Immortal of the Ages

"The Holy Maiden advances to the Spirit Treasure Walk!"

Sword Cultivators parted ways, etching a pathway through their midst, their eyes reflecting a silent reverence that danced with curious excitement. The Spirit Treasure Walk, stoic and regal, pierced the sky as the zenith of Azure Kite Street. It wasn’t merely a building; it was the pulse of the vibrant heart of the Sea of Swords, the cornerstone of the Spirit Treasure Walk’s might.

Yun Xiao’s heart fluttered, a quivering leaf in the gentle breeze, at the utterance of "Forbidden Tower’s Holy Maiden". Instinctually, his gaze waltzed toward the direction of the murmur.

Beneath a crowd of watchful eyes, a young girl draped in a snow-white dress emerged.

"So, so white," Yun Xiao whispered to himself.

The girl’s attire was a vision of unsullied purity; even the pearls that adorned it glimmered a pristine white. Below the elegant skirt, her tender neck, soft skin, and playful legs shone, possessing the gentle glow of high-quality jade.

A waterfall of raven hair offered a mesmerizing contrast amidst the dazzling white, enchanting the onlookers with an unspoken enchantment. However, her face remained a secret.

A mask clung to it—a white tiger mask. It was pallid, adorned with sulking black stripes, exuding an aura of solitude intertwined with latent brutality. Beneath, her eyes, shrouded by a mischievous mist, concealed her emotions and intentions, rendering her gaze an inscrutable enigma.

"Curious, isn’t it?" Yun Xiao mused, feeling an intriguing dichotomy pulsing from her.

Her aura, form, and physique whispered of delicate vitality and charming grace akin to a celestial maiden, yet the mask told a different story—one of formidable, lurking danger!

A mere glance stirred an uneasy thrill in the hearts of those who dared look.

"Hmm?" Blue Star nestled in Yun Xiao’s arms vibrated, its eyes flickering with a peculiar excitement as it clasped his flesh, "We’re onto something big again!"

"Hey, easy there!" Yun Xiao cast a scolding gaze downward, "How do you figure we've hit the jackpot this time?"

"A Seed of Creation, a super high quality one!" The Blue Star announced theatrically.

"And she’s a maternal one, at that!" Red Moon chimed in, scarcely containing its exhilaration.

"Seed of Creation? What grade?" Yun Xiao’s voice wavered between curiosity and caution, his eyes deepening into a well of intense thought. The existence of another Seed of Creation within the Sea of Swords was beyond his calculations.

"Not too sure, but definitely no less potent than Ye Guying's," Blue Star postulated.

"Not less than the Nine Dragons Dantian?" A tremor danced through Yun Xiao’s voice.

The Nine Dragons Dantian, responsible for sculpting Ye Guying into a legend of the Sea of Swords, was nothing to scoff at.

"That would indeed be quite a score," he pondered.

"Hold on, something isn’t right!" Blue Star’s voice hushed, an uneasy furrow marring its brow.

"What seems out of place to you?" Yun Xiao pressed.

"Her power, it’s been sealed! That’s muddling my perception of the details of her Seed of Creation. In her essence, she is mighty!" Blue Star revealed, concern knitting its brows.

"Strong?" Yun Xiao paused, "How strong are we talking?"

"Out of our depth. Way out," Blue Star spat, disgruntled.

Yun Xiao recollected that even after the Sword Soul test in the Sword Heaven, they hadn’t claimed to be out of their depth.

"Her power’s been considerably sealed. If it was an external sealing, that's one thing; her typical combat power isn’t particularly horrific. But if she’s sealed herself, watch out. She’s a ticking time bomb," Blue Star warned, teeth gritted.

"Got it. As long as she isn’t after me, she doesn’t bother me." Yun Xiao nodded, somewhat nonchalantly.

After all, who said the Seed of Creation was a must-have? The greatest Seeds were those of the Six Ancestral Gods, and they had taken the lion's share!

While Yun Xiao and the little black beast communicated telepathically, the girl in white, cloaked in a tapestry of admiration, had already made her way into the Spirit Treasure Walk.

"Lost in thought, are we?" Ning Yan, playful and gentle, tapped Yun Xiao’s shoulder, her voice dancing with a teasing lilt.

Yun Xiao's words drifted softly into the quiet, “Not really.”

Ning Yan, cheeks round with a teasing grin, laughed gently. “You know, no one's actually seen her face. She might not even be pretty.”

A nod from Yun Xiao, as casual as the breeze, yet his brows knitted a fleeting trace of confusion. "Strange, why is there such a gap between the Holy Son and the Holy Maiden of the Forbidden Tower?”

Ning Yan, with a clandestine allure, leaned closer, her whisper mingling with a subtle, enchanting scent that belied the two decades distancing her from youth.

"I'll tell you a secret. Holy Son Chu is rumored to be the illegitimate son of the Tower Lord of the Forbidden Tower. His present father, the Chu Family patriarch, is nothing special—a leader wearing someone else's hat, rising in the Sea of Swords!" Ning Yan confided, her face an odd mixture of mischief and mystery.

Yun Xiao’s laugh, unrestrained and warm, scattered into the air. The character of Holy Son Chu took on new, delightfully warped dimensions in his mind. An illegitimate son. A secret kept from polite society. Was his Holy Son title a salve for such wounds?

“You've squashed this Holy Son of the Forbidden Tower under your boot. You don't need to worry about his tall tales. The more people he deceives, the grimmer his downfall will be. But that girl named Chen Xi, you should be cautious of her!” Ning Yan's voice carried a note of genuine concern, a mother hen clucking a warning.

“Chen Xi?” Yun Xiao mused aloud, eyes wandering toward the Spirit Treasure Walk. Was that her name?

“Yep! Rumor has it, she’s only fifteen but shrouded in a mystery as thick as morning fog. Apart from the Tower Lord, not a soul knows where she came from. Quiet as a church mouse, normally, yet she stirred the Tower Heart legacy and they say she’s sharp and ruthless in her dealings!” Ning Yan imparted, eyes glittering with the telling of the tale.

“Ruthless?” Yun Xiao cocked an eyebrow; a discrepancy in his understanding apparent.

“Wanna know what makes her astonishing?” Ning Yan queried.

“No clue.”

“The Tower Lord had a blood son, once the top prodigy of the Forbidden Tower. He threw a disrespectful word her way, and she chopped him down right in front of the Tower Lord, retaining her holy title all the while,” Ning Yan shared, her voice dropping into a hushed solemnity.

“A tricky one,” Yun Xiao acknowledged, nodding in silent appreciation of the revelation.

“But, silver lining, she might not necessarily stand against you on the Forbidden Tower's plans,” Ning Yan spoke, softer now.

“Fair.” Yun Xiao nodded.

Then, pointing ahead with an urgent yet graceful gesture, she declared, “The Azure Kite Sea’s open!”

Finishing her words, she gazed at Yun Xiao with eyes that shimmered like stars in the night, "Stay safe!"

“Don’t you go caring too much, it’ll muddle my healthy disdain for you,” Yun Xiao responded, the corner of his lip teasing upward.

“You're overthinking, Yun Xiao. I’m just looking to use you a tad, garner a smidge more attention from my Brother Feng,” Ning Yan retorted, breezy as a dandelion in the wind.

“No notions of making amends for twenty-two years of neglect?” Yun Xiao asked, a spark of mischief in his eyes.

“Out of the question!” she bit back, the words steely and final.

“Pushing forty, you’re aging, might be time to take a step back,” he joked lightly, “Apologize to my Senior Sister Zhao, perhaps make good on these twenty-two years, and maybe I’d find you slightly less insufferable.”

“You’re the one aging!” Ning Yan spat, fluster rippling through her.

Without another glance her way, Yun Xiao turned, striding purposefully toward the Azure Kite Sea, leading the charge. His bold advance spoke louder than words, a silent rebuke to the prodigies and Heaven Chosen of Sword Heaven and the Forbidden Tower.

“I’m really old, am I? Heavens, no, only thirty-eight...” Ning Yan whispered, her hand unconsciously caressing her cheek.

Fifteen, sixteen, ah, how quickly the sands of time slipped through our fingers.

In a world where youth had taken the stage, Ning Yan found her mind wandering toward Zhao Xuanran.

"She’s twenty-two and him just sixteen?" she mused aloud, brows knitted together in amused contemplation. “Well, ain’t this a curious case of the old cow and tender grass! They say a woman older by three clings to gold, but oh, she's hauling two sturdy bricks.”

The propriety of those metaphorical gold bricks remained a mystery...

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The Spirit Treasure Walk pierced the heavens, its pinnacle hosting the esteemed Divine Dawn Pavillion. This exclusive enclave opened its opulent doors only to the crème de la crème of the Sea of Swords, an homage to the supreme Empress of Divine Dawn, reigning unchallenged in the Heavenly Realm.

A panorama of the Azure Kite Sea spread beneath it, a spectacle of mists, vibrant birds, and ethereal beauty generously offered to its privileged spectators.

Within the serene Divine Dawn Pavilion, an expansive balcony protruded, gifting the room with an unfiltered view of the oceanic ballet below. There, a girl, pale and delicate as white jade, lounged amidst cascading black locks, her gaze absorbed by the enchanting chaos of the sea’s clouds and azure avians.

"Pomelo" she whispered, fingers light upon her white tiger mask, voice as sweet as summer honeycomb, a gentle touch causing the mask to morph and stir, becoming a petite, black-striped white tiger nestling comfortably into her arms.

Through the swirling white mist shrouding her face, the merest hint of exquisite beauty bled through.

Pomelo, the diminutive tigress, lazily stretched, snuggling closer, a soft hum of contentment purring from her.

Gently caressing Pomelo's fur, the girl’s mist-wreathed eyes stayed locked on the horizon.

“Lil Xi, you struck it rich,” Pomelo announced abruptly.

“Oh?” The girl’s response dripped with sweetness yet tinged with an isolating cold,

“Yang Void, that’s the one?”

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Across the Azure Kite Sea, a collective breath was held.

Yun Xiao soared, his sword carving through clouds in the shadow of the Spirit Treasure Walk.

Along Azure Kite Street, Sword Cultivators in their tens of thousands congregated in every tavern and inn, sipping on delicate teas and hearty ales, eyes enchanted by the vivacious scene before them.

Representatives from Sword Heaven and the Forbidden Tower arrived, respectfully positioning themselves a level below the ethereal Divine Dawn Pavilion. Dignitaries like Ning Que, Lin Chen, and Patriarch Fan tactfully maintained their distance, cautious not to disturb the sanctuary of the Forbidden Tower’s Holy Maiden.

Even Lin Lin, the cherished princess of Sword Heaven, respectfully averted her gaze upon meeting Chen Xi, an unspoken reverence hanging in the air.

Lin Chen, locking eyes with a distant, white-robed figure in the sea below, conversed quietly with Patriarch Fan.

“You, Ye Guying, and Chen Xi are off to the Heavenly Realm in about ten days, isn't that right?” Patriarch Fan asked with a smile.

Lin Chen’s response was firm, a subtle urgency in his eyes. “Yes. And before we leave, I hope that man meets his end and the Sea of Swords remains unharmed.”

Patriarch Fan offered a comforting chuckle, “Worry not, my young friend. Even if he escapes fate today, when Ye Guying emerges in three days, his doom is certain. You bear the honor of the Sea of Swords to battle; we shan’t allow any fear to linger in your wake.”

"Right right!" Ning Que, a grin on his face, nodded in agreement.

"Among us three, I fear I'm the one trailing behind!" Lin Chen cast a backward glance at his own sword sheath, an admission drawn forth with a measure of resignation.

"You've already surpassed the elders of Sword Heaven," Ning Que offered quietly, his voice a gentle caress amidst the thrumming winds. "It’s just that those two Heaven Chosen in the Forbidden Tower... they’ve always been somewhat unnerving."

"Lin Chen, you've always been a talented kid." Patriarch Fan nodded. "At the very least, you possess a wisdom that eludes your father."

Lin Chen blinked, caught between interpreting the remark as a sly compliment towards him or a subtle affront to his father. But then, the murmurings throughout the Sea of Swords had long branded his father a madman, so perhaps, clarity wasn’t particularly crucial in that moment.

"He doesn’t have what it takes, does he?" Lin Lin’s sneer cut through the atmosphere, her finger pointing accusingly toward a white-clothed youth standing precariously on the water's edge, pausing at the Rank Three Azure Kite instead of advancing courageously into the tumultuous sea.

Within the walls of Clear Dust Pavilion, a collective disapproving shake of the head swept through those gathered, an unspoken agreement swirling in the air.

"I told him to start there, the damn fool," Ning Yan muttered under her breath, her eyes flickering with concealed frustration yet a modicum of understanding.

She held an objective perspective, recognizing that while Yun Xiao might not have matched Ye Guying's dazzling prowess or the raw power of Chen Xi, he was by no means as mediocre as Lin Lin slandered.

"Who among us in Sword Heaven can make the Ten-Step Scale resonate twelve times, and carve words on a Sword Princeling’s face in the Mid Origin Core Realm?" Ning Yan mused. There was something about Yun Xiao, a latent power, perhaps, that persuaded her to back him.

"If he manages to seize a Rank Ten Azure Kite today, the pressure on Brother Feng might just lessen. Plenty in Sword Heaven may be forced to reassess Yun Xiao’s worth," she whispered a prayer into the winds, her eyes mirroring the hopes of the many who dared not voice their desires.

