Guei Ye
"Brother Ye Feng, shall we go in?"
"Brother Ye Feng, I'd like to go in and take a look too."
Shi Er Meng and Stone Skin Monkey looked at the dilapidated courtyard with longing.
"Since you're here, let's go in," Ye Feng said with a smile. He was certain he was about to encounter another opportunity.
"Hmm... Ah, what is that... person?"
An old man with a full head of gray hair was standing outside the courtyard gate when he suddenly floated over.
The old man's eyes were hollow, and an ancient sword was stuck in his head. It had pierced right through him, and was covered in rust.
His arms hung down, and the fingernails on his fingers were black and half a foot long. Their sudden appearance on this not-so-bright moonlit night was quite terrifying.
His clothes were incredibly ancient, exactly the same style described in ancient books. He had no breath, no heartbeat, and no trace of life. He floated in mid-air, his eyes empty and frightening, like two black holes.
"Senior...you've paved the way for us," Shi Hao said.
The old man floated to Shi Er Meng's side, then to Stone Skin Monkey, and finally to Shi Hao. The old man lingered near Shi Hao longer than Shi Er Meng and Stone Skin Monkey. Finally, the old man floated to Ye Feng's side. After a short while, he instantly appeared amidst the broken walls and ruins of the courtyard, emitting a mournful sound, as if weeping.
"He's dead, his life force has been cut off, how can he still be like this...?" Shi Hao was shocked.
"Especially why is there a sword stuck in his head?" Shi Er Meng shuddered.
With his head pierced by an ancient sword, the disheveled old man wandered aimlessly, even venturing into the backyard. Afterwards, the old man blocked Ye Feng's path.
Shi Hao, Shi Er Meng, and Stone Skin Monkey couldn't understand why an old man without any life force was trying to obstruct them like this.
The gray hair was streaked with black blood, which had dried for who knows how many years. The ancient sword, which was once incredibly sharp, now had a rusty hilt. It was hard to imagine how many years it had endured.
"Give me back my sword!"
The old man's voice was hoarse, yet it could cut into one's soul.
"Isn't your sword on your head?"
Shi Hao pointed at the sword above the old man's head.
"Give me back my sword!"
No matter what Shi Hao, Stone Skin Monkey, and Shi Er Meng said, the old man kept repeating his favorite phrase.
"Give me back my sword!"
"Give me back my sword!"
"Give me back my sword!"
Guei Ye!
Ye Feng knew that this person was the Founding Ancestor patriarch of the Heaven Mending Pavilion.
Speaking of which, the Heaven Mending Pavilion and the Heaven Mending Sect of the Upper Realm are from the same lineage, and Guei Ye is a former disciple of the Heaven Mending Sect.
However, they did not offer any assistance when the Heaven Mending Pavilion was destroyed. What was the reason for this? And why was Guei Ye a traitor to the Heaven Mending Sect? Why was there a sword stuck in his head?
First, it's necessary to understand their respective origins. The founders of the Heaven Mending Pavilion were Guei Ye and Old Vine, both among the most powerful figures in the Lower Realm. Guei Ye was originally the most outstanding successor of the Heaven Mending Sect. The Heaven Mending Sect was one of the most powerful forces in the Upper Realm (Three Thousand Provinces), and even had a foothold in the Nine Heavens. As the most outstanding successor of the Heaven Mending Sect, Old Vine's future was undoubtedly bright. If he had grown up normally, he might have become the leader of the Heaven Mending Sect, a great figure worshipped by the Three Thousand Provinces.
However, even though cultivation is ruthless, people still have feelings. When Guei Ye was young, he fell in love with someone, or more precisely, a female assassin from the Heaven. The Heaven was an extremely powerful organization in the Upper Realm, specializing in assassinations. It had an unparalleled reputation in the Three Thousand Provinces and was a headache for all the major inherited forces. Because he fell in love with the female assassin, he became a renegade of the Heaven Mending Sect.
