Chapter 102: Observing Clouds and Entering the Dao

Huang Tian’s words successfully caught Xu Yang’s attention.

Seeing him approach to inspect it closely, Xu Yang then gently touched the stone wall with his palm.

After the initial chill, a biting aura, sharp as a sword edge, struck his palm.

“Oh?”

A slight smile curved Xu Yang’s lips, and he immediately became intrigued.

With a flick of his finger, an incredibly fierce and domineering spiritual energy surged out, crashing against the surface of the stone wall.

A thunderous roar echoed!

The powerful aura erupted uncontrollably, causing the entire cave beneath the waterfall to shake violently. Immediately after, mottled stone fragments fell, revealing incredibly clear sword-intent inscriptions.

“Cloud-Gazing Sword Intent!”

These four gleaming characters were emblazoned across the top of the entire inscription. Each character contained an incredibly condensed and potent Dao essence!

“Haha, I didn’t expect a master to leave behind a legacy here. It seems we’ve stumbled upon an unexpected gain!”

Huang Tian knew that Xu Yang’s cultivation level was by no means inferior to his own. However, seeing Xu Yang’s current state, it was clear he had instinctively immersed himself in the sword intent.

The vast and magnificent traces of swordsmanship, like surging waves, instinctively flooded into Xu Yang’s mind, clashing fiercely with the profound understanding he had accumulated over tens of thousands of years.

This was undoubtedly a spiritual contest between two supreme experts.

Faintly, deep within Xu Yang’s sea of consciousness, a colossal sword light capable of stirring clouds and rain seemed to churn his spiritual world.

Xu Yang, relying on his astonishing profound cultivation, resisted and contended with it, constantly absorbing and digesting the insights conveyed by the sword light during this process.

Unexpectedly, this moment of enlightenment caused Xu Yang to remain motionless for a full seven days and seven nights…

Finally, at a certain moment, Xu Yang abruptly opened his eyes, which were filled with sharp, sword-like glints.

A mighty rumble shook the ground!

A powerful aura uncontrollably burst forth from Xu Yang’s body, startling Huang Tian, who had unknowingly fallen into a deep sleep nearby, wide awake!

“What the hell? An earthquake?”

Huang Tian’s eyes widened in shock. Seeing the sword-path inscriptions that had vanished without a trace, he looked at Xu Yang with utter disbelief.

“My heavens… you, you couldn’t have completely absorbed all this sword intent so quickly, could you? From what I observed, this is the lifelong swordsmanship mastery of a peak expert. For an ordinary Grotto-heaven realm cultivator to fully digest it, even with high comprehension, it would take over a thousand years! And you, a Qi Refining realm guy, you only…”

Huang Tian was utterly speechless regarding Xu Yang’s profound foundation and comprehension. He thought to himself, *This world is truly unfair!*

*We’re both human, so why is Xu Yang so monstrously powerful?*

Xu Yang merely gave a helpless smile. “I just treated this sword intent as an opponent and sparred with it. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way.”

“Ah, well, it’s not a bad thing for you to inherit this Cloud-Gazing Swordsmanship anyway. By the way, you’ve seen this cave. Does it meet your requirements?”

Xu Yang nodded. “Excellent, it’s secluded enough, and because of the waterfall outside, the temperature here is very low, which suits Lian Xue’s physical characteristics. As soon as there’s news from the Third Prince, I’ll reconstruct a perfect body for Bai Lian Xue and revive her.”

Xu Yang’s voice was calm, as if all of this was naturally achievable.

Little did Xu Yang know that in Huang Tian’s eyes, bringing the dead back to life and regenerating flesh from bones was the most heaven-defying and incredible act in the world. Yet, for Xu Yang, it was merely a task within his capabilities.

After inspecting the terrain, Xu Yang and Huang Tian returned to Tianlan Sect, only to find that the envoy sent by the Third Prince had already delivered the two items Xu Yang requested two days prior.

“Are these them?”

Seeing the two incredibly exquisite gold and jade treasure chests before the envoy, Xu Yang’s face showed surprise.

“Reporting to Your Excellency, precisely! His Royal Highness, the Third Prince, specifically instructed that you verify them as soon as possible, and then accompany this humble one to the designated meeting place. His Highness said it’s time for Your Excellency to fulfill your promise.”

“Oh?”

Xu Yang was slightly surprised; he truly hadn’t expected the Third Prince to make his request so quickly. Nevertheless, he nodded with a faint smile.

He opened the two gold and jade treasure chests. One contained sealed Lotus Spring Sacred Water, incredibly clear, and in the center of the large box of spring water, a ten-thousand-year nine-petal ice lotus bloomed!

Little did anyone know, this ice lotus was precisely the core ingredient Xu Yang intended to use to reconstruct Bai Lian Xue’s body!

The ten-thousand-year profound ice in the other treasure chest was an item used to guide souls, meant to be used in conjunction with a Deep Sea Blue Heart.

“Lian Xue… wait for me. It won’t be long until you can return to my side.”

When Xu Yang spoke these words, his eyes clearly revealed a deeply touching affection! Seeing this scene, Ling Qing Shu felt a pang of envy in her heart.

She envied the woman she had never met, who was born tens of thousands of years before her, yet remained forever in Xu Yang’s heart.

“Qing Shu!”

“Uh… Old, Old Ancestor!”

Xu Yang suddenly called out to her, forcefully jolting Ling Qing Shu out of her dazed state.

“Watch over these two boxes for me. Anyone who dares to touch them without permission will be killed without mercy! I’m going to see the Third Prince now.”

“Understood!”

The moment the words fell, Xu Yang and the envoy ascended into the sky, entering a golden dragon carriage and vanishing into the distant clouds.

This time, for safety, Xu Yang didn’t even bring Huang Tian, leaving him at the sect as he went alone to meet the Third Prince.

Their meeting place was the peak of Qinlong Cliff, on the border of the Great Xia Dynasty!

From this vantage point, one could see the northern reaches of the Great Xia territory. Only a place like this could underscore the Third Prince’s extraordinary kingly demeanor.

From Xu Yang’s perspective, among the Great Xia Emperor’s many sons, the Third Prince possessed the most regal bearing. Setting aside his cunning and stratagems, this man was born to be an emperor.

“Your Highness.”

Xu Yang had arrived behind the Third Prince at some unknown point. There was no third person at the edge of the cliff.

The Third Prince didn’t rush to speak, but instead gazed solemnly at the sky for a long time. When he finally turned around, his gaze, meeting Xu Yang’s, was filled with expectation.

“Three days ago, my imperial father decreed that I lead troops north to conquer the northern barbarian King Xiong Rui’s tribe, and completely eliminate the northern border threats.”

With just this one sentence, Xu Yang understood the Third Prince’s predicament.

The northern region had always been the greatest threat to the Great Xia Dynasty, home to the most barren lands and the strongest foreign forces.

Sending the Third Prince to fight naturally relied on his capabilities, but precisely because of this, he was trapped in a no-win situation.

If he won this battle, the Emperor would be greatly pleased, but a title of Northern Frontier King would be bestowed upon the Third Prince, easily moving him away from the center of power.

If he lost, the consequences would be dire beyond words, even more tragic.

And this was the Third Prince’s fundamental reason for seeking Xu Yang’s help.

“I ask Your Excellency, please guide me on how to break this deadlock!”