Some die grandly, their passing a soul-stirring epic.
Such was Yun Zheng.
The wind and snow of the world saw him off alone.
Some die unexpectedly, silently and without a sound.
Such were these five.
With only Xu Xian as their witness.
They died,
and that was the end of it.
The first half of Li Taibai's life was like his sword dao: supporting the heavens and the seas, sweeping across the eight directions.
But in the end, it concluded in this manner.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
With a touch of relief,
and a heart full of regrets,
he closed his eyes.
Life and death—who could truly explain them?
At the very least,
Xu Xian's words felt hollow.
Li Taibai's life had been extraordinary, a legend loved by the world, a figure of worship that made eyes light up at the mere mention of his name.
But at this moment,
he was merely a withered skeleton.
Looking back, far beyond the misty mortal realm; sitting in oblivion, a drifter between heaven and earth...
Xu Xian sat down again, the Immortal Soul still held in his palm, his gaze falling upon the Sky Gate.
He tried,
with his mortal eyes, to glimpse the dark chaos beyond the heavens that they had spoken of.
The Five Elements Saint Soul was still gradually condensing, and the qi fortune of Fanzhou continued to pour in.
The five saints had fallen, but their withered bodies still maintained the formation,
sealing the Sky Gate.
However, the malevolent energy trickling out became more restless and frantic.
It was as if it sensed the fall of its blockers and was celebrating.
The flaming breath grew more intense,
incinerating everything.
Heatwaves surged,
scorching his skin.
In his ears,
Xu Xian heard the clamor once more.
The churning lava, the crashing red river, and the wailing wind.
His dantian operated silently, covering his body in spiritual breath to offset the burning heat of the flames.
Li Taibai was dead.
The barrier that had previously protected him was naturally gone.
Xu Xian understood.
It wasn't just him; the barrier protecting the Wendao Sword Sect was also gone...
The condensation of the Saint Soul would likely take some time.
But the immortal swords on their persons could no longer wait.
They emerged from the five seniors' seas of consciousness, hovering one by one above the five high platforms.
The sword bodies trembled,
the sword light flickered.
It wasn't a reluctance to leave their masters, but rather a wait, as if they were contending for the young man's permission.
“May we return?”
Xu Xian did not try to force them, speaking only a single word:
“Yes...”
When a person dies, their lamp goes out; when a sword-bearer falls, the sword returns to the mound. These were the rules of the Sword Mound.
At least for now, Xu Xian could not change that.
Having received his permission, the five immortal swords transformed into five streaks of light and vanished from the space...
...
Inside the Wendao Sword Sect.
In the Immortal Pavilion on Tianjian Peak, an anomaly occurred on the fifth floor.
The disciple responsible for guarding the area sensed the disturbance and appeared inside the pavilion in an instant.
Before him,
the sixteen enshrined everlasting lamps were extinguishing one after another.
In just a few breaths, only ten remained lit.
Excluding the lamp of Ancestor Yun Zheng, which had long since gone out,
five more had been extinguished.
He knew exactly what this meant.
Yet,
he still found it hard to believe, almost impossible to accept.
Even though,
as the guardian of the Immortal Pavilion, he was already accustomed to seeing the everlasting lamps go out.
However,
at this moment,
he stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with shock, lost in a daze.
He did not snap out of it until two other disciples stationed at the pavilion arrived behind him.
“This...”
“How could this be...”
The expressions of the two disciples were even more extreme than his.
At first, they thought they had seen wrong, but after confirming it repeatedly, the two of them turned to the elder in the center and asked with trembling voices:
“Elder, what should we do?”
By rule,
whenever a lamp of someone at the eighth stage or higher was extinguished in the Immortal Pavilion,
the pavilion would announce the mourning.
The bell would toll twelve times.
But today,
five lamps had gone out at once—and they were those five legendary figures. They didn't know what to do anymore...
The elder regained his senses, his gaze solemn as he whispered, “Pass the order: no one is allowed near the Immortal Pavilion. I will report this to the Sect Master.”
The two obeyed.
The elder's figure flickered and disappeared.
The remaining two disciples looked at each other, their concern plain to see.
They nodded to each other.
Knowing the gravity of the situation, the two immediately went on high alert.
