Volume 3 - Chapter 367: The Supreme Accepts a Disciple - Part 2
Li Hao raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the gathered masses. Though he didn’t know the full truth of that year, nor whether his Master had truly fled the battlefield, he searched his heart—and in it, he believed the man had not done such a thing. After all, even in his moment of ruin, it was that Master’s legacy that had indirectly saved his life.
“To be honest, laugh if you must—my only reason for coming to the True World… is because I was too poor!”
His voice rang out through the skies. As he lifted a hand, three slips appeared between his fingers—debt slips. He held them aloft for all to see.
“This is the legacy I received. What my Master left me wasn't Immortal Stones, but these—three debt slips. Not a single Immortal Stone among them!”
“In the False Realm of Calamity where I lived, there are no tales of immortals or gods, no legacies of True Immortals. The immortals are extinct—fallen in that ancient war. Not even the weakest True Immortal left a trace behind!”
“I only have a hundred years of soul-lifespan. That battle happened a hundred thousand years ago—so long ago that I’m in no position to speak of it. But for what it’s worth, I believe my Master did not flee. There must be a misunderstanding!”
His voice thundered, unwavering and full of conviction. It echoed across the Southern Domain.
Those present were no ordinary cultivators; even those thousands of li away could see a mosquito as if it were a chariot. Everyone saw clearly the markings and text on those slips.
Many of the elder cultivators present were stirred by distant memories upon seeing those unfamiliar yet familiar seals. The three great merchant guilds that once spanned the Southern Domain were renowned throughout every Immortal Dynasty and had employed countless experts as guards. Yet over time, they had faded from the river of history.
No one had expected to see the seals of those three great guilds again.
“Is this for real? Not a single Immortal Stone, just debt slips?”
“The legacy of a dignified Immortal Emperor… reduced to this?”
“No way those slips are real. What Immortal Emperor would leave behind debt slips? Who would dare owe an Immortal Emperor anything?”
“But those seals—there’s no mistaking them. They're genuine. The three great guilds had seals formed by the Grand Dao itself. Forgeries would be impossible. Otherwise, how could they have spanned the Southern Domain in the first place?”
“Exactly. Only an Immortal Emperor could fake them—but what Immortal Emperor would stoop so low?”
Discussion erupted. Many were shaken. Who would have thought the disciple of an Immortal Emperor would be so destitute?
In their eyes, a disciple of such status should be haloed with glory, their cultivation resources piled like mountains—innumerable. How could he not even have a single Immortal Stone?
“How could this be…”
Even Mingyue, who had worn a scowl earlier, looked stunned at the sight of the debt slips in Li Hao’s hands.
Jianxin furrowed his brow, eyes fixed on the young man’s face, trying to gauge if he was lying.
Far away in the Yan Chu territory, within the Nine Thousand Immortal Cities, those once furious figures—blood still wet on their faces—now stared at the raised slips in Li Hao’s hand as if struck by lightning. They froze in place.
Some had eyes turning red, tears welling up. Others clutched at their chests, as if scorched from within—the pain tearing them apart.
They couldn’t imagine what price that great figure had paid for his legacy to be left in such a miserable state.
In the starry skies, Wàng Shanhé was still on his journey. His aged face now held an expression of sorrow. Only he knew what kind of battle his lord had fought in that war… and what he had given.
At the city of the Soul-Reflecting Pagoda—
Han Lao sat fishing on a mountainside above a sea of clouds, quietly watching the scene reflected in the sky.
His face showed no surprise—only calm, as if he had long expected this.
“You silly child…”
He muttered softly under his breath. “The True World is dangerous. You won’t even know when you’ve been sold out. I suppose this is your destined tribulation.”
Amidst the whispers, the voice of the Celestial Palace’s Supreme One rang out. He began to speak slowly:
“No one wants to believe what happened back then, but it is a fact.”
“There were many witnesses, and investigations have lasted for over ten thousand years. I too have investigated for ten thousand years, hoping there was more to the story. But unfortunately…”
He shook his head and sighed. “When faced with the joint assault of two Ancient Fiend Emperors, he chose to protect himself. It's not entirely blameworthy. Cultivation is no easy path. As for the debt slips and Immortal Stones—well, that's another matter entirely. The two are not directly connected. Perhaps he was too gravely injured and used all his resources for healing.”
His words were soft, yet each syllable landed like a bell’s chime in the hearts of the listeners.
Hearing him, the crowd slowly returned to their senses.
Many elders of great clans—some born in the aftermath of that chaotic age—had heard of the legendary trial that followed.
That trial had implicated many powerful clans. Among them, the Calamity Clan had once served under the Emperor Tianyang. Their ancestor, the Calamity Ancestor Witch, had fallen even earlier—in the Domain-Shattering War, a battle so ancient that few of the oldest cultivators even recalled its name. She had entrusted her clan’s prodigies and bloodline to the care of the Emperor Tianyang.
But after the war with the Ancient Fiends, the Emperor fell, vanishing from the world. The Calamity Clan declined with him.
There were many such intertwined clans, now long forgotten.
The once-glorious Fusu Immortal Dynasty and the Tianyang Imperial City—now nothing more than history.
“Indeed, three debt slips alone prove nothing.”
“Injured in war, fleeing the battlefield—I heard my great-grandfather saw him abandon the field with his own eyes.”
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