With True Person Yinshan taking the initiative to retreat, the tense atmosphere within Zhalong Pass eased considerably.

As for the reinforcement, the Black Iron Sword Master, he was treated with great courtesy.

The so-called Black Iron Sword Master did not have a particularly handsome appearance, looking rather ordinary.

At this moment, after restraining his sword intent, he did not even carry much of a sword cultivator’s sharpness.

At first glance, he seemed like nothing more than an old farmer.

Only the black iron longsword hanging at his waist faintly emitted a sharp aura that made even Foundation Establishment True Persons uneasy.

“Black Iron Daoist Friend!”

True Person Five Elements was the first to step forward, speaking excitedly, “Fortunately, Daoist Friend arrived in time, otherwise Zhalong Pass might have fallen to the Demon Sect today.”

After speaking, he glanced again at the longsword hanging at Black Iron Sword Master’s waist.

“Black Gold, Black Silver, Black Iron— the simpler the material, the sharper the sword intent becomes. The Black Iron Sword truly lives up to being the foremost among the Three Black Swords of the Upper Profound Sword Sect!”

“Overpraise.”

Black Iron Sword Master waved his hand upon hearing this, though from his expression, it was obvious he was quite pleased.

After all, everyone enjoyed hearing good words, especially since he indeed believed he had made a significant contribution.

At the same time, Zhong Xin also stepped forward with a smile and said, “When I learned of the Demon Sect’s march south, I immediately sent a message to the Upper Profound Sword Sect seeking aid. Originally, I thought it would take much longer, but thanks to Black Iron Sword Master’s profound cultivation and extraordinary sword escape speed, we were able to turn the tide at the last moment.”

“Please, come in quickly. I have already prepared a banquet to welcome and honor all the Daoist Friends.”

Seeing this, Black Iron Sword Master did not stand on ceremony.

Following Zhong Xin, the group of Foundation Establishment True Persons entered the hall, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

“That person we encountered outside the city earlier, was that Yuan Tu?”

Black Iron Sword Master’s gaze sharpened as he asked in a deep voice, “After Junior Brother Black Gold returned, he mentioned this person to me. I saw his sword heart waver, clearly harmed by that person.”

“Unfortunately, that person retreated on his own, so I didn’t get a chance to fight him.”

“Otherwise, I would have wielded the 【Black Iron Sword】 and slain him before the formation, helping Junior Brother Black Gold to restore his shaken sword heart.”

Saying this, Black Iron Sword Master sighed again, looking somewhat regretful.

Then he noticed that the previously lively banquet had, at some point, fallen silent.

Duobao Boy and the others were all staring at him.

What’s wrong?

“Daoist Friend, you might not know.” Thɪs chapter is updated by novelfire(.)net

True Person Five Elements sighed and said, “The person outside just now wasn’t that fiend, but merely someone who accompanied him.”

“Speaking of that fiend, I suspected he was a direct descendant of a True Lord from some family seeking merit. After his defeat, I spent considerable effort investigating him.”

As he spoke, True Person Five Elements took out a jade slip.

“But the more I investigated, the more I began to suspect he’s a reincarnation of a True Lord!”

“Daoist Friend, do you know how old that fiend is to this day?”

Black Iron Sword Master was stunned upon hearing this and cautiously replied, “I heard from Black Gold Sword Master that he is at the peak of the Foundation Establishment mid-stage. Could it be that this person has just entered his second lifetime?”

He thought his guess was already quite bold.

After all, for ordinary cultivators, building a foundation within a hundred years, refining their life-bound divine abilities, and seeking Heavenly Gangs and Earth Fiends would already consume their entire first lifetime.

To reach the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in the first lifetime was already considered a heavenly prodigy.

Not to mention reaching the peak of the mid-stage with two divine abilities— such an achievement usually required at least one reincarnation.

For instance, the Sect Master of their Upper Profound Sword Sect was already in the late years of his third lifetime.

However, True Person Five Elements shook his head upon hearing this.

“A second lifetime? From what I know, that fiend has only cultivated for less than a hundred years!”

“Not to mention reincarnation, he hasn’t even lived through half of his first lifetime!”

These words left Black Iron Sword Master speechless.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment in less than a hundred years? And at the peak?

What kind of joke was this!

After a long while, he let out a deep breath and forced a smile, saying, “Cultivating quickly isn’t necessarily a good thing. Advancing too fast makes one’s foundation unstable, and their divine abilities likely aren’t that high.”

As he spoke, Black Iron Sword Master fell silent halfway.

After all, he had heard from Black Gold Sword Master that the other party had, right under everyone’s watchful eyes, forcibly slain Elder Dragon Fisher, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

No matter how one looked at it, that counted as having high divine abilities.

“So what if his divine abilities are high?”

Black Iron Sword Master gripped the Black Iron Sword at his waist tightly.

“As sword cultivators, we have always traveled the world with our swords. If he stood before me, I would still strike him down with a single slash!”

At this point, Black Iron Sword Master’s eyes revealed a hint of pride.

“This Black Iron Sword was bestowed upon me by the Jiangnan Sword Pavilion. Not only is it a superior spirit treasure, but it also contains a mysterious ability called 【Barrier Breaker】. It can cut through all obstacles. No matter what divine abilities he has, I can still shatter them with a single strike!”

