Chaotic Sword God

Chapter 3579: Stainless Qi

Jian Chen was surprised. He said in thought, “Elder Nong, you’re welcome to recall closely. I’m certain that she was once a disciple of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens, as I can sense a vaguely familiar presence from her. This presence should be a result of practising the cultivation methods of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens over an extended period!”

Elder Nong immediately sank into his thoughts with that. He recalled long and hard, screening through all the figures that he had seen or heard of in his life.

After almost an hour, elder Nong said with uncertainty, “There is someone who matches elder Xue of the Black Demon Palace in my memory. It can only be her then.”

“Who is she?” Jian Chen stared at elder Nong with interest.

“Her name is Xue Ji. She was one of the disciples oozing with talent in the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens around one and a half million years ago. However, I don’t know much about Xue Ji. During that age, the sect was far stronger. We had several Immortal Emperors and my cultivation was nowhere close to Immortal Monarch. Although I was no longer a miscellaneous disciple, my status still was not particularly high, so the information I could come into contact with was very limited,” said elder Nong.

“Xue Ji?” Jian Chen murmured. Shortly afterwards, his lips curled into a faint smile.

......

…

In the outer space beyond the Reverent Observance Heaven, a middle-aged man in embroidered robes sat mid-air with his eyes shut. He seemed like a statue, as he did not budge at all.

He did not give off any presence at all. It was perfectly erased, such that he seemed like a mortal, making him extremely easy to miss.

At this moment, a streak of light flew over. The woman in black from the Black Demon Palace appeared by the middle-aged man in embroidered robes’ side.

The middle-aged man opened his eyes slowly. He looked at the woman in black as a tender light appeared in the bottom of his eyes. He chuckled as he asked, “You’ve come back so quickly? Aren’t you going to stay for a little longer after visiting for the first time in a very long while?”

The woman in black sighed gently and said, “Times have already passed. The past is already long gone. What is there to be nostalgic about?”

“That little kid called Jian Chen is anything but simple,” the middle-aged man continued to chuckle.

“He should be one of their disciples. He has some courage. He’s only a Nine-heavenly Xuan Immortal, yet he can remain so composed before me. That is rare,” said the woman in black.

“Perhaps your idea of him is still too simple.” The middle-aged man shook his head with a smile. He sat in the vast cosmos as his gaze seemed to pierce the stars, directly looking towards the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens on the Reverent Observance Heaven. “During the time you spent visiting the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens, I tried peering into him with everything available to me. Try and guess the outcome.”

The woman in black stared straight at the middle-aged man and said nothing.

“There was no outcome. I couldn’t find anything regarding him. I tried everything and still found nothing. He’s like a ball of mist. Even with my cultivation, I can’t see through him.” The middle-aged man’s gaze deepened as if there were stars orbiting inside and the invisible ways weaving together.

“That’s impossible! He’s only a Nine-heavenly Xuan Immortal!” The woman in black was startled, struggling to keep her composure. She felt disbelief.

“There are only three cases where I can’t find anything. The first is that he possesses some kind of wondrous treasure that covers everything about him, which is why I have found nothing.”

“The second is that there’s an expert behind him who is covering for him. However, for me to find nothing, it must mean this expert’s cultivation is significant.”

“Thirdly… Jian Chen himself is an expert no weaker than me, but that’s clearly not possible.”

The woman in black’s gaze changed as she said, “Dear, do you mean that the cultivation of the expert behind Jian Chen is even beyond yours?”

The middle-aged man nodded. “It is indeed beyond mine. However, they probably aren’t the people you imagine them to be. After reaching Immortal Exalt, every step comes with tremendous difficulty. Every step requires trials of life and death. It’s impossible for them to reach such a high realm of cultivation in such a short amount of time. After all, not everyone is the elder princess of the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance.”

“However, the organisation that Jian Chen comes from does seem to be working to reinvigorate the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens so far.”

“That’s because he’s done things that many organisations do not have the courage to do, and he’s taken on risks that many organisations do not have the courage to take on.”

The middle-aged man turned towards the woman in black beside him. His gaze became extremely gentle as he said softly, “Xue’er, if there is a day when the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens truly stands up once more, will you still return?”

“I-I don’t know…” The woman in black immediately became lost.

The middle-aged man stood up. He strode over and arrived before the woman in black slowly, pulling her into his arms gently. He said softly, “If you do want to return to the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens, I won’t stop you, but there is something you must promise me. Before the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens gains the ability to fend off those supreme experts, you are forbidden from exposing yourself.”

