Outside the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar.
The sky was still blue and the ground was still crystalline.
The cold wind continued to blow. Snowflakes drifted across the city and landed on the crowd around the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar.
There were only a little over 2,000 cultivators here.
The vast majority of them had teleported back in advance. Even now, there was still lingering fear on their faces.
Clearly, everything that happened in the ghost cave was too shocking for them.
The danger this time was indeed as the middle-aged Sword Holder had said three days ago. There existed fatal danger.
Xu Qing stood in the crowd. He was among the last batch of people to return.
The instant he appeared, he immediately looked around and noticed that several others had returned at the same time as him.
The captain was among them. His body was covered in injuries but fortunately, his limbs were intact.
However, he had lost one eye and both his ears. There was also a wound on his stomach. At that moment, he was grinning while covering the wound.
He smiled at Xu Qing.
Even though he only had one eye, it still revealed a hint of smugness, as though he was very satisfied with his harvest this time around. There were many caves in the deep pit and Xu Qing even saw a god. Others might have encountered other supernatural phenomena in other caves.
Other than the captain, Xu Qing also saw Qing Qiu.
The other party also teleported at the same time as him. Clearly, she had persisted until the end.
The mask she wore was bloodied, and so was her body. The evil ghost in the scythe kept chewing, but it couldn't hide its dying state.
There was another one that Xu Qing didn't want to see.
That was the Grand Affairs' Dao Child, Zhang Siyun.
He clearly had life-saving methods, so he didn't die.
However, he was extremely weak and the anomalous substances in his body had clearly reached a certain level. At this moment, he was constantly eating medicinal pills in an attempt to dispel them.
There was also a huge scratch mark on his body that extended from his glabella to his chest. It was so deep that his bones could be seen. If it was a little deeper, it could completely cut him into several pieces.
Zhang Siyun also saw Xu Qing. His expression was gloomy and his eyes were cold.
Xu Qing expressionlessly retracted his gaze.
He was thinking about the god in the ghost cave. It was impossible for the Sword Holding Court not to know about it. In that case, from his judgment, perhaps the ritual of the pentagon wooden hut was set up by the Sword Holding Court.
It was to make the god continue sleeping.
Of course, this was only a guess. It was also possible that the wooden hut had existed before the Sword Holding Court. However, no matter what, this didn't affect his next inference.
It was impossible for the red life lantern in the wooden hut to be taken away.
If it was set up by the Sword Holding Court, they naturally wouldn't let others take it away.
If it already existed, since even the Sword Holding Court wasn't able to take it away, let alone them.
"Then what's Zhang Siyun's motive for going there?"
Xu Qing lacked information and couldn't guess the answer. At that moment, he recalled the woman's song and suddenly had a feeling.
It was as though from the start, the person who was singing had already told everyone about the story of the ghost cave in two lines.
Someone had buried them here for a long time, cutting their lovesickness into countless pieces. The pieces were as messy as the joss papers. As they fluttered, they looked like a scene of the mortal world.
Every paper contained longing, as though it had been waiting for someone to piece together those fragmented lovesickness in its previous life and this life.
He just didn't know if it was the woman in the wooden hut or the ghost cave god waiting.
Xu Qing fell silent.
In his eyes, this world was gradually becoming more and more mysterious.
He also saw a human cultivator who had teleported back at the same time as him. The other party's figure didn't appear. The instant he returned, his body trembled and he was instantly killed by the light emitted by the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar.
This person's death caused Xu Qing to bury his thoughts about the ghost cave in the depths of his mind. When his eyes narrowed, an emotionless voice spread out from the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar.
"Investigate. Those who killed fellow humans, erase them."
Xu Qing's mind shook. Previously, he had guessed that the teleportation talisman had a recording function to record if there were any violations. Now that he looked at it, it was indeed the case.
In addition, he also discovered that the fragments on his body were gone.
The instant he teleported back, those fragments seemed to be swept away by a vast force and fused into the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar.
Clearly, the Sword Holding Court had its own method of recording.
At that moment, amidst the cold wind and everyone's waiting, the sky suddenly shone with a dazzling light. Figures descended one after another. All of these figures were wearing official robes and stood in the sky.
At first, there were dozens of them but very soon, as more light appeared, more and more figures descended, reaching hundreds.
The pressure from their bodies rumbled in all directions, causing the world to seem to dim at this moment. Moreover, there were still more descending.
This scene caused the minds of the cultivators below to tremble. The surrounding crowd and the Dao Protectors of the various forces also had solemn expressions.
A while later, thousands of figures stood in the sky.
Every one of them emitted extraordinary fluctuations. The weakest among them was in the Golden Core realm. There were Nascent Soul cultivators and Spirit Repositor as well.
Moreover, each of them carried a similar large sword on their backs.
This sword was green and engraved with a mark.
That mark looked like '元'.
The similar official robes made these people look extremely orderly. Moreover, their auras seemed to be connected, forming an aura that shook the heavens and the earth. It was as though it could suppress all ages and destroy all enemies!
It was like a powerful rainbow!
They were all the Sword Holders of the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court.
At that moment, they arranged themselves in a two-winged formation in the air. They were like two huge wings that were spreading and soaring. While the pressure was intense, there was also a solemn feeling that rose in the world.
The entire Absolute Beginning Separation City was silent. Regardless of whether it was the surroundings of the Absolute Beginning Separation Pillar or the tents in the city, no one made a sound at this solemn moment.
Everyone held their breaths and stared at the sky.
This was because they knew what followed… would be a grand ceremony for the Sword Holders!
