812 When Nine Stars Grace The Skies (1/2)
Mr. Nian looked as if he was recalling his oldest memories.
”There's no need to think too much. Between the five disciple-leaders, one would be chosen to take over the position of Mr. Nian. The four others would also live with honor and glory, enjoying positions of power — there would not be much conflict or dispute regarding this, for this has always been the tradition of the Four Seasons Tower. Back then, my master was almost three-thousand years old. He was at the end of his time, and would very likely pass on at any moment. We were to complete a task given by him, and those who managed to achieve it would be the Tower's next successor; the other four who did not succeed will be Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter respectively — the four Seasons and a Year that make up the highest level of hierarchy in the organizational structure of the Four Seasons Tower.”
”Well, you may have already made the connection by now. Every leader of the Four Seasons Tower all had the last name Nian, or to put it in another way — all of them are called Mr. Nian1,” Mr. Nian stated nonchalantly. ”My real name is… Feng Xiange — yes, that is my original name!”
”The task given by my master wasn't unfamiliar. It was the Four Seasons Tower's existing and unchanging end goal — the location of God's Gates!”
”I believe that Lord Supreme Cloud would've heard parts of the incident regarding God's Bones from the three Venerable Lords. However, God's Grave had a great secret — it would relocate itself every three hundred and sixty-five years, which brings us back to the task itself — the objective of the task was to find and confirm its new location!”
”For that mission, I was the first one to find the grave, so I took on the role as the new Mr. Nian. Furthermore, as I was searching for God's Gates, I coincidentally came across the realignment of the stars. I jammed the Stargates with a weapon, accidentally causing God's Grave to be permanently positioned, never to relocate itself again! I accomplished a great deed within the ranks of the Four Seasons Tower, and there was no hesitation in making me the kingpin of the Tower.”
”However, from that time onwards, I understood the Four Seasons Tower's true mission — or perhaps, the key to the survival of Four Seasons Tower, so to speak.”
”God's Bones certainly have miraculous abilities — its power is unprecedentedly vast. However, once it is obtained, it cannot be stopped, or else, those who use it would suffer ramifications by the spiritual forces governing God's Bones. Also, there are certain limitations in obtaining God's Bones — it would not always be there when one requires it… numerous elders of the Four Seasons Tower have always failed at this stage.”
”After the permanent relocation of God's Bones, I procured the final will of the founders and studied them over and over again, focusing on one particular phrase, 'When nine stars grace the skies, one shall either ascend the Nine Heavens or sink into everlasting nothingness!”
Mr. Nian's eyes were unreadable when he glanced at Yun Yang. ”...When nine stars grace the skies… the Residence of Nine Supremes appeared in Tianxuan. From that moment, the feud between the Four Seasons Tower and your side...had thus been established!”
”To protect the Four Seasons Tower from sinking into everlasting nothingness, we had to stop the Nine Supremes from ascending to the Nine Heavens!”
Yun Yang could not help sighing to himself; this was really quite an unexpected disaster.
The first-generation master of the Four Seasons Tower was really quite astounding… passing down a prophecy like this since a thousand years ago.
”If there was a choice, who wouldn't want to just enjoy life, focusing on their path and practice? Yet, when the nine stars aligned, the Residence of Nine Supremes had really graced the world with its presence. Is this destiny, or fate?” Mr. Nian's voice was full of heavy sighs.
”Since the prophecy on the alignment of nine stars came true as predicted, then the two outcomes of 'ascending Nine Heavens' or 'sinking into nothingness' could not be avoided,” Mr. Nian continued nonchalantly. ”However, there must be some sort of reason behind the existence of such a prophecy. Where there's an effect, there must be a cause, vice versa — this is just how the universe operates. Therefore, I tried to search for that cause, thinking that if I could find the reason behind this, or if I could find a key variable that could affect or disrupt this fated outcome, it would be advantageous to our side.”
”The events developed and rolled out with that as the starting point. The first foreseeable event was undoubtedly the alignment of the nine stars, whose effect could be a threat to the Four Seasons Tower, or perhaps, an opportunity. As long as we managed to seize this opportunity, we could avoid perishing into nothingness. Lord Supreme Cloud, from your point of view, does my understanding make any sense?” Mr. Nian questioned.
Yun Yang heaved another breath. ”There's not an ounce of wrongness in this. If it was me, I'll see it that way too.”
Danger accompanied by opportunity — everybody should understand what it meant.
Yet, in face of a critical moment, not many people truly understood how to react to the problem.
Clearly, the Four Seasons Tower and Mr. Nian chose the most efficient method to go about it, which brought about the battle at Tianxuan Cliff, followed by the tragedy of the Nine Supremes!
”When the Residence of Nine Supremes emerged as nine stars graced the skies, I didn't make any move, for I was unsure about the second half of the prophecy back then. Blindly making a move would only result in a waste of effort. It was followed by the arrival of the Nine Supremes in the world, who promptly began to establish their presences. As the Nine Supremes made their presence even more established, the providence of the Four Seasons Tower accumulated over a period of time, even as it gradually showed traces of decline and disintegration. With such evidence, there was no need to hesitate any further.”