Meanwhile, as the elder went outside the mountain to find Ye Xianyu, another disturbance occurred within the Wendao Sword Sect.
Initially,
it was the Pavilion Elders and ancestors who sensed it.
The sect-protecting formation.
After half a day, it was acting up again.
They grew alert.
Then,
beneath One Sword Gorge, three immortal swords woke up simultaneously and soared into the sky, their cries echoing through the clouds.
The disciples of the sect all heard it, stopping in the fields to look up.
Three streaks of sword light,
like rainbows piercing the clouds.
【Demon-Slaying】
【Devil-Suppressing】
【Spirit-Devouring】
“The three great immortal swords?”
“What's happening? Is it an enemy attack?”
“To think all three would emerge at once...”
The disciples were shocked, dazed, and confused. They whispered and cried out in alarm, thinking an external race was invading and causing the three swords to wake.
But in the next second, when they saw the three swords heading straight for Zhujian Peak, a bold guess surfaced in their minds.
It left them stunned.
“It's Zhujian Peak.”
“The immortal swords are returning to the mound...”
“The Sword Ancestor...”
No one dared to say it out loud because such a notion was too far-fetched and difficult to accept. But the facts were right before them, making all denials feel hollow and weak.
Yes,
when an immortal sword returns to the mound, its master has fallen.
The master of these three swords was the founder of the Wendao Sword Sect, the Fanzhou Sword Ancestor, Li Taibai.
He...
was dead!
Following the three swords, five more immortal swords burst from various locations across the Wendao Sword Sect's mountains.
They first soared into the clouds, then headed straight for the Sword Mound, and finally plunged into it...
The old man guarding the Sword Mound could no longer remain calm.
His face was filled with disbelief.
“Eight... eight of them!”
Eight immortal swords flying back in succession was unprecedented and unheard of in the history of the Wendao Sword Sect. He should have struck the ancient bell, but at this moment, he stood frozen.
Eight immortal swords.
Three were the swords of the sect-protecting formation,
but where did the other five come from?
The Great Ancestor?
And the four other ancestors?
Are they all gone?
That's impossible.
That's absolutely impossible.
“The bell in the Immortal Pavilion hasn't rung. There must be a mistake. There must be a mistake.”
He muttered to himself, slapping his palms together in self-reassurance. “Right, it's a mistake. I have to tell the Sect Master.”
He also moved, heading straight for the location of Ye Xianyu's aura.
At this moment.
Following the return of the eight immortal swords to the mound, the entire mountain gate went from dead silence to an instant boil in just a few breaths...
The mountains were like a rising tide,
the voices like a surging flood.
Their thoughts were the same as the guardian of the mound: denial, impossibility.
They speculated and imagined that there must be another reason.
“The bell in the Immortal Pavilion didn't ring, so no one died.”
“Exactly, the bell on Zhujian Peak didn't ring either...”
“The ancestors must have returned, that's why this is happening...”
“Yes, that must be it. When Ancestor Yun Zheng's sword returned, the ancient bells of both the Immortal Pavilion and Zhujian Peak rang.”
They deceived themselves, trying to convince themselves and remaining steadfast in their belief.
Only the Pavilion Elders, who knew some of the inside truth,
were well aware of what this meant.
They accepted it helplessly.
Even though,
the grief in their hearts surpassed the chill of a world in autumn.
But...
it had happened.
Just as Lady Jiang had feared.
They knew very well,
what this signified.
If the Sword Ancestor and the four ancestors had truly fallen, it wouldn't be long before the entire world knew.
And the Wendao Sword Sect would surely face an unprecedented disaster.
A universal crusade.
A reckoning from the Ten Thousand Races.
They would have no choice but to fight to the death.
Yuren sighed, “The calamity begins in the Northern Borders. How can the common people be so innocent?”
Qiaofu lamented, “Grinding a sword for three thousand years; today, the frost-bright blade shall be tested.”
Ruan Hao gave a bitter smile, “I've spent my whole life squatting in the mountains forging swords for killing. In the end, I still couldn't escape the fate of having to kill, could I?”
Elder Yao watched the sect-protecting formation as it gradually collapsed. He looked back at his pill workshop filled with countless treasures and shook his head.
He flicked his sleeves and walked away.
His hands, Yao Luochen's hands, could do more than just save lives.
They could also kill!
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