Firmament Sword

”Oh… I’m surprisingly a little excited to get a response from you… Heh heh. You have a sweetheart? That’s no big deal. You’ll forget about him soon enough. As for the Heart of the Fire Dragon, I am taking it back. You simply don’t understand its true value, and I can’t explain it to you. Heh, your branch of the family is sitting on a priceless treasure without a clue how to use it. In your hands, the Heart of the Fire Dragon is a pearl wasted in the dark.” The youth spoke with a serious face, seemingly without a hint of mockery.

”Only in my hands can its brilliance truly blossom!” the youth declared earnestly, even looking somewhat sincere.

Su Qianqian cursed her bad luck. ’How did I end up with someone so persistent?’

She had slipped away from Xu Luo so that he wouldn’t get dragged into this mess. She also wanted to find a place to live in anonymity, cultivate diligently, and hunt down her enemies once she was strong enough.

But Su Qianqian, with almost no experience in the Jianghu and having never lived on her own, could never have imagined how overwhelming it would be. Just surviving by herself left her reeling, and as for cultivating on her own… it was practically impossible!

’So without the family’s help, I’m completely useless. I’m not even as capable as Xiaoluozi!’ Su Qianqian had lamented, crying silently when she was alone.

Countless problems she had never had to consider before appeared one after another. This included the various resources and Spirit Medicines she had never previously needed to worry about. Now, obtaining them was harder than climbing to the heavens.

Su Qianqian could only rely on the silver Xu Luo had given her for shopping that she never spent, along with those four Blood Pills. She found a remote town to settle in for the time being, then consumed all four Blood Pills to absorb and refine their power.

After refining those four Blood Pills, Su Qianqian’s strength surged, and she broke through to the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm in a single stroke!

This was partly due to her exceptional talent. Having grown up in the Su Family, her foundation was extremely solid. It could be said that in terms of both innate aptitude and later cultivation, Su Qianqian’s qualities were outstanding.

Previously, her grandfather had always held her back, preventing her from easily breaking through to the Transformation Realm.

After all, there are only a few realms suitable for building one’s foundation. Trying to rebuild it after reaching the Transformation Realm is next to impossible.

It’s like building a house—you always have to start with the foundation.

Su Qianqian’s deep foundation allowed for explosive growth. With her outstanding constitution, she used just four Blood Pills to break through to the stage of Dharma Heaven and Earth. This should have been a joyous occasion.

Who would have thought, however, that the massive disturbance she caused when breaking through to the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm would attract unwanted attention.

The disadvantage of her inexperience was immediately apparent…

And so, Su Qianqian fled, stumbling blindly until she entered the Celestial Break Mountain Range.

While large numbers of people from the major sects still patrolled the outskirts of the Celestial Break Mountain Range, its true depths remained desolate. Few dared to venture deep within.

Panicked and desperate, Su Qianqian didn’t think twice before plunging headlong into the Celestial Break Mountain Range.

The Small World where Xu Luo and his companions were didn’t just have that one entrance. Deep within the Celestial Break Mountain Range, another rift existed.

However, this rift was not always open.

It appeared only once every three hundred years and would only last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The Celestial Break Mountain Range hadn’t always been home to so many ferocious beasts. It was because of this rift; nearly every time it opened, a few lucky beasts would escape from the Small World and enter the mountains.

Over time, as more and more escaped, these beasts took root in the Celestial Break Mountain Range. Because they came from the Small World and yearned for its atmosphere, most of them never strayed far from the mountains.

Thus, after many years, the Celestial Break Mountain Range had become a forbidden zone.

The world is full of too many coincidences. It was as if an unseen hand was pulling the strings of fate.

When Su Qianqian fled deep into the Celestial Break Mountain Range, she arrived just as the Small World’s tri-centennial rift was opening. She then personally witnessed several relatively weak Spirit Beasts emerge from it.

Su Qianqian, who knew a thing or two about alternate dimensions, immediately understood what she had found. Without a moment’s hesitation, she flew straight in.

The youth from the Ancient Race Continent who was hot on her heels followed her tracks and went in right after her.

After entering, Su Qianqian discovered that it was an incredibly realistic Small World. Though fraught with endless peril, it was also filled with countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. To Su Qianqian, who had lost her family’s support, this was a tremendous stroke of luck.

Her strength at the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm was enough for her to protect herself within this Small World, so she ventured deep into it from a different direction.

The sect disciples already inside this Small World would never have guessed that someone could enter through an alternate route.

The Small World was vast, and the two parties never crossed paths. Su Qianqian continued to evade her pursuer while collecting various resources.

Finally, she discovered a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact. If the Su Family had not met with disaster, Su Qianqian wouldn’t have given a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact a second thought, as her family owned three of them.

But now… never mind a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, even a common Magical Artifact was exceedingly precious to her. Thus, she began to track it, determined to make it her own.

