ASER - Chapter 212
Chapter 212: Surrender?
The aura of the ruins was released, and even the cultivators on the periphery of the third region sensed this energy level that surpassed their understanding.
"Could this really be the burial ground of the Celestial Clan?"
"But there's no record of it in history."
"Child, even the Celestial Clan isn't recorded in history. The true history is probably only known by those from the Nine Cauldrons."
At this moment, A'Diao quickly observed the expressions of the old men from these factions. Oh-ho!
The expressions of the group of old fogeys from the Three Imperial Clans were quite subtle, their eyes darting around evasively. In contrast, those from the Three Sects and the Heterodox Imperial Clans looked slightly suspicious.
Toilet: "I think the imperial families of the Three Kingdoms definitely know, they're just playing dumb. But the Three Sects don't seem too sure? Could it be that only the imperial families of the Three Kingdoms participated in the battle on this island?"
A'Diao: "Who knows? They look like thieves."
Based on her years of experience as a thief, she could tell with a quick calculation where the guilt of these old fogeys from the Three Imperial Clans lay—either they had slaughtered this group of Celestial Clan members back then to monopolize the benefits, or this massacre would easily expose some secret, a secret that was not meant for the Three Sects to know.
In fact, based on A'Diao's experiences, she seemed to have been forced or had actively approached the truth of those years, but she rarely took the initiative to explore the secrets of the past.
Firstly, although she was gossipy, she wasn't curious, especially when it came to danger, which she had an almost instinctive aversion to.
Secondly, she was keen on making money. The rights and wrongs of the first generation concerned grudges, not benefits. The benefits had long been divided up, so there was nothing to gain, and thus she wasn't interested.
Thirdly... mainly because she couldn't afford to provoke them.
The moment she sensed the existence of the Celestial Clan ruins, A'Diao's first reaction was that it absolutely must not be exposed.
Don't think that the Nine Cauldrons had let her off for now due to the situation, allowing her to show off a bit. But once the absolute opposition between the Celestial Clan and the Human Clan emerged, everything she currently possessed would turn to nothing. Unless the Celestial Clan still had a sufficiently powerful force, she wouldn't be afraid to defect. Anyway, whoever couldn't tolerate her, she would oppose them; she would never let herself suffer a loss.
Otherwise, she couldn't expose it even if it meant death.
A'Diao was vigilant internally, but on the surface, she deliberately showed a curious and excited demeanor, while quickly finishing the pancake and milk tea in her hands.
Just then, three figures suddenly descended.
A'Diao immediately spotted a tall and burly man in bronze armor, imposing and majestic, exuding an aura of dominance. He clearly possessed the air of a powerful expert.
Then, her second glance fell upon that short... old fogey?
Oh, skip this one, skip, skip.
A'Diao instantly skipped over Old Man Yu and looked at the last person who appeared.
She somewhat resembled Baiyue Lingxi, but was taller with long legs. Her red robe, originally staid, was made to look domineering and coldly cunning by her. Her face was much colder and more beautiful, her temperament utterly frigid, sharp as a knife.
This woman was both venomous and ruthless. Her eyes and brows seemed laced with poison, her aggressiveness formidable. A single glance from her could make people tremble.
For example, some peerlessly handsome men could make you pregnant with a single glance.
For example, some peerlessly beautiful women could poison you with a single glance—real poison, not the metaphorical kind.
Anyway, when A'Diao was glanced at by her, at that moment...
"Ahhh! So many bugs! Old Man Yu, this big sister is bullying me!"
When A'Diao saw bugs crawling on her, she immediately jumped up without any regard for her image, whimpering as she scurried behind Qing Zan, hugging her arm to hide, but she was calling out for Old Man Yu.
Cowardly and shameless.
How could Old Man Yu tolerate this, bullying his disciple right in front of him? With a flick of his hand, all those bugs were crushed by his domain. He glared at the stunningly beautiful and graceful woman, "Big Sister Mochou, isn't this going too far? Why pick on a child? My kid is polite enough; even though you're an old woman, she still calls you 'sister'."
If you know how to talk, then talk more. It's not like you're the one who's going to suffer anyway.
The Wu Mountain Head, Baiyue Mochou, narrowed her eyes, raised her hand, and her slender fingers made a pointing gesture at A'Diao.
When A'Diao saw a swarm of poisonous bees buzzing towards her, she cursed Old Man Yu in her heart for fanning the flames with ill intent, while simultaneously softening her tone and hiding behind Qing Zan to beg for mercy, "Sister, don't listen to this old salted fish's nonsense. Do beautiful sisters in this world even have an age? I call you sister because you look just like Xixi's older sister! We're family."
Baiyue Mochou frowned, looking at A'Diao as if she were looking at an old rogue.
Baiyue Lingxi had initially felt much better seeing her being dealt with, but upon hearing this scoundrel start her antics again, she immediately pressed her temples.
This scumbag Chen A'Diao had cured her chronic low blood pressure.
"Mother, let's focus on important matters."
When Baiyue Lingxi said this, A'Diao was stunned for a moment, and the atmosphere became inexplicably strange.
She privately messaged Old Man Yu.
"What's the situation? These two are mother and daughter? How old are they really? And you have the nerve to call her an old hag?"
Yu Xuanji: "It's all because of your foul mouth, making you call out randomly! Wu Mountain's Baiyue clan has a direct line of succession through generations, with outstanding talent, and they honor the matrilineal line. After the founder of Baiyue, a Baiyue Xiangsi was born, whose talent was comparable to the founder. Unfortunately, she was trapped by love, leading to a generational gap, and they suffered a great loss at the hands of Bronze Mountain. Later, the Baiyue clan promoted Baiyue Mochou to her position. After several hundred more years, Baiyue Mochou conceived Baiyue Lingxi... Only then did the Baiyue clan begin to flourish again. For a family like Wu Mountain, which has generations of spirit mediums who are either immune to all poisons or can control them, the bloodline inheritance is extremely strict. Only with the continuous emergence of powerful Saintesses can a strong Wu Dao be born and the potent poison-based resources be maintained, because their power is related to biological Gu poison, which is renewable and accumulates through generations."
Therefore, Baiyue Lingxi's high status was evident.
Her ancestor was the founder, her own mother was the current Mountain Head, and her (grand)aunt was the most powerful Saintess second only to the founder. They had an inherited legacy, unlike A'Diao, who was an outsider of a different ilk.
A'Diao was thoughtful. So, both Wu Mountain and Bronze Mountain had direct lines of succession, actually somewhat similar to the Imperial Clans. Lushan Academy, on the other hand, was more open.
But it couldn't be ruled out that the founder's bloodline was too powerful, making it impossible for externally selected candidates to compete.
Toilet: "Isn't it because Kunlun can't reproduce?"
A'Diao: "...That's true. Luckily, he can't reproduce, otherwise, there'd be nothing left for me."
The person and the toilet were quite unscrupulous, but these three Mountain Heads hadn't come just to watch the excitement.
It was seen that the Great Elders of the Three Imperial Clans had also arrived.
A'Diao estimated that these people were all at the mid-Spirit King level. Unprovokable, unprovokable. She resolutely hid behind Qing Zan.
After the surging Celestial Clan aura dissipated, everyone quickly saw behind the broken restriction... ruins.
The so-called Guixu had indeed become ruins, only with no date of return.
Broken walls and dilapidated ramparts, with bones exposed.
And the source of the Celestial Clan aura was ahead—an ethereal passage in front.
This passage was very strange, hollow at both ends, seemingly just a segment, yet it released an aura from both ends.
That aura seemed to be the scent of Celestial Clan remains and bones—powerful and clear, surprisingly carrying a hint of pine fragrance, not at all like the smell of ordinary decaying bodies.
Where did this segment of the passage lead? Why did it suddenly descend upon the mortal realm, and what exactly happened back then? And what was the deal with these bones on the ground?
"These are the bones of the Langya Clan."
"The Langya lineage is born with sword bodies. Look at these children, their spines are all sword-qi bodies."
A'Diao looked down and saw the cervical vertebrae of a small skeleton on the ground. She was momentarily stunned and subconsciously lifted her foot to avoid it, but then she noticed some people trying to collect these bones.
She narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
Smack!
The person attempting to collect the bones was sent flying by a flick of Old Man Yu's sleeve.
That person was a personal guard of the Lie Qin Crown Prince. After being sent flying, he vomited blood and was on the verge of death. The Crown Prince looked at Old Man Yu, about to speak, but Old Man Yu preempted him with a cold sneer, "Haven't you seen good things before? Such itchy hands! Don't you know that after the spiritual energy was cut off, this island fell silent? Now that it has suddenly reappeared, it's either part of someone's plan to lure us into a trap, or the island itself gained sentience after the spiritual energy revived and sealed this place. In a place like this, casually touching things is like carelessly triggering a mechanism—you wouldn't even know how you died!"
His words made sense. Even the Bronze Mountain Head and Baiyue Mochou didn't object, merely glancing towards the Three Imperial Clans.
The three Great Elders of the Imperial Clans also glanced at their own people, who then restrained themselves for the moment and avoided the bones.