“Once you are exposed, even I won’t be able to protect you. The Sword Sect of Violet Heavens has far too many enemies, each one stronger than the last. Let alone the others, just the Mistress of Contrary Winds alone is enough to make us flee everywhere.”

When he mentioned the Mistress of Contrary Winds, the middle-aged man immediately became stern.

“I understand. I won’t do something foolish. Even if I don’t consider for myself, I still have to consider for our daughter,” the woman in black said softly.

The middle-aged man seemed to ease up. He smiled easily. “C’mon, let’s go back to the Black Demon Palace.”

......

…

In the Divine Hall of Violet Heavens, Jian Chen sat on the throne with a slight headache. A messy pile of several dozen jade slips were placed beside him.

These jade slips all came from the deceased experts of the Immortal Sect of Colossal Elephants. They contained numerous cultivation methods, abilities, and secret techniques, as well as rumours and pieces of news. There were also all sorts of treasures. It was truly an assortment, touching on all domains.

However, to Jian Chen’s disappointment, he checked through all the jade slips and read countless ancient records, but he still failed to find a method to awaken the artifact spirit of the Primeval Divine Hall.

“If I really run out of choices, I’ll have to go and find the elder princess of the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance. With the elder princess of the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance’s cultivation, even if she’s incapable of awakening the artifact spirit of the Primeval Divine Hall herself, she’ll definitely have ideas,” Jian Chen murmured, but then he hesitated as he thought, “When I crossed through the chaotic sea with the elder princess to reach the Immortals’ World, she sustained very heavy injuries, and her energy was completely spent. I don’t know if she’s recovered over the past few years.”

“If she hasn’t recovered, I might not even be able to see her even if I do go to the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance.”

“Apart from the elder princess of the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance, the only other expert in the Immortals’ World that I can reach is the master of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. Finding the master of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets will also resolve this issue for me, but that way, I will run the risk of letting even more people know that I have a sovereign god artifact on me.”

“It’s best if I keep the Primeval Divine Hall a secret from as many people as I can.”

After hesitating for a very long time, Jian Chen made up his mind in the end. He still ended up deciding on going on a long journey and finding the elder princess of the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance.

He was in an extremely great hurry to awaken the artifact spirit of the Primeval Divine Hall.

This was the only thing he could rely on to fend off the Immortal Exalts of the Immortal Sect of Colossal Elephants, as well as what he depended on to gain a footing for the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens.

“Master, actually… actually we know a way to awaken the artifact spirit of the Primeval Divine Hall.”

Right when Jian Chen was about to set off for the Heavenly Palace of Great Radiance, the sword spirits spoke up hesitantly.

“What? You know a way?” Jian Chen was surprised at first, but then he said in annoyance, “Zi Ying, Qing Suo, since you know a way, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Don’t you know just how miserable I’ve been during the past few days, trying to come up with a way to resolve this?”

The sword spirits did not answer him as if it was a painful topic.

Jian Chen sucked in a deep breath and slowly calmed himself. He understood the sword spirits. He also understood that the sword spirits must have had a reason for keeping it hidden from him for so long.

“Zi Ying, Qing Suo, does your method require any extremely stringent conditions?” Or perhaps life-threatening danger?” Jian Chen asked.

Zi Ying and Qing Suo remained silent for a very long time before finally saying, “Master, there’s a sacred land inside the Observance Heaven City. The sacred land produces Stainless Qi. The Stainless Qi might be able to help the artifact spirit of the Primeval Divine Hall awaken prematurely.”

“However, to obtain the Stainless Qi, you must hold a position in the Observance Heaven City. Only by holding a position do you gain the right to enter the sacred land.”

“I have to hold a position to enter the sacred land? Zi Ying, Qing Suo, is the reason why you never told me this because once I take a position in the Observance Heaven City, it’ll bring disgrace to your identities?” Jian Chen asked.

“Master, during our peak, the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City was jittery every time he met us. In terms of quality, the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City is nowhere close to us.”

“As our master, your status alone is obviously higher than the Observance Heaven City. However, if you take a post in the Observance Heaven City, you’ll become the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City’s subordinate. You’ll be under its control no matter where you go. If you break the rules of the Observance Heaven City, you’ll even face its punishment.”

“We truly can’t accept a change in identity like this.”

Zi Ying and Qing Suo were very troubled. Once Jian Chen fell under the control of the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City, they would immediately go from the big bosses in the past to the lackeys of the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City.

How could such prideful artifact spirits of sovereign god artifacts accept such humiliation?

“Master, with your identity, you are indeed unsuited to take a post in the Observance Heaven City. After all, from a certain perspective, you’re our old master’s successor. If you end up under the control of the artifact spirit of the Observance Heaven City, what’ll happen if others learn about this?”