Logically speaking, Jing Tian had no reason to return to the Sword Tomb.
Although the demonic fire still burns brightly, the Evil Sword Immortal has already fled with the [Sword of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiends].
But now, he still pretends not to know and comes to the outside of the Sword Tomb.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Long Kui keenly sensed that Jing Tian's mood was off.
"Return the Forbidden City to our ancestors." Jing Tian's voice trembled as he repeated a line from the inscription carved by [Scattered Immortal of the Nine Provinces] on the wall of the Sword Tomb Armory: "This is the royal palace of the Jiang Kingdom."
He never expected to lose his composure like this.
His parasitic body has already been here.
He himself has no memories belonging to Long Yang.
He came here again with the intention of reminiscing about the past with Long Kui, just like reminiscing about the past after achieving success in elementary school.
But once they actually arrived outside the Sword Tomb, the sorrow that erupted from the depths of their souls poured out like a torrent.
A torrent of sword light, imbued with this sorrowful sentiment, then burst forth.
The white clouds that had swirled in the indigo sky dispersed, and the demons left behind by the Evil Sword Immortal to guard the Sword Tomb instantly turned to dust.
The distance between Jing Tian and that stone chamber was also severed.
All of this happened in an instant.
Long Kui only had time to recall what the Jiang Kingdom's palace looked like before Xue Jian and Zi Xuan were about to step forward to comfort her, Xu Changqing was about to take the opportunity to ask about the layout inside the Sword Tomb.
However, in the blink of an eye, one moment they were still outside the Sword Tomb, and the next they appeared in a dark stone chamber.
This is not a spatial displacement or travel, but a fundamental shift in coordinates, as if they had already arrived in this stone chamber long ago, and their previous memories were just illusions.
"This is the Empress Dowager. This is the Empress Dowager." Long Kui floated to the mural in the stone chamber.
Even after becoming human, Long Kui can still fly like a spirit, floating on flat ground.
Although this method is fast and convenient, she prefers to walk slowly, like a living person walking on their own two feet, the slower the better.
Even when Jing Tian spoke up, she didn't always agree. It was as if, from beginning to end, she was just an ordinary person, a little girl who couldn't fly, couldn't use magic spells, and had only grown up by her brother's side.
But now...
She broke her vow.
"Our Jiang Kingdom has always been renowned for its weaving, dyeing, and embroidery skills, and my mother was the foremost embroiderer of her time. A small embroidered handkerchief of hers could be worth a thousand pieces of gold. However, after marrying into the palace, my mother stopped embroidering, and very few of her works have survived to this day, making them far more valuable than jewels and jade. Later, when the Yang Kingdom invaded our border, my father sought help from the Qi Kingdom, and the King of Qi actually demanded that my mother embroider a map of the Qi Kingdom's mountains, rivers, and lands."
"Then this..." Xue Jian, somewhat incredulously.
She had also studied needlework, and the embroidery pattern on the mural, such a large piece of embroidery, would take a skilled embroiderer decades to complete.
Decades.
This means that this is something that cannot be accomplished by one person alone.
Only the Weaver Girl of the divine realm could accomplish this single-handedly with her unparalleled skill.
Long Kui continued speaking with tears in her eyes, while Jing Tian stroked the mural and fell into deep silence.
"My father was initially unwilling to agree, but my mother was worried about the affairs of the country and persuaded him to agree. However, such a large embroidery could not be completed by one person alone. So my mother posted the embroidery pattern on the wall and secretly gathered skilled women from the countryside to teach them the craft. They worked day and night in this small room to finish the embroidery."
"Did the Qi Kingdom send troops?" Xue Jian pressed.
"The Qi Kingdom demanded that the embroidery be completed within two years. During those two years, they sent troops to help us defend the border, and we were safe and sound for the time being. However, my mother fell ill due to overwork and passed away just as the embroidery was about to be finished. My father also fell ill and never recovered."
At this point, Long Kui was already unsteady on her feet and sobbed weakly in Jing Tian's arms.
Xue Jian already vaguely knew the ending of the story, but she was still unwilling to give up. "Then, what happened next?"
