Chapter 2969: Sword Slashing the Infinite
The Sword Pavilion was yet another remarkable time-space treasure.
With each ascending floor, the space grew larger and the flow of time slower.
On the seventh floor of the pagoda, the space was already as vast as a small world, spanning over three thousand miles in diameter. The time flow had reached a ratio of one to eight.
The Sword Mountain, representing the *Wordless Sword Manual*, stood at the center of the seventh floor. It soared over twenty thousand meters high, with sheer cliffs on all sides, rising into the clouds. Sword Qi converged into a river, flowing rapidly around the mountain.
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the foot of Sword Mountain and saw a woman in red robes sitting cross-legged three feet above the ground. Countless starlight floated around her, like a brilliant sea of stars.
It was the Truth Realm Form of "Starry Sea Without Shore."
For someone at her Saint King realm cultivation level to have such mastery in the Way of Truth was truly remarkable.
Zhang Ruochen approached silently, his footsteps soundless, and observed her closely.
This woman was in the bloom of youth, with a straight, delicate nose and a serene, orchid-like stillness. She held a jade sword in both hands, wore no ornaments, and was simple and unadorned, exuding a cold, resolute, and decisive temperament.
Zhang Ruochen sank into some deep recollection. Unknowingly, he stepped into the web of Sword Qi woven behind her.
When he snapped out of it, a dense array of Sword Qi was already attacking him.
These Sword Qi naturally could not harm him; they dissipated before even getting close.
"Who's there?"
The woman in red was startled awake and, as if by reflex, leaped up.
"Clang!"
The sword was drawn.
The Truth Sword Form instantly merged with her sword technique, slashing out a lightning-like sword beam.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, letting the jade sword strike his body. But around him, it was as if there was an invisible layer of armor. When the jade sword was still three feet away, a loud, clashing sound rang out.
The woman in red was jolted by her own force, her arm going numb. Her body was thrown backward, and she landed on the ground, warily eyeing this man whose cultivation was unfathomable.
Unfortunately, she could not see his face clearly.
This person had quietly approached while she was comprehending the sword, surely with ill intentions.
"Who are you? How can you enter the seventh floor of the Sword Pavilion?"
The woman's cloud robe fluttered in the wind, her eyes sharp as swords, her brows like frost.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "If you can enter the seventh floor of the Sword Pavilion, why can't I?"
"My status is something you can compare to?" The woman's eyes held a pride of superiority. Even though she knew his cultivation surpassed hers, she did not take him seriously.
At least in the Kunlun Realm, she could look down on any cultivator.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So impressive? I'm actually curious about your identity now."
The woman in red was about to speak but held back, then said, "Hmph! You don't even know who I am, so you can't be anyone significant. Tell me, what were you trying to do by approaching me?"
Zhang Ruochen gazed at her without answering.
"Still staring? Even if you are a Great Saint, you can't act recklessly in this Sword Pavilion."
"Sword Eight!"
The woman in red shouted, thrusting her sword forward. White Sword Dao Profound Qi surged out, passing by Zhang Ruochen's neck.
But it missed.
Her slender waist was flexible; she twisted in midair and struck with a second slash.
Zhang Ruochen took a step back.
The sword struck the ground, splitting the earth apart, with Sword Qi scattering everywhere.
"Not bad. Is this the Nine Deaths Sword Art?" Zhang Ruochen remarked.
"Good that you recognize the Nine Deaths Sword Art."
"Shua!"
The sword edge flew again, forming a crescent-shaped light.
...
Zhang Ruochen's true body had long since withdrawn. He now stood with Granny Haitang on Sword Mountain, looking down at the two figures locked in combat.
Granny Haitang said, "She is both a Truth Controller and a sword prodigy. Her talent and comprehension are extremely high, not much less than yours. Back then, when you mastered Sword Eight, you were also at the Saint King realm, weren't you?"
Zhang Ruochen watched the woman in red clashing with his doppelganger and said, "Her martial talent is indeed outstanding, surpassing her mother. But this spoiled young lady's temper is a bit too much."
Granny Haitang smiled kindly. "Who can blame her? Her mother is the leader of the Moon-Worshipping Cult, and her father is a renowned deity. Besides, that old immortal of your Zhang family dotes on her like a princess. Anyone who dares to oppose her ends up begging for mercy. Naturally, her personality became a bit willful."
"But the child has a good heart. If you hadn't lost control of your emotions and gotten too close, she wouldn't have drawn her sword to strike you."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly. "Did the old man send her here? Where did he go?"
Granny Haitang looked displeased. "Probably dead, I'd say."
Zhang Ruochen dared not press further. "Grandmother, you seem to be just a hair's breadth away from becoming a god through spiritual power."
"The fate of an artifact spirit is tied to the artifact itself. Becoming a god is extremely difficult. For a plant artifact spirit, it's even harder—many times more difficult than a sacred medicine transforming into a divine medicine. It's all that old dog's fault!" Granny Haitang cursed outright.
She was clearly still resentful about Jie Zunzhe tricking her into becoming the Sword Pavilion's artifact spirit back then.
At that time, she was young and naive, and had met the wrong person.
