Yu Xiyi naturally had no idea what was special about this page of paper. If he knew that even a figure like Daoist Master Ironcloud could only read a few lines before needing rest, perhaps... he would still think of drawing his sword.
He possessed an extremely proud sword and he himself was an extremely proud sword cultivator too.
Without this common ground, he probably would not have been able to make that supremely proud Wild Grass acknowledge him as master.
Except, pride was ultimately powerless in the face of disparity in cultivation levels.
Even Daoist Master Ironcloud would feel inferior in the face of such a disparity. No matter how talented Yu Xiyi was, he was still a sword cultivator who had yet to step into the Nepenthe Realm. The moment he drew his sword, the outcome was already preordained.
With a spluttering sound, Yu Xiyi spat out a large mouthful of blood, his complexion instantly turning very pale.
He slumped on the ground, having suffered rather some significant injuries.
Chen Chao glanced at that page in Yu Xiyi's hand.
Yu Xiyi casually tossed it out and the paper drifted over to Chen Chao's side, which he then reached out to grab too.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. This piece of paper is a little strange. Don't attempt to... provoke it!"
Yu Xiyi's expression was ugly as he spoke. Chen Chao's cultivation level was even lower than his, he did not want the same thing to happen again.
Chen Chao furrowed his brows, his gaze landing on the page. The golden characters shone brilliantly at this moment, radiating a dazzling light.
After merely reading the first word, Chen Chao felt a stabbing pain in both eyes, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
He quickly averted his gaze, feeling a little better. He suspected that if he kept reading it, his eyes might really become blind.
The piece of paper emitted a very special aura; powerful and terrifying. Holding it in his hand posed no issue, but attempting to read its contents would lead to a terrifying experience.
Such as what Chen Chao had just encountered.
Chen Chao released the page and began massaging his still-stinging eyes. The paper slowly drifted down, much like a fallen leaf from a tree.
Utterly ordinary.
However, Chen Chao was well aware that this page was far from ordinary.
"What secrets does this piece of paper hold?" Chen Chao looked at Yu Xiyi, wanting to know his opinion.
Yu Xiyi was not in much better condition at the moment and did not answer his question.
"What's written on that paper?"
Chen Chao pressed on persistently.
Yu Xiyi replied huffily, "I was busy battling the person who wrote these words. How would I know what's written on it?"
Just as Yu Xiyi said, he had been exchanging blows with the person who had written this page, so why would he pay any attention to what was written on the paper?
"That fellow has an extremely high cultivation level. Furthermore, he's got a bad temper. If I could meet him, I..."
Yu Xiyi initially wanted to say something harsh, but after some thought, he realized that with his current cultivation realm, he definitely could not do anything. So he felt angry but refrained from making threats. He simply thought that someday, he would learn this person's identity and give him a good beating to avenge today's grudge.
Chen Chao looked at the cushion, wondering why this page, which seemed more valuable than everything else here, would be casually placed under the cushion?
Could the cushion be good stuff too?
Chen Chao narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I feel that this cushion is good stuff too, those who see it gets a share. How about each of us take one of these two items?"
Chen Chao turned to Yu Xiyi and proposed his idea.
"Even if there were a good sword manual here, I would take it. After all, you're just a martial artist, it wouldn't be of any use to you. But do you think these things are related to sword cultivation? What would I do with this stuff?"
Yu Xiyi rolled his eyes, making his stance clear.
Chen Chao looked at him, somewhat stunned as he said. "You don't want this piece of paper either?"
Yu Xiyi said scornfully, "He's not even a sword cultivator. Even if he has a high cultivation realm, so what? Take ten thousand steps back, even if he's a sword cultivator, Your Father will also surpass him sooner or later!"
Chen Chao said with an emotional sigh, "You're truly a fellow who makes people speechless. But I admire your attitude. At least, you've left these items for me."
He put away that page. Although he did not yet know what secrets it held, he believed he would find out one day.
"Your Father didn't give these items up for free, hurry up and tell Your Father what you didn't finish saying earlier."
Yu Xiyi slowly stood up. Although his injuries were not light, it was not severe enough to keep him down.
Chen Chao looked Yu Xiyi, thought about it, and said, "Daoist Master Ironcloud has actually been in his position for less than ten years."
Yu Xiyi nodded his head. He knew about this.
"So how did he take the position of the Sect Master from the previous Sublime Bright Sect Master? No one knows the process."
Chen Chao thought about it and said seriously, "But, I know."
Before Yu Xiyi could respond, Chen Chao continued, "Perhaps I'm the only one who knows now."
Yu Xiyi said, "I'm very interested in hearing this story."
"The former Sect Master of the Sublime Bright Sect, Daoist Master Green Bamboo, wasn't a good person, but this Nepenthe Realm cultivator took in some decent disciples. They had good talent and cultivation realms, and the most outstanding among them was called Chen Shi. His talent and character were unparalleled in his generation. More importantly, he was also a good person."
"The Sublime Bright Sect didn't have many good people, but Chen Shi definitely counted as one. At least, he treated people as humans. If he had become the sect master of Sublime Bright Sect one day, perhaps the Sublime Bright Sect would have become a lot better. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to become the sect master. This story begins with Daoist Master Ironcloud's arrival on the mountain."
Daoist Master Green Bamboo accepted many disciples, but he did not stop taking in disciples just because he had enough disciples.
That was how Daoist Master Ironcloud came into the picture. Before he joined, he was just the son of a farmer. Daoist Master Ironcloud noticed his talent and released a captured demon, which devoured his parents. Then, Daoist Master Green Bamboo intervened, killing that demon. Naturally, Daoist Master Ironcloud was grateful. Subsequently, Daoist Master Green Bamboo took him as his disciple, which was the logical course of events.
However, after ascending the mountain, because Daoist Master Green Bamboo was reaching a critical point in his cultivation, he entrusted Daoist Master Ironcloud to Chen Shi.
"If Chen Shi wasn't a good person, Daoist Master Ironcloud might have died at that time, or he could have gone amok in his cultivation and become a cripple. Such incidents were not uncommon, it's actually not at all surprising for it to happen again."
Chen Chao looked at Yu Xiyi and said, "But sadly, he was a good person."
Because Chen Shi was a good person, he did not hide anything from Daoist Master Ironcloud and imparted him everything..
Daoist Master Ironcloud had exceptional natural talent, and at that time, he laid an excellent foundation.
Years passed, and Daoist Master Green Bamboo still had not exited seclusion. Chen Shi endured for several years but finally could not bear it any longer. He informed Daoist Master Ironcloud of the truth – that his parents were killed by Daoist Master Green Bamboo.
However, at that time, Daoist Master Ironcloud was already deeply immersed in his cultivation and unable to extricate himself. He naturally knew the consequences of expressing dissatisfaction with Daoist Master Green Bamboo. Hence, after learning the truth, he did nothing. But inwardly, he lost all gratitude towards Daoist Master Green Bamboo.
He began plotting how to kill Daoist Master Green Bamboo in the future and become the next sect master of the Sublime Bright Sect.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiyi felt rather emotional.
In the years that followed, Daoist Master Ironcloud began to take action against his fellow senior brothers. He was already intelligent, and after years of plotting and unwavering efforts, he quickly succeeded. Many of Daoist Master Green Bamboo's disciples died under mysterious circumstances.
In the end, only Chen Shi and Daoist Master Ironcloud remained.
"Chen Shi watched his junior martial brother commit so many deeds, he naturally felt deeply anguished. But Daoist Master Ironcloud also respected this senior martial brother because, after all, Chen Shi treated him really well."
Chen Chao lamented, "But even so, in front of the position of sect master and this friendship, Daoist Master Ironcloud still chose the former."
Yu Xiyi asked, "So he killed Chen Shi?"
Chen Chao replied, "Later, he even killed Daoist Master Green Bamboo and became the sect master of Sublime Bright Sect."
The story seemed to conclude there.
Yu Xiyi said, "You seemed to have left out a lot of details in the middle."
Chen Chao said, "That naturally belongs to another story."
Yu Xiyi frowned and said, "Telling half a story makes one wet the bed at night."
Chen Chao ignored him and just walked to the side. Looking at those books, he then continued, "In truth, this story shouldn't be told at this moment."
"Daoist Master Green Bamboo claimed to be in seclusion, but it was actually an excuse. He wasn't in seclusion; he had discovered a secret within the Sublime Bright Mountain. This secret was significant enough to make Green Bamboo abandon everything else and focus all his energy on it."
Chen Chao said, "It has to do with that boy."
The boy he spoke of was naturally the same boy they had encountered in Rainwater Commandery before.
That boy had been pursued and then saved by Chen Chao, which marked the beginning of that story.
Yu Xiyi recalled the white mist the young man had mentioned and asked, "Is it related to that heretic technique?"
"Could it be that the Sublime Bright Sect was some kind of demonic cult headquarters many years ago?"
Chen Chao shook his head and provided a negative answer to Yu Xiyi's question.
"On that day, you asked why didn't I feel any surprise when I heard that boy's story."
Chen Chao looked at Yu Xiyi.
Yu Xiyi said, "Not only that, but you also knew about this hidden path and this place."
Chen Chao said, "I knew about the hidden path because I originally left this mountain through that path. As for this place and the story I told you, it's because I found two final letters. One was penned by Daoist Master Green Bamboo, and the other was written by Chen Shi."
"In those two final letters, it told me everything about the Sublime Bright Sect's secret."
Chen Chao thought about it and continued, "Perhaps by now, one of those secrets has already leaked."
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