History's Strongest Senior Brother c1-1474

by 八月飞鹰, Ba Yue Fei Ying, August Eagle

  Hearing this, Yan Zhaoge looked thoughtfully at the Encompassing Emperor.

  The Encompassing Emperor nodded, “The treasured light of the power of faith within the bodies of martial practitioners of the Immortal Court is hard to get rid of as all potential repercussions come with but a single thought on the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord’s part.”

  “Even if one realises the truth and wishes to start all over again, that would be but a mere delusion.”

  “Still, this is not absolute as methods do exist. This old man is aware of two of these. One is being illuminated by Buddhism, which is actually switching a target for worship.”

  Hearing this, Yan Zhaoge said ponderingly, “The other is to fall to the dark side, becoming a devil of the Nine Underworlds.”

  The Encompassing Emperor said, “While it is similarly a path of no return, it still stays an option.”

  “And so, Yin Shiyang fell to the Nine Underworlds as a Sword Devil thus appeared in this world.”

  The Brocade Emperor said, “After Yin Shiyang became a devil and comprehended the supreme principles of the heavens and earth through the devilish dao, his strength indeed skyrocketed, his talents no longer being wasted. Yet, the Sword Devil still could not rival the Sword God in the end as he was slain by your grandfather’s sword.”

  “While your grandfather showed no mercy in exterminating a devil, he still felt pity at Yin Shiyang’s talent.”

  “It is rumoured that he once said that not being able to battle with Yin Shiyang from the orthodox tradition of the Three Purities is something he will always feel to be a real pity indeed. Victory and defeat would have been difficult to predict.”

  The Brocade Emperor had a distant look on his face, “In that era, amongst the sword cultivators of post-Great Calamity times, besides his wife, the Sword Emperor, there was only Yin Shiyang whom your grandfather evaluated in such a way.”

  Yan Zhaoge nodded, saying nothing as they continued proceeding forward amidst the dimensional space.

  As he neared those two coiling sword-lights, his mind instantly shook upon contact with that black sword-light.

  Biting, cold, sharp, tough, brutal, rampant.

  That tyrannical sword-intent never bowed its head for a single moment as it struggled unceasingly against the Jade Illusory Heaven Opening Sword that it was being suppressed by.

  Dwindled down by time, this sword-intent seemed somewhat unreal as it was more like a remnant of old times, with one being unable to analyse the concept within.

  Still, sensing its flavour, Yan Zhaoge was still able to experience its former flair.

  Several scenes seemingly appeared in Yan Zhaoge’s mind.

  Yin Shiyang who had been devout towards the dao in worshipping the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord and possessed a transcendent cultivation base in the Immortal Court had faced a tragic defeat when at his most confident and high-spirited at his prime.

  That purple-clothed youth and the sword in his hand had become the lifelong nightmare and target of Yin Shiyang’s passions that he would never be able to shake off as his very fate had been changed.

  “YAN! XING! TANG!!!”

  The furious, unresigned howl pierced through millennia, reverberating unceasingly in Yan Zhaoge’s ears.

  Facing defeat at every single battle, battling once more with every single defeat.

  The martial practitioner of the Immortal Court with a firm conviction in the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord had ultimately fallen resolutely to the dark side, becoming a devil.

  Whatever the means, whatever the cause, however many times he failed, however difficult the road ahead might be, he would never give up. He would definitely defeat that person!

  This powerful desire appeared tangible as it manifested to form this vicious sword-intent of the Devil Heavenly Sword up ahead, transforming into the peak devilish sword art between the heavens and earth in seeking to compete with that sword which opened the heavens and decide a final victor between them once and for all.

  The scenes finally came to rest on the image of Yang Xingtang.

  “The current you still lack depth as you have only just accomplished your sword dao. You are still not my opponent. Were you a human, I would be willing to let you go and wait for you to attain major accomplishment in your sword dao, after which we would then truly decide a victor between us.”

  “Yet, now that you have become a devil, even having become the manifestation of one of the Twelve Devilish Gods, I can show you no mercy with my sword.”

  Yan Xingtang truly felt it to be regretful as he said, “A pity you were born in the Immortal Court.”

