Eternal Emperor's Path to Ascension

The moment that thought flashed through Tian Yun’s mind, he immediately looked away as if nothing had happened.

His expression remained calm and indifferent, carrying the bearing of the Saint Master of Kunlun Divine Mountain.

Unfortunately, Tian Yongheng had already heard everything.

For a brief moment, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

After cultivating for over a hundred thousand years, Tian Yun’s temperament had long reached a frightening level.

Most things in the world could no longer stir his emotions, yet every time Tian Yongheng appeared, this composure would inevitably crack a little.

A few centuries ago, Tian Yongheng had merely been a junior, but now, he had already become an Immortal God.

Had Tian Yun’s mental fortitude and shamelessness been even slightly weaker, his Dao Heart might have shattered.

Tian Yongheng silently glanced at him.

Fortunately, Tian Yun didn’t know he was already at the Grand Perfection of the Vagrant Immortal Realm.

Otherwise, today’s conversation would probably become very awkward.

The two remained silent for several moments before Tian Yun lightly coughed.

"Come with me."

Tian Yongheng nodded.

Neither spoke further, one walking ahead as the other followed behind.

Soon, they walked up the Tenth Summit, heading towards its peak.

The scenery of Kunlun remained as beautiful as ever.

Ancient pine trees stretched toward the heavens, waterfalls flowing from floating cliffs as white celestial cranes soared through the clouds.

The entire mountain seemed detached from mortal dust, carrying the atmosphere of an eternal sacred land.

But for some reason, today felt different.

The surrounding air appeared somewhat heavy, and even the breeze felt quieter than usual.

As they continued walking, Tian Yongheng gradually noticed fewer and fewer living beings around him, and before long, the mountain path became completely deserted, leaving only the sounds of rustling leaves.

Neither Tian Yun nor Tian Yongheng spoke.

After a while, a small garden appeared before them.

Unlike the one Tian Yongheng visited back then, this place had no heavenly materials or earthly treasures, just appearing like an ordinary garden.

An old tree stood quietly in the center of the garden, and beneath the tree was an old, stone bench, upon which sat a white haired, humchbacked figure.

For a moment, Tian Yongheng stopped walking, and even Tian Yun unconsciously halted.

The garden fell silent for a brief instance.

Wrinkles covered the old man’s face, his white hair hanging loosely behind him.

At first glance, he appeared no different from an ordinary mortal who had reached the end of his lifespan.

There was no trace of the peerless Vagrant Immortal who suppressed the entire Mortal World for millions of years, the strongest Sword Immortal and most powerful being beneath the heavens.

Time truly was the most merciless blade.

Even a being who once stood at the summit of the world could not escape its edge forever.

Beside the old tree rested a wooden sword.

It was the Wooden Peach Divine Sword, leaning quietly against the tea trunk.

Neither sword nor owner emitted any overwhelming aura, yet merely seeing them caused Tian Yongheng’s heart to become strangely heavy.

This was the Sword Venerable, the strongest expert of the Lower Realm, whose name had been engraved upon countless records.

The same existence whom even Tian Yongheng had once looked up to.

But now... he was merely an old man waiting for his end.

The breeze gently rustled through the leaves.

For a time, nobody spoke.

Finally, the old man slowly turned around, his movements appearing somewhat sluggish.

His eyes were no longer as sharp as before, but when they landed upon Tian Yongheng, a warm smile surfaced on his face, like an elder seeing a junior he was proud of.

"Heh..."

A faint chuckle escaped his lips.

"You... seem to have already surpassed this old man."

The moment those words fell, Tian Yun froze, his entire body stiffening.

"...What?"

For a brief moment, he suspected he had misheard.

The Sword Venerable slowly shook his head, the smile on his face deepening slightly, saying no more.

Tian Yun stood in place, dumbfounded for a long while.

Did he just mishear something?

A Perfect Half Immortal, mishearing something in broad daylight?

What a joke!

At this realization, Tian Yun’s pupils contracted violently.

His master, the strongest entity in the Lower Realm, the Sword Venerable revered by all, an existence standing at the pinnacle of the Vagrant Immortal Realm, was actually admitting that Tian Yongheng had surpassed him?

How long had it been?

Two hundred years? Or a little longer than that?

Tian Yun suddenly felt that all his years of cultivation had become meaningless.

After cultivating for over a hundred thousand years, he still hadn’t become an Immortal, while a junior had already surpassed the strongest person beneath the heavens after just cultivating for a thousand years.

This revelation caused his Dao Heart to tremble slightly. Fortunately, his mental fortitude was still quite extraordinary.

Within moments, he forcefully suppressed the shock.

Still, he couldn’t help glancing toward Tian Yongheng again.

Is this guy really not a reincarnated supreme being?

At the same time, Tian Yongheng remained silent, neither denying nor admitting it.

The Sword Venerable simply laughed.

"Good, very good, far better than this old man expected."

His gaze became somewhat distant.

For a brief moment, it seemed as though he was looking across millions of years, back toward the beginning of his life.

