Chapter 331: Twelve Celestial Beings
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yun Yang laughed and said, "Brother Lei, what ultimate trick did the other party use? How could someone as mighty as you be wounded?"
Lei Dongtian looked at Yun Yang in irritation before deciding to tell the truth, "I had not expected Venerable Lord Saber to possess the Bone of the Saber God!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Yang was stunned. "I beg your pardon?"
"Bone of the Saber God." Lei Dongtian’s gaze was one of envy. "It is the epitome of all that is good and wonderful."
Yun Yang asked humbly, aware that he was not in the know of this at all. "Bone of the Saber God? A piece of bone?"
Lei Dongtian guffawed loudly. "Well, you aren't exactly wrong… How should I say this? Don’t worry, let me explain it to you. You could stand to gather some knowledge."
At this juncture, Lei Dongtian felt as if he and Yun Yang were brothers who would do anything for each other, through life and death – their camaraderie was so strong that there was no secret they could not share with each other!
Being so close would escalate the sentiment between them, even when he had to destroy his own brother in the end. However, Lei Dongtian thought that even when that day came, he would remember that there was a brother who had been wholeheartedly kind to him.
"In the old days, word had it that between heaven and earth, there were Gods." Lei Dongtian said, "Before God ascended to heaven, he left his legacy behind."
Yun Yang listened to Lei Dongtian’ narration with a serious expression. He had never heard of this story, so he figured it was a secret lore in the Bound of Universe.
"There wasn't just one God, but many of them. Among these many Gods, several of them were very much bonded to each other," Lei Dongtian said.
"Many God? Very close to each other? This is interesting indeed!" Yun Yang was genuinely surprised.
Yun Yang did not question the myth of the Gods that Lei Dongtian spoke about, just like the common cultivators of Tianxuan Continent who knew Tenth Perfection cultivators as the peak of this world. However, the realm of Tenth Perfection was only the pinnacle of the peak realm in the eyes of superior sects like the School of Spring and Autumn; they were only half a step into a higher realm of heaven.
As for Lei Dongtian, who was the young lord of the Bound of Universe’s great family, his perception would be even higher. The Gods he mentioned should be the real cultivators in the Bound of Universe and what he meant by ascending should be the process of advancing to a higher level. Meanwhile, placing the peak cultivators of the Bound of Universe in Tianxuan Continent, it would be an insult to call them Gods, as their capabilities must be so much mightier!
What truly baffled Yun Yang was the latter part of Lei Dongtian’s narration. The journey of cultivation was an arduous one – it would already be the greatest luck to have one or two best friends for a cultivator, but what Lei Dongtian spoke about was several peak cultivators sharing a close relationship and ascending together – without a hitch. This was simply absurd!
"After the Gods left, the continent changed drastically in an extremely short amount of time. Everything the continent now comes from the drastic change then."
"Because of that change, many mysterious places where humans were unable to reach appeared on the continent. Unconquerable mountains, oceans that no one could pass, and many more mysterious locations… these were never in existence until now!"
"Cultivators in the world searched for the legacy left behind by the Gods. After many, many years, there were finally twelve individuals who found what was left behind by one of the Gods."
"These twelve people were a team; they were called explorers then. They shared an intimate bond, like real brothers, but even with the said foundation, a pure heart can be corrupted by greed. No one knows what happened exactly, but in the end, there was a big fight that resulted in animosity. They separated into two groups from then on."
"Both sides shared comparable combat power, so if they were to go head to head, no one would emerge unscathed. They might even have died from such an altercation. They also realized that this God’s legacy was mythical in the sense that no ordinary person could easily absorb it. The cultivation method passed down was more than one; if everything were to given to one person, that person would never be able to achieve anything. For example, if the person was adept with the sword, cultivating swordsmanship would come easily to him – but if he had to cultivate the saber skill at the same time, both skillsets would hardly go anywhere! There were as many as twelve different cultivation methods within the group."
"They were very thankful that there were as many cultivation methods as there were heads being passed down, so there was no need to fight over it. Both groups brought six methods away with them. This episode gave the twelve of them an otherworldly encounter but ruined their camaraderie as well. The damage that was done was irreparable. One really doesn’t know if it’s a happy or a sad case!"
Yun Yang pondered and asked, "What happened to these two groups of people then? Did they turn powerful and attempt to conquer the world, competing against each other and going to the extremes?"
