Chapter 477: Carefree Journey

Xu Fengnian had intended the battle at Spring God Lake, where he 'invited the gods,' to be his final act in the martial world. He felt this grand finale was a worthy culmination of years of relentless blade practice. After returning to Northern Liang, he knew it would be difficult to maintain such single-minded focus. Having achieved three 'pseudo-realms' within the first-rank four-levels — a feat perhaps unprecedented, if not unparalleled — Xu Fengnian no longer held expectations for further advancement. Being content as a 'local emperor' in Northern Liang would be enough for him. However, he never imagined the true 'endgame' would be so brutal. Song Nianqing, a Human Immortal, still fell in battle with a single sword stroke. Grandmaster Liu Haoshi's Celestial Phenomenon realm shattered, and he even had to fight Wang Xianzhi. Xu Fengnian stood quietly beside the white-clad demonic figure. He had returned all his cultivation to Luoyang; her back-and-forth journey had caused immense damage to her realm. Though still ranked fourth in the world, the gap between her and subsequent martial arts masters like Hong Jingyan had inevitably narrowed. Xu Fengnian himself was left utterly destitute; his inner energy, which had previously dropped to the second rank, was now almost depleted. If his physical body could be described as a house full of vital energy, Xu Fengnian's was now barren. What was particularly distressing was that Liu Haoshi had destroyed the young purple-gold lotus in his Great Yellow Court's pond. Xu Fengnian silently recited incantations, attempting to use the "Fire Rising to Chang'an" method he had comprehended in Northern Mang. He tried to condense his true energy and visualize inner fire circulating through his meridians. Unfortunately, the faint true fire, which had originated from his Yongquan acupoint at his feet, was already spent by the time it reached his Yuzhen acupoint, failing to even pass through his Niwan palace. With a gaunt expression, Xu Fengnian gave up the struggle. A gentle breeze swept across the countryside, bringing with it the scent of earth. Xu Fengnian's hands and feet were cold, so he tucked them into his sleeves for warmth.

Luoyang calmly asked, "Just how strong is Wang Xianzhi?"

Xu Fengnian stamped his foot, looked up at the sky, and softly replied, "When that old monster Wang withstood two of my punches, he was only using about half his strength. By the end, it was perhaps around eighty percent."

Luoyang offered no comment, simply stating, "I will take Dan Ying back to Mount Zhulu. We will meet outside the city in three years. You only have the flying swords Deng Tai'a gave you left. Don't just casually die on your way back. It would be a huge joke if, after surviving Song Nianqing, Liu Haoshi, and Wang Xianzhi's fists, you ended up dying at the hands of some nameless nobody."

Xu Fengnian laughed candidly. "It's true, I have no more tricks up my sleeve. But the Zhao imperial family is pretty much at their wits' end too. Tai'an City, without top masters like Han Diaosi and Liu Haoshi guarding it, is only slightly better than a paper fortress. If I were Cao Changqing, I'd go straight to the capital and claim the emperor's head. With the martial world's affairs settled, it's now up to Northern Liang to adapt to whatever comes next. My martial arts cultivation, frankly, is no longer crucial to the larger scheme of things."

Standing side-by-side, Luoyang scoffed, "In terms of family assets, can your Xu family truly compete with the Zhaos? If Cao Changqing dares to stir trouble in Tai'an City now, he probably won't live to see his nation restored."

Xu Fengnian frowned. "Isn't it just that secretive Wu Family Sword Mound left to support the imperial court?"

Luoyang sneered in response, "Just?"

Xu Fengnian sighed. "Indeed. My mother was from the Wu family, as was Deng Tai'a. Wu Liuding and his sword attendant Cuihua are also from there. Song Nianqing's fourteenth sword already displayed such immense power; the owner of the Suwang sword must be even more unfathomable."

Luoyang hesitated, then asked, "Why don't you cultivate sword intent?"

Xu Fengnian laughed self-deprecatingly. "With so many brilliant masters before me, having seen countless sword dao experts, it's not that I don't want to; it's that I don't dare."

