HSSB1110: The depressed sword cultivators of the Prime Clear lineage
Di Qinglian's remnant sword-intent that was atop Pillglow Peak had been there for many long years at the end of the day.
While good-intentioned people had preserved it, analysing and deducing its principles was still a very difficult thing.
Not only did this process require supreme talent in the martial dao, it also required one to have sufficient spirituality and comprehension abilities in the dao of the sword. As a result, people would obtain varying degrees of benefits from this experience.
Yan Zhaoge had evidently spent much less time comprehending the dao atop the mountain than had been predicted by Gao Xuebo and Long Xueji.
How could these two peak sword cultivators not feel admiration at that?
Some time before the two brothers were feeling amazed, Yan Zhaoge was descending the mountain while was pondering on the fruits of his efforts.
"Grandmother's comprehension of the Immortal Exterminating Sword is indeed outstanding. There are many concepts that are worth reviewing over and over again," Yan Zhaoge clicked his tongue in praise, "True abilities exhibited in those most ordinary of aspects, specifics changing time and time again. It really is extraordinary indeed."
As he passed the Sword Unsheathing Pond midway down the mountain, Yan Zhaoge retrieved the treasured swords that he had placed there previously.
After pondering for a moment, Yan Zhaoge ultimately left the Green Abyss Sword there, not taking it with him.
When Yan Zhaoge had started walking the martial path, he had wielded the Jade Dragon Sword; a weapon which he had gifted to his junior apprentice-brother Ying Longtu, or Han Long'er, afterwards.
Despite the fact that Han Long'er was also a Martial Saint now, and had long since outgrown a measly low-grade spirit artifact like the Jade Dragon Sword, he still treasured the sword as he would his life. Even though he was using other weapons now, the sword that was gifted to him by Yan Zhaoge was always by his side.
The sword that Yan Zhaoge had used most often after the Jade Dragon Sword was the weapon that had been personally forged by his Grand Master, Yuan Zhengfeng. It was the Green Abyss Sword, a high-grade spirit artifact.
It had accompanied Yan Zhaoge all the way until he had attained the Martial Saint realm and switched to using Sacred Artifacts.
Still, this treasured sword was also constantly by Yan Zhaoge's side.
While he had burnt countless high-grade spirit artifacts and even Sacred Artifacts later on as fuel in refining his dark green bamboo cane, the Green Abyss Sword was always with him.
In the future, he would not feel sorry even if he burnt the Light Yin Sword Seal, the Cloud Circulating Heavenly Light Sword, or even supreme treasures like the Evil Sword Taotie if the need arose.
Yet, like the previous Jade Dragon Sword, this Green Abyss Sword held a different significance.
Looking at the lotus pond before him in which numerous white lotuses bloomed, Yan Zhaoge ultimately left the Green Abyss Sword stuck in its depths.
"You possessed the title of 'sword measurer' back then. It is a pity that I am unable to personally experience your test, not knowing whether I would pass or fail."
Yan Zhaoge sighed, bowing towards the lotus pond, "I will most likely not be here in the Roving Jade Heavens often. In my place, I shall have the Green Abyss Sword remain here."
His descent from the mountain was naturally seen by descendants of Gao Xuebo's lineage who were guarding the area and waiting for him.
On seeing Yan Zhaoge, the disciples of Minor White Peak were all greatly startled as some even looked dazed for a time.
They had previously specifically received orders to wait there for Yan Zhaoge's emergence.
Their elders had hinted that Yan Zhaoge was meditating on the dao atop the mountain and was not to be interrupted.
While Pillglow Peak had been empty for a long time, they of the Prime Clear direct lineage naturally were aware of what place this was.
From what they knew, it was very normal for meditation on the dao at the former residence of the Sword Emperor to take months, even years.
Who knew that Yan Zhaoge would emerge after just a few days.
If this was anyone else, these disciples of Minor White Peak would probably suspect that the person had been unable to learn anything there and had given up, hence descending the mountain so quickly.
