I Have a Sword

They were killed once again.

The people from the Great Zhou stood frozen in place, looking like they had been struck by an immobilizing spell.

Killing them once wasn't enough? She had to revive and kill her again? Was this reality?

Everyone was utterly shocked, and they truly felt like they were dreaming.

Inside the tiny pagoda, Yi Nian crouched and buried her head between her knees, muttering, "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything…"

Little Pagoda was at a loss for words.

Plain-Skirt Destiny turned to look at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan, who was holding Zhou Fan's hand, walked up to her and greeted, "Aunt."

Ye Guan gave Zhou Fan's hand a gentle squeeze.

Zhou Fan regained her composure and bowed slightly. "Aunt."

Plain-Skirt Destiny glanced at Zhou Fan and then waved her sleeve.

A wisp of sword energy flew out and disappeared into the distant horizon.

Everyone was puzzled by what they had just witnessed.

Plain-Skirt Destiny stared at Zhou Fan and explained, "That wisp of sword energy will remain for as long as this girl is here. With that sword energy present, the Great Zhou will never fall."

The emperor and the experts of the Great Zhou were overjoyed, immediately bowing with reverence.

The sword energy was a talisman! The protective talisman in the Great Zhou's history!

They had exhausted their resources and trump cards for Ye Guan's sake, but it was more than worth it. They had profited immensely from their decision to take his side.

The Great Zhou Emperor was particularly ecstatic. The biggest gamble in the history of the Great Zhou had paid off!

Although he wasn't sure about the lady in a plain skirt's true strength, it was certain that she was from a Tier Five civilization, and her strength also surely exceeded Path Creation Realm experts.

The Great Zhou was no longer afraid of even the Tianxing Civilization; the lady in a plain skirt was protecting them, after all.

They had struck the jackpot by making that gamble.

Zhou Fan glanced at Ye Guan beside her and smiled. She knew that the lady in a plain skirt's actions were entirely for Ye Guan's sake.

Just then, Dao Jun stepped up. He bowed respectfully and said, "Senior, if you don't mind me asking. Does the Ninth Princess have to stay here for the Great Zhou to remain safe from all threats?"

Hearing Dao Jun's question, everyone came back to their senses.

Indeed. The lady in a plain skirt had said that the wisp of sword energy would remain for as long as Zhou Fan was in the Great Zhou. Didn't that mean that the sword energy would disappear if Zhou Fan were no longer here?

The lady in a plain skirt glanced at Dao Jun, but she didn't answer. Instead, she looked at Ye Guan and said, "Come with me."

With that, the lady in a plain skirt turned around and walked away.

Dao Jun's eyes revealed a hint of concern, but he dared not ask more questions.

Ye Guan followed closely behind his aunt together with Zhou Fan.

Zhou Fan initially wanted to stay, but Ye Guan pulled her along. Left with no choice, she could only follow them both.

Plain-Skirt Destiny walked slowly down a trail. "You need to pick up the pace."

"Aunt, you and my father…" Ye Guan trailed off, glancing sideways at her.

"Children shouldn't ask about the affairs of adults," said Plain-Skirt Destiny.

Ye Guan was speechless.

Plain-Skirt Destiny stopped in her tracks just then. She opened her palm, and eight storage rings floated in front of Ye Guan.

"These are yours."

Ye Guan was deeply moved. These storage rings had to be from the Tenth Hall Master and his companions. However, Ye Guan frowned upon noticing that there were eight storage rings when there were only seven of them, including the Tenth Hall Master

Ye Guan accepted the storage rings and asked, "Aunt, who's the owner of that aged voice earlier?"

"They're an ant," Plain-Skirt Destiny replied, "You can say that they're the Guardian of the existing Great Dao."

"They're familiar with you?"

"Years ago, I passed by a certain place with an arrogant Great Dao, so I decided to teach them a lesson."

All of a sudden, Ye Guan recalled something and took out the tiny pagoda. "Aunt, Master Pagoda has been struggling to keep up with my level of strength. Can you strengthen him?"

Little Pagoda was moved. "You finally said something sensible, you little rascal!"

Plain-Skirt Destiny looked at the tiny pagoda and opened her palm.

The tiny pagoda flew into her hand, and Little Pagoda hurriedly greeted, "Sister Destiny!"

Plain-Skirt Destiny opened her left hand, and a mysterious beam of light from the depths of the vast expanse pierced the tiny pagoda.

Boom!

A terrifying aura erupted from the tiny pagoda, and the aura was so strong that it made the nearby star field quiver.

Ye Guan was shocked and overjoyed by the sight. The tiny pagoda had just gotten a big boost, so Ye Guan believed that Little Pagoda would be more useful to him from now on.

Plain-Skirt Destiny pinched the tiny pagoda, and the terrifying aura emanating from it was suppressed in an instant. At the same time, a seven-colored lump of light manifested inside the tiny pagoda.

Ye Guan was about to ask something when Plain-Skirt Destiny looked up coldly and disappeared into thin air.

She left just like that? Ye Guan was stunned. Then, he smiled helplessly. His aunt was truly carefree. Ye Guan then stared at the tiny pagoda in front of him and asked, "Master Pagoda, are you—"

"I need some time to absorb this thing," Little Pagoda interrupted, "And I think you should change the way you address me. I was like a brother to your father, so you should call me Uncle Pagoda…"

Ye Guan's face darkened immediately. How come he's suddenly so arrogant?

Little Pagoda no longer said anything, transforming into a beam of light that melted into Ye Guan.

Ye Guan ignored Little Pagoda and focused on the storage rings that his aunt had given to him.

