Chapter 20 — The Man Who Cut Heaven

"My master."

No one spoke.

The prisoner valley had been noisy only minutes ago.

Two thousand Bloodriver cultivators.

Azure Origin guards.

Formation disciples.

Elders moving between barriers.

Now—

even the prisoners seemed to understand that something had changed.

Xuankong stared at the place where Shen Yuan had severed the black karmic thread.

His expression was no longer amused.

Shen Yuan studied him.

Eight thousand years.

The Sword Tomb.

The Severance.

The mysterious sword wielder.

And now an ancient cultivator who claimed to have been there when that man died.

"Name."

Xuankong looked at him.

"What?"

"Your master's name."

A long pause.

"Ji Cang."

The moment the name was spoken—

every sword in the valley trembled.

Once.

Clear.

Sharp.

Then stopped.

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

The system appeared.

[Unknown historical name detected.]

[Ji Cang.]

[Searching available Host knowledge...]

[No records found.]

Not surprising.

If the Immortal Realm had erased the man from history, mortal records were unlikely to contain much.

Xuankong smiled bitterly.

"Even the world barely remembers."

Shen Yuan looked toward the others.

Gu Tianhe.

Mu Qinglan.

Mo Qingfeng.

None showed recognition.

"Who was he?"

Xuankong lowered his gaze.

"My master was born in the Mortal Realm."

That alone mattered.

"He ascended?"

"Eventually."

"Eventually?"

Xuankong gave a faint smile.

"He failed his first tribulation."

Mo Qingfeng frowned.

"Failed?"

"Yes."

"And survived?"

"Obviously."

"How?"

"He cut the lightning."

Silence.

Shen Yuan almost smiled.

That sounded like Jian Wuchen.

Xuankong continued.

"The second time, Heaven sent twice as much."

"He cut that too."

"The third?"

"Four times."

"And?"

"He complained it was repetitive."

Jian Wuchen would have liked this man.

Shen Yuan could already tell.

"Then he ascended."

"Yes."

Xuankong looked upward.

"He reached the Immortal Realm and discovered something he hated."

"What?"

"The same thing he had hated below."

"People deciding where someone else's path was allowed to end."

Shen Yuan became still.

That line—

felt familiar.

Not because he'd heard it.

Because he understood it.

Xuankong continued.

"In the Mortal Realm, sects controlled techniques."

"Clans controlled bloodlines."

"Kingdoms controlled resources."

"In the Immortal Realm..."

His expression darkened.

"...Heaven controlled ascension."

Gu Tianhe frowned.

"Isn't ascension simply a natural law?"

"No."

Xuankong's answer came immediately.

"It is now."

Silence.

Shen Yuan caught the distinction.

"Now."

Xuankong looked at him.

"Before the Severance, cultivators did not ascend through a single controlled passage."

"Then how?"

"Many ways."

"Spatial roads."

"Ancient gates."

"Dao bridges."

"Natural ascension channels."

"Some cultivators even crossed the boundary through sufficient comprehension."

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

"And the Immortal Realm changed that."

"Gradually."

Xuankong nodded.

"At first, for safety."

"Then regulation."

"Then control."

A familiar progression.

"By my era, most ascension routes had been closed."

"Only recognized passages remained."

"And who controlled those?"

"The powers above."

There it was.

"Why?"

"Resources."

"Talent."

"Authority."

"Fear."

Xuankong looked at Mo Qingfeng.

"A genius who ascends freely owes no Immortal faction anything."

"But a genius whose ascension can be delayed..."

He paused.

"...redirected..."

"...or denied..."

Mo Qingfeng's expression hardened.

"...can be controlled."

Shen Yuan looked upward.

The Severed Barrier suddenly seemed less like damage.

More like a wall.

"Ji Cang opposed this."

Xuankong laughed softly.

"My master opposed most things."

"Useful trait."

"Exhausting trait."

Shen Yuan understood.

Xuankong continued.

"He began studying the structure behind ascension."

"He discovered that Heavenly Dao wasn't the only force involved."

"What else?"

Xuankong became silent.

Then:

"A mechanism."

