"Junior Martial Uncle?"
This Martial Uncle Ancestor, whose cultivation was above Dao Integration, had actually called the Little Martial Uncle Ancestor "Junior Martial Uncle"?!
Hmm... that sounded a little strange.
But if that was the case, then the Little Martial Uncle Ancestor's seniority was far too high.
Whose disciple was she, exactly?
Everyone's thoughts stirred. Many were curious about the true identity of the Sword Sect's mysterious Little Martial Uncle Ancestor.
Unfortunately, this deputy head of the Sword Enforcement Hall had never revealed which generation of the Sword Sect she belonged to, nor had she ever mentioned her master in public.
But it was more likely that they simply weren't at a level where they could learn such things...
"Well, that's all I have to say." Li Qingyang—the burly sword cultivator—was feeling a little fed up, too.
It was one thing for his master to give him a task, but he hadn't explained it clearly. He'd only said there was something important he needed Li Qingyang to do, and that he'd understand when the time came.
So mysterious. It was hardly how a sword cultivator ought to act!
Li Qingyang had traveled all this way from a distant star region, only for the task to turn out to be so vague.
"Everyone, go on back. There's no need to see me off."
With that, Li Qingyang turned and left. The Void Return elder didn't say a word, but followed him out.
"..."
The many Spirit Transformation cultivators in the conference room fell silent for a long time.
They might have counted as important figures in Mystic Sword City, but before this man, they were nothing.
"Then let's all follow the senior's instructions and return to our respective posts," the mayor of Mystic Sword City said.
Everyone felt a little helpless, but there was nothing else they could do.
After Li Qingyang and the Void Return elder left the municipal building, they flew into the sky on their swords. They kept their speed within the limit, though, and didn't break it.
The Void Return elder flew behind him. "Martial Uncle Ancestor, are we really leaving just like that?"
"What else? I still haven't figured out plenty of things myself." Li Qingyang took the gourd from his waist and drank from it.
The liquor was crystal clear, red as blood. Its rich aroma made the Void Return elder beside him feel dizzy.
Li Qingyang glanced at him and said calmly, "Looks like your sword really has been badly tainted."
The Void Return elder gave a bitter smile. "The Martial Uncle Ancestor sees all."
Many years ago, he'd encountered several highly unusual enemies on the Starry Sky Battlefield. His Life-Bound Sword had been tainted, and even a Dao Integration cultivator would struggle to completely sever that strange spiritual presence.
Later, that strange spiritual presence had even begun affecting him through the sword itself, leaving his cultivation at a standstill.
Since he couldn't reach any sword cultivators above Dao Integration, he'd withdrawn from the Starry Sky Battlefield and traveled across the Central Continent, searching Secret Realms in the hope of finding a solution.
During his travels, he'd happened upon the Red Moon Secret Realm near Mystic Sword City. There, he'd discovered a sword that was at least at the Dao Integration level, perhaps even higher.
Its master was presumably dead. Otherwise, a sword cultivator at Dao Integration or above, whose spirit and sword had become one, would have arrived in an instant, no matter how far away.
In those circumstances, he'd considered subduing it and replacing his Life-Bound Sword. He knew the odds were slim, but it was better than remaining stuck forever.
Even if he couldn't subdue it in the end, he could try using its sharp edge to cut away that strange spiritual presence.
Who would have thought that, just then, a Martial Uncle Ancestor above Dao Integration would return from the Starry Sky Battlefield to the Central Continent?
"Once we're back, I'll help you sever that spiritual presence. A sword cultivator is best off using his own sword."
"Thank you, Martial Uncle Ancestor!"
Life was unpredictable. In the end, things had been resolved in this way.
There were hundreds of thousands of Void Return cultivators in the Sword Sect, if not more. He was already fortunate to have had the chance to travel with the Martial Uncle Ancestor.
Li Qingyang hung the gourd back at his waist and sighed. "The Central Continent is rather stifling. The starry sky is vast, and that's where we can roam freely!"
It was certainly vast, but dangerous, too.
Would he ever become a sword cultivator as free and unrestrained as the Martial Uncle Ancestor?
Thinking of his tainted sword, the Void Return elder couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.
Late that night.
Xiao Fan, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He hurriedly felt his body with his hands.
It didn't hurt anymore? He was fine?
Not only that, he felt as if all his shackles had fallen away, as if the heavy burden that had weighed on him for so long had been lifted.
Xiao Fan looked utterly bewildered. He had no idea what had happened.
Right!
The blood in that jade box, and that voice—it had said something about... the secret of fortune?
"How does it feel to be born anew?"
The sudden voice made Xiao Fan's hair stand on end. Without hesitation, he rolled over, grabbed the sword beside him, and warily looked toward the source of the sound.
But when he saw who had spoken, he couldn't help freezing.
"It's you!"
How could he not recognize this man? He was the one who had given him the jade box.
In other words, he was also the reason Xiao Fan had gone through everything that evening.
"Who are you, exactly?"
As soon as the question left his mouth, he realized he might have asked something foolish.
Going by the usual conventions of novels, films, and plays, a question like that usually went unanswered.
"My name is Hua. I'm also the one who gave you this fortune."
Huh?
He'd actually answered!
Hua?
Was the fortune he meant the ordeal that had nearly killed Xiao Fan with pain that evening?
How was that fortune?
"I've reopened the path ahead of you, the one that had been cut off. How is that not a fortune?"
Reopened the path ahead of him?
Xiao Fan paused and carefully sensed what was happening. Sure enough, the mysterious, fragile Dao Foundation in his dantian had vanished, and even his Foundation Establishment True Essence had regressed into Qi Refining spiritual energy.
Ninth level of Qi Refining!
He'd regressed from Pseudo Foundation Establishment to the ninth level of Qi Refining!
It really had been... reopened?!
In an instant, indescribable joy filled his heart.
"How is it?"
Hua's voice poured cold water over Xiao Fan, quickly bringing him back to his senses.
He stood up and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, senior. If you have any instructions, I'll do whatever you ask!"
"Heh! As it happens, I do have something for you to do."
Xiao Fan's heart gave a thump, and he felt uneasy, but this wasn't a situation where he could refuse.
"Please give me your instructions, senior."
"Before long, many Immortal Sect disciples, along with some lucky ones like you, will gather here. What you need to do is simple." Hua smiled faintly. "Beat them."
Immortal Sect disciples... and other lucky ones like him?
"I'll obey."
The circumstances he now faced were far beyond anything he'd known before. Whatever the request, he could only accept.
When Xiao Fan looked up again, the mysterious Hua had disappeared.
In the living room, Xu Xing waved a hand, and the two light screens vanished.
"Daoist brother, it's been a long time."
A man stepped out of the shadows, a gentle smile on his face that made him seem amiable. He was the same Hua who had been in Xiao Fan's home just a moment ago.
"It has been a long time." Xu Xing nodded. "You've been in Mystic Sword City for a while now, Daoist friend. What have you been doing?"
"..."
Couldn't they make their conversation a little more subtle? Trade a few riddles or something?
He'd ruined the whole atmosphere.
"Since you're guiding a junior, Daoist brother, I naturally have to support a junior of my own, so he can compete with yours."
Xu Xing said nothing, merely looking at him as if he thought the man had too much time on his hands. His voice was flat.
"You're certainly in the mood for it, Daoist friend."
"..."
You're being way too perfunctory.
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