Remould the Glory of Sword Art

The Dao Furnace Grand Hall was enveloped in divine radiances cascading down like waterfalls.

Dao Jiu gently flicked his sleeve.

The fiery red glow washed down to the ground, transforming into a gateway before everyone—

"The Secret Tomb left by the master is covered by one hundred and eighty-eight external formations."

Dao Jiu calmly stated, "Unless the external formation is destroyed, anyone wishing to leave here must wait for the great formation to close in!"

"So... this door is?"

"This is the 'Life Gate'."

Dao Jiu indifferently stated, "Although I am merely an Artifact Spirit, I have followed the master and am aware of most of the external formations' operating principles. If you want to survive, just step into this 'Life Gate.' With each overlapping of the array patterns, a 'Life Gate' will appear before you... Repeat this process, and in about two hours, you'll be able to leave the Secret Tomb."

Upon these words, no one dared to move.

The disciples of Baihua Valley looked towards Xie Xuanyi.

"This 'Life Gate,' I will only maintain it for the time of hundred breaths, consider carefully."

Dao Jiu blandly said, "If you do not trust me, you are naturally free to choose not to go. The Secret Tomb is vast, you just need to wait for the next operation of the great formation and turn around to leave."

Having said that.

He then closed his eyes, resting with his eyes closed, as if indifferent to everything happening around him.

"Master Xie?"

Yuan Yi spoke cautiously.

Unable to make a decision, she could only seek help by looking towards Xie Zhen.

Although they hadn't known each other for long.

For some reason... she had already placed Xie Zhen in an extremely important position in her heart.

"Miss Yuan."

Xie Xuanyi earnestly said, "I'm not sure about other things, but the Bai Ze Secret Realm is indeed enveloped by numerous formations... If you want to leave the Secret Realm, the opportunity before you might be the best one."

On this point, Dao Jiu had not lied!

Every so often, the Secret Realm would be dismantled and redistributed!

"What about you?" Yuan Yi asked nervously.

She had realized from the beginning.

Xie Zhen's identity was very unusual, and his entry into the Bai Ze Secret Realm seemed to have other motives.

Xie Xuanyi shook his head, saying, "I, Xie, still have important matters to attend to and will not consider leaving for the time being."

It was merely a coincidence to be traveling with the disciples of Baihua Valley.

His entry into the Bai Ze Secret Realm was actually to seek out the Erosion Sun Swamp... Saving Yuan Yi and killing the Evil Cultivator from South Border was both a "coincidence" and a "necessity."

But if they continued further into the depths of the Secret Tomb.

Xie Xuanyi and the Baihua Valley disciples would sooner or later face this situation.

Lu Yuan and the others had already lost interest in treasure hunting; after being ambushed by the Chu Family, their only wish was to survive and deliver the information to the outside world.

With a bang.

The airspace of the Dao Furnace Grand Hall began to tremble—

This sound, causing the Baihua Valley disciples to change color, was indeed the sound of the great formation operating!

The external formation of the Bai Ze Secret Realm would break and reassemble every so often!

The sound implied that changes were about to occur in the Secret Realm... In other words, this was the final chance to decide.

Lu Yuan gritted her teeth, stepping forward and respectfully speaking.

"Senior Dao Jiu."

The Artifact Spirit slightly opened his eyes, glancing indifferently at the woman before him.

Lu Yuan earnestly said, "Your humble junior comes from Baihua Valley in Qing State, and I am grateful for Senior Dao Jiu's life-saving grace... If safely returned to land, I will definitely report to the elder ancestor and beg for your continued guidance and generosity."

"Baihua Valley?"

Dao Jiu snickered, saying indifferently, "I've never heard of it, nor do I care."

Lu Yuan's expression momentarily stiffened.

However, Dao Jiu did catch the probing intent in the woman's words.

"There's no need to test me."

Dao Jiu said lazily, "If I truly wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to lie, nor would I waste the energy to open the door."

This statement made Lu Yuan fall silent.

"Ten breaths, if you do not leave. You will need to find another way out."

