Night falls.
Fusu Great Wall, Sword Tomb Forbidden Ground.
An old man, his legs bound by chains adorned with intricate and obscure golden inscriptions, sat on the mountainside beside the Sword Tomb. The chains were connected to a faintly visible grand formation rooted in the earth. This formation encompassed the entire mountain, and the combined might of Fusu Great Wall's destiny and a whole mountain was used to imprison a single person, a feat of considerable power.
This old man was a sinner. He had been personally cleaved from the sky by Lu Xinghe and subsequently imprisoned here. It was said he was only one step away from becoming a thirteen-realm Sword Immortal, but he would never attain it. Lu Xinghe had severed his destiny to reach the thirteenth realm with a single sword strike. His remaining years were to be spent guarding the Sword Tomb of Fusu Great Wall's forbidden ground until he died of old age, or until he grew weary of life and dispersed his own essence.
His name was Wei Yan. He was rumored to be born with a rebellious spirit. After the Xia tribe's defeat, all its remaining people became convicts and refugees. Wei Yan, along with a group of Sword Immortals, proposed a plan to Lu Xinghe: since the Great Shang Dynasty did not treat them, the descendants of the Xia tribe, as humans, Fusu Great Wall had no need to defend the northern gateway for humanity. They should instead cooperate with the demon race and use them to destroy the Great Shang Dynasty and reclaim their dominion.
Lu Xinghe had roared with abuse, cursing Wei Yan's mother with profanity, leaving Wei Yan unable to lift his head. In Lu Xinghe's heart, the war between the Xia and Great Shang was ultimately an internal human conflict. If the Xia descendants allied with the demon race, even if they reclaimed the world, it would no longer be purely a human world but one where demons meddled everywhere, turning them into vassals.
Following this, Wei Yan led a group of Sword Immortals in a rebellion. However, it was discovered early. Lu Xinghe personally wielded his sword, ultimately severing Wei Yan's path to the thirteenth realm and turning him into a prisoner of Fusu Great Wall, eternally confined to this place.
"Rustle..."
In the valley, several figures approached. One was Chi Zhongyu, accompanied by Qin Yu and Liu Xilong. Chi Zhongyu's eyes were filled with determination, while Qin Yu and Liu Xilong wore complex expressions.
"Tsk tsk, more fools coming to die?"
On the mountainside, Wei Yan, a tattered twelve-realm old Sword Immortal, sneered, "I know it won't be you two, Qin Yu or Liu Xilong. Hmph, two good-for-nothings! Lu Xinghe once pinned his hopes on you two to uphold the dominion of Fusu Great Wall, but in the end, it was that little girl Lin Wanhua who stepped forward."
"Sword Immortal Wei, you are a senior. Everything you say is correct," Qin Yu replied sheepishly.
Liu Xilong had a less forgiving temper. He frowned, "The surrender faction that wanted to lead Fusu Great Wall into the embrace of the demon race back then, *they* are the true good-for-nothings. Spit!"
"Tsk tsk!"
The old Sword Immortal grinned. "Liu Xilong, Liu Xilong, the praise for you as a born general was so high back then! I almost thought you had one foot in the Rebirth realm. But now, you're still at the late stage of the Heavenly Origin realm, not even at perfection. Among the Heavenly Origin realm martial artists in the world, the twin Chen brothers are the foremost. Chen Ben and Chen Xi are both monsters. Next is Lin Ruo, not much different. After them are Chu Yu of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Mu Zha, and those eleven-realm cultivators from Iron Mountain. Once these are counted, then it's your turn, Liu Xilong. Aren't you ashamed!"
He burst into laughter, scratching his foot. "Hahaha, it kills me! Lu Xinghe expected you to live up to his hopes and become the first Rebirth realm martial artist in Fusu Great Wall's history. But alas, you'll only be a Heavenly Origin realm cultivator your entire life. A bad temper, little skill. Spit! How could our Xia tribe have such a useless born general?"
"Sword Immortal Wei."
Qin Yu sighed. "Say less. If your cousin hears this, you might suffer again. What's the point?"
"Qin Yu!"
The old man laughed. "Don't think I won't curse you just because you're better looking than Liu Xilong! You, a born sword seed, why have you become so hesitant after entering the upper five realms? Is it because you have a wife, children, and a warm hearth? If you knew this would happen, you shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. Only by disregarding life and death can one have an all-encompassing sword heart. You, Qin Yu, are too bogged down. After all these years, you're still an eleven-realm sword cultivator. Look at the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Su Qingjiu, a sword cultivator standing on the thirteenth realm. Wu Zhi, even with an arm severed, is still at the peak of the twelfth realm. You... Lu Xinghe should have taken you to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool to kill demons, to experience it like Wu Zhi, to clash with those demon cultivators, to die a few times. Perhaps then you would have reached the twelfth realm."
"That's enough!"
Qin Yu's expression was dark. "Sword Immortal Wei, you've said your piece, and you've said it to your heart's content. What's the point? Do you want Qin Yu and Liu Xilong to have a mental breakdown? What good would that do you?"
"Spit, I can't be bothered to curse you anymore!"
The old man spat and looked at Chi Zhongyu, smiling. "Young man, what's your name?"
"Chi Zhongyu."
The young man bowed respectfully. "A retainer under Lord Lin Zhao, Master of the Mountain View Villa."
