Inside the room, moonlight lay across the smooth wooden floor like a layer of deathly pale frost.
Li Xiang said nothing. He merely raised his eyes to Xiang Tiange.
Xiang Tiange was nothing like the aloof, cold Swordsman he had been on the Arena that day. An unsettling light danced in his eyes.
Fervor.
Fervor that left room for nothing else.
It was the light seen in the eyes of fanatical believers, or in those demon disciples of the Heavenly Demon Divine Church said to have gone mad trying to embrace demonic Intent.
"You should be proud that the Sword Mound chose you."
Xiang Tiange's tone was strange. He sounded less like a man speaking to another person than one proclaiming a sacred, inviolable oracle.
Every word carried an air that brooked no doubt.
Li Xiang maintained basic courtesy. "What is the Sword Mound?"
Xiang Tiange's gaze passed over Li Xiang's head, as though it pierced the roof and looked toward some unknowable, distant place.
"The summit of the Sword Dao."
After those four words, he continued, "The destination of every blade in the world. A place that truly holds the path to transcendence."
"Inside, you cannot feel time pass. The years leave no trace. You gain eternal life, never need to fear your lifespan running out, and can cast off every mortal bond to pursue your own Great Dao without restraint."
Eternal life.
Those two words held a deadly temptation for everyone in this world.
From lowly First Realm Professionals to the patriarchs of the Upper Four Realms, who could Illuminate the Heavens and blot out the sky with one hand, they spent their lives scheming for all the world's Fortune. In the end, all they sought were those two words.
It sounded like the greatest windfall heaven could