The Bitter Truth of the Woodcutter

Within the Myriad Clans Hall of the Three Realms.

Kongxiu was reporting everything truthfully. “We were trapped within Mount Diming. Luwu and Fengji were gravely wounded, and we were on the verge of collapse… It was Northmont, Fellow Daoist Northmont, who had been carefully observing the formation from within. He finally pierced through the illusions and saw Mount Diming for what it truly was. He then stepped out of the formation, blocked the invisible attacks of Mount Diming, and safely led us out.”

“Blocked the attacks?” asked Heavenly Thundergod, one of the assembled major powers. “Kongxiu, you said earlier that the attacks of Mount Diming were extremely dangerous. Lord Xihuang only barely managed to withstand them with the help of his formation, and he was even wounded. You’re saying this Ji Ning stepped out of the formation and blocked them himself?”

“That’s correct.” Kongxiu nodded, his eyes bright and a smile on his face. “Fellow Daoist Northmont is one of the truly extraordinary figures to have emerged since Pangu cleaved Heaven and Earth. His Sword Force has now reached the Fifth Layer.”

“The Fifth Layer?” The Thundergod found it hard to believe. “How is that possible?”

A stir went through the entire hall.

The Fifth Layer of Sword Force?

Every cultivator who reached the Fifth Layer of Sword Force was a top-tier existence among the major powers. And with Ji Ning also mastering the Five Treasures Sword Art, he would be even more terrifying.

“Is it true?”

“He’s been cultivating for less than a thousand years, hasn’t he?” The major powers murmured to each other.

Buddha Tathagata, who sat at the highest seat, spoke. “It is indeed true.”

The Heavenly Thundergod was left stunned, completely speechless.

“Hahaha…” Patriarch Subhuti, seated above, began to laugh.

Daoist Three Purities chuckled. “Subhuti, you knew all along?”

Subhuti stroked his beard with smug satisfaction.

“He is truly remarkable, this junior apprentice-brother of mine,” Houyi added with a smile. “The final battle has just gained another great general.”

The Heavenly Thundergod below felt a tangled mix of emotions. A naturally proud being, he had never thought much of Ji Ning before. The performance Ji Ning had shown in the Zhulu Major World had already left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he had consoled himself by thinking that Ji Ning’s success was due to formations and the Protector of All Things, his true personal strength being far inferior.

But now, reaching the Fifth Layer of Sword Force and surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Dao, Ji Ning was indisputably the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms.

“Subhuti.” The Heavenly Thundergod raised his voice. “My congratulations.”

Subhuti looked at the Thundergod and said with a laugh, “You know how much I enjoy being secretive. I hope you’re not angry, Thundergod.”

“Angry? How could I be? I’m overjoyed that Nuwa’s camp has gained such a powerful general.” The Heavenly Thundergod replied.

Subhuti nodded.

The Thundergod was indeed a stubborn and proud fellow, but his loyalty to Nuwa’s camp was unwavering. The same could not be said for his old friend, ‘Ancestor Yuan.’ They had once been the closest of friends, and Ancestor Yuan was far stronger than the Thundergod. Yet, even now, he still vacillated between the two great camps, never truly joining Nuwa’s side.

“My old friend… I truly do not wish to face you in a life-or-death struggle.” Subhuti sighed to himself.

…

Upon a single, battered star, two major powers were now seated.

Before a thatched cottage.

An old man with a red nose sat cross-legged. A small table was set before him, and across from him sat the white-haired Patriarch Subhuti. This was merely one of Subhuti’s incarnations.

“Congratulations. Your disciple has actually reached the Fifth Layer of Sword Force,” the red-nosed old man said with a deep sigh. “What a pity. I saw Ji Ning’s incredible potential from the very beginning and wanted to take him as my disciple, but you refused.”

“I did not refuse at the time,” Subhuti replied. “As I said then, if you were to join our side, you could have taken him as your apprentice immediately. But you refused.”

“I cannot agree even now.” Ancestor Yuan shook his head.

“Hmph.”

Subhuti sneered. “By now, you must have seen clearly in your struggle against the Seamless Gate. There is no peace between our two sides. And yet you still vacillate! All those high-sounding words you once spoke, about not wanting to watch your old brothers die one by one… by acting as you do now, you are only causing more of our old friends to die! Every word you said was nothing but a fart.”

“Fine,” Ancestor Yuan nodded, his gaze turning distant. “I admit it. I said those things to save face. They were lies.”

Subhuti simply looked at him.