The system interface flickered.

Shen Yuan noticed.

No one else did.

"A mechanism?"

"Something built into the connection between worlds."

"Built by whom?"

"We never learned."

"What did it do?"

"Judged."

"Selected."

"Restricted."

"Measured whether a cultivator could pass."

Shen Yuan frowned.

"Like tribulation?"

"No."

Xuankong shook his head.

"Tribulation tests."

"This thing permitted."

Different.

Very different.

"And Ji Cang tried to destroy it."

"At first."

"At first?"

"He changed his mind."

"Why?"

"Because destroying it would have collapsed several realm passages."

"So?"

"So he created another way."

The Nine Gates.

Shen Yuan already knew.

"A cultivation path that bypassed permission."

Xuankong nodded.

"The Heaven-Severing Path."

There it was.

A name.

Finally.

"The Nine Sword Meridians?"

"The foundation."

"Nine Gates?"

"The inheritance."

"Seven keys?"

"The lock."

"Sword Tomb?"

"The final trial."

"And the Ninth Meridian?"

Xuankong became silent.

Shen Yuan waited.

Xuankong looked directly at him.

"I don't know."

That was unexpected.

"You were his disciple."

"Yes."

"And you don't know?"

"No."

"Why?"

Xuankong smiled faintly.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Because there is no Ninth Meridian."

Silence.

Shen Yuan remembered the scripture.

The Ninth cannot be taught.

The Ninth cannot be inherited.

The Ninth belongs only to the swordsman.

"Explain."

Xuankong looked toward the distant sky.

"Heart."

"Bone."

"Blood."

"Soul."

"Void."

"Will."

"Tribulation."

"Swordless."

He counted eight.

"Those can be taught."

"Built."

"Refined."

"Inherited."

"But the Ninth..."

He touched his chest.

"...must be created."

Shen Yuan's eyes sharpened.

"By the cultivator."

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Whatever completes their sword."

That answer was irritatingly vague.

Xuankong saw his expression.

"I'm not being mysterious."

"You're succeeding anyway."

"I genuinely don't know."

Xuankong laughed.

"Ji Cang's Ninth was called Severance."

"Another swordsman's could be entirely different."

"So the Nine Sword Meridian path isn't one path."

"Exactly."

"It creates the first eight conditions."

"Then the ninth becomes unique."

Shen Yuan thought of Jian Wuchen.

Innate Sword Heart.

Broken conventional cultivation.

Three years of swinging a sword without Qi.

The boy's entire path had already been shaped by loss.

What would his Ninth become?

Too early.

Far too early.

Shen Yuan pushed the thought aside.

"What happened after Ji Cang completed his Ninth?"

Xuankong's smile vanished.

"He became a problem."

"For whom?"

"Everyone."

That sounded promising.

"He could cut formations."

"Domains."

"Karma."

"Space."

"Contracts."

"Tribulations."

"World barriers."

"He once severed an Immortal King's bloodline suppression with one strike."

Shen Yuan's eyes moved toward where the karmic thread had vanished.

The Heaven-Severing Sword Dao Origin could sever karmic connections.

Consistent.

Xuankong continued.

"Then he discovered something worse."

"What?"

"The mechanism controlling ascension was connected to the Mortal Realm's Heavenly Dao."

Silence.

"If he destroyed one..."

"The other would be damaged."

"Yes."

"So he didn't."

"No."

"He tried to sever the connection."

Xuankong nodded.

"Only the control."

"Not the worlds."

"Did it work?"

"For one breath."

Shen Yuan frowned.

"One?"

"One breath was enough."

"For what?"

Xuankong's eyes became distant.

"Every closed ascension road opened."

Silence.

"Across the Mortal Realm?"

"Across hundreds of lower realms."

That was larger than Shen Yuan had expected.

"Thousands of cultivators crossed."

"Without permission."

"Without registration."

"Without being claimed by the Immortal powers."

Gu Tianhe slowly understood.

"And the Immortal Realm retaliated."

Xuankong nodded.

"Every major power moved."

"Immortal Kings."

"Immortal Emperors."

"Ancient clans."

