Chapter Nine: Legacy

The moon and the sun rotated as the days went on and on. 

A young man flying on a single edged eastern sword adorned with certain accessories on the bottom flew across the wind. If someone from Earth or Xianzhou were to see this image they would see that the person was doing barrel rolls and several other tricks in the air. 

The actions of the boy seemed reminiscent of [Swallow's Pluvious Pursuit] yet there was no force behind it.

As the young man swirled into the heavens above a joyful smile appeared once more on his face as he slowly let go of the worries filling his mind. 

The flowing blonde hair and robes slowed down as he reached a city. 

Normally he would not stop for regular cities and hide amongst the clouds, but ever since crossing the border he began seeing spiritual energy everywhere. The butterfly-like creatures infested these areas like it was a moth to a light. 

Due to these reasons, he assumed that this city was one of cultivators, immortals, if mortals were to call them instead.

This was the cultivation city of Shan Lin as it was close to several forests and mountains nearby, and due to the lower concentration of spiritual energy the highest one could meet here would barely be above late stage Qi Condensation. 

Therefore the guards who saw a man flying on a sword were rightfully frightened as flying was a feature exclusive to foundational cultivators. 

"Greetings Senior!" the guards spoke as Yanqing slowly descended next to the entrance of the city. 

Yanqing had already planned out his course of action in the city, and it was to use his "advanced cultivation" to gain priority in front of the guards, preventing trouble when it came to disputes. "I'm here for an errand, do not bother me during this time." Yanqing had spoken in a serious tone with cold light gleaming in his eyes, showing that he was not to be bothered or messed with. 

"Yes Senior!" 

As Yanqing walked past the entrance and into the city, both guards collapsed from fear as sweat filled their bodies. One wrong move and they could have been executed by the senior. Now their highest priority was notifying the other guards to prevent anyone from angering him. One of the guards soon ran to the other outpost to inform everyone else and to make sure the senior had a great experience in their city. 

As Yanqing silently strolled by, an inner happiness rolled up inside him as his first plan was successful! Now he just had to continue this act and not do anything too reckless…

The main objective for Yanqing was to locate a proper cultivation technique as his current one was barely compatible with him, and even then it was due to his own comprehension and talent that he did not die from Qi Deviation.

Anyone else who attempted this without proper guidance or knowledge of cultivation would have died unless their talent and luck were good enough. 

He was already feeling the effects of using a cultivation technique that did not match him as the Qi inside would sometimes riot within his body and as a result he could not cultivate to a higher level without taking a massive risk. He was reckless, but not completely stupid. 

…

There's nothing interesting here, and there's no swords to be found either… I know my objective is to get a proper cultivation technique, but man I really want a replacement for my sword collection… 

There's constant yelling and bartering amongst the streets and every cultivation technique I've looked through is kind of bad. My last option is to cultivate a water or a metal technique, but since my root is actually ice it would be best if I could locate that. 

There's also another goal, to locate the Azure Essence Sword Art, the one that Han Li had also used. Although it may not be the full collection, due to the destruction of the sect it was spread amongst the populace. 

It was a cultivation technique that mainly focused on compression and took a long time meaning that most would not cultivate this technique as their lifespans also mattered. The faster one could achieve the next stage the more their life span would be. Thankfully I do not have any of these issues as a Xianzhou Native. 

My heart dropped as I heard some of the rumors around me.

"Did you hear that the Profound Sword Sect was recently destroyed alongside the other righteous and devil sects in this area?"

I'm a thousand years in the past. Heavenly Dao Damnit.

…Looking on the bright side I now have more time. The Devil Invasion and the invasion of the Moulan people can be halted for a bit thankfully. This would also mean that I would not get screwed over by Han Li. 

Regardless of whether or not this is the original timeline or not, the Dao Ancestor of Time and Space, Han Li, did not rewind time enough to throw his treasure here. I'm hoping that the Han Li I get is the second timeline one… 

Now that I think about it, wasn't the original timeline Han Li a monster? Without his greatest cheat of being able to age plants by thousands to millions of times, he was still able to reach Dao Ancestry with false spiritual roots and being located in a forgotten and broken lower realm. 

