Listen to the Varied Accounts Next Time

"Even the world-renowned Lord of Kuitian Sacred Land is nothing but a minion in front of an existence like that."

"Minion?" The young man in luxurious clothes heard another new term.

"Yes, exactly as the storyteller said, it roughly means... a mere lackey."

The young man explained, then brought the topic back.

"After foreseeing the future, Immortal Venerable Su was disheartened. He even wanted to give up at one point, intending to stay in the Great Xia Empire as its invincible sect master and live out the rest of his days."

Hearing this, the luxuriously dressed young man couldn't help but speak up.

"What is wrong with that? Seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune is human nature. Knowing it is a dead end, why must he force his way through?"

Hearing this, the young man sighed and pointed at the stage.

"Brother, this is the most heart-wrenching part of this story."

Up on the high stage.

Su Ji's voice had also grown a bit deeper, carrying an unshakable sense of desolation.

"On that day, the Immortal Venerable and his life's only soulmate parted ways in front of the Spirit Medicine Hall."

"The fairy bore the mission of her clan; even if millions opposed her, she would go alone."

"But the Immortal Venerable, after glimpsing that despair-inducing future, chose to retreat."

"He was afraid."

"He was afraid of death."

At this point, the young man picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp.

Below the stage, there was dead silence.

Everyone was infected by this sudden oppressive atmosphere.

That exhilarating feeling was gone.

It was replaced by a heavy sorrow for a hero at the end of his road.

The luxuriously dressed young man also fell silent.

He suddenly felt that his previous thoughts about human nature seemed somewhat shallow.

"What happened next?" he could not help but ask.

The young man shook his head. "He is telling it right now."

"Just keep listening."

"How about it? Buying me this cup of tea was worth it, right?"

"I have been listening since the Immortal Venerable first entered his sect. If you asked anyone else, they definitely would not know as clearly as I do."

The storyteller's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"The Immortal Venerable drank alone until he was dead drunk. Lying in that cold palace, he asked himself all night."

"Am I really not going?"

"No."

"...Am I truly willing to accept this?"

"I am not."

"But so what if I am not?"

"Let me ask everyone sitting here: in this life, have you never encountered something you were unwilling to accept, yet powerless to change?"

These words were like a basin of cold water poured over the passionate hearts of all the listeners.

Indeed.

Unwilling to accept it, but what could be done?

In this world, there are too many things one is unwilling to accept.

Some lose their entire fortune but still cannot cure their bedridden parents.

Some are honest and dutiful, yet their employers deduct their wages for no reason, and they have nowhere to turn for justice.

Some study hard for ten cold years, only to fail the imperial examinations in the end.

Ignorant in youth, one ignores the silly girl next door all day long; by the time they want to find her again, the place is empty, and she is already married to another.

This is life.

This is the mortal realm.

Most people can only learn to bow their heads and accept their fate through time after time of bitter reluctance.

Inside the teahouse, the atmosphere turned somewhat stifling. The previous exhilaration of listening to the story had largely dissipated.

On the high stage, the storyteller paused.

He raised his eyes and swept his gaze over everyone below the stage.

"Honorable listeners, if it were you, what would you do?"

Below the stage, after a brief silence, discussions broke out again.

"Is there even a need to think? Of course I would not go!"

A burly man was the first to shout.

"Staying in Great Xia as his invincible sect master, getting whatever he wants, living happily for a hundred years, that is a life like a god! Running out to throw his life away, for what?"

"Exactly! Knowing it is certain death and still going, is that not just stupid?"

"A bad life is better than a good death. Does he not understand this logic?"

For a moment, voices of agreement rose from all sides. The choice of the vast majority was not to go.

They were not stupid.

The young man beside the luxuriously dressed youth also nodded, deeply agreeing.

Seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune is just human nature, after all.

The storyteller smiled and snapped his folding fan shut with a sharp smack.

"And that is why everyone can only sit here and listen to the Immortal Venerable's story."

His voice was not loud, but it brought a sudden hush to the noisy teahouse.

"As for the Immortal Venerable..."

"The reason he is the Immortal Venerable."

The storyteller paused, speaking word by word.

"Is because in the end, he still went."

What?!

The crowd below the stage was in an uproar.

The luxuriously dressed youth was also stunned and blurted out, "Why?!"

"He did not tell anyone. He silently embarked on that path of certain death leading outside of Great Xia."

The storyteller's voice became high-pitched again, carrying an indescribable sense of freedom.

"His journey was not for the common people, not for great righteousness, and not for that illusory mission."

"It was only because he was unwilling to accept it."

