Stranger Danger

“There were many reasons. Grudges, love, hatred, fame, fortune. Take your pick. They’re all true.”

Ye Qing recalled the headless Sage’s memories as he continued, “His whole life, the Dark Overlord obeyed no laws but his own and lived as he pleased. As a result, he made many friends and even more enemies.”

“Although the Dark Overlord stopped interfering with jianghu matters after secluding himself to the Demonbearer Abode, his personality did not change one bit. He built twelve pavilions and palaces in the abode, collected all sorts of priceless treasures, welcomed countless beauties to his luxurious abode, and befriended people and factions of all shapes and sizes. All day everyday, he indulged himself in senseless pleasure.”

“The Dark Overlord had no interest in the jianghu, but his so-called ‘friends’ and ‘allies’ were a different story. They abused their connection to him and ripped into the jianghu with wanton abandon. His own disciples and subordinates did everything under the sun to garner the Dark Overlord’s favor. They stole treasures, kidnapped beauties, and slaughtered entire families down to their last animal. Their cruelty and propensity for cruelty knew no bounds.”

“Although the Dark Overlord had never partaken in these acts, they were intricately tied to his person. After all, these villains could only do what they did because of their connection to him. Some people loathed the Dark Overlord for what he did—or rather, what he did not do—some people coveted his many treasures and women, some people wanted to kill him for justice, and some wanted to borrow his head for fame and glory…”

“Eight hundred years ago, the mountain lord of Deer Herding Mountain[1] summoned countless warriors to his side and invaded the Demonbearer Abode to slay the Dark Overlord when it emerged in the real world. A great war broke out, and the Demonbearer Abode was destroyed as a result.”

“They actually thought they could slay the Dark Overlord? Hah! What fools.” Mountain Tunneling King snorted. The rest of the group looked skeptical as well. In their opinion, the Dark Overlord Li Hentian was the undisputed champion of the world eight hundred years ago. There was just no way a ragtag bunch of misfits could hope to slay him.

“You would think so, but you would be wrong!” Ye Qing said slowly. “The Dark Overlord was strong, but he was also getting old. Not only that, the invading force Zhuang Juyun gathered were anything but small fries. A total of three Sages, five Half Sages, and countless Grandmasters and Spirit Masters had assaulted the Demonbearer Abode.”

“Three Sages?” Everyone gasped when they heard this.

“It was a terrible war that incurred horrific losses. The Dark Overlord’s disciples and subordinates all perished in the war, and even his beloved Oathbearer was slain in battle. Of course, Zhuang Juyun’s forces suffered massive casualties—actually, let me correct that. They were totally annihilated. The three Sages sacrificed themselves to kill the Dark Overlord, and the Demonbearer Abode fell into ruins. In short, there was no victor.”

Ye Qing’s tone grew heavy. “Sages died, Grandmasters perished, and an entire world was destroyed. This war was so terrible that the victims’ yin qi, resentment, death qi, blood and more coagulated into the Death Sea we know today.”

“What in the…”

For a time, his four companions could only stare at him with their mouths agape. They were shocked to find that the Dark Overlord was dead. They were also shocked to learn that the Dark Overlord was strong enough that it took three Sages to drag him to the grave with them. And that was considering that he was past his prime too. Most of all, they were shocked to learn that the war was behind the creation of the Death Sea.

Even so, their shock was incomparable to Ye Qing’s own. After all, he inherited the headless Sage’s memories. That war had been so epic, so terrible, so tragic, that no single metaphor could describe it in its entirety. Sea of blood, mountain of corpses, the sky falling, the earth crumbling. It truly was the end of a world.

The headless Sage had perished while fighting against the Dark Overlord. To be specific, the three Sages who fought Li Hentian at the time were the mountain lord of the Hill Herding Mountain Zhuang Juyun, the “Half Buddha” Chen Miaozeng, and the “Profound Finger” Ning Xiliu.

Ning Xiliu was the headless Sage. He was close friends with Zhuang Juyun, and he had attended this heroic undertaking under the mountain lord’s invitation.

The battle between the trio and Li Hentian had lasted over a day. First, the “Half Buddha” Chen Miaozeng had burned his entire soul to summon the Buddha's Golden Body—one that spanned over three thousand meters tall—and score a serious blow against the Dark Overlord. He died immediately after executing his final attack.

Next, Ning Xiliu executed “Profound Theory In Ten Fingers” to open the sky, pierce the Dark Overlord’s nigh invincible demonic body, and ripped out his heart.

