Chapter 395: From Now On, You Are The Strongest In The World
The garden remained tranquil, with only the sound of leaves rustling faintly as the breeze drifted through the ancient tree overhead.
The Sword Venerable sat peacefully upon the stone bench.
At this moment, his expression was calm. There was no fear or resentment, only the serenity of someone who had already witnessed enough of heaven and earth.
After a long period of silence, his gaze slowly shifted toward Tian Yun.
The old man’s cloudy eyes softened slightly, a smile returning on his aged face.
Seeing that smile, Tian Yun unconsciously straightened his back.
For a brief moment, he felt as if he had returned to the distant past, back when he first entered the Kunlun Divine Mountain.
The Sword Venerable chuckled softly.
"You know, when I first met you, you were still just a little brat, not even a hundred years old."
Tian Yun’s expression froze slightly, a hint of remembrance flashing through his eyes.
The old man continued speaking, "You ran away from home, carrying injuries all over your body and looking utterly miserable. Even your face was much uglier than it is now."
Tian Yun’s face darkened instantly as Tian Yongheng’s lips twitched slightly before he sensibly looked away, admiring the scenery.
The Sword Venerable laughed as he continued.
"It has already been over one hundred thousand years since then."
His gaze slowly became distant.
"I still remember when you sat outside Kunlun for three days and three nights, refusing to speak or leave, only staring at the mountain."
The old man shook his head.
"At the time, I thought some fool had escaped from an Immortal Family."
Tian Yun remained silent, a trace of emotion appearing on his face.
Back then, he had indeed fled from one of the Four Great Immortal Families, the Great Tian Immortal Family.
A young genius, full of pride, and one who had suffered a tremendous injustice, seeking only to become the strongest.
The Sword Venerable slowly sighed.
"Later, I discovered that you were surprisingly stubborn and had also made a promise to someone. I saw the shadow of my former self in you. Then, I looked at your talent, the Celestial Sword Heavenly Spiritual Root, rare even by Upper Realm standards, and thought you might be worth teaching."
The old man chuckled once more.
"One hundred thousand years... snother age has passed, and another generation has disappeared."
His voice gradually softened by the end, "Time truly waits for no one."
The garden once again fell silent, with only the sound of rustling leaves and blowing wind remaining.
After a while, the Sword Venerable slowly raised his right hand.
The moment he did so, the Wooden Peach Divine Sword suddenly trembled, a faint sword hum echoing throughout the garden.
The ancient sword seemed to understand something as a trace of reluctance emerged from deep within it.
The Sword Venerable’s gaze softened as he called out, his voice extremely gentle.
"My old friend."
The Wooden Peach Divine Sword slowly rose into the air and began to circle around him once, like a child unwilling to leave home.
Only after a long while did it quietly descend, landing before the old man.
The Sword Venerable stared at it silently, his gaze filled with nostalgia, countless memories flashing through his mind.
Over the course of sixteen million years, too many people had come and gone, but throughout all those years, this sword had always remained by his side.
Eventually, he stretched out his hand and pushed the sword toward Tian Yun.
"Take it."
Tian Yun’s body trembled slightly, his eyes widening.
"Master..."
The Sword Venerable smiled.
"The Wooden Peach Divine Sword is my Natal Dharma Treasure, once considered the strongest Dharma Treasure in the Lower Realm. After this old man dies, it will naturally lose its master. Rather than letting it be buried alongside me, it is better for you to inherit it."
Tian Yun stared at the sword, and for a long time, he did not know what to say.
This was not merely a Dharma Treasure; this was the Sword Venerable’s entire life, his legacy, and his Dao.
It was the final trace of his existence in this world.
Slowly, Tian Yun extended both hands.
The moment he touched the sword, a faint tremor ran through his body.
The Wooden Peach Divine Sword seemed reluctant, but it did not resist.
The Sword Venerable nodded slightly.
"A great upheaval is coming."
His voice became somewhat solemn as he continued speaking.
"This sword may still prove to be useful in the future."
Tian Yun lowered his head.
"...This disciple understands."
The old man smiled and finally shifted his gaze toward Tian Yongheng.
The moment their eyes met, the atmosphere subtly changed.
A deep look appeared in the Sword Venerable’s eyes, a mix of complicated emotions.
After a long while, he slowly sighed.
"Tian Yongheng."
Tian Yongheng silently met his gaze.
The Sword Venerable shook his head and began to speak softly.
"You know, from the very first time I heard your name, for the first time in millions of years... I had a vague, indescribable feeling. Something I almost never experienced after becoming an Immortal."
Tian Yongheng remained silent as the old man continued.
"At first, I couldn’t understand what it was. You cultivated too quickly, advanced too smoothly, and constantly accomplished things that should have been impossible for someone born in the Lower Realm, facing no difficulties or bottlenecks on your path."
His eyes gradually deepened.
"Then, as time passed, the feeling became stronger and stronger, until I finally saw you for the first time and understood."
The Sword Venerable looked directly at him, speaking word by word.
"You were just... different. There was something, a truly unique aspect about your existence which I couldn’t quite grasp. Now that you’ve achieved your true self, I can see it more clearly than ever before."
At these words, even Tian Yun subconsciously perked up his ears.
The old man slowly spoke.
