The Sword-Worship Ceremony

The so-called Sword Mound was a valley behind Changzi Mountain, littered with jagged rocks and sparse of flowers and trees. In Liu Xiaolou's eyes, the place was exceedingly strange. Its feng shui and qi currents were unlike anything normal—reversed, quite chaotic, akin to a dead ground within a formation, yet also like a Void Rift. Though no spiritual power could be sensed, something indescribable permeated the valley. It could not be used for cultivation, but it could nourish artifacts.

Such a place bore not the slightest trace of man-made formations. It had formed naturally and was extraordinarily wondrous. No wonder the Changshan Sword Sect had established itself on Changzi Mountain for a thousand years without relocating. It must have been for this valley.

Though called a "mound," the Sword Mound was in truth a place where magical artifacts dwelled and were nourished. These chaotic qi currents were the chief source of the "Sword Edges." At the pinnacle of the Sword Dao, one sword strike could cleave open the void, and thus this valley was most suited to serve as a Sword Mound.

The great boulders and heaps of shattered stone, some several zhang tall and some spread across half a mu, formed one Sword Mound after another. The Changshan Sword Sect kept and nurtured flying swords within them. One by one, Changshan Sword Sect disciples entered the Sword Mound valley, undergoing all manner of trials and accepting the flying swords' selection. If they encountered one compatible with them, they could take it away. This was the sword-worship ceremony for new Changshan Sword Sect disciples.

Yet despite possessing such a blessed land, the Changshan Sword Sect had never been regarded as a sword sect. Even they themselves had never truly considered themselves one. Why was that?

Liu Xiaolou stood upon a