Chapter 141: So, That’s All There Is To Transcendence

An ancient sigh seemed to cross thousands of years.

It ripped through the dimension of time and resonated in everybody’s ears, which made it seem so surreal.

Chao Xiaojian, who was trying to rescue Fang Lang, halted his movements abruptly. He stared at the direction of the Main Path Mausoleum with a serious expression.

There was a mighty spiritual sense, or rather a divine sense that emerged from the Main Path Mausoleum. It was as if transformed into a sticky substance that took the form of a human.

The mist that veiled the Main Path Guild had dissipated, revealing the dark sky. A faint footstep was heard within the mausoleum.

Fang Lang felt relieved when Chao Xiaojian arrived. However, the tide turned again before he could take a breath.

There was an old man hiding in the Main Path Guild after all.

Huang Zhihe had mentioned to him that one of the reasons the Reincarnating Lotus Sword was planted in the Main Path Guild was to test the presence of a transcendental being!

Now that the Reincarnating Lotus Sword was about to leave the Main Path Guild along with a thousand years of reserve, he could not hold it in anymore and had decided to come to light!

Zhao Zhenshi, who was fighting with Huang Zhihe in the sky rejoiced.

Without Zhao Longshi, it would be difficult for him to stop Chao Xiaojian and Huang Zhihe from leaving.

“Welcome back to the world, Ancestor!” Zhao Zhenshi greeted the figure loudly.

At that moment, all of the disciples from the Main Path Guild, including Zhao Zhenshi himself, were astounded.

They felt a dignified presence enveloped the entire world.

Ancestor?

The Ancestor of the Main Path Guild?

The disciples of the Main Path Guild never knew that there was an ancestral-level cultivator in their sect.

The energy of his spiritual sense alone was more overbearing than their sect leader, Zhao Longshi!

Who knew the Main Path Guild harbored such a powerful being!

Its presence was so strong, like an awoken dragon from the ancient times that rampaged the world. It rose from the deep end of the Main Path Mausoleum and covered the entire Mount Tongtian until it seeped into every corner of the Main Path Guild. All of the disciples were in awe.

Everyone was staring at the billowing cloud energy from the Main Path Guild.

They saw a thin figure standing on top of the Thousand Cloud Stairs like a celestial being overlooking the earth.

Sigh.

Another ancient sigh echoed through everybody’s heart as if it had witnessed the vicissitudes of the world.

“You may go, just leave the sword behind. I won’t let the sword that the girl planted back then take away a thousand years worth of reserve from the Main Path Guild. I forbid it. From now onwards, this sword belongs to the Main Path Guild.” An ancient voice sounded above the Main Path Mausoleum.

Chao Xiaojian frowned. His loose locks fluttered in the wind.

The green steel sword hovered before him. His expression was stern and wary.

The Main Path Guild’s Ancestor, the transcendental presence truly existed!

Chao Xiaojian, Xuanyuan Taihua and the others were just speculating about the presence of a transcendental realm in these ancient sects.

After all, it was extremely difficult to transcend.

Even Chao Xiaojian, with a starry core and cultivated for more than six decades, had yet to stumble upon the path towards transcendence!

There were nine-classes in cultivation, transcendence was the tenth.

However, how many were able to attain transcendence in the whole Tang Dynasty?

There were only two transcendental beings so far that ruled the world for almost two centuries. One was the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the other was the sect leader of the Sword Guild, Xuanyuan Taihua.

However, the two of them had suspected that ancient transcendental beings were hidden within the old sects such as the Main Path Guild, Karma Society, All-Seeing Buddha Sect and the Meridian Guild.

And… they were right!

Chao Xiaojian frowned as their speculation was proven to be true. This was not a good sign for the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, the current situation of the Tang Dynasty was the reason these ancient beings dared to expose themselves.

“The sword belongs to our sect leader. When did it become the Main Path Guild’s property? It’s only natural for her disciple to come and retrieve it. The Main Path Guild had come to the Sword Guild and begged us to remove the Reincarnating Lotus Sword, now that we did, you try to stop us instead? Pull yourself together,” Chao Xiaojian said casually.

The entire world fell silent after he spoke. The White-Haired Sword Demon was still as arrogant.

Since the Reincarnating Lotus Sword had been removed, Chao Xiaojian would not let the Main Path Guild take it back.

Within the sea of clouds, Zhao Zhenshi yelled furiously, “Please help us, Ancestor!”

However, right after Zhao Zhenshi finished shouting, Huang Zhihe sent the giant hammer made by countless flight swords his way.

“How dare you get distracted in the middle of our battle. Take this!”

Zhao Zhenshi shuddered. He quickly manipulated the rune and stacked layers of cloud energy to form a barrier. The impact was so strong that it created giant waves as if an enormous rock was thrown into a lake.

Zhao Zhenshi flew backward from the sea of clouds, dragging a long trail before him.

Huang Zhihe stood above the clouds with the hammer in his hand as he stared at the old man who walked out of the Main Path Mausoleum.

“Huang Zhihe?” The old man’s robe billowed in the wind as he stood at the mountain peak and looked at Huang Zhihe calmly.

“When I met you back in the Wei Dynasty, you were just a kid. In the blink of an eye, the Wei Dynasty had fallen… And you, you’ve aged so much. Without transcendence, you’ll be nobody,” the old man sighed.

Huang Zhihe squinted his eyes and astonishment flashed in his eyes, “It’s you! The first sect leader of the Main Path Guild… Zhao Taifeng!”

In a daze, Huang Zhihe recalled meeting Zhao Taifeng in the palace of the Wei Dynasty when he was young.

It was rumoured that his existence was almost god-like and he maintained his immortality through rebirth, living one life cycle to the next for thousands of years.

The first sect leader had been alive since the birth of the Main Path Guild!

It was said that he had fallen and moved on from earth two centuries ago when the Tang Dynasty conquered the eight dynasties. Who would have thought that he was still alive!

Huang Zhihe took a deep breath. He felt the immense pressure facing someone as legendary as him.

One’s hand would tremble just at the thought of the presence of a transcendental realm!

He tossed the hammer in his hand and it exploded in the air into countless swords.

Huang Zhihe shouted, “Chao Xiaojian, take Fang Lang with you. I’ll hold them back as long as I can.”

This would be the only way out.

How strong would a person from the transcendental realm be?

Just look at how the Emperor conquered the eight dynasties and Xuanyuan Taihua, the female blade lord who overpowered all the great sects in the Tang Dynasty.

Huang Zhihe had no choice but to stay and hold them off. He might not even get out of this alive.

The wind was blowing strongly at the mountain peak.

The old man was observing peacefully, “The Tang Dynasty still reigns over the world. The Emperor remains powerful with the Code under his control and will be the ruler of this world. I would rather stay dormant instead of fighting. If you all hand the sword over, I will let all of you go unharmed.”

Zhao Taifeng was indeed wary of the Emperor and the female blade lord who left the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.

He did not want to make things ugly but he certainly would not let them take the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.

Huang Zhihe burst out laughing!

He pushed down both of his palms at once, the countless flight swords behind him tore through the cloud energy, endless sparks flew across the sky, lighting up the dark night like a meteor shower!

“Stop him,” the old man standing on the peak said calmly.

He glanced briefly at Huang Zhihe’s meteor shower of flight swords as though it was a harmless spring rain.

After he ordered Zhao Zhenshi, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers.

A spiritual sense engulfed Zhao Zhenshi’s body as if it was a hurricane and his spiritual sense started to boil.

He felt that something inside his body was about to explode. His eyes were blinded with madness.

His robe was fluttering in the air as he raised the Mountain Shield Rune and transformed it into a barrier above him to stop the countless flight swords sent by Huang Zhihe.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The surface of the barrier exploded continuously, sending waves of energy but Zhao Zhenshi managed to block them all.

Huang Zhihe’s face darkened. He could feel the wrath and eminence of the transcendental realm!

On the other side, Chao Xiaojian heard Huang Zhihe’s words.

The moment he saw Huang Zhihe attacked, he tapped his toes on the ground and a huge crack emerged within the earth and continued to grow along the mountain path of the Main Path Guild!

Chao Xiaojian used this window of opportunity to escape with Fang Lang. They were so fast that they left a white ray of light in the middle of the night sky.

Fang Lang grabbed onto the Reincarnating Lotus Sword’s handle. It was as if he stopped breathing.

The presence of a transcendental realm!

A presence that was equivalent to his master, Xuanyuan Taihua!

“Let’s go!” Chao Xiaojian said sternly. He hoisted Fang Lang and prepared to lift off.

“I’ve told you to surrender the sword. If you insist, you shall stay behind with the sword then,” the first sect leader, Zhao Taifeng said from the mountaintop.

After that, he slowly raised his palm and aimed at Chao Xiaojian and Fang Lang.

Then, he curved all five of his fingers slightly.

Suddenly, Chao Xiaojian, who was running away with Fang Lang in his arms, felt the earth rumbling.

The ground started to shake, the mountain path shattered, mud and rubble stirred up from the ground like earth dragons, moving like an ancient tree whipping its branches!

In the end, a terrifyingly large muddy palm rose from the ground!

With the green steel sword in hand, Chao Xiaojian dragged Fang Lang with him as he soared towards the sky, leaving a white line that cut through the dust.

However, the giant palm was heading in their direction!

The world was turned upside down within the palm as if it had triggered the energy of the entire world.

This was the power of a cultivator from the transcendental realm!

All the disciples of the Main Path Guild watched in awe.

Only the divine could wield such power!

This must be how Taihua Blade Lord challenged the entire Main Path Guild by herself ten years ago.

Waves of energy billowed from the cracks of the ground. The dust storm whirled into the sky like earth dragons.

Chao Xiaojian kept pulling Fang Lang to avoid the palm made out of mud!

The five fingers of the giant palm were like five mountains that pierced through the clouds!

There was a rune on each finger, giving out a unique mana flux that made Chao Xiaojian shudder.

Fang Lang held tightly onto the Reincarnating Lotus Sword as Chao Xiaojian dragged him. Strong winds kept blowing on his face.

They were in an extremely dangerous situation.

Fang Lang never thought that they would end up in such danger with Chao Xiaojian’s assistance!

Nevertheless, Fang Lang felt a blur in his vision as he was holding the sword. The next moment, his soul was pulled by the Reincarnating Lotus Sword’s energy.

He drifted off into the world of blade energy once more, saw the blooming lotus and the beautiful figure on top of the flower.

Fang Lang sat cross-legged. A flower bloomed within his energy center cyclone. It was the sword intent flower resulting from his enlightenment on the sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.

Fang Lang was very much aware of the danger that lay ahead of him.

“Don’t worry. Take a seat and feel the sword intent. There’s no need to panic. I’m here,” the figure on the lotus spoke.

Her voice was very calm. It was as if she had foreseen the appearance of the Main Path Guild’s ancestor.

Fang Lang was stunned. His anxious heart was soothed instantly, calming his nerves. His heart started to ripple gently.

Then, the sword intent energy poured from his body and gathered in the palm of the gorgeous figure and gradually bloomed into a sword intent flower.

“Feel the eminence of the time sword intent. Time… is the most powerful force in this world,” she explained.

…

Chao Xiaojian halted in his tracks.

With one look, he was able to notice the change in Fang Lang.

Unique energy exuded from Fang Lang’s body, similar to his senior, their sect leader.

Chao Xiaojian’s eyes lit up immediately.

Senior…

Chao Xiaojian smirked and glanced at the giant palm that rose from the ground. The fingers looked like five moving mountains that were closing towards them.

He stopped running!

“Today, I, Chao Xiaojian, will be fighting against the transcendental realm!” Chao Xiaojian flicked his fingers, a small sword flew out and he started circling Fang Lang to protect his body.

Chao Xiaojian grabbed the green steel sword and dived down rapidly.

Chao Xiaojian tossed his sword out in a swift motion, and the body of the green steel sword was buried into the palm.

The next moment, Chao Xiaojian channeled a continuous surge of sword intent. Then, he shook the handle of the sword and made the entire mud palm vibrate!

Slash!

Chao Xiaojian pulled out his sword and started waving it in the air.

Countless sword shadows emerged above the inverted green steel sword!

The blade energy started spreading from the middle of the palm to a hundred meters and split the giant palm into two halves!

In front of the Main Path Mausoleum, the old man who had just awoken from two centuries of slumber was unfazed.

He was not too surprised that Chao Xiaojian sliced the palm in a single move.

With one hand resting on his back, the old man raised the other hand slowly and curled his fingers before giving a gentle knock.

The two halves of the mud palm shattered and transformed into two ferocious earth dragons that rose from the dust. The outline of the scales on the dragon’s body could be clearly visible!

The two earth dragons charged towards Chao Xiaojian.

It was as if their bodies tore through the space dimension and left invisible cracks.

Chao Xiaojian waved his sword. The green steel sword immediately duplicated and formed two whole swords. He gestured the finger blades on both hands and flung outwards.

Two blade rays dived down like a waterfall.

Then, the two brilliant rays charged towards the dragons.

The old man’s ancient robe billowed in the air. He turned his fingers and maneuvered the earth dragon to avoid the rays.

However…

Just when the earth dragons started to move, the two flying blade rays started to flicker. After a few flickers, it appeared right in front of the dragon and stabbed right into their heads!

It impaled itself into the dragon’s head all the way through its tail!

The two dragons disintegrated completely!

Chao Xiaojian hovered in the air, and his white robe fluttered in the wind. The two swords were still flickering and vibrating as they returned to his sides and surrounded him as if they were able to move freely between space!

It seemed like… space sword intent!

On the mountain peak, the old man’s eyes wavered. That was the first time he seemed genuinely shocked.

Chao Xiaojian’s torso was exposed in the air as he placed both hands on his back. He hovered in the air with two swords in his hand.

It was as if he was shining brilliantly against the dark sky!

Chao Xiaojian’s arrogant voice echoed through the mountains, “So much for transcendence…”