Historical Grudges

Yuanshi Tianzun's form merged into the void, not by forcefully breaking through space with magical power, but through a near-perfect alignment with the "Dao," temporarily achieving a subtle harmony with the fundamental rules of this world—such as light refraction, spatial curvature, and even the paths of information transmission. In this state, he wasn't "moving," but was briefly "contained" and "transmitted" by the world's "order" itself. This was one of the few extraordinary methods he could employ in this desolate land, combining his profound understanding of "rules." It consumed not Celestial Essence, but his own spiritual will and Dao rhythm.

In almost the blink of an eye, the scene of the shabby corridor in that cheap inn appeared before Yuanshi's "eyes." He hadn't fully manifested his form, but was in a state of observation, half-real and half-ethereal, like a ghost attached to the rules, silent and unseen.

However, the scene before him caused a ripple in his usually tranquil Dao heart.

The door to the guest room he had locked onto with his divine sense was already open, its wooden panel covered in crisscrossing cracks, as if crushed by an invisible, immense force. The room inside was even more of a mess. Tables and chairs had all turned to dust, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the walls, and the air was filled with a pungent, strange odor, a mixture of sulfur, decay, and a certain fishy-sweet scent.

And at the center of this disarray, two figures were confronting each other.

One was the amnesiac old man Lin Fan had seen that day, wearing the cotton-padded jacket Lin Fan had given him, his face gaunt and weathered. But now, the confusion and dullness on his face were gone. Though still dressed simply, his back was straight, and in his once-empty eyes, a look of almost tragic determination burned. His emaciated hands were clasped in front of him, and between his palms floated the three tattered magic artifacts from Lin Fan—the cracked wooden token, the chipped pottery bowl, and the rusted metal shard.

At this moment, these three originally lifeless remnants were emitting completely different lights!

The cracked wooden token emanated a faint silver glow, with countless fine spatial Dao patterns flickering in and out within the cracks, like breathing. It constructed a seemingly fragile barrier before the old man, which actually distorted the surrounding light and space. It was this barrier that had resisted the vast majority of the invading corrosive power.

The chipped pottery bowl rippled with a clear, jade-green halo, like a spring pond. A Dao rhythm of "purification" and "concentration" permeated the air, continuously cleansing and dispelling the foul, fishy-sweet scent, protecting the old man's mind from disturbance.

And the half-rusted metal shard was the most astonishing! It radiated a dark crimson blood-light, and a terrifying aura of slaughter, ferocity, and dominance surged skyward! Though it lacked a physical blade, the intangible killing intent condensed into an almost tangible sharpness, like a blood-red ferocious dragon poised to strike, encircling the old man and tearing apart or repelling any malice that dared to approach!

Under the activation of some unknown secret technique by the old man, these three remnants had temporarily revived some of their power, their energies connected, forming a crude but incredibly resilient triangular defensive formation!

Confronting the old man was not a physical human form.

It was a dense, inky black fog that writhed and churned like a living creature! The edges of the black fog constantly distorted, sometimes transforming into ferocious ghost faces, sometimes extending tentacles covered in suckers, and sometimes splitting open into gaping mouths filled with sharp teeth. A cold, foul aura, filled with the desire to devour and destroy, emanated from this black fog. It continuously impacted the triangular formation formed by the three remnants. The silver light, jade-green light, and blood-red killing intent clashed with the black fog, emitting a bone-chilling "hissing" sound. The scattered energy corroded and disintegrated the remaining intact objects in the room one by one.

"Heh heh heh... old man, you still have some tricks up your sleeve!" a sharp, piercing voice, neither male nor female, echoed from within the black fog, filled with greed and mockery. "Too bad, how long can you last when your oil is spent and your lamp is dry? Hand over the 'key' obediently, and perhaps I'll grant you a quick end, allowing your true spirit to return to nothingness and spare you the torment of soul refinement!"

The amnesiac old man's face was pale, and a trace of dark golden blood even trickled from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that activating these three remnants placed a great burden on him. But his eyes remained firm, his voice hoarse yet filled with undeniable resolve: "Heretical demon! How dare you covet our clan's sacred artifact? Even if I burn my last drop of blood and my soul scatters, I will never allow you to defile it!"