"You know, this old man was born over sixteen million years ago."

For a moment, neither Tian Yun nor Tian Yongheng interrupted, listening to the narration.

The Sword Venerable slowly continued.

"Back then, the Mythical Era had only begun not long ago. The world was chaotic, many forces passed down from the Great Era were destroyed, and countless others were born. Although inferior to the current age, it was still the Mythical Era. There were geniuses everywhere, monsters appeared in doves and supreme talents emerged one after another."

A trace of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.

"This old man was fortunate enough to become one of them. Born with the Crystal Clear Extreme Sword Body, I was found and raised by Kunlun, cultivated in Kunlun, and eventually became the sword of Kunlun."

The Sword Venerable smiled faintly.

"When I was young, I thought myself invincible. I challenged everyone and fought every genius I encountered. I clashed with descendants of great sects, fought against successors of holy lands, and battled heirs of Immortal families. Eventually... I defeated them all."

His voice remained calm, but Tian Yun knew exactly what those words represented.

The Sword Venerable’s generation had been one of the most brilliant generations in this Mythical Era, on par with his own generation and surpassed only by the current generation, to which both Tian Yongheng and Wang Daoyun belonged.

And among all those supreme geniuses of that great age, only one person stood at the top.

That person was the Sword Venerable.

The Sword Venerable slowly looked up at the sky.

"In that age, everyone believed I would ascend, even I did so. After all, why wouldn’t I? I possessed talent, opportunity, and determination; there was no reason for me to stay behind."

A faint sigh escaped his lips.

"But in the end..."

A complicated expression appeared on the Sword Venerable’s face.

"... I made a promise."

For the first time in a long while, a trace of an indescribable feeling emerged in that old, cloudy gaze.

"I promised someone that I would protect Kunlun, no matter what happened or how many years passed."

Tian Yongheng quietly listened.

The Sword Venerable chuckled softly.

"Back then, I was ignorant, not caring for the consequences when doing things. I thought a few million years were nothing, but as time passed, one year became ten, ten became a hundred, hundred became a thousand, and a thousand became ten thousand."

The Sword Venerable slowly lowered his head, his voice growing softer.

"And before I realized it... the person I made that promise to was already gone."

Tian Yongheng’s gaze froze slightly, a complicated emotion emerging in the depths of his crimson pupils.

The old man continued, "My friends, rivals, teachers, fellow disciples, enemies, loved ones, everyone left one after another. Some ascended, some perished due to various reasons, and some... just vanished into history, never to be found again."

His gaze swept across the garden, eventually landing on the stone bench beneath him before turning towards the Wooden Peach Divine Sword.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"In the end, only these two remained."

One had accompanied him for millions of years, witnessing all of his highs and lows, while the other had followed him through countless battles, having long since become one with him.

They had witnessed everything over the course of sixteen million years.

For a long time, no one spoke again.

A mix of emotions flashed through Tian Yun’s eyes.

He had accompanied the Sword Venerable for over a hundred thousand years as a disciple, but compared to sixteen million years, that amount of time was extremely insignificant.

The old man slowly leaned back his expression remaining peaceful, "Before achieving the Vagrant Immortal Realm, there were many opportunities to leave, to ascend, to pursue greater realms and unimaginable heights."

A faint smile consistently remained on his face.

"But I never regretted staying."

His gaze drifted toward Kunlun’s distant peaks.

The ancient mountain stood proudly beneath heaven and earth, exactly as it always had since countless ages.

"The peak of humanity, the ultimate pinnacle of the Vagrant Immortal Realm, that was my limit. To go further, one must transform into a higher race, carry a greater bloodline, a supreme constitution far beyond mortals, and the likes."

The Sword Venerable chuckled.

"But choosing to ascend to the Vagrant Immortal Realm and then remain in the Lower Realm, even within the many ancient formations, had a price; heaven and earth cut off my path forward, rejecting my existence, unable to go beyond humanity, something even Immortals and Gods cannot undo, so I remained human, becoming a Human Demigod, and somehow... I still reached the Grand Perfection of Vagrant Immortal Realm."

At these words, even Tian Yongheng couldn’t help feeling admiration for the old man.

He could not imagine the difficulties and challenges the Sword Venerable had faced to accomplish something like that.

Without transforming into a higher race, possessing supreme opportunities, or relying on external changes, he had reached the absolute limit through mortal talent alone.

Perhaps that was why he became the strongest.

Tian Yongheng suddenly remembered the information displayed about him on the system panel from their first meeting.

Strongest in the world.

Back then, he could barely comprehend what those words represented.

Now, he finally understood just what that truly meant.

However, looking at the old man before him now, Tian Yongheng could only feel the cruelty of time.

The strongest in the world, the unrivaled Sword Immortal, the peerless genius who suppressed an era, the guardian of Kunlun for sixteen million years, the most powerful being in the Lower Realm...

All those titles had already faded away at some point.

What remained was just an old man nearing the end of his long, extremely long journey.