Chapter 678: The Laments of Tongtong
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although the elderly man looked to be in his twilight years, the sword in his hand still shone with its previous glory. However, there was still a limit to what he could do now and one could see his hands starting to tremble as he raised his sword once again to slay a Wolf Demon. The expression in his eyes was not one of panic but lament.
‘Is this the end of the road for me? Well, I guess it’s better to die while fighting. It’s just that… I’ll never be able to go home now,’ thought the elderly man. He turned up his face to look at the sky and found his vision being blurred by the tears in his eyes.
“Grandfather Tongtong, Grandfather Tongtong—” chorused a wave of young voices, each filled with panic behind him. There were slightly older kids who had taken up arms, too. They looked at his figure from behind and their eyes, too, started to get red.
“Grandfather Tongtong!” The others joined in the chorus, adding their worry to the voices. Their tears were crashing down like a waterfall. Grandfather Tongtong was the most elderly person in the village and also the most prestigious. Everyone there had benefited from his guidance at least one point in their lives.
He had been living here ever since someone carried his unconscious body back many years ago. No one knew about his past but soon, they gradually discovered that this elderly man was not an ordinary elderly man at all. He started to teach the youth in the village cultivation, and thus, it could be said that everyone in the village was his follower.
As time passed, the villagers from the older generation started to pass away one after another. That was, except for Grandfather Tongtong. Even though he seemed to have reached the end of his lifespan, he continued to go on strongly. Everyone started to guess that he may possess extraordinary powers, except he could not use them because of the heavy injuries he had sustained.
There was some basis to their theory since every time Grandfather Tongtong got drunk, he would start to swing his sword around in a dance under the moonlight and shout to the sky about how glorious his past used to be. Apparently, he stood at the peak of the universe with his power, and one swing of his sword could take out a Saint. He also mentioned he had countless worshippers.
So, was this really the end of the road for him?
“Kill! Kill!”
“Even in our death, we need to make them pay!”
The villagers were raging with a thick murderous intent even though they knew their battle power to be weak and they were about to be backed into a corner. However, dying in a battle was definitely better than waiting for death without doing anything.
Ah wooo!
The sound of the wolf’s cry was accompanied by the entrance of a wolf with fur so red that it looked to be burning with fire. The Wolf Demon, who was in the Foundation Stage, stared coldly at Grandfather Tongtong as his aura swirled around him. The Wolf Demon seemed as if it wanted to send Grandfather Tongtong on his road. It opened its jaws slightly and a giant fireball shot out at Grandfather Tongtong.
‘Magical power? It’s a good way to die, too.’ A smile broke out of Grandfather Tongtong’s face as he once again looked up at the sky in the distance with his tear-filled eyes. ‘Wait a minute…who are those two people there? They seem kinda familiar. Am I hallucinating?’ He was about to close his eyes when he saw one of the figures raise her hand and point one finger in the direction of the village.
Instantly, it seemed as if time had stopped. An irresistible bizarre aura blanketed the whole area. The feeling was something akin to a God descending from Heaven. The stuff of fiction but it was exactly what happened this time. The tide of fierce beasts turned to wasted dust and disappeared from the face of the world like snow being melted away by the summer sun.
The din of the battle was no more. It was a good while before the villagers came back around and when they did, they fell to the ground in worship. “It’s a miracle! A miracle has occurred! Thank you Lord Gods! Thank you for saving our lives!”
Grandfather Tongtong, however, stood where he was without moving as if a paralyzing spell had been used on him. He looked at the two figures in the sky and his mind went blank. He did not know whether to laugh or cry and so, he did both with his trembling lips. His sword fell to the ground with a loud clang. He was actually at a loss about what to do.
The two people who had come were, of course, none other than Goddess Nuwa and the Empress. They, too, were looking at him with complicated looks in their eyes, for they would not have believed him to be the man they used to know if it was not for the familiar aura he was exuding. Yes, that was how much his appearance had changed. It was a good thing they came in time.
“Do you have anything to say to us?” asked Goddess Nuwa with a smile.
Grandfather Tongtong quivered and he immediately lowered his head. “I’m sorry for not kneeling immediately and deserve to be punished for offending Your Excellency.”
He did not dare to reveal that he had recognized them, for he feared that this might just be a coincidence or a trap laid by someone. He would rather die than offend an existence of the seventh dimension.