"Sacred artifact? Hahahaha!" The black fog let out a wild laugh. "Just broken trash from the last epoch! Your 'gravekeeper' lineage, clinging to existence until now, still dreaming of recreating the Primordial Era? Ridiculous! This realm will eventually become the hunting ground for my master's arrival! The 'key' belongs to me!"

Before the words could even fall, the black fog suddenly expanded. A giant claw, condensed entirely from shadow and negative energy, emerged from within. Its five fingers spread wide, black lightning that corroded space crackling around its fingertips, and it fiercely grasped towards the core of the triangular formation, its target the cracked wooden token emitting spatial fluctuations, suspended in the center!

The old man roared, spitting out a mouthful of vital blood, which splashed onto the three remnants. Instantly, the silver light, jade-green light, and blood-red killing intent flared simultaneously! The spatial Dao patterns on the wooden token flashed wildly, attempting to distort the incoming claw; the pottery bowl's jade-green light surged like a tide, washing over the black lightning on the claw; the metal shard's blood-red killing intent soared, transforming into the phantom of a giant blood-red axe, which swung to meet the claw!

BOOM--!!!

A violent energy collision erupted in the confined space! The entire floor of the inn shook violently, the cracks on the walls instantly widened, spreading like a spiderweb! Blinding light and profound darkness intertwined, consuming everything!

If Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't already secretly reinforced the spatial structure of this area with his own Dao rhythm, the mere aftermath of this collision would have been enough to flatten this small inn and even half the block!

As the light faded, the ghost claw condensed from the black fog was mostly severed by the phantom of the blood-red axe, but it soon wriggled and recovered, albeit with a slightly dimmer color. The old man staggered back, crashing against the broken wall, his face ashen, his aura extremely weak. The three remnants suspended before him had also dimmed considerably, especially the cracked wooden token, which seemed to have gained a few more cracks.

The outcome was clear! The old man was at the end of his rope!

"Dying struggle!" A disdainful cold snort came from the black fog. It gathered its strength again, and a more powerful attack was about to be launched.

At this critical juncture, Yuanshi Tianzun, who had been in a state of observation, finally made his move.

He did not directly manifest his form to intervene in the battle, but instead, his vast and boundless "order" Dao rhythm, like invisible ripples, spread towards the black fog!

There was no light, no sound.

But the moment the Dao rhythm of order touched the black fog, the constantly churning black fog suddenly froze! Like an insect trapped in invisible amber, its movements instantly became slow and stiff! Its originally chaotic, disordered aura, filled with the desire for destruction, was suppressed and repelled by some supreme rule! It was like sewage attempting to defile a clear spring, only to be instinctively resisted and purified by the "purity" rule inherent in the spring itself!

"Who?! What divine being dares to obstruct this One?!" A startled and enraged shriek came from the black fog. It struggled frantically, trying to break free from the shackles of the invisible order, but found its own power flow becoming sluggish and difficult, as if every movement required it to contend with the "reason" of the entire world!

Yuanshi Tianzun's figure then coalesced from ethereal to real at the doorway of the room, slowly solidifying. He was still wearing the same well-fitting shirt and trousers, his face ancient and calm, as if he had merely passed by. But the majestic Dao rhythm emanating from him, a sense of "heavenly principles are clear, and order is maintained," instantly drew the chaotic battlefield into an invisible, cold domain of rules.

"Filthy thing, you do not belong to the order of this realm, and shall be dispelled." Yuanshi Tianzun spoke, his voice not loud, but like heavenly decree, carrying the authority of spoken law. He did not attack directly; his mere existence, along with the pervasive Dao rhythm of order, formed an absolute restraint against the black fog!

The amnesiac old man's eyes flickered with vigilance when he saw Yuanshi suddenly appear. But when he felt that pure, vast, and completely opposite aura of order compared to the black fog, his vigilance turned into stunned disbelief. He could feel that this suddenly appearing being was unimaginably powerful, yet its origin was completely different from any Dao lineage he knew.

Under the suppression of the Dao rhythm of order, the black fog's volume continuously shrank, emitting painful shrieks. "The aura of order... nauseating! Are you a running dog of this realm's Heavenly Dao? No... your foundation... " It seemed to have sensed something, its voice tinged with disbelief and horror, "Primordial Era... Jade Clarity?! Impossible! You should have already..."