Dao Jiu waved his sleeve.

The gateway that had been faintly visible due to the furnace's light, now began to dim.

Lu Yuan's expression fluctuated.

She glanced back at her fellow disciples... Some were injured, others crippled.

If they continued to delay in the Secret Tomb, probably no one would survive in the end.

"Let's go!"

Lu Yuan shouted lowly, picked up her unconscious fellow disciple, and was the first to rush towards the gateway.

The other few disciples of Baihua Valley, hearing this, no longer hesitated, all of them rushed towards the dimly lit gateway—

All except for Yuan Yi.

"...Master Xie."

Yuan Yi, holding the Reed Sword, was reluctant to leave; she didn't want to go.

Dao Jiu watched this scene, his eyes showing a hint of distaste as he slowly turned away.

"Miss Yuan, you need not worry about me."

Xie Xuanyi calmly said, "Take care. After you leave, there will still be opportunities to meet."

"You speak truly, sir."

Yuan Yi sighed internally, giving one last reluctant look to Xie Zhen, her eyes full of regret.

Unfortunately.

From the beginning to the end, she had never clearly seen Xie Zhen's face under his hat.

"Yuan Yi!"

The distant call of Sister Lu Yuan reached her, and Yuan Yi no longer hesitated, turning and rushing towards the gateway, but just as she was about to step through and the light was about to fade, she suddenly turned back and forcefully threw the Reed Sword she had been cradling.

A streak of light pierced through the grand hall.

Xie Xuanyi reached out and caught it steadily.

The light faded, and specks of light dust scattered under the corners of the grand hall.

"Truly... nauseating."

Dao Jiu turned back, expressionlessly saying, "What exactly is your relationship with that woman?"

Xie Xuanyi said, "I have only met her once."

"Tch."

Dao Jiu laughed, "I don't believe it. Meeting just once, and she's practically ready to give you her heart and soul. In my view, if you had just spoken up, she would definitely have ignored her sect's wishes and chosen to stay."

"Young girls are always like this."

Xie Xuanyi held the scabbard of the Reed Sword and said indifferently, "It'll be alright in a few years."

A few more years.

Yuan Yi would gradually forget about the experiences within the Bai Ze Secret Realm...

She would meet many people.

Slowly, very slowly, she would forget herself, forget "Xie Zhen," a person who never really existed.

"Interesting, how long have you lived?"

Dao Jiu squinted his eyes, staring at Xie Xuanyi, "You don't seem to be of this age."

From the very beginning, he had sensed something unusual about Xie Xuanyi.

This youth, who appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, but his actions were not those of someone his age.

The most important thing was—

Those disciples from the Baihua Valley respectfully called him "Elder Dao Jiu"!

But Xie Zhen, he subconsciously called him "Brother Dao Jiu"!

What did this mean?

It meant... Xie Zhen didn't feel that this thousand-year-old Artifact Spirit of the Dao furnace was formidable enough that he should be called an elder!

"A bit longer than them, much shorter than you."

Xie Xuanyi did not enter the great hall but sat in front of the main door of the hall, maintaining some distance from the Artifact Spirit.

"If I'm not mistaken, you probably can't leave this place."

Xie Xuanyi got straight to the point.

He stretched out his finger, pointing to the Dao furnace at the top of the hall—

From the beginning to the end, Dao Jiu was inside the hall.

Or rather, he had always stayed within the range covered by the divine radiance of the Dao furnace!

Artifact Spirits can cultivate Spirit Wisdom and take human form, but after all, they are inherently Artifact Spirits... Everything Dao Jiu did had to be based on the rules set by his master. Whatever rules Bai Ze the Great Saint had established, he had to abide by them.

If Bai Ze had ruled that it could not leave the hall.

Then, no matter how advanced its cultivation, it could not leave this place.

"Correct."

Dao Jiu smiled and said, "If Artifact Spirits could move freely... then this Secret Tomb would have been thrown into chaos long ago. How would you second and third realm ants have a chance to meet me?"

