The Sword of the Mortal World

That night, outside Shengling Mountain, thirty miles away.

"......"
"Good years have passed since I last came to Dongzhou. I never expected the cultivators here to be so weak."
"Indeed, there’s a lack of a great talent capable of suppressing an entire continent, but such figures are hard to find."

"Perhaps one day, Dongzhou will produce an extraordinary genius? After all, it's not unprecedented."
"That person..."
"Speak carefully!"

With the conversation abruptly stopping, a group of several people arrived in front of a dilapidated wilderness temple under the moonlight.
The temple was small, with half of its courtyard wall collapsed, covered in green vines. However, at this time of year, the vines had little shine on their leaves.
The yellow paint around the courtyard gate had mostly fallen off, exposing the mud base inside.

The temple’s name was barely visible anymore.
Through the dim light, the courtyard was seen to be overgrown with weeds, some withered and dead.
At the forefront of the group was a skinny middle-aged man, dressed in a gray robe. He had a pale face with no beard and eyes shaped like willow leaves. He glanced down at the stone steps, which were covered with a layer of yellowing moss, before turning to the young disciples behind him. "Some things, even when away from Central Continent, cannot be spoken recklessly."

The young disciples lowered their heads at his gaze, not daring to make eye contact, but they quickly responded, "Uncle Zhao, we know we were wrong."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded and led the group up the stone steps, entering the temple and walking into the courtyard.
The young disciples followed.

"Let’s rest here for the night."
After entering the courtyard, Uncle Zhao kept walking without stopping. He walked straight toward the dilapidated main hall that emitted a faint glow.
Under the moonlight, the shadows of the group stretched out as they moved forward.

When they reached the hall, Uncle Zhao stopped and looked at the faint light illuminating the dilapidated statue of the Mountain God. Although the hall was in poor condition, it could still shield them from the wind and rain. After surveying the surroundings, Uncle Zhao's gaze finally landed on the young man dressed in plain clothes, sitting in front of the fire.
His shadow was long, stretched by the flickering firelight, and it danced along with the flames.
"Uncle Zhao, I'll chase him away."
Seeing that their master stopped in front of the hall and didn’t go in, one of the young disciples whispered.

Uncle Zhao paid no attention to him but instead spoke to the young man in the hall, saying, "We’ve traveled here, and seeing that it’s late, we’d like to rest for the night. I hope we’re not disturbing you."
Hearing the voice, the young man in plain clothes turned around and smiled, saying, "You’re welcome to stay."
It was Zhou Chi, who had left Shengling Mountain.

Uncle Zhao nodded, leading the young disciples into the hall. They sat several feet away from Zhou Chi, starting a fire.
As they settled around Uncle Zhao, some young disciples glanced over at Zhou Chi, noticing the sword lying across his knees.
"Another sword cultivator?"

Hearing this, the young disciples turned to look, their eyes showing some disdain, some even openly sneering.
Uncle Zhao also glanced over at Zhou Chi, but his expression remained neutral.
Among the many cultivation schools of today, the sword cultivators, though once known for their powerful killing ability, had lost some of their prestige due to past events. However, if they encountered a sword cultivator in other places, they would still exercise caution.

But here, in Dongzhou... sword cultivators, ha.
"Have you gained any insights during your travels?"
Uncle Zhao spoke slowly, testing his disciples.

One of the disciples looked up but said nothing.
After a brief silence, another disciple spoke up, "Uncle Zhao, Dongzhou is chaotic and much worse than Central Continent."
Uncle Zhao glanced at him and asked indifferently, "Why is that?"

"Perhaps it’s because the cultivation methods in Dongzhou are too outdated, and the cultivators' realms are too low?"
Uncle Zhao shook his head. "Not enough."
"Then it’s because the people of Dongzhou are lazy and lack ambition."

Uncle Zhao shook his head again.
The disciple who had previously looked up spoke at last. "Master, it must be because of the Great Tang Dynasty."
The young man was not old, his face youthful, but there was a calmness and confidence in him that set him apart.

Hearing this answer, Uncle Zhao finally nodded with approval, saying, "Chen Yu, you have good insight. Keep cultivating well. I believe you can make it into the inner sect during the next sect selection."
At the mention of the inner sect, the other disciples looked at Chen Yu with a newfound envy. They were all outer sect disciples, and the greatest wish for each of them was to join the inner sect.
Chen Yu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your praise, Uncle Zhao."

"Continue to work hard. Before the next Jiazi cycle, you will all have a chance, but remember, the Dao is competitive—if you don't progress, you will regress. Don’t slack off."
Seeing the disciples lower their heads, Uncle Zhao continued, "Dongzhou is under the control of the Great Tang Dynasty, but its national strength is weak. The emperor is obsessed with Daoist practices and neglects the state’s affairs, which naturally causes chaos in this region. The sects of Dongzhou, without a dominant sect, can’t maintain order. This situation is not surprising."
"If the control of Dongzhou were under our Yujing Mountain, within half a Jiazi, Dongzhou would surely prosper."

One disciple chuckled, "It’s a pity for the people here."
"Boasting!"
"How could our Yujing Mountain, a single mountain, govern an entire continent?!"

Uncle Zhao scolded him, though there was no anger in his eyes. He quickly smiled and said, "A half-continent is no problem."
The disciples all praised their master’s wisdom.
Only Chen Yu spoke up, "Master, when we first entered the mountain, I sensed an aura of evil. It was faint, and I don’t know if it’s because my cultivation is still low or if it’s too far."

The disciples were confused when they heard this.
Uncle Zhao once again praised Chen Yu, "Chen Yu, your cultivation has improved. Good. There should be a cult of the evil path several dozen miles from here. When we passed through a village earlier, all the houses were tightly shut. It seems the local people have been corrupted by that evil sect for a long time."
A disciple sneered, "These small-time fools, always missing the mark. They do a one-time deal."

Uncle Zhao laughed, "The world is full of people who seek quick success."
"The fire is getting a bit low."
Noticing the dwindling firewood, one disciple was about to dismantle a window. But soon, another disciple stopped him, laughing, "Go get some wood from that guy."

The disciple looked over at Zhou Chi, sitting silently in the distance, and couldn’t be bothered to walk over, calling instead, "Bring some firewood over here!"
Uncle Zhao looked up slightly but didn’t say much.
Having been in the hall for some time, he had already gauged Zhou Chi’s cultivation. To him, Zhou Chi’s cultivation was adequate, his spiritual foundation was decent for his age, but the chaotic energy inside him was a mess.

This was because the cultivation methods of Dongzhou were too backward, causing his body’s energy structure to be muddled, unlike their pure energy systems.
Hearing the call, Zhou Chi stood up, picking up his sword from his knees, and took a large amount of firewood from his pile before walking over.
When he approached, Zhou Chi noticed a faint smell of blood.

He furrowed his brow slightly, almost imperceptibly.
After putting the firewood down, Uncle Zhao smiled and said, "Thank you, Dao friend."
Zhou Chi smiled and asked, "I can tell from your accent that you’re not from Dongzhou."

One of the young disciples proudly declared, "We are from the Central Continent!"
Zhou Chi nodded, his expression understanding. "No wonder. You all carry yourselves so well. Only disciples from the great immortal sects of the Central Continent could possess such bearing!"
"But I wonder, what brings you all to Dongzhou? Is there anything I can assist with?"

Hearing Zhou Chi’s words, many of the disciples exchanged looks of disdain. This young man from a remote place seemed to be an opportunist, not foolish, just clever in his own way.
But they remained silent, and Uncle Zhao looked at Zhou Chi, his eyes filled with meaning.
"It seems I’ve spoken too much."

Zhou Chi lowered his head and apologized.
As he looked down, he noticed a jade pendant on Uncle Zhao’s waist. It was square, not large, with white surroundings and a red line running through the center.
The jade pendant wasn’t made of precious material, but it was rare, and it was likely that there wasn’t another identical one in the entire world.

"It’s nothing. If Dao friend ever comes to the Central Continent, Zhao will certainly share a drink with you..."
Before he could finish, the fire suddenly flickered violently, as if a sudden gust of wind had arisen.
A sword aura suddenly shot out.

In the blink of an eye, two heads from the Yujing Mountain disciples were severed.
Blood splattered everywhere!
This all happened too quickly. No one had time to react.

Zhou Chi drew his second sword.
The two Yujing Mountain disciples standing beside him were sliced cleanly in half.
Their wounds were neat, and before they could utter a word, they died under Zhou Chi’s sword.

Uncle Zhao suddenly waved his sleeve, knocking several burning firewood pieces toward Zhou Chi.
The fiery wood flew through the air, threatening to ignite everything around them.
Zhou Chi stepped back several feet, slicing the burning wood with a single strike.

"Are you crazy?!"
The surviving disciples were stunned. They never imagined that Zhou Chi would suddenly attack and kill someone.
Only Uncle Zhao seemed to have sensed something.

Zhou Chi stood at a distance, watching the jade pendant on Uncle Zhao’s waist. He calmly asked, "What happened to Qishan?"
"Master, he’s a remnant of Qishan!"
One disciple reacted quickly, shocked.

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