Chapter 137: Transparency of the Sword Heart

The circulation of his cultivation technique slowed down more and more. He could even clearly feel that within each of his pupils, a sharp intent was slowly condensing.

Even a slight careless mistake would make going blind seem like a minor consequence.

I do not know how much time passed, but the two wisps of sword Qi finally stabilized.

"Now is the moment."

Hesitating no longer, Song Yan opened his eyes and lightly swept his sword fingers across them.

The sword Qi, which was originally about to rampage and collide wildly, suddenly became as thick as honey, slowly dissolving and spreading outward along his pupils and eye sockets.

The intense stabbing pain instantly transformed into a tingling numbness.

Before his eyes, it was as if thousands of household lanterns had suddenly been lit.

He hastily closed his eyes, quietly waiting for all the strange sensations to fade away.

This process lasted for roughly the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

Song Yan opened his eyes.

Within his pupils, sharp sword radiance seemed to flow and revolve.

"It worked!"

A surge of joy welled up in his heart as he slowly urged the sword Qi.

"Guanxu!"

Song Yan felt a touch of coldness, originating from who knows when, slowly seeping and spreading from his brow bone.

Before long, it crossed his temples and arrived at his eye pupils.

A slight stinging sensation returned, causing him to involuntarily close his eyes.

Yet very quickly, that discomfort vanished without a trace.

Amidst the darkness, Song Yan lowered his gaze and tentatively attempted to slowly open his eyes.

"..."

These were a pair of golden eyes, within which hung a single petal of a golden lotus-like pattern.

His gaze was brimming with sharpness.

Merely a look devoid of emotion was enough to make one's entire body turn cold in the dead of night.

"Guanxu!"

The moment the Guanxu Sword Pupils operated, the sword Qi began to slowly consume itself.

He lowered his head slowly, and a wisp of spiritual fire ignited in the palm of his hand.

Within his vision, intricately entwined, crimson spiritual Qi flowed, forming this cluster of flame.

He cast a slight sideways glance toward the spirit stones placed at the center of the spirit-gathering formation array in the room.

Hazy spiritual Qi bubbled and flowed within them.

The Unbound Skiff flew out from the sword box, hovering before him as sword Qi danced and traversed across its surface.

Those wisps of sword Qi, which previously required divine sense to capture and control, were now as clearly visible as ink traces outlined in the empty air.

How utterly miraculous...

Glancing here and looking there, he paced back and forth around the room.

Song Yan at this moment was no more mature than Xiao He when she had just received a new toy.

"Yanyan... what are you doing?"

Xiao He poked her little snake head out from the messy heap of quilts bundled up on the bed, looking at him with extreme curiosity.

Song Yan turned his head back and looked at Xiao He: "Looking at you."

Within his Guanxu vision, Xiao He's demonic Qi was extremely restrained, barely leaking out even a fraction.

The odd thing was that she had not executed any techniques to conceal her aura.

"Looking at me? Then am I good-looking?"

The little snake treasure wore a cheeky smile, wriggling back and forth inside her little quilt.

Song Yan chuckled softly, the sword Qi dissipating as his eyes returned to their original appearance.

"Of course you're good-looking. Xiao He is the cutest."

He gently tapped the little snake's head: "In another two days, we can go back."

"Yay~"

Xiao He had long since wanted to leave this place. After spending barely two days in her new home within the Abyss-Plunging Sect, she had been brought to such a thoroughly detestable place, and usually didn't even care to come out.

Xiao He loved flowers, plants, trees, green mountains, and clear waters.

Changping was clearly the complete opposite of such a landscape.

Hearing that they could return immediately, she happily swam back and forth inside the bedding, occasionally letting out chuckling snickers.

...

Two days later, all matters in Changping were settled.

Great Master Sanjue led a group of cultivators from the Huaidu Temple to perform a rite of deliverance for the departed souls of Shiguping.

With profound Buddhist dharma, they purified the grievances and resentment.

A stele without words was erected upon the ruins of Shiguping.

The belongings of the numerous cultivators who had perished within the Avici Hell were also gathered and packed one by one.