"Celestial palaces."

"Even factions that hated each other."

Shen Yuan frowned.

"All against one swordsman?"

"No."

Xuankong looked at him.

"Against the possibility that anyone could follow him."

There it was.

Not one person.

A precedent.

A path.

That was what they'd feared.

"What did Ji Cang do?"

Xuankong's expression became strange.

"He laughed."

Shen Yuan smiled faintly.

Of course.

"Then?"

"He fought."

"How long?"

"Nine days."

"Result?"

Xuankong became quiet.

"On the ninth day, the sky broke."

Shen Yuan remembered the fragment.

The universe splitting.

The void entity screaming.

"The cut I saw."

"Probably."

"What was he cutting?"

Xuankong's face hardened.

"The bridge."

Shen Yuan froze.

The apparition's words returned.

Seven guarded the door.

Nine walked the path.

One cut the bridge.

"The one between heaven and man."

Xuankong's eyes snapped toward him.

"What did you say?"

Shen Yuan repeated it.

"The fragment showed me an apparition."

Xuankong stood completely still.

"It said, 'One cut the bridge. The one between heaven and man.'"

For several seconds—

the ancient cultivator looked stunned.

Then he whispered:

"So that's what he meant."

"What?"

Xuankong didn't answer immediately.

"Before the final battle, Master told us he would cut the bridge."

"We assumed he meant the ascension mechanism."

"He didn't."

Shen Yuan's expression changed.

"What did he cut?"

Xuankong looked upward.

"The connection between the Mortal Realm and the Immortal Realm."

Gu Tianhe inhaled.

"But you said the Immortal Realm caused the Severance."

"It did."

Xuankong's eyes narrowed.

"After."

Shen Yuan understood.

"Ji Cang cut the bridge temporarily."

"Yes."

"Then the Immortal Realm made it permanent."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Xuankong's answer was quiet.

"Because they were afraid he had left something below."

The Sword Tomb.

The keys.

The path.

Jian Wuchen.

Shen Yuan's gaze became cold.

"So they isolated an entire world."

"Not one."

Xuankong looked at him.

"Many."

Silence.

"How many?"

"I don't know."

"Dozens?"

"More."

"Hundreds?"

Xuankong didn't answer.

That was answer enough.

Shen Yuan looked at the sky.

The higher realm suddenly seemed much less appealing.

Mu Qinglan broke the silence.

"Senior Xuankong."

The ancient man looked at her.

"If this Ji Cang died eight thousand years ago..."

She glanced at Shen Yuan.

"...how does Peak Master Shen possess his Dao?"

Good question.

Xuankong's expression changed.

Everyone looked at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan looked at the system.

The Heaven-Severing Sword Dao Origin sat quietly in his inventory.

Cashback reward.

Created—or retrieved—by the system.

That raised a question he hadn't seriously considered.

Where did system rewards come from?

Were they generated?

Copied?

Pulled from somewhere?

The system had called the reward a Dao-Origin.

Xuankong had recognized it instantly.

Shen Yuan spoke carefully.

"I received it."

Xuankong stared.

"From whom?"

"Can't say."

"Won't?"

"Both."

Xuankong approached.

"Was it Ji Cang?"

"No."

That he could answer.

Xuankong studied his face.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

The old man's shoulders relaxed slightly.

Interesting.

"Then whoever gave it to you either knew my master..."

A pause.

"...or knows the origin of his Dao."

The system remained silent.

Shen Yuan mentally asked:

"Do you know Ji Cang?"

No response.

"Was the Heaven-Severing Sword Dao Origin his?"

The system finally answered.

[Reward source information unavailable.]

Shen Yuan frowned.

"Unavailable to me or to you?"

Pause.

[Unavailable.]

That was new.

The system itself either couldn't access the answer—

or wouldn't.

Neither possibility was comforting.

Xuankong crouched where Xue Ming's corpse had vanished.

"Show me the token."

Gu Tianhe took out the confiscated black token.

Seven swords.

One circle.

Xuankong saw it.

His face changed instantly.

"You know it," Shen Yuan said.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

Xuankong took the token.

