Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 868 - 863: Insider Information Part One

Chapter 868: Chapter 863: Insider Information Part One

幽府.

A hidden land of peace, a terrestrial paradise in the mortal world.

On an unnamed Immortal Mountain, peach trees blossomed with pink and red flowers covering the entire mountain. A gentle breeze stirred countless petals into a slow spinning dance.

On the mirror-like surface of a small lake in the center of the sea of flowers, a flat boat drifted slowly to the heart of the lake.

Hong Ye wore a bamboo hat, leaned lazily against one end of the boat, his face full of drunken lethargy.

Lin Xin’s white robe trailed into the boat, stained with much black grime, yet he didn’t care at all.

"I didn’t expect you to come back looking for me." Hong Ye raised his head to take a sip of wine.

Lin Xin studied him intently, and only now could he faintly discern how incredibly strong this decadent middle-aged man before him was.

Without a doubt, Hong Ye was stronger than the Heavenly Venerable.

But not as grand and boundless as the Taoist Ancestor.

"Many people think I’m a villain," Lin Xin said calmly. "Or assume I’m just a heartless butcher who kills indiscriminately."

"However, no matter what others think of me, my greatest principle in life is keeping my promises."

"You sound like you’ve been deeply moved."

Hong Ye replied lazily.

"I’m not moved, it’s just that everyone has their own principles," Lin Xin said calmly. "Now, can you tell me how to rescue you all from the Hidden Residence?"

Hong Ye laughed.

"You’ve given me hope, but it’s still far from the right time."

"Is it because my strength isn’t enough?"

Lin Xin furrowed his brows slightly.

Hong Ye shook his head, picked up the wine pot and shook it, the liquid inside making a clinking sound as if he was estimating how much remained.

"Do you know what the original form of the Hidden Residence was?"

As he said this, a flash of sorrow, helplessness, and desolation passed through his eyes.

Lin Xin noticed this, having investigated for so long, he finally approached the truth about the Hidden Residence.

"I would like to hear the details."

Hong Ye nodded slightly.

He sat at the bow of the boat, his gaze gradually drifting into an unfathomable realm of memories.

Splish-splash.

A small golden fish leapt from beside the boat, then fell back into the water.

Hong Ye remained silent for a long time.

Time silently passed as they both quietly faced each other.

Lin Xin didn’t urge him, sensing the complex emotions in Hong Ye’s heart, the ancient and boundless sorrow felt like an abyss to him.

"The Hidden Residence... used to be a complete universe before its collapse," Hong Ye’s first words sent a jolt through Lin Xin’s heart.

"The Hidden Residence was once a universe?" He instinctively repeated the revelation.

"Yes..." Hong Ye nodded, taking a deep breath. "And we were the Sword Masters who had reached the Integration Realm in the Hidden Residence universe, equivalent to what you call the Taoist Ancestor in your universe."

He glanced at Lin Xin.

"You’ve been to the Sword Hall, haven’t you?"

Lin Xin was still reeling from the revelation of the Hidden Residence being a universe when he heard the question and unconsciously nodded.

"I’ve been."

"The Taoist Arts and Sword Techniques of Sword Master Level gathered there originate from countless parallel universes, it’s the intersection of reflections from numerous parallel universes, thus the phenomena are fleeting," Hong Ye explained.

"So, there are countless universes, and the Sword Masters within them gather their insights into Sword Techniques and Taoist Arts to form the Sword Hall?" Lin Xin roughly understood this explanation.

"More or less. There are many such strange existences. You will encounter them in the future. Let’s leave it at that." Hong Ye switched the topic back to the Hidden Residence.

"Back then, many, many years ago, so long that I can’t remember how many years have passed.

We gathered all the Sword Masters, attempting to avert the destruction of the universe. But it was to no avail."

He took a sip from his wine.

"Out of despair, for self-preservation, we created a terrifying Sword Intent that shook heaven and earth. This Sword Intent took us a million years to prepare, combining the total power and souls of sixty-three Sword Masters. It gathered countless dimensional planes, world cores, and a mysterious force throughout the universe.

Finally, using this Sword Intent, we altered the fundamental attributes of the universe. The universe rapidly collapsed to a density beyond imagination.

Only then did we resist the catastrophic annihilation."

Lin Xin listened, feeling lost.

"Where did the catastrophe come from?"

"This goes back to the formation of the universe itself," Hong Ye glanced at him.

"The universe we lived in was called the Black Universe. It’s a fundamental element in a larger Macro Universe.

And the Black Universe, like countless drifting Dead Stars, forms massive organized structures like galaxies and star rivers within the Macro Universe.

The Macro Universe is our true world, but it’s so distant that breaking through the Black Universe to enter it requires not just opportunity, insight, and strength, but also timing...."

