Firmament Sword

”You... Who exactly are you?” The Su Family Ancestor lay by the stream, his expression stiff as he stared at Xu Luo in disbelief.

”The Heart of the Fire Dragon you tried everything to merge with contained a remnant Divine Thought from an Ancient Fire Dragon. Right now, it’s desperately fighting Qianqian for control of her body.” Xu Luo’s gaze was icy as he looked at Su Wu.

”It’s because of you she risked merging with that Heart of the Fire Dragon. It’s because of you she’s ended up in this state. If it weren’t for you, she’d still be that same carefree, happy girl today. Su Wu... you deserve to die a thousand deaths!”

”You’re Xu Luo!” Su Wu’s eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. He cried out, ”You have to be Xu Luo!”

”Figured it out?” Xu Luo looked at Su Wu, his eyes filled with nothing but coldness. ”I’m letting you die with full awareness not as a favor, but because I want you to know what a shameless old bastard you are. You’ve harmed countless people. Is there even a shred of familial affection left in your heart? And you have the gall to call yourself a disciple of the Xi Hezhou Su Family!”

”Pah!”

”If the Xi Hezhou Su Family knew what kind of person you are, they would have torn you to pieces long ago! Do you think they’d let you live until today?”

”How could you have reached the Divine Domain already? Your strength... How could it have grown so quickly? The Divine Domain is vast and endless. How could it be such a coincidence... that you also came to Xi Hezhou? And that you ran into me... This... this is impossible!” the Su Family Ancestor muttered, still lying on the ground.

Suddenly, a ferocious aura erupted from his body—an aura that was approaching the realm of a Great Saint!

A streak of light slashed directly toward Xu Luo!

”Naive young man, go to hell!” The Su Family Ancestor suddenly lashed out, his eyes gleaming with vicious light as an astonishing killing intent erupted from him.

”Sigh...”

Xu Luo circulated his Yin Yang Power and raised his hand for a slap.

SMACK!

The slap landed squarely on Su Wu’s face. Infused with Yin Yang Power, it instantly distorted his features and sent him flying. With a splash... he landed in the shallow but icy stream.

He landed face down, and the icy water instantly rushed into his nose. The Su Family Ancestor began to cough violently.

He began to struggle frantically, splashing the cold water everywhere.

Xu Luo stood to the side, watching with cold indifference. In that moment, his heart was like ice.

The thought of Qianqian, sealed away and lying in the Top-level Immortal Spirit Stone Coffin, made Xu Luo’s heart ache.

He especially remembered the moment right before she was sealed, when she sat in his arms and whispered weakly, ”It feels so good... to be lucid.”

Whenever he remembered those words, a wrenching pain seized Xu Luo’s heart.

”COUGH! COUGH!” The Su Family Ancestor thrashed wildly in the water, struggling to get up.

But the Yin Yang Power was relentlessly destroying every single meridian in his body!

The Extreme Yang Power incinerated his meridians, while the Extreme Yin Power froze all his strength. Where the two forces merged, the meridians in the Su Family Ancestor’s body were instantly reduced to ash!

In an instant, the Su Family Ancestor transformed from a top-level Saint with withered lifeblood into a decrepit old man... one who could breathe his last at any moment.

Xu Luo walked over and kicked his body over, turning him face-up toward the Cangqiong overhead.

The Su Family Ancestor’s eyes were now completely blind. He could only perceive a field of light, and a sense of attachment to the living world welled up in his heart.

He was completely unable to speak, lying there and gasping for air like a broken bellows, taking in more than he could let out.

”The Mortal World... is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Xu Luo calmly watched the dying Su Family Ancestor and said softly, ”In truth, a person as utterly cold-blooded, shameless, and cruel as you has absolutely no reason to hate me. On the contrary... I have every reason to hate you. Heh. Refining me into a living elixir; refining Qianqian into a living elixir...”

”In your eyes, there’s little difference between the living and the dead... as long as someone is useful to you, you don’t care who they are.”

”But you must finally see the truth now. It’s too late, though. No one is going to give you another chance, just as... you once deprived countless people of theirs.”

”Actually, if you hadn’t made such a scene after entering the Divine Domain, going all out to slander my name everywhere, trying to make me the public enemy of the entire Divine Domain and have everyone hunt me down just like in the Lower Realm...”

Xu Luo paused. He looked at the Su Family Ancestor, who was struggling to turn his eyes to see the blue sky overhead, and said flatly, ”I probably wouldn’t have killed you.”

”Even if I had run into you one day—the man who devoured his own descendants... I probably still wouldn’t have killed you. At most, I would have just crippled your cultivation and left you to your own fate.”

”Of course, if you had been better at hiding, I might never have seen you again in this lifetime.”

”Just like you said, the Divine Domain is enormous... It’s all too easy to hide someone.”

Xu Luo looked at the Su Family Ancestor, his gaze growing ever calmer. In that moment, his own state of mind reached a new level, and his tone became even more tranquil. ”A world with light... It’s so wonderful.”

WHOOSH!

The Su Family Ancestor let out his final breath. His eyes slowly closed, and his life came to an end.

