Supreme Sword Exalt

A graceful, slender girl of thirteen or fourteen let out a sigh. Despite her dark complexion and otherwise ordinary features, her eyes shone with remarkable brilliance. “Brother Gu, the firewood in Sister Ah Yin’s house has piled up into a mountain!”

The young girl was Ah Nan. Although her cultivation talent wasn’t top-notch, she had grit and tenacity. She cultivated with the same persistence with which she clung to that piece of meat. Coupled with Gu Han’s help, her cultivation had already advanced into the Spirit Profound realm. If Gu Han hadn’t intentionally restrained it, she could have risen more.

Gu Han smiled. “You don’t understand. I am cultivating.”

“But you’re just chopping wood?”

Gu Han didn’t stop moving. “Chopping wood, cooking, embroidering... all of these count as cultivation.”

After nearly ten years of mortal life, he had completely shed his former sharpness. His temperament had become increasingly simple and restrained. Anyone who saw him would take him for an ordinary mortal.

Ah Nan didn’t understand. “Brother Gu, were you a cultivator before too?”

Under Gu Han’s guidance, she was no longer that ignorant little girl from back then. She had gained some understanding of the cultivation world and understood that there truly were no immortals in the world, only cultivators.

Gu Han nodded. “Yes.”

“Were you very strong?”

“I wasn’t bad.”

Ah Nan’s interest was piqued. “How strong?”

From childhood to adulthood, Gu Han had always been her only idol.

Gu Han thought for a moment. “Remember what I told you about those geniuses and those Heavenly Prides?”

Ah Nan was full of adoration. “Wow! Brother Gu, so you were a Heavenly Pride too! That’s so amazing!”

Gu Han shook his head. “No. I specialize in killing those Heavenly Prides.”

Ah Nan was speechless.

With a chuckle, the demoness walked out of the thatched cottage. She gave Gu Han a glance then came before him. Skillfully and carefully, she dusted off his clothes. “I made you a new set of clothes. Put them on and try them later.”

With that, she handed a long robe to Gu Han. Although it was still coarse cloth, the stitching was fine, the tailoring appropriate. It was clearly made with care.

Ah Nan was a little dissatisfied. “Hmph! Sister Ah Yin is playing favorites!”

“I made one for you too.”

The young girl beamed with joy. “Thank you, Sister Ah Yin! I knew you treated me the best!”

Just then, the old man returned with his fishing basket. In the past, whenever he saw Gu Han, he would go on about the betrothal gift for a while. Eventually, Gu Han grew so accustomed to it that if he didn’t hear it for a day, he felt something was missing. Yet today, the old man was oddly quiet.

Setting down the fishing basket, he sat on a wooden stump and stared affectionately at the demoness. “Ah Yin, today’s the last time I will catch fish for you.”

The demoness paled slightly. This day finally came after all?

Ah Nan, on the contrary, didn’t understand. “Why?”

The old man sighed. “I’m leaving.”

Those who die of natural causes could sense the day their lifespan ended. He was no exception. Over the years, the demoness and Gu Han secretly helped take care of him. Thus, though he lacked cultivation talent, he remained robust and free from ailments.

Nevertheless, the limit of his lifespan was something he couldn’t change. Even Fu Dahai, a Feather Transformation Realm powerhouse, could only rely on a Life-Extension Fruit. What hope did a mortal like him have?

Ah Nan didn’t quite understand. “Leaving? Where?”

Instead, the old man smiled at Gu Han. “How long have you been in the Wangxiang Village?”

Gu Han said somewhat quietly, “Over nine years.”

Having experienced it himself, no one understood better than he did the helplessness of watching one's lifespan draw to an end.

The demoness said softly, “Nine years, seven months, and three days.”

The old man seemed to sink into memories. “Ah Yin has had a hard life since she was young. Not only had her parents died long ago, but she had also nearly lost her life to a severe illness. Before, I could still look after her, but now I’m leaving too... Who will look after her in the future?”

Gu Han’s expression dazed for a moment. When Mo Chenyin’s grandfather was on his deathbed, he had said the same words. In truth, whether Ah Yuan, or Mo Chenyin, the experiences of the two were strikingly similar.

Gu Han stared directly at the old man. “I will take care of her.”

The old man laughed and scolded him, “You brat, you’re dishonest! Don’t think I don’t know. You take Ah Yin off to secretly admire the moon every few days... Heh, is that what you call it these days? Do you really think I’m senile? I just turned a blind eye.”

Gu Han found it both funny and sad. This old man turned out to be a cunning old fox.

The old man slowly rose, took the demoness’ hand, and placed it in Gu Han’s. “I entrust Ah Yin to you.”

The demoness’ heart ached. “Granpa...”

Although she had long known this day would come, she still couldn’t quite accept it.

Gu Han tightly gripped her hand. “Rest assured. I will take good care of her.”

The old man was somewhat dissatisfied. “And the betrothal gift? I’ve been going on about it in your ear for ten years, and you still haven’t prepared it?”

It had become the one and only obsession in his heart.

The demoness glanced at Gu Han. “Grandpa, it’s not—”

Gu Han nodded. “I did!”

He didn’t want the old man to leave with regret. A sword wouldn’t do, pills and such weren’t quite appropriate either.

After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a yellowish-brown bodhi seed from his chest and handed it to the old man. “Old sir, will this do?”

Even after studying the seed for nearly a decade, he still hadn’t found anything special about it. He had suspected several times that the old monk had fooled him.

The old man laughed heartily. “Yes! Having the thought is what matters! You brat, why didn’t you take it out sooner?!”

He snatched the bodhi seed and placed it in the demoness’ hand. “Alright, no more regrets! Without me around, you two can go admire the moon as much as you like!”

The action seemed to leave him somewhat tired. Sitting on the wooden stump again, he glanced at the fishing basket, then at the demoness. He gently advised, “Eat it while it’s fresh.”

Thus, he gently closed his eyes and passed away peacefully.

Ah Nan could no longer suppress her sorrow and burst into tears. The old man, who was like her own grandfather, had departed from this world.

A trace of sadness flickered in Gu Han’s eyes. A single lifetime was akin to grass and trees in autumn. The hardest part in life was parting, especially separation by death. For the first time, he experienced the troubles and helplessness of being a mortal.

In his mind, the seed he had been polishing for ten years quietly split open and sprouted a tender shoot.

***

Before the thatched hut, the old man held that wooden stick, motionless. Since Chongming left, he had maintained this posture, not moving an inch.

Just then, he seemed to sense something. Slightly and briefly, his head turned toward the depths of the forbidden zone.

In an instant, a trace of domineering, unparalleled sword intent scattered from within him. It obliterated everything within a hundred-zhang radius. The thatched hut, the strange mist, and the bones were all ground to dust.

He murmured, “Still not enough.”

The old man then paid no further attention to the distant situation.

***

After several months of calm, the vortex-like portal trembled violently. As the strange mist churned, figure after figure walked out, setting foot upon this continent.