Chapter 665: Ethereal Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 665: The Ethereal Mountains and Rivers

This was an immensely vast river, its opposite bank completely lost to sight. A woman hovered amidst the central purple mist, her figure somewhat indistinct and difficult to make out clearly, yet her countenance indeed bore a striking resemblance to Yangyang.

The young couple exchanged looks of mutual bewilderment, both scratching their heads.

At any rate, this was a retracing of cause and effect, much like watching a film; the other party was unaware of their presence, so the two simply stepped closer to get a better look.

The woman floated in the middle of the river, sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, seemingly in meditation... She truly looked very much like Yangyang. The difference lay in the vast, boundless aura she exuded, which could probably defeat several divisions of Yangyangs.

Could she be a reincarnation...

This kind of retracing would not include redundant plotlines, and soon a streak of flowing light swept to the scene.

It was an old acquaintance... the Ancient Azure Dragon. Zhao Changhe had seen his appearance once before at the bottom of the Sword Lake; later, he had lain straight inside a coffin in the Northern Mang Mountains, confirmed to be thoroughly dead, though his presence in ancient affairs was exceptionally prominent, given that he was the Human Emperor after all.

The Azure Dragon arrived nearby, frowning as he said, "Ethereal, you are quite at leisure?"

The woman addressed as Ethereal opened her eyes: "What is there to be uneasy about?"

"Can it be that you truly do not sense it? The world is about to change."

"You are the Human Emperor; protecting the mountains and rivers is your affair."

"...You are the spirit of the mountains and rivers. The collapse of heaven and earth is equivalent to your death. How has it become my affair?"

"If it were not your affair, why are you in such a hurry?"

The Azure Dragon: "..."

Ethereal said, "You might as well speak plainly. You came looking for me; what do you intend for me to do?"

"I wish to shift the Northern Mang Mountains, making them a self-contained secret realm where the dragon veins of the land shall gather. Even if heaven and earth collapse and all living spirits are utterly lost, as long as Northern Mang remains, I will still have a day of resurrection, and you too will have a time of awakening along with it. In this matter, I need your assistance."

"You..." Ethereal paused, then said slowly, "When you were thinking of this matter, did you ever consider that Shuanghua is waiting for you at the Sword Lake?"

The Azure Dragon said, "I will naturally bring her over."

"No, you have no intention of bringing her along at all, because the retreat you are plotting will destabilize the spiritual veins of the world; it must be done behind the Night Emperor's back. Shuanghua is the personal guard of the Night Emperor; you would not let her know."

The Azure Dragon said, "By the time I have completed it, even the Night Emperor will not be able to interfere."

Ethereal did not argue this with him, turning instead to ask, "Then does Your Majesty ever intend to bring along the people under your rule?"

The Azure Dragon said, "How many people can that tiny place accommodate?"

Ethereal sighed softly, "People call me the spirit of the mountains and rivers, perhaps taking the words too literally, believing I am formed by the convergence of rivers and mountains. But the mountains, rivers, and state altars represent the Path of Humanity. I am not a mountain god or a river god; I am the spirit of the spiritual veins of humanity. If others do not know, how can Your Majesty not know either?"

The Azure Dragon said, "I only know that no one wishes to die, and neither do you. Cooperating with me grants everyone a slim chance at survival. What benefit is there in constantly bickering over this?"

"For now, Your Majesty is the master of the mountains and rivers, so I can assist Your Majesty. But let my words be stated upfront: Your Majesty may find things going against your wishes; not only might you fail to monopolize the spiritual veins, you may instead lose them. When the time comes, you will neither be resurrected, and your tomb will be plundered and your grave excavated by others. The one who performs this deed will either be of Shuanghua's lineage or a disciple of the Night Emperor. I suggest Your Majesty leave a simple inheritance outside; for the sake of the inheritance, others might at least treat your corpse a bit better."

The Azure Dragon: "..."

"We are all primordial spirits born along with heaven and earth, but Your Majesty should know that along with the destruction of heaven and earth, a symbol of world-extinction will likewise be born. Whether it be a barren wilderness, a world-destroying fire, or a boiling sea of blood, it may manifest as a demon god. According to my observations, the Abyss of the Fiery Prison has already formed, and the flames of world-extinction shall arise from there." Ethereal said, "I originally thought it was because Your Majesty could not cope with it, but looking at it now, it is because Your Majesty simply has no heart to pay it any mind."

The Azure Dragon said, "If heaven and earth are about to be destroyed, what meaning do these matters still hold?"

Ethereal sighed and spoke no further, only saying, "Your Majesty may return; just call upon me when you require my assistance."

The Azure Dragon departed, and Ethereal stood dazed in place for a good long while. Shaking her head, she then disrobed and entered the water to bathe.

Zhao Changhe: "?"

Cui Yuanyang: "..."

