World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 664: From Life to Death, From Death to Life

When he first heard the voice, Wang Sheng felt a faint, strange feeling within his heart.

It was neither the gentle ripple he felt when seeing his senior sister nor a restless yearning. Still, there was something about it that calmed his state of mind, bringing a quiet stillness that he could not explain.

He turned toward it, but all he saw was a faint outline floating behind him, seemingly meeting his gaze. His immortal perception didn't detect it at all.

Another unfamiliar emotion welled up within him. Wang Sheng felt as though he had seen the phantasm somewhere before, and that he was strangely familiar with it.

Beside him, Yaoyun trembled as she cried out, "Your Imperial Majesty?!"

"Your Highness," the phantasm replied. It turned toward Yaoyun, seemingly smiling faintly as it inclined its head in greeting.

That's Emperor Qinghua?!

Wang Sheng's eyebrows knit together. Has he already revived? Does this mean the moment of the divine tree's withering is approaching?

As if reading his thoughts, the phantasm said, "There is no need for alarm. My divine soul has only just returned to its proper place, and I could not resist coming out to meet you."

Streaks of deep-green radiance drifted in from every corner of the treetops, flowing into the phantasm to quickly solidify it until it gained a clear and tangible outline.

He looked rather green, but he was strikingly handsome. He was clad in a robe of green and cyan and possessed many unusual traits.

Wang Sheng could not determine whether Qinghua was male or female, yet the ambiguity caused no discomfort or awkwardness. Instead, he conveyed a beauty that Wang Sheng had never seen before—one that was ineffable and profound. It was aligned with the Great Dao and seemed to merge seamlessly with nature.

Wang Sheng also noticed that the phantasm had both masculine and feminine qualities. He was tall and slender, leaning toward masculinity, yet his gentle features had a heroic grace often associated with women. Moreover, he had neither a visible Adam's apple nor a trace of distinctly masculine or feminine aura.

He essentially appeared... immeasurably refined.

Yaoyun reminded, "Don't stare. It's discourteous."

"Ahem." After coughing lightly to hide his awkwardness, offered a respectful Daoist salute to the phantasm. Unsure what to say, he hesitated. "Senior..."

Qinghua's lips curved into a faint smile. With a trace of nostalgia in his gaze, he took the initiative to speak. "Is your forefather well?"

"He is," Wang Sheng replied. He had no idea why he suddenly felt nervous, as if he were meeting his senior sister's parents without any preparation. "My forefather came to see my senior sister and me some time ago. The old man seemed to be in good health, though his situation was not particularly stable. After meeting us, he departed once more."

Qinghua smiled gently. "So the rising star of the former Heavenly Court is now being addressed as an old man..."

He casually pointed behind Wang Sheng, and streams of light gathered to form three vine chairs and a low table out of thin air.

"Have a seat. I find you quite interesting."

Wang Sheng smiled wryly. "I think it's better that I remain standing."

"Just sit down," the phantasm said telepathically, leaving the sword cultivator with not even the slightest urge to resist.

Could this be the legendary state where one's words themselves became law?

Yaoyun took a seat first. As a princess of the Heavenly Court, her status was on par with the Four Heavenly Ministers' seniority, though their authority and influence at the prime of the Heavenly Court were incomparable.

Wang Sheng then sat upright before Qinghua. Gazing at the phantasm, whose presence alone radiated elegance, made him feel an odd sense of unreality—as though he were in a dream.

The phantasm smiled. "What is it? Do you think the Four Heavenly Ministers should all resemble Ziwei, who's always solemn and imposing?"

Still smiling, Wang Sheng gradually regained his composure. "Not exactly. It just feels... unbelievable that you would appear so suddenly, Your Majesty."

"What makes you say so? Even at the height of the Heavenly Court's power, if someone had inherited the legacy of the Northern Pole, it would have been only right for me to meet them. Moreover, you are Little Qing's Daoist partner in this life. When she emphasized that, I was filled with joy."

