Chapter 1010: Young Noble, Please Slay the Demons! [End of Book 9]

[Life Essence Stone: A crystallized source of boundless vitality. If refined, it could grant lasting longevity.]

"As expected of the Dao Master of Longevity..." Chu Liang muttered as he gazed at the treasure refined by Noble Dharma. All the life essence he had plundered from the human world was likely gathered into this single object.

Chu Liang had given half of his life essence to Jiang Yuebai. At this rate, he might not be able to live a hundred years. But if he refined this object, then immortality would no longer be just a dream.

Others might not be able to absorb life essence so easily, but he just happened to have that ability. He could reshape the life essence and change someone else's life essence into his own.

Even so, that wasn’t the path Chu Liang wanted to take. It would have been the easier choice, but the path he had set his sights on was much harder.

Withdrawing his divine sense from the Demon-Refining Pagoda, Chu Liang turned his gaze back to the battlefield. Only a handful of Eminent Ones from the immortal sects were still standing. The Mount Shu Sect had likely been wiped out completely, and among the rest of the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, only a few survivors remained.

Although the Noble Dharma had truly been killed this time, everyone remained dazed. Their eyes were wide with disbelief, unable to accept what had just happened. Fortunately, Enlightened Jiuyi was still alive.

Chu Liang walked over, looked at him, and said, "Esteemed Senior Jiuyi, I need your help with something."

"Hm?" Enlightened Jiuyi looked at Chu Liang with a gaze that revealed a mix of emotions. "What can I help you with?"

"I need you to use the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams to show me the entire human realm," Chu Liang said. "I want to see every person that the Noble Dharma has killed."

"This is..." Enlightened Jiuyi didn’t quite understand his intent, but at this point, how could he possibly refuse the request of this junior?

Dragging his weary body, he slowly raised the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams.

The Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams had not displayed overwhelming power in combat, but in specific aspects, it truly lived up to its reputation as the third greatest legendary artifact of this era.

A sudden whoosh echoed through the air.

A golden light rose like the sun, sweeping across the land. In an instant, it gathered all the lingering apparitions scattered throughout heaven and earth and cast them into Chu Liang’s eyes.

By then, Chu Liang had already soared high into the sky. He held the Life Essence Stone aloft and slowly began refining it. The released life essence spread out like nourishing rain, and under his control, it began to take the shape of individual lives.

If it had been his own life essence, there was no way he could have divided it into so many separate portions.

However, the one who had caused this disaster was also the one who had to set things right. In the end, only the Noble Dharma’s life essence could be used to restore the lives he had taken.

"What is he doing...?" Lu Jiuwai stared up at the sky, overwhelmed with shock.

The Imperial Supervisory Commissioner was equally shocked as he cried out, "Restoring the land and reviving the people! This is a miracle!"

In some ways, this was even more astonishing than slaying Noble Dharma.

As the only Dao Master of Creation throughout all of history, Chu Liang had reached a level of enlightenment that allowed him to achieve the unimaginable.

Of course, before he could bring anyone back to life, Chu Liang first repaired the Celestial Portal of the Nine Yin. The cold had already spread across the land and was close to freezing even the South Sea. If he revived anyone before stopping that, it would have been meaningless.

Wherever the life-giving rain of creation fell, the fallen souls began to stir. Even if their bodies had decayed, new ones could be reshaped for them through the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams. With the help of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams, Chu Liang’s spiritual energy swept across the entire human realm, bringing back everyone who had been killed by the Noble Dharma. They did not awaken right away, but once enough time had passed, they would open their eyes once more.

This process lasted a full seven days and nights.

Only after the nine provinces and the four seas had been fully restored did Chu Liang finally collapse to the ground. But just as he was about to lose consciousness, he suddenly forced himself back to his feet.

"Wait... I forgot the Divine Ruins Monastery. That was close. My dear old grandfather-in-law almost got off easy."

By the time he brought Bai Wuxiang back to life, only a faint, glimmering crystal was left of the Life Essence Stone. That final fragment must have been the Noble Dharma’s original life essence.

Chu Liang picked it up without hesitation. This was his rightful trophy.

Just as he was about to fall into slumber again, brilliant multicolored rays lit up the sky, and celestial music echoed all around. For everyone who had witnessed what had just taken place, there was no mistaking the meaning behind this display.

It was the world’s grand welcome for a newly ascended being at the Profound Realm.

But... how did this happen?

"How did I ascend just like that?" Chu Liang was just as stunned as anyone else. He could feel the essence of the Great Dao of Creation flooding into his body without pause. "Hey, hey, hey! Did I say you could enter my body? I’m about to overflow with Dao essence!"

