Have You Ever Heard of a Land Sword Immortal?

"Senior Brother Lu, I remember you have a Sword Spirit Root?" Tao Yaoye glanced at the ancient sword hanging from Lu Yang's waist and the calluses on the web of his thumb and forefinger, formed from years of wielding a sword. Such a transformation in only a year was enough to prove how hard Lu Yang had worked at swordsmanship.

Lu Yang nodded and said modestly, "I can barely be considered a sword cultivator."

Depending on their specialties, cultivators were divided into pill cultivators, talisman cultivators, formation cultivators, body cultivators, sword cultivators, and so on. Among them, sword cultivators had the strongest offensive power. When fighting at the same level, no one wanted to go up against a sword cultivator.

The most famous saying about sword cultivators was that one sword could shatter ten thousand arts. No matter how profound your Daoist arts were, I would break them with a single sword.

Opposite sword cultivators were Daoist-art cultivators. No matter how peerless your swordsmanship was, I could still use ten thousand arts to break a single sword.

Sword cultivator techniques included One Sword Shattering Ten Thousand Arts, Sword Opening the Heavenly Gate, flying swords, and so on. All of them were famous and formidable sword cultivator techniques.

Clad in white as pure as snow, standing atop a flying sword, riding the wind and breaking the waves—what a dashing bearing that was!

What did one seek in cultivating immortality? First, strength. Second, style. Sword cultivators happened to fulfill both standards perfectly. Who knew how many cultivators yearned to become sword cultivators? Unfortunately, without talent for the Sword Dao, they had no fate with the sword path.

"So, Senior Brother Lu, what will you do after learning to fly on a sword?"

Tao Yaoye had never heard of a sword cultivator who was afraid of heights.

Other people cultivated immortality by flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth, carefree and at ease. This Senior Brother Lu cultivated immortality by burrowing through the earth and burrowing through the earth, carefree and at ease.

Lu Yang said with complete seriousness, "A sword immortal isn't limited to flying through the skies, Junior Sister Tao Yaoye. Have you ever heard of a land sword immortal?"

Tao Yaoye froze for a moment. Seeing how serious Lu Yang looked, and finding the term "land sword immortal" strangely familiar, she went along with it and nodded.

"Who says immortals must all be lofty and high above? An immortal is still an immortal human—ultimately, they occupy the word 'human.' The immortal is in the heavens, while the human is on the earth. Immortals roam between heaven and earth, reaching for the stars and moon above and entering the Nine Abysses below, unrestrained and free."

"The term 'land sword immortal' makes it clear that sword immortals aren't only in the heavens. They can also walk upon the earth. With a single sword flying forth, they can take a demon's head from a thousand li away!"

"My goal is to become an existence like a land sword immortal!"

Tao Yaoye was just about to nod along with the atmosphere when the calmness she had accumulated over years let her catch herself and notice the problem. "No, wait. I've only heard of land immortals. Where did the term 'land sword immortal' come from?"

Lu Yang silently annotated Tao Yaoye for three seconds, as though he were brewing an ancient secret in his chest. Then he slowly said,

"I made it up."

"..."

His attitude was so sincere that Tao Yaoye was left speechless.

Tao Yaoye did not discuss the topic any further. In just three short days together, Senior Brother Lu's image in her heart had already collapsed beyond recognition.

During the first trial, she had personally witnessed Lu Yang's Sword Spirit Root being detected. At the time, Lu Yang had seemed to Tao Yaoye like an upright and unyielding sword that split open the heavens—taciturn, yet unstoppable.

After the second trial ended, she heard Lu Yang describe his uniquely ingenious method of passing. She felt that sword cultivators possessed flexible minds and might achieve even greater things in the future.

During the third trial, she had been so exhausted on Heart-Questioning Mountain that she could barely keep her eyes open. She thought no one could possibly climb to the fiftieth step. Then she saw Lu Yang reach the fiftieth step and pass the trial. Lu Yang's success had given her immense confidence, allowing her to summon the willpower to keep climbing and pass smoothly.

A year later, she met Senior Brother Lu again—a man afraid of heights who was also exceptionally talkative.

She learned what it meant for distance to create beauty.

"By my reckoning, it's about time to get off the ship."

