Ling Tian Sword God

Chapter 1438: Chapter 1437: Cloud Monarch’s Secret

As if hearing Ling Chen’s voice, the figure within the light slowly raised its head. Illuminated by the glow, a rather hazy face was revealed. However, on that slightly blurred face, there was a somewhat enigmatic smile, and a pair of deep, dark eyes that seemed impossible to see through.

”I didn’t expect that after so many years of waiting, someone would finally arrive here. Waiting for you, this destined person, truly wasn’t easy.”

The Cloud Monarch looked at Ling Chen with a calm gaze, then smiled and said.

”Since we are able to meet the senior, I assume we have successfully passed the trial?” Ling Chen’s astonishment began to dissipate, and he smiled at the Cloud Monarch, then said.

The Cloud Monarch looked at Ling Chen with eyes full of amusement, then lightly raised his eyebrows, saying, ”On you, I can actually sense the aura of many old acquaintances. It seems you have met them before?”

Ling Chen had received some benefits from the Sword Saint and General Bai. General Bai taught him the Way of Slaughter, and as for the Sword Saint, the Soul Destroying Sword was still with Ling Chen, and Ling Chen had also met with Emperor Qinling. The aura of these people remained on him, more or less letting the Cloud Monarch discern it.

”I did meet them.”

Ling Chen understood who the Cloud Monarch was referring to. ”Just recently, I entered Emperor Qinling’s tomb. The people you mentioned, senior Cloud Monarch, should be the old friends among them.”

”Emperor Qinling, to think he ultimately couldn’t take that last step...”

The Cloud Monarch’s gaze focused intently on Ling Chen, and the usually unperturbed eyes suddenly rippled, and then he softly sighed. In his sigh, there seemed to resonate a sound as if a burden had finally been released.

”It’s said that after losing the Undying Medicine, Emperor Qinling, due to overly hasty cultivation, went astray, and in the end couldn’t take the final step to become a Supreme Expert...”

Ling Chen shook his head, yet in his heart, he felt somewhat puzzled by this Cloud Monarch. Didn’t he steal the Undying Medicine from others and now expresses sighs of regret? Isn’t that a bit insincere?

”Junior, at this moment, you must be thinking I’m quite hypocritical, aren’t you?” The Cloud Monarch’s gaze suddenly fixed on Ling Chen.

”No, no.”

Ling Chen hadn’t expected his thoughts to be seen through, and he quickly coughed lightly, shaking his head. Even if that was what he thought, he couldn’t say it outright.

”Emperor Qinling probably thought until his dying breath that it was I who stole his Undying Medicine, which harmed him, leading to his cultivation failure and deviation. But, the truth is, it wasn’t like that at all.”

The Cloud Monarch’s eyes flashed with a glint, ”Back then, Emperor Qinling gathered all the world’s extraordinary figures, collected all the rare treasures of the Nine Provinces to refine the Undying Medicine, and set a three-year deadline, insisting the medicine be refined. Otherwise, he would kill all those involved in the refining.”

”Unexpectedly, when the three years passed, the Undying Medicine remained unrefined. In despair, I had no choice but to resort to this plan, falsely claiming the Undying Medicine was completed.”

”What? So at that time, the Undying Medicine wasn’t yet refined?”

Ling Chen was taken aback; this was quite different from the secrets he’d heard from General Bai. Both General Bai and the Sword Saint believed that the Cloud Monarch stole the already refined Undying Medicine, yet they didn’t realize that at that time, it hadn’t even been successfully made.

”Since the Undying Medicine wasn’t successfully refined, how did you, Cloud Monarch senior, survive in the world for thousands of years?”

Ling Chen showed a hint of confusion on his face. The Cloud Monarch was a figure from Emperor Qinling’s era, over five thousand years ago, and only five hundred years ago, the Cloud Monarch could shatter the Void. If not having taken the Undying Medicine, how could he have lived for so long?

The Cloud Monarch did not rush to deny, but continued: ”Back then, the deadline set by Emperor Qinling for refining medicine arrived, but the Undying Medicine was yet unfinished. All the alchemists lived in constant fear, believing their death was imminent. To save everyone’s lives, I took the yet incomplete Undying Medicine and quietly fled the Qin Capital, crossing the seas to Yingzhou.”

”However, even with that, I couldn’t save those fellow alchemists.”

The Cloud Monarch sighed. After his escape, Emperor Qinling flew into a rage, killing all the alchemists and issuing a bounty to hunt him down throughout the world.

But he was already far overseas, and even though Emperor Qinling ruled the Nine Provinces, his influence couldn’t reach Yingzhou.

”Later, I stayed in Yingzhou, with a pure heart, fully dedicated to cultivation. Unexpectedly, in such conditions, the Undying Medicine was finally completed.”

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of the Cloud Monarch’s mouth.

After listening to the Cloud Monarch’s words, Ling Chen was similarly filled with emotion. He had thought the root of Emperor Qinling’s issues rested with the Cloud Monarch, but the truth was such.

In all of this, there was no real right or wrong. Perhaps the blame lay with Emperor Qinling’s impatience in his pursuit of immortality. Yet after his death, the Undying Medicine was refined, and the Cloud Monarch, whose original intent was to save lives, not to seek longevity, ended up with the Undying Medicine, living for several millennia. Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, this was destiny.

”The past is gone; there is no need to be entangled with it any longer.”

The Cloud Monarch’s gaze returned to normal, dispelling the previous gloom. His words seemed to create reality, as he then looked at Ling Chen, and said, ”Your entry here is your destiny. For me, evaluating a person is not based on talent but disposition.”

”Perhaps for others, the most important aspect of cultivating to become a Supreme Expert is talent, but for me, it is disposition that has brought me to my current state. It is more important than talent.”

Hearing these words, Ling Chen nodded slightly. Everyone has what they consider the most important, and it’s for that reason that each person, after reaching the Saint Level, cultivates differently in their Martial Arts, and in order to become a Supreme Expert, shatter the Void, one must form a Martial Art unique to themselves.

This Martial Art doesn’t belong to anyone else but oneself.

The Cloud Monarch spoke calmly: ”Disposition encompasses many aspects. Remaining calm in the face of adversity, maintaining composure in times of change, is disposition. Possessing great wisdom under the guise of simplicity and keeping a tranquil mind are also aspects of disposition. Not abandoning your companions, having a heart full of kindness, is equally disposition. If the disposition is poor, what use is great talent?”

This remark, as it reached Ling Chen’s ears, carried a hint of comparison to Emperor Qinling. Emperor Qinling was a legendary figure of unparalleled brilliance, possibly with few equals throughout history in terms of talent, yet in the end, he became but bones, while the Cloud Monarch shattered the Void, achieving the rank of Supreme Expert.

In his heart, Ling Chen breathed a sigh of relief as he finally understood the personality of this Cloud Monarch. Fortunately, he hadn’t abandoned Hong Ye earlier, instead bringing her along. If it were as the Cyan-robed Guest suggested, leaving Hong Ye behind, they might still be wandering in that fog like headless flies, unable to find their way out.