Chapter 633: The First Person in 8000 Years

“Ride the sword on the wind; purge the demons from heaven and earth!”

A human figure seemed to materialize within that nine-colored brilliance. He had the air of an immortal—aloof and transcendent, a cyan Flying Sword strapped to his back.

Jian Chunqiu stared in astonishment at the figure in the sky, blurting out, “Is that not the founding Ancestral Master of our Celestial Profound Sect, the Qingping Sword Immortal?”

The founding Ancestral Master!?

“Ride the sword on the wind; purge the demons from heaven and earth… I think it really is the founding Ancestral Master.”

The surrounding members of the Celestial Profound Sect all focused their gaze. Upon closer inspection, the figure was identical to the portrait hanging in the Ancestral Hall. It was indeed the founding Ancestral Master, the Qingping Sword Immortal.

SHIMMER! SHIMMER! SHIMMER!

The figure flickered unsteadily, gradually fading into motes of Primordial Qi before disappearing from everyone’s sight.

“My heavens, the Ancestral Master’s spirit has appeared!”

“It’s Wen Qingye! It’s all because of Wen Qingye! He passed the 9th Layer! He passed the 9th Layer!”

“This is incredible, absolutely incredible! He’s the first person in the Celestial Profound Sect’s eight-thousand-year history, the very first to reach the 9th Layer!”

………

CREAK!

TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP…

At that moment, the great door of the Sword Forest slowly swung open. Wen Qingye, dressed in green robes, walked out from the depths of the pavilion, still wearing the same nonchalant, composed smile.

Hiding within the One Thought Sword, Qingg Ruo’ai’s expression was still dazed as she replayed the moment Wen Qingye had broken through the final layer.

Back then…

The entire dark void had seemed to transform into a level plane of water, rippling as if it was about to collapse.

Then, countless rays of light seemed to refract from above Wen Qingye’s head. The scenery abruptly changed, and before his eyes was a galaxy stretching across the sky.

The stars were scattered like chess pieces, adorning the vast expanse of the heavens. He felt as if he were standing in the void itself.

“You are quite impressive.”

Suddenly, a voice drifted down from the nine heavens, and amidst the brilliant river of stars, a figure slowly materialized before Wen Qingye.

The man had long black hair held up tightly by a tall crown, and his purple robes gave him a regal and magnificent air. He looked at Wen Qingye with calm eyes.

Wen Qingye recognized him at a glance. He had seen this person in the Ancestral Hall; this was the Qingping Sword Immortal, who had long since ascended to the Immortal Realm.

He had never heard this name in the Immortal Realm, but the Immortal Realm was vast and boundless, its territories endlessly wide. In his past life, he had only been active within the confines of the Eastern Immortal Court and had rarely set foot elsewhere.

Wen Qingye knew that the Qingping Sword Immortal before him was merely a wisp of Divine Thought. There was no need to engage in grand discussions or waste unnecessary emotion.

“The 9th Layer: Questioning the Heart!”

The Qingping Sword Immortal spoke softly, his ethereal, Piaomiao voice reaching Wen Qingye’s ears as if it had taken all his strength and exhausted all his spiritual power.

WHOOSH!

Wen Qingye’s vision blurred, his mind turning hazy. A breathtakingly beautiful woman suddenly appeared before him.

She was as beautiful as pear blossoms in the rain, her tear-filled eyes hazy with sorrow and grievance as she walked toward him, step by step. Even without seeing her face, Wen Qingye felt an extreme familiarity from her aura. It was the woman he yearned for day and night, Zhang Xiaoyun.

“My husband, I miss you…” Her vermilion lips parted slightly, her mournful voice reaching Wen Qingye’s ears.

Wen Qingye’s heart couldn’t help but tremble. His breath caught in his throat, and his grip on his sword hilt loosened slightly.

“Do you still remember what you said to me? Do you still remember what I said to you?” Zhang Xiaoyun’s tears were like pearls from a broken string, slowly trickling down. “In this world, having you is enough for me. I live for you. Have you forgotten?”

His lips parted slightly as he watched Zhang Xiaoyun walk toward him, step by step.

She was getting closer and closer, so close it seemed he could reach out and touch her.

Suddenly, an extremely disappointed look flashed in Wen Qingye’s eyes, a hint of well-hidden sorrow vanishing in an instant. He slowly turned around.

It was as if an ancient mountain range rested upon his back, weighing him down heavily, yet his figure remained as straight as ever.

The moment he turned, an aura of killing intent powerful enough to shatter heaven and earth emerged, rushing toward the surrounding starry sky.

The entire galaxy seemed to collapse in an instant. The fragments then transformed into streams of Sword Dao Origin, rushing toward the Sword Dao Tree of Wen Qingye, who was walking steadily forward.

The Tree of Lifeless Sword Dao began to grow at a furious pace.

At this moment, with the influx of countless streams of Sword Dao Origin, the Lifeless Law, the Spiritual Softness Law, and the Swift Wind Law actually found a point of compatibility and began to slowly merge.

…….

Qingg Ruo’ai looked at the calm, impassive young man before her. It was as if nothing had happened from beginning to end. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Wen Qingye looked at the lush trees and flowers around the Sword Forest and took a deep breath. His eyes regained their complete calm and clarity as he swept his gaze across the dense crowd.

At this moment, everyone was staring at Wen Qingye with solemn expressions. The emotions in their eyes were complex, but most contained a trace of reverence—including the Elders and Stewards.

Wen Qingye!

He was the first person in eight thousand years of Celestial Profound Sect history to pass the 9th Layer. That alone was enough to earn their awe.

Jian Chunqiu strode forward and laughed heartily. “You truly did not disappoint me! Good, very good!”

Qii Yue, who was also nearby, sighed with emotion. “You’ve made history. The 9th Layer… you even made the Ancestral Master’s spirit appear.”

He couldn’t begin to describe his regret, the regret that he hadn’t accepted Wen Qingye as a disciple back then, all because he thought his severed meridians meant he had no future.

If he had accepted Wen Qingye then, half of this glory would now belong to his Cloud Conceal Peak. But it was too late for all that.

“Peak Master, Peak Master! The Sect Leader has urgent business! Three of the Seven Peaks’ Peak Masters have already arrived!”

While everyone was still reeling in shock, a Steward from the Main Peak hurried over from a distance, shouting loudly.

Upon hearing this, Qii Yue immediately nodded. “Alright, I’m on my way.”

Qii Yue cupped his fists toward Jian Chunqiu, Wen Qingye, and the others, then transformed into a white arc of light and vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Watching Qii Yue’s departing figure, everyone was slightly alarmed. ‘What could be so important that the Peak Masters of the Seven Peaks were all being summoned?’

But the shock of this was quickly overshadowed by the astonishment of Wen Qingye passing the 9th Layer of the Sword Forest. The significance of the 9th Layer was immense; even the founding Ancestral Master of the Celestial Profound Sect had only just passed the 9th Layer himself.

Everyone’s gazes converged on Wen Qingye once more.

Although in their hearts, Wen Qingye could not yet be compared to the founding Ancestral Master, his potential was undeniable.

Wen Qingye had achieved most of his goals for this trip. He cupped his fists toward Elder Jian and said, “Then I will return to stabilize the Sword Dao Origin I just absorbed.”