Zhang Ruochen took out a Divine Wood box, held it in his palm, and handed it to Granny Haitang.
"This is?"
Granny Haitang could see that the box's surface was covered with Divine Marks, and its contents were undoubtedly extraordinary.
Zhang Ruochen said, "A Spiritual Power Divine Pill."
Granny Haitang, even having lived for countless ages with a steady mind, trembled slightly and looked at Zhang Ruochen with disbelief.
Zhang Ruochen forced the box into Granny Haitang's hands. "I still remember that it was here, Grandmother, where you taught me the Dao for nine days and nine nights, opening a new door to the Sacred Dao for me. Over the years, you have worked so hard for the Zhang family and for the Sacred Bright. You deserve this Divine Pill!"
The Yama Clan's Alchemy Grand Supreme had refined the Third Elder of Array-Destroying Palace, along with many sacred medicines, into ten Spiritual Power Divine Pills.
One of them, Zhang Ruochen had given to Yan Zhexian.
After all, Yan Zhexian primarily cultivated spiritual power, and the Spiritual Power Divine Pill would benefit her more than others.
A Divine Pill, after all, was refined by an Alchemy Grand Supreme. If Zhang Ruochen did not give something in return, it might displease that elder.
As for Zhang Ruochen himself, he had not yet taken the pill.
Even with Divine Pills, the first one had the strongest effect; subsequent doses would have diminishing returns.
Although Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power had almost no bottlenecks, the improvement speed in the later stages of each realm would noticeably slow down. It would take a lot of time to accumulate small gains and achieve breakthroughs.
For now, Zhang Ruochen felt he did not need to take the Spiritual Power Divine Pill.
He planned to save it for a more critical moment.
Granny Haitang's cloudy eyes became misty. Holding the Divine Wood box, she was silent for a long time. "You child... you're good. To care so much for an old woman like me, no wonder so many women are willing to follow you, wait for you, and think of you. Even I regret that back then, I met that old thing instead of you."
"This is a Divine Pill!"
"A Divine Pill is still an external thing." Zhang Ruochen said.
The stunning woman in red seemed to have inexhaustible energy, relentlessly attacking Zhang Ruochen's doppelganger. Her fighting spirit grew stronger, and her will seemed unending.
"This tenacity is not bad. I thought with her spoiled nature, she would give up and run away after failing to land a single blow." Zhang Ruochen said.
Granny Haitang put away the Divine Wood box. "Is coming back this time just to see her?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. "I'm ashamed to say it, but if I hadn't encountered some insurmountable problems in my cultivation, my return to the Kunlun Realm might have been delayed even further."
"By the way, Grandmother, do you know the origin of the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron?"
"The Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron?"
Granny Haitang was puzzled, not understanding what Zhang Ruochen meant.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The one outside Shangqing Palace."
"I haven't paid much attention to it. Why? Did you notice something extraordinary about that cauldron?" Granny Haitang asked.
Zhang Ruochen could not determine whether the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron was truly related to the Nine Cauldrons. If it wasn't, bringing it up now would only make him a laughingstock.
"Forget it," Zhang Ruochen said. "By the way, Grandmother, do you know who Ancient God Mountain really is?"
Granny Haitang was very fond of Zhang Ruochen and naturally answered everything she knew. "You know the Three Pure Ones, the founding ancestors of the Liangyi Sect, right?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Granny Haitang said, "Over eight hundred thousand years ago, the Three Pure Ones were originally disciples of the Taiji Dao. After becoming gods, for some unknown reason, they left the Taiji Dao together and came to the Eastern Domain to establish the Liangyi Sect."
"Ancient God Mountain is the divine corpse of Shangqing Ancestor. That was two hundred thousand years ago. Shangqing Ancestor, who had broken through to the Infinite Realm, was cut into seven pieces by a sword, forming the seven peaks of Ancient God Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen was deeply shaken. "He was slain in the Kunlun Realm?"
Granny Haitang nodded.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How is that possible? At that time, the Kunlun Realm was filled with powerful experts. Who would dare to slay an Infinite Realm deity?"
"Perhaps it was one of those powerful experts who struck with the sword," Granny Haitang said, as if she knew something.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Grandmother, are you referring to the Saint Monk?"
In the Kunlun Realm, who else could slay an Infinite Realm deity with a sword, besides Xumi Saint Monk, who cultivated the Time Sword Art?
Granny Haitang said, "Was the Saint Monk the only one who used a sword?"
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment. "Biluozi?"
Back then, Granny Haitang had lent Zhang Ruochen five volumes from the Sword Pavilion, written by five sword prodigies from the Kunlun Realm's history.
One of them was *Biluo's Random Notes*.
This showed that Biluozi's mastery of the Sword Dao must have been earth-shattering.
Granny Haitang said, "The fact that Ancient God Mountain can preserve the Sacred Souls of Saint realm cultivators is most likely related to Biluozi. Only his Biluo Dao has such power. This shows that the Three Pure Ones had a deep bond with him. Back then, the Three Pure Ones leaving the Taiji Dao was probably related to him."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why did Biluozi kill Shangqing Ancestor? And where did Taiqing and Yuqing Ancestors go?"