Firmament Sword

”If that’s really the case, then... you’ll just have to accept us merging into one.” Su Qianqian gave Xu Luo a deep look, and the expression on her face shifted slightly.

It was a subtle shift in the light of her eyes, a change so faint that even Su Qianqian might not have noticed it in a mirror. But Xu Luo did.

Xu Luo knew. ’Qianqian is back!’

Seeing the smile forming on Xu Luo’s face, Su Qianqian smiled happily as well. Her grin gradually widened as she stepped forward and leaned gently into his embrace. This time, she didn’t say thank you.

Afterward, Xu Luo took Su Qianqian for a stroll through the Bronze Divine Hall World. They watched the sunrise and the sun set over the long river. Finally, they sat together on a bluestone slab at the very peak of a mountain, gazing into the distance.

”This world is so beautiful!” Su Qianqian murmured, her long hair fluttering as she sat serenely beside Xu Luo in her white dress.

”Do you want to see the outside world?” Xu Luo asked softly, taking her hand.

”I do!” Su Qianqian nodded emphatically.

”Then... how about joining the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden?” Xu Luo suggested. This wasn’t a sudden whim. Initially, because of what had happened with Monkey, Xu Luo had a very poor impression of the Celestial Brilliance Sect.

He had conflated the Celestial Brilliance Sect with those ancient lineages from the Lower Realm, seeing it as another arrogant power that looked down on all living things.

It wasn’t until he truly entered the Celestial Brilliance Sect and experienced its atmosphere that Xu Luo realized his understanding had been biased and, perhaps, unfair.

Admittedly, the Celestial Brilliance Sect did have its problems. For instance, many of its members were arrogant about their talents, and some were bullies who threw their weight around.

But far more numerous... were the true Cultivators, wholly dedicated to their practice and unconcerned with worldly affairs.

Even the best sect has its scum; even the worst has its good people.

Xu Luo’s mentality had continued to mature, and by now, he saw many things with great clarity.

He didn’t want Su Qianqian to remain in the Bronze Divine Hall World forever. Even though it was a world just for the two of them, where no one could harm her.

But by the same token, she couldn’t achieve any significant growth in this world. She needed to become stronger, and more importantly, she needed to interact with other people.

”The Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden? Is that your current sect? I’ll do whatever you say,” Su Qianqian said softly, gazing at Xu Luo. ”As long as it’s a place where I can see you often, I’ll go anywhere.”

Just then, a roar echoed from the far distance. ”AAAAAH, kid! What in the world are you trying to pull? You trying to scare this master to death? You almost destroyed this entire world! AAAAAAAH!”

A streak of yellow light shot over from the horizon, followed closely by a golden shadow.

Xu Luo didn’t even need to look to know it was Master Mao and Xiaojin.

After arriving in the Bronze Divine Hall World, those two had made a beeline for the Small World.

That place was home to a vast number of Spirit Beasts and Spirit Medicines, making it incredibly rich in resources.

For the likes of Master Mao and Xiaojin, it was a place where they could reign supreme.

As a result, the two of them were having a blast. The feeling of being kings was so wonderful that they were reluctant to leave.

But when Xu Luo nearly destroyed the entire Bronze Divine Hall World to save Su Qianqian, it had thoroughly terrified the pair.

At first, Master Mao didn’t realize that Su Qianqian’s condition was what had caused the Bronze Divine Hall World to destabilize. He’d assumed Xu Luo was in danger and had grown frantic, dragging Xiaojin along on a desperate search for him.

Later, when the truth dawned on him, Master Mao rushed to the place where Xu Luo had sealed Su Qianqian, only to find it empty.

With no other option, Master Mao had to take Xiaojin to find the Ancient Peach Tree. Only then did he learn what had happened. Afterward, he and Xiaojin resumed their search for Xu Luo.

The Bronze Divine Hall World was vast, and finding a single person was no easy task. That was why it had taken Master Mao so many days to finally track Xu Luo down.

The moment he arrived, Master Mao stared at Su Qianqian for a long time before blinking and muttering, ”She’s actually okay?”

”Hello there, Miaomiao,” Su Qianqian said with a soft smile.

”AAAAAAH! It’s Master Mao!”

”Don’t you dare mention that name again! What kind of garbage name is that?” Master Mao flew into a rage. He was a king who ruled over his own domain now! The name ’Miaomiao’... completely undermined his regal presence.

Su Qianqian covered her mouth with her hand, giggling. Seeing Master Mao felt like reuniting with an old friend, and it made her happy.

Xiaojin watched the stunningly beautiful woman from the side, feeling a bit shy. If he were to take human form, he’d be just a young man himself.

”You must be Xiaojin, right? Hello!” Su Qianqian greeted him warmly.

”Er... Xiaojin... fine!” Although he wasn’t too fond of the name either, he figured he was still luckier than Miaomiao.

Master Mao asked, ”Xu Luo, did you finally succeed?”

Xu Luo shook his head slightly. ”I only have three years. I still need to find the second half of the Soul Scripture!”

”What? You... you already got the first half?” Master Mao and Xiaojin were both stunned. This was especially true for Xiaojin. As a native of the Divine Domain, he was well aware that the Soul Scripture was the Holy Scripture of a Supreme Great Sect like the Celestial Brilliance Sect.

He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to obtain the ultimate Holy Scripture from such a sect.

It was a nearly impossible feat, yet Xu Luo had accomplished it in such a short time!

