Chapter 1169 - Shen Mu

The Sword of the Nine Hells awakened from its dormancy.

The eight divine chains wrapped around it clattered.

Strange ripples of the Grand Dao spread throughout Su Yi’s entire sea of consciousness, like misty sword light, ethereal and illusory.

Whoosh!

The avatar of will he condensed within his sea of consciousness shot forward and arrived at the Sword of the Nine Hells.

Although he still stood before the Sword of the Nine Hells, in truth, it felt endlessly, unattainably far away.

As if the mysterious Dao Sword weren’t in his sea of consciousness at all, but rather, somewhere far, far away.

Carefree laughter rang out. “Do you feel the sword obviously belongs to you, yet simultaneously seems distant and unreachable?”

One of the eight divine chains shook, producing a swath of mysterious Dao Light.

A moment later, the Temple Master’s figure appeared out of nowhere within the light.

He looked just as he had on the banks of the Reincarnation Pool: young, elegantly handsome, and detached, with a dark hat and long, undyed robes.

His eyes shone like the sun and moon, but his thin frame seemed capable of separating heaven and earth and suppressing the starry skies!

Yet when Su Yi truly faced him, the Temple Master seemed somehow transcendent, unbound by this world, free, unrestrained, and unfettered.

“Indeed I do,” said Su Yi with a subtle nod.

“It was the same for me. Back then, my cultivation reached the pinnacle of the Cosmic Enlightenment Realm, and I’d already gotten my foot over the threshold of an even higher path, but even then, the Sword of the Nine Hells was mine, yet somehow indistinct,” the Temple Master said wistfully.

He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Su Yi, gazing at the Sword of the Nine Hells, his expression a bit complicated.

“‘A foot over the threshold of an even higher path?’ What do you mean?” exclaimed Su Yi.

He’d guessed the Temple Master’s cultivation already. When he learned that the Temple Master had indeed been at the pinnacle of the Cosmic Enlightenment Realm, he wasn’t at all surprised.

What surprised him was that it seemed the Temple Master had discovered a path beyond even the Path of Heaven’s Ascension!

“It’s a long story, but it’s simple, too. Although I brushed upon the threshold of a higher path, I ultimately couldn’t truly step onto it,” the Temple Master said casually. “There were two reasons for this. First, the opportunity just wasn’t there, and second, there were flaws in my peak Profound Unity Realm foundations. My Dao was flawed.

“It was just a minor flaw from a long time ago. I would never have thought it would one day hold me back and prevent me from pursuing the Grand Dao any further.”

Here, the Temple Master couldn’t help but sigh. “That’s why I reincarnated to cultivate anew.”

Su Yi’s heart stirred.

This

was the consequence of discovering that a flaw in one’s Grand Dao had led to severe consequences for one’s future cultivation!

“When you inherit the power of my Dao Imprint, you’ll naturally understand all of this. After all, we’re the same person. I’m just one of your past lives,” said the Temple Master. “Let’s seize this opportunity, before this remnant of my awareness truly fades, to talk business.”

“Business?” Su Yi exclaimed.

“That’s right. It’s about the Sword of the Nine Hells.” The Temple Master gestured at the sword. “That divine chain seals the imprint of my Dao. The one next to it seals the Dao Imprint of our seventh life.

“Before I underwent reincarnation, I didn’t know anything about the imprints of our past lives sealed within the Sword of the Nine Hells.

“It wasn’t long ago, when you encountered the Sword of the Human Realm on the banks of the Reincarnation Pool, that you inadvertently awakened a hint of my awareness from within my divine chain. This let me use various methods to uncover some information about our seventh life.”

Su Yi’s heart shook. He forcefully suppressed his curiosity and listened patiently.

A strange light shone in the Temple Master’s eyes. “In our seventh lifetime, we were called Shen Mu. Shen Mu cultivated for just twenty-three years before a woman shattered his heart, destroying him. The power of his Dao Imprint is sealed in the seventh divine chain, and his reincarnation... Well, that was me.”

The Temple Master rubbed his nose, the corners of his lips twitching as if embarrassed.

Su Yi was stunned; he hadn’t expected this at all.

At just twenty-three years old, he died of a broken heart?

Wasn’t their seventh incarnation a bit too pathetic?

“He wasn’t simple,” said the Temple Master, as if reading Su Yi’s mind. “Even disregarding our connection to him, he was objectively and unquestionably the most shockingly talented person I’ve ever seen, a genius of the sword with unbelievable powers of comprehension. I’ve never seen his equal!”

Su Yi was stunned.

The Temple Master had explored the worlds of the starry skies for too many years to count. Out there, they saw him as a legendary, dazzling figure of the Dao of the Sword.

Yet here he was, saying he’d never seen anyone as talented at swordsmanship as Shen Mu!

Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

“Never mind other people. When it comes to sheer talent and powers of comprehension, you and I are both far inferior to him,” sighed the Temple Master. “He was a born sword cultivator, a chosen, beloved son of heaven, the type that might not appear even once in a million years. At just fifteen years of age, he contemplated for ten days and ten nights, smoothly proving his Dao and becoming an Emperor.

“At seventeen, he overcame a life-or-death struggle, broke through, and became a World King.

