Chapter 408: The Ancient and Modern Recorder (19)

In the blink of an eye, four hundred years had passed since Si Zhaonan obtained the mask.

In those four centuries, Si Zhaonan had grown into one of the top experts beneath the few deepest foundations of the Sacred Mountains.

Through this, he had come to know many secrets.

He learned the true purpose of the Sacred Mountains' existence.

He also learned that more than four hundred years earlier, a terrifying race known as the demons had once existed in this world.

The five-hundred-year period was approaching, and they would return in force.

Si Zhaonan still regarded himself as a small figure.

If the sky fell, taller people would hold it up.

Though he himself had already become one of those taller figures, the Sacred Mountains still stood above him. If the sky collapsed, they would be the ones to bear it.

"So this is the legendary demon?"

One day a mysterious creature appeared in the Heavenly Origin Dynasty and slaughtered an entire city. Listening to the descriptions, Si Zhaonan thought of the demons from legend.

He ordered the creature captured and brought back to the capital.

The demon before him had a sharp mouth and sunken cheeks, its face ferocious and savage.

"Humans and demons can never coexist in peace."

Si Zhaonan understood this clearly in his heart.

He executed the demon.

If the demons invaded and the human race faced extinction, he would not be able to remain uninvolved.

More and more demons began entering human territory.

Si Zhaonan realized that another war between humans and demons would soon erupt.

He went to the Sacred Mountains seeking an alliance.

The Sacred Mountains agreed.

Yet on the road back to the Heavenly Origin Dynasty, Si Zhaonan was intercepted by a mysterious figure.

A black-robed person whose face could not be seen blocked his path, leaving Si Zhaonan puzzled.

"The Sacred Mountains are no longer the Sacred Mountains of old."

The mysterious figure barred Si Zhaonan's return.

Si Zhaonan asked in confusion, "What does your excellency mean by this?"

The mysterious figure continued, "The demonic race possesses true Saints. The Saints of the Sacred Mountains already perished in the great battle more than four hundred years ago.

"Knowing they cannot withstand the demons, the Sacred Mountains have long abandoned resistance. They now advocate surrendering to the demons and completely casting aside human bloodlines."

The words made Si Zhaonan draw a sharp breath.

Since ancient times, the Sacred Mountains had been the guardians of the human race. Now they intended to abandon humanity?

Had anyone else spoken such words, Si Zhaonan would have struck them dead with a single palm. Yet this person was far too mysterious, and Si Zhaonan was not completely certain of victory.

He did not easily choose to believe the mysterious figure. He could not determine whether the man had been sent by the demons to sow discord.

After all, he found it impossible to connect the many experts of the Sacred Mountains who worried for the common people with traitors who colluded with demons.

Si Zhaonan returned to the Heavenly Origin Dynasty.

He took out a bronze mask.

It was the same mask he had obtained long ago. Precisely because of this mask, he had risen in a short time to become one of the giants of the human race. Without it he would still have been a street idler who never knew where his next meal would come from.

The five-hundred-year mark was rapidly approaching.

Si Zhaonan once again put on the mask, intending to cultivate.

This time, however, a middle-aged man in purple robes who also wore a mask appeared before his eyes.

Si Zhaonan: "?"

The purple-robed middle-aged man spoke. "Do not be afraid, young man. Since you can see me, you must also be a martial artist who cares for the human race. I am already dead… What remains of me now is merely a wisp of divine sense left within the mask at the moment of my near death."

Si Zhaonan still did not lower his guard.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Zhou Chong."

Hearing that name, Si Zhaonan's eyes widened at once.

Zhou Chong… was that not the previous master of the Sacred Mountains?

In the great war between demons and humans, when the human race stood on the brink of extinction, it was the previous Sacred Mountain master Zhou Chong who had caused the demons' plans to fall short at the final step.

He had never expected that this man was the previous owner of the mask!

"My appearance now means that the seal I once laid is about to vanish.

"Young man, has a new Saint appeared among our human race?"

Si Zhaonan shook his head. "The martial path has withered. No new Saint has emerged. The demons are about to return, and the situation is already critical."

A trace of gloom appeared on Zhou Chong's face.

Si Zhaonan looked at the purple-robed middle-aged man. "Senior once turned the tide single-handedly. Surely you still have a way!"

"A way… of course there is one. When I learned that the demonic Saints had been heavily wounded, I used half my strength to seal the demons for five hundred years. The remaining power I sealed within this mask, leaving a thread of hope. After all, if the demonic Saints recovered, even pouring all my strength into the seal would have been useless.

"You are the current master of this mask, so you may inherit that power and attempt to break through to the Saint Realm."

That single thread of hope was the last thing Zhou Chong could do for the human race of this world.

Si Zhaonan nodded, his expression filled with delight.

As expected, the older generation still held the sharper edge.

He decisively began his attempt to break through to the Saint Realm, even though that final step was like a chasm between heaven and earth.

The five-hundred-year period arrived.

Everything unfolded much as Zhou Chong had foreseen. The demonic Saints easily tore through the veil. The demonic race that had vanished for five hundred years finally reappeared in this world.

The terrifying gap in strength plunged all living beings into despair.

Human experts retreated step by step.

What drove the human race into even deeper despair was that the higher echelons of the Sacred Mountains suddenly switched sides in the midst of battle.

The Sacred Mountains had been the guardians of humanity since ancient times. Now they chose to submit to the demons?

The news first brought despair, then sorrow.

Within the demonic lands, flames soared skyward from the Demon Transformation Pool. A terrifying power capable of destroying the world erupted.

The demonic Saints were heavily wounded, and countless powerful demons perished.

"The human race is truly despicable!"

The old ancestor of the Sacred Mountains had somehow deceived the heavens. Carrying a sacred artifact, he detonated himself at the very core of the demonic territory.

The old ancestor of the Sacred Mountains had long known that without a Saint, the human race stood no chance against the demons. He had spent years winning their trust, only to use his own body and the foundations of the Sacred Mountains to buy the human race one final thread of hope.

While in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Saint Realm, Si Zhaonan understood that he had to succeed with everything he had. The barrier of the Sacred Mountains was gone. The good news was that the Sacred Mountains had never betrayed the human race from beginning to end. The bad news was that when he related the mysterious man's suspicions to Zhou Chong, the latter was so enraged that he ordered Si Zhaonan, after achieving victory in the Saint Realm, to thoroughly discipline those unworthy disciples and grand-disciples.

There was no longer any need for him to do so.

Just as Si Zhaonan's consciousness began to blur, a cool sensation pulled him back. When he opened his eyes again, he had broken through to the Saint Realm.

"This Saint Realm… does not seem so difficult to reach after all."

Why did it feel as though he had simply taken a nap and woken up a Saint?

Never mind. This was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. If he remembered correctly, the demonic Saints had been heavily wounded by the Sacred Mountain old ancestor's self-detonation with a sacred artifact.

Strike while the enemy is weak.

Si Zhaonan charged straight into the ancestral grounds of the demons and forced their Saint ancestors to appear.

"This is wrong… why are there two Saints?"

Si Zhaonan discovered a serious problem.

"This is… Zhou Chong's aura. The human race is truly shameless beyond measure!"

One of the demonic Saints, whose aura was weaker, roared in fury.

He was the former demon lord who had once fought Zhou Chong. After five hundred years, he had broken through to the Saint Realm.

The bad news was that he had been caught in a scheme.

The good news was that both demonic Saints had been heavily wounded.