Primordial Divine Emperor-Chapter 96 - 83: Shou Shan Senior Brother’s Shocking Identity
The summit of the South Peak Back Mountain enshrouded in nightfall.
The Sword Saint Sect’s Mountain Guardian Brother’s endless desolation was instantly replaced by Wang Yang’s bleakness. He had tears in his eyes, filled with deep emotions, and with a thud, he knelt on the South Peak Back Mountain, prostrating humbly towards the figure standing with hands behind.
The Mountain Guardian Brother buried his head tightly into the ground, and his voice, which seemed to tremble, echoed across the summit of the South Peak Back Mountain.
"Master——!"
This call of ’Master’ was filled with complexity, as if thousands of emotions mingled together, making one feel an overwhelming sense of melancholy coming forth.
Dugu Nan listened to the call filled with various emotions, and his body suddenly trembled violently, as if struck by something, his eyes revealing endless sadness, excitement, joy, regret, unwillingness, and reluctance, all equally complex and intertwined.
But this call of ’Master’ completely bewildered Qi Yun, standing aside, even though he was a First Generation Talisman Saint, his eyes were full of disbelief as he looked at the kneeling figure not far away.
"Master?" Qi Yun seemed even more deeply affected than the two’s emotional upheaval, staring blankly at the kneeling Mountain Guardian Brother, his eyes full of astonishment: "You... What did you just call Brother Nan? Ma... Master?"
This call of ’Master’ also stunned the Sword Saint Sect’s First Generation Talisman Saint.
Throughout the Martial Soul Continent, there was no talk of the Sword Saint Dugu Nan having any disciples, right?
"Brother Nan, this...?" Qi Yun looked at Dugu Nan, feeling surprised and shocked: "What’s going on? When did you take a disciple? How come even I didn’t know?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Nan quietly watched the figure kneeling not far away without raising his head for a long time, full of a tender look: "Qi Yun, you also know him."
"Of course I know him, the Sword Saint Sect’s 197th generation Mountain Guardian, the first senior brother of the Sword Saint Sect, guarding the mountain for over two hundred years, who in the entire Sword Saint Sect doesn’t know...."
As Qi Yun spoke to this point, suddenly remembered something, his words halted abruptly, then looked towards the figure with great shock, his breath rapid: "You... You are... Yi’Er?"
Actually, upon hearing the Mountain Guardian Brother call the Sword Saint ’Master’, Qi Yun’s subconscious already faintly guessed the Mountain Guardian’s origins.
Looking back over the past thousand years, those who could cultivate Sword Qi through the Grass Cutting Sword Technique before condensing ’Spiritual Essence’ and most likely take refuge in the Sword Body Sect were fewer than three.
One was the peerless Sword Dao monster from hundreds of years ago, one was the current Sword Saint’s only successor, Ye Xiaofan, and another was the cousin of Li Chunyang, Li Chunfeng!
Ye Xiaofan was already the Sword Saint’s successor today, while Li Chunfeng was also a peerless Sword Dao monster but missed the connection with the Sword Saint.
The one who could become another successor of the Sword Saint was only the peerless monster from several hundred years ago.
"Yi’Er, you... You have already...?" Qi Yun was in endless shock, unable to resist stepping forward.
The peerless Sword Dao monster from hundreds of years ago had already perished in the ’Hundred Sects Battle Domain’, hadn’t he?
Qi Yun remembered clearly how that arrogant Sword Dao monster, so radiant and sharp, once dominated countless peerless monsters of the same generation, but unfortunately, his ferocity was too great, ultimately surrounded by dozens of peerless monsters and fell in an ancient ruins.
Yet even so, that peerless Sword Dao monster nearly broke through the encirclement, slaughtering to the point where the heavens turned dark and the sun and moon lost light.
Though the dozens of peerless monsters eventually exterminated that Sword Saint Sect’s foremost Sword Dao prodigy, they also paid an unbearable price. According to incomplete statistics, during that battle, seventeen died with twenty-nine injured, creating an extremely glorious record.
At that time, the Sword Saint Sect was utterly desolate, and the entire sect mourned for that peerless monster.
But even so, the entire Hundred Broken Mountain Range knew the first Sword Dao monster had fallen.
