Chapter 396: Just What Exactly Are You Planning?
Tian Yongheng stood motionless, his gaze remaining fixed upon the place where the Sword Venerable had been sitting moments ago.
The system notification still floated quietly before his eyes.
[Your good friend, the Sword Venerable, has reached the end of his lifespan and passed away, his Dao dissipating.]
For some reason, those simple words felt unusually heavy.
In his previous life, he had never personally witnessed the death of someone who had truly reached the end of their lifespan.
Even after entering this world, Tian Hai’s situation had been different. His soul had entered reincarnation, transforming into Wang Chen now, there would be another meeting someday.
But for the Sword Venerable...
There would be no next life or reincarnation.
The Immortal Dao was as cruel as it was grand.
Sixteen million years of cultivation, experiences, memories, everything had vanished in a single instant.
Even for an Immortal, death remained death. The path ahead simply ended, leaving nothing behind.
Beside him, Tian Yun remained standing silently.
The Wooden Peach Divine Sword trembled slightly in his hands, a faint sword cry echoing from the blade, sounding extremely lonely, like a child who had suddenly lost its family.
Tian Yun unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword.
His expression remained calm, but the veins beneath his sleeves had already become visible.
He had followed the Sword Venerable for over a hundred thousand years as a disciple.
To ordinary cultivators, such a period of time was already unimaginable.
Yet now, his master was gone.
Probably no one could imagine what he was going through right now.
The wind continued blowing as the ancient tree swayed gently.
Just then, a drop of rain landed on the stone bench.
Both Tian Yongheng and Tian Yun instinctively raised their heads.
The sky had become cloudy, dark clouds rapidly spreading across heaven and earth, covering the entire horizon.
Soon enough, rain began pouring from the heavens, arriving without warning, as if heaven and earth had suddenly become sorrowful.
Tian Yun’s expression changed slightly.
"This..."
At that exact moment, deep within Kunlun Divine Mountain, several powerful auras abruptly awakened.
One after another, ancient Human Immortals who had remained in seclusion for tens, hundreds of thousands of years slowly opened their eyes.
Far away within various hidden realms of Kunlun, elderly figures emerged from meditation.
Their gazes all turned toward the Tenth Summit.
For a brief moment, sorrow flashed through their eyes.
Then, without speaking a single word, they simultaneously bowed in the direction of the Tenth Summit, toward the place where the Sword Venerable had just been moments ago.
This was the highest form of respect they could give to that old ancestor who had guarded this mountain for millions of years.
Across the entire Kunlun Divine Mountain, countless disciples suddenly felt a strange emptiness in their hearts.
Many did not even know what had happened, yet tears still unconsciously emerged from their eyes.
Somewhere deep within their souls, they seemed to have lost something important.
At the same time, far beyond Kunlun, the rain continued spreading across the Heavenly Region, covering the Central Continent and the entire Second Great Mortal World in no time before approaching the other Great Mortal Worlds as well.
Soon enough, all Nine Great Mortal Worlds simultaneously became covered by dark clouds.
Rain descended from heaven with an unstoppable momentum, as if the heavens were weeping.
Countless cultivators and mortals looked upward in confusion.
"This rain..."
"It’s so sudden, and not just here?"
"An ill omen! An extremely ill omen! A great calamity is approaching!"
Some old monsters standing at the apex of mortality suddenly widened their eyes, looking towards the Second Great Mortal World with complicated expressions.
At this moment, in the Outer Void beyond the Great Mortal Worlds, numerous Vagrant Immortals opened their eyes.
Some of them slept beneath ancient stars, some cultivated inside ancient secret realms, and others lingered on in broken worlds.
These ancient existences normally paid little attention to worldly affairs, but lately, countless extraordinary things had been occurring one after another, so most of them had been paying attention to the outside world.
And right now, every single one of them sensed the same thing.
A fellow daoist had departed.
One ancient Vagrant Immortal sitting atop a meteor sighed softly.
"The Sword Venerable..."
Another old monster standing inside a shattered star realm remained silent for a long time before bowing slightly toward the Second Great Mortal World.
Many of them possessed grudges against him, many had lost to him, and many shared a rivalry with him, but regardless of their relationship, nobody could deny one fact.
That was, for millions of years, except for that monster who emerged a few years ago and nearly shattered the boundary between the Second Great Mortal World and the Outer Void, the Sword Venerable had represented the absolute pinnacle of the Lower Realm.
And now, that pinnacle had fallen, especially during such chaotic times, when the loss felt much heavier.
Within the endless rain, heaven and earth seemed to cry; even the Lower Realm Spirit had sensed the departure of its strongest protector.
...
At this moment.
Beyond the Nine Great Mortal Worlds and the Nine Great Immortal Worlds.
Far above countless layers of heaven and earth.
The 33 Heavens Divine Realm.
