Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 389 Tang Mingming's Past
These words stunned Zhuang Wansong and Li Zhi.

After a long pause, Li Zhi pressed on with a barrage of questions: "Is that really the case? The Blue Night Realm and the Spiritual Cultivation Realm are already 'dead'? Can a world... can a world die? Or perhaps there are other reasons for this? Maybe they're not really dead?"

“You’re right. There’s more than one possibility for the existence of a dimensional gate that allows entry into different points in time at the same time.”

Ancestor Mingfeng sighed deeply, and before Li Zhi could show any joy, he shattered his hopes, saying, "But no matter which possibility it is, it can all be attributed to the same situation, which is... these different points in time are not actually happening, but rather a kind of 'possibility'."

"This 'possibility' may have already occurred, or it may not have occurred yet; in any case, it is not real, and therefore... it does not exist..."

Li Zhi, however, was not convinced: "If they don't exist, then why did Fellow Daoist Sun die and his soul perish?"

"Fellow Daoist, have you not tried any illusionary trials in your sect? Although the illusion is fake, the injuries you suffer and the items you obtain within it are real."

"Naturally, if you take what you have taken out of the illusion, its evolution will change when you step into the illusion again, and the things that actually exist and that you took away will also disappear."

"There are actually many kinds of illusions."

"There are completely illusory worlds created by spiritual energy; in such illusions, everything is fake. There are also trial realms formed by relying on a blessed land; in such illusions, the flowers, trees, birds, and beasts are real, but the process of their evolution is fake, so there is no result."

"As for the Blue Night Realm and the Spiritual Cultivation Realm... just like the latter, they are illusionary realms formed by deduction based on the Blue Night Realm and the Spiritual Cultivation Realm themselves. They will probably return to their state before they died once the White Stone Realm has completely stabilized..."

Perhaps because he had already overcome the most painful emotions, although Master Mingfeng still looked very depressed, he answered questions very patiently.

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, then looked at Ancestor Mingfeng and hesitated, "Then...you..."

"I don't know... I... I really don't know whether the real me stayed here or returned to the spiritual cultivation world with everyone. After all, the reason I stayed to guard the seal in this divination was because when Sect Master Zhang mistakenly entered, he told us that there might be evil cultivators causing trouble."

"But over the years, I haven't seen the evil cultivator that Sect Leader Zhang mentioned, so I've become complacent..."

At this point, Ancestor Mingfeng smiled bitterly and said, "No matter how I thought about it, I really never imagined that the world I live in was actually created through deduction. Alas..."

If Zhang Chengdao were here, he might have been able to discuss metaphysical ideas and the first principle of philosophy with Ancestor Mingfeng, such as "I think, therefore I am." However, both Zhuang Wansong and Li Zhi were sword cultivators whose minds were only on swords. Hearing Ancestor Mingfeng's words, they could only remain silent helplessly.

For a moment, only the howling mountain wind and the faint cries of birds startled by the fierce battle and lightning tribulation could be heard in the distance.

As Zhuang Wansong and Li Zhi processed the truth, they felt a heavy weight on their hearts, as if a huge boulder was pressing down on them.

If what Ancestor Mingfeng said is true, and their current situation, along with the fierce battle they just experienced, and even Sun Ping's sacrifice... all of this is merely a "deductive illusion" that evolved based on the real "White Stone Realm"... then what is the meaning of all this?

What does Sun Ping's death even mean?
Li Zhi clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment: "Senior! Even if this is an illusion, the death of Fellow Daoist Sun, the camaraderie we shared in battle, and... and the breakthrough I just made, are they all fake? The spiritual energy I felt, the inner core within my body, are clearly real!"

Ancestor Mingfeng looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in his tired and desperate eyes.

He sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist, for you, the Heavenly Tribulation is real, and your current feelings and cultivation are also real. However, this experience and our acquaintance are nothing but an illusion. Perhaps I left some lingering thoughts in the real world. If you were to meet me, I suppose... my lingering thoughts would not recognize you."

"As for this Fellow Daoist Sun..."

He paused, his voice lowering: "He really did 'die'."

"He sacrificed his own soul to that celestial-grade spiritual sword, which was the only way he could inflict such a severe injury on this person..."

"However, to save a dead man like me is truly a pity..."

"It's not a pity."

Zhuang Wansong, who had been silent until now, first tied Sun Ping's body to his back, and then finally spoke: "This is Fellow Daoist Sun's own choice."

