After the Sword Inquiry of the world...
The Wendao Sword Sect was starting anew and needed rest and recuperation.
The Wendao Sword Sect issued a proclamation to the world.
It expressed a wish to start fresh with the ten thousand races, letting all past grudges and grievances be bygones.
The turbulent world, granted this amnesty, finally returned to peace and gradually recovered as usual.
Once again, the Wendao Sword Sect demonstrated its magnanimity and vision to the people of the world.
This was a romance unique to the Wendao Sword Sect on this continent.
And,
The feat of Xu Xian's Sword Inquiry that day drifted afar with the late autumn wind and covered the entire human realm like winter snow.
After that day,
He became the Leader of the Sword Dao in the mortal realm!
His name shook the world instantly; there was no one who did not know of him.
Demons were terrified,
Spirits were wary,
And even saints were afraid.
The so-called Sky Gate and longevity vanished from sight.
The old monsters who had emerged from the mountains were forced to once again go into hiding in the darkness, living in fear and joylessly evading the reckoning of the Heavenly Dao.
Reincarnation...
Was already predestined.
A hundred years,
A thousand years,
Ghost knows.
They had outlived Li Taibai; could they possibly outlive Xu Xian?
The protagonist himself, Xu Xian,
Had never appeared in public since that day.
Some said he had retired to the Ancestral Peak of the Wendao Sword Sect to busy himself with comprehending the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
Others said he was traveling the world, experiencing the red dust...
Rumors abounded.
Each was different.
Within the Wendao Sword Sect, the seven peaks were rebuilt, the Longevity Bridge rose, years turned, and time passed.
Vegetation returned to the mountains, water gathered in the ravines to form marshes, and in the places where saints had fallen, all things flourished with vibrant life...
The mountain gate still stood there,
And the Sword Mound remained in the mountains.
For the quinquennial Disciple Recruitment Assembly, youths from all directions still flocked to the sect.
Only, of the former Spirit Inquiry, Heart Inquiry, and Sword Inquiry,
Only Spirit Inquiry and Heart Inquiry remained.
Sword Inquiry?
It had become history and a thing of the past, written in books and occasionally mentioned by others.
The Wendao Sword Sect's recruitment
Was now inclusive of all—humans, demons, spirits... Those with high talent and upright character could all join the sect.
Some said it was because the Sword Inquiry formation had collapsed and could no longer be used, so the sect had no choice.
Others said the Leader of the Sword Dao was invincible, fearing neither humans, demons, nor spirits, so there was no longer a need for such precautions...
Between truth and falsehood, only the Wendao Sword Sect knew the reality.
The world only knew that
The rules had changed.
But the outcome was the same.
In the quinquennial assembly, those selected were still as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns—merely a hundred people.
Just like the Sword Mound.
New disciples entered every year, yet the ancient bell of Zhujian Peak had never been struck.
In the sect,
After the battle, the patriarchs returned to the Ancestral Peak as before and never showed their faces.
The fisherman still fished in the deep mountains, fishing for fish in summer and for the cold in winter...
The woodcutter remained the same, guarding a million lonely graves alone, sleeping and dozing, occupying a peak to himself.
Ruan Hao forged iron.
Elder Yao refined medicine.
The Seven Peaks and Thirteen Halls each performed their duties, operating in an orderly fashion.
Occasionally, disciples entered the world to help others.
Disciples also traveled everywhere with their swords.
The Wendao Sword Sect was still the same Wendao Sword Sect, situated in the Northern Borders while suppressing the world.
Zhou Tao cooked his porridge.
Elder Qian balanced his accounts.
Xiaoxiao, Chu Yi, and Kongkong cultivated bitterly day and night...
Never resting for a moment.
They hadn't been able to help in the war when the world attacked Wendao, and they didn't want to find themselves in the same position in the future.
So,
They had to work hard.
Strive to become stronger.
Ideally, to catch up to Xu Xian.
Lu Yuan remained the same, his heart as calm as still water.
Ye Xianyu, however, got her wish. At a young age, she entered the Ancestral Peak and became a lady of leisure.
And,
The unlucky Li Qingshan not only failed to get his revenge but was also tricked by Ye Xianyu. He took over her duties and became the eighth Sect Master of the Wendao Sword Sect.
Managing all the affairs of the mountain gate.
He still lived in Zuiwan Residence on Zhijian Peak, and Xu Xian's herbs were still planted in the fields there.
The Peach Blossom Immortal Abode
Was empty.
No one had taken it over to this day...
Lin Qianqian had a disciple,
Zhang Yang had become a master,
Everything was changing, yet everything remained the same.
Ten years,
Twenty years,
Thirty years,
A hundred years.
A hundred years of spring passing and autumn returning, five generations of flowers blooming and wilting. Time flew, and in a daze, vast changes had transformed the world...
Beneath the mountain gate of the Wendao Sword Sect,
Xu Xian, who had vanished for a hundred years, opened his eyes.
He saw
The Sky Gate,
The divine sword,
A sea of fire,
Heatwaves,
And five sets of withered bones...
A century of time was like a dream to him, passing in an instant.
His gaze shifted, his expression solemn. Feeling the changes within himself, he asked softly:
"How long has it been?"
The little book spirit quickly replied, "Exactly one hundred years, no more, no less."
He muttered to himself, "A hundred years... Has it really been that long?"
The little book spirit said, "Not long at all. Reaching the late stage of tribulation transcendence in a century—Master is already very fast."
Yes,
It was very fast.
A hundred years
Was long for a mortal, a whole lifetime.
But for a cultivator, it was merely the blink of an eye.
A glint flashed in his eyes. With a thought, the book hovered before him.
The wind ruffled the pages,
Turning five of them.
On the page, words came into view.
[Sixth Floor of the Sword Tower]
[Condition 1: Three hundred years of Red Dust (One hundred years in the mortal realm, one hundred years of teaching the Dao, one hundred years of comprehending the Dao)]
[Condition 2: Overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation]
[Condition 3: Overcome the Immortal Lightning Tribulation]
In Fanzhou, most practitioners knew that there were three tribulations for a mortal to ascend to immortality.
Red Dust.
Heart Demon.
Immortal Lightning.
Those who crossed the red dust became saints.
Those who crossed the heart demon became ancestors.
Those who crossed the immortal lightning ascended to heaven and became immortals, verified the Great Dao, and gained eternal life.
After the three tribulations,
One became an immortal.
By drawing the sixth sword, Xu Xian could ascend to immortality.
And the sole condition for building the sixth floor of the Sword Tower was becoming an immortal.
A hundred years ago,
After Xu Xian's Sword Inquiry of the world completely settled the strife caused by Li Taibai's death,
He had learned of this.
From then on, there were no shortcuts to raising the Sword Tower. It was one realm for one floor, one floor for one realm.
Indeed,
He had to cultivate.
Just like at the beginning: body refining, qi refining, foundation establishment, core formation...
Step by step.
At first,
Xu Xian was surprised.
This was completely different from what he had foreseen.
The little book spirit explained.
The Sword Tower's feedback had its limits. Starting from the saint realm, Xu Xian needed to feed back into the Sword Tower.
To put it simply,
The fortune left by the previous owner in the Sword Tower could only lift him to the ninth stage of tribulation transcendence.
To ascend further, to the heavens.
He could only rely on himself. There were no more shortcuts.
It was reasonable when he thought about it.
The previous owner, in his lifetime, was only in the Immortal Emperor stage.
And now he was dead.
How could he possibly lift Xu Xian above the Immortal Emperor stage into that unknown Dao Realm?
Fortunately,
When the fifth floor of the Sword Tower opened, Xu Xian had also obtained the sword scripture imprinted on the sword stele.
It was the heart cultivation method used by the previous owner, Ye Wujiang.
The [Sword Scripture] had no name.
So it was called the Nameless Sword Scripture.
Its rank was extremely high.
Above the divine grade.
A Dao-grade heart cultivation method.
However, the first line of the preface read:
[Heaven and earth possess righteous qi; the sword rises through twelve stories.]
It perfectly echoed the name White Jade Capital.
In the memories pieced together by the little book spirit, it was mentioned that the previous owner had built the White Jade Capital because of this sword scripture.
Even the swords within were closely related to this scripture.
Though
The memories were too fragmented and many things remained unclear.
It was enough to prove that this method was extraordinary.
Perhaps,
Even,
The Sword Tower had more than twelve stories?
From that moment on, Xu Xian went into seclusion to practice the Nameless Sword Scripture. A hundred years passed in a flash, and only today did he reach the peak.
Staring at the first line of text in the book, Xu Xian said in a heavy voice, "Three hundred years of the Red Dust Dao..."
"Three hundred years..."
He stood up, shaking off the accumulated dust, and said softly:
"The Dao is beneath my feet,"
"Let's go!"
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