The Sovereign’s Ascension

Chapter 2019 - Comprehending Dao in Dream

When the Udumbara Flower shrunk back, the fusing process was disrupted.

On the other hand, Lin Yun was shocked when he turned back because he recognized the old man. He exclaimed, “Iris Sword Saint!”

It made no sense to him why the Iris Sword Saint was here. Could the Iris Sword Saint still be alive, just as Lil’ Purple said?

“Where’s my main body?! Return it to me!” Unlike Lin Yun’s doubts, Lil’ Purple was furious and charged at the Iris Sword Saint.

But the Iris Sword Saint calmly fended off Lil’ Purple’s attacks and gently pushed her away after a few moves. He smiled, “It looks like he treated you pretty well to recreate your body for you.”

“Hmph!” Lil’ Purple roared, “Cut the crap! Where’s my main body? And why did you seal me for a hundred thousand years?!”

“You’re the one who asked me to do it back then,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“What?” Lil’ Purple was shocked. She said, “This is impossible unless I’m crazy!”

“It looks like you’ve forgotten many things,” the Iris Sword Saint said. “It’s better this way.”

Lil’ Purple was stunned when she heard that.

“As for the location of your main body, you can easily recall it if you think about it, so there’s no need to ask me about it. If you want, I can help you undo your seal now,” the Iris Sword Saint said. Strictly speaking, Lil’ Purple was still sealed as the sword box’s artifact spirit, and her cultivation was restricted by the sword box’s owner, Lin Yun.

Lin Yun was stunned when he heard that and wondered if Lil’ Purple would leave.

“No way. You’re a nasty old man, and you must’ve tricked me in the past,” Lil’ Purple said in disdain.

When Lin Yun heard that, he couldn’t help heaving a sigh of relief.

“Young lad, we meet again. You’ve not let me down by coming so far,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled.

“I thought you were dead,” Lin Yun smiled awkwardly.

“You can also understand it that way. After all, I was already dead when we last met,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts and understood that the Iris Sword Saint he bet back then should be a clone of his or a fragment of his soul. He turned to look at Bai Qingyu and asked, “Will my friend be alright?”

“She’ll be fine, and this can be considered her opportunity,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“Old man, you’re the one who set up this divine array, right?” Lil’ Purple asked.

“No,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“I knew it. You’re incapable of setting up an array,” Lil’ Purple snorted.

The Iris Sword Saint merely smiled when he heard that. He said, “No harm in telling you about it. That lord left behind this divine array, and this soul fragment of mine is to watch this array for him.”

Lin Yun was briefly stunned when he heard that because the ‘lord’ mentioned should be referring to the Blue Dragon Ancestral Deity.

“Him!?” Lil’ Purple exclaimed. “Why would he spend such a huge effort? This array isn’t a seal and doesn’t seem to protect anything. So why did he set up this array?”

The Iris Sword Saint sighed, “This array is called the Nirvana Array. That lord felt guilty to the people buried here and wanted to use this array to help them obtain a wisp of opportunity.”

Lil’ Purple was shocked when she heard that, and she said in a trembling tone, “How is that possible? How can there be two similar flowers? Even if it came to life, would it still be the same person he knew?”

The Iris Sword Saint simply shook his head because he also couldn’t reply to that question. He understood how tough it was to resurrect someone from the dead since he had grasped Nirvana Dao.

“But he had to do something. I believe he’ll be gratified if one of them can obtain the opportunity,” the Iris Sword Saint said. He then looked at Lin Yun and asked, “Right, why are you here, in the first place?”

“I’m here to bump luck and see if I can grasp Nirvana Dao,” Lin Yun said.

The Iris Sword Saint smiled when he heard that and shook his head, “Don’t bite more than you can chew. Even if you’re at the pinnacle of the saint path, it’s not easy to comprehend Nirvana Dao. Not to mention…”

The Iris Sword Saint briefly paused and looked at Lin Yun, “You might be my successor, but that doesn’t mean you’re compatible with Nirvana Dao.”

Lin Yun couldn’t help feeling disappointed when he heard that.

Seeing this, the Iris Sword Saint smiled, “I left behind a Nirvana Imprint within the Iris Secret Realm, and it should still be there. If your cultivation reaches a compatible height, you can try comprehending it. But you don’t have to force yourself because I can see that you’ve taken a path for yourself. It’s still weak now… but a path belongs to you. Your sword can also accomplish everything that the Nirvana Dao can accomplish.”

Lin Yun was surprised when he heard that and could feel his blood boiling. After all, this was praise from the Iris Sword Saint, which couldn’t help making him feel a little complacent.

Lil’ Purple snorted, “Don’t try and fool him. I don’t buy it. Teach him something else if you’re unwilling to teach him Nirvana Dao. My disciple has obtained an opportunity, so don’t even think about dismissing him so easily!”

When he heard that, Lin Yun came to his senses and sent a grateful look at Lil’ Purple.

This made the Iris Sword Saint smile helplessly, before he looked at Lil’ Purple, “You’re still as rude as before. I’m only a soul fragment, and there’s nothing much I can do.”

“Please give me guidance, Senior!” Lin Yun said after receiving Lil’ Purple’s enlightenment. Even if this was a soul fragment, that didn’t mean he couldn’t obtain any benefits, and he might not get another chance if he missed this opportunity. After all, the Iris Sword Saint wasn’t willing to show himself based on all the signs shown.

“Alright,” the Iris Sword Saint sighed. “Your dao is still too weak, so I’ll help you comprehend your dao through nirvana. As for how much you can benefit from it, you can only depend on yourself.”

“Hmph, that’s more like it,” Lil’ Purple said.

