Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 465: I\'m Not a Saviour!

This moment, long awaited, had finally arrived! Even if it was but a third of what they had dared not dream of, it was a victory beyond their wildest hopes.

"Allow me to introduce someone," Yu Nichang\'s voice cracked slightly with emotion. She gestured towards an old man in a grey robe, returning from afar, his gaze filled with astonishment. "His name is Shen Cang, a hidden descendant of the Martial Emperor Clan, blending into the common folk, now the Martial Emperor of our time!"

The old man bore grave injuries; one arm was shattered, his body riddled with wounds as if gnawed by butterflies, a testament to a near-fatal encounter with the Mystic Earth Immortal in a blink of an eye.

Had it not been for the sudden intervention of the Nian, he would have been dead.

"Shen Cang... another disaster?" The appearance of the grey-robed man sparked outrage among countless red-eyed civilians, though a third of them looked on, confused and unfamiliar with the man.

"The Martial Emperor Clan enraged the heavens with their heart-stealing cultivation practices, inviting divine wrath and the punishment of all beings..."

The memories of a great hatred surged within them. But, faced with the dilemma of their lifespan, they did not let anger cloud their judgment, waiting instead for Yu Nichang to provide an explanation.

And she did not keep them waiting long.

Together with Shen Cang, she began to unravel the truths about the All-Life Devouring Gu, the power of the Heavenly Decay, the Ascension Technique, and the alignment of sun and moon, each revelation striking like thunder on a clear day.

Only a fool would disbelieve.

Take, for instance, the Jade Immortal Tower Master, whose youngest son, even now, bared his teeth at Yun Xiao. The child, though young, already bore the hair of the aged.

Yet, he paid no heed, oblivious to his father\'s attempts to warn him of his dwindling lifespan, roaring instead, "To defy the heavens is to walk a path to death!"

SMACK! The Jade Immortal Tower Master struck his son, fury in his voice, "Silence! Your head is filled with parasites."

"What parasites?" His son, clutching at his robe, spat bloodied spittle onto his face, accusing, "You betray the Three Immortals, may your whole family perish!" The Jade Immortal Tower Master stood wordless. The truth, stark and undeniable, was often the hardest to accept.

How could one eaten away by the parasites of their minds ever believe in it? These parasites sometimes had no shape, no form. It could be a stretch of text, a flicker of images, or the insidious cultural indoctrination from birth.

Many had their minds infested. But this type of parasite was harder to discern, harder to extract than that of the Three Immortals.

They loathed themselves, revered their enemies as deities, harmed themselves and their kin, mocked their own bloodline, and took pride in it as if it made them descendants of the revered Immortals with disdain in their eyes.

Little did they know, those they worshiped sought only to use their blood and lives to slay those fighting for their right to live.

At this moment, anyone awake felt turmoil within.

The Jade Immortal Tower Master, tears streaming from his eyes, looked at his son, heartbroken.

"Such sin, such a grave sin!"

He looked around. Many who were awake grasped the hands of their loved ones, trying to awaken them, while those blinded by fervor wished death upon anyone who did not grovel before the Three Immortals.

They celebrated, cheered, and took pride in their fanaticism.

To them, Yun Xiao\'s slaying of the Mystic Earth Immortal was a wound deeper than if they were slain themselves.

They wept bitterly, their eyes bleeding red, a spectacle that made the Jade Immortal Tower Master question the essence of his existence.

"The Primordial Ruins, a sacred pilgrimage site for myriad worlds, should not, must not become this..."

The Three Immortals had used this power to destroy the very fabric of existence!

If they did not turn back from the brink, what future would humanity have?

"Yun Xiao! Alone, he stood against the abyss, preventing all beings from plummeting into its depths!"

A fire lit within the Jade Immortal Tower Master\'s heart, awestruck by the young man\'s resolve.

He glanced at the chaos, the pain of families torn asunder spreading throughout the Primordial Ruins.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed past the pain of his own loss, and abruptly, he knelt towards Yun Xiao!

With a voice ablaze with fervor, he called out to Yun Xiao, "I beseech you to slay the Sky Source Immortal and the Human Zenith Immortal, to liberate the myriad worlds from their suffering! The heavens will surely recognize your unparalleled merit, elevating you to a true savior, a real Immortal of Salvation!"

