# Chapter 2024: Creation God's Memory
The mountains stretched endlessly, surrounded by seas of clouds like a fairyland.
At the peak of a mountain that pierced through the clouds, a man stood tall. Clad in white robes, his hands clasped behind his back, hair reaching his waist flowing with the wind, his grace was indescribable. The heavens aligned with his shoulders, while the earth and all its spirits lay beneath his feet. He simply stood there, and drifting clouds gathered under his feet, while all elements and spiritual energy in the surrounding world cautiously yet eagerly drew near him, reluctant to leave for a long time.
A gentle breeze came from behind him, accompanied by the excited shout of a youth: "Senior Ni Xuan! Hoo... I finally found you."
With the youth's call, the white-robed man turned around with a smile.
In an instant, the wind calmed, the clouds stilled, and the sky's light dimmed. His features seemed to embody every man and woman's fantasy of male beauty—a face like white jade, brows carved like sharp swords, eyes like brilliant stars. His too-perfect features were paired with a just-right hint of casualness and demonic charm; his warm eyes carried a sharpness and depth that invited exploration.
Because he was the Element Creation God, Ni Xuan, the consensus among both races regarding the pinnacle of male appearance in the world—just as Li Suo was for females.
He looked at the youth, the smile at the corner of his lips elegant like celestial wind atop the clouds: "Judging by your expression, could it be..." The youth nodded repeatedly, his figure visible only from behind, but the excitement nearly overflowing from him was palpable: "Father God has agreed! He agreed to let me become your disciple, and for the next thousand years, I can follow by your side to cultivate."
Having said that, he heavily knelt down with a "bang": "Disciple Mo Su pays respects to Mas—"
"Wait!"
Ni Xuan made no move, but an invisible force sealed the youth's forthcoming words and lifted his kneeling body: "Your Father God agreed, but I didn't."
The youth was stunned, then said anxiously: "But disciple... uh no, but has this junior done something wrong? Please, Senior, inform me, and I will redouble my efforts to correct and improve."
Ni Xuan shook his head with a laugh, half helpless, half gentle: "Just look at yourself, all bound by rules and terrified of making mistakes. Sigh."
"That old stubborn Father God of yours agreeing to this rather surprises me." Ni Xuan continued: "Could it be that your recent progress has been so poor that it has... angered him to the point he doesn't even want to see you?" Ni Xuan's words were particularly blunt, striking the youth's heart directly. He hung his head in shame: "Yes... the Heaven-Breaking Ninety-Nine Swords, I have been stuck at the seventy-third sword for a full three hundred and twenty years. Father God says that if the Heaven-Breaking Sword Art is already like this, then in this lifetime, I shouldn't even dream of cultivating the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art."
"Hahahaha." Ni Xuan instead laughed: "Sure enough, those are words from that old stubborn. How your talent is, everyone in the world sees clearly. It can be said that among all the gods and ten thousand races, no one can compare to you."
"But that old stubborn would never admit that he is the one who teaches poorly. With his way of doing things, no matter how proud a genius, once they fall into his hands, they become a piece of wood that follows rules strictly, not daring any transgression."
"Shackled hands and feet, bound heart and soul—for you to reach the seventy-third sword is already quite remarkable."
The youth looked up, a strange light gleaming in his eyes: "My Father God has never praised me like that. He often says that I am..."
"Says you are slow-witted? Negligent in cultivation? Or too many delusions, hesitating forward and backward?" Ni Xuan said slowly.
The youth was surprised, then full of admiration: "Truly deserving of Senior Ni Xuan, you indeed are the one who understands my Father God best. He has said all these things."
"As expected, that old stubborn can't come up with anything new." Ni Xuan snorted disdainfully: "Even his farts have smelled the same for tens of millions of years."
Despite having a face of exquisite, godlike elegance, he uttered rather vulgar words. The person before him was clearly mocking his father, yet the youth's eyes sparkled with intense earnestness and reverence... because he was the only one in the present world who dared to evaluate his Father God so. Every time by his side, it felt like being in an entirely different world.
