Chapter 2020 - Everything Is Illusory Beneath Nirvana

Lil’ Purple was briefly stunned before she firmly said, “I don’t believe it. The Ancestral Deity will definitely come back.”

The Iris Sword Saint merely smiled when he heard that.

“Why did you give him the Iris Sword Box? Do you know his secret?” Lil’ Purple asked, looking at the Iris Sword Saint.

“Because someone asked me to hand it to him. I can see some of his secrets but don’t know the exact information. Perhaps only he can find the secret himself,” the Iris Sword Saint said. “I’m only a soul fragment, so there’s no need to make things difficult. You can ask the person who asked me to hand it to him one day. Perhaps he’ll know more about it.”

Lil’ Purple looked at the Iris Sword Saint and felt that the latter was hiding something from her. But she couldn’t refute what the Iris Sword Saint said. After all, the clone couldn’t probe the main body’s secrets, not to mention a hundred thousand years have passed. So the soul fragment naturally didn’t know where the Iris Sword Saint went or who he met throughout the years. On the other hand, the Iris Sword Saint’s main body could know what the clone experienced with a single thought.

So Lil’ Purple couldn’t help feeling unhappy when she heard that. She knew that the Iris Sword Saint must be up to something, but he didn’t share everything he knew.

“What did you teach him?” Lil’ Purple asked, seeing the changes in Lin Yun’s facial expressions.

“A sword technique, the Nirvana Sword,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“What?” Lil’ Purple was shocked. The Nirvana Sword was Iris Sword Saint’s unique sword technique, and Lin Yun couldn't practice it with his current cultivation. Not to mention Lin Yun knew nothing about Nirvana Dao. She said, “Isn’t that a little too much? After all, it’s still too early for him to learn it.”

“Don’t belittle him. He has already come in contact with the gates to nirvana, but he called it the ‘beginning’ and knew nothing about it,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled.

“I know that. He created a sword technique, calling it the Sword of the Beginning. It might be powerful but it isn’t complete, especially when the phenomena becomes blurred.” Lil’ Purple briefly paused before she continued, “Since that’s the case, why didn’t you tell him about it?”

The Iris Sword Saint shook his head and said, “I can’t. That’s because Nirvana Dao is different in everyone’s hands, and our comprehensions are also different. I used the Nirvana Sword to aid him to see his dao and sword.”

Lil’ Purple’s expression was solemn. When she heard that Lin Yun had come in contact with the gates of nirvana, she was happy and worried. This was because if Lin Yun became the successor to Nirvana Dao, it would make him an open target. But she soon began to suspect this was another trap from the Iris Sword Saint. She asked, “The Ancestral Deity must’ve predicted that he wouldn’t be able to return since he asked you to give him the Iris Sword Box.”

“Perhaps. There’s no need to probe me, just see if he can figure it out,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled.

Lin Yun was wielding a sword in his dream as he began comprehending the ‘beginning.’ Through this period, Lin Yun figured out that the Sword of the Beginning had to manifest a phenomenon, the beginning of the world and from nothing to everything. The Sword of the Beginning had to deduce the entire process, and he had roughly come in contact with his dao.

“Sword of the Beginning—Light of the Beginning!” Phenomena appeared behind Lin Yun. It was a massive primal chaos being split apart, and Lin Yun had sensed it before swinging his sword. He unleashed a massive sword ray, Light of the Beginning.

This sword ray was powerful and could even cut through a void that was so dazzling that no one could open their eyes.

“That’s really the case!” Lin Yun rejoiced as he discovered that he didn’t seem restricted by his cultivation and broke through many bottlenecks.

“Second sword form—Boundless of the Beginning!” This time, the world was opened as mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees appeared. In the path of the sword ray, a towering mountain appeared as rivers covered the entire ground. An entire world was born, and everything seemed so tiny before it.

“Third sword form—Glory of the Beginning!” The phenomenon changed as a sun and moon appeared when Lin Yun divided himself into two and swung his sword. As the sword rays intertwined, the sun and moon were born.

“Fourth sword form—Eternity of the Beginning!” When the entire world was created, various life forms began to appear, followed by a civilization. This sword meant the undying flames of civilization.

“Fifth sword form—Darkness of the Beginning!” The civilization disappeared with the sun and moon falling, and the heavenly dao collapsed.

“Sixth sword form…” Lin Yun fell into deep thought and briefly paused before he continued, “Nirvana of the Beginning!”

“Wait, why nirvana?” Lin Yun was shocked after he said that and stopped. The six sword forms were a complete sword technique corresponding to the six concepts. But if he took one out individually, each sword could be further divided into ten-odd sword techniques that could be individually or linked together. But Lin Yun called out ‘nirvana’ in the last sword, and he immediately noticed that something wasn’t right.

“You finally realized it…” The Iris Sword Saint’s voice resounded, and his figure became clear as he appeared before Lin Yun.

“Senior.” Lin Yun stepped forth and cupped his fists together.

He knew this was a great opportunity given to him by the Iris Sword Saint; he could comprehend within his dream and wouldn’t have to be restricted by his cultivation. So he could comprehend however he liked. If he was in the outside world, it would be tough for him to create the phenomena of a world being born. Even if he succeeded, it wouldn’t be as grand as it was now.

“Do you have any questions?” The Iris Sword Saint asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Lin Yun replied, and he continued, “I clearly forgot about nirvana, time, space, and the Nirvana Sword that you executed. But when I comprehended the last sword, nirvana appeared. Is this my own dao, or did senior give it to me…?”

