Chapter 283 : Upon Leaving the Secret Realm, One Must Display Sanctity Before Others

Chapter 283: Upon Leaving the Secret Realm, One Must Display Sanctity Before Others

Chu Huaixu looked at the Dao Ancestor not far away and “met his gaze.”

Because he could not see—or rather could not remember—his facial features, he could only roughly locate where his eyes were and achieve eye contact that way.

Every time the other party took the initiative to speak to him, it felt like a heavy hammer striking his heart.

At this very moment, it was the same.

As for the Dao Ancestor asking him—Huaixu, what do you think?

From Chu Huaixu’s perspective, he had already become a sword—what else could he think?

Even if he had to force it, he could only respond: “This is indeed excellent!”

Yet the Dao Ancestor replied: “That will do.”

Chu Huaixu always felt that these four words carried something subtly off!

Within this secret realm, every sentence the Dao Ancestor spoke to him seemed to hide boundless layers of meaning beneath the surface.

Just as Chu Huaixu was about to open his mouth to ask further, a gentle breeze swept through.

Everything around them was the first to dissipate.

Within the darkness, only he and the Dao Ancestor remained.

Then, the Daoist’s figure began to gradually blur.

He became fainter and fainter, until he vanished completely.

Only the black bead that had been floating in his palm still hovered in the air, emitting a faint, dim glow.

Chu Huaixu looked at the disappearing figure of the Dao Ancestor with a helpless expression and could not help but mutter:

“I knew it!”

However, as his gains from this journey were immense, he still properly performed a disciple’s bow as a form of farewell.

Then, he stepped forward and grabbed the black bead in one motion.

The next instant, Han Shuangjiang—who had been crouching before him—saw her Dao companion suddenly open his eyes!

Chu Huaixu first glanced at the girl before him, then lowered his head to look at his right fist.

He opened his palm—the black bead was clearly resting within it!

A system notification sounded in his ears.

“【Ding! Congratulations, you have cleared the instance—Myriad Swords Converge.】”

“【Completion Rate: 100%!】”

Inside the secret realm, Chu Huaixu held the black bead and raised his eyes to look at the pretty face before him.

“Why were you staring at me the whole time?” he asked with a smile.

Han Shuangjiang immediately replied, “Because your aura was unstable earlier. I was worried something might happen to you.”

“Is that so? Probably because I condensed my Sword Heart.”

Such a heaven-defying feat—he mentioned it so casually.

Then Chu Huaixu changed the subject, still smiling:

“I feel like I haven’t seen you for many years.”

As he spoke, he gently took hold of Han Shuangjiang’s small hand.

The girl did not refuse. Instead, she nodded and sighed:

“The Dao Ancestor’s secret realm is truly wondrous. It even makes our perception of time’s passage deviate.”

Chu Huaixu pondered the system’s final notification slightly, then glanced at the black bead again. He felt that Han Shuangjiang’s experience might differ from his own.

“Tell me, what did you experience?” he asked.

Han Shuangjiang nodded and began recounting everything in detail.

Before long, Chu Huaixu interrupted her.

“When you first saw the Dao Ancestor in the Gentleman Temple, was he wearing this pendant?”

The girl did not even need to think and directly nodded.

Hearing this, Chu Huaixu said nothing more and gestured for her to continue.

After listening roughly, he realized that their experiences were quite different.

First, the Dao Ancestor had not interacted with Han Shuangjiang at all.

In everything she saw, the black bead never displayed any unusual properties.

Second, after leaving the Sword Pavilion and learning 【碧落宿火】, her inheritance ended.

She had not experienced any of the later events.

Yet everything she went through beforehand had progressed extremely smoothly.

“Looks like she wasn’t expelled early due to failing the trial.”

“In fact, she also reached the Perfection of Sword Intent at that stage.”

“Her completion rate wasn’t 100% simply because the later permissions were never opened to her!”

Chu Huaixu thought this to himself, his gaze once again falling upon the black bead.

Seeing this, Han Shuangjiang added:

“When I woke up earlier, the bead was floating in front of you, along with the entire sword scabbard.”

“Before you woke up, you suddenly raised your hand and grabbed the bead.”

