The might of a single sword strike

"Dig up the bones here and give them a proper burial. Also, be careful, lest that demon is still alive. Stay in groups of three and don't change groups."

The man in the official robes who was leading the group spoke with a certain authority, and the others all nodded in agreement.

Seeing everyone getting busy, the man in the lead immediately waved to someone, signaling them to take the matter back and inform the prefect.

"Immortal Master."

Inside the inn, Fang Zelin had just opened his eyes when he saw the City God standing before him.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zelin quickly stood up, "I was unaware of the City God's arrival; I have been somewhat negligent."

"Oh, it's alright. I'm just afraid I've disturbed your cultivation, Immortal Master."

Upon Yuanqing City God waved his hand. He had noticed that Fang Zelin was cultivating when he arrived.

Just as I was wondering whether I should come back later, I saw Fang Zelin wake up.

"I must thank you, Immortal Master, for helping Yuanqing Prefecture rid it of this demon. Otherwise, although Yuanqing Prefecture is currently bustling with activity, it wouldn't be long before that tree demon caused countless deaths."

The City God sighed as he finished speaking.

Seeing Fang Zelin extend his hand to invite him to sit down, he didn't stand on ceremony.

After settling into a chair, he forced a smile at Fang Zelin, "Previously, nine out of ten houses in Yuanqing Prefecture; it was truly my responsibility."

"That tree demon isn't far from here. Since it's still relatively weak, why didn't we go and capture it? Could it be that we didn't notice it?"

Fang Zelin then voiced his own doubts.

Logically speaking, the two places aren't particularly far apart, so how could the City God have allowed this to harm people for so long without noticing?

"Well"

Upon hearing this Yuanqing City God sighed heavily, "This matter dates back to a long time ago."

Then he explained the situation to Fang Zelin in detail.

To be honest, that tree spirit had lived for over a thousand years.

What does a thousand years mean? That means it existed before the Great Han Dynasty. Initially, the tree Demon Cultivator went unnoticed by the underworld officials.

Once the tree demon's strength reached a certain level, the City God became wary of it, but since he didn't see it harm anyone, he naturally couldn't kill it.

By the end of the Great Han Dynasty, the tree demon had already cultivated for five hundred years.

At the end of the Great Han Dynasty, demons rose up and seized the opportunity to steal the Human Race Karmic Fortune. Not only did war break out all over the world, but countless demons also emerged.

At this point, they naturally couldn't care less about the tree demon.

The tree demon also took this opportunity to devour people and strengthen its own power.

"I'm sure you, Immortal Master, also know that the dynasties after the Great Han, and even the current Great Jin Dynasty, have only existed for a short period of about five hundred years, right?"

Dynastic changes are a very normal occurrence; however, the dynasties that follow are not long-lasting, and can even be described as short-lived.

Fang Zelin nodded upon hearing this; he was naturally aware of the matter.

"That's because the demons that emerged from those dynasties didn't hide away after the world stabilized. Instead, some of them, dissatisfied, took the opportunity to infiltrate the dynasties, stirring up wars everywhere and devouring people. They not only ate themselves but also used this to entice the people to eat them, calling them 'two-legged sheep.'"

"The Great Xia, Great Zhou, and State of Wei all appear to be dynasties that were built up, but their existence was very short-lived. At that time, the world was in chaos, and demons and monsters ran rampant."

Fang Zelin was somewhat shaken upon hearing this.

From these words, he could glean some idea of just how much these demons had done to cause such turmoil in the world.

"What about the other cultivators? Didn't they come out to slay the demons?"

"Yes, of course there is."

Upon hearing this Yuanqing City God immediately nodded and said, "Many True Person from the immortal sects went down the mountain to slay demons. At that time, there were almost daily battles, sometimes even several a day, and countless True Person from the immortal sects died or were injured."

"Even some newly initiated True Person came down the mountain, but at that time the demons were powerful, and many people in the immortal sects suffered losses."

Fang Zelin's expression hardened slightly upon hearing this. "I've asked many other City God about similar matters before, but they didn't seem to know much about it. I didn't expect the City God of Yuanqing Prefecture to know so much."

"This place is remote, making it a favorite spot for demons. It's also bordered by the Cloud-Linking Mountain, so you'll see more of them here than in other places."

Upon hearing this, the City God offered a brief explanation, but then asked with a puzzled look, "How could the Immortal Master not know these things? Given the Immortal Master's previous power, you must have lived for over a thousand years, right?"

"I haven't been cultivating for very long, so naturally I don't know about these things."

Fang Zelin gave an explanation.

It seems that the power of his sword strike was too great, making the other party think he was very strong, which led to this misunderstanding.

However, the power of that sword strike was more than enough to easily slay a centuries-old demon.

As for those that are a thousand years old, they definitely cannot be killed.

That tree demon from before has lived for a thousand years, but its cultivation is definitely more than a thousand years.

This tree demon has eaten too many people; the ground is covered with layers upon layers of human bones.

They took advantage of the heavenly fire to seize the opportunity and kill him.

"That's Higher Vehicle the immortal has exceptional talent; only then can he possess such high abilities."

The City God offered a compliment, and Fang Zelin smiled upon hearing it. If it weren't for the thirty years of cultivation he had gained from eating earlier, and that sword aura, where would he have gotten such powerful strength?

However, given his thirty-one years of cultivation and swordsmanship, it seems unlikely that he could unleash such a dramatic increase in strength.

Thinking about this, it seems there was something strange about Bearing the Heavens Sword before. I'll have to ask Bearing the Heavens about it later.

"By the way, I saw the City God set up an array called the Soul-Bewildering Formation before. Could you teach it to me?"

Fang Zelin didn't forget the important matter at this moment and quickly asked a question.

"It's nothing, I'll send someone to deliver it later!"

The City God was still worrying about how to thank Fang Zelin, but upon hearing Fang Zelin's request, he quickly agreed.

After finishing his business, the City God took his leave, saying he would have the Soul-Bewildering Formation delivered later.

After the City God left, Fang Zelin quickly summoned Bearing the Heavens.

Bearing the Heavens, who had been leaning against the headboard, heard the sound and flew over, circling Fang Zelin a few times before stopping.

"Speaking of which, I've only had thirty-one years of cultivation. When I unleashed that sword strike with you before, I felt the power was a bit too great. Was it all because of the sword's momentum?"

Fang Zelin looked at Bearing the Heavens and asked with some curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Bearing the Heavens made a buzzing sound, and the meaning it conveyed made Fang Zelin pause in surprise.

"What did you say? You said that all the Spiritual Qi you absorbed was contained within the sword, and you released it all when you drew it?"

Bearing the Heavens jumped up and down, indicating that this was the meaning.

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin's expression shifted between light and shadow. "So you don't need Spiritual Qi for cultivation? You're just constantly storing Spiritual Qi?"

Bearing the Heavens hummed a few times and then flashed several times.

After a moment, Fang Zelin understood what he meant.

"I see. At first, you only needed a little Spiritual Qi to cultivate. Later, after I told you about 'harmonizing with the world,' you not only absorbed the sword's power into the sword, but also stored all the Spiritual Qi into the sword during your subsequent cultivation?"

Fang Zelin finally understood.

This is when Bearing the Heavens, after listening to Fang Zelin's sermon, began to understand.

Having understood this, all the Spiritual Qi absorbed during cultivation was stored within the sword's body. When needed, this Spiritual Qi energy would be released to amplify the sword's power.

After figuring this out, Fang Zelin was overjoyed.

If that's the case, then we should extend the cultivation time in the future and make Bearing the Heavens absorb Spiritual Qi as much as possible.

The power of that single sword strike will surely shake the heavens and the earth!