The Bamboo Sea Dao Field.
Sea-Viewing Cliff.
Xu Taiping stood on the Sword Platform atop the cliff, gazing at the distant Sea of Clouds below as he slowly raised the Water-Cutting Blade in his hand.
Blade Ghost, Old Daoist Huang, and Ping'an stood behind him, all wearing grave expressions.
For a time, only the soft rustle of the wind remained atop Sea-Viewing Cliff.
Finally, after standing still for a long while, Xu Taiping placed his other hand on the hilt, then abruptly opened his eyes and drew Water-Cutting.
Shing-!
Amid the ear-splitting blade cry, Xu Taiping's aura fluctuation, as condensed as a mountain, transformed in an instant into astonishing blade force, surging with the might to overwhelm the heavens and split the seas.
In a flash, the previously tranquil Sea of Clouds abruptly became thousand-zhang waves sweeping toward him.
Swish-!
But in the merest instant, a streak of blade light like a fine silver thread abruptly sliced the entire wave of clouds across its middle.
Boom!!!
The next moment, amid an ear-blasting explosion, the severed wave of clouds burst apart.
In a single instant, it vanished completely.
The waves of the Ten-Thousand-Li Azure Sea, previously hidden beneath the Sea of Clouds, came clearly into view.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
A gale carrying the lingering might of the blade qi swept across everyone's faces.
Just then, Ping'an, who had been staring in a daze, suddenly pointed toward the distant meeting of sea and sky and exclaimed excitedly:
"A blade mark! Eldest Brother's blade mark is carved into the Bamboo Sea Dao Field's barrier."
A dazzling crack had appeared where sea and sky met, with thunderflame even flickering within it.
After taking a close look, Old Daoist Huang nodded repeatedly and said:
"That's right. That is indeed Taiping's blade mark."
Just then, Xu