  Yan Zhaoge’s mood was rather complex as he watched this scene play out.

  His grandfather, the Exalted Gold Luminary and Sword God Yan Xingtang, was hailed as the number one expert in the dao of the sword for Daoism in post-Great Calamity times.

  The ‘for Daoism’ part was only added on because of Yan Xingtang’s humility.

  It might originate from the fact that he had always regretted being unable to battle the Sword Devil Yin Shiyang at his peak, truly deciding a victor between them.

  As for Di Qinglian, as they were family, he was not interested in competing with her.

  “It looks like the sword-light here was only inadvertently left behind when my grandfather battled the Sword Devil,” Despite his rather complex mood, Yan Zhaoge’s focus quickly shifted elsewhere, ‘This was not the battlefield or where the Sword Devil perished and came to rest.”

  The Encompassing Emperor agreed, “Indeed.”

  “The Sword Devil…” Yan Zhaoge muttered, “In rising greatly in strength when becoming a devil, Yin Shiyang must not have been an ordinary devil. Instead, he must have fused with one of the perished great devils from the past.”

  “If it is the Twelve Devilish Gods, Sword Devil, Sword Devil…he should have been the manifestation of one of the Six Supreme Devils who bears the position of Aged Metal of the Five Elements?”

  The Brocade Emperor glanced at Yan Zhaoge, “I heard from Little Red Lotus that you bear the Faceless Devilish Scripture. It looks like you have a high understanding of the Nine Underworlds. It must not have been from Wang Pu, Cao Jie and the others that you heard about the Twelve Devilish Gods, right?”

  Yan Zhaoge answered candidly, “I do really know quite a bit about it, though my knowledge is still limited. However, I do know a little about the Twelve Devilish Gods.”

  He turned to look at the Jade Illusory Heaven Opening Sword and Devil Heavenly Sword, “The Twelve Devilish Gods are the peak devils in this world, the head of the devilish dao and the monarchs of the myriad devils.”

  “The Twelve Devilish Gods are further categorised into the Six Ancestral Devils and the Six Supreme Devils. At the Six Ancestral Devils’ head, as the ancestor of the myriad devils, is the Primordial Heaven Devil from whom the devilish dao originates. He once competed for the position of ‘primordial’ with our Daoism’s Jade Clear lineage’s founder, the Primordial Heavenly Lord.”

  History's Strongest Senior Brother Chapter 1087: The peak of the Devils

  HSSB1087: The peak of the Devils

  When talking about the devils of the Nine Underworlds, Yan Zhaoge, the Encompassing Emperor and the Brocade Emperor no longer kept it from Meng Wan.

  As Meng Wan who was listening quietly heard the name of the Primordial Heavenly Lord now, she could not help but exclaim, “While I knew the Nine Underworlds to be terrifying when in the Eight Extremities World back then, I never once thought that it is actually so powerful.”

  Yan Zhaoge said, “While over the ages, the dao flourishes with the devils diminished most of the time, no one would deny the strength of the Nine Underworlds.”

  “The Primordial Heaven Devil probably lost against the founder of the Jade Clear lineage?” Meng Wan asked.

  Yan Zhaoge said, “This is only natural. That is why the Primordial Heavenly Lord is still the Primordial Heavenly Lord whereas the Primordial Heavenly Devil had to be r
educed to the Primordial Heaven Devil.”

  The Encompassing Emperor said, “The Primordial Heaven Devil indeed lost. Afterwards, he was suppressed by the Primordial Heavenly Lord and prevented from appearing again. If he ever reappears, though, that would probably be a scene from the end of the world.”

  “Speaking of the descent of the end of the world, we would have to look at the Finality Law Heavenly Devil,” The Brocade Emperor now said, “After all, that is an existence like the Lord of Numinous Treasure who signifies all things going from being to nothing.”

  Meng Wan recited, “The Finality Law Heavenly Devil…”

  Beside her, Yan Zhaoge explained, “Even though they are called the Twelve Devilish Gods, one of them has never appeared in this world as he has always been missing from his seat. He is the final one of the Six Ancestral Devils.”

  “The Ancestral Devils are all gods of earlier heaven times that existed before the heavens and earth were split apart and creation began. He is the sole exception.”

  “Despite being an Ancestral Devil, an ancestor of the myriad devils, his birth will only be at the end of the world, at the finality of later heaven.”

  “As for what his real title is, that is actually still an unknown. ‘Finality Law Heavenly Devil’ is just a placeholder which others addressed him by. Over time, it eventually became his title.”

  Meng Wan realised, “Like the Lord of Numinous Treasure, the founder of the Prime Clear lineage, he signifies all things going from being to nothing, with everything entering destruction and the laws of finality descending as creation ceases to exist?”

  The Encompassing Emperor nodded, “That’s right. The Finality Law Heavenly Devil signifies the end of the world. The moment he descends into this world will also signify that a true great tribulation has come.”

  “The Primordial Heaven Devil and the Finality Law Heavenly Devil who are the first and last are already so powerful. The other four of the Six Ancestral Devils would surely not be simple too,” Meng Wan sighed as she said.

  Yan Zhaoge smiled, “That’s right, isn’t it?”

  He pointed at the Nine Underworlds beside them, “This Nine Underworlds is formed of the corpse of the second Ancestral Devil after the Primordial Heaven Devil, the Existence Creation Heavenly Devil.”

  Meng Wan’s gaze flickered, “I remember it being stated in the ancient records that the size of the Nine Underworlds is such that it and the entire human realm in pre-Great Calamity times were like two equivalent extremities. A world such as this is actually formed from the corpse of a great devil?”

  The Brocade Emperor laughed, “Wan’er, while the Existence Creation Heavenly Devil died, we must still look at who killed him to decide on whether he was powerful or not.”

  “The one who slew the Existence Creation Heavenly Devil was none other than one of the founders of our Daoism’s Three Clear lineages, the Lord of Numinous Treasure.”

  Meng Wan blinked, “Well, it is no wonder then.”

  His hands behind his back, the Brocade Emperor looked leisurely beyond this dimensional space at the darkness of the Nine Underworlds, “While this and the human realm were like two extremities, the Nine Underworlds is a desolate wilderness at the end of the day. Therefore, it naturally tries to encroach on the great thousand worlds of our human realm.”

  “This might be a sort of yearning.”

  “The Nine Underworlds borders the area where the Primordial Heaven Devil is sealed, preserving the last bit of vitality for the Devils. In order to avoid the Primordial Heaven Devil breaking out from his seal, it is hard to go all out in trying to exterminate every last one of the Nine Underworlds’ devils.”

  The Brocade Emperor turned and glanced at Yan Zhaoge, “After the Primordial Heaven Devil and the Existence Creation Heavenly Devil, the third Ancestral Devil is called the Grand Supreme Heavenly Devil while the fourth is called the Faceless Heavenly Devil.”

  Meng Wan was slightly taken aback, “Grand Supreme…Heavenly Devil?”

  Yan Zhaoge said mildly, “The Grand Supreme Heavenly Devil is the devilish clone of the founder of one of Daoism’s Three Clear lineages, the Lord of the Dao and Virtue. The Faceless Heavenly Devil was the devilish clone of the Gautama Buddha of Buddhism.”

  “The two peak bigwigs used their supreme intelligence and might to wrest and occupy the seat of the Ancestral Devils, cleaving the vitality of the Devils during earlier heaven times to some extent. Hence, over millennia past, it is always the dao that is flourishing with the Devils diminished most of the time.”

  “Even when the Devils do gain an advantage, those times are merely fleeing and temporary.”

  “Therefore, excluding the Sixth Ancestral Devil who has never truly descended into this world, the only of them who was often active back then was the Fifth Ancestral Devil, the Vast Freedom Heavenly Devil,” Yan Zhaoge now shrugged, “Still, that was already a very long time ago.”

  “In this day and age, Ancestral Devils have rarely appeared since long, long before the Great Calamity. Those who rampage in this world are the later six of the Twelve Devilish Gods, the Six Supreme Devils.”

  Yan Zhaoge’s gaze fell on the two entangled sword-intents, “This Yin Shiyang, the Sword Devil, has merged with the devil of the Six Supreme Devils who possesses the seat of aged metal.”