Recalling those years, Qi Yun therefore issued that stunned inquiry: You... You have already...? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Already dead, haven’t you?
But just as the words formed, Qi Yun remembered the Mountain Guardian Brother’s earlier words, he had just said he considered himself already dead, and was unworthy to ascend the South Peak.
For a moment, Qi Yun almost confirmed the Mountain Guardian Brother’s identity, staring dumbfounded at that figure, full of amazement: "You... You are really Yi’Er?"
After Qi Yun spoke, the Mountain Guardian Brother finally slowly raised the extremely ’unfamiliar face’, deeply bowing towards Qi Yun: "Yi’Er meets the Talisman Saint senior, due to special circumstances regarding my identity, I delayed recognizing the senior, I hope the senior will understand."
Upon hearing the acknowledgment, Qi Yun was somewhat dazed, only returning to his senses after a long time.
The reason for calling that face unfamiliar was because the person kneeling before Qi Yun now no longer resembled that presumptuous face from back then.
"Back then, I was besieged by seventy-two peerless demon fiends and fell in the Nine Dragon Ruins. It was Master who disregarded damage to his cultivation, preserving me at the moment my soul lingered between life and death, and later used supreme means to reshape my physical form, thus enabling me to barely survive...."
The Mountain Guardian Brother began to explain how the Sword Saint disregarded his cultivation, forcefully breaking into the Nine Dragon Ruins, using Supreme Great Divine Techniques to safeguard his life, but during the reshaping of the body, changed his appearance, and then, hiding it from the whole world, turned him into the Sword Saint Sect’s Mountain Guardian.
Listening to the Mountain Guardian Brother’s recount, Qi Yun took a long time to recover, finally gazing at Dugu Nan quietly: "Back then when you borrowed the Seventy-Two Sacred Talismans from me, was it to forcefully break into the Nine Dragon Ruins?"
Confronted with Qi Yun’s interrogation, Dugu Nan remained silent.
Yet, Qi Yun’s heart was filled with immense turmoil. The Nine Dragon Ruins prohibited any cultivators below the Self-Slaying Realm from lingering; he was well aware of how terrifyingly dangerous forcing entry was, and back then Dugu Nan had indeed forcefully broken into the Nine Dragon Ancient Ruins for the Mountain Guardian Brother, yet emerged unscathed.
You should know that back then, the Sword Saint was already a wounded body, and this incident has undoubtedly added injury to injury.
But all of this is unimportant now. What matters is that the Sword Dao prodigy who once made the entire Hundred Broken Mountain Range tremble is still alive today.
"Yi’Er? Is it really you?" At this moment, even Qi Yun revealed unprecedented excitement, for this terrifying Sword Dao monster from back then had also learned from his Talisman Dao, essentially making him a half-disciple.
However, upon hearing this, the Mountain Guardian senior brother responded despondently, "Senior, I am no longer Qin Yi, but Zhao Yi, and have no connection to the South Peak or Talisman Peak. I hope you can keep this confidential for Yi’Er and refrain from expressing such emotions lest others become suspicious."
Qi Yun suppressed his emotions upon hearing this, slowly looking towards Dugu Nan, "When did you accept Yi’Er as your disciple?"
"Before his ’fall’." Dugu Nan did not conceal the fact.
Qi Yun remained full of disbelief upon hearing this. The entire Divine Sword Sect probably did not know that Qin Yi had long been apprenticed to the Sword Saint.
"Since you’ve already taken Yi’Er as your disciple, and he is still alive, why did you allow Fan’Er to inherit the mantle?" Qi Yun was very puzzled, as Qin Yi’s talent was evident to all back then, and now that Yi’Er is alive, why would the Sword Saint choose another successor?
Speaking of this matter.
Dugu Nan slowly closed his eyes, his face full of regret and sorrow.
Ultimately, it was Qin Yi who took the initiative to speak, explaining the situation.
It turned out that, despite the Sword Saint’s forceful entry into the Nine Dragon Ruins and employing Supreme Great Divine Techniques to save him when his soul was on the verge of departing, he could not preserve his ’True Self’, which meant that Qin Yi’s cultivation would henceforth halt, and his strength could no longer advance.
Therefore, even if Dugu Nan were to pass on the Dragon Emperor Sword and Dragon Emperor Technique to him, it would be to no avail, as he would never again achieve anything significant.