This question was important to him because his confidence in the five sword forms would collapse if it didn't belong to him. After all, he strongly believed that the five sword forms belonged to him. But it returned to nirvana in the sixth sword form for some reason.

“You don’t have to doubt yourself. It belongs to you because the ‘beginning’ is also nirvana!” The Iris Sword Saint smiled. “A nirvana has also started when you saw that ray with heaven and earth being born.”

Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts when he heard that.

“The Nirvana Imprint is everywhere. It doesn’t belong to me, so I can’t give it to you as I want,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled as he nodded. “Everyone will comprehend nirvana differently, so I can only help you to comprehend yours.”

Lin Yun finally understood what Iris Sword Saint said, and he asked, “So that means I can also grasp the Nirvana Dao?”

But the Iris Sword Saint shook his head and smiled, “Strictly speaking, that’s inaccurate. Nirvana Dao is massive, and Nirvana Imprint is everywhere. Everyone is insignificant before nirvana, and one can’t grasp it. You can only comprehend and obtain the rights to use it.”

Lin Yun fell into deep thought. He roughly understood it now. The Nirvana Dao was an ocean, and you could only borrow the power of the ocean to create waves, since it was impossible to grasp the entire ocean. He asked again, “Senior, I once heard that space was the rule while time was the king. Space Dao is powerful, but time is stronger and more profound than space.”

“So?”

“So which is stronger? Nirvana or time?”

Since Lin Yun had the opportunity to comprehend Nirvana Dao, he naturally wanted to make a comparison.

The Iris Sword Saint was briefly stunned before he shook his head and wore a playful smile as though time couldn’t catch his eyes or he was laughing at Lin Yun. Or maybe a little of both, instantly placing Lin Yun in an awkward position.

The Iris Sword Saint asked, “Who told you that?”

“From the books,” Lin Yun replied honestly.

“That’s not entirely false. They’re both part of the Twelve Sovereign Daos and stronger than other daos. But they’re hard to comprehend, especially Time Dao. But the two could be found, and perhaps it might not be as profound as you think,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled. “One must know that the Nine Eternal Daos are above the Twelve Sovereign Daos.”

Lin Yun was baffled when he heard that, and he had a feeling it could only be discussed by those who stepped into the Saint Realm. But that didn’t affect Lin Yun’s curiosity. He asked, “Senior, you’ve yet to answer my question.”

“Brat, your question is childish. Space and Time Daos are strong, but that doesn’t mean they’re invincible. You don’t have to dwell on which one is stronger,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled. “They’re just two saint daos, and their power depends on the cultivator.”

Lin Yun rubbed his nose and asked, “What if they really have to be ranked?”

The Iris Sword Saint turned to look at Lin Yun and smiled, “Nirvana can grasp time and space, but they can’t reverse nirvana. Space is the rule while time is the king, but they’re all illusions beneath Nirvana Dao. Space and Time Daos are only Sovereign Daos, while Nirvana Dao was an Eternal Dao!”

Lin Yun’s eyes lit up when he heard that. Although he didn’t really understand what that meant, he now knew which one was stronger.

“But everything is nothing before fate,” the Iris Sword Saint sighed. “If you have to rank them, fate is the strongest. Alright, let’s not dwell on that anymore. It’s time for you to wake up.”

When he woke up, Lin Yun returned to reality and rubbed his head. It felt as though a long time had passed, and it also felt like a dream. In his dream, he perfected the Sword of the Beginning.

When he raised his head, he saw Lil’ Purple giving him a smile while standing beside the Iris Sword Saint. As he sobered up, he instantly knew it wasn’t a dream. He quickly stabbed the Flower Burial Sword into the altar to absorb the floral fragrance coming from the Udumbara Flower, wanting to upgrade it to a Twospirit Glory Saint Artifact.

When he began practicing the sword technique for his dream, the Sword of the Beginning that he could easily execute became difficult. After all, he became stuck after reaching the fifth sword form in his dream. But it was taxing for him even to perform the first sword form in reality.

The dream was real, and all the comprehension was engraved deep within his mind. He just had to get familiar with them and grasp them slowly.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, before Lin Yun successfully performed Light of the Beginning with his fingers. When he executed it, a ray of light appeared, with the entire world becoming dark, including the radiance from the Udumbara Flower.

“I finally succeeded, or I might have really taken it as a dream,” Lin Yun smiled, his forehead covered in sweat. He finally reached the lesser mastery of the first sword form and was satisfied with the power. This was because the other sword techniques couldn’t fully excavate the power of Astral Sword Intent, but he could accomplish it with Sword of the Beginning.

“The Divine Firefly Sword might be strong, but too many people know about it. On the other hand, the Sword of the Beginning is unique to me.” Lin Yun rejoiced, and his gaze was firm. He was even more confident in his path as a Sword God.

Ten days later, the Flower Burial Sword was successfully upgraded to a Twospirit Glory Saint Artifact. Aside from Glorymetal Spirit, there was a Glorywood Spirit within the Flower Burial Sword. This naturally excited Lin Yun because he could imagine how powerful it had become by using Bai Qingyu’s Stalewater Sword as an example. But this also meant it was time for him to leave this place.

“Senior, can I ask you one last question?” Lin Yun asked, carrying the sword box and raising his head.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“I’m only a soul fragment, so don’t stump me with your question,” the Iris Sword Saint smiled.

“It’s not a tough question,” Lin Yun smiled.

“Go on,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

Lin Yun pointed at the sword box he was carrying and asked, “What kind of sword is this sword box meant for?”