"What... what is he going to do!"

...

Two men and a sheep were lazily walking through the ancient battlefield ruins.

Li Yuan swayed precariously on the sheep’s back, looking as if he might tumble to the ground at any moment.

Fan Wubing decided in his heart that if Li Yuan fell, he definitely wouldn’t help him up!

But unfortunately, despite the swaying, Li Yuan never fell.

"The Heavenly Dao is the collective will of all living beings... That’s correct, but too official. Just like the logical explanations in the Crimson Book and Iron Contract, it’s dull," Li Yuan said, slurring his words drunkenly. "The Heavenly Dao is like the Prison Guard, while you and I are the criminals. If someone tries to escape, gets discovered and caught, they get beaten until their skin is torn and flesh is cut."

"Have you also been beaten, elder?" Fan Wubing followed up on his words.

Li Yuan hiccuped, "My skin is thick and flesh sturdy, I’m not afraid. Some people with thin arms and legs, when they get hit, it’s inevitable they’ll end up covered with injuries. Just like that little girl."

"Who?"

"Someone you know."

"Jiang Sha?"

"I still think Jiang Ran suits her better," Li Yuan said. "I thought she could make it, but she still failed. Ah, if I had known, I would have helped her back then. Not to say I could have helped her reach the heavens, but at least she wouldn’t have to sit in a wheelchair now."

"She told me she wants to rebuild the Path to Immortality."

"That’s not wrong to say. To confront the Heavenly Dao directly, one must create the heavens; to create the heavens, one must ascend," Li Yuan suddenly sobered up and looked back at Fan Wubing, "Kid, do you know what she wants to do?"

"She wants to use me as a stepping stone for another attempt."

"Foolish!" Li Yuan knocked Fan Wubing on the head, "Idiot!"

"What are you doing, elder?" Fan Wubing was startled.

Li Yuan said, "You have resentment in your heart, blinding your eyes, making you unable to differentiate right from wrong. You deserve to be hit."

Fan Wubing turned his head away, "Isn’t that just how she is? She’s always been deceiving me. I don’t want to be her puppet or play along in her drama. I want to walk my own path."

Not knowing how to explain, Li Yuan merely said, "She’s a good kid."

"Can a good person become a Demon Cultivator?"

"Aren’t you a Demon Cultivator too?"

"I was forced."

"So how do you know she wasn’t forced?"

"Uh..." Fan Wubing paused. He looked elsewhere, still not convinced by Li Yuan’s words, "You haven’t been with her day and night."

"Precisely because you’ve spent day and night with her yet still think this way, it shows you’re confused."

"Ah, why keep talking about her!" Fan Wubing was a bit agitated.

Li Yuan hesitated, "Forget it. Young people often need to learn from hardship before admitting their mistakes."

Fan Wubing said, "In short, unless she takes the initiative to apologize to me, I can’t possibly forgive her."

Li Yuan smiled helplessly and looked at Fan Wubing’s back, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

As they walked, Fan Wubing noticed something odd,

"Strange, why aren’t there any other people? Aren’t there many Sword Cultivators refining their Sword Intent at the Sun-shooting Pass?"

Li Yuan said, "There will be people soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, a thick fog rose.

After the two men and the sheep passed through the fog, they saw the immense figure of a celestial being covering the sky, like a god heralding the apocalypse.

Fan Wubing had felt the shadow of the celestial being at the Meteorite Highlands in Chuirizhou Continent before, and had been deeply shaken. But that was just a shadow, while now, before him, was the real celestial being.

The overwhelming aura, like the pressure of the universe, made Fan Wubing’s heart tremble,

"Is that a celestial being!"

"Yes."

"Is it real or an illusion? An illusion can’t be this real!" Fan Wubing could tell at a glance that it wasn’t an illusion, but his instincts made him hesitant to believe it.

Li Yuan laughed, "Could it be false?"

"Why! Have we traveled through time, or have we intruded into the river of time?"

Li Yuan asked, "Didn’t you come here to find someone?"

"How do you know!"

"Remember when the official in the city said that someone had been tricked by me?"

Fan Wubing’s pupils shrank, "You don’t mean!"

"That’s right. The person I tricked is the one you’re looking for."

"What did you trick her into!" Fan Wubing’s aura surged.

Li Yuan laughed, "She became a slave to the sword. I just tricked her into coming here to make her a bit more awake. But, well, to untie the bell, the person who tied it must do it."

Fan Wubing was stunned.

Luo Qingyao is an Immaculate Sword Body, possessing the purest Sword Dao, almost like a walking sword.

But the words "immaculate" were never easy to live up to.

If the heart is unsettled and gathers dust, it is no longer immaculate. The will then gets overwhelmed by the Sword Dao, turning into a creature that knows only the sword, and nothing else.

"Is it because of me?"

Li Yuan shook his head, "Because of herself. Perhaps, you’ve never known the real her."

Fan Wubing nodded slightly, "Elder, are you guiding me?"

Li Yuan rolled his eyes, "Don’t overestimate yourself, I’m just bored."

Fan Wubing laughed, "If you’re bored, why not go home and see your granddaughter?"

Li Yuan was stunned.

The Empress of the Phoenix Dynasty, Li Qian, is the Great Sword Immortal Li Yuan’s granddaughter.

"You little brat, digging up my secrets huh!"

When Fan Wubing first met Li Yuan, he used his Divination Skill to conduct a background check, naturally uncovering this family connection.

Fan Wubing laughed, "If the elder intended to hide it, I definitely wouldn’t have discovered it. But since I found out, it means the elder wants people to know."

"You’re overthinking, I just rarely hide things, unlike you who’s eager to cover up everything," Li Yuan took a sip of wine, "Kid, stop dawdling with me. If you don’t take action soon, your little wife will get injured."

Fan Wubing looked toward the sky, where he saw Luo Qingyao confronting the celestial being directly.

Clad in white, holding her sword in the air, she seemed like a Celestial Immortal, but the situation didn’t look good.

Fan Wubing frowned, "But my power is heavily suppressed, I can’t even extend my divine soul."

Li Yuan said, "You fool! Use your sword, use your sword!"

Fan Wubing suddenly realized,

"That’s right! This is a domain belonging to the sword!"

His heart suddenly opened up, he swiftly drew his sword Zhiming from his chest, and called out the Peach Blossoms from the Purple Mansion,

Unsheathing his sword, he soared, his figure like a dragon, as fleeting as a startled swan.

Li Yuan watched Fan Wubing’s back, squinting his eyes, and said,

"Indeed, I was not wrong, a one-of-a-kind Sword Dao genius. Unfortunately, the sword is not your everything, and everything about you is likely far broader than I imagined."