As far as folklore went, it was quite a logical one. Yun Yang imagined that the cultivation methods of these twelve people would pose a hindrance to one another, ultimately killing them all and leaving the two sole survivors to fight each other. The loser would perish while the winner, despite winning, would have exclaimed in self-reflection that he should not have killed his brothers just for the sake of a cultivation method!
Hearing Yun Yang’s question, Lei Dongtian chuckled. "It developed into a tale, frequently told over a campfire. Both sides separated to cultivate using the methods they took back with them, but upon doing that, they realized that the cultivation methods they obtained were incompatible – what suited them most was in the hands of the other group."
"Because they were on bad terms, both sides immediately regretted that their actions in the period that followed. Therefore, they thought of ways to mend the gap and recover their old friendship. Of course, there were a lot of obstacles along the way, but the twelve people eventually reunited and reassessed the twelve cultivation methods. Each of them chose one that suited their physique the most," Lei Dongtian finished his story.
Yun Yang could not help praising their wisdom, "Experts indeed, they have a generous nature. They’ve already separated, but they could still repent and share in the end… Although most of it was influenced by an ulterior motive, it’s not something that ordinary people can do. A much-told tale indeed."
Lei Dongtian said, "Very true. Facing such temptation, it’s normal to have some ulterior motive; besides, it’s rare to be able to sit down and talk it out, in addition to sharing the methods, no matter how much conflict had happened in between. It’s worthy of praise indeed."
Yun Yang nodded in agreement but his mind drifted to his eight brothers, thinking of when the eldest of them, Supreme Earth, fished the entire night for Supreme Water…
He felt a sense of pride bubbling from within. If it were the nine brothers who had found the legacy, such a situation would not have happened – the slight taint, in the beginning, would not even have existed!
They would concede to each other only take what they needed; they would motivate each other and spur each other on, working hard together! They shared happiness and shouldered hardship, never leaving each other’s side, nor give up on each other. The aforementioned separation and reunion would never happen among them.
"These twelve people took the cultivation method compatible with them and resumed their cultivation. Upon completion, they finally became the legend of Tianxuan Continent’s cultivators – the Twelve Celestial Beings!"
Lei Dongtian’s voice was colored with distinct admiration. "They were unmatched and became near indestructible."
"However… regret hit them again," he continued.
"Why? How can that be? Didn’t they already achieve the peak of a cultivator?" Yun Yang asked.
"Becoming Celestial Beings is indeed this world’s peak, but it’s not the end of the cultivation journey. The final destination is to become a God and ascend to a higher realm… They realized that no matter how much effort they put it, they couldn’t move another step forward and break the illusory obstacle to become a real God!"
Yun Yang replied, "This can’t be! Didn’t they acquire the God’s legacy? Why can’t they achieve the last step? Could it be that these twelve people kept something to themselves, sealing the key of the cultivation method they’d initially gotten?"
Lei Dongtian answered, "It is nothing so cliché, and some of them actually received their compatible method immediately as well. They can’t be sealing the key off from themselves, can they? The real reason behind their stagnant state was the initial argument and separation of the brothers!"
Yun Yang was baffled once more, obviously not knowing where the story was heading. He waited for Lei Dongtian’s elaboration.
"Remember I mentioned that among the ascended Gods, some of them valued friends and treasure friendship very much. The owner of the legacy these people received valued comradeship the most in his life, so what he passed down, of course, needed the simultaneous cultivation by friends who were like brothers, in order to step into the pinnacle together."
"Although the twelve of them were ultimately reconciled, the initial crack in their relationship remained – it was their internal demon that could not be banished! It was just like the saying; a broken mirror can never be fully repaired."
"Despite them cultivating their methods to the point of insanity, they were unable to take the last step. It was that fall-out that flawed their emotional state. If they forced the breakthrough, the cultivation method would only retaliate and destroy them instead."
"Upon figuring this out, the Twelve Celestial Beings were incredibly remorseful but nothing else could be done. They had cultivated to their peaks – they could turn any mountain and river into a flat plane of land, but they could only be Gods on this earth, unable to step further and advance."
"They lived for a very long time, many times the lifespan of a normal human. However, time eventually caught up with them. Many years later, they passed away, one after another."
"Although they died, each of their bodies was hard like jade. They could not be destroyed and remained in this world. Before all of them passed on, they left their last wish, saying that they wanted to be buried together with their other brothers. They felt sorry for their brothers in this life and they hoped to recompense it in the next."