The Heart Sword

One month later.

Barren Cloud Main Peak.

Outside Sword Abyss, beside the valley's great tree.

Gu Qingshan lay on his side along a branch.

His eyes were closed, and he held a jade slip between his fingers.

At times he furrowed his brow; at others, he smiled, seemingly comprehending the mysteries recorded in the jade slip.

After a while,

he gripped the jade slip in his hand and stopped using his divine sense to examine it.

It looked as though he had finished his cultivation for the day and was getting ready to take a nap.

—but just when you thought he had fallen asleep, he suddenly took out a gourd, uncorked it, and took a long swig.

"Every day... this is still the most relaxing time."

Gu Qingshan murmured.

He put away the wine gourd, shifted his position, and settled into a more comfortable sprawl.

Beyond the great tree,

gusts of sword wind swept by at high speed, hazy as mist and sharp as blades.

Huang Zhan and Shen Yang did everything they could to withstand the sword wind's assault.

"Shen Yang, dodge!" Huang Zhan shouted.

He slashed with the dagger in his hand.

Dozens of earthen rays shot out at once, forming a thick wall of earth behind Shen Yang.

The wall still couldn't hold back the sword wind. In the space of a single breath, it was blown apart into sand and stones that filled the sky.

Fortunately, that gave Shen Yang an opening, and he finally managed to catch his breath.

He flashed through layer upon layer of sword mist and made straight for Gu Qingshan in the tree!

"Oh?"

The corner of Gu Qingshan's mouth lifted slightly as one hand deftly toyed with the jade slip.

Even as Shen Yang drew closer and closer, he