The summons from the Crimson Saint came suddenly, as if offering the Cloud-top Sword Sect one last chance at survival. The elders began to bustle about excitedly, planning to restore the sect's former glory.
To this end, the elders of the Cloud-top Sword Sect swallowed their pride and sought out Chen Xia. They approached him with utmost humility, meeting him at the cliff's edge to make their plea.
"Please lend us your aid. Protect the Cloud-top Sword Sect for another hundred years. In return, we are willing to offer you thirty percent of our sect's foundation."
Chen Xia didn't turn his head. His fingers lightly tapped on his knee as he replied indifferently.
"I don't want your foundation, nor do I wish to protect you. I have no real connection to the Cloud-top Sword Sect. My presence here in your sect is merely taking advantage of the terrain. I can ensure the survival of your remaining cultivators, but nothing more. I won't prevent serious injuries."
The elders bowed their heads, offering no rebuttal. Chen Xia's words were true; he had no real ties to the Cloud-top Sword Sect. They couldn't even appeal to his moral obligations.
Chen Xia continued, "Even with my protection, it would be difficult for the Cloud-top Sword Sect to rise again within a hundred years. You still can't escape the fate of decline and disappearance."
He paused for a moment before concluding, "When you came to ask for my protection for a hundred years, your fate was already sealed."
A sect without the ability to protect itself has only one outcome: decline.
The elders didn't argue. They sighed and departed one by one.
The seasons continued to change as usual.
More elders left the Cloud-top Sword Sect, claiming they were going on pilgrimages to seek opportunities for the sect's revival. No one knew how long they would be gone.
Everyone understood that the departing cultivators probably wouldn't return.
Even the departing cultivators themselves knew this.
The wind blew cold, and fewer people remained.
The Cloud-top Sword Sect began to lack even clouds. Misty snow started to fall, blanketing the entire mountain range, as if wrapping it in silver.
An old man approached the long-deserted cliff where Chen Xia sat. He carried a jug of wine, stumbling towards Chen Xia's back. His aged face was flushed red, as if drunk. He pointed at Chen Xia's back and shouted.
"You, great sword immortal! You bear such a grand title, yet you do nothing of consequence. You sit at this cliff's edge day after day. I truly can't understand it. What's so special about this cliff that you must stare at it every day?"
Chen Xia turned his head slightly to glance at him. His temper had indeed improved considerably, and his expression remained calm as he said nothing.
Emboldened, the old man pointed at Chen Xia's nose and berated him, "You've sat in the Cloud-top Sword Sect for so many years. Shouldn't you have developed some feelings for it by now? How can you be unwilling to lift a finger to help? Even if the sect hasn't done you any favors, even if some people speak ill of you behind your back, you shouldn't be so petty!"
Chen Xia countered with a question.
"How long has the Cloud-top Sword Sect existed?"
The old man frowned, thought for a moment, and replied, "According to historical records, about three thousand years or so. The exact number isn't specified."
Chen Xia nodded and asked another question, "How long have I stayed in the Cloud-top Sword Sect?"
"Less than three hundred years," the old man answered truthfully.
"If you had lived for thirty thousand years, would you feel emotionally attached after spending a mere three hundred uneventful years somewhere?" Chen Xia inquired.
The old man's face reddened. Though still somewhat intoxicated, he seriously considered the question before shaking his head. "Probably not."
He was about to say something else when Chen Xia suddenly stood up. At that moment, snow flurried through the air, and a flash of sword light seemed to appear between heaven and earth.
Crack.
The sword-like mountain peak in front of the cliff suddenly broke off. The break was clean and even, as if sliced by a single sword stroke.
Chen Xia looked at the old man with a calm expression and asked,
"Do you have any more questions?"
The old man's flushed face instantly turned pale. He sobered up considerably, his mind clearing as he recalled their conversation.
Thirty thousand years, three hundred years...
Thirty thousand years?!
His pupils dilated, clearly shocked to the extreme. Even his spiritual consciousness seemed to freeze.
Ancient texts mentioned that some great cultivators could achieve false reincarnation and cultivation renewal. They could deceive the Way of Heaven, temporarily dispersing their cultivation power and storing it with great mystical arts, only to slowly reclaim it later, giving the Way of Heaven the illusion that they were merely cultivating anew.
If what Chen Xia said was true, and he had a lifespan of thirty thousand years, how powerful a cultivator must he be?
He must be at least a Heaven Mending Realm cultivator!
Realizing that such a terrifying being had been right beside him, and that he had dared to speak to him in such a manner, the old man broke out in a cold sweat. The intoxication from the spirit wine completely vanished, leaving him staring blankly at Chen Xia.
Chen Xia clearly didn't want to hold anything against him; otherwise, it wouldn't have been the mountain peak that was cut off earlier. Seeing the old man frozen in place, he waved his hand and said,
"Go back. Drink more wine in the future. That way, even if you die, you won't have lived in vain. At least you'll have put on a good show."
The old man laughed dryly, rubbing his head and hurriedly apologizing to Chen Xia.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were... I'm truly sorry. My old eyes failed me. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I deserve to be punished!"
As he spoke, he slapped himself hard across the face several times, leaving bright red handprints.
Chen Xia said nothing, merely waving his hand to dismiss him.
The old man hastily fled.
After the old man left, Chen Xia turned and sat down again, quietly gazing at the scene before him.
With the mountain peak severed, the view in front of him became completely clear and bright.
In the distance, he could see great mountains and rivers; nearby, he could observe the flowers and grass at the foot of the mountain.
It was a beautiful sight.
In his thirty thousand years of life, this was the first time Chen Xia had truly settled his heart to appreciate a scene.
Perhaps it wasn't about viewing the scenery, but rather that his heart had rarely been so calm.
The lake of his heart was still, like an ancient well without ripples.
Chen Xia reached out, gently brushing away the white snow covering his hair, then smiled faintly at the heavens and earth.
Thirty thousand years of time.
Nothing more than a bit of wind and frost.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
ave】 Shen Qingling was a man with peerless looks, a cunning mind, and the ability to play both the aloof noble and the innocent sweetheart—a master of seduction who could outplay any player. But after an untimely death, he found himself bound to a system and transmigrated into the tragic "true young master" of a melodramatic novel. In the original story, his childhood sweetheart treated him as a backup plan, his fiancée swore to break off their engagement for the sake of the "fake young master," and his own sister saw him as the family's disgrace. He was nothing more than a rat everyone wanted to stomp on. System 077: "Your mission is to change the original fate and conquer the goddesses." Shen Qingling: "Thanks for the invite. If seduction had tiers, I’d be max level." His childhood sweetheart knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Qingling, I was wrong. Please give me another chance." His ex-fiancée refused to marry anyone else: "Shen Qingling, I was blind before. In this life, I’ll marry no one but you." A yandere CEO went mad for love: "Shen Qingling, you can only like me. I’ll stop at nothing to make you mine!" His green-tea sister clung to him daily: "Brother, look at me, won’t you? I’m more obedient than them—I love you the most~" At first, they scorned and trampled on him. Later, they burned themselves like moths to a flame, all for his sake. His looks were his weapon, his sweet words the bait—heroines obsessed over him, villains turned to madness for him. Shen Qingling became a true male siren, igniting battlefield after battlefield of women fighting for his affection. Years later, when System 077—now one of the elites—was asked how to become as outstanding as it, it lazily exhaled a smoke ring and replied: "Just know how to cheer ‘666’ at the right time."
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
