Seeking the Flying Sword Path

Bai Fu secretly studied the mysterious incomplete bronze token for many days, but failed to decipher its use. Nor could he figure out its origins.

"Brother Qu, I"m here to take over your s.h.i.+ft!" Bai Fu came to take over the guarding duties in front of North Star Palace.

"Brother Bai Fu, you finally came. Alright, I"ll leave it to you." Another Heavenly general laughed as he left.

Bai Fu stood in front of North Star Palace as the Heavenly Eye at his glabella opened. With the North Star Palace"s powers, he began looking over the Three Realms.

"Bai Fu, I heard you took an order to fight fiends a few days ago? You sure are diligent. Don"t you know how to skive?"

"Yes, you had already reached the quota needed for your mission. You could have turned down the request."

The Heavenly generals beside him also began chatting amid laughter.

Bai Fu watched from the side as he said, "It"s quite boring in the Heavenly Courts as well. Going out to fight allows me to oil my bones."

"Even if you cultivate your body and are able to withstand damage, you should take it easy. Engaging in combat as often as you do, who knows when you will end up losing your life?"

"Take my advice and be more careful. There"s nothing wrong with taking an elder brother"s advice," said the Heavenly generals.

Bai Fu laughed as he chatted.

But slowly, his expression changed.

"What"s happening?"

"Where"s Qing"er?" Bai Fu looked down at the lower realm and looked toward his hometown as he sought his wife.

Over all these years, the thing that left him the most eager was each time he began his duty, giving him a chance to look down at his homeworld and see his wife…

"Skyfiends have invaded?"

"How could they have?" Bai Fu"s expression changed drastically. "Time in the Heavenly Courts flows very slowly. A day in the Heavenly Courts can be a year in the lower realms. Three years would have pa.s.sed for my homeworld! It"s only been half a month since I last checked. It"s been nearly fifty years in my homeworld. What sudden change happened? Why are so many areas occupied by Skyfiends?"

"Where"s my wife?

"Where"s Qing"er? Is she still alive?" Bai Fu hurriedly cast his Heavenly Eye and carefully searched every corner of his homework.

Soon.

He found her.

The strongest female general of that Small World had led other Skyimmortals in casting an array formation to protect the last bastion of humans. Many humans were gathered there.

"Qing"er." Bai Fu was filled with anxiety when he saw this scene. "Although they have come up with a temporary solution, I have to think of a way to save my homeworld, as well as Qing"er."

"Brother Zhang." Bai Fu said to a general beside him. "I have something I need your help with."

"Brother Bai Fu, what kind of ties do we have? Feel free to request. I"ll definitely help you if you find me useful," quipped a Heavenly general by his side who had just taken over the s.h.i.+ft.

"Can I seek the help of the troops our Heavenly Courts stationed in the Changjun Great World to drive away the Skyfiends in my homeworld!? It"s best if they can save my wife," said Bai Fu immediately. "Brother Zhang, you have been in the Heavenly Courts for so long and you have connections with many people…"

"The stationed troops in the Changjun Great World?" The Heavenly general frowned. "Back when Sword Immortal Qin swept through the twenty-six dominions, countless fiends either died or escaped! Countless Small Worlds were taken back. As such, your homeworld regained its peace. However, ever since Sword Immortal Qin"s Essence Soul broke through, he is unable to enter a Small World with his real body. Therefore, the fiends have sent countless Skyfiends to begin infiltrating the twenty-six dominions again.

"Of course, we now enjoy the advantage. It"s difficult for the fiends to even take back a hundredth of their original territory," said the Heavenly general. "But even so, the battles in the twenty-six dominions remain intense. The Changjun Great World is one of them. The stationed troops are extremely busy and are occupied with the Skyfiends already. There are even many Daoist and Buddhist experts who came forward to help. I"m only an eighth-grade Heavenly general. At this critical moment, I have no way to request the stationed troops to render any personal aid."

"Is there nothing you can do?" asked Bai Fu anxiously.

"Brother Bai Fu," another Heavenly general persuaded. "It"s already not easy to seek the stationed troops in times of peace. Now that the stationed Heavenly troops are so busy there that they need external help, how are they to divert a company of Heavenly troops to specially help your homeworld?"

…

Bai Fu thought of every means possible, but he was ultimately a lowly ninth-grade Heavenly general. His word held little weight and he was completely unable to help his distant homeworld, nor could he help the most important woman in his life.

******

Heavenly realm, Mt. Lightning Roar, Qin Manor.

Tribulation clouds formed abovehead as lightning smote down.

Qin Yun waved his hand as an invisible wave swept out and disintegrated the lightning. Even the tribulation clouds were vanquished! With that, the third Itinerant Immortal tribulation pa.s.sed.

"Every Itinerant Immortal tribulation means a thousand years has pa.s.sed. The amount of time I have left is shortened by a thousand years." Qin Yun showed no joy in his transcending of the tribulation. "However, I remained stuck at the bottleneck of the Great Dao of Man and Great Dao of Earth."

"Brother Yun." Yi Xiao, who had watched Qin Yun transcend the tribulation from afar, walked over.

"Xiaoxiao." Qin Yun looked at his wife.

"Brother Yun, perhaps one day, you will suddenly break through the bottleneck of your Great Dao of Earth and Great Dao of Man. Brother Yun, you would then reach a perfected Great Dao." Yi Xiao gently clasped her husband"s hand.

"Haha, let"s hope it"s as you say, my wife." Qin Yun laughed.

His Sword Dao was divided into Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Therefore, studying the three Great Dao of Heaven, Earth, and Man was very natural. If he was given sufficient time, attaining a perfected Great Dao was naturally not difficult. However, it was extremely difficult to do it in about ten thousand years! He still lacked the confidence even if he continuously consumed Samsara Dew.

"Yuluo went out again?" asked Qin Yun suddenly.

"That la.s.s loves adventuring outside. Yet you egg her on," said Yi Xiao.

"Training outside is beneficial for her cultivation. Look, her present strength is already higher than that of Huan"er"s and Yiyi"s." Qin Yun was very fond of his granddaughter. While he cultivated, he also secretly paved the way for his family! After all, in about ten thousand years, who knew if he would survive the twelve Itinerant Immortal tribulation? He had zero confidence in doing so. Besides, no one knew if there was a thirteenth Itinerant Immortal tribulation.

With the future ahead of him unclear, all he could do was try his best.

Yiyi and Han Lin had a daughter named Qin Yuluo. Han Lin did not mind that his daughter had taken the Qin surname. As for the Han family who had only occupied a Small World, it naturally did not mind. They were more interested in being in Sword Immortal Qin"s good books for he was their biggest backer!

Qin Yuluo had cultivated for a thousand plus years. She was extraordinarily talented and intelligent.

Qin Yiyi, Meng Huan, and Han Lin were sixth firmament Skyimmortals after thousands of years of cultivation. Yi Xiao had barely entered the Skyimmortal realm with the aid of Immortal Pills and other external items. As for his granddaughter, Qin Yuluo, she was already an eighth firmament Skyimmortal. Furthermore, her sword array arts were even more powerful. It was no wonder Qin Yun was fond of her.

"Yes, the la.s.s is indeed talented in sword arts, so much so that Perfected Jade Tripod wanted to recruit her as a disciple. However, he could only give up when he realized that she was a part of our Green Touring Palace lineage. However, he did teach the la.s.s some sword arts for a few days." Yi Xiao smiled.

Qin Yun nodded slightly.

The difference in sects tied their hands.

As Qin Yun"s granddaughter, she was born into the Green Touring Palace lineage. Besides, in terms of Sword Dao, Perfected Jade Tripod, who was similarly a pinnacle Golden Immortal, was not necessarily better than a sword immortal like Qin Yun.

"Oh?" Qin Yun sensed something as he looked into the distance. "Has that Heavenly General Bai Fu met with his life-and-death calamity?"

…

Heavenly realm, above a mountainous forest.

Many Heavenly troops were standing on a cloud as they overlooked the forest.

"Bai Fu! You can"t escape. Surrender now!" a Heavenly general bellowed.

"Brother Bai Fu," another Heavenly general persuaded. "You have violated the Heavenly rules by descending to the lower realm without permission. If you were to surrender now, the various generals of North Star Palace will plead on your behalf and get the Heavenly Courts to mete out a lesser punishment. If you remain obstinate… you might end up paying a visit to Immortal Slaying Platform."

Bai Fu stood in midair as he looked at the grand display of three thousand Heavenly troops on a cloud. He could not help but turn infuriated.

"I, Bai Fu, have been fighting for the Heavenly Courts all over the Three Realms since the day I joined. I never complained, but now, with my homeworld in trouble and my wife"s life on the line, all I did was request the Heavenly Courts to let me descend into the lower realm to save my homeworld and wife by dealing with the Skyfiends. Is there anything wrong with that?" said an incensed Bai Fu.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

The leading general berated, "Bai Fu, the Heavenly Courts has rules when it comes to troop deployment. You are only a mere ninth-grade Heavenly general, but you already wish to overturn the Heavenly Courts" rules. You wish for the Heavenly Courts to give you special treatment and allow you to go down to the lower realms? There are countless soldiers in the Heavenly Courts. If every one of them makes such a request, what is the point of rules?"

Bai Fu fell silent before saying in a deep voice, "If I were to surrender, would the Heavenly Courts send troops to save my homeworld and wife on account of all the hard work I put in over the years?"

"How dare you bargain when you have violated the Heavenly rules?" bellowed the general angrily. "On account of us being fellow colleagues in the past, I will give you a chance to surrender. If not, you will not be able to escape once I give the command."

"You aren"t giving me a single chance?" Bai Fu scoffed. "Forget it."

Just as his voice faded—

Sou!

Bai Fu transformed into a flaming beam as he escaped.

"Capture Bai Fu!" The leading general gave the order.

"Boom!" The Heavenly troops conjured a military formation as they released ropes that tore through the sky and began enveloping Bai Fu.

Bai Fu revealed a look of despair.

"I"m not even being given a chance." Bai Fu flipped his hand and took out a small wooden sword. "Did Sword Immortal Qin give me this wooden sword because he knew this day would come?"

Pa.

He did not hesitate to shatter the small wooden sword.