Chapter 15: The Sword Path Severed, Yet Must Illuminate the Heavenly Sword Scriptures

At that moment, the battle on the other side also came to an end.

The Golden Lion was slain, its forehead pierced through, leaving a large, bloody hole.

As for the two demonic beasts at the third tier of the Bitter Sea Realm, they perished as collateral damage.

This girl was surprisingly powerful.

No wonder she had dared to boast earlier about taking Qin Ming to slay demons.

Qin Ming stepped forward to tidy up the battlefield, gathering all the demon corpses and tossing them into his storage pouch.

The Nine Dragons Tomb Celestial Cauldron was inside that pouch.

In a way, these were indirectly “fed” into the Nine Dragons Tomb Celestial Cauldron.

With a round of refining, the essence of these powerful beasts transformed into an energy flow that coursed through Qin Ming’s body.

His body trembled slightly as a warm current flowed throughout him.

With the essence of these beasts, nearly half of the third drop of the Everlasting Blood had condensed.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power ripple through his muscles.

His strength had improved considerably.

At present, he could kill a third-tier cultivator of the Bitter Sea Realm with a single strike and was confident enough to challenge those at the fifth tier.

As for cultivators beyond the fifth tier of the Bitter Sea Realm, he had a plan as well.

That plan was to run.

The faster, the better!

Seeing Qin Ming’s somewhat frivolous and pleased expression, Leng Xuewei frowned slightly and said, “Don’t make that kind of expression next time.”

Qin Ming rubbed his nose and nodded.

“Are you a sword cultivator?” Leng Xuewei’s gaze swept over him.

Qin Ming’s cultivation was only at the second tier of the Soul Formation Realm, yet he could slay third-tier Bitter Sea Realm cultivators instantly?

He must have some talent.

Noticing he had been recognized, Qin Ming did not deny it and admitted openly.

Moreover, he had only revealed a very rough part of his swordsmanship secret art just now, so there was no worry about leaking anything.

“The sword cultivation lineage in the lower realms is declining; sword cultivators rarely appear. It’s a dead end,” Leng Xuewei said.

“Even in the Immortal Mansion, the sword cultivator’s legacy remains incomplete. It seems sword cultivation is too extraordinary, so heaven and earth deliberately set up a barrier.”

Her voice was pleasant but carried a certain distance, as if keeping others at arm’s length.

She cherished talent, which was why she spoke so much.

The path of the sword was a dead end.

In the early stages, the offensive power was indeed strong, far exceeding peers of the same realm, but later on, progress would inevitably become difficult.

Qin Ming said nothing; he was somewhat aware of the sword cultivator’s situation.

This lineage seemed to be envied by heaven.

All complete legacies had been destroyed.

So many sword cultivators had to learn from various sword ancestors piecemeal—this here, that there.

“To make a name in the sword cultivator line, first you need background, second background, and third background.”

“You need sword ancestors to clear the fog and illuminate the sword scriptures for you.”

“Otherwise, you’ll spend your whole life studying in vain, never grasping a true understanding.”

Leng Xuewei spoke rare words, unveiling the secret history of this lineage.

Qin Ming’s expression was indifferent.

He had no grand background—no sword ancestors to teach him.

But… why need sword ancestors?

Martial texts could be thrown directly into the Nine Dragons Tomb Celestial Cauldron for refining and extraction.

As long as he had enough scriptures, he could carve a path through the ancient mist of sword cultivation and become a founding ancestor.

Of course, Qin Ming did not say this aloud.

Seeing that Qin Ming had not realized how difficult the future path would be, Leng Xuewei shook her head.

This person had some talent.

But with such arrogance, he would surely meet setbacks.

In the entire Xuanyao Continent, the only one she felt truly interested in recruiting was that mysterious Heavenly Road Great Demon.

This trip to the lower realm was also to recruit that genius.

Alas…

“Thank you for your guidance, senior.”

At this moment, Qin Ming cupped his fists, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

“Senior?”

Cultivators of Xuanyao Continent didn’t distinguish the lower realm; if you spoke like that, you must be from the Immortal Realm or the Immortal Mansion.

Leng Xuewei’s beautiful eyes flickered with a trace of brilliance, her tone cooling slightly, showing displeasure.

“I am indeed from the Immortal Mansion, but I am about your age. I don’t want to hear ‘senior’ from you.”

“Understood.” Qin Ming cupped his fists.

Leng Xuewei said nothing more and stepped forward. “Let’s go. There must be profound fortune deep within the mountain range.”

Qin Ming nodded gravely, looking ahead.

The scene ahead had turned into a thunderstorm.

Silver lightning bolts struck down from black clouds, briefly illuminating the world.

The black clouds were thick and oppressive.

The two proceeded, one leading, one following, arriving at the foot of a great mountain.

Looking up, they saw five enormous demonic beasts gathered atop the peak.

The sight was breathtaking.

Each was over ten zhang tall, like small mountains themselves.

The aura of ninth-tier Bitter Sea Realm cultivators radiated, stirring a wild wind.

They all stared intently at the sky.

At that moment, a blood-red lightning bolt struck down from the heavens.

Instantly, the five demonic beasts’ eyes glinted with greed as they charged fiercely to seize it.

“Heaven and Earth Tribulation Root!” Leng Xuewei said.

Qin Ming didn’t know what the Heaven and Earth Tribulation Root was.

But from the hint of surprise in Leng Xuewei’s voice, it was clear it must be priceless.

That five ninth-tier Bitter Sea Realm demon generals fought fiercely over it.

All of this indicated how extraordinary that red lightning was.

If they could refine the Heaven and Earth Tribulation Root, wouldn’t that be… exhilarating?

“Should we hide and let them exhaust themselves?” Qin Ming suggested.

“No need. They’re only ninth-tier Bitter Sea Realm cultivators. Just smash through them directly.” Leng Xuewei said calmly.

Qin Ming was astonished.

This girl looked about his age—could her strength already have reached the Divine Bridge Realm?

After Soul Formation came the Bitter Sea.

The Bitter Sea was boundless, and only talent could build a bridge.

Establishing a bridge above the Bitter Sea, cultivators showed their prowess to cross the ‘Sea of Calamities.’

That was the Divine Bridge Realm.

So young, yet already at the Divine Bridge Realm? Such talent was truly extraordinary.

However, Qin Ming was not disheartened.

He had the Nine Dragons Tomb Celestial Cauldron, capable of refining heaven and earth and accelerating time by a hundredfold.

Surely, it would not be long before he caught up with the scions of the Immortal Mansion.

Born in the lower realm, his fate was like drifting duckweed.

But he had the ambition to contend with the heavens.

At this moment, Leng Xuewei glided forward swiftly.

Soon, they reached the mountain peak.

Qin Ming pretended to lag behind deliberately, slowing his pace.

He knew his place.

With his strength, he couldn’t provoke those ninth-tier Bitter Sea Realm demons.

Laying low was survival.

At the peak, Qin Ming slightly turned his body, choosing the best escape route.

Up close, the pressure from the five demon generals was immense.

Leng Xuewei, dressed in a flowing cyan gown, raised her pristine palm and gently clenched it toward the void.

Immediately, the red tribulation lightning was drawn toward her small hand.

Crackling arcs of electricity gradually condensed and finally obediently gathered within her palm.

“Impudent!”

“Who goes there?”

“Where do you humans come from?”

The five demon generals, who had been fighting fiercely, stopped abruptly.

They all widened their blood-red eyes and glared toward Leng Xuewei and Qin Ming.

Ten blood-colored lantern-like eyes blazed fiercely, their gazes sharp as blades and lightning.