World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 539: The Uncertain Existence of Pan Gu (I)

That day, Wang Sheng and Lishang left a deep impression on countless people.

The vice sect master rarely appeared in public and usually wore a veil. Her true power was only mentioned in the words of a few high-ranking elders. Yet today, she unleashed a divine ability out of nowhere, constantly changing her aura and even the color of her tail.

Golden light filled the sky at times, and a surge of green swept through the clouds. Soon after, a strange, blood-red glow spread out.

Wang Sheng was repeatedly pushed back. However, with a flash of sword radiance, he lifted his sword and counterattacked once more.

The essence of the Human Dao of the Sword could be summarized in two words: never yield. When facing strength, one was to answer with strength. Even if it required burning themselves, they could not bow down.

Although it was only a sparring match, Wang Sheng had already been forced into unleashing the essence of the unity of man and sword. Against Lishang's relentless bursts of power, he stood like a reef on the coast, enduring wave after wave. It was as though he were a mountain rising high into the sky, piercing through layers of clouds, yet gripped by a giant hand seeking to cleave open a new world.

This battle had nothing to do with cultivation realms. Rather, it was a pure contest between sword art and divine ability.

Even those watching from afar felt like their heads were spinning.

The battle ended with no victor. Simultaneously, the two withdrew with perfect mutual understanding.

Wang Sheng still wasn't unsatisfied, though. The vice sect master's chest rose and fell gently, her phoenix eyes showing a trace of lingering emotion.

"Vice Sect Master—"

"Once you break through to the True Immortal Realm, we can continue this exchange."

Wang Sheng clasped his hands. "When I do, let's have another fulfilling match."

The two looked at each other and laughed. The smile behind Lishang's veil carried deep appreciation, while Wang Sheng's laughter was full of boldness.

Their sparring really had been quite exhilarating.

Linyuan grinned. "Now that you're done fighting, let's go have a drink! I can't beat you two in a fight, but at the wine table, I won't lose to either of you!"

Lishang accepted the offer as Wang Sheng descended from the sky. The two exuded a bit of heroic spirit.

This turn of events seemed more like they were forming a sworn brotherhood, which had nothing to do with matters between men and women. Their intense battle had simply forged a connection between the two.

Having grown curious about Lishang's divine ability, Wang Sheng asked while drinking, "Vice Sect Master, what's your divine ability's origin?"

Lishang's expression grew slightly complicated.

Wang Sheng hurriedly added, "If I have overstepped, consider it drunken nonsense."

She muttered, "That's not it. These abilities are buried in the bloodline of my race. I'm not ashamed of it, but I don't know how to explain it properly."

Wang Sheng was amazed. "You've got a formidable innate power. Your race is incredible."

Lishang shook her head. "My race came from the Primal Era, and we thrived in the Ancient Era, yet now we're nearly extinct. It's not a secret, and there's no need to hide this from you: I'm carrying the final hope of my race.

"I have to first gain the fruit of immortality and become a Golden Immortal. Afterward, I have to search for a male of my race in the endless space and fulfill the mission of preserving our bloodline."

Linyuan quickly said from the side, "Don't overthink it. Just follow your path. Once you reach the Golden Immortal Realm, you will already be indestructible."

Lishang replied, "A Golden Immortal may rule a corner of the endless space, but even they cannot escape calamity. Only by continuing the bloodline can it remain prosperous. That is the lesson our race learned from the human race."

What Wang Sheng was most curious about wasn't the continuation of Lishang's race, though. It was her half-human, half-serpent form.

"There are many myths about beings shaped like you back in my homeland, Vice Sect Master. Could I ask more about your race?"

"Oh? What kind of myths?" Lishang asked.

"We couldn't trace the exact era it came from, but one of the myths states that in the Ancient Era, two saints who looked like you created humans and mended the sky to save the world."

At that moment, Wang Sheng noticed Lishang and Linyuan's strange expressions. He quickly stopped himself.

"These are just myths with no evidence, though," he added. "Stories I heard when I was young."

Linyuan lowered his voice. "I didn't expect that even such a remote place would pass down such myths."

Lishang stared into her cup, slightly lost in thought.

Wang Sheng felt puzzled. The story of Nuwa creating humans was well known in the Hua Republic, yet on Fengmo, it seemed almost taboo.

"Better not mention such things to outsiders." Lishang laughed coldly. "Otherwise, righteous cultivators of the human race might gather to strike you down into a place of eternal doom."

Wang Sheng grew even more confused. "You know I prefer clarity, Vice Sect Master. What are you talking about?"

Linyuan replied, "This matter is too difficult to explain. And I—ahem."

Linyuan had wanted to stroke his beard like a senior expert, but after remembering how the two had just fought, he lost all his confidence. Instead, he raised a hand, set up a sound barrier array, and then smiled bitterly.

"It's better that I explain this myself, but what I'm about to tell you will sound rebellious, even contradictory to the accepted foundation of the Three Realms. Simply put, it is considered heresy. Elder Pi, you know of the Three, correct?"

Wang Sheng looked blank. "What Three?"

"The Three." Linyuan pointed to the sky. "If you speak their titles, they will sense it. Which Three do you think I mean?"

Wang Sheng blinked, then caught on. The elder was referring to the Three Pure Ones—the incarnations of the Great Dao.

"What I'm about to say is mostly speculation." Linyuan sighed. "My cultivation is limited, and even though I had done my best to explore many Primal Era ruins, I've only discovered fragments. Still, within those fragments, I saw a distorted history of the Immortal Saint Realm.

