My disciples are all villains.

In all aspects, Sword Devil Yu Shangrong was a rare sword genius in the cultivation world. Whether it was Mobei's Sword Slave Wang Haichao, the First Sword of Qing Province's Daoist Master Wang, the western region's Lou Lan's Sword Emperor Yue Zhengrong, all of them had died by his sword.

There were too many cultivators who liked to cultivate the sword, but those who reached great heights were few and far in between.

Yu Shangrong knew every step like the back of his hands. He could feel his avatar's power growing as it grew taller and bigger. Radiant circles of energy moved downward with smaller gaps between them. The resonance of his avatar grew louder as well.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Yu Shangrong was now calmer compared to when he was sprouting his first leaf. He was convinced he would be able to reach the Eight-leaf stage even without his Golden Lotus. It was just a matter of time.

As more energy poured in…

Boom!

A loud explosion sounded, and Yu Shangrong's avatar grew bigger. A Two-leaf avatar had a height of about 20 feet. When his avatar grew, it was only natural that the little well was unable to contain it. Fortunately, avatars were formed from energy. It was up to him if he wanted the avatar to destroy his surroundings.

Boom!

His energy crashed against the walls before everything returned to normal.

Yu Shangrong raised a hand with Primal Qi shrouding it before he converted it to energy. A shining golden light illuminated his surroundings again. He studied the melilots. Unfortunately, it was impossible for them to survive in the dry well for such a long time. They had already withered.

The short-lived people of the Noblemen Country never gave up on their pursuit for longevity. This was the case in the past and in the present. There was a time when Yu Shangrong had been contemptuous of this pursuit. He was of the opinion that death was part of the cycle of life. Everyone would die at some point after all. Later in life, he began to realize the value of being alive.

Yu Shangrong summoned his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar again.

Whizz!

A miniature avatar without a Golden Lotus floated in front of him. Two leaves surrounded the avatar now. He had clearly entered the Two-leaf stage of the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm.

Yu Shangrong smiled. "That went well enough."

The sprouting of the first leaf had been a gamble as it was fraught with uncertainties. However, the second leaf had proven that it was possible to continue cultivating even after severing one's Golden Lotus.

Yu Shangrong looked up. He tried to sense his Longevity Sword's location after circulating his Primal Qi.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The Longevity Sword vibrated slightly before becoming motionless again.

"Not quite there yet." Yu Shangrong sat down and crossed his legs again. The time needed and difficulty of sprouting another leaf from this stage onward would multiply. However, he currently had no other choice other than to quickly raise his cultivation base in this dry well.

"Second Senior Brother?" A voice reached Yu Shangrong's ears from outside the mountain. It sounded faint and distant, mixed with the noise from the snowstorm. He would have missed it if he was not carefully listening.

Yu Shangrong's ears twitched. He projected his voice with Primal Qi and said, "Sixth Junior Sister?"

"Second Senior Brother, is it really you?"

The snowstorm was still raging outside Wuxian Mountain. The mountains and trees in the area were covered in snow. Ye Tianxin hovered outside Wuxian Mountain in her white robes.

Yu Shangrong was surprised. He projected his voice with Primal Qi again. "Sixth Junior Sister, this is a remote place. Why are you here?"

Ye Tianxin appeared delighted. She looked at Wuxian Mountain and said, "I'm traveling around Great Yan in search of Cheng Huang. I was traveling westward from Mobei and reached the northwestern regions… The people here told me that Wuxian Mountain is in the area. I remember you talking about coming here before so I decided to drop by… I didn't expect to actually find you here."

Yu Shangrong smiled faintly and asked, "Did you manage to find Cheng Huang?"

"It's not easy," Ye Tianxin looked at Wuxian Mountain and said, "Second Senior Brother, I sensed Primal Qi waves from this spot earlier. It's the same as the aura that killed Zhang Yuanshan on the Green Jade Altar but much weaker. What happened?" She knew Yu Shangrong was inside the Wuxian Mountain when she sensed the aura. She was perplexed when she waited but saw no signs of Yu Shangrong. He should be out by now.

Yu Shangrong calmly replied, "I've severed my Golden Lotus, and I have to sprout my leaves again."

