Chapter 540: The Enigma of God’s Bone!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The startled Venerable Lord Ice glared chillingly at Yun Yang with vengeful eyes. There was only resentment and fury in his gaze.
Yun Yang's returning stare was equally cold; other than surging hatred, there was also a chilling sense to it that contained less warmth than the snow. He did not back down in the slightest.
As he took in the resolute gaze, Venerable Lord Ice was then aware that if he did not kneel down, the other party would never speak a word.
In spite of this, what sort of character was Venerable Lord Ice? How could he possibly kneel down? Even when he was well past his peak and limited in his capabilities now, he refused to surrender and acknowledge inferiority.
Hence, it had inevitably resulted in a delicate standstill. Yun Yang's aura continued to hike as time passed, though, his gaze growing icier; on the other hand, Venerable Lord Ice grew weaker, his aura sagging and growing increasingly dispirited.
Venerable Lord Ice was seriously injured after all, no longer equipped with his past abilities to recuperate. Facing Yun Yang, who was fervent both physically and emotionally, he was imminently at a disadvantage.
Plop!
Yun Yang stepped forward, kicking the snow under his feet. His gaze turned harsher as he cried out, "Within yourself, you have already submitted. Why aren't you kneeling down and begging?"
"Yun Yang, don't you dare torment one beyond what is right!" Venerable Lord Ice growled in an instinctively superior bearing, his gaze menacing.
"Torment one too much?" Yun Yang said coldly, "Did I? How can this little trick of mine compare to any single deed of Venerable Lord Ice in the past? Venerable Lord Ice has ruined your son; from being well and alive to having a broken family, and dead. What right do I have to speak about 'tormenting one too much' in front of Venerable Lord Ice?"
Venerable Lord Ice waved his arms about in a frenzy. "Why can you not let this go? Does it gratify you to repeatedly mention one's shortcomings!"
Considering Venerable Lord Ice's status, he had reached his maximum limit after enduring so much; it was basically admitting defeat to Yun Yang! Yet, Yun Yang was still not planning to let him go; he said, "That's right. It looks like Venerable Lord Ice is proficient in this as well, why don't we exchange some opinions?"
Venerable Lord Ice's forcibly suppressed fury could no longer be subdued as he intended to explode in a fit of rage, but facing the indifferent Yun Yang, he was helpless and powerless. He could clearly feel that Yun Yang's aura had overcome his own, and the latter's divine sense had totally locked down on him.
It only proved that the youth's ability was stronger than his own and he was more than determined to put him to death!
Even when Venerable Lord Ice had been much stronger than Yun Yang when he was in his prime, the reality now was that he was drained and on his last legs. He could only sigh helplessly against the force of nature that was Yun Yang. Therefore, even when Yun Yang had refused to back down from humiliating him with the biggest regret of his life, he was powerless to oppose him. Similarly, if Yun Yang did not want to tell him what he wanted to know, he could only glare without being able to do anything else.
As it was, Yun Yang had the upper hand, no matter which aspect he tried to look at it from. Venerable Lord Ice could only await the tricks and commands that would eventually befall him. Thinking of this, despair colored the man's eyes. Who would have expected Venerable Lord Ice of the renowned Five Venerable Lords to fall so badly?
If there had been a choice, if it hadn't been for the fact that he did not wish to give up, Venerable Lord Ice would have wanted to die; he could not take the humiliation any further. However, it was perhaps the last trace of his son in this world; if he could not find out, he could not rest in peace, even if he died!
"Yun Yang…" Venerable Lord Ice said brokenly, "Young Master Yun… I know that all of you hate me. As Yutang's higher authority, you naturally know what the Four Seasons Tower has done to Yutang. However, this old man won't be able to live much longer. A previous battle had caused the meridians connected to my heart to be severed, and it cannot be salvaged. I'm only supporting myself with my last breath of energy. Why, I can barely survive this."
"Young Master Yun must know the biggest regret of my life is none other than my son's incident…"
"I wonder if Young Master Yun could possibly take pity on an old man who is on the brink of death and in the last legs of his life. Allow me to know what my child said before his passing…"
Venerable Lord Ice was aged and withered. For him to utter these words, he might as well be begging. "I only wish Young Master Yun can let me know. Even if I die immediately after that, even when I'm well under in the Nine Springs, I would be immensely grateful!"
Yun Yang looked at him coldly and said, "The famed Venerable Lord Ice, the pillar of the Four Seasons Tower; I guess you would have your low moments as well. It looks like you know you're at your helpless end now!"
Venerable Lord Ice lowered his head, accepting the humiliation. He suddenly coughed, droplets of blood spilling from his mouth, as he grew increasingly pale.
