Firmament Sword

Xu Luo remained silent. He didn’t want to argue, because his teacher wasn’t wrong.

But he had a reason he absolutely had to go!

It was just as he had said before: ’This is my conviction. This is my Dao.’

Just then, Xiahou Kaiyuan approached from a distance. He came to a stop before Xu Luo, studied him for a moment, and said, ”That place... you can no longer go.”

Xu Luo looked at Xiahou Kaiyuan without a word, but the determination in his eyes was plain to see.

Xiahou Kaiyuan said, ”I know more about what happened. Among those old monsters... there’s a Celestial Venerable!”

”What?” Even Yuwen Ji couldn’t hide his astonishment. He looked toward the palace across from them, drew a sharp breath, and said, ”Are you saying... Junior Sister Wanrou escaped alive from a Celestial Venerable?”

Xiahou Kaiyuan nodded. ”And she managed to bring a dozen or so people out with her.”

*Hiss!*

Several elders who had followed them over had clearly just heard the news as well, and they all marveled internally.

”What in the world is inside those ancient ruins... to have attracted even a Celestial Venerable?”

”Has Wanrou’s combat prowess become that formidable? To think she could escape from a Celestial Venerable...”

”This is unbelievable! A Celestial Venerable... Even our Celestial Brilliance Sect probably doesn’t have more than a few Celestial Venerables left, right?”

”True. Even if we have any, they’ve likely gone deep into the forbidden zones long ago.”

”It seems those ancient ruins must hold an incredible inheritance. Anything that can even tempt a Celestial Venerable is bound to be extraordinary!”

The group of Celestial Brilliance’s leaders and elders couldn’t help but erupt in discussion.

Xiahou Kaiyuan looked at Xu Luo and continued, ”Do you think... you can stand your ground before a Celestial Venerable?”

Before Xu Luo could even speak, the massive palace in the distance suddenly exploded!

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, the massive, ancient palace belonging to the Medicine Garden erupted.

A colossal, mushroom-shaped shockwave surged upward, piercing the high heavens!

The force of the impact twisted and distorted the very void around it.

A figure stood atop the shockwave, her silhouette graceful, her beauty peerless!

”My god... Junior Sister Wanrou broke through again!”

”What realm is this? Why do I feel so powerfully suppressed?”

”Don’t tell me Junior Sister Wanrou has ascended to the Celestial Venerable Realm?”

”This is a miracle!”

”The Heaven-Defying Life-Seizing Creation Pill... to think it possesses such power!”

”No wonder the Medicine King Ancestor holds such a special status in Celestial Brilliance. To think a life-saving elixir could contain such Divine Power!”

”What a pity. That was the last of those elixirs, and... no more can ever be concocted.”

”Indeed. If they could be concocted at will, then our Celestial Brilliance...”

The crowd exclaimed and marveled, their eyes fixed on the graceful figure high in the heavens.

”This is... the Peak Venerable Realm!” Xiahou Kaiyuan watched the figure in the sky, his eyes narrowing slightly. Even he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy for Xie Wanrou’s peerless talent.

However, as the Sect Leader of this Supreme Great Sect, Xiahou Kaiyuan quickly quelled the restlessness in his heart.

High in the heavens, Xie Wanrou extended a hand and pressed downward...

The mushroom cloud of energy beneath her feet began to contract, as if time itself were reversing!

The shattered palace rapidly restored itself to its original form.

The entire scene... was like something from a dream!

Everyone present watched on... utterly dumbfounded!

Xu Luo exclaimed internally, ’The highest mastery of the Time Reversal Skill... couldn’t be much more than this.’

’To think that Xie Wanrou, having advanced to the High-Tier Venerable Realm... possesses such a Divine Technique!’

Xie Wanrou descended from the sky. She offered the crowd a small smile before walking over to Xu Luo. ”This time... I owe you my thanks.”

Xu Luo smiled. ”Witnessing a miracle like this today makes that elixir more than worth it.”

”Such a magnanimous heart is truly rare,” Xie Wanrou said. As she spoke, an ancient scroll appeared in her hand. The scroll emanated a mystical Dao rhythm, causing everyone’s eyes to fall upon Xu Luo.

”This... I came across it by chance many years ago. It holds a tremendous opportunity, but with my aptitude, I was unable to comprehend it. I’m giving it to you now, in the hopes that you can gain something from it.”

The moment Xie Wanrou produced the ancient scroll, Xu Luo felt a commotion stir within his Dantian.

The Star Power within his Dantian began to boil.

A towering pillar of vital energy erupted from Xu Luo’s body!

Xie Wanrou’s words had already left many people in a state of extreme shock and disbelief.

Who was Xie Wanrou?

She was the most talented, peerless prodigy Celestial Brilliance had seen in a hundred generations!

And now, she was giving a scroll she couldn’t comprehend to Luo Tian, even stating that it contained a great opportunity.

Didn’t that imply that, in her eyes, Luo Tian was capable of comprehending the scroll? That Luo Tian’s talent... was even greater than her own!

This was simply staggering.

Even though Xu Luo had emerged as a dark horse in this year’s annual competition and had drawn the attention of many elders, no one had ever believed he could be mentioned in the same breath as Xie Wanrou.

It was considered impossible!

