After leaving the old site of the Wind Sword Sect,
and after visiting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to collect certain treasures,
Li Zhexian passed through primeval forests of towering ancient trees
and crossed marshlands shrouded in drifting mists.
The pulling force within his heart grew ever clearer.
Until finally—
He stopped before an abandoned lair.
Here, the soil was dark red.
The ground lay buried with the remains of various Spirit beasts,
along with ferocious claw marks left by tiger-type creatures.
Li Zhexian let out a slow breath and stepped inside.
On the rocky wall within,
two sword marks were starkly visible.
One sword mark brimmed with killing intent;
merely gazing upon it sent a bone-chilling sharpness through the soul.
The other sword mark, however, was carefree and unrestrained—
wild and proud by nature.
Its artistic intent had come later,
yet it firmly suppressed the killing sword mark beneath it.
Li Zhexian stood before the stone wall,
staring at the wildly unrestrained sword mark.
The gale brushed past his temples,
yet could not scatter the strange tremor stirring in his heart.
He raised his hand.
Two fingers formed into a sword.
Unconsciously, he traced the trajectory of that mark upon the stone wall.
At the instant his fingertips sliced through the air—
Buzz!
Space and time seemed to shudder for a heartbeat.
The sword mark, dormant for many years, suddenly flared with light.
A faintly illusory white-robed figure emerged from the mark,
perfectly overlapping with his present form.
Two sword fingers, separated by time and space, merged into one.
A sword light of absolute purity quietly blossomed.
This sword light—
seemed to cleave open time itself.
The surrounding scenery rapidly receded and blurred…
In a daze, Li Zhexian felt as though he had returned to that day many years ago.
He saw—
Saw that snow-white-robed youth, facing the murderous sword mark, striking out with a single sword.
That state of unrestrained abandon—
Was not deliberate arrogance.
But the natural outflow of his Sword Dao and his pure, untainted heart.
This sword—
Cut straight at the heart itself.
Li Zhexian shuddered violently.
An indescribable clarity surged forth, dispersing the mirage-like haze formed from long-accumulated worldly vulgarity within his heart.
That slickness and numbness—
At this very moment—
Were completely shattered—
By a single sword he himself had once wielded.
He was no longer drifting helplessly through the mortal world like duckweed.
That buried, childlike sword heart—tempered by hardship and washed by trials—finally broke through the fog and returned once more.
He straightened to his full height and let out a clear, skyward howl, his voice like a dragon's roar.
Sword qi naturally surged from his body.
Stars, blazing frost, clear wind, thunder, time, and spiritual power intertwined and resonated—no longer hindered in the slighte
The fog over his memories had yet to fully disperse.
But through the mirage, light now shone from his crystal-clear sword heart.
"My name is Li Zhexian."
...
The Lake of Life.
Da Ming and Er Ming lifted their heads at the same time.
Two pairs of beastly pupils stared uncertainly
toward a distant part of the forest.
"This aura…"
Before Da Ming could finish speaking,
the turmoil in his heart inexplicably eased.
But the next moment—
the two forest overlords still pushed aside ancient trees
and charged toward the sensed direction.
...
Meanwhile, in the depths of the earth. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger huddled dejectedly in a corner.
"Roar…"
"M-my lord…"
"Every word I spoke is true. Li Zhexian has indeed fallen."
"To defeat a god with a mortal body—
such talent, unparalleled across the ages…
to have served as his mount was my greatest honor."
"Alas, heaven is jealous of genius."
The Divine Butterfly and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion cried ever more sorrowfully, tears the size of beans rolling down.
A flash of ferocity passed through Di Tian's dark-golden dragon pupils.
When the aftershocks of the divine battle shook heaven and earth that day, he had already sensed something amiss.
Now, after hearing the evil tiger's account—
The last shred of hope was utterly extinguished.
Naturally, he did not wish for Li Zhexian to have fallen.