Yun Yang scoffed. "I don't intend to deliberately put people in a tough spot. Just like you said, I gain no benefit from an old man on the brink of death to kneel down before me. However, since you have a favor to ask for, you must pay the price for it… and I believe Venerable Lord Ice is very clear about the price to move this higher authority of Yutang!"
Venerable Lord Ice exhaled raggedly and said, "I ask for Young Master Yun to give me a straightforward request. This old man will do his best in order to achieve his wish."
"The Four Seasons Tower."
Yun Yang spoke faintly, "I want to know everything there is to know about the Four Seasons Tower."
Venerable Lord Ice's lips moved with difficulty as his gaze on Yun Yang grew worried; he answered in a low voice, "What Young Master Yun wants to know is difficult for me to speak of. Ordinary matters of the tower may not fulfill young master's wish, but I will never divulge confidential matters pertaining to my brothers' personal information!"
"Well said. Since Venerable Lord Ice has made your choice, so be it. I would not force someone to do what they don't want. I shall bid my leave now, I wish Venerable Lord Ice a rest without peace!" Yun Yang chuckled coldly.
The color drained from Venerable Lord Ice's face; he spoke dryly, "I've already betrayed my son, I will never betray my brothers. That gut-wrenching heartache is too much even if it was just once… Young Master Yun, I'm willing to exchange the last words of my son with the enigma of God's Bone. As long as you can figure out the mystery of God's Bone, you'll understand the inner workings of the real Four Seasons Tower!"
The real Four Seasons Tower?
This caused Yun Yang's eyes to brighten.
Yun Yang considered it and replied in a low voice, "Alright. I admire your resolve not to betray your brothers. On behalf of the late Marshal Yang, I shall not make your life any harder than it already is. So be it."
"Perhaps young master will not believe it, but when the Four Seasons Tower was established, I, Venerable Lord Ice who was beneath one and above thousands, didn't know it as well. What I know is that the past generations of the tower's higher authority have always focused their efforts on one thing, and that was to reign supreme over the world, subdue the martial world, steal the destined providence, open the tomb of God and retrieve God's bone, integrate it into one's body and tear through the extremes of the martial path into the door of Dao," Venerable Lord Ice narrated slowly.
Yun Yang wore a straight face but he was quietly evaluating what he was being told. If Venerable Lord Ice's words were taken as the focal point and combined with the relevant information he had collected previously, like the Bone of the Saber God, Bone of the Ice God, a tomb, subduing the martial world and all that… these scattered pieces gradually formed a clearer trail through Venerable Lord Ice' slow narration.
"Many, many years ago, the Four Seasons Tower's old master passed on and Mr. Nian ascended into power. However, ever since then, no one has known the real identity of Mr. Nian or his background."
"As for us, to put it nicely, we are the Four Seasons Tower's high authority who are under one but above all; truthfully, we are the only people whom Mr. Nian found across the continent through some special tactics after he ascended into power. We are equipped with the gift of being heir to the God's Bone…"
Yun Yang cut in then, asking, "How does Mr. Nian know that you have the gift to either take or inherit the God's Bone?"
"Overlord has an artifact that can identify individuals who fit the bill, but I don't really know how that works," answered Venerable Lord Ice.
Yun Yang nodded and said, "May I ask where God's Tomb is? Ever since you became Venerable Lord Ice, have you gone there personally?"
"No, in fact, we don't even know where exactly the tomb lies… What we know is only when the destined providence is about right, everyone shall work together to open an unknown space and that is where God's Tomb can be found. It needs the strength of three hundred and sixty-five people, and for all their cooperation, but no more than twelve are suitable to enter each time. After each one enters, they can only stay for a short hour; the duration merely suffices for them to retrieve a piece of God's Bone before they must come out or else they will forever be lost in that space," Venerable Lord Ice said with shame.
"According to the Overlord, even though we can wait for the next opportunity after coming out, the next chance comes after the process of the next providence cycle. It's so long away that those only those who know how will, at most, only have one chance throughout his lifetime!"
Venerable Lord Ice spoke bitterly in a dry voice, heaving a long sigh after.
"That is truly vague information. One can barely be certain about anything," sighed Yun Yang as well.
"It is truly hard to be certain because we don't understand it ourselves."
Venerable Lord Ice's chuckle was devoid of humor, "All along, we only know that as long as one has God's Bone, one can be immortal, to live as long as the heaven and all its days! This is a cultivator's greatest wish! No one would be able to say no to it."
"Were there some changes that inhibited your plan?" Yun Yang asked, listening carefully.
