Chapter 664: Tracing the Ancient, the Original Master of Qinghe?

Chapter 664: Tracing Back to Antiquity, the Original Master of Qinghe?

To see if it can melt, there's no need to listen to what the little female sparrow says—just watch her attitude. If it truly couldn't melt, she'd just sneer and lazily show off. But if she starts hopping around in a panic, that means it can melt.

How peculiar. Over at Old Xia's place, they were drawing on the Southern Bright Lihuo Flame. What kind of fire is this, appearing out of nowhere, and why does it have such formidable power?

Well, let's just try it and see...

Cui Wenjing was practically holding his breath as he watched Zhao Changhe pull out the fragments of the Qinghe Sword. The usually refined and composed old man now had a twisted expression on his face, far from handsome.

Zhao Changhe glanced at him. "Forgive me for saying this, Uncle, but your presence here might be counterproductive. You didn't see the scene where the Four Mountains and Rivers Swords turned on their masters, but if you were there, you'd probably be on the chopping block too. I suspect you didn't go yourself because you foresaw this."

Cui Wenjing said nothing. Of course, he hadn't gone because he had vaguely anticipated it. Others were deluded into thinking the swords belonged to their families, but Cui Wenjing had always been clear-headed. Those four swords had long ceased to recognize any master. What gave anyone the confidence to claim them as their own? If they were meant to oppose the evil dragons that destroyed the mountains and rivers, then in the eyes of those four swords, Xia Longyuan counted, and so did their four families. The sword spirits were not hypocritical.

"Since you know the sword spirit holds a grudge against you, don't hang around here. This task really doesn't require great cultivation. By Longque's standards, I handled it alone back then, not as troublesome as Xinghe..."

Longque: "?"

Realizing his slip, Zhao Changhe immediately pressed down on his ring to suppress Longque's rebellion. "Anyway, Yangyang helping me here is enough. Uncle, you'd better attend to your family matters—there's plenty to do... Ouch, damn it, stop jumping. You're on a higher level than Xinghe, okay? Higher level, satisfied?"

Cui Wenjing: "..."

Zhao Changhe's expression turned pained. "Back then, your family's Qinghe was always asleep, so you never knew her true nature. I suggest you don't get your hopes up too high. Once she's lively and bouncing around, you might want to strangle her..."

Cui Wenjing glanced at his daughter expressionlessly. "That's fine. I've raised one of those before."

With that, he turned and left before Cui Yuanyang could start hopping around. "I'll personally guard the ancestral hall and wait for your good news."

Watching her father walk away, Cui Yuanyang shrank her head. "Can I really do this?"

So that's why she hadn't spoken—she was feeling guilty.

"Things like this always seem mysterious before you've dealt with them. But after you've popped out two kids in succession, nothing seems strange anymore..." Zhao Changhe expertly placed the broken sword into the forge mold, watching it slowly turn red in the fire. "It'll take a while. Don't rush. I'll meditate for a bit too..."

Cui Yuanyang obediently said, "I'll watch the fire."

Zhao Changhe, with the air of an old man pleased, patted her rabbit-like head, but his mind sank into the Heavenly Book. "Xia Xia..."

"?" The Blind One was thoroughly exasperated. "Are you never going to stop? You said you'd meditate for a while in front of Cui Yuanyang, but you're actually looking for me? If she finds out, what kind of image will I have in her heart?"

Zhao Changhe was shocked. "You're actually bothered by that?"

The Blind One said coldly, "Wherever you go, your reputation mows down everything like grass. Who wouldn't be wary?"

Zhao Changhe looked down at the fire with a strange expression, saying nothing.

It's normal for others to be wary, but you're not normal... The Heavenly Dao is dead. As the spirit of the Chaos World Book, you could be considered an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, or at least its spokesperson. You shouldn't have any human emotions, let alone care about worldly judgments. Plenty of people sleep naked with their junk pointing at the sky, thinking they've violated the heavens. Should you be bothered by your reputation?

Forget it, you're just a book... Who the hell copies a book?

He felt that the Blind One was becoming more and more human. Before, she was ethereal and distant, hanging among the stars. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

The reason for the Blind One's change was obvious—it was because the Heavenly Book was being collected more completely. But that also meant she was getting stronger... In fact, the strongest being Zhao Changhe had ever encountered was not Xia Longyuan, but the Blind One. She was the ultimate goal of all of Xia Longyuan's "upgrade" actions, the final boss. Having such a boss grow stronger right before him, with his own hands no less, was a bitter pill to swallow...

He fell silent, but the Blind One spoke up. "Now that you're hiding in this secret realm, there's no safety issue. Why don't you take advantage of this long forging time to eat your rabbit, instead of calling me like crazy?"

Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality, still shocked. "How did you know I haven't eaten her before because of safety concerns?"

The Blind One said expressionlessly, "I've been following you for over two years. Do you think I don't know your nature? I probably understand you better than that rabbit beside you."

Zhao Changhe said, "But there's no bed here. The environment is even worse. At the very least, we'd need a patch of grass. What is this place?"

The Blind One: "..."

Fine, maybe she didn't understand him that well.

Zhao Changhe said, "Actually, you should know why I called you. I just skimmed through the 'Mountain and River Atlas' and saw a pattern similar to this place. It said, 'The Abyss of Fire, where the Flame Extinguisher dwells.' The Flame Extinguisher might be the demon's name here? But the entire recording method is different from the usual records of the Spirit Race and the Far East. The previous descriptions made it seem like a region in the world, but this one sounds like it's describing a secret realm."

The Blind One said, "So what?"

"Does this concept mean there were secret realms in ancient times too? Or is it talking about another world? Is there a separate heavenly realm?"

"Of course there is." The Blind One was even more shocked. "Haven't you realized by now that this world has no spatial gaps? The geography is exactly the same as your Zhao Village? Where are those so-called 'shattered spatial fragments' supposed to be pieced together?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

The Blind One said, "You also know that the ancient Human Emperor was the Azure Dragon, who ruled the Divine Continent, and the Sea Emperor ruled the oceans... Where were all the other gods and demons? Some of them mingled in the mortal world, but did they all just find caves to squat in? Where was the Night Emperor himself? Hiding in his harem, sleeping with the Empress Dowager?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"Of course, there was another world, or even multiple worlds, where gods and demons lived, with environments vastly different from the mortal realm. The reason the history known in this era is a mix of conventional history and divine history is that after the collapse of the era, the records of all worlds got jumbled together. Such a simple reason, and you couldn't figure it out?" The Blind One said with pain and regret, "I thought after two or three years of wandering, you'd have some profound insights about the world. Instead, you come out with such foolish words! Have all your brains been shot out?"

"Hey... take it easy." Zhao Changhe asked cautiously, "Then why did all the other worlds collapse into chaos, while the mortal world remained so intact?"

"I protected it."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

In just a few sentences, he had been rendered speechless three times. He suspected his brains really had been shot out.

The Blind One said coldly, "Otherwise, this world would have been completely destroyed long ago. How could it have been reborn from the ruins? Alright, what else do you want to ask?"

"Nothing..." Calling the Blind One was, of course, to confirm this question. It was crucial, meaning the path ahead was far broader than he had imagined—not the narrow world he and Old Xia had perceived. This realm was just a part of the whole world. In a sense, the entire Divine Continent could be considered a giant secret realm.

Old Xia had explored very few secret realms, so he hadn't connected the dots. The reason he couldn't break through to a higher level was definitely related to this incomplete understanding. Now that he had realized this, even though he had been scolded badly, it wasn't too late... After all, knowing it too early wouldn't have helped.

From this perspective, Ying Wu's piecing together of secret realms seemed even more interesting... Ying Wu was probably the one who knew the most about these things.

"Brother Zhao." Cui Yuanyang's voice came. "It's melting, it's melting..."

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes and looked. The broken sword fragments had completely melted into molten iron, reforming in the mold.

Zhao Changhe immediately grabbed Cui Yuanyang's hand. Just as she was about to ask, her mind shook violently, and her consciousness was pulled by Zhao Changhe into the scorching sword.

In the next moment, the two seemed to traverse endless time and space, standing hand in hand by the bank of a wide, rushing river.

In a short time, Zhao Changhe had forged three swords, each with a different nature. Longque already had a spirit, seeking growth; Xinghe was originally spiritless, born anew; Qinghe's sword spirit had perished and needed to be recondensed. The forging methods were different for each.

Theoretically, a sword spirit cannot die. It is born from the sword's intent. As long as the original sword intent is found, the spirit can be re-aggregated. This task could only be done by the Cui siblings, but limited by their understanding, the intent might not be complete. To make it more complete and closer to the original intent, there was an auxiliary method—through the causal pages of the Heavenly Book, to trace back to the origin of the Qinghe Sword's formation.

At the same time, it served two purposes: by tracing the origin of the Qinghe Sword, he could also glimpse the ancient stories he wanted to uncover.

Before them, purple mist swirled over the river, and a vague humanoid shadow flickered indistinctly.

Was this the original master of Qinghe?

Zhao Changhe looked from afar, a hint of shock in his heart.

From this distance, that figure looked a bit like Yangyang, didn't it?