At the horizon, the rising sun peeked out.
The faint sunlight cast a dividing line between day and night on the edge of the sky.
Under the rock where the Snow Dragon Cave was located, lava continued to gush out from between the cracks, and hot flames engulfed this peak that was white all year round.
Wrapped in a cloak handed by Pei Lianxue, Ye Anping rode his sword in the sky, acting like a tour guide as he told her about the past of this mountain.
"This place was originally an active volcano that erupted frequently. Thousands of years ago, Immortal Yun Jian reached the Deification stage here, turning the spirit into energy. After undergoing thunder tribulation, the spirit of thunder suppressed volcanic activity just right so the volcano turned into this snow-capped peak.
A thousand years later, his son Yun Tianchong followed his father's example and came here to achieve the Deification stage as well. However, the unstable tribulation caused earth veins to rupture in the process... Thus, turning this snowy peak into a desolate land filled with chaotic energy."
"Mm..."
Pei Lianxue nodded as if she understood, although she didn't. She didn't know why her brother suddenly wanted to tell her all this, but she would memorize what he said anyway.
Seeing her like this, Ye Anping asked her with a resigned voice. "Then, can you guess where I'm taking you?"
"Um... I don't know."
"I'm taking you to sell you."
Pei Lianxue was silent for a while, then raised her eyebrows. "...I don't believe it."
"Why don't you believe it?"
"You wouldn't bear to give me up."
This girl...
Looking somewhat melancholic, Ye Anping shook his head, stopped talking altogether, and smiled wryly as he focused on controlling the sword through the clouds in the sky.
Entering the clouds, Ye Anping followed his sense of direction and memory, and after circling around, he wrapped himself and his sister with a spiritual shield, and broke out from the clouds.
In the blink of an eye, the ruined mountain peaks and swirling snowflakes disappeared, replaced by endless clouds and a conical rock platform suspended above the clouds.
On the rock platform stood a small octagonal pavilion with a stone stele placed inside. There were also some bookshelves with wooden slips and scrolls around it.
The two landed their swords on the platform and walked up to the stone stele in the pavilion.
Ye Anping reached out to wipe away the dust on it, revealing the words, "Yun Jian's whereabouts unknown."
Stepping back, he said, "Sister, we'll cut it with our swords."
"Yes!!!"
Pei Lianxue nodded in response, quickly summoning her sword, while Ye Anping also took out his own sword and stood beside her.
The two raised their swords and converged their energies, taking half a step back simultaneously.
Clang---
Two golden and ice-blue spiritual lights merged into one, and eleven sword shadows struck the center of the stele instantly. However, despite looking like an ordinary rock, there was not a trace left on it.
Pei Lianxue paused, but since her brother did not say to stop, she simply raised her sword again.
However, just as she was about to unleash her technique, the voice of a young boy came from behind them.
"Did I offend you?! Ah?! Even using such great force... it's still impossible to deceive the master and destroy the ancestor."
?!
Pei Lianxue was startled and subconsciously turned around and swung her sword behind. However, the young man who suddenly appeared behind her just raised his left hand and stopped her sword in mid-air.
The blond kid wore a golden-white uniform, and although he only reached up to Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue's chest, his immortal aura was hard to conceal.
Ye Anping hastily stepped forward, pulled back his sister, and cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Master Yun Jian."
Seeing her brother saluting, Pei Lianxue quickly sheathed her sword and nodded. "...Greetings."
Yun Jian pursed his lips and glanced at the two people. Seeing their hair and eye color, he knew they were not his descendants, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
"Tsk, I didn't expect that the first ones to summon me were not my descendants but two outsiders. That boy Yun Tianchong really didn't live up to expectations, tsk tsk tsk..."
Immortal Yun Jian turned around with hands behind his back, walked to the edge of the rock platform, gazing at the endless clouds ahead, and sighed. "I made a bet with Mrs. Si back then. She bet that my Moon Shadow Sword Sect would inevitably die out in the future. She asked me to pass down the Moon Shadow Sword Technique to her, and she would help me find a successor. I divided my sword technique into two copies of the Yin Yang Sword Manual and asked her to give it to my descendants... So you two are the ones she found?"
Ye Anping cupped his hands and replied. "We just happened to come across those two sword manuals in the cave where you used to live."
"Oh~" Immortal Yun Jian raised an eyebrow and said, "The cave where I used to live?"
