Chapter 1374: God-Like First Generation Master Shuoyang

"Oh heavens!"

"Chun Jian Zi, where on earth did you run off to??!"

"If I lost you again, where would I ever find another weak little Chun Jian Zi to be my Dao-protector in the future, ascend to the heavens with my whole household, and become a Jiang Jiang Jinxian-level powerhouse…"

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being ranted in a frenzy, weeping one moment and laughing the next.

When he wept, his grief knew no end; great drops of scalding tears fell, scorching the ground into countless pits of lava. When he laughed, he laughed without cease, his sound waves shattering the void and every law within a radius of several hundred thousand kilometers.

The tens of millions of cultivators below—including several Void Refinement True Reverents—were all trembling with fear, terrified that this terrifying powerhouse might accidentally wipe them all out.

It could happen in a single breath; one casual exhale and they'd be gone.

No one knew how long passed.

This terrifying powerhouse regained his sanity once more.

He looked down, reached out and scooped, and without any error pulled out three people—precisely Xi Ping'an, the Shuo Yang True Reverent, and the Chong Chong Guang Zi who had only just returned.

"The three of you carry Chun Jian Zi's aura."

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being sniffed, then asked darkly, "Where is Chun Jian Zi?"

The Heavenly Being's wrath was restrained, not yet unleashed—and aimed squarely at them!

The feeling was utterly terrifying. In an instant the three were plunged into utter darkness; between heaven and earth only they themselves remained, sinking into profound despair, their hearts completely breached.

Thud!

"Senior!"

"Spare my life!"

Xi Ping'an dropped to his knees on the spot, smoothly as silk: "The sect's Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Zi sent me to find you. He said the Pure Yang lineage and the Solar Inheritance lineage could protect me, let me survive."

"Chun Jian Zi entrusted you to me?"

"Really?"

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being's attitude immediately softened somewhat, and he automatically interpreted it in the way he wished. Still suspicious, he said, "You're not a woman, and you're not good-looking either. Why would he care about you like this?"

"You wouldn't be some damned liar trying to trick me, would you?"

"Uh…"

Xi Ping'an was left speechless. After a moment's consideration, he said, "The Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Zi, throughout the generations, it seems has never had a taste for women."

"Of course, no taste for men either."

He added.

Seeing that this powerhouse was displeased, Xi Ping'an swiftly got to the point: "I am the son of the previous generation's Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master, Xi Yuan. My father reached a deal with him, asking him to look after me."

"Your father, Xi Yuan, was the previous generation's Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master?"

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being gave a contemptuous snort: "Do you even know what a Chun Jian Master is? A Chun Jian Master is the strongest being in the Upper Realm, one who has reached Jiang Jiang Jinxian. The Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Zi is indeed a Chun Jian Zi, but Xi Yuan…"

He showed open contempt.

"My father was the Chun Jian Master."

"This is beyond all doubt.

"

Xi Ping'an no longer submitted; faint signs of anger appeared—anger directed at a powerhouse above the Dao Merging realm.

He declared loudly: "My father inherited the path of the previous generation's Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master, pushing the Master Shuoyang Sword Dao to the Dao Merging tier, invincible throughout the Nine Spirit Domain. Had he not wished to forge a foundation above the Dao Merging realm, had he not deliberately indulged and even abetted the growth of the Eastern Extreme Demon Sect, he would never have perished in battle."

"Had my father been born in the Upper Realm, he surely could have risen against the tide in the late stage of the Great Calamity!"

"Even Jiang Ding Zi, in terms of talent and brilliance, cannot compare to ten thousandth of my father!"

"Though Senior is strong, you were merely born in the Upper Realm. If you had been born in a barren place like the Nine Spirit Domain, at most you would be a figure on the level of a Void Refinement inheritor of the Badaxian Sect."

"This is the Dao Merging-tier *Master Shuoyang Sword Scripture* my father created by inheriting the path of every previous Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master. I beg Senior to offer a word or two of critique."

Though Xi Ping'an was angry, he had not lost his reason. He produced a jade slip that gleamed like light.

