Martial Cultivator

Sword Sect.

An abode long overgrown with vines, yet even in this cold winter season, it still retained a touch of greenery. With lush branches and leaves, it just did not seem as vibrant as in the spring.

A tall figure walked out from the cave abode, standing at the entrance with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distant sea of clouds.

In his eyes was the sword intent of life and death.

Among the countless sword cultivators in the world, this one was undoubtedly the leader.

A moment later, the tall man's figure emerged fully from the cave abode, revealing his appearance. He wore an ordinary gray robe, his long hair streaked with black and white. His face had the look of a man in his middle years, and though he could be considered handsome, what stood out more was his special aura.

He walked toward the sea of clouds, and soon after, the sound of a sword cry echoed through the mountains of the Sword Sect.

Afterward, countless sword cries followed, rising and falling in succession.

The Sword Sect's Sect Master who was hovering in midair listened to the sword cries without any change in his mood.

Soon, voices echoed throughout the mountains of the Sword Sect, “Congratulations, Sect Master, for exiting seclusion!"

The Sword Sect's Sect Master paid little attention, merely walking slowly through the sea of clouds above the Sword Sect. After a moment, he stretched out his hand.

Within the great hall on the Sword Sect mountain, where the ancestral tablets of past ancestors were enshrined, there had always been an unremarkable flying sword. Now, as the Sword Sect's Sect Master reached out, that rusted flying sword flew from its sheath, streaking toward the sky and disappearing into the sea of clouds before everyone's eyes.

The Sword Sect's Sect Master caught the nameless flying sword, then casually pulled a wisp of cloud to wipe the blade. The flying sword, which had not left its sheath for who knows how many years, shed its rust, and its blade suddenly gleamed brightly.

Yet, no matter how bright it appeared, this flying sword was still a mortal weapon; utterly not worth mentioning.

Forget about comparing with the Hundred Year Sword of Sword Qi Mountain, it did not even match up to the flying swords forged by the Sword Sect itself. It looked too ordinary, like an ordinary iron sword forged by a common blacksmith, with nothing special about it.

The Sword Sect Master did not mind, simply releasing the hilt, saying softly, “You go first.”

The newly restored flying sword did not hesitate, shooting straight toward the north.

The sea of clouds parted for it.

A dazzling sword light trailed a dazzling white line.

The Sword Sect's Sect Master stood with his hands behind his back, then slowly traveled north.

……

……

Sensing that their Sect Master had left the mountain pass gates, the sword cultivators on the mountain, both young and old, were initially stunned. Then they widened their eyes, faces filled with disbelief. The younger sword cultivators looked toward the more senior ones and saw the same expression of shock on their faces.

Throughout the entire Sword Sect, not a single sword cultivator had ever seen the Sect Master leave the mountain pass gates.

In fact, even the times when the Sword Sect's Sect Master left his cave abode and appeared at the Sword Sect's mountain pass gates were rare.

In the memories of most sword cultivators, the Sect Master, the world's number one sword cultivator and the pinnacle of Sword Dao, had almost always remained in seclusion within his cave abode, never concerning himself with worldly affairs. Most matters in the mountain were decided by a few highly respected elders.

The newly admitted disciples had only heard rumors about the Sect Master, the world's number one, but had never seen his true face.

Yet now, not only had the Sect Master exited seclusion, but he had also left the Sword Sect's mountain pass gates directly.

Where was he going?

The sword cultivators on the mountain were equally baffled. They only had a vague sense that the Sect Master's departure this time must be to undertake some earth-shattering task.

……

……

At the midsection of Sword Sect Mountain, there was an unassuming yellow mud hut, inside which rows of seemingly ordinary oil lamps were arranged.

These oil lamps were lit by the vital blood essence of sword cultivators upon entering the sect, distinct from the so-called Eternal Flame of Daoism. These lamps served the purpose of allowing the senior members of the sect to monitor the Sword Dao cultivation of their disciples. New disciples would light one upon joining the Sword Sect, and by the age of forty, regardless of circumstances, the lamp would be removed.

Currently, one of the oil lamps had already become extremely faint.

The withered old man responsible for tending to these lamps performed his routine inspection today, and as he looked at that particular lamp once again, even he could not help but reveal a trace of regret in his eyes.

He knew well to whom that lamp belonged.

It had once belonged to a youngster with boundless potential, but now, that person had imprisoned himself in a cage of his own making.

The old man sighed and turned to leave.

What he did not know was that, just as he left, a wisp of purple qi emerged from the faint flame of the oil lamp.

Incredibly feeble.

……

……

After passing through the sect ruins, Yun Jianyue and Ye Zhihua were about to return south.

During this journey to the desolate north, the two of them had not killed many demons, mainly because from the very beginning, they had been entangled with the demon princess. However, as two of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, the most brilliant geniuses among the human race, their current situation had become somewhat awkward, as it was clear that the focus of the demon race had completely shifted away from them.

This was nothing short of a sign of disregard towards them.

The two arrived at a snow-covered hill. Yun Jianyue smiled and said, "Senior Sister, I originally thought I'd be able to meet that guy in the desolate north, but I didn't, which is a bit disappointing."

Ye Zhihua frowned slightly, but in just a moment, she had already guessed what Yun Jianyue was planning and shook her head, saying, "Don't do anything stupid."

Yun Jianyue did not respond, he just turned his gaze to the north.

Ye Zhihua got a little angry and asked, "Do you really think you're the Temple Master, or that Great Liang Emperor, capable of running rampant in the desolate north?"

Yun Jianyue remained silent.

Ye Zhihua said coldly, "Yun Jianyue!"

Yun Jianyue looked at Ye Zhihua and suddenly smiled, "Senior Sister, let's go back. We can come again next time."

……

……

Yu Xiyi and Chen Chao’s journey north was indeed a gamble, but for now, it seemed the two had not lost easily.

On the journey to the Onan River, they indeed did not encounter much trouble. Even when they occasionally saw young demons in the distance, they were all hurrying south. No one would have thought that the young people they most wanted to kill were not fleeing south but instead heading toward their holy land.

Thirty thousand miles of desolate north, there were god knows how many miles beyond the thirty thousand miles.

At this moment, they had already stepped into demon territory.

Aside from the snowstorms being harsher here, there was not much difference.

Yu Xiyi could not help but lament, "I didn't expect to enter demon territory so soon. I thought at least I'd have to reach the sword immortal realm to get the chance."

Chen Chao was much more cautious, constantly observing their surroundings while sighing as well, The thirty thousand miles of desolate north was originally territory ceded by the human race, but the demon race's Onan River was not within this thirty thousand miles, it was deep in their hinterland. Aside from the demon race's royal city, countless demons of all kinds inhabit this demon territory. Though most eyes are on the desolate north now, this was still the heart of the demon race. Chen Chao was starting to regret this.

Yu Xiyi patted him on the shoulder, consoling him, "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Let's head downstream, and as long as we don't approach that demon royal city, we shouldn't run into too much trouble. It's not like great demons are everywhere. How bad could our luck really be?"

Indeed, the demon territory was vast and sparsely populated. Across the vast lands, countless different races lived and multiplied, but despite the number of races, the demon territory was so vast that it was not unusual to travel hundreds of miles without seeing a single demon tribe.

Chen Chao rested his hand on the hilt of his saber and said quietly, "No matter what, we're definitely one-of-a-kind."

"Absolutely, absolutely," Yu Xiyi replied with a hearty laugh.

Afterwards. the two continued onto the Onan River. A bottle of Sword Essence Pills was depleted, but their injuries recovered considerably. They appeared much more energetic compared to before.

The injuries had improved somewhat. Though not at their peak, it was still considered pretty good.

On this day, the two stopped in front of a frozen river. Chen Chao punched a hole in the ice to scoop up some water to wash his face, while Yu Xiyi looked into the distance and softly said, “This should be a divergent stream of the Onan River. In fact, the place where I found you also originated from the Onan River, but it's a bit too far away.”

Chen Chao continued washing his face and said quietly, “We've been spotted, get ready to act.”

Yu Xiyi furrowed his brows and asked, “Your senses are that sharp?”

Sword cultivators wield unmatched killing power in the world, and their perception was nearly unrivaled. Thanks to the uniqueness of sword qi, there were almost no opponents in this regard. However, at this moment, he had not sensed the presence of any nearby demons, while Chen Chao seemed to have noticed something first.

Chen Chao did not say much. His ability to detect the traces of demons before Yu Xiyi had nothing to do with their realms, it was simply due to his long experience dealing with demons.

A quarter of an hour later, Yu Xiyi sighed in relief and said, “It's not a big problem, it should just be a small demon tribe nearby, and their cultivation realms aren't high.”

Chen Chao nodded his head.

In the midst of the wind and snow, a group of tall demons appeared in their line of sigh. They wielded large blades and charged towards the two.

These demons had not completely taken human forms, and beast ears could still be seen atop their heads.

Chen Chao gripped the hilt of Cloud Mud

Yu Xiyi summoned his flying sword, Wild Grass.

Then Chen Chao began to charge forward, suddenly drawing his saber mid-run.

Yu Xiyi's flying sword followed closely behind, Wild Grass moving at incredible speed, slicing through the air and piercing the body of a demon cultivator before Chen Chao could strike.

At the same time, Chen Chao also severed the body of a demon cultivator with a single slash.

One cut, two halves.

A corpse was left behind.

The battle ended quickly, within several minutes, the ground was soaked in blood.

Yu Xiyi recalled his flying sword and smiled, saying, “Killing demons in the demon territory feels so different.”

But Chen Chao did not speak. Instead, he looked up to the distance, where a young monk in black was approaching through the wind and snow.