"This became especially apparent when I accidentally discovered a hidden land drifting through the endless space and found Lishang, who had been on the verge of death. The records kept by her race shook my Dao Heart. That was when I stopped making progress in my cultivation. No matter what I did, I could not break through, as if everything had been locked. In truth, my Dao Heart had trembled far too much.

"This matter traces back sixteen thousand years. When I was organizing the texts that the Old Man of Xinghai, our founder, had left behind, I accidentally found a text titled Ancient Gods. It was brief, simply describing a widely spread myth that the cultivators in the endless space commonly accepted. It began with the creation of heaven and earth and ended with the great war of the Ancient Era.

"According to the tale, when heaven and earth were still no more than chaos, a giant used a massive axe to split open the world. After creating heaven and earth, he supported the sky and the land until he exhausted all his strength and died. The giant was named Pan, also known as Pan Gu."

Wang Sheng naturally knew the story of Pan Gu creating heaven and earth. It was probably a myth that the Heavenly Court had passed down in the ancient Hua Republic, identical to the version that had spread throughout the endless space.

After Pan Gu opened heaven and earth, strong primordial beings began to appear between heaven and earth. Later, "created beings" gradually emerged.

Ancient Gods provided a summarized description of several powerful primordial beings. At the end of it, the Old Man of Xinghai raised three questions.

First, why had no traces of Pan Gu creating heaven and earth been found in any Daoist texts from the Primal Era?

Second, was there any evidence that could prove that Pan Gu's Primordial Spirit transformed into the Three Pure Ones, and his bloodline became the witchcraft race? Moreover, why did the Daoist texts state that the witchcraft race prospered in the Ancient Era?[1] The text stated that the witchcraft race had already been around since the Primal Era and, at the time, worshipped twelve primordial beings.

Third, Nuwa, an ancient saint and the creator of humans, was clearly a primordial being. Why had she been classified as a fiend?

"The four questions that my martial uncle had left behind confused me so deeply that I ended up reading through all the miscellaneous texts he had left. It ultimately led me to a path of investigation that lasted thousands of years."

Linyuan's gaze was calm, but it had a trace of regret.

"Ridiculously enough, the only story I can tell you now is what was recorded in Lishang's homeland. I can't tell what's real and what's fake."

Wang Sheng listened with his heart already half carried away. He nodded subconsciously as he waited for Linyuan to continue.

"According to those records, Nuwa was actually the earliest primordial divine spirit. She had been born from chaos itself. By transforming herself into a divine existence, she disrupted the balance of chaos and separated yin and yang, heaven and earth. Following her own will, she created a realm, which we now call the Immortal Saint Realm."

"More and more beings emerged from chaos after that, entering the realm she created. With their respective powers, they gradually expanded its borders until it became boundless. Eventually, as more beings arrived, an existence with the same appearance as Nuwa appeared. Nuwa gained a companion, and her life became far more carefree.

"After countless years, the ever-growing beings of this land fell into conflict. Nuwa, who had created the realm and controlled all of its laws, suppressed countless outbreaks. However, she discovered that the race born from her and Fuxi, her elder brother and companion, was also one of the sources of chaos.

"Hence, Nuwa exiled her own people. She imprisoned them in a hidden land and placed it in the chaos to drift, protecting the peaceful world she had created. Gradually and endlessly, however, more and more conflicts erupted, making her feel increasingly disappointed in the realm. In the end, she and Fuxi left and created a small realm outside of it, forbidding any living creature from approaching.

"Throughout countless years, more primordial beings and created beings were born in the Immortal Saint Realm. Turmoil and war raged nonstop. At the end of the Primal Era, innumerable powerful beings shattered the realm that Nuwa had created.

"The original Immortal Saint Realm collapsed, and the endless space was born. Unable to bear seeing the realm she created repeatedly destroyed, Nuwa descended once more. She molded clay with her divine power to create humans, who would one day govern the order of heaven and earth and end the endless conflicts.

"She did not grant humans innate strength or long lives, but she gave them Dao Bodies most closely aligned with the Great Dao. As expected, they began to cultivate, comprehend the Great Dao, and rapidly multiply. Innumerable experts emerged.

"But Nuwa soon discovered that they were no different from other beings in the world or the race that she and Fuxi had produced. On the contrary, their selfish desires were even stronger than those of other beings. Hence, conflict remained relentless. She left in sorrow for the second time, dragging her exhausted body with her.

"Later, two primordial beings from the witchcraft race fought, breaking the heavenly pillar in the process. Heaven collapsed, and the world fell into ruin. At that moment, Nuwa descended once more. With the last of her divine power, she mended the sky, then vanished without a trace.

"That's the end of the story recorded through the murals of Lishang's homeland." Linyuan sighed. "If this is the true history of the Primal Era, then everything has clearly been twisted and rewritten."

Wang Sheng's eyebrows knit.

Linyuan laughed softly. "Do you still want to hear more?"

Wang Sheng nodded. "Of course. Please continue, Senior."

Linyuan grew solemn. "Aren't you afraid that, like me, your cultivation will be locked, and you'll never break through again?"

Wang Sheng laughed silently. He was, after all, a staunch atheist through and through. He couldn't say that out loud, though.

Thinking it through carefully, he found something off about the story. Long ago, Lu the Progenitor's testament had said that the Three Pure Ones were manifestations of the Dao.

Wang Sheng rubbed his forehead and felt a sudden sense of confusion.

1. This question is connected to the one before it, thereby only counting as one. ☜