Xu Fengnian suddenly snapped back to attention, "Is it sword intent, not sword?"

However, Luoyang had already vanished.

Xu Fengnian stood rooted to the spot, looking around. The world was clear, the atmosphere desolate. He remained in a daze for an unknown duration before slowly closing his eyes, recalling many past events and old acquaintances. Memories flashed through his mind: the time he personally borrowed a sword at Youyan Manor, Liu Songtao's 'useless song' after he went mad, and witnessing the heavens and earth merge into a single line within the city. When one possesses an abundance, they often become dazzled and lose sight of what truly matters.

Xu Fengnian raised an arm and made a sweeping gesture, as if brushing away an object from a cluttered desk. "Mountains, recede."

Wudang vanished, as did Longhu, Huishan, and all other famous mountains.

After brushing away all the mountains in his mind, Xu Fengnian made a second sweeping gesture. "Rivers and seas, recede."

Spring God vanished, as did Poyang, Qingdu, and all other martial world locations.

A third sweeping gesture, "City walls, recede."

Xiangfan vanished, as did Shenwu, Tai'an City, and all other cities and tall buildings.

The fourth sweep cleared away vegetation. The fifth sweep banished the sun and moon. The sixth sweep dismissed all living beings in the world.

In that instant, Xu Fengnian seemed to stand utterly alone between heaven and earth. His eyes remained closed, yet in the profound darkness, he "gazed around in bewilderment," searching for something unknown.

Just as Xu Fengnian thought he would return empty-handed, he was startled to find he couldn't open his eyes. It was like the sleep paralysis he had often experienced during midday naps before his blade training—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyes or regain clarity. This was clearly a sign of having gone astray! In the past, with the Daoist Great Yellow Court protecting him, Xu Fengnian never had to worry about falling into qi deviation, no matter how varied or unorthodox his cultivation paths were. But now, with the Great Yellow Court completely gone, his foundation was at its most unstable. Yet, in a sudden impulse, he had tried to seize a fleeting, hard-to-come-by enlightenment in the lingering afterglow of his peak battle with Wang Xianzhi. He hoped to ascend in one leap, directly entering a pseudo-realm of Celestial Phenomenon or even a Terrestrial Immortal, like qi practitioners who grasp at ephemeral treasures. Haste makes waste, and having already experienced three pseudo-realms, Xu Fengnian should have been even more cautious with each advancement. Outsiders could not even imagine someone being as reckless as Xu Fengnian, which was akin to seeking death. Since he couldn't wake up, Xu Fengnian surprisingly smiled within this unknown pseudo-realm. Having previously swept away mountains and rivers, he now slowly gathered and embraced, gradually drawing back all the sceneries of mountains and rivers. They say it's easy to invite gods but hard to send them away, but Xu Fengnian found that in this realm, the natural order was completely reversed. Fortunately, he was not in a hurry. Ordinarily, both martial and heavenly cultivation consider a restless mind a major taboo, but Xu Fengnian simply did the opposite, letting his mind wander freely. Vaguely, Xu Fengnian seemed to see Song Nianqing, cradling a cloth shoe, being carried into a carriage by disheartened Sword Pond disciples. He saw the back of a young girl kicking a severed head. He saw a monk with robes fluttering, sweeping by. And he saw the white-clad woman, bringing a crimson robe, coming and going again.

Then Xu Fengnian's "vision" was instantly thrown tens of thousands of miles away. He saw a handsome young Daoist guarding a grave for someone. He also witnessed the ebb and flow of tides in the South Sea, where a middle-aged swordsman rode his sword, cleaving through waves. He further saw a creature, neither horse nor deer, ascending steps into the mountains, arriving at the gate of the Heavenly Master's Residence.

Finally, outside a picturesque small village, he saw a young child squatting by a river, staring blankly. Suddenly, the child's mind opened, radiating spiritual energy. Returning to the village, the child saw a flash of red from a paper-cut pasted on a window, and an inexplicable joy arose in their heart.

Xu Fengnian finally opened his eyes, wiped his face, and realized it was streaked with tears.