The Killing Sword in Chen Kuang's hand slid into the sword sheath without the slightest resistance.
It was as if, this sword sheath and this Killing Sword...
Were destined to be together.
Chen Kuang paused in surprise.
The Killing Sword that had originated from his divine consciousness, at the very moment it entered the sheath, actually transformed into a tangible, physical object!
This sword, formed through his cultivation of the "Song of Weed-Cutting", had always existed as a mental construct, something conjured in the mind through visualization, not a real, autonomous weapon.
Just like the illustrated scrolls of dragon mothers rescuing their children in the "Illustrated Canon of the Dragon's Harmonious Offspring", they were spiritual imprints, never real objects.
Before this, Chen Kuang had only been able to manifest the Killing Sword in reality through a projection of his divine sense. At its core, it was still part of his spirit, not an independently existing entity.
But now, the sensation in his palm had utterly changed.
It felt alive.
Cold. Rough. Majestic.
The ancient and vast sword intent surged out of it like an immense mountain range, like a boundless universe, immeasurable, endless.
Chen Kuang stared down at the sword now sheathed in his hand.
Its previously worn-down hilt, scarred by time, had regained its clarity. A single character was carved upon it:
"Shuo".
The"Song of Weed-Cutting"was not created by the Sword Saint after all.
Its origins may go even further back... Given Pei Hanzheng's age, it was entirely possible that this cultivation technique originated in the ancient era.
Chen Kuang remembered: the one who had once launched the War to Hunt the Heavens, the Human Emperor, was also named Shuo.
Could it be that the "Song of Weed-Cutting"was actually a cultivation technique left behind by the Human Emperor?
That the sword and sheath were once one, and only later separated and scattered through history?
But then why had this sword manifested only as a visualization within a cultivation technique?
More importantly, now that the karmic cycle had completed, and since the "Song of Weed-Cutting"had come from Chen Kuang himself, by all reason and logic, it should have no other origin.
Otherwise, how could it have ended up in his hands? Wouldn't that create a contradiction?
These countless questions surged through Chen Kuang's mind, but naturally, no one could answer them.
At that moment, however, he suddenly became aware, deep in his soul, of this sword's true name.
"Three Chi."
Chen Kuang's expression twisted slightly.
So because the blade was three chi long... it was named Three Chi?
That was... a little too convenient.
Before he could dwell further on that, the blood-red sea around him surged up once again, leaving him no time to think.
If this continued, he, who had just broken free, would be pulled back into the River of Time all over again!
Chen Kuang took a deep breath.
At this point, there was only one option, one sword strike!
From the moment he touched the sword sheath, he realized that this was the very thing that had created the entire Ancient Battlefield of Meditation.
The Killing Sword was forged from killing intent, and this sheath had gathered the world's killing intent.
Because the sheath had been contaminated by fragments of the Dao of Time, the killing intent it contained had been eternalized, manifesting into countless battlefield memories. Over the years, they had fused together, forming this vast, multilayered secret realm.
The other fragment of the Dao of Time, Pei Hanzheng had already entrusted to him before his death.
Now that cause and effect had connected, the Dao had naturally come full circle.
After Chen Kuang transmitted the "Song of Weed-Cutting" to Pei Hanzheng, he had unknowingly triggered a resonance with the Dao of Time.
Just as Pei Hanzheng had said: from the moment he set foot on the mountain and met Pei Hanzheng, he was already within the Dao of Time.
The Dao was now within reach.
If he could draw the Three Chi Sword and cleave open the River of Time, then enlightenment would follow.
Chen Kuang closed his eyes. His heart fell into stillness.
The sensation of the hilt and the sheath in his hands became one, inseparable. The natural textures of the Zhenwu Stone, forged by sword intent and purified through killing qi, had birthed an unparalleled divine weapon.
What no blacksmith could ever give, a soul, was now alive within this sword, radiating childlike joy and affection toward its master.
A deep sense of familiarity welled up within Chen Kuang.
It was like...
A reunion after millennia.
Perhaps the "Song of Weed-Cutting"had not appeared out of nowhere. Cause and effect had never contradicted themselves.
Everything, there had always been another explanation.
"Zheng-!"
The long sword emerged from its sheath, like a mirror, like flowing water, instantly reflecting Chen Kuang's face.
The sword-light soared to the heavens.
The churning Sea of Blood was torn apart like fragile paper, while countless unfamiliar scenes flashed and vanished before Chen Kuang's eyes.
He saw, nearly a thousand years from now, the emperor of Great Qi, still far from the end of his natural lifespan, suddenly pass away, plunging the nation into mourning.
Before his death, the emperor had exhausted himself protecting his kingdom. As he sighed toward the sky in his final moment, the illusion that had shrouded the heavens finally shattered.
Those who had once witnessed the celestial anomaly remembered the truth. The transfer of imperial power triggered civil unrest. Great Qi plunged into chaos.
