Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Bai Yi and Nanning exchanged peculiar looks.
In their view, Ye Xuan must have someone backing him. Otherwise, a lone cultivator could never reach such a level of strength.
No matter how prodigious, resources were essential!
They wouldn’t believe for a second that Ye Xuan had no background!
Bai Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Brother Ye, do you think they’ll stop after taking your pagoda? No! They absolutely won’t! They’re just too busy to deal with you now, but once they have time, they’ll come to cut the grass and pull out the roots!”
Nanning nodded. “Young Master Ye, if you don’t act against them, they’ll act against you!”
Ye Xuan glanced at them, sneering inwardly.
The forces behind these two wanted to use him as a pawn to confront the Ancient Clan!
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ye Xuan smiled faintly. “You two, let me think it over! I need to think!”
With that, he turned, mounted his sword, and vanished at the horizon’s edge. His speed was so great that by the time the two reacted, he was gone without a trace.
This time, he didn’t outright refuse!
He needed to leave these factions with a glimmer of hope, or they wouldn’t let the matter rest!
Seeing Ye Xuan leave, Bai Yi’s brows furrowed slightly.
Nanning suddenly said, “This Young Master Ye is a sly one. Using him to fight the Ancient Clan? That’s unrealistic!”
Bai Yi nodded. “Let their factions handle it themselves!”
The two departed.
In truth, they had no desire to get involved! This was a matter between realms—getting entangled could lead to catastrophic consequences if they weren’t careful!
…
Ancient Realm.
The Ancient Clan was now on maximum alert. All their powerhouses abroad had returned, and the old monsters in seclusion had emerged!
Acquiring the pagoda was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for the Ancient Clan.
If they could weather the storm, the future would hold only the Ancient Realm—no Six Realms!
But they knew the other five realms wouldn’t stand idly by!
If they succeeded, the Ancient Realm would be invincible!
If they failed, the Ancient Realm might cease to exist!
Yet every Ancient Clan powerhouse chose to take the gamble!
…
After parting ways with Bai Yi and Nanning, Ye Xuan arrived at a mountain peak, overlooking the vast ranges below, his expression calm.
Moments later, he closed his eyes slowly.
Calm the heart!
He had to admit, he now cherished this state. Only in this moment did he feel like a true sword cultivator—one whose heart held only the sword!
Sword cultivator!
The heart was the core!
If the heart wasn’t still, the sword couldn’t be either!
In truth, he was somewhat lost at this moment!
When he chose not to break the circle but to enter it, he diverged from the mainstream path of cultivation. Realms like Self-Transformation or Realm Breaker had no relevance to him now.
Lost!
After entering the circle, his future path was his to forge!
It was all too easy to fall into confusion!
Following another’s path was simple, but carving out one’s own? That was no small feat!
And now, he had hit a bottleneck.
*Calm the heart!*
This was what he had comprehended after entering the circle. But what came after calming the heart?
Ye Xuan’s eyes opened slowly, gazing into the distance. After a long while, he opened his left hand, and the Qingxuan Sword appeared. He smiled faintly. “Little Soul, how should I walk my path next?”
Little Soul was silent for a long time before saying, “Walk upright!”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened instantly!
It was all that damned pagoda’s fault, turning Little Soul so flamboyant!
Little Soul suddenly said, “Little Master, have you considered developing your soul?”
Ye Xuan was curious. “The soul?”
Little Soul replied, “Yes! Every living being has a soul. Little Master, you have Sister Destiny’s One Sword Soul Binding technique. If you pursued this path, you’d have a bright future!”
*One Sword Soul Binding!*
Ye Xuan frowned. “How would I develop it?”
Little Soul said, “Little Master, I’m just a sword—how would I know?”
Ye Xuan’s expression froze. Damn that pagoda!
After a moment, he looked at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand.
*One Sword Soul Binding!*
How could he make it even more formidable?
After a long silence, Ye Xuan said, “Forget it! I’ll ask Qing’er for advice another day!”
Little Soul hesitated, then said, “Little Master, isn’t your goal to surpass Sister Destiny and the others?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Yes!”
Little Soul said, “Then you should forge your own path!”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “You don’t understand! I’ll follow Qing’er and Father’s paths first. Once I reach their end, I’ll create a new sword path to surpass them… Got it?”
Little Soul was silent for a moment, then said, “You mean, like in the mortal world, a rich second-generation heir who doesn’t start his own business but inherits the family fortune first, then builds his own empire on his father’s wealth to surpass him, right?”
