Old Master, Times Have Changed - Chapter 719 (Patreon)

Chapter 719: Nothing Gained?

Sword Ancestor?!

Why would Sword Ancestor be in Qingxu?!

Staring at those eyes glowing with a faint red light, Gu was utterly shaken.

Before he could even react, streak after streak of crimson edge-light pierced through the boundary between the present and the past. Countless sword-lights flared to life above the river of time, trying to cut out the segment of time where he existed and sever it away.

He could feel the stretch of time he occupied being continuously carved apart by sword-light, pushed closer and closer to the present.

In such a deadly situation, Gu showed surprisingly little panic.

Strands of seven-colored radiance spilled from him, drifting in all directions and sinking into fragments of the “past” until they vanished.

“When did you notice me?”

As an Innate Dao-Attainer who governed the domain of the past, his battle strength might be average—but when it came to staying alive…

Even Sword Ancestor or Xuan should have been unable to kill him while he was in the “past”!

Yet right now, he couldn’t understand it.

Why were Sword Ancestor and Meizu also coming to Qingxu at this point in time?

Could it be that they, too, suspected the anomaly that appeared during the previous Dao-attainment had something to do with Tai?

“When I noticed you.”

Gu: “...”

“But I’m more curious why you came to Qingxu.”

In Xu Xing’s red-glowing eyes, it seemed as though ten thousand sword-shadows interwove. As the “past” was repeatedly pierced through by sword-light, even the boundary between “past” and “present” seemed to blur.

Gu no longer maintained his earlier image of a towering divine figure. All that remained was a Wheel of Years halo, flowing with endless light and shadow. At its very center was a thread of seven-colored brilliance that was steadily dimming.

The instant he discovered Sword Ancestor, he realized he wouldn’t be walking away unscathed this time.

So from that moment, he’d been trying to reduce his losses.

Unfortunately, Sword Ancestor gave him no chance at all.

He struck first, and only then asked questions.

The sword-seal continued to tighten. Before this segment of time was completely locked down, Gu had to send out as much of his own essence as possible.

“Did Xuan find something?”

The moment he said it, Xu Xing raised the longsword in his hand and calmly thrust forward.

Weng—!

A crimson moon that encompassed all sword dao across heavens, antiquity, and the present abruptly lit up!

Moonlight shone in all directions. Even the ever-forward river of time froze for an instant.

In that moment, the seven-colored brilliance at the center of the Wheel of Years turned incomparably dim—until, under the illumination of that sword-dao crimson moon, a single light-shadow rose from the congealed span of time—

A boundless cliffside. Ahead of the cliff churned gray-black mist.

Qingxu’s past.

Ka!

With a soft sound, that light-shadow was split into countless pieces.

Beside Xu Xing, Meizu seized the timing. She lifted her hand and, following the sword that had stabbed into the “past,” reached for the “past Qingxu” that had been cut into innumerable fragments.

In this moment, time itself lost all meaning!

A palm that stood above myriad dao and laws, transcending the very concept of space-time, clenched around those countless fragments of “past Qingxu” and dragged them into the present!

That’s right.

This had been their goal from the start.

Gu’s ability to survive while residing in the “past” was too strong; he couldn’t be killed at all. It was better to take the chance to obtain information that might be useful.

Without using him as a “medium,” any “past” they retrieved might not be real.

Xu Xing swept his gaze over it, then looked back at Gu.

“Looks like Xuan also suspects the earlier anomaly is connected to Tai.”

“...Couldn’t it be that I suspected it myself?”

Sensing that the lock had fully formed, Gu abandoned the thought of escaping.

Sword Ancestor’s cultivation was far above his. This portion of his essence was probably doomed today.

“Heh.”

That cold laugh carried a hint of disdain.

Gu: “...”

“But Tai shouldn’t have any reason to interfere in this matter, and he’s already completely dead. He shouldn’t be able to do this.”

As he spoke, crimson sword-light crisscrossed. The Wheel of Years halo, flowing with endless light and shadow, was on the verge of shattering.

Since their preliminary objective had been achieved, it was time to teach him a deep lesson—otherwise it would be a waste of the trouble to come looking for him today.

“Xuan must have noticed some abnormal points about Tai, so he specifically had you come to Qingxu to check the situation.”

Kacha!

Under the relentless grinding of sword-light, the halo finally couldn’t hold and shattered.

In an instant, a hazy layer of seven-colored glow lit up within the gray-black sea of mist, as if countless “overlapping echoes” perfectly identical to Qingxu were superimposed upon it.

From afar, all of Qingxu looked dreamlike—and eerie.

A rare treasure appearing?

The people who had been sent away from Qingxu stood at the cliff’s edge and saw this scene. They couldn’t suppress the same thought rising in their hearts.

