IS Chapter 171

“Ye Zhuo.” He heard Li Yuan’s voice again, “Ye Zhuo, wake up.”

…I am awake. Ye Zhuo wanted to say.

He slowly looked outward, a dull pain in his chest, along with a lingering burning sensation, kept him conscious. Ye Zhuo saw some familiar scenery, realizing he had returned to Green Mountains. Still that same mountaintop.

…Li Yuan.

He seemed to not have said it out loud at all.

“I heard you,” Li Yuan pressed his forehead against his, his voice hoarse and trembling, “What do you want to do? Ye Zhuo, I’m listening.”

Ye Zhuo paused, then finally heard his own voice.

“Support me,” he said to Li Yuan, “I want to stand up.”

On Quiet Grass Cliff, Wei Sheng Xian quietly watched the fall of the red figure.

Wei Sheng Xian had played many chess games, but he had never considered bringing this person into the game. Because he descended the mountain for him.

Until one day, he finally saw that all the chess pieces were actually laid for that one person, for that one sword. And Ye Zhuo himself had already placed himself in the game, to be the last piece, to conclude this game for the world.

Although it was difficult to admit, Wei Sheng Xian had truly hesitated. Then Ye Zhuo said to continue playing until the day he overturned the board.

So that day, his chess game with Li Yuan was not finished. Because he could only send Ye Zhuo beyond the high heavens, but could not bring him back to the mortal realm. That was beyond the chess game, it was Dragon Li Yuan’s matter.

“Look, is the Daoist’s divination accurate?” Wei Sheng Xian sighed softly, “Was it predestined, a match made in heaven?”

Wei Sheng Xian slowly grasped the blade of Late Clearing, blood flowing from his fingers. He drew the sword, blood soaking the entire blade of Late Clearing.

The Jianmu flower branches on the sword swayed, and then, he inserted it into the ground of Quiet Grass Cliff.

Wei Sheng Xian’s cultivation realms were depleted layer by layer, while the Jianmu branches frantically rooted and grew, growing into a solid trunk, growing into lush branches.

Wei Sheng Xian looked up at the illusory sky through the Jianmu branches and leaves. There, the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm was slashed by Ye Zhuo’s sword, taking a vast corner, and was falling towards the human world along with the connection between the two realms.

No more connections. From now on, there will be no ascension, no immortality, the path of the human world must be walked by oneself.

That sword was too fast and too sudden, unpredictable by ghosts and gods. All the immortals failed to react, and could only watch their own Heavenly Dao break apart with a deafening crash. It was too late to repair it.

What’s more, he was here.

“Is it a thousand years?” Wei Sheng Xian muttered, “Maybe not, six hundred, seven hundred? Enough has been taken from here. Return it.”

Wei Sheng Xian reversed his palm and slammed it onto the earth.

Within Green Mountains, a light soared into the sky, with Jianmu at its heart, echoing across the four seas. The Big Dipper Seal, spanning the human world to draw spiritual energy, suddenly paled. In the other seven directions that echoed it from afar, Green Mountains was the first, Peach Blossom Mountain was the last, seven completely opposite imprints emerged in turn.

Boundless spiritual energy suddenly and frantically escaped from the fracture of the Immortal Realm, being drawn to the human world. The immortals were furious and tried to stop it, but the Jianmu was growing and needed such a massive amount of pure spiritual energy. Any spiritual energy that touched the human realm was instantly absorbed by it like a whirlwind.

The ancient Jianmu was gentle and life-nurturing. From now on, let it guard this human world.

As for how to mend the incomplete Heavenly Dao, how to absorb the Immortal Realm’s Heavenly Dao that Ah Zhou had cut off, how to weave the barrier of the human world, he could not manage it. Please, old Daoist, come out of the mountain.

When the growth of the Jianmu finally came to an end, all of Wei Sheng Xian’s cultivation realms were also gone. At this moment, he was simply a mortal fake Daoist, only able to act like a charlatan.

“It’s really time to return,” Wei Sheng Xian muttered.

When he rolled down Peach Blossom Mountain, he vowed that he would not return to the mountain until he had attained the Great Dao. Now, has the Great Dao been attained? Can he return to the mountain, supporting the elderly on one hand, and cultivating another path on the other?

His peripheral vision caught sight of several shapeless young palace masters, and he could not help but feel sorrow welling up within him. Having both the old to care for and the young to raise was truly not easy.

“I always feel that the Immortal Realm is about to end,” the Little Daoist said.

“Yes,” Wei Sheng Xian said leisurely, “Ah Zhou is not a sick cat, the piece he tore off is really big. Wasn’t their Dao already lacking? Now it’s even more lacking.”

Little Daoist: “Then will the Immortal Realm cause trouble for us?”

“They can’t even find a way,” Wei Sheng Xian said profoundly, “Let me tell you a secret, I always feel that what Ah Zhou cut off was not the connection between realms, but the connection to the Great Dao. All the lower realms connected to them should be having problems now. Haven’t you seen that there are so few immortals now? They have a lot to deal with.”

However, all of these changes had nothing to do with Ye Zhuo.

Already standing on the ground, Li Yuan still wanted to hold him, wanted him to lean on him, as if afraid that he would not be able to stand on his own if he let go. The long worm was still so alarmed.

“I can stand,” Ye Zhuo said softly.

Li Yuan then slowly and carefully released him, but still held his hand tightly.

Ye Zhuo took a step forward, calmly looking at the opposite side.

As he fell, Yun Xiang Xi also fell, not far away on the opposite side.

Yun Xiang Xi’s face was pale, bloodstains on his lips, his eyes staring at him blankly.

His appearance seemed to be still considered neat, but Ye Zhuo had really never seen Yun Xiang Xi in such a disheveled state. Especially when his eyeballs finally moved slowly, looking at Li Yuan.

