Remembering the Sword

The Great Star Region, where the Blue Sky Sword Sea is located, has gone through three eras.

The first was the beginning of a great age, when all things were revived, and spiritual energy and opportunities began to surge, allowing for the cultivation of more talented practitioners.

This period was known as the rise of prodigies and the fall of practitioners from the old era. During this time, some prodigies successively entered the Heaven Mending Realm, while older Heaven Mending Realm cultivators continuously fell.

The second era was when the former prodigies became the true pillars of society, becoming sect leaders who had a say in the Great Star Region.

The third era was initiated by the first prodigy becoming a quasi-saint, representing that the initial prodigies of this great age had finally reached the pinnacle. It also meant they were no longer prodigies, but truly peak cultivators.

These three eras represented the changes in the Great Star Region over the past twenty thousand years.

Chen Xia learned about this from ancient texts and understood the changes in the star region over the years. He knew that these prodigies who had become saints had divided the Great Star Region into several areas, each presiding over their own territory.

He wasn't very interested in this, but was curious about the current state of the Blue Sky Sword Sea. He still needed to retrieve the other half of the Immortal Sword to reassemble the true Immortal Sword.

By now, he had remembered a lot and understood why he had appeared here.

He was a strand of divine consciousness that had separated from Chen Xia's Sea of Consciousness just as Chen Xia was about to become the Eye of Formation for the entire realm. In the state of primordial chaos, he had traversed through the timeline, returning to the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Afterwards, he had lived in a daze, avoiding the scrutiny of the Way of Heaven, until his divine consciousness stabilized. Then he slowly replenished his divine consciousness and regained his memories.

Although he was a remnant soul, he was actually the main soul, just with an incomplete spirit that needed gradual completion. The process of completion involved regaining memories, finding his own path, and remembering the Four Great Daos he had once comprehended.

This was naturally another troublesome matter, as the current Chen Xia hadn't even remembered one Great Dao yet. The only one he had a clue about was the Way of the Sword.

But that was really just a clue, with nothing more beyond that.

The Cloud-top Sword Sect couldn't help either. Despite being called a sword sect, it was really just a group of sword cultivators below the Mountain Moving Realm amusing themselves.

Now, under the protection of the Black Robed Person, they could develop peacefully, which was considered good fortune. They relied on luck rather than strength.

Other sects, out of respect for the Black Robed Person, hadn't targeted the Cloud-top Sword Sect, but they weren't friendly either. They maintained a neutral attitude, probably waiting for the day when the Black Robed Person would leave, so they could bare their fangs at the Cloud-top Sword Sect again.

Coincidentally, this opportunity didn't take long to arrive.

The Black Robed Person had said he would protect the Cloud-top Sword Sect for two hundred years, but he hastily left after just over a hundred years, without any explanation. He probably felt he didn't need to explain himself to such a small sect.

The Black Robed Person disappeared overnight. Chen Xia was the first to notice, almost at the instant of the Black Robed Person's disappearance. He turned his head to look, thinking that the Black Robed Person must have returned to what he called the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Judging by his hurried departure, something must have happened in this so-called Great Zhou Dynasty.

Chen Xia didn't care about the specifics. Like always, he sat on the edge of the cliff, looking at the scenery of mountains and waters, thinking about his own matters.

About one hundred and fifty years passed.

Great Vehicle Stage cultivators from other sects came to challenge the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, having somehow learned of the Black Robed Person's disappearance. They stood at the gate with contemptuous expressions, calling for a duel.

No one dared to respond. They all just hid within the sect, hoping that the Black Robed Person would appear and intervene as he had in the past.

But hope remained just hope, and reality slapped them hard in the face.

The Black Robed Person didn't appear.

So the Great Vehicle Stage cultivators from other sects weren't content with just challenging at the gate anymore. They stepped directly into the entrance, their eyes and brows filled with disdain, sneering as they spoke.

"I've long heard that the Cloud-top Sword Sect is quite spacious. As it happens, my sect's territory is cramped, so I was wondering if the Cloud-top Sword Sect would be willing to cede 30% of its territory to my sect?"

He used an inquiring tone, but his body was already standing beyond the 30% mark, quietly waiting to see who would dare disagree.

Naturally, no one dared to speak up. The cultivators of the Cloud-top Sword Sect looked at each other with wide eyes, all waiting for a sword cultivator to step forward and stand up for the Cloud-top Sword Sect.

But they all felt it shouldn't be them, so they just waited.

The Taishang Elder was also at the Great Vehicle Stage, and because he was a sword cultivator, his combat power had vaguely touched the threshold of the Mountain Moving Realm. But he didn't dare to make a move.

Because the other side truly had Mountain Moving Realm cultivators waiting. They were just waiting for the Cloud-top Sword Sect to make the first move, and then the Mountain Moving Realm cultivators would immediately appear. Under the pretext of the Cloud-top Sword Sect initiating hostilities, they would kill the Taishang Elder and completely take over the Cloud-top Sword Sect.

Enduring for now meant they could live a bit longer, although it was unclear how long that "bit" would be. But it was better than losing the sect right now.

Morale is something that, if not present at the start, probably won't appear later.

The sword cultivators of the Cloud-top Sword Sect were now thinking about how to save themselves, not how to protect the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect.

Their hearts were scattered.

The Great Vehicle Stage cultivator took another step forward, his expression growing even more contemptuous, and asked,

"I've heard that sword cultivators are the most prideful, but how come none of you dare to step forward and speak now? If this is what sword cultivators are like, it's truly disappointing!"

Still, no one moved.

The Great Vehicle Stage cultivator sighed again.

"The Cloud-top sword cultivators are all worthless cowards, how boring and uninteresting."

He took another step forward, expanding the distance by another 20%, occupying a total of 50% of the Cloud-top Sword Sect's territory.

This additional 20% he occupied included a cliff.

He was still mocking the Cloud-top Sword Sect cultivators, his expression very smug, like a high and mighty being looking down on the Cloud-top Sword Sect.

Even higher up.

There was a faint cry from the Sword Tomb.

It sounded like the gentle voice of a flying sword, not very loud, so no one noticed.

Until a flash of light appeared in the sky, drawing everyone's gaze.

This light was extremely fast, thick at the beginning and thin at the end, like a sword laid horizontally in the sky, stretching between two points.

Following its trajectory, the endpoint was on that Great Vehicle Stage cultivator.

So, naturally, this Great Vehicle Stage cultivator's body fell, plummeting down the mountain range, smashing into the ground, and being nailed a hundred meters deep.

There was an ordinary flying sword piercing his chest.

But this flying sword was slowly dissipating, as if it couldn't withstand the user's great divine ability. This one strike had exhausted all of its sword intent and sword qi, representing the pinnacle of what it could achieve.

So this strike cut down the Great Vehicle Stage cultivator like an insect, leaving him without the slightest chance to retaliate.

What was even more terrifying was that even after the Great Vehicle Stage cultivator was dead, no one knew who had launched the sword.

The Mountain Moving Realm cultivator observing from afar felt a chill in his heart and clenched his fists. He never expected that the information given to him by the Cloud-top Sword Sect elder would be false!

On the edge of the cliff.

Chen Xia retracted his extended index finger, his mind not even rippling, as if he had just done an insignificant small task.

It seemed he was starting to remember the sword again.

This was a good thing.