I Have a Sword

Upon entering the pagoda, a vast emptiness greeted them. The first floor of the pagoda was incredibly spacious, capable of accommodating ten thousand people. There were shelves lining the walls, but they were all empty.

Ye Guan walked up to a nearby shelf and picked up a bamboo scroll next to it.

The scroll was surrounded by spiritual energy, which had preserved it for millions of years.

Ye Guan opened the scroll, but he couldn't read it.

He put the bamboo scroll away and swept his gaze across the scattered scrolls.

"It seems that they left in a hurry," he muttered.

Zhou Fan nodded slightly and remarked, "The Shui Civilization..."

Ye Guan whipped around to stare at Zhou Fan, astonished. "You're familiar with the Shui Civilization?"

Zhou Fan was also surprised. "You know them, too?"

"Same," Zhou Fan replied.

Ye Guan was speechless.

"The Shui Civilization is a mysterious and powerful civilization. To be honest, I came here specifically to investigate them."

Ye Guan looked at Zhou Fan, somewhat surprised. "You came here to investigate the Shui Civilization?"

"Yes."

"Is the Shui Civilization a Tier Four or a Tier Five civilization?"

Zhou Fan was silent for a moment before saying, "We're not sure yet."

Not sure... Ye Guan fell silent. The only known Tier Five civilization is the Tianxing Civilization. As for the Shui Civilization, his intuition told him that even if it wasn’t a Tier Five civilization, it had to be at least a peak Tier Four civilization.

It was worth noting that the Arcanist Civilization had reached the status of a Tier Four civilization by relying on a character that they had left behind.

Zhou Fan suggested, "Shall we go up and take a look?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Sure."

The two then headed upstairs, followed closely by the black-robed middle-aged man, Zhou Yuan, and the Right Elder.

The rest of the group quickly followed as well.

The second floor had quite a few bizarre statues. The bizarre statues depicted men, women, beasts, and other mythical creatures. The statues were incredibly lifelike and detailed, and there were tens of thousands of them!

Ye Guan examined the statues closely and noticed that each one had mysterious inscriptions at its base.

Unfortunately, he couldn't comprehend them.

After exploring the second floor, they proceeded to the third floor.

Everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement upon reaching the third floor.

The third floor was filled with divine artifacts, and they were sealed by pillars of light.

An old man walked up to one of the light pillars and reached out to grab it. However, his expression changed drastically the next moment as a mysterious energy enveloped everyone.

The power of a domain!

Zhou Fan opened her palm, and an ancient book appeared in her hand.

She chanted an incantation, and a barrier enveloped her, the Right Elder, and the black-robed middle-aged man. However, she seemed to have recalled something as she reached out and grabbed Ye Guan, pulling him into the barrier as well.

The fleshly bodies and souls of the half-step Path Creation Realm experts began to shatter.

They tried to resist, but it was futile.

The domain was too strong for them to withstand.

The old man who tried to grab the divine artifact earlier turned to Zhou Fan and pleaded, “Please save us! We're willing to sign a contract with you.”

The others quickly joined in, begging for help.

Zhou Fan shook her head slightly. “You can't just decide to sign one whenever you want.”

"AAAAH!" The old man was furious, and his face twisted in fury. “Since we're going to die, we're going to take you down with us!”

With that, he directed all of his remaining strength toward Zhou Fan’s barrier.

The others, in their hopelessness and rage, followed suit, charging at Zhou Fan’s barrier with all their might.

Boom!

Terrifying waves of energy slammed into the barrier, but their efforts were in vain.

The barrier remained sturdy, and soon, those outside were slain by the mysterious domain power; even their souls were obliterated.

Ye Guan remained calm, and his eyes showed not even a hint of emotion at all. He couldn't help but shake his head at the realization that people seemed always ready to take advantage of others.

If one were to give in to their demands, they'd get used to it and would become hostile if denied.

The light in the black-robed middle-aged man's eyes was complicated at the tragic sight, but he was truly relieved by his decision to take Zhou Fan's side. Otherwise, he would have died with the people before him.

Sometimes, choices could outweigh one's effort.

Zhou Fan also appeared calm. She turned to Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, my barrier won't last much longer. We need to escape, so please tear a hole in the walls of this pagoda."

Ye Guan nodded. He swung his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword flew out, creating a hole in the wall.

"Let's go!" Zhou Fan exclaimed and deactivated her barrier.

Everyone then flew out of the pagoda.

Once outside, Zhou Fan looked down at the ancient book in her hand. There was smoke coming from it; it was clearly on the verge of being destroyed. She shook her head at the sight and smiled wryly. "Hundreds of years of accumulated spiritual energy, all used up in one go."

Ye Guan suggested, "Lady Zhou, don’t you have a Spirit Progenitor? Can’t you ask her to restore that book?"

Zhou Fan shook her head. "She's not going to do it."

"Why not?" asked Ye Guan, sounding puzzled.

Zhou Fan blinked. "She’s a Spirit Progenitor... A Spirit Progenitor!"

Ye Guan immediately understood. I guess not every Spirit Progenitor is as easygoing as Little White.

Zhou Fan put away the ancient book and looked at Ye Guan. “Young Master Ye, have you ever been in contact with a Spirit Progenitor?”

Ye Guan was a bit surprised. “How did you know?”

Zhou Fan smiled, “I was just guessing.”

Ye Guan shook his head and smiled.

Just as Zhou Fan was about to speak, the distant pagoda suddenly began to tremble slightly. Everyone was startled and turned to look.

Zhou Fan's face turned somewhat grim, “Could it be that when you used your sword to break the wall, it also broke the seal?”

Ye Guan remained silent, looking at the Qingxuan Sword in his hand. It was possible. The Qingxuan Sword was the bane of all formations, barriers, seals, and restrictions.

The black-robed middle-aged man asked, “Should we retreat?”

Zhou Fan looked at the pagoda without speaking.

Boom!

A destructive aura erupted from within the pagoda, and the pagoda quivered violently. Moments later, a black light burst out of the pagoda, reaching for the skies.

Soon, a massive blood-red array appeared in the sky, and a beam of blood-red light descended, forcing the black light back into the pagoda.

“AAAAH!” A furious roar echoed from within the pagoda. The black light manifested, but the blood-red light in the sky descended once more, forcing the black light back into the pagoda.

The cycle repeated; the black light was trying its best to escape while the blood-red light was trying its best to suppress the black light.

The black-robed middle-aged man couldn't help but ask, “Why won't it try going in a different direction instead of just going up?”

The Right Elder glanced at the black-robed middle-aged man and said, “Look at the pagoda.”

Everyone looked and saw a myriad of tiny, tadpole-like mysterious runes on the pagoda.

The runes emitting a strange power had transformed into a net that bound the pagoda tightly.

The black-robed middle-aged man chuckled awkwardly and fell silent.

Zhou Fan softly said, “It seems that Young Master Ye's sword had shattered a seal, allowing the powerful being inside the pagoda to escape. However, they must have not expected that there would be another seal outside. It's a powerful seal at that.”

Ye Guan's expression was grave as he observed the blood-red array above the pagoda.

He could sense that the being inside the pagoda was likely a Path Creation Realm expert. The idea that even a Path Creation Realm expert could be sealed and suppressed was rather astonishing.

Zhou Fan glanced at the Qingxuan Sword in Ye Guan's hand and fell into contemplation. The Qingxuan Sword managed to break the seal that even a Path Creation Realm expert couldn't break. If one were to look at that fact from another angle, didn’t that mean that the creator of the Qingxuan Sword was stronger than a Path Creation Realm expert?

“So you're still trying to escape? Pfft!” A loud, mocking laugh echoed from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see a man in black robes standing in the sky.

Ye Guan’s brows furrowed. Why is that guy here?

The Right Elder and Zhuo Yuan became solemn upon seeing him.

He was a Path Creation Realm expert!

The man in black robes looked at the black pagoda and laughed. “Qiu Ling, you're still as foolish as ever. Are you really trying to break the seal set by the high priest?”

An enraged roar echoed. “Gu Ze, stop gloating at me! Once I get out of here—wait, how did you get out?”

The man in black robes named Gu Ze laughed heartily and exclaimed, “I’m incredibly powerful—powerful beyond your imagination, so what do you think?”

“Shut up!”

Qiu Ling sneered, “Who was it that got beaten up by a low-tier civilization’s mage back in the day?”

Gu Ze’s smile faded but it returned quickly as he said, “Ah, the fresh air outside is truly invigorating... Qiu Ling, how about you come out there and take a deep breath of the air here?”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The black pagoda quivered violently, but the seal on it remained sturdy.

Gu Ze smiled and said, “All right, I’ll stop teasing you. I didn’t want to meddle at first, but now that you’re my only old acquaintance left in this universe region, I decided to show you some mercy. See that boy with the sword over there? His sword can break this seal, so how about you ask him for help?"

Qiu Ling was silent for a moment before responding, “Tell the boy that if he’s willing to help me, I'm not going to kill him.”

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brainless fool!" Gu Ze cursed, “Who asks for help like that? No wonder you’re stuck in there. I’ve never seen someone so stupid.”

Qiu Ling retorted angrily, “I’d rather die than beg for help.”

Gu Ze calmly replied, “Then stay there until you die.”

With that, he around turned to leave.

Qiu Ling suddenly called out, “Wait!”

Gu Ze turned back to look at the black pagoda.

Qiu Ling belatedly replied, “If I beg him but he refuses to help me, won't that be humiliating?”

Gu Ze had no idea what to say.

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