He looked inside and was delighted. There were about two thousand Ancestral Veins in total inside the storage rings.

Shockingly, the Tenth Hall Master's storage ring contained had one thousand and five hundred Ancestral Veins!

Ye Guan had just won the jackpot!

To grow the Immortal Dao Tree, he had almost exhausted all of his Ancestral Veins reserves, so he was in dire need of resources.

Ye Guan didn't expect to get rich so quickly. As expected, the fastest way to get rich was robbery.

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Guan examined the eighth storage ring. The ring was different from the other seven dark gold rings. It was light purple in color, and it likely belonged to the Guardian of the existing Dao.

Ye Guan peeked into it and was stunned. There were thirty Eternal Crystals inside the storage ring.

Eternal Crystals!

Ye Guan took one out and examined it closely before confirming that it was indeed an Eternal Crystal, identical to the one Yi Nian had shown him before.

However, this Eternal Crystal was half the size of the one Yi Nian had shown him before, and it wasn't as powerful as that Eternal Crystal.

Zhou Fan exclaimed in surprise, "That's an Eternal Crystal!"

Ye Guan asked, "You know this, too?"

Zhou Fan nodded. "There are records of Eternal Crystals in the Imperial Family's ancient texts. It is said that these crystals are from Tier Five civilizations, but I'm not sure whether that is true or not."

Tier Five civilizations? Ye Guan frowned, pondering over the information. Yi Nian had an Eternal Crystal, so was she from a Tier Five civilization? It was possible.

Ye Guan was not naive enough to believe that Yi Nian was just an ordinary office lady, as she could understand the mysterious spacetime left behind by his plain-skirt aunt.

It seemed that the both of them had to talk heart-to-heart soon.

Just then, Zhou Fan asked, "What are you going to do next?"

Ye Guan replied, "First of all, I have to reach full divinity. Then, I'll strengthen my fleshly body and improve my sword techniques."

"The Evil Dao Alliance…" Zhou Fan muttered with some concern.

Ye Guan shook his head and explained, "I heard Master Yue and the others refer to the black-robed man as 'Tenth Hall Master.' In other words, the Evil Dao Alliance must have a Ninth Hall Master, Eighth Hall Master, and so on. The Evil Dao Alliance primarily recruits Evil Dao, but none of the cultivators that they sent to us were Evil Daos, which is very unusual."

Zhou Fan said in a low voice, "Are you saying that the people we had encountered could be just minor figures within the Evil Dao Alliance?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"I'll send some people to investigate that," Zhou Fan.

"Sounds great," Ye Guan replied with a nod. He knew almost nothing about the Evil Dao Alliance, so it would be great if the Great Zhou would help him in investigating them.

"If you want to consume the Dao Fruit, you should enter the tiny pagoda. Ten years in the tiny pagoda is equivalent to a day in the outside world, which can save you a lot of time. Consuming that fruit inside the Immortal Dao Tree is so much better than just eating it outright."

"Okay, I'll do just that," Zhou Fan said. Then, she seemed to have remembered something as she added, "You said you want to reach full divinity?"

Ye Guan replied, "Yes."

"The Great Zhou might be able to help you."

"How?"

"The Imperial Family's inheritance."

"What do you mean?"

"The Great Zhou has a sacred land. You can say that it's our ancestral land. The ancestors of the Great Zhou have left behind their souls and inheritance in that place. Cultivate there, and they will most likely guide you. They might be able to help you achieve full divinity."

"All right."

"I'll take you there."

"Sure."

"If you achieve full divinity…"

"Are you worried that I'll become fully engrossed in cultivation?"

Zhou Fan nodded.

Ye Guan asked curiously, "You're a half-step Path Creation Realm cultivator, which means you already achieved full divinity. How did you even fall in love with me?"

Zhou Fan chuckled. "My divinity isn't 'pure.' A cultivator with 'pure' full divinity is extremely powerful, but achieving it is easier said than done. Opening a Unique Path after achieving pure divinity makes one a powerful monster, just like the Tenth Hall Master."

"I understand."

"Your goal isn't 'pure' full divinity, right?"

"That's exactly my goal," Ye Guan replied. His ultimate goal was to suppress his divinity with his humanity. He had to achieve pure divinity, or his efforts would be meaningless.

Zhou Fan lowered her head slightly without speaking.

Ye Guan held her hand and smiled. "But my ultimate goal is to cultivate humanity, so pure divinity is just a transition phase for me."

Zhou Fan was a bit surprised. "Using humanity to suppress divinity?"

"Yes," Ye Guan said with a nod.

"I know a bit about that, but it is exceedingly difficult to achieve…"

"It is, but it's a path I must take. Trust me, I can achieve it."

"All right," Zhou Fan said. She squeezed Ye Guan's hand, and the two of them disappeared into thin air.

***

On the other side, the Great Zhou Emperor stood in the void, gazing silently at the starry skies.

The prosperous Imperial City of the Great Zhou was before him, but now, it was completely empty.

An unknown amount of time later, the Great Zhou Emperor said, "Awen."

An old man in court robes appeared behind him and bowed deeply toward him.

The Great Zhou Emperor calmly said, "Tell everyone to never talk about the lady in a plain skirt; absolute secrecy is necessary. Those daring enough to disobey will have their entire family executed."

The old man in court robes hesitated. "Your Majesty, is that really necessary?"

"If the Evil Dao Alliance were to learn of that lady in a plain skirt's strength, would they continue their recklessness?" asked the Great Zhou Emperor with a ruthlessness and malicious light in his eyes.