The second day of the second lunar month—the Dragon raised its head.
After fighting Bear Two for more than ten days, Wang Xian had lost count of the scars covering his body.
Even with the Old Daoist occasionally concocting spirit medicine to temper Wang Xian's body, a scar on his face still hadn't healed.
The apricot blossoms were blooming on the mountain, yet Senior Sister Donghuang Shuyu still hadn't returned.
Then news arrived from his uncle-master on North Slope: Wang Xian was to go to Kunlun Sword Sect and watch the spring recruitment competition.
Bear Two wanted to go with him, but the Old Daoist stopped him.
He explained, "Wait until your Senior Sister returns. We'll discuss it then. Maybe she can take you on a trip to the East Sea..."
Hearing that the Old Daoist was thinking about his long-awaited transformation, Bear Two stopped clamoring to tag along with Wang Xian to Kunlun Sword Sect for the excitement.
What was the point of making a fuss? He'd cultivated for all these years, looking forward to transforming every single day.
At the very least, he could go shopping with Big Boss. Even if he had to trail behind Donghuang Shuyu and carry her bags, that would be fine.
With the spring breeze at his back, Wang Xian walked along.
He held a wildflower in his hand and kept chasing after startled rabbits, hollering as he ran.
It was the first time Wang Xian had left the Daoist temple. He was clearly a little nervous, but even more excited.
At the Sword Sect on South Slope, he'd have his aunt-master, Dongfang Nishang, and another Senior Sister, Dantai Xiaoxue.
Most importantly, his master had instructed him to bring back the Spirit Stones his aunt-master had owed for years. That was the real reason he was going to the Sword Sect.
Walking along the winding path, he gazed at the palace eaves faintly visible in the sunlight in the distance.
Wang Xian thought that the Sword Sect certainly looked grander than his master's Daoist temple. Surely his aunt-master wouldn't keep refusing to repay the Spirit Stones.
Just as he lifted his head to look toward the distant Sword Sect,
a woman's voice rang out over the mountain stream. "Little one, where are you headed?"
Wang Xian followed the voice and saw a blue stone slab beneath a snow-covered pine.
Two stone stools stood beside it, and a woman in white sat on one of them.
She looked somewhat like Nangong Zhilan, her eyes veiled in mist, and she beckoned to him.
"I'm going to the Sword Sect up ahead!"
Wang Xian sprang over and asked, "Are you going to the Sword Sect to watch the spring competition too, senior?"
"No."
The woman in white brushed a hand over her hair, set a jade cup on the table, and slowly poured half a cup of spirit wine from the jade flask before her.
She smiled faintly. "I'm just out enjoying the spring scenery. Better to meet by chance than to invite someone outright. Please, try my spirit wine."
"Ah..."
Wang Xian stepped forward and lifted the jade cup to his lips to smell it, then gently set it down again.
He smiled. "I still have a way to go. I need to reach the Sword Sect before dark."
The woman in white shook her head. "Life is short... The scenery is along the way. Why hurry toward the destination?"
"I brewed this with snow lotuses from the summit of Snow Mountain. It took a full ten years. Not just any passerby gets to taste it."
"Ten years? That's so long. Well, thank you, senior."
Wang Xian had heard his master talk about the snow lotuses atop Snow Mountain. Spirit wine brewed from them, aged for ten years—he wanted to try it too.
He wanted to see if he could break through a realm in a single day.
Seeing Wang Xian lift the jade cup, the woman in white took out a plate of pastries and set it on the table.
She smiled gently. "A cup of spirit wine and two pastries won't slow you down."
"Mm, this wine..."
During the New Year, the Old Daoist had given Wang Xian a cup of liquor he'd bought down the mountain.
But Wang Xian hadn't expected the spirit wine in this jade cup to be even stronger than his master's liquor. In an instant, he felt a ball of fire about to blaze in his chest and belly.
He cried out in alarm, "Senior, I'm on fire!"
The woman in white shook her head and held his little hand, channeling a wisp of spiritual energy into him.