His fingers trembled slightly.

"The Covenant Mark."

"The seven guardians?"

"No."

His answer surprised everyone.

"The Nine."

Shen Yuan frowned.

"Nine what?"

Xuankong looked at the symbol.

"Nine disciples."

Silence.

Shen Yuan became very still.

Xuankong continued.

"Ji Cang had nine direct disciples."

"You were one."

"Yes."

"Seven guarded the door."

"Seven of us did."

"And the other two?"

Xuankong's expression darkened.

"One died with Master."

"And the last?"

Silence.

There it was.

Shen Yuan already knew the answer would be bad.

Xuankong looked at the black token.

"We thought he died too."

"Name."

Xuankong hesitated.

"Han Wuji."

The system flickered.

[Historical identity detected.]

[No records available.]

"What was his path?"

Xuankong's jaw tightened.

"Karma."

Shen Yuan looked at the severed black thread.

Of course.

"Could he perform karmic execution?"

"Yes."

"Dao Parasitism?"

"Yes."

"Survive through a bloodline?"

Xuankong's expression became grim.

"Yes."

Silence.

Gu Tianhe spoke.

"So the traitor..."

Xuankong closed his hand around the token.

"May have been my senior brother."

Far away—

inside the Dead Sword Wasteland—

Duan Zheng heard laughter in the darkness.

Not human laughter.

Not anymore.

The chains through his shoulders trembled.

He lifted his head.

"Who are you?"

The eyes behind him moved.

For three years, he had asked.

For three years—

no answer.

Now the darkness shifted.

A figure stepped forward.

Thin.

Tall.

Wrapped in ruined black robes.

Its face was hidden beneath strips of ancient cloth.

Seven broken sword blades pierced its back.

Not weapons.

Seals.

Duan Zheng stared.

The figure looked toward the ceiling.

"The Severing Dao returned."

Its voice sounded like several people speaking at once.

Duan Zheng pulled against his chains.

"Who are you?"

The figure tilted its head.

"Guardian."

"Which lineage?"

A pause.

"None."

Duan Zheng frowned.

The figure raised one hand.

A finger touched one of the seven sword blades in its back.

"Before lineages."

Another blade.

"Before the Tomb became a tomb."

Another.

"Before the road was cut."

Duan Zheng's expression changed.

"You're from the Pre-Severance Era."

The figure laughed.

"That is what you call it now?"

One of the seven sword seals cracked.

Duan Zheng's eyes widened.

The figure stepped closer.

"Tell me, child."

"Does the First Key bearer still have his Sword Heart?"

Duan Zheng said nothing.

The figure smiled beneath the cloth.

"Good."

That was enough.

It turned away.

Duan Zheng pulled at his chains.

"What do you want with Jian Wuchen?"

The figure stopped.

"Nothing."

"Then why—"

"I was waiting for someone else."

"Who?"

The figure looked upward.

Through stone.

Through wasteland.

Through thousands of kilometers.

Toward Cloudveil Peak.

"The one who carries Master's Severing Dao."

Duan Zheng froze.

Master?

The figure took another step.

A second sword seal cracked.

The entire underground prison shook.

Back at Azure Origin Sect—

Shen Yuan suddenly looked west.

The system appeared.

[Major Disciple Destiny Chain updated.]

[Dead Sword Wasteland activity increased.]

[Unknown sealed entity awakening.]

[Connection to Jian Wuchen: High.]

[Connection to Heaven-Severing Sword Dao Origin: Extremely High.]

Xuankong noticed Shen Yuan's expression.

"What?"

"The Dead Sword Wasteland."

The old man's face changed.

"What about it?"

"You know it."

Xuankong stared west.

"Where is it?"

Shen Yuan gave the direction.

Xuankong vanished.

Not moved.

Vanished.

A heartbeat later—

he returned.

His expression was pale.

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

That was concerning.

"What?"

Xuankong looked at him.

"We need to go."

"Three days."

"No."

Xuankong's voice sharpened.

"Now."

"Jian Wuchen's foundation isn't stable."

"If we wait three days, there may not be a wasteland."

Silence.

"What's there?"

