Immortal Ascension Tower 40 Flying Sword Path: The Fourth Deification

"Ehem!" Cheng Hao cleared his throat: he was parched, and he had already finished the gourds of alcohol in Liu Biao's Heaven&Hearth pouch. "Now, for the final Act..."

"As the last tear fell onto the roots of the albino oak, a flash of light inundated the cave! Immediately afterwards, the humanoid black dragon was gone... replaced by the more than a thousand feet long, majestic dragon king! Together with the disappearance of the hatred and the desire for revenge in his heart, the curse had been lifted!"

"Within the cave, the black dragon examined his body, sensing the strength he had lost flowing back into him... However, he did not feel any of the excitement he had antic.i.p.ated would have come with his recovery. He looked towards the withered Albino Oak and then... made a decision. The Black Dragon King raised his head up and flew upwards, above the clouds and beyond the firmament. Lastly, at the top of the world, he reached and intruded into the Heavens, the Land of the G.o.ds!"

"Meanwhile, the G.o.ds in the heavens were all going through their daily life. They spent every day and night tending to the celestial bodies in the sky, wiping away the imperfections from the celestial sphere, and lovingly taking care of the ten bright moons s.h.i.+ning down overhead. To them, those objects were more precious than any jewel, in their hearts at least, they held unparalleled value!" Cheng Hao played around with his golden hairpin, "Knowing all that, I guess we can understand just why, when the Black Dragon King barged into the Heavenly Realm and stole the biggest of ten moons, the Purple Moon, he was met with quite the fierce retaliation!"

"As he made his way through hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers, the Black Dragon King only acted to defend himself. He refused to kill or injure a single one of his opponents. He eventually got out of the encirclement of the armies of Heavens and sped towards the dark cave as fast as he could. There, he once again laid his eyes upon the withered Albino Oak: after recovering his body, he had found out to his dismay that the cave was imbued with a powerful curse... The entrance of the dark cave was cursed to never allow light to pa.s.s through, nor could the poor albino oak be brought away as it was simply too weak..."

"The light could not reach within the cave, nor could she leave the cave. However... a source of light could be brought inside; an object such as the Purple Moon! As soon as he pa.s.sed by the mouth of the cavern, a purple glow began to spread and cover everything from the floor to the ceiling: once it had gotten past the cursed entrance, nothing was capable of blocking the glaring light from covering every inch of the cave! And finally, light began to inundate the withered tree at the end of the deep gorge, illuminating it with the mesmerizing purple moonlight..."

"With that, the dead albino oak actually began to slowly show signs of life! The Black Dragon had been just in time: as of then, the oak's consciousness had yet to be completely wiped away, although it would not be awakening anytime soon, possibly not even in this lifetime. However, gradually, bright spots of light started appearing all over its withered branches: small sprouts had emerged. The sprouts were followed by a sea of radiant and pristine flowers, accompanied by a perfume that could only be described as the smell of spring... Those flowers eventually turned into apricots that fell on the ground. Carefully, the Black Dragon picked up the apricot seeds and caressed them gently before placing them back down. Then, he walked outside the cave: there, flying in the air, he saw the armies of heavens, in such large numbers they were blotting out the sky and filled the land all the way to the horizon."

"The Dragon smiled. He slammed his chest resolutely, spitting out his Long-Huo Gem, the Dragon Fire Gem within the body of all Dragons. Not even sparing it a glance, he clenched his fist and reduced it into powder. The ruthlessness of this action took the heavenly soldiers by surprise, but it did not made their anger magically disappear. Just as they were on the verge to attack, a certain G.o.d in their mix stepped forward. Seeing his figure, the Heavenly Soldiers stayed their hands and the dragon king could only watch in shock as they were dismissed with a wave of their Lord's sleeve: that one G.o.d was the same that had cursed the Black Dragon King those countless moons ago... and was actually the Lord of the Heavens of the time, Heavenly Lord Hundredth Xu! In the present however, seeing the Black Dragon's state as well as his actions, Hundredth Xu spoke with a smile:"

"You have changed a lot. I see you finally smile, Little Dragon. That moon, consider it as my gift to you... to the both of you." Cheng Hao spoke those words in a lower pitch, as would a knowledgeable elder; "I will be watching your actions, and the ones of your descendants after you, with expectations. May you find peace, little dragon. No... you are 'Little' no longer. Her smile has helped you grow. May you be called Xiao Long henceforth... but may it be so that, from now on, your surname will carry the meaning not of a young, impulsive youth, but of that one smile instead."

The youth shook his head, "Still holding bitter thoughts yet unable to do nothing, the armies of Heaven flew back to their realm beyond the clouds. Seeing that their dear Purple Moon was lost forever anyways, they made sure to tend to the remaining nine even more lovingly. Many years later; in a cave not so dark, not so cold, not so gloomy... coiled around a glowing albino oak, a black dragon watched with a smile as the apricots cracked and shattered like eggs, from within which crawled out small, black dragons. They did not have a Long-Huo Gem within their bodies, but carried with them the scent of the oncoming spring, their tiny bodies surrounded by a bright purple glow."