Ye Tianxin was, naturally, shocked. She asked incredulously, "Second Senior Brother, you-you… you severed your Golden Lotus?"

"My Golden Lotus was tainted by witchcraft so I had to cut it off. From the looks of things now… everything's going well." Yu Shangrong's tone remained casual and calm.

"I'll get you out of there!" Ye Tianxin let out a burst of energy. A tidal wave of Primal Qi was changed into energy that landed on Wuxian Mountain.

Boom!

The Blue Waves Technique blasted a huge rock to smithereens.

"There's no need for that." Yu Shangrong stopped her.

"Why?"

"I need to sprout my leaves again in the Melilot Graveyard… It's not safe for me to go out now," Yu Shangrong said. It was the truth. He had made many enemies in the cultivation world, and they were all powerful individuals. It would be dangerous for him to venture out now. It was better for him to stay here and take his time to cultivate and sprout leaves. It would not be long before he would be at his peak again!

Ye Tianxin shook her head and sighed. "The entire cultivation world is talking about the method of severing one's Golden Lotus. Second Senior Brother, you should've been more patient! You're too reckless"

"Severing the Golden Lotus?" Yu Shangrong found this odd. "I've never told anyone about this. How was this method made public?"

Ye Tianxin recounted everything that happened and the rumors that had been circulating in the cultivation world.

Yu Shangrong was shocked. "It's possible to reach the Nine-leaf stage after severing the Golden Lotus?"

"That's right," Ye Tianxin replied.

"It's true that I've severed my Golden Lotus, but I never told anyone that it's possible to reach the Nine-leaf stage this way… Don't believe the rumor, junior sister." Yu Shangrong remembered how his Golden Lotus was corrupted by witchcraft. Perhaps, the witchcraft cultivator sensed he was still alive so the cultivator spread the rumor in hopes to see if cultivators would survive after severing their Golden Lotuses.

"Second Senior Brother, why aren't you injured?" Ye Tianxin was puzzled. She really felt it was a shame that she could not see her senior brother with her own eyes.

"It's a long story, and it's unimportant."

"…" Since Yu Shangrong did not want to talk about it, she did not pursue the matter. Moreover, she did not have the courage to sever her Golden Lotus. "Very well…"

...

During the next three days, Ye Tianxin remained close to Wuxian Mountain and would chat with Yu Shangrong. Although Yu Shangrong's current cultivation base was inferior to Ye Tianxin's, he was more experienced in other matters compared to her. Throughout this period, Ye Tianxin humbled herself to be educated by her senior brother and had gained much.

On the fourth day, Ye Tianxin planned to bid farewell to Yu Shangrong. She was going to head west.

When Yu Shangrong heard that Ye Tianxin was leaving, he hastily said, "Sixth Junior Sister, can you bring one thing back to the Evil Sky Pavilion for me?" He raised a palm. An energy seal launched the Open Heavenly Writing Scroll out of the well toward the light source.

Ye Tianxin sensed the surge of Primal Qi. She leaped into the air and hovered above Wuxian Mountain.

The energy seal brought the Open Heavenly Writing scroll out of Wuxian Mountain.

Ye Tianxin moved at lightning speed and caught the Open Heavenly Writing scroll as the energy seal vanished. She did not descend immediately. Instead, she landed near the opening from which the scroll flew out. Then, she projected her voice. "Second Senior Brother, what's this?"

Yu Shangrong could clearly hear Ye Tianxin's voice now. He looked up at the beam of light. Although it was quite a distance away, he could distinctly see a shadow. Her voice reached his ears clearly now. "It belongs to master."

"Understood… I'll see that it reaches the Evil Sky Pavilion," Ye Tianxin replied.

"Thank you."

"There's no need for that. Thank you for enlightening me these few days, Second Senior Brother." Ye Tianxin bowed in midair.

This time, Yu Shangrong did not reply to her. He only closed his eyes.

Ye Tianxin's appearance reminded Yu Shangrong that although the mountain was located in a remote place, it did not mean there were no experts around. The waves of energy from him sprouting leaves might attract the attention of some elites.

Ye Tianxin tucked the scroll away and flew south. She had to return south before continuing west.