Ye Xuan hesitated. “Your analogy…”
Little Soul suddenly laughed. “Little Master, that might work too! But I still think you should forge your own path!”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Why?”
Little Soul thought for a moment, then said, “Because I feel that if you follow Sister Destiny and your father’s paths, it’ll be hard to surpass them on their own road!”
Ye Xuan fell silent.
Little Soul giggled. “Am I right?”
Ye Xuan laughed. “You’re right! I’ll try my best! If I can’t do it, I’ll leave it to my son. My son’s invincibility is no different from mine!”
Little Soul reminded him, “Little Master, I’ve heard of relying on a father, but relying on a son? That’s a first!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Done bantering with Little Soul, Ye Xuan walked down the mountain.
He moved slowly, deep in thought!
His earlier words were, of course, in jest.
His lifelong goal was to surpass his father and Qing’er. As for a son… even if he had one someday, he wouldn’t burden him with such hardship. But he also wouldn’t let his son live too comfortably!
*Free-range parenting!*
He’d already decided to uphold the Yang family’s fine tradition and not let it end with him!
Unknowingly, Ye Xuan reached the base of the mountain, arriving at a small stream.
How could he surpass Qing’er and his father?
As Little Soul said, he couldn’t follow their paths to the end. If he did, he’d never outstrip them.
He was improving, but weren’t his father and Qing’er improving too?
He needed a way to overtake them on a curve!
Ye Xuan closed his eyes slowly. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what level his combat strength was at now. He wouldn’t shy away from fighting a Realm Breaker, though whether he could win was another matter!
He still had one ultimate trump card unused: the Momentum of the Heavens and Myriad Realms and the Power of the Heavens and Myriad Realms. His self-created *Instant Life and Death* could only reach its full potential with these forces!
But so far, he hadn’t used them!
He’d been relying on aura, sword momentum, bloodline power, and fighting spirit!
He was eager to test the might of his ultimate sword strike!
His greatest challenge now was how to take the next step!
*Daylight Realm!*
Ye Xuan suddenly thought of this place, where time flowed opposite to the pagoda’s, accelerating its passage…
With this thought, a new idea sparked in his mind!
Why not explore the aspect of time?
*One Sword to Sever Lifespan!*
With this in mind, Ye Xuan vanished from the spot.
He returned to the Spirit Realm, entering the hall to consult Ling Tian about the Daylight Realm.
Ling Tian held nothing back, sharing all she knew!
When Ye Xuan entered the Daylight Realm, though he lacked the pagoda, the mysterious time-eroding force there had no effect on him.
Because he had the Qingxuan Sword!
It negated all powers of time and space!
Ye Xuan began experimenting with using the Qingxuan Sword to control the mysterious eroding force. He discovered that the sword could manipulate it—or rather, the eroding force seemed to fear the Qingxuan Sword, which could easily destroy it!
Still, Ye Xuan was cautious. He couldn’t touch the eroding force himself—contact would rapidly drain his vitality!
The higher the realm, the longer the lifespan. In theory, barring accidents, powerhouses in the Self-Transformation or Realm Breaker realms were nearly immortal!
Not quite eternal life, but their lifespans were extraordinarily long. Yet these powerhouses often secluded themselves for centuries, so time felt short to them!
Sometimes, even a millennium was but a fleeting moment in their eyes!
*One Sword to Sever Lifespan!*
This was Ye Xuan’s current idea!
Realm Breakers were powerful because they could exploit the Daylight Realm’s spacetime, sending someone inside to rapidly drain their lifespan—essentially killing them with time!
But Ye Xuan could use the Qingxuan Sword to draw the Daylight Realm’s eroding force out… In short, he could wield that spacetime power directly without needing to send someone into the Daylight Realm!
Though he wasn’t a Realm Breaker, he could achieve everything they could—and more. While Realm Breakers needed to send their targets to the Daylight Realm to use its time erosion to deplete lifespan, Ye Xuan could bring that eroding force out!
His method was simpler and more direct!
Over the next few days, Ye Xuan focused on studying the Daylight Realm’s spacetime force. With the Qingxuan Sword, he faced few obstacles.
Five days later, he successfully drew the eroding force from the Daylight Realm into his current spacetime. But a new problem arose: how to maximise its power!
One sword strike, and the enemy drops dead on the spot!
That was his goal!
