This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

Lu Qingshan panicked.

He hastily released his Divine Sense, but when it extended over the Dragon Sparrow, the feeling of it being an extension of his own body was no longer there; the close connection between him and the Dragon Sparrow had completely vanished.

Lu Qingshan's complexion immediately became gloomy as water.

"What's wrong with her?" Gu Yiyi, who had been sobbing loudly, regained her composure and asked anxiously.

To her, the refining furnace inside Qing Ge was merely a place that was a bit darker and smellier, nothing more.

Even though Gu Yiyi talked tough, in her heart she acknowledged that Qin Yitian was far stronger than her—the things she felt nothing about, how much impact could they possibly have on Qin Yitian?

Thus, she hadn't taken it seriously.

Only now did Gu Yiyi realize that something was amiss.

Lu Qingshan shook his head and focused on his interface, where a line of information was prominently displayed:

Rank: Void Refining・Four Flowers Realm (can be elevated to Ninth Flowers Realm, but cannot advance)

...

At this moment, the advancement task section had turned into an unselectable gray.

This signified that his path to cultivation was cut off!

His cultivation had a ceiling now, he could cultivate up to the Void Refining Ninth Flowers Realm, but could no longer elevate his power.

Before coming to Yumen Pass, Xi Xiang had cautioned him that if he was truly unfortunate and encountered a War Demon far surpassing his own strength, he should prefer to sustain severe injuries rather than let his life-bound sword be damaged.

Because once a Sword Cultivator's life-bound sword was destroyed, at best it would cause severe injuries, at worst it would mean the end of one's cultivative path.

Little did he expect it to come true.

Lu Qingshan's heart suddenly sank.

It was not because his path of cultivation was severed, but rather this information seemed to suggest that the Dragon Sparrow was destroyed…

His eyes full of bloodshot veins, he wordlessly stepped forward, picked up the Dragon Sparrow, and carefully checked its current state.

The blade was intact.

However, the Demonic Qi within seemed to have fused with the Dragon Sparrow, inseparable.

The original spiritual nature of the Dragon Sparrow was completely lost, no longer perceivable.

Most importantly...

Qin Yitian was gone.

Even though Lu Qingshan had maintained his calm during numerous life-and-death crises, his heart began to tremble for the first time.

He silently looked at the interface, accepting the final verdict:

[Dragon Sparrow]: ???

All previous information about the Dragon Sparrow had disappeared, leaving only three question marks.

But seeing this, Lu Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief.

So, the Dragon Sparrow was not destroyed but had fallen into some unknown, bizarre state.

If it were destroyed, it should display, [Dragon Sparrow]: Damaged.

If it really were damaged, then even if he possessed the power to turn back time, he would be helpless.

And this current state precisely indicated that there was still a glimmer of hope.

No matter how, a situation not beyond salvage was preferable.

Lu Qingshan simply breathed a sigh of relief.

Because, the severance of his path of cultivation was an undeniable reality.

This indicated that although the Dragon Sparrow was not destroyed, the situation could definitely not be good.

He tried to retract the Dragon Sparrow back into his body, but found out that it couldn't be done as wished.

He sighed, his mood growing heavier again, and silently stowed the Dragon Sparrow into his Storage Ring, also storing away the "Black Blood" from Qing Ge.

Clang! Clang!

"And this, Lu Qingshan," a quiet voice came from Gu Yiyi nearby.

Lu Qingshan turned to look, and saw that at some point, two rings, one black and one white, had hung themselves on the tip of the sword Oblivion.

"This is..."

"It's something from that villain's possession. I felt it might be valuable, so I specifically kept it," explained Gu Yiyi.

"Well done." Lu Qingshan praised.

Hum!

Oblivion responded with a clear sword hum.

"Let's go, let's return to Yumen Pass." Lu Qingshan didn't dare delay any longer. After consuming a pill to somewhat stabilize his injuries, he rose with sword control.

.....

In these few days at Yumen Pass, the most conspicuous position on the Beacon Fire Hall's stele was occupied by a new battle report---[Demon Race's army suddenly attacked Falling Goose Pass, Xia Daoyun's chief disciple emerged conspicuously]

Beneath this battle report was a detailed account of this battle's course.

It specifically emphasized how the Demon Race's much stronger army launched a surprise attack, yet under the desperate defense of the cultivators at Falling Goose Pass and the cooperation of Xia Daoyun's chief disciple "Lu Qingshan," they won this impossible victory at Falling Goose Pass.

Yes, within the main text, Lu Qingshan's name only officially appeared, not merely using the title of Xia Daoyun's chief disciple to ride on Xia Daoyun's "popularity" as in the headline.

But compared to those merely referred to as "Falling Goose Pass's major cultivator" such as the Marquis of An Hai and others, Lu Qingshan's situation was already treated with exceptionally high regard.

Afterward, the name Lu Qingshan spread at an astonishing rate throughout Yumen Pass.

A large part of the reason was the very eye-catching gimmick of being Xia Daoyun's chief disciple.

It was apparent that the high-level cultivators of Yumen Pass still understood human nature very well.

Lu Qingshan, symbolizing Yumen Pass's first female Sword Cultivator Xia Daoyun's chief disciple, the youngest cultivator on the battlefield at Yumen Pass earning immense battle merits, and a sign of the young generation of cultivators gradually rising to take on heavy responsibilities...

Everyone remembered him.

......

Qingyun Palace.

The Qingyun Sword Immortal's Travelling Palace in Yumen Pass.

Inside the main hall.

"Only five years have passed since your last crossing of the Fifty-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, yet here you are preparing to face the Sixty-Nine Heavenly Tribulation," said Xie Qingyun, the Qingyun Sword Immortal and the owner of Qingyun Palace, dressed in a green robe, frowning slightly at the tall and slender woman before him: "The burden of the Human Race, us old folks can still bear for some more time; you don't need to rush, just proceed steadily and solidly."