Xuankong looked toward the west.

"One of the Seven."

"Guardians?"

"No."

His voice became quieter.

"Disciples."

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

"Ji Cang's?"

Xuankong nodded.

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"You had eight martial siblings."

"I know."

"Can't you identify them?"

"Not anymore."

That answer carried weight.

"Why?"

Xuankong looked at the black token.

"Because after the Severance..."

His grip tightened.

"...we started killing each other."

Cloudveil Peak.

Jian Wuchen opened his eyes.

Clear Wind floated before him.

His Sword Foundation had stabilized further.

Heart Meridian.

Bone Meridian.

Both pulsed.

Then—

the Ancient Sword Tomb Key emerged from his storage ring by itself.

He stood.

The key floated.

Turned west.

And began vibrating.

Lin Yue appeared outside his courtyard.

"You feel it?"

"Yes."

"What?"

Jian Wuchen shook his head.

Then the key projected an image.

Seven swords.

One circle.

Lin Yue's expression changed.

The same symbol.

A second image appeared.

A location.

Dead Sword Wasteland.

Then—

a single word.

Not written in modern script.

Yet Jian Wuchen understood it.

RETURN.

Clear Wind screamed.

Jian grabbed the sword.

The key flashed again.

This time—

another image.

A man hanging from chains.

Jian Wuchen froze.

"Duan Zheng?"

He had only met Ye Feng's master a few times.

But he recognized him.

The image vanished.

Then—

something appeared behind the chained man.

Black robes.

Seven swords through its back.

No face.

Jian's Sword Heart stopped for one beat.

The figure in the projection slowly turned.

It should not have been able to see him.

It did.

Across the projection—

across distance—

its covered face pointed directly at Jian Wuchen.

Then it spoke.

"First Key."

Jian's hand tightened around Clear Wind.

The figure tilted its head.

"You are too early."

The projection shattered.

Lin Yue drew her sword—

then remembered she still didn't have one.

Her hand closed around empty air.

She frowned.

That needed fixing.

Footsteps approached.

Ye Feng ran into the courtyard.

"What happened?"

Jian looked at him.

"Your master is alive."

Ye Feng stopped.

Everything disappeared from his expression.

"What?"

"I saw him."

"Where?"

"Dead Sword Wasteland."

Ye Feng's face became pale.

"Take me."

Jian nodded.

"Yes."

Lin Yue immediately spoke.

"I'm coming."

Jian looked at her.

"Senior Sister—"

"No."

"You have—"

"The spar is finished."

Fair.

Then space opened.

Shen Yuan stepped through.

Xuankong followed.

Gu Tianhe came after them.

Then Mo Qingfeng.

Chen An appeared from another path carrying a ledger.

He looked at the growing group.

Then at Shen Yuan.

"No."

Shen Yuan blinked.

"I didn't say anything."

"You are leaving."

"Yes."

"To somewhere dangerous."

"Probably."

Chen An closed his eyes.

"How long?"

Shen Yuan considered.

"No idea."

"Who is going?"

"Me."

Xuankong raised one hand.

"Me."

Jian Wuchen stepped forward.

"Me."

Ye Feng immediately followed.

"Me."

Lin Yue raised her hand.

"Me."

Gu Tianhe frowned.

"No."

Lin looked at him.

Gu pointed toward Shen Yuan.

"Your master can ignore sect hierarchy because apparently becoming an Immortal damages respect for administration."

Shen Yuan frowned.

"That's unproven."

Gu ignored him.

"You are still a disciple."

Lin Yue looked at Shen Yuan.

He thought.

She was strong for Body Tempering.

Absurdly strong.

But Dead Sword Wasteland swallowed Nascent Souls.

"No."

Her expression fell.

"Master."

"Not this time."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what's there."

"That's why I should—"

"No."

His tone was calm.

Final.

Lin Yue became quiet.

Shen Yuan continued.

"Cloudveil needs someone here."

"Chen An."

Chen An looked up.

"We have discussed this."

Shen Yuan nodded.

"You're staying too."

"I assumed."

Lin Yue looked at Jian.

"Why can he go?"