"..."

The Imperial Supervisory Commissioner, who had been supporting him these past few days, could not contain his joy upon seeing this. "You’ve fulfilled the grand aspiration of ascending the ninth realm through the Great Dao of Creation! This is the Dao acknowledging you!"

"I don’t even know what grand aspiration you’re talking about," Chu Liang replied, clearly baffled.

After all, he had only just reached the brink of ascension before being thrown into a life-and-death battle with the Noble Dharma. Right after that, he had been focused entirely on resurrecting the dead. He truly had no idea what grand aspiration everyone was referring to. Not every cultivator at the brink could comprehend the aspiration of a great Dao. It usually took years of quiet reflection and deep insight to grasp such a thing.

"Perhaps your actions happened to be exactly what the Dao required!" exclaimed Dhyana Master Dawu.

"Well, that’s something..." Chu Liang said, scratching his head with a hint of embarrassment. Only then did it occur to him that recreating the mountains, rivers, and all living things might have been exactly what the Great Dao of Creation had required.

He really ought to thank the Noble Dharma for this. Without his Life Essence Stone, Chu Liang would never have been able to accomplish such a feat in his lifetime.

As waves of Dao essence surged into his body, Chu Liang felt himself become one with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Every movement he made, whether raising a hand or taking a step, carried a force strong enough to shake the heavens.

Even so, he still found it hard to believe.

I was just an ordinary eighth-realm cultivator... How did I suddenly become a Hallowed One?

And yet, it is real.

From this moment on, history will remember my name. For the next thousand years, from the icy plains of the Northern Regions to the Ruins of Return in the South Sea, my name will be sung far and wide

!

...

"Hallowed Chu!"

"Hallowed Chu!"

"Hallowed Chu!"

A few days later, word of what had happened began to spread. Wherever Chu Liang went, people who caught sight of him called out his title, Hallowed Chu, with reverence.

But even now, he still found it hard to adjust to this new identity.

Most of the casualties had occurred at the Brilliant Mountain of Yin. After their resurrection, those who had not yet awakened were left in the care of the Greater-Yin Cult. Jiang Yuebai was one of them.

Chu Liang had just received word that Jiang Yuebai had regained consciousness, and he had come today to bring her back to Mount Shu.

However, as soon as he descended upon the Northern Regions, a massive crowd of commoners had gathered beneath him. The sea of people was so dense that he couldn’t find a place to land. News of his arrival had spread ahead of him, and the people had come to pay their respects.

Ordinary Hallowed Ones might not even receive such treatment. But Chu Liang had saved the human realm and gained supreme merit. The reverence he received was on a different level entirely.

Even Chu Liang hadn’t realized that becoming a Hallowed One meant more than just attaining a cultivation realm. It meant he had become a true saint in the hearts of the people.

Chu Liang landed on a large boulder and smiled awkwardly. "Everyone, please don’t call me that. At least not when I’m right in front of you. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue."

"Hallow—" Someone had just started to call out his title, but after hearing his request, they let out a laugh and corrected themselves. "Young Noble Chu, Miss Jiang is over here!"

Everyone there knew who he had come for, so they politely stepped aside to make way.

As the crowd parted, Chu Liang quickly spotted Jiang Yuebai beneath a nearby tree. She was using a divine technique to treat an elderly man’s broken leg.

When she turned and saw Chu Liang, her eyes lit up with laughter.

Chu Liang smiled as well. "Now that I see you awake, I can finally breathe easy."

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Jiang Yuebai chuckled. "Isn’t that all thanks to your resurrection miracle, Hallow—"

"Hey now," Chu Liang said, cutting in before she could finish. He raised a hand and added with a grin, "Don’t insult me like that. Didn’t you hear? Everyone’s calling me ‘Young Noble’ now. I think it sounds pretty good. Makes me feel young."

"Hehe." Jiang Yuebai let out a sweet laugh, and in that moment, it felt as though the clouds had parted and the flowers had bloomed.

The beauty of the world had returned once more.

Chu Liang’s heart grew still and serene.

Ah... so this is how the human world was always meant to be.

With birdsong and blossoms, blue skies and white clouds, warm breezes and a beauty’s smile, people only needed to quiet their hearts to feel the goodness all around them.

Preserving this beauty was the truest and most original purpose of cultivation.

But just as he was about to step forward and take Jiang Yuebai’s hand, someone rushed out from the crowd, dropped to their knees, and shouted, "Hallowed—Young Noble Chu! The demonic beasts outside have come back to life too! We common folk can’t go home. Please help us, Young Noble!"

"That’s right..." More voices echoed one after another. "Young Noble, please slay the demons!"