Published at 16th of January 2021 03:00:06 PM
Brackish Mountain was usually shrouded in darkness . Without knowing when it began, it never stopped snowing as well . In a snowy land that had lost sunlight along with the biting cold, it was difficult for people to be compelled by the scenery .
The cold wind entered the graveyard through the only opening on the ceiling . It howled like a war horn . At the same time, it sounded as though the bones in the Melilot Graveyard were lamenting their fates and lives that were filled with regrets .
Everyone in the Nobleman Nation sought longevity . They wanted to go against the heavens, change their fates, and break the bonds of their shackles . Now, everything laid in ruins .
Yu Shangrong sometimes wondered why the heavens treated them differently when they were all humans? He left this place in his youth to change his fate . With his mortal legs, he traversed the lands, ventured through dangerous forests, and cultivated… He was finally at the peak of human cultivation . He would be lying if he said that he did not feel wronged in the slightest .
Wuu…
The wind’s howling intensified .
It pulled Yu Shangrong back from his thoughts . He rose to his feet and surveyed his surroundings . He looked at the ingenious design of the graveyard and shook his head . He looked at the wall on which the word ‘longevity’ was carved . He felt slightly emotional .
Clack .
With a crisp sound, the characters moved .
‘A contraption?’
Several dozen projectiles shot from the walls to the sides . Yu Shangrong did not even have to use his Primal Qi . He only needed his protective energy to keep the projectiles at bay . They were weak projectiles . They were arrowheads forged by the hands of men . They were refined, solid, compact, and exquisite . They were truly works of art, and yet, they could do nothing against cultivators .
The projectiles fell harmlessly to the ground .
A hidden bracket appeared on the wall .
Without hesitation, Yu Shangrong pressed it .
The second stone door slowly slid open, revealing a round space . The lighting in this room was better than the previous one . However, the howling of the wind was still audible . His ears were growing accustomed to the humming sound .
There was a round stone table in the center of the round room . A brocade box rested on the table . The box was surrounded by withered melilots . Perhaps, it was due to the passing of time, the melilots only left behind vague outlines . The physical bodies had rotted away long ago .
Yu Shangrong waved his sleeve softly . The melilots and dust scattered . He looked at the brocade box . Petals of a melilot decorated the lid of the box . He did not think much about it and waved his arm again .
Click!
The brocaded box opened, revealing several books and pills .
Yu Shangrong picked the books up and casually flipped through them . There was nothing special about the books . They were the cultivation methods of the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian sects . Indeed, they would be considered treasures for ordinary people . However, for Yu Shangrong, they were nothing but a pile of useless paper . He would not even deign to look at them twice . Some Primal Qi surged in his palm, and the books were reduced to ashes .
As for the pills, after all this time, their effects had certainly deteriorated . Judging from the shapes of the pills, these pills should have been low-grade longevity pills . Like the books, they were not much use to him . These were indeed precious items to the people of the Nobleman Country in the past . He did not expect them to be placed inside the Melilot Graveyard .
‘Did nobody cultivate or consume these?’ Yu Shangrong sighed softly and smacked his palm down .
Bam!
The brocade box fell to the ground .
Suddenly, a strange item that looked like a painting fell from the bottom of the brocade box .
Yu Shangrong shifted his gaze toward the painting . To be more precise, it was a sheet of paper with various symbols . He suddenly recalled the paper and mission his master entrusted to him . The symbols on the paper he was given seemed to match those on this sheet of paper .
He took out the paper that his master had given and laid it next to the sheet of paper to compare them . Many of the symbols were similar, there was a handful that was complete matches . There were more symbols on the sheet he found . Clearly, the contents on the two sheets of paper were different, but they had been written in the same style .
“Does this belong to master?” Yu Shangrong was curious . Why was his master’s possession here? He did not think that the other items were precious, but he guessed this sheet had to be very precious .
Yu Shangrong studied the symbols on the paper, but he could not understand any of them . In the end, he gave up trying to make sense of it . Then, he folded it carefully and placed it inside his pocket . The fact that it survived the years quietly inside this box without being affected by the weather proved that the material of this sheet of paper was extraordinary as well .
After that, Yu Shangrong turned to look at the stone door . “Should I head back?”
Then, he walked out of the second stone door .
The howling of the wind intensified .
Yu Shangrong felt that something was amiss . He raised a hand, and his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar appeared . His Golden Lotus was still tainted by the purple curse .
“Won’t it go away?” Yu Shangrong frowned slightly .
If his avatar was fine, he would be able to return to the Evil Sky Pavilion in seven days if he flew at full speed . However, at the moment, he was sure that his avatar would fall apart halfway through his journey . There were many beasts in the wilderness . He would become their prey if he was not careful . Without his avatar, his cultivation base was only equivalent to a Nine-fold Body Tempering cultivator . He could handle manual labor, but he could not hasten his journey and pass through dangerous forests . He did not think that he could count on having the same luck he had in his youth .
When he thought about this, Yu Shangrong stopped . He did not intend to break the door . He crossed his legs and sat down . Then, he circulated his Primal Qi to suppress the erosion of the purple curse . He adjusted his breathing as he entered a meditative state .
The entire day passed in just a blink of an eye .
If it were not for the source of light from the Melilot Graveyard’s ceiling, it would be difficult to tell that it was already bright outside .
Yu Shangrong summoned his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar again… Indeed, the spread of the purple spots had slowed . However, this suppression was merely delaying the spread of this poison, it was not a cure . He could not allow this to drag on…
Yu Shangrong had been searching for a way to overcome this throughout the night . Yet, he could not stop the erosion of this curse .
As the Sword Devil who remained undefeatable in the cultivation world over the years, this was his first time feeling powerless and helpless .
Yu Shangrong stood up and passed through the second stone door . He sat down with his legs crossed again to adjust his breathing while he tried to come up with something .
On the fifth day, Yu Shangrong summoned his avatar again . The Golden Lotus of his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar was almost completely tainted . Perhaps, it was due to the pressure of his Golden Lotus’s imminent destruction by the curse, a sudden and terrifying thought came to Yu Shangrong’s mind unbidden . Sever the Golden Lotus!
He knew the consequences of that act . This was because he did the exact same thing to countless other avatars with his Longevity Sword before . Fiend Zen avatars, Daoist avatars, Confucian Heavenly Energy avatars, Buddha Golden Bodies . Regardless of the avatar, when they were cut by a heaven-grade weapon, the cultivator would be gravely injured . Cutting off his Golden Lotus was akin to committing suicide .
Yu Shangrong was surprised to find his fingers trembling . He tightened his grip on the scabbard of the Longevity Sword . The Sword Devil of the generation was clearly nervous .