đź“– Chapter 1252 - A Lifetime of Killing!
Prior to merging with the Underworld Dao, Chen Qingzi had cultivated a singular Dao all his life!
This Dao was not the Dao of the Underworld!
As a traitor of the Underworld Sect, he had already abandoned his Underworld Dao and hadn’t cultivated it for many years. From beginning to end, from ancient times to now, the only Dao he cultivated… was the Dao of the Sword!
His everything lay with the wooden sword in his hand. Throughout his entire life, this was the one and only path that he walked.
Even though he had later fused with the Underworld Dao, that was more borrowing its power through his identity as the Heavenly Dao. The Sword Dao was his everything. Incidentally, the wooden sword that had been with him for so long was actually made from ordinary and unimpressive materials.
To be precise, it was made from a wooden memorial tablet.
When he was still been a disciple of the Underworld Sect, he had once seen the soul of a woman destined to be his wife in the next life, and painted her Corpse Face with his own hands. His wooden sword was in fact her memorial tablet. No matter whether her appearance in front of him back then was an accident or some sort of conspiracy, it didn’t matter. In the end… this soul that was destined to be his wife disappeared into thin air.
Although this wasn’t the whole reason for Chen Qingzi’s betrayal of the Underworld Sect, it could be considered a catalyst. This matter had been buried in his heart for many years, and after he betrayed the Underworld Sect and went to the Never-Ending Clan, he stood in front of the soul’s memorial tablet for a long time. Finally, he brought the tablet away, and from then on… there was a wooden sword by his side.
This sword had accompanied from then until now, and as he looked at it, he could no longer tell what Dao he cultivated. Perhaps it wasn’t the Sword Dao after all. But in any case, he had gained three layers of enlightenment from the wooden sword.
The first layer was the wooden sword body. His sword could destroy myriads of enemies and was impossible to break.
The second layer was a transformation of the soul. This increased the power of the sword several times over, allowing it to pierce through all Daos and exterminate everything.
As for the third layer, or third sword form, it had only existed in Chen Qingzi’s heart and had never appeared in the world before.
This third sword form was called… Memories.
Although its name was Memories, it had nothing to do with the Dao of Time. This third sword form… had never been displayed, but it had risen in Chen Qingzi’s heart several times, and each time it did so, his killing intent skyrocketed to an indescribable extent.
Thus, it was part of the Dao of Killing.
Chen Qingzi’s lips moved soundlessly as he stared at the wooden sword in front of him. Layers of wood suddenly appeared on the sword. The starry sky trembled, and even Master Never-Ending’s expression changed drastically as the wooden sword erupted with a terrifying killing intent.
This killing intent could shake all directions.
This killing intent could cause all the stars to tremble.
This killing intent could make the entire universe grow faint!
“All my life, all I’ve known… is killing.” Chen Qingzi murmured softly. He didn’t look at Master Never-Ending at all, only affectionately staring at the wooden sword. Grasping it in his hand and stepping forward, he made a light swing.
In an instant, the entire starry sky seemed to turn pitch black. The only light in the world… was the sword-light that flew out of Chen Qingzi’s wooden sword.
The sword-light instantly rushed toward Master Never-Ending, causing him to cry out in shock.
“What Dao… is this? It’s not the Sword Dao! It’s not the Killing Dao either!” Master Never-Ending’s mind trembled. This was the first time since the start of his battle with Chen Qingzi that he felt such an astonishing sense of crisis.
Although his second head was giving of monstrous devil qi, although his cultivation base and battle prowess were heaven and earth compared to earlier… at this moment, he actually backed up.
“Before I entered the Underworld Sect, my parents died in a war. I found a sect to join and learned the art of killing…” Chen Qingzi completely ignored Master Never-Ending and continued to murmur. His voice was quiet, but it spread in all directions like the resonance of the Great Dao. Even the two Heavenly Daos, the black fish and golden beetle, had stopped fighting, looking over with frightened expressions.
They could sense an inexplicable danger that made their hearts tremble.
“After mastering it, I went out to kill!
“I killed a battalion, killed an army, killed a nation, and buried them all with my father and mother.” Chen Qingzi spoke slowly and quietly, but each and every word seemed to reverberate with shocking power, causing the Heavenly Daos to retreat and Master Never-Ending to continue backing away. However, Master Never-Ending wasn’t able to escape, and a ray of sword qi struck him as Chen Qingzi took a third step forward.
