His cultivation speed slowed down again and again, and he could even clearly feel that in his eyes, a sharp intent was slowly condensing.

A slight mistake, and blindness would be considered a minor consequence.

After an unknown period, the two strands of Sword Qi finally stabilized.

"Now is the moment."

Without further hesitation, Song Yan opened his eyes and lightly swiped his sword-finger across his vision.

The Sword Qi, which was about to rampage, suddenly became as thick as honey, slowly spreading along his pupils and eye sockets.

The intense stinging pain immediately turned into a numb tingling.

It was as if ten thousand lights had suddenly lit up before his eyes.

He quickly closed his eyes, quietly waiting for all the unusual sensations to subside.

This process lasted for about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

Song Yan opened his eyes.

Sharp sword light seemed to flow within his eyes.

"It’s done!"

A surge of joy filled his heart, and he slowly activated his Sword Qi.

"Guan Xu!"

Song Yan felt a chill, which, at some unknown point, began to slowly permeate and spread from his brow bone.

Before long, it crossed his temples and reached his pupils.

A slight stinging sensation returned, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes.

However, the discomfort quickly vanished without a trace.

In the darkness, Song Yan lowered his gaze and tried to slowly open his eyes.

"..."

These were a pair of golden eyes, with a golden lotus-shaped pattern suspended within them.

His eyes were filled with sharpness.

Just an emotionless gaze could make one feel a chill in the dark.

"Guan Xu!"

The moment the Insightful Void Sword Eye operated, Sword Qi began to slowly deplete.

He slowly lowered his head, and a cluster of flames ignited from Spiritual Qi in his palm.

In his vision, densely intertwined streams of crimson Spiritual Qi flowed, forming this flame.

He slightly turned his head, looking at the Spirit Stone placed in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array pattern in the room.

Misty Spiritual Qi flowed gently within it.

The Unmoored Boat flew out of the sword box, hovering before him, with Sword Qi circulating and moving upon it.

The Sword Qi, which previously required Divine Sense to perceive and control, was now as clear and visible as ink strokes outlined in the air.

How truly miraculous... He looked here and there, walking back and forth in the room.

At this moment, Song Yan was not much more mature than Xiao He who had just received a new toy.

"Yan Yan... what are you doing?"

Xiao He poked her little snake head out from the pile of messed-up bedding on the bed, looking at him with great curiosity.

Song Yan turned his head and looked at Xiao He: "Looking at you."

In his Guan Xu vision, Xiao He’s Demonic Qi was extremely restrained, with almost no trace of it showing.

The strange thing was that she wasn’t even using any method to conceal her aura.

"Looking at me? Am I pretty?"

Snake Babe grinned playfully, wriggling around in her little blanket.

Song Yan chuckled, the Sword Qi dispersed, and his eyes returned to their original appearance.

"Of course you’re pretty, Xiao He is the cutest."

He gently poked the little snake’s head: "We can go back in two days."

"Yay~"

Xiao He had long wanted to leave this place. She had only stayed in her new home in Cave Abyss Sect for less than two days before coming to this place she detested, and she usually wasn’t willing to come out.

Xiao He liked flowers, plants, and trees; she liked green mountains and clear waters.

Changping was clearly the opposite of such a landscape.

Hearing that they could go back soon, she happily swam around in the bedding, occasionally letting out giggling sounds... Two days later, all matters in Changping were settled.

Great Master Sanjue led a group of Cultivators from Huadu Temple to perform rites for the deceased souls of Shiguping.

Profound Buddhist teachings purified the resentment.

A blank stele was erected on the ruins of Shiguping.

The belongings of many Cultivators who died in Avici Hell were also collected one by one.

The Changping Prefecture Governor reported to Chu Capital, temporarily designating Shiguping as a Forbidden Land.

Affected by this, Cheng Family Village and Caoyuan Township nearby were also relocating in an orderly manner.

Cultivators from the Six Sects had mostly completed their reward exchanges.

The Cultivators, each following their respective Elders, prepared to set off back to their Sects.

In Yangwu Courtyard, Cultivators from different Sects could be seen exchanging greetings and bidding farewell.

A young Disciple from Sheyang Sect patted Li Qingfeng’s shoulder: "Fat Li! The next time we meet, you’ll surely be an Inner Sect Disciple!"

"Isn’t that obvious?"

Li Qingfeng nudged Song Yan, who was standing beside him, with his elbow, and spoke casually: "You know we have connections, right?"

Song Yan’s actions in Avici Hell had long been distorted beyond recognition.

Now, rumors like "this person might be the Reincarnation of a Northern Region Demonic Infant" had emerged, truly making his reputation notorious.

However, when these "proper" stories reached the ears of Song Yan’s acquaintances...

The meaning changed a bit.

Terms like "Northern Region Demonic Infant," "Daoist Demonic Lord," and "Extreme Dao Evil Demon" were casually thrown around.

Other people’s rumors wouldn’t cause any harm to Song Yan.

But the teasing from his friends made him extremely distressed.

The surrounding Cultivators immediately burst into laughter. Only these few people who were familiar with him knew how absurd those rumors were.

Spending so many days together in a difficult place like Changping indeed made it easy to forge deep friendships.

"Oh, by the way, Brother Tao, there’s a girl named Sheng Yun in your Sect’s Liluo Courtyard; she’s my sister."

Song Yan took out a qiankun bag and handed it to the Cultivator surnamed Tao: "Please give this to her for me."

This was something Gou Sheng had asked him to deliver earlier, and he had also added some Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills to it himself.

"Got it. Don’t worry, not a single thing will be missing."

The Cultivators from Cave Abyss Sect and Sheyang Sect were the last two groups to leave the place.

"Elder Xu, thank you for your care during these days."

Xu Ziqing and Cong Yuzhen, representing the younger generation in the Foundation Establishment Realm of their respective Sects, had mostly worked together during their time in Changping.

"We are all acquaintances; there’s no need for such formalities."

"When we meet again at Dragon Pool Mountain in the future, I hope Senior Cong will be lenient."

After Xu Ziqing finished speaking, he laughed heartily and did not linger, leading the Cave Abyss Sect Disciples away.

His Flying Spiritual Artifact was a huge disk formed by connected floating clouds.

Song Yan looked at Changping, gradually receding below, and felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

The journey to Changping was like a dream.

When he first arrived, although he knew there would be some danger, he never expected to be caught in such a calamity.

Since obtaining the liangyi pearl until now, it seemed that everything made every decision he made fraught with peril.

Looking back now, stepping into the garbage dump of Fire Worker Village to search for the array pearl, even in memory, felt rather dull and ordinary.

Thinking back now, there was only the bitterness of struggling to survive for a few Spirit Stones.

At that time, he thought it was just the most ordinary day of his life.

And now, his Dao Heart was at Perfection, and his Sword Intent was formed.

He slightly raised his eyes, the sky vast and boundless.

The formation of the Lifebound Flying Sword marked the first Realm of the Dao of the Sword.

The human heart is supremely spiritual, and the Sword Heart is clear.

The various calamities and hardships on the path to immortality did not make him feel oppressed or despair.

Instead, they ignited a hint of excitement.

If a person only does things within their capabilities, they will never progress.

Cultivating step by step, accumulating spiritual power, that is merely growth.

Constantly striving to do things beyond one’s abilities is the only way to advance courageously and relentlessly.

Only then can one truly be called a Sword Cultivator.