Spirit Realm
Ye Xuan stood within a bamboo grove, his eyes slightly closed, his left hand gripping the sheathed Qingxuan Sword. He appeared as if in a meditative trance.
Calmness!
In this moment, Ye Xuan had fully entered a state of serene focus, as if the entire world around him had fallen silent.
Everything became clear!
Suddenly, Ye Xuan’s thumb gently flicked upward.
*Hum!*
The Qingxuan Sword unsheathed!
In an instant, the forest around Ye Xuan began to grow at a visible rate. In less than half a breath, the bamboo grove had expanded hundreds of times. But soon after, the grove rapidly withered, ultimately turning to dust!
In that single moment, the bamboo grove had experienced nearly a thousand years of time!
One sword, a millennium!
Ye Xuan hurriedly sheathed the Qingxuan Sword, his expression grave.
He had to admit, this was beyond his expectations!
He hadn’t anticipated that the power of time’s passage would be so terrifying!
Except for himself, everything within a several-mile radius centred on him had rapidly aged by nearly a thousand years!
A thousand years!
What kind of concept was that?
Terrifying!
Even Ye Xuan himself found it frightening, because one misstep could literally mean instant death!
But this was far from enough!
A thousand years of lifespan, for many top-tier powerhouses, wasn’t much. Some powerhouses lived for millions of years—what was a mere thousand years to them?
Nothing at all!
Of course, he had a solution!
That earlier strike was just a test, and he hadn’t used much of the power of passage. With the Qingxuan Sword, he could not only connect directly to the Day Realm but also draw an endless stream of the power of passage from it!
At that moment, Ling Tian suddenly appeared beside Ye Xuan. She glanced around, then looked at Ye Xuan, her expression equally grave. “You can draw the power of passage from the Day Realm?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Yes!”
Ling Tian asked in a low voice, “How did you do it?”
Ye Xuan raised the Qingxuan Sword in his hand.
Ling Tian frowned slightly. “The sword your father forged for you?”
Ye Xuan shook his head. “My sister gave it to me!”
Ling Tian looked at Ye Xuan. “Your sister?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Impressive, right?”
Ling Tian shook her head slightly. “Impressive? It’s terrifying! Utterly terrifying! Others have tried to draw the power of time’s passage from the Day Realm before, but they all gave up in the end. Do you know why?”
Ye Xuan, curious, asked, “Why?”
Ling Tian said gravely, “Because it was simply impossible!”
Ye Xuan frowned slightly. “I found it quite easy! Look, I drew it out effortlessly! No difficulty at all!”
Ling Tian’s face twitched. “Try it without that sword of yours!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Ling Tian continued, “Do you know why everyone gave up? To draw out the power of passage, you need a medium—a bridge, so to speak, to connect the spacetime of this world with that of the Day Realm. In the past, some used countless divine artefacts, hoping to use them as a medium to channel the power of passage from the Day Realm. But they discovered that no divine artefact could withstand that power, so they had to abandon the idea!”
She glanced at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Xuan’s hand and added, “Your sword is so terrifying that it can withstand the power of passage…”
She looked at Ye Xuan again. “Your sister must be quite powerful, right?”
Ye Xuan blinked. “Just a tiny bit stronger than me!”
Ling Tian rolled her eyes at him. “I bet it’s more than a tiny bit!”
Ye Xuan laughed heartily, then said, “Elder Ling Tian, does this mean I’m the first to successfully draw out the power of the Day Realm’s spacetime?”
Ling Tian nodded, looking at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Xuan’s hand. “How much of that power of passage can your sword withstand?”
Ye Xuan glanced at the Qingxuan Sword and smiled faintly. “Unlimited!”
Unlimited!
Ling Tian’s expression shifted. “Unlimited?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Ling Tian looked deeply at Ye Xuan. “You’re about to become invincible!”
She couldn’t help but feel deeply shocked.
Unlimited!
What did that mean?
It meant Ye Xuan essentially carried the Day Realm with him and could use its power of passage endlessly.
Who could withstand a single strike from Ye Xuan’s sword?
Even if someone could block one strike, what about the second? The third?
Each time someone blocked Ye Xuan’s sword, it was equivalent to having their lifespan drained once.
Fighting Ye Xuan was truly a gamble with one’s life!
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed!
Though Ye Xuan wasn’t yet at the Realm-Breaking stage, he was far more terrifying than those who were!
Ye Xuan smiled and said, “Elder Ling Tian, I’m leaving!”
Ling Tian was slightly stunned. “Leaving?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “If I stay here, I’m afraid I’ll bring trouble to the Spirit Realm!”
Ling Tian hesitated, then asked, “Where are you going?”
Ye Xuan smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough!”
With that, he vanished from the spot, riding his sword.