His heart ached.

Emerging together from the primordial chaos, naive and ignorant, they had all supported each other as old friends. They had debated the Dao together, shared the path of cultivation together. The bonds between them were as deep as brothers born of the same life and death. Some of those old friends had perished in the ancient wars, others had fallen in the Dawn Wars. Daoist Threelives and the like were already dead.

Few of them remained, yet this old friend, ‘Ancestor Yuan’, had failed to stand with them in their most critical hour.

“So you’ve finally admitted it,” Subhuti said coldly.

“Yes.”

Ancestor Yuan shook his head. “Long ago, when some chaos alien races invaded and we killed them, I obtained their techniques and their records of the boundless chaos. It was then that I understood… we are nothing more than inhabitants of a single Chaosworld. The endless chaos holds a vast and boundless realm. From that time on, my heart yearned to travel further and see more.”

“We Primordial True Gods, born from the chaos, are nothing but natives. What sort of major powers do we think we are? We rely solely on our birthright for our strength,” Ancestor Yuan continued. “In the endless chaos, World Gods and Chaos Immortals are the true major powers. They can effortlessly destroy our world with a single hand.”

“Nuwa saw through it long ago. The Three Realms were too small for her. That is why she left, to venture into the boundless, greater universe.”

“I too wish to travel through that vast universe,” Ancestor Yuan said, a look of longing in his eyes. “But my strength is insufficient. From those chaos alien races, from the Lord of All Demons… I understand that even the Lord of All Demons is merely an average figure in the endless chaos. There are countless who are stronger than him. Beings like Rahu are nothing but small-fry.”

“I must become strong.”

“The struggle for the Three Realms? The conflict between Nuwa’s camp and the Seamless Gate? I have never cared about any of it. The scope of your vision is too narrow… all you see is the Three Realms. I see the endless chaos.” Ancestor Yuan shook his head. “I have never intended to waste my heartforce and my life on the internal struggles of the Three Realms.”

“I want to leave, to grow stronger.”

“I was simply born in the Three Realms, with no better techniques or opportunities. If I were to leave, I might one day become a World God or a Chaos Immortal,” Ancestor Yuan said, full of hope. “That is what I truly desire and yearn for!”

Subhuti continued to look at him with cold fury. “Selfish. Yes, the Three Realms are nothing compared to the endless chaos, and we are indeed mere natives. But this is our home! The Three Realms is our home! It is where we were born together, our bonds as close as those of life-and-death brothers. They are in danger now, yet you stand by and watch, all for the sake of your pathetic dream of becoming a World God or a Chaos Immortal… you watch your brothers go to war and die!”

“I never thought that the ‘Yuan’ of old would have become such a person.” Subhuti shook his head.

“Hahaha…”

Ancestor Yuan began to laugh, his beard and hair trembling. His gaze then sharpened as he looked at Subhuti. “Fine. I am selfish. The path of cultivation is a selfish one. Walking this path, I must protect my life. I must seize every opportunity to grow stronger. You expect me to be stupid enough to fight alongside you?”

“You cannot remain aloof. Neither our side nor the Seamless Gate will permit it.” Subhuti’s heart ached, but he still tried to persuade him.

“I will do my best to extract benefits from the Seamless Gate,” Ancestor Yuan said coldly. “Do not worry. Before the final battle begins, I will leave the Three Realms. I will enter the endless chaos… taking a few of my followers with me, to adventure out there. I will not meddle in your life-or-death struggle with the Seamless Gate.”

“Leave?” Subhuti was startled.

“Yes.” Ancestor Yuan sneered. “Or did you think I would actually fight for the Seamless Gate? No. Neither your side nor the Seamless Gate is worth me betting my life on.”

“Good. Good. Good.” Subhuti let out a bitter laugh, as if witnessing a great joke. “My ‘Dream of the Three Realms’ has shown me how mortals can change. Now I see that the hearts of Fiendgods can change too. You have changed. Compared to the ‘Yuan’ who was just born from the chaos, you have changed too much.”

“When I was first born, I was born holding a Grand Dao. Aside from that, what did I know? I was simplistic and innocent,” Ancestor Yuan said, shaking his head. “To me, brothers and old friends come second. My path of cultivation comes first.”

Subhuti took a long, deep look at Ancestor Yuan, then vanished into thin air.

Ancestor Yuan sat there in silence, picked up the wine cup on the table, and took a gentle sip. “Once I reach the World level, I’ll look back on this and it will be nothing but a memory.”