Xu Qing closed his eyes and spread out his perception, merging it into the large black rock in front of him.
The instant his perception came into contact with the rock, a layer of fog appeared in his mind.
A faint murmur rang out from the fog. This voice was shaky, as though it was very far away but also very close.
"The Emperor's Sword… cannot be used lightly."
"The moment the sword is taken out, the world will collapse."
Xu Qing's mind shook as he listened attentively. Gradually, those murmurs transformed into streams of information that appeared in his soul and continued to echo.
This information was telling him about the Emperor Sword.
The Emperor Sword, also known as the Sword Holder's Sword, was one of the human orthodoxy's emperor-level cultivation arts. It was created by the Prime Great Emperor of the Ultimate Immortal Radiance.
It was mainly focused on killing. Its might was astonishing and its killing intent was boundless.
It had killed myriad races before and the emperor had used it to kill a god many years ago.
Back then, even Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether was extremely impressed by the Emperor's Sword.
After that, the lineage of the Sword Palace turned into Sword Holder. The emperor placed all his emperor-level cultivation arts into the Sword Holding Ministry and opened it for all the Sword Holders without restriction, allowing the Sword Holder to obtain comprehension according to different levels.
This was especially so for the Emperor Sword Art. The emperor had completely released it with his magnanimous heart. Any new Sword Holder would obtain a chance to comprehend it after becoming a Sword Holder.
However, this was only once. After that, they would need to exchange for comprehension time with military contributions.
The Emperor Sword was extremely difficult to comprehend. Since ancient times, no one had succeeded in one try. Most of the time, it required many times to barely imprint it in their minds and form a sword seed.
As for the might of this sword, it could be strong or weak.
The factor that determined the upper limit of its might was related to the cultivation base of the cultivator but it was mostly related to time.
The Emperor Sword needed to be nurtured and shouldn't be taken out easily.
The longer it was nurtured, the more terrifying the might of the sword would be.
Although the might of the sword would return to its original state after using it, this deterrence was terrifying.
There was once a Sword Holder who nourished the sword for 2,000 years. The moment he attacked, he crossed the Spirit Repository realm with his peak Nascent Soul cultivation and directly killed a first stage Nihility cultivator on the spot.
This was also the reason why the myriad races were afraid of the human race's Sword Holding Ministry. This was because one would never know if there were some old fellows in the Sword Holding Ministry who had been nurturing the swords for thousands of years or even longer.
At the same time, one could imagine that after any race mastered such a killing technique, they would definitely specially arrange for a group of people to never go out and spend their lives nurturing the swords.
It was all for the sake of using that one sword strike at the critical moment.
These were one of the foundations of the Sword Holding Ministry. It was also the reason why the emperor had opened this Emperor Sword ultimate art to all Sword Holders back then.
He wanted to build a foundation that would last for tens of thousands of years.
However, the difficulty of comprehending this sword was very high. Not every Sword Holder could successfully master it. Hence, it was crucial for them to comprehend it multiple times.
Xu Qing didn't know the passage of time in the external world. At that moment, he tried his best to push aside the fog in front of him. However, the fog in his perception was too dense. Even when he went all out, he couldn't dissipate it quickly.
He could only continue to use all his strength and keep moving forward in the fog to see what was inside.
Just like that, time slowly passed.
After an unknown period of time, Xu Qing finally saw that the fog ahead had thinned out. He could faintly see a sword behind the fog.
With just a glance, this sword occupied everything in Xu Qing's eyes, as though it had become the only one in the world.
His mind became even more chaotic, and rumbling sounds echoed in it.
This was because although that sword was only an ordinary sword, it contained astonishing killing intent.
An indescribable baleful aura and heart-shaking killing intent spread out from this sword.
It was as though it wanted to rush into the sky and kill everything in the world.
The large black rock it was on seemed to be unable to seal it either. It still needed the layers of iron chains on it to barely contain its imprint.
Xu Qing's breathing was hurried and his mind was blank. Only the sword behind the fog became clearer and clearer in his eyes. The shocking intent on it also became more and more obvious.
While he was in a daze, the outline of a sword slowly appeared in his sea of consciousness.
Even Old Master Seventh was shocked by Xu Qing's comprehension ability. One could see how talented he was.
At that moment, an intense desire surfaced in Xu Qing's mind. He was about to push the fog away again and gather this sword in his mind even more deeply.
However, at this moment…
A terrifying suction force suddenly came from behind him, pulling his body out. In an instant, the world spun. Xu Qing's body trembled. When he lifted his head, he discovered that he was no longer at the place of comprehension.
Instead, he was outside the large hall.
Zhang Siyun was also here. His eyes were red, as though he was doing his best to suppress the desire in his heart.
Qing Qiu coldly glanced at them from not far away.
She knew that these people had gone to comprehend the emperor-level cultivation art of the human race. She didn't know why the Sword Holding Court asked her to wait here when she wasn't qualified.
"Wait, wait, wait. What exactly am I supposed to wait for?!" Qing Qiu was very unhappy.
Xu Qing didn't bother with Qing Qiu and Zhang Siyun. He quickly lifted his head and looked in the direction of the place he had gone to comprehend earlier. An incomparable desire rose in his mind.
This was especially so when he sensed the outline of the sword in his sea of consciousness.
