Chapter 2870: Chapter 1520: Life's sword follows in death to the tomb, the capricious game lies within the Wen Ting residence.
Chapter 2870: Chapter 1520: Life’s sword follows in death to the tomb, the capricious game lies within the Wen Ting residence.
The wind ceased, and the snow stopped.
The ownerless Mei Ziyu ended its Heavenly Unravel and, twirling down from midair, planted itself into the nearby earth.
“Whimper…”
The sword trembled and emitted a low whine, as if it were crying.
Feng Zhongzui watched as Elder Gu’s body visibly aged at an exaggerated pace and silently shifted the Dao Imparting Mirror to focus elsewhere.
Mei Siren still held Gu Yu, yet felt the weight in his arms growing lighter by the moment.
Soon even his chin began to quiver lightly, and after a long period of hesitation and struggle, he looked up towards Xu Xiaoshou:
“Life Upanishad, can it save him?”
Through Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes, the life diagram of Elder Gu withered and dissolved, fading away with the faintness of his spirit’s aura.
This was an irreversible process.
The Life Upanishad might let one comprehend life, yet it is not about forcibly changing life.
If life is finite, then death is the consequence of life, on this one-way road from which there is no return.
If life is infinite, then death is a process of transformation—Elder Gu’s life diagram did not utterly vanish, it relatively became a part of the earth’s energy, entering a natural cycle.
The world is heartless.
So is life.
Xu Xiaoshou silently shook his head and, upon noticing Master Siren quietly looking down, he stopped himself from speaking.
If he wanted to, he actually could forcibly change life.
But not the outcome, but the process in relative stillness.
Xu Xiaoshou could not wake Elder Gu up, or bring him back to life; he did not have such extensive divine abilities.
He only had a fleet of passive skills that, if he really tried, should be able to impart vigorous life force to Elder Gu, allowing him to “receive” while “fading away,” maintaining a balance.
But it was just maintaining the equilibrium of the living dead.
Elder Gu wouldn’t be able to speak, move, or think, and he would remain forever frozen at this moment.
Someone would need to be by his side, constantly maintaining the input of life force, and if interrupted, Elder Gu would continue towards that ultimate result.
This is not life!
It is a punishment for two people, a fate worse than death!
Therefore, until the very end, Xu Xiaoshou never spoke up because it didn’t even constitute a “choice.”
The crowd quietly watched the scene, and even the demi-saints of the Holy Divine Palace were silent.
Gu Yu passed on.
He left without a whisper.
If a demi-saint falls, there is mourning from heaven and earth.
It’s just that for mortals approaching sainthood, even if merely half a step away, there lies a great distance in between.
Whether Elder Gu, under the Mystical Gate, truly found the path, it was now unknowable.
All that the world knew was that the Seven Sword Deities’ initial ranking had been set nearly half a month when the “Number One Sword Deity” perished!
This was not the end.
It was a turning point amidst the shifting clouds and changing winds.
The legend left behind by “One who opened the Mystical Gate with a single sword” would surely cause a great uproar within the ancient swordsman community, inviting the pursuit of countless followers.
But that would be a story for later…
“I’ll step away for a moment.”
Mei Siren, holding Gu Yu, whispered to Xu Xiaoshou while rising to his feet, and then he walked towards the distant crowd.
“Hmm.”
Xu Xiaoshou watched Master Siren leave, unable to fully empathize with his sorrow.
He had only just met Elder Gu for half a day.
He indeed had gained something from Elder Gu and upon reflection, what the Mystical Gate truly was seemed to once again fade away without a trace.
Not considering what he gained, but only the lessons learned, Xu Xiaoshou could only remember…
What he believed Li Fuyu and all ancient swordsmen would also remember, probably what Elder Gu wanted to tell the world:
To walk the path of the Sword God, all Nine Major Sword Techniques are indispensable!
That is the threshold.
The threshold to barely start upon Ascension to Godhood.
So then…
“What then, is the Path?”
Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the sky, lost in thought.
He held three diagrams of the Great Path, yet he, too, found himself engulfed in confusion.
The sky after the rain looked washed, crystal clear as a mirror, and the snow began to fall again, gently as it always had.
“Hum!”
Mei Ziyu vibrated.
Mei Siren, holding Gu Yu, halted his steps and looked towards the sword he had personally named before.
He had forgotten to take it with him along with little Yu.
“Sorry…”
Mei Siren changed direction, walked over, and intended to pick up Mei Ziyu.
“Who?!”
Xu Xiaoshou abruptly turned his head, his scalp tingling.
Because in that moment, his “Perception” detected another person suddenly appearing next to Mei Ziyu.
It was as if he had stood there for a long time…
But before Mei Siren turned to look, Xu Xiaoshou hadn’t noticed him at all; he seemed nonexistent!
Above them, Fang Wenxin, Zhong Yuanzi, and others looked down, shocked.
The ancient swordsmen, who had descended early to pay their respects in silence, were also startled.
In the gaze of everyone, the figure that appeared next to Mei Ziyu was cloaked in white.
He was very tall.
Xu Xiaoshou was already tall, standing head and shoulders above most others, and this figure in white was roughly the same height.
His white robe was casual and homely, adorned only with simple white crane patterns that he wore with a carefree ease.
His black hair flowed down from either side of his temples, lifting in the wind and snow, revealing a face as smooth and warm as white jade.
It’s worth mentioning…
His left eye was made up as if for a play, even the eyelid was powdered, but only that eye was done up.
Elsewhere, he was barefoot, as if he had hurried over from somewhere.
“Long time no see, Master Siren.”
The middle-aged man’s gentle, upward smile was refined and agreeable, bursting with charm.
In his left hand, he held a scroll of the Sword Sutra yet to be finished, its opening sentence reading “From nothing comes something, from something comes nothing, the Path is neither, through dreams that span a thousand autumns.”