Leaving aside the fact that this youth had nurtured an anomaly like the Divine Butterfly—
Even the path for Spirit Beasts to become gods proposed by Skyworm Ice Worm hinged entirely upon him alone.
"If this human youth were still alive…"
"With his mortal body rivaling the power of a god, and his goodwill toward Spirit beasts…"
"Perhaps he truly could open a living path for our Spirit Beast race!"
"Could it be that our Spirit Beast race truly has no future at all?"
Just as Di Tian grew increasingly despondent—
a familiar aura suddenly pierced his perception.
At the same moment, the Divine Butterfly stopped crying, flapping its wings excitedly as it stammered eagerly:
"Li… Li Zhexian!"
"It's Li… Li Zhexian!"
"How dare you deceive me?"
Killing intent as deep as an abyss erupted, frightening the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to the brink of soul collapse.
"Mercy, my lord!"
Dark-golden light flared once more within Di Tian's dragon pupils.
"Once I verify the truth of this matter, I will settle accounts with you."
Not long after Li Zhexian left the Star Dou Forest,
the Titan Giant Ape descended with a thunderous crash.
The Azure Bull Python slithered in shortly after.
The two beasts swept their surroundings anxiously.
Da Ming's gaze suddenly locked onto the rock wall within the lair.
There, unmistakably, were three sword marks.
Two bore the heavy marks of age,
but one was as sharp and fresh as new.
That sense of completeness, clarity, and unrestrained ease within the sword intent—
made both Da Ming and Er Ming surge with excitement.
"It's definitely Brother Zhexian!"
"I said it—how could Brother Zhexian fall so easily?!"
"That evil tiger dared lie to me. If I get my hands on it, I'll make it pay!"
Deep within the earth-vein palace,
towering dragon breath condensed into a whip,
lashing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger until it howled in agony.
...
The Divine Realm Plaza.
Ji Dong clapped his hands together and laughed, his eyes filled with admiration.
"To rediscover one's original heart from sword makrs of the past…"
"Li Zhexian truly is one blessed by both fate and talent."
At this moment, the God of Destruction had gone to seek trouble with the Sea God.
Only the two God Kings remained in the plaza.
The atmosphere immediately relaxed.
The Asura God spoke slowly:
"This journey through the mortal world not only made Li Zhexian's sword heart ever clearer,
it also honed his blade to an even keener edge."
"However…"
"His Spirit Rings have all been shattered—that will not be easy to resolve."
"Yes. There is something hidden within him that may be able to break this deadlock."
A rare trace of solemn gravity passed through the Asura God's deep voice.
"Only… the karma entangled with that object is no small matter."
Hearing even the Asura God describe it as "no small matter,"
Ji Dong's expression likewise turned serious.
As one of the earliest gods to take notice of Li Zhexian,
he naturally knew every opportunity the youth had encountered.
Long, long ago,
a tremendous fortune had already been concealed within Li Zhexian's body.
But the price of activating it—
was something even a God King would have to weigh carefully.
This karma carried both calamity and blessing, impossible to predict.
...
Time flowed slowly over Li Zhexian.
His footsteps were steady and resolute as, after leaving the boundless forest sea,
he headed toward the land eternally covered in ice and snow—the Extreme North.
Freezing winds carried shards of ice like countless blades, scraping across his face.
Beneath the vast curtain of snow,
it seemed that heaven and earth held only a single figure.
His white robes were soaked through by wind and snow, frost crystallizing upon them,
yet his gaze remained unwavering.
That unseen pull—
from the moment he stepped onto this snowfield,
had grown ever clearer.
As if, in the deepest reaches of the Extreme North,
something was calling to him, resonating with his lost memories.
He held a powerful premonition:
at the end of the storm and snow, within the eternally frozen core,
lay all the answers he had lost.
There, he would completely reclaim "Li Zhexian"
and restore his whole, unbroken self.
...
Deep in the Extreme North.
A sword sheath stood embedded before the gates of an ice-crystal palace.
A voice echoed out:
"Ice Empress, open the door, let me in..."
..
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