Sword Tomb?
The eyes of the Sword Sect disciples suddenly reflected boundless fervor, cold sweat trickling down their backs. Listening to those sword names, tears welled faintly at the corners of their eyes.
Xi Qingyi's lips moved slightly, his gaze fixed on that expanse of heaven and earth. His large hand pressed tightly onto the hilt of his sword, a difficult-to-vent emotion welling in his chest.
"A thousand years ago, Sword Sect was known as Underworld Sword Sect!"
"Back then, with just a breath from a Sword Immortal, Sword Qi would traverse mountains and rivers for thousands of miles. Breath transformed into swords, and by riding a sword, one could ascend to the Ninth Heaven."
"Where Sword Sect stood, a single strike could resolve all affairs under heaven!"
...
The moonlight was serene as hundreds of longswords bloomed in the sky!
Only then did everyone truly see that it was not just the leading woman on the high platform; behind her, a hundred people stood in a straight line!
Everyone, holding a longsword, bloomed like lotuses!
BOOM—
Such a shocking scene made all the onlookers boil with excitement.
An elder of the Sacred Land even stood up unconsciously, taking a deep breath while looking at the scene before him.
High in the sky, the leading woman's eyes suddenly changed. Her previous calmness vanished, replaced by a disdainful gaze that swept over everything.
Then, a stream of blue-purple Sword Qi emanated across the sky. The next moment, a blue-purple sword spiraled between heaven and earth. Above her head, the sky filled with a purple mist, resembling the ethereal domain of an Immortal.
Immediately, the purple mist began to churn. Beneath it, a five-colored radiance surged forth, resplendent and dazzling!
The final call was, "Qingping!"
An aura of absolute dominance instantly filled the entire Sacred Sanctuary. Everyone stared blankly at the sword in the sky. Unlike the hundreds of other longswords, this was the true Treasure of Sword Sect, the Qingping Sword!
The perspective suddenly rose as the Qingping Sword soared above the Nine Heavens. Between heaven and earth, blue-purple lotuses blossomed. Then, that voice resounded once again.
"This world has been too peaceful for too long, so long that people have forgotten the Underworld Sword Sect, forgotten the Cataclysm of Ten Thousand Clans that occurred a thousand years ago!"
...
The Sword Maiden finally swung the longsword in her hand for the first time. In that instant, it seemed as if all the swords in the sky were speaking, roaring!
The swords began to hum!
For a moment, no matter where one stood in the Sacred Sanctuary, they could feel the longswords in their hands begin to hum. A surge of vast and unparalleled Sword Qi swept through the expansive Sanctuary.
The Sword Maiden stood motionless, the hundreds of blooming swords behind her equally still. It seemed as if the entire world held its breath.
Then, a clap of thunder exploded! The heavens and earth changed color; the sun and moon lost their light!
An astonishing Sword Qi erupted from the Qingping Sword, soaring to the very ends of the sky, far beyond sight. The clouds were drawn into a blue-purple vortex as heaven and earth transformed—a majestic and spectacular sight!
The sky seemed to be split in two, clearly divided!
A radiant moon hung precariously, its cool light dyeing half the sky. The snow-white scar left by the sword was exceptionally distinct against the firmament.
This spectacle surpassed even the legendary Purple Qi stretching thirty thousand zhang from the East.
Key Smoke took a deep breath.
The expressions of the Sword Sect Elders shifted, their eyes filled with shock as they gazed upon the scene!
The disciples of Peach Blossom Sect were also staring blankly at the sky.
The citizens in all the state capitals of the Twenty-One Provinces watched in stunned silence. They were utterly dumbfounded, having never witnessed such a shocking spectacle!
"This..."
"Is this the Sword Venerable?!"
"Is this really Sword Sect?"
The voice from above the sky continued to echo:
"During the Cataclysm of Ten Thousand Clans a thousand years ago, the Twenty-One Provinces were a scene of utter desolation. As far as the eye could see, there were only white bones. The earth was cracked and barren, the bodies of cultivators and common folk alike had vanished, their blood staining the rivers and mountains. Wilderness Cultivators crossed the Cang River, leaving devastation wherever they passed.