But now, in front of everyone, Xie Wanrou’s actions were as good as declaring: ’I believe in him!’

But before anyone could voice their doubts, Xu Luo reacted. The explosive eruption of vital energy from his body nearly made everyone’s eyes pop out of their sockets!

”Impossible!”

”He’s actually resonating with the ancient scroll!”

”Heavens... has another peerless prodigy truly appeared in our Celestial Brilliance Sect?”

”Th-th-this... Am I seeing things? Is this really happening?”

With a great RUSH, a crowd of elders swarmed forward, surrounding them completely. Every one of them stared at Xu Luo like a pack of wolves that hadn’t eaten in half a month laying eyes on a plump sheep.

Yuwen Ji was nearly pushed out of the circle. He shouted in frustration, ”He’s the New Medicine King! You’re all esteemed seniors; have you no shame, trying to snatch a successor from the Medicine King Ancestor?”

At a time like this, he wouldn’t have admitted to being Luo Tian’s master for anything. None of these old-timers would give a damn about a junior like him.

Poaching a disciple wasn’t exactly a noble thing to do, but it all depended on who the disciple was.

For someone like Luo Tian, this group of elders would willingly throw away all their prestige if it meant they could snatch him for themselves!

Even Xie Wanrou hadn’t expected the scroll in her hand to resonate with Luo Tian. A peculiar glint appeared in her eyes as she handed the scroll to Xu Luo.

The moment the ancient scroll neared Xu Luo, it went WHOOSH, transforming into a beam of light that shot directly into his forehead.

Xu Luo cried out and immediately collapsed, unconscious.

At this... the entire area fell deathly silent. Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

Yuwen Ji’s lip twitched as he rushed forward first. Xie Yurou was right behind him, her face etched with anxiety. ”What happened? Brother Luo... wake up!”

”Don’t touch him!” Xie Wanrou’s sharp voice stopped them. She walked over and began examining Xu Luo’s condition alongside Yuwen Ji.

After a moment, Yuwen Ji let out a long sigh of relief. ”He’s fine.”

A puzzled look crossed Xie Wanrou’s face, however. She murmured, ”This scroll was in my hands for so many years and never did anything unusual. Why would it react like this the moment it met him...?”

Several of the elders came over to take a look, but they too were unable to determine the cause.

Yuwen Ji had a general idea of what was happening, but he couldn’t say it out loud. He could only order people to carry Xu Luo into the palace up ahead.

This was the largest palace on First Mountain and also where Yuwen Ji practiced alchemy, so it was fully equipped with all manner of facilities.

When Xie Wanrou had just destroyed it, Yuwen Ji’s heart had ached with the loss. He never imagined her techniques were so miraculous that she could actually restore it completely.

Seeing that Xu Luo was unharmed, Xiahou Kaiyuan relaxed. After instructing the elders to keep a tight lid on what had happened today, he departed.

As the Sect Leader, he had far too many matters to attend to.

Before leaving, he left instructions for Xu Luo to be brought to him the moment he woke up.

Inside the grand hall, Xie Yurou’s face was creased with worry. ”Auntie,” she said, unable to keep a hint of complaint from her voice, ”what exactly is that scroll of yours? Why did it make Brother Luo faint?”

Xie Wanrou just smiled, unbothered by Xie Yurou’s petulance. ”Although I don’t know what’s happening,” she said cheerfully, ”one thing is certain. For your Brother Luo, this is definitely not a bad thing!”

Then, Xie Wanrou added, ”Didn’t he want to find the second half of the Soul Scripture? And go to those ancient ruins? Well, I’ll just take him there myself!”

”Huh? But didn’t you say... that was absolutely out of the question?” Xie Yurou asked, looking at her aunt in surprise.

”I did say that before, but at the time, I didn’t expect to break through to the High-Tier Venerable Realm!” Xie Wanrou laughed. ”That was then, and this is now!”

”But... aren’t those old monsters from Blazing Flame Province still there?” Xie Yurou asked.

”The truth is, none of us can enter those ruins. Not those old monsters, not me, and not even your uncle-in-law...” Xie Wanrou glanced at the Old Golden Monkey sitting quietly nearby, a tender look in her eyes. ”None of us can get in!”

”But... how is that possible? Weren’t there rumors...?” Xie Yurou held no prejudice against her monkey uncle-in-law. In her eyes, as long as two people were in love, race didn’t matter.

Besides, once you cultivated to a certain realm, you could take on a human form anyway.

Someone like the Old Golden Monkey could assume human form at will, and an ordinary person would never be able to tell he wasn’t human.

”The legend that the ruins were left by an ancestor of the Golden Monkey Race and required a Golden Monkey Race bloodline to be opened...” Xie Wanrou gazed fondly at her niece, whose name and personality were so similar to her own, and said with a grin, ”I made that all up!”

”Huh? You... you made it up!” Xie Yurou’s bright eyes went wide as she stared at her aunt in disbelief.

”Of course I made it up. Otherwise, what excuse would I have to keep your uncle-in-law around? What excuse would we have had to stay together all these years?” Xie Wanrou said with a proud, mischievous smile, leaving her niece completely speechless.

’This aunt of mine has absolutely no integrity,’ Xie Yurou thought, cringing. ’It’s shattered all over the floor. I can’t even bear to look!’