…
After Ye Xuan left the Spirit Realm, a white-robed elder appeared before him.
The elder smiled faintly. “Young Master Ye, I am Xu Mikong, the clan leader of the Xumi Realm. May we have a word?”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Of course!”
The white-robed elder laughed heartily and said, “Young Master Ye, I’ve come to confirm one thing: is that small pagoda truly as miraculous as they say?”
Ye Xuan blinked. “Why ask what you already know?”
The elder sighed softly. “I never imagined there could be such a terrifying divine artefact in this world.”
Ye Xuan smiled, saying nothing.
The elder looked at Ye Xuan and said earnestly, “Young friend Ye, for the Ancient Clan to openly steal your small pagoda in broad daylight is utterly unjust and shameful! The Xumi Realm and the Heaven Realm have decided to step in, uphold justice, help you reclaim the pagoda, and restore order to the Six Realms!”
Ye Xuan blinked, then gave a thumbs-up. “Good! Very good!”
The elder watched Ye Xuan, waiting for him to continue.
But Ye Xuan said nothing more.
The elder’s expression froze. He hesitated, then said, “Young friend, you don’t seem very enthusiastic!”
Ye Xuan sighed softly. “Clan Leader Kong, the Ancient Clan is one of the six great clans, a supreme power! Look at me—what am I? A lone sword cultivator with no backing or support. How could I possibly stand against the Ancient Clan?”
He sighed heavily again, continuing, “Senior, you don’t understand the struggles of us small fry! For people like me, with no backing or support, everything depends on ourselves. Life is tough!”
Xu Mikong glanced at Ye Xuan. “Young friend, you don’t seem like a lone cultivator with no support!”
Ye Xuan gave a bitter smile. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. It’s a long story, full of tears!”
Xu Mikong frowned. This lad was proving difficult to sway!
Suddenly, Ye Xuan added, “Clan Leader Kong, I understand your intentions. You can act against the Ancient Clan in my name, but I absolutely won’t take action against them myself! Of course, even if I did, with my strength, I wouldn’t be much help.”
In other words, you do your thing, but Ye Xuan wasn’t getting involved!
Xu Mikong thought for a long while, then smiled. “Of course, we understand your position, young friend! However, we may need to act in your name… After all, the pagoda is yours…”
Ye Xuan suddenly said, “Senior Xu Mikong, how about this? I’ll sell you the small pagoda for the price of five star veins!”
The small pagoda: “…”
Xu Mikong frowned slightly. “Sell it to us?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Yes! Sell it to you!”
Xu Mikong looked at Ye Xuan. “The pagoda doesn’t seem to be in your possession!”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “Senior, if you’re willing to pay five star veins, I’ll sell the pagoda to you. In simple terms, it’ll nominally belong to you! This way, when you act against the Ancient Clan, you’ll have a more legitimate cause. And when you rally your clan to fight, they’ll be more willing, thinking, ‘Bloody hell, this was ours to begin with! How dare the Ancient Clan steal from the Xumi Clan!’”
He smiled and added, “Senior, don’t you think five star veins is worth it?”
Xu Mikong glanced at Ye Xuan, then laughed. “Young friend, you’re absolutely right! This is an excellent plan!”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Then about those star veins…”
Xu Mikong blinked. “Young friend, I think you should hear my idea first! If we announce to the world that you’re part of our Xumi Realm, wouldn’t that give us an even more legitimate cause? And if you were to suddenly perish, we could say the Ancient Clan killed you! Wouldn’t that be even better?”
Ye Xuan laughed. “Good! Very good!”
Xu Mikong looked at Ye Xuan, a smile on his face, but a powerful aura locked onto Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan smiled and said, “If Senior thinks five star veins is too expensive, then go ahead and kill me! I won’t resist, truly!”
Xu Mikong’s brows furrowed slightly.
No resistance!
Ye Xuan’s expression was calm, a smile still on his face.
Xu Mikong fell silent.
This young man was fearless!
What gave him such confidence?
Xu Mikong looked at Ye Xuan and smiled. “Young friend, didn’t you say you had no backing or support?”
Ye Xuan blinked. “I don’t! No backing, no support! From the moment I started cultivating, it’s all been my own effort, nothing to do with anyone else… Even when I instantly killed that Ancient Clan’s Manifestation Realm powerhouse, that strength was all my own cultivation. I swear I didn’t rely on my family or my master—truly, it’s all from my own hard work!”
Xu Mikong stared at Ye Xuan, saying nothing.
Ye Xuan continued, “Senior, you really don’t need to worry. I’m just a lone soul. Kill me, and the Xumi Clan won’t provoke any mysterious forces. Don’t worry, go ahead! Kill me, I absolutely won’t resist!”
Xu Mikong: “…”
