Chapter 554: Heaven-Scorning Reappears
Long Jiuyuan was, naturally, Long Yueyou's elder brother.
A man of exceptional talent, he stood as the most outstanding figure of his generation within the Long Family.
It had taken him just over a century to advance from Qi Refinement to the peak of Spirit Transformation.
Unfortunately, Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth were exceedingly rare, and even a genius such as he had been trapped at the Spirit Transformation realm as a result.
A full century more had passed. Only now had that wait finally ended.
"Fellow Daoist Long," one of the cultivators present asked, unable to contain his curiosity once the fervent congratulations had subsided, "where did Brother Jiuyuan obtain the Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth he sacrificed for Dao Unity?"
Long Yueyou hesitated for a moment. But everyone here was part of their own circle, and his brother had already succeeded; the Soul Arbiter's existence was no longer any great secret.
Seeing the curious, expectant looks around him, Long Yueyou felt a swell of pride rise in his chest and spoke. "It was simply heaven's will favoring my brother.
"He served as guardian of Tianling Province for over thirty years. During one mission beyond the city, deep within a certain mountain range, he discovered a strange sight.
"The mountain appeared no different from any ordinary peak. But its interior, which should have been solid rock, had transformed entirely into a black, viscous marsh.
"The marsh exuded an aura of profound ill omen. Any creature that strayed into it, even artifacts or Dao Techniques launched against it, would be swallowed and assimilated, vanishing without a trace.
"Logically, any being with spiritual sense should have felt deep unease near such a place and given it a wide berth.
"But my brother noticed something peculiar."
Long Yueyou paused deliberately.
He waited, watching, until the cultivators around him were practically squirming with impatience before continuing with a satisfied smile. "All living creatures near the black marsh behaved like moths drawn to a flame, scrambling over one another to dive straight into it, heedless of their lives.
"Cultivators were no exception. My brother's Dao Heart is exceptionally resolute, yet after lingering near that black marsh too long, even he nearly succumbed to the urge to enter."
Several among the listeners drew sharp breaths, grasping the implication at once. "A fatal allure. Could it be... that black marsh was the Soul Arbiter?"
Long Yueyou gave a slight nod. "Correct. That was precisely what my brother suspected. Having been trapped at the Spirit Transformation realm for so many years, he was beside himself with elation.
"But he also understood that a Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth is a manifestation of natural laws, not something to be dealt with carelessly. So he forcibly suppressed his excitement and withdrew.
"He sealed the mountain entrance with a secret technique and returned quietly to Tianling City.
"After that, without alerting a soul, he prepared alone and in secret.
"Only after a full half-month of preparations did my brother, finally ready, find another pretext to return to those deep mountains.
"He laid an array to seal off the surrounding area, preventing discovery. Then he attacked the black marsh.
"But just as before, every strike vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, stirring not the slightest reaction."
Long Yueyou's eyes narrowed, as though he were picturing Long Jiuyuan's own telling of the tale. "For three full days, my brother tried every method he could conceive. He failed to inflict the slightest damage upon the black marsh.
"It was then that my elder brother recalled the long years he had spent struggling, trapped at the Spirit Transformation realm. And he made his decision.
"With the resolve to either succeed or die, he leaped into the black marsh."
The cultivators present drew a collective breath.
Searching their own hearts, they knew they would not have had the courage to do the same.
Who knew what lay within that marsh? To leap in like that was to throw one's life away. Even if one failed to achieve Dao Unity, a Spirit Transformation cultivator could still dominate a region and live in power and luxury.
But once dead, everything was over.
Yet Long Jiuyuan had chosen to risk it all!
While marveling, they also felt genuine admiration for him from the bottom of their hearts.
"I had long heard that Long Jiuyuan possesses extraordinary courage, far beyond ordinary men. Now it seems the rumors did not exaggerate. If anything, they underestimated Brother Jiuyuan!"
"No wonder Brother Jiuyuan, with only Spirit Transformation cultivation, could be on brotherly terms with many Dao Unity Immortal Venerables!”
"Haha, that we can even call him 'Brother Jiuyuan' is an honor in itself!"
Listening to the crowd's lavish praise, Long Yueyou wore a look of undisguised pride, his heart swelling.
He and Long Jiuyuan were born to the same mother. Their bond was deep, nearly inseparable. To praise Long Jiuyuan was to praise him.
After a long while, Long Yueyou gave a light cough and continued. "After entering the black marsh, the protective artifacts on my elder brother's person began to be consumed at a terrifying rate.
"You must understand, these were specially crafted for him by a close Dao Unity friend who excelled in artifact forging. Had they been ordinary protective artifacts purchased from the Tianxuan Mirror, they would have been utterly eroded long before.
"With little time remaining, my brother was alarmed, but he did not panic. Rather than flailing about without direction, he closed his eyes, steadied his mind, and attuned himself to the changes within the marsh.
"The black marsh was like the deepest, darkest ocean. Apart from my brother, there was no sign of life whatsoever.
"Yet he could faintly perceive that within what should have been utter dead silence, wave-like tremors pulsed through the marsh at intervals.
"As though something deep within was churning.
"So my brother followed that faint pulsation, venturing deeper and deeper toward the black marsh's heart.
"Heaven never seals off all exits. Just as the last of his protective artifacts neared complete depletion, he found the source of that strange disturbance!"
At the story's most critical moment, Long Yueyou stopped.
A strange light flickered in his eyes. He lowered his voice. "At the very center of the black marsh, one could vaguely make out a blurred, black humanoid figure.
"Not a cultivator. A human-like form composed entirely of twisted, turbid black marsh.
"A Soul Arbiter of heaven and earth.
"But that was not what shocked my brother most. Because beside the Soul Arbiter, there lay one other thing."
Long Yueyou drew a slow breath and revealed the answer.
"A broken sword. The baleful qi pouring from it made even my brother, who had slain countless cultivators of the Five Elders Council, shudder with fear.
"The broken sword struggled and thrashed violently in every direction. And the black marsh had wrapped its own body around it like a cage, using itself to hold the sword imprisoned."
The black marsh transformed into a sea, its own body the prison.
The bizarre, eerie scene Long Yueyou had described left the crowd stunned into silence before erupting into speculation about the broken sword's origins.
Yet tens of thousands of li away, Li Fan, who had been flying toward a certain destination, suddenly stopped dead in midair.
The Heaven-Scorning Sword?!