World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 458: The Forefather Manifests!

Qing Yanzi led Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan in worshipping their forefather. They bowed, burned incense, and prayed nonstop. Those who weren't aware of the truth would likely just think that their sect was boundlessly devoted to their forefather.

As they had hypothesized, the incense power kept flowing for as long as they kept the offerings going. By nightfall, the bronze box had begun radiating a distinct Dao Rhythm. The box also trembled in steady intervals, which was in line with Xiaomiao's prediction. It was as though Chun Yangzi was trying to reclaim it from some distant place.

Qing Yanzi felt indescribably excited. Their forefather's sudden manifestation overwhelmed him with emotion. However, new doubts also rose in his mind.

If Forefather Chun Yangzi is still alive, what state is he in now? Ten thousand years have already passed in the boundless stars. Why hasn't he looked for this place yet? Are powerful enemies still pursuing and forcing him to stay in hiding? Or does he fear revealing the final refuge of the Heavenly Court's Daoist heritage?

Perhaps Emperor Ziwei had already rallied the rest of the Heavenly Court and secured a foothold somewhere in the endless starry sky. If so, then our forefather could simply be too occupied to return.

The severed finger was still glowing faintly, though the bronze box now overshadowed its aura. Everyone suspected that the cause of the anomaly lay within the woman's finger. It had to have been deeply connected to Chun Yangzi.

Qing Yanzi smiled. "We've been burning incense all day. Now that the incense power is strong and steady, maybe the box really will return to our forefather. Is there anything else we can do before it does?"

Wang Sheng grinned. He hadn't seen his master this happy in so long. "Maybe write a letter to the forefather? Tell him about how things are going here?"

"Good idea." Qing Yanzi paced back and forth, then frowned. "But what if, and I mean what if, it's not our forefather calling to us? Our message could end up exposing Earth's situation to outsiders."

Wang Sheng thought about it. "Its Pure Yang Dao Rhythm is unmistakable, Master. Even if they're not our forefather, they're probably from his lineage—a true inheritor of his Daoist heritage."

"That makes sense. After all, more than ten thousand years have passed out there." Qing Yanzi murmured a few more times, then added, "No, that can't be right. If the Dao Rhythm isn't our forefather's, why would it react to the incense power generated from our offerings to him?"

Wang Sheng found that reasoning convincing as well. Lost in thought, the two looked up at the slightly worn face of their forefather's statue.

After some time, Qing Yanzi left the palace to check on his new disciples, while Wang Sheng stayed behind to keep the incense burning. The offerings on the table changed with each mealtime. Xi Lian even suggested adding wine.

According to the customs of the Hua Republic, the richer the offerings, the more likely it would be for the worshipped deities or immortal spirits to accept them.

"Dao of Incense," Wang Sheng muttered softly.

He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and gazed up at their forefather's sculpted face, which he had first seen in the Seventy-Two Swords Trial. At the time, Nameless had shown it to him.

Wang Sheng then had a faint, somewhat discouraging thought.

Perhaps, to the forefather, Earth is just merely one of the many places where he had left behind his Daoist heritage. He probably doesn't think it's that important. Otherwise, why wouldn't he communicate with any of his descendants despite sensing the box?

Wang Sheng shook his head, believing he had hit the mark. Chun Yangzi was a Taiyi Golden Immortal and might have even advanced to the Grand Dao Golden Immortal Realm by now. To such beings, even True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals were no more than stronger ants.

Still, Wang Sheng believed Earth held special significance to the immortals of the Heavenly Court. After all, they hid the Small Immortal Realm in the Moon.

"Comprehension or aptitude isn't the greatest obstacle that those at the Ascended Immortal Realm would face. It is their own limitations," Yaoyun had once said, leaving a deep impression on Wang Sheng.

Where is that limit set, though? Is it truly unbreakable with effort alone?

Lost in thought, Wang Sheng stared blankly at Chun Yangzi's statue. Mu Wanxuan soon arrived with Chi Wen to arrange new offerings, snapping him back to reality. He rose to help them.

***

By the third day, the bronze box had started trembling a lot more frequently.

Following a discussion with his first two disciples, Qing Yanzi decided that once the upcoming initiation ceremony was done, they would channel a large amount of Pure Yang Enchanted Power into the box to try activating and returning it to their forefather.

However, Xiaomiao raised new concerns that made everyone realize just how serious the situation was. "The Realm of Exiled Immortals seems to have only one exit. If the box tries to fly directly off Earth, won't that damage the barriers that the immortals formed and risk exposing Earth's location?"

Qing Yanzi invited Huai Jing over, then summoned the sect members and servants. They spent half the day discussing the matter.

The conclusion they reached was, in truth, no conclusion at all. Neither Yaoyun nor the "old monk" from the Buddhist sect knew the condition of the Realm of Exiled Immortals' entrance.

After giving it some thought, Wang Sheng asked Yaoyun, "Considering my flight speed, how long would it take me to reach the Realm of Exiled Immortals' exit from here?"

Yaoyun thought for a moment. "Eight years."

Wang Sheng frowned. That meant a round trip would take him sixteen years.

"If you ascend to the Ascended Immortal Realm, it would take you roughly nine months with the speed boost from your Soaring Red Feathers. Here, look."

