"Back then, not only did my parents suffer severe injuries because of this matter, but even our Canyang Mountain's Ancestor also..." Wolan's voice came, causing Granny Lin's heart to jolt with shock.
Although she had cultivated at Canyang Mountain for many years, she had never seen the legendary Canyang Ancestor. Regarding the events of five hundred years ago, she had personally experienced them. In her memory, Canyang Mountain had trembled violently at that time, then a terrifying force swept through, causing her to fall unconscious, completely unaware of what had happened. When she awoke, Canyang Mountain was already sealed. Not to mention the Ancestor being injured, even the fact that Wolan's parents were injured was something she only learned of later.
"The Canyang Ancestor and the Master... were they injured because the Life Vein mutated?"
"I also asked my parents directly. Their injuries were due to the Life Vein's mutation. As for the Ancestor's injuries...
It wasn't solely because of the Life Vein's mutation."
"Then what else was it because of?"
Wolan shook her head slightly. "My parents don't know either."
"This..." Granny Lin was astonished, her heart filled with various doubts. However, she still couldn't understand what this had to do with Gu Tianlang, nor did she know what Wolan suspected.
"I don't know what I suspect either."
Wolan's willow-leaf brows furrowed. "I just have a feeling, a feeling that the entire matter is very strange."
"Strange?
How so?"
"Granny Lin, you've cultivated at Canyang Mountain for a relatively long time. Do you know why we kill the so-called Life-Vein Persons?"
"Life-Vein Persons pose a threat to the existence of the Life Vein and can also affect the Life Vein."
"Why do they threaten it?
And what kind of impact do they cause?
Do you know?"
"This..." Granny Lin shook her head. She truly did not know the answer to this question.
Wolan did not explain further, continuing to ask, "Granny Lin, do you know how many Life-Vein Persons were born in ancient times?"
"It's said to be over seventy. More than sixty of them were killed by us, but there are still eight or nine Life-Vein Persons who were rescued by someone..."
"Then do you know who rescued them?"
Granny Lin shook her head again. Matters like this had always been handled personally by the Canyang Clan members. As an ordinary cultivator at Canyang Mountain, she had no right to inquire.
"By the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling."
What!
Upon hearing this, Granny Lin's face paled dramatically. In her impression, Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling had once jointly guarded the Northwest Life Vein and had been on very good terms. But then, five hundred years ago, the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling suddenly vanished, disappearing without a trace as if it had never existed. Later, she heard that it seemed the disappearance of the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling was caused by the Life Vein's mutation five hundred years ago.
Why would Wolan say that the few rescued Life-Vein Persons were saved by the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling?
"Young Lady, didn't the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling disappear five hundred years ago because of the Life Vein's mutation? Why do you say they rescued those Life-Vein Persons?"
"The Nine Elders Cave Dwelling did not disappear because of the Life Vein's mutation...
They were erased."
"Erased by someone? Heavens! How could... why?"
"Because they not only rescued the Life-Vein Persons but also took them in as their successors."
Wolan closed her eyes, looking as if she were deeply troubled. "I only heard about this from my parents not long ago."
"The Master told you this personally?"
"Yes. My parents said that in the past, our Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling always guarded the Life Vein. Whenever a Life-Vein Person appeared, they would erase them immediately. It was a very cruel thing, and their consciences were tormented. But to protect the Life Vein, they had no choice. Until one day, they could no longer bear such cruelty. Whether it was our Canyang Mountain or the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling, everyone had thoughts of giving up."
"After discussion, they decided to stop killing the Life-Vein Persons. However, they were worried about the Life Vein being affected and couldn't just let them be. So, the first Life-Vein Person was taken under our Canyang Mountain's custody. At that time, their intention was that if the Life Vein showed any signs of being affected, they would immediately erase that Life-Vein Person."
"A long time passed, and the Life Vein was not affected at all. Not only that, but the surviving Life-Vein Person was exceptionally talented, highly perceptive, and possessed great fortune. Calling them a dragon among men would not be an exaggeration. Everyone gradually let down their guard. Our Canyang Mountain even regarded her as a treasured pearl."
"When the second Life-Vein Person appeared, everyone did not kill them either. They were adopted by the Dongji Dwelling, one of the Nine Elders Cave Dwellings. Similarly, they were exceptionally talented and highly perceptive...
Later, they became the successor of the Dongji Dwelling."
"The third, the fourth, all the way to the ninth Life-Vein successor...
They were all adopted by the Nine Elders Cave Dwellings one after another, and each became a successor of a Nine Elders Cave Dwelling."
Hearing this, Granny Lin could no longer suppress the deep shock in her heart. "Young Lady, are you saying...
Are you saying the successors of the Nine Elders Cave Dwellings are all the Life-Vein Persons rescued back then?"
"Yes."
"Even Young Lady's master, Immortal Yunhuan... could she also be..."
"Correct. My master, and all the successors of the Nine Elders Cave Dwellings, are Life-Vein Persons."
"Heavens above!"
Granny Lin never imagined that the nine successors of the Nine Elders Cave Dwellings, each hailed as dragons among men, were all Life-Vein Persons. Even Immortal Yunhuan, respected by everyone at Canyang Mountain, was a Life-Vein Person. This news was utterly shocking to Granny Lin, so shocking that she couldn't recover for a long time.
After an unknown period, Granny Lin thought of something else and asked, "Young Lady, then where are they now? You just said that five hundred years ago, the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling wasn't erased because of the Life Vein's mutation... but was erased by someone. Who exactly erased them?"
"By..." Wolan closed her eyes, her expression particularly complex. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then took a deep breath before speaking in a heavy voice, "By our Canyang Mountain's Ancestor."
Boom!
These words struck Granny Lin's ears like a thunderbolt, nearly causing her to collapse to the ground. Her face turned deathly pale, and even her speech became tremulous. "Why... why would our Canyang Mountain's Ancestor...
erase...
erase the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling?"
"I don't know, and it's not clear. I guess it's probably because we didn't abide by the ancestral precepts left by the Ancestor. We took matters into our own hands, not only failing to eliminate the Life-Vein Persons but even taking them in. So, in a fit of anger, the Ancestor erased the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling."
"Then...
Isn't your master a Life-Vein Person? Our Canyang Mountain took her in. Why didn't the Ancestor erase Canyang Mountain?"
"Probably because the Ancestor had already erased the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling. If he also erased our Canyang Mountain, who would guard the Life Vein?"
"Then what about Immortal Yunhuan? She didn't seem to be at Canyang Mountain back then, did she? Could she also be..."
"It's not clear. My master's whereabouts remain unknown to this day."