Shen Yuan answered.

"Because the place is connected to him."

That didn't satisfy her.

He understood.

"Your turn will come."

Lin Yue looked away.

Then nodded.

"Fine."

Shen Yuan smiled.

"Good."

She pointed at Jian Wuchen.

"If he gets himself killed, I'm blaming you."

Jian raised an eyebrow.

"Why Master?"

"Because you're impossible."

"Fair."

Ye Feng was barely listening.

"How soon can we leave?"

"Now."

He immediately moved toward the spatial passage.

Xuankong stopped him.

"No."

Ye Feng stared.

"My master is there."

"And if you enter directly through space, you may kill him."

Ye Feng froze.

Xuankong looked at Shen Yuan.

"The Wasteland's spatial laws are broken."

"How broken?"

"Very."

"Useful measurement."

"I've been awake less than a day."

"Excuses."

Xuankong stared.

Gu Tianhe almost smiled.

Someone else was finally dealing with Shen Yuan.

Xuankong continued.

"We travel to the outer boundary."

"Then walk."

Jian Wuchen looked west.

"How long?"

"With us?"

Xuankong glanced at Shen Yuan.

"Minutes."

Ye Feng nodded.

"Then let's go."

Shen Yuan opened a spatial passage.

Before entering—

Chen An called:

"Peak Master."

Shen Yuan looked back.

Chen An held out a storage ring.

"Food."

Shen Yuan accepted it.

"Medicine."

Another ring.

"Tea."

A third.

Shen Yuan smiled.

"All of it?"

Chen An's face remained perfectly serious.

"All of it."

Jian Wuchen looked away.

Ye Feng almost laughed despite himself.

Shen Yuan stored the rings.

Then paused.

He looked at Lin Yue.

"Keep training."

"I will."

"Don't break the Lunar Pool."

"I won't."

"Don't fight Zhao again until I return."

She hesitated.

"Lin Yue."

"Fine."

He looked at Lu Chen, who had arrived halfway through the conversation.

"Don't cultivate."

Lu Chen blinked.

"That's my instruction?"

"Yes."

"Everyone else gets training."

"You explode."

"Right."

Shen Yuan looked at Chen An.

"Don't let them destroy the mountain."

Chen An stared at him.

"I'll do my best."

That was the most confidence anyone could reasonably offer.

Shen Yuan stepped into space.

Xuankong followed.

Jian Wuchen and Ye Feng entered after them.

The passage closed.

Lin Yue stared at the empty air.

Then looked at Lu Chen.

"Training."

His expression fell.

"Master said I shouldn't cultivate."

"I said training."

"What's the difference?"

Lin Yue smiled.

Lu Chen immediately regretted asking.

The western edge of the Northern Region.

Space opened.

Shen Yuan stepped out.

Then stopped.

The world ahead was dead.

Not barren.

Dead.

For hundreds of kilometers—

no trees.

No grass.

No birds.

No insects.

The earth was gray.

Millions of broken swords protruded from the ground.

Some rusted.

Some shattered.

Some enormous.

Some barely more than fragments.

The sky above the wasteland was split by black lines.

Spatial cracks.

They opened and closed silently.

Jian Wuchen emerged.

His Sword Heart immediately began pounding.

Ye Feng followed.

His face became pale.

Xuankong stepped out last.

He looked across the wasteland.

For the first time since Shen Yuan met him—

the ancient man seemed afraid.

Jian Wuchen noticed.

"You've been here."

Xuankong nodded.

"When?"

"Eight thousand years ago."

Silence.

"What was it?"

Xuankong looked across the endless field of swords.

"A city."

Ye Feng stared.

"This?"

"The largest sword city in the Mortal Realm."

"What happened?"

Xuankong's eyes moved toward the center.

"One of us betrayed it."

The ground trembled.

Jian's Sword Tomb Key rose.

The broken swords across the wasteland began vibrating.

One.

Ten.

A hundred.

A thousand.

Then—

millions.

The sound became deafening.

Every blade pointed toward Jian Wuchen.

Ye Feng drew his sword.

Xuankong stepped forward.