Some of the more action-oriented ones were already preparing artifacts to descend.

But the moment they moved a little closer, an unknown force returned them to their original positions.

Several attempts in a row ended the same way.

And at this time, within the “past” domain that the crowd could not glimpse.

Inside that tiny segment of time that had been cut off by sword-light, under the continuous grinding, Gu’s remaining essence was reduced to a single flickering point of seven-colored radiance, as if it could go out at any moment.

Xu Xing stared at him closely, then suddenly seemed to think of something.

“Did Xuan trace the anomaly’s source from the remaining ‘tribulation lightning’?”

“Or... does it have something to do with your identity as Innate Dao-Attainers?”

Gu didn’t answer, but the flickering of that point of seven-colored radiance grew faster and faster.

Finally, after one urgent flash, even that last bit of essence completely dispersed.

Seeing this, Xu Xing slowly withdrew his sword.

The crimson moon suspended over the “past” dissipated with it. The boundary between present and past became clear again, and every strange phenomenon vanished in an instant.

It was only because the space-time of the Tai Xuan Realm was far too stable—and because he was influencing the “past” from the “present”—that time in the Tai Xuan Realm still continued to move forward.

In an ordinary world, if Xu Xing didn’t permit it, time inside that world wouldn’t advance by even the slightest amount.

A red glint flashed, and the moon-shadow in his palm disappeared.

Xu Xing looked at Meizu beside him, only to see her give a slight shake of her head.

“Nothing discovered.”

As she spoke, she extended her hand toward him. Floating above her fair, delicate palm was a hazy orb of light.

It was “Qingxu’s past.”

Because it had been extracted through Gu as a “medium,” it was part of “true history.”

Through the orb, they could directly view Qingxu’s past.

From the second before they extracted this segment of true history, they could trace backward—far enough to see the decisive battle back then, when Tai fell under the joint encirclement of the assembled immortals.

But just as Meizu said, there was nothing of value to be found in this segment of true history.

Xu Xing wasn’t surprised.

“Put it away for now.”

If abnormalities could be found from the “past,” Gu wouldn’t have needed to risk approaching the present.

In any case, what happened today could be counted as an unexpected windfall.

They not only obtained a segment of “true history,” they also beat Gu—who had only recently recovered from his injuries—back into severe wounds again...

“Examine it carefully first. After we get back, we’ll study it.”

“Mm.”

Meizu nodded slightly, clasped her hands together, and stored away the orb representing “true history.”

Xu Xing then turned to look forward.

He raised his right hand and lightly tapped the air before him.

A thin line of red light shot straight ahead. The instant it left his fingertip, it split into countless tiny crimson filaments and vanished into the gray-black mist.

It seemed like nothing changed.

But to Xu Xing and Meizu’s perception, all of Qingxu had been split into countless parts—just like that true history a moment ago.

“All paths must revere me,” Meizu murmured softly.

Compared to Ji Yinxue’s world-shaking punch, her words sounded exceptionally ordinary.

But soon, an invisible distortion spread outward—at first extremely subtle, like ripples from a pebble dropped into a lake.

In less than a billionth of an instant, it became like a storm, sweeping out with unstoppable force. Within the Qingxu that had been split into countless parts, every concept turned crisp and distinct.

…

…

Sword Sect.

Night had already covered most of the sky, with only a trace of rosy afterglow lingering at the far horizon.

A crescent moon hung high. Stars glittered, adorning the dark blue-black canopy.

In front of the Sword Sovereign Hall, Bie Xuening stared in Qingxu’s direction. A light screen hovered beside her.

“Later than expected...”

There was a reason she had Meizu go along.

The dao she governed could, when Xu Xing split open Qingxu, eliminate certain unnecessary interference factors.

Within the light screen, Ning Ruo wore her usual white lab coat and sat in a chair behind a silver-gray desk.

She leaned slightly back against the chair, arms crossed.

She was also looking toward Qingxu.

“Just now, Brother Xu and Meizu seemed to intervene in the Past Domain. They probably ran into Gu.”

Her cultivation was still a bit lacking, and she couldn’t leave Lingyin Pavilion, but she could still detect Qingxu’s situation.

It wasn’t only her—several other dao friends should have noticed as well.

“Gu appearing in Qingxu—does that mean the abnormal situation during the Dongzhen Cang race’s Dao-attainment really was related to Tai?”

“Not necessarily. If we can think of it, Xuan can definitely think of it too.” Ning Ruo sat a little straighter. “Maybe Xuan just had Gu go to Qingxu to check the situation, and he happened to collide with Brother Xu and the others.”

After all, Xuan recovered the remaining “tribulation lightning” after the Dongzhen Cang race’s failed Dao-attainment. It was possible he saw some clues within it.

