127: Chapter 127 The Secret from a Thousand Years Ago

"The catastrophe of one thousand two hundred years ago still feels like yesterday when I think of it now." Qing Xuan spoke slowly, his voice hoarse yet steady, as if pulling everyone's thoughts back to that era of devastation.

At that time, it had only been two hundred years since the Sword God passed away. The demons had basically been wiped out, and although there were disputes among the various kingdoms and sects, the world was full of vitality. If not for the accident, it would have been an even more brilliant era than the one the Sword God lived in.

However, the appearance of the Evil Dragon shattered their illusions.

This demon appeared out of nowhere, its crimson fire burning everything to ash. Where it passed, mountains collapsed, cities were reduced to scorched earth, and even sects guarded by Earthly Immortals were burned until not a single blade of grass survived. Several great human kingdoms were completely erased from the world, without a trace of their existence left behind.

In that era, they, the Earthly Immortals, did not fail to resist. However, no matter how powerful the immortal arts or how rare the immortal artifacts were, they were vulnerable before the Evil Dragon's crimson fire. That fire truly burned everything, scorching immortal essence and shattering laws. Under the impact of such flames, immortal artifacts were nothing more than firewood that could withstand a little more heat.

Despair swept across the world like a tide, and all living beings wailed. Many said that this was Heaven's punishment, sending an Evil God to destroy the world.

The strength of the Evil Dragon forced the Earthly Immortals of that time to avoid it rather than engage in battle.

Only the ninth Emperor Kun of the Kun Kingdom, Ji Cai, did not believe that the so-called Evil Dragon was an Evil God sent by Heaven to destroy the world.

He took out the Kun Kingdom's supreme treasure—the Ancestor Kun's illusory immortal grass.

This grass was the root of Ancestor Kun's enlightenment, containing the most profound Kun Illusionary Way in the world. It was the Kun Kingdom's greatest foundation after Ancestor Kun ascended.

The ninth Emperor Kun invited all the Earthly Immortals of that time and persuaded them to fight the Evil Dragon to the death.

To sit and wait for death would only lead to destruction.

In the end, the ninth Emperor Kun, carrying the Ancestor Kun's illusory immortal grass, went to fight the Evil Dragon alongside the Earthly Immortals.

That battle shook the heavens and the earth, obscuring the sun and moon. Immortal light intertwined with crimson fire, and immortal blood stained the earth red. The Earthly Immortals unleashed all their techniques, yet they still could not withstand the ferocity of the Evil Dragon.

Finally, the ninth Emperor Kun and six other Earthly Immortals of the Kun Kingdom used their lifelong cultivation and longevity as a catalyst, igniting their immortal bodies to awaken the source power of the Ancestor Kun's illusory immortal grass.

The power of the Kun Illusionary Way swept across the world, setting up the boundless Kuns Illusionary Realm, trapping the rampaging Evil Dragon firmly within it.

However, what no one expected was that the power of the Ancestor Kun's illusory immortal grass far exceeded their imagination. The moment the Kuns Illusionary Realm opened, Qing Xuan and the other Earthly Immortals, who had prepared and retreated to the periphery of the battlefield, were also swept into the realm by an invisible force, completely cut off from the outside world.

"Once the Kuns Illusionary Realm is formed, it is irreversible and unbreakable. If we were to forcibly close it, the barriers of the realm would collapse, and the Evil Dragon would inevitably break free. By then, we would not be able to think of any other countermeasures."

Qing Xuan's gaze was filled with deep helplessness. They did not have to be trapped in the Kuns Illusionary Realm, but they had been careless.

"We were trapped deep in the Kuns Illusionary Realm, and at that time, Daoist Ji Cai still had a remnant soul. He used his final strength to unravel the illusions for us, preventing us from sinking into delusion like the Evil Dragon. However, he was ultimately unable to send us out, and after leaving behind an apology and a final request, he completely perished."

Qing Xuan sighed. Since then, they had begun a long, cage-like existence within this Kuns Illusionary Realm.

The Kuns Illusionary Realm formed its own world, filled with delusions and murderous intent everywhere. The Evil Dragon, deluded by the Kun Illusionary Way, stubbornly believed that the path to escape lay beneath the abyss. Day after day for a thousand years, it frantically struck and burned, its terrifying power fluctuations constantly eroding the barriers of the Kuns Illusionary Realm. The crimson fire it emitted unconsciously was a fatal threat to them.

