Leaving the Immortal Pavilion, he returned once more to the Ancestral Peak.
The former cave dwelling of Senior Brother Yun Zheng became Xu Xian's long-term residence.
The little book spirit chased after him, asking question after question.
It asked Xu Xian exactly what method he had thought of.
Xu Xian remained silent throughout.
Though the little book spirit lacked a trace of humanity, it was no fool. It eventually guessed the truth.
“Master, you're not planning to release the tiger back to the mountain, are you?”
“Don't do anything reckless!”
“If you really let that guy go, He'll crush you in an instant...”
“Don't forget, you dug up His grave until it was completely empty...”
Since the secret was out, Xu Xian didn't bother hiding it anymore. He asked the little book spirit in return, “Other than that, tell me, is there any other way?”
The little book spirit was choked up.
“Uh...”
It seemed there really was no other way.
At the very least,
Its own method had been rejected by Xu Xian, who had pointed out its flaws.
Even so,
It didn't believe the Twilight Emperor would be so irrational as to sever His own foundations just to ensure mutual destruction with Xu Xian.
However,
Xu Xian's words had convinced it.
That guy was undying. What was He not capable of?
As Xu Xian set up the forging table, he said, “Regardless, a risk must be taken. Between risking the entire world and risking myself, it's better that I take the risk. Even if I truly die, only I will die, won't I?”
The little book spirit rolled its eyes and delivered its daily jab. “There you go again. You've been brainwashed too deeply.”
Xu Xian didn't deny it, simply smiling. “Some things must be done by someone...”
Before he could finish, the little book spirit shook its head and interrupted with an air of mock seniority, “Yes, yes, if someone must die, why can't it be you... You're absolutely right. The 'Dao' in the Wendao Sword Sect is entirely the 'Dao' of 'reasoning'...”
Xu Xian chuckled and continued his work.
Indeed.
By this day, having experienced the defeat in his dream, Xu Xian finally understood this platitude that was so often repeated in the Wendao Sword Sect.
Some things must be done by someone; why can't that someone be me? If someone must die for this, then I hope to be the first.
At this moment,
He achieved complete enlightenment.
Leaving Fanzhou with the Twilight Emperor...
He might die.
But if he didn't do it,
Everyone would die.
Xu Xian was no great sage, nor was he some great altruist.
But,
One person dying,
Versus everyone dying,
He could still calculate that math clearly.
Besides,
It was only a possibility. He wouldn't necessarily die.
Everything depended on human effort.
Alone, it would be easier for him to escape danger.
Moreover,
Xu Xian wasn't that weak.
And the Twilight Emperor might not be that evil.
Of course,
That was a matter for after ascending to the heavens. What he needed to do now was to settle the affairs of the mortal world within the limited time he had left.
If he was to leave,
He had to take the Sword Mound with him. That was where he would secure his life in the Upper Realm.
He couldn't say for sure what the current state of the Upper Realm was.
Whether darkness had seized the Star Sea,
Whether turmoil continued to rage,
Or whether light had made a comeback...
No one knew.
Xu Xian didn't know,
Lu Yuan didn't know,
And the Twilight Emperor didn't know either.
By leaving and taking the Sword Mound, he would be taking the foundation of the Wendao Sword Sect. It wasn't just the swords in the Sword Mound that would go with him.
The swords currently held by the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect would also follow him.
He had to give the sect an explanation.
He also had to stabilize the sect's fundamental base.
Therefore,
He had to forge swords.
He had to forge many, many swords.
Then,
He would create a new Sword Mound within the sect.
This task was not difficult for Xu Xian; it just required time.
...
Shortly after,
A brand-new forging workshop was built by Xu Xian. He took the chains that had once imprisoned the divine swords and the old tortoise from the Divine Sword Pool.
He intended to use this batch of rare metals to forge a collection of immortal swords.
He lit the fire,
And gripped the hammer.
“Let's get to work!”
The little book spirit tactfully retreated into the Sword Tower world, though it didn't forget to grumble, “Crazy, crazy, absolutely crazy. A man hundreds of years old, and not a bit of stability...”
“Sigh...”
“My life is so bitter...”
“I've encountered another 'good person'...”
“Good people,”
“Don't live long...”
It had originally thought it had struck gold—Xu Xian had such a bad personality and was born a troublemaker, so he was bound to live a long life. Who would have thought that as he lived, he would eventually 'see the light'?
He had become a good person.
He wanted to save all the living beings of this world.
Terrifying!
Clang!
Clang, clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
From that day on, the sound of forging on the Ancestral Peak never ceased, day or night.
Xu Xian no longer went into secluded cultivation, nor did he close his doors to guests. Instead, he forged swords all day. Even when someone came to visit, the hammer in his hand never stopped for a moment.
He forged for a hundred days,
Then a thousand days,
Then ten years.
Heaven swords, earth swords, and immortal swords were born one after another...
No one knew exactly how many he had forged, nor how much longer he would continue, let alone why he was forging so many swords.
It was as if,
Had it not been for these ten years of forging, many people would have forgotten that this number one Leader of the Sword Dao in the world was also a top-tier ninth-rank master forger.
During this period,
Old friends occasionally came to visit and asked for the reason. Xu Xian would simply smile and brush it off without explanation.
Over time, no one asked anymore.
They simply took it as a normal occurrence.
After ten years, Xu Xian had forged several thousand immortal swords, 100,000 heaven swords, and 500,000 earth swords...
He felt that,
This should be enough.
On the day he sealed the furnace, Xu Xian specifically went to the Personnel Hall to pull up the records and tally the numbers.
This was to reserve a batch of swords for the sect's disciples to use as replacements when the time came.
...
Next, he found Li Qingshan and asked him to set aside a piece of land on Forging Peak—an area covering dozens of peaks, large and small.
Li Qingshan asked what he intended to do with such a large area.
Xu Xian replied, “Heaven's secrets must not be revealed...”
Li Qingshan clicked his tongue inwardly and stopped asking.
Once he had the land, Xu Xian began moving mountains and churning seas. First, he leveled all the existing peaks. Then, he brought in endless earth from outside the sect to pile up a mountain that was exceptionally high and massive.
It was more than half again as high as the tallest peak of the Ancestral Peak.
The commotion caused at the time was significant.
Many in the sect were convinced that someone was attacking Forging Peak.
Only later did they learn,
It was actually Xu Xian piling up a mountain.
As for why he was building it?
No one knew.
“What is the Eleventh Grand-Ancestor doing?”
“I don't know.”
“Good heavens, he's not going to poke a hole in the sky, is he?”
“Tsk, tsk. When an ancestor makes a move, you know it's something big. This is no small task...”
Ten days,
Or perhaps a month passed.
The high mountain was piled up, and the task was finished. The thundering noise finally subsided.
Disciples returning to the sect from outside were stunned when they saw the massive mountain from afar.
“Holy crap, did I take the wrong path?”
But Xu Xian's busy work was not yet over. The mountain was built, but that was only the most basic and simple part.
What followed,
Was the main event.
Setting up formations.
The first was the Spirit-Locking Formation: anyone who entered this peak would have their cultivation sealed.
The second was the Gravity Formation: anyone who climbed this peak would experience increasing gravity.
The third was the Defense Formation: to prevent external forces from destroying the peak.
These three types of formations were naturally not difficult for a gifted genius like Xu Xian. The only difficulty lay in the sheer scale of the area.
And the duration.
For the scale issue,
He simply used more materials.
Merging small formations into a large one.
For the maintenance issue,
He relied on spirit stones for power.
Three months later,
The great work was complete!
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