The highest plane within the Great World, a place which all living beings aspired to reach.
An immeasurable mountain stood within endless chaotic mist, connecting all the 33 Heavens with it as the center.
Its size could not be measured, and its height could not be described. Each strand of Immortal Qi drifting around it contained entire dimensions.
Countless divine palaces and Immortal mansions floated among the clouds.
Immortal lights streaked across the heavens like shooting stars as gigantic Divine Beasts larger than the entire Lower Realm traversed the void openly.
Profound Immortals were as common as dogs, and Golden Immortals were everywhere.
These existences capable of dominating the Nine Great Immortal Worlds were simply among the most ordinary inhabitants of this place.
Even those high and mighty Immortal Sovereigns, including beings above that level, could be seen from time to time.
This was one of the true holy lands of the 33 Heavens Divine Realm, Kunlun Divine Mountain!
At the deepest region of the mountain stood a vast, nearly endless hall overflowing with celestial radiance, surrounded by primordial stars.
Rows upon rows of heavenly lamps floated in silence.
Each lamp represented a being significant enough to leave their mark in this place.
At this moment, one lamp suddenly flickered before extinguishing, the light vanishing completely.
At the very center of the hall, a young man slowly opened his eyes.
His appearance was ordinary, yet merely his presence made the surrounding cosmos appear insignificant, a faint movement enough to suppress infinite worlds.
His eyes contained endless stars, countless heaven and earth seeming to rise and collapse within his pupils.
His bearing, demeanor, and temperament all seemed tainted by an indescribable majesty unimaginable by ordinary Immortals and Gods.
For a long time, he simply stared at the extinguished lamp, not saying a single word.
Eventually, a sigh escaped his lips.
"That stubborn child..."
His voice echoed quietly throughout the vast hall.
Although he appeared young, the melancholy within his eyes carried the weight of myriad ages.
Millions of years ago, a prodigy had emerged from the Lower Realm Second Great Mortal World.
Baptized by the Ascension Light, transforming into a Heavenly Human, and combined with the Sword Heart Grass, had he ascended, his Crystal Clear Extreme Sword Body could have transformed into much stronger Connate Providence, and becoming a King was not out of the question.
Unfortunately... he was too stubborn.
For a promise made to a dead person, he willingly cut off his own path, choosing to abandon ascension.
The young man’s gaze gradually became distant.
Passing through endless dimensions, it crossed immeasurable layers of reality, looking down at the Lower Realm.
Eventually, it landed upon the Kunlun Divine Mountain in the Second Great Mortal World, remaining fixed on the Tenth Summit.
After a long silence, he slowly shook his head.
"Even after all this time... it still could not be avoided."
A trace of helplessness appeared within his eyes.
"The Cleansing..."
His voice became softer.
"Even that existence could only extend its timeline."
Originally, the Cleansing of the Lower Realm was supposed to descend seventy million years later according to the agreement between those two Almighty Beings.
But now, due to an unknown variable, the timing had been pushed forward.
The young man slowly closed his eyes.
"The general trend of heaven and earth... cannot be resisted forever."
Just then, his gaze suddenly paused.
A faint look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"Hm?"
His vision crossed endless distances, passing through countless worlds before stopping on a figure standing beneath the rain on the Tenth Summit of Kunlun Divine Mountain in the Second Great Mortal World.
It was none other than Tian Yongheng.
For a brief moment, the young man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He actually could not see through this existence.
For the first time in a very long while, genuine curiosity appeared on his face.
"Interesting. Is this the variable?"
Although he couldn’t see through exactly what was Tian Yongheng, around Tian Yongheng’s body, he could see something else, something extremely subtle.
It was almost nonexistent yet undeniably real.
It was Providence, Providence resembling that of a certain existence.
Even an ordinary King might not have noticed this Providence, but who was he?
Would a King even dare to be mentioned in the same breath as him?
The young man stared for a long time, his gaze gradually deepened.
"Could this be..."
A possibility surfaced within his mind, but he forcefully suppressed his thoughts.
Eventually, he let out another sigh, carrying far more complexity than before.
"Is this the arrangement that one left behind...?"
His voice was extremely soft, almost reverent.
"Just what exactly are you planning..."
Naturally, nobody answered him.
However, the young man showed no concern.
If that existence truly wished to hide something, then forget the Thirty Heavens, but even the strongest existences, those Almighty Beings of the Thirty-Three Heavens, would have an extremely hard time finding it out.
After a while, he slowly withdrew his gaze.
His expression returned to calmness, with only a faint trace of curiosity remained.
"So, is the variable itself a part of that one’s arrangements, or..."
He murmured quietly, not finishing the sentence.
Instead, he looked toward the extinguished heavenly lamp one last time.
"Little one, you have done everything you could. The rest..."
His gaze seemed to pierce through endless worlds once more.
"... will depend on them."