Seeking the Flying Sword Path

In one of the seventy-two Lightning Dharma testing grounds, Fairy Mu sat cross-legged. Her mind was playing out a series of melee combat arts as she thought through one move after another.

Hum!

Suddenly, there was a fluctuation that reached every corner of Lightning Beast Manor.

Fairy Mu opened her eyes. "The ten years are up?"

"What a pity. I didn’t have to time to cultivate it to perfection before the time limit was up." Fairy Mu looked at the wall to the palace. There were a large number of patterns on it. It depicted an expert with three heads and six arms showcasing numerous melee combat moves. The wall was engraved personally by an expert who had cultivated the technique to perfection. It had an inundating intent which prompted Fairy Mu to spend most of her time on it.

Following the fluctuation, a force descended.

Sou!

Fairy Mu was directly transported away.

...

On the plateau in front of the third main palace, Xiahou was sitting cross-legged as well. He could not help but open his eyes when he felt the fluctuation that permeated the Lightning Beast Manor. He smiled. "The ten years are up. Thankfully, I managed to clear the second main palace after expending some treasures. My results are in no way worse than Junior Sister Mu or Ravenhorn’s."

"Unfortunately, the treasures Junior Brother Zhang won are in Qin Yun’s charge!" Xiahou recalled his second meeting with Ancestral Master Zhang, who had acted very carefreely. Ancestral Master Zhang claimed to not have any treasures on him and that he was free to snatch things away from him.

"Qin Yun was willing to end up stuck in that palace for more than a thousand years to help him. And he even got Qin Yun to safeguard his most important treasures. The two of them really trust each other," thought Xiahou. "That’s not right. Perhaps he doesn’t trust Qin Yun that much. After all, he had no other choice. The treasures would only end up in my hands if he kept them on him. So, he had no choice but to hand them to Qin Yun? That fool Qin Yun is probably touched by Junior Brother Zhang’s actions."

Xiahou scoffed.

The long passage of time had made him wary of his fellow disciples. He would not easily trust any of them.

"Whoosh." A force descended and transported him away.

...

Immortal Sa Xu, Ancestral Master Zhang, Fairy Mu, Daoist Xiahou, Demon King Ravenhorn, and Qin Yun were transported out once the ten years were up.

At the peak of a lofty mountain in Lightning Beast Manor, there was a gorgeous immortal palace. Qin Yun and company had been transported outside it.

"Oh?"

Qin Yun did not resist when he felt his body being transported. He felt that the scenery had changed in front of his eyes before he found himself on the summit. He saw the palace and, in its backyard, the Connate Lightning Fruit Tree was most dazzling. This Heaven Earth Spirit Root... was even taller than the palace. It had a thick trunk, luxuriant leaves, and fruits that swayed with the wind.

There were lightning bolts around the fruit tree, as though the tree was a manifestation of lightning itself.

The massively vast aura inundated them. It exuded antiquity.

"Connate Lightning Fruit Tree," marveled Qin Yun.

By the side, Sa Xu, Fairy Mu, Xiahou, Ravenhorn, and Ancestral Master Zhang were looking at the gigantic Connate Lightning Fruit Tree as well. Being able to look at it up close, they could clearly see each leaf, a sight that sent reverberations through their hearts.

Every Heaven Earth Spirit Root... was priceless. It could not even be exchanged for ten Connate Numinous treasures. They became possessions of others in the earliest periods of the Three Realms.

With just one of them, it was equivalent to having a money tree that constantly bore fruits. With it, one would be considered a ’magnate’ among mighty figures in the Three Realms. As such, they could make friends across the Three Realms and exchange for even more life-preservation treasures. Hence, their life-preservation abilities were typically above those of most mighty figures. As long as one did not actively seek death, death typically eluded them.

Unfortunately, Bai Xiao had taken the initiative to join the war between the Daoists and Fiends! He even thought of ways to deal with his nemesis.

However, it was a war! Many terrifying existences were involved in it. For instance, the Ancestral Dragon, the Western Paradise’s lord, Amitabha, Mighty God Torch Dragon had all taken part. The Three Pure Ones, the Buddhist Ancestor, Goddess Nüwa, and the Ancestral Fiends were also watching constantly. They had even entered the battlefields numerous times! The flames of war burned everywhere in the Three Realms... As the Chaos Lightning Beast was not a Daoist or Buddhist, nor was he a fiend, there was no need for him to join the battle. If he hid in his Lightning world, the calamity would have easily passed him by while he secluded himself.