Qing Xuan and the others had to dodge the Evil Dragon's unconscious attacks while searching for a way to leave the Kuns Illusionary Realm.

Time flowed on. There was no sun or moon in the Kuns Illusionary Realm. They only felt that spring and autumn had passed round after round, and some of the accompanying Earthly Immortals gradually exhausted their lifespans and passed away within this realm.

"I originally thought that we would be like our departed companions, dying of old age in this Kuns Illusionary Realm, with nowhere to even bury our bones." Qing Xuan sighed softly, his tone filled with nostalgia. "But the turning point appeared on the Evil Dragon itself."

Once, when the Evil Dragon was frantically crashing against the barriers of the Kuns Illusionary Realm, its withered scales fell off, and a drop of blood—black with a crimson hue—dripped down. It was accidentally touched by an Earthly Immortal in a crevice of the Kuns Illusionary Realm. That Earthly Immortal's lifespan was already at its end, and his immortal essence was exhausted, but after touching the dragon blood, he discovered that his lifespan was slowly recovering, and his decaying body gradually regained vitality.

Everyone was surprised and delighted. After some testing, they discovered that the Evil Dragon's blood could significantly extend their lifespans.

Thus, they carefully collected the blood that the Evil Dragon dripped unconsciously, purified the ferocity within it, and shared it among themselves.

Relying on this dragon blood, they managed to survive for a thousand years. Those Earthly Immortals who had passed away were the ones who could not endure the initial years or could not resist the ferocity of the dragon blood and ultimately perished.

As for the group of more than three hundred people, they had slowly multiplied over the long years.

Trapped in the Kuns Illusionary Realm with no way out, the despair in everyone's hearts grew day by day. To leave behind a legacy and to find a sliver of comfort in this lonely realm, some Earthly Immortals began to start families and have children, passing on their knowledge to the younger generation. The descendants grew up and continued to multiply, generation after generation, leading to the more than three hundred people today.

These descendants had been trapped in the Kuns Illusionary Realm since birth and had never seen the outside world. Although they possessed the Grandmaster realm at a young age, they had never felt real spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"We relied on the Evil Dragon's residual blood to extend our lives and on reproduction to pass on our legacy, surviving in this Kuns Illusionary Realm for a thousand years. Day and night, we longed to see the light of day again, but we were always powerless. If it were not for you, fellow immortal, opening a path of survival for us, we would likely have been trapped in this cage forever until we completely perished."

As Qing Xuan spoke, he and the more than three hundred people behind him bowed deeply to Lu Hu, their tone extremely sincere. A thousand years of imprisonment had long stripped away the arrogance of the Earthly Immortals, leaving only endless gratitude for their savior.

"So, you ancestors could have actually avoided the Kuns Illusionary Realm."

It was indeed tragic that the ancestors had been trapped for a thousand years, but upon realizing that Ancestor Qing Xuan had only been sucked into the Kuns Illusionary Realm because he was standing too close, Emperor Xuan and the Earthly Immortals of the Xuan Kingdom were somewhat speechless.

They had never imagined that the world-destroying war of that time hid such a twisty secret, and even less did they imagine that the legendary sages who sacrificed themselves were merely trapped due to a moment of carelessness.

Lu Hu listened quietly to Qing Xuan's narration from the side. After he finished, Lu Hu raised his hand and waved it. A gentle Power of Creation swept out, enveloping the twenty or so Earthly Immortals, including Qing Xuan. This power was pure and vast, far gentler than the evil dragon blood. It surged into their bodies, repairing the old injuries accumulated over a thousand years, replenishing their exhausted immortal essence, and making their decaying vitality flourish once again.

Immediately after, Lu Hu looked at the descendants and children. He tapped his fingertip lightly, and streams of pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into their bodies, helping them stabilize their cultivation and cleansing the Evil Dragon's baleful aura they had contracted in the Kuns Illusionary Realm.

"Everyone, rest and recuperate for a while. In a few days, I ask that you come to assist me in slaying the dragon!" Lu Hu said.

After Qing Xuan and the other Earthly Immortals and their descendants were settled, Lu Hu once again cast his gaze toward the bottom of the abyss, his eyes becoming sharp.

illusory immortal grass.

And...

Lu Hu took a deep look at the Evil Dragon below, which was still searching for a way out.

Would there be what he wanted?

Lu Hu suppressed the various thoughts in his mind and looked at the system panel that only he could see.

[ Ding, main quest "illusory immortal grass" discovered. Reward: a wisp of the source of the Illusionary Way. ]

System reward.

...