Chapter 396: Recorders of Past and Present (Part 7)

Since Su Chen took on a disciple last time,
Ten years have passed now.
Su Chen is now over ninety years old.
Perhaps his time is drawing near.
In the past ten years, Tianyuan Sect has not produced a genius of the caliber of the top ten geniuses of the Mu Jing Dynasty; even the highest-ranked among them was only fifteenth.
This caused Tianyuan Sect's ranking to drop slightly. Although it remained one of the top ten powers in the Mujing Dynasty, its ranking had fallen back to the bottom.
Su Chen had recently heard a lot of bad news.
Demons were about to invade the Mujing Dynasty.
Demons were all evil and cruel; they only wanted to kill and devour everyone in the Mujing Dynasty, humans and demons alike!
Panic gripped the people.
But this news was not false.
The current sect leader, Ruan Jingtian, summoned a large number of disciples and elders to the border to defend against the demon invasion.
Their fate was intertwined.
If the demons were to breach the defenses, the entire Mu Jing Dynasty would crumble.
Then, the sect would simply be delayed in its demise... Those who have cultivated for so long are all intelligent; how could they not distinguish between what is more important?
Su Chen saw Li Li again.
"I didn't expect you to still be alive!"
Li Li seemed surprised.
However, remembering that Su Chen had taken a fourth-grade pill in the past, he understood.
Su Chen: "..."
Li Li said, "Old man, this time I want you to record someone for me."
Su Chen: "You want to record yourself?"
Li Li chuckled, "That's right... If I don't return, I'll trouble you, old man, to write my name down and place it in a prominent position. To die a glorious death defending the country is a legacy for posterity; how can we let the sect's descendants not know that someone like me ever existed?"
"Of course, I'm not necessarily going to die. If I do return, you can't write my name down beforehand."
Su Chen nodded.
Li Li's name was among the elders leading the expedition to the border to defend against the demon invasion.
Su Chen agreed to Li Li's request.
Before leaving, Li Li muttered, "Me, a great cultivator at the Spirit Sea Realm, possibly not even outlive a mortal?"
Su Chen didn't care.
There were many like Li Li.
To be remembered for eternity—this was the dream of countless people... To die fighting for the sect, for the common people, would always inspire respect in future generations.
...
To resist the demon invasion,
the various forces of the Mu Jing Dynasty, large and small, rushed forward one after another.
They knew that once the Mu Jing Dynasty fell, their fate would be no better.
They were like fish on a chopping block.
"Now it seems I can't go back."
Li Li's vision blurred.
His body was covered in foul-smelling blood, whether his own or the blood of the demons, he couldn't tell.
The sword in his hand was already worn out, riddled with cracks.
The first line of defense had finally fallen... The price of its fall was at least tens of millions of people who would become food for the demons.
Before him, the corpses of demons piled up like mountains, and the severed limbs of Mu Jing Dynasty martial arts cultivators were also scattered everywhere.
A tall boar demon stood before Li Li.
Li Li wanted to retaliate.
But the terrifying boar demon merely waved one hand, shattering Li Li's longsword. He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through countless houses... The ground echoed with agonizing screams and the laughter of demons.
It was a boar demon at the Spirit Soul Realm. Li Li knew he had no chance of survival; his internal organs were shattered, and he was on his last breath.
The sect's disciples and other elders were also dead.
Not just the Tianyuan Sect.
The remaining sect elders who were still putting up a desperate resistance also met their end. They had greatly underestimated the power of the demons.
Li Li opened his eyes, staring at the hideous face, saliva dripping from its enormous mouth, forming a pool on the ground.
"Delicious..."
A martial artist like Li Li was a top-grade ingredient and a precious medicine in the demon's mouth.
Watching the head draw ever closer, Li Li couldn't even struggle.
Just as his death wish was forming,
a terrifying blade of light struck.
Blood spurted from the massive head, and the enormous body collapsed to the ground.
Li Li was not dead.
He saw a swordsman wearing a bamboo hat and a black cloak, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, standing atop the pig demon's body.
This swordsman looked familiar.
Looking at the slightly weathered, middle-aged face,
it was him.
"Sun Ao...it's you!"
The genius of the Tianyuan Sect, who had disappeared for over twenty years, had finally returned.
Li Li smiled.
The man looked even more powerful. Being able to slay a great demon at the Spirit Soul Realm meant his cultivation had likely broken through to the Spirit Soul Realm as well.
Truly a genius, a genius beyond compare.
Sun Ao didn't waste any words, unleashing several consecutive strikes. Blade energy crisscrossed, and all the approaching demons were slain.
He then carried Li Li away, moving freely among the thousands of demons.
When Sun Ao stopped and looked at the dying Li Li, he knew that even his best elixirs couldn't heal Li Li's injuries.
"Was I too late again?"
Sun Ao sighed. Ever since learning of the demon invasion of the Mu Jing Dynasty, he had sensed something was terribly wrong and rushed back... but he was still too late.
"Do you have any last words? I'll bring them back to the sect for you."
Li Li propped himself up with his hands and sat up, chuckling softly, "You're such a busybody...wouldn't it be better if I were properly recorded by the sect as having died on the battlefield?"
Sun Ao's face darkened. He shouldn't have risked saving this guy.
Li Li said, "Go back and have the recorder record my life story. I, Li Li, died on the battlefield. Oh, and also, my... I..."
Li Li suddenly gulped down a mouthful of blood, mixed with his internal organs.
His face remained still.
Sun Ao cursed, "You bastard, at least finish what you were saying!"
Li Li was dead.
After cursing, Sun Ao remained silent for a long time before hoisting Li Li's body onto his back.
It was better to return to the sect and be laid to rest than to be a lonely ghost in this desolate wilderness.
.......
Inside the Tianyuan Sect
Su Chen lay slumped on the table.
Suddenly, he looked up at the door. The world outside was dark, as if a storm was brewing.
A terrifying demon had altered the heavens.
Su Chen understood that his life was nearing its end.
His time was up!
Su Chen summoned his successor and gave him instructions.
He slumped onto the table, his consciousness fading.
"This old bastard is really dead?"
After fiddling with him for a while, the young man, confirming Su Chen's death, looked at the mask on Su Chen's face and could no longer suppress his greed.
"You old codger, you wear this mask every day, unable to cultivate. I told you to give it to me long ago! I'm your successor, and you've been hiding it from me!"
The young man searched Su Chen's body, looking at the spirit stones on him, he laughed loudly: "I've finally struck it rich!"
The young man then looked at the mask on Su Chen's face and unhesitatingly ripped it off. He played with it in his hands; although a dead man's mask was unlucky, it was a mid-grade magic artifact... The young man put the mask on without hesitation.
His body, as the mask was put on, seemed to be electrocuted, stiffening and becoming completely still.