Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong looked at the statue in stupefaction.
Confucius was the founder of the Confucian Sect and revered by all the people in the realm. What was his connection to the mysterious figure?
And from what he could see, this was not the final checkpoint. Even the Supreme Sage was seemingly just a guardian, an examiner, in this underground passage.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Wang Chong quickly scanned this cave and felt a furtive pulse of Psychic Energy in the air.
There was no doubt that the final seal was a psychic seal, different from all the others. Not only that, when Wang Chong glanced at the statue, he saw that it was holding a book in its left hand, and his heart thumped.
“This is… the Spring and Autumn Annals!”
This wasn’t just a stone imitation, but the actual book.
The pages had been made of some unknown material that had resisted the decay of time. And the two words on the cover… Though Wang Chong did not know how to read ancient script, he could still recognize those two characters.
Countless thoughts ran through his mind, and Wang Chong suddenly understood something.
This wasn’t the first time Wang Chong had encountered this sort of test. He had experienced a trial like this when Li Junxian had used the Crown of Confucius on him in the militarist-Confucian conflict. This trial was a trial of the heart.
Buzz!
Wang Chong opened his mind as he continued into the cave.
Around fifteen minutes later…
Wang Chong’s body trembled, and a soft and gentle light appeared before him. This light had a powerful pull that instantly drew Wang Chong’s body inside it. After what seemed both like a second and like endless epochs, Wang Chong felt his body relax, and he entered the deepest part of this cave.
Darkness!
Darkness beyond compare!
When Wang Chong opened his eyes, he couldn’t tell where he was. The only thing he was sure of was that he was in an even deeper dimension, no longer within the passage.
Before Wang Chong could react, a familiar voice rang out in his ears.
“It seems that I underestimated you. I did not think that you would manage to break all the seals.”
Wang Chong immediately saw a pair of cold and dignified eyes, so incredibly deep that they seemed to contain infinite secrets.
These eyes were utterly devoid of emotion, like ancient ice. Most bizarrely, these eyes were a light gold.
Though they were the eyes of a stranger, Wang Chong was able to instantly recognize this person as the true gray-robed elder, the one he had attempted to converse with.
“We finally meet!”
Wang Chong carefully examined this mysterious figure. It was a man wearing a tall hat and a thick belt. He stood upright and still, with a robe of an extremely ancient style on his body. He had a hard and inflexible face, the demeanor of a strict teacher.
As Wang Chong looked at him, the light golden eyes inspected Wang Chong. At that moment, Wang Chong felt like those sharp eyes were staring right into his soul, exposing all of his secrets.
Wang Chong couldn’t help but be astonished.
It would be fitting if he had felt so naked and exposed three or four years ago, when he had just been reborn. But now, he had reached the apex of the martial path, with countless people only able to look up at him in awe and veneration. Wang Chong knew that he was no weakling, but this man before him was far too powerful, perhaps even at Heaven’s level.
Wang Chong quickly got ahold of himself and bowed.
“Junior Wang Chong greets Senior. How should I address Senior?”
Wang Chong put on an attentive face, hoping to get an answer from this man.
For the capital to have an individual like this was truly surprising. Wang Chong was brimming with curiosity.
But the man’s reply was disappointing.
“My name is not important, and you did not come all this way simply for a name,” the mysterious man lightly said, completely unmoved.
“This…”
Wang Chong was taken aback. Though he was disappointed, he was quick to reply.
“Senior, this junior will be frank. This junior has come to request Senior’s assistance.”
“I swore an oath long ago that I would never again interfere in affairs of the mortal realm.” The mysterious man immediately refused.
“Ah?”
Wang Chong gasped. He had a thousand words on his mind, but he found himself unable to speak a single one at this time. However, Wang Chong quickly spotted a ‘loophole’ in this man’s words.
‘Mortal realm’? What did that mean?!
This man seemed to be implying something.
While this man seemed to be very unfriendly, if one thought it over carefully, one would realize that he had not necessarily said ‘no’.
“Senior merely cannot interfere in the affairs of the mortal realm, but that does not mean that Senior cannot help. This junior only hopes that Senior can give me an answer on account of the Origin Immortal Lord and the Xuanyuan Sword,” Wang Chong sternly said.
“The capital has fallen completely under the control of the Celestial God Organization and Heaven. Given Senior’s prodigious might, Senior must know of Heaven’s existence. If he succeeds, let alone the Tang Empire, all of the mortal realm will become a hell.”
