"I have the specific space-time coordinates for the Sword Realm. Once I input them into this ship, it will automatically find a channel to enter," Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.
After speaking, she sent a specific spatial coordinate into the interior of the ship. Then, the ship rapidly flew towards a certain direction ahead.
Before long, a space-time channel indeed appeared ahead. That channel was extremely well-hidden and constantly twisting and deforming, making it very hard to discern.
However, Ye Yunfei's Soul Power energy was immensely strong, and combined with Hun Lao and Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's particularly powerful spatial cultivation, everyone spotted the space-time channel there at a single glance.
With a hum, the ship charged into that space-time channel and sped forward inside it.
After another period of time, Ye Yunfei's vision suddenly brightened—the ship had now appeared within a world of vast scale.
"Young Master Ye, it seems we have reached the Sword Realm," Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.
"Let's go out and look." Ye Yunfei nodded and then took the lead stepping out of the ship.
The ship hovered above an incredibly vast, borderless continent. The interior of the Sword Realm was a massive world.
This world's area was even larger than an ordinary World Cluster. The continent below stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Even with Ye Yunfei's level of Soul Power energy, he couldn't instantly sense the edge of this continent. One could imagine just how enormous its area was!
However, before coming, Ye Yunfei had already learned a bit about the spatial structure of the Sword Realm, so he wasn't surprised.
The main structure of the Sword Realm was this vast, borderless continent. Above the continent, there were also numerous stars.
This vast, borderless continent was the main body of the Sword Realm. The stars above were like decorations, though in ancient times, many beings skilled in swordplay lived on those very stars.
"The current Sword Realm truly has become a wasteland," Ye Yunfei stood at a high altitude, surveying the vast, borderless continent below, and sighed softly.
As far as the eye could see, there stretched an incomparably vast, yet utterly desolate and silent shattered continent. Even before truly setting foot upon it, a bleak, ancient, yet incredibly pure and sharp aura assailed his senses!
Upon the ruins of the continent that stretched to the horizon, fractured mountain ranges lay like the remnants of a giant deity, dried riverbeds meandered like scars upon the earth, and countless ruins of palaces and pavilions were scattered across scorched black ground, seeming to whisper tales of past glories and tragedy.
The air was thick with Sword Dao energy so rich it was nearly tangible. Countless fragments of shattered Sword Dao laws drifted through the void like invisible blades, emitting faint, metallic hums.
This was the Sword Realm! Once a sacred land for sword cultivators, now an eternal wasteland from time immemorial!
"Such potent and pure Sword Intent...
Even after countless years, it remains this astonishing!" Ye Yunfei hovered mid-air, took a deep breath, and felt his own Sword Intent resonating slightly. Without conscious effort, vast amounts of dense, sharp sword light erupted from his body, dense and numerous like a peacock spreading its tail, scattering in all directions. They seemed to be cheering, as if a wanderer had returned home.
"How terrifying, this Sword Intent!" Zhou Wanqing's expression also turned grave. The once vibrant and lively Wood Law surrounding her was greatly suppressed here, as if targeted by countless invisible wills brimming with sharpness. She had to restrain her aura, as if stepping into a fearsome space that was akin to a dead zone for her.
"Let's go down," Ye Yunfei said softly.
For some reason, after entering the Sword Realm, Ye Yunfei's mood involuntarily grew heavy.
Then, the two carefully descended upon the continent ruins below.
Everywhere they looked was decay and silence. Occasionally, they could see scattered broken swords, most of which had long lost their spiritual energy and divinity, having turned into ordinary, rusted metal, no different from regular scrap iron.
On some massive, heavily cracked stone steles, blurred engravings of sword formulas and ancient writing remained, but most were incomplete, eroded by time and war to the point where their true profundities were illegible.
Ye Yunfei released his Soul Power energy, carefully sensing everything around him.
