Chapter 986: Promise
“Brother Yu, quickly wake up!” He Jian looked anxious as he whispered into Ou Yangming’s ear.
When the white light in the coffin dispersed, he had fainted but when he woke up, he saw Ou Yangming lying on the ground. No matter how much he shouted, the young fellow would not answer.
His withered palm gently patted Ou Yangming’s face, and he used his mental power to check his body’s condition.
A majestic momentum, a calm Qi momentum, and a strong life force… Every aspect of Ou Yangming’s body was healthy. His heart was beating like a drum, and he was as strong as a ferocious beast from ancient times, but why was he not waking up?
He Jian’s yellowed skin was wrinkled together. Without any hesitation, he stood to the side to protect Ou Yangming.
After half a day, Ou Yangming’s fingers moved slightly, and his eyes opened as if he had broken free from a nightmare.
He Jian immediately withdrew himself from his meditation and asked softly, “Brother Yu, are you alright?”
Ou Yangming smiled weakly, cupped his hands, and bowed. “Thank you, Senior He, for protecting me.” If He Jian had evil intentions during that time, even if the young fellow had 10 lives, he could still be killed. Along the way, the old man obviously knew how wealthy Ou Yangming was, but he still did not make a move. This made the fellow very touched, and he made up his mind to help the old man break through his shackles and rebuild his foundation after returning this time.
He Jian laughed heartily, revealing his white teeth. “It’s fine!”
Ou Yangming did not say much. He stood up and walked to the bronze coffin.
Just as his finger was about to touch the bronze coffin, an ancient voice rumbled with thunder and reverberated in the universe. “If you want to obtain our race’s inheritance, you must bear the karma of our race and the responsibility of our race’s revival.”
The voice was omnipresent. Ou Yangming hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his hand.
Given that the race was not tolerated by heaven and earth, its karma was too much. Ou Yangming was not Xu Aoran and had weak shoulders, so he could not bear it. In fact, he did not want to.
After hesitating for a moment, Ou Yangming walked to the coffin that was carved from an Extreme Grade spirit ore. The fog inside had dispersed, where there was only a woman’s long dress inside. It was blood-red and was brimming with vitality.
“It’s at least a magic treasure,” Ou Yangming evaluated.
He was a blacksmith, hence his eyes were naturally sharp. He could even faintly sense that the item was extraordinary, but he did not take it out recklessly. This was an item of the dead, and it was in such a dangerous place. When the young fellow thought of Xu Aoran, who was not even afraid of the Heavenly Disaster, he did not dare to move recklessly. Who knew what kind of trouble he would cause?
If a moment of carelessness led to a disaster, then it would be a loss that would not be worth it.
As soon as Ou Yangming saw this red dress, he could not help but recall Xu Aoran’s words after his pill refinement failure. ‘I lost once today, but I’ll win it back in the future! I want to save her, and you can’t stop me.’ The young fellow sat cross-legged and gathered all the information he knew. He thought to himself, ‘Is she in any way connected to this red dress and big tomb?’
Many strange thoughts crossed his mind, but he still could not get the gist of it.
After thinking for a long time, he sighed and suppressed this thought. He knew this matter could not be rushed.
He Jian looked around, but he still could not find what he wanted. His interest had faded, and his face was covered with traces of time, making him look even older.
Ou Yangming was also a little surprised. Xu Aoran’s sword techniques could not be found here, but he was not too disappointed. After all, he had enough life-saving methods. There would not be much difference whether he could find new techniques here or not.
At night, starlights sprinkled down, and a cool breeze blew.
Ou Yangming looked into the distance. The jade-green grasses bent together like waves of water, and ripples could be seen moving into the distance. In the sky, starlights were resplendent, emitting a dazzling radiance. The colors were different, and they kept rotating. It was queer.
He exhaled a breath of cold air and looked away, then he asked softly, “Senior He, have you ever thought of taking back the swords in the sword case?”
He Jian took out the Meridian Sword and used his fingers to gently brush it. He smiled bitterly and answered, “I have, but I still can’t advance and become a Venerable One. No matter how powerful that sword technique is, it’s not enough for me to fight against my enemy. I’m not afraid of death, but I don’t want that sword technique to lose its inheritance.” He raised his head and looked into the distance. His eyes shone brightly and were no longer turbid.
Ou Yangming rubbed his chin. His throat moved slightly, but he did not make a sound.
He Jian did not ask any more questions. After a moment of silence, he added, “When Lil’ Man’s evil spirit is gone, and he cultivates the Heaven-lifting to its early stage, I’ll go to He City and challenge An Jingyun. Those 3 swords have been with him, but they don’t suit him at all. The An family from He City has An Jingyun, who’s a Venerable One as their backing, so they’re considered a mighty force. Especially after my clan was wiped out, no one dared to provoke them.
Ou Yangming listened quietly. After hesitating for a moment, he expressed calmly, “Senior He, after we go back, I’ll think of a way for you to rebuild your foundation.”
As his voice echoed, He Jian’s pupils contracted, but he still said bitterly, “Thank you, Brother Yu, but it has been decades. It’ll be very difficult to rebuild my foundation, so I don’t dare to have such extravagant hopes anymore.” Nevertheless, deep down there was still a faint sense of anticipation in his heart. He just felt that this was too unbelievable.
Rebuilding one’s foundation was much more difficult than cleansing one’s muscles and marrow. It was not far from the heaven-defying method of changing one’s aptitude.
