Chapter 99: Chapter 84: Return to the Ancient Battlefield
"""
A series of low murmurs, echoing in Chu Zheng's mind like the tolling of a great bell, deafened and astounded.
Chu Zheng fell silent for a long while before lifting his head; his expression did not show the unease, annoyance, or panic that Geng Yiyang had expected, just calmness.
After a moment of silence, Chu Zheng asked a question that surprised Geng Yiyang:
"How many editions of the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects have there been?"
For a moment, Geng Yiyang found Chu Zheng's thought process increasingly elusive. After some contemplation, he finally answered, "It occurs every hundred years, and this edition is the six hundred seventy-seventh event."
Sixty thousand years...
Chu Zheng calculated for a while and then slightly narrowed his eyes, "The champion of the first Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects, where is he now? Does anyone still remember him?"
Upon hearing this, Geng Yiyang instinctively looked up at the sky before realizing they were in a Small World, then he spoke, "That person is named Shang Cangyun. This realm wasn't originally known as the Cangyun Realm; it was renamed only after him."
Chu Zheng's eyes brightened slightly, "If I claim victory, can this realm be renamed after me too?"
"Naturally not," Geng Yiyang shook his head, "This realm is named after him simply because he is the youngest Heavenly Judge of the Immortal Alliance, now an Immortal King."
"What is a Heavenly Judge?" Chu Zheng was slightly puzzled.
"Heavenly Dao Laws determine life and death for you and me; he decides the cycles of Heavenly Dao, whether the Heavenly Dao of a realm is just, and his word is final."
"I see," said Chu Zheng, his gaze becoming brighter, "So by becoming a Heavenly Judge, one could rename the realm?"
Watching the light rise in his eyes, Geng Yiyang felt surprised. He looked up again at the two stars in the sky, and unexpectedly said with some emotion stirring within him for the first time in ages, "If you could become an Immortal King in the future, you could personally discuss it with Shang Cangyun, it's just a name..."
As he finished speaking, a flash of insight burst into his mind and with his clouded eyes, he scrutinized Chu Zheng, slowly discerning a hint of something special.
From their first meeting until now, Geng Yiyang had vaguely sensed something off about Chu Zheng, and now he finally pinpointed the strange feeling emanating from Chu Zheng.
From their first encounter to the present moment, there hadn't been a single trace of fear in Chu Zheng's eyes, not even in the face of certain death, nor had there been any significant emotional fluctuation, just a bit of regret, which didn't seem quite human.
"You fear neither death, nor the Immortal Alliance, nor the prospect of your wife remarrying after your death. Instead, you are rather concerned about a seemingly useless posthumous reputation."
Geng Yiyang's gaze became sharp, "So that's how it is... people chase after profits, and you, after fame... Indeed, the world is full of wonders, nourishing strange creatures like you!"
"Little thing, you've genuinely piqued my curiosity," he said.
Chu Zheng shook his head, "Her remarrying is not necessarily a bad thing. If I die young, it's due to my incompetence, not her fault."
"As for death...I do not fear death, but rather fear dying as a mediocrity, a nameless nobody, having lived a life in vain and thus squandering my time."
"And one more thing... my name is Chu Zheng."
He had grown somewhat tired of the 'little thing' moniker, especially coming from someone nearly in the grave; it was quite uncomfortable.
Geng Yiyang turned away, no longer looking at him, and spoke slowly, "I've noted it."
Chu Zheng bowed his head in contemplation; whether he could survive now hinged on the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects.
Given another nine years, even Chu Zheng himself was uncertain how far he would grow.
Yet the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects, held every century, allowed only those under a century old who were considered prodigies to participate.
With the repair panel, he only needed to be ten times faster than those people, and Chu Zheng was confident in that.
"You will accompany me to the Phantom Spirit Sect first."
Geng Yiyang mentioned in passing and signaled Chu Zheng to open the way:
"The Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture must not be leaked. The person you transmitted the technique to must accompany you to Taixuan."
"""
Speaking of this, his expression grew serious:
"You'd better hope that this person has not spread the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture; otherwise, the Phantom Spirit Sect will cease to exist in the Southern Region."
If the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture were to be leaked, to ensure nothing went wrong, he would take action to completely annihilate the Phantom Spirit Sect, to eliminate future troubles.
"That may not necessarily be a bad thing."
"..."
Hearing this, Geng Yiyang fell silent for a while, feeling quite a headache, "Do you not feel any guilt? These people might die because of you."
"The one killing them is you, and the one causing their deaths is the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture. Why should I feel guilty; did I force you to kill them?"
Chu Zheng's expression remained unchanged, "Even if you were to kill me today, I wouldn't blame you, for you have a reason to kill me. From your standpoint, there is no problem at all."
As for the psychological pressure mentioned by Geng Yiyang, it was completely non-existent.
"..."
After a silent trek out of the passage, Geng Yiyang stopped talking and asked Chu Zheng for a direction, then headed straight for the Phantom Spirit Sect.
......
......
Just before entering the sect, Geng Yiyang suddenly stopped in his tracks:
"First, take me to that ancient battlefield."
"Now?" Chu Zheng was somewhat puzzled, not quite understanding Geng Yiyang's thoughts.
"Just lead the way."
Chu Zheng pointed in a general direction, and soon the two of them appeared in the midst of the mines.
It was midday, and there were still people mining; the flag of the Han Family was still prominent, and the cultivator overseeing the place had been replaced by an Entry Dao Realm elder from the Outer Sect.
Chu Zheng had not seen him before; in a short period, many new faces had been added to the mine, many of whom Chu Zheng had never seen.
The two made their way into the mine without a sound, unnoticed by anyone along the way.
Chu Zheng couldn't help but feel astonished; Geng Yiyang's methods, unlike the Invisibility Technique, allowed them to walk in brazenly without attracting any attention. It was as if they were in a different world, close yet worlds apart.
Soon, the two entered a stretch of mining tunnel that Chu Zheng was quite familiar with. The tunnel was covered with dust and cobwebs, and along the way, they began to see fragments of battle armor and damaged bones.
This time, Chu Zheng didn't miss any item, whether it was pieces of armor or damaged magic treasures; he collected everything and put it all into the Ethereal Ring.
Not knowing if he would have another chance to come here, he decided to take everything with him this time to avoid future hassle.
Information flashed across the interface panel, and soon, a familiar message appeared before Chu Zheng's eyes:
[Damaged Immortal Bone (Seventh Order): The remains of a True Immortal, which had been obtained by an Immortal Path Cultivator who had forcibly fused it into their body. With your current ability, you cannot repair it at all.]
This Immortal Bone had not been taken by him at that time, and now, even though his repair level had increased, the panel's information had not changed at all, suggesting there was still a long way to go.
After a short while, the two reached the deepest part of the battlefield and came to a pit within the mines.
Looking at the robes covering the bones, Geng Yiyang glanced at Chu Zheng, said nothing, and began to collect the Demon King's remains.
He planned to bury them together with Ye Yulou's exuviae, thereby settling a matter on his mind.
As he was collecting the bones, Geng Yiyang suddenly paused, and his pupils dilated with a frightening intensity of killing intent:
"Was she betrayed by the Human Race?!"