The north winds howled, and the sunlight in the Big Ruins was not hot at all. Instead, it was a little cold.

He Jian was dressed in a gray robe. His eyes were cloudy, and he held a 10-inch long carving knife in his hand. He was still as ordinary as ever, and his words were unhurried. His aura was indistinct.

Nonetheless, even if Ou Yangming used his powerful mental power to probe the old man, he still could not see through his strength.

In the Longevity Alley, although Master Duan liked to show off in front of others, he did not have any bad intentions. Moreover, he was warm-hearted. Jiang Yingrong, she was inextricably linked to the Black Dragon Clan, which was Jiang family, and her strength had also reached that of a top-grade Spiritualist. As for Lil’ Qingcheng, she was innocent and charming. Ou Yangming could see through all of them.

Only He Jian seemed calm, but he was like a deep pool. Whether it was his cultivation or origin, they were mysteries and were difficult to guess.

“Let’s go!” He Jian’s voice was calm like an old man who was used to the storms of the secular world.

“Senior He, which way should we go?” Ou Yangming asked with a smile.

“Let’s leave the city first. Once it gets dark, something will run out from the darkness. Those things aren’t easy to deal with, so we have to find a place to settle down first,” He Jian said softly as he played with the carving knife.

Ou Yangming nodded. He naturally knew how difficult it was to deal with things in the dark.

Back then, he had brought Lil’ Man along for a few days, so he knew how dangerous the Big Ruins was. There were dangers everywhere.

He took a step and followed behind He Jian.

Lil’ Man was in the courtyard. He held a carving knife in his left hand and an unformed wooden sculpture in his right. The sculpture was Ou Yangming. Looking at the receding figures of the 2 people through the crack of the door, he took a deep breath and felt a faint melancholy in his heart.

Jiang Qingcheng walked out of the house and looked around.

Her voice was as gentle as water as she said, “Hey, Lil’ Man, why don’t you come and play with me?”

Lil’ Man ignored her and continued to carve the wooden sculpture seriously, giving people a sense of seriousness.

“You’re very rude. Didn’t you hear me talking to you?” Jiang Qingcheng put her hands on her waist and shouted.

Lil’ Man still ignored her and shook off the wood shavings on the wood carving, immersing himself in his own world.

Jiang Qingcheng. “…”

Lil’ Man remained silent.

Jiang Qingcheng stuck out her chest but when she saw her “small and weak” breasts, she timidly shrank back. She even looked to both sides in panic. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she let out a long sigh of relief and lowered her voice as she asked with a mysterious expression, “Lil’ Man, let me tell you. As long as you play with me, I’ll bring you to catch fish and pick cucumbers. The kind with ends that aren’t bitter at all. How about that?”

The cold expression on Lil’ Man’s face finally faded a little. He looked more enthusiastic, which was how he should be at his age. He raised his head and seemed to be muttering to himself, “I’ve never eaten a cucumber before…”

“Then let’s go quickly!” Jiang Qingcheng was overjoyed. She took the initiative to hold Lil’ Man’s hand.

Lil’ Man was stunned for a moment, but he did not break free.

“He’s so cold, and he still has a lot of scars,” Jiang Qingcheng muttered softly and ran out together with Lil’ Man. Deep down, since she was older than him, she had to protect him. Furthermore, she had a little secret hidden in her heart. Even Jiang Yingrong did not know that secret.

In a room, Jiang Yingrong carefully mended her clothes. When she saw this, she sighed heavily.

She thought to herself, ‘Lil’ Man’s obsession is too deep, and his resentment is too strong. Is it good or bad for Qingcheng to be so close to him? I’ve already lost my husband. She’s now my world and my everything.’

※※※※

The lone desert had smoke rising from it, the river was flowing, and the sun was setting.

An old man and a young man were dashing across the desolate land. They were Ou Yangming and He Jian.

The carving knife in He Jian’s hand made a cracking sound as he asked with a smile, “Brother Yu, what do you think a sword is?”

Ou Yangming shook his head and answered with a bitter smile, “I’m just a caster, so I don’t know anything about swords. It’s probably like how flowers and leaves that are picked or simply everything in the world can be used as a sword!”

He Jian took a deep look at Ou Yangming and sighed. “Brother Yu, you’re not being honest. When you fought with Ji Qi, I was cheering for you. Now that you say you don’t know sword techniques, I don’t believe you.” He glared fiercely at the young fellow, looking very imposing.

Ou Yangming cursed internally, ‘Usually, he’s quiet and wouldn’t say a single word. Why is he so talkative today?’

He did know that He Jian could feel the aura of Mount Return Sword on his body, which was why the old man changed his normal state. Otherwise, given the old man’s personality, he would not have said so much.

Ou Yangming thought so in his heart, but he answered in a low voice, “I really don’t know sword techniques, but I do have some experience in spear techniques.”

He Jian said with a half-smile, “Then tell me what a spear is. Spear, sword, knife, halberd… These 18 kinds of weapons seem to be different but in fact, they all have the same goal. It’s said that everything in the world can’t escape from the words ‘greatness comes from simplicity’.”

Ou Yangming smiled without any shrewdness, “Given that you said such words, you’re not simple at all, Senior He.” His eyes focused, and he added softly, “A spear is a spear, and it’s just a dead object.”

He Jian’s pupils shrank slightly, and he sighed. “Since you understand that, even if you learn the sword, you’ll achieve twice the result with half the effort. Things in this world aren’t that complicated; what’s complicated is one’s heart.”