The scene suddenly shifted, as if a movie had cut forward by a number of years. It was unclear whether someone was interfering with the image, making Zhao Changhe deeply wish to grab the Blind Man by the collar to stop the fast-forwarding, but the sight before his eyes made him forget...

The entire era began to collapse, a scene of doomsday everywhere. Wild stones plummeted furiously, the earth ruptured and broke apart, and raging fires filled the sky. This kind of spectacle was something Zhao Changhe had seen before in Lie's story; this was the final hour of the collapse of an era.

Ethereal still stood above the river, watching the chaotic state of the world, when she suddenly pointed with her slender hand.

The river she resided in suddenly poured forth, roaring and rushing toward the distance. The endless river water washed over the mortal world, plunging into the abyss.

Following the process of the river pouring forth, it gradually transformed into the shape of a sword, striking fiercely and directly into a certain space.

An abyssal cavern, where blazing flames surged and magma roared. Dense water vapor spread, and purple mist swirled; thus the magma grew still, and the blazing flames were entirely extinguished.

A large, burly man came out of the cave to observe what had happened, when a divine sword pierced through space, crashing down and breaking directly into his chest, pinning him to the cave wall.

This single strike had nearly drained this river water entirely, and it also caused the woman's own figure to become somewhat blurred.

Looking at her masterpiece, she murmured in a low voice to herself, "Relying on a single Human Emperor to practice the Path of Humanity might eventually change one day. I shall transform into four swords with the intent of the mountains and rivers, to be held by the heroes of the world. In the future, they can both protect the mountains and rivers, and also constrain a new emperor. This sword is vast and upright, clearing away all lowlifes, leaving no wickedness or charms; it can be called Qinghe."

The slain burly man wore a face of utter disbelief. Looking down at the divine sword piercing his chest, he shook his head and spoke, "What use is there in killing me? I am merely the manifestation of the flames of world-extinction. Even if you destroy me, this world will still perish."

Across different realms, this voice still reached Ethereal's ears, and she responded in a low voice, "I want to help someone, to protect the mortal realm together."

"You will not succeed... The death of the Heavenly Dao originally would not cause a world-destroying collapse. The reason it resulted in this appearance is that before its demise, the Heavenly Dao also felt this world should perish. You will soon know how laughable the thing you are protecting is."

Ethereal said calmly, "Perhaps."

As if confirming Yanmie's words, not long after this conversation had just ended and Ethereal had separately forged the Four Swords of Mountains and Rivers, a phantom of a demonic hand descended from the sky, striking ruthlessly upon Ethereal's body.

Ethereal was filled with disbelief: "It is you..."

She, who had maintained a calm expression all along, finally possessed a bit of malice at her demise: "My spirit, you cannot devour... I will have a wisp of my true spirit reincarnate into the mortal world. As long as the people of the world are not destroyed, sooner or later there will come a day when this great enmity is avenged, even if at that time... it is no longer me."

The movie ended.

Zhao Changhe knit his brows tightly.

Cui Yuanyang was dumbfounded.

It was unknown whether there had been interference; who the other party was had not been reflected at all, and nothing of their origin could be recognized from that hand. It could only prove that Ethereal knew this person, and could not believe the other party would kill her.

All along, there had been conjectures about whether he himself was the "reincarnation of the Night Emperor," knowing that the concept of reincarnation existed in this world, though no one had ever seen a practical example. Now, the first practical example seemed to have appeared right beside him; Yangyang was highly likely to be the reincarnation of Ethereal, which was the reincarnation of the spirit of humanity's mountain and river veins.

Whether it was the similarity in countenance or matters related to Qinghe, it could basically be confirmed. The reason she did not look exactly the same was that Yangyang was born from a mother's womb after all; she mostly had to inherit from her parents, so it was naturally impossible to be identical.

From Ethereal's words at her demise, it could be roughly guessed that there should be no situation where past-life memories awakened and usurped her existence; even if it were possible, it would just be an awakening and recovery of memories, without changing the person entirely. The problem lay in the fact that this cause and effect was extraordinary; even if Yangyang just drifted along and did not actively pursue this matter, she would likely be forced to meet this cause and effect passively in the future.

If nothing else, just this highly similar countenance—if the other party were alive and saw it, what would happen?

You have also inherited the Qinghe sword intent; can you evade it?

In addition, from the sudden assault on Ethereal and Ethereal's final words, it felt as if the destruction of the past concealed a massive conspiracy, rather than simply because the Heavenly Dao had died so the era collapsed... And the key to uncovering this line had mysteriously fallen upon Yangyang?

The consciousness of the two receded from Qinghe like a tide. Cui Yuanyang stared blankly at Zhao Changhe, her eyes turning into spinning circles: "I... I only came to observe the sword intent. How did it turn out like this?"