"There were changes indeed. The reality of the situation caused us to recognize the truth. All our hard work was simply toiling for others!" Venerable Lord Ice's tone was filled with sorrow and helplessness. It was like he was weak and helpless as if he was filled with regret, resentment and was somewhat lost.
"Reality? Truth? Toiling for others? How come?"
"Previously, when Venerable Saber passed on, we brought back the Bone of the Saber God inside him, hoping that Mr. Nian could execute his arcane magic and regather fifth brother's soul and implant it into the bone at once. However, it was only after that incident that we knew that we had been toiling for others all along, while the heirs of the God's Bone… it's the same for every generation…"
"To make things worse, most of the heirs didn't even know what they had actually done throughout their life until the moment of death, what they were actually living for… what they were even existing for… They never knew who their lifetime of effort benefitted, who it finally raised..."
This frightened Yun Yang. What did it mean?
How could a cultivator so proficient in his cultivation like Venerable Lord Ice be so doubtful and lost in his own cultivation journey? If someone like this doubted his future of cultivation and were to be stagnant for a long time, a halted progress would merely be a light consequence. In a more severe situation, there would be retaliation, and one's cultivation base could be destroyed. It was not something to be taken lightly.
"Young Master Yun, have you not thought of the crux? What I want to say is that we aren't the heirs of God's Bone at all… they were talking about someone else…"
"The meaning of our existence, these so-called heirs of God's Bone, is nothing but generations of hard work of individuals who retrieved the bones from the mysterious space and maintained the Four Seasons Tower's reputation outside. When we perish, the bones go back to them. For so many years, for so many generations, they have managed to collect innumerable fragments of God's Bone."
"As for people like us… countless have died…"
"I believe you would have come to a conclusion by now, a startling truth – that the Four Seasons Tower's secret base still contains twelve people who have never appeared in the martial world. These twelve individuals are the epitome of the tower's peak… the heirs to God's Bone!"
"As for us… we are only temporary vessels of the God's Bone. When we nourish the bones to a certain extent, even if we don't die in battle, we'd be killed and the bones will be retrieved before the next generation will be brought up to collect the bones."
The resentment in Venerable Lord Ice's voice was growing thicker.
Yun Yang felt his heart skipping several beats.
The true heirs of God's Bone? Twelve people?
Venerable Lord Saber and his cohorts only had a piece of God's Bone, but they were already so powerful… How many pieces must those twelve mysterious people have in them now? How terrifying would their cultivation base be? So, this was the real Four Seasons Tower?
It was no wonder Venerable Lord Ice was so eager to spill the beans once Yun Yang forced him to. There was so much hatred in his heart that it wasn't hard for him to begin his rant.
"The so-called Four Seasons Tower… four seasons, twelve months, and 365 days…" Venerable Lord Ice smiled deprecatingly, "These are but people unqualified to stay in the headquarters and released to wreak havoc in the world, lowly servants to absorb the providence."
"The real higher authority… other than Overlord's several manifestations who roam the martial world and keep things in check… none of them have ever appeared!"
The corners of Yun Yang's lips twitched. "The Overlord's several manifestations? You mean, there isn't just one Mr. Nian? The Mr. Nian who saved you the other day may not be the real Mr. Nian?"
Venerable Lord Ice chuckled and nodded. "That's right. I guess that never occurred to you, did it?"
Yun Yang truly had never considered it. The answer was far too shocking and overwhelming! The Mr. Nian who had always been praised to the clouds in the martial world legends was but a manifestation? The Mr. Nian who had struck Lei Dongtian and killed his servant so easily the other day might only be a manifestation?
"It's pathetically funny. My brothers are pitiable people as well…" Venerable Lord Ice said weakly, "After I confirmed this information and before I could notify them, I was hunted down by the tower…"
"I only hope that when Young Master Yun encounters them in battle in the future…" He said softly, "I would not ask you to be merciful, nor do I ask for Young Master Yun to tell this secret to my brothers. I only ask that you give them an easy end."
"If you can behead them in a single strike, don't let them return severely injured… The God's Bone within them will be extracted when they are still alive. That feeling… is worse than death itself."
"Probably… it's what they called… soul straining!" A deep sliver of fear came arose in Venerable Lord Ice's eyes.
"Have you tried it?" asked Yun Yang.
"I… have…" A spasm ran across Venerable Lord Ice's facial muscles. "It wasn't too long ago… I was wounded by the Concourse of the Underworld and was fleeing with severe injuries. When I met the tower's people, I thought I would be saved. Who would have known…"
"If it weren't for two of my brothers who saved me by risking their own lives…"
Venerable Lord Ice's tears landed on the snow.
"I see. So this is the truth, the reality. It is truly a petrifying reality!"
Yun Yang was deep in thought.