But after his good friend perished, he joined the war. He aided the resistance in secret, and had indeed caused the fiends to suffer quite significant losses. Unfortunately, he failed to kill his enemy despite the grand scheme he initiated.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures materialized. One was a black-robed elder and the other was a stocky man.

"Guests, the ten years are up." The black-robed smiled at Qin Yun and company.

"It’s time to split the Lightning Fruits." Xiahou waited in anticipation. Sa Xu, Fairy Mu, and the rest also turned eager in anticipation.

Qin Yun was also curious how many Lightning Fruits each of the six would receive. How many would he receive?

"Before we split the Lightning Fruits, I will repeat it again." The black-robed elder’s expression turned solemn. "Acquiring treasures from my master causes you to be bound by karma! Once you have the strength of a top Golden Immortal, you have to kill Ancestral Fiend Moxiu."

Qin Yun and company had long known of this fact.

"Ancestral Fiend Moxiu... was an Ancestral Fiend of the Mental Demon lineage." Qin Yun sighed. "His combat strength in a head-on clash is that of an ordinary Ancestral Fiend, but his true prowess lies in bewitching the heart. His means are unfathomably strange."

There were many lineages among fiends. The Mental Demon lineage was one of the extremely special ones. Bai Xiao had set up a grand scheme based on the trends of the war, only to eventually fall to the powers of the Mental Demon.

"Alright, it’s time to hand out the Lightning Fruits to everyone." The black-robed elder looked at the stocky man.

The stocky man extended his hands as a tray appeared out of thin air. There were three fruits on it, each emitting a strong fragrance. Just catching a whiff of the fragrance from afar made Qin Yun feel like he had gained a lot of insight into the way lightning worked. Qin Yun also knew that his foundations in the Lightning Dharma were the weakest, even weaker than the Lightning Dharma that mortals cultivated in. Therefore, even a Connate Lightning Fruit’s fragrance could help him. Ancestral Master Zhang had long reached the pinnacle of the Skyimmortal realm, so he needed to actually consume one to benefit from it. Just catching a whiff of the fragrance was only useful for those at realms below Skyimmortals.

Qin Yun looked at the fruits carefully. The Connate Lightning Fruits resembled pears. Beneath the skin were massive amounts of lightning that made the skin appear translucent.

"Three Lightning Fruits. That’s the lowest reward," mumbled Xiahou.

As for the stocky man, he walked in front of Xiahou with tray in hand and passed it over to Xiahou.

Xiahou’s expression froze before he received it with a smile. "With Junior Sister Mu and Senior Brother Sa here, I can only receive three."

The stocky man came in front of Ravenhorn and extended both his hands. Again, another tray appeared. There were also three Lightning Fruits and a yellow-skinned calabash.

"Haha, Xiahou. Although I have only received three fruits, I have an additional calabash treasure!" Ravenhorn received the rewards with a smile. He quickly put away the Connate Lightning Fruits and pulled open the calabash’s stopper to check it.

"What treasures are in there?" asked Xiahou immediately.

Ravenhorn stuffed the stopper back in after his inspection. He shot a glance at Xiahou. "I’m not telling you. All you need to know is that I have received more treasures than you."

Xiahou curled his lips and stopped pressing.

Following that, the stocky man came in front of Ancestral Master Zhang. Qin Yun, Sa Xu and Fairy Mu were also watching.

There was the same tray containing three Lightning Fruits and a yellow-skinned calabash.

"Haha, Xiahou. Junior Brother Zhang has more than you as well." Ravenhorn laughed loudly.

Xiahou’s expression turned nasty but he remained silent.

Ancestral Master Zhang was the weakest person present, having only cleared the first main palace. Xiahou felt somewhat embarrassed.

The stocky man came in front of Fairy Mu, and on the tray he handed her were four Lightning Fruits and a calabash.

"Oh?" Xiahou, Ravenhorn, Ancestral Master Zhang, and Fairy Mu looked curiously at Qin Yun.

The splitting of the Lightning Fruits...

The fruits were handed out in ascending order.

Everyone found it normal that Senior Brother Sa Xu was last, but why was Qin Yun ranked ahead of Fairy Mu?

Fairy Mu received it calmly, but her eyes lit up when she inspected the treasures within.

Finally, the stocky man and the black-robed elder walked in front of both Qin Yun and Sa Xu respectively.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

On the trays the stocky man and the black-robed handed over, each tray had seven Lightning Fruits and a yellow-skinned calabash.