Liu Hanshuang led Qi Tian over three mountain ridges until a valley, veiled in faint mist, came into view. At the valley's entrance, a weathered stone tablet leaned crookedly in the earth, its inscription of "Xuanzong Sect" barely legible, eroded by time.
"Senior, this is our Xuanzong Sect," Liu Hanshuang said, her voice tinged with embarrassment. She stole a glance at Qi Tian, anxious that this ancient powerhouse might scorn the sect's humble state.
Qi Tian stood at the valley's threshold, his gaze piercing the mist to take in the entirety of the Xuanzong Sect. Once one of the thirty-six subsidiary heavens under the Tai Xuan Sect, it now consisted of only five intact halls, the rest either collapsed or overtaken by creeping vines. The protective array was in tatters, the spiritual fields barren, and even the basic spirit-gathering formation flickered weakly.
"The protective array retains only thirty percent of its power, and the core artifact, the Xuanzong Mirror, has lost its spiritual essence," Qi Tian observed at a glance. "How do you sustain the sect now?"
Liu Hanshuang marveled at his perceptiveness and answered promptly, "Senior, we rely mainly on cultivating low-grade spiritual herbs and occasionally taking on demon-slaying missions. Including my master, the sect now has only nine members…"
Nine members.
Qi Tian sighed inwardly. Ten thousand years ago, the Xuanzong Sect, as one of the Tai Xuan Sect's thirty-six heavens, had boasted over ten thousand disciples and more than twenty Nascent Soul elders. To see it reduced to this was sobering.
"Take me to your master," Qi Tian said.
Liu Hanshuang respectfully led the way, guiding him through the mist at the valley's entrance. Qi Tian noted that the mist was a rudimentary illusion array, sufficient to deter mortals but utterly ineffective against cultivators.
Inside the valley, the scene was marginally better. The plaza before the main hall was swept clean, and a few young disciples were practicing basic sword techniques. Upon seeing Liu Hanshuang return with a stranger, they paused, casting curious glances.
"Senior Sister's back!" a boy of about fifteen or sixteen rushed forward, only to halt abruptly three paces from Qi Tian, his face clouding with uncertainty.
The other disciples sensed it too—an inexplicable awe. Though the gray-robed man appeared unremarkable, he exuded a presence that made them feel like ants before a towering mountain, instinctively urging them to bow.
"Who is this…?" the boy whispered.
"Go inform the Sect Leader that an honored guest has arrived," Liu Hanshuang instructed sternly, then offered Qi Tian an apologetic smile. "Please forgive them, Senior. My junior brothers are young and unfamiliar with etiquette."
Qi Tian waved it off, unconcerned. At his level, such formalities were beneath notice.
Moments later, a middle-aged woman in a teal robe emerged swiftly from the main hall. Her features were dignified, with a hint of valor in her bearing, though her temples were streaked with white, betraying years of toil.
"Hanshuang, who is this…?" Her words faltered mid-sentence, her pupils contracting sharply. As the current Sect Leader of Xuanzong, Lin Qingyu, though only at the early Golden Core stage, possessed far greater insight than her disciples. She sensed an overwhelming force within this seemingly ordinary young man—a power that sent a shiver through her soul.
"Master, this senior saved my life," Liu Hanshuang said, stepping forward to bow and briefly recounting the ambush by the Blood Fiend Sect and her rescue. She tactfully omitted Qi Tian's claim of a ten-thousand-year seclusion, fearing it might strain credulity.
Lin Qingyu's expression grew graver as she listened. A single glance that felled three Foundation Establishment cultivators? Such power was far from ordinary. She performed a formal ancient salute. "Lin Qingyu, seventy-second Sect Leader of Xuanzong, pays respects to Senior. Thank you for saving my disciple."
Qi Tian nodded slightly. "No need for ceremony. I am Qi Tian, and I share some history with your Xuanzong Sect."
"Qi Tian?" Lin Qingyu repeated softly, the name stirring a faint memory. Suddenly, her body stiffened, and she looked up in disbelief. "Qi… the Grand Elder Qi Tian of the Tai Xuan Sect?!"
Now it was Liu Hanshuang's turn to be shocked. "Master, you know this senior?"
Lin Qingyu didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stared intently at Qi Tian's face before retrieving an ancient tome from her storage pouch and flipping to a specific page. The page bore a faded portrait, its details blurred by time but bearing a striking resemblance to Qi Tian.