Still, being of the Prime Clear direct lineage and descendants of Green Duckweed Mountain's Minor White Peak, also having received specific instructions to wait there, they had a basic understanding of Yan Zhaoge.
Yan Zhaoge was extremely famous in the World beyond Worlds with his fame gradually spreading in the coremost circles of the Roving Jade Heavens as well.
Someone who could battle an Exalt head-on just after attaining the Immortal Bridge stage- how could such a person possibly be dumb and incompetent?
"It's just-isn't this too fast!" The disciples of Minor White Peak were all wondering, "Maybe he isn't proficient in the dao of the sword? But since the elders allowed him to ascend Pillglow Peak, would that not mean that he should be able to wield the sword…"
Despite their astonishment, these martial practitioners of Minor White Peak followed propriety and properly paid their respects to Yan Zhaoge before leading the way back to Minor White Peak.
Yan Zhaoge's gaze flickered slightly as he sensed someone spying on him and the vicinity of Pillglow Peak.
On seeing him descend the mountain, the other party immediately fled like the wind.
"Huh…" The corners of Yan Zhaoge's lips arched slightly upwards, but he said nothing.
Deep tensions existed between the World beyond Worlds and the Roving Jade Heavens.
Back during their competition for the Profound Sky Purple Gold Furnace, Gao Qing's fellow disciples and the disciples of the Brocade Emperor had verbally quarrelled to such an extent.
Just as the World beyond Worlds forbade the presence of martial practitioners of the Prime Clear lineage, it was similarly forbidden for descendants of the Jade Clear and Grand Clear lineages to appear in the Roving Jade Heavens.
If one's identity was exposed and they were caught, it was not merely the matter of a simple expulsion. Most of the time, blood would be shed.
Although Yan Zhaoge was allowed to freely roam the Roving Jade Heavens because of his grandmother, he was still not of the Prime Clear direct lineage at the end of the day.
In the world of martial practitioners, there were many other factors that decided one's identity besides their bloodline.
Of these, one of the most important was one's martial lineage.
In some scenarios, one's martial lineage was more representative of them than their bloodline.
Led by those Minor White Peak martial practitioners, Yan Zhaoge left Pillglow Peak in returning to Minor White Peak.
As they set off, some Minor White Peak disciples naturally exerted means to inform Gao Xuebo as well as Long Xueji about it.
As they walked, Yan Zhaoge conversed genially with the Minor White Peak disciples. Even as he gained a greater understanding of the culture of the Roving Jade Heavens, he narrated some of his experiences in the World beyond Worlds and extradimensional space, increasing the knowledge that they possessed greatly.
Suddenly, a sword-light lit up before their eyes, halting right in front of them before the figure of a youth appeared. The other party had an ordinary appearance and a serious expression. Yet, sword qi was rampant about his body.
He first greeted, "Before the World beyond Worlds' Fallen Deity, this disciple of Green Duckweed Mountain's Subtle Offensive Peak's Purple Light Cave, Wen Daihong, offers his greetings."
Yan Zhaoge calmly cupped his hands towards him, "I wonder what you would like to tell me?"
Wen Daihong's expression was stern as he said, "I have long heard of the capabilities of the Fallen Deity who is rare within this world as one of the greatest heroes of Daoism in post-Great Calamity times. This Wen admires you greatly."
"It is just that the incident between our predecessors from back then is like a stone weighing on my chest. While I am untalented, this Wen wishes to seek pointers from you."
What was the incident from back then?
Naturally, it was how Yan Zhaoge's grandfather, Yan Xingtang, a martial practitioner of the Jade Clear lineage, had suppressed the Roving Jade Heavens with his sword, beating the sword cultivators of the Prime Clear lineage into inferiority.
This was probably one of the most embarrassing incidents for the Prime Clear direct lineage in post-Great Calamity times.
