After hearing Shi Zhangji's introduction, Cheng Xinzhan realized that across the five regions of the Northern Desert, the Two Longs, Western Liang, and Hehuang, every region had at least one Fifth Realm great demon holding sway. This was truly baffling! Everyone said the Northwest was barren and the southeast prosperous, yet not every place in the southeast had someone of the Fifth Realm!
This truly was the mighty, irresistible tide of heaven and earth, with monstrous beings springing up everywhere and demons dancing in chaos.
Beyond this, Cheng Xinzhan noticed something else. In these regions, Daoist, Chan, and unorthodox schools had all sealed their mountains and shut their gates, yet not a single Sword Sect had done so. He asked, "From what you've said, fellow Daoist, the Sword Sects of the Northwest have either had their mountains breached and perished, or are still keeping their gates open to meet the enemy. Not one has sealed its mountain to protect itself. Is that coincidence, or is there a reason?"
At Cheng Xinzhan's question, a different kind of brilliance appeared on Shi Zhangji's perpetually gloomy, indignant face, and light flashed in his eyes. "A sword may be bared against an enemy, and it may be broken, but it must never hide. We Sword Sects of the Northwest made an agreement long ago: whenever a sect's gates are breached, fellow cultivators must gather its survivors and the seeds of its sword legacy, keeping the flame alive for another day. When those seeds restore their sect, we must spare no effort to help. But any who hide must remove the words 'Sword Sect' from their name themselves, or we shall all rise against them!"
Cheng Xinzhan fell silent and nodded. Four of the Six Northwest Sword Sects had had their gates breached. The weight