“Senior Zhang, this fiendish demon has wreaked much havoc. If there is any need for me, please feel free to command me,” said Qin Yun immediately. He wanted to do all he could to see the mysterious fiendish demon dead.
“He has been taking action as a mortal. It will probably be problematic for Daoist, Buddhist, and Godfiend experts to deal with him.” Ancestral Master Zhang nodded. “If there’s any need for you, I will inform you. Cultivate well. You will have greater confidence in dealing with that fiendish demon the stronger you are.”
“Yea.” Qin Yun nodded.
There was indeed a huge gap between him and the fiendish demon.
All he could do was keep himself alive!
“Alright, cultivate in peace.” After Ancestral Master Zhang said that, he flicked his sleeve. With a step, he appeared on the horizon before vanishing.
Qin Yun watched from afar before returning to Grand Dominance City.
…
“He just stepped into the Dao and already has a Dao domain of twenty-five kilometers. He truly has a limitless future.” A bolt of purple lightning tore through the sky with Ancestral Master Zhang’s blurry figure within. “If he had cultivated in any other Dharmic formulations, we humans might have had an additional Skyimmortal. Why did he have to cultivate the sword immortal lineage?”
Even if Qin Yun’s Dao domain reached fifty kilometers and was at the realm of a Skyimmortal, he would remain mortal if he did not create a Dharmic formulation that could condense an Essence Soul. Once his five hundred years was up, he would return to dust no matter how strong he was.
Ancestral Master Zhang felt regretful towards this.
How hard was it for humans to produce a genius in this world? At present, their world only had two Daoist Skyimmortals—Patriarch Bai and Ancestral Master Zhang.
It was a pity that Qin Yun was limited by his cultivation Dharmic formulation despite having the qualifications to become a Skyimmortal.
******
After hiding for half a month, He Qian arrived in Cloud Prefecture.
“Boor Ancestral Sect.” In a cloud, he looked at the distant mountain range.
The mountain range was home to a sect that had existed since ancient times. It was the Boor Ancestral Sect, one of the Nine Lineage Fiendish Demons’ lineages!
“This body’s Dharmic powers are too weak. I’m unable to use Numinous treasures nor can I even get one! Perfect control is too difficult for transcendent-grade Dharma treasures.” He Qian sighed. “A first-grade Dharma treasure is what suits me best. However, this mountain body of mine can produce strength on par with that of a first-grade Dharma treasure after cultivation.”
“I never expected that, as a fiendcelestial that has cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years, I would fail to kill a mortal sword immortal despite retaining my realm after changing bodies.” He Qian felt humiliated.
“However, this Qin Yun is truly terrifyingly talented. If he were to continue developing his strength, he could reach the Skyimmortal realm one day. Thankfully, he is from the sword immortal lineage. He’s destined never to condense an Essence Soul.” He Qian looked at the distant Boor Ancestral Sect. “Since I can’t kill Qin Yun, I have no other choice. This Boor Ancestral Sect is absolutely loyal to my faction’s Empyrean Lord! I’ll have to cooperate with the Boor Ancestral Sect. I’ll get them to provide the treasures I need to construct the World Altar.”
“Unfortunately, despite having suffered so much, the fruits of my labor will be split with the Boor Ancestral Sect.”
Although He Qian was unhappy, he had no other choice.
Did he have to sneak an attack on Essence Souls? Kill them and rob their treasures?
Most Essence Soul realm experts cultivated inside their own sects. Who would fly around carrying treasures for no good reason? Furthermore, he could end up in a trap if he sneaked around attacking Essence Souls! Patriarch Bai or Bodhisattva Mahākāśyapa might suddenly appear out of the blue. That would spell doom for him!
“Sou!”
He Qian flew straight for the mountain range.
…
Time flew by.
Qin Yun came to learn that the rumors of his strength in the world were that he was still inferior to Elder Sword!
Clearly, his strength had not been fully exposed.
The battle outside Grand Dominance City might have been seen by Yi Xiao and Hong Lingtong but from Qin Yun’s point of view, Hong Lingtong was only an ordinary Connate Golden Core cultivator… It was unlikely he truly discern the level of the battle he had with the mysterious fiendish demon.
With his status, Ancestral Master Zhang naturally would not leak the news. And for some unknown reason, the mysterious fiendish demon did not publicize the matter.
“Isn’t that fiendish demon overly mysterious? More than a year has passed since the battle outside Grand Dominance City. Yet, I have not heard any news of him. He also did not spread any information about me. What is he actually up to?” Qin Yun was baffled. Little did he know that to the Other Realm Fiendcelestial, creating the World Altar was of utmost importance. He could not be bothered with trifling matters like a single Qin Yun.
After a snowstorm, Qin Yun was drinking wine inside a pavilion. There was a tiny furnace beside him.
“Oh?” Qin Yun sensed a person and immediately sent a voice transmission. “Shuyan, come over here.”
