Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

Lu Changyuan took a long sip of tea. The bitter liquid filled his taste buds, but a sweet aftertaste soon followed.

The Chang’an Daoist didn’t leave anything for the Glazed Dynasty.

The one who left something behind was Lu Changyuan, before he had entered Yao Guang. Of course, he didn’t leave behind any Heavenly Repair Pill, just a sword.

A sword that had accompanied Lu Changyuan as he walked the path of the Red Dust once more and weathered its tribulations.

Xia Lianxue sat beside Lu Changyuan, lost in a daze, her thoughts a mystery.

They had seen that ray of light being devoured.

Su Luoqiu curled into a ball, still hiding under the table, while Li Qingcao was forcefully eating his noodles.

Lu Changyuan asked curiously, "Why are you eating so fast?"

Li Qingcao gave a helpless smile. "Brother Lu, look at that monster. Its aura is almost on par with my master’s now. We’re dead for sure, so I have to eat fast to avoid dying on an empty stomach."

He was surprisingly frank about it.

Lu Changyuan said, "Brother Li, you seem to have a philosophical view of life and death."

Li Qingcao even drank the bland noodle broth down to the last drop. "It’s not that I want to die, Brother Lu. To be honest with you, after taking a hit from that damn thing, I have at least three broken ribs, and I can’t use a single shred of my Cultivation. In this state, I can’t even run away."

Lu Changyuan took another sip. "And yet you were stubborn enough to charge right at it."

"Some things... someone has to try."

Li Qingcao let out a satisfied burp. "It’s a shame there’s no wine. Otherwise, having a full meal and a little drink before dying would be pretty nice."

Su Luoqiu stammered fearfully, "There... there is wine."

’So this is what Cultivators are like,’ he thought.

’The entire Upper Jade Capital has turned into a Demon Country. A sickening stench sweeps through every street, and disgusting, putrid flesh continuously falls from the sky. Yet this group of people who practice Cultivation can still stomach food and wine.’

’Cultivators truly have nerves of steel.’

Li Qingcao was overjoyed. "Then bring out the wine, quickly! Brother Lu and I hit it off right away, and I haven’t even had the chance to treat him to a drink. After this, all my last wishes will be fulfilled."

Lu Changyuan smiled and waved his hand. "None for me, thanks. I still have things to do in a moment."

With that, Lu Changyuan rose and looked toward the horizon.

The white mark in the sky was there, as always. Even with the sky shrouded in dark clouds, that streak of white could pierce through them.

Lu Changyuan sensed a familiar aura approaching. He turned his head and asked Xia Lianxue with a smile, "Do you know where that white mark in the sky came from?"

Xia Lianxue paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Lianxue does not know."

"That white mark has existed for five thousand years. Legend has it that five thousand years ago, a Sword Cultivator slashed it into the sky."

’A sword from five thousand years ago!?’

’What kind of Sword Qi could last for so long?’

Lu Changyuan seemed to be reminiscing. He said, "I only happened to read about it in an ancient book. That Sword Cultivator was named Jian Guyang. According to the standards of the Dao Realm, he was likely above Yao Guang."

Li Qingcao exclaimed, "Above Yao Guang!?"

"Yes. Ah, she’s here."

Before Li Qingcao could ask anything else, someone approached from a distance.

In her left hand, she carried a birdcage; in her right, a sword. "Young Master Lu, it has been a while. Are you well?"

Lu Changyuan replied, "Not very. And it hasn’t been that long for us... Miss Su, could I see that sword?"

Su Youwan shook her head. "I cannot. I must use this sword to slay the demon."

Her mission on this trip was to bring this sword back to the Compassionate Palace.

"Can you slay it?"

"I cannot," Su Youwan said, her expression unchanged. "But I can cut a beacon of light to let the White Domain Daoist Sect know that something has happened here."

Lu Changyuan chuckled. "By the time the Daoist Sect arrives with reinforcements, our bodies will be cold."

