Firmament Sword

This was a hatred that had existed for untold years, emanating from the Cyan Dragon, one of the four Ancient Divine Beasts. It was so intense that the entire mountain emanated an invisible pressure. All living creatures here felt this immense force, trembling so violently they could barely stand.

After a long while, the light in the Cyan Dragon’s eyes gradually dimmed. It then looked at Xu Luo and said, ”Lord Star Monarch, this little dragon has a favor to ask.”

”Go on,” Xu Luo said, looking at the Cyan Dragon.

”This little dragon is willing to follow you, Lord Star Monarch, transforming into a tattoo on your body to provide you with power. My only request is that when the day comes that you encounter the Kunpeng, you allow this little dragon to take part in slaying it!” the Cyan Dragon said earnestly.

The White Tiger, who was standing to the side, thought for a moment and said, ”In that case, count me in as well.”

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow slightly. ”You were once subordinates of the Kunpeng, but it later betrayed you, and now you want revenge. Is that right?”

”It’s more than just that...” the White Tiger said. ”In the past, before the Kunpeng started devouring humans, it devoured all living things. My White Tiger clan, its Cyan Dragon clan, and even the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise clans... the Kunpeng devoured countless members of our kind...”

The corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself, ’This Kunpeng has quite the varied diet... It seems to enjoy eating all living things. Once it grew to a certain size, it even wanted to eat planets... It’s really... not a picky eater!’

”But in that era, it was survival of the fittest. We didn’t find its behavior particularly offensive, and it did grant us many benefits,” the White Tiger said faintly. ”But in the end, for its own sake, it nearly drained all of our Power of Origin, causing us to develop a deep-seated hatred for it.”

The Cyan Dragon added from the side, ”Therefore, we want revenge!”

Xu Luo still felt that these two Ancient Divine Beasts were holding something back. He asked Shaking Light, but it didn’t know either. After all, this had happened in this world, and even beings like Shaking Light couldn’t know everything.

However, Xu Luo could sense the intense conviction emanating from the incomplete Divine Souls of these two Divine Beasts, so he knew they weren’t lying. He decided not to press the matter further.

He nodded and said, ”In that case, I accept your offer! And when the day comes that we face the Kunpeng, I will give you the chance to get your answers.”

With that, Xu Luo looked at the two Divine Beasts and added, ”Also, while I may truly be the reincarnation of Beidou’s Eighth Star, I’ve forgotten all my past memories. So... I can’t be certain if I intended to kill you along with it back then. It’s possible... that you’ve misunderstood the Kunpeng.”

The Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger glanced at each other. Then, the Cyan Dragon shook its head with a bitter smile. ”Lord Star Monarch, there’s no need to make excuses for the Kunpeng. We already know the full story. Once you reawaken your memories, you will naturally understand everything! You will also understand why we hate the Kunpeng so much.”

Xu Luo nodded. ”If you say so, then let’s leave it at that.”

Following that, the Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger transformed into two tattoos, one on each of Xu Luo’s arms. They looked remarkably lifelike, almost vibrant.

”By the way, if I use a transformation skill to become someone else, can you still help me?” Xu Luo suddenly thought of something and asked.

”We are external objects, so of course we can!” the Cyan Dragon replied.

Xu Luo was delighted. ’Even though the Cyan Dragon is just a single soul-fragment and the White Tiger is only a wisp of a remnant soul, their power is still formidable,’ he thought. ’At the very least, they should be unrivaled below the Saint Realm.’

However, Xu Luo was also aware of the Cyan Dragon and White Tiger’s current state. He knew he shouldn’t draw on their power unless it was absolutely necessary.

Then, Xu Luo used the Transformation Skill to revert to his appearance as Huo Feng. He returned to where Huo Wanchong and the other two were sleeping. The three were still sound asleep.

Xu Luo sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate quietly.

「A few days later.」 The three of them woke up at almost the same time, their eyes dazed and confused.

They all felt as if they had just woken from a long, deep sleep, but the idea seemed absurd. At their level of cultivation, they could go for months without rest and have no issues, relying solely on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to keep their bodies functioning normally. How could they have suddenly fallen asleep?

However, the three were all slightly wary of one another, so they merely exchanged glances without discussing the matter.

Then, the three turned their gaze toward Huo Feng and saw him sitting there, cultivating.

’Perhaps... I just zoned out for a moment,’ Huo Wanchong thought to himself.

Huo Wanhua glanced at the sky and frowned slightly. He clearly remembered that the sun... hadn’t been in this position just a moment ago. ’Has my perception gone awry?’ he wondered.

Huo Wanyu, however, gave the cultivating Huo Feng a deep look, his heart filled with doubt. Among the three, he was the most powerful. Although all of them were at the Peak of the Fourth Level of Divine Power Realm, Huo Wanyu already had one foot in the Fifth Layer.