“And at just twenty-three, he established himself in the Cosmic Enlightenment Realm, standing at the pinnacle of the Path of Heaven’s Ascension!

“He wasn’t like you; he didn’t reincarnate with the memories of his past life. No, he relied on his innate talent and powers of comprehension to reach the pinnacle of the World King Realm in just twenty-three short years!”

Here, the Temple Master looked at Su Yi. “A monster, don’t you think?”

Su Yi gasped. “He really was unreasonably strong. I’ve never heard of anyone like him.”

A rare trace of envy appeared on the Temple Master’s face. He grumbled, “We’re obviously the same person, so why the huge disparity in talent and powers of comprehension? It’s infuriating!”

Su Yi took a moment to calm himself. “But how could a peerless genius like him let a woman destroy his Dao Heart?”

The Temple Master shook his head. “I’m not sure. That was the full extent of the secrets I sensed. All I know is that by the time Shen Mu comprehended a path beyond that of Heaven’s Ascension, his heart had already shattered, and he died suddenly shortly afterward.”

“Ah, women!” The Temple Master laughed dryly. “I don’t even need to think to know that there was an extraordinary relationship between them. It’s highly likely that they were lovers. Otherwise, even if he’d died, it wouldn’t have been of a broken heart. That woman definitely used his feelings to shatter him!”

“....” Su Yi said nothing; it didn’t feel right to comment on this hypothesis.

“I’m not saying this because I want you to avoid women. I just want you to be careful not to follow in Shen Mu’s footsteps,” said the Temple Master. He continued, “That aside, I suspect that old codger of the Nine Heavens Pavilion... That is, their Supreme Leader, knows something about Shen Mu.

“I say that because back then, he accused me of being ‘heartless and unfaithful’ for no apparent reason. He didn’t just do it once, either. He even said sooner or later, I’d pay for what I’d done.

“At the time, I thought nothing of it. I took it as idle nonsense. But after learning a bit about Shen Mu, something feels off. The old codger of the Nine Heavens Pavilion... most likely realized a long time ago that I’m Shen Mu’s reincarnation!”

Su Yi’s pupils silently constricted.

He suddenly recalled learning that the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion had been searching for someone capable of contending with the Laws of Heavenly Prayer.

He also remembered discovering Qing Wan’s Soul Birthmark, and meeting Little Heavenly Prayer—who was completely identical to Qing Wan!

A woman shattered Shen Mu’s heart, and it seems the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion realized a long time ago that the Temple Master was Shen Mu’s reincarnation. He accused the Temple Master of being heartless and unfaithful. Does that mean the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion knows who the woman who broke Shen Mu’s heart is?

A hint of a chill coursed down Su Yi’s spine.

If that’s really the case, why would he arrange for Qing Wan to appear by my side?

Don’t tell me Qing Wan and Little Heavenly Prayer are connected to that woman?

After all, Qing Wan and Little Heavenly Prayer are the same person, and the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion is their master!

All sorts of thoughts raced through Su Yi’s head, and he shared his suspicions with the Temple Master.

However, the Temple Master shook his head. “You’re overthinking this. Qing Wan couldn’t be the woman who caused Shen Mu’s death, nor could she be connected to her. After all, if Shen Mu was really ‘heartless' and 'unfaithful,' why was he the one to die of a broken heart? It should have been that woman instead, right? And there’d be no need for the old codger of the Nine Heavens Pavilion to run around meting out justice.”

He paused, then continued, “And the timeline doesn’t match up. The identities don’t match either. Most likely, the only thing connecting these matters is Shen Mu himself.”

Su Yi inwardly sighed in relief. “That’s good.”

If Qing Wan was really an incarnation of the woman who’d shattered Shen Mu’s heart, that suggested she approached him with altogether different intentions. Just thinking about it was enough to send a chill down his spine.

“Anyway, I told you all that to point you in the right direction. If you want to understand why Shen Mu died, you can start by investigating the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion,” said the Temple Master. “Of course, he viewed me with enmity, and today, he resorted to underhanded means to take you down. It’s obvious that he views us both with enmity. Should you meet in the future, you’d best suppress him first, then interrogate him.”

Su Yi nodded.

Even without the Temple Master’s guidance, the connection between Qing Wan and Little Heavenly Prayer meant he’d have to visit the Nine Heavens Pavilion sooner or later!

“You must commit what I’m about to tell you to memory,” said the Temple Master, suddenly serious.

Su Yi was instantly solemn, and he cast aside his scattered thoughts.

“You’re different from me, and from our other past lives, because you actively sought out the path of rebirth as opposed to borrowing the power of the Sword of the Nine Hells. That makes you worthy to inherit and merge with the imprints of our past lives.

“For example, whenever you break into a new realm or encounter the right opportunity, you have a chance at unsealing an imprint of one of our past lives.

“Another example is what happened at the banks of the Reincarnation Pool. Encountering my remnant will within the Sword of the Human Realm awakened the imprint of me sealed within the Sword of the Nine Hells. This makes you worthy of inheriting the power of my Dao.”

Here, the Temple Master gazed intently at Su Yi, his tone increasingly solemn. “But the opportunity to fuse with the Daos of your past lives simultaneously gives

them

an opportunity to seize your body and soul and live again!

“You could interpret it as an alternative form of possession!”