The Dao of Reincarnation (394-395) (Patreon)

Chapter 394: The Ancient and Modern Recorder (Part 5)

The elder responsible for such a devastating loss to the Heavenly Origin Sect was named Hua Yuansi.

Hua Yuansi, elder of Qingyuan Peak, was deeply respected and loved by the disciples of Qingyuan Peak. For more than two hundred years, he had worked diligently. Leading forty-four disciples of the peak, including Guang Hongyi and Gan Jin, he went to Hundred Tribulations Mountain to slay demons and train. They encountered an attack by a great demon. Every disciple and elder of Qingyuan Peak, including Hua Yuansi himself, perished.

He lived to the age of two hundred and thirteen years.

Watching Su Chen put brush to paper, Li Li's eyes grew dark, and he did not look up for a long time.

"Are you thinking that this incident was no accident?"

Su Chen spoke mildly as he observed Li Li lost in thought.

Li Li nodded instinctively, then said in surprise, "How do you know what I am thinking?"

Su Chen smiled. "Have you forgotten that I was once a teacher? Besides... schemes among mortals are not few, and sometimes they even surpass those of you martial cultivators."

Li Li recalled Su Chen's identity before he arrived at the Heavenly Origin Sect.

So he was a man of learning after all. That settled it.

Li Li said, "Elder Hua encountered a great demon of the Spirit Soul Realm and was killed by it... Even the sect master could do nothing against that demon. Elder Hua had cultivated for many years and was always cautious. He should not have been so reckless."

Su Chen looked thoughtful.

Li Li voiced the thoughts in his heart and then left.

Su Chen was indeed a man of learning.

Li Li did not believe Su Chen would give him any answers.

After Li Li departed, Su Chen looked at the piled jade slips. Among them were those of Elder Hua Yuansi of Qingyuan Peak, as well as the briefly recorded lives of the forty-four disciples, such as Guang Hongyi and Gan Jin.

The Heavenly Origin Sect had expanded. There were more benefits now. Benefits stirred the hearts of men, and so struggles began.

Su Chen carefully arranged each of the slips. These matters had nothing to do with him. He was only a spectator!

Just as Su Chen had expected. From that time onward, the number of deaths within the Heavenly Origin Sect clearly increased.

People came to Su Chen sometimes after half a month, sometimes after one or two months, but never longer than half a year.

Most of them, however, were ordinary disciples. They had no magnificent lives, only plain and ordinary stories that could not be more ordinary. Most had died while completing missions, or failed in cultivation breakthroughs, or been killed in the struggle for treasures...

Su Chen's brush recorded one brief life after another. In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since he arrived at the Heavenly Origin Sect. One day, a young girl pushed open the door and entered.

The girl was exceptionally beautiful, her face still carrying a trace of lingering innocence... yet at this moment, her eyes were brimming with tears. They say a girl changes greatly as she grows up.

The young woman before him bore little resemblance to the child of the past. Even across the entire Wooden Scenery Dynasty, she could be counted among the top beauties.

Su Chen still recognized that the girl before him was the same child who, ten years earlier, had given him a fourth-grade pill that allowed him to survive.

Ruan Hongyao, however, did not recognize Su Chen. She had come to record someone... no matter how grief-stricken she felt, she still had to come.

"Grandpa Wei is dead... it is all my fault..."

Ruan Hongyao choked on her words.

Grandpa Wei...

Su Chen recalled the deep, resonant voice he had heard on that snowy night long ago. It was probably the Grandpa Wei of whom Ruan Hongyao spoke.

From Ruan Hongyao's fragmented description, Su Chen learned that the old man's name was Wei Qiong... a close friend of the current sect master Ruan Jingtian, and one of the people dearest to Ruan Hongyao.

From childhood to adulthood, the person Ruan Hongyao relied on most was not her father but her Grandpa Wei. Whether she did right or wrong, Wei Qiong always stood by her side... even when Ruan Hongyao had given the fourth-grade pill to Su Chen, enraging the current sect master Ruan Jingtian and resulting in her being confined, Wei Qiong had dared to confront Ruan Jingtian directly. He had even risked entering the Weeping Blood Forest to seize a fourth-grade precious herb, gathering the remaining materials for another fourth-grade pill, and only then had Ruan Hongyao's confinement been lifted.

One must know that the Weeping Blood Forest was guarded by a true demon king! Even the current sect master of the Heavenly Origin Sect, Ruan Jingtian, would face nine deaths and one life if he entered it, let alone Wei Qiong, who was still far from the Spirit Soul Realm.

Wei Qiong, guest elder of the Heavenly Origin Sect, had once been a genius among the independent cultivators of his generation. Later, he was won over by Sect Master Ruan Jingtian and chose to join the Heavenly Origin Sect as a guest elder. He made many contributions to the sect and thereafter protected the path of the sect master's daughter, Ruan Hongyao.