Beside the portrait was an inscription: Grand Elder Qi Tian of the Tai Xuan Sect, entered the Tribulation Stage at three thousand years old, the greatest prodigy in a hundred thousand years. Entered deathly seclusion, whereabouts unknown.
"It's truly you…" Lin Qingyu's voice trembled. "Senior, weren't you… ten thousand years ago…?"
"I entered deathly seclusion and emerged only today," Qi Tian said calmly. "It seems your Xuanzong Sect has preserved some records."
Lin Qingyu nearly swayed with excitement. A living relic from ten thousand years ago! A walking piece of history! She bowed deeply again. "Forgive our failure to properly welcome you, Senior."
The surrounding disciples gaped, stunned. They had never seen their master show such deference, especially to someone who appeared younger than their senior brother.
"No need for formalities," Qi Tian said, waving a hand. "I've been in seclusion for ten thousand years, and the world has changed greatly. I need to understand the current state of affairs. As a branch of the Tai Xuan Sect, your Xuanzong Sect must have retained some records."
"Please follow me, Senior," Lin Qingyu said, understanding his intent. She turned to lead the way, calling to Liu Hanshuang, "Prepare our finest spiritual tea."
Liu Hanshuang nodded eagerly, her mind reeling. This senior was a figure from ten thousand years ago? No wonder his power was so terrifying!
Qi Tian followed Lin Qingyu to the sect's library—a modest stone chamber containing a few dozen jade slips and a handful of paper books. Compared to the Xuanzong Sect's former glory, with its millions of texts, it was pitifully sparse.
"Forgive our meager collection, Senior," Lin Qingyu said with a wry smile. "After the great calamity eight thousand years ago, the Xuanzong Sect lost nine-tenths of its heritage."
"Great calamity?" Qi Tian seized on the term.
Lin Qingyu nodded, retrieving a yellowed tome from the innermost shelf. "This is the Xuanzong Chronicle, a record compiled by successive sect leaders detailing major events in the cultivation world over the past ten thousand years. It states that around eight thousand years ago, the spiritual energy of the world began to wane inexplicably, high-level cultivators perished in droves, and the major sects waged wars over dwindling resources…"
Qi Tian took the tome and skimmed it swiftly, gaining a clearer picture of the past ten millennia.
Eight thousand years ago, the cultivation world had been at its zenith, with over a dozen Tribulation Stage powerhouses. Then, without warning, spiritual energy began to fade, and many secluded high-level cultivators died mysteriously. In the ensuing chaos, sects fought bitterly for resources, and the Tai Xuan Sect, as the preeminent power, bore the brunt of the conflict, ultimately falling.
The Xuanzong Sect, located in a remote region and relatively weak, escaped the worst of the carnage, surviving by chance. But as spiritual energy continued to dwindle, cultivation levels plummeted, and now even Golden Core cultivators were considered peerless.
"Intriguing," Qi Tian said, closing the tome. "Spiritual energy doesn't vanish without cause, unless…"
He looked skyward, his gaze piercing the ceiling to the boundless heavens. There, he had already sensed the faint crack in the firmament, siphoning the world's spiritual essence.
"Has Senior discovered something?" Lin Qingyu asked cautiously.
"A hypothesis, for now," Qi Tian replied, withdrawing his gaze. "Tell me about the current state of the cultivation world."
Lin Qingyu sighed. "The cultivation world is a shadow of its former self. In the entire Eastern Continent, fewer than twenty sects remain active, with perhaps a thousand cultivators in total. The strongest is said to be the Pavilion Master of Lingxiao Pavilion, at the peak of Golden Core. As for our Xuanzong Sect…" She flushed with shame. "I am the only early Golden Core cultivator, with the rest at Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining."
Qi Tian nodded, then asked, "What is the Blood Fiend Sect, and why were they pursuing your disciple?"
At the mention of the Blood Fiend Sect, anger flashed across Lin Qingyu's face. "The Blood Fiend Sect emerged three hundred years ago, a vile faction practicing blood-forging techniques, advancing their cultivation by devouring others' essence and blood. They've long coveted our sect's treasure and likely ambushed Hanshuang to force us to surrender it."
"Oh? What treasure would an evil sect covet for three centuries?" Qi Tian's interest was piqued.
