I found it!
The scene fixed, and Xiao Chen saw everything that happened on that day as though he was there.
The pillar of light that descended from the sky had ancient words floating around in it. These were Dragon Race words, which Xiao Chen had seen in the dragon grave. Indeed, it was as he had guessed: Liu Ruyue’s disappearance was the doings of the Dragon Race from another realm.
He continued watching. Liu Ruyue did not show any pain on her face. When the light descended, it seemed to unlock a seal in her. Dragon Might spread out as she turned into a White Dragon and soared into the sky.
How strong! This Dragon Might even evoked a deep fear in Xiao Chen. Compared to Liu Suifeng’s description, the impact of the Dragon Might was significantly larger.
The Azure Dragon Yuanying in his body even opened its eyes and released its own Dragon Might.
After that, the scene changed: the White Dragon went through the hole in the sky before the gap started to close slowly. As the hole closed, Xiao Chen vaguely saw the White Dragon descend from the sky onto an ancient altar in a faraway land.
Tens of thousands of members of the Dragon Race surrounded the altar. They all knelt down with respectful expressions on their faces.
When this ended, Xiao Chen could not see anything more. He pulled back his finger, feeling depressed.
“Brother-in-law, how is my sister doing? Is she in danger?” Liu Suifeng asked anxiously.
Xiao Chen did not tell Liu Suifeng about the final scene that he saw. He said calmly, “It’s fine. It is possible that you will never see Ruyue again. However, I’m sure that she is fine. She might be doing better than we imagine.”
---
Late at night at Qingyun Peak, a crescent moon hung high and a cold wind blew. This night was cold and lonely. Even the moon appeared very pale.
This night reflected how Xiao Chen felt right now, making him feel even colder and lonelier.
“Ao Jiao, do you remember, about half a year ago, I mentioned that the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign made a move on me?”
Ao Jiao nodded and said, “How can I not remember? I never saw you that flustered before. That really startled me.”
Xiao Chen slowly filled his wine cup to the brim and drained it in one go. “I guessed wrong. That was not the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign making a move. It was when Liu Ruyue left this world. Everything about her was being mysteriously wiped out. The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign is not that capable.”
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign’s strength was more than enough to make a move on Xiao Chen. However, even if the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign could do the same to so many people, he would not have the energy to do so.
“It is just like those ancient beings. They did not leave anything behind, ruthlessly erasing all traces of themselves in this abandoned land,” Xiao Chen drawled as he set down this wine cup.
Feeling enlightened, Ao Jiao said, “Half a year ago…that happens to coincide with when Liu Ruyue turned into a dragon. My memories must have been silently wiped away at that time. However, why were your memories not wiped away?”
Xiao Chen shook his head, indicating that he did not know. He remembered the strong Mental Energy from that time. He could not even resist it.
That Mental Energy easily sorted out the memories related to Liu Ruyue. However, when it was about to succeed, that mysterious energy suddenly stopped and retreated.
“What do you intend to do?” Ao Jiao asked somewhat worriedly.
Xiao Chen’s face sank. Suddenly, the wine cup in his hand shattered. “She is someone I made a promise to, the lover I will never abandon. She is the most beautiful memory in my life. Even in one thousand years or ten thousand years, even if divine beings or Buddhas get in the way, I have to chase after her. I can never give up!”
After understanding the truth behind Liu Ruyue’s departure, Xiao Chen stopped being so anxious. The thing that he feared the most was Liu Ruyue being captured by that Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign, which had been one of his original guesses.
However, that final scene of the many White Dragons kneeling in worship calmed his fears completely.
Xiao Chen did not know what the world outside the abandoned land was like. He also did not know why Liu Ruyue wiped out all traces of herself as those powerful ancient beings had.
However, all he needed to know was that Liu Ruyue was safe and not in the hands of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign. That was enough.
Since those powerful ancient beings during the peak of the Martial Epoch could leave, then, he, Xiao Chen, could leave as well. As long as he had the patience and persistence, he would be able to meet Liu Ruyue again. He possessed a confidence that was even greater than the sky.
Since Xiao Chen was already at Qingyun Peak, he chose a peak where no one was and decided to settle down there.
He did not make a move to recover the memories of the others.
Firstly, it would be very problematic. Secondly, he feared attracting unnecessary trouble, prompting that mysterious powerhouse to make a move again.
As time passed on the mountain, Xiao Chen lived a much more leisurely life than when he was in the Kunlun Realm. Aside from cultivating according to his usual routine, he spent most of his time improving his Saber Domain.
After verifying that the saber was the foundation of the Saber Domain, Xiao Chen stopped wavering over which path was the wrong one. He would persist to the end, for this was the path that suited him to most.
Ao Jiao did not remain idle, either. She organized all of Xiao Chen’s resources, making preparations for the Lunar Shadow Saber’s breakthrough into the Divine Weapon Ranking.
Right now, Ao Jiao was still an Item Spirit, unable to completely separate herself from the Lunar Shadow Saber, which posed a hard limit to any improvement in her strength. After reaching her current bottleneck, she could break through it only by upgrading the Lunar Shadow Saber into a Divine Weapon; only then could she climb higher.
---
On this day, a cool breeze blew, and there were white clouds in the blue sky—such fine sunny weather. It was peaceful at the summit of the peak.
Xiao Chen leaned on a rock. The Lunar Shadow Saber was like a living creature, nimbly dancing around his palm, the back of his hand, and shoulder. It was a dazzling sight, too much for the eyes to take in.
However, his eyes and thoughts were not on this dazzling Lunar Shadow Saber. He simply let his right hand and the Lunar Shadow Saber happily play with each other.
Xiao Chen looked at the sunny sky and muttered, “I have stayed at the Heavenly Saber Pavilion for one month already. Such a peaceful environment is really good for comprehending the Saber Domain. Right now, I can already hide my power completely in every single blade of grass in the surroundings and those cirrus clouds.”
Three months ago, his Saber Domain appeared very scary. Not only was there loud thunder, but there were also dark clouds. At that time, Xiao Chen had just comprehended the Saber Domain. Not understanding anything, he just let the power out.
When I think about it now, that was really crude. No wonder Senior Lan laughed at me for being like a hedgehog.
Based on what Senior Lan said, I have already moved from outward power to subtlety. With a thought, all the saber intent that fills the air is available for my use.
If I want to comprehend the Saber Domain further, I need to solidify this space, fusing my heart into the space within one kilometer around me. I need to transform the space within one kilometer of me into my space.
Saber Domain, Saber Domain. The thing being cultivated was the domain—which meant it was moving towards the state of space. On the other hand, the saber became a supplementary existence, a supporting character.
After all, the entire Kunlun Realm was of the opinion that the Space Dao was much greater than the Saber Dao.
The Space Dao was so hard to gain entry into. Cultivating it was even harder. In contrast, the Saber Dao was much simpler to gain entry into. Cultivating it was even simpler. How could they be mentioned in the same breath?
This was how Xiao Chen originally thought. However, as he cultivated the Saber Dao, his belief wavered.
The Saber Dao might not be weaker than the Space Dao; it was just that the vision of the Kunlun Realm’s Martial Emperors was limited, unable to perceive the basic nature of the Saber Dao.
Saber intent condensed in Xiao Chen’s heart. The nimble Lunar Shadow Saber immediately stopped dancing around and appeared in his tight grasp, pointing to the front.
Its scabbard came out smoothly and stabbed into the cliff in front. “Buzz!” The saber trembled, and space started to tremble along with it.
Withdraw! Xiao Chen shouted in his heart.
All the light within one kilometer slowly withdrew, presenting a very strange sight. Outside of this one kilometer, the blazing sun shone brightly, appearing quite glaring.
However, the light in the world within one kilometer of Xiao Chen gradually withdrew. When the light disappeared, it left an eternal darkness.
Slowly, slowly, all the light gathered on Xiao Chen. However, just at this moment, all the withdrawn light fluctuated intensely like a misbehaving little kid, scattering in confusion, returning to where it came from.
This was the direction that Xiao Chen took. He did not choose to solidify this space, merging his body and the Saber Domain, the direction that Lan Chaofeng took. Instead, he took another path, gathering everything within one kilometer on the saber in his hand.
A Saber Domain with the saber as the focus. Everything had to be on the saber. The saber could not be a supporting character.
“How difficult! Every time I reach this step, it immediately crumbles. I wonder, what would it be like after I start to grasp this path?”
Xiao Chen’s heart filled with anticipation and some anxiety. He did not know whether he could succeed in this path or not. Despite a thousand attempts, none of them panned out even once. He could not help feeling somewhat depressed.
“I should practice my Profound Martial Techniques. It is important to cultivate the Saber Domain, but I cannot let my Martial Techniques fall behind.”
Xiao Chen soared into the air with a flip. As he grasped the Lunar Shadow Saber, he spun in the air.
All sorts of mysterious phenomena came out of his body. As the saber light gathered, they formed thousands of mountains appearing like a dragon, a glorious painting of a dragon roaring at the sky.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. “Right now, I can already use my Instant of Glory freely. I can bring out whatever kind of glory I want. Again!”
With a thought, he swung the saber and created a glorious painting of tens of thousands of dragons soaring in the sky.
Then, the painting shattered into many pieces. As Xiao Chen brandished his saber, he felt very carefree and free of worry.
There is only my saber, Instant of Glory!
The Martial Technique that Xiao Chen had not perfected back then, throwing in everything he had, had slowly improved over time. Now, it was completely at his disposal; he could use it freely and pull it back whenever he wanted. There were all sorts of glory and all sorts of changes, appearing boundlessly wondrous.
After that, he practiced the Thousand Year Hegemony Establishment many times, having already brought this Martial Technique to perfection.
Unfortunately, this was a Medial Grade Profound Martial Technique that a predecessor left behind. Furthermore, there was only one move. Xiao Chen could not use it as freely as he could the Instant of Glory, which brought a carefree feeling gushing in his blood.
He stopped and frowned. “What a pity! This Thousand Year Hegemony Establishment should be a Saber Technique left behind by an ancient Saber Sovereign, so there should be a complete set of it. Unfortunately, I only got this one move.”
In Xiao Chen’s cultivation of the Saber Dao, the Instant of Glory and the Thousand Year Hegemony Establishment were his strongest moves.
As for the others—Flawless Bright Moon, Thousand Frost Battle Snow, and the altered Four Season Saber Technique—they were somewhat weaker, only Inferior Grade Profound Martial Techniques.
After Xiao Chen practiced all his Saber Techniques, he casually tossed his saber into the saber scabbard stuck in the cliff.
Then, two bright moons soared up from behind him as he executed the Thousand Year Death and the Thousand Year Flame at the same time.
Hot-bloodedness and lofty aspiration; the grief of the past. The two bright moons were both beautiful in their own ways.