Chapter 1020: Unbearable Past

Chapter 1020: Unbearable Past Events

Watching Danmo’s departing figure, the people in the hall all took a deep breath.

That title of Huangzhe—how elusive it was. Ever since Chen Huang's passing, it had been over three thousand years in Da Chu without anyone daring to claim it for themselves.

There was no denying that Danmo's words were truly inspiring.

It was a hope, a hope for Da Chu.

If they could truly refine the Tianji Dan and create a Huangzhe for Da Chu, then in this war against the Tianmo, Da Chu would most likely emerge victorious. With a Huangzhe presiding, they would strike back at Bei Chu with overwhelming force.

He left!

The Yao Wang was the first to rise and exit the Tian Ting Grand Hall.

Following him, the other Zhu Wang and the Huangzhe descendants also filed out of the hall.

Subsequently, the armies of successive Zhu Wang and the armies of the Huangzhe descendants set off, heading straight to their respective guarded territories. They had no time to waste, as the Tianmo forces could infiltrate at any moment.

The leaders of the Three Sects, Nine Halls, and Eighty-One Gates departed, as did the ancestors of various major powers, all rushing to the border of Nan Chu to prepare for the Tianmo assault.

In an instant, the hall felt much emptier, leaving only Taixu Gulong, Zixuan, Hongchen Xue, and Ye Chen.

Suddenly, a trickle of fresh blood overflowed from Ye Chen's mouth.

Seeing this, Taixu Gulong and the other two furrowed their brows. They could tell Ye Chen was gravely injured—from the repeated battles in Bei Chu, the backlash of the Wheel of Reincarnation, and the heavenly tribulations of the heavens above, all tearing at his body.

"Truthfully, I have no confidence in winning this war." After a long silence, Ye Chen finally broke the quiet in the hall.

"You've never disappointed us before." Hongchen Xue smiled gently.

"This time, I might have to." Ye Chen stood up, filled with exhaustion. Even his steps felt weary, and his back appeared somewhat desolate. In these days, he had witnessed far too many scenes of loved ones dying before his eyes.

He knew that in the long stretch ahead, he would see even more of his dear ones perish, and he might be powerless to stop it.

Ah!

Taixu Gulong and Zixuan both sighed and followed suit, leaving the hall.

Their tasks were still daunting—they needed to replicate the Ancient Starry Sky Map for the five major territories of Nan Chu without any delay.

In the dim night, Dan Cheng was ablaze with lights, clusters of flames burning everywhere. The entire city was enveloped in the fragrance of medicinal pills, as alchemists worked feverishly to produce pills, ensuring a steady supply for Da Chu's cultivators.

As more pills were refined, batches of alchemists arrived at Dan Cheng, immediately getting to work without a word.

With their help, the speed of pill production from the dan furnaces increased more than tenfold.

Among these alchemists, many were reclusive masters, and a few even outranked Dan Chen and his peers in seniority.

However, just as the atmosphere was heating up, a figure cloaked entirely in black robes glided into the Dan Cheng grand hall like a ghost.

Instantly, Dan Chen and Dan Yi, along with the others in the hall, rose abruptly, their expressions turning cold as they stared at the black-robed figure. "Should we call you Danmo, or should we call you Grand Uncle-Master?"

"It doesn't matter what you call me." Danmo chuckled softly and lounged comfortably in a spot, glancing around with interest. "Dan Cheng—it's still the same as ever, truly captivating!"

"Dan Cheng does not welcome you. Please leave." Dan Yi snorted coldly, his eyes flickering with a chill.

"Young ones are always so impulsive." Danmo smiled faintly. "With a great enemy at our gates, is this the time to settle our grudges?"

"Settling them is fine by us." The elders of Dan Cheng drew their killing swords, ready to fight on the spot.

"Enough." Dan Chen spoke sternly, halting their intent to kill. He then turned to Danmo. "I address you as Grand Master out of respect, but that doesn't mean we accept you as such. Our alliance with you is only temporary."

"That's more like it!" Danmo laughed playfully, glancing at the others before adding casually, "The rest of you can leave. Dan Chen, stay behind."

"Who do you think you are?" A hot-tempered elder from Dan Cheng roared in anger.

"Dan Zhen, stand down." Dan Chen said calmly.

"Senior brother, he—"

"Stand down."

"Fine, fine, fine." Dan Zhen flung his robe and stormed out of the hall in frustration. Dan Yi and the others glanced at Danmo, whispered a warning to Dan Chen to be careful, and then exited as well.

Once everyone had left, Dan Chen found a seat and sat down. "I've imagined hundreds of ways we might meet again, but never this one. I never thought we'd reunite as allies."

"Young one, you seem to hate me deeply." Danmo smiled slyly at Dan Chen.

"You killed my grand master, crippled my master, disrupted Dan Cheng, and destroyed our lineage—these are all blood feuds, one after another."