“Pfft!”

At this moment, Duobao Boy suddenly let out a stifled laugh.

Black Iron Sword Master immediately glared at him with cold eyes and asked sternly, “What are you laughing at?”

“Daoist Friend, please calm yourself.”

True Person Five Elements quickly stepped forward to hold him back, lowering his voice, “The Black Iron Sword is indeed sharp, but that fiend has even more formidable spirit treasures!”

“I saw it with my own eyes. He had at least three superior spirit treasures on him.”

“Among them were two magic swords, one of which contained three mysterious abilities, and the other one. In addition, he had a defensive spirit treasure. There might be other methods he didn’t even use.”

The more Black Iron Sword Master listened, the more speechless he became.

A magic sword with three mysterious abilities? At least three superior spirit treasures?

At this thought, he looked again at the Black Iron Sword he had cherished for many years, which had only one mysterious ability.

A wave of frustration suddenly surged in his heart.

“Damn second-generation immortals!”

Black Iron Sword Master gnashed his teeth and said, “For us sword cultivators, swords are merely external tools. The key lies in one’s comprehension of sword intent! That is something these second-generation immortals will never understand!”

“Daoist Friend, you are mistaken again.”

True Person Five Elements sighed, “According to my investigation, this person has no background at all. Every step he took to reach where he is today was solely due to his talent and hard work.”

Black Iron Sword Master: “.”

There was no way to respond to that.

At this moment, Zhong Xin, seated at the head of the hall, finally spoke up.

“Even so, he is still not at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. We still have ways to deal with him.”

“Indeed!”

Black Iron Sword Master finally regained his spirits at these words.

“Our Sect Master, with the help of the Sword Pavilion, has recently found the third Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend. He is currently in seclusion, preparing to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. When that happens, no matter how much of a genius that fiend is, he will not be able to withstand the Sect Master’s sword!”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s spirits lifted.

Only Zhong Xin remained cautious, lowering his voice, “Daoist Friend Black Iron, since you came to reinforce us, doesn’t that leave the Upper Profound Sword Sect undefended? Is their defense secure?”

“Rest assured!”

Black Iron Sword Master replied with great confidence, “Black Gold and Black Silver, two Foundation Establishment early-stage True Persons, are still stationed in the mountain. Small-time troublemakers are not worth mentioning.”

“What danger could there possibly be?”

“Wait.”

True Person Five Elements suddenly frowned at these words.

“That fiend didn’t show up here. Could he have secretly gone to your sect’s mountain gate?”

“After all, the enemy should also be aware of the threat your sect poses.”

Upon hearing this, Black Iron Sword Master’s expression immediately changed.

However, another voice quickly interrupted.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

It was none other than Duobao Boy.

“Everyone, don’t forget—Zhalong Pass is still here!”

Duobao Boy spoke confidently, “With the formation at Zhalong Pass blocking spiritual energy, no one can traverse the boundary by breaking through space.”

“And traveling by light flight wouldn’t escape our detection either.”

“Even if, taking the worst-case scenario, the formation was damaged during the recent attack, allowing that fiend to slip through— unless he completely destroys the Upper Profound Sword Sect, leaving no one to report back, wouldn’t he then become a trapped beast once we go to support them?”

“Think about it, everyone. Could he do that? Would he dare to do that?”

“After all, the Sect Master of the Upper Profound Sword Sect is also at the peak of the Foundation Establishment mid-stage, with the same cultivation level as that fiend. Would he be unable to send out even a single message if attacked?”

“This…”

Duobao Boy’s words were reasonable and convincing.

Even True Person Five Elements, who had raised the concern, began to feel that he had been worrying unnecessarily.

【Kingdom of Qing】, Black Sword Mountain.

As the name suggested, this was the location of the Upper Profound Sword Sect’s mountain gate.

Because the mountain’s shape resembled a sharp sword piercing the clouds, it was named Black Sword Mountain.

Back when the founding ancestor of the Upper Profound Sword Sect established the sect here, it was precisely because of the exceptional feng shui and abundant spiritual energy.

He had hoped that future generations would build upon this foundation and nurture a spiritual vein in the mountain.

With the support of such a vein, the sect’s legacy would be secure and long-lasting.

Just like the Witch Ghost Path in the past.

A thousand years ago, the Witch Ghost Path had controlled an eight-hundred-mile bone mountain spiritual vein.

Even True Lords were wary of making a move against them, which showed the importance of a spiritual vein to any major power.

“Fortunately, this place doesn’t seem to have nurtured a spiritual vein yet.”

At the foot of Black Sword Mountain, a handsome young man dressed in white, wearing a black cloak with wide sleeves fluttering in the wind, leisurely observed the scenery of the mountain.

“Halt!”

When the young man approached the mountain gate, two disciples of the Upper Profound Sword Sect flew out to block his path, their expressions cold as they questioned him.

“Who are you? What business do you have here?”

“I am Lü Yang. Please relay the message.”

Lü Yang cupped his fists politely and smiled, “I have come here today to annihilate your sect and wipe out your entire clan.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep