Firmament Sword

Years later, the old hunter, Master Shi, would be over ninety years old. Despite his age, he remained robust and moved like the wind. Whenever he thought back to that ordinary afternoon, to the ridiculously handsome young man who had shared large bowls of wine with him, his face would fill with nostalgia. He would take the hand of his equally aged but still-vibrant wife… and teach their descendants that one must always be magnanimous and kind.

Because good people are rewarded with good fortune!

By that time, one of his great-grandsons had already left the small town, becoming a young prodigy renowned across a domain of tens of thousands of miles!

Because his rise was so meteoric, a great power from the Sect Continent once investigated the background of this young man, whose surname was Shi.

After all, the rise of a prodigy meant that a vast amount of resources would be diverted, which… was something many great powers were unwilling to see happen.

However, after locating the ordinary little town, they successfully met the old hunter, Master Shi.

They listened as Master Shi, his eyes narrowed in recollection, spoke of the past—of a ridiculously handsome young man, of drinking together and calling each other brothers. But after he described the young man's appearance, those investigators—who had been listening with feigned interest, inwardly dismissive and planning to eliminate the Shi prodigy upon their return… were all so terrified their souls nearly scattered!

Without a second word, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly, apologizing profusely for disturbing Master Shi. After bowing their heads to the ground, the group fled in terror, like a pack of beaten dogs.

From then on, no one on the entire Sect Continent dared to disrespect that young man of the Shi family, allowing him to eventually become a titan of his generation.

He even accomplished the unprecedented feat of founding a nation on the Sect Continent, named the Shi Kingdom!

As for the true origins of this young Shi, all who knew kept it a closely guarded secret. And all who did not, no matter how hard they tried, could never uncover the truth.

Finally, on his deathbed, one of the men who had visited the small town all those years ago revealed the truth, sending shockwaves throughout the entire Sect Continent.

"That Shi… is the Inheritor that man left behind in this world!"

...

At this moment, Xu Luo was hiding in a vast sea of reeds that stretched for thousands of miles. The reeds, several times a man's height, filled the landscape. It was summer, and all the reeds were a vibrant green. A light breeze rustled through them, carrying the fresh scent of grass.

After leaving the town, Xu Luo had intended to find a remote mountain forest to attempt his breakthrough. However, during his search, he unexpectedly encountered several powerful auras. Judging by their fluctuations, they didn't belong to human Martial Artists. They were likely the powerful Spirit Beasts that Stone had mentioned inhabited these deep mountains!

Ordinarily, Xu Luo wouldn't fear them, but during the critical period of a breakthrough, no accidents could be tolerated. Thus, Xu Luo chose to avoid them and travel farther away.

Unexpectedly, after flying for some time, he found nothing before him but an endless sea of reeds situated over a vast swamp.

With no other choice, Xu Luo landed in a clearing in the middle of the reed sea.

He was surrounded by swampland, with miasma rising from some areas. Xu Luo didn't sense any powerful fluctuations here, so he quickly set up a simple Invisibility Array. Then, he stepped inside and began to cultivate.

In the Divine Power Realm, every minor level is a checkpoint. Cultivating through it requires not only a massive amount of energy to break through the shackles but also a deep comprehension and understanding of the Dao!

The path, the Dao, that each person chooses is different. The Great Dao has ten thousand paths, but all lead to the same destination. It sounds simple, but that phrase alone is enough to make countless Cultivators strive for their entire lives, many of whom never find the path that truly belongs to them!

Some use the arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting to prove their Dao. Some use Alchemy or Artifact Refining. And some use slaughter to enter the Dao…

Everyone's Dao is different. The path Xu Luo chose was the one that appeared simplest but was, in fact, the most difficult… the Heart Verification Dao!

This required Xu Luo to maintain a state of unhindered thought at all times. Otherwise, any hope of a breakthrough would be nothing but empty talk.

Dao Heart Clarity—perhaps every resident of that small town could achieve it. But for a Cultivator, the hatred felt for an enemy, the temptation of eternal life, the affection for family, friends, and lovers… every one of these emotions is a massive shackle, making breakthroughs incredibly difficult!

To use the Heart as Proof of Dao is, in truth… to prove oneself!

Many people in the past chose this path, believing it to be the simplest way to prove their Dao. By the time they reached the Divine Power Realm, their ability to cultivate their heart and nature had already reached a state of perfection. Therefore, using the Heart as Proof of Dao… seemed incredibly simple to them.

However, a cruel reality shattered their beautiful dream.

The simpler something appears, the more difficult it often is to truly comprehend in the end.

Proving the Dao by questioning the heart. Who can truly say they have never done anything in their life that goes against their conscience?

But not everyone possesses the kind of freakish memory needed to recall things they had consciously chosen to forget from the moment they did them.

Therefore, they could never achieve perfection!

Even if they used brute force to break through the shackles of a level and appeared to reach a higher realm, in reality, their heart… was still left behind!

Unless, one day, they could recall the things that weighed on their conscience and, through some opportunity, achieve unhindered thought and reach the state of Dao Heart Clarity, only then could they truly step through the gate representing a higher realm!