It couldn't finish its sentence.

Yuanshi Tianzun frowned slightly, seemingly unwilling to listen to any more. He raised his right hand and pointed a finger into the air.

He did not point at the black fog, but at the "rules" of this space itself.

Instantly, centered on his fingertip, countless fine, complex, radiant runes embodying the true meaning of "sealing," "isolation," and "purification" emerged from nowhere. Like living chains, they instantly wove into a large net, completely enveloping and isolating the black fog along with the surrounding space!

"Seal!" Yuanshi uttered a single word.

The net of radiant runes suddenly contracted! The black fog let out a final, unwilling shriek. Like ice melting in fierce fire, it rapidly dissolved and evaporated, finally turning into a wisp of smoke, which, along with the net of runes, disappeared completely, as if it had never existed. Only the residual foul odor in the air proved that what had just happened.

Silence returned to the room, leaving only the old man's heavy gasps and the dimming light and humming of the three remnants suspended in mid-air.

Yuanshi Tianzun slowly lowered his finger, his complexion seeming a shade paler than before. That single point, though seemingly casual, was in fact him using his own origin Dao rhythm to forcibly mobilize and slightly alter the rules of space and energy in this area, constructing a temporary "order cage" and banishing the black fog into the chaotic flow of rules. This was a considerable expenditure for him in his current state.

He looked calmly at the amnesiac old man and the three remnants before him, whose light was slowly receding.

"Do you know the origin of that thing just now?" Yuanshi Tianzun asked, his tone devoid of any emotion.

Meanwhile, in a rented apartment several kilometers away from the inn.

Master Tongtian sat cross-legged on a yoga mat, his eyes closed, but his brow tightly furrowed. Although he had not personally witnessed the event, with his Saintly power, especially the intricate karmic connection with Yuanshi, combined with the aura emanating from the three remnants—which originated from the same source (both from the Primordial Era)—as a coordinate, it was enough for him to "see" most of what happened in the inn through ethereal induction.

He "saw" the amnesiac old man's determination in activating the three remnants to form the triangular defensive formation; he "saw" the demonic creature of black fog filled with foulness and destructive aura; he even "saw" the entire process of Yuanshi Tianzun suppressing the demonic creature with the Dao rhythm of order and sealing and banishing it with a single finger.

When he sensed Yuanshi's pure and vast, yet familiar and detestable "order" Dao rhythm, Tongtian let out an almost inaudible snort from his nostrils. But when the black fog demonic creature appeared, especially when its aura was fully revealed, the eyeballs under Tongtian's tightly closed eyelids subtly shifted, and a trace of extreme solemnity and... suppressed murderous intent arose in his heart.

"This nauseating aura... a lackey of 'Extraterrestrial Demons'? No, it's similar yet different, more foul, more filled with pure 'evil'... Could the shattering of the Primordial Era be related to such a monstrous entity?" Tongtian's mind raced, countless ancient memory fragments churning in his mind.

And when he "saw" Yuanshi make his move, easily restraining and banishing the demon with the power of order, a complex and indescribable emotion surged in his heart. There was both acknowledgment of Yuanshi's power (though he was reluctant to admit it) and a sense of resentment and sting from past events being stirred up.

"Order... Order! This damned order again!" Tong Tian roared in his heart. Yuanshi's posture of controlling rules and establishing norms was like a key, forcefully unlocking the bloody gate he had sealed deep in his memory, the one he least wanted to touch--

*******

(The following is a flashback of Master Tongtian, told from his perspective)

This was not the modern city before him, but a brutal battlefield shrouded in a killing tribulation in the Primordial Era, billions of epochs ago.

Heaven and earth lost their color, the sun and moon went dark. The Primordial land, originally filled with immortal energy and auspicious signs, was now covered by endless malevolent energy and tribulation clouds. Shouts of battle, the clash of magic artifacts, the wails of the dying, the roar of thunder... intertwined into a funeral song of destruction.

The location was beneath Jiepai Pass, before the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation!

