Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 188: Today, the Immortals Do Not Ferry Me; Tomorrow, I Will Ferry the Immortals!

“Done!”

At Gu Xiu’s command, the atmosphere in the courtyard shifted instantly.

The Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth surged forward as if answering a royal summons, forming visible whirlpools that spun violently around the forge. One vortex became two, then ten, until the Shadow Chasing Sword was completely obscured by a cocoon of spiraling energy.

“Now, only the fusion of the sword body and the Sword Heart remains,” Gu Xiu said, stepping back. “Outsiders cannot interfere in this process. We wait.”

“Relax, everyone. This little sword spirit has an Immortal Artifact as its embryo. This is a Fated Chance of the highest order,” the Star Shattering Forging Platform declared, his voice dripping with authority as he lectured the Little Black Monkey and the Carefree Jade Pendant. “Its future is limitless. It is destined to become a Great Vessel!”

As the “Big Brother” of the group, Star Shattering’s words carried weight. The monkey and the pendant, who had been craning their necks in worry, immediately relaxed. They huddled around the stone platform like eager disciples at the feet of a master.

To be fair, the Star Shattering Forging Platform was an old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years. Among artifact spirits, his seniority was absolute. To him, the monkey, the pendant, and even the Unfailing Sword Heart were mere infants.

It had taken only a few days of smooth-talking for Star Shattering to convince them to acknowledge him as “Boss.” They had even adopted a collective nickname:

The Four Saints Who Shake the Ancients.

According to Star Shattering, they were destined to leave a legacy that would “shake the ancients and illuminate the present,” echoing through ten thousand ages. The name, he insisted, perfectly captured their majestic temperament.

Gu Xiu, their master, found it all rather headache-inducing. Not because of the name, but because of the curriculum.

“Listen well,” Star Shattering lectured. “Knocking someone out from behind is a profound art form. As your Big Brother, I will teach you the nuances.”

The monkey nodded furiously.

“Furthermore, only humans care about ‘face.’ We are artifacts! If someone calls us shameless, that is the highest form of praise. Remember this well; there will be a test later.”

The Carefree Jade Pendant vibrated in agreement.

“As members of the Four Saints, we must be flexible. Head-to-head combat is for fools. We must use our brains. Be clever devils.”

Star Shattering continued his daily sermon of heresy, and his two lackeys listened as if he were preaching the Gospel of the Great Dao. Gu Xiu rubbed his temples, deciding to ignore the corruption of his artifacts for the moment.

Zheng!

A sword cry suddenly pierced the air, the sound wave soaring upward as if intent on puncturing the firmament.

“It’s almost done!” Star Shattering yelled, turning his attention to the forge.

But after a moment, his rocky “brows” furrowed.

“Why is it only a Heaven-rank Divine Artifact? It’s at the absolute limit of the rank, but this falls short of expectations. Shouldn’t it have ascended to an Immortal Artifact?”

“The Immortal Gate isn’t opening? The Immortal Qi isn’t descending?” Star Shattering muttered, confused. Then, a realization struck him. “No… there are additional restrictions on this space!”

Gu Xiu’s eyes narrowed. “The Immortals of the Upper Realm are targeting this world.”

“Exactly!” Star Shattering confirmed, his tone grave. “For a Dharma Treasure to reach Immortal-grade, it requires the nourishment of Immortal Qi—a force distinct from Spiritual Qi. Normally, mortals cannot forge Immortal Artifacts. But with sufficient accumulation and high-grade materials, the Immortal Gate should open automatically to bestow that energy.”

“Shadow Chasing was originally an Immortal Sword,” Star Shattering continued rapidly. “With the Unfailing Sword Heart and a newborn spirit leading it, it should be ascending right now. But someone has sealed off this world’s ascension channel! This restriction didn’t exist before I fell into my slumber. Someone tampered with the laws of this realm!”

The Little Black Monkey and the Carefree Jade Pendant crowded closer, radiating anxiety and indignation on behalf of their new sibling.

Gu Xiu remained silent, his mind racing. In his dream of “Ten Thousand Years in a Glance,” Jiang Xun had restored the Shadow Chasing Sword to its Immortal glory. Was that future now impossible because of the interference?

“Is there another way?” Gu Xiu asked.

Star Shattering sighed. “I’m afraid not. An Immortal Artifact is defined by the acknowledgment of the Immortals. If the Upper Realm refuses to open the gate, it cannot ascend.”

“The little sword spirit has suffered a terrible loss. Its only hope now is for you to ascend to Immortality yourself and take it to the Upper Realm. But…”

Star Shattering didn’t finish, but Gu Xiu understood.

Forging was like breathing; it required rhythm and momentum. Failing to seize the moment now would leave a flaw in the artifact’s foundation. Ascending later would be exponentially harder.

Gu Xiu pressed his lips together, a cold light flickering in his eyes. He looked at the Shadow Chasing Sword, which was still vibrating, desperately trying to break through the invisible ceiling.

“Little Sword Spirit,” Gu Xiu asked softly. “Do you trust me?”

The spirit could not speak, but a clear, resolute consciousness echoed in Gu Xiu’s mind.

I believe!

“I obtained the Divine Record of Artifact Forging,” Gu Xiu said. “I have comprehended the scripture, and within its obscure margins, I found the traces of a different path. I want to try it.”

He paused. “But if I fail, you may be destroyed completely. Do you still trust me?”

The response was instant and unwavering. I believe!

“Good!”

Gu Xiu stepped forward. He raised his right hand, and the forging hammer materialized in his grip.

Then, without warning, he swung it down—not to polish, but to destroy.

BOOM!

The impact was deafening. The whirlpools of Spiritual Qi stalled. A cloud of “Dust Light,” invisible to the naked eye, surged from Gu Xiu’s body and drilled into the sword.

“You… you’re continuing to forge?” Star Shattering cried out in alarm. “But the world is sealed! It cannot become an Immortal Artifact!”

“Since it cannot become an Immortal Artifact…” Gu Xiu’s voice was calm, but underneath lay a terrifying pressure. “Then we shall not seek to be a tool of the Upper Realm!”

BOOM!

The hammer fell again.

Star Shattering stood frozen. Not become an Immortal Artifact?

“I always thought Immortals were transcendent beings,” Gