Chapter 40: Secret History

Dugu Baitian jumped out of the Li residence's back window and landed in the courtyard. He then climbed over walls and roofs, arriving at the street. It was already pitch black, so no one noticed him.

He first went to a restaurant and ordered a table of sumptuous dishes, eating a lot and enjoying himself. Then he found an inn, took a bath, and finally lay comfortably on the bed.

Recalling the strange events from last night's battle until now, he felt it was incredible. From being frozen to becoming White Jade Cold Ice, and finally breaking out of the ice, it was truly a series of strange things. What was the reason for him to be able to condense the energy of heaven and earth into White Jade Cold Ice? He couldn't figure it out.

He felt that this strange experience did not bring him any harm. On the contrary, his serious internal injuries were suddenly healed, and his body seemed to be much stronger. In fact, he had already developed a primary level of the undead demon body, but he didn't know it himself. He entered his dream with heavy sleepiness.

Liu Ruyan saw that Dugu Baitian had already left and also left the room, walking directly to the front hall. The two King-level experts of the Baiyue Empire had left for a long time, but people were still talking about them. When they saw her coming, they warmly greeted her, and she replied to each of them. She then came to the table where the three King-level experts and Li Fang were seated, and whispered, "Can the three seniors and general Li go to the old general's place? Something unbelievable happened there."

The people were shocked and made excuses to leave the banquet, heading to the back house. Liu Ruyan stayed in the front hall for a while before leaving. When she came in, everyone was staring at the ice water on the ground. Seeing her come in, Li Fang hurriedly spoke, "Miss Liu, what happened to the White Jade Cold Ice? Please tell us. It is related to my adoptive father's life and death."

Liu Ruyan said, "You may not believe it when I tell you, but the White Jade Cold Ice has already melted."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

Although they had some ideas when they came in and saw the water on the ground, they still couldn't believe that the hard-as-iron White Jade Cold Ice could melt. Now hearing it from Liu Ruyan, they were even more shocked.

Yang Rui said, "How could the White Jade Cold Ice melt? This is impossible."

Liu Ruyan said, "As soon as I entered the room, I heard the sound of ice cracking. When I went closer, I saw the White Jade Cold Ice was cracking. That's not even the strangest thing; something even more peculiar happened later."

The people were even more surprised. What could be more strange than the White Jade Cold Ice cracking and melting?

After Liu Ruyan finished speaking, she continued, "When I walked up to White Jade Cold Ice, it suddenly shattered completely, and a person walked out of it, an old man with white hair."

"What!" Everyone exclaimed again. This was simply too unbelievable, and for a long time, everyone was at a loss for words. These things completely subverted their usual understanding.

Li Fang asked, "Miss Ruyan, are you sure you didn't see things or make a mistake?"

Liu Ruyan replied, "How could I be mistaken? I really saw it with my own eyes. Besides, the old man even talked to me for a while."

One shocking piece of news after another made the nerves of the people present less sensitive.

Qin An asked, "What did he say?"

Liu Ruyan replied, "He asked me what era this was. I told him it was the year 7897 on the continent. He was shocked to hear this and murmured, 'I never thought that after sleeping to heal my wounds, four thousand years had passed in the world. Alas, the world has changed.' After he finished speaking, he disappeared into thin air." When Liu Ruyan was telling these lies, she was a little nervous at first, but later on, her face didn't turn red and her heart didn't beat faster. However, she still secretly blamed herself in her heart, wondering why she had agreed to lie for a stranger she had just met.

Humans are actually a very strange species. When rational, they can be almost cruel, and when emotional, they can be almost foolish.

The people in the room were too shocked to say anything after hearing these words. This matter was too bizarre and seemed like a fairy tale.

After a long time, Liu Yifei finally spoke, "Disappearing into thin air is impossible. He must have had an unimaginable level of cultivation. Could it be true that a week in the cave is a thousand years in the world? A person who slept for four thousand years, a Saint-level expert from four thousand years ago, I wonder what kind of impact he will have on the continent."

Yang Rui asked, "Could it be that this thing is really true?"

Qin An asked, "What thing are you talking about?"

Yang Rui said, "It's something my Master told me before he passed away. At the time, I didn't believe it at all, but my Master asked me to remember it and pass it down through the generations. Now, it seems that it was indeed true."

Qin An asked, "What exactly happened?"