Yaoyun waved her slender hand slightly, creating a perfect replica of Earth and the solar system. Vast cosmic space separated each celestial body.

A sphere slowly closed in from the asteroid belt's circular ring. Those outside the array only saw an aging, expanding star that had already engulfed Earth, Mars, and other nearby planets.

"This is the barrier that protects this world. It conceals the fluctuations of primal qi on Earth."

Yaoyun then lightly slid a finger across the model, shrinking the basketball-sized "protective barrier" down to the size of a sesame seed. Around it appeared a faintly distorted wall of light, which she lightly tapped on.

"This is the entire Realm of Exiled Immortals. We once investigated it. Its core is actually—"

"The Sun?" Wang Sheng interrupted.

"No, the core is the entire realm itself. It's extremely desolate, and not even a Grand Dao Golden Immortal can escape its flow of time once they're inside it. Cultivators view regions like this as ominous, and no one truly knows why they exist. That's why even if the formation at its entrance were broken, immortals are still unlikely to explore it willingly. After all, a few decades here is tens of thousands of years outside."

Huai Jing sighed softly. "Her Highness is right. Even if someone accidentally entered, they would feel a tearing force and clearly sense time slowing. That would be enough to make them retreat on their own."

Xiaomiao looked as though she had something to say, but was hesitating. Meanwhile, Qing Yanzi and Wang Sheng appeared to be deep in thought.

If this matter concerned only the Pure Yang Sword Faction, then they could simply return the box to their forefather if he wished to reclaim it. However, it also involved Earth's safety.

"I have a small question," Xiaomiao said softly. "Master, when the immortals of the Heavenly Court fled in the old days, did they stumble upon this place by chance, or did they specifically choose to flee here?"

Yaoyun froze for a moment, then lowered her head in thought. After a while, she slowly shook her head, offering no answer to her disciple's question.

For a while, everyone racked their brains again.

Xi Lian yawned delicately. "Blessing or curse, we can't avoid what's already coming. No point in hesitating. Sect Master, I'm going back to play games. Call me if something happens."

Qing Yanzi smiled. "Of course, Elder Xi."

Huai Jing, who was beside him, clearly wanted to visit her pavilion but restrained himself. After all, she was a female benefactor, and he was a monk of pure cultivation.

***

Amid their doubts and hesitations, the new disciples' initiation ceremony arrived. More than a dozen Daoist masters and the three new disciples' parents gathered at the Pure Yang Sword Faction from all corners of the country and the globe.

Qing Yanzi placed the bronze box before the forefather's stone statue and ordered everyone to avoid discussing it for today. Even though it only contained a letter and a finger, it still represented the Pure Yang Sword Faction's heritage.

A storage artifact had also been in the box, but Qing Yanzi had long since taken it. Inside, he found some Spirit Stones and the stone tablet that the Seven-Star Sword Formation had been carved on.

The sect was filled with joy. Disciples and attendants bustled about, having long prepared all the tools required for the ceremony.

At noon, the dozens of cultivators and mortals in the palace watched as the new disciples, who were in small Daoist robes, entered one after another according to their order in the sect. Jingyun, the vice sect master and head of finance, presided over the ceremony.

The three knelt before Qing Yanzi. Holding a wooden sword, he bestowed them their initiation vows and advised them on the principles of cultivation and conduct.

The sight stirred Wang Sheng's heart. It reminded him of the day he had taken his vows as a disciple.

The ceremony proceeded smoothly. After serving their master tea, the three bowed deeply to him again. Now, all Qing Yanzi and his five disciples had to do was make offerings to their forefather, essentially informing their forefather that he now had three more successors.

But as they proceeded, they faced an unexpected development.

After Qing Yanzi and Mu Wanxuan offered incense, faint ripples appeared on the statue's surface. Its eyes seemed to glimmer.

Already on edge since the past few days, the members of the Pure Yang Sword Faction all noticed the anomaly at once.

The statue's lips then seemingly curved into a faint smile.

When Wang Sheng froze for a moment, Qing Yanzi immediately instructed, "Little Sheng, offer incense now!"

"Yes, Master!"

Without hesitation, Wang Sheng stepped forward, placed three sticks of incense into the burner, and kowtowed. A faint, almost inaudible, surprised exclamation came from within the statue. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Qing Yanzi urged, "Little Lin, your turn."

"Oh..." Wei Lin nervously tiptoed and placed her three sticks of incense into the burner. She then kowtowed before the forefather.

The statue let out what sounded like a soft laugh, and a wave of Dao Rhythm rippled outward. The eyes of every cultivator in the palace widened. They felt as though someone was speaking ancient words straight into their minds.

Before they could make sense of it, the bronze box at the statue's feet suddenly shone and floated. When it hit the statue's chest, it turned into a streak of rainbow light and shot out of the palace.

"Little Sheng!" Qing Yanzi shouted instinctively.

Even before he finished, Wang Sheng had already dashed out and, once outside, turned into a golden beam of light.

A manifestation of the Golden Crow then appeared and raised its head. With a piercing cry, it soared into the skies and chased the bronze box, quickly vanishing beyond the horizon.