The Magistrate of Changping reported the events to the capital of Chu, temporarily designating Shiguping as a forbidden zone.

Affected by the aftermath, the neighboring Cheng Family Village and Caoyuan Township were also orderly relocating elsewhere.

The cultivators of the six sects had basically completed the redemption of their rewards.

The various cultivators followed their respective elders, preparing to set off and return to their sects.

In the Nurturing Self Courtyard, cultivators from different sects could be seen exchanging pleasantries and bidding farewell.

A young disciple of the Sheyang Sect patted Li Qingfeng's shoulder: "Fatty Li! When we meet again in the future, you better be an inner sect disciple, you hear?"

"Isn't that stating the obvious?"

Li Qingfeng poked Song Yan, who was standing nearby, with his elbow and spoke sheer nonsense: "You know someone up top, don't you?"

Song Yan's actions within the Avici Hell had long since been exaggerated beyond recognition through word of mouth.

By now, rumors such as "this person might be the reincarnation of the Northern Domain's Demonic Infant" were already circulating, granting him a truly fierce reputation.

However, when these "solemn and proper" stories reached the ears of the acquaintances around Song Yan...

And were spoken aloud once more, the flavor changed somewhat.

Phrases like "Northern Domain Demonic Infant," "Daoist Demonic Overlord," and "Supreme Demon" rolled off their tongues effortlessly.

Other people's gossip would cause Song Yan no harm whatsoever.

Yet his good friends' teasing caused him boundless agony.

The surrounding cultivators immediately burst into uproarious laughter; only this handful of people familiar with him knew how absurd those rumors truly were.

In a harsh and bitter place like Changping, coexisting for so many days made it indeed very easy to forge a deep friendship.

"Oh, right, Brother Tao, in your sect's Pearfall Courtyard, there's a girl named Sheng Yun. She's my younger sister."

Song Yan took out a Qiankun pouch and handed it to the cultivator surnamed Tao: "Help me pass this along to her."

This was entrusted to him by that scoundrel Sheng previously, and he had also added some spirit stones and medicinal pills into it himself.

"Will do. Rest assured, not a single thing will be missing."

The cultivators of the Abyss-Plunging Sect and the Sheyang Sect were the final two batches to leave this place.

"Elder Xu, thank you for your care during these past days."

Xu Ziqing and Cong Yuzhen respectively represented the younger generation of the Foundation Establishment realm from both sects. They had essentially worked together throughout their time in Changping.

"We're all old acquaintances; there's no need for such polite formalities."

"When we meet again at Dragon Pool Mountain in the future, I hope Senior Cong will show mercy."

With that, Xu Ziqing gave a hearty laugh, lingered no longer, and departed with the group of Abyss-Plunging Sect disciples.

His flying magical artifact was a massive disk formed by interlocking drifting clouds.

Song Yan gazed down at the receding expanse of Changping below, a deep sense of emotion welling up in his heart.

His trip to Changping felt like a fleeting dream.

When he first arrived here, although he knew there would be some danger, he never imagined he would be embroiled in such a calamity.

Ever since acquiring the Yin-Yang Orb, it seemed as though everything had made every decision he made tread on the brink of life and death.

Looking back now, stepping into the garbage heap of the Fire-Labor Workshop to rummage for formation pearls—even in memory—was quite dull and ordinary.

Recalling it now, it held only the bitterness of struggling for survival for a mere two or three spirit stones.

At the time, he had thought it was just the most ordinary day of his life.

Yet now, his Dao heart was complete, and his sword intent was formed.

He raised his eyes slightly toward the vast sea and sky.

With his natal flying sword condensed, he had reached the first realm of the Sword Dao.

The human heart is supreme and spiritual; the sword heart is clear and bright.

The various tribulations and hardships along the path of longevity did not make him feel depressed or despairing.

Instead, they birthed a trace of excitement.

If a person only ever does things within the scope of their own abilities, they will never make progress.

Stepping through cultivation in an orderly, routine fashion and merely accumulating spiritual power is only called growing up.

Constantly accomplishing things that exceed one's current capabilities allows one to forge ahead with vigor and determination, pressing forward without looking back.

Only thus can one truly be called a swordsman.

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