Shen Yuan remained still.

The system appeared.

[Dead Sword Wasteland entered.]

[Major Destiny Region.]

[Ancient Sword Dao density: Extreme.]

[Spatial stability: Critical.]

[Sealed entities detected: 7.]

Shen Yuan's expression changed.

Seven?

The system continued.

[Living cultivators detected: 2.]

Duan Zheng.

And the thing in darkness?

[One familiar karmic signature detected.]

[Disciple Jian Wuchen.]

Obviously.

Then—

[One Heaven-Severing Sword Dao signature detected.]

Shen Yuan looked at Xuankong.

"No."

Xuankong spoke before he could ask.

"Not me."

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

The system confirmed.

[Signature does not originate from Xuankong.]

Then the earth split.

A line appeared across the wasteland.

Perfectly straight.

Not a crack.

A sword cut.

It stretched from the horizon—

directly toward them.

Xuankong's face changed.

"Move!"

Ye Feng jumped.

Jian Wuchen moved.

Xuankong vanished.

Shen Yuan remained.

The sword line reached him.

He lifted two fingers.

Caught it.

Boom!

The entire wasteland shook.

The cut screamed against his fingers.

Shen Yuan's robes snapped backward.

His eyes widened slightly.

Strong.

Not dangerous to him.

But—

strong.

Very strong.

He tightened his fingers.

The sword light shattered.

Silence.

Xuankong reappeared.

He stared at Shen Yuan.

"You caught it."

"Yes."

"With your fingers."

"Yes."

Xuankong became silent.

Then looked away.

"Ridiculous body."

Shen Yuan smiled.

"Jealous?"

"Deeply."

A voice traveled across the wasteland.

Old.

Broken.

Laughing.

"Xuankong."

The ancient man's smile disappeared.

The voice continued.

"Eight thousand years..."

Broken swords rose from the ground.

One after another.

Thousands.

"...and you still hide behind someone stronger."

Xuankong's eyes became cold.

"Show yourself."

The ground split.

Far ahead—

a figure emerged from beneath the earth.

Black robes.

Seven broken swords pierced through its back.

Bandages covered its face.

Chains dragged behind it.

And in one hand—

it held Duan Zheng by the collar.

Ye Feng's face changed.

"MASTER!"

Duan Zheng's eyes opened weakly.

"Ye..."

The black-robed figure stopped.

Jian Wuchen's Sword Tomb Key trembled violently.

The figure looked at him.

"First Key."

Then—

at Shen Yuan.

Everything changed.

The seven swords in its back began vibrating.

The figure released Duan Zheng.

The injured man fell.

Ye Feng rushed forward.

No one stopped him.

He caught his master.

The black-robed figure did not care.

Its entire attention remained on Shen Yuan.

Slowly—

it knelt.

Xuankong froze.

Jian Wuchen froze.

Even Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

The figure bowed its head.

Seven broken swords pointed toward the earth.

Then it spoke.

Not with hostility.

Not with madness.

With reverence.

"Disciple Gu Jian greets the inheritor of Master's Dao."

Silence.

Xuankong stared.

"Seventh Brother?"

The black-robed figure slowly lifted its head.

For the first time—

emotion entered its voice.

"Third Brother."

Xuankong's face went pale.

Gu Jian stood.

The chains behind him moved.

Then Shen Yuan noticed something.

The chains did not bind Gu Jian.

They extended from him.

Downward.

Into the earth.

The system appeared.

[Reanalysis complete.]

[Sealed entities: 7.]

[Correction.]

[Six entities are sealed beneath the Dead Sword Wasteland.]

Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed.

And the seventh?

The system answered.

[Gu Jian is not a prisoner.]

The wasteland shook.

Far below—

six enormous presences stirred.

Gu Jian looked at Shen Yuan.

Then at Jian Wuchen.

Then at the First Key.

His voice became grim.

"Master's Dao has returned."

A chain beneath his feet cracked.

"Then there is no time left."

Shen Yuan looked down.

"What are you holding here?"

Gu Jian answered with four words.

"The ones who killed him."

Deep underground—

six pairs of eyes opened.