And pushing open that gate would reveal… the Saint Realm!

This is one of the most important reasons why countless Martial Artists on both the Ancient Race Continent and the Sect Continent remain stuck at the Ninth Layer of Divine Power Realm. Some of them even possess power far exceeding the Ninth Layer, yet they are completely unable to step into the Saint Realm!

To enter the Saint Realm, questioning the heart… is an uncrossable chasm!

Of course, this mainly refers to those Cultivators who use the Heart as Proof of Dao. Others, like the Huo Family's ancestor Huo Tongtian of the Ancient Race, who used the Inference Skill to prove his Dao and smoothly entered the Saint Realm… their path is much, much simpler in comparison!

Because with the Skill Dao, one only needs to cultivate a skill to the Divinity Transformation Realm to directly enter the Dao!

From the very beginning, Xu Luo had walked the path of using his Heart as Proof of Dao… a path of questioning the heart.

This time, because of the departure of his Seven-Star Soul, he had fallen into an unprecedented slump. His confidence in himself… had also plunged to an all-time low!

Even back when his body was frail, so weak that he would faint on starless nights… Xu Luo had never lost faith in himself, nor had he ever lost the firm conviction in his heart.

This blow was, for Xu Luo, a turning point in his life!

A major turning point!

His experience in the small town had allowed Xu Luo's thoughts to become completely unhindered. He had also gained much insight into life from the most ordinary of days.

Therefore, Xu Luo, who had long been on the verge of a breakthrough and was just one step away, could no longer suppress the vast and surging power within his body.

When other Martial Artists in this world break through, the vast majority do so as soon as their power is sufficient. Their goal… has never been the Saint Realm, but the Divine Power Realm Peak!

These people have no need to prove a Dao, for they have no Dao.

There is also a small minority, like the Huo Family's ancestor Huo Tongtian, who choose to prove their Dao through a skill. From the very beginning, their goal is crystal clear… the Saint Realm!

The vast majority of these people will fail, because not everyone can cultivate a skill to its absolute pinnacle.

Only a few lucky ones finally break through that shackle and truly step into the Saint Realm, becoming the world's strongest experts!

But as for those who used the Heart as Proof of Dao, before Xu Luo, it was unheard of for anyone… to have succeeded.

To prove the Dao through a skill, one only needs to cultivate that skill… to the Divinity Transformation Realm while at the Ninth Layer of Divine Power Realm. At that point, the skill… will gain a Dao-like rhythm.

But with the Heart Verification Dao, one must break through a spiritual shackle at every single minor level!

Otherwise, with his physical body and strength already comparable to the Ninth Layer of Divine Power Realm, how could he have remained stuck at the Peak of the Third Layer of Divine Power Realm for so long?

Above the entire sea of reeds, as the powerful aura from Xu Luo's body erupted continuously, a massive, vortex-shaped cloud gradually formed!

But this cloud was immaculately white, and the massive vortex it formed hung motionless high in the sky, giving off a very strange feeling.

Far in the distance, several old men with glinting eyes stared at the massive cloud vortex in the sky.

These men had all come from the Ancient Race Continent. They had missed the grand event on the Endless Ocean and were filled with regret. They regretted arriving too late for that earth-shattering, heaven-shaking battle, a battle they weren't a part of…

News of what happened on the Endless Ocean had long since spread. However, there is always a large contingent of self-righteous people in the world who believe such rumors are mostly exaggerated.

They believed that the cowards who returned alive had simply embellished the severity of the events to conceal their own timid nature!

They felt that if they had been there, they would have surely captured Beidou's Eighth Star, and then that heaven-sent fortune would have belonged to them!

These great powers from the Ancient Race Continent, all at the Ninth Layer of Divine Power Realm… were precisely such people.

And they… were from the Huo Family!

Of the dozens of senior experts the Huo Family had sent this time, most had vanished without a trace, nine out of ten having perished on the Endless Ocean.

These latecomers had not been dispatched by the Huo Family. They were individuals who had come of their own accord, seeking a great fortune.

They gazed thoughtfully at the vortex-shaped cloud in the distant sky.

One of them said, "A celestial phenomenon means something strange is afoot. Down there… a treasure might be emerging!"

"I disagree. It must be a Spiritual Object cultivating… stirring the heavens and the earth, which created this strange celestial sign!" another person countered.

"Heh, if you ask me, maybe it's Beidou's Eighth Star cultivating! HAHAHA!" someone joked.

"Whatever it is, we'll know once we go take a look. If it's really a treasure, we'll split it evenly! If it's a Spiritual Object… we'll divide it evenly too!" someone suggested.

"But if it's a treasure… how do we split it evenly?" another asked.

"We can just take turns using it, can't we?" the first man said. As he spoke, however, a complex, unreadable light flickered in his eyes. 'If it's a treasure,' he thought to himself, 'and I'm the only one left, then there's no need to split it, is there?'

Little did he know, the eyes of the other men were also glinting with a strange light…

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