Upon seeing Sun Ping's body, Li Zhi's eyes reddened, and he stammered, seemingly at a loss for words: "Elder..."

Zhuang Wansong instructed, "Protect Fellow Daoist Sun's sword, and take that evil spirit with you. Let's return to the White Stone Realm first."

"Fellow Daoists, please wait!"

Ancestor Mingfeng stepped forward, picked up the still struggling soul, and said, "I will first examine the soul before sealing it so that you two can take it back."

As he spoke, he used the Soul Searching Technique, and the spiritual energy around him formed a huge vortex, while the spiritual light flickered faintly in the dark night.

Soon, Ancestor Mingfeng's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

After an unknown amount of time, he took a deep breath and stopped the spell.

He glanced at Zhuang Wansong and Li Zhi, pondered for a moment, and then said, "This man is indeed a beast."

"His original name was Tang Mingming. He was an abandoned baby picked up by Tang Chaochao, who later took him in as her disciple. From his memories, I saw that he seemed to have lived in a place called 'Tang Clan' in his early years..."

It took Ancestor Mingfeng a good half hour to finally explain the whole story of Tang Mingming.

Actually, things aren't that complicated.

The name "Tang Chaochao" is unknown in both history and the martial arts world, but the name of his master is enough to startle Zhang Chengdao, because Tang Chaochao's master is named "Tang Yu".

This refers to the legendary "celestial being from beyond the heavens".

"Tang Mingming's grandmaster was an 'immortal from beyond the heavens.' Judging from his appearance, he was probably a cultivator from another world who accidentally wandered into your White Stone Realm. As for his cultivation level, I can't tell. This person's memories are too chaotic to be easily pieced together..."

The name "Tang Mingming" was given by Tang Yuqi, just like "Tang Chaochao".

In addition, Tang Yu took in many orphans, gave them names, and made them all take his surname "Tang," thus beginning the Tang Clan.

However, the real reason why Tang Mingming became like this can be traced back to Tang Yu. According to Ancestor Mingfeng, Tang Mingming had a very clear memory of Tang Yu talking to the Tang Clan about the world "outside the heavens".

Tang Yu said that there are countless "outer worlds" because they are rich in spiritual energy, and cultivators like him are everywhere.

"Cultivators, as they break through in their cultivation and their abilities become profound, some can ascend to the heavens and descend to the earth, some can move mountains and fill seas, and some can even bring the dead back to life, heal flesh and bone, and even revive the dead and reverse aging—these are not uncommon..."

As if telling a fairy tale, Tang Yu described a magnificent and splendid world, and then instructed the Tang Clan members to diligently protect the mountains and rivers near the Tang Clan so that the "immortal bones" could nourish the place. Sooner or later, they would all be able to cultivate spiritual energy, and at that time, everyone would be able to cultivate immortality.

Having only listened to a fraction of what was said, Li Zhi couldn't help but interject, asking, "'Immortal bone'? What's that?"

“True ‘immortal bones’ are a kind of spiritual material. They require cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or above to die naturally through physical disintegration. After their corpses decompose, the bones are refined by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and thus become spiritual material, which is ‘immortal bones’.”

Ancestor Mingfeng explained, "This kind of spiritual material is not rare in some upper realms, and there are many substitutes. However, in the White Stone Realm in this person's memory, where spiritual energy is almost non-existent, it is probably truly a unique spiritual material in the world!"

Having answered Li Zhi's question, Ancestor Mingfeng then began to tell the rest of the story.

In Yuzhou City, where the Tang Clan is located, there is indeed a piece of immortal bone preserved.

However, at that time, Yuzhou City was not yet a city, but only a settlement of the Tang Clan. Therefore, the immortal bone nurtured Yuzhou, making the land fertile and giving birth to a lot of spiritual energy.

At this point, Ancestor Mingfeng couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, what is meant by 'birth'? In reality, it's just the spiritual energy brought by the 'immortal bone' itself!"

The story that followed was not so heartwarming.

Tang Mingming developed a desire to cultivate immortality and pestered Tang Yu to teach him cultivation secrets.

Because the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was so thin, Tang Yu didn't think Tang Mingming could cultivate anything, but he couldn't bear to refuse, so he really taught him a lot of introductory techniques. Unexpectedly, Tang Mingming actually made a name for himself in cultivation!

Under such barren conditions, Tang Mingming only spent a year to draw qi into her body and three years to successfully establish her foundation.