"Indeed, most of the Sword Dao inheritances I previously cultivated originate from the Sword Realm." Ye Yunfei found that everything within his body related to swords—Sword Energy, Sword Laws, Sword Intent—had now become active and resonated perfectly with this continent.
Buzz... buzz... buzz...
Millions of dazzling sword rays continuously burst forth from Ye Yunfei's body, roaming and dancing jubilantly in the surrounding space.
Then, Ye Yunfei delightedly discovered that numerous brilliant sword auras were also continuously permeating the surrounding space, interweaving and even fusing with the sword rays bursting from his body, ultimately becoming one.
Gradually, Ye Yunfei found that he was beginning to seem to merge with this world into a single entity. He had become a part of this world, inseparable.
Rumble...
Suddenly, the entire world shook violently, space and time transforming.
Then, Ye Yunfei saw some magnificent scenes.
A waterfall of Sword Qi from the Ninth Heaven cascaded down like a silver river. Countless sword cultivators rode flying swords like meteors traversing between spiritual mountains and clear waters. The sounds of discussing swords and long roars were endless, painting a scene of extreme prosperity and flourishing Sword Dao!
"This is..." Ye Yunfei revealed a shocked expression.
"It's likely remnants of the powerful Sword Intent that was once active here, resonating with the current space, causing occasional glimpses of past glorious imprints," Hun Lao considered for a moment after hearing Ye Yunfei's description and spoke.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Ye Yunfei looked shocked again, because at that moment he saw different scenes.
These scenes were incredibly tragic. The sky was torn asunder. Giant claws burning with black flames and gray blade auras imbued with annihilation will covered the firmament. Countless familiar sword lights shattered and vanished upon contact.
The once sword-discussing plaza turned into a pool of blood. Familiar sect brethren fell in disbelief under treacherous sword light. One majestic figure after another, surrounded by terrifying enemies, unleashed their final sword light that illuminated the cosmos, followed by scenes of destruction where heaven and earth mourned together and countless swords fell silent.
"This should be the scene of the Sword Realm's destruction. Events that occurred in antiquity were recorded by the laws of time and space, and under certain special conditions, are being replayed here.
You carry Sword Energy and Sword Laws from the Sword Realm's inheritances within you. That might have triggered some special laws within this space, allowing you to see scenes that once unfolded here in ancient times," Hun Lao said again after hearing Ye Yunfei's description.
"That should be it," Ye Yunfei nodded as he watched the various illusions before him.
Although these illusions flashed by in an instant, they impacted Ye Yunfei's mind with an overwhelming realism, giving him a more direct and profound understanding of the Sword Realm's glory and fall. A stifling heaviness and boundless fury welled up and accumulated within his chest.
In that moment, Ye Yunfei felt he had become a part of this world and had begun to sympathize with it.
Although it was his first time arriving in this world, a sense of duty, a feeling that he must share its fate, had emerged.
"Young Master Ye, what's wrong?" Zhou Wanqing walked cautiously beside Ye Yunfei. Unlike him, walking upon this vast, unfamiliar wasteland filled her with immense pressure. The intermittent bursts of Sword Dao remnants around heavily suppressed the wood-attribute energy and laws she cultivated. Soon, she noticed Ye Yunfei's unusual expression and couldn't help but ask with concern.
"I'm fine, Miss Zhou. The nature of the cultivation method you practice has some conflict with this world, so stay close to me, don't wander too far," Ye Yunfei advised.
Next, Ye Yunfei continued advancing.
"That direction seems to hold something attracting the Sword Dao will within me." Ye Yunfei's gaze suddenly turned towards a direction, his face showing a trace of anticipation.
Relying on the Sword Dao will within him, Ye Yunfei locked onto that distant direction and moved forward rapidly.
Gradually, pure, majestic Sword Intent appeared ahead, accompanied by a dense atmosphere of poignancy and unwillingness.
"Young Master Ye, we are beginning to venture deeper into this continent," Zhou Wanqing said softly, following beside Ye Yunfei.
