"SWISH!"

The Spiritual Light of the Dust Banner wrapped around Zhu Ju, soaring over peak after peak before gently descending at the foot of a mountain.

A small courtyard enclosed by a wicker fence stood there.

Inside the courtyard grew several plum blossom trees.

The plum blossoms were in full bloom.

Yun Wuya stood beneath the trees. The little girl, Xue Nan, stood by his side with red-rimmed eyes, sobbing softly from time to time.

They both knew their parting was imminent.

A sorrowful air filled the space between them.

"Sect Leader."

Seeing Zhu Ju, a faint smile appeared on Yun Wuya’s face.

"You’ve come, just as I expected."

"It seems your injuries are severe," Zhu Ju said, studying him and nodding slowly.

"You can’t wait any longer?"

"I’m out of time," Yun Wuya sighed softly.

"Fortunately, my wish has been fulfilled. It is fitting that I should meet my end here today."

He gently patted his daughter’s head and guided Xue Nan to Zhu Ju’s side before speaking slowly.

"Sect Leader, your Talent is extraordinary. You are surely the greatest prodigy the Sword Sect has seen in a thousand years. Given time, I imagine no one in this world will be your match, save for the Celestial Capital Sect Leader."

"The Celestial Capital Sect Leader?" Zhu Ju asked, looking thoughtful.

"Was he the one who injured you?"

"No." Yun Wuya shook his head.

"If I had met him, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have had the chance to see you, Sect Leader."

At the mention of the ’Celestial Capital Sect Leader,’ a complex mix of fear, awe, and wonder appeared in his eyes.

"Sect Leader."

Composing himself, Yun Wuya spoke in a solemn voice.

"I have no other skills to speak of, only my proficiency with the sword. Please, watch."

"CLANG!"

With a flick of his finger, the plum blossom petals before him danced upon the wind.

The Sword Light had transformed into petals. It seemed useless, but it demonstrated that the one performing the Sword Control had reached a realm where the sword followed his will, allowing him to control his Divine Soul, Magical Power, and even his Flying Sword with microscopic precision.

With the Cultivation of a Dao Foundation Cultivator, one could surely master Great Divine Techniques like ’Refining Sword into Silk’ and ’One Sword Shatters Ten Thousand Laws’.

"SWISH!"

A sharp Sword Intent suddenly flared.

The beautiful, dreamlike petals abruptly revealed a savage killing intent.

The Sword Intent enveloped the surroundings as Sword Light pulsed outward, unleashing an unknowable number of strikes into the void in a single instant.

An area dozens of yards across was completely engulfed in Sword Light.

This Sword Technique, which Yun Wuya executed by burning his remaining life force, fully displayed the power of a Second Decline Treasure Artifact True Man.

He had long since cultivated his self-created Plum Blossom Sword Technique to a state of perfection, where he could unleash and retract it at will.

When the Sword Formulas were unleashed, his Magical Power instantly surged to its peak. His Sword Intent resonated with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, forming a Sword Light capable of annihilating all things.

"CLANG!"

But in the instant the Sword Intent reached its zenith, unable to advance even an inch further, another change occurred.

The thousands of strands of Sword Light converged inward in a way that was both inconceivable and perfectly natural.

Four beams of sword radiance appeared.

Sword Light Division!

Zhu Ju’s eyes widened. He had long heard of the ’Sword Light Division’ technique, and had even witnessed it before.

But never had it been so clearly demonstrated for him as it was now by Yun Wuya.

How the Sword Intent changed, how the Sword Light condensed, how the Sword Formulas were executed—every single detail was laid bare before his eyes.

This one sword display,

would save him several years of bitter Cultivation!

"PTHOO!"

Yun Wuya’s body trembled. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his Flying Sword fell to the ground with a CLANG.

"Father!"

Xue Nan cried out in grief and ran to him.

Shortly after, an unremarkable little mound of earth appeared beneath the trees, covered in flower petals. To prevent his enemies from seeking revenge, no tombstone was erected for Yun Wuya’s grave.

"Let’s go."

Sighing softly, Zhu Ju swept his sleeve, enveloping Xue Nan, and rose into the air, heading toward the location of the Sword Sect disciples.

...

「In the Sword Sect.」

"CLANG!"

In front of everyone, Zhu Ju plunged the Plum Blossom Sword into the ground.

"The Plum Blossom Sword Saint, Yun Wuya, is dead. There is no need to speak of past grievances."

"This girl’s name is Xue Nan. I rescued her on my way here. Her parents were killed by the hands of Evil Cultivators."

"Xiaoo Meng, from now on, you will be her teacher."

"Yes." Xiaoo Meng acknowledged the order.