Long Kui said, "Later, Father did not give Qi Kingdom any embroidery, and Qi Kingdom withdrew its troops. Yang Kingdom then advanced rapidly and besieged our capital for half a year."
Long Kui became increasingly heartbroken as she spoke, and was too exhausted to continue.
Jing Tian stared blankly, as if he were looking into the distant past. "In the 33rd year of Duke Yang Xuan, in the second month of spring, the Jiang family was felled."
"In the ninth month of autumn, kill the ginger."
In the tenth month of winter, the land of Jiang was renamed Jiang County, and Prince Young Master Cong in Jiang County.
"On the winter solstice, the Yi Lake dried up, and white bones piled up like mountains at the bottom of the lake. The Demonic Sword emerged."
"Young Master Cong collected thousands of white bones from the bottom of the lake and buried them together with King Jiang and the Demonic Sword, calling it the 'Tomb of the Two Kings.' The people called it the 'Sword Tomb.'"
"In the third month of spring in the thirty-fourth year, a meteor appeared in Zeyi. Its color was a mixture of black and red, like lacquer and blood. Its light illuminated the ground. It was ten zhang long and one wei in circumference. It swayed like two horns, and a human figure could be faintly seen hanging between heaven and earth."
"The Sword Tomb cracked, the Demonic Sword emerged, merged with a human form, and disappeared in an instant; some say it was the Heavenly Demon that demanded the sword."
"Then meteorites, some as large as bowls, others as large as chicken eggs, rained down from all sides, shining brightly, until dusk. Many people died or were injured. This was called the 'Change of the Heavenly Sword'."
Hearing these words, Long Kui felt as if she had returned to the past. "Brother, why won't you let Xiaokui sacrifice herself to the sword?"
"If Xiao Kui had offered the sword, the Yang Kingdom's army would not have stormed the palace, and my brother would not have been wounded and lying in a pool of blood while trying to save me."
"They burned the corpses in the sword-forging furnace, and there was thick smoke and a burnt smell everywhere. Brother, you were among them too. I jumped into the furnace when they weren't looking."
"Xiao Kui is very smart, right? Brother says Xiao Kui is stupid, but Xiao Kui is not stupid at all."
As she spoke, her hair turned black, and a wicked smile appeared on her face.
"Xiao Kui remembers everything. After I jumped in, the sword took shape, and the soldiers of the Yang Kingdom started fighting over it, killing each other incessantly."
They're all dead!
"The Young Master Cong, who claimed he wanted to marry Xiao Kui and led the charge into the Jiang Kingdom, killing countless people, was so frightened that he wet his pants and ordered the dike to be opened, burying the entire palace in the lake."
"Of course, Xiao Kui won't let him have his way."
"So, the lake dried up."
"That guy has rebuilt the 'Tomb of the Two Kings' again."
"Then, it was my brother's red-haired friend who took Xiao Kui away from here."
"He also avenged Xiao Kui and her brother by creating a Meteor Shower."
"All the villains stained with the blood of the Jiang Kingdom are dead."
Is Xiao Kui bad?
Long Kui's hair has completely returned to its blue color.
There has only ever been one Long Kui.
The black-haired woman was merely a character she created to protect herself from something that didn't actually exist.
Her icy blue eyes trembled with immense anxiety.
"Xiao Kui isn't bad." Jing Tian touched Long Kui's forehead to hers, looking directly into her eyes. "I'm the bad one."
He finally understood why he wanted to come back here.
Because Long Yang is a fabricated existence, just like the black-haired Long Kui.
It was due to Jing Tian's own selfish motives.
From the very beginning, Long Yang was destined to fail, and the ancient Jiang Kingdom was destined to perish.
Because this is history.
This is part of the plot.
Because Long Yang is neither Li Lin nor Basil.
He was merely the reincarnation of Fei Peng, but not Fei Peng.
Even with the guidance of the Chong Lou, one is still ultimately just an ordinary person.
Even the most passionate heart will eventually cool down.
Just like the sword technique he created, [Nation-Toppling Silver Bullet Wave], which was completely buried in Chong Lou's memory.
Long Yang was also completely buried in the Sword Tomb at the moment of his death.
His memories, his thoughts, everything about him, left no trace in Jing Tian's soul, because it was originally nothingness.