Furthermore, to ensure Qin Yi’s safety, Dugu Nan concealed his identity. The present Qin Yi, named Zhao Yi, is the first senior brother and the 197th Mountain Guardian of the Divine Sword Sect.
The Sword Saint’s intention was to allow the Sword Dao prodigy from back then to survive, for Qin Yi had been the nightmare of that batch of prodigies. If they knew he hadn’t died, despite knowing his ’True Self’ had wasted away, they probably wouldn’t dare to let him live.
After hearing Qin Yi’s words, Qi Yun slowly closed his eyes and could only sigh at the sky, who could have thought that the Sword Dao prodigy from back then had remained in the Divine Sword Sect all this time.
"Brother Nan, I didn’t expect that you’d deceive even me so thoroughly. To think I told Fan’Er that you were a first-time master, now that I think about it, I’m utterly ashamed." Qi Yun smiled wryly.
"Matters concerning Yi’Er’s life left me no choice, Brother Qi, please don’t take it to heart," Dugu Nan said helplessly. He hadn’t deliberately concealed it from Qi Yun, but the fact that Qin Yi was once a disciple of the Sword Saint remained undisclosed to anyone to this day.
Upon hearing this, Qi Yun nodded slightly, "I understand. However, when Fan’Er learns he has another senior brother, he might ask why I, as an elder, deceived him."
After Qi Yun finished speaking, he shook his head with a wry smile, but he did not hold Dugu Nan’s concealment against him. After all, considering the stakes involved, how could he, as a Talisman Saint, not be aware? Even if he were in the same position, he might have acted just as Dugu Nan did.
Only at this moment did Qi Yun truly understand why Dugu Nan exhibited the same expression when he saw Qin Yi as he did when he saw Ye Xiaofan; the indulgence of a master towards a beloved disciple was almost identical.
After understanding the situation, Dugu Nan collected his thoughts and looked at Qin Yi. Though both master and disciple belonged to the Divine Sword Sect, to keep Qin Yi from attracting attention, they had not seen each other face-to-face for over two hundred years, let alone at the South Peak Back Mountain.
It was clear that Qin Yi’s visit this time was due to something troubling him.
Facing Dugu Nan’s inquiry, Qin Yi slightly bowed and explained his purpose.
"Master, your disciple has come with a knot in my heart, hoping that Master can help me resolve it," Qin Yi set his emotion aside and bowed deeply to Dugu Nan.
Dugu Nan and Qi Yun exchanged a glance upon hearing this, feeling slightly astonished.
"What kind of knot?" Dugu Nan asked.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yi pondered it over and finally said, "Master, your disciple wishes to know what kind of Martial Soul the junior disciple possesses."
As soon as these words were spoken, Dugu Nan and Qi Yun exchanged another glance, and both seemed to have guessed Qin Yi’s intent.
Clearly, the Sword Dao prodigy carries pride in his heart, and now that Ye Xiaofan has succeeded him in becoming the new Sword Saint’s descendant, he has come to inquire whether that person truly has the qualifications to inherit the Sword Saint’s legacy.
Strictly speaking, this is also Qin Yi’s heart knot.
Back then, if he hadn’t been so full of himself and sharp-edged, if he had heeded his master’s advice, remained low-key, and concealed some of his talents, perhaps the event of being besieged by the seventy-two prodigies wouldn’t have occurred, and he wouldn’t have disappointed the expectations of the First Generation Sword Saint.
Now, he merely wants to know if that junior disciple from the same sect has the ability to inherit the Sword Saint’s mantle and whether he can make up for what he couldn’t achieve.
Of course, there’s a trace of unwillingness within him as well; he doesn’t want to believe that there is someone more talented than him in Sword Dao. At the same time, he hopes that the junior disciple is indeed more talented, for only then can the regret be remedied.
Qin Yi’s inner world is full of contradictions.
Faced with Qin Yi’s inquiry, Dugu Nan did not answer directly but instead asked, "Why do you ask this question?"
Following the sound, Qin Yi described his experiences within the First Grotto Heaven Blessed Land.
When he mentioned certain information, Dugu Nan and Qi Yun both lifted their gaze abruptly, appearing extremely astonished.
