The Mo Clan Ancestral Grounds lay deep within the Central Region.
Mountains surrounded it on three sides, while water bordered the fourth.
Layers upon layers of defenses accumulated over ten thousand years by this great lineage had long turned the place into a small fortress. On the outside lay the Maze Illusion Formation; within were passageways thick with mechanisms; at the heart stood an entire expanse of continuous halls built against the mountainside.
After pledging allegiance to the Demon Realm, the Mo Clan had lost its reputation among the Central Region's cultivators, but in exchange, it gained peace untouched by the Demon Tide.
The entire Mo Clan greatly enjoyed this peace, but there were always exceptions.
Mo Yin was one such exception.
Inside the cultivation chamber, Mo Yin sat cross-legged as spiritual light flowed around him.
The day of the direct lineage assessment drew closer with each passing day, yet his cultivation remained stuck at the Late Golden Core Stage, unable to break through into the Nascent Soul realm.
Several cousins from collateral branches had already stolen the limelight in the internal trials a few days earlier. The direct lineage's gazes upon him grew colder by the day.
His thoughts gradually spiraled into disorder. Mo Yin gritted his teeth and formed hand seals, attempting to drive the spiritual power within him through the final barrier. He strained so hard that veins bulged from his forehead.
Just then, a faint tremor suddenly came from within his storage ring.
He froze for a moment, then sent his Divine Sense into the ring and retrieved the object that would not stop trembling. It was an Ink-Patterned Greatsword, black from hilt to tip.
This greatsword was paired with the Ink-Patterned Sword.
The small sword was the token, while the greatsword was the mother sword.