Lu Yang unfolded a large map. It was drawn in extraordinary detail, with the Ask Dao Sect, the imperial city of the Great Xia Dynasty, famous mountains and rivers, important cities, blessed lands, and paradises all marked on it.

This was one-eighth of a map of the Central Continent.

There was also a tiny red dot on the map, moving so slowly that anyone who failed to pay attention might mistake it for being stationary.

The red dot marked the two of them's current location.

This was no ordinary map, but an essential travel treasure.

Though the map was excellent, Taiping Township was too small to be marked on it. Even having Qu River Commandery marked was already rare.

The flying ship had departed from the Ask Dao Sect and was heading to the imperial city of the Great Xia Dynasty, a journey of who knew how many tens of millions of li. Let alone Taiping Township—even Qu River Commandery was merely an insignificant speck at such a distance, barely important enough for its name to be written on the map.

The flying ship would not stop at a small place like Qu River Commandery. If it stopped everywhere, its speed would drop drastically, and its advantage in efficiency would be little better than that of a horse-drawn carriage.

This flying ship only stopped at major transportation hubs such as the Ask Dao Sect, Qingyun City, Skypenetrating Valley, Crouching Dragon Mountain, and the imperial city.

Lu Yang had heard the Eldest Senior Sister say that if one wanted to get off a flying ship, one only needed to jump off.

Hearing that made the corner of Lu Yang's eye twitch.

Flying ships were similar to airplanes from his previous life. They were extremely fast and prioritized efficiency. The greatest difference was that passengers in his previous life could only obediently wait for the plane to land before getting off, whereas passengers in the cultivation world could jump off whenever they wanted.

It emphasized freedom and openness.

This was Lu Yang's first time jumping ship, and he was extremely excited.

Specifically, his legs were trembling.

This was ten thousand meters in the air.

"Senior Brother Lu, do you know how to get off the ship?"

"Of course." Lu Yang puffed out his chest, looking somewhat proud.

From ten thousand meters in the air, if one did not use any clever technique and simply smashed straight down, even someone in the late Foundation Establishment stage would be crushed into minced meat.

Lu Yang had asked the Eldest Senior Sister exactly how to get off the ship. The Eldest Senior Sister had not answered. She had only told him not to read books or ask other people, but to figure it out himself and develop the good habit of independent thinking.

Then Lu Yang had successfully thought of a way to get off the ship and made preparations.

The two of them were not the only ones preparing to disembark. There were also seven or eight strangers.

Lu Yang, Tao Yaoye, and the seven or eight strangers stood in a line at the edge of the deck.

The seven or eight strangers took out standard paper umbrellas.

Tao Yaoye took out a red paper umbrella that she had carefully refined.

Lu Yang took out a parachute.

"Hm?"

Lu Yang felt that he did not seem very good at fitting in. Why was the thing everyone else had taken out different from his?

Just as Lu Yang was wondering what they were about to do, an impatient black-clad middle-aged man held an umbrella and leaped from the flying ship.

The black-clad middle-aged man's body plummeted like a cannonball, his speed growing faster and faster.

He calmly infused the paper umbrella with spiritual energy. The light and nimble spiritual energy flowed like strands of silk, resembling a lithe green snake as it climbed from the umbrella handle and coiled around the ribs.

The paper umbrella seemed to come alive. Awakening from hibernation, it stretched its body, and the black-clad middle-aged man's falling speed gradually slowed. Swaying gently, he landed safely.

The black-clad middle-aged man released his grip. The paper umbrella folded up and transformed into a streak of light, weaving through the sea of clouds and returning to the flying ship.

The paper umbrella did not belong to the black-clad middle-aged man. It was lent to customers by the flying ship.

The seven or eight strangers and Tao Yaoye all turned to look at Lu Yang. Even Tao Yaoye's eyes were filled with confusion.

They were holding umbrellas because they were preparing to use them to jump ship. Why were you carrying a bundle?

On the surface, Lu Yang's face remained calm and unflushed. Facing their confused gazes, he responded with a radiant smile, as though he were not the odd one out.

In truth, his heart was churning like a storm-tossed sea. A mouthful of old complaints roiled within him, yet he did not know where to begin.

All his myriad words turned into a single sentence—Eldest Senior Sister, you've led me astray!