Ren spoke casually, but he did not tell Zhao Gongming about the Destruction Sword Venerable. With Zhao Gongming's strength, knowing about it would do him little good.
Besides, there were probably few people in the Interception Sect who knew Tongtian had a Sword Dao avatar—perhaps none at all. Since Tongtian had kept it hidden, Ren would not expose it.
At that, Zhao Gongming could only nod. "If that's all, it shouldn't be much trouble."
With Zhao Gongming's agreement, Ren prepared to fly off on a cloud, but he gave one last reminder. "Martial Uncle... we'll arrange it that way. Everything else stays the same. If anything comes up, find me at Biyou Palace. I'll be in seclusion there for a while."
With that, Ren and Xuanming flew away from Sword Peak on a cloud.
Zhao Gongming watched them disappear. He nodded silently, then turned toward the Sword Dao Legion, which stood wordless and still as Sword Aura poured from its ranks.
A short while later, Ren returned to the Upper Pure Hall in Biyou Palace.
The Upper Pure Hall was where Tongtian entered seclusion. With Tongtian gone, Ren naturally took it for his own use.
The moment they arrived, Xuanming could not help asking, "Ren... are you going to start cultivating the Sword Dao now?"
Ren sat down, his expression turning grave. "No. This isn't the right time. If I cultivate the Sword Dao, my goal will be the Heaven-Cutting Sword Dao. But attaining it will take countless hours of study, and I can't spare that time yet. I'll deal with what's already within my grasp first."
Xuanming understood, but after a moment's thought, she asked, "You mean to refine the Shadow Divine Ability? Refining it is simple enough, but the Shadow Realm connected to it holds secrets of