13: Hidden within the mortal realm, a secret sword has been revealed.

Qi Yuan took a detour to Qingyuan County, naturally not merely to fulfill his promise to Zhou Qianer.

He had already investigated with his Spiritual Sense; Zhou Qianer possessed Low Grade Three Spiritual Roots, and her ancestors likely included those with Spiritual Roots, perhaps even having some connection with the cultivation world.

The so-called "sending warmth" was merely a convenient pretext.

Years ago, when he discovered Liu Yueer possessed Spiritual Roots, he had also casually investigated the Liu family but found nothing.

This was originally an act of whim; it would be good to find something, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

This Zhou Family Village in Qingyuan County might just hide some slight traces related to cultivation, buried by time.

Steering his Flying Sword under the cover of the cloud concealment array disk, he soon arrived above Zhou Family Village.

Looking down, this small village nestled in a mountain hollow appeared exceptionally dilapidated, with low and messy adobe houses and mostly barren fields.

Most villagers were sallow and thin, no different from the countless villages struggling to survive in this chaotic world.

He found an unnoticed corner to lower his sword light and then performed a First-tier Low Grade Invisibility Spell.

This Spell could not change one's own aura, nor could it deceive a Cultivator's Spiritual Sense; it merely distorted light to make it difficult for a Mortal's naked eye to perceive, while skillfully merging his own shadow into the environmental shadows.

It was more than enough to deal with these ordinary villagers.

With the cover of the Spell, he walked quietly on the village paths like an invisible ghost.

His Spiritual Sense was like a sieve, centered on him; within a ten-zhang radius, every inch of land and every house was carefully investigated by him.

Most houses were empty, containing only some broken furniture.

However, when he walked to the edge of the village, in front of an adobe house that looked more dilapidated than the others and was almost half-collapsed, his Spiritual Sense stirred slightly.

This should be Zhou Qianer's home.

He had heard Zhou Qianer mention that her parents originally raised several children, none of whom grew to adulthood, and now only one young brother remained, who was also weak and sickly.

Qi Yuan quietly entered the house and saw a woman who looked to be in her early forties but already had gray hair and a face covered in deep wrinkles.

She was holding a bowl of thin rice water, carefully feeding a young boy lying on a broken wooden bed.

The boy was about seven or eight years old, with a sallow face, pale lips, and weak breath, thin as skin and bones.

He looked riddled with illness and as if death were near, clearly suffering from long-term hunger and disease.

"Mother..."

The boy spoke weakly, his voice thin as a thread.

"Sister... Sister has been at Uncle's house for so long. When... when is she coming back? Ze'er misses Sister..."

The woman trembled upon hearing this, her hand holding the bowl becoming unsteady.

She endured the sourness in her eyes, forced a smile, and coaxed him softly:

"Ze'er, be good. Sister is at Uncle's house... helping with work.

When... when Ze'er's illness is better, Sister will come back and bring Ze'er good things to eat..."

How could she dare tell this sickly young son that the sister he longed for...

...had long been sold by them for a few dou of life-saving grain, and whether they would meet again in this life was unknown.

"Really?"

A faint light flashed in the boy's dim eyes. "Then Ze'er... Ze'er will definitely get better quickly..."

As he spoke, he coughed violently again, his small body curling into a ball.

The woman quickly put down the bowl and gently patted his back, her tears finally unable to be held back as they silently slid across her aged face.

Invisible nearby, Qi Yuan calmly watched this scene.

He didn't know how many such tragedies he had seen before; it was common for a battle between Cultivators to affect villages and towns.

If he were thirty years younger, he might have lent a hand, but now... his Spiritual Sense habitually swept over the mother and son.

The woman was naturally a Mortal with no spiritual light.

However, when his Spiritual Sense passed over the sickly boy, it suddenly paused!

Wood, Fire, and Earth Three Spiritual Roots!

Although the spiritual light was weak and the quality seemed Low Grade, he definitely possessed Spiritual Roots!

And the attributes were not exactly the same as Zhou Qianer's Spiritual Roots!

A ripple of inexplicable surprise rose in Qi Yuan's heart.

This Zhou family... what exactly was their origin?

A mere dilapidated peasant family had actually produced two descendants with Spiritual Roots in a row?

