Return Of The Sword God

008

Qing Zilong slowly withdrew his spiritual consciousness from the storage ring. He stood still for a moment, letting his breath steady before he began to examine the inheritance he had left for himself millions of years ago.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "I hope time has not claimed everything."

His spiritual consciousness swept through the storage space. The stone shelves remained neatly arranged. Some jade boxes were still tightly sealed, while others were covered in a thin layer of dust due to the immense passage of time.

Zilong stepped closer. His hand reached for a white jade bottle.

Click.

The lid popped open, and a dense medicinal aroma immediately filled the room.

"Hmm, Meridian Recovery Pill," he muttered. He poured one pill into his palm. Its surface was still polished, and the medicinal energy within remained stable. "Still usable."

Zilong placed the pill back into the bottle and moved on to the next one. But when he opened the lid—

Puff...

Gray ash flew out. There were no pills left inside; only fine powder remained, devoid of even a sliver of spiritual energy. Zilong shook his head slowly. "Time truly knows no mercy."

He discarded the contents of the bottle. He checked the others one by one; some were still intact, but most had lost their potency. Even so, Zilong showed no disappointment. To him, being able to preserve even a fraction of the medicine after a million years was already a miracle.

His gaze then landed on several clear crystals neatly arranged in the corner of the storage room. He picked one up, and as his spiritual energy touched the crystal's surface, a soft light emanated from it.

"The vacuum seal still works," Zilong nodded with satisfaction. "This Spirit Stone still holds near-perfect Qi."

Not far from there, an old silver scroll caught his eye. A smile reappeared on his face. "Thankfully, this one still survives."

He unfurled the scroll. In an instant, thousands of ancient characters floated out, transforming into a stream of light that seeped into his forehead. Zilong closed his eyes, allowing the Qi in his meridians to move along the new path he had just learned.

A few moments later, the dense purple aura that had been enveloping his body slowly faded, then vanished without a trace. He opened his eyes and raised his right hand.

"Perfect enough," he stated. Now, anyone looking at him would see only a young cultivator with low cultivation. No one would suspect that hidden within that body lay the soul of a Sword God.

Zilong stored the scroll. "For now, this is enough."

He turned to leave, but his steps suddenly faltered. His brow furrowed. "Strange... I feel as if something is missing."

He approached the edge of the pool again. His consciousness spread slowly, scouring every inch of the pool's bottom until— thump. He felt a very faint pulse.

"So you were hiding here," he whispered, a smirk playing on his lips.

Without hesitation, Zilong dived in. The deeper he went, the stronger the spiritual pressure became. Finally, his feet touched the bottom of the pool. Amidst the dark rocks, a purple crystal the size of a fist pulsed slowly, absorbing the Qi of heaven and earth to convert it into droplets of spiritual water.

"Heart of the Purple Spirit Spring," Zilong whispered softly. "I almost forgot about you."

He reached out, but just as his fingertip was about to touch the crystal—

BZZZZTTT!

A flash of purple light struck his palm. Zilong pulled his hand back with a small smile. "Still protecting yourself, I see."

He took a deep breath, then began to form hand seals. Dozens of ancient symbols emerged, circling the crystal. The process was incredibly complex; Zilong had to sever the flow of Qi that had been integrated with the formation for millions of years.

WUUUNG...

The crystal vibrated violently. Tiny cracks began to spread across the bottom of the pool.

"Patience," Zilong whispered. "I won't destroy you."

He adjusted his seal, channeling his Primal Purple Qi to soothe the crystal's core. Little by little, the vibrations subsided. The final connection was finally severed.

HUMMMM...

The Heart of the Purple Spirit Spring slowly levitated. At the same time, the entire hall shook. The spiritual water that had filled the place for so long lost its energy source, turning into ordinary water within a few breaths.

Zilong stared at the crystal in his hand. "For a million years, you have performed your duty well."

He placed it into his storage ring. Inside the ring's spiritual space, the crystal floated calmly, beginning to absorb Qi and produce new droplets of spiritual water.

Zilong looked around. The entire hall, previously filled with light, now turned dull. The stone shelves and the altar lost their magical luster. The concealment formation that had held for millions of years finally ceased its rotation.

"It is time to leave."

Qing Zilong walked out calmly. As soon as he passed through the stone gate, GRROOOOMMMM! The massive door slammed shut with a thunderous roar that shook the entire mountain.

The thick mist that had shrouded the area for millions of years began to dissipate, revealing the stone cliff that had been hidden all this time.

At the foot of the mountain, two wandering cultivators who were hunting suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Look!" One of them pointed to the peak. His companion looked up, eyes widening.

"That... is that a stone gate? Hasn't this mountain always been covered in fog?"

They looked at each other with pale faces. "Go! We must tell everyone!" Both immediately turned, running as fast as they could toward Dawn City.

Meanwhile, Qing Zilong had walked far into the darkness of the night without looking back even once. He was unaware that from that night on, the legend of the Sword King's Tomb, which had been considered a mere fairy tale, had resurfaced.

And along with it, the Eastern Region slowly began to drift toward a much greater storm.