The Talisman Hall’s Hall Master, Jiang Qiu, stared blankly at the Plum Blossom Sword, his expression shifting rapidly. Finally, he let out a sorrowful howl and fell to his knees.

"Master!"

"Junior Sister!"

"Your revenge has finally been achieved today!"

...

"Oh, right." Watching the changing expressions on everyone’s faces, Zhu Ju turned to Kan Feichen.

"What’s the situation with the Wuk Family?"

"Reporting to the Sect Leader." Kan Feichen snapped back to his senses and cupped his hands.

"The Wuk Family has already breached the Demon Workshop. The Demon Workshop Master fled with serious injuries. Furthermore, several top-tier Second Decline True Men charged into the Demon Exorcism Hall’s Eagle’s Nest. That Divine Eagle King, Iron Madman, will surely not escape death."

"Mm," Zhu Ju nodded slowly.

"That’s good."

...

「On the mountain peak.」

’I have five days at most before I have to leave this world.’

Calculating the time, Zhu Ju took a deep breath, and the trace of anxiety in his eyes quietly vanished.

’It has already come to this.’

’Worrying is useless!’

’Success or failure hangs on this one attempt. It’s time to begin.’

"RATTLE..."

Zhu Ju lightly waved his sleeve, and numerous materials and Spirit Jades appeared beside him.

He flicked a finger toward the ground beneath him.

"BZZZ..."

A simple Array materialized.

The core of the Array came from the promotion ceremony at the Demon Exorcism Hall’s Meat Market, and it was also integrated with a Spirit Gathering Array from the Main World.

’When a Demon True Man advances, they need to condense a Divine Soul Dharma Form and require a massive amount of fresh blood and flesh. A Treasure Artifact True Man, on the other hand, requires various Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. But without exception...’

’Spirituality!’

’Heavenly and Earthly Treasures and the flesh of the living all contain Spirituality.’

’My arm is different from both. I can’t use flesh and blood, nor can I merge Heavenly and Earthly Treasures into it for my own use.’

’But...’

’Spirit Jade!’

’Both Spirit Jade and Spirit Stones are extraordinary items. In theory, they can replace the Spirituality contained within flesh and blood or Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.’

’As for Divine Soul Power?’

Although Zhu Ju was only at the Great Mage Realm, having opened his Forehead Ancestral Acupoint and five Innate Acupoints, his Divine Soul Power was already on par with a True Man of this world—perhaps even a bit stronger.

’Abundant Spirituality, powerful Divine Soul, and the Dragon and Phoenix Seal... If my guess is correct...’

’This method should work without a problem!’

His eyes focused, and the divine light in Zhu Ju’s Sea of Consciousness flared. The undulating giant hand transformed into a stream of light and shot toward his left hand.

The Sword Sect had a Method for merging a Dharma Aspect with Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

All he had to do now was follow the same pattern.

The giant hand formed from his Divine Thought was fundamentally his left hand to begin with, so there was not the slightest obstruction or difficulty in their fusion.

It went even more smoothly than he had expected.

The next instant.

"BOOM!"

A silent thunderclap echoed in his Sea of Consciousness.

Zhu Ju’s expression changed, and the True Qi in his body began to circulate wildly.

One by one, the ’Dragon and Phoenix Seal’ characters appeared on the surface of his fingers, driving the complete fusion of the Dharma Aspect and his palm.

As time passed.

His left hand, now merged with the Dharma Aspect, became like a madly spinning vortex and began to devour everything around it.

Hunger!

Starvation!

A sensation akin to his arm being extremely dehydrated washed over him, causing Zhu Ju to unconsciously clench his fingers.

"WHOOSH!"

Piece after piece of Spirit Jade and Spirit Stone flew up on their own, hurtling toward his left hand.

The Spirit Jades and Spirit Stones disintegrated in mid-air, turning to dust, while the Spirituality and Spiritual Qi within them surged into his palm.

A terrifying devouring power enveloped the area.

His left hand was like a Taotie Fierce Beast that had starved for years, only to be satisfied once its belly was completely full.

Spirituality!

Spiritual Qi!

Fortunately, by killing Pig Demon Shiwu and taking over the Demon Exorcism Hall’s Meat Market, the Sword Sect had gained many benefits, including a massive amount of Spirit Jade.

With a mountain of Spirit Jade piled beside him, he could devour and absorb it to his heart’s content.

"BOOM!"

"RUMBLE..."

Spiritual Qi surged like a tidal wave.

The five-colored Spiritual Light on his left hand grew ever brighter as the Spirit Jade was consumed at an astonishing rate.

His palm,

was also changing silently.

