Could reaching the pinnacle of humanity truly make one an Immortal!
Ye Liang suddenly realized something significant.
But there was no time to dwell on it. A smooth, giant eyeball emerged from the ground.
"Not bad, kid. You've actually mastered True Sage Mode! Already been to other sacred places?"
Ye Liang swallowed hard but didn't respond.
Because what lay before him was just too shocking.
A smooth eyeball!
If you showed up as a giant face, I wouldn't have been scared. Just an eyeball? Come on!
All Ye Liang could see in front of him was just... an eyeball!
Is this eyeball alive?
You're shitting me, right?
Ye Liang yelled—this thing had to be a monster.
At this moment, the eyeball seemed to realize something was off. It rolled downward slightly and quickly offered an apology.
"Sorry, I came out too fast and forgot my head." With that, the giant eyeball sank back underground.
"..."
Not long after.
The ground suddenly started shaking.
Ye Liang stood firm amidst the unstable, trembling earth!
Then, a massive head slowly surfaced from beneath the earth!
It was the same giant eyeball from before—only this time, she hadn't forgotten her head...
"Let's start over. Hello there, little one."
"Hello, Katsuyu the Sage," Ye Liang greeted. At this point, if he still couldn't recognize the giant eyeball's identity, then something really would be wrong!
This giant eyeball was indeed Katsuyu the Sage.
Her body was enormous. According to original records, even Gamabunta-sized toads couldn't match the sheer size of Katsuyu the Sage's head.
Right now, Ye Liang fully believed this...
Only Katsuyu's head was visible, yet that single head was already the size of a skyscraper!
"This massive place… Was all of it hiding beneath the surface?"
Ye Liang curiously touched the ground and instantly understood everything!
The entire expansive Shikkotsu Forest was actually Katsuyu's body!
What the hell!
Ye Liang silently cursed.
Katsuyu the Sage began speaking.
"Little one, since Gamamaru recognized you as the Child of Hope, I won't question you much. But I do want to know how you convinced that stubborn old White Snake to teach you Sage Arts."
"The White Snake, stubborn?" Ye Liang immediately understood who Katsuyu meant.
"White Snake Granny isn't stubborn at all. She's a kind old lady, and thanks to her, I truly mastered the techniques for absorbing Sage Chakra."
Ye Liang spoke truthfully. His current methods for absorbing Sage Chakra were all taught by White Snake Sage in the beginning.
Without White Snake Sage, he wouldn't have been able to absorb chakra from other sacred places.
"White Snake Granny?" Katsuyu's expression instantly turned strange.
Actually, she couldn't be blamed for being weirded out. White Snake Sage had always been a highly controversial figure—neither completely good nor evil, unpredictable in temperament. If she hadn't happened to be in a generous mood that day, Ye Liang probably wouldn't have made it out of Ryuchi Cave alive.
"Fine, I don't care how you managed it," the voice continued. "Since you've learned the true Sage Mode, you deserve the respect of our Three Great Clans."
"The Three Great Clans?"
"Precisely—the Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest. These three sacred lands within the Summoning Realm are collectively known as the Three Great Clans." Katsuyu the Sage added one more explanation before continuing, "White Snake, Gamamaru, and I are actually the first beast clans who mastered Sage Chakra. Therefore, we witnessed the very beginning of everything!"
"The beginning of everything?" Ye Liang asked in confusion. He didn't quite understand what this meant.
Seeing his puzzled expression, the Toad Sage began to explain. "Now that you've mastered true Sage Art, there's no need for me to hide anything from you. The world isn't exactly how you imagine—it holds a hidden secret!"
The White Snake Sage paused for emphasis before describing slowly:
"In the very beginning, this planet contained only water. Even life itself was nothing but unintelligent beasts—devouring, reproducing, devouring again, reproducing endlessly. They lived monotonous lives repeating this cycle."
"One day, a man arrived wielding a flying sword. He was bleeding badly—blood kept pouring from his arm. Gamamaru, White Snake, and I—this old snake bastard—we all saw it happen."
"As soon as his blood hit the ground, it transformed into golden energy floating through the air."
"The beasts nearby absorbed a lot of this golden energy and gained consciousness. Remaining energy dispersed outward, forming what we now call Sage Chakra."
"We were terrified—just a few drops of blood could grant us sentience! How absolutely terrifying must such a being be?"
"Instinctively, none of us dared look up."
"And so, time passed."
"Eventually, the man recovered. He wielded his flying sword, slashing upwards across the sky—and suddenly, a massive rift tore open in space itself!"
"We three were shocked yet realized he was about to leave."
"Just like that, this immortal departed without taking even a single cloud on his way out!"
"This is where everything began."
"Whoa!"
Ye Liang's mouth hung open in an O-shape.
"Oh, I think I get it now."
"F*** me sideways!"
"Get it? What the hell did you get?!"
"What the actual f*** was that?!"
"This so-called '[celestial being]' wasn't just some ordinary cultivator?!"
"A sword slash tearing space? That's clearly a full-stage Cultivator!"
"As for his flying sword, it must've been a personal treasure—a [soul-linked flying sword] trained by Cultivators!"
Ye Liang felt like a thousand [motherf***ers] galloped through his heart!
"Forget it! If I ended up reincarnated here, meeting a Cultivator shouldn't even faze me!" He shook his head, deciding not to dwell further.
"What happened afterward?"
He asked once more.
"Afterward, humans appeared. As the Sage Chakra spread throughout the land, native humans started awakening abilities and gradually developing civilization."
"Gamamaru believed that summoned beasts would eventually be outmatched by humans, so he became the first to ally with humanity. That stubborn old snake, White Snake, took his followers deep underground to hide away."
"I didn't really think much—just kept on munching, you know?"
"No wonder you're so powerful..." Ye Liang muttered to himself.
"Since you now know everything, I'll get straight to the point. I hope you can do a favor for the Three Great Clans," Katsuyu the Sage suddenly turned serious.
"Please tell me," Ye Liang replied with equal seriousness.
Since Katsuyu had suddenly revealed all these secrets, there must be a reason, and Ye Liang was already prepared.
"I just hope that next time you meet this Sage, you can thank him on our behalf! Back then we were too frightened, and when our benefactor left, we didn't even have time to say thank you!"
"He helped us awaken our spiritual senses. We don't want to remain ignorant of his name forever!"
"So it's an apology, huh?" Ye Liang nodded.
"I guess I can do that… But I'd like to know why you picked me specifically. Others must've been here before me, right?"
"That's true! But you're the only one who's ever mastered all three forms of Sage Mode!"
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