"Macro Universe... Black Universe..." Lin Xin felt this somewhat paralleled Earth’s theory of parallel universes but with significant differences.

"To escape the Black Universe Hidden Residence we originally belonged to, we must abandon our Integration foundation. Since by reaching Integration, we essentially became part of the Hidden Residence. Here lies the problem." Hong Ye paused.

"Once we abandon Integration, we lose our strength.

Without strength, it’s impossible to escape the Hidden Residence."

Lin Xin understood the dilemma.

"Only in the Integration Realm can we see the hope of escape and have sufficient strength.

But because of Integration, we have become a part of the Hidden Residence, making escape impossible."

He thought for a moment.

"What can I do to help you?"

"The timing isn’t right...." Hong Ye shook his head, "This isn’t a matter of strength. Even if you had power enough to destroy the Hidden Residence. Since I am part of the Hidden Residence, you would be destroying us as well."

That indeed posed a problem.

Lin Xin also felt a headache.

"Don’t think too much about it, I will first teach you the method to absorb the Taoist Ancestor Origin." Hong Ye smiled. "Remember, never reach Integration unless absolutely necessary.

Once in Integration, you must guard your Black Universe, the universe is my heart. Otherwise, you might end up like those in the Abyss, living worse than death."

The Abyss seemed to hold more secrets, but Lin Xin couldn’t afford to dwell on many things.

Hong Ye had started to transmit the grand technique for absorbing the Taoist Ancestor Origin.

Lin Xin quickly closed his eyes to accept the information.

A moment later, when he reopened his eyes, Hong Ye had vanished.

Only Lin Xin sat alone on the boat, surrounded by tranquility and harmony, belying the fact that he was inside the frenzied, evil, all-devouring Hidden Residence.

The method to absorb the Taoist Ancestor Origin was simple yet hard to resolutely perform.

It entails completely releasing his soul, merging the Taoist Ancestor Origin to become a part of himself, absorbing the countless information within.

This could result in being overwhelmed by the numerous Taoist Ancestor data, transforming him into another Taoist Ancestor, a prototype body of the Taoist Ancestor Origin.

If he could endure, he would instantly grow to an Integration realm nearly at Taoist Ancestor level.

Only a specific trigger would let him step into that supreme realm.

This was the sole method of fusion, and extremely dangerous.

The three emperors of the Shadow Realm hesitated due to the low success rate, opting to merely superficially comprehend it.

"Sigh..." Lin Xin sighed deeply, stood up, and disappeared suddenly from the lake.

Reappearing, he floated outside the Hidden Residence in a grey-white void.

Numerous grey-white calamity energies swirled and drifted around him, blocked by a vast expanse of red spiritual light.

Lin Xin quietly gazed at the immense Hidden Residence.

It resembled a gigantic black sea, full of viscous, black oil-like liquid, rotating continuously.

At its center, a dark red humanoid mouth ceaselessly opened and closed, chewing something, with countless black substances like water or clouds constantly being devoured.

Even white calamity energy was occasionally swallowed.

"Hidden Residence..." Lin Xin suddenly recalled the double-horned people he had encountered.

"Intruders from another universe...."

He squinted his eyes.

He didn’t understand what timing Hong Ye was waiting for. If Hong Ye abandoned Integration, and Lin Xin forcibly brought him out, it might be feasible.

Ding-ding-ding....

Suddenly, the clear sound of horse-drawn carriage bells echoed.

Lin Xin’s heart trembled, his vision blurred.

The surroundings transformed instantly into the barren, white calamity-filled Mortal Realm.

Standing alone on a black stone, he looked around at the lifeless expanse, devoid of any hint of vitality.

"Have the Demon Talisman Seeds depleted?"

He realized then.

The Hidden Residence didn’t exist in the real universe but in a rift between illusion and reality. If he couldn’t adjust his form, he couldn’t enter it under any circumstance.

"Secret technique obtained, but karma persists...."

He took one last look at the conspicuous spatial protrusions around.

Turned and abruptly disappeared.

***********************

In the vast void.

A small world shriveled to a mere few hundred miles, supported amidst calamity energies like a grey-black island, barely holding a golden yellow protective shield against the invasion.

The golden shield flickered with dark runes, on the verge of collapse.

Within the shield, a white three-layer pavilion stood.

Two elderly men in green robes gazed at the shaking golden membrane, faces somber.

"It’s almost at its limit..."

One elder sighed deeply.

"Nephew Song, I fear there’s little time left for you here..."

He turned to the young guests in the hall.

They were none other than the long unseen Song Danhao, Xu Ling, and Gongshang Baiyu.

Song Danhao stood up, also noticing the trembling golden membrane outside.

"If only I had regained my powers, I could lend a hand to the Li Family’s realm!"

He declared decisively.