–Strange? Did he think everyone should be like him, cutting off this, cutting off that, to inquire about the so-called sword path?

Ye Zhuo felt that he should have smiled. He looked at Yun Xiang Xi’s expression, saw Yun Xiang Xi’s gaze linger on Li Yuan for a long time, and also on Li Yuan’s sword.

Did he still need to introduce who this was? Ye Zhuo felt that it was unnecessary.

He took another step towards Yun Xiang Xi.

Yun Xiang Xi’s gaze returned to Ye Zhuo.

Xiang Zhuo, the child he had raised little by little, was holding another person’s hand. When he fell heavily injured, he could entrust himself to another person.

Perhaps not even a person. Yun Xiang Xi saw the person’s cold and deep vertical pupils. In the eye contact, there was an abyss-like aura. Oh, the material of No Self Sword was Black Dragon scales.

So it was such a deep and calculating alien. He also used the sword. Yun Xiang Xi knew who he was, his shadow was in Xiang Zhuo’s sword, a sword that could be equal to Xiang Zhuo.

He saw that child smile lightly, when he was in the Black Dragon’s embrace. And the Black Dragon spoke to him intimately, he pulled Xiang Zhuo up. Twenty years, Xiang Zhuo changed his name, changed his sword path. And, he would never return to his side again.

Was there something wrong when he left the human world?

–Even the sword path can be wrong.

Yun Xiang Xi silently looked into Ye Zhuo’s eyes. And Ye Zhuo calmly looked back.

Ye Zhuo heard Li Yuan’s voice. He rarely heard this dragon’s voice so indifferent, it was quite scary.

“Ye Zhuo, let me kill him,” Li Yuan said.

Ye Zhuo: “Do you think he can still live?”

At least, Ye Zhuo knew that his heart was still beating, and he knew another thing: at the moment he drew his sword just now, Yun Xiang Xi’s Dao heart had completely shattered.

Because that was a very, very good sword.

It was a sword that Yun Xiang Xi could never wield in his entire life.

He picked up the sword path, and used his heart to control it. Yun Xiang Xi could do what he could do, and Yun Xiang Xi could never do what he could do.

This person cultivated the sword path for a lifetime, and in the end, what he cultivated was an obsession with the sword.

He saw that Yun Xiang Xi’s realm had long fallen to the human realm, and was still falling layer by layer.

So Ye Zhuo laughed.

He broke free from Li Yuan’s hand, and staggered towards Yun Xiang Xi. He was not afraid, Li Yuan was half a step behind him, if he fell, Li Yuan would catch him.

He saw a long, narrow, gray crack already across Xiang Xi’s sword. Yun Xiang Xi was actually already dead, along with his sword path.

But Ye Zhuo still wanted to kill him. For no reason, just wanted to. Because Yun Xiang Xi deserved to die.

Dead, all problems would be solved.

Ye Zhuo raised his left hand.

Yun Xiang Xi’s last gaze stayed on those calm and beautiful eyes.

In fact, Xiang Zhuo did not look like Ling Ye at all.

But Yun Xiang Xi always felt that there was a hint of an arc in Xiang Zhuo’s eyes that was very similar to Ling Ye. Only he felt that way.

Just like the Mid-Autumn Night banquet that year, he seemed to have really wavered, at that moment.

The fragrance of osmanthus.

–Was forever cut off by Ye Zhuo’s palm striking towards his heart.

What he had been searching for was already lost forever.

As a sword cultivator, he finally discovered that his sword path was just an empty obsession.

As a swordsman, he did not die by the sword in the end.

Which of these three things was more tragic, which one made people feel more pain?

These were not things that Yun Xiang Xi would think about.

–Yun Xiang Xi’s half body, with his chest as the center, turned into a blood mist under one palm, along with his head. When a person dies, the lamp goes out. The remaining body fell with a dull thud.

The reason why it was only half his body was because this was Ye Zhuo’s last strength. Ye Zhuo’s vision was filled with a blood-colored afterimage.

He fell forward, and then was suddenly caught by someone. He fell back into that embrace like a bright moon on the sea.

“Ye Zhuo!” He heard the long worm’s voice, “Ye Zhuo, look at me. Ye Zhuo.”

Ye Zhuo breathed with difficulty, then raised his eyes again. After layers of afterimages, he saw Li Yuan’s face.

He should have smiled.

“How do you feel? Yun Xiang Xi’s sword hit you.” Li Yuan’s voice was low and trembling, reaching out to grope his chest, “Does it hurt? Is the injury serious? Tell me, Ye Zhuo.”

Ye Zhuo slowly shook his head.

“Sword,” he said.

Li Yuan brought No Self Sword in front of him. His fingers stroked the sword body, and finally saw that the Black Dragon’s Reverse Scale seemed to be much dimmer. He frowned slightly, looking at Li Yuan blankly.

“It’s okay,” Li Yuan said, “It will come back after a while.”

Ye Zhuo was relieved, and gently raised his arm. He wanted to hug his natal sword, but in the end, he hugged Dragon Li Yuan. Li Yuan buried himself in his shoulder, saying something to him, but he couldn’t hear it clearly.

The injury was not serious.

The Black Dragon’s heart scale should have protected the Black Dragon’s heart. But he held it in his hand, and in the end, it protected his heart. He also saw the light of the Bright Moon Pearl, at that moment, he seemed to hear the distant roar of the Black Dragon.

Yun Xiang Xi’s sword was very powerful, that was true.

But, with someone protecting him, how could he be seriously injured? That sword, when it reached him, only had the last bit of strength.

How could it be so serious that he was about to die.

…It really seemed like he was about to die.

In fact, both he and Li Yuan knew that it was not because of that sword.

It was because of the emptiness of the five aggregates.