"Unwilling to be like a mere ant, having his life and death casually decided by others."

The storyteller stood up and slammed his wooden gavel heavily onto the table.

Smack!

"He still wanted to live for a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred million years!"

"A mere century..."

"Is not enough!"

These words were like a massive bronze bell, striking the core of everyone's heart.

The listeners who just thought not going was the wise move now felt their faces burning, as if they had been slapped by an invisible hand.

Indeed.

They were mortals, thinking only of a century.

But he was an Immortal Venerable, thinking of countless eons.

Their perspectives were entirely different.

Seeing the stunned expressions of the crowd below, the storyteller did not stop speaking.

"It is said that the moment the Immortal Venerable stepped out of Great Xia, he encountered two gatekeepers. Both were Soul Formation old monsters who had lived for a thousand years!"

"They wanted to capture the Immortal Venerable to use as a slave for mining."

"But what kind of figure was the Immortal Venerable? Even though he had just forged his Heavenly Palace Golden Core, facing two Soul Formation old monsters who were two major realms above him, he showed absolutely no fear!"

"With a sword in his left hand and a spear in his right, he fought one against two! The battle turned the sky dark and the earth dim, eclipsing the sun and moon!"

"The two Soul Formation old monsters unleashed all their methods, capable of boiling the seas and burning the skies, yet they could not even touch the corner of the Immortal Venerable's clothes!"

"After a bitter struggle, the Immortal Venerable seized a flaw. His spear struck like a dragon, pinning one of the old monsters dead to the ground with a single thrust!"

Hearing this, the crowd below immediately erupted into cheers.

"Excellent!"

"Well killed!"

"Immortal Venerable is awesome!"

"Seeing his companion fall, the other Soul Formation old monster lost his nerve and turned to flee. The Immortal Venerable pressed his advantage, unleashing a sword strike that cleanly decapitated him!"

The storyteller spoke with a torrential flow of eloquence.

"Two Soul Formation old monsters were thus swiftly and cleanly slain by the Immortal Venerable!"

The crowd below felt their blood boiling with excitement, each wishing they could be that majestic Immortal Venerable Su.

"However..."

Su Ji shifted his tone, his voice dropping low once more.

"Before the Immortal Venerable even had time to catch his breath, an even more terrifying aura descended."

"A flash of golden light passed, and a man dressed in golden robes appeared out of thin air."

"He stood upon a longsword burning with golden flames, his long hair flying in the wind and his golden eyes shifting. That imposing manner, that overwhelming might, was far beyond what those two Soul Formation old monsters could compare to!"

"The Immortal Venerable's heart sank, and only then did he realize..."

Reaching this point, Su Ji deliberately left them in suspense.

"Those two arrogant Soul Formation old monsters were actually nothing more than this golden-robed man's..."

"Watchdogs!"

Hiss—!

The entire hall was filled with the sound of sharp gasps.

Soul Formation old monsters, figures who were already akin to heavenly immortals in their eyes, were actually just someone else's watchdogs?

Then what kind of terrifying existence could this golden-robed man be?

"Seeing his dogs killed, the golden-robed man flew into a thunderous rage!"

"Without another word, he unleashed a vicious kick right at the Immortal Venerable!"

"The Immortal Venerable held his spear horizontally to block, but was forcefully sent flying hundreds of meters by an unimaginable, colossal force!"

"The difference in strength was instantly clear!"

"The Immortal Venerable knew that this was the true mortal enemy of his journey!"

Su Ji's speaking pace grew faster and faster, his tone increasingly impassioned.

"Holding nothing back, his battle intent pierced the heavens!"

"The Immortal Venerable's black hair danced wildly as pitch-black flames soared into the sky behind him!"

"The golden-robed man was equally bursting with battle intent. Divine fire burned within his golden eyes, and behind him, golden flames swept out in a frenzy!"

"The Immortal Venerable with his black hair and black flames, a black dragon soaring behind him."

"The newcomer with his golden eyes and golden fire, a golden dragon brandishing its claws behind him."

"The Immortal Venerable and the golden-robed man fought into a frenzy!"

"Spear and sword clashed, shattering space and causing the earth to cave in!"

"In this battle, will the Immortal Venerable defy the heavens and strike down his superior, capturing the divine dragon from the Nine Heavens..."

The storyteller's voice came to an abrupt halt.

With a sharp snap, he closed his folding fan and cupped his hands in a respectful salute to the audience below the stage.

"Or will he, just like the future he foresaw, swallow his bitter defeat and fall right here..."

"To find out what happens next, please return for the next chapter!"