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nIt was late at night. The land was quiet. The winter rain that had been pouring down the whole day finally ceased.

nThe bright moon shone, casting a silvery, clear light over the rain-soaked black roof tiles.

nDue to Ni Wen’s performance in the imperial examination, her family had moved into a new house.

nThe oil lamp flickered as Ni Wen and her mother sat together. Ni Wen’s mother had especially slaughtered a chicken and made chicken soup in order to strengthen her body.

nNi Wen’s mother kept asking her whether she found cultivation tiring. Ni Wen lowered her head and drank the soup. During the time she had spent in the Sword Guild, her personality had changed. She became much livelier. However, she reverted to her quiet self in her mother’s presence.

nHer mother picked up a chicken thigh and placed it in her bowl. Then, she ladled more soup for Ni Wen. As she got more soup for Ni Wen, she spoke hesitantly, “Your father has come looking for you.”

nAs soon as she spoke, Ni Wen’s lowered head lifted abruptly.

n…

nThe night continued to deepen. Old Fang returned home and personally went into the kitchen to prepare all sorts of dishes.

nAfter Chao Xiaojian paid a visit to the old man at the blacksmith, he and Wen Ting came to the Fang Manor to join them for dinner.

nThroughout the entire dinner, Old Fang did not stop toasting Chao Xiaojian, entreating him and Wen Ting to look after Fang Lang.

nHowever, Old Fang’s alcohol tolerance was no match for Chao Xiaojian. After all, Chao Xiaojian had his cultivation and was known to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

nOn the other hand, Old Fang became drunk very quickly.

nFang Lang shook his head helplessly as he helped Old Fang back to his room and helped him to bed.

nThe moonlight was cool and bright.

nChao Xiaojian stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

nFang Lang walked out and was stunned when he saw Chao Xiaojian. He guessed that Chao Xiaojian must have something to tell him.

n“The Meridian Guild, the All-Seeing Buddha Sect and the Main Path Guild. The three swords of my senior sister are located in these three sects. Which sect do you plan on heading to first?” asked Chao Xiaojian as he looked at Fang Lang.

n“The Main Path Guild is very dangerous. Nan Yehuo consumed a Great Elixir Pill of the Main Path Guild and attacked the Emperor. I don’t believe that the Main Path Guild didn’t have a hand in this incident.”

nFang Lang was deep in thought. Which one should they head to first?

nAfter a long time, Fang Lang raised his head and looked at Chao Xiaojian with a smile. Then, he said, “In that case… it should be the Main Path Guild.”

nChao Xiaojian was extremely shocked by Fang Lang’s choice. He raised his head and looked at Fang Lang.

n“That’s extremely dangerous!”

n“Since it’s dangerous, it should be our first destination. Our sect leader should have prepared something for us, otherwise we won’t be able to easily advance to all three sects.”

n“Since the sect leader is unable to personally go with me, it means that she must have prepared a trump card. Since there is a trump card, it would naturally be at the most dangerous location.”

n“I’ve picked the Main Path Guild for this reason. We’ll take the opportunity to grab the sword and escape before the Main Path Guild manages to figure out what the trump card is,” said Fang Lang with a smile.

nWhen Chao Xiaojian heard his words, he could not help but shake his head as he was torn between laughter and tears. Fang Lang was a bright boy.

n“Little fellow… You’re very interesting. However, you’ve made quite a good argument in choosing the Main Path Guild as our first stop.”

nChao Xiaojian agreed with Fang Lang’s choice. As for being able to grab the sword and run, he might be worrying needlessly.

n“However, you need not worry. The Main Path Guild is the first among the ten great sects. They won’t disgrace themselves by attacking you.”

n“Hence, you should be mostly safe when you visit the Main Path Guild. However, in order to avoid any accidents, I’ve invited a powerful warrior to protect you on your journey,” said Chao Xiaojian with a smile.

