Chapter 1635 - Truth
The elder said clansman! This made s.h.i.+ Hao tremble inwardly!
This elder’s beard and hair were all white, body shriveled and dried up, only having a single arm. His clothes were ragged, carrying traces of blood. His face was covered in wrinkles, eyes turbid, body extremely weak.
The word clansman made s.h.i.+ Hao produce an inwardly bitter feeling, his emotions immediately surging. Was this a clansman of his? Did he fight at the very forefront all this time?
Just how much suffering did they endure, how much bitterness? Even the children and elders were forced to ascend the wall, were there no more robust men anymore? Could it be that they already all died in battle?!
“Senior!” s.h.i.+ Hao called out, looking towards the weak elder on the city wall, feeling a wave of respect, even more so a wave of surging emotions. He really wanted to change all of this.
On the city wall, the children with the dirty faces were roughly eight or nine years old, the older ones fifteen or sixteen. They were all on guard, looking downwards.
Their faces had all become numb, only within the depths of their eyes was there a hint of curiosity as they looked at the people below the city walls.
One could imagine what these children had to go through, how much death they had to have witnessed to become like this. Extremely miserable great battles definitely happened here.
Their tender faces that originally should be youthful and full of life were all numbed, preparing to be replaced. Meanwhile, the younger children were a bit nervous.
On the city wall, the elder waved his hand. He only had one arm, the broken arm unable to be regenerated. There were terrifying natural laws eating at his flesh and blood, attacking at the dark red blood scabs. He hinted for the children to move back.
“You are… a clansman… from outside?”
He spoke, as if he hadn’t spoken for a long time, his voice hoa.r.s.e, moreover, the enunciation unclear. It was as if the only thing this place had were battles, blood, and ruthless killing.
Even Shenming and Sanzang were moved. Just how many years had it been since he last spoke? What exactly did these people go through? Could it be that they continued to defend this place bitterly all this time, that they were still fighting?
This was likely an abandoned place. The outside world thought that this city had long withered away, becoming a city of death, yet there were a group of old and sickly elders still watching over it!
What kind of willpower was this? What kept them going all this time?
“You… aren’t a true immortal, how did you enter?” The elder asked, two streaks of light flying out from his turbid eyes. His single arm held a bronze hatchet.
From these words, s.h.i.+ Hao obtained a shocking piece of information. Those who weren’t at the true immortal level couldn’t approach this place at all!
Then, they gave the city wall another look. Those places had bones that were burning, undying level fluctuations. They were restricted by formations, proving some of their speculations.
“It really is strange if we talk about it, we…”
Before these clansmen, before these people who bitterly defended the ancient city by themselves, s.h.i.+ Hao didn’t hide anything, telling them everything that happened. Even though the events were complicated, difficult to believe, he still told them everything.
“Clansman, stand on that piece of limestone.”
On the city wall, the elder pointed at a limestone below the city wall. It was three square feet, extremely simple and ancient, nothing special about it.
When s.h.i.+ Hao heard this, he directly stepped on it without any hesitation.
Chi!
The limestone immediately shone. A flame wrapped around s.h.i.+ Hao, surrounding his vessel and bones, not even letting his soul go.
Shenming cried out in alarm, almost taking action, but she endured that urge.
It was extremely strange. The fiery light didn’t injure s.h.i.+ Hao, instead, he felt warm. The symbols on his forehead became even more brilliant, as if it was supported by a type of power.
“It is not the other side pretending to be one of us.” The elder nodded. Many people on the wall, including the children released a sigh.
This stone could confirm if one was a true Stone clansmen!
“Please raise your head and look at us.” The elder said carefully.
There was a bone mirror hanging above the city gates. It was extremely smooth. At this time, a streak of light shone down, entering s.h.i.+ Hao’s sea of consciousness, seeping into his soul.
During this process, s.h.i.+ Hao didn’t resist, instead quietly waiting.
Behind him, the two Golden Undead Knights’ expressions changed, quickly backing up. They definitely didn’t want to be shone by this immortal mirror, let it understand everything about them. If that happened, their lives would be in the hands of others.
However, s.h.i.+ Hao was just that relaxed, not resisting.
“He is a clansman, he came with goodwill, not lying.” The elder was moved. The others on the city wall all revealed expressions of joy, those children cheering.
“Do you two wish to be examined, or will you back up?” The elder looked at the two Golden Undead Knights.
Shenming and Sanzang gave each other a look, both of them backing up, staying far enough away.
Chi!
On the ground, an expanse of fiery light shone. It was blue-colored like the flames of the underworld. It was as if a wave of undying energy pervaded the air, forming a wall of impa.s.sable flames.
The two Golden Undead Knights couldn’t see anything, nor could they hear anything.
Below the wall, s.h.i.+ Hao stood there alone, waiting calmly.
Suddenly, divine light flashed. That single-armed elder suddenly appeared, opening the defenses, walking out alone.