Despite her struggles with Zhao Jianxing and Zhao Xuanran, Yun Xiao's triumphs against Fan Jing and his suppression of Chu Yan thawed the ice of her disdain. Admiration began to flower where resentment once took root.

So there she stood, the only genuine well-wisher in a sea of concealed daggers, silently beckoning for Yun Xiao's rise amid the ethereal cries of the Azure Kites.

"The Rank Three Azure Kite! It has begun..."

Within the mysterious depths of the Azure Kite Sea, Yun Xiao lifted his eyes, confronting a cerulean bird suspended before him, its wings an impressive three-feet span.

"Sword energy, demon bone, and runes... is this a demon bone crafted through alchemy?" Yun Xiao noted quietly, the eerie demonic aura wafting from the Azure Kite rendering it seemingly sentient and unyieldingly fixated upon him—or more precisely, upon the Heaven Burial Sword Soul nestled in his hand.

"To absorb an Azure Kite requires subduing it with the sword, fully enveloping it within the blade. Even a mere tenth left outside could enable its escape, the process of which could harm the Sword Soul, and damage the soul," the instructions from Ning Yan echoed within his consciousness.

Yun Xiao, despite always finding her slightly distasteful, felt a grudging respect bloom in his chest upon finding others even more so upon entering the Sea of Swords.

"In the entire Azure Kite Sea, about ten thousand Rank One Azure Kites linger," his thoughts continued, recalling Ning Yan's words, "Even a Rank One Azure Kite is no easy task to absorb."

When the Azure Kites descended, there were thirty thousand Rank One Azure Kites, and after all these years, ten thousand remained. Evidently, most Sword Cultivators in the Sea of Swords were unable to handle even a Rank One Azure Kite.

“Rank Three Azure Kites are even fewer, now only around a hundred remaining. Ning Jing, Fan Jian, Xiao Xing'er, and other Sword Princelings and Heaven Chosen have absorbed Rank Three Azure Kites so far.”

“Rank Six Azure Kites are down to thirty! On the side of Sword Heaven, only Lin Chen has successfully challenged one.”

Adding the four Rank Ten Azure Kites, that's all that remains in the Azure Kite Sea.

Meanwhile, the young Sword Cultivators who entered alongside Yun Xiao, numbering a few hundred, were mostly challenging Rank One Azure Kites.

Only a handful dared to confront a Rank Three Azure Kite!

“Ning Yan said that it took Ning Jing a full day and night to absorb a Rank Three Azure Kite?”

The genuine challenge and prolonged duration of the task provided ample entertainment for the patrons of the restaurants and teahouses on Azure Kite Street. As they sipped their wine and engaged in lively chats, their eyes occasionally glanced toward the ongoing spectacle.

Yun Xiao suddenly fixated his eyes upon a Rank Three Azure Kite before him.

The shadow of a pensive thought furrowed Yun Xiao’s brow. “Just how long will it take to refine you?” he mused.

As his Heaven Burial Sword Soul unsheathed, it thrust directly through the kite's open beak, navigating sharply into its belly. The bird’s body convulsed, a thick, eerie smoke permeating from its trembling feathers.

A resonant hum permeated the air as the kite screeched, its wings beating frenziedly against the unseen terror. The desperate flap of its wings painted a tragic display, yet it was in vain.

A hiss sliced through the atmosphere, and the Rank Three Azure Kite disintegrated into a somber blue shadow, abruptly devoured by Yun Xiao’s Heaven Burial Sword Soul.

It all transpired in a mere heartbeat.

Yun Xiao himself blinked, almost missing the moment where the kite with its modest three-foot wingspan, was engulfed by the lotus at the center of his Sword Soul.

The lotus stirred slightly, its metaphorical lips smacking with a veiled dissatisfaction. It hungered for more.

"Uhh." Yun Xiao glanced at the remaining Rank Three Azure Kites. Now there were fewer than a hundred left. His eyes twinkled with a mirthful darkness as he grinned. “No reason to hold back, yeah?”

"Pleasantries? Hell no! They all want you dead, right? Then consume all the resources of their descendants!" Blue Star cackled with a villainous glee that resonated with unbridled malevolence.

Yun Xiao merely nodded, a gleam of resolve flickering within his gaze. “A feast it is, then.”

From that moment, a tangible silence enveloped the entirety of the Sea of Swords. Upon Azure Kite Street, amidst the legions of Sword Cultivators, a silence so profound reigned, as if the entire world held its breath in the wake of the impending feast...

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