In order to protect the hundreds of thousands of common people of Ancient River City and Ruan Hongyao, he died fighting against the demon tide. He lived to the age of two hundred and sixty-four years.

"I was the one who killed Grandpa Wei..."

Ruan Hongyao's eyes were bloodshot, and her voice was extremely hoarse.

The truth of the matter was not like that.

For an independent cultivator like Wei Qiong, not to mention hundreds of thousands of common people, even millions or tens of millions would not have been worth risking his life. The only possibility was that Ruan Hongyao could not bear to watch the hundreds of thousands of people of Ancient River City be completely devoured by the demon tide. She abandoned the chance to escape alone and chose to live or die together with Ancient River City.

How could Wei Qiong bear to watch Ruan Hongyao throw her life away for nothing? He too chose to stay and resist the demon tide in order to protect her.

In the end, Wei Qiong died fighting the demon tide.

Under Wei Qiong's protection, Ruan Hongyao held on until reinforcements arrived and saved the hundreds of thousands of people of Ancient River City from becoming food for the demonic beasts.

"Miss Ruan, if Elder Wei could see you like this, he would perhaps feel even more sorrow than you do. Elder Wei hoped that you would live in peace and happiness, not remain trapped in guilt like this forever."

Su Chen rarely spoke to comfort the young woman before him.

People who were too kind... often had to pay an enormous price. This world was simply like that. Whether evil received its due retribution was unknown... yet most kind-hearted people did not meet a good end.

Ruan Hongyao stopped crying. She looked at Su Chen and forced a smile. "Thank you, Nameless Grandpa. I will live well."

Wei Qiong's death made Ruan Hongyao understand one thing. Kindness also required paying an enormous price.

Watching Ruan Hongyao leave, Su Chen did not know whether she would ultimately be able to hold on to that kindness. Or whether she would change completely from this point onward.

Su Chen placed Wei Qiong's bamboo slip in a high position. He only hoped that Ruan Hongyao would come to understand the cruelty of the cultivation world as soon as possible.

...

Five years had passed since Wei Qiong's death.

There had been changes during these five years. The Heavenly Origin Sect gained another martial artist of the Spirit Soul Realm. Something worth celebrating. Moreover, another genius appeared, even more talented than Sun Ao, ranking second on the Wooden Scenery Dynasty's prodigy ranking!

The Heavenly Origin Sect flourished. Its ranking among the sects rose directly to eighth place, becoming the greatest dark horse.

Besides these pieces of good news, an even greater piece of news was that the sect master of the Heavenly Origin Sect had broken through to the peak of the Spirit Soul Realm. Alone with a single sword, he charged into the Ancient River Mountain Range. Over the course of a month, he successively slew four great demons and completely wiped out every demonic tribe in the Ancient River Mountain Range, dyeing the mountains and forests with blood!

This battle shocked everyone in the Wooden Scenery Dynasty.

The always extremely low-key Sect Master Ruan Jingtian of the Heavenly Origin Sect, who had even been thought incapable of shouldering the banner of one of the ten great sects of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty, turned out to be this terrifying. The peak of the Spirit Soul Realm!

There were only a handful of such experts in the entire Wooden Scenery Dynasty.

One of the top five experts under the heavens!

Chapter 395: The Ancient and Modern Recorder (Part 6)

Su Chen realized that fifteen years had already passed since he arrived at the Heavenly Origin Sect.

Looking at the reflection on the water's surface, he became aware that he had grown old. His hair was beginning to turn gray, and the wrinkles on his face resembled the bark of a withered old tree.

A fourth-grade pill was no divine medicine. It could not grant him immortality. It had only given him a little more strength and a little more energy.

Su Chen examined the savings he had accumulated over the years.

Mm.

There were savings after all. He had not labored all these years for nothing.

...

"You want to forge a mask?"

Li Li looked at the old man in surprise. In these fifteen years, he had actually saved up so many lower-grade spiritual stones.

"With this many spiritual stones, you could easily forge a mid-grade spiritual artifact."

Li Li spoke, then looked at Su Chen with a touch of regret.

Su Chen knew Li Li was regretting that his aptitude was too poor and that he was completely unable to cultivate.

Su Chen did not mind. He simply nodded.

Li Li asked no further questions. He said, "Leave this matter to me. When the mask is finished, I will have someone deliver it to the Recorder Pavilion."

One month later, a finished bronze mask was delivered into Su Chen's hands.

Su Chen took the mask. A cool sensation passed from the metal into his fingertips. This was indeed a fine mid-grade spiritual artifact. He placed the excellent mask over his face. It covered his gradually aging features.

Another major event occurred within the Heavenly Origin Sect. The genius disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect, Wei Wu, had died.