Chu Huaixu nodded slightly.

“This bead may be related to this secret realm, but there are still many things I don’t understand yet.”

“When I figure everything out, I’ll tell you.”

“Mm.” Han Shuangjiang was not the type to pry.

When he wanted to speak, she would simply listen.

Chu Huaixu had no intention of hiding the later parts of the secret realm from her.

“I experienced a few additional segments beyond yours. At the end, I saw the Dao Ancestor perform Myriad Swords Converge.”

“And at that moment, I condensed my own Sword Heart.”

His words were shocking.

“Myriad Swords Converge!?” Even with her composure, Han Shuangjiang was startled.

Chu Huaixu nodded and concluded:

“To be precise, everything you experienced earlier was actually the Dao Ancestor’s journey toward comprehending Myriad Swords Converge.”

Han Shuangjiang looked at him, not with envy or jealousy, but with anticipation:

“Then did you learn it?”

“Learn what?”

“Of course—Myriad Swords Converge!”

“Cough, cough.” Chu Huaixu carefully chose his words. “Perhaps… soon?”

Right now, his panel only had a pitiful amount of Experience Points.

He did not even have the qualifications to gamble once.

And if nothing unexpected happened…

“Not to mention one gamble—even several gambles wouldn’t be enough!”

Outside.

Jiang Zhi and the others stood beside the pavilion, watching as Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang emerged from the secret realm.

Once the two were teleported out, the small stone instantly shattered, symbolizing the collapse of the world within it.

The two juniors were not surprised to see so many high-ranking members of the Dao Gate gathered here.

They immediately bowed together.

Xiang Yan promptly asked, “How was it? Did you gain anything?”

“Enormous gains,” Chu Huaixu replied without hiding anything.

What followed was the Dao Gate elders’ classic reaction of shock after shock.

“You read all Three Thousand Scrolls of the Sword Dao inside, yet only a moment passed outside?”

“You both reached Perfection of Sword Intent!”

“Chu Huaixu even witnessed Myriad Swords Converge?”

Everyone marveled, once again sensing the supreme power of the Dao Ancestor!

Even Jiang Zhi could not help but sigh:

“The experiences you two had in just a few hours equal years of bitter cultivation for others—or even a lifetime for those of dull aptitude!”

Xiang Yan and the others exchanged glances, feeling even more reassured.

With this, the Third Realm Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition was practically secured.

The Sect Master looked at Chu Huaixu and asked:

“Besides these, you should have other gains as well, right? Don’t hide it. Are you afraid of scaring us?”

At this moment, Li Chunsong could not help but laugh and scold:

“There was another heaven-and-earth phenomenon outside! Its scale wasn’t any smaller than when you entered the Cold Pool secret realm and comprehended your body training divine ability. Spit it out already!”

Having spent enough time together, these elders were well aware of Chu Huaixu’s personality.

This brat loved to hold things back—

Always waiting for the perfect moment to put on a grand display before others!

Chu Huaixu, however, unhurriedly asked first:

“What kind of phenomenon occurred outside?”

“Within several hundred li, all swords were affected by some kind of pull. Many swords partially unsheathed themselves, and there was the sound of ten thousand swords resonating together,” Zhao Shuqin replied.

“It’s somewhat similar to when you reached Sword Heart Clarity at the bottom of the Cold Pool secret realm,” Li Chunsong added.

Yet as soon as he finished speaking, Chu Huaixu said:

“In that case, it makes sense.”

Even the Little Martial Uncle had never triggered a phenomenon of this level—yet you call it reasonable?

Everyone looked at each other.

Xiang Yan asked, “Explain—how is it reasonable?”

“Reporting to my masters, reporting to Grandmaster.”

Chu Huaixu was about to begin his performance.

“That day in the Cold Pool secret realm, I awakened my Spirit Embryo Divine Ability and entered the Sword Heart Clarity realm, which somehow triggered the phenomenon of ten thousand swords resonating.”

“Today, since everything repeated and the scene was similar, isn’t the reason obvious?”

Only then did he raise his head and speak a sentence that overturned everyone’s understanding of cultivation:

“I have condensed another Sword Heart.”