Lin Qingyu hesitated before answering honestly. "An ancient mirror, said to have been brought from the Tai Xuan Sect, called the Xuanzong Mirror. It's the core of our protective array, but since the last ancestor capable of wielding it passed away eight hundred years ago, no one has been able to awaken its power."
The Xuanzong Mirror? Qi Tian's mind stirred. If memory served, this was likely the Xuanzong Reflecting Mirror, one of the Tai Xuan Sect's seventy-two sacred treasures, capable of piercing illusions and reflecting all techniques.
"May I see it?" he asked.
Lin Qingyu bit her lip. "Senior, you saved Hanshuang's life and are a Grand Elder of the Tai Xuan Sect, so I shouldn't refuse. But the Xuanzong Mirror is the core of our protective array. Removing it would cause the array to collapse entirely…"
Qi Tian smiled. "Who said anything about removing it? Just take me to the array's core. Also…" He paused. "I can repair your protective array as payment for staying here."
"Repair the array?" Lin Qingyu's eyes widened. "Senior, our protective array is the ancient Nine Heavens Xuanzong Array. No one in the current cultivation world can—"
Her words cut off as Qi Tian waved a hand, sending a stream of spiritual energy into the ground. The valley trembled faintly, and the broken array patterns began to mend, glowing with soft light.
"This… this…" Lin Qingyu was speechless. As Sect Leader, she knew how impossible it was to repair the protective array—countless ancestors had tried and failed. Yet this man had done it with a casual gesture.
Qi Tian offered no explanation, only saying, "Take me to the Xuanzong Mirror."
Lin Qingyu, now utterly convinced of his power, led the way respectfully. "Please, Senior."
They arrived at a stone platform in the valley's depths, where an ancient bronze mirror was embedded. Its surface was dull, its edges carved with intricate runes.
One glance confirmed it for Qi Tian: the Xuanzong Reflecting Mirror, dormant from centuries without nurturing.
"Step back," he instructed.
Lin Qingyu hurriedly ushered Liu Hanshuang and the other disciples, who had gathered, ten paces away.
Qi Tian formed a series of intricate hand seals, each one landing precisely on different parts of the mirror. The mirror began to tremble, its rusty surface flaking away to reveal exquisite patterns beneath.
"Awaken," Qi Tian commanded softly, touching the mirror's center.
Hum—
A resonant chime echoed through the valley as the mirror erupted in radiant light, its surface turning clear as water. A beam of light shot skyward, piercing the clouds and forming a vast canopy that enveloped the entire Xuanzong Sect.
"The Nine Heavens Xuanzong Array… in its complete form!" Lin Qingyu's eyes brimmed with tears. Such grandeur hadn't been seen since the sect's founding!
Even more astonishing, as the array fully activated, the valley's spiritual energy began to thicken. In the barren spiritual fields, tiny sprouts broke through the soil.
Qi Tian stepped back, satisfied with the revived mirror. Though it paled compared to his personal treasures, in this era, it was a peerless artifact.
"Senior's benevolence will be remembered by the Xuanzong Sect for eternity!" Lin Qingyu and the disciples knelt, offering a grand salute.
Qi Tian accepted the gesture calmly before saying, "Rise. The array is restored and can now withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators. Also…" He turned to Lin Qingyu. "Show me your cultivation techniques."
Lin Qingyu promptly presented a jade slip. "This is our sect's core technique, the Xuanzong Art, but…" She looked ashamed. "It's incomplete, covering only up to the Golden Core stage."
Qi Tian scanned the slip with his divine sense, then shook his head. "Riddled with errors. No wonder your progress is stalled."
With a point of his finger, a golden light entered Lin Qingyu's forehead. Her body jolted as a complete version of the Xuanzong Art—from Qi Refining to Tribulation Stage—unfolded in her mind, detailed and flawless.
"This… this…" She was too overwhelmed to speak.
"It's merely returning what's yours," Qi Tian said indifferently. "This was originally a Tai Xuan Sect technique, and as a branch, your Xuanzong Sect deserves its full inheritance."
At that moment, a disciple rushed in, panic-stricken. "Sect Leader! Trouble! The Blood Fiend Sect's Grand Elder is at the valley entrance with a dozen men, demanding we surrender the one who killed their elders, or they'll raze the Xuanzong Sect!"
Lin Qingyu's face paled, her gaze instinctively turning to Qi Tian.
Qi Tian's lips curved slightly. "Perfect timing."