Supreme Sword Exalt

Beside them, the old man immediately set aside the matter of the immortal. Immortal? So what if he’s an immortal! Not even an immortal can flirt with my granddaughter right in front of me!

He coughed heavily twice again. “Young man, the betrothal gift.”

Gu Han turned awkward, and he quickly retracted his hand.

For some reason, the demoness felt an unprecedented fluster after seeing the look in Gu Han’s eyes. She quickly ran off, then tidied up a simple set of tables and chairs. “Dinner... dinner’s ready.”

The fish soup was delicious, and the roasted meat smelled fragrant. With nothing more than a pinch of coarse salt and a few slices of wild vegetables added, it couldn't compare to Zuo Yang's carefully prepared dishes. However, Gu Han felt that the flavor was even better by a bit.

During the meal, a group of villagers sent over a portion of the meat they had received to thank Gu Han for protecting them earlier. This time, Gu Han didn’t refuse. He stored the meat together with the coarse grains from before. He then specifically instructed them a few times, telling them to go home and eat the meat in peace, and that he would handle the rest.

Before they knew it, the sky had gradually darkened. Although the old man’s health had improved considerably, he was ultimately feeble, so he went to rest early. It’d also take a long time for Ah Nan to fully digest the Transcendent Substance, hence she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.

Now, only the two of them remained in the courtyard.

Regarding Gu Han’s thoughts, the demoness understood them all too well. “Are you going?”

Gu Han nodded. “That sword feels very strange to me. It clearly seems like a sword meant for a mortal, yet it can rival a spirit item... There’s definitely something odd about it.”

The demoness gently came to his side. “I’ll go with you.”

Out of instinct, Gu Han was about to pull her into his arms like he did in the Great Lu Mountains, but he froze as he remembered the old man’s incessant muttering about the betrothal gift earlier.

The demoness lowered her head as she blushed slightly, her voice as soft as a whisper. “It’s fine. Grandpa is asleep.”

Gu Han breathed a sigh of relief, but then he immediately realized something was wrong. So what if he’s not asleep?! I will hold her if I want to. Why would I fear an old mortal? I’ll hold her! What can you do about it?!

Sneering coldly to himself, he wrapped his arm around the slender waist of the beautiful woman beside him. Although separated by the coarse cloth dress, he could still feel her trembling slightly.

His heart stirred as he recalled the scene in the underground cave that day. Quickly suppressing his amorous feelings, he silently walked out of the small courtyard. “Let’s go!”

They felt like a couple sneaking around without their elders’ permission.

The night grew thicker. Although the mountain path was rugged, it was as easy as walking on flat ground for the two of them. The journey of more than ten li took little time, and they soon arrived at their destination.

In the weeds half the height of a man, a cave entrance about a zhang tall was revealed, mostly collapsed. It was pitch black inside, looking somewhat eerie. The cave wasn’t deep, only a little over ten zhang before reaching the end.

Gu Han frowned slightly. “Nothing?”

Although his eyesight was far inferior to before, the cave wasn’t very large. After a thorough inspection, he found nothing.

The demoness pointed at one of the stone walls. “Here! This is hollow!”

Gu Han’s heart skipped a beat. He carefully observed for a moment and found that this section of stone wall was three chi wide and one zhang tall, its color much darker and harder than the rest of the stone wall. It looked like a door.

Given the sharpness of his sword, chiseling through this stone wall wouldn’t be difficult. However, he didn’t do so. Instead, he instinctively closed his eyes slightly, sinking into that strange state from before. The small courtyard, the cooking smoke, the thatched hut, and her.

The sword vibrated gently and silently came down, even mobilizing his remaining spirit qi. This strike was far more powerful than before. With a soft sound, the stone wall shattered like paper, revealing a three-zhang square stone chamber behind it.

On one side of the stone chamber, a pearl the size of a fist was embedded. The faint glow illuminated the stone chamber. Seated cross-legged on a simple stone bed was a skeleton that had been dead for who knew how long. Several rows of crooked, uneven small words were scribbled on the stone wall beside the skeleton.

My name is Qing Yuan. I loved the sword my whole life. But unfortunately, heaven was unfair. I was born with blocked meridians and cannot cultivate. Though born as an ant, one should aspire to be a swan. Though fate is as thin as paper, one must have an unyielding heart!

So what if I’m a mortal? A single spark can start a fire. A trickle of water can wear through stone! As a mortal, I practiced mortal martial arts, meticulously studied mortal swordsmanship. On the day my end came, I transcended majestically and slew Fu Wan, a ninth-stage Qi Condensation realm cultivator, at Cold Mountain! I leave behind three sword forms, awaiting one who is fated.

Below were those three sword forms and their annotations.

Gu Han glanced once more at the skeleton. Needless to say, the sword in Uncle Wang’s hand likely belonged to Qing Yuan.

He sighed softly. “Remarkable.”

These three sword forms held no secrets for him at all. Their effect was roughly the same as the Blood Spirit Art: burning oneself to harm the enemy. Even so, killing a ninth-stage Qi Condensation realm cultivator as a pure mortal was unimaginable. The difficulty was no less than a mortal killing a Mountain Lord with bare hands.

The demoness sounded somewhat regretful. “What a pity. If this person could cultivate, regardless of his aptitude, he would certainly have shone brilliantly.”

Gu Han deeply agreed. “Indeed.”

Given Qing Yuan's temperament, if he could cultivate and possessed even half of the Sword Prince's aptitude, he would surpass the real Sword Prince. Even with Zhan Qing, the Sword Prince would’ve fallen into a bitter battle, or even a death one. What Gu Han praised wasn’t these three sword forms either, but Qing Yuan’s will.

He murmured incessantly, “A single spark can start a fire. A trickle of water can wear through stone.”

It seemed that he had fallen into some kind of enlightenment again. The seed in his heart had grown considerably once more.

“Mortal. The meaning of the mortal world.”

The smoke of mortal life is insignificant. But the smoke from a hundred households could obscure the clouds and the moon. And the smoke from ten thousand households possessed the force of a sweeping torrent. What if there are even more?

When he came back to his senses again, he saw the demoness staring at him without blinking. “What are you doing?”

“I saw a path,” he replied.

The demoness didn’t seem surprised. “A path? If others found out that you could comprehend the existence of a path while just undergoing your human tribulation, they’d die of jealousy.”

“What do you mean?”

”Very few people can comprehend the path. Usually, only the most outstanding among geniuses can do so. I sensed something powerful and very special from your path.”

Gu Han was silent for a moment. “Because that path has you on it.”

Because of you, I saw the mortal world. With you here, the path of the mortal world has color.