Beneath the sacred willow, Yun Ying sat cross-legged, a faint smile on her lovely face, looking radiant and enchanting.
She and the Willow Deity chatted with great delight. Aside from their own experiences and certain secrets of heaven and earth, nothing was off-limits. They even discussed scriptures and the Dao, causing dao flowers to bloom in the void.
"On the path of the Sword Dao, there was once the nine-leaf sword grass, and now there is you. This era will be different after all," the Willow Deity marveled. Yun Ying's Sword Dao left it awestruck.
Yun Ying smiled faintly. "Don't place your hopes too high in me, either, lest you be disappointed."
"No, I mean it. The nine-leaf sword grass perished too early and never reached the very pinnacle. Moreover, it was a naturally born spiritual root. Its innate strength was destined to become a shackle difficult to escape."
"But you are different. You rose from humble beginnings, and the sword you comprehended accords with the Heavenly Dao. Your growth will be an open road, with no limit. If there is one, it is the entire world itself," the Willow Deity said earnestly.
It could see the tremendous potential of Yun Ying's Sword Dao. The accumulation of a mortal lifetime had brought her to the absolute summit.
Hearing these words from the Willow Deity, Yun Ying broke into a smile. "Aren't you afraid all this praise will make me arrogant and complacent?"
"Would you become arrogant and complacent?" the Willow Deity asked in return.
They exchanged a smile. This feeling truly had been absent for far too long. Two kindred spirits and a pot of clear tea-that alone was eternity.
"What a pity we only met at a time like this. Perhaps this is fate, this is the Dao," Yun