The next day came. Ling Lan hopped on his sword along with Fan Dong behind him, and flew towards their designation within a few minutes.
"It can't be… Did they forget my commands?" Ling Lan muttered when he saw a building and fields of flowers on the sacred grounds. To inspect who dared to go against his words, he flew a bit lower, and strangely, he was able to feel a familial connection coming from a certain location within the building.
'Perhaps…'
That's when Ling Lan had realized that the field inside the danger zone was blooming with healthy green grass and a few land lotuses. Filled with curiosity, he slowly flew lower to the ground as to not let Fan Dong die, and made a stop in front of the comfy looking house.
"Auntie Chang Hua! We have visitors!" The voice of a young boy was heard. What followed after the young boy was a mature woman descending the stairs in haste to greet her visitors.
"Ah, It's you! Big fan of what you did last time!" Chang Hua excitedly continued, "Oh, did you get a girlfriend and decided to introduce her to us? How sweet~"
*Cough* *Cough*
"Ah! my apologies." Chang Hua apologized the instant the atmosphere got awkward. "I'm the Sword of Life, this little boy is the Sword of Segregation, and…"
"Nie Lie, have you seen aunt Ju Li?"
"…"
"Hmm, she should be doing some of her hobbies."
"Well… That Ju Li is the Sword of Death, and... Welcome to the sword family!"
"... Bad naming I'd say, but you did quite a good job tidying the place after I destroyed it… Nicely done." Ling Lan nodded, before he showed Fan Dong where to go. Both Nie Lie and Chang Hua decided to follow Fan Dong after Ling Lan's invite to spectate, to see if Ling Lan was capable of finding new members for the family.
"You got this Granny!"
"I'm only fifty-eight!" She rebuked before she entered within the danger zone. When the others saw Fan Dong leaving the safe distance, the others were surprised but happy since she was able to enter.
Unlike the average people, only a few creatures could step inside. Many people that tried before, would be locked out like there was some sort of barrier. Only a few could step inside but suffer severe damage, like Ling Lan when he had tried it for the first time. The chances for people like that to make it to the swords were extremely low, and a prime example of someone who made it was Chang Hua who suffered from the sword wills.
The ones who were extremely compatible with the swords were ranked with Nie Lie being the one who barely felt anything, Sheng Nie who only felt the pressure when he was close, and lastly Ling Lan and Ju Li who was able to continue with their injuries but feel the pressure the moment they entered the danger zone.
The group continued cheering for the struggling Fan Dong, but stopped when she fell down all of a sudden. Fan Dong had been walking forward, but she didn't seem to be be able to move further at all. In her perspective, she had been walking for years without stopping to take a breath or sit. It was as if she had received an obnoxious test that was guaranteed to have her fail. She was able to handle the test, but the problem was that her frail body couldn't. That's why years of walking with increased gravity on the body, killed her within real time minutes.
"Is she dead?" Nie Lie asked in confusion.
"Unfortunate…" Ling Lan sighed, but suddenly something so brilliant that it seemed out of the world, happened. The third sword that hadn't been taken yet, shook, before it removed itself off the ground and flew towards Fan Dong. Fan Dong whose body was still, jerked the moment the sword neared her, and her hand grabbed onto the hilt just in time before it passed her by. The sword rose along with her body, as bright yellow light emitted itself through her body. She looked like a wise sage of holiness, who had come to safe the people from their everlasting pain.
"Congratulations!" Ling Lan applauded as Fan Dong slowly descended to the ground.
Fan Dong opened her eyes, and she seemed glad to have made it as a part of the sword family. She felt rejuvenated, and knew that her ending days had extended further than she ever had to worry.
"Wow! Such a pretty sword!" Chang Hua cried out when she saw the glistening golden of the color. "What does your sword signify as?" She continued with a question.
"The Sword of Eternity…" She answered while touching the small engravement of a long dragon biting its tail.
"A feast it shall be!" Ling Lan roared, proud of the faith that he had in her. To have a feast, the four of them went to nearby villages to find good food and wine, and when they had returned, Ju Li was also back. Nie Lie told her about the story of Fan Dong's awakening with full excitement, which Ju Li found quite interesting but not too important to be impressed about. Her character wasn't the type that celebrated over every little thing, after all.