An old eunuch named Yang Xiuxian secretly carried the emperor's personal seal to the western outskirts, only to find Xi Mengquan, who had just returned from his travels.
By this time, Xi Mengquan had already developed the lazy temperament Chen Kuang knew so well, but his cultivation remained at the Profound Realm.
He accepted the seal from the desperate old eunuch and chuckled helplessly:
"That guy left such a mess... and now, after a few hundred years, it's falling into my hands again?"
"Oh well... I've gotten used to it."
Looking at the eunuch, Xi Mengquan calmly said:
"Go. Before the Celestial Rift reappears, send away those you think are worth saving. Make sure they never return to Great Qi."
And so, Yang Xiuxian became the manipulative head eunuch, the infamous traitor of the court, controlling politics, sowing chaos, exiling the loyal, and earning the scorn of the entire nation.
Until the day came, the empire teetered on collapse.
Multiple sects united to slay the eunuch faction and rescue Great Qi from ruin.
Xi Mengquan sat atop the imperial city, gazing at the increasingly visible rift in the sky.
With a flick of his fingers, he played a song on the zither: "Heavenly Inquiry".
"In the beginning of the ancient world, who passed down the Dao? Before Heaven and Earth took shape, how can we trace its origins? ..."
Amid the melody, he heard half the kingdom collapse. He heard billions of voices chant his name.
He heard the endless sea of bitterness, and looking back, the surging waves, he no longer belonged to the cycle of reincarnation.
As Great Qi fell, the rift vanished once more.
And Xi Mengquan, having proven the Dao through music, became a Saint, and his story was passed down for generations.
Hovering in the sky, the newly ascended True Lord Diling of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect stood with her clothes fluttering, face expressionless.
With a single sword strike, she severed three hundred years of Great Qi's history, erasing the once-glorious dynasty from the timeline.
A trace of the Dao of Time lingered on her body as well.
It came from that heartless man, who had vanished a thousand years ago...
The vision changed again.
Chen Kuang saw the chaos of the fractured kingdoms, and the start of the Cangyuan Calendar.
He saw Lü Zhexuan visiting the western courtyard once a year. By then, Xi Mengquan had already gifted her the courtyard, saying it was a congratulatory gift he had forgotten to deliver years ago.
He saw, 2,300 years later, Xi Mengquan, having seemingly foreseen everything, waiting early by Eastern Court Lake.
From afar, he saw a mortal couple walking toward him, leading a blind child.
Xi Mengquan smiled.
...
Within the sword-light, everything shattered.
Not only the illusory Sea of Blood, but the entire Ancient Battlefield of Meditation, with its layered pocket dimensions.
Those once trapped within, geniuses of all sects, watched in awe as a terrifying sword-light tore through everything. The world spun wildly, and suddenly, they were standing again before the stone gate.
The sect elders who had been braced for battle froze in stunned silence.
Ling Yazhi was utterly dumbfounded.
He had only just sent word to summon their Dao Lord, so how had they all... returned on their own?!
Who could possibly be strong enough to tear open the boundary of the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation?
As the crowd looked again, their expressions grew horrified. Eyes bulged in disbelief.
"The Ancient Battlefield of Meditation... is gone?!"
Yes. Within the stone gate, not a trace of energy remained.
Which expert had the power to move an entire secret realm?!
Ling Yazhi's mind nearly broke from the thought.
Those who emerged from the battlefield were equally bewildered. Even when their sect elders rushed over to question them, they could only shake their heads in confusion.
Only Shen Meinan, who remained fixated on Chen Kuang, and Jiang Yunque, as a fellow sword cultivator, sensed something deeply unusual.
From the moment she came to her senses, her gaze locked onto the sword now hanging at Chen Kuang's waist.
Jiang Yunque cupped her hands toward Chen Kuang and said solemnly:
"Congratulations."
But Chen Kuang's expression remained grim:
"Sister Jiang, your congratulations come too early... If I'm still alive after what comes next, it won't be too late to say that."
Before Jiang Yunque could ask further, her expression abruptly changed.
She sensed an overwhelming pressure, a force rapidly charging toward them!
A figure streaked through the air, heading not for the crowd, but directly for Chen Kuang!
Jiang Yunque's expression shifted drastically:
"Careful-!"
Even before her warning finished, that figure had already arrived beside Chen Kuang, expressionless, but eyes burning like a volcanic eruption.
It was, of course, the enraged Martial Saint Mu Zhao!
The Dao Domain pressure radiating from him shattered the already-inert stone gate.
Several sect elders coughed up blood instantly; those weaker, like Shen Yuliu, collapsed directly, their kneecaps exploding!
Mu Zhao raised a mountainous fist, aiming squarely at Chen Kuang's skull.
"This time... you won't have such good luck again."
Mu Zhao spoke coldly.