Wang Sheng frowned. "You were watching back then?"

"Yes. I was beside Zhuge then," Qinghua said softly, then sighed quietly. "What you see now is neither soul nor spirit, neither Dao nor deity. The Five Heavenly Declines destroyed my original soul and true spirit. Otherwise, I could have just used the Absolute-Heaven Pill to revive myself and avoid having to walk this path."

Yaoyun asked, "If your soul and true spirit were both destroyed, then how are you—"

"It is because of this."

Qinghua raised his hand and gestured. Seeing their confusion, he began to reveal his origin—the source of one's existence.

"Have you heard of the Fusang Tree of Tang Valley?"

Wang Sheng nodded. He had naturally heard of it. Even on Earth, countless legends of the Heavenly Court mentioned it. Together with the Jianmu Tree, Ruomu, and Xunmu, they were known as the four primordial divine trees.

The Fusang Tree was the sacred tree of the Golden Crow race. In the Ancient Era, when the fiend court had nearly unified the Immortal Saint Realm, the fiend emperor and empress resided on it. However, when the fiend court fell, it was inexplicably destroyed and vanished from history.

According to legends, the Fusang Tree had no branches, yet it was taller than all others. It reached the heavens[1] above and connected to the three springs[2] below.

Qinghua gently explained, "The innate spirit tree before your eyes is the Fusang Tree, yet it also isn't. In the Primal Era, it was born at the distant east of the Immortal Saint Realm. It possessed spirituality, but the Great Dao barred it from taking form, preventing it from truly embarking on the path of cultivation. Later, it became the dwelling place of the Golden Crows.

"During a great calamity in the Ancient Era, their race was annihilated, and the Fusang Tree was burned in the disaster. Yet at the moment of its destruction, its spirituality gained the chance to take form. That's when I came into being."

Wang Sheng and Yaoyun exchanged glances, both shocked to the core.

Emperor Qinghua was the spirit of the Fusang Tree? No, there seems to be more to it than that...

Qinghua gazed toward the distant treetops. Unhurriedly, he added, "I left the Fusang Tree and cultivated for many years, eventually achieving some measure of success. Through countless twists of fate, I encountered His Majesty, a ruler of extraordinary vision and ability. I pledged my loyalty to him. Those long ages of conquest allowed me to gradually master the Great Dao of Life. In time, I became one of the Four Heavenly Ministers and was entrusted with the governance of the Eastern Sky Region.

"By chance, I later discovered another Fusang Tree within the Eastern Sky Region. I believed it to be nothing more than a remnant, yet it had grown lush once more and even given birth to new spirituality. Hence, I had several heavenly generals bring it back. I aided its inner spirituality to undergo reincarnation and take form, and then accepted her as my disciple."

Qinghua paused and looked at Wang Sheng with a faintly cheeky expression.

"You probably understand now just how important Little Qing is to me."

One tree, two spirits?

In the Primal Era, the spirit of the Fusang Tree had become Emperor Qinghua, and after the Fusang Tree survived calamity and was reborn, the new spirit that emerged was Hua Qing! Does that make them siblings, or father and daughter?

Wang Sheng's expression grew solemn as he nodded. "Please rest assured, Emperor. I will take good care of my senior sister!"

Qinghua laughed. "Little Qing is like a daughter to me. The thought of her leaving the nest... I can't help but feel a twinge of reluctance."

"That's..." Wang Sheng did not know how to respond. He could hardly ask such a figure what sort of betrothal gifts he required, or how much dowry he intended to demand.

From the side, Yaoyun commented, "He and Hua Qing share mutual affection. I hope you will bless their union, Your Imperial Majesty."

Melancholy tinged Qinghua's gaze. "Why should I interfere in Little Qing's affairs? When I was at the end of my road, I could not even protect her. All I could do was cling to my broken body and entrust her to Emperor Ziwei. Now that Little Qing has reincarnated and even found a Daoist partner, my heart knows only relief.

