Supreme Sword Exalt

At the corner of the plaza, over ten unique True Items, floated quietly before the group. They emitted a faint glow that nearly dazzled Yan Qi and Mei Yun, who had little experience in such matters. The fight had ended, and these were Fatty and the others’ haul.

It wasn’t that they lacked the strength; the plaza was simply too vast, and breaking through its restrictions took time. Managing to obtain over ten items was already enough to make them stand proudly above the rest.

Fatty appeared very conflicted and deeply pained. “Let’s make this clear first! One item per person. Don’t take more than that!”

Zhao Mengyou rolled her eyes and completely ignored him, taking a three-cun-long, small black jade knife.

Xue Yu looked a bit embarrassed. “I-I’d better not take anything... I didn’t really help...”

Zhao Mengyou shot her a glance. How naive! If you try to be polite with this black-hearted Fatty, the one who loses out will always be yourself!

Without hesitation, she grabbed a pair of gauze-thin light gloves made of unknown material, and forcefully stuffed them into Xue Yu’s hands. “Here, this is yours!”

She had noticed that Xue Yu’s gaze had never left the gloves from the moment they obtained their haul.

Xue Yu was overjoyed, unable to put them down. “Thank you, Sister!”

Fatty’s heart twitched because those gloves were probably the best treasure among all these items.

Without waiting for agreement, Mei Yun grabbed a palm-sized round mirror. “I want this one!”

Fatty’s heart twitched again. As everyone knew, the more unusual a dao artifact’s form, the more inconceivable its power. Zuo Yang and Yu Miao didn’t choose anything, as the Dao Bell had already blessed their trusty weapons with immense growth potential. Yun Fan’s golden scissors were absolutely no worse than these top-grade True Items. As for Xiao Yang and Hua Xing, Fatty hadn’t even factored them in.

Then there was Yan Qi, who eagerly selected a three-chi-long fiery-red sword, saying solemnly, “I want to be a sword cultivator like that senior!”

Fatty was deeply pained. “Yan Qi, why can’t you think straight? You’re a flood dragon! What business does a flood dragon have practicing the sword?!”

Yan Qi said very seriously, “Master Rooster is a rooster. If he can do it, why can’t I?”

Fatty had no retort. If a rooster could become the founding ancestor of sword cultivators in the Profound Heaven Great Domain, then a flood dragon practicing the sword seemed like an everyday occurrence. With that thought, he prepared to put away the remaining true items before Zuo Yang and the others changed their minds and decided to take one.

Just then, a Buddhist chant rang out. “Amitabha.”

The group was startled and turned to look. Not far away, there was a young monk with delicate features, hands pressed together. He looked at them with a pure and innocent expression. It was Wu Xin.

Fatty almost slipped up. “Little bald—ahem! Little monk, where did you come from?”

Wu Xin smiled. “I came from the place I came from.”

Fatty’s face darkened. This little bald donkey doesn’t speak normally!

Among the group, only Yu Miao knew the Western Desert clearly. Although she had never seen Wu Xin before, she vaguely guessed his identity based on mere scraps of information. “Be careful. This little monk is strange!”

Wu Xin acted as if he hadn’t heard. He simply stared at those true items and recited another Buddhist chant, “Benefactor, this treasure has fate with the Buddha.”

The group looked at him with strange expressions. They felt that Fatty had finally met his match!

Fatty’s face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Fate? The only fate is with your grandpa!

He put away all the True Items. “Now that the treasures are gone, no more fates!”

Wu Xin smiled. “Actually, all of you also have fate with the Buddha.”

The group was completely speechless. Forcing a shameless act?

Wu Xin walked over, a faint light emerging from him. “Benefactors, our meeting itself is fate. Rather than picking a day, let’s do it today. I will ferry all of you benefactors to Buddhahood. How about that?”

A faint, indistinct chanting sound arose. Seemingly carrying a demonic power, it could constantly alter one’s mind and perception. While Fatty and the others were somewhat fine, Mei Yun and Xue Yu were already somewhat affected, looking dazed.

Fatty finally realized something was wrong. “This is bad! Something is really off about him!”

He blazed with golden light, and an ancient bell over a zhang tall descended, covering Mei Yun and Xue Yu beneath it. The ancient bell shook, and a grand chime rang out, drowning out the Buddhist chant.

Clarity returned to Xue Yu and Mei Yun’s eyes, looking somewhat fearful. That was close! I’ve almost been ferried over!

Wu Xin sighed. “Benefactors, why must you be so stubbornly attached to delusion? You truly have fate with the Buddha.”

Fatty cursed loudly, “Fate my ass! My Uncle Gu, my Uncle Yan, and Sister Demoness... They are all demons! If you really want to talk about fate, then I have fate with demons too! Tell your Buddha to step aside!”

The chanting stopped, and Wu Xin smiled very happily, very contentedly. A strange light flashed in his eyes, like someone who had been starving for three days and nights encountering food. He stared intently at Fatty, completely ignoring everyone else. Fate with demons? Excellent! Most excellent!

Fatty swallowed his saliva, starting to regret what he had said.

Just then, a series of violent tremors came from all around. The floor tiles beneath also became faintly transparent. Then, a sudden understanding rose in the group’s hearts. The first pass had ended, and the second pass had begun.

***

Meanwhile, Gu Han said to Di Kan, “Thanks.”

Without lingering any longer, he joined up with Murong Yan and her group, before hurrying toward the archway. Time was of the essence. If they couldn’t reach it before the plaza disappeared, they would lose the qualification to continue forward.

Not far away, the red-haired demon seemed despondent. “How could a human Heavenly Pride be this strong?!”

Di Kan said, “He’s right. Your blind arrogance will not help the demon clan. If anything, it will only destroy the clan’s last hope.”

Without sparing the other demons another glance, he strode off. Though of the same clan, he rarely had any common ground with these demons.

In truth, Di Kan’s old ancestor had come from the ancestral land as well. However, once he suggested that their style of conduct shouldn’t be too extreme, they drove him out. His old ancestor wandered all the way to the Eastern Wasteland, where he founded the Heavenly Demon Valley.

***

Before the archway, the gold ladder stretched off into the infinite heights, its end nowhere in sight. Upon arriving, Gu Han saw that quite a few people were already on the ladder. He swept his gaze around but didn’t see Fatty and the others.

Just then, Feng Xi landed beside Gu Han. “Junior Brother.”

Gu Han was startled, but seeing Feng Xi’s cold expression, he seemed to guess something. “You didn’t find him?”

“No.”

Gu Han comforted her. “It’s fine. With how big this plaza is, finding him is going to be tricky. But as long as he—”

Feng Xi was silent for a moment before saying, “It’s very likely that he never came at all.”

Gu Han frowned slightly. Never came? It’s possible, but would Yun Tu really give up such a tremendous opportunity?

Just then, Yun Fan shouted, “Sister! Brother Gu!”

Then, Gu Han saw Zhao Mengyou, Xue Yu, and Mei Yun standing on top of Yan Qi, frantically swimming in this direction.

Gu Han frowned deeply. “What’s going on? Where are Senior Brother and Fatty?”

Yan Qi quickly swam in front of Gu Han anxiously. “Senior, just now, a little bald donkey came out of nowhere and insisted on ferrying us to Buddhahood. We didn’t agree, so... we started fighting!”

Instantly, two cries sounded at the same time. “Wu Xin!”

One was Gu Han’s, and the other came from a young monk not far away, followed by several monks.