Master Tongtian stood within the formation's core, the four Immortal Slaughtering swords--Immortal Slaughtering Sword, Lüxian Sword, Xianxian Sword, and Juexian Sword--hovering around him, emitting supreme killing sword energy that withered all things and made Sages wary! Four colossal sword gates stood tall, within which chaotic energy surged, and the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind raged, tearing apart the entire firmament! This formation could only be broken by four Sages; it was Tong Tian's ultimate trump card, the last dignity and barrier of the Intercepting Sect!

Outside the formation, a dense mass of enemies stretched as far as the eye could see! The Heavenly Origin Sect's Jade Void disciples, the Western Sect's Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, and even the Human Sect's Xuandu... former guests of Zixiao Palace, now mostly enemy leaders!

What made Tong Tian's eyes split with rage the most was Yuanshi Tianzun, who stood high in the sky outside the formation, holding the Pangu Banner, his face majestic and ancient. He was currently joining forces with Taishang Laojun, Jie Yin, and Zhun Ti, relentlessly bombarding the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation!

His second brother! A fellow direct descendant of Pangu, a fellow Xuanmen senior brother under Hongjun!

"Yuanshi!!!" Tong Tian's roar echoed through the sword formation, shaking the Nine Heavens. "You all bully me too much! For your own selfish desires, you collude with outsiders and slaughter my Intercepting Sect disciples! Today, I will let you all witness what it means to intercept the Heavenly Dao!"

Facing Tong Tian's roar, Yuanshi Tianzun's expression was calm, only a complex and unreadable flicker passing through the depths of his eyes, quickly replaced by determination. He brandished the Pangu Banner, its chaotic sword energy tearing through the void, colliding fiercely with the Immortal Slaughtering sword energy. His voice boomed through the din, "Tong Tian! Stop being so stubborn! The Investiture of the Gods is a fixed number of the Heavenly Dao. Your Intercepting Sect disciples lack virtue and are destined to be listed, filling the divine positions in the Heavenly Court. This is an act of obeying heaven and pleasing men! Quickly withdraw your wicked formation, and you can still preserve a shred of dignity!"

"Obeying heaven and pleasing men? Hahaha!" Tong Tian laughed wildly, his laughter filled with grief and desolation. "Well said, 'obeying heaven and pleasing men'! Your Heavenly Origin Sect disciples have shallow roots. When the killing tribulation arrives, you wish to use the Blood Essence of my Intercepting Sect's myriad immortals to fill your pits and complete your Dao! Is this your obeying heaven? Is this your pleasing men?!"

His gaze swept over the familiar and unfamiliar faces outside the formation. He saw Guang Chengzi raise the Fantian Seal, smashing a disciple of the Intercepting Sect until his brains splattered; he saw Chi Jingzi holding the Yin-Yang Mirror, immobilizing a fellow disciple and letting others slaughter him; he saw Cihang Daoist, Manjusri, the Heavenly Lord of Broad Law, and Samantabhadra, the Perfected One... those who would later defect to the West, now mercilessly attacking the disciples of the Intercepting Sect!

Furthermore, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti of the West, with pained expressions, chanted "You have a connection with my West," yet their hands showed no mercy. The Cosmos Sack and the Seven Treasure Mystical Tree were wielded repeatedly, and countless disciples of the Intercepting Sect were forcibly converted or killed on the spot!

Myriad Immortals Paying Homage? Now it had become Myriad Immortals Suffering Tribulation!

Seven Immortal Attendants? Dead or captured!

Wuyun Xian was lured away by Zhun Ti with the Six Roots of Purity Bamboo...

Golden Hoop Immortal Ma Sui's whereabouts unknown...

Qiu Shou Xian, Ling Ya Xian, and Jin Guang Xian were taken as mounts by Manjusri, Samantabhadra, and Cihang, enduring endless humiliation!

Zhao Gongming died tragically! The Three Xiao Goddesses, seeking revenge for their brother, set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, stripping the top three flowers and five vital energies of the twelve Golden Immortals of the Heavenly Origin Sect. In the end, they were personally dealt with by Laozi and Yuanshi. Yun Xiao was suppressed beneath Qilin Cliff, while Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao's souls flew to the Fengshen Altar!

The Ten Heavenly Sovereigns, the Four Sages of Nine Dragon Island, the immortals of Golden Turtle Island... one by one, familiar faces fell before his eyes, their true spirits forced to fly towards the Investiture of the Gods!

