Heaven Slaying Blade

Tunnel.

Xiushui Villa.

Green mountains and divine beauty, rippling emerald waves.

An ancient and charming building sits by the lakeside.

By the lake, there is a small dock, with a few small boats moored.

A mysterious elder, imbued with an aura of otherworldly grace, sits quietly at the end of the dock, fishing.

The weather is clear, without a hint of wind, so the water's surface is tranquil, like a mirror. It reflects the elder with a sun-shading bamboo hat and that bamboo rod.

The elder's eyes are half-open and half-closed, appearing exceedingly relaxed.

This scene, appearing anywhere else, would be considered an elderly man enjoying his twilight years in leisure. But not here.

Because this is Xiushui Villa.

One of the most mysterious places of the entire Tunnel.

On the tranquil water's surface, a fishing float moves up and down. It indicates there are fish nibbling on the bait below. Yet the elder remains indifferent, without a thought of lifting the rod.

He speaks softly: "Fishing small fish is leisure, fishing big fish requires luck. Those medium-sized fish are the most annoying, tasteless to eat, and a pity to discard… Ah, it was a normal matter indeed, so why is it so abnormal when it comes to him? Tell me, why is he reincarnated so prophetically? How could he, on the ancient battlefield, instinctively slash off his divine nature? Isn't becoming a god a good thing? Isn't this what we all… all living beings… desire most? It's like fishing, catching big fish really needs luck because the fish are too big, they might break free from the hook and escape at any time. And anglers can't use special methods, like draining the water, or using a big net to scoop… Even if one scoops, there's a chance of missing it. Draining this water… people might still transform into a dragon and ascend into the skies. Troublesome! Truly troublesome! I am the one setting the banquet, and cannot flip my own table. Don't you think?"

"Hmph!" A cold snort arises not far behind the elder.

On the chair there, sit two peerlessly beautiful women. One woman is dressed in a black long dress, her skin snowy white, brows like paintings, cherry lips, a delicate nose, and a cascade of hair draped over her shoulders. Her beauty is astonishingly striking.

The other woman, dressed in a white long dress, her hair bun high, a slender jade neck, with a pair of extraordinarily beautiful eyes, flashing with a cold light, coldly laughs after snorting: "You're so powerful, why not simply capture him, kill if you want, do as you please, who can stop you?"

The elder shakes his head: "That's a mistake. I am the one plotting and playing chess, the one setting the banquet and welcoming guests, the one sitting here fishing… How can I overturn my own chessboard, flip my own table, break my own rules?"

The woman in the black dress sneers: "Good words, but only because the game hasn't reached the step you want, the person you want to host hasn't arrived, the fish you want to catch… isn't grown yet."

"Hahaha, clever, so clever indeed! Truly too clever." The elder laughs happily: "No wonder you are the unparalleled Elf body of ten thousand ages, Heaven and Earth's only Seven-orifice Heart. Truly excellent, the elder very much likes girls like you."

"To be liked by someone like you, I would feel very disgusted." The black-clad woman, who had vanished without a trace, Qi Xiaoyu, pouts, not worried in the slightest that this would anger the elder.

Spiritual Master Lingtong!

The supreme strongman who can appear freely between the Tunnel and Luotian Cosmos!

Spiritual Master Lingtong smiled suddenly and said, "Do you both know? You two are actually one, the same person. How about that? Isn't this news quite shocking? Even hard to directly accept?"

Qi Xiaoyu and Yiyi exchanged glances and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

Spiritual Master Lingtong, with his back to them, seemed to be well aware of the two girls' little gestures and laughed, "You don't feel any telepathic connection because you were divided thoroughly back then! Almost completely separating the contradictions within one personality. So, you two are not at all alike. But this fact you cannot deny. That's also why Chu Mo, despite having so many soulmates, ultimately chose only you two as the fundamental reason. Ah, time flies... it's been endless ages! Reincarnation..."

Yiyi and Qi Xiaoyu were both silent; they had been captured here for a long time. Initially unaware of where they were, and later ignored by everyone after finding out. Until Spiritual Master Lingtong recently returned. Today was their first conversation with him.

Both women were wise, and though they were captive and had lost their freedom, deep in their hearts, they were very calm.

The worst outcome would be nothing but death. Since they couldn't change anything, why act fearful and be looked down upon?