It was also because of this that even though He Jian knew Ou Yangming was an alchemist, he did not have any expectations.
Looking at He Jian’s expression, Ou Yangming understood what he was thinking, but he did not have any ill feelings in his heart. With a solemn expression, he noted, “Senior He, please trust me.” His eyes shone with a bright light. They were deep and carried a strong sense of confidence.
If someone else said this, He Jian would scoff at that person. However, he could not be so sure because the words came from Ou Yangming. Throughout their journey together, he had seen what a genius really waas.
Besides, given that Ou Yangming was being so serious, the glimmer of hope in He Jian’s heart quickly sprouted. His thoughts became active again as he asked in surprise, “Brother Yu, can I really trust you on that?”
“Of course!” Ou Yangming was dressed in white and was in high spirits.
“Hiss, hiss…” He Jian gasped twice, and his body began to tremble slightly.
It was not that he was not steady nor calm, but that he had been waiting for this day for decades.
From a God-favored one that was the focus of tens of thousands of people, for the sake of righteousness and kinship, he challenged a Venerable One as a Spiritualist. After blocking 3 moves, he was sent down to the mortal world. As such, he lived in seclusion in the ancient city, and he tempered his heart by carving wood every day. How many people could understand the bitterness in this?
After a full 2 breaths, he said softly, “Brother Yu, I won’t say much. It’s all in the liquor .”
Before he finished, he took out a pot of liquor and drank it in one gulp.
Ou Yangming smiled and did not say anything. He thought to himself, ‘A favor must be given in this way. Only then will it be worth it.’
He had suffered a lot since he was young, and he had seen too many cold and warm favors. Since he saw too much, he also thought too much, and he naturally understood many things. Therefore, when the young fellow was young, he had learned to judge situations, as well as to give and return favors. Otherwise, he would not feel good about being fed by many different families. Eventually, he understood that one had to be particular about the favor given and the timing when giving a favor.
If one did it too early, the receiving party would not care at all and would forget it in the blink of an eye.
If one did it too late, one would suffer a dead loss.
Ou Yangming felt that it was worth it to give this favor now. There were 3 main reasons.
First, while He Jian was old, as long as he could break through his shackles, his potential would be limitless.
Second, though He Jian did not say it, deep down he knew everything. He knew the difference between good and bad.
Third, which was also the most important reason, observing the sword was like observing a person. He Jian had a majestic momentum, he was upright, and he had justice in his heart. Furthermore, Ou Yangming did not have a foundation in the Big Ruins and needed help urgently, and the person was naturally He Jian.
The night breezes did not seem cold and humid. Instead, they carried a light and refreshing feeling.
Ou Yangming sat cross-legged, his heart guarding his soul as he visualized the snow mountain in his spiritual world.
After these few months of visualization, the majestic snow mountain had its first ravine. The peaks and ridges undulated, and the overall structure was massive.
Scattered snowflakes fluttered in the wind as they piled up on the snow mountain.
The snow mountain grew taller inch by inch, changing every moment.
At night, it was silent. In the early morning, the golden sunlight seemed to have been crushed as it painted the land golden.
Ou Yangming slowly withdrew himself from his meditation. His body was full of vitality, and his eyes flashed with a bright light. He gathered his Qi and exhaled, blowing away all the fog within 33 meters from him. Every inch of his skin and every cell became active.
He Jian slowly stood up. His spirit and energy were great. He smiled lightly and said, “Brother Yu, let’s hurry back to the ancient city first.”
“Okay!” Ou Yangming nodded. They had gone through many twists and turns this time, and the result was not satisfactory, but this was the doing of the mighty force. It was hard for them to change it.
Outside the tomb, the Bone Dragon was shuttling through the clouds. Its eyes were red, and it wanted to tear Ou Yangming and He Jian into pieces, but it did not dare to enter the tomb.
“You’re really stubborn!” Ou Yangming cursed in a low voice. His face turned cold, and he snorted internally. ‘Since you’re courting death, why don’t I just send you on your way and let the head devour you?’
Before the head bit off the Bone Dragon’s neck, Ou Yangming would not have thought this.
After seeing that unbelievable scene, he felt that it was possible, and there was a great chance.
Besides, Ou Yangming also had the Bone Dragon’s life-gate in his hands. It had a strong hatred towards the Phoenixes, such that the hatred had fused into its soul. Every time it saw something related to the Phoenixes, it would not rest until the thing or person was dead. This gave Ou Yangming a chance—a perfect opportunity.
“What do you need me to do?” He Jian’s expression was sincere, and he sounded old. He had a small plan in his heart. After all, after rebuilding his foundation, as long as he could overcome the Heavenly Disaster, he would be able to break through the cocoon to become a butterfly.
The simple words “Venerable One” were just too tempting to the being of the Spiritual Realm. IT was worth noting that a Venerable One was a being that stood at the top of the pyramid in the realm.
Countless beings would risk everything including their own lives for this. He Jian was such a person. What he pursued was to learn the path in the morning and die in the evening. Therefore, at this moment, he went crazy. He wanted to show his potential and value in front of Ou Yangming, which was why he asked this question.
Ou Yangming did not know what the old man was thinking. He waved his sleeve forward and smiled mysteriously, “Senior He, you just need to watch. This is going to be a good show.”
When his voice echoed in He Jian’s ears, it made him feel depressed.