The Iris Sword Saint smiled, “This fragment soul of mine won’t be able to last long…”

“Stop acting. This is a fragment of your soul; your main body is still alive, right? Speaking of which, where did your main body go? Are you dead, or are you alive?” Lil’ Purple asked.

“He can sense my existence, but I can’t sense him. This is only a soul fragment, and I might not know as much as you do,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled.

“You plotted so much that you fell for your own plots!” Lil’ Purple said furiously.

But the Iris Sword Saint merely smiled and looked at Lin Yun, “Young lad, go to sleep.”

When Iris Sword Saint said that, Lin Yun’s consciousness began to blur before he could respond, and he fell asleep. Within his dreams, he could hear a voice echoing within his mind.

“Nirvana exists in the world, yin and yang complement each other, sun and moon alternates, the four seasons change…”

“Senior?” Lin Yun tried his best to open his eyes and saw a blurred old man practicing his sword from afar. As the old man practiced his sword, he was reciting scriptures. No matter how Lin Yun tried, he couldn’t see the old man’s appearance, but he could guess that this old man must be the Iris Sword Saint.

This space was profound and existed between dreams and reality. The Iris Sword Saint’s figure looked even more massive than heaven and earth; even the voice was distorted. Lin Yun discovered that he couldn’t clearly see through the Iris Sword Saint’s moves, and it was hard to understand what the Iris Sword Saint was saying.

As he continued to observe, time gradually passed. Lin Yun didn’t know if a day or a year had passed, but he felt he understood something. The Iris Sword Saint was using this method to tell him the dao and the origin of dao. There was space, time, and nirvana. Space and time existed everywhere, and the same went for nirvana.

The Iris Sword Saint continued to practice his sword, and his movements were filled with profundity. Every sword looked as though it was born for heaven and earth.

“This is the Nirvana Sword. To comprehend Nirvana Dao, you must grasp the Nirvana Imprint. The Nirvana Imprint can be found everywhere…” The Iris Sword Saint said as he strode his footsteps, releasing sword rays from his sword.

Lin Yun widened his eyes but couldn’t comprehend it. He could only see clues of it, and this sword technique was terrifying to contain the dao of heaven and earth. This made Lin Yun feel like his soul was about to explode, and he couldn’t describe this feeling. It was no wonder why the Iris Sword Saint laughed at him previously. He wasn’t even an infant before the Nirvana Dao. In the end, he was still too weak.

But even so, he could use this opportunity to perfect the Sword of the Beginning. With a thought, a sword appeared in his hand, and he began mimicking the Iris Sword Saint’s footsteps, executing the Sword of the Beginning.

Lin Yun followed behind the Iris Sword Saint. He didn’t know how many times he had practiced it, but a month had passed without him knowing it. He fused the essence of Nirvana Dao into the Sword of the Beginning, and the Sword of the Beginning was slowly being perfected.

At the same time, Lin Yun could feel that his attainment in sword dao had gotten much stronger. But the Sword of the Beginning still didn’t contain the intent of the Nirvana Sword, and Lin Yun could feel that something was lacking. His sword could be tracked, while the Iris Sword Saint’s looked profound.

“Weird. Why do I feel that the Sword of the Beginning’s power has weakened…” Lin Yun grew increasingly baffled within his dream.

“This is your dream, not mine. You should try and forget about me, forget nirvana, forget space, and forget time. You only need to remember for a moment,” the Iris Sword Saint’s voice echoed.

“A moment…” Lin Yun muttered to himself, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Nirvana might be strong, but it was something that the Iris Sword Saint had left behind. He only had to remember a moment because many things could happen in a moment.

“I see… My dao lies in ‘beginning.’ Since that’s the case, I don’t have to think much about it. Sword of the Beginning, the moment’s glory, radiance, and nirvana. Even that moment can be used as a sword!” Lin Yun rejoiced because he had finally come to an entire conclusion with the Sword of the Beginning, and he was swiftly perfecting this sword technique.

“The first sword form, I’ll call it the Light of the Beginning. As for the second sword form, I’ll call it the Glory of the Beginning. As for the third sword form, Boundless of the Beginning? No, I can’t name it in this order…” Lin Yun’s eyes grew brighter as he became fully submerged within his sword dao. The Iris Sword Saint’s figure and voice were still around, but he paid no attention to it and had neglected the Iris Sword Saint’s existence.

Lin Yun was asleep in the outside world, but his facial expression was rich. He would rejoice for a moment or have his brows locked together.

Under the ancient tree, Lil’ Purple and the Iris Sword Saint stood together. Lil’ Purple said, “I have forgotten about many things, but I still remember something clearly. I won’t forget it even after a hundred thousand years. I remembered that we were waiting for someone, and that that person promised he’d return. But he didn’t show up even when the Kunlun Realm was about to be lost and the heavenly dao was about to collapse. Even so, he was nowhere to be found.”

Lil’ Purple looked at the Iris Sword Saint and asked, “You’re his successor, so you must know something about it. Even if you’re a soul fragment, you must know something!”

“I’m only a soul fragment, so I don’t know much,” the Iris Sword Saint bitterly smiled.

“Cut the crap,” Lil’ Purple retorted. “I’m not that brat who’ll treat you like a senior. Do you think I’m a fool?”

“You already know the answer, don’t you? You just don’t wish to think about it,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“I don’t know,” Lil’ Purple said seriously.

“I don’t know either, but it’s not hard to analyze. Since he didn’t come, he’s either tied up or…” The Iris Sword Saint sighed.

Lil’ Purple’s face changed when she heard that, and her body trembled. She wasn’t willing to think of the second possibility.

“...Or he’s dead.”