His words, charged with emotion, awakened many on the spot.

Suddenly, a multitude of beings from the Primordial Ruins knelt alongside the Jade Immortal Tower Master, their voices tinged with despair, "Please, save us! We beg you!"

"We were misled by the All-Life Devouring Gu, opposed you against our will, but... we are innocent, we had no choice..."

"Save my child, he\'s only ten!"

More and more people knelt before Yun Xiao, their tears flowing freely, their eyes filled with sorrow.

Yun Xiao, his eyes fiery with resolve, surveyed the scene. Then he bellowed, "Stand up! Don\'t do this; I am not one of the Three Immortals, you don\'t need to kneel before me!"

The Jade Immortal Tower Master and the others were taken aback.

"I said, stand up!" Yun Xiao roared again.

"Uh..."

The awakened crowd exchanged looks, hesitantly rising to their feet. But they were anxious.

They now understood that without vanquishing the Sky Source Immortal and the Human Zenith Immortal, even with the Mystic Earth Immortal gone, nothing would change!

Without Yun Xiao\'s intervention, they had no future.

They held their breath, their eyes trembling as they looked at Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao took a deep breath, then said calmly, "Listen well, I have never been a savior, nor do I seek heaven\'s rewards for any grand deeds! I will end the Three Immortals with my own life, not for your sake, but because it displeases me, because I wish to take everything they possess, just that simple!"

With that, he cast a deep glance at the crowd, "Don\'t you dare thank me, I can\'t bear it!"

Some deeds, if successful, would make him a savior. But in failure, he\'d become a villain for the ages, just like the Martial Emperor Clan, cast into an abyss of sin, scorned for centuries. Why bother, indeed?

This journey through the Primordial Ruins convinced Yun Xiao he\'d never again chant the mantra, \'For the sake of humanity!" He would act, confront his indignation, shatter all that was unfair, but he refused to play the saint any longer. Being a saint was perilously risky. Lian Xi, tortured over flames, was proof enough.

"I am not a savior of the world.

"I rather fancy the other title you\'ve bestowed upon me, the Slayer of Men!"

With those words, Yun Xiao felt a weight lift from his heart. He had tried to convince himself these people were but misled by the All-Life Devouring Gu, helpless in their actions. But back at the Mystic Zenith Temple, when the Heavenly Decay descended, seventy percent chose to cultivate the Ascension Technique anyway in spite of his warnings.

"Yun Xiao..." Yu Nichang, Shen Cang, the Jade Immortal Tower Master, and others stared in disbelief at the young man in white.

With a whoosh, he descended from the heavens, following closely behind the Nian, scavenging in its wake.

Where the Nian led in slaughtering the remnants of the Three Immortals\' descendants, Yun Xiao followed to clean up, claiming every Seed of Creation, Bag of Holding, Sword Soul, and Life Sigil within his grasp.

His goal was singular, and that was to consume all 100,000 descendants of the Three Immortals.

"Generations bred tens of thousands over centuries, wonder how they managed that, truly like vermin! Yet, in just an hour, I\'ve slaughtered them all! Let\'s see who\'s faster, their breeding or my killing?" Yun Xiao laughed.

Together, man and beast wreaked havoc, the sky darkened, the earth bled, ghosts wept, and wolves howled.

The crowd watched, their worlds upturned.

Within Yun Xiao\'s embrace, Blue Star and Red Moon exchanged glances.

"To think he\'d shoulder the Great Calamity Spirit, and even use it to slay... " Blue Star marveled.

"The heat\'s cranking up!" Red Moon clicked his tongue.

"That... After this heroic rescue, this incarnation of transcending calamity is surely lost to us," Blue Star chuckled.

Elsewhere, only after applying a layer of fine white jade medicinal salve did Lian Xi regain some color. Her gaze pierced through the crowd, resting on the frenzied young man.

"Yun Xiao..." Her lips parted slightly, her voice lost in thought, "You say, he\'s not a savior, but a world-ending tyrant in the making?"

In her arms, the phantom of a white tiger flickered in and out of existence.