No need to suppress, no need to be on edge, no need to doubt oneself... no need to worry about whether one's steps were steady, whether expressions were improper, whether breathing was disordered.
"He actually knows he's not good at teaching, but he can't swallow his pride to ask me. So he took the opportunity, following your request, pretending to be furious and disappointed while agreeing. I bet when he kicked you out, he also shouted, 'Get lost, at least I'll have some peace and quiet.'"
The youth's mouth hung wide, eyes bulging: "Exactly... exactly the same..."
Ni Xuan said with an air of inevitability: "In this world, there is no one easier to figure out than that old stubborn, your Father God."
"Mo Su," he called out the youth's name: "By following by my side, I can guarantee that within a thousand years, you will be able to cultivate the Heaven-Breaking Sword to great perfection."
The youth looked up, incredulous: "A... thousand years?"
Ni Xuan raised his brows and smiled: "What? Your Father God didn't tell you that I cultivated the Heaven-Breaking Ninety-Nine Swords in just four hundred years?"
The youth shook his head: "Father God never mentioned it. But the Brahma Heaven Sword Attendant once said this, and I sought confirmation from Father God that very day. Father God just snorted, and I didn't dare ask further. So... it's actually true!" Ni Xuan said: "Back then, your Father God newly created the Heaven-Breaking Ninety-Nine Swords, claiming that aside from the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art, no sword art in the world could surpass it, and even I would need at least a thousand years to grasp its rudiments. So I conveniently made a bet with your Father God, betting that I could master the ninety-nine swords within a thousand years."
"The result, as you know, only took four hundred years before your Father God had lost. It's a pity you weren't born yet then, or you would have seen your Father God's face darker than the bottom of a wok—quite a spectacle."
"Senior... is truly incredible." The youth's admiration for Ni Xuan increased even more: "Then, what was the wager between Senior and my Father God?"
"Simple. Whoever loses must agree to one thing for the other." Ni Xuan said cheerfully: "This wager could be as insignificant as a grain of sand, or as great as the heavens. I just said it casually at the time, but unfortunately your Father God was too proud of his newly created Heaven-Breaking Sword Art and agreed directly."
"Then, what did Senior make my Father God do?" The youth was full of curiosity. After all, there were too few people in this world who could make his Father God suffer.
"Up to now, he hasn't cashed it in." There was a hint of demonic strangeness in Ni Xuan's warm smile: "There's nothing I absolutely need him to do, so I'll just leave it hanging. Your Father God, being someone who values his promises above life, has had his aura weaken by three points every time we meet since then. Quite satisfying."
On one side was his biological father, on the other the person he most admired. The youth found it hard to comment, so he knelt again: "To be able to follow by Senior's side is the greatest wish and honor of my life. Over these thousand years, I will not allow myself any slack, and I will not disappoint the expectations of Senior and Father God."
"You young lad, always kneeling and bowing at the drop of a hat." Ni Xuan shook his head, flicking his finger to push the youth's body up again: "I allow you to follow me for a thousand years, but during this thousand years, you must break free from all the rules, laws, and ways of doing things that your Father God has imposed on you over the years."
"Of course!" The youth nodded emphatically: "Following by Senior's side, I shall obey Senior's teachings."
"Very good." Ni Xuan looked at him and nodded: "Then my first teaching is... you don't need to call me Master, and from now on, don't address me as Senior anymore. Just call me Brother."
"Wha... ah? No, no, I can't, absolutely not!" The youth was severely startled: "How could I..."
"What? This is only the first thing, and you're already not listening?" Ni Xuan narrowed his eyes.
"No, I wouldn't dare." The youth shook his head in panic, stammering: "But there is an order of seniority and juniority, and distinctions between superior and inferior. You are my most respected senior, how could I use such a disrespectful title for you?"
"Ah, what seniority and inferiority. If you're not even willing to shed the shackle of 'generation status,' then even by my side, how are you different from before?" Ni Xuan turned his back, disappointed: "Leave. You don't have to follow me anymore."
Panic instantly filled the youth's entire being. He cried urgently: "No... Senior... I... I'll listen to you, I... I..."