"You two don't have to feign calmness. Actually, you don't understand my heart!" Spiritual Master Lingtong sighed, exuding an aura of desolation.

Qi Xiaoyu and Yiyi, lacking such high realms, were instantly affected by this bleak aura. Although they deeply hated Spiritual Master Lingtong, at this moment, they couldn't help but feel: this old man... seems very lonely, very desolate, and quite pitiable.

But Qi Xiaoyu's reaction was quicker; her heart was too strong! Indeed, impervious to all things. She said coldly, "Is it interesting? To possess an unimaginable realm yet use such petty means to influence us?"

The desolate aura from Spiritual Master Lingtong was instantly retracted. He smiled with some apology, "Sorry, I didn't intentionally want to affect you this way. I've said I won't harm you. My grand ambition is something you cannot understand. Nor can your husband. It's okay; no matter where or in which world, some people are born misunderstood."

Qi Xiaoyu and Yiyi both sneered without speaking.

Spiritual Master Lingtong wasn't offended and said softly, "Once, I thought I should be an anomaly. The only existence in this vast, boundless universe. Because my cultivation speed was too fast! So fast that before me, no one had grown as quickly as I did."

"Until later, when I stepped into the Great Saint Realm, I inexplicably sensed that in this world... there seemed to be another me! I was terrified, uneasy, and angry. I asked the heavens... why? Why such a situation? Why should there be another me in this world? But the heavens gave me no answer. Just like cultivators seeking the Dao. The Dao requires ceaseless pursuit to gain a little. No one will give you benefits regardless of the cost."

"Later on, when I stepped into the ancestral realm, I could feel that person also entered the ancestral realm. This is simply... do you understand my pain? Another me... also bore the same pain and confusion. This forced division of a person into two. It's entirely different from you voluntarily splitting into two. It was then I started searching for answers to this matter. For this, I entered the Tunnel earlier. Unexpectedly, that damned divine persona controlled me!"

Spiritual Master Lingtong sat there, speaking softly, as if narrating someone else's story.

But Yiyi and Qi Xiaoyu listened attentively, for Spiritual Master Lingtong's words contained tremendous secrets!

"How can such a matter be endured? Thus, I tried everything to sever this divine persona. But frustratingly, I found that throughout the Tunnel, no one could solve this problem! This was incredibly shocking! Here, of all places, the Tunnel?! A world gathering the finest elites from major universes. Why could no one solve this problem? If no one could solve it, then where did the Edict of the Investiture of the Gods come from? Who created it? Why do several ancient clans possess a large number of Edicts of the Investiture of the Gods?"

The two women sat there, still quietly listening, without interrupting. But the shock in their eyes grew stronger. After exchanging a glance, they secretly thought: Could it be that his previously inexplicable words were true? Was he talking about our husband? Was it about reincarnation, severing the divine persona... is that what this is about?

Spiritual Master Lingtong sighed, "I've quietly pursued this matter for many years, until my realm ascended another level... I mentioned before, I'm a true cultivation genius! I entered the Supreme domain. It was then I heard that in the Chu Clan royal family, there was a true Heavenly Genius who should be able to solve my problem because he was researching how to sever the divine persona. So I went to find him. As it happened, not long after, I witnessed him being cornered... an unseen manipulator whose presence even made the Supreme tremble. It was then I realized the depth of the waters within the Tunnel. So, I advised him to reincarnate and pointed him to a bright path. You two young ones back then were one, directly choosing to split into two and went with him. His sword, and the divine artifact he hadn't fully refined... went with him too! Subsequently, I seized the chance to kill the bearer of the Edict of the Investiture of the Gods... the one who could control me, and obtained the Edict. Meanwhile, I continuously used my thoughts to communicate with the other me, revealing to him the truth. I told him to die. Because he had the complete ability to enter the ancient battlefield and become a god. Once he did that, we would inevitably meet, and the legend says... such a meeting would result in mutual annihilation."

"Despicable," Yiyi muttered.

"What do you know?" Spiritual Master Lingtong said angrily, "He and I are the same! Just like a split body! If he stood in my place, he would also choose to commit suicide! Because it completes... oneself! Before he died, he set a massive trap for the giants of the Luotian Great Universe... Do you know why?"

Spiritual Master Lingtong coldly said, "Because those trapped, in another Luotian Great Universe, were all my friends!"