Xu Zimo was lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard of South Goose Mountain, sunbathing. The liveliness outside and the tranquility within the courtyard felt like two separate worlds.
At that moment, a disciple came to call him, saying that his father, Xu Qingshan, wanted to see him.
Without delay, Xu Zimo went to Green Mountain.
Outside the mountain, the scenery was lush and layered.
Aside from Xu Qingshan, there was a young man standing next to him. The youth wore a blue robe and carried a longsword on his back, his gaze sharp and focused.
His sword was unlike ordinary swords; the sword blade was nearly half a meter wide. The hilt was engraved with a flowing river.
It looked very vivid, as if staring at it too long, you could hear the sound of waves crashing in your ears.
“Senior Brother Xia,” Xu Zimo greeted softly when he saw the young man.
This was Xia Zihe, a direct disciple of his father Xu Qingshan.
Xu Qingshan had three disciples in his life, and Xia Zihe was the third.
Back in the day, he and Xu Zimo had a decent relationship. But due to cultivation and traveling outside the Sacred Ground, they hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Junior Brother Zimo,” Xia Zihe smiled warmly, “It’s been years, and you’ve grown so fast. You’re already the Holy Son of True Martial Sacred Sacred Ground. Well done.”
Xu Zimo smiled and shook his head, asking, “Senior Brother Xia, did you come back to join the competition?”
“Sort of. With you, the Holy Son, this year will be much more exciting. Who wouldn’t want to challenge you?” Xia Zihe joked.
“You know,” Xu Zimo replied, “Even though you direct disciples are decades older and have been cultivating far longer than I have...”
“I still don’t see any of you as competition.”
“It’s fine to be confident,” Xu Qingshan interjected, “but never underestimate others. None of them are simple. Chaos is your meridian beast now. Since meridian beasts are part of your combat power, if you find yourself in a tough spot, let Chaos out. No one will blame you for it.”
“Don’t worry, Junior Brother Zimo,” Xia Zihe smiled, “I’ll protect you.”
“For now, let Zihe stay on South Goose Mountain with you. It’s been a while since you two met,” Xu Qingshan said.
Xu Zimo nodded and didn’t object.
As the two of them walked down the mountain, Xia Zihe threw an arm around Xu Zimo’s shoulder, squinting with a grin.
“Little Zimo, got any girls you like these years? Tell your senior brother, you must’ve broken a few hearts, right?”
“You think everyone’s like you?” Xu Zimo rolled his eyes.
This guy acted like a tame cat in front of Xu Qingshan, but in private, he was shameless.
“It’s been so long. I wonder how my old friends are doing,” Xia Zihe sighed.
“You have friends?” Xu Zimo asked in surprise.
“Of course,” Xia Zihe snorted. “Like Xiang Qianheng. And that sword-and-blade couple, Daoyang and Xingjian. I also wonder what happened to my goddess.”
“Who’s your goddess?” Xu Zimo asked.
“You seriously don’t know?”
“How would I know? A guy like you can’t even walk when he sees a pretty girl. Every girl is your goddess.”
“Bullshit,” Xia Zihe quickly replied. “My goddess is Jiang Xi'er.”
Xu Zimo thought for a moment and then said, “Oh, then you’re probably out of luck. She cultivates the Path of Heartlessness.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Xia Zihe said indifferently. “I like her body, not her heart.”
“Gonna force your way in?” Xu Zimo turned his head.
They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Graceful Willow Mountain was where the sixth Grand Elder of True Martial Sacred Ground, Xiao Yuexuan, resided.
After the destruction of Yin-Yang Sect, due to her various actions, she was put under confinement by Xu Qingshan.
No one was allowed to visit her during this confinement.
Once one of the liveliest peaks in the Sacred Ground, Willow Mountain had fallen silent.
Other than a few of Xiao Yuexuan’s old maids, it was rare to see anyone there.
At this moment, snow drifted down from above as Jiang Xi'er’s figure landed quietly on the peak.
As Xiao Yuexuan’s personal disciple, she hadn’t seen her master in a long time.
Though she cultivated the Path of Heartlessness, her Dao was still shallow.
Now that she thought of her master, she couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Upon arriving, she found the courtyard unusually quiet, with only a few maids around.
“Where’s Master?” she asked one of the maids with a frown.
“You, you, you...” the maid stammered upon seeing Jiang Xi'er, not reacting at first.
“What’s going on?” Jiang Xi'er’s heart suddenly felt uneasy.
The maid snapped back to attention and explained everything in detail.
When she heard Xiao Yuexuan was confined, Jiang Xi'er’s eyes turned red, and the cold aura around her grew stronger.
A thick layer of frost instantly formed in the surrounding space.
“I’m going to seek justice from the Sacred Lord,” she said, then turned and flew toward Heaven Genesis Mountain.
The martial arts competition would be held in the Skyjade World.
During the Six Holy Lands Gathering, when Xu Zimo was named Holy Son, the matches were also held there.
Lately, the Sacred Ground had been busy setting up the battlefield at Skyjade World.
Meanwhile, the returning personal disciples gathered joyfully amid a tense atmosphere.
As the third-generation emperor of the Sacred Ground, although the name of the Grand Emperor Shen Xing wasn’t widely known, his contributions to the Sacred Ground’s development were immense.
In his youth, during a training expedition outside the Sacred Ground, he accidentally obtained a furnace left behind by a Legendary Era powerhouse.
It was said that at its peak, the furnace could refine pills, refine people, and even refine the heavens.
But by the time the emperor acquired it, it was already severely damaged.
After surviving the Legendary Era, the Desolate Era, and the Imperial Era, the furnace had long decayed.
The Sacred Ground spent enormous effort and resources to repair it, eventually restoring its first two functions.
The technique to refine the heavens was lost forever.
Even so, with only two functions, this furnace was far beyond any ordinary Universe-grade treasure.
Pills refined with it, using the same techniques and materials, were not only top-tier for their level.
More terrifyingly, the furnace could forcefully elevate a pill by one whole grade.
As for its refining people function, the fire inside could completely purge the impurities from a person’s body.
This effect worked on all cultivators below the Arcane Immortal Realm.
Without impurities, martial artists would find it much easier to cultivate and open their meridian gates.