Today, nothingness gives rise to resentment, and resentment gives rise to hatred.
This resentment and hatred vanished the Setsuna he looked directly into those icy blue eyes.
Jing Tian seemed to see himself, exhausted and wounded, lying in a pool of blood, reflected in Long Kui's eyes. In his dark eyes, he saw the blue figure who resolutely jumped into the sword furnace.
"We're too late. The Evil Sword is already complete, and the Evil Sword Immortal has already gone to Mount Shu."
Jing Tian said, standing before the still crackling, burning demonic fire.
"Brother Jing, we need to return to Mount Shu immediately." Xu Changqing looked as if he couldn't wait to fly away through the sword-forging hall on his sword. "If we're late, it will be too late."
"No, it's not too late." Jing Tian drew the Demonic Sword that gleamed with an eerie purple light.
Before a cup of tea.
"How can the mere [Big Dipper Demon Subduing Formation] stand against my invincible evil sword!" The Evil Sword Immortal appeared on Mount Shu, his figure expanding to be as tall as the sky, overlooking the entire Mount Shu.
Where the dome collapsed, the Evil Sword Immortal transformed into an evil dragon, stretching across the nine heavens.
The seventy-two peaks of Mount Shu were pressed into a wrinkled chessboard by its shadow, and the myriad starlight bursting from the [Big Dipper Demon Subduing Formation] was at this moment nothing more than cold dew clinging to the dragon's whiskers.
He did not hold the sword, for the sword had become one with him.
The sword is me, and I am the sword.
On that evil body that pierced through heaven and earth, all three hundred and sixty acupoints were imbued with sword eyes—the Yongquan acupoint on the left shoulder spewed out the poisonous fire of the earth's lungs, condensing into the sword energy that burned the city; the Kunlun acupoint on the right foot absorbed the moon's essence, forging the Ice Soul Sword Marrow.
The sea, rain, and wind are all like blades; even grass, trees, and dust are sharp.
The sword of heaven and earth, formed by the convergence of the qi of heaven, earth, man, and demon, the purest qi and the most turbid qi, is the very law and the source that sustains this demonic body.
At this moment, he was like a world-destroying dragon, opening his blood-red maw as if to swallow the Heart of Pangu.
However, five Rosy Glow, including a giant Dharma wheel, pierced through the dark clouds surrounding the demonic dragon.
Inside the Falun, there were six slender figures.
"Water!" Qing Wei emitted the [Water Spirit Pearl], and three thousand weak waters poured down from the void, transforming into an inverted celestial river.
Each drop reflects the afterimage of the ancient Water God Gonggong angrily striking Buzhou Mountain, and as the water flows, the Dragon Scales freeze inch by inch.
"Fire!" Cang Gu raised the [Fire Spirit Pearl] high, and a sea of golden-red fire spread out, with the True Form of Zhurong, the God of Fire, leaping within the flames.
Where the flames licked, the Evil Qi melted away like wax, and the heavens and earth were filled with blazing demonic flames.
"Thunder!" Jingming activated the [Thunder Spirit Pearl], and a ten-thousand-foot-wide sea of thunder roared, with the Thunder God appearing amidst the lightning, wielding a whip and driving the thunder.
Each bolt of lightning transformed into the form of a true dragon, tearing at the black clouds surrounding the evil dragon and cleaving it through its scales and flesh.
"Earth!" Youxuan summoned the [Earth Spirit Pearl], and countless mountains rose from the ground, with the Nine Provinces pattern from the time of Yu the Great's flood control appearing on the mountain ridges.
Amidst the towering peaks, the vast Earth Vein dragon energy of the Heart of Pangu condensed into chains, binding the wicked dragon's limbs.
"Wind!" Heyang formed a hand Hand Seal, and Gale Force howled, stirring up the pure air of the heavens.
With the blessing of the other four spirits, it seemed as if the wind god was whispering in the wind, blowing away all the Turbid Qi spewed by the evil dragon.
"Heaven and Earth, the Five Spirits, heed my command!"
In the very center, a handsome young man holds up a Falun (Buddhist wheel).
The Falun has inner and outer double rings, with five leaves rotating, each leaf reflecting the True Form of a spirit.
At the center of the wheel, the Heart of Pangu beats in harmony with the Dharma wheel, Power of the Five Spirits of heaven and earth converges into a dazzling pillar of light that pierces the nine heavens.
"Qing Leng! You... have actually become an immortal!" The demonic dragon roared, its dark eyes, seemingly teeming with billions of evil spirits, filled with intense jealousy and hatred.
Despite being forced back by the Five Spirit Wheel, he reversed his defeat, his injuries healed instantly, and the chains binding him snapped as he forced himself forward another step.
The handsome young man, though Qing Leng, looked at the five people beside him with surprise, "Which of you hates me that much?"
It should be noted that with this immortal being and the addition of the Five Spirit Wheel to the Five Elemental Array, its power is even more vast and boundless than that of the Five Spirit Pearls when all five are complete.
"It's me," Qing Wei sighed.
Of the five, the evil thought he abandoned was jealousy.
He also expelled the fewest evil thoughts.
Previously, he mistakenly believed that his mind was so lofty that he was close to being free from all worldly concerns.
But now he understands.
His jealousy subsided.
It was because he learned that the Qing Leng person he envied, whom he could only admire from afar, was so outstanding because he cultivated External Path.
And he was unaware that Qing Leng had already cultivated into an immortal.
Qing Wei's answer astonished the five people and the disciples in the hall.
But what deserves more attention right now is the enormous head of the evil dragon belonging to the Evil Sword Immortal.
For an ordinary person, moving forward one step is no more than a foot.
As for his towering, evil dragon body, his turbid breath, mixed with countless evil spirits, was already within arm's reach.
The bizarre and grotesque creatures, beyond human imagination, and the evil spirits that embody the wickedness of human nature, relentlessly charged towards the Yao Guang Hall, the core of the [Big Dipper Demon Subduing Formation].
Let the brilliant Starlight begin to twinkle, its brightness flickering.
Inside the hall, the Shushan disciples, each standing on a seven-star formation and performing the Seven Star Sword Formation single-handedly, were all sweating profusely.
"It seems we're doomed to lose," Qing Leng sighed.
"No, it's not the last moment yet." Qing Wei shook her head.
Qing Leng glanced at Qing Wei with surprise, "Now I understand why Master made you the sect leader. The sect leader of Shu Mountain needs to be as sharp and decisive as Sword: One, and as tenacious as a sword."
"Qing Leng, even if you give in, I won't let you go!" The Evil Sword Immortal exhaled another breath of Turbid Qi, enough to turn a city of ten thousand people into a dead land.
He believed himself to be the evil side of the Shu Mountain Five Elders, with Qing Wei being the most prominent among them.
Therefore, he took the Qing Leng words as being spoken to himself.
"It stinks." Qing Leng frowned.
"What?" the Evil Sword Immortal asked.
"I'm telling you, your mouth stinks," Qing Leng said, fanning his face with his right hand. "It's a rotten tongue that's been pickled in a pile of corpses for a thousand years, mixed with the rotten egg smell of a swamp demon's burp. It's even more rotten and fishy than a eunuch's cloak."
"No wonder he has to resort to puffing out smoke to cover his shame. With such a mouth—he's more deserving of the word 'evil' than the filthy demon in the latrine!"
"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to make your soul vanish! I'm going to suppress you in filth for thousands of years!" The evil dragon roared, its saliva corroding and penetrating the golden-shimmering jade ground.
The entire Shushan Mountain began to be shaken.
However, the tremors stopped abruptly the next moment.
"Truly incompetent. A nag is a nag; it is indeed inferior to a fine horse."
"But you are right about one thing."
"This guy has a really foul mouth."
Simultaneously with the sound appeared a vast, clear, and ethereal Demonic Aura that banished all Evil Qi and demons, gradually enveloping the entire Shu Mountain like azure clouds.
A slender figure emerged from the azure clouds.
The Earth Vein are leveled by his footsteps, and evil spirits are extinguished by his breath.
"Although I am no match for you."
"But it's still not too late to stop you before your benefactor appears."
"Heavenly Demon Emperor!"
The Evil Sword Immortal, who possessed the memories of the Five Elders, recognized the newcomer.