This was Xi Yuan's proudest achievement in life—of course he had to leave a copy for his son, even though his son did not practice the sword.

As for the problem of the sect's inheritance being leaked and weaknesses being found?

If the succeeding Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master could not create an even stronger *Master Shuoyang Sword Scripture*, then he was nothing but a complete waste!

The only purpose such a sword cultivator served in this world was to hinder the growth of the Master Shuoyang Sword Dao; death would be too good for him.

"Haha! Little friend, don't be angry."

"This old man is a rough sort…"

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being had been ranting in a frenzy all along, but now he gave a crafty smile, took the Dao Merging-tier *Master Shuoyang Sword Scripture* with both hands, and began to study it carefully.

His divine sense poured into the light-transformed jade slip, and in an instant his pupils contracted; he froze.

This frozen state lasted for several days.

This was truly inconceivable. A mere Dao Merging scripture—such a being should have comprehended it completely in the instant his divine sense swept over it; there was no difficulty at all.

Moreover, it was created by a peak Void Refinement cultivator as his first foray into a Dao Merging scripture; it was bound to be imperfect, crude, riddled with flaws.

"The Pure Yang path is too extreme—it will inevitably lead to qi deviation…"

"Then let it be qi deviation!"

"From the very start of the path, embrace qi deviation. A mere qi deviation—adapt to it bit by bit, bit by bit. This qi deviation is the Master Shuoyang Sword Dao itself…"

The Yang Bone Heavenly Being muttered to himself, shaken: "Was the First Generation Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master even human?"

"Is such an inconceivable path something a human could conceive of?"

"Conceiving it would be one thing—every cultivator has some wild fantasy, imagining themselves comprehending the Dao overnight and ascending, or Gong Fa that lets one become an immortal upon touching the ground."

"This Upper Realm is never short of madmen."

"But the First Generation Master Shuoyang Chun Jian Master not only dared to think it, he also"

"dared to actually bring it into being!"

"The thing I made can actually be used! It can really be practiced!"

"Is this even human?"

"This is a god, this is an immortal!"

He muttered to himself, and his form of address for the first-generation Master Shuoyang Sword Lord unconsciously shifted to "Sword Lord."

This form of address, like Sword Child and Dao Child, carried a special meaning in the Upper Realm.

Either it meant an utmost powerhouse.

Or it meant a great figure who had founded an entire path!

Such beings, even utmost powerhouses would show respect, because the other party had broadened the path of the immortal Dao and benefited all human immortal cultivators.

Of course, that was under circumstances without too great a conflict of interest.

The world was idealistic, and it was also realistic.

"Disciple Yang Gu, today I have received the scriptures of the Master Shuoyang Ancestor, I am overwhelmed with gratitude!"

"Many thanks to the Master Shuoyang Ancestor!"

Heavenly Being Yang Gu accepted the scriptures, his legs thumping as he knelt on the ground, facing the distant east, performing the three kneelings and nine kowtows, his expression solemn, his forehead striking the ground with a dull sound, shattering the earth beneath him.

"Little friend,"

"Since you are a descendant of Daoist Zou Zou Xiyuan, a descendant of the Master Shuoyang Ancestor's inheritor, I will certainly protect you completely."

Heavenly Being Yang Gu said in a heavy voice.

Clearly, he was not convinced by Zou Zou Xiyuan, a Void Refinement peak cultivator.

He, Yang Gu, was likewise a powerhouse who had walked to the extreme on this road of pure Yang whose future was unclear; speaking of the pride in his heart, it was no less than anyone's, let alone that of a lower-ranked cultivator.

Apart from a great figure like the first-generation Master Shuoyang Sword Lord, no one could make him sincerely convinced.

Heavenly Being Yang Gu waved his hand and took in Xi Ping'an, carefully protecting him well, then looked at the remaining two people.

His gaze first fell upon True Venerable Shuo Yang, then moved away without interest, and finally landed upon Chong Chong Guang Zi, and he said lightly: "You carry an aura similar to a Sword Child's, but weaker by who knows how many times — why?"