Blood! Blood everywhere! It stained the earth, stained the sky, and stained Tong Tian's eyes!

"You... all deserve to die!!!" Master Tongtian went completely mad and fully activated the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation! The four sword gates blazed with light, and infinite sword energy poured down like a torrential rain, sweeping towards the four Sages outside the formation! He wanted to slay all these hypocritical scoundrels beneath his sword!

However, although the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation was sharp, it was ultimately no match for the combined forces of the four Sages. Laozi, with the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda above his head, was impervious to all methods, his simple staff repeatedly striking the formation gates; Jie Yin stood on the Twelve-Petal Golden Lotus of Merit, his defense unparalleled; Zhun Ti's Seven Treasure Mystical Tree could brush away anything; Yuanshi Tianzun's Pangu Banner was a supreme treasure that split the heavens, possessing infinite power!

The four Sages each used their methods, continuously wearing down the formation's power. Finally, finding a flaw, Guang Chengzi, Chi Jingzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, and Daoxing Tianzun, holding talismans bestowed by Laozi and Yuanshi, ventured into the formation and separately removed the four Immortal Slaughtering swords!

The formation was broken!

Master Tongtian suffered a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of blood and staggering. He looked at the four swords that had been removed, at the four Sages eyeing him menacingly outside the formation, at the Intercepting Sect disciples below still fighting valiantly but falling one after another. An unprecedented despair and hatred burned through his internal organs like poisonous fire!

"Yuanshi! Laozi! Jie Yin! Zhun Ti! I, Tong Tian, will remember this hatred today! I will repay you handsomely in the future!!!" Tong Tian uttered the most venomous curse, knowing that the situation was hopeless. Filled with resentment, he led the remaining disciples, intending to break through.

However, the defeat was sealed. In the end, the Intercepting Sect's lineage was almost uprooted. Myriad immortals perished, were enslaved, or filled the sea's eye. The vast Intercepting Sect vanished into smoke. And he, Master Tongtian, was given a red pill by Dao Ancestor Hongjun and taken back to Zixiao Palace for confinement...

That period of time was an eternal pain in Tong Tian's heart, an unhealed scar! It was a tragedy of brothers fighting and fellow disciples slaughtering each other! It was the ruthless crushing of "order" and "roots" against "teaching without discrimination" and "intercepting a sliver of hope"!

And the instigator of all this, in his eyes, was his second senior brother--Yuanshi Tianzun--who upheld the so-called "order" and believed that the Intercepting Sect's "beasts with fur and horns, born of wetness and eggs" were beyond saving!

*******

(End of flashback)

In the rental apartment, Tong Tian suddenly opened his eyes, blood and sword shadows intertwined within them. A trace of his suppressed sword intent escaped uncontrollably, cutting fine marks on the floor. His chest heaved slightly, his breath carrying a scorching heat.

That sealed memory, because of Yuanshi's posture today, because of that similar "order" suppression (though the target was different), had been violently stirred up, vivid as if it were yesterday!

Nüwa sensed Tong Tian's violently fluctuating aura and looked at him with concern, "Tongtian Shixiong..."

Lin Fan was so frightened by the sudden burst of sword intent, filled with destruction and hatred, that his face turned pale. He retreated repeatedly until his back hit the wall, then stopped. He had never seen Tong Tian so out of control; it wasn't just anger, but more like a sorrow and unwillingness accumulated over billions of years, originating from the depths of his soul!

Tong Tian ignored Nüwa and Lin Fan. His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, staring fixedly at the direction of the small inn. Gritting his teeth, he uttered a bone-chilling whisper from his throat:

"Yuanshi... Even if heaven and earth have changed, even if we are both in dire straits here... some debts must be settled!"

The grievances of history had not dissipated with the shattering of the Primordial world. Instead, in this foreign land, due to the sudden turn of events, they were reignited, burning fiercely in Tong Tian's heart like embers.

At this moment, inside the small inn, Yuanshi Tianzun seemed to sense something. He glanced indifferently in the direction of the rental apartment, then withdrew his gaze, turning his attention back to the still-shaken old man who was tightly protecting the three broken artifacts.

The wheel of history seemed to echo heavily at this moment. The karma of the past and the crisis of the present intertwined into a vast net, enveloping everyone.