Along the way, Ye Yunfei saw many architectural ruins of different styles, clearly belonging to different Sword Dao schools of the Sword Realm.
Some structures were steep and precarious, brimming with aggression; others were rounded, pristine, and aligned with nature.
But almost every region, every structure was destroyed too thoroughly. Aside from stirring sighs, it was hard to find any intact inheritor relics.
"It seems many different Sword Dao inheritances and sects should have existed within this Sword Realm," Zhou Wanqing remarked thoughtfully as she looked at the areas of varied styles.
"Yes. Sword Realm is only a collective name for a major world. Within it, there were many different sects and inheritances," Ye Yunfei nodded; he had already known this.
Thus, Ye Yunfei continued forward, observing, sensing, and searching as he went. For now, he didn't discover anything of great value.
This continent had been destroyed too thoroughly: no complete structures, no intact Sword Intent, not even a single complete weapon or treasure.
An indeterminate amount of time passed.
"Hmm?
The area ahead seems relatively well-preserved," Hun Lao suddenly said.
Up ahead lay a region where, whether it was the ground, mountains, buildings, or other things, everything was preserved relatively intact. Compared to the previously seen broken areas that had been reduced to utterly devastated, barren wasteland, it was much better.
Looking ahead, while the mountains in that area were largely collapsed, their fracture surfaces were as smooth as mirrors, as if cleaved by a supreme, sharp weapon. Yet their foundations still emitted an unyielding sword rhythm. Countless massive stone swords—some intact, some broken—were thrust upside-down or leaned against the mountain slopes like loyal guardians, forming a solemn and poignant Ten Thousand Sword Tomb.
The Sword Dao energy and law fragments here were so concentrated they seemed almost solidified. In the void, numerous tiny, pure Sword Intent-condensed light and shadow illusions even seemed to be self-practicing some profoundly abstruse trajectories, as if the sight of disciples cultivating here in ancient times still lingered.
More importantly, the Sword Intent here was relatively more complete and advanced!
"The Sword Dao will here... is at least ten times stronger than anywhere else!
This kind of space, I don't dare move around casually, or I'd be riddled with thousands of holes by this terrifying Sword Intent," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm exclaimed in shock.
Ye Yunfei swept his gaze across this region, finally resting it upon the most majestic mountain in the distance. Though half-collapsed, it still emitted a sky-piercing Sword Intent, as if embodying an unyielding backbone.
Above that mist-wreathed mountain peak, ruins of a large complex of palaces could faintly be seen. Before the ruins stood a gargantuan stone sword, a thousand zhang tall. Covered in spiderweb-like cracks yet unbroken, it stubbornly pointed its tip towards the heavens, standing firm and unmoving!
"Look! Over there's a mountain gate. There are three words on it!" Suddenly, Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm pointed towards a dilapidated structure in the distance and cried out in surprise.
Tianjian Sect...
Ye Yunfei saw a ruined mountain gate upon which three large characters, vigorous and unrestrained, radiated boundless, terrifying Sword Intent.
"This feels so familiar!" Suddenly, Ye Yunfei sensed a deeply familiar aura emanating from among that complex of structures. He couldn't help but be shocked.
Rumble...
Ye Yunfei released his Soul Power energy, reaching out to sense that cluster of structures, enveloping it instantly.
Then Ye Yunfei discovered that the Sword Intent within him seemed to resonate with a certain will present within that vast group of buildings.
Following that, Ye Yunfei saw a tall figure—a person with a straight, upright posture, sharp as a sword, soaring directly into the clouds.
"Lord Jian Shenzi!" Ye Yunfei suddenly exclaimed.
Because this figure, this aura, and the dense Sword Intent erupting from the figure before—Ye Yunfei knew them all down to the marrow.
It was precisely Jian Shenzi's aura!
"Could it be... that this Tianjian Sect is where Jian Shenzi once belonged?" Ye Yunfei guessed aloud.