Unexpectedly, the Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact also caught the attention of her pursuer.

And that was what led to the current standoff.

And the sight Xu Luo had witnessed on the horizon—the one that looked like a falling star—was none other than the light erupting from the very Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact Su Qianqian was tracking!

The Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact’s whereabouts were now unknown, and Su Qianqian was finally facing the greatest crisis of her life.

”I have no idea what you’re talking about. What Heart of the Fire Dragon? I’ve never even heard of it.” Su Qianqian’s gaze was glacial as she looked at the youth before her. A wave of bitterness washed over her; he was like a maggot clinging to her bones, a persistent ghost she couldn’t shake no matter what she did, leaving her utterly helpless.

At that moment, an image of Xu Luo surfaced in her mind. She couldn’t help a bitter smile. ’Even if Xiaoluozi were here, what could he do? Against a youth so powerful he inspires despair, he’d only get dragged down with me.’

”Alas, it seems you cannot appreciate my sincerity. In that case, I can only apologize. I really don’t want to kill you,” the youth sighed, looking at Su Qianqian. ”After all, a peerless beauty such as yourself is a rare sight, even on the Ancient Race Continent.”

With that, the youth took a step forward.

One step, and the world itself stirred!

His body seemed to make no other movement; he simply took a single, easy step forward through the void. But as his foot fell, a massive, suffocating pressure suddenly descended upon the world!

The Dharma Aspect behind Su Qianqian erupted. A Purple Dragon Vine shot up into the sky like a horned dragon, exuding a titanic aura. The vine was lush with branches and leaves, each leaf adorned with naturally formed runes.

The main stem of the Purple Dragon Vine was covered in even more of these natural runes, mysterious and beautiful, utterly mesmerizing.

The vine swayed like a swimming dragon as its runes emitted a dazzling light, accompanied by the resounding chimes of the Great Dao!

”The Purple Dragon Vine… Your Dharma Aspect is actually the Purple Dragon Vine?” The youth stared, momentarily stunned, at the enormous Dharma Aspect behind Su Qianqian and murmured, ”Legend says that in the Ancient Era, the Su Family’s most powerful Dharma Aspect was the Purple Dragon Vine, but it was lost to time. To think… it would be in the possession of your branch.”

The Purple Dragon Vine, the most powerful Dharma Aspect in the legends of the Su Family, had long since been lost to the branch on the Ancient Race Continent.

The youth had never expected to see it here. Now, he was even more reluctant to kill this peerless young woman.

She might not only possess the legendary treasure, the Heart of the Fire Dragon, but also the Su Family’s most powerful Purple Dragon Vine Dharma Aspect. ’If I can get my hands on all of that… then the future position of Su Family Patriarch will, in all likelihood, be mine!’

Thus, the youth, who was already reluctant to kill Su Qianqian, now felt an even greater desire to subdue her instead.

A faint smile graced his lips. ”I never thought a simple trip to clear my head would yield such a harvest. My luck is truly exceptional!”

With that, the youth reached out, his hand lunging directly for Su Qianqian!

The youth’s expression remained unchanged as he faced Su Qianqian, who had unleashed the Su Family’s most powerful Dharma Heaven and Earth. He didn’t even manifest his own Dharma Aspect; instead, he fearlessly attempted to suppress her directly!

”You’re courting death!” Su Qianqian cried coldly. A tendril shot out from the enormous purple vine behind her, lashing viciously at the youth’s hand.

”Heh, you’re no match for me,” the youth said with a faint smile as his hand suddenly swelled to an immense size.

In the night, the youth’s palm blotted out the sky like a vast, dark cloud as it descended upon Su Qianqian!

CRACK!

A tendril from the Purple Dragon Vine transformed into a lithe whip and, with a sharp crack, struck the youth’s massive hand.

BANG!

The tendril exploded, turning into a puff of purple mist that dissipated into the air.

As for the youth’s massive hand, the blow only left a bright red welt, failing to even break the skin!

Su Qianqian’s heart plummeted. She couldn’t believe that even her Dharma Heaven and Earth was unable to stop him.

’This man is too powerful!’ Su Qianqian thought.

However, Su Qianqian was not one to give up easily. She would never concede defeat until the very last moment.

With a flash of her Divine Thought, the main stem of the Purple Dragon Vine shot out and rapidly coiled around the youth’s giant hand, wrapping the massive palm so tightly that not an inch was left exposed.

Countless thorns on the vine dug viciously into the huge palm.

”That actually hurts…” The corner of the youth’s mouth twitched, and he hissed in pain. Then, raising an eyebrow, he said, ”I told you… you are no match for me… Now, break!”

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the Purple Dragon Vine wrapped around the youth’s giant palm burst apart. The resulting shockwave was so powerful it seemed to warp the very space around them.