Things Have Gotten Out of Hand! The Haotian Sword Casket!

"Only by holding fast to one's original aspirations can one see the journey through..." The Grand Elder murmured those eight words and looked up at Chu Xinghe in the Haotian Mirror.

Seeing the countless disciples lost in thought, Chu Xinghe knew that if he wanted to succeed now, he had to fan the flames a little more!

"Four hundred years ago, our ancestors reached the peak without relying on external aids. Why can't we do the same today? Do you think you're inferior to others?"

"No!" Wan Lin was the one who spoke up, her eyes already brimming with tears.

As soon as Wan Lin spoke, more cries rang out around her.

"Senior Brother Xinghe... I was wrong. I thought you were deliberately trying to trick us before, but I never imagined your realm was so far beyond ours. Four hundred years ago, our ancestors used these spirit weapons to establish everything we have today, yet we've forgotten the wishes they left behind and single-mindedly pursued the help of external aids. Senior Brother Xinghe was right. The path of cultivation is one of hacking through thorns and brambles. External aids can lend us a hand, but if we pursue nothing else, how can we reach the peak?"

A youth who had been thoroughly taken in stepped out of the crowd and went straight to the spirit pool. He grabbed a spirit weapon from its edge, scattering the dust on it. As though responding to him, the weapon flashed with light and recognized him as its master!

Once the first had stepped forward, the rest came easily. Wan Lin also emerged from the crowd and first bowed deeply to Chu Xinghe. Then she went up, chose her spirit weapon, and obtained a lifebound spirit weapon of her own.

Others followed, coming up to take spirit weapons, though more were still waiting to see what happened.

Seeing this, Chu Xinghe gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. As the saying went, you couldn't catch a wolf without risking your child. Weren't they just spirit weapons? He had said it himself: they were only damn external aids!

He would give up the divine sword today. He wouldn't stop until he'd fooled them all into limping!

Chu Xinghe stepped up to the spirit pool and looked at the ordinary-looking spirit weapons before him. Without much hesitation, he casually fixed his gaze on a spirit sword that looked pleasing enough. He had made his decision!

"The path of cultivation is full of thorns and brambles. I may have hesitated, but I have never retreated!"

With that, Chu Xinghe stepped forward.

When the disciples below who were still hesitating saw that Chu Xinghe was also going to choose a spirit weapon from here, their gazes immediately grew resolute.

Senior Brother Xinghe was a core disciple with a boundlessly bright future, yet he had the courage to cultivate through his own efforts without relying on external aids. Just as he had said, though the path of cultivation was full of thorns and brambles, and though he had hesitated, he truly had never retreated.

Perhaps this was the true path of cultivation.

Even Senior Brother Xinghe had made this choice. What was there left for them to hesitate over?

Countless people cast aside their last doubts and walked toward the spirit pool.

They chose spirit weapons one after another, making them companions for life. Though the weapons were of a very low grade, everyone who took one had an utterly resolute look in their eyes.

Watching more and more people make their choices, Chu Xinghe knew he would have to pay the price today!

Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, Chu Xinghe grabbed the ordinary spirit sword before him. With the sword in hand, he raised it high and sang out to the heavens!

"One day, the great roc will rise with the wind! Soaring straight up ninety thousand li! Today, our generation shall forge glory anew!"

"Today, our generation shall forge glory anew!" At that moment, everyone shouted along with Chu Xinghe.

But just as Chu Xinghe used his Spiritual Qi to make the spirit sword in his hand recognize him as its master, something unexpected happened.

"Whoosh..." An unknown force took control of the spirit sword in Chu Xinghe's hand. It slipped from his grasp, flew into the air, and plunged back into its original place.

As the spirit sword returned, a strange sound arose all around them.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..." A humming rang out, and every spirit weapon in the pool began to tremble!

The sight left even Chu Xinghe dumbfounded. What was going on?

But when the Grand Elder and the others saw this through the Haotian Mirror, they cried out in surprise!

"A divine sword emerges, and all spirits converge?"

The Grand Elder's eyes widened. There were ten divine swords in the Vast Heaven Sect's spirit pool, and whenever one recognized a master, countless spirit weapons would tremble along with it.

It was precisely a divine sword emerging and all spirits converging!

But there was no divine sword here. What was going on?

The Grand Elder soon noticed something was wrong!

There were far more than ten thousand spirit weapons in the Vast Heaven Sect's spirit seed—there were hundreds of thousands, even a million. These were all the spirit weapons collected over a thousand years.

Judging by previous appearances of divine swords, many spirit weapons would tremble along with them, but there was no divine sword in the area where Chu Xinghe stood... Why were all these spirit weapons trembling?

The elders soon discovered that it wasn't just the spirit weapons around Chu Xinghe. Every spirit weapon in the entire Spirit Tomb had begun to tremble, including those that had already recognized masters.

The trembling didn't stop at the Spirit Tomb. Soon, with the Spirit Tomb at its center, the spirit weapons in everyone's hands throughout the Vast Heaven Sect began to tremble as well.

It wasn't just the ordinary disciples. The Grand Elder discovered that his Soul-Extinguishing Sword, one of the ten great divine swords, had flown from his person completely out of his control. Suspended in midair, it too began to tremble!

At that moment, it was as though something between heaven and earth was stirring the entire Vast Heaven Sect. Every spirit weapon was trembling toward the Spirit Tomb!

"This... what... is happening...?" The elders were dumbstruck. They had never encountered anything like this either.

The emergence of a divine sword would make ten thousand spirits tremble, but what did it mean for every spirit weapon in the Vast Heaven Sect to tremble?

Boom! Just as everyone was wondering in shock what was happening, a thunderous noise came from the Spirit Tomb. The next moment, the stone pillar at the center of the spirit pool exploded!