“As for what the situation really is, we should wait for Brother Xu to come back, then ask them.”

Ning Ruo paused, then smiled.

“If you’re worried, you can go check in person. Anyway, you leaving Sword Sect won’t affect the sealing of Heaven’s Will.”

“...” Bie Xuening withdrew her gaze, looked at the light screen, and said flatly, “I won’t go back on something I promised.”

She had already said that this time she would let that fellow accompany junior brother to go. Naturally, she wouldn’t break her word.

But while speaking, her eyes paused briefly on something in front of Ning Ruo, and she couldn’t help recalling what Meizu had said earlier.

She frowned slightly, then withdrew her gaze without leaving any trace.

Ning Ruo didn’t notice Bie Xuening’s subtle change.

“Fine, do whatever you want.”

The two continued to watch in Qingxu’s direction.

They waited for quite a while, until even the last bit of afterglow on the horizon had faded.

Suddenly, both sensed a thread of aura approaching Qingxu.

Hm?

Ning Ruo smiled.

“If you won’t go, someone else will.”

Bie Xuening paused. With a thought, another light screen unfolded before her.

It was a very simple group chat interface.

Unlike the Core Members’ Retirement Chat Group, this one didn’t even have a group name.

Sword Sovereign: “You went to Qingxu? @Daoist Yuanjun”

Just as Bie Xuening sent the message, the aura stopped moving.

Daoist Yuanjun: “Qingxu’s past just had a problem. I’m not at ease, and I’m nearby, so I went to take a look on the way.”

She hadn’t even gone straight there, okay? She’d walked over slowly.

Sword Sovereign: “Cut the crap. Forget junior brother— even that guy can hang Gu up and beat him.”

Sword Sovereign: “You clearly just wanted to go join the fun /spit”

Daoist Yuanjun: “Think whatever you want.”

Daoist Yuanjun: “I’m going. So what? If you’re not convinced, you come too /shrug”

Sword Sovereign: “Just you wait /[little yellow duck sharpening a sword]”

Seeing the two of them singing in harmony and about to head to Qingxu—

Meizu: “Hey hey hey! You two are going too far!”

Meizu: “You actually went back on what you promised.”

One by one—do you have any credibility at all?

Meizu: “We’re fine over here. Gu already got beaten off. You don’t need to come at all.”

Meizu: “If you come, I won’t honor the agreement either /serious”

Daoist Ling: “Even if they don’t go, you wouldn’t honor it.”

Meizu: “/stunned”

Meizu: “How can you slander me /pointing”

Daoist Ling: “Heh.”

If she could keep her word, she wouldn’t have been the first one tricked into this group.

…

…

Meanwhile.

Xu Xing and Meizu had already finished probing Qingxu.

The result...

Just as expected, they found not a trace of abnormality. Qingxu was still Qingxu, and Tai was still dead—dead to the core.

Could it really not be Tai, but instead one of Xuan, Gu, or Tian?

Or was it that the Cang race’s “Vast Dao” Dao-attainment method still wasn’t perfected, so something went wrong during the process?

The latter seemed less likely.

After all, he and Xuan had witnessed it from start to finish. Even if the “Vast Dao” Dao-attainment method was imperfect, it shouldn’t have produced that kind of problem.

He thought it over again and again, but still couldn’t find a reasonable explanation.

Helpless, Xu Xing rubbed his brow.

When he turned around, he saw Meizu wearing a miserable expression.

“Don’t overthink it. Even if we didn’t gain much from probing Qingxu, we still got a segment of true history, and we heavily wounded Gu again. This trip wasn’t for nothing.” Xu Xing comforted her.

At the very least, Gu wouldn’t be able to stir up trouble for a while.

“Uh? Ah?! Oh, oh!!” Meizu seemed to finally snap back. “Mm-mm, this concubine understands.”

Xu Xing: “...”

From the look of it, the reason she was frowning didn’t seem to be because Qingxu yielded no results.

“What’s wrong?”

“...It’s really nothing.” Meizu hesitated for a moment. “Oh right. Dao-brother, what do you think of people who ‘don’t keep their word’?”

“Don’t keep their word?”

A spark flashed in Xu Xing’s mind.

Wait.

Could this be about their little group chat?

“Emm... sometimes, lies have to be viewed from multiple angles. What if it’s a well-intentioned lie?” Xu Xing said tactfully.

“It’s not a well-intentioned lie. It’s simply breaking an agreement,” Meizu emphasized.

“That’s not necessarily—”

Before he could finish, two figures appeared in front of them, one after the other.

They were Daoist Yuanjun and Bie Xuening.

“It’s them who didn’t keep their word,” Meizu immediately accused, pointing at them.

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