Wang Xian felt a cool sensation travel up his arm to his chest, extinguishing the ball of fire before it could catch.
After a moment's thought, he downed the rest of the spirit wine.
Just as he reached for a pastry,
"Bzz..."
A ball of flame suddenly ignited in his Divine Sea. A scene he had never seen before appeared before his eyes.
Wang Xian stared at the scene before him, too stunned to speak.
On a stone mountain, a divine dragon trapped atop a stone pillar let out a roar, struggling to break free.
But an iron chain bound it tight, wrapped around the pillar.
The divine dragon roared and spat out a mass of divine fire!
BOOM! The entire Coiling Dragon Pillar burst into flames, then transformed in an instant into the Coiling Dragon Divine Sword, standing proudly between heaven and earth.
As he cried out in shock,
Whoosh! The Coiling Dragon Sword became a streak of golden light and slashed toward him!
"Ah..."
Wang Xian was so terrified he nearly passed out...
Just then, the scene before him changed again.
He looked down to see his hands, as if death had brushed past them, slowly turning to bone. Then his arms, and then his whole body.
Until he had become a skeleton from head to toe, with only an undying heart still beating softly.
Wang Xian was so horrified he couldn't speak.
Just as a gust of wind swept through, about to scatter him into a heap of bones...
Bzz! Every bone in his body creaked.
His body gave a faint crack, and all his bones began to stir.
Wang Xian felt himself turning into a sword.
No! He was the vanished Coiling Dragon Divine Sword!
Golden light flowed over Wang Xian's skeleton. Slowly, a drop of golden blood seeped from his heart, and a thread of flesh grew over his bones.
As if he had crossed through a land of death, Wang Xian stared at the scene before him, stunned.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Xian, who had lost his memories, seemed to recall the past.
Had he once been a disciple of Phoenix Academy? Had he entered a secret realm one day with the Academy's elders and a group that included Senior Sister Duanmu Xi?
A secret realm said to lie within the Hundred Thousand Mountains...
"Senior Sister! Senior Sister, where are you?"
His shout received no answer from the surroundings.
"Ugh!"
Just as he crossed through this land of death, a shadow slowly rose and appeared before him.
Looking at the sudden shadow, Wang Xian no longer showed any of his earlier fear.
A long sword appeared in his hand—a plain, ordinary sword.
And yet he had the strange feeling that he himself was a sword.
Seeing that Wang Xian not only refused to retreat but charged forward, the black serpent surging into the air let out a furious roar.
It suddenly dove from the sky, opening its bloody maw to swallow Wang Xian whole.
Whoosh!
Before Wang Xian could react, the black serpent had already swooped down and spat out a cloud of black mist!
In that instant, Wang Xian charged forward too!
The iron sword struck the black serpent with a series of clangs!
But the serpent had lunged with too much force and missed him. Enraged, it whipped its tail around the slender Wang Xian and coiled him tight!
It roared and hissed as it wrapped around him.
Even if it had to squeeze him, it would crush the boy to death!
"Ah..."
With a furious roar, the Coiling Dragon Divine Sword within Wang Xian awoke in an instant. A streak of golden light blazed like the sun!
Clang!
At the ring of a sword, the slender Wang Xian transformed into a divine sword!
With the power of heaven and earth behind him, he struck in an instant!
The black serpent was horrified and tried to release Wang Xian and flee...
Golden light blazed like the sun, bursting into ten thousand sword rays!
The black serpent's enormous body was instantly pierced by countless swords, and a terrifying explosion rang out!
BOOM!
The black serpent that had appeared out of nowhere to devour Wang Xian vanished into dust in the blink of an eye.
Bathed in serpent blood, Wang Xian held his sword, seeming to become a young god of slaughter.
After an unknown amount of time, the bloody mist vanished. All that remained on the ground was a core glowing with a faint light.
Wang Xian stepped forward and picked it up. After a moment's thought, he was about to swallow it...
"If you swallow that now, you'll explode and die!"
Before you continue