"Oh~~~"
The old man pointed at Chi Zhongyu. "Qin Yu, Liu Xilong, you two little bastards, look at him. This is who you should learn from. Although young man Chi Zhongyu's sword heart is flawed, and it seems he can't overcome the legendary barrier of love, he's willing to gamble. If he can't have the woman, then he'll risk his life. Obtaining a grand dao of mountain peak scenery is not impossible. This is a matter of courage. You two have settled down with families and careers and have become useless. In my opinion, young man Chi Zhongyu's future achievements will surpass both of yours."
Chi Zhongyu scratched his head. Despite being cursed at, he was surprisingly happy.
"Sword Immortal Wei."
Qin Yu frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"One sentence, if we cultivators want to reach the ultimate realm, don't get married!"
The old man pointed at the two mainstays of Fusu Great Wall and said with grief and indignation, "Women only affect your sword speed and your punch strength!"
"Damn..."
Liu Xilong scratched his head and actually found it quite reasonable. He was indeed a senior expert.
"Young man Chi Zhongyu."
The old man smiled. "Once you enter the Sword Tomb, don't look back. Charge forward with all your might. Only when the specters inside the Sword Tomb dare not show themselves should you emerge. Listen to my words, never turn back, never hesitate, or you will die."
"Yes!"
Chi Zhongyu nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, senior!"
"If you can walk out alive..."
Wei Yan narrowed his eyes. "Treat me to a roast chicken."
"No, two!"
Chi Zhongyu raised his eyebrows. As the young master of the Southern Sword Sect of Hundred Flower Ridge, was he lacking money? Of course not. Before leaving, his father, heartbroken, gave him all his private savings for his son's perilous journey—over 2000 golden zhi coins. In fact, Chi Zhongyu was far wealthier than imagined.
"I'm going."
Chi Zhongyu cupped his fists at Qin Yu and Liu Xilong, then turned and rode his sword into the forbidden Sword Tomb ahead.
It doesn't matter. She doesn't love me, so I'll strive for greatness!
...
Danxia Mountain.
Evening, as night descended, another group of people ascended the mountain in haste. For this usually deserted Danxia Mountain, the day had been extraordinary. Previously, at most, hunters and woodcutters might appear on Danxia Mountain, and that would be once every ten to fifteen days. The place was simply too remote. Today, however, it was the second group of visitors.
This group was elegantly dressed, led by a young martial artist in a dark blue short tunic, followed by a scholar in a light blue long gown, and a middle-aged martial artist radiating a magnificent boxing intent.
This group hailed from the Lü Family's Merchant House in Yunzhou.
The young martial artist was the only son of Lü Yiwei, the head of the Lü Family's Merchant House, named Lü Shaoyan. At a young age, he had already cultivated to the tenth realm, the Wave-Treading realm. The scholar in the light blue long gown had no cultivation but was the strategist of the Yunzhou Lü Family, named Shen Wu, known as Mr. Shen. The middle-aged martial artist was called Hu Qi, the supervisor of the Lü Family's escorts, a Heavenly Origin realm martial artist.
The Lü Family's Merchant House was the largest in Yunzhou, so large that describing it as "rich enough to rival a nation" would not be an exaggeration. It was precisely this immense wealth that allowed them to hire a Heavenly Origin realm martial artist as an escort.
"Master, more guests have arrived!"
In front of the Taoist temple, Xiao Man shouted loudly.
"Oh?"
Xu Mingan hurried out. Under the lamplight, he looked at the group and frowned. "Esteemed guests... what brings you to our Taoist temple?"
"Oh, it's like this."
Lü Shaoyan stepped forward and cupped his fists lightly. "We are from the Lü Family's Merchant House in Yunzhou. My name is Lü Shaoyan, son of Lü Yiwei, the head of the Lü Family. We heard that the Daoist priest possesses the prescription for the Zhenyuan Pill, so we have come specifically to visit. We wish to purchase this prescription from you for one hundred golden zhi coins and one hundred thousand taels of silver. We implore the Daoist priest to grant our request."
"Ah?"
Xu Mingan frowned. "The prescription was passed down by my master. My master is not here at the moment. Without my master's consent, I, Xu Mingan, dare not pass down the prescription privately. Please forgive us, esteemed guests."
"Oh?"
Behind Lü Shaoyan, Hu Qi, the Heavenly Origin realm martial artist, grinned maliciously, his boxing intent surging. He sneered, "Little Daoist, are you saying you refuse a toast and prefer a fine? Our Lü Family has offered good counsel and such a large sum of money, yet you refuse to sell. Are you inviting trouble?"
"You..."
Xu Mingan frowned. "What do you want?"
"To give you a taste of our power."
The next moment, Hu Qi suddenly sank his body, rushing towards Xu Mingan like a gust of wind. Instantly, Xu Mingan felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and then he was sent flying backward, smashing through the fence of the vegetable garden and landing in a patch of vegetables.
"Master!"
Xiao Man and Xiao Han were shocked and rushed to their master's side, only to find Xu Mingan spitting blood, his face pale. After taking that punch, he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Search the place!"
Lü Shaoyan raised his hand, and a group of escorts rushed into the Taoist temple and began searching wantonly.
...
"Don't cry, don't cry..."
Xu Mingan spat blood, comforting the two children. He looked towards the Taoist temple. Fortunately, he had always kept the Danxia Manual and the prescription well hidden. Otherwise, today would have been truly disastrous.