"So, does Young Master Lu propose we get married first? That way we won’t die with me still unmarried and you still without a wife," Su Youwan said, making a rare joke.

Xia Lianxue’s eyes went wide. ’This Su Youwan doesn’t seem like a good person!’ she thought.

Lu Changyuan sighed. "How about this, Miss Su. I will call the sword by its name. If it answers me, you give it to me."

’How can a sword speak?’

Su Youwan nodded. "Fine."

And so, Lu Changyuan said, "Broken Thought."

Just that one word.

The wind surged and clouds gathered. A violent Sword Intent swept out fiercely, and the shriek of the sword seemed poised to shatter eardrums.

Su Youwan watched this scene, seemingly unsurprised, and asked, "Are you the master of this sword, or perhaps a successor of its master?"

Lu Changyuan said calmly, "Something like that."

Su Youwan tossed the sword down. In an instant, it appeared by Lu Changyuan’s side, behaving with perfect obedience.

The young woman with her eyes covered by a white cloth said, "So be it. Since it is so, the sword is yours."

Lu Changyuan did not say thank you. He lifted the sword and gave it a few casual swings.

’Hm. Very light, and a perfect fit for my hand.’

Xia Lianxue walked to Lu Changyuan’s side and said softly, "Young Master, please be careful."

She already knew Lu Changyuan was going to slay the demon.

Lu Changyuan smiled and agreed.

Then, Lu Changyuan spoke to the white mark in the sky. "With the merit of a sword that has suppressed demons for a thousand years, I should be able to borrow a strike from you."

That white mark in the sky was a Sword Mark, and even more so, it was Sword Qi. It was the sword of Jian Guyang. What Lu Changyuan needed now was a wisp of Sword Thought. Only by using that Sword Thought as a vessel could he slay the demon.

Borrowing a sword from the sky sounded like a ridiculous notion.

But Lu Changyuan could do it.

Because he had studied the sword of Jian Guyang, he could be considered half a successor to Jian Guyang.

And Jian Guyang’s sword was an exceedingly domineering one, a sword whose purpose was to annihilate all living things.

As Lu Changyuan’s words fell, Broken Thought began to slowly circle around him. The white mark in the sky surged, suddenly tearing the heavens open and revealing the sun.

It turned out another day had passed. Before, the black fog had blotted out the sky, making it impossible to tell the time.

[One day remains until the appearance of the Heavenly Repair Pill]

A violent wind swept up the dust, eventually transforming into heaven and earth. It was as if a world had been created, which finally settled upon Broken Thought.

Lu Changyuan carefully savored the "momentum" on the sword.

He had not yet stepped onto the Immortal Dao, and his body was in tatters. He had no way to bear the Sword Thought directly, so it could only adhere to Broken Thought.

The Supreme Pure Spirit Forget Immortal Technique circulated smoothly. Lu Changyuan steadied his breathing, no longer allowing the "obsession" within the sword to affect his judgment.

The wind and dust of heaven and earth transformed into the three-foot sword in his hand.

Lu Changyuan’s green robes fluttered in the wind. He murmured, "This was once my favorite swordsmanship."

SKREEE!!!

Su Wuxiang seemed to have sensed the danger here. Its heaven-shaking, earth-shattering shriek vibrated throughout the entire Demon Country.

Lu Changyuan was unconcerned. "It’s useless. You may have been able to deceive Rumeng, but you can’t deceive me."

The tentacles and black qi were swept up and torn to pieces by the gale-force wind the moment they neared Lu Changyuan.

Lu Changyuan swung his sword, but the flash of light did not come from the blade in his hand. Instead, it erupted from the white mark on the horizon, refracted off the sun, warped space, and annihilated the world.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

So, which is more intense: the newborn sun, or the blazing afterglow of its setting?

The setting sun, of course.

The sun setting in the west carries with it all the light that has passed, threatening the world before it descends into profound darkness.

And so, this sword strike of Jian Guyang is called...

A Sword from the West!

The brilliant Great Sun, falling as one!