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The Immortal Fairy sighed with sorrow, feeling it was the tragedy of the times: "Why does everyone in this era indulge in spreading rumors, even daring to fabricate tales about immortals."
As a member of this era, Lu Yang listened to the fairy's teachings and expressed his intention for profound reflection.
"How wonderful a person Heavenly Immortal Ying was. Even though he was repeatedly challenged by me before his ascension, which was unlucky enough, he was still a rare genius of the ages, with boundless glory. Yet, after becoming an immortal, his achievements and fame were marred by rumors of later generations."
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yang asked, "Did Heavenly Immortal Ying have a wife and children?"
"He probably didn't, but he was quite popular with the ladies."
"How so?"
"By ordinary standards, Heavenly Immortal Ying was exceptionally handsome. I didn't see it that way, but then again, maybe it's because I always left him bruised and swollen from our fights."
"Before he became an immortal, there were several times when powerful female cultivators who admired him would abduct him and force themselves upon him, not just once or twice. I alone have encountered it over five times, and I've heard it happened even more from others."
"…I'm so envious—no, I mean, that's so unfortunate."
Lu Yang continued to browse "Ancient Secrets" and discovered that it mentioned the four great ancients, but only Heavenly Immortal Ying was referred to by name; the others were mentioned with titles like Demon Immortal or a certain immortal.
"It seems that among the four great ancients, Heavenly Immortal Ying was the most famous. It's also possible that a book you buy for three thousand spirit stones won't tell you everything."
Considering that Heavenly Immortal Ying created the thunder tribulation, Lu Yang had reason to suspect that his name was widely known—or widely scorned—among high-level cultivators.
"Look at this, it even mentions the great battle between the ancient dragon and phoenix ancestors, and the phoenix ancestor's feat of rebirth from fire!" Meng Jingzhou pointed excitedly to a page, recognizing a familiar story he had heard in more detail from the pure-blooded phoenix clan in Luofeng County.
Lu Yang rubbed his temples in agony, feeling that the work of archaeologists was truly difficult; what they spent so much effort to verify often diverged greatly from the actual events.
"This is a secret about one of the four ancient calamities, the Chaos Clan. Born without a face and of indeterminate gender, they could change their gender and appearance at will upon reaching adulthood. In ancient times, the Chaos Clan established a rule: in the world of cultivation, the strong are revered, the weak submit to the strong, the victor becomes male, the vanquished female."
"Is that so?" Lu Yang sought confirmation from the Immortal Fairy.
The Immortal Fairy affirmed, "That's indeed true."
"The Chaos Clan, as you've heard, were born in a state of chaos, with nothing defined, a rare species where the postnatal determines the innate, and some even say they are proof of the effect preceding the cause."
"The Chaos Clan had such a rule, where the strong determined the gender of the weak."
"The rule itself wasn't an issue, but coincidentally, there was an extraordinary genius in the Chaos Clan at the time. Although not as powerful as the dragon and phoenix prodigies, he was still among the top three warriors in the history of the Chaos Clan."
"He enjoyed establishing a harem and sought thrills, defeating all the Chaos beings and turning them into females."
"Since the Chaos Clan could also freely decide their appearance, they all became beauties."
"As a result, the vast Chaos Clan had only one male left, with the rest being females, nearly leading to their extinction."
"It was the Kylin Immortal who intervened and persuaded him to restrain his desires, while also advising the Chaos Clan to amend their rules."
"Later on, the Chaos Clan changed their rule to allow individuals to determine their own gender. I'm not sure if the rule has been changed again now."
Lu Yang: "……"
Lu Yang: "……"
It's better not to tell Meng Jingzhou about this; he might get envious after hearing it.
"There's also a legend recorded here: in ancient times, a woodcutter went up the mountain to chop wood and accidentally entered a cave where he encountered two immortals playing chess. The chess skills of the immortals were profound, containing the essence of the universe. After one game, the woodcutter realized that the environment outside the cave had drastically changed, and a hundred years had passed."
"It must be that the story of the first leader of the Immortal Sect was adapted from this ancient tale."
Lu Yang confidently said, "If I'm not mistaken, one of these two ancient immortals must be the Time Immortal, as only he could make a hundred years pass while the woodcutter watched the game!"
The Immortal Fairy chuckled, "You guessed wrong. The ones playing chess were Heavenly Immortal Ying and Kylin Immortal, those two lousy players."
"At that time, I invited the four of them to my house for dinner, and they all agreed readily. However, Heavenly Immortal Ying and Kylin Immortal said they were in the middle of a game and would come over after deciding the winner. I said okay."
"I waited and waited, but they never showed up. I sent the Ninefold Immortal to chop wood, and he volunteered to check on them. Once he went, he never came back."
"During this time, Time Immortal also went to check on them. He came back and told me they were contemplating the great Dao while playing chess and shouldn't be disturbed. I said then let's just eat, the two of us. Time Immortal said that as fellow immortals, they should share both good fortune and adversity—if we were to eat, we should eat together, and if not, then none of us should eat while the others starve!"
"I thought he made a good point, so I waited some more, and that wait turned into a hundred years."
"After a hundred years, the food was cold and inedible, so the meal never happened."
The Immortal Fairy felt some regret, thinking that Heavenly Immortal Ying and Kylin Immortal were really poor players, taking a hundred years to finish a game of chess.
Lu Yang: "……"
Truly befitting of immortals with limitless lifespans, a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
Heavenly Immortal Ying and his brothers were tough characters, preferring to play chess for a hundred years rather than eat.
Although "Ancient Secrets" differed slightly from the true ancient times, it was still the result of scholars' research, and the essence of the stories remained, not fabricated out of thin air.
As for why there were rumors about Heavenly Immortal Ying's fondness for beauty, Lu Yang was unclear. Perhaps there was an error in the research method, or the source of the information was incorrect.
As Lu Yang and his companion passed a roadside stall, Lu Yang took an extra glance. The stall displayed a golden pagoda, a jade-clean bottle, sealed pills whose efficacy was slowly fading, broken flying swords…
"Lu Yang, wait a minute, did you see that flying sword? It's a treasure, used by Kylin Immortal!" The Immortal Fairy excitedly called out to Lu Yang.
The flying sword was damaged and looked very different from its original form. If the Immortal Fairy hadn't seen it a few times, she wouldn't dare confirm it was Kylin Immortal's sword.
"What?" Lu Yang's heart stirred, surprised to encounter Kylin Immortal's flying sword in such a place. This was an immortal sword!
The golden-fingered Immortal Fairy finally came into play.
"Wait, it couldn't be the sword Kylin Immortal used during his Foundation Establishment period, could it?" Lu Yang looked at the Immortal Fairy with suspicion.
The Immortal Fairy was displeased, feeling that Lu Yang didn't trust her enough: "What are you saying? Of course not. This is the immortal sword that Kylin Immortal possessed after becoming an immortal, specially refined by Heavenly Immortal Ying with the power of thunder!"
Lu Yang was overjoyed, a sword refined by Heavenly Immortal Ying and used by Kylin Immortal—the value of this flying sword skyrocketed.
What a steal!