At a certain moment.

"Ngh!"

Zhu Ju let out a muffled grunt. His neck craned back, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

His left hand, which had been a part of his body, suddenly became leaden, as if it were a heavy stone.

Immediately after.

A massive amount of pure Primordial Energy surged from his left hand, rushing through his limbs and torso, and began to nourish his Physical Body.

His Skin and Flesh tightened!

The True Qi within him increased at a visible rate.

The Innate Sixth Acupoint was on the verge of opening.

His Divine Soul Power,

skyrocketed!

***

Overnight, the situation changed several times.

First, the Wuk Family launched a preemptive strike, destroying the Meat Market’s Pig Demon Shiwu and conquering the Demon Workshop, cutting a swath through their enemies.

Their progress was unbelievably fast.

Several Second Decline True Men even joined forces to storm the Demon Exorcism Hall’s core, the Eagle’s Nest, heavily wounding the Divine Eagle King, Iron Madman. The situation looked extremely promising.

Victory seemed to be within their grasp.

Unexpectedly, shocking news came from the Eagle’s Nest: the Wuk Family Master and the world’s second-ranked Demon Catcher had both been killed.

The Angry Flood Dragon Gang Leader and the Monster Association Leader had fled.

Wielding two bizarre Curved Sabers, Iron Madman stormed the Wuk Family’s ancestral home and slaughtered a thousand members of their bloodline in a single night.

The situation had suddenly reversed.

The Cultivators of the Demon Exorcism Hall, who had been scattered and routed, rallied once more around their Hall Master, Iron Madman, and began to retaliate against the forces that had participated in the crusade against them.

In just a few short days, the Angry Flood Dragon Gang and the Monster Association were on the verge of collapse.

「In the Sword Sect.」

The disciples of the four halls were gathered together.

"Junior Sister Xiaoo," said Kan Feichen, the Hall Master of the Sharp Gold Hall, his face etched with anxiety.

"Where is the Sect Leader?"

"The Sect Leader is in seclusion and has not yet emerged." Xiaoo Meng shook her head gently in the face of their urgent stares.

"Before he entered seclusion, the Sect Leader gave specific orders that he was not to be disturbed, no matter what happened."

"At a time like this, how can he still be in seclusion?" Jiang Qiu said anxiously.

"This won’t do!"

"The Sect Leader is on the mountain peak! I’m going to find him now!"

With that, he started to push forward.

"You can’t!" Xiaoo Meng raised a hand to block him, her expression frosty.

"The Sect Leader said this seclusion is extremely important to him. He cannot be disturbed for any reason."

"This is a matter of life and death for the Sword Sect!" Kan Feichen stomped his foot in frustration and anger.

"If the Sect Leader doesn’t show himself, the Sword Sect is finished!"

"Junior Sister."

"Hurry and ask the Sect Leader to come down the mountain!"

Xiaoo Meng’s expression was hesitant.

"Hmph!" someone snorted under their breath.

"Maybe he heard the news and has already fled. After all, the Demon Exorcism Hall will definitely seek revenge against him, not us."

"CLANG!"

A flash of Sword Light streaked past. The speaker’s tongue was shredded by the light, and he stumbled backward with a scream.

"You bastard!"

Xiaoo Meng said furiously.

"Is the Sect Leader someone you can slander?"

"Junior Sister." Jiang Qiu took a deep breath, calming his anxious emotions, and spoke slowly.

"You’re aware of the current situation. Morale is wavering throughout the Sect. Only the Sect Leader’s appearance can stabilize everyone."

"Moreover..."

"We also need the Sect Leader to give us a plan for what to do next."

"That’s right," Kan Feichen nodded.

"The cautionary tale of the Angry Flood Dragon Gang and the Monster Association is right before our eyes. The people from the Demon Exorcism Hall will never let us go."

"Several days have passed with no word from the Demon Exorcism Hall, which is even more worrying."

Everyone else murmured in agreement.

If the Demon Exorcism Hall had demanded an explanation, the Sword Sect could have figured out a way to deal with it.

But now...

Their silence most likely meant they were planning to move against the Sword Sect after finishing off the Angry Flood Dragon Gang and the Monster Association.

Given the Demon Exorcism Hall’s current strength, the Sword Sect was no match for them.

"No!"

No matter what anyone else said, Xiaoo Meng seemed to have made up her mind, refusing to allow anyone to go up the mountain under any circumstances.

As one of the only two True Men in the Sword Sect, once her Demon-slaying Sword was drawn, no one could stop her.

"Haha..."

Just as they were locked in a stalemate, a wild laugh rang out.

"Sword Sect!"

"I have returned!"