Soon, a handsome youth helplessly arrived outside the garden. He walked over and greeted respectfully, “Uncle.”
“Shuyan, it hasn’t been long since you returned from Sword Tower. I can understand that you would like to have fun. However, you took a whole year to clear Hundred Sword Peak,” said Qin Yun with a frown. “You cannot slack off when it comes to cultivation.”
“I was planning on resting for a few days after returning,” Qin Shuyan could not help but say.
It had been tough for him to stay locked in that tower, away from the dazzling human world with its myriad temptations for a year.
He wanted to go to all the fun places and taste all the good food that Grand Dominance City had to offer!
He had many friends back in the day. Every day, he would meet up with them. The past few days had been a blast.
“You cannot slack off for even a day,” harrumphed Qin Yun coldly. “You have to practice your swordplay for at least four hours a day! Also, you have to reach the Connate realm before your wedding! Do you know that Brother Hong’s daughter has already broken through to the Connate realm?”
“Yes.” Qin Shuyan could only nod obediently. His fiancée gave him tremendous stress.
“You may leave,” commanded Qin Yun.
Only then did Qin Shuyan leave obediently. In the entire Qin family, he was most afraid of Uncle Yun.
Just a glance from him left his heart palpitating.
“Sigh.”
Qin Yun shook his head gently.
His nephew and niece were just too lacking. They had been spoiled and pampered from a young age. They were brought up under the best conditions. The herbal treasures they received were a lot more than in the second world from his dream of a hundred years. His nephew, Qin Shuyan, was relatively better but he had yet to break through to the Connate realm.
“Compared to Huan’er, they are way inferior,” thought Qin Yun.
In the second world of his dream of a hundred years, Meng Huan was absolutely the best genius in that world apart from Qin Yun.
Meng Huan stepped into the Dao at forty-eight years of age. He had a Dao domain of five kilometers! Although that Dao domain was ordinary, to achieve it at that age was already astounding.
“Huan’er was always obsessed with sword arts. He even got to the point where he barely spoke a few sentences a day. He scared me so much that I had to force him to leave home. Even after he had a family, he was still obsessed with sword arts,” thought Qin Yun. “As for Shuyan and Shubing, they need me to push them into training. They are just way too inferior to Huan’er.”
After teaching Huan’er, Qin Yun was exasperated when he looked at Shubing and Shuyan again.
…
A month after Qin Shuyan returned from Sword Tower, it was the fifth day of the new year.
Qin Yun and his wife Yi Xiao were loafing about in Grand Dominance City. As it was the new year, Grand Dominance City was bustling more than usual. There were many theatrical and acrobatic performances. The sound of children laughing could be heard everywhere.
“How fragrant.” Qin Yun was eating a steamed bun with meat.
Yi Xiao watched as she laughed. “All you like is eating.”
“In this life of mine, I like two things—sword arts and good food. If good food disappeared, I wouldn’t say that the quality of my life would be halved but it would be decreased by thirty percent.” Qin Yun said as he shook his head. Soon, he had devoured the whole bun. “There’s another benefit of cultivating. I’m able to eat as much as I want! I won’t feel bloated no matter how much I eat. This is absolutely enviable to any epicure.”
At Qin Yun’s level, he could live even if he did not eat or drink. Conversely, he did not feel bloated by continuous eating and drinking.
“There’s candied fruit up ahead. It’s been a while since I ate that. Let’s go. I’m buying one. Do you want one?” Qin Yun began walking to the store up ahead.
“Alright, buy me one too,” said Yi Xiao.
“Oh?” Qin Yun frowned.
“What happened?” Yi Xiao was puzzled.
Qin Yun sensed the tiny vibrations from the Intrinsic Flying Sword in him. It had been more than a year and his Intrinsic Flying Sword had absorbed numerous treasures. All the treasures added up slightly exceeded the cost of a transcendent-grade Dharma treasure. Thankfully, he had made quite a killing at the Yellow Wyrm Grotto-heaven that allowed him to spend that much.
“My Intrinsic Flying Sword has finally been nurtured to its peak. I need to absorb some more treasures before it breaks through,” said Qin Yun.
“You can break through to the transcendent-grade Dharma treasure?” Yi Xiao was delighted. “This is the third transcendent-grade Intrinsic Flying Sword in history, right?”
“Yes.” Qin Yun nodded with a smile. He was particularly delighted that his flying sword could reach the transcendent-grade too. His strength would rise once again after the breakthrough of his Intrinsic Flying Sword. However, this was the only way for him to make a rapid breakthrough in strength in a short period of time. As for any enhancements that followed? Those were a lot harder! The improvement of his Dao realm needed time.
After his flying sword experienced a breakthrough, he could head to the Ancient Skydragon Palace. All according to plan!
“Should we return now?” asked Yi Xiao.
“There’s no rush. Let’s eat the candied fruit first before returning.” Qin Yun laughed as he went to make the purchase.