Big Brother... Such simple words, but on the youth's lips, they were as heavy as a billion tons.
Because weighing down on these two words were the upbringing, divinity, rules, heavenly principles, and ritual laws that had been instilled and deeply rooted in his entire life...
Ni Xuan didn't give him another word and vanished into the distance.
"Ah... wait..." The youth stumbled and hurriedly chased after him, his hair standing on end, using almost all his willpower to force those two words out of his mouth: "Big... Brother..."
Ni Xuan's figure instantly stopped. He turned back with a beaming smile: "That's more like it. Say it again."
The youth stood frozen, his gaze drifting. When those two words that defied the order of senior and junior, that were practically heretical, left his mouth, he felt as if something had burst out from the top of his head... Then, his entire being seemed to suddenly leap out of some invisible small world, re-entering a world that, though seemingly unchanged, had somehow shifted in color.
"Big... Brother." Although his expression and tone were still extremely stiff, this time it came out much easier than the first.
"Hahahaha!" Ni Xuan laughed heartily, flew over, and hooked his arm around the youth's shoulder: "That's right! From today onward, we'll travel the world together, call each other brothers, talk about anything, be free and happy! Thinking of the titles 'Senior' or 'Master' is just a downer."
The youth dazedly agreed: "Senior speaks correctly."
"...What did you call me?"
"Brother... Brother Ni Xuan!" The youth quickly corrected himself, and this time it flowed much more smoothly than the second.
"Keep calling me that. Only call me that, especially when in the lower realms." Ni Xuan emphasized: "The lifespan of humans in the lower realms is very short, mostly no more than a hundred years. If the girls down there hear you calling me senior, my charm will take a big hit."
"This... the lowly spirits of the lower realms, how could they be worthy of entering Bro—Brother's sight."
Ni Xuan smiled and shook his head without explaining. He patted the youth's shoulder and said: "Respect lies in action, in the heart, not in appearance."
"The slow progress of your Heaven-Breaking Sword is primarily because you have been trapped in a too-tight shackle. This shackle doesn't bind your sword, but your heart."
"Your state of mind, in turn, has constrained your sword's realm."
"And you have never even realized the existence of this shackle. Instead, you've regarded it as indispensable and constantly reinforced it." Saying this, he looked at the youth's confused eyes: "Don't understand? It's fine. No rush. You're still young, with plenty of time. That old stubborn is rarely willing to hand you over to me, so I certainly won't stand by and watch you become a little stubborn."
"Let's go!"
With his arm around the youth, he leaped down from the cloud summit, falling straight with the wind.
"Brother, where are we going?" This time, the youth's call of "Brother" had only a slight trace of difficulty.
"To the lower realms."
"Huh? The lower realms?"
"Haha, just follow me... Hmm? By your aura, you're still a virgin?"
"Father God teaches: A man's primal yang should be—"
"Stop, stop! I don't need to hear what that old stubborn says. So, do you have a beloved woman?"
"Beloved? No... what is beloved?"
"...What do you think of romantic relationships between men and women?"
"Father God says that romantic relationships should be like between Father God and Mother Goddess—mutually dependent, mutually supportive, respectful as guests, procreation being paramount, indulgence being taboo..."
"Listen to his stinking Creation God farts! Back then, he wished he could fuse both his head and ass into the Life Divine Temple!"
"...My Father God has said similar things about you."
"Cough. The trip to the lower realms will be delayed for a few days. I'm going to go fight your Father God first."
"Huh? Brother, you... are you really going... Ah, wait! Brother Ni Xuan, I was wrong, I won't say random things anymore... Brother!"
"Hahahaha!"
Of course, Ni Xuan didn't actually go to fight his Father God. He took the youth against the gentle breeze, flying straight toward a completely different world.
...
"Brother, there's a question I've always wanted to ask. You've taken me to visit so many worlds, and you especially enjoy observing the various forms of women in the world. But why... have you never left a single leaf on your body?"
"Because my heart already belongs to someone. When the day comes that you find someone who touches your soul and enters your dreams, you'll understand that all the beauty of ten thousand ages cannot compare to the moment she turns back to look at you."
"That person... is Senior Li Suo?"
"Hahaha! Isn't that known by everyone?"
"But it's been so many years, Brother is still unwavering. Yet I always feel that with Senior Li Suo's personality, uh..."
"As long as I don't give up, there will always be hope. She is worth this to me. Though there has been no result so far, but... Mo Su, if one day you meet such a person, you'll understand that even fruitless pursuit can be sweet as honey."
"...Is the affection between man and woman truly so mysterious?"
"Words cannot describe it. When you meet your person, you will know. As for your big brother me, you don't need to be pessimistic. Back then, your Father God fought with me until we were both bloody, but in the end he chose to unite with your Mother Goddess for the sake of inheritance. So in this world, who is left worthy of Li Suo but me?"
"Brother is right! In this world, the only one worthy of uniting with Senior Li Suo is Brother! Brother, keep it up! Next time we go to the Life Divine Temple, if there's anything little brother can help with, just say the word!"
"Hahaha, good! My heart toward Li Suo is witnessed by heaven and earth, testified by sun and moon, unshakable through ten thousand ages! I refuse to believe I cannot break through Li Suo's icy heart!"
...
The scene shifted.
Still mountains, seas, and cloud peaks, but this time the clouds were a deep, dark color.
Ni Xuan stood atop the mountain peak. By his side was a woman dressed in black, half a foot taller than him.
Her face was extremely beautiful, but what surpassed her beauty a thousand times was the heroism and awe that filled her brows, features, eyes... and even every line of her skin.
Anyone who saw her would have no doubt that they were looking at the only, most supreme female emperor in this world.
Anyone gazed upon by her would feel as if instantly dragged into an abyss of cowering and terror.
Ni Xuan, standing beside her, had none of his Creation God demeanor. His gaze was warm as water, a smile on his face, his eyes devoid of any sharpness or majesty—like a graceful young noble just stepping into the mundane world.
"Ni Xuan, recite the three things you promised me again." The woman looked ahead, her voice cold and hard.
Ni Xuan smiled, without any hesitation: "First, within thirty thousand years, announce to the entire world that Jie Yuan is my wife, Ni Xuan's."
"Second, no matter what obstructs us, we must gather here once every year."
"Third, never see Li Suo again for all eternity."
"Hmph!" The woman turned her face slightly away: "Word for word. You pass. However... every moment in this world brings changes, and even the two of us may encounter forces we cannot resist. So the first two conditions can be appropriately relaxed. But the third... you must faithfully keep it! Otherwise..."
"Otherwise, punish me by turning me into a dirty old man." Ni Xuan took the woman's hand, smiling as he looked at her profile. The woman struggled symbolically twice before saying with tsundere charm: "At least you're sensible. Rest assured, even if you turn into a dirty old man, I'll still want you. I might even make you even dirtier and uglier, so you won't have the face to see your beloved Little Li Suo again."
"Good." Ni Xuan agreed, his eyes completely filled with Jie Yuan's face: "As long as you're by my side, anything is fine."
"..." Jie Yuan's lips moved slightly. After a long while, she said softly: "The final realm of the Forbidden Scripture is nearly complete. When it is, your Dark Core will fully awaken. Then, there will be no turning back."
"What you are doing for me... is no different from defying heaven and abandoning the Way. Will you really not regret it?"
"No."
Ni Xuan looked into the vast heavens and earth, his words infinitely gentle, infinitely resolute: "We are not wrong. What is wrong is rigidity, prejudice, and fundamentally erroneous understanding."
"If being with you defies the Heavenly Way, then I willingly become this defier of heaven. No matter the final outcome... I will never regret."
He raised his arm, and where his finger pointed, a long, dark sword light manifested.
"The final realm of the Forbidden Scripture shall be named 'Heaven Defiance'! The unfinished final sword shall be named... 'Defy Heaven Without Regret'!"
"This realm and this name bear witness to my heart!"
...
The scene faded.
But what remained for Yun Che was a trace of painful regret.
Defy Heaven Without Regret... Then what you regret now, exactly, is... ————