"Withered bones, scattered corpses, sinister winds.
"Seas of bones, terror, shattering."
The voice calmly described the horror of the Cataclysm of Ten Thousand Clans a thousand years ago. Unconsciously, some people stood up and looked to the heavens, their fists clenched tightly.
It was a massacre that shattered the backbone of the Twenty-One Provinces, a despair that, for the first time, utterly erased their pride!
Some elderly elders seemed to recall those times, while Saintess Key Smoke pursed her thin lips, looking up at the Sword Sect in the sky, silent.
Those who had not experienced the Cataclysm of Ten Thousand Clans could never truly understand that despair!
"For the continuation of their Sects, all the Great Sects across the Twenty-One Provinces avoided battle, allowing the Wilderness Cultivators to rampage freely!
"If people of that time wished to enter Cang Ravine, they first had to pass the eight hundred Immortals of Sword Sect.
"—The old Sect Leader of Sword Sect said this.
"The Sword Sect emerged from its seclusion.
"Countless sword lights soared into the sky, raging like a blizzard. The whistling of these lights could be heard even a thousand miles away. Every step in the sky marked a Sword Immortal; every passing left devastation in its wake!"
Each sentence pierced straight to the heart!
The entire Sacred Sanctuary fell silent. Everyone watched the scene before them without a sound, their gazes fixed on the woman from whose back bloomed a hundred longswords.
Gradually, many people clenched their fists tightly; many gritted their teeth.
Looking at that Sword Sect, looking at this sect known as the least among the Ten Great Sects.
CLANG—
A longsword broke.
The break was very crisp.
"Cheng Ying, fallen!"
CLANG—
"Tai'a, fallen!"
"Zhanlu, fallen!"
"Chunjun, fallen!"
"Longyuan, fallen!"
...
One after another, the longswords shattered, leaving only hilts gripped in hundreds of hands.
The moonlight flooded the sky at this moment, cascading down until the very last sword shattered.
Until the sword in the Sword Maiden's hands completely shattered.
"Sword Sect, eight hundred Sword Immortals.
"Sword Sect, eight hundred Sword Tombs.
"The Sword Sect no longer bears the name 'Underworld'."
...
Each phrase, each word was delivered with extreme plainness, yet every sentence recounted facts known to everyone in the Twenty-One Provinces!
"Have you forgotten Tai'a, whose single strike stemmed the Cang River's flow? A lone swordsman, one sword held against the Wilderness Cultivators, barring three thousand of them from crossing the river?
"Do you remember Zhanlu, whose sword stood firm in Inverted Heaven, one sword to pacify Inverted Heaven?
"And Qingping, whose sword strike sundered the heavens, spilling the blood of Wilderness Cultivators beneath it? One strike that extinguished the souls of three hundred thousand Wilderness Cultivators—has no one spoken of this?"
These are tales of bygone eras, passed down through generations.
A look of solemn heroism filled the faces of everyone in the Twenty-One Provinces as they watched. Some women lightly covered their mouths, their bodies trembling.
Every shattered sword represented a fallen hero, their bones scattered across the Twenty-One Provinces.
This was the Sword Sect's opening ceremony.
After a hiatus of six iterations, it was no longer a single sword pointed defiantly at the heavens.
Perhaps it was disdain? The proud Sword Sect never deigned to explain?
"What is cultivating immortality? What is a Sword Immortal? Why cultivate immortality?
"The Sword Sect cultivates for the world.
"The people of the Sword Sect cultivate immortality for the sake of the world!"
BOOM—
In an instant, the crowd erupted!
Everyone stood up. Even the elders of the Sacred Lands took a deep breath, their eyes burning as they gazed at the woman in the sky and the hundreds of shattered sword blades.
"Is cultivating immortality for the sake of the sect? Is it for oneself?
"Perhaps what was said was not wrong, but when the nest is overturned, how can there be any unbroken eggs?
"The backbone of the Twenty-One Provinces must ultimately be shouldered by someone.
"Which sect will it be?"
...