HSSB1086: Twelve Devilish Gods
“Yin Shiyang…” Yan Zhaoge repeated that name.
The Encompassing Emperor glanced at Yan Zhaoge, no longer having any reservations as he recalled what had happened at Star Reflecting Lake, “It is rumoured that the Sword Devil Yin Shiyang used to be a martial practitioner beneath the reign of the Immortal Court.”
“He possessed outstanding talent rare in this world for the dao of the sword.”
“Sadly, he cultivated at the Immortal Court ever since young, worshipping the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord. While he pushed open the door to Immortality afterwards, the dao that he had comprehended was lacking as his foundation was hence unstable.”
The Encompassing Emperor shook his head slightly, “It should be said that he was held back. If he had been able to enter the tutelage of we of orthodox Daoism, his future would probably have been immeasurable.”
He restricted his voice in saying so, not letting his words enter Meng Wan’s ears.
If Meng Wan learnt too much about the Immortal Court and the Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, she would naturally come to understand that the Brocade Emperor had not considered her welfare in the least back at Star Reflecting Lake.
The Brocade Emperor did not mind others knowing that cultivation deviation had befallen him.
Still, it was different for Meng Wan.
It was too hard to predict what sort of reaction the Brocade Emperor might have if she learnt the truth.
Therefore, while he would not hold back in speaking to Yan Zhaoge about this, the Encompassing Emperor still chose the method of sound transmission so as to keep Meng Wan from listening too.
The Brocade Emperor said mildly, “While Yin Shiyang of the legends was of the Immortal Court, his strength at the same cultivation level was not much inferior to those from our orthodox Daoism as it even surpassed many others.”
Yan Zhaoge stroked his lower chin, “That is indeed quite a remarkable feat.”
“Back then, his first battle of the sword with your grandfather, Senior Yan, ended tragically. As he cherished talent and felt it a pity, your grandfather spared his life,” The Encompassing Emperor continued, “He was unresigned and challenged him again, meeting yet another tragic defeat.”
“In the end, in order to remedy his deficiencies for a decisive battle with your grandfather, Yin Shiyang forsook the external dao of the Immortal Court and joined the Nine Underworlds, becoming a devil right there and then.”
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.”