This was definitely no ordinary coincidence!

He had originally just investigated on the way, but now he was truly interested.

He immediately left the small room and more carefully swept the entire Zhou Family Village with his Spiritual Sense, especially those buildings that looked older and might be more deeply connected to the Zhou ancestors.

Finally, his Spiritual Sense locked onto an independent small house in the center of the village that was the most dilapidated, with almost only ruins left.

From its remaining layout and position, this seemed to be... the Zhou Family Ancestral Hall.

But now that every family struggled just to eat, where was there any energy to worship ancestors? The hall had long been abandoned, covered in cobwebs and dust an inch thick.

Qi Yuan slipped into the ancestral hall.

It was empty inside, and he couldn't even see a few decent spirit tablets; clearly, anything valuable had long been sold off.

But he did not give up, his Spiritual Sense combing through every brick and beam over and over.

Hard work pays off.

Below the main seat of the hall, under a loose bluestone slab in an extremely hidden compartment, his Spiritual Sense caught weak spiritual power fluctuations!

He lifted the slab; there was nothing else in the compartment but two things:

A palm-sized mysterious black token and a dim-colored white Jade Slip covered in fine cracks.

Qi Yuan first picked up the token.

The token felt cold and heavy in his hand, neither metal nor wood, made of a peculiar material. The front was engraved with two vigorous ancient seal script characters—Qing Xuan!

The back was carved with a mountain range hidden in the clouds.

"Qing Xuan... could it be the Profound Purity Sect?"

Qi Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

When he was in the Longquan Sect, he had read Sect records of the old Southern Yue Province.

This Profound Purity Sect was no small Sect; it was the hegemon Sect that ruled the Southern Yue region a hundred years ago. It had produced Nascent Soul True Monarchs, shook the region, and governed an entire province!

Later, the Zhao Kingdom rose, and their army pressed the boundaries. After fierce battles, they finally destroyed the Profound Purity Sect and occupied Southern Yue.

Seeing the token's extraordinary material, ancient patterns, and a trace of faint killing intent, it was very likely a Profound Purity Sect Disciple's identity token!

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Qi Yuan put his Spiritual Sense into the cracked Jade Slip.

The internal structure of the Jade Slip was severely damaged, and most of the information had been annihilated, leaving only a remnant chapter titled "Yimu Longevity Sword Art."

Because its core runes were imprinted with a strange gold powder mixed with Divine Thought, it had managed to survive.

"It's actually a Sword Art!"

Qi Yuan's heart shook wildly.

The value of a Sword Art in the cultivation world was practically priceless!

Even in his Longquan Sect, only exceptionally talented Inner Sect Disciples were qualified to practice them.

This was because Sword Arts were extremely hard to practice, requiring exquisite control of spiritual power and the comprehension of a trace of Sword Dao True Intent.

But once mastered, one could step onto the path of a Sword Cultivator, with combat power topping those of the same rank; fighting across ranks was not impossible!

This was an Opportunity he had never dared to dream of before!

Although this "Yimu Longevity Sword Art" remnant chapter only recorded the cultivation methods for Sword Qi and a set of basic sword moves called "Coiling Silk Sword," its conception was profound and extraordinary.

Ordinary Sword Arts often sought ferocity and power, but this art took a different path, emphasizing "nurturing Sword Intent with wood's vitality, and protecting longevity with the sword's sharpness."

Practicing this method required using one's own pure wood-attribute spiritual power as a guide to nurture a wisp of ceaseless "Green Wood Sword Qi" within the Meridians.

When first formed, this Sword Qi might not be as indestructible as metal-attribute Sword Qi, but it was superior in its persistence and toughness, with plenty of stamina, and it also possessed "entangling" and "binding" effects that were often unexpected in battle.

Upon reaching Minor Achievement, the Sword Qi could even draw upon the surrounding vegetation essence to assist in combat.

It could also feed back into the Cultivator to restore spiritual power at critical moments, or even help them Breakthrough Bottleneck Realms.

He carefully put away the token and the remnant Jade Slip, his thoughts racing.

The ancestors of the Zhou family were likely not ordinary farmers, but very possibly the remnant lineage of the Profound Purity Sect!

He just didn't know how they had fallen to such a state that even this final Legacy had become dusty and broken.