  A lengthy process was needed from when one became a devil to when they truly became the manifestation of a Devilish God, a monarch of Devils.

  It was just that this lengthy process had been extremely short for Yin Shiyang who had already become the manifestation of a Supreme Devil.

  This had already been prematurely terminated by Yin Shiyang before it could truly bear fruition.

  The Sword Devil Yin Shiyang had thus become history.

  The Encompassing Emperor said, “While Yin Shiyang is dead, the Supreme Devil is unextinguished, only awaiting its next rebirth. Previously occupying the seat of aged metal of the Five Elements were numerous devils such as the Spear Devil and the Sabre Devil. With a Sword Devil Yin Shiyang having been produced in post-Great Calamity times, another will surely appear in the future as that devil rises from the ashes.”

  The so-called Six Supreme Devils referred to the Heart Devil and the Devils of the Five Elements.

  The names of the Devils of the Five Elements were not fixed.

  For example, the devil who had occupied the seat of Metal after the initial Spear Devil had perished was the Sabre Devil, after which many had come and gone till the Sword Devil Yin Shiyang.

  Of the devils who had occupied the seat of Earth, there had been the Earth Devil, the Soil Devil and the Stone Devil etcetera.

  Of the devils who had occupied the seat of Water, there had been the Ice Devil, the Water Devil, the Fog Devil and the Blood Devil etcetera.

  Some of these repeated themselves, though it was always a different person who got manifested as that same Devil.

  Over the course of history, while numerous great devils had perished completely, not being reborn after they were extinguished, none of the Twelve Devilish Gods had even fallen for good aside from the Existence Creation Heavenly Devil.

  However, they still needed luck and opportunity in order to return after having died.

  Lifeforms that could become their manifestations could appear the next instant, in a thousand years or even only after ten thousand years. These great devils could only stay silent between life and death, quietly awaiting.

  “In the ancient records left behind from before the Great Calamity, there are only the Heart Devil and the Shadow Devil who initially occupied the seat of Wood who have continuously existed. The other four have been extinguished and reborn many times,” Yan Zhaoge looked at the Encompassing Emperor and the Brocade Emperor.

  The Brocade Emperor smiled, saying, “After the Great Calamity, there has also been no news of the deaths of these two Devils.”

  Yan Zhaoge looked at those two streaks of sword-light, “More than two thousand years have passed sin
ce this Sword Devil died. I wonder who will suffer the devilish tribulation of the new Devil of aged metal, reborn after being extinguished.”

  History's Strongest Senior Brother Chapter 1088: The dead Emperor of the devilish dao

  “Be it the Devil of aged metal or the other Supreme Devils, all of them yearn for rebirth,” The Brocade Emperor said mildly, “Their rebirths require other lifeforms as their manifestations as it depends fully on luck. Compatible bodies could be close before their eyes, but if these do not exist, that they might have to wait for thousands, tens of thousands of years longer is also not impossible.”

  Meng Wan hesitated for a moment before asking, “How does compatibility come about?”

  The Brocade Emperor said, “This cannot be said for sure. It is the comparability of the fleshly body and soul, being unrelated to one’s cultivation and strength as well as talent in the martial dao. It is difficult to predict in that sense.”

  He suddenly laughed, “It would also be hard to be certain that all of us four present are unsuitable for this.”

  Meng Wan did not show any unusual reaction at her father’s words, only looking a bit worriedly at Yan Zhaoge.

  Yan Zhaoge understood what she was thinking. She was worried about Feng Yunsheng.

  This worry was not a baseless one.

  The threat was not just from the Six Supreme Devils. There were also many experts below the Twelve Devilish Gods who might be scheming to look for manifestations, thus undergoing rebirth.

  Many of them would possess great strength.

  To most people, the Twelve Devilish Gods were too distant a concept.

  The other great devils were the more direct threat, easier to run into.

  Yan Zhaoge exhaled slowly, many thoughts flashing through his mind.

  “Let us not interfere with this place. Since it is was left behind by predecessors, it should also prove a bit useful in obstructing the corrosion of the Nine Underworlds,” The Encompassing Emperor said as he looked at Yan Zhaoge and the Brocade Emperor.