"Then do you know why I killed your grand master, crippled your master, disrupted Dan Cheng, and destroyed your lineage?" Danmo's smile faded as he stared straight at Dan Chen.

"Ancient grudges—I have no desire to revisit them."

"Better not to, better not to!" Danmo's laughter carried a hint of sarcasm. "So-called history is written by the victors, and so-called grudges have no clear right or wrong. When we meet in the underworld, your grand master, the one I respected as my senior brother, will kneel before me and admit his fault. It was his vanity that brought endless bloodshed to Dan Cheng through the ages."

"You're not here just to tell me all this, are you?" Dan Chen glanced at Danmo.

"Of course not." Danmo stretched his neck leisurely. "I serve the Mo Wang, and if the Mo Wang wants to protect Da Chu, then I'll protect it with him. But I'm an alchemist, not a fighter, so I'll use my skills to fight for a clear sky over Da Chu."

"So, you're willing to help Dan Cheng refine the Tianji Dan." Now it was Dan Chen who stared intently at Danmo.

"Not for Dan Cheng—for the Mo Wang."

"It doesn't matter who it's for." Dan Chen took a deep breath. "As long as we can refine the Tianji Dan, we might create a Huangzhe for Da Chu. If one pill can turn the tide, we'll have done a great deed."

"I'll go fetch Ye Chen." Dan Chen said, starting to rise.

"The alchemy formation created by Dan Xuan won't work." Danmo said flatly, causing Dan Chen to freeze and sit back down. He frowned at Danmo. "You're that certain?"

"Because the true creator of that formation is me."

"Impossible. That formation clearly comes from Dan Zu. How could it be you?"

"Believe it or not, that's up to you." Danmo spoke leisurely. "You wouldn't know that your grand master and I once tried to refine the Tianji Dan using that formation. We failed nine times straight. Don't doubt me—no one understands that formation better than I do. It does seize the essence of heaven and earth, but relying on it alone, we can never refine the Tianji Dan."

"Then do you know how to refine it?" Dan Chen didn't fully believe Danmo's words, but he was more concerned about the Tianji Dan.

"It requires a human as the dan catalyst."

"A dan catalyst?" Dan Chen's brows knitted tightly.

Every alchemist knew about dan catalysts—they could be a herb, a spirit beast's core, or even a living being. But using living things was taboo, forbidden as it harmed the natural order, let alone using a living person.

"You wouldn't believe that in a certain year, your master and grand master were just one step away from refining the Tianji Dan!" Danmo continued, delving into ancient matters, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, they didn't succeed." Danmo's smile turned weary, his sorrow shifting to a cold glint. "It was me—I smashed their alchemy furnace and ruined all their efforts."

Dan Chen frowned again, his experiences telling him that the events of the past were far from the simple stories passed down through generations; there must be hidden secrets.

"That's right, they used a living person as the dan catalyst—my daughter, your grand master's aunt."

"This... this is impossible. How could my master and grand master..."

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Danmo looked at Dan Chen with a tearful smile. "Hard to believe that the master and grand master you respected would commit such atrocities. For the so-called ultimate glory of alchemy, they used my daughter as the dan catalyst. When it was exposed, your venerable grand master labeled me a traitor, and all of Dan Cheng saw me as a demon of the dark path, hunting me for nine hundred years. But I survived—I was saved by the Mo Wang. So, on that dark night, I returned for revenge. Blood debts must be paid in blood."

Dan Chen was stunned, collapsing into his chair. Every word from Danmo carried a heart-wrenching pain that couldn't be faked. Now, why would Danmo lie to him?

He truly couldn't believe that the master and grand master he revered had committed such grave sins in the past.

In that case, Danmo had been misunderstood for over a thousand years, bearing hatred and pain like a dog, while he, as a descendant of Dan Cheng, had hated him for a thousand years, grinding his teeth every time he thought of it.

Dan Chen fell silent, and Danmo did too, gripping his wine flask and gulping it down. What streamed down his face was unclear—wine or tears.

"You abducted Xuan Nu as revenge, because she's a descendant of my grand master."

"What's the point of asking if you already know?"

"The dan catalyst you mentioned—is it her?"

"She, like your grand master's aunt, has been nurturing a dan spirit in her body since birth. In all of Da Chu, no one is more suitable to be the dan catalyst."

"Besides that..."

"Besides that, there's no other way." Danmo cut him off. "In all of Da Chu, when it comes to alchemy, Ye Chen is still inferior to me. In understanding the true essence of alchemy, he's far behind."

"We can't—we absolutely can't." Dan Chen took a deep breath; as her master, he couldn't sacrifice his disciple as a dan catalyst.

"I'm not forcing you, and no one else will." Danmo seemed drunk, swaying as he stood and stumbled toward the hall's exit. "Whether we refine the Tianji Dan or not means nothing to me. I've lived too long—I should have died ages ago."