Scorpion slowly revealed his true face. He was a gaunt old man, leaving everyone present stunned.
By rights, Scorpion should have been around the same age as the younger generation. He had no business looking so old.
Cao An of Purple Sun Academy saw him and seemed to realize something. "The master of the Divine Mechanism Sect is said to have been the same person for generations..."
"Scorpion is the designated successor of this generation!"
That also explained why Scorpion had little reputation in the Outer Dao, yet could fight Tian Jingxu and the others on equal footing.
The black-haired young man seemed unconcerned. "A parasitic method? Just like the Yellow Springs Clan's arts."
He gave a cold laugh. "A petty trick. Grafting yourself onto another's body... The path of cultivation—the Great Dao—tolerates not the slightest falsehood."
Tian Jingxu was surprised, but more than that, he was pleased.
If Scorpion truly was the master of the Divine Mechanism Sect, then he was a great cultivator who had survived the Second Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Though the rules of heaven and earth here prevented anyone's cultivation from exceeding the Great Dao Golden Core realm, he was still the master of a sect that commanded the Unorthodox Nine Schools.
Under ordinary circumstances, Tian Jingxu would have been cautious upon cautious. But against this Lord Purple Mountain of unknown origin, it gave them a better chance of winning.
Scorpion put his bamboo hat back on. The passage of years lent a new weariness to his impassive voice. "Human strength has its limits, but the Great Dao has no shore. If we cannot ascend through Heaven Gate, cannot rise to immortality, then let the three thousand lesser paths flourish too."
His words were an admission of his identity in all but name.
Lord Purple Mountain