"The Black Dragon sighed with feeling, reminiscing about the smile that had changed his life, from one of conflict to one of peace."

"He raised his talons, covered by countless nicks and wounds, and linked them together with a set of healthy, white branches. Suddenly, the albino tree shuddered and the branches slowly began to emanate a pale light as they wrapped around the dragon's claws, as if two hands were interlocking fingers. Soon, the sudden glow faded and the branches slowly unraveled from the black talons. The Black Dragon smiled: this had been happening regularly for the past few years now, but each time, the interval between each episode would grow shorter and the duration of the glow longer. It was just by a slight bit, but this a.s.sured the Black Dragon that someday, far off in the future, she would awaken. He would wait for her until then, be it in this life... or the next. He gazed at the dragon cubs on the ground: they were his children; their children. Xiao Long, the small dragon looked at the Albino Oak lovingly..."

"He would be waiting for her smile."

"In his tired yet pleased heart were his subjects, waving at him and encouraging him on."

"In his thoughts was a white-robed woman, one that in his...o...b.. couldn't possibly appear any more beautiful."

"In his eyes were the cubs he would be watching growing in the close future. And as they grew, he would be sure to tell them the tale of a silly Black Dragon, of his loyal followers, and of the tree that changed his life. He swore for that tale to be pa.s.sed on, so as to never allow their memories to fade... until the day people forgot, they would be living. And until the day he died, he would remember, not allowing them to be forgotten."

Cheng Hao leaned forward and tapped Xiao Wu's forehead for the third time, and for the third time, Xiao Wu felt her surroundings change.

She found herself in Xu Ling's shoes once more, standing behind a Xiao Lan wearing regal robes and emanating a mysterious aura.

He turned to look towards Xiao Wu and he spoke, his face extremely serious. To her surprise his words were meant not for her host, but directly at her, "To those who carry the blood of Xiao and who happen to be looking at this fragment in the many years to come, there is a very important meaning behind this story which many scorn as a mere children's fable... It helped me get past the feeling of pain that had swallowed me up following the death of my mother. At that time, I had also felt rage, loneliness, loss... even the tinge of pain and guilt of those who make it while others don't."

"But what this story taught me is that, no matter what, those people we love might have died... but that they will also live on yet still! Death is forgetfulness. Life is reminiscence! As long as I remember, they shall live on!"

Xiao Lan poked his chest with his thumb, "In here."

He tapped his temple with his middle finger, "In here."

He walked up to Xu Ling, whose body Xiao Wu was in this time around as well, and placed his index in between his brows, on his forehead, "And of course... also in there. As long as we tell their story, they will never cease to exist!"

"The subjects of the Dragon King became the trigger that brought the Black Dragon and the Albino Oak tree together. Their very existence, as mere side characters in a children's tale, acted as a pivotal point in the overall plot! Our lives are dictated by ourselves just as they are dictated by the people we meet on the road. We... are the people we meet. We are the people we love. And in the moment of their death, a part of them will forever live on in us, in our very lives!"

"They live on in our memories, and will only die when forgotten, or when such memories are distorted... by twisted feelings such as rage, hatred, and, most importantly, guilt. So live happily. Because, as long as you do, your loved ones will too."

"If not for you... for them"

"Because we are part of the people we love."

"And they are part of us. They ARE us... and will never truly leave our side!"

"As long as I have memories of them, as long as they exist in my memory, not even death will be able to wipe them away! Now... let's fight side by side once more! Let's show them: you are still here!"

"DESCEND, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!"

Xiao Lan waved his sleeve. Once again, a mult.i.tude of Black Dragon Blades appeared beside him. Suddenly, all of them began to emit a blinding light as phantoms appeared! The phantoms came in all shapes and sizes: humans and beasts, men and women, children and old men; each watching on coldly, with their dominant hand raised, above each of which hovered... a Black Dragon Blade surrounded in ethereal, ghostly fire!

Xiao Wu was way too young and her cultivation base was far too low, so she was not aware of the incredible phenomenon taking place before her: those phantoms were not simple apparitions; rather, they were... essences, product of a cultivator's understanding of natural laws! However, Xiao Lan's understanding was not that of a natural law. Rather, it was an understanding of... living beings! Xiao Lan's Will had reached such an understanding of those individuals, it had fooled reality itself to craft phantom images for them all! And each apparition represented a different person, making up thousands of essence phantoms controlling Black Dragon Blades the way they would have had they still been alive! It was as if... Xiao Lan had suddenly turned into an army of thousands!

"This... is my final Flying Sword stance; understanding of Life and Death coalesced into thousands of blades! It is not 'mine' as much as it is 'ours'; 'us' being... all those whom I have ever met! A lone cultivator's reminiscence brings forth those who 'have been' to 'be' again!"