Unfortunately, it became very difficult to reach further levels of cultivation.

After years of hardship, Tang Mingming, filled with resentment, finally turned completely evil. He secretly learned many of the various magical techniques and supernatural abilities that Tang Yu had specially copied and recorded. Relying on Tang Yu's trust, he plotted against and killed him, and used his flesh and blood to make pills to consume in hopes of further improving his cultivation.

Tang Yu's bones, which could also be considered "immortal bones," were set up by Tang Mingming into an array to extract spiritual energy from the immortal bones for his own cultivation.

Under such ruthless methods, Tang Mingming actually cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage in just a few years, but was struck dead by lightning during his breakthrough.

Or rather, his physical body was simply destroyed.

Having learned many techniques and supernatural abilities, including the Body Seizure Technique, Tang Mingming began her first Body Seizure.

In order to gain the most money and status, Tang Mingming chose Zhang Jiao, a martial artist who was revered as a sage of martial arts, for her first possession.

Hmm... He also has a nickname, "Great Teacher of Virtue".

Originally, Tang Mingming only intended to possess Zhang Jiao's body and inherit his identity, power, and social status. However, after possessing the body, he unexpectedly discovered that the martial arts promoted by this "Great Teacher of Virtue" were intricately connected to the path of immortality. Thus, the already exceptionally talented Tang Mingming created a unique method of cultivation that did not require spiritual energy—

All one needs to do is absorb the true energy of a martial artist and refine it into spiritual energy within the inner core, then it can be used for one's own purposes, and thus one can cultivate.

Although this method of "cultivation" is unbearably slow, it is still much better than having no spiritual energy and being unable to cultivate at all.

At first, Tang Mingming's actions were very restrained.

In order to have enough martial artists to use, he pretended to be Zhang Jiao, continued to promote martial arts, and distributed and taught various martial arts techniques and secret manuals more and more unreservedly, gaining an excellent reputation.

But after many years, as martial arts flourished and grandmasters and great grandmasters emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, Tang Mingming became increasingly reckless in his actions, eventually revealing his true colors and becoming unacceptable to the martial arts world.

Soon, Tang Mingming, who had become the common enemy of all martial artists, acquired a nickname that made everyone in the martial arts world tremble with fear: Blood Demon.

Then came the catastrophe that struck the entire martial arts world of White Stone Realm. All the martial artists were in danger, and the grandmasters and great masters had no choice but to band together for mutual support. They even held a "Demon Slaying Conference" to discuss how to deal with the threat of the Blood Demon.

Zhuang Wansong and Li Zhi had already heard about what happened next.

It was nothing more than the entire martial arts world suffering countless deaths and injuries, risking almost the extinction of the lineage, to seal the Blood Demon in the Qin King's Tomb. The method of sealing the Blood Demon was provided by an old sect leader of the Tang Sect at the time.

It is said that Tang Shuying's father was once a disciple of the Tang Clan. Later, for some unknown reason, he suddenly murdered his master and slaughtered the entire clan, then fled far away and disappeared without a trace. He also abandoned Tang Shuying and stayed alone in the Tang Clan, where he suffered a lot of scorn.

Fortunately, the surviving members of the Tang Clan did not kill Tang Shuying because of her father's actions. Tang Shuying lived up to expectations and became a Grandmaster when martial arts were flourishing. She gathered the old members of the Tang Clan scattered in various places, re-established the new Tang Clan, and became the leader of the Tang Clan.

However, Tang Shuying only served as the sect leader for two months before stepping down and relinquishing her position after the Tang Sect was on the right track. She then went into seclusion for many years until the former martial arts sage became a blood demon. At nearly three hundred years old, she finally left Yuzhou to participate in the Demon Slaying Conference.

Later, when sealing the Blood Demon, it was Tang Shuying who sacrificed her life to successfully drag the Blood Demon into the Qin King's Tomb and complete the final seal.

It is said that this sealing method was found by Tang Shuying from some of the remaining manuscripts of the Tang Clan's patriarchs.

"For the sake of some vague and illusory pursuit of immortality, this fiend's actions are truly despicable!"

Finally, Ancestor Mingfeng sighed, "What's most hateful is that this fiend's initial purpose in cultivating immortality was to break through the White Stone Realm, go to the Upper Realm, and find a way to revive his beloved wife."

"But as time went on, I completely forgot about it."

"Going to the upper realm has become his only remaining obsession..."

(End of this chapter)