“Tong Tian, it’s really me, Nuwa. You don’t have to be so cautious around me. We’ve come to bring you home. Make your round of farewells and come with us,” said Goddess Nuwa. Then, she left with the Empress to go wait for him in a forest not far away.
The villagers were still kneeling on the ground in worship and calling out to them. Tong Tian looked at them and smiled proudly. “Hahaha, they’ve finally come to get me! Now, do you all believe me when I say I can communicate with the Gods?”
“You’re so awesome, Grandfather Tongtong!”
“Please, accept my reverent worship!”
The villagers bowed a few times from both fear and reverence.
Tong Tian looked at them and exhaled deeply. “I must go now. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“We reverently bid you farewell, Immortal!” said the villagers.
“Bye-bye, Grandfather Tongtong!” cried the kids with reluctance in their voices.
Tong Tian entered the forest and there were complications in his eyes when he saw Goddess Nuwa and the Empress.
“Are the two of you really….?” He was still unsure if they were truly Goddess Nuwa and the Empress.
“Is it that hard to believe that we’ve crossed the dimension to come here?” asked Goddess Nuwa with a mischievous smile. Both she and the Empress suddenly felt a rollercoaster of emotions while looking at him.
Back in the days, the two of them—Goddess Nuwa and Tong Tian—were both one of the few Prehistoric Saints. Tong Tian, especially, had created a whole new religion and was able to kill any other Saint with a swing of his sword, thus making him the strongest fighter in the whole Prehistoric era. They had never expected to bump into him here after he had left the Prehistoric era 10,000 years ago.
“Of course, it’s hard to believe. Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here!” said Tong Tian with a frown. His tone was filled with worry and panic. “This dimension isn’t some playground. The two of you should go back immediately and not expose your identities.”
“Something must’ve happened to the great Founder Tong Tian for him to turn into a coward!” said Goddess Nuwa.
“I was young and stupid then. I didn’t know just how big the universe was. That Tong Tian of the yonder years is dead. I’m but an elderly man called Tongtong now.” His tone was one of loneliness and regret.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we can find a way to restore you to your previous glory,” said the Empress.
“There’s no need for that. I doubt anything can do that since my body has become crippled, my Dao vessels damaged, and my Primordial Spirit broken.” Tong Tian shook his head bitterly as he was saying that. He had come to accept his lot in this life.
Then, he snapped himself out of his reverie and said, “That’s not the main issue right now. It’s dangerous here. I hope you didn’t create too much of a commotion on your way here. This area belongs to a very powerful Demon Emperor whose original form used to be a rainbow deer. He possesses the power to turn Heaven and Earth upside. It’d be the end of the seventh dimension as we know it if he finds out you two are here.” The more he said, the more his blood ran cold.
Demon Emperor? Rainbow Deer? All these sounded very familiar. Goddess Nuwa and the Empress exchanged a glance and immediately broke out in smiles.
“How can you still smile at a time like this?” asked a dumbfounded Tong Tian.
“If I guess correctly, Tongtong, the rainbow deer you’ve mentioned, has probably been turned into a meal by now.”
‘Huh? Into a meal? What’s she talking about?’ Tong Tian thought he had heard wrongly.
“Founder Tong Tian, the rainbow deer was already slain before we came to this dimension,” explained the Empress.
“Haha! Impossible! You must’ve mistaken another demon for the Demon Emperor!” Tong Tian kept shaking his head in disbelief as he was saying that. “It’s not that I want to bring you down, but remember when we thought we were the most badass Saints in all of the Prehistoric era? Well, I found out that there are infinitely more beings stronger than the three of us combined! Above the Saint level, there’s Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal, and above that, there’s Heavenly Realm, and above that, there’s Wisdom Elite! So, how could the Demon Emperor, who was at the Wisdom Elite level, be slain by the people in the seventh dimension?”
Now that his cultivation had been lost, he could not sense what level Goddess Nuwa and the Empress were. However, he could guess that Goddess Nuwa was most probably still stuck at the Saint level or at most, a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal. That was only if she had come across a huge opportunity. As for the Empress… Well, she might not even be a Saint! The difference of power between them and the Demon Emperor was like Heaven and Earth.
A weird expression suddenly flashed across Goddess Nuwa and the Empress’s face.
“Tongtong, we know all that but guess what cultivation level I’m at right now?” asked Goddess Nuwa.
“Judging by the way you’re asking, you’re probably a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal now. It must’ve been quite a perilous journey for you,” said Tong Tian with a smile.
