Chapter 2345 Secret Domain Key

Previously, in the eyes of most people, Ling Xuanzi, as Venerable Dao Lord, had already pushed his power to the absolute limit. His final sword strike was seen as the most magnificent and unparalleled attack in the world.

No matter how formidable Lin Xun was, it seemed impossible for him to withstand such an attack. Even if he did not perish, he would undoubtedly be gravely wounded.

Even several Emperors shared this belief.

Ling Xuanzi’s last sword was simply too powerful, capable of severing all enemies, striking fear and despair into any Emperor across the heavens. How could Lin Xun be an exception?

But now...

That sword had been blocked!

Gazing at the dazzling figure standing tall in the void amidst the ruins, everyone was frozen, their minds blank with shock.

He had blocked head-on the sword that carried all of Ling Xuanzi’s cultivation.

In this world, who else could possibly match Lin Xun?

Before the five rounds of the dao duel had commenced, no one had believed Lin Xun stood a chance. Their unshakable faith and absolute confidence in Venerable Dao Lord made them dismiss the possibility entirely.

Now, the five rounds had concluded, and in every single one, Venerable Dao Lord had been defeated!

The reality was too difficult to accept.

Even Meng Lianqing’s mind went blank, her soul seemingly lost.

Years ago, she and Lin Xun had stood as peers, competing on equal ground.

Now, they had become complete strangers!

One was a legendary figure of the Emperor Stage, wielding earth-shattering power, reigning supreme and unmatched.

The other...could only look up from the ground like an ant.

Bang!

A deafening explosion shattered the silence across the world.

In Lin Xun’s grasp, the fine and translucent sword qi disintegrated into a cascade of light, slipping through his fingers.

In the distance, Ling Xuanzi stood frozen, his handsome face shifting unpredictably.

His robes were in tatters, his hair disheveled, and face had turned deathly pale. The final sword strike had carried all of his essence, q,i and spirit, infused with his great dao, will, and resolute mind.

Now, as the sword shattered, so too did the unwavering pride, persistence and will he had upheld for countless years.

An unfamiliar sense of emptiness surged within him, leaving him dazed for a long while.

He had been defeated in a battle of the great dao. This was a devastating blow!

Lin Xun took a deep breath, and a crimson streak slipped from the corner of his lips, extremely striking against his skin.

Even though he had blocked the sword, he had been injured!

A strange look flickered across his expression as he studied Ling Xuanzi once more.

There was no denying that this fourth senior brother of his was truly terrifying. Among all cultivators in the entire world at their level, who else could push him to such an extent?

No one!

Lin Xun was certain that in the Ancient Nebula Road, there was no peer who could stand as his equal in battle.

“I...actually...lost...”

After a long silence, Ling Xuanzi finally spoke, his voice distant, his expression hollow.

He stared blankly into the distance, muttering, “When I was born, I was endowed with wisdom and talent. I could understand human speech, recognize all things, and grasp the profound principles hidden within them...

“My parents were just ordinary peddlers. They never imagined that the child they brought into the world would turn out to be a monster. On the night of my birth, they abandoned me in the wilderness outside the city...

“The mountains were covered in snow and the wind howled with a biting cold. Although I possessed wisdom and intelligence, I was still only a newborn baby...”

He let out a long sigh, his gaze filled with distant memories.

Lin Xun remained silent, listening.

He could tell that Ling Xuanzi had suffered a crushing blow.

“Later, when I was on the brink of freezing to death, an old bastard appeared. He took me in and fed me all kinds of miraculous elixirs every day...”

At this moment, Ling Xuanz glanced at Lin Xun and suddenly asked, “Little Junior Brother, do you think it’s heartless of me to call my savior an old bastard?”

Lin Xun frowned but before he could respond, Ling Xuanzi’s eyes darkened with deep-seated hatred, and he continued in a low voice, “But a hundred days after I was born, that old monster threw me into a medicinal cauldron... It was only then that I realized that he had never saved me out of kindness, but instead he saw me as nothing more than a ‘guiding ingredient’ for refining a pill...”

Lin Xun’s heart clenched, his dark eyes flickering with realization.

“Unfortunately for him, that old bastard had no idea that during the time he raised me, I had already memorized every cultivation scripture in his collection. I had even comprehended the great dao he had spent his life pursuing. Then, while he was off guard, I seized the chance and escaped from the medicinal cauldron...”

Ling Xuanzi let out a hoarse laugh, “A day-old infant was abandoned as a monster, only to be rescued by someone who planned to refine him into medicine a hundred days later...

His laughter faded into silence. “From that day on, I hid away in a cave deep in the wilderness, surviving on clouds and dew, dedicating myself wholly to cultivation.

“Three years later, I found that old bastard. I killed him, slaughtered his disciples, and burned his temple to the ground.

“Then I went back to find my parents.”

At this point, Lin Xun’s heart tightened.

Ling Xuanzi let out a long sigh, “Who would have thought that by the time I found them, they had already been beaten to death by a hedonistic young master from the city a year prior. It was said that he had set his sights on my mother because of her beauty. When he tried to force himself on her, she bit off her tongue and ended her life. My father was beaten to death and my entire family was wiped out...”

His eyes darkened with sorrow, bitterness and hatred. “Little Junior Brother, did you know? I nearly lost my mind back then. I just wanted to ask them in person why they abandoned me in the wilderness and why they, as my parents, had been so cruel. But when I finally found them...they were already dead!

