The white clouds stretched for thousands of miles, and the green mountains filled the view.

A lone boat sped through the wind, with a man in blue standing proudly at the bow, holding a longsword, his robes fluttering.

His posture was elegant and straight, like refined bamboo, and the aura around him was stable and weighty, resembling a sharp but not overly aggressive sword, perfectly balancing restraint and release.

"Young Master, please sit down and rest for a while, it’s terribly cold."

The old servant Luo Tingzong sat at the back with his hands tucked in, sniffling. As they approached the Heavenly Intergence Sect, his young master insisted on removing the protective shield, saying the wind added to his aura.

Aura? We’re almost freezing to death.

Sniff~

Xie Jingshan sniffled, his entire face numb from the cold. A flash of firelight from the Huo Dou Sword instantly warmed him throughout.

"I want them to see, at first glance, that I’m no longer the same as before. Now, I am the prodigious sword Dao talent, Xie Jingshan of the Xie Family, destined to form my Core and forge the Supreme Sword Bone by the age of thirty-three!"

Luo Tingzong chuckled and shook his head. "If only you had come to your senses sooner and accepted the Old Ancestor’s help, you might have broken the Guiyuan Sword Sect’s record of forming a Core at thirty-two, the fastest in the entire Earth Spiritual Realm. Such a pity."

Xie Jingshan waved his hand dismissively. "No matter, thirty-three is my nominal age. I’m thirty-two this year, and it’s only March. As long as I succeed in Core Formation before August, I’ll still be the fastest!"

"Why put yourself through this? You could achieve Core Formation directly at the Sword Washing Pool and be done with it, without rushing back to the Heavenly Intergence Sect."

"You don’t understand. Such an important event as forming a Core feels wasted if no one’s watching. Besides, the Sword Washing Pool has had little effect on me after nearly four years. The most important thing is..."

Xie Jingshan’s eyes grew profound as he stared at the nearing Qingyun Ridge, an anticipating mischievous smile twitching at his lips, barely able to contain his laughter.

Luo Tingzong could immediately tell what his young master was thinking. Over the past two years, he had accompanied Xie Jingshan at the Sword Washing Pool in the Suchen Domain, blocking out the world to focus solely on cultivating Sword Qi Dao.

As he neared Core Formation, Xie Jingshan rushed back to Heavenly Intergence Sect in haste, using an ancient teleportation array without even having time to stop at Hongyan Building to inquire about recent events.

Upon finally returning to the Heavenly Intergence Sect, Xie Jingshan rushed into the sect, leaving Luo Tingzong outside, words unspoken.

Once inside, Xie Jingshan noticed many people rushing toward Heavenly Killing Peak. He stopped a passerby.

"What’s everyone going for?"

"Master Wangshu is having a decisive battle with Master Fang today!"

"Who is Master Wangshu? How come I’ve never heard of..."

The Foundation Establishment Disciple didn’t even get a clear look at Xie Jingshan, just dropped a line and ran off.

Xie Jingshan scratched his head in confusion, "Never heard of a Master Wangshu in Heavenly Intergence Sect before. To dare challenge our Heavenly Sword Peak’s senior brother, that takes guts. I must see this!"

Xie Jingshan rose using Sword Control, heading straight for Heavenly Killing Peak.

The Golden Core Stage battlefield was at the peak, protected by a great array that absorbed spell damage to prevent collateral damage.

At this moment, the peak was crowded with people, with some standing around the plaza, flying with sword control, and Golden Core Masters levitating even higher. Xie Jingshan even noticed the Flowing Light Illusion Array set by Nascent Soul True Monarch, capable of transmitting the battle scenario elsewhere.

"Truly worthy of my senior brother, capturing the entire sect’s attention!"

The crowd was so dense that Xie Jingshan could only hear the sword singing and see magical techniques flashing without finding a way in.

With no better option, he forcibly squeezed through the plaza’s edge. Those squeezed out grumbled, turning angrily, but a Top-Grade spirit stone shoved into their face quickly changed their expressions to joyous, stepping back to make way.

Once he reached the front row, Xie Jingshan saw the female cultivator in white standing with her back to him at the center of the battlefield, his eyes involuntarily twitching violently, his soul almost leaving his body in shock.

"Is she Master Wangshu? Truly a master?"

"Such ignorance, not recognizing Master Wangshu, the most celebrated in our Heavenly Intergence Sect, who attained Core Formation at twenty-nine."

"Indeed, did you just crawl out from the mountains?"