Zhuang Juyun seized the opportunity to cut off one of the Dark Overlord’s arms, though it was not without taking an equally severe wound in return.

In response, the Dark Overlord barked out a laugh before punching Ning Xiliu hundreds of kilometers into the sky and slamming him into the underground with one palm, forming the basin they had seen before. Then, the Dark Overlord ripped off his head and killed him.

Finally, Zhuang Juyun and Dark Overlord fought a terrible battle that warped the very world around them. Despite his grievous injuries, the Dark Overlord was ultimately able to shatter Zhuang Juyun’s body and annihilate his soul.

Having used up everything he had, the Dark Overlord stood at the peak of his mountain and laughed three times. With that, he finally passed into the afterlife.

Despite the memories he was granted, Ye Qing was unable to comprehend the trio’s battle completely. He would even go as far as to say that he had only understood the tiniest glimpse of the Sages’ war.

Even so, he saw Chen Miaozeng’s Golden Body reaching higher than the heavens themselves, Ning Xiliu holding the sun and moon between his fingers, Zhuang Juyun gathering heaven and earth for the ultimate slash, and of course, the Dark Overlord Li Hentian somehow killing all of them despite the severe disadvantage he was in. His palm had blotted out the sky, and his fist shattered the earth. It was easily the greatest battle he had ever seen to date.

If his ascension to Trueman put him on a pedestal where the entire world under the heavens was within his grasp, then the battle between the Dark Overlord and the Sages showed him the stars, the moon, and the sun that hung high, high up in the infinite skies.

The world under the heavens was great, but the celestial bodies in the sky were undoubtedly more alluring.

Very, very few people ever became one of the stars though. Most of them could only look up with envy.

Still, he now knew what lay beyond the peak that was Grandmaster. He now knew what he should strive for.

At the age of twenty, he was already a master of humanity. In the future, who was to say he couldn’t join the stars above?

“I see. So this is why the Dark Overlord vanished!”

A long, long time later, Mrs. Basket finally broke the silence.

The Dark Overlord hadn’t attained immortality and disappeared into unknown worlds after all.

He had died like so many others before and after him.

“Yeah. Who would’ve thought that the invincible Dark Overlord from eight hundred years ago was killed in battle?” Pedant Earth sighed.

“He might have perished, but he still fought three Sages on his own… and won. How incredible was that? If only I was alive to witness his final battle!” Shangguan Hongjin sighed ruefully.

“Yeah. He truly deserved his name as the greatest warrior of the Spring and Autumn eight hundred years ago!” Mountain Tunneling King echoed in agreement. “I hate that I wasn’t alive to see him with my own two eyes, and I only wish that I could measure up to him one day!”

“Indeed!” Ye Qing agreed with them completely. All warriors desired to climb higher, and he was no exception.

“Come! Let us witness the greatest warrior on earth eight hundred Springs and Autumns ago!”

Like a ray of light piercing through an endless fog, Ye Qing’s group surged toward the east.

……

“I thought we’re looking for the Dark Overlord? Where is this place?”

One of them asked while Shangguan Hongjin, Pedant Earth, Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket observed the strange, anomalous land before them.

The land in front of them was a puddle of chaos where most, if not all natural laws seemed to have malfunctioned or disappeared outright. They saw forests floating in the air as if gravity did not exist, they saw rivers rising from the ground and into the sky, the saw clouds spread across the ground like snow, they saw mountain ranges standing upside down, they saw stars twinkling in ponds and lakes, they saw the ground rippling and lapping against objects like the sea; the sunlight felt as cold as ice, the ice felt as cold as molten metal, some flowers looked as big as a century-old tree, some trees looked as small as insects…

On top of that, the air was filled with a sense of chaos and horror.

“What is this place? It’s so strange!” Pedant Earth murmured.

“The Dark Overlord is up ahead!” Ye Qing pointed toward the front. “This is where he and the three Sages had fought!”

“You’re saying that this… chaos… is caused by their battle?” Mrs. Basket asked.

“That’s right,” Ye Qing explained, “The Dark Overlord and the three Sages were so strong that they shattered the natural laws that governed all things, not to mention that their martial intent still lingers in this land. As a result, this land transformed into a chaotic, lawless place that is completely different from the one we’re used to.”

“No wonder they say that the power of a Sage cannot be comprehended by mere mortals!” Mountain Tunneling King sighed wistfully.

1. Yeah this is quite the weird name even for me… or it was, until I watched Shikanoko nokonoko koshitan tan that is. ☜

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