The land of the Big Ruins was filled with gravel. Even if a rare forest appeared, it was flickering with a dim light, making it seem extremely dark.
Mists were surging in the sky. There were faint flashes of electric arcs with a hint of scarlet.
At this moment, inside an ordinary tree hole in the forest, a rarely seen warm scene could be seen.
The flickering yellow lights, the fragrant meat pieces, and the leisurely back views outlined a warm and moving scene.
He Jian held a half-burnt stick in his right hand. A piece of golden-colored lean meat hung on the stick, giving off waves of fragrance and heat.
He gulped hard and took a big bite. The juice spread in his mouth and tantalized his taste buds.
He Jian’s eyes lit up. He subconsciously patted his interspatial bag and took out a flash of liquor Before the liquor could enter his mouth, he was stopped by Ou Yangming.
“You’re injured so don’t drink liquor as it’s not good for your body,” Ou Yangming said.
The wrinkles at the corners of He Jian’s eyes were squeezed together. He smiled faintly and expressed, “The meat is so delicious. It’s such a pity that I can’t drink liquor.” Even so, he still put away the flash.
Ou Yangming’s eyes revealed a look of reminiscence. “I haven’t done this for a long time. I don’t know when it started, but I’ve become busy. I couldn’t accompany the person I love, and I couldn’t be filial toward the old man who taught me how to read and behave. This world is truly a melting pot, I can’t escape it no matter how hard I try…” He raised his head and looked into the distance and at the dark night sky. He felt a little depressed.
“I didn’t expect you to have such an epiphany, Brother Yu.” He Jian laughed and nodded. “All living beings in this world have no choice!”
Ou Yangming withdrew his gaze, tore off a piece of roasted meat, and chewed it carefully. After a long while, he spoke at a moderate speed and asked, “Senior He, given that you could fight against a Venerable One as a top-grade Spiritualist, you were able to suppress everyone in your generation when you were young, right?”
He Jian exhaled a mouthful of hot air and replied to him, “I’m just an old man who carves wood. When I was young, I had some fortuitous encounters.”
As he spoke, he shook his head, and his eyes filled with emotion.
“Fortuitous encounters?”Ou Yangming’s voice rose a few degrees, and he already had a guess in his heart.
“Yes!” He Jian looked even more weathered as he explained indifferently, “I was born in a small aristocratic family. My talent was average, and my Bloodline Power is weak, so my cultivation base was improving very slowly. Each time I broke through a boundary, I would stumble. I wouldn’t be valued, nor would I be favored. Spirit ores, weapons, and pieces of equipment that belonged to me wouldn’t end up with me. Even my arranged marriage was canceled by the lady. The reason was that my talent was too poor. At that time, I was also young. My heart was filled with anger and in a fit of anger, I left my family and went out to look for opportunities. I had just become a Spiritualist then, and I had escaped death countless times. I wandered around for 3 years and by chance, I went to Mount Return Sword and learned an incomplete sword technique.”
“The Heaven-lifting?” Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, the Heaven-lifting. I stayed there for 20 years until I became a top-grade Spiritualist.” He Jian’s expression darkened, and he also stopped.
“What happened after that?” Ou Yangming lifted his chin and asked softly. He was a little curious and so was Lil’ Lan. She quietly pricked up her ears but still pretended not to care.
“I was young and impetuous at that time. After I came back, I didn’t want to go back to my family, and I didn’t want to talk about the things that happened when I was young. In my opinion, that tainted me at that time.
“Besides, after learning that incomplete technique, I was able to fight against many people of the same level. Even the Daoist disciples of the various clans were no match for me. I suppressed the prodigies of my generation to the point where they lost all light. Even the 3 Dagons and 3 Phoenixes tried to recruit me. After some deliberation, I chose the Black Dragons—the Jiang family. It was also during my glorious time the He family was uprooted overnight for offending a Venerable One. Blood flowed like a river.”
He Jian’s eyes did not show any emotions, and he slowly continued, “Though I had left the family for decades, I still had to care about it. After all, blood is thicker than water. Thus, I issued a challenge to the Venerable One, causing the Big Ruins to shake. In the end, I managed to block 3 of his moves but because of that, my foundation was damaged. There was no hope for me to become a Venerable One in this life. From then on, I concealed my identity and lived in seclusion in the ancient city. The longsword that accompanied me for half my life was also sealed in a box.”
He Jian’s voice was flat and indifferent as if he was telling someone else’s story.
Nonetheless, his words were like countless thunderbolts exploding in Ou Yangming’s heart. The young fellow could imagine how many twists and turns and poignancy were contained in those words, as well as how many could only be understood but could not be described with words.
Posting a challenge to a Venerable One as a Spiritualist—just this point alone was already enough to be intricately written down and elaborated, but it was briefly talked about by the old man.
After He Jian finished talking, the tree hole became silent for a moment.
Ou Yangming organized the words in his mind and said sincerely, “Senior He, the importance of Mount Return Sword to me is beyond words…”
“I know—I’ll bring you to find it.” Before Ou Yangming could finish, He Jian waved his hand and interrupted him.
“Thank you, senior!” Ou Yangming’s face lit up with joy. He thought to himself, ‘After this is done, I’ll do my best to help He Jian break through to become a Venerable One. Whether he’d succeed or not will depend on his good fortune.’ As for He Jian’s damaged foundation, why would the young fellow take it to heart? With an Eternal Pill, the so-called damage would just be a joke. It was worth noting that the Eternal Pill was a heaven-defying spiritual pill that could allow one to regain one’s vitality.