It was the same for the second stage of the Sword Holder assessment every time. The ritual was extremely important.
After all, this was the assessment of the human race's Upper Mystic Five Ministries and represented the reputation of the human race.
Just as everyone's expressions were solemn, a loud bang slowly rang out from the clouds in the sky.
The sound grew louder and louder. Finally, a rainbow vortex appeared in the sky.
Nine dazzling figures walked out of the vortex.
Every one of them had a Nihility cultivation base. Any one of them could become an ancestor in the sect of the Yinghuang Province.
And they… were the nine Sword Holder Elders of the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court.
Their expressions were all solemn. At this moment, they walked out and each of them floated on the wings. There was only one person in the center.
This person was the Great Elder of the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court and also the highest rank in the Sword Holding Court.
When Xu Qing saw the other party, he was stunned.
This Great Elder was actually the old man who looked like Grandmaster Bai when he was explaining his attainments in alchemy!
Xu Qing knew that the other party must have an identity in the Sword Holding Court but he didn't expect his identity to be so high that he was in charge of an entire court!
Just as Xu Qing's mind was in turmoil, a middle-aged man walked out from in front of the left wing.
His expression was solemn as he cupped his fists and bowed deeply to the Great Elder in the center.
"There are a total of 4,311 Sword Holders in the Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court. There are 4,311 of them today and no one is absent. Great Elder, please check and approve."
The Great Elder nodded slightly.
"Read the list."
"I follow the Great Elder's decree!" The expression of the person who walked out from the left wing was incomparably solemn. He hurriedly turned around and looked at the ground. His voice was like a large bell.
"After the Sword Holding Court's inspection, we will report the results to the Sword Holding Palace. According to the number of fragments obtained, the top ten will obtain the qualifications of the Sword Holder and have an audience with the emperor!"
"The list is as follows."
"Xu Qing, Chen Erniu, Qing Qiu, Zhang Siyun, Ning Yan…"
The middle-aged man spoke one name after another.
Every time he said one, the breathing of the crowd below would quicken until the names of the ten people were finished.
"The ten of you, step forward!"
Xu Qing took a deep breath and walked out, standing in front.
The captain was the same. The other people whose names were called walked out one after another.
Very soon, the ten of them lined up together with a distance of 100 feet between them. They stood in front of the crowd and were the center of attention.
After Xu Qing and the others walked out, the middle-aged Sword Holder in the sky turned and bowed to the Great Elder before returning to his original position.
The Great Elder, who was standing in the middle of the sky, didn't look at Xu Qing and the others. Instead, he turned around and bowed deeply toward the sky and the rainbow vortex with a solemn expression.
An ancient and hoarse voice slowly rang out from his mouth in an extremely solemn tone.
"May the Essence-carrying Great Emperor of the Ultimate Immortal Radiance, the Sword Holder Heavenly Venerate descend upon my court."
As soon as he spoke, all the Sword Holders in the surroundings, including the other eight Sword Holder Elders, had solemn expressions. They cupped their fists and bowed deeply to the vortex in the sky before speaking in unison.
"May the Prime Great Emperor of the Ultimate Immortal Radiance, the Sword Holder Heavenly Venerate descend upon my court."
This ceremony was extremely formal, revealing the orthodoxy of the human race. Xu Qing couldn't help but have a solemn expression.
At that moment, as all the Sword Holders spoke, their voices rushed into the clouds and the vortex, causing the light in the rainbow vortex to instantly surge.
Multicolored light spread out one after another and illuminated the entire sky.
Finally, the rainbow vortex transformed into a huge statue that caused everyone's souls to tremble.
This statue towered into the sky and was extremely vast.
One could see that the statue depicted a middle-aged man with a dignified expression.
His eyes were filled with resplendent light and he wore the Nine Dragons Emperor Robe that fluttered in the wind.
He wore the crown of the Nine Heavens Dawn, shining with divine light.
Behind him was a large sword. This sword was green and engraved with the character '元'. It looked exactly the same as the swords of the Sword Holders.
The moment the statue appeared, the multicolored light caused intense waves in the sky.
The color of the sky changed and the wind and clouds churned intensely!
This scene caused the minds of all the humans below to tremble violently. The qi and blood in their bodies actually surged uncontrollably.
A feeling of bloodline connection rose intensely in the minds of every human.
That was the Human Emperor!
That was the founder of the Sword Holding Ministry!
Everyone involuntarily lowered their heads. Even Xue Lianzi and the ancestors of the other sects were the same.
They were sincerely and respectfully greeting the statue of the Human Emperor.
Xu Qing was the same. His emotions fluctuated endlessly.
He thought of the Ghost Emperor but clearly, compared to this Human Emperor, the Ghost Emperor was much inferior.
This emperor's appearance was 70% similar to the statue of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether that Xu Qing had seen before.
As everyone greeted, the solemn voice of the Sword Holder Great Elder echoed through the world.
"Inheriting the eternal order of the sovereign and the Four Extreme Heavenly Dao, the Sword Palace holds the sword for the human race and kills the danger for the commoners, spreading the light in the world. The emperor's statue filled with multicolored light is the evidence."
This voice was like heavenly lightning that spread through the sky and echoed on the ground, spreading in the hearts of every Sword Holder and imprinting itself in the depths of the minds of all the humans below.
It directly exploded in the minds of Xu Qing and the others.
It was as though the world was ringing with a great bell, that could be heard by even the deaf!
This was because this was the mandate of the Sword Holders!
The light of heaven and earth erupted when they slayed the danger for the people!
They were… Sword Holders!
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