The inner court went back to its peaceful and tranquil state. Li Nianfan walked Blackie to the backyard with a hesitant look on his face. When he saw the tortoise resting by the pond, he let out a long sigh of relief.
'The tortoise is still sunbathing by the pond. It didn't disappear! This means there's no monster in the pond, so there's no need to move!' he thought amusingly.
After ordering Xiao Bai to clear the dishes, Li Nianfan rested, sitting on a chair in the front yard. Although the sunlight was bright, the trees blocked the heat, making it comfortable and cooling. As he was resting, he remembered the jade in his pocket. Out of boredom, he decided to refine the jade. He took out some tools and started refining it, starting with the carving of the phoenix on the jade. Time passed by quickly and the sky gradually dimmed.
Meanwhile, two mountain peaks were standing peacefully a thousand miles away from there. The two peaks used to be one. The myth was that the Wanjian Immortal Sect's founding master cut it into two and named it the Double Immortal Peak.
A temple stood proudly on top of the Double Immortal Peak. It was the Wanjian Immortal Sect.
Bai Luoshuang and her seniors made it to the heel of the mountain, out of breath. They did not spare a second to rest and had made their way back here as fast as they could. Even then, they did not stop, hastily making their way up to the peak of the mountain. On the way up, they did not come across a single disciple. It was apparent that the glorious days of the Wanjian Immortal Sect had long gone by now. Their eyes turned red in despair.
In the center of the square, a dark longsword was inlaid into the ground, exuding a strange dim light. An elderly man stood in front of the sword and remained silent for a very long time.
Moments passed before he let out a long sigh.
"Senior, most of the disciples have moved away. Although, some of them were unwilling to leave. They said they wanted to stay with the Sect even if it meant facing death," a woman whispered as she walked toward the man.
The elderly man said in a low voice, "If they insist, kick them out of the Sect. The Wanjian Immortal Sect will soon cease to exist. Kick them out."
The woman shivered a little with tears in her eyes. "Senior, do we not have a chance of winning, at all?"
"No," the elderly man shook his hand. He continued bitterly, "The Sword Demon used this sword to enter the demon. It contains a level of Sword Intent so deep that even I can't remove it from the ground. How am I his match?"
Three years ago, the Sword Demon had made a name for himself by declaring to challenge all the Sword Sects in the world with his Fallen Demon Sword. At first, everyone treated him as a joke. However, he challenged the Sword Sect one by one, silencing them all. The sword of the Sword Demon was known as the Demon Sword, and once it came out of its sheath, it would be stained with blood. Whenever he declared a challenge, he would have his Fallen Demon Sword inlaid into the ground of the Sword Sect three days in advance. Three days later, he would come to retrieve his sword. Every time he defeated a Sect, not a single disciple would remain. Of course, many had tried to hide the Fallen Demon Sword before his visit, but no one had been able to remove the sword from the ground. The Sect that the Sword Demon challenged this time was the Wanjian Immortal Sect. The moment they received his message, the elderly man knew right away that his Sect would soon be over, and he instantly informed his disciples without hesitation.
The elderly man turned to the woman and said, "Junior, you have to leave, too."
The woman remained calm. She seemed to have expected him to say so. She shook her head with determination.
The elderly man sighed. He scolded, "What for?"
"Sect Master! Sect Master! Bad news, Miss Bai and her seniors have returned!" a disciple called out anxiously.
"What?"
"Nonsense!"
The elderly man and the woman exchanged a worried look.
"Dad, mum, I'm back!" Bai Luoshuang ran toward them with her cheeks flushed red in excitement.
"Why did you come back here? Have you lost your mind?" the elderly man cried out in panic. He was anxious. The Sword Demon was about to arrive at the dawn. Their return at this time was equivalent to committing suicide!
"Leave, now!" the woman called out as she grabbed onto Bai Luoshuang, ready to leave.
However, Bai Luoshuang refuted, "Mum, I'm not leaving! I came back to help dad."
"You? How're you going to help? Leave now!" the elderly man declared sternly.
Bai Luoshuang was not offended. She continued excitedly, "Dad, we bumped into a hidden expert. He'll be able to help you. Trust me!"
The woman sighed and said gently, "Luoshuang, hidden experts are way too rare to be true. Even if there is one, why would he help you?" She was very sure that Bai Luoshuang was still young and immature. The Sect was now facing imminent danger, she might have been tricked by others.
Bai Luoshuang explained hastily, "Mum, I'm serious! The hidden expert's house gives out unlimited Spiritual Qi. Even a sip of water is filled with Spiritual Qi, just like an elixir!"
The woman rolled her eyes at Bai Luoshuang. She was starting to suspect that her daughter was not only fooled by someone, her brains might have been damaged, too.
Unlimited Spiritual Qi? Spiritual Water?
It was highly likely that she made it all up.
"Mum, you have to trust me. Senior Luo, take it out!" Bai Luoshuang pestered him anxiously to prove her point.
The elderly man told him off angrily, "Luo Hao, it's fine for your Junior Sister to mess around, but why are you encouraging her?"
"Master, we really did meet an expert!" Luo Hao took out the drawing cautiously and slowly unrolled it. He did not want to ruin the drawing because Li Nianfan had used an ordinary paper to draw on.
"A drawing paper? You're trying to save the Sect with this?" The elderly man almost laughed from the anger he felt. He shook his head in disappointment.
Anyone with a slight use of the brain would not be fooled by an ordinary drawing! Yet, the three of them treated the drawing as if it was a piece of treasure.
Qin Zhu explained hastily, "Sect Master, it's not what it seems!"
By then, the elderly man looked stern, not bothered to speak with them.
"We're in danger now. Please, stop messing around," the woman added.
Meanwhile, the drawing paper finally unfolded. Bai Luoshuang showed it to the elderly man. "Dad, look!"
At first, the man seemed unperturbed as he threw a casual glance over. The next moment, his eyes widened and his body started trembling vigorously.
"This… This is…" His throat felt dry. All he wished to do in that instant was to keep his eyes glued to the drawing. His face displayed excitement in one moment and terror in the next. In his eyes, the thing in front of him was not just a drawing but a man holding a longsword, on his way to fight a duel.
A strong sense of Sword Intent overwhelmed him.
Proud, arrogant, and cold.
The elderly man felt the same as the man inside the drawing. He was about to fight a duel, too. He was facing the river and he was fighting with the longsword!
'Even if there are thousands of soldiers in front of me, once I unsheath my sword, there's no going back!'
Bam!
A powerful surge of Sword Intent exuded from the elderly man, soaring toward the sky just like the one in the drawing.
One could see a tornado whirling above the Double Immortal Peak from afar. The tornado was in the shape of a longsword!
All the disciples on the Double Immortal Peak were engulfed by the Sword Intent, their swords in their hands emitting clear clashing sound in response. Even the black longsword inlaid in the ground started vibrating.
The woman had a glint of delight in her eyes. She exclaimed, "Luoshuang, ask everyone to stay back. Your dad is going through a breakthrough!"