Needless to say, Ye Xuan was genuinely shocked at this moment!
Just how terrifying was that demonic beast’s strength?
And someone had actually taken it down?
Was it the Child of Destiny, the Divine Eyes wielder, or the Defiant One?
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then decided to go take a look. He rose on his sword, vanishing to the distant horizon in an instant. When he reached the beast, all he saw was its corpse.
Ye Xuan carefully examined the beast’s neck. The wound there was smooth as a mirror, likely caused by some sharp weapon—and it had been a one-hit kill!
To slay this beast in a single strike!
Ye Xuan fell silent.
Could he do it?
He wasn’t sure, because he didn’t yet know the full power of his sword strike when combining his aura, sword momentum, bloodline power, and the Qingxuan Sword.
Regardless, he couldn’t afford to be careless!
Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind him.
Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed. To think he only noticed the footsteps when they were already so close… With his current strength, he could sense any movement within tens of thousands of li!
He turned around. Not far in front of him stood a man, his eyes slightly closed, hands clasped behind his back.
Ye Xuan glanced at the man’s eyes. “Divine Eyes?”
The man nodded and asked softly, “Child of Destiny?”
Ye Xuan shook his head.
The man paused, then said, “Are you the one taken in by the Harmony God Saint?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
The man was silent for a moment before asking, “Does that make us allies?”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Did you kill the beast behind us?”
The man shook his head. “I could kill it, but not that easily.”
Ye Xuan grinned faintly. “Then it was probably the Defiant One who killed it!”
The man nodded slightly, murmuring, “I’d like to see this legendary Defiant One for myself!”
Ye Xuan laughed. “Who’s stronger—you or the Child of Destiny?”
The man paused, then said, “I don’t know. We’ve never fought!”
Ye Xuan smiled again, then asked, “For now, our enemy is the Demon Vein, right?”
The man nodded.
Ye Xuan said, “Then we’re allies, yeah?”
The man thought for a moment, then replied, “Alright, allies it is!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
The man turned his head to the right. “There’s a spiritual energy fluctuation over there. Shall we check it out?”
Ye Xuan glanced in the direction the man was looking, then said, “Sure!”
The man nodded slightly, then vanished from the spot!
Ye Xuan blinked, stunned. That fast?
Without overthinking, a wisp of sword light flickered beneath his feet, and he too disappeared in an instant.
Both moved at incredible speed. In a blink, they arrived before a massive mountain. The man looked up at the peak, his brows furrowing slightly.
Ye Xuan’s brows furrowed too.
This place didn’t allow flight!
When he’d flown here earlier, a mysterious force had forced him down!
The Divine Eyes wielder beside him had been affected too!
As if struck by a thought, Ye Xuan turned to the man. “What should I call you?”
The man paused, then said, “Divine Eyes!”
Ye Xuan frowned slightly. “Just Divine Eyes?”
The man nodded, then looked at Ye Xuan. “And you?”
Ye Xuan grinned. “Ye Xuan!”
The man nodded slightly, gazing at the mountaintop. “This place doesn’t seem simple. Could it be the residence of the Heaven-Controlling God?”
Ye Xuan glanced at the peak. “Shall we go up?”
The man nodded. Just as they were about to ascend, the distant sky suddenly split open. The next moment, a figure streaked over their heads!
Seeing this, both their expressions darkened!
Someone could fly here!
This was awkward!
Walk up?
That’d be too embarrassing!
Divine Eyes turned to Ye Xuan. “What do you think?”
Ye Xuan pondered, then said, “The restriction here is strong. Forcing our way up would be tough…”
Divine Eyes said gravely, “Walk up?”
Ye Xuan shook his head. “Wouldn’t that be too humiliating?”
Divine Eyes hesitated, then admitted, “A bit, yeah!”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then suggested, “How about this: I’ll help you resist the restriction’s force first, you go up, and once you’re there, you help me resist it… Sound good?”
Divine Eyes looked a bit sheepish. “Uh… me first?”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Is that a problem?”
Divine Eyes hesitated, then said, “It feels a bit embarrassing!”
Ye Xuan quickly replied, “Then you help me resist the restriction, and I’ll go up first—I’m not embarrassed!”
Divine Eyes: “…”
Ye Xuan didn’t waste more words. He looked up at the sky. “Let’s just start!”
With that, he began to float upward. At that moment, the powerful restrictive force descended again, just like before—feeling like tens of thousands of mountains pressing down on him.
Ye Xuan hurriedly glanced at Divine Eyes. Divine Eyes hesitated, then slowly raised his right hand. The next moment, a powerful force surged upward—but almost instantly, his face turned pale!
The force was so overwhelming that even he struggled to bear it!
But as Divine Eyes held back the pressure, Ye Xuan shot skyward, reaching the mountaintop in a flash.