“They died!”

His jaw clenched so tightly his teeth almost cracked. His handsome face twisted with anguish, and his whole body radiated a violent, suffocating aura.

Lin Xun’s dark eyes narrowed, “And after that?”

Ling Xuanzi fell silent. Then, slowly, the hostility around him dissipated. He became calm and composed, and said with a bright smile, “I endured in that city alone for three years. When I turned six, I walked into that young master’s clan and slaughtered every single one of them. Man, woman, child. I left no one alive. Blood soaked the earth...

“But I still felt resentful. Why? Why was I, Ling Xuanzi, doomed to suffer from the moment I was born?

“From that day forward, if anyone wronged me, I would kill them. I never left them a chance to live!”

He turned to Lin Xun and asked, “Little Junior Brother, do you think what I did was right?”

Before Lin Xun could answer, he shook his head with a smile. “No need to answer. I don’t care to hear it. Right or wrong, I only know one thing...every single one of them deserved to die!”

“This is your inner demon,” Lin Xun said after a moment of silence.

Ling Xuanzi was taken aback for a moment before letting out a low chuckle, “Back then, Master said the same thing. But neither he nor you will ever understand. You don’t know what it’s like to be abandoned by your own parents. To be saved, only to be turned into medicine. That feeling...that feeling is unbearable...”

He inhaled deeply and his voice grew calm and steady, “If that is a demon in my heart, then so be it. Even if I am suppressed for eternity or killed, I will never change.”

“You lost,” Lin Xun said flatly.

Ling Xuanzi was stunned, as if he had never expected that at this moment, Lin Xun would disregard his past entirely, caring only about the outcome of their duel!

A suffocating pressure weighed on his chest, making it almost hard to breathe. Unable to hold back, he asked, “Little Junior Brother, is this...all you care about?”

Lin Xun’s voice was cold, “Why? Were you hoping to win my sympathy so I would let you go?”

Ling Xuanzi took a deep breath and said, “I already told you that if I lost, I would leave my fate in your hands. If I intended to go back on my word, I wouldn’t have suppressed my cultivation to the fourth realm Emperor Stage. If I hadn’t done so, do you really think you could have won?”

At the end, he laughed at himself. “I just wanted a good conversation. There are very few people in this world truly worthy of talking to...”

Lin Xun remained unfazed. “Even if you hadn’t suppressed your cultivation, you would still have lost. I might as well tell you now that before I stepped into this place, I had already set up a grand array capable of suppressing even Emperor Ancestors.”

Ling Xuanzi’s expression stiffened, his gaze turning complicated. After a long sigh, he said, “I never expected this. I really never did. You would go to such great lengths just to deal with me, your senior brother.”

Lin Xun said, “There was no other way. Fourth Senior Brother, you are an unparalleled genius, a peerless existence throughout the ages. If I wanted to defeat you, I had to make proper preparations. I wouldn’t dare to assume I could subdue you otherwise.”

Ling Xuanzi chuckled, “Are you praising me?”

“You can take it that way.”

Ling Xuanzi fell silent for a long time before finally asking, “How do you plan to deal with me then? Kill me? Cripple me?”

Lin Xun raised his hand and the Dao Endless Pagoda emerged. “Enter on your own. When you see Master, I’ll let him decide your fate.”

Ling Xuanzi’s expression darkened, a rare flicker of anger crossing his face. “You want to imprison me again?”

His aura surged violently, his eyes turned bloodshot, and his presence became terrifying. “Little Junior Brother, are you really not worried that I will go back on my word?”

The atmosphere grew unbearable tense, suffocating.

Lin Xun remained as composed as ever and replied calmly, “I’m giving you a path to survival. Otherwise, according to the order of Second Senior Brother, your only choice would be death.”

Ling Xuanzi stared at Lin Xun for a long moment before sighing. Then, he retrieved a mysterious jade pendant engraved with a crescent moon and three stars and handed it over.

“This is the domain key that controls the entrance and exit of the Fangchun Secret Realm. Since you’ve come, it should be entrusted to you for safekeeping.”

With that, he turned and strode toward the Dao Endless Pagoda, his figure carrying an indescribable sorrow and melancholy.

Lin Xun glanced at the domain key, then suddenly said, “Wait.”

Ling Xuanzi halted, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. “I’ve already let you decide my fate and I won’t go back on my word, Little Junior Brother, what more do you want?”

“I’ll ask you one last time, why did you leak Second Senior Brother’s inheritance?” Lin Xun asked.

Ling Xuanzi was stunned before realization dawned on him. A wave of indescribable sadness surged in his heart. Lin Xun had never truly believed him from the start.

“As a successor of Fangchun Mountain, I will tell you this one last time—no matter how much wickedness I, Ling Xuanzi, have committed, I have never once lied to my fellow disciples!” His voice was resolute and resounding.

With those words, he stepped into the pagoda, his figure transforming into a streak of flowing light.

“Fourth Senior Brother, if I have offended you before, I apologize.” Just as Ling Xuanzi was about to disappear, Lin Xun’s voice rang out, “If you truly see me as your junior brother, then from today onward, cultivate well in the Dao Endless Pagoda. When the time comes for you to see Master and Second Senior Brother, I will plead for you.”

Ling Xuanzi gave no response as he vanished into the depths of the pagoda.

No one noticed that after hearing Lin Xun’s words, a faint curve lifted the corners of his lips.

It was almost...a smile.