Chapter 587: Which Lineage Are You From? (2)

Now that he had obtained the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, the final shackle limiting Bai Zichen was gone.

He was now free to roam as he pleased; all he needed was a suitable Spirit Land to focus on his Cultivation.

He had no need for Realm-Breaking Spiritual Objects or Realm-Breaking Elixirs in his Cultivation, and upgrading his Flying Swords had to be done one step at a time.

Until he mastered the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, even if he possessed Tier Four or even Tier Five Flying Swords, he wouldn’t be able to handle an expanded Star River Sword Array without refining them into his Lifebound Flying Sword.

“Fellow Daoist Ziwei, wait for me three hundred li east of the main hall.”

Bai Zichen received the Sound Transmission. He didn’t alter his Escape Light’s course immediately, but after flying for a hundred li, he descended and changed direction.

This was a dilapidated Daoist Temple. In the front hall, the Golden Body Divine Statue had been toppled, its head broken clean off its body.

The side rooms looked as if something heavy had rolled over them, causing a roof and wall on one side to collapse.

After waiting patiently for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he finally saw a few points of starlight flicker as Po Jun Star Monarch landed.

‘This Star Escape technique is truly impressive. It seems he’s also hiding a Secret Technique that fuses it with Nebula Dual Escape. In terms of sheer escape ability, he’s basically at the top of the game.’

Bai Zichen recalled how Po Jun Star Monarch had fled with incredible speed on the Jishui River that day. Despite being the most conspicuous target, he hadn’t been caught by a single Great Demon.

No wonder that in the ongoing war between the human and demon races, while numerous True Monarchs had fallen, not a single one was from the Celestial Star Sect.

The Celestial Star Sect, much like its close ally the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, was a Super Major Sect that had risen rapidly in the era after the Near Ancient period.

Three thousand years ago, two Divinity Transformation Great Powers from the sect emerged, one after the other, pushing their Astrological Divination Divine Powers to the absolute peak.

They were from roughly the same era as the two Divinity Transformation Sword Cultivators of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, having achieved their daos just a few centuries apart.

Although they didn’t leave behind many glorious battle records, their Star Escape Skill was unparalleled in history. They had even once used Cosmic Light to playfully roam Outer Heaven.

Relying on their sublime Star Escape skill, they harvested many ores and pieces of Meteorite Iron from Outer Heaven—materials that had long since vanished from the Cultivation Realm—and refined them into numerous Spiritual Treasures.

“Ziwei, you received the inheritance of the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture too, didn’t you… I’m not talking about the version carved on the stone wall, but the True Inheritance of the Sword Seed, bestowed directly by the Sword Stele!”

Po Jun Star Monarch’s opening words were earth-shattering, laying the truth bare.

“Don’t try to hide it from me. Outsiders can’t sense the Sword Stele’s activity, but as fellow heirs of the Sword Sect, how could we possibly miss it? To be acknowledged by the Sword Stele, one must be a Saint Heir or at least a Core Disciple. For the other branches, only the direct successor would qualify. Which Hidden Vein are you the heir to? The Sword-Forging Vein? Hidden Sword? Or the most mysterious Buddha Sword Lineage?”

“Uh, I’m from the Northern Domain. When I was young, I stumbled upon a Sword Sect inheritance in Black Mountain. I honestly don’t know which branch I belong to…”

How was Bai Zichen to know what other reactions the Sword Stele might have? He wasn’t a true heir of the Taibai Sword Sect; he had merely bluffed his way through using the True Understanding of Sword Dao left behind by the Star River Sword Monarch.

That scroll, as thin as a cicada’s wing, not only contained the lifelong essence of the Star River Sword Monarch’s Sword Dao, but also seemed to serve as some kind of token.

It had lain dormant all this time, only revealing its true purpose now that he was in the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven and had encountered the Sword Stele.

Based on his own assumptions, Po Jun Star Monarch naturally saw him as a fellow heir from one of the Taibai Sword Sect’s Hidden Veins.

Back when the Taibai Sword Sect still existed, the Sword Stele had followed strict selection criteria. Only disciples who were both exceptionally talented and formally recognized by the Sect would be deemed worthy of receiving a Sword Seed from it.

Otherwise, even if one meditated by the Sword Stele day and night, it would be impossible to receive any information about the Sword Scripture.

According to the Sect’s high-ranking members, this was because the Sword Seeds were finite and their distribution had to be controlled, making it impossible to bestow the inheritance on a large scale.

That was why Po Jun Star Monarch wasn’t the least bit worried about leading outsiders into the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven. At worst, they might have some of their possessions confiscated, but the Fundamental Great Method could only fall into the hands of a true Sword Sect heir.

“The Northern Domain… I don’t recall any branch fleeing in that direction when the Sect was destroyed… Perhaps they struggled to survive elsewhere and eventually rerouted to the Northern Domain.”

Po Jun Star Monarch removed the mask from his face, revealing a round, plump figure. He instantly seemed a good deal shorter.