"It is fortunate that I preserved the Great Dao of Life back then. Now, she could inherit it. Coming from the same source as I did, she is especially compatible with this Dao. It's rare for everything to align so perfectly." Qinghua gave Wang Sheng what seemed like a faint smile, yet not quite. "I wonder, in the future, who of you two will take more care of the other?"

Wang Sheng did not mind the question. "As long as she's safe, that is enough. After all, she is my senior sister."

Qinghua softly replied, "Good. You do not suffer from the common failing of many male cultivators, who believe themselves to be heaven and earth and expect their female Daoist partners to obey them in all things.

"Going back to the topic, the Five Heavenly Declines tormented me for hundreds of thousands of years. When I heard that Emperor Ziwei had rallied his forces and sought to restore the Heavenly Court, I was already nothing but a shattered body and broken bones, unable to offer even the slightest aid.

"Regrettably, we had too many enemies, and they were quite powerful. Emperor Ziwei met his end in the Northern Sky Region, and the remaining experts of the Heavenly Court were forced to scatter once more. It was upon hearing of this that I resolved to survive at all costs and seek justice for my fallen comrades. I wished to ask the venerable Three Pure Ones what fault the Heavenly Court had committed to deserve such an end."

Yaoyun lowered her voice. "Your Imperial Majesty, did you manage to break the Five Heavenly Declines?"

Qinghua gently gazed at the trunk of the divine tree. "The Five Heavenly Declines are calamities that the Great Dao imposed. I resisted them for a long time and contemplated them for just as long, yet in the end, I realized they could not be eliminated.

"Hence, I decided to subject myself to mortal peril and seek rebirth through death. This decision brought sudden clarity, and I instantly grasped many truths. Within the Three Realms, the Great Dao gives rise to yin and yang, yet they are not isolated. All things are subject to life and death, but the boundary between them is not easily crossed.

"Why could the Five Heavenly Declines not be seen as the manifestation of the Great Dao of Death? If I could master the Great Dao of Life, why could I not reverse it and, through the Five Heavenly Declines, comprehend the Great Dao of Death?"

Shock filled the eyes of Wang Sheng and Yaoyun. At a loss for words, they could only stare at the phantasm before them.

This was likely what it meant to stand at the true peak.

The phantasm sighed. "But how to preserve my true self after death became the greatest obstacle. Perhaps another Grand Dao Immortal would still be unable to reverse life and death even if they had fully understood the Great Dao of Death within the Five Heavenly Declines. I, however, managed to accomplish it thanks to the existence of this divine tree.

"I extracted my memories from my soul, separated my Great Dao from my true spirit, and entrusted those memories to the divine tree. Afterward, I sealed the Great Dao of Life within this immortal palace, intending to find a successor in the future. When the final stage of the Five Heavenly Declines hit me, my soul truly dispersed, and even my true spirit was completely extinguished.

"Yet my memories remained, and the divine tree still lived. The formless essence that should have vanished along with my true spirit came forth of its own accord, beginning the reversal of illusory and reality. Within the divine tree, that formless essence merged once more with my memories, allowing my divine soul to coalesce again. Thus, a new me was born."

Qinghua smiled faintly.

"Can this be called a wondrous method?"

With his heart brimming with admiration, Wang Sheng could only nod and murmur, "It can..."

His future "father-in-law" truly lived up to his name. The Four Heavenly Ministers were certainly extraordinary.

"Unfortunately, the reversal of illusory and reality also meant that I could no longer wield the Great Dao of Life," Qinghua said as he slowly closed his eyes. "The more compatible my true spirit once was with the Dao of Life, the more it now conflicts with it.

"So I chose a path utterly opposed to life. I refined my corpse and cultivated in the Great Dao of Death through my own comprehension. Then, using the Five Heavenly Declines, I forged a complete path through death.

"Together with Zhuge, I made countless preparations and waited for over a hundred thousand years... until, at last, this day arrived."

1. The realm of gods and immortals. ☜

2. The realm of the underworld. ☜