Wang Chong spoke these words from his heart. Heaven was someone who would resort to any method to reach his goal. He did not care how many people died, for those people were just ants to him.
This could be seen from the cold wave and the Purification plan.
Wang Chong sensed that if Heaven succeeded in the capital, he would move onto the rest of the human world, and the apocalypse would descend once more.
“That is your problem, not mine. No matter what happens, human civilization will continue. Even without the Great Tang, a new dynasty will emerge. Even if the entire world falls apart, new civilizations will emerge. Moreover, someone of your abilities cannot do anything about this.”
The man remained aloof and indifferent.
Even though Wang Chong had mentally prepared himself for this, he still found it hard to hide his disappointment. He had endured various trials to reach this place, and he at least wanted to find a few answers from this man—the position of the Celestial Palace at the minimum. But this man was even more callous than he had imagined.
Just when Wang Chong was about to say more, a weak voice spoke up.
“Teacher, is it you?”
“Little Nightmare?”
Wang Chong was surprised to hear this voice. The one who had spoken was the greatly reduced Nightmare Beast, shorn of almost all its strength and left with only a wisp of a soul, who was currently recovering in Wang Chong’s Foundation Dimension.
The Nightmare Beast rarely interfered in Wang Chong’s affairs. Wang Chong had not expected it to speak up now. But what drew Wang Chong’s attention the most was how the Nightmare Beast had addressed the man.
‘Teacher’?
What did the Nightmare Beast mean? Did it recognize this man?
Even more surprising to Wang Chong was the man’s reaction. Wang Chong had followed this man through almost the entire capital over the night, and he had broken through numerous checkpoints to reach this point, yet the man had remained aloof and unfriendly. But when the Nightmare Beast spoke, it greatly disturbed the man’s placid expression.
“Little Nightmare, is it you? You’re not dead!”
The man tried his best to keep control of himself, but his trembling body said it all.
Little Nightmare really did know this man!
It was all too sudden, and Wang Chong was speechless from shock.
Bzzz! Little Nightmare emerged from Wang Chong’s forehead and appeared in the air.
Little Nightmare had lost its body, and it merely existed as a projection of sorts.
But this was not important, for the moment Little Nightmare appeared, there was an unexpected development. In the eyes of that mysterious figure, there was a hint of emotion: excitement, sorrow, compassion, delight.
“Little Nightmare, what’s going on here? Do you know him?” Wang Chong couldn’t help but ask.
“Master, he is Little Grass’s teacher. When Little Grass first came to this world, this man guided Little Grass, even teaching him his martial arts. He is Little Grass’s most respected person!”
Little Nightmare was clearly delighted at this reunion.
Little Nightmare didn’t have any deeper intentions. It was merely recounting an old matter from the past. But Wang Chong couldn’t help but look at that figure in ancient attire, his mind in turmoil.
Little Grass’s teacher!
These words would have been meaningless in the ears of others, but Wang Chong knew that the ‘Little Grass’ the Nightmare Beast spoke of was Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan.
Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan was the founder of human civilization in the Central Plains, the first Emperor in its history. He was born with astonishing talent, and almost no one had the right to be his teacher. But the historical records did mention that Xuanyuan had one teacher…
Master Guangcheng!
(TN: Master Guangcheng, or Guangchengzi, is mentioned as far back as the ‘Zhuangzi’. He resides on Mount Kongtong when the Yellow Emperor visits him to seek instruction on the Dao.)
This man was the Yellow Emperor’s teacher, Master Guangcheng?
As this idea appeared in Wang Chong’s mind, he felt as if a storm had stirred up. He suddenly understood why generations of sovereigns had placed seals in this underground passage, with even Confucius setting down a trial.
If this man really was the Yellow Emperor’s teacher, everything was understandable. He truly deserved this treatment.
Legend had become reality and was right before him. Wang Chong couldn’t help but be stunned.
“Little Nightmare, I didn’t think you were still alive. I thought you had left with Little Grass more than a thousand years ago!” Master Guangcheng finally said, his voice sentimental and tinged with endless sorrow.
“Teacher, where did you go? When you suddenly disappeared, Little Grass spent ages seeking you out. At the time, I sensed the troubles Little Grass was facing. He needed your help. If you had been there, Little Grass definitely would have been fine.”
Little Nightmare was like an admiring child, an emotion that it would only show to those it was closest to.