n“Go then and get some sleep so that you’ll wake up refreshed. We’ll be leaving tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll be able to successfully retrieve the Reincarnating Lotus Sword within the Main Path Mausoleum in the Main Path Guild.”

n“Of course, you should treat this as a rare experience to enter the Main Path Mausoleum. Most people are not able to enter the Main Path Mausoleum.”

nAfter that, the two of them returned to their rooms.

nHowever, Fang Lang did not sleep when he returned to his room. Instead, he took out the cultivation resource from the System and switched to the Quintuple Binding Mode. He began to cultivate throughout the night without saying a word.

nThe next day.

nIt was a clear day and the bright winter sun shone down. It felt warm on their bodies.

nOld Fang was hungover. He appeared tired.

nIn front of the Fang Manor, Chao Xiaojian, Wen Ting and Fang Lang gathered. Ni Wen and Liu Bubai joined them soon after.

nLiu Bubai was in high spirits. When he returned home last night, his parents were full of praise for him. There was color in his cheeks. His parents had called him the pride of the Liu family.

nNi Wen also arrived. However, she came with her head lowered as she bit her lip.

nThe clip-clop sound of horse hooves sounded out. A fancy horse carriage slowly appeared. The person driving the carriage was familiar, Zhao Wuji.

nOld Fang snapped out of his hangover as soon as he saw Zhao Wuji. He was no longer worried about whether Fang Lang would be safe or not. Old Fang was very assured of the might of Zhao Wuji.

nWhen Fang Lang saw Zhao Wuji, he raised his eyebrow. His gaze shifted sideways and landed upon the horse carriage. There was another figure inside the carriage. As the breeze lifted the curtain, he could see an old man dressed in plain clothes inside it.

n“Fang Lang, are you going to the Meridian Guild?”

nJust as Fang Lang was about to hop onto the horse carriage, Ni Wen spoke up and asked.

nEveryone’s gaze turned towards her. No one expected Ni Wen to ask a question like this.

n“Yes, we’ll go to the Meridian Guild,” responded Fang Lang.

nThe Withering Lotus Sword was in the Meridian Guild. Hence, Fang Lang would definitely need to drop by the Meridian Guild.

n“T-then can I… come along?” asked Ni Wen, biting her lip.

nChao Xiaojian and Wen Ting were both stunned when they heard her question. However, when they thought about the special characteristic and the bloodline ability that Ni Wen possessed, they seemed to reach an understanding.

n“Old Huang, is that alright?” asked Chao Xiaojian.

n“Why not? It won’t cause any disruption to have an extra little one.”

nA faint voice rang out from inside the carriage.

nWhen he heard the familiar voice, Fang Lang’s eyes lit up instantly. He clasped his hands together. “Senior, it’s you!”

nIt was that old man from the blacksmith workshop. The Master with the surname Wei. He did not expect this was the master that Chao Xiaojian had invited to protect them on their journey.

nInside the horse carriage, the old man nodded his head in Fang Lang’s direction. The old man was very pleased with Fang Lang and his honest demeanor.

nFang Lang and Ni Wen darted inside the horse carriage. Zhao Wuji drove the carriage. The carriage rapidly sped towards the outskirts of the city.

nOnce they were out of the city, a rune under the carriage was activated and the horse carriage shot up into the sky, flying rapidly through the air.

nChao Xiaojian picked up Liu Bubai and Wen Ting and flew in the direction of Mount Shu.

n…

nIn the Tang Dynasty, there was an extensive plain. The plain was a fertile land that spread over several thousand miles. It supported the livelihoods of countless people.

nOn the border of the plain, there was a tall mountain. It rose from the plain and soared high into the skies, reaching the clouds.

nThe cultivators under the foot of the mountain raised their heads to see white cranes flying between the mountain peaks. It looked like a fairy realm.

nThis mountain that reached high into the clouds was the heartland of the Main Path Guild-Mount Tongtian.