As such, he had a keen sense that something was wrong. He was even certain that he had forgotten something.

But even with their faint suspicions, none of them suspected Huo Feng. After all, no matter how shockingly talented he was, he was still just someone who had recently entered the Divine Power Realm.

’There might be some kind of unknowable being on this mountain...’

The same thought rose in all three of their minds.

Since ancient times, there had been legends of an impossibly powerful being living in the great mountains between the Ancient Race Continent and the Sect Continent. Though no one had ever seen it, the legend persisted.

It was said that even peerless experts of the Saint Realm dared not cause trouble in this mountain range.

Just then, Xu Luo slowly opened his eyes, looked at the three of them, and said, ”You’re finally awake. It’s been several days. If you hadn’t woken up soon, I was going to have to wake you myself.”

The three men were stunned. If they had only been guessing before, now... their suspicions were directly confirmed by Young Master Feng!

Huo Wanchong looked at Xu Luo in astonishment. ”Young Master Feng... what happened?”

A light flickered in Huo Wanhua’s eyes, and turbulent waves crashed in his heart. As a mighty figure of the Divine Power Realm, he hadn’t felt this sense of unease for countless years.

To have inexplicably fallen asleep for so long... if an enemy had happened upon them... the consequences would have been unimaginable!

And what unsettled him most... was that even now, he had no idea how he had fallen asleep!

”Was Young Master Feng unaffected?” Huo Wanyu asked directly.

Xu Luo put on a blank look and said, ”I don’t know what happened either. The three of you suddenly passed out, and I didn’t feel a thing... I didn’t dare wake you rashly, so I set up a Defensive Array here and started cultivating...”

Huo Wanchong, Huo Wanyu, and Huo Wanhua had already sensed the residual aura of an array, but none of them had mentioned it. Now that Young Master Feng had brought it up himself, fascinating expressions appeared on their faces.

”How shameful of us, to have Young Master Feng stand guard for us,” said Huo Wanchong.

”Indeed. There might be some incredible being in this place. I think... we should leave here at once,” said Huo Wanyu.

A light flashed in Huo Wanhua’s eyes. He didn’t quite believe that Young Master Feng was telling the truth, but he had no other explanation. Besides, if Young Master Feng had wanted to harm them while they were asleep, the three of them would have been completely defenseless.

That being the case, the suspicion that Huo Feng was involved completely vanished.

Perhaps... it was just as Huo Wanyu said. Some incredible being in this place was just playing a little joke on them.

”Alright, let’s leave quickly,” Xu Luo said, but he was laughing inwardly. He hadn’t expected the Cyan Dragon’s abilities to be so potent, forcefully putting three Great Gods at the Fourth Layer Peak of the Divine Power Realm to sleep for several hours without any memory of it.

’If only I had such a technique,’ Xu Luo thought.

The Cyan Dragon’s voice rang out in Xu Luo’s mind, tinged with a bitter laugh. ”Lord Star Monarch, you may not know this, but the technique this little dragon used before wasn’t a poison. It was a form of origin suppression, where a higher-level being suppresses a lower-level one! It’s a technique you will naturally master once you reach a certain realm, Lord Star Monarch.”

”Higher-level suppressing lower-level?” Xu Luo was a little confused.

”That’s right. I was once a being of the Venerable Realm, after all. These humans are merely in the Divine Power Realm. Suppressing their souls is not difficult. That’s nothing. If this little dragon were at full power, I could even alter their memories!” said the Cyan Dragon.

Xu Luo sucked in a sharp breath. That kind of technique... was simply too heaven-defying. It could even rival his own Time Reversal Skill.

”Altering someone’s memories... is that a Divine Skill?” Xu Luo asked.

”A Divine Skill? I don’t think so... A true Divine Skill should be able to completely rewrite a person’s memories! For example, it could make your mortal enemy believe you are their closest relative!” the Cyan Dragon explained. ”The Kunpeng possessed such an ability back then!”

Xu Luo was inwardly surprised, but he showed no trace of it on his face. He continued with Huo Wanchong and the other two, following the mountain path toward the Sect Continent.

Throughout their journey, the three men couldn’t figure out why they had suddenly slept for several days. At the same time, their gratitude toward Huo Feng deepened even further.

After all, Huo Feng was their Young Master, yet he had guarded them for days... without a single complaint. Even Huo Wanhua’s gratitude toward Huo Feng was plain to see.

After crossing the great mountain, the four finally set foot on the soil of the Sect Continent.

Xu Luo’s gaze was calm as he looked ahead. On the horizon, a setting sun lingered, half-visible above the earth.

A few birds soared across the distant sky. Dusk on the Sect Continent was so peaceful.

But Xu Luo knew in his heart that it wouldn’t be long before this tranquility... was shattered.

’Perhaps the day the storm arrives is not far off,’ Xu Luo thought.