“Let’s sit, the inside of the city is overcast. It’s been many years since I last spoke, almost forgetting how to.” The elder said, sitting on a piece of limestone.
“Why? You all guard this place bitterly, where are the others? Where are they? Why haven’t they withdrawn to New Imperial Pa.s.s?” s.h.i.+ Hao asked.
There were already answers to some of these questions, but he still wanted confirmation.
“This was the order of our predecessors, to persevere until the end. It is because a group of clansman have already been sent out, letting them scatter the branches and leaves, these individuals keeping the bloodline intact is already enough.” The elder said. He gave s.h.i.+ Hao a look.
s.h.i.+ Hao felt as if thunder struck his body. He understood. The clansmen that were sent out were precisely their ancestors! Fortunately, they were still alive, in charge of continuing the clan’s bloodline.
Meanwhile, the sickly elders were the ones left behind, as well as their descendants. They were in charge of fighting b.l.o.o.d.y battles, the ones to struggle to the end until they die in battle.
“How are the clansmen outside? Have they flourished, spread their branches and leaves?” The elder asked.
s.h.i.+ Hao’s face became a bit rigid, wis.h.i.+ng to hide things with a smile, but he found that he couldn’t do so. Could it be that he was to tell them that even though they weren’t wiped out, they were being oppressed, becoming sinner’s blood descendants?
“What’s wrong?” The elder quickly asked.
s.h.i.+ Hao remained quiet for a moment. In the end, he directly told things as they were. These types of things couldn’t be hidden!
“What?!” The elder erupted into fury, his expression changing. However, he was originally already about to stand up, but in the end, he sat down again, releasing a sigh.
“The Human Kings of the seven kings, which is Stone King and the others, they took the heads of a few great figures in the Nine Heavens, this should be why there is this misunderstanding.” The elder said.
“What? Why?” s.h.i.+ Hao was shocked. He didn’t expect to touch upon the secrets as soon as he came into contact with this elder.
“They were corrupted by the inauspicious, those people were about to change, so they asked Stone King and the others to take action, immediately cut them down, erase their primordial spirits.” The single-armed elder sighed.
In that instant, s.h.i.+ Hao’s fine hairs stood on end. That so-called inauspicious, the terrifying ominous, it had such long-lasting effects? He immediately thought of many things.
That blood-soaked black ancient boat that drifted through the void, s.h.i.+ Hao had previously gotten on it. This was also where he first learned of the Desolate Border Seven Kings.
Meanwhile, on that s.h.i.+p, there was the ominous and inauspiciousness, one of the kings even using his corpse to suppress the strange things there!
What was even more terrifying was the stone cauldron there, inside should be many b.l.o.o.d.y heads, the severed heads of immortal daoists!
When were they killed? How were they cut down? Could it be that they were also experts corroded by inauspiciousness?
Apart from this, not long ago, he had even entered Immortal Domain, looked down on by those creatures, shown contempt. At the same time, Immortal Domain’s people were on guard, fearing that those of the lower realms would contaminate Immortal Domain, guarding against inauspiciousness.
These… were all major things!
“Back then, there were people who knew about these things, so they shouldn’t have been misunderstood. There were true immortals who were still alive in the Nine Heavens. Did those two or three individuals not stand out?” The single-armed elder stood up, his expression serious.
s.h.i.+ Hao was stunned. The Nine Heavens had true immortals? How terrifying of a thing was this? Why did they never come out to fight?!
“Phantom Drake Dao Gate, Sword Valley, what kind of att.i.tude did they have?” The elder asked.
“They are precisely the ones who claimed my clan’s descendants have sinner’s blood!” s.h.i.+ Hao replied.
The elder’s expression became ice-cold, and then he asked, “Has the true immortal from the Bronze Immortal Palace appeared in the world to berate them?”
“The Bronze Immortal Palace has a true immortal sleeping inside?” s.h.i.+ Hao was stunned. He had previously fought with Immortal Palace’s inheritor, fighting a great battle, both of them standing against each other.
When the elder heard this, he immediately understood, releasing a sigh.
“After fighting with the Kun Peng bloodline, have their eyes been covered by blood?” The elder said with a sigh. Then he erupted with anger, releasing a low roar.
Anyone would get angry over this. They were still shedding blood, fighting bravely here, fighting until only the old and weak remained, yet the clansmen back home were slandered, harmed, humiliated, called sinner’s blood descendants!
“Vermilion King died early. With his fiery temper, he would have definitely slaughtered his way back without any regard for the consequences!” The single-armed elder said.
s.h.i.+ Hao was absent-minded, great waves surging within him. It was because now, he learned many secrets. If this information got out, it would definitely shake up everything.
“What a pity, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We can’t leave even if we wanted to. Should the city stand, then the people will live, if the city dies, then people will die!” The elder released a long sigh.