Although it was blurry, it was indeed an afterimage of the sword. However, it had no roots and was slowly dissipating. From the looks of it, it would disappear completely in two years at most.
All of this made Xu Qing feel that he was just a little short of being able to outline that sword clearly.
This feeling of being forcefully dragged back and suddenly being cut off caused endless disappointment to rise in his mind.
At the same time, the captain's figure appeared from the void. After he landed, he was the same as Xu Qing. His breathing was hurried as he suddenly stood up and looked into the distance.
'What? F*ck, I was so close to succeeding. My mouth was already wide open!' Endless disappointment rose in the captain's mind. He didn't dare to say this and could only be dissatisfied inwardly.
"All of you, calm down!"
Just as Xu Qing and the captain's emotions were in turmoil, a calm voice echoed in their minds like thunder.
The middle-aged Sword Holder who had led the way earlier appeared in front of them.
The powerful pressure from his body caused Xu Qing to take a deep breath and suppress the desire in his mind.
"Do you guys think that you're just a little short of seeing the Emperor Sword clearly? You're just a little short of succeeding?"
"I can tell you that everyone who goes to comprehend it has this feeling. However, in reality… you are still far from succeeding in comprehending it."
"Also, there's a reason why the comprehension is limited to six hours."
"Since ancient times, all the Sword Holders who had comprehended for more than six hours instantly mutated and died in the midst of comprehension. Not a single one of them survived.
The middle-aged Sword Holder calmly spoke, his words causing Xu Qing's mind to sink.
"The reason why this is the case is because the emperor killed a god back then. However, this sword was also cursed by the god. Hence, anyone who comprehends it for more than six hours will die from mutation."
"And you guys don't have to be anxious. Your luck is very good. This was an additional reward. When you reach the county capital, you will each have a chance to comprehend it."
"Now, it's time to deal with another matter. The lords have been waiting for a long time."
Zhang Siyun had a puzzled expression. He didn't know what would happen next.
However, just as he was paying attention, the middle-aged Sword Holder raised his right hand and waved it. Immediately, Zhang Siyun's figure disappeared.
"This matter has nothing to do with him." The middle-aged Sword Holder didn't care what Zhang Siyun, who he had moved away, thought and slowly spoke.
Xu Qing's mind stirred. He looked at the captain and then at Qing Qiu as he fell into deep thought.
Qing Qiu frowned. She had vaguely guessed the answer. However, this answer made her feel very unlucky and aggrieved.
The captain also thought of something and a strange glint appeared in his eyes. There was also a hint of excitement as he hurriedly spoke.
"Lord, is it related to the Three Spirits Suppression Mountain?"
The middle-aged Sword Holder ignored Chen Erniu.
In his opinion, this Chen Erniu who only caused the emperor's statue to shine ten feet was basically a humiliation for the Sword Holder.
In reality, he wasn't the only one who thought so. Many other Sword Holders had the same thought. After all… to a certain extent, this was equivalent to having an improper mindset.
He couldn't be bothered with him. Instead, he looked at Xu Qing and Qing Qiu.
"The three of you once appeared on the Three Spirits Suppression Mountain and saw my Sword Holding Court suppressing Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy."
"Now, Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy has been imprisoned and is being interrogated. The lords need the three of you to appear and agitate her, making her emotions fluctuate intensely."
"This way, it will be easier for the lords to search for the secrets in her soul."
With that, the middle-aged Sword Holder walked into the distance.
Xu Qing and the other two stood up and followed behind. On the way, the captain blinked and quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
"Looks like my ten-foot-long radiance isn't well-liked."
"No, I have to perform well this time and strive to add points in those old fellows' books. Otherwise, if this continues, it will be difficult for me to advance."
The captain was vigilant and depressed at the same time. At that moment, he still felt disbelief at how he could only gain ten feet of light.
"My answer isn't wrong. Although the emperor's question isn't among the thousand or so questions, there are 47 questions that are indirectly related to it."
"I've said all the answers once. They're definitely beyond the standard. Every one of them has at least given a light that was thousands of feet long. Together, they will definitely reach 100,000 feet. It's impossible for my spirit stones to have been spent in vain."
"I even flattered him a lot without repeating anything!"
"And for the sake of performance, I even said that he was a god."
"There's nothing wrong with what I said. At that time, the light of the Great Emperor was swaying violently. It can be seen how satisfied he was."
Thinking of his performance back then, the captain became even more indignant.
"Why would you give me ten feet!"
The captain felt depressed. He looked at Xu Qing and felt a lot of pressure.
While his thoughts were churning, the three of them were brought to the prison in the Sword Holding Court by the middle-aged Sword Holder.
This was a dark secret chamber with countless restrictions in the surroundings. Anyone who stepped into this place would be locked onto by divine sense.
After the inspection, the four of them walked into the prison. As they followed a narrow staircase under the dim yellow light, the calm and elegant voice of Spirit Venerable Nether Fairy rang out from afar.
"Judging from the footsteps, are there people coming again?"
"It's useless. It's impossible for you to stimulate my emotions and search my soul."
"I'm transformed from the Ghost Emperor's human soul and my emotions don't fluctuate. Even if it can, it's not something low-level Nihility cultivators like you can accomplish."
"My main body is at Soul Accumulation. You guys… are just ants."