nThere was a gate on top of Mount Tongtian. There was a terrace court, waterside sculptures, and columns. It was absolutely picturesque.

nAn Fan and the other disciples returned to the Main Path Guild after losing in the Resource Battle. Li Yuanzhen hung his head. His spirits were troubled.

nThe sect leader of the Main Path Guild, Zhao Longshi, had entered the demon portal to kill the powerful demons.

nHence, the person in charge of the Main Path Guild had become Zhao Zhenshi, the vice leader. He was an old cultivator with a kind face.

nAt that moment, the vice leader, Zhao Zhenshi gathered all the elders of the Main Path Guild at the Mountain Peak Conversation Hall.

nHowever, they were not discussing the matter of their disciples losing in the Resource Battle.

nZhao Zhenshi sat at the head seat above everyone else. He said mildly, “First Sword Taihua appeared at the Qianlong Resource Battle in the Youzhou Demon Portal. It sounds like she wishes to return and will need to collect all four lotus swords.”

n“When First Sword Taihua fought against our sect leader all those years ago, she defeated him and placed the Reincarnating Lotus Sword in the Main Path Mausoleum. She said that in the future, someone would ascend the mountain to retrieve the sword and we should not impede them. If we did, disaster would befall us…”

n“Today, it seems as though First Sword Taihua’s disciple, the champion Fang Lang, will be coming to the Main Path Guild to retrieve the sword. What does everyone think about this?”

nAs soon as he finished speaking, all the cultivators in the room sitting on wooden chairs wore a myriad of expressions. Some had their eyes wide open in shock. Others frowned deeply and some looked outraged while the rest shook their heads and sighed deeply.

n“Xuanyuan Taihua placed her sword in the Main Path Mausoleum, the sacred ground of our guild. This humiliation is difficult to bear. How can we let her stick her sword whenever she wants and retrieve it whenever she likes? Will our Main Path Guild have any pride left if we let her do that!? Xuanyuan Taihua is not in the world of the Tang Dynasty. I will not endure this humiliation! That sword cannot be taken!”

n“First Sword Taihua has left the human realm in order to cultivate and become the greatest in the world. Her power cannot be fully fathomed. Since she has left a message from all those years ago, perhaps she has another trick up her sleeve. If we don’t allow her disciple to retrieve the sword, I fear that something strange will occur to the Reincarnating Lotus Sword and it’ll end up destroying the Main Path Mausoleum. That would be an unbearable loss.”

nAll the cultivators began to speak up, each giving their own opinions.

nMany people sighed sorrowfully. A single female First Sword wielded such power over them that they could not even raise their heads as the top guild in the Tang Dynasty.

n“We really need to prevent anything from happening within the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. It is rumored that a strand of spiritual sense is contained within the Blooming Lotus Sword. That spiritual sense caused that woman to tear the barriers between the two realms and appear. There must definitely be some trick with the Reincarnating Lotus Sword!”

n“If her disciple wishes to retrieve the sword, I fear that we won’t be able to stop him.”

n“There’s no rush. The Meridian Guild, the All-Seeing Buddha Sect also have swords belonging to Xuanyuan Taihua. We’ll see which sect Fang Lang decides to pick first and see how those guilds react to him before we decide.”

n“After all, we are the top sect among the ten great sects. Why would he have the boldness to come to our great sect to retrieve a sword?”

n“He wouldn’t dare,” muttered many of the cultivators in conversation.

n…

nAt that same time, a horse carriage arrived among the sea of clouds with a frightful sound of thunder. The sound of horse hooves exploded through the clouds.

nZhao Quji drove the horse carriage and arrived at the entrance of the Main Path Guild in the sky!

nFang Lang drew open the curtain of the horse carriage and stepped out of the carriage. He stood up straight and placed his hands behind his back. His white robes fluttered as he overlooked the greatest sect among all the ten great sects—Main Path Guild!

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