One streak...

Two streaks...

Three streaks...

A full nine streaks of differently colored light shot into the sky from the shattered stone pillar.

The nine streaks moved with incredible speed, but in an instant, they all arrived at the same place: where Chu Xinghe stood. Nine rays of divine light spun wildly around him, as though cheering!

Along with the nine rays of divine light, a white light also flew out of the shattered stone pillar!

"The Haotian Sword Casket! This... this is the Haotian Sword Casket!" the Grand Elder cried out, and the faces of all the elders behind him changed dramatically.

The Vast Heaven Sect possessed ten divine swords, a fact known throughout the world.

But very few people knew that the Vast Heaven Sect's ten divine swords were not its strongest spirit weapons. The sect's strongest spirit weapon was the Haotian Sword Casket, which the tenth Great Emperor Haotian had obtained in his later years.

Inside the sword casket were nine ancient divine weapons. Even the tenth Great Emperor Haotian had only managed to obtain it; he could not use it. In the end, he named it the Haotian Sword Casket and sealed it in the Vast Heaven Sect's Spirit Tomb, where it became the strongest spirit weapon, suppressing the sect's million spirit weapons.

For four hundred years, every generation of the Vast Heaven Sect's experts had tried to communicate with the Haotian Sword Casket, but the casket hidden within the stone pillar had never responded.

In the end, everyone gave up on what even Great Emperor Haotian had been unable to do back then.

But today!

The Haotian Sword Casket had burst forth from the earth. After four hundred years, all nine swords had emerged to dance for Chu Xinghe alone!

A divine artifact had appeared in the world, and all spirits celebrated together!

At this moment, every spirit weapon in the entire Spirit Tomb and throughout the Vast Heaven Sect was paying homage in the direction of the Haotian Sword Casket.

The eyes of the elders before the Haotian Mirror were practically bulging out of their sockets!

Who could have imagined that Chu Xinghe's declaration about holding fast to his original aspirations and forging ahead would stir the Haotian Sword Casket and make it willing to recognize him as its master?

Nine rays of divine light flowed endlessly around Chu Xinghe!

Flying Locust...

Thunder Shadow...

Suspended Shears...

White Rainbow...

Fingers-Wrapping Softness...

Thread of Sky...

Evil Repeller...

Star Shatterer...

Sea Stabilizer...

Each of the nine divine swords had unique attributes and extraordinary abilities. Every one of them was even stronger than the Vast Heaven Sect's ten great divine swords.

Now, the nine divine swords spun ceaselessly around Chu Xinghe, while countless rays of light spread wildly in every direction from the Haotian Sword Casket.

In an instant, every disciple around Chu Xinghe who had obtained a spirit weapon was enveloped in the divine swords' light. They all stood motionless, as though a body-freezing technique had been cast on them.

"The sword casket has recognized a master and bestowed blessings on all! They've all entered a state of sudden enlightenment!"

The Grand Elder cried out once more at the sight. Within the Spirit Tomb, everyone felt as though they had been drawn into a separate world and began to enter a state of sudden enlightenment. Not only that, the spirit weapons in their hands also began to radiate dazzling light, actually starting to fuse with them.

"The sword casket has emerged and bestowed blessings on all! Their spirit weapons are fusing with their souls. These youngsters have struck it rich this time!"

The spirit weapons in everyone's hands fused with their souls. Their weapons shone even more brightly, and they entered a state of coexistence with them. Although their spirit weapons were not of a high grade, they could now continually improve alongside their masters, turning every one of them into a priceless treasure!

The entire Spirit Tomb fell into an uproar. Those who had made up their minds and obtained spirit weapons had all entered sudden enlightenment, while those who had hesitated... had no chance to receive the benefit now. They rushed toward the spirit pool again, hoping to get spirit weapons, but it was already too late.

Wan Lin was the first to awaken. Looking at the spirit weapon now one with her soul, she was so excited she nearly jumped for joy.

What kind of spirit weapon was best in this world? A divine sword?

No! Divine swords were powerful, but a spirit weapon capable of fusing with your soul was your strongest partner. It would never betray you, nor would it ever disappoint you.

Wan Lin had never dreamed that today she would obtain a spirit weapon fused with her soul.

It was all thanks to Senior Brother Xinghe! His words had earned the Haotian Sword Casket's recognition, and the casket had allowed everyone who shared his aspirations to receive the greatest benefit alongside him.

Wan Lin and the others who had obtained and fused with spirit weapons were beside themselves with joy, while those who had hesitated and failed to take one were so distraught they nearly spat blood. How could they have missed such a heaven-sent opportunity...?

Senior Brother Xinghe had meant so well. How had they failed to understand...?

"Buzz..." Another tremor sounded. All nine swords flew into the Haotian Sword Casket, which flew through the air to Chu Xinghe. It flashed and plunged directly into his left shoulder, turning into a mark that remained within his body.

"The Haotian Sword Casket! It actually recognized a master?" Just as everyone watched the casket burrow into Chu Xinghe's arm and recognize him as its master, a voice shook the heavens. A figure came from among the mountains, treading on empty air.

The world beneath the figure's feet seemed to shatter with each step. When he appeared again, he was already before the Haotian Mirror in the Haotian Grand Hall.

"Greetings, Sect Master!" Everyone, including the Grand Elder, bowed to the newcomer.

He was the master of the Vast Heaven Sect, Gu Mingchao, Martial Emperor Haotian, hailed as the foremost martial artist in the world today!

But Gu Mingchao paid the elders no attention. Instead, he stared fixedly at the Haotian Mirror, watching Chu Xinghe, whom the Haotian Sword Casket had recognized as its master...