Xie Jingshan grabbed his head in shock.

Twenty-nine...Core Formation!!

Formed her Core three years ago? While he languished at the Sword Washing Pool consuming Sword Pills to barely break through Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, she’s already formed her Core?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

He must be dreaming, maybe asleep at the Sword Washing Pool?

Clang!

A sword cry pierced the heavens, Jiang Yuebai sidestepped to dodge, the sword light crashing against the barrier in front of Xie Jingshan, creating rippling waves.

Jiang Yuebai’s eyes glanced at Xie Jingshan, a light gleaming in them.

"Oh~ you returned to the sect, reached Peak Foundation Establishment so quickly, not bad~"

Xie Jingshan: (ಥ_ಥ)

I suspect you’re mocking me!

Jiang Yuebai’s parting words to Xie Jingshan felt like a provocation to Fang Yuxing, who had been fully focused.

A sword cry soared, followed by a flash of silver light, countless sword auras gathering around Jiang Yuebai, forming a web that, accompanied by the destructive power to shatter mountains and rivers, screeched toward Jiang Yuebai’s vital points.

Jiang Yuebai remained immovable as a mountain, standing since entering the field without shifting, the Lotus Purification Bottle suspended before her, the bottle mouth facing down.

Continuous water flowed out, gathering into a pool within nine zhang and nine chi around her, where red and green interwove, the light and shadow of lotuses and leaves vividly lifelike, complementing Jiang Yuebai’s ethereal presence as if she were a celestial from the Jade Pool, overflowing with spiritual energy.

As the sword light approached, countless black dragon fish leaped from the pool, flicking their tails into the air, swallowing the sword auras like bait, leaving Jiang Yuebai entirely unscathed.

Having obtained the Lotus Purification Bottle for over two years, she had long since reinforced it with Dragon Blood from before Ao Juan’s Divinity Transformation. Besides its defensive lotuses, a thousand black dragon fish lay hidden in the pool.

The scattered sword auras bloomed like flowers, scrambling Fang Yuxing, who couldn’t break through the Lotus Purification Bottle’s defense.

Seeing this, Fang Yuxing made a quick gesture, the Spirit Soul Sword Roar morphing into an invisible Divine Sense Sword Aura, assaulting Jiang Yuebai before touching the Lotus Purification Bottle’s defense.

Jiang Yuebai’s Sea of Consciousness flinched slightly, her Divine Sense transformed into silk, instantly binding Fang Yuxing’s Divine Sense Sword Aura without allowing any advancement. Their duel transformed into a battle of Divine Sense strength.

To cultivators below the Golden Core Stage, the two appeared to be standing still, comically making faces at each other, with no understanding of the higher stakes involved.

However, Xie Jingshan could keenly sense, even ’see’, Fang Yuxing’s little Divine Sense sword and Jiang Yuebai’s spider-silk-like Divine Sense silk.

The silk wound around the tiny sword, both vibrating intensely, neither giving an inch.

As the Divine Sense sword neared its breaking point, Fang Yuxing waved his hand, retracting it forcefully, causing it to crash into the Lotus Purification Bottle.

The bottle shook, the pond flickered as if about to scatter, while Fang Yuxing appeared above Jiang Yuebai, silver light flaring violently around him.

An unending rain of sword auras shot out like a torrential downpour, as Fang Yuxing wielded his sword to sever the forcefully.

Lightning bolted down, merging with the countless sword auras into a terrifying sea of thunder, creating crashing waves, mercilessly striking down upon Jiang Yuebai.

Yet Jiang Yuebai remained unfazed, white vines shooting skyward under her feet, winding and intertwining into a forest that filled the entire battlefield, stretching the barrier to its limits.

Boom!

The sea of thunder collided with the vine forest, fierce flames surged skyward, a sea of fire engulfing every inch of the battlefield’s vines.

The flames glowed dark red, charged with Evil Qi.

The unrelenting blaze pierced through gaps, counterattacking upward. Fang Yuxing unleashed his Sword Gang as a shield, invoking wild lightning, flashing serpentine, forcefully dispelling the fire sea.

After a moment, calm returned to the field, with Jiang Yuebai still standing in the center, unscathed, while Fang Yuxing wore a heavy expression.

The onlookers outside were astonished, and over by the Heavenly Sword Peak disciples, the atmosphere was heavy.

Xie Jingshan clenched his fist, sensing Jiang Yuebai’s strength had grown even more formidable than before, uncertain whether his own Supreme Sword Bone Core Formation would allow him to stand against her.