Xu Luo raised a hand, unleashing a current of Yin Yang Power. The Su Family Ancestor’s body burst into flames right there in the stream.

It burned with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, the body vanished completely, consumed within the waters of the stream.

”If this stream can wash away all your sins... then consider this my act of forgiveness,” Xu Luo said. He let out a soft sigh and turned to leave.

’This was the first person I’ve met... who also ascended from the Lower Realm.’

’But he was an enemy I had no choice but to kill!’

’If the Su Family Ancestor hadn’t acted the way he did after ascending to the Divine Domain, maybe... I really would have spared him.’

After all, in terms of realm, the present-day Xu Luo had already far surpassed the Su Family Ancestor.

A fly might be annoying, but to an elephant, it’s far too insignificant. If the elephant is in a good mood, it ignores the fly. If it’s annoyed, it might swat it with its tail. If the fly dies, that’s just bad luck. If it survives, it’s fortunate—and that was all there was to it.

...

...

「Three months later.」

An exceedingly handsome young man arrived before the Celestial Brilliance Mountain Gate, the entrance to the most ancient Supreme Great Sect in all of Xi Hezhou.

This was the true heart of Celestial Brilliance, a place no outsider could ever find.

Xu Luo had only found this place by following the guidance within the Sound Transmission Stone.

Xu Luo was now in his true form.

The sect’s foundations were terrifyingly profound. Within Celestial Brilliance, even the Great Saint Realm was nothing special. It was said that the Chief Grand Elder of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, Yuwen Ji, had already reached the Venerable Realm!

In front of an expert of that caliber, using a Transformation Skill to hide his true appearance would be no different from suicide.

’If I had a choice... I definitely wouldn’t have come to a place like this.’

’But to save Qianqian, I have to be here!’

’So, I’ll just have to risk it. If a portrait of me has circulated and fallen into the hands of the Celestial Brilliance sect, I’ll just have to accept my misfortune.’

’Besides, even if that does happen, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost!’

’Everything depends on meeting the Chief Grand Elder of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden first!’

”Halt.” Along with a clear, cool voice, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen appeared before Xu Luo. He sized Xu Luo up and down. ”Who are you? This is the Celestial Brilliance Mountain Gate. Commoners are not permitted to enter.”

Though the boy’s voice was cold, it wasn’t overbearing, and his conduct was perfectly proper.

Xu Luo nodded to himself. ’So this is the bearing of a Supreme Great Sect! I suppose these people have never been tainted by the secular world. Otherwise, they’d probably be like Wanghai, all full of themselves the moment they step outside the sect.’

”I’ve come to apprentice myself to a master,” Xu Luo said with a gentle smile, casually taking out the Sound Transmission Stone.

The boy’s brow furrowed slightly. He gave Xu Luo a strange look, as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment’s thought, he accepted the Sound Transmission Stone.

With a single glance, the boy recognized it as a unique Sound Transmission Stone from Celestial Brilliance. Outsiders wouldn’t notice anything special, but all Heavenly Brilliance Disciples could identify one.

The boy then activated the message in the Sound Transmission Stone. After sweeping it with his Divine Sense, a strange expression finally crossed his face. He looked at Xu Luo and blurted out, ”So, you’re the one...!”

He stopped mid-sentence, then bowed deeply to Xu Luo. ”Senior Brother, please forgive me. As the gatekeeper, it is my duty to ask questions. Please wait here for a moment, Senior Brother. I will go announce your arrival and be right back.”

Xu Luo nodded. ’I’ve come this far,’ he thought. ’There’s no turning back now.’

A moment later, the young disciple returned. He looked at Xu Luo with utmost respect, returned the Sound Transmission Stone, and then made an inviting gesture. ”I’ve made the report. I will now take you to the Medicine Garden, Senior Brother. Grand Elder Yuwen wishes to see you personally!”

As he spoke, the boy’s voice trembled with excitement. His face was flushed, and he looked incredibly thrilled.

Xu Luo nodded, not overly surprised.

’After all, the conditions did state that I was to become the Direct Disciple of Yuwen Ji, the Chief Grand Elder of the Medicine Garden!’

’Now that I’ve arrived with the token, it’s only natural that Yuwen Ji would want to meet me in person.’

’Whether or not it’ll work out is something to be decided after we meet.’

Then, Xu Luo watched as the boy formed a hand seal for a Technique and muttered an incantation. Immediately, a round, iridescent Light Gate materialized in midair!

The boy looked at Xu Luo respectfully. ”Senior Brother, please follow me!”

Xu Luo was slightly taken aback. ’So, the real Celestial Brilliance Mountain Gate isn’t this tall, magnificent archway in front of me,’ he realized.

’It’s a whole other world hidden away!’

Following the boy, Xu Luo stepped into the round Light Gate. In an instant, he felt countless suns, moons, and stars recede behind him, as if he were walking through a great Star River!

Xu Luo was utterly astonished. ’What... what kind of path is this?’

’Where exactly is the oldest and most powerful Supreme Great Sect in Xi Hezhou located?’

It seemed as if an eternity had passed, yet also as if it had only been an instant. The scenery before Xu Luo’s eyes shifted, and a vast, boundless world... appeared before him.