Of course, Ou Yangming was willing to do this because He Jian was a fair and upright person.
Moreover, he had just entered the Big Ruins and offended the Blood Dragon Clan. Now that he had killed the young master of the clan, he needed a strong external aid.
Whether it was He Jian’s temperament or cultivation base, he was the best choice for this.
Ou Yangming curbed his thoughts and guarded his soul. He instantly meditated and began to visualize the snow mountain in his spiritual world.
※※※※
The next day, specks of morning light scattered on the ground.
Ou Yangming slowly withdrew himself from his meditation. A bright light flashed in his eyes, and his aura extended as far as the river. His Qi was surging incessantly, and it was clear that his cultivation had improved again.
The spiritual Qi in He Jian’s dantian had already recovered by more than half. He carried Lil’ Lan on his back and said with a soft laugh, “Brother Yu, there’s no rush to explore Mount Return Peak. It’s not too late to go after we help Lil’ Man find some wood for practice. He has too much resentment in his heart, so we must let him get rid of it one step at a time. Even you and I can’t help him.” He really cared about Lil’ Man. To him, he had regarded Lil’ Man as half of his disciple.
“Yes, I understand.” Ou Yangming nodded.
The two of them rushed toward the cliff. After half a day, a rumbling sound came from the horizon. It was like the sound of rolling thunder exploding in their ears. They looked toward the source of the sound.
They saw a 3-meters-wide river rushing over from afar, crashing down from the cliff.
From afar, it looked like the milky way was hanging upside down from the nine heavens. The top of the waterfall was full of fine and dense water mists. Under the refraction of the sunlight, it emitted a seven-colored light. Although it was stained with a faint grey color, it had a unique charm.
On both sides of the waterfall were cliffs that were about 320 meters tall. There were trees that were 33 meters tall.
He Jian let out a sigh of relief. He pointed at the trees on the cliff and introduced, “Brother Yu, those are Camphor Trees. They’re incredibly tough and are one of the best choices for wood carving. They’ll be perfect for Lil’ Man to practice as they can dissipate the evil in his heart and allow him to be at ease.”
“After hearing what you said, I really want to experience it, Senior He,” Ou Yangming teased.
Before his voice faded, his golden mental power was released. Everything within 333 meters from him appeared in his senses.
As Ou Yangming calmed his mind, his thoughts sank. His mental power had already merged into a Camphor Tree and circles of overlapping special patterns appeared in his spiritual world.
Ou Yangming exhaled the turbid air in his chest and uttered softly, “Condense into a saber!”
With that, a powerful mental power turned into an exquisite saber. A golden stripe was engraved on the back of the saber, which looked strange and enchanting.
The spiritual saber flashed and chopped at the tree.
He Jian stroked his beard with a playful look in his eyes. He was sure that Ou Yangming would be defeated this time.
Nevertheless, there was still a hint of anticipation in his heart. After all, ever since he met Ou Yangming, the young fellow had displayed omnipotence. Not only did he know how to refine medicinal pills, but he also knew how to cast magic arts. His understanding of the spear was also unimaginably high, so much so that he had also comprehended the true meaning of the path.
Now that He Jian could Ou Yangming him being defeated once, it was also a very interesting experience.
“Back then, I spent half a month getting the Camphor Wood. No matter how talented you are, you’ll need at least a few days, right?” He Jian muttered softly, and the playful look in his eyes became even more intense.
“Crack…”
The spiritual saber that was condensed from mental power seemed to have fallen into a quagmire. All the spiritual Qi in the surroundings was squeezed over, and it hung upside down on the cliff without moving.
He Jian cleared his throat. His expression turned cold, and he was about to open his mouth to give some pointers.
All of a sudden, the golden stripe on the spiritual saber lit up and enveloped the saber. It turned into a ray of golden light, and an exceptionally sharp power spread out as if it could tear open the sky and heaven.
“This… This metal property that can break through anything?” He Jian gasped twice, and his voice was intermittent.
At this moment, the world in his mind seemed to have collapsed. There was only one thought left in his mind. ‘Where did this monster come from? He has displayed 4 out of the 5 properties of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Could he also gather the 5 elements and transform the sky and the earth, as well as the wild winds and lightning bolts, into all things in the world?’ At this time, his world was in complete chaos, and he felt that it was unreal.
Among the 5 basic properties, in terms of a single burst, the metal property would unquestionably be the most outstanding one.
Without any hindrance, it was as if Ou Yangming was cutting tofu. He easily took down the entire piece of Camphor Wood.
Ou Yangming’s expression was indifferent as he cupped his hands and said. “Luckily, I didn’t fail you!”
He Jian felt complicated. He was also a God-favored one who could suppress a generation but when he compared himself to Ou Yangming, he wondered, ‘Why is the difference so big?
‘Talented people emerge from every generation, each leading for hundreds of years,’ He consoled himself.
After obtaining enough of the Camphor Wood, the two of them sped toward the ancient city.
The ancient city vaguely appeared in their sight amidst the yellow sand after a day.
“Finally, we’re almost there!” Looking at the ancient city in the distance, Ou Yangming heaved a long sigh of relief.