"Many people believe you possess some unimaginable backing, are the reincarnation of a supreme mighty figure, or are the inheritors of an ancient legacy. Some even think you are an Immortal God in flesh who has descended from the heavens to guide the world toward salvation."
The Sword Venerable smiled faintly.
"But I knew. I always knew."
Tian Yongheng’s gaze flickered slightly, a strange mix of emotions welling up in his heart.
"You are simply Tian Yongheng, the greatest genius this old man has ever witnessed."
The Sword Venerable’s voice carried unusual certainty as he slowly closed his eyes before reopening them.
"In sixteen million years, I have come into contact with countless prodigies, monsters, descendants of Immortals, great being reincarnations, and even those blessed by heaven and earth, carrying pieces of heavenly fortune, but..."
His eyes lit up slightly with each word he spoke.
"... none of them can compare to you."
Tian Yun’s pupils contracted sharply; even Wang Daoyun and his own self had never received such an evaluation from the Sword Venerable.
However, just then, the old man slowly shook his head.
"No, perhaps not just sixteen million years, perhaps... the greatest genius in the entire history of the Lower Realm. Even greater than that existence from a billion years ago."
The Sword Venerable looked at the distant sky, his voice carrying an imperceptible tone of regret.
"If you had been born in my era, or even ten thousand years earlier, perhaps everything would have been different."
A sigh escaped his lips, and he seemed to age many years in an instant.
"Perhaps you could have ended the great upheaval before it even began, capable of challenging the Immortal heavens alone."
The old man smiled bitterly.
Neither Tian Yun nor Tian Yongheng interrupt him, both listening quietly.
The Sword Venerable’s voice gradually weakened, his shoulders seeming to slump slightly as the signs of age around him became increasingly obvious, and even his life aura began to slowly fade away.
However, he continued speaking, "Tian Yongheng."
The Sword Venerable looked at Tian Yongheng again, the admiration in his eyes becoming undisguised.
"You truly are the greatest prodigy I have ever seen, the final variable remaining for the Lower Realm, a variable no one expected."
His voice became softer and softer.
"Unfortunately, this old man can no longer accompany you all."
A trace of melancholy appeared on his face.
"I won’t be able to see Tian Yun achieve immortality, Wang Daoyun question the heavens with his sword, and you turn heaven and earth upside down."
The breeze gently blew through the garden as a single leaf detached from the ancient tree overhead, slowly drifting downward.
The Sword Venerable raised his head, watching the leaf fall, his eyes gradually losing focus.
"The Heavenly Dao is cruel..."
His voice had become extremely faint by this point.
"But those Immortals and Gods above... are even crueler."
A trace of extreme bitterness and unwillingness emerged on his face for the first time since the conversation began.
"They... regard us Lower Realm beings... as ants to be trampled underneath them at any moment... seeing countless lives as less than dust... standing above the heavens... but what can we... beings of the Lower Realm... do about it...?"
The leaf continued descending as the old man’s body gradually became transparent, like mist beneath scorching sunlight.
His Indestructible Immortal Body began to collapse, his Inextinguishable Divine Energy finally reached its limit, and his Imperishable Essence Soul was now fading away.
Tian Yun’s hands clenched tightly around the Wooden Peach Divine Sword, his entire body trembling, yet he said nothing, standing ramrod straight.
The Sword Venerable slowly lowered his head, his voice becoming increasingly weak, yet, a faint smile once again graced his face.
"If there is one regret... it is that I could not witness your generation... and see what you would become... at your full potential..."
The leaf drifted lower and lower, the old man’s figure becoming increasingly illusory.
However, at this moment, his eyes were extremely bright, containing the same brilliance that once illuminated heaven and earth for sixteen million years.
His final gaze landed on Tian Yongheng.
In that gaze was shock, satisfaction, relief, admiration, hope, and a mix of countless complex emotions.
Then, he finally spoke again, his voice no longer sounding old and weak, but full of energy and youthfulness, as if he had returned to being the peerless Sword Venerable who once suppressed the entire Lower Realm beneath his feet.
"Tian Yongheng..."
Tian Yongheng remained motionless, a dazed look appearing on his face as his lips parted slightly, but no words escaped.
The Sword Venerable smiled. It was a peaceful smile, a smile free from all burdens and responsibilities, a smile that had fulfilled a promise lasting sixteen million years.
"From now on..."
His voice was very soft, sounding like a young man who had just woken up from sleep.
"... you are the strongest in the world."
The leaf finally touched the ground, and at the exact same moment, the Sword Venerable vanished.
His Indestructible Immortal Body dissolved into countless points of light, his Divine Energy dispersed into the surrounding Spirit Qi, and his Essence Soul faded from existence.
His Dao completely disappeared from heaven and earth, leaving on trace behind.
Only the empty stone bench beneath the ancient tree and the Wooden Peach Divine Sword in Tian Yun’s hands remained.
The fallen leaf quietly crumbled into dust the instant it touched the ground.
From that day forward, the guardian of Kunlun Divine Mountain, the greatest protector of the Mortal World, and the strongest being in the Lower Realm, the pinnacle of human resistance, was no more.
[Your good friend, the Sword Venerable, has reached the end of his lifespan and passed away, his Dao dissipating.]