238: Chapter 238 Do your best and leave the rest to fate

The Void Shadow of Immortal Venerable Yuanchu nodded slightly, appearing unsurprised by his caution; instead, he wore an expression of expectation: "The fact that you can ask such a question shows that you did not rashly agree out of greed for the Legacy. Very good. If you had agreed immediately, I would have doubted your sincerity."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his illusory figure swaying gently in the faint light spilling through the cracks in the ceiling of the hall. After remaining silent for a few breaths, he finally spoke slowly, his voice carrying a touch of reminiscence and heaviness:

"In the Immortal Realm, I once had a Sect named the Taichu Sword Sect. When I left the Immortal Realm to hunt down the Shen, the Sect was at its peak, with thousands of Disciples and dozens of Peak Revered Masters; it was considered a formidable power in the southern region of the Immortal Realm."

"But I have fallen here for over three eras. Although the flow of time in the Immortal Realm differs from that of the Xuanhuang World, an extremely long period has passed. Three eras are enough to turn seas into mulberry fields, to reduce a flourishing Sect to ruins, and to turn the closest Dao Companion into dust."

His voice lowered slightly: "I do not know if the Taichu Sword Sect still exists today. If it does, go and see it for me, deliver my Legacy token to the current Sect Master, and tell him that I have not forgotten the Sect, but I cannot return."

"If the Sect no longer exists, find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters for me and bury my Legacy token. It will serve as a memento for future Disciples from me, their Ancestral Master."

As his voice fell, Immortal Venerable Yuanchu raised his hand and lightly brushed it through the Void Realm.

A beam of soft Spiritual Qi surged from his fingertips, condensing before him into a miniature sword about three inches long.

The sword was moon-white throughout, its blade as thin as a cicada's wing, and a grain-sized pale gold crystal was embedded in the crossguard, emitting a warm and gentle light.

The small sword slowly rotated in his palm, and with every turn, a faint ripple of Spiritual Qi spread outwards, as if recounting some ancient and distant longing.

"This is my Legacy token, called the Taichu Sword Command." There was a touch of solemnity in the voice of Immortal Venerable Yuanchu.

"Whoever holds this Sword Command is a Guest Elder of my Taichu Sword Sect and may browse the Sect's classics and utilize its resources at will. If the Sect no longer exists, the Sword Command itself is a high-grade defensive Magical Artifact that can protect you in times of crisis."

Jiang Changge's gaze landed on the miniature sword. After a moment, he nodded slightly: "If it is just to deliver a message, this Junior can agree."

"However, as Senior also said, an epoch has passed in the Immortal Realm, and whether the Sect still exists is unknown. This Junior can only promise to do my best; as for the outcome, that is not something this Junior can control."

Upon hearing this, Immortal Venerable Yuanchu was not disappointed; instead, he revealed a smile of relief: "That sentence from you is enough."

"I never forced you to succeed; I simply did not want this Legacy to be cut off. As for the result—do everything possible and leave the rest to fate—I still understand this principle."

He waved his hand, and the Taichu Sword Command turned into a soft stream of light, flying towards Jiang Changge.

Jiang Changge reached out and caught it. The small sword felt warm to the touch, similar to the induction jade talisman of Venerable Hantian, but it felt somewhat more profound and heavy.

He could feel an extremely ancient and pure Sword Intent sealed within the Sword Command; it must be the Origin Sword Intent that Immortal Venerable Yuanchu cultivated during his lifetime.

He solemnly tucked the Sword Command into his sleeve and bowed to Immortal Venerable Yuanchu: "This Junior will certainly do his best."

Immortal Venerable Yuanchu nodded slightly, a look of gratification appearing on his thin face.

He did not say anything more, but simply turned and walked slowly towards the stone statue.

His Void Shadow stopped in front of the stone statue and raised his hand, pressing it lightly against the chest of the statue.

An extremely faint beam of Spiritual Qi surged from his palm and submerged into the stone statue.

Immediately following, a low and ancient rumbling sound came from inside the stone statue, as if some mechanism that had been sleeping for who knows how many tens of thousands of years was slowly awakening.

On the wall behind the stone statue, a hidden door slid open silently to both sides, revealing a stone staircase extending downwards.

The stone staircase was deep and long, leading to who knows where. Only an extremely ancient and pure Spiritual Qi surged from the depths, making the air in the entire stone hall feel a bit fresher.

"The true Legacy is down here." Immortal Venerable Yuanchu turned around, his gaze falling on Jiang Changge, his tone becoming more solemn.

"You eliminated the Shen and fulfilled my last wish; this Legacy is what you deserve. As for how much you can obtain from it, that depends on your own fortune."

Jiang Changge did not stand on ceremony and stepped towards the hidden door.

The moment he stepped into the hidden door, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the Void Shadow, which was even more illusory than before and seemed as if it could dissipate at any moment, and asked: "Does Senior have any other words you wish for this Junior to bring to your Sect?"

The Void Shadow of Immortal Venerable Yuanchu was silent for a moment, and an extremely complex emotion surged within those illusory eyes.

There was nostalgia, guilt, regret, and also a sense of relief at being about to be liberated.

After a long time, he spoke slowly, his voice lower than before, yet carrying an unprecedented solemnity: "If the Sect still exists, tell them that I broke my promise and could not return. If fate allows, I will be their Revered Master again in the next life."

As his voice fell, his Void Shadow began to slowly dissipate.

Starting from his feet, inch by inch, it turned into countless tiny moon-white specks of light, drifting in the stone hall like fireflies on a summer night.

Those specks of light hovered in the air for a moment before finally submerging entirely into the stone statue.

After absorbing those specks of light, the surface of the stone statue glowed with a faint moon-white halo, then returned to silence.

The only difference was that there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible smile on the face of the stone statue—the relief and peace of having laid down all burdens.

Jiang Changge stood at the entrance of the hidden door and bowed deeply to the stone statue.

Then he turned and walked down along the deep stone staircase.

The hidden door behind him closed silently after he had walked down a few steps, sealing everything in the stone hall back into darkness.

The stone staircase was very long, spiraling downwards for hundreds of steps before reaching the end.

When Jiang Changge stepped off the last step, the scene before him made him pause slightly.

This was an underground palace, many times larger than the stone hall above.

The dome hung high, inlaid with dozens of fist-sized night-luminescent pearls that emitted a soft and warm light, illuminating the entire palace as brightly as day.

The floor was paved with solid blocks of celadon jade, each engraved with dense array patterns, with Spiritual Qi faintly circulating within the lines.

In the center of the palace stood a high platform, upon which floated three light orbs of different colors, arranged in a triangular formation, slowly rotating and emitting a vast and ancient aura.