Yang Rui said, "My Master once told me in his later years that there was a glorious history on the continent about four thousand years ago. At that time, the land was full of wars, but finally a great monarch unified the continent, and it was peaceful. At that time, people were fond of martial arts. Even four or five-year-old children could perform some moves. If a man didn't know martial arts, he would be mocked as useless, no woman would marry him, and even no one would approach him.

It was under such a peaceful and martial-admiring atmosphere that martial arts reached its peak, and all kinds of divine techniques emerged one after another. At that time, it was not uncommon to encounter an Emperor-level master, and even Saint-level masters frequently appeared throughout the land. There were even rumors that someone on the continent achieved Nirvana in martial arts and ascended to become a celestial being.

But one day, something happened on the continent, and all the Saint-level and Emperor-level masters disappeared overnight, as if they had vanished into thin air. The disciples of various sects were panicked and searched for their missing masters everywhere, but the missing people disappeared without a trace.

Among the missing people was the ruler of the continent at that time, Jiuyou Emperor. People found that the only reason for his disappearance was that his skill had also reached the level of Saint. Both the martial arts world and the ruling class of the land were in panic. People speculated about what had happened, but there were different opinions and no one guessed right.

Until one day, a Saint-level master suddenly returned with serious injuries but only uttered a few words before passing away. The words he said had different versions, but they had one thing in common. That is, the saintly ones who were seriously injured but didn't die would sleep for a thousand years until their injuries recovered, and the battle would begin again."

Yang Rui picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea. Liu Ruyan didn't expect her lie to bring about such a secret history of martial arts. While feeling guilty, she was also shocked. This secret history seemed to involve a huge secret.

Yang Rui continued, "There were various rumors about the last words of the Saint-level expert who died from serious injuries at that time. One version was that those Emperor-level or above masters who went missing at that time participated in the battle of the saints and immortals. Another version was that all the masters in the world gathered together and a great battle of a hundred saints occurred, and those Emperor-level masters who had not reached the saintly level became cannon fodder for nothing. There was also a saying that after someone became a demon for the first time, someone else on the continent became a demon, achieved an undead demon body, and almost reached the level of a celestial demon. Finally, the power of all the top masters in the world was used up, and both the undead demon and the top masters fell into a deep sleep to restore their skills."

"But after a millennium, the sleeping saints did not wake up, and people on the continent believed that all the stories were deceitful lies. They no longer believed in what happened a thousand years ago, thinking it was just a legend. Three thousand years passed like this, and almost no one remembers that mythical history anymore."

Yang Rui finished speaking, and the room remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Liu Yifei spoke, "I have heard something about these things, but I didn't take it seriously at the time. Now I think it's all possible. It turns out that the White Jade Cold Ice achieved by sacrificing his own essence to help others is not as we imagined. It was achieved through self-healing."

Qin An said, "I never thought that the White Jade Cold Ice was such an existence. It seems that when one's skills reach a certain level, they can attract the essence of heaven and earth to heal themselves."

Li Fang and Liu Ruyan could not interject with their bold speculations about martial arts, and they dared not interrupt their train of thought.

Liu Yifei said, "Yes, that's right. As for freezing oneself, it must be an extremely long healing process, used to keep the body from decaying."

Yang Rui said, "The seniors' divine skill is truly admirable. Nowadays, martial arts have really declined. In the past millennium, the number of experts who have reached the level of Saint has become rarer and rarer, only three to five people at most, and they are few and far between. In the past three hundred years, there has not been a single Saint-level expert in the world. Compared to a thousand years ago, it is truly a lack of talent and no successor." The old man sighed.

Liu Ruyan said, "Senior, don't be so sad. Not appearing in the world doesn't mean that no one has reached this level. Perhaps those who have reached this level do not like to show off. Martial arts have developed greatly in the past millennium, and it's difficult to compare the strength of martial arts from a thousand years ago and now."

"You are right," Yang Rui said, "I am really confused, haha," and he laughed.

Li Fang asked, "There is something I don't quite understand. Why was the White Jade Cold Ice I found today there?"

Liu Yifei said, "There could be many reasons for this. Perhaps some people mistakenly entered the ancient cave and dragged it out, and later for some reason, they lost it by the river." Saying these words was equivalent to saying nothing. Liu Yifei couldn't help but blush.

Liu Ruyan thought to herself, "Even if you rack your brains, you won't be able to think of the truth."