The Heaven Mending Sect never offered him any assistance again, which is one of the reasons why they did not help when the Heaven Mending Pavilion was attacked.
After Guei Ye arrived in the Lower Realm, he felt extremely guilty about his past actions. So he founded the Heaven Mending Pavilion to prove his sins and to tell the Heaven Mending Sect that he was still grateful to the sect and hoped to return to the Heaven Mending Sect.
However, the assassins from Heaven did not let him go. The female assassin, along with other assassins, joined forces to kill Guei Ye. His skull was pierced by an assassin's sword, but Guei Ye's obsession remained. He transformed into a sword above his head to suppress his remnant soul, hoping to one day meet the true successor of Heaven and take revenge.
It's lamentable that such a hero was tormented by love, ending his life in tragedy! He died without ever receiving forgiveness from the Heaven Mending Sect or finding the true successor of the Heaven to avenge himself!
Ye Feng recalled everything about Guei Ye, and he felt that Guei Ye's experiences were very tragic. Now that he had encountered him, he decided to change Guei Ye's tragic life.
"Give me back my sword!"
Guei Ye continued to pester Ye Feng, repeating his words.
"Well!"
Shi Hao, Stone Skin Monkey, and Shi Er Meng felt a chill run down their spines in the dead of night.
What sword?
There is indeed one here, but it's stuck inside the old man's own head. How can it be removed?
"Shi Hao, Pi Hou, Er Meng, you go inside and check on the spirit offering. He means me no harm," Ye Feng said.
"Good."
Shi Hao, Stone Skin Monkey, and Shi Er Meng had long since developed a command-like obedience to Ye Feng. Whatever Ye Feng said, they believed it to be true. Now, even Shi Hao no longer questioned Ye Feng's words.
"Give me back my sword!"
"Give me back my sword!"
"Give me back my sword!"
Ye Feng ignored Guei Ye's words. Gazing at Shi Hao's retreating figure, he had some thoughts in his mind.
In the original storyline, the person chosen by the strange entity was Shi Hao. Now, the Guei Ye has chosen Ye Feng, Ye Feng feels that the strange entity has timely realized that he is more powerful than Shi Hao.
Ye Feng ignored the gray-robed Guei Ye floating beside him and walked into the ancient garden in front of him.
This is a garden within a garden, with ancient walls, weathered by time, leaving behind too many traces.
The gate to the glutinous rice ball was rotten, and the walls were covered with ordinary plants, containing neither magical Spiritual Medicine nor rare trees. They were all the most common grasses and trees.
Stepping into the backyard, a strange fluctuation could be faintly sensed. There stood a plant there, the sacrificial spirit of the Heaven Mending Pavilion.
It was a gourd vine, climbing on a pile of stones. It had no luster or radiance, only a withered yellow color. It was only five or six meters long, with sparse leaves, as if autumn had arrived and it had lost its vitality.
Hidden beneath the yellow leaves was a green gourd.
"Divine Vine!"
Ye Feng gazed at the severely injured Divine Vine from afar.
The Divine Vine of the Heaven Mending Pavilion is roughly at the peak of the Venerable realm, slightly above. It ignited its divine fire back in ancient times and successfully achieved godhood.
The spiritual energy in the Lower Realm is thin and the laws are incomplete. Even the emperor of a country is only at the Venerable Realm. Although the Old Vine is old, it has nurtured a divine seed. When it grows up, it is very likely to become a powerful expert in the Godly Fire Realm.
However, beings Ignite Divine Fire are also called "false gods" because, as time passes, their bodies will eventually age, and if they do not break through to the True One Realm, the divine fire they once ignited will one day extinguish. The Divine Vine's divine fire is about to go out, and its strength is even inferior to that of beings in the early stages of the Godly Fire Realm.
Despite being severely injured, the Divine Vine still allowed Shi Hao, Pi Hou, and Er Meng to absorb runes under Divine Vine. Moreover, the Divine Vine extended its tendrils, forming a futon-like shape, and stopped in front of Ye Feng.