But A'Diao also noticed the subtle way these people looked at those from Lushan.
The Langya lineage... If Langya Kunlun were here, he would definitely slaughter everyone present.
Old Man Yu's recent words were somewhat biased, but they also held some truth.
"Look, what's that?"
Just then, everyone suddenly saw a huge mountain wall appear behind the passage ahead.
This mountain rock was a single piece, a somewhat strange stone, with a texture of dark ink and cyan light, its density almost full, and its surface like a mirror...
A luster appeared on its surface, the luster transformed into qi, and a spirit body thus appeared ethereally. It drifted in mid-air, then floated and manifested.
An old man, simple and composed.
His gaze swept around, and he spoke in a deep, resonant voice, "The Human Clan has finally achieved its wish, flourishing endlessly. Now you've come to slaughter my Langya Clan again. Are you still coveting the heroic remains of the Celestial Clan, or do you wish to enter the Celestial Gate?"
"What you failed to achieve three hundred years ago, you now pursue relentlessly. It serves you right that your Human Clan successfully betrayed the Celestial Clan and became the hegemon."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of many people present changed, but this "change" was subtle.
Some were guilty and angry, some were bewildered and angry, and some were...
"Are you a remnant of the Langya Clan? Spouting nonsense here, you merely wish to clear the Langya Clan's tarnished name. The ironclad evidence back then allows no room for your desperate defense!"
The Great Elder of Tang Song struck out with a spiritual impact. The old man's spiritual energy form dispersed but quickly re-condensed, and the island merely trembled slightly.
As the ground shook, the old man smiled, "You can naturally destroy me; anyone can destroy me. But I control all the spiritual nature of this place. If I am destroyed, the island will sink back into the deep sea, and countless demonic spirits will gather beneath it. Try then, if you have the ability to touch it again."
"Just now, when I mentioned the Celestial Gate, I saw longing in your eyes."
"Admit it. Three hundred years ago, and three hundred years later, what you desire has never changed."
"Because humans... are ultimately just humans."
This proposition was very dangerous. Everyone present was human. If they fell into a state of self-doubt and self-negation as a race, then extinction would not be far off. The most terrifying thing was that the first person to raise doubts would be considered an anomaly.
So, at this moment, no one spoke.
This was also a facet of human nature.
A'Diao thought to herself: So Kunlun transcended human nature because he was pure, dared to question everything, and dared to abandon everything.
But here, no one possessed Kunlun's kind of spirit, including herself.
"You've reappeared in the mortal realm. What is your purpose?" Old Man Yu was very direct, steering the conversation straight to serious matters to avoid getting bogged down in the past.
The old man glanced at him. "Langya once spoke for the Celestial Clan and was the enlightener of human spiritual cultivation. Although you all ganged up to label us as traitors, as a spirit body born from the gathered spiritual essence of the Langya lineage's remains, I have my fated responsibility—inheritance is very important."
"Recently, I sensed that a Demon King in the Demon Cave has begun to awaken. It has locked onto this place. If the inheritance is not transferred soon, everything here will be devoured by the Demon Cave, leading to a catastrophe in the mortal realm."
"However, due to your atrocities of slaughtering Langya back then, I am unwilling to let you obtain it too easily—whether you are qualified to take it, depends on yourselves."
He raised his hand and pointed to the mountain wall behind him.
"Although you betrayed the Celestial Clan, you should know that the Divine Maiden back then used 'Kunze mountain stone to attack other techniques' to transmit the power of spiritual cultivation. The complete secret records she passed down were observed by the first batch of spiritual cultivators, including Changting, the founding emperors of the Three Kingdoms, and the founders of Bronze Mountain and Wu Mountain. They were all powerful experts who rose in that generation."
"What you don't know is that the place they observed back then was right here in Guixu. And at that time, the Divine Maiden had said that the one who made the most progress in comprehension would be the spokesperson, and whoever reached 50% comprehension, she would allow that person to enter the Celestial Gate."
"At that time, only Changting met both conditions: he was first, and he also reached 50%."
"It is also this mountain wall. The wall is like a mirror; it can reflect history and perceive the hearts of men. If you all do not wish for it, I will immediately take them and sink back into the deep sea. If you do wish for it—then exert your talents to the fullest, and let's see who has the ability to enter the Celestial Gate."
The old man smiled, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation.
On the Human Clan's side, everyone felt awkward for a moment.
Opposing the Celestial Clan on one hand, while coveting their things on the other?
This was a complete ideological takedown, more like a mockery.
But A'Diao knew... the people here would definitely yield.
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