“How about me?” asked the Empress.
“You? A Saint, perhaps?” said Tong Tian.
Goddess Nuwa shook her head and smiled. “You’ve guessed wrongly on both counts. I think you should mentally prepare yourself for what I’m about to tell you.”
Tong Tian was dumbfounded. “Don’t tell me you’re a… Heavenly Realm cultivator now?”
Goddess Nuwa smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly where my cultivation level is at. I got lucky though.”
Tong Tian let out a sharp gasp and the corners of his lips began to twitch. Suddenly, he felt dizzy and nearly fell to the ground.
‘Heavenly Realm? Is she really at that level now? I’ve been suffering here all this while and she’s already at the Heavenly Realm level? Our powers are at the extreme opposite of each other!’ thought Tong Tian. Then he looked at the Empress and asked, “And you, too…?”
“I’m only at the Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal level but will soon advance to the Heavenly Realm level,” said the Empress.
‘Soon?’ He took a few involuntary steps back and felt suffocated. His brain was about to explode as his world was turned upside down. ‘What kind of situation is this? What did they do? How did they get so powerful? How was it possible for them to advance so much in a mere ten thousand years?’ He was suddenly ashamed of himself and felt like he did not deserve to be alive at all.
“By the way, Hongjun, the Jade Emperor, and Yang Jing are all at the Heavenly Realm level. Juling Shen will soon be at our level, too. Most of the people from the Prehistoric era have made vast advancements in their cultivation levels,” said Goddess Nuwa.
Tong Tian could not take it anymore. His brain went haywire and he wished he could wake up from this horrible nightmare. ‘How could this be? Even Yang Jing’s at the Heavenly Realm level? And Juling Shen, nothing but a pawn, will soon be at that level? She must be pulling my leg! It’s not as if she’s talking about the Foundation Stage! She’s talking about the Heavenly Realm stage, for crying out loud! Doesn’t she know it’s impossibly hard to advance at that level?!”
Tong Tian tried to digest all the new information and finally said, “I get it now. The two of you must be joking. Hahaha. No way can this kind of thing happen. Hahaha.” However, when he looked at their faces, he knew they were not joking.
He gulped and in a shocked voice, he asked, “Tell me exactly what happened. How did you do it?”
“Nothing, really. Only that we were lucky enough to become friends with the expert. Somehow or rather, before we knew it, we reached the level we’re at just by following him around.”
‘Somehow or rather? Before you knew it? Is she even speaking English?’ Tong Tian suddenly felt a piercing pain in his heart. He had been trying to find opportunities in the Chaos for 10,000 years. Each time, he became worse after coming across danger. Then, things became even worse for him when he was brought to the fourth dimension by chance. Through all that, he finally reached the level of Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal, but the good days did not last long for he was heavily injured by an opponent and barely escaped with his life.
‘Do you know what I’ve been through all these years?’ He suddenly felt like crying. However, something they said had caught his attention. “What expert?” he asked quizzically.
Both Goddess Nuwa and the Empress’s expression turned reverent as they said, “An existence who’s at the peak of the universe, deserving to be worshipped by all beings. The Demon Emperor you so feared was subdued by a pet dog of his and was turned into game meat for the expert. I can’t think of a more honorable death than that for a demon.”
Then, they begin to regale him with all the stories about the expert. Listening to all those stories, Tong Tian’s jaw dropped lower and lower until it reached the ground. Treating Chaos Spiritual Water as everyday drinking water, Spiritual Roots as everyday fruit, dishes imbued with essences of Wisdom Elites, upgrading the Prehistoric era to the Area of the Gods…
The most shocking thing for him was he could not believe that in the expert’s eyes, Wisdom Elites were nothing but game meat. ‘That’s illogical cruelty at its peak! Where’s the law in that? Is he not afraid of karma?’
It was a good while before he came back around. He looked at Goddess Nuwa and the Empress with complicated eyes. “I got the gist of it. Just as you said, the two of you really didn’t do anything. It was mostly the expert’s doing!”
The Empress and Goddess Nuwa nodded, both feeling slightly embarrassed. They did do some things, but compared to what the expert had done for them, the things they did were mere insignificance.
Tong Tian, who did not back down even in the face of death, started sobbing huge tears at the unfairness of it all. “Heaven’s been unfair to me! I should’ve just stayed in the Prehistoric era and followed the expert!”