and said:
“Ahem, Brother White Emperor… how about I cover it for you first?”
But unexpectedly, the White Emperor was quite principled and shook his head vigorously.
“You already shared that jar of Burning Cloud Immortal Brew with me… How could I let you pay?”
“This bill — I’ll handle it!”
With that, the White Emperor retrieved the jade pendant from his waist. Gritting his teeth, he tossed it to the dancing girl and said:
“This jade pendant has been with me since my youth… nurtured for millions of years, infused with my sword intent!”
“It is a supreme sword jade… of great use to sword cultivators! I’ll leave it here as collateral against my debt for now. How about it?”
Seeing this sword jade, Su Xing raised an eyebrow.
Upon this sword jade, condensed sword intent lingered without dissipating. It nourished the spirit and dispelled malevolence — an absolute treasure that sword cultivators could only dream of!
Even a cultivator with mediocre aptitude for the Sword Dao, if they wore this jade for a prolonged period, would become a Sword Dao Genius.
And for someone with innate talent for the Sword Dao, entering the Dao through the sword and even breaking through to the Supreme Unity Golden Immortal realm would be entirely possible!
“Tsk tsk… what a grand gesture…”
Su Xing glanced at the White Emperor, silently acknowledging that the White Emperor was truly a carefree and unrestrained man.
With this sword jade alone, never mind thirty thousand years — it could easily cover a hundred thousand years’ worth of drinks!
However, the dancing girl before them seemed unaware of the sword jade’s preciousness and said:
“This… Senior White Emperor, please wait a moment!”
“Let me go invite the proprietress to come and appraise it…”
Upon hearing the words “proprietress,” a smile immediately appeared on the White Emperor’s face as he said:
“Celestial Secrets Girl is back? Wonderful, wonderful… Go invite her in at once!”
Seeing the White Emperor’s expression and connecting it with the words “Celestial Secrets,” a conjecture immediately formed in Su Xing’s mind.
“But… the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master should already be a half-saint by this era, right?”
Su Xing was puzzled.
Moments later, Su Xing laid eyes on the so-called Celestial Secrets Girl.
Tall and slender, with a cool and aloof temperament, her skin whiter than snow…
She was truly a beauty of the highest caliber in this world.
Most crucially, Su Xing could not see through Celestial Secrets Girl’s cultivation!
“Hiss… Great Firmament Golden Immortal!”
Su Xing narrowed his eyes, contemplating the possibility that this Celestial Secrets Girl was actually the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master!
He saw the Celestial Secrets Girl holding that sword jade in her hand.
Her cool gaze swept over Su Xing once before she turned to the White Emperor and said:
“You freeloader… You think you can settle thirty thousand years of bar tabs with just this one broken jade pendant?”
“Dream on!”
Su Xing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, about to explain that this was no broken jade pendant.
But unexpectedly, the White Emperor looked as if he’d been bewitched, grinning from ear to ear as he said:
“Celestial Secrets Girl, it’s been so long!”
“We ran into each other in the Dewdrop Realm before… but we never even got to say hello!”
“Haha… As for this sword jade, let’s work something out! If it really comes down to it, just let it cover part of the tab…”
Celestial Secrets Girl’s elegant willow-leaf eyebrows arched upward as she let out a cold snort:
“You lecherous scoundrel! You stalked me for years on end… and every time you come to my restaurant, you eat without paying!”
“Today, no matter what, you’re settling your bill!”
“This jade pendant is worth at most one hundred million drops of immortal liquid as collateral… Don’t say I’m taking advantage of you!”
“Once you have the money, you can come back anytime to reclaim it…”
“As for the remaining bar tab…”
Celestial Secrets Girl looked the White Emperor up and down, but seeing that he didn’t appear to have any money on him, her gaze drifted down to the wooden sword at his waist.
“As for the remaining bar tab… you can use that wooden sword of yours to settle the debt!”
Su Xing’s eyebrow twitched when he heard this.
That wooden sword was no ordinary sword!
Su Xing gazed at the wooden sword hanging at the White Emperor’s waist.
With Su Xing’s current level of insight, he could already recognize the origin of this sword.
When mortals practice swordsmanship, they first train with a wooden sword for ten years, drilling sword forms and Sword Momentum. Then they train with an iron sword for ten years, seeking sword intent and sword heart. Only then do they seek a famed sword worthy of the world, and thereby become a true swordsman.
And Su Xing could see that this wooden sword before him was actually a manifestation of the White Emperor’s sword intent!
This was the White Emperor’s return to simplicity — the very foundation of all his Sword Dao cultivation!
In other words, this wooden sword had no name!
It was simply called — a sword!
It was the collective name for every sword in existence, and also the crystallized intent of every sword!
Su Xing had a premonition: once this wooden sword truly came to represent “the sword itself,” the White Emperor would enter the Dao in a single stroke and become the world’s first ever “Sword Saint”!
Such an extraordinary treasure, used to settle a bar tab?
Su Xing scrutinized Celestial Secrets Girl carefully.
This Celestial Secrets Girl… what a black heart she had!
Meanwhile, the White Emperor’s face showed a look of difficulty as he said:
“Celestial Secrets Girl… anything else is negotiable, but this sword… I really can’t give it to you!”
“Besides… this thing would be useless in your hands!”
But Celestial Secrets Girl replied:
“Hmph! It’s merely being held as temporary collateral! To keep you from skipping out on the debt!”
“I’ve had a premonition recently that I need to explore an ancient Secret Realm… If you accompany me there, we can consider your bar tab settled when we return. How about that?”
“Until the exploration is complete, you’ll leave this wooden sword with me as collateral!”
The White Emperor’s eyes lit up instantly.
Accompanying a beauty to explore a Secret Realm?