It was not that the Roving Jade Heavens had never experienced greater crises, setbacks or failures before. It was just that having been beaten into submission in the area they were best in on their home ground, the descendants of the Prime Clear lineage had felt very useless and defeated indeed…
HSSB1111: Getting to know each other through sparring?
While he knew that he stood out in the Roving Jade Heavens, Yan Zhaoge was still rather surprised at suddenly being stopped and challenged like this.
He was a guest of the Profound Sovereign and Dragon Spring Emperor's family, after all.
It was even Long Xueji, a newly ascended True Immortal, who had led him up Pillglow Peak a few days ago.
Before Yan Zhaoge could answer, a disciple of Minor White Peak told him rather awkwardly via sound transmission, "Senior apprentice-uncle Yan, please forgive Senior Wen. With a heart that has always been fully devoted to the sword dao, he has a rather straightforward temperament…"
Other disciples of Minor White Peak also seemed to be secretly communicating with that Wen Daihong via sound transmission.
As Wen Daihong obstructed the path and challenged their guest now, these Minor White Peak martial practitioners generally felt more awkward than furious.
"Subtle Offensive Peak's Purple Light Cave…" Yan Zhaoge gazed into the skies, recalling some matters.
Yan Zhaoge had gained a plethora of information from his past trip to the World beyond Worlds' Kunlun Mountain as he interacted with disciples of the Sword Sovereign's lineage at Northern High Peak's Jade Capital Crag, like Wang Pu.
This included some matters regarding the Roving Jade Heavens.
The World beyond Worlds had a disharmonious relationship with the Roving Jade Heavens as the lower and middle-tier martial practitioners had nothing to do with one another at all. Still, the higher echelon experts had all sent agents to infiltrate and grasp information regarding the other side.
While they might not be able to learn the specific details, they were still able to get general information, as well as news concerning the recent balance of power.
As a result, even if the news had been slightly delayed, the Dragon Spring Emperor and the other martial practitioners of the Roving Jade Heavens all knew of the major disturbances that Yan Zhaoge and Broad Creed Mountain had unceasingly caused in the World beyond Worlds.
Meanwhile, the World beyond Worlds also had a certain level of understanding of recent matters in the Roving Jade Heavens.
As Wang Pu and the others knew about Yan Zhaoge's and Yan Di's relationship with the Roving Jade Heavens, they had hidden nothing when Yan Zhaoge had inquired about it.
From Wang Pu's words, it could be inferred that the Roving Jade Heavens were not totally united either.
The authority of the Profound Sovereign Gao Qingxuan in the Roving Jade Heavens was even greater than that of the Earthly Sovereign in the World beyond Worlds.
Still, the Roving Jade Heavens did not belong solely to the Profound Sovereign and her family at the end of the day.
Tracing the cause of this, it might even be somewhat related to Yan Zhaoge's own family line.
While Wang Pu had spoken rather ambiguously, Yan Zhaoge had still understood what he meant.
In having 'abducted' his grandmother, Di Qinglian, his grandfather Yan Xingtang had earned the great dissatisfaction of the Roving Jade Heavens' old Grand Master, the Master of Gao Qingxuan and also Di Qinglian herself.
The subsequent premature death of Di Qinglian afterwards was also viewed by the Roving Jade Heavens' old Grand Master as the greatest regret of her life.
Despite the general hostility towards the World beyond Worlds after these events, the Roving Jade Heavens was ultimately split between moderate and radical factions.
The stance of the old Grand Master was directly connected to how most of the Roving Jade Heavens' upper echelons were in the radical faction.
The Profound Sovereign however, was part of the moderate faction. This was not just because of her relationship with the Dragon Spring Emperor. Instead, while she too had been greatly sorrowful over the matter of Di Qinglian's death, she did not despise Yan Xingtang despite having been defeated by him before.
Of course, the Profound Sovereign was of the minority amongst her peers.
Besides this matter, there were also many other enmities that had cropped up over the years. The culmination of these were what had led to the current situation in the Roving Jade Heavens, where the two factions were heavily divided.
This split was even more pronounced when concerning how to treat the Yan father and son.