“The Cultivator who passed the Cultivation Technique to you must have been the master of one of the veins. He must have left you the Hidden Vein’s token, you just haven’t realized it… I was just wondering how a place like the Northern Domain could produce a peerless talent, a Heaven-Defying Sword Cultivator like you. But it turns out you’re one of our own. That explains everything.”

“Your aptitude is far better than mine. I may be several centuries older, but I still haven’t even touched the Sword Light Splitting Realm. I’m an embarrassment to the Sword Sect.”

“You also have to split your focus on your Astrological Technique. To have achieved so much while dividing your attention is already an incredible feat.”

Bai Zichen looked at the visibly excited Po Jun Star Monarch—or rather, Zhuo Xiong—and felt a little exasperated.

“After they leave, Taiyin and the others will definitely try to find loopholes in their Dao Heart Oaths to leak the existence of the Sword-Cleansing Grotto Heaven. While they won’t be able to reveal our identities directly, they can still carefully provide bits and pieces of information. From now on, you should use your Star Lord identity less when moving about the Cultivation Realm, lest you attract the envy of those Super Sects and they set an ambush for us.”

Zhuo Xiong knew full well the underhanded methods the Star Palace members employed.

Several Super Sects paid lip service to cracking down on the Star Palace, but in reality, they never took any real action. He could easily evade them without even needing to use the Celestial Star Sect’s channels.

As a Guiding Envoy, Zhuo Xiong knew the true identity of every Star Lord, so how could he not be aware of the schemes being plotted by the sects backing some of them?

It was true that joining the Star Palace required swearing a Dao Heart Oath, subjecting a member to all kinds of restrictions.

However, in the period between receiving an invitation and formally joining, no such restrictions existed, and a candidate was free to communicate with the powers-that-be in their sect.

Once they received approval from their sect’s true leaders and became a member of the Star Palace, they wouldn’t need to reveal a thing; the forces backing them would cooperate out of a tacit understanding.

All of this, of course, was in pursuit of the Taibai Sword Sect’s inheritance.

“I understand. I’ll be careful.”

Bai Zichen was startled. ‘Looks like I can’t use the identity of Ziwei Star Monarch anymore.’

Especially since he had also slain the Thousand-Legged Golden Centipede, the outside world might mistake him for the leader of the Star Palace.

Then, the moment Ziwei Star Monarch appeared, he would attract covetous parties, and perhaps even old enemies of the Taibai Sword Sect.

“Junior Brother Bai, what are your plans? I’m preparing to take the Mica Sword Pill to break through my bottleneck. If I succeed in Breaking Realm, I intend to take advantage of the current chaos to rebuild the Taibai Sword Sect within the Star Palace Secret Realm.”

Zhuo Xiong paced back and forth, swinging his arms emphatically, spittle flying as he spoke.

“Junior Brother, would you be willing to help me? I’ve already secretly cultivated over a hundred promising young Sword Cultivators, scattered across various regions… And the first Sect Leader of the New Sword Sect will, of course, be you, Junior Brother!”

“I plan to first familiarize myself with the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, so I can transition my own Cultivation Technique…”

Faced with Zhuo Xiong’s sudden burst of passion, Bai Zichen came up with the most legitimate-sounding excuse he could.

Restoring the Taibai Sword Sect to its former glory, hunting down the enemies who destroyed it one by one for revenge—he had not the slightest interest in any of these things.

If he felt a sense of belonging to any sect, it was to the Qingfeng Sect—the sect he had grown up in and helped strengthen since his youth. He had no feelings whatsoever for the Taibai Sword Sect.

“Don’t worry. Although our few Hidden Veins normally aren’t qualified to practice the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture, our Cultivation Techniques are all derived from it, just a tier below. After being granted the Sword Seed, the transition is very easy. It won’t take long at all.”

Zhuo Xiong waved a dismissive hand and continued to gesture excitedly.

“Publicly, I’ll have to maintain the appearance of practicing the Celestial Star Sect’s Cultivation Technique, which might take me an extra year… But while the two races are at war, no one will be paying attention to us. In a hundred years, we’ll have grown to a decent size, and then we can occupy an unclaimed Tier Four Spirit Vein. With your Swordsmanship, Junior Brother Bai, who could possibly stop us, short of a Divinity Transformation expert? I also know the locations of two of the Sect’s Hidden Sword caches. When we open them, you can refine the swords into your Lifebound Flying Sword, and you’ll be even more unstoppable.”

After a full hour of discussing the future of the Sword Sect, Zhuo Xiong finally departed, satisfied.

Bai Zichen watched the flickering specks of starlight fade away, then shook his head with a wry smile.

Somehow, he had been saddled with an enormous responsibility. ‘The future Sect Leader of the Taibai Sword Sect…’ That was a position he had no desire whatsoever to fill.

The fall of the Taibai Sword Sect was shrouded in mystery and involved far too many entanglements; it wasn’t a matter of just two or three Divinity Transformation powers.

It was a massive volcano on the verge of eruption, and anyone who sat on top would be blown to smithereens.

He hadn’t even dealt with his enemies, the Outer Sea Demon Clan, and now he was supposed to provoke new ones. It was utterly foolish.