"You probably wouldn't have lived to this moment then," Xie Xuanyi said, wiping the smile off Dao Jiu's face.

"Everyone knows that Bai Ze the Great Saint has many hidden treasures."

"There should be more than one treasure stronger than you in this Secret Tomb, right?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled slightly, "If true spirits were allowed to move freely, I'm afraid that the 'Dao Pen' would have erased all your wills long ago."

The three words "Dao Pen."

Brought a hint of fear in Dao Jiu's eyes.

The Demon Race has bloodline suppression.

Artifact Spirits... actually do as well.

While the quality of the "Dao Furnace" is indeed very high, enough to reach the threshold of a Yangshen Treasure, compared to the "Dao Pen," there is still an insurmountable chasm.

How could the Dao Furnace Artifact Spirit dare to compete with the Dao Pen?

Taking a deep breath, Dao Jiu composed himself and coldly said: "Hah, how much better is that guy compared to me... Even a Supreme Taoist Treasure is not free, is it?"

"Wait, is the Dao Pen really here in the Secret Tomb?"

Xie Xuanyi's eyes lit up.

According to the intelligence from the library... the news of the Dao Pen should be false!

"What, can Artifact Spirits even die?"

Dao Jiu sneered but then seemed to think of something and frowned, "Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since I've sensed that fellow's presence... It didn't really escape, did it?"

Dao Jiu's words carried considerable information.

Xie Xuanyi rubbed his temples...

Clearly, the Dao Pen had already taken human form, and furthermore, its cultivation level was higher than that of Dao Jiu, an Artifact Spirit of this caliber!

Chen Jingxuan said he hadn't sensed the presence of the "Dao Pen."

Could it be that after transforming, the Supreme Taoist Treasure had escaped the Secret Realm?!

"Speaking of which, shouldn't it be you who answers my questions?"

Dao Jiu suddenly realized something was amiss.

How had it become so after sending those women away, it was this Xie Zhen asking all the questions?

He had been found out...

Xie Xuanyi gave a helpless smile.

"Brother Dao Jiu, just ask... I, Xie, will tell all and know all."

Dao Jiu stared at Xie Xuanyi for a long time.

After a long while, he asked his first question.

"Have you heard of the 'Erosion Sun Swamp'?"

This first question left Xie Xuanyi completely stunned.

Of course, he had heard of the Erosion Sun Swamp!

To the east of the Demon Country, spanning tens of thousands of miles... this territory belongs to the Sun Swallowing Venerable's command!

But how did Dao Jiu know about this place?

"Many years ago, some cultivators came here, they were very different from you," Dao Jiu earnestly asked, "How many years have passed outside, has the Erosion Sun Swamp been destroyed, and what relationship does Baihua Valley have with the Erosion Sun Swamp?"

Xie Xuanyi looked down, silently observing the soil below him, which, after being weathered by the years, still retained traces of blood.

If he had not guessed wrong, this blood.

Was demon blood.

A series of fragmented messages, dense and numerous, flooded into his mind.

The Bai Ze Secret Realm, unseen in the world of Da Chu for a thousand years!

Yet Dao Jiu said, some years ago, a group of cultivators entered the Secret Realm and fought each other terribly!

North Sea, Carp Tide River, Erosion Sun Swamp...

"Could it be?"

Xie Xuanyi sighed heavily, his head aching.

Everyone thought that this Bai Ze Secret Realm was hidden under the surge of the national fate; thus, it remained undiscovered for a thousand years...

Now it seemed the real truth was not so.

The Secret Tomb left by Bai Ze the Great Saint, could it actually move on its own?!

...

...

(PS: I'm explaining the issue with the updates, as there were no pre-written chapters during the explosive release period, and thus my biological clock got disrupted. From today onward, I will fix the timing of updates. If there are any sudden changes, I will open a single chapter to explain everything clearly. At the current moment, updates are tentatively scheduled for twice a day.

If there are rewards from the lords, I will add more chapters; if the monthly tickets exceed 1000, I will add one more chapter~)