……
Chen Yan stood in the main hall of the Heavenly Summit Palace.
What he held in his hand was that fragment of the Heavenly Summit Mirror.
Everything that had transpired on the Heavenly Summit Mountain over sixty thousand years ago was merely an illusion, a truth that Chen Yan had glimpsed from within the Heavenly Summit Mirror.
"Li Haowen..."
Chen Yan muttered to himself.
If not for the fact that everything he had seen through the Heavenly Summit Mirror fragment felt so utterly real, he would have surely believed it was just an extravagant dream.
Otherwise, why would Li Haowen appear from over sixty thousand years ago?
But Chen Yan knew very clearly, this was reality.
He had indirectly led to its downfall.
And the karmic backlash spanning these sixty thousand years was the fruit borne from the so-called "Cause of Calamity."
Now, all of this karma had been added onto his own body...
Chen Yan lowered his head to look at his own hands. He did not feel any abnormality.
In his previous cycle of reincarnation, Zhai Yushi, who had entered the Heavenly Summit Palace holding the mirror fragment, had been uniformly smeared across the palace floor.
This perhaps signified that, relying on Zhai Yushi's fate, he was completely unqualified to bear such a massive karmic backlash.
But Chen Yan could.
As for why he could, Chen Yan guessed the reason behind it might involve the very nature of his save-scumming reincarnation cycles.
That seven-colored flowing gold, the goddess statue thousands of zhang tall that had emerged from the massive crack in the sky, surfaced in Chen Yan's mind.
Chen Yan still remembered the bronze bell sound that had resounded through the heavens.
Melodious and drawn-out, it sounded quite reassuring.
Yet it was precisely this single toll of the bell that, in an instant, annihilated the Heavenly Summit Mountain.
What exactly was "that existence" Li Haowen spoke of, which had observed the changes in causality?
At this moment, numerous questions arose in Chen Yan's heart.
But more important than those questions were the trivial matters currently laid out before his eyes.
The world-ending calamity of the great demon, and how to leave this Heavenly Summit Palace.
Chen Yan had infiltrated this Heavenly Summit Palace in secret.
The effects of the Hidden Immortal Art even allowed him to easily evade the restrictions set by a great power at the Immortal Ascension Realm.
Accompanying Zhai Yushi here were also two Kongshan Sect Grand Elders at the Unity realm.
Yet Zhai Yushi had died by his hand, and the Kongshan Sect's Heavenly Summit Mirror fragment had also fallen into his possession.
How to face the two Kongshan Sect Grand Elders guarding the Heavenly Summit Mountain was a very serious problem.
Although Chen Yan could use the Hidden Immortal Art and the Great Derivation Art to mobilize immortal qi and instantly kill one Unity realm Grand Elder, there was absolutely no way to deal with the other.
That Nine Revolutions Chaos Heaven Tempering Meridian Pill obtained from the Floating Light Summit Dao Inquiry had already been used when he channeled immortal qi into that jade slip.
Even if he had another pill, he would surely be slain by the other Unity realm Grand Elder before his meridians could be repaired.
Using immortal qi to kill a Unity realm cultivator was a simple matter.
Similarly, for a Unity realm great power to instantly kill a Spirit Connection realm early-stage cultivator, one whose meridians were completely shattered and was no different from a mortal, was even more effortless.
If he couldn't resort to force, then...
How about confessing his true identity?
All along, what Chen Yan had worried about was that if he returned to the Kongshan Sect after dying and coming back to life, it might cause many unnecessary troubles, even lead to him being plotted against by people within the sect because of the so-called "Cause of Calamity."
But now, the Cause of Calamity had been removed.
With the Great Dao of the Chenping Continent reviving, if he could smoothly return to the Kongshan Sect, then the Kongyuan Mountain lineage would most likely be able to protect him, as others would have no compelling reason to kill him.
Chen Yan made up his mind.
He took a step, walking towards the direction outside the Heavenly Summit Palace, finally standing on the palace steps before leaping down.
After falling over two thousand zhang in height, Chen Yan landed steadily on the Heavenly Summit Mountain. Then, in just an instant, two Grand Elders appeared before him, wearing pure white Kongshan Sect daoist robes without any peak or lineage insignia.
Chen Yan immediately felt the flow of true qi in his meridians stagnate, clearly sensing the spiritual energy pressure and hostility emanating from the two Grand Elders.
"Who are you? How did you come down from the Heavenly Summit Palace? Where is Zhai Yushi?"
One of the Kongshan Sect Grand Elders asked this. Although Chen Yan used the Hidden Immortal Art to conceal his displayed cultivation at only the Martial Spring Realm peak, the attitudes of these two Unity realm great powers remained extremely cautious.
Chen Yan simply smiled faintly, then raised his hand to remove the mask from his face, revealing his originally handsome features:
"This junior is the personal disciple of Kongyuan Mountain Alchemy Hall Elder Lin Qifeng, the former Kongyuan Mountain Chief Disciple, Chen Yan. I pay my respects to the two Grand Elders!"
After speaking, Chen Yan respectfully performed a bowing salute with hands clasped, and with both hands, he presented the Heavenly Summit Mirror fragment he held.
"Chen Yan? How is that possible..."
The two Grand Elders looked at each other. As Kongshan Sect Grand Elders who had lived through so many years, they certainly knew who the culprit behind the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm and the Kongshan Sect Outer Court Cataclysm was, and were very clear about why and how Chen Yan had perished in the outer court.
Including Chen Yan's portrait, they had already seen it countless times in the Grand Elders' meetings.
The appearance of the young man before them was indeed identical to the portrait they had seen back then, only he looked somewhat more mature.
"Where is Zhai Yushi?"
One of the Grand Elders asked.
"He has already fallen within the Heavenly Summit Palace."
Chen Yan revealed an expression of regret and shook his head.
……
For these two Grand Elders, regardless of whether the other party's identity was real or fake, he was merely a Martial Spring Realm cultivator who couldn't possibly stir up any trouble before the two of them.
Take him back to the sect first.
"Come, first return to the sect with us, and then..."
One of the Grand Elders had just spoken halfway when a wisp of Clear Energy flashed through the air, directly severing that Grand Elder's neck, separating head from body.
The other Grand Elder reacted immediately, looking towards the direction the Clear Energy had come from and poised to launch a counterattack.
Immediately after, another flash of Clear Energy streaked by, severing the other Grand Elder's neck.
In an instant, both Kongshan Sect Grand Elders had perished upon the Heavenly Summit Mountain.
Chen Yan's expression turned grave. After experiencing so many storms and waves, he would no longer easily lose his composure over such matters.
He raised his head, also looking towards the direction from which the Clear Energy had struck.
He saw a young cultivator standing there, dressed in plain-colored daoist robes, with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling as he looked in Chen Yan's direction.
A token without any inscription hung at his waist. This token did not belong to any of the Five Great Sects, but Chen Yan still recognized it—
It was a token of the Heavenly Summit Mountain.
"So, how do you feel now?"
Mr. You said with a smile.