Mu Qingyun was holding a tiny tile. Two crossed swords were carved upon its surface—one black, one white. There was nothing else on it.

Yet, the moment it appeared, everyone—including Long Chen—felt their skin crawl. The will of the Sword Dao erupted from it, pressing down on their souls.

The weaker ones screamed in terror, stumbling back as if a single stray thought from this object could kill them.

They had never seen anything so suffocating. Even without being activated, its aura alone was terrifying.

“This aura... is it a relic of the Sword God’s line?” Long Chen asked.

He had sensed a similar aura from Yue Zifeng after refining the divine sword’s fragment.

“Brother San, you really are amazing! You recognize its origins? That’s right, it’s the Sword God Writ,” Mu Qingyun replied, gazing at him worshipfully.

As expected of the High Firmament Academy’s youngest dean in history... Long Chen was truly erudite.

In truth, it had merely been a lucky guess. However, he had guessed correctly.

Mu Qingyun explained, “This Sword God Writ was personally forged by the Sword God. There were eight in total, each entrusted to an heir of the Sword God’s line. You know that the Sword God was so picky that no genius of the Sword Dao could meet his gaze and be accepted as a disciple. However, he still created these eight Sword God Writs for the chosen few, so they could comprehend the essence of the Sword Dao. Those who carried one were recognized as heirs of the Sword God’s line.

“During the primal chaos war, the Sword God and his heirs all fell. Most of the Sword God Writs were detonated in battle to kill more of these foreign devils. This Sword God Writ in my hand might very well be the last one in this world.”

Hearing that it was personally made by the Sword God, everyone was amazed.

The Sword God—an existence who shook heaven and earth, the supreme sovereign of the Sword Dao, one whose status stood shoulder to shoulder with the Dragon Sovereign of the dragon race.

After his fall, others of the Sword Dao had arrogantly declared themselves gods, but in the eyes of true sword cultivators, there had only ever been one Sword God.

Now, Mu Qingyun held in her hands a treasure beyond compare. Yet instead of hiding it, she openly revealed it to them all. The dragon experts were deeply moved. To be entrusted with something so precious filled them with a rare sense of honor.

“They were hunting you down for this?” asked Long Chen.

Mu Qingyun shook her head. “No. I discovered this Sword God Writ in an underground cave, where a corpse of a senior Sword Dao cultivator lay. He had entered the heaven region’s battlefield through the seventh opening and perished in battle against devils.

“At the time, he could have detonated this Sword God Writ to slay them all and survive, but he refused to destroy the final Sword God Writ. Instead, he chose to die alongside them, preserving the Writ to the very end. His soul essence merged with the Writ itself. From then on, any foreign devil—or even cultivators of the nine heavens with impure hearts—would be killed by its power.

“When I arrived, that senior entrusted it to me. With the faintest remnant of the Sword God Writ’s core energy, he awakened the Sovereign flames of the Sword Dao within me...”

Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but sigh over her luck. They also felt great admiration for that senior.

Mu Qingyun continued, “That senior told me he had come here not only for the Sword God Writ, but also for a Sword Servant. A Sword Servant, also called a Sword Servant Puppet, was the creation of one of the Writ’s heirs. Apparently, he was a puppet grandmaster and a sword cultivator. He forged countless puppets infused with the Sword Dao. Some were meant to pass down the Sword Dao, while others were warriors built for slaughter.

“These warrior puppets are called Sword Servants. The strongest among them are said to rival Divine Sovereigns. More importantly, their bodies may still carry fragments of the Sword God’s legacy. Most were destroyed in the primal chaos war, but any that survived would be unimaginably powerful.

“That senior guided me here, and sure enough, I found one of those legendary Sword Servants. But just as I awakened it, those bastards appeared. I couldn’t defeat them, so I used the Sword God Writ to conceal it within the Sword Servant’s chest. I can’t wield the Writ’s true power. At most, I can use my soul to resonate with it and the Sword Servant, forcing it to protect me.

“If you hadn’t come when you did, both the Sword God Writ and the Sword Servant would have fallen into their hands.”

Mu Qingyun shuddered at the thought of it. She didn’t fear death, but she refused to let the Sword God Writ or Sword Servant fall into the High Heaven Sword God’s line.

In her eyes, the High Heaven line was a group of bullies, especially the High Heaven Sword God himself. His name alone was a blasphemy against the Sword God.

“The High Heaven line isn’t fit to use swords. In their hands, even divine blades are nothing more than firewood,” said Long Chen with a shake of his head.

Compared to Yue Zifeng, they were worthless. If Long Chen were to fight Yue Zifeng, he wouldn’t have dared to block his sword slash with one finger.

Yue Zifeng’s Sword Qi was condensed on an entirely different level. Compared to that senior apprentice-brother Fan, they were in different dimensions.

When Yue Zifeng attacked, he left no room for retreat. He abandoned defense, abandoned hesitation—he abandoned everything except the sword in his hand. He was one with his blade; if the sword fell, so did he. Up until now, Long Chen had never met another sword cultivator like him.

It was precisely because Yue Zifeng gave himself wholly to the sword that his Sword Qi brimmed with absolute determination. His sword could cut through all obstacles and shatter heaven and earth. It was a sword that could slay gods and devils alike.

At times, Long Chen couldn’t help but envy him. From the very moment Yue Zifeng started cultivating, his path had always been clear. Though he encountered hardships and setbacks, his Dao-heart never wavered—it was as unshakable as bedrock.

From the mortal world to the immortal world, his road had always been illuminated before him. Perhaps this was the truest embodiment of the Grand Dao—that its highest form was also the simplest.

“You should rest. Try to commune with your Sword Servant and see if you can put it away. Otherwise, it’s too conspicuous,” said Long Chen.

He was currently using his astral energy to suppress the Sword Servant’s enormous body. To outsiders, it looked like the owl dragon was carrying a blazing sun. This scene would draw other powerful experts to them.

Although Long Chen wasn’t afraid of such enemies, their priority was to reach the Heaven’s Spine Mountain Range as swiftly as possible.

“Alright.” Mu Qingyun nodded.

This Sword Servant was of the utmost importance to her. It would be best if she could gain control over it as soon as possible.

Although she had the Sword God Writ in her hands, with her current power, she could not control it.

Right now, she needed to use the Sword God Writ’s aura to slowly commune with the Sword Servant. Once she obtained the recognition of its core runes, she would be able to put the Sword Servant away.

As for truly wielding it—that was a matter for the future. Even if she never managed to command it, just studying the Sword Dao runes carved into its body would be enough. From them, she could perhaps revive the lost divine abilities of the Sword God’s line.

“Xue Tu, Qing Yi, guard us. I’m going back into seclusion,” said Long Chen

Once more, he turned his focus inward, striving to open his seventh gate. In his battle with senior apprentice-brother Fan, he had experienced firsthand the terrifying power of that gate. Now, he hungered to open it fully.