A boom rang out as Master Never-Ending lifted his right arm to block. His arm instantly turned into mist, and the power of fleeting clouds spread out. But before the Dao contained in this right arm could truly appear, the ray of sword qi had already arrived, and Master Never-Ending’s right arm exploded into nothingness.
The agonizing pain made Master Never-Ending’s face twist. Although a new arm grew out almost instantly, the feeling of danger didn’t recede, and Master Never-Ending continued retreating as fast as he could.
“Then, I met Master and received his teachings. I put down the butcher knife and joined the Underworld Sect…
“In the Underworld Sect, I ferried the souls of the dead. It seemed that I had become pure and righteous, following the laws of the Heavenly Dao and sending souls into reincarnation, but in reality… I was still killing, killing souls!” Chen Qingzi smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile at all. The wooden sword in his hand released even more terrifying killing intent, and with a light wave, Master Never-Ending let out a miserable scream. His newly-grown arm, swirling with wind, was once again destroyed!
“What the hell is this!?” Master Never-Ending’s scalp had gone numb. He could tell that Chen Qingzi was in a strange state right now, both here and not here at the same time. No matter how Master Never-Ending attacked, Chen Qingzi remained unaffected, but Chen Qingzi’s sword slashes were incredibly deadly to Master Never-Ending.
“I was tired of it. When my next life’s wife suddenly disappeared, I desperately needed some sort of change. Thus, I betrayed the Underworld Sect. In that war, I was still killing – killing my former fellow disciples, killing those who invaded the Never-Ending Clan…
“I thought that after the war was over, I wouldn’t have to kill again. But I didn’t realize… even after the universe belonged to the Never-Ending Clan, I still had memories. Memories of the Underworld Sect, memories of my little junior brother, memories of my master…
“These memories were like poison, gnawing at me inside and swallowing everything. I could find only one solution… to kill!” Chen Qingzi’s expression was calm, but his words made everyone who heard them tremble. As he spoke, sword-light flashed out repeatedly.
In this moment of crisis, Master Never-Ending was rapidly forming hand seals. Right now, four arms had been destroyed, and his current arms were his last. One was surrounded by thunder and lightning, and the other was like a black hole, containing a vast devouring power.
As he formed hand seals, thunder exploded outward, and a suction force that could devour the heavens erupted forth as well. Moreover, the devil qi emanating from his head turned into an illusory figure, looking like the advent of a supreme devil that could suppress all creation.
Rumbling echoed out as the sword-light arrived. With each ray, the illusory devil trembled, and Master Never-Ending fell back repeatedly with a look of madness in his eyes.
“I killed those of the myriad factions, I killed those of the Never-Ending Clan, I killed Divine Generals, I killed Divine Emperors!
“I killed for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years and even longer!
“So why? Why does my heart still feel pain, why can I not free myself of these memories… In order to fuse with the Underworld Sect’s Heavenly Dao, I killed countless beings. In order to perfect myself, I killed my master. And now… here in the world of the living, I’m killing again. I’m killing everything that stands in my way. I’m killing… the Emperor of Never-Ending!” Chen Qingzi suddenly raised his head, wooden sword held tightly in his grasp. At this moment, cracks had appeared on the wooden sword, as if even it couldn’t bear the indescribably powerful killing intent radiating outward.
As Chen Qingzi waved the wooden sword, a ray of sword-light even vaster and more powerful than before instantly slashed down on the illusory devil. After merely a moment, the illusory devil collapsed, torn to pieces. The sword-light continued on unabated and easily slashed through Master Never-Ending’s body.
In an instant… Master Never-Ending’s head of the Devil Dao collapsed!
His left hand of the Thunder Dao collapsed!
His right hand of the Devouring Dao collapsed!
His whole body… exploded!
The entire starry sky fell silent. Chen Qingzi lowered his head and murmured softly.
“I am Chen Qingzi. Tell me… what is my Dao?”
The wooden sword suddenly shattered into pieces, falling all around Chen Qingzi. It was as if a lotus had bloomed in the starry sky.