"Yes, the cave in the Eastern Forest Mountain in the Western Region."
"Hmm... it was probably put there by Mrs. Si. Let me tell you... you have mediocre qualifications, although this girl has a body of pure water. How could you catch Ms. Si's sights with such an ordinary physique?
Ye Anping pouted, speechless.
"Well..."
"After all this waiting, it turned out to be just two lucky youngsters. Tsk... By the way, what year is it now?"
"Year 2110 in the Immortal Calendar."
"Oh~ Then I've been dead for..."
Ye Anping added. "Two thousand and twenty-three years."
"Oh! Right, right...it's been so long." Immortal Yun Jian looked surprised. "Tell me, how is my son?"
"Master Yun Tian..."
"Master my ass, what Master? He is just a little ignorant bastard, with no skills."
"...Senior Yun has now reached the late stage of Deification, and will retreat in an attempt to break through the Void soon."
"Really? Is he in the late stage of Deification? I find it hard to believe."
Immortal Yun Jian frowned and waved his hand, sending Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue to take a seat in the pavilion. Then, he conjured tea and said, "Kid... tell me the truth. I won't get angry. What is his cultivation level exactly?"
"Late stage of Deification."
Slap---
Immortal Yun Jian slammed the table hard. "Tell me the truth!"
"It really is the late stage of Deification."
"..."
Immortal Yun Jian pursed his lips, watched Ye Anping in silence for a while, then shrugged indifferently.
"At the late stage of Deification, he's probably already at his peak. I bet he can't break through the Void. Being able to achieve Deification is already pretty good, but I don't know about breaking through the Void. What about my other descendants?"
Feeling a little tired, Ye Anping sighed. "They're okay."
"...What does it mean, 'they're okay'? Tell me about them -- their names, genders, spiritual roots, cultivation levels. Maybe for you, it's okay."
Ye Anping paused, and then stated, "Yun Yuecheng, male, with four spiritual roots, unfortunately, fell off a thousand-foot cliff while practicing sword control when he was twelve and died on the spot. Yun Wuyue, female, was killed when she was three years old after being poisoned by someone. Yun Siming, female, with dual spiritual roots, died at twenty-one, devoured by a sixth-level demonic beast..."
"Stop!"
"What's the matter? You asked me to tell you."
"Do I have so many grandchildren?"
"There are quite a lot. Unlike you, Senior Yun has more than thirty wives and concubines in total, and almost every one of them has given birth to at least a child."
"Tsk, that little bastard..."
Hearing this, Immortal Yun Jian gritted his teeth in anger. Without any doubt, he believed what Ye Anping said. It was more accurate to say that he had long known that Yun Tianchong would be a good-for-nothing when he grew up.
He frowned and scanned Pei Lianxue and Ye Anping up and down. Feeling very uncomfortable, he asked, "Isn't there anyone with good qualifications who is still alive?"
"The only one worthy of your attention should be Yun Kunwu..."
Seeing Ye Anping's despondent expression, Immortal Yun Jian also understood. "...But?"
"But... Yun Kunwu's heart was evil. Once, he committed a major mistake and publicly insulted the two masters of Black Star and Bright Star Sect. In the end, his physical body was personally destroyed by Senior Yun, and his soul was imprisoned deep in the Sword Tomb."
"..."
Immortal Yun Jian was silent for a long time before saying in a serious tone, "Kid, to be honest, it's not that I look down on you and this girl. As I said before, I'd like to pass on the inheritance to my descendants. We look about the same age, so let's be honest. Tell me the truth, how is the Moon Shadow Sword Sect faring now?"
"It's on the verge of collapse."
"Is that so..." Immortal Yun Jian shook his head and sighed, looking toward the sky. "What a tragedy! What a tragedy! There is no one among the descendants of this majestic Yun Jian sword ancestor who can uphold the name of Yun, and there is even an evil one? Mrs. Si was actually quite right, I admit defeat, heh---"
With a faint frown on his childish face, he stood up and walked outside the pavilion with his hands behind his back.
"Young man and young lady, I will pass on the sword essence to you. Remember to carry on the name of this Yun Jian Immortal."
The childish voice gradually dissipated, and Immortal Yun Jian's figure turned into a faint stream of light in their eyes, drifting away. The next moment, a four-foot-long sword made entirely of dark ice appeared before the stone stele.
"This sword is named Snow Jade Spirit..."