Local Realm

Time flowed slowly, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, the entire upper echelon of the Sword Sect waited anxiously for Gu Qingfeng to emerge from seclusion. Gu Qingfeng was the pivotal figure in all their plans—without him, the Sword Sect could accomplish nothing.

The Seven Swords could not unite, the Four Tribulations Heavenly Human could not overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation, and no one could wield the Emperor Demon Sword.

On this very day, a disciple suddenly rushed into the Sword Sect’s grand hall in a panic.

"He’s emerged! He’s emerged!"

Dugu Wei and the others, who had been discussing countermeasures, instantly brightened with joy.

Dugu Wei asked the disciple, "Has Junior Brother Gu emerged?"

The disciple, panting heavily, shook his head. "Not Elder Gu—it’s Senior Brother Sword Maniac! He’s broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm and can now officially wield the Wind Evil Sword!"

The joy on Dugu Wei’s face faded instantly. Under normal circumstances, the emergence of another Heavenly Human in the sect would have been cause for celebration. But now, no one had the heart for it.

Only the master of the Wind Evil Peak showed delight. "Excellent! Sword Maniac has not disappointed me. Among the prodigies of each lineage, he is the youngest and had the lowest cultivation. I delayed appointing a Holy Son precisely to wait for him to reach the Heavenly Human Realm before officially bestowing the title and entrusting him with the Wind Evil Sword. Now, everything is ready—the seven candidates for the swords are complete. All that remains is for Junior Brother Gu to emerge."

The other peak masters offered their congratulations, though their attitudes were perfunctory. Their minds were clearly elsewhere, as the looming crisis left them in no mood for celebration.

...

Another three days passed.

A disciple rushed into the Sword Sect’s grand hall in a fluster.

"He’s emerged! He’s emerged!"

Dugu Wei and the others brightened again. "Has Junior Brother Gu emerged?"

The disciple, still catching his breath, shook his head. "Not Elder Gu—it’s the Holy Son of the Ten Thousand Blades Peak, Chu Jingchen. He has overcome the Third Heavenly Human Tribulation."

The joy on Dugu Wei’s face vanished once more. Chu Jingchen was the leading figure among the younger generation and, aside from Gu Qingfeng, the only peerless prodigy to possess a Holy Body.

His talent was profound, his cultivation far surpassing his peers. He had been the first to reach the Heavenly Human Realm, and after years in seclusion, he had now overcome the Third Heavenly Human Tribulation, becoming a Three Tribulations Heavenly Human.

Such news would ordinarily have been celebrated with great fanfare, proclaiming to the world the Sword Sect’s abundance of talent.

But these were extraordinary times, and no one could muster the enthusiasm.

Only the master of the Ten Thousand Blades Peak showed delight. "Jingchen’s breakthrough is perfectly timed. Just yesterday, I was considering summoning him prematurely to face the Sword Sect’s impending calamity. Now that he has emerged, the unification of the Seven Swords is fully prepared. All that remains is for Junior Brother Gu to emerge."

Hearing these familiar words and witnessing this familiar scene, Dugu Wei’s lips twitched.

At this point, he cared about nothing else—only when Gu Qingfeng would emerge.

...

Inside the cave abode.

After several days of cultivation, Gu Qingfeng had fully absorbed the Essence of Thick Earth. The Human Origin Divine Pill within his body spun rapidly, continuously drawing upon the earth’s energy.

Strands of visible earth vein energy converged from all directions beneath the ground, surging into his body.

Reciting the profound meanings of the Sword Canon in his mind, a mysterious and profound heavenly resonance arose, as if performing a cleansing. Every pore in his body opened wide, greedily absorbing the earth vein energy.

This grand and arcane Dao resonance seemed to descend from the heavens, condensing into mystical runes in the void that continuously seeped into Gu Qingfeng’s body, imprinting themselves onto the Human Origin Divine Pill like brands.

Finally, the Human Origin Divine Pill reached its critical point!

In the next moment, the earth beneath Gu Qingfeng seemed to boil like water. Strands of earth vein energy gushed forth like geysers, striking his body and forming a sea of mist that enveloped him completely.

"Condense!"

Gu Qingfeng, deep in cultivation, suddenly roared. At his command, the dense earth vein energy surged like soldiers obeying a general’s order, rushing madly into his body.

His body became like a bottomless vortex, devouring the earth vein energy.

Inside him, the Human Origin Divine Pill began to transform with the aid of the earth vein energy, visibly swelling and expanding as if being inflated like a balloon.

The balloon grew larger and larger—until, with a thunderous boom, it exploded!

Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, a new divine pill appeared in Gu Qingfeng’s dantian. It was flawless, perfectly round, and crystalline, with arcane Dao patterns flowing across its surface like water. An added sense of weightiness emanated from it, as though mountains and rivers lay hidden within.

This was the Earth Origin Divine Pill!

Whoosh!

Gu Qingfeng’s eyes snapped open, radiating divine light like the gaze of a candle dragon. An immensely condensed aura erupted from his body, and the Earth Origin Divine Pill within him emitted a faint chime.

Boom—!

The earth trembled violently, as if a dragon had stirred beneath it. The seismic force rivaled a magnitude ten earthquake, with powerful earth vein fluctuations radiating outward from Gu Qingfeng as the epicenter.

The tremors spread across a hundred miles, a thousand miles, ten thousand miles—until the entire Sword Sect was affected!

Countless disciples were jolted awake from their cultivation, their faces paling in shock.

"What’s happening? An earthquake?!"

"Don’t be absurd—the Sword Sect’s territory is a celestial mountain floating in the sky. How could there be an earthquake in the sky?"

"Could someone be attacking the Sword Sect?"

Panicked, the disciples rushed about, searching for the source of the tremors—only to discover it originated from the Reverse Scale Peak!

Suddenly, several streaks of light streaked across the sky, landing atop Reverse Scale Peak.

They were Dugu Wei and the others.

Dugu Wei’s expression shifted as he observed the violently shaking Reverse Scale Peak. "Someone is condensing earth energy! Junior Brother Meng, do you know what’s happening?"

Meng Yan, his face filled with shock, shook his head. "I don’t. But the scale of this earth energy condensation is terrifying—it’s shaking the entire Sword Sect! Who could be breaking through to the Earth Origin Realm with such power?

Ordinary cultivators condensing earth energy at this stage only affect a radius of a hundred miles. But this person is influencing tens of thousands of miles—even the entire Sword Sect! It’s unbelievable."

Dugu Wei’s expression turned grave. "It’s likely even more than tens of thousands of miles. Remember, the Sword Sect’s territory is in the sky—it has boundaries. The fact that this person can shake the entire Sword Sect doesn’t mean this is their limit—only that the Sword Sect’s landmass ends here."

"Could it be Junior Brother Gu?" one peak master suddenly suggested.

The others froze, then someone muttered in disbelief, "How could it be Junior Brother Gu? The last time we saw him, he was only at the fifth level of the Human Origin Realm. It’s only been a month—how could he already be at the Earth Origin Realm? Besides, wasn’t he in seclusion to heal his injuries? Did he somehow manage to break through while recovering?"

"But aside from Junior Brother Gu, I truly can’t think of anyone else on Reverse Scale Peak—or even in the entire Sword Sect—who could cause such a commotion. You say it’s impossible, but don’t forget—Junior Brother Gu has done far more impossible things, like slaying the Young Heavenly Emperor in an instant."

The group fell silent.

"Whether it’s him or not, we’ll find out soon enough," Dugu Wei said, striding toward the epicenter of the tremors.

When they arrived, Meng Yan immediately exclaimed, "This is Junior Brother Gu’s cave abode!"