As they conversed, a tavern appeared in their field of vision.

He Jian said, “Let’s go and drink some liquor to warm ourselves.”

Ou Yangming naturally agreed. Outside the tavern, yellow sand filled the sky and a storm raged. Inside the tavern, however, it was quiet and peaceful. The candlelights were dim yellow like the color of rice paper that was emitted by time. The place was warm and gentle.

There was no good liquor in the Big Ruins. They were all dirty wine, but the two of them were drinking very happily.

Jian pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. His face twisted together, and he laughed heartily. “This liquor tastes good.”

Ou Yangming drank a cup with him and tasted it in his mouth. He was truly speechless.

Even though the Big Ruins had powerful combat powers, in other aspects, it was still quite a distance away from the Spiritual Realm. Not to mention comparing it to the Spiritual Realm, even if it was compared to the lower realm, the liquor was only so-so.

After a while, He Jian casually asked, “Brother Yu, have you ever met a sect master in the sword path?”

Ou Yangming was just about to shake his head when the image of the old man that carried a sword case on his back and cut Mount Return Sword appeared in his mind. Nevertheless, he still answered, “No. I once wanted to use a sword too. I imagined myself dressed in a white robe as white as snow, and my longsword was dragged on the ground. I would kill a person every 10 steps, leaving no trace behind for 500 kilometers. How domineering! That said, I didn’t obtain any decent sword techniques. Now, my spear art has reached a small success, so I don’t want to learn the sword anymore.”

He Jian nodded. His eyes were cloudy. No one knew what he was thinking about.

The next day, the sky had just brightened, and the two of them rushed forward amidst the yellow sand.

Suddenly, a strong smell of blood came from more than 5 kilometers away. Ou Yangming’s face turned slightly cold, and his speed suddenly burst to the limit as he chased forward.

He Jian did not say anything. His eyes were as gloomy as water, and he had a vague guess in his heart.

After about 8 minutes, a broken statue appeared in front of them. The statue was covered in blood, and there was a strange symbol printed on it, which was broken from the middle. Behind the statue was a desolate village. The cold winds whimpered, and the village was surrounded by a bloody mist. The thick smell of blood spread out, and a deadly stillness spread out.

“Quickly go in and take a look!” He Jian sounded urgent.

“Yes!” Ou Yangming nodded heavily. He had a very bad premonition in his heart.

Blood—blood all over the ground.

It almost drowned the village. The soil was painted deep red.

There were broken limbs everywhere. The faces on the heads were distorted. The people’s pupils were sunken as if they saw the most terrifying scene before they died.

Bones, internal organs, bowels… They could be seen everywhere. Even a 3-year-old child was hung on the mast. There was even a teardrop on his eyelashes. His face was full of fear.

A fit of indescribable anger rose. Ou Yangming clenched his fists tightly. He did not know the people who had died here, but anyone who saw this tragic scene would not be indifferent.

The Heavenly Phoenix Fire burned fiercely. The air within 33 meters around him instantly distorted. A white flame soared into the sky.

He Jian’s pupils contracted, and he was extremely shocked. He thought to himself, ‘What kind of power is this? It seems to be able to destroy all things. It’s too violent.’

Ou Yangming’s voice was cold as if it came from hell. “The person who did this deserves to die!”

He Jian scanned his surroundings and took a deep breath. He said in a low voice, “The person who did this isn’t a human.”

“Not a human?”

“Yes, not a human, but a foreign race. The foreign race that absorbed the bloodlines of the Dragons and the Phoenixes will use the Humans as food. As long as the divine statue’s shattered, they’d take advantage of the situation and devour humans’ dantians to temper their spiritual Qi. This happens every day in the Big Ruins.” He Jian’s voice was also filled with killing intent, so much so that even his beard was raised.

Ou Yangming was silent for a moment before he said hoarsely, “A blood debt must be paid in blood. These people didn’t deserve to die.”

His eyes were red. There were more than 100 families here. How many people were there? Even children were hung on the mast. It was simply unforgivable.

He Jian pondered for a moment and asked in a low voice, “Brother Yu, do you have a sword?”

“Yes!” Ou Yangming did not hesitate. He flipped his wrist and took out a magic longsword. The sword was 1 meter long and wide. It was carved with an exquisite flower. It emitted waves of coldness as he handed it over with both hands.

He Jian took the longsword. He did not mind the dirtiness and sat on the ground. He bent his fingers and gently flicked the sword tip. A melodious and clear sword chime resounded.

“Good sword!” His eyes brightened. He took out a pot of turbid liquor and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

He left a mouthful in his mouth and spat it on the sword blade, then he said in a low voice, “This is a good sword, but it also needs to be sharpened and stained with blood. Only then will it have spirit. Today, I’ll take you to kill the enemy and let you be stained with blood!” A sharp sword intent soared into the sky and pierced into the clouds.

“I’ve practiced the sword for dozens of years and carved swords out of wood. I’m the pride of the current generation. Heh, as a top-grade Spiritualist, I was able to survive 3 moves from a Venerable One and escape easily.” In his eyes, a dazzling light shone. “I’ve stopped using the sword for many years. I thought that I could hide from the world, but I didn’t expect that my path of sword… Would be unsealed one day.”

At this moment, he was no longer the wood sculpture elder, but the god of sword of the generation.

What kind of waves would the god of sword stir up when he lifted the sword?

He Jian’s sword was a cry of injustice. It was an unyielding sword that shook the world.

Every sword strike was majestic, making it impossible for people to avoid it.