In contrast to the current situation, the Lord of Green Duckweed Mountain's Subtle Offensive Peak's Purple Light Cave, the Liberal Emperor, was rumored to be part of the moderate faction.
Seeing the reactions of the descendants of Minor White Peak now, Yan Zhaoge felt that this rumour must be true.
The Liberal Emperor, Profound Sovereign, and Dragon Spring Emperor probably had a pretty good relationship since their descendants were all very familiar with one another.
This was why the Minor White Peak disciples generally felt awkward rather than furious when Wen Daihong had come to obstruct and challenge him.
They were clearly like mediators as they calmed him down while also trying to persuade Wen Daihong against it.
Yan Zhaoge observed this neutrally from the side, finding this very interesting indeed.
Since the Liberal Emperor leaned towards the moderate approach with regard to the World beyond Worlds, why had a descendant of his come over to challenge him?
This would undoubtedly make things difficult for those of the Profound Sovereign's lineage while also potentially affecting the relationship between the Liberal Emperor and Profound Sovereign.
The problem was that Wen Daihong really seemed not to have realised this at all.
It wasn't as if he was intentionally going against the will of the Liberal Emperor; instead, he was simply being true to what those Minor White Peak disciples had said - fully devoted to the martial dao, as well as a straightforward person.
Although he might not harbour much preconceived dislike for descendants of the Jade Clear and Grand Clear lineages like Yan Zhaoge, he was still rather concerned about how Yan Xingtang had suppressed the Roving Jade Heavens with his sword that year.
Upon learning that Yan Zhaoge had come to the Roving Jade Heavens, he had immediately come looking for him.
One might say that he was a simple-minded person, despite being a lofty mid Immortal Bridge Martial Saint.
Despite being an extremely young genius possessing endless potential relative to his cultivation base, in terms of his understanding of society, this person might not be all that much superior to Han Long'er and Xia Guang.
"How did you know that I was here at Pillglow Peak? And how did you know when I descended it?" Yan Zhaoge suddenly laughed, "It doesn't look like you have been waiting for me here this entire time."
Wen Daihong was momentarily taken aback before a hesitant look appeared on his face as he did not immediately reply.
With that, it was not just Yan Zhaoge, but also the disciples of Minor White Peak who knew that Wen Daihong had probably been instigated by others, single-mindedly running over to challenge him before first understanding the situation.
"It looks like this is a misunderstanding, senior apprentice-uncle Yan…" A disciple of Minor White Peak hurriedly tried to mediate.
"It's fine," Yan Zhaoge smiled, "Fellow Daoist Wen, is it? In that case, let us exchange pointers, getting to know each other through sparring."
The disciples of Minor White Peak all looked a bit anxious - no matter what the result, someone would surely lose face!
It would be hard to say if anything might change with the Liberal Emperor who was usually neutral but leaned slightly towards the Profound Sovereign if his disciple was defeated.
"Please," Wen Daihong did not think further on this as he just solemnly cupped his fists towards Yan Zhaoge.
He was just about to enter a fighting stance when Yan Zhaoge waved a hand, "Because it is just sparring and not a battle of life and death, since you have chosen the time, shouldn't I be able to decide the location?"
Wen Daihong immediately retracted his stance, nodding, "That's right, that's how it should be."
"Follow me then," Yan Zhaoge said, striding forth at a virtually indiscernible speed.
Only Wen Daihong could barely tell that Yan Zhaoge was clearly heading in the direction he had come from.
Everyone hurriedly followed, travelling a long way.
Finally, they saw Yan Zhaoge standing there smilingly as he blocked the path of a bunch of sword cultivators of the Prime Clear lineage. Their expressions were unhappy as they spoke, "What do you want?"
"This Yan will be sparring with Fellow Daoist Wen, and will not be disallowing spectators," Yan Zhaoge said casually, "You can simply watch openly. Why stay here and wait for the results? Isn't this what you lot have been hoping for in the first place?"