It was simply... unbelievable!

Simply beyond belief!

”You really did it?” Master Mao asked, staring at Xu Luo in shock. ”Quick, take it out and let this master have a look!”

”Are you sure you want to see it?” Xu Luo asked, giving Master Mao a wry smile.

”What... is there a problem?” Having been bested by Xu Luo many times before, Master Mao had learned to be cautious. He immediately grew suspicious.

Xu Luo chuckled. ”Miaomiao, I’ll be honest with you. For millions of years, countless geniuses in the Celestial Brilliance Sect have tried to comprehend this Soul Scripture, but only a handful have ever succeeded. The vast majority spend their entire lives on it and gain nothing. What’s more, once you start, you get sucked in. It’s like falling into a state of cultivation deviation. In the end... you’ll only waste your life and squander your years!”

”Damn, is it really that serious?” Master Mao said, looking at Xu Luo with disbelief. ”Enough talk! Can’t you just let this master take a look? Don’t be so stingy!”

”You want to see it... you can see it!” With a wave of his hand, Xu Luo manifested a dilapidated, ancient stone stele directly in front of Master Mao.

At the same time, Xu Luo wrapped an arm around Su Qianqian and retreated rapidly. He then used a gentle force to push Xiaojin far into the distance.

The frigid aura emanating from the stele was more than the current Su Qianqian or Xiaojin could withstand.

Sure enough, before Master Mao could even get excited, he let out a terrified shriek. ”MEOW!”

Immediately, all the fur on Master Mao’s body stood on end. His tail puffed up thick and long, pointing straight up as he sprang into the air off all fours. He landed a great distance away, glaring ferociously at the ancient, dilapidated stele.

The stone stele stood there silently, emanating an aura of profound antiquity.

Master Mao roared, ”Are you trying to kill this master?”

”You’re the one who wanted to see it!” Xu Luo replied with a look of pure innocence.

”Damn you!” Master Mao knew he’d been had. He eyed the ancient stele with lingering fear and grumbled, ”Put it away! What a stupid slab of rock! This master has no interest in looking at it!”

Xu Luo smiled and, with a casual wave, put the stele engraved with the Soul Scripture into his Storage Ring. ’If the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master finds out I’ve taken this,’ he thought, ’will he try to kill me?’

Counting the days, Xu Luo had already been in the Scripture Pavilion for sixty-four days. Zuo Mingyu had long since stopped standing guard outside and had left to manage other affairs.

The entire Scripture Pavilion was now sealed from the outside.

So when Xu Luo emerged, he found the Scripture Pavilion completely silent, with nothing but rows of massive bookshelves on either side, all filled with ancient texts.

’Master’s relationship with the Grand Elder of the Scripture Pavilion is terrible, so getting in here again will be extremely difficult. I might as well take this opportunity to browse through the Pavilion’s collections,’ Xu Luo murmured to himself. He then brought Su Qianqian out, and the two of them lost themselves in the ancient texts, forgetting to eat or sleep.

Every text in the collection was a treasure, painstakingly acquired by generations of Celestial Brilliance Sect predecessors. Many were cultivation journals and insights left behind by the sect’s mightiest figures throughout history.

Xu Luo devoured them like a starving man pouncing on a loaf of bread.

Su Qianqian, who came from a scholarly family, was fascinated by these records of ancestral wisdom. The two of them read on in perfect, silent harmony.

And so they read... for three months.

Half a year went by. Outside, all sorts of speculation arose within the Celestial Brilliance Sect about the whereabouts of the newly appointed Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden.

The day Yuwen ji had brought Xu Luo to the Scripture Pavilion, he hadn’t told anyone. In the entire Medicine Garden, only Yuwen ji and Eighth Elder Lu Xue knew the truth.

As for the Scripture Pavilion, Zuo Mingyu deliberately kept the matter quiet after resolving his misunderstanding with Yuwen ji, forbidding anyone from speaking of it.

And certainly no one from the Sect Leader’s faction would dare gossip that the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden had entered the Scripture Pavilion.

Thus, many people were left to speculate in secret: where in the world had the new Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden gone?

This was especially true as the annual competition drew near, and many of the Celestial Brilliance Sect’s young prodigies returned from across the lands to prepare for the grand event.

Naturally, the various rumors about the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden reached their ears as well.

When Qi Yue, the Senior Sister of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, returned and heard she suddenly had a new senior brother, the sweet-looking young woman with straight-cut bangs merely offered a reserved smile and said nothing more.

Jin Ming, the Direct Disciple of the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master, also returned. The moment his black warship—a symbol of power and status—entered the sect’s territory, it caused a massive stir.

This was because Jin Ming had successfully obtained a heaven-defying opportunity from within an ancient ruin!

The strength of this man, the true Senior Brother of the entire Celestial Brilliance Sect, had advanced yet again, to the point where it even surpassed that of some Elders.

He was considered the undisputed successor to the position of Sect Leader.

This Senior Brother Tianhuang made no public statement about the ”newcomer” who had suddenly appeared in the sect with a nominal status equal to the Sect Leader’s own.

Many other young prodigies of the Celestial Brilliance Sect also returned from their travels, and they had all heard the stories about Luo Tian.

”The Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden? Acknowledged by the Medicine King Ring? Heh...” A soft scoff betrayed the speaker’s disdain.

And this speaker was An Yu, hailed as the one person in the younger generation of the Celestial Brilliance Sect capable of competing with Senior Brother Jin Ming.