Within the depths lay a region of shattered stone stretching for dozens of li in every direction. At its very centre sat an old man in the lotus position. His hair had completely fallen out, his body was utterly naked and covered in thick grey dust. His skin looked like dried orange peel, earthy brown and cracked. He no longer resembled a living person; he seemed more like a corpse freshly unearthed from an ancient tomb.
If Lin Xiao had not just heard a voice, he would have assumed it was nothing more than a dead body.
“Could this really be an ancient monster trapped here for countless ages?” Shock filled Lin Xiao’s heart.
He did not dare rush out of the rock layer and enter that patch of broken stone, afraid of some sudden attack.
“Young friend, there is no need to fear. This old man will not harm you.”
The elder struggled to his feet with great difficulty and slowly turned around. His wrinkled skin hung like coarse sackcloth. His face was so ruined by time that it barely looked human.
“Harming you would hold no meaning for this old man.”
His lips moved sluggily, and the ancient, weathered voice emerged. “I only wish to leave this place.”
“Who are you?” Lin Xiao asked calmly, though his heart pounded with astonishment.
“This old man has already forgotten his own name. I no longer remember how many years I have spent here.” The elder answered weakly.
Lin Xiao was even more shocked. The man did not even know how long he had been trapped, had forgotten his own name. If that was true, how ancient must he be?
Of course, if it was false, if the other simply refused to say, no amount of questioning would help.
Lin Xiao did not press further. Instead he asked directly, “I have two questions. First, how do I rescue you and get you out?
“Second, how can I be certain that once I free you, I will not be in danger?”
The elder spoke slowly and feebly. “This is Death White Rock, one of the nine great forbidden zones of the continent. The power of time flows everywhere. Somehow you are able to move freely within this region. With my current strength, I cannot harm you here at all.
“When I first entered, I tampered with the entrance. That point in space is the weakest. I will guide you to break it open, and we can all leave.
“Inside here there is no spiritual energy, no source of power at all apart from the force of time. My strength will only recover once I am outside.
“I belong to a bygone era. Someone must carry on in my place. If you trust me, I will support you, teach you supreme martial techniques, and help you rule a region. If you do not trust me, we part ways and owe each other nothing.
“As for helping me, you need only carry me on your back out of this rock layer. The power of time is everywhere. The moment I move, the burden becomes far greater. You possess a warm current in your body that can greatly reduce the time force around you.”
Hearing these words, Lin Xiao frowned inwardly. Although the elder sounded sincere and even offered him an escape route, a dangerous premonition rose in his heart.
To be supported by an ancient monster, to rule a region and receive peerless martial teachings, many people would be tempted.
It did seem plausible. A monster whose strength had not yet recovered, completely disconnected from this era, would indeed need someone to rely on. Cooperation would benefit both sides.
Yet it was precisely this that revealed how great the elder’s ambition and desire for power still burned. Someone with such grand designs might do anything.
Freeing him would probably be extremely dangerous.
“Hahaha! What rubbish supreme techniques! Not a single one of his skills can compare to the inheritance of that kid Yaoguang. Lad, do not believe him.” At that moment, another voice suddenly rang out.
The voice was tender like an infant’s, but the tone was aged and experienced.
Lin Xiao was instantly startled. There was actually someone else here?
Moreover, this person knew about the Yaoguang inheritance and called the Yaoguang Great Emperor “that kid Yaoguang”?
Just how old was this being?
“When he came in, he was not much older than you, yet he still dares call himself ‘this old man’.”
The infant-like voice cursed. “He recognised your broken sword long ago. He is from the same generation as Yaoguang. He lost to Yaoguang back then, suffered a devastating blow to his Dao heart, and that is why he came to challenge Death White Rock.
“This little thing is incredibly vindictive. He has always wanted to erase Yaoguang completely. You are Yaoguang’s successor; he will never let you go.”
Before the infant voice could finish, the low, deep voice of the orange-skinned elder before Lin Xiao sounded. “Enough! You old devil, you cultivated the demonic path and harmed countless lives. You only wish to deceive this boy.”
“Heh heh, who is deceiving whom? We both know in our hearts.” The infant-voiced being laughed. “Boy, he knows about the heavenly eye inside your body. That treasure would cause bloody battles even in the Myriad Ancient Era. After being trapped so long, his hunger for power has not faded at all. If you let him out, he will definitely seize your heavenly eye and silence you.
“I am different. Although I cultivate the demonic path and am no saint, I do not slaughter indiscriminately. Carry me out, and I will lead you away from Death White Rock.”
Lin Xiao’s brows furrowed tighter. What the infant-voiced elder said did make sense.
Most importantly, the elder in front of him knew about his Yaoguang broken sword yet never mentioned the heavenly eye in his body, and he clearly still harboured great ambition. This made trust very difficult.
As for the infant-voiced one, although he was a demonic cultivator, he was remarkably frank. As he himself said, as long as one’s heart remained upright and one did not kill indiscriminately, a demonic cultivator was not necessarily evil.
Lin Xiao himself was proof of that.
He could be considered a demonic killer, far from benevolent, yet he never slaughtered the innocent. He only killed his enemies.
If he had to choose, he would naturally lean toward trusting the infant-voiced elder.
But right now, he did not want to take the risk with either.
“Do not let this old devil confuse you,” the orange-skinned elder before him spoke again. “The demonic path is notorious for crooked methods. Demonic cultivators are called demonic precisely because their killing nature is too strong. Someone with such bloodlust can never be relied upon. If you release him, he will kill you first.”
“Demonic cultivators kill, but orthodox cultivators do not? Where did you get that load of rubbish?” The infant-voiced elder could not help cursing.
“Old thing, the people you have slaughtered could fill the entire Death White Rock. If you did not love killing, why are your hands stained with so much blood?” the orange-skinned elder shot back.
The two immediately began hurling abuse at each other.
From their quarrel, Lin Xiao learned some information. The one before him had once been a genius of his generation named Feng Wuchen. He had contended with the Yaoguang Great Emperor, ultimately lost, then seemed to have stabbed Yaoguang in the back, hunted those connected to Yaoguang, and was later pursued by Yaoguang himself. In the end he hid and finally entered Death White Rock seeking opportunity.
The other elder was apparently also famous, called Mo Luo. He had caused great slaughter in the past, been defeated by Yaoguang Great Emperor who spared him, and later accidentally entered this place.
However, both spoke vaguely about their own pasts. Perhaps after being trapped so long their memories had grown unclear.
Neither even seemed certain of their own stories. Each only knew their own name and history from what the other shouted during the argument. As they cursed and countered, neither could tell truth from lie.
After that, their quarrel devolved into random nonsense that was of no use to Lin Xiao.
Eventually they abandoned all pretence and simply insulted each other outright.
Who knew how many years these two had spent here trading curses? Probably it was the only way they relieved their boredom.
In the end, Lin Xiao could bear it no longer. He spoke leisurely to both of them. “Two seniors, if you worked together to deceive me, even if it was a lie I might believe you. But the way you are now, it really is impossible for anyone to trust either of you!”
“…” The insults that had been about to fly from their mouths were abruptly choked back by Lin Xiao’s words.
After all their laborious shouting, this junior had come out with that one sentence.
