Casual Chat

Speaking of that year, the events of the past could not help but drift through his mind.

Xu Xian's face flushed, and he said sheepishly, "Uh... actually, it wasn't that hard."

The eyes of the others brightened even more.

It wasn't hard?

That endgame chess before the stele was left by the Ancestor in the past.

In the Heavenly Sword Province, it had sat before the Li family mountain gate for countless ages, and those who had come to observe and challenge it were as numerous as the clouds...

Starting from the Era of Primal Chaos, spanning through the Era of Ancient Immortals, and lasting until the beginning of the Dark Era, not a single person had been able to solve it.

Among them,

there was no lack of peerless geniuses, holy maidens of great sects, and successive generations of Chess Sages.

They, naturally, had also tried their hand at it.

Yet Xu Xian said it was simple?

He was practically insulting them.

Xu Xian did not really want to say it, but looking at the expectant gazes in their eyes, he thought there was no harm in telling them.

It wasn't as if it were some shameful secret; he had broken it, and that was that.

He said, "Well, I just smashed the chessboard, and then it was broken."

The group froze, their gaunt pupils dilating.

Smashed it?

Surely they hadn't misheard.

Li Taibai asked tentatively, "Smashed it?"

"Yes."

"How did you smash it?"

Xu Xian lifted his foot and stomped down in demonstration. "Like this. I crushed it with one foot."

The five of them fell into a sudden silence.

At the same time,

they understood.

Nothing is established without destruction, and from that destruction comes rebirth. A deviant path brings forth a new dawn.

So...

That was what those words meant.

Since it was a dead end, then tear it down and start over.

It was very logical.

Only,

smashing the chessboard left by the Ancestor...

They believed that in the endless time that had passed, more than one person must have had a similar thought to Xu Xian's. Even they themselves had once wondered if they could just wipe the board and start again.

But,

no one had ever actually done it.

There was no other reason.

They didn't dare.

They simply didn't dare.

That was a chessboard left by the Ancestor, carrying the weight of the entire Sword Mound and the only hope for the Sword Tower to reappear.

The Li family.

Trusted by the Ancestor to guard the Sword Mound and the sword stele... never mind smashing it, if a disciple even dropped a speck of dust on it, they would likely face punishment.

Smash it?

Who would dare to smash it?

No one could bear the consequences.

Yet that happened to be the correct answer. There was no sense to be made of it.

And the youth before them had actually gone and smashed it.

Whether he knew the answer before he smashed it, they weren't sure.

But one thing was for certain: he definitely had a lot of nerve.

They were shocked at first, then silent, and finally, they broke into bitter smiles one after another.

"Heh..."

"To break it... the secret really was in the act of breaking."

Was it a coincidence, or was it destiny?

Li Taibai sighed with emotion. "Perhaps what the Ancestor was waiting for was a youth like you, someone with the courage to break conventions and possess a fearless heart."

Xu Xian did not deny it.

The greatest cage for any living being is hesitation.

As one grows older and the years pile up, the concerns in one's heart grow deeper.

Was this not also a kind of shackle?

Back then, he had been reckless and without care. But now...

If time were to restart and a similar scene appeared again, Xu Xian wasn't sure if he would still have the courage to smash that game.

The ignorant are fearless.

To him at that time, it was just an ordinary game of chess.

But to the people before him, it was heritage and hope.

And to most people, the stone stele and the endgame chess were sacred, precious, and not to be desecrated...

It was just like when he had refused the Twilight Emperor in the Emperor's Tomb and declined the cup of Emperor's Blood.

If it had been in the past.

If someone had told him that drinking this cup of Emperor's Blood would grant him eternal life, make him undying and indestructible, and allow him to inherit the legacy of an Immortal Emperor to roam the Star Sea as an Immortal King in the future.

Xu Xian thought that before the person could even finish speaking, that thing would already be in his stomach.

But now,

he had refused.

Because he also had concerns now.

The Wendao Sword Sect,

the Demon Abyss,

and Fanzhou.

Xu Xian was no longer alone; he was now inextricably linked to this world.

Because of his concerns, he would weigh the pros and cons.

He would consider the consequences. To put it simply, he thought too much.

Xu Xian rubbed the bridge of his nose and admitted frankly, "It was luck. My luck was just better."

Li Taibai did not deny it either.

Luck,

in the world of cultivation, was often a part of one's strength.

After briefly processing the matter of the sword stele being broken, they stopped dwelling on the topic.

The past was in the past.

And the result was already standing before them.

Xu Xian had come as the Sword Bearer, standing before them with a cultivation at the eighth stage.

This was the answer they had been waiting for.

As for the process,

it was irrelevant.

Li Taibai continued his questioning.

He asked, "How is the Wendao Sword Sect these days?"

Xu Xian replied, "It is at the peak of its power."

Li Taibai smiled with relief and asked again, "What about Little Five... that is, Yun Zheng? How is he?"

A look of loneliness and sorrow flashed in Xu Xian's eyes, and he said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Yun Zheng is gone."

"Where did he go?"

"He didn't go anywhere. He is just gone," Xu Xian repeated.

The five of them gradually realized his meaning. Their expressions remained unchanged, neither happy nor sad, as if Yun Zheng's death was a matter of course to them.

Only the downward curve of their eyes betrayed a hint of regret and a bit of reluctance.

"How did Little Five die?" asked Wu Shuang, who held the green iron chain.

Xu Xian told them everything. "His lifespan was at its end. Before he died, he struck a massive blow against the East Desolation, fought a bloody battle for three days, and single-handedly secured the fortune of the East Desolation for five thousand years. He passed away on the banks of the Wild River... while the sky was filled with drifting snow, sending him off alone."

In just a few words, he recounted a soul-stirring tale.

He painted a picture of a sect ancestor who, on the day his life was ending, left the sect to slay his enemies.

Li Taibai's voice was calm and slow. "Hmm... that does fit Zheng'er's character. He can be said to have no regrets."

The other four felt the same, their eyes filled with agreement.

A person must die eventually; as long as they die for a worthy cause, it is enough.

Yun Zheng was like this.

And so were they.

Xu Xian sensed something was wrong and asked tentatively, "I heard from Senior Brother that you are all older than him. What about you? Are you also going to..."

He didn't say the word, feeling it was impolite and fearing he might jinx them.

Hearing this, the group had smiles in their eyes.

Li Taibai said leisurely, "We don't have many days left either. Living like this is no different from being the living dead. There is no difference between living and dying."

"Everyone must die eventually."

"Dying early or dying late is all the same."

"Before you came, we could not have died in peace."

"Now that you are here, we can close our eyes even in death."

Xu Xian listened with a confused expression as an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

He feigned ignorance. "I don't understand?"

"Death is not necessarily a bad thing; it can also be a kind of release," Li Taibai said meaningfully.

The other four were completely at peace.

It seemed

their oil was indeed spent and their lamps were dry.

Then...

Xu Xian didn't want to beat around the bush anymore. He felt it was time to talk about serious matters and clear up the confusion in his heart.

"When Senior Brother Yun Zheng left, he told me that once I reached the great ascension stage, I could open that door and find Master."

The group watched him, their gazes calm and soft.

Xu Xian continued, "So, I have come."

Li Taibai said warmly, "You have many questions to ask?"

"Yes." Xu Xian nodded and emphasized, "Many."

Li Taibai understood, looking as if he had already seen through Xu Xian. He smiled and said, "Before you ask, why not listen to a story first?"

"What story?" Xu Xian asked curiously.

Li Taibai said word by word:

"Who am I..."

"Where do I come from?"

"And why did I come?"