A hero saving a damsel, a fleeting romantic encounter?
The White Emperor’s imagination began to run wild.
And so…
“Excellent! How excellent! Then I’ll leave this wooden sword in your care, Celestial Secrets Girl!”
“You can return it to me after the Secret Realm exploration is done…”
“Oh, by the way — when do we depart?”
With that, the White Emperor eagerly unfastened the wooden sword from his waist and placed it in Celestial Secrets Girl’s hands.
Su Xing watched this scene with a peculiar expression, thinking to himself:
“Tsk tsk, the mighty Sword Immortal White Emperor… was quite the lovesick puppy in his youth!”
Celestial Secrets Girl said: “Seven days from now, the Red Cloud Secret Realm. Just wait for me here at the restaurant.”
The White Emperor nodded repeatedly, then looked over at Su Xing beside him and said:
“Ahem, Brother Su Xing… as you can see, Celestial Secrets Girl and I have business to attend to. Do you have somewhere to be during this time?”
“Or perhaps… you’d like to come along with us?”
The White Emperor said this merely out of courtesy, fully expecting Su Xing to decline.
But unexpectedly, Su Xing nodded and said:
“Since that’s the case, wonderful! I’ll come along then!”
Celestial Secrets Girl had no objections, but the White Emperor… his eyes were filled with resentment!
…
Three years later, the Red Cloud Secret Realm!
Ever since that meal three years ago, Su Xing, the White Emperor, and Celestial Secrets Girl had embarked on this Secret Realm expedition.
The Red Cloud Secret Realm was said to be the Daoist sanctum of the ancient Red Cloud Saint from primordial times.
It was located in the Nine Heavens Domain — the Eighth Heaven!
Celestial Secrets Girl wished to find a heavenly treasure known as the “Celestial Evolution Wood” within this Secret Realm.
But with foreign race chief gods lurking in the Eighth Heaven, Celestial Secrets Girl wasn’t confident going alone, so she recruited the White Emperor.
The Secret Realm was immense. Three years after entering, they still hadn’t found any trace of the Celestial Evolution Wood.
Celestial Secrets Girl was also extremely cautious — over the past three years, she had slain no fewer than a hundred foreign race deities.
The White Emperor, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed, as if he were on a date with Celestial Secrets Girl.
And Su Xing… in the White Emperor’s eyes, had become a “third wheel”!
“Brother Su… something major seems about to happen in this Red Cloud Secret Realm — and possibly across the entire Eighth Heaven!”
“Perhaps we should call off this search for the Celestial Evolution Wood for now…”
Celestial Secrets Girl carefully examined the foreign race corpse beside her.
This was a first-tier deity — quite rare in this era!
Celestial Secrets Girl’s expression darkened. After performing a divination, she said:
“The foreign races seem to be making preparations… I need to report this to the Pavilion Master as soon as possible!”
Su Xing nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
He silently recalled the history of this period.
“Perhaps it was in this very era… that the foreign races began gradually conquering the entire Eighth Heaven?”
Su Xing mused thoughtfully.
Over these years of traveling together, Su Xing had also learned Celestial Secrets Girl’s true identity.
She was one of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s avatars, created through the Body Transforms at Will technique!
Moreover, she was the foremost of the forty-nine Celestial Secrets Avatars!
Though an avatar, she possessed an independent will, and her status as an Elder of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was entirely legitimate.
As for the White Emperor, he had been ardently pursuing Celestial Secrets Girl since a million years ago, though he had never succeeded in winning her heart!
The White Emperor, standing nearby, heard the concerns but waved them off dismissively:
“Mere foreign races — what is there to worry about, Celestial Secrets Girl?”
“With me here, I could annihilate them with a snap of my fingers!”
As he spoke, the White Emperor used his fingers to mimic a sword and struck what he considered a dashing pose.
In this era, the foreign races had not yet developed the overwhelming pressure they would possess in later ages.
Though the foreign races had so-called “chief gods” among their ranks, such beings were scarce and certainly no match for the mighty White Emperor.
Therefore, cultivators of this era generally did not view the foreign races as a grave threat.
They could never have predicted that millions of years later, the foreign races would overthrow humanity.
Seeing that Celestial Secrets Girl remained silent, the White Emperor continued:
“Why not find the Celestial Evolution Wood first, and then return to the lower realm… to report to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master together? That way we’d save ourselves the extra trouble…”
Celestial Secrets Girl was persuaded and replied:
“Very well. If we encounter any danger… I’ll have to trouble you then, White Emperor senior!”
Evidently, with the White Emperor — the world’s foremost Sword Immortal — at her side, Celestial Secrets Girl wasn’t too worried.
And so, the three of them continued searching for the Celestial Evolution Wood.
Until half a year later!
The three finally reached the core region of the Red Cloud Secret Realm.
Su Xing was awestruck by the sight before him!
This was a true Grand Grotto-Heaven — even larger than the Grand Grotto-Heaven within Su Xing’s spirit field grotto-heaven, and far more abundant in spiritual energy!
Within the Grand Grotto-Heaven lay countless heavenly treasures, countless supreme artifacts that had long gone extinct in the real world…
Among them, the most conspicuous was naturally a towering crimson tree.
It bore not a single leaf, and even its straight trunk had only scattered branches.
“Celestial Evolution Wood!” Celestial Secrets Girl’s heart leapt with joy at the sight of those branches, and she was about to step forward to harvest them.
Meanwhile, Su Xing’s attention was drawn to another small sapling nearby that was on the verge of withering and dying.
The little sapling had only a few scattered branches.
Yet it emanated an alluring fragrance.
Even from a great distance, Su Xing felt as though he had fallen into an illusion.
In that instant, a name flashed through Su Xing’s mind —
The Bewilderment Branch!
He had finally found it!