Wei Wu had been the most talented prodigy after Sun Ao, ranking second on the Wooden Scenery Dynasty's prodigy ranking. He had made a name for himself in his youth and had naturally been rather proud. Now that he was dead, the entire Heavenly Origin Sect seemed covered in dark clouds, as if a terrible storm was about to break.

Su Chen met Li Li once again.

Looking at Su Chen wearing the mask, Li Li smiled and said, "You had no name before, and now you wear a mask. You have truly become nameless."

Su Chen said, "Have you come because of Wei Wu?"

Li Li sighed. "The news of Wei Wu's death has already spread throughout the sect. Even you have heard the rumors. I long knew that a day like this might come... Unfortunately, Sun Ao left the sect to travel, and no news has come from him in five years. The sect feared that Wei Wu would follow in Sun Ao's footsteps and reacted a little too extremely."

There were many versions of why Wei Wu had suddenly died.

Su Chen alone had heard no fewer than ten versions.

Among them, being killed by a demonic beast or accidentally entering a forbidden ground while seeking opportunities were the normal ones. Unfortunately, the normal ones were few.

More of them claimed that Wei Wu had taken a fancy to a beauty from some other sect and tried to seize her by force, only to suffer desperate retaliation, or that he had acted arrogantly and offended people from major external sects who could not be provoked, leading to his death... Clearly, Wei Wu's reputation within the sect was not particularly good; otherwise, there would not have been so many negative comments.

Yet he was still a genius disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect. From the sect's perspective, although Wei Wu was arrogant, he possessed the aptitude to become a future pillar of the sect.

Under Li Li's description, Su Chen slowly recorded Wei Wu's life.

Wei Wu, true disciple of the Great Elder Jin Yuan Zhenren of the Heavenly Origin Sect, had been intelligent from childhood and possessed peerless aptitude. On the path of cultivation, he left others far behind and claimed second place among the ten great prodigies of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty. His cultivation path had been smooth and unobstructed, yet his character was ruthless and arrogant. Relying on the background of the sect and his own strength, he acted with wanton pride.

He schemed against a disciple of the Imperial Armor Sect in an attempt to seize a treasure and was ultimately killed by that disciple.

The Imperial Armor Sect was not a power of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty. It was a colossal force from beyond the dynasty. Any ordinary elder of theirs could easily destroy the entire Wooden Scenery Dynasty... Wei Wu, never having suffered setbacks under the protection of his sect, knew neither the height of the heavens nor the depth of the earth, nor the principle that there were always greater people and higher mountains beyond. In the end, he was killed by a disciple of the Imperial Armor Sect. It was truly a matter for sighs.

After Su Chen finished recording Wei Wu's deeds, Li Li left.

Su Chen placed Wei Wu's life record in a prominent position, considering it a reminder for others in the Heavenly Origin Sect.

With the sect master of the Heavenly Origin Sect, one of the top five experts of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty, presiding over the sect, although Wei Wu's death was a regret, they could only let the matter rest... after all, the Imperial Armor Sect was far beyond anything they could afford to provoke.

After that... another five years passed.

By now, Su Chen had been at the Heavenly Origin Sect for twenty years. He was already over eighty. Although he had not died, his physical condition was gradually declining.

Li Li now appeared middle-aged. He had also become an elder of the sect... In these five years, countless faces had come and gone. This was the first time in five years that Su Chen had seen Li Li again.

"What has happened in the sect this time that brings you here in person?"

Su Chen knew that Li Li's status was now completely different from before. He held a respected position within the sect.

Li Li shook his head. "I did not come this time to have you record someone. I simply happened to pass by and wanted to see how you old fellow were doing."

That Su Chen was still alive made Li Li somewhat happy.

The two of them drank a couple of cups of spirit wine.

From Li Li's words, Su Chen learned news of Ruan Hongyao, whom he had not heard of for a long time.

After Wei Qiong's death, Ruan Hongyao had been filled with self-reproach. The sect master took the opportunity to send her to a major power beyond the Wooden Scenery Dynasty for ten years of training. She had only recently returned.

Perhaps the death of someone so close had taught Ruan Hongyao how to grow.

"Old fellow, you must live well. I do not want to send you off so early. That would be a great taboo."

Su Chen smiled and shook his head. "How many more years these old bones of mine can last, no one can say for certain. However, I would like to train a successor. Consider it a contribution to the sect. Even if I die one day, the position of Recorder will not be interrupted."

Li Li thought for a moment and nodded. "This is a small matter. Leave it to me."

Training an unbroken line of recorders for the sect was ultimately a good thing.

Li Li agreed.

After Li Li left, Su Chen removed the bronze mask from his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He had to do something. Even if it meant burning his boats, even if it was only a dying struggle, he still had to do something and not give up.

Before long, Li Li fulfilled his promise and brought a young boy to Su Chen. The boy was only a menial disciple. Now that he had the chance to meet an inner-sect elder, he was naturally overjoyed. He began to stay by Su Chen's side, carefully observing and learning.