Chapter 144: Reviving Past Matters

Looking at the male snake-man, who was trembling slightly with fear, Elder Ye spoke in his usual tone: "When you and I first crossed paths all those years ago, we were evenly matched, and I narrowly won. The second time we fought, I emerged victorious once again. But on the third occasion, you and your wife mastered a synchronized dual technique, and I was defeated."

Here, Elder Ye paused for a moment before continuing with a heavier tone: "The fourth time, I defeated the two of you. Today marks our fifth battle, and as for you now—"

Elder Ye pointed the iron mace in his hand toward the male snake-man and shook his head gently, adding, "You are no longer my match."

Taking a deep breath as he reminisced, Elder Ye went on: "If I remember correctly, when we first fought, both of us were at the Spirit Emperor rank. By our second clash, although you had already reached the peak of the Spirit Emperor stage, I had advanced to the Spirit Monarch rank, which is why you lost. During our third encounter, you had also advanced to the Spirit Monarch rank, and the dual technique you and your wife perfected would not have fallen behind even when fighting a practitioner at the peak of the Spirit Monarch realm. At that time, I was an eight-star Spirit Monarch, and due to carelessness, I fell to you both. Am I right?"

Giving the iron mace a gentle swing, Elder Ye looked at him and continued: "It is a pity that when I fought the two of you for the fourth time, I won, even though I was merely a nine-star Spirit Monarch at the time. Now, both you and your wife have reached the peak of the Spirit Monarch realm, but even if you joined forces, I doubt you could withstand three of my moves. You are a veteran of many battles; I believe you understand the vast chasm between a Spirit Venerable and a Spirit Monarch."

Lean on his purple wood snake staff, the male snake-man straightened up. He glared at Elder Ye, grinding his teeth in fury. Intense rage blazed in his eyes, yet he dared not act rashly, for from the recent clash and Elder Ye's words, he understood all too well that the gap between them had grown insurmountably wide.

The disparity between a Spirit Monarch and a Spirit Venerable could truly be described as the distance between heaven and earth.

He gripped the purple wood snake staff tightly, taking several deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm his boiling rage. The hatred between him and Elder Ye was monumental—while perhaps not quite irreconcilable, it was certainly close. The root of this hatred was not born from jealousy over Elder Ye surpassing him in cultivation, but rather because Elder Ye had killed his two most beloved disciples!

"Ye Liu! Back then, you murdered my disciples. I swore an oath that one day, I would use your head to appease the spirits of my disciples in heaven!"

His face was actually slightly distorted by overwhelming fury! His words were saturated with intense hatred and rage.

Upon hearing this, Elder Ye fell silent for a brief moment before replying: "I killed your disciples? Allow me to ask you this: when we fought our third duel all those years ago, I accepted my defeat. I said nothing when you inflicted severe injuries upon me, acknowledging that my skills were inferior and my training lacking. Yet you were the one who dispatched your disciples to hunt me down! Had I not miraculously crossed paths with a friend, I would have long since perished at their hands."

At this point, Elder Ye's voice was laden with scorn and indignation.

"What?" Upon hearing Elder Ye's words, a look of sudden astonishment crossed the male snake-man's face. He asked in bewilderment, "Hunt you down? When on earth did I ever send my disciples to hunt you down?"

Hearing this, Elder Ye let out a cold snort, full of unconcealed disdain. Clearly, he believed the other man was merely making excuses to shirk responsibility.

The male snake-man pondered for a moment before abruptly turning his gaze toward the female snake-man, who had been standing silently behind him all this time, and demanded, "Old woman, was this your doing?"

The female snake-man looked at him, her gaze shifting fluidly as if trying to convey something unspoken. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Then what on earth is going on?"

The male snake-man was utterly bewildered. Elder Ye spoke with absolute conviction, and based on his understanding of Elder Ye, though the man before him possessed immense power, he certainly would not stoop to lying. A lie would bring him no benefit whatsoever. This meant that someone back then must have impersonated him, issuing orders to his disciples behind his back to hunt Elder Ye down. If that was truly the case, then who was this person? Why would they do such a thing? What could possibly be their objective?

At this thought, the male snake-man took a long, deep breath and slowly exhaled. The anger on his face gradually receded, leaving him suddenly gripped by a profound sense of bewilderment, unsure of what he should do.

He had never trusted anyone easily. Perhaps he was simply growing old. When a person grew old, they easily became muddled; and when they grew muddled, it became difficult to distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsehood. People were like this, and snake-men were no exception.

Seeing the look of confusion on the male snake-man's face, the female snake-man sighed softly. Stepping through the air to his side, she said in a gentle and affectionate voice: "Old man, I was heartbroken over the deaths of Jie'er and Long'er as well. But seventy years have passed since then. For these seventy years, you have lived day and night consumed by anger and hatred. To avenge your disciples, you practiced cultivation tirelessly, forgetting about sleep and food. Seeing you grow thinner day by day broke my heart, too. Let it go. Even if you were to take his head today, Jie'er and Long'er would not come back to life. Besides, you have seen it for yourself—he has advanced to the Spirit Venerable realm. Even if the two of us joined forces, we would no longer be his match."

"Let it go," she gently persuaded.

After listening to his wife's words, the male snake-man stood motionlessly in a daze for a long while. Suddenly, he raised his head, let out a long, heavy sigh toward the heavens, and muttered to himself: "Let it go? Heh, if one could truly let go of everything, there would be no pain or sorrow in this world."

His voice was fraught with vicissitudes and desolation. With that single sigh, his resolute face suddenly aged at a rapid pace, as if all the passing years had surged forward at once. Several streaks of white hair appeared at his temples. In the blink of an eye, a man who had just been full of vigor and vibrant spirit transformed into an old man thoroughly weathered by time and hardship.

He had indeed considered letting go once before. When he first heard that Elder Ye had died at the hands of enemies, he had experienced a tumult of conflicting emotions—he was both glad and sorrowful. He wished for him to die, yet at the same time, he did not. He wished for him to die because Elder Ye had slain his two favorite disciples; he did not wish for him to die because he deeply admired Elder Ye. Through their multiple encounters, he regarded Elder Ye as a rare and formidable rival who spurred and encouraged him, and he had hoped to defeat him with his own hands. Today, upon recognizing Elder Ye, though consumed by rage, a part of him was also elated. The man was not dead, which meant he still had the chance to defeat him personally and avenge his beloved disciples. But once he realized the insurmountable gap between them, though stung by fear and disappointment, he knew that falling at the hands of a Spirit Venerable was certainly no humiliation to his reputation.

It was a pity that fate loved to toy with mortals. A single sentence from Elder Ye had completely shattered the spiritual pillar that had sustained him for seventy years. How could he not be lost?

No matter how strong a person might be, everyone had a vulnerable side. Once the pillar supporting that strength collapsed, human vulnerability was fully exposed.

Watching the two leaning against each other, Elder Ye suddenly let out a soft sigh, appearing to have aged considerably himself. He said, "I hear that people on the mainland now refer to you as the Snake Duke, is that right?"

The Snake Duke raised his head to look at Elder Ye and replied in an aged voice, "Indeed they do. What of it?"

Elder Ye chuckled lightly and remarked, "The two of you are now among the renowned Eight Freaks of the mainland, and you are even the leader of them. It seems you have been doing quite well for yourself."

The Snake Duke offered a bitter smile, his expression weary as he answered, "At several hundred years of age, I long ago grew indifferent to fame and reputation."

Hesitating for a moment, as if deliberating over something, Elder Ye spoke up after a brief pause: "I know you still harbor hatred toward me, but I must tell you that when your disciple crossed paths with me back then, I discovered a strange anomaly."

"What anomaly?" Upon hearing this, the weary Snake Duke instantly perked up and asked urgently, "What kind of anomaly?"

Recalling the memory carefully, Elder Ye said, "When I fought him at the time, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a strange fragrance emanating from his body. I presume your disciples did not wear perfume."

Hearing this, the snake-man fell into deep thought. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head, his brow furrowed and his eyes filled with astonishment as he murmured to himself, "Could it be her?"

Lifting Lu Zhe slightly higher and storing the Meteoric Mystery Mace back into his spatial ring, Elder Ye looked at the still-frowning Snake Duke and said indifferently, "That is all I know. If you wish to seek revenge against me, I am at your disposal anytime. However, I advise you to reach the Spirit Venerable realm first before you come looking for me."

With those words, Elder Ye turned and walked away, leaving only the Snake Duke and his wife in the sky, alongside the dumbfounded snake-men on the ground below.