"My Fourth stance... is enlightenment and realization! Life is remembrance! Death is forgetfulness! Dao of Life and Death; Great Dao of Reminiscence!"

"As long as I remember, they shall be! I never forget, and as such, they shall exist alongside me for all eternity! This is my oath, a two sided one: until I forget, they won't disappear! As long as they won't disappear, I shall remember!"

"And the appearance of these phantoms shall be my Fourth Deification: my loved ones shall always accompany me as the Black Dragon's... Oath of Reminiscence!"

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***Cookie's Corner***

Alright, time for a little Chinese lesson (YAY!).

As you might have noticed (or maybe not... RIP) I have gotten used to attributing names and such that come from the Chinese language. Some of those might not fully follow the rules and traditions of Chinese nomenclature (I'm not Chinese myself and only have a basic understanding of it), but hey; writer's license! This book is mine, so the only rules I have to follow are mine!

Ahem... what I was trying to say was, most of the names in Immortal Ascension Tower were not picked randomly (Or at least I was lucky enough to have their actual meaning coincide with something just when I needed them to, lol), but in this particular chapter there was something I spent a lot of time and effort on: those are the few lines of dialogue spoken by Hundredth Xu.

In his pathetically few lines, the Heavenly Lord refers to the Black Dragon King as Xiao Long. That is p.r.o.nounced "xiào lóng", which literally translates to "small/tiny dragon". At the same time however, in Chinese culture, elders refer to the younger generation using that same xiào "particle".

This is a bit kinda like we use the prefixes Sir or Mr/Mrs when addressing to older people or simply to be respectful, except it's the other way around; it is a similar concept, although due to reasons pertaining East-Asian culture, these kind of t.i.tles are used a lot more often in countries such as China, Korea and j.a.pan (These are the main ones I know of) than here in the west. Elders in China in particular basically call younger people (especially children) "Little ".

Now, knowing all that, we can therefore tell that Hundredth Xu calling the Black Dragon King "Little Dragon" had seemingly been like a random remark on his part; a nickname, basically.

QUESTION - But then... what is all that c.r.a.p about his surname "Bearing the meaning of that smile"???

ANSWER - Simple: 小 (Xiào - Little/Small) and 笑 (Xiăo - Smile/to Smile) are p.r.o.nounced very similarly, with the latter having a bit more of a emphasis on the "a". It basically is a smart (I acknowledge my own awesomeness) wordplay on Hundredth Xu's part, giving the Black Dragon a surname (In China, Family names/surnames come first, followed by the name of the person) that could be interpreted differently depending on the p.r.o.nunciation of that "a".

Before humanity came along and began naming Heavenly Beasts , Primordial Beasts lacked names because... they sucked at them.

Just think of Blindlight's full name and you'll understand.

Anyways, at the time, giving names was a rare occurrence (It was so much easier back then... Nowadays I even have to remember how my neighbors are called, imagine that!), so the Heavenly Lord giving someone a name was a great honor! At the same time that he called the black dragon Xiào (Little/Small) however, Hundredth Xu also pointed out that, in the dragon's heart, that "Xiào" should really be "Xiăo", as in the smile of the woman that had changed the Dragon King's life for the better!

In short this can be interpreted in one of two ways. One, Hundredth Xu was a smarty pants and loved wordplay.

Two... the late Lord of the Heavens s.h.i.+pped the Black Dragon and the Albino Oak.

I'd leave it up to the individual to choose which they preferred as it doesn't really impact the story too much... but we all know which one I'm going to claim as canon, don't we? With that knowledge in mind, from now on, I allow EVERYONE to picture the late Heavenly Lord as an extremely powerful, basically almighty being... that really enjoyed staying up at night reading fanfictions of his OTP: Blalbino Treegon!

(PS: I trust you all to make that a thing guys!)

And you all better KNOW Hundredth Xu DID hire people to write fanfics about exactly HOW the Black Dragon and the Albino Oak spent their first few years alone in the dark cave... Meh, in the case writing Xianxia goes wrong, seeing that I already have everything laid out, I'll just have to resort to creating erotic fictions about a dragon-dude and a tree-woman.

Oh. Also, Hundredth Xu's "Xu" is the same as Xu Ling's "Xu". Slightly important plot point, but not really. Mostly food for thoughts until next update... at which I will totally sn.o.b Hundredth Xu and his connections to Cheng Hao, leaving your questions unanswered for the next few dozen chapters until your desperate requests for knowledge move me and my cold, dead, chocolate-filled cookie heart…

With that, the storming updates are officially over! Unfortunately, I'll be slowing down from 7 updates weekly to 5 uploads per week (3 on weekdays, 2 on weekends.) For now I don't really have a schedule, so I'll be posting whenever a chapter is available! Fortunately, two are ready already, so you all can expect a chapter tomorrow and the day after for sure. In the meantime, feel free to guess who will the two martial siblings be encountering in their next endeavors at the cultivators' bazaar?

Cheers!
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