Below, Divine Eyes let go of his right hand and began coughing violently!
On the mountaintop, Ye Xuan turned to look down at Divine Eyes. “Come on up!”
As he spoke, he opened his palm, and a sword light slashed out fiercely.
*Rip!*
In an instant, the mysterious restrictive force was struck by his sword, sending ripples through the sky!
Ye Xuan’s face turned pale in that moment!
No doubt about it—the restriction’s pressure was intense!
Even he couldn’t hold it back for long unless he revealed his trump cards!
At that moment, Divine Eyes appeared beside him. Ye Xuan quickly sheathed his sword. The moment he did, the pressure lifted, and he felt an immense relief!
Divine Eyes glanced at Ye Xuan. “You’re a sword cultivator?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Divine Eyes nodded slightly. “Sword cultivators are rare!”
Ye Xuan smiled, then looked ahead. Not far off, he spotted a dilapidated straw hut with a vegetable garden in front.
The two walked toward the hut. When they reached it, the door was open, but the inside was empty!
Ye Xuan frowned. “Gone again?”
Divine Eyes murmured, “They’re searching for the Heaven-Controlling God’s residence too! And they’re faster than us!”
At that, his expression grew serious.
Their main goal here was the Heaven-Controlling God’s inheritance. Even if there was no inheritance, they needed to find something related to the Heaven-Controlling God!
After all, this Heaven-Controlling God was a powerhouse who’d achieved the state of Free Transformation!
Ye Xuan suddenly said, “It’s probably that Defiant One!”
Divine Eyes nodded. “They’re stronger than we imagined!”
Ye Xuan looked at Divine Eyes. “Do you know how strong the Child of Destiny is?”
Divine Eyes shook his head. “I’ve only heard of him—never met him!”
Ye Xuan frowned. “You haven’t met him either?”
Divine Eyes nodded. “We have different masters, so there’s little interaction. But according to my master, he’s likely very strong. As the Child of Destiny, he has a special constitution. Those who oppose him get rejected by fate, which triggers unfortunate events! But…”
He paused, then murmured, “I wonder who’s more heaven-defying—him or the Defiant One!”
Ye Xuan looked at Divine Eyes. “Do you think you’re weaker than them?”
Divine Eyes glanced at Ye Xuan. “Well…”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “I think you need confidence. Admitting defeat before even fighting isn’t good.”
Divine Eyes said gravely, “But shouldn’t we have self-awareness?”
Ye Xuan laughed. “You’re not wrong, but I think we should believe in ourselves more. Giving up before a fight isn’t great! It’s like ordinary people in the mortal world—knowing they’ll die eventually, why bother eating?”
Divine Eyes fell silent.
Ye Xuan smiled. “Don’t count yourself out yet. Fight first, then see. If you really can’t win, conceding isn’t shameful. But conceding without a fight—that’s a bit embarrassing! Next time we meet the Defiant One, you go first and take him on. Got it?”
Divine Eyes turned to Ye Xuan. “Why do I feel something’s off?”
Ye Xuan said seriously, “What’s off?”
Divine Eyes hesitated, then said, “I can’t quite say!”
Ye Xuan pressed, “Do you think what I said makes sense?”
Divine Eyes thought for a moment, then nodded. “It kinda does!”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “Trust your instincts, trust your heart! If we run into the Defiant One later, you fight him first. You’ll find your mindset will transform completely! You know I’m a sword cultivator—I don’t bluff!”
Divine Eyes said gravely, “What if I can’t beat him?”
Ye Xuan sighed softly. “See, there you go again! Why assume you’ll lose? Believe in yourself!”
Divine Eyes pondered, then said, “I’ll give it a shot then!”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Good! I’ll cheer you on!”
Divine Eyes: “…”
Ye Xuan suddenly glanced around. “This place—it’s probably where the Heaven-Controlling God once stayed. Which means he liked growing vegetables…”
Divine Eyes asked, “What are you getting at?”
Ye Xuan murmured, “His real residence must be close by… Maybe… he lived right here!”
Divine Eyes froze. “But… there’s nothing here!”
Ye Xuan scanned the area, his gaze settling on a reclining chair in front of the vegetable garden. The chair was overgrown with weeds, clearly unused for a very long time!
He walked slowly to the chair, paused in silence, then drew the Qingxuan Sword. In his mind, he whispered, “If you’re really a big shot… you’d surely sense the Qingxuan Sword…”
With that, his mystic energy flowed into the Qingxuan Sword, making it tremble faintly!
No response!
Ye Xuan frowned. Had he guessed wrong?
Just then, the weeds on the chair vanished. The next moment, a middle-aged man appeared on it.
The man glanced at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Xuan’s hand and smiled faintly. “The one who forged this sword is truly unmatched in the world. I’m far from their equal!”