Though there's a chance that this Han Li may be a devil dao cultivator considering his circumstances. If there's no choice then I must kill him. 

With my current place in the timeline I can slow down, but first I need to search for the golden pages of the ancestor of the Profound Sword Sect. That bastard was quite smart by leaving his inheritance to the smartest people. By gaining these pages I could cultivate up till Deity Transformation, theoretically. 

Though finding those pages would be the same as finding a needle in a haystack, entirely up to fate. 

Then I almost fainted at the sight I saw. Was there no smart people in this world? Why the hell do I see this man with a stack of golden pages? 

…

As Yanqing walked up to the stall that had over 50 golden pages, he decided to observe the shopkeep. The shopkeep did not keep any weapons by their side, but by observing their ragged look one would assume them to be a thief. His hair was disheveled, but also slightly balding which was weird considering cultivators had much greater regenerative abilities. 

There were no other customers around, as they were scared by the appearance of the man. There were several goers who walked by and bartered with one another.

"Hello there Daoist friend, are these pages for sale?" Spoke Yanqing in a polite and uptight manner, but due to his height he still had to look up to the man. 

"What'dya think brat? Of these, these are for sale. Why else would they be in the stall then? Ya think you're some kind of noble by wearing thos' clothes?" 

"No, but I do wish to purchase one of these pages, Daoist friend." 

"Ha, do you even have enough spiritual stones, brat? You're so short that I might have mistaken you for a beggar."

Patience was obviously dwindling from Yanqing as his urge to beat the shit out of the man in front of him was getting increasingly big. He knew that the man wanted to provoke him, but he did want to throw several blades into the man's body. 

"Please tell me fellow Daoist, what is the price of one of those golden pages?"

"99 Spiritual Stones for each of 'em. Ya think you can afford this, brat?"

Yanqing breathed deeply as he attempted to regain his calm before speaking once more, "Can we do 20 spiritual stones instead? It's obvious that no one is buying these pages and since you have so much of it, what's the point when whatever content on the pages will be spread anyway?"

"Heh, a brat like you won't understand"

"40 Spiritual Stones, Fellow Daoist!"

The disheveled man lost his arrogant attitude as he finally straightened his back and looked directly into his eyes, analyzing any emotion that prevailed within the eyes of the young man. 

"No, that price is too low. 90 Spiritual stones and that's it. I ain't going lower than that." 

"I'm simply purchasing these for the sake of collection. It's obvious that no one else is buying it, so why bother? Everyone knows that it's overpriced."

"70 Spiritual Stones" the man spoke, but more serious than the last. A crazed glint began to emerge from his eye. 

"50 Spiritual Stones. That's the highest I'm willing to pay."

"..."

Sanity began to dwell once more within the eyes of the man and he soon sighed, "Fine kid, 55 Spiritual Stones. 'Ere to bring out the stones and let's conclude the trade."

"Thank you, fellow daoist. Here are the 55 Spiritual stones."

"There better not be even one missing."

As the two concluded the deal, Yanqing began to slowly walk away from the stall. His brain was celebrating with countless fireworks in his mind while a part of him kept his cautiousness to prepare for any potential robbery. 

After receiving the golden page, Yangqing left the immediate vicinity after telling the guards that his business was done. He soon flew off into the sky, quickly leaving the visible distance that one could be seen. 

The guards and higher cultivators who knew of this all held relief as there were no incidents caused, and their lives were preserved.

…

"An ice root with a unique physique, perhaps you will be able to go on the path that the ancestor did." Spoken by a formal yet saddened tone of a man drenched in blood and injuries. Spiritual Energy radiated from his body before the madness in his eyes finally devoured him. 

Space warped as the man tore it apart to reach somewhere he could rest peacefully.

…

On the other hand, the stall had disappeared entirely. There was no trace other than a single golden page left on the ground of where the stall once stood. The other customers and shopkeepers also disappeared from the area, turning the previous area which was filled with constant bartering into silence. 

If one were to observe the golden pages, one could actually find that the pages sold and left behind had an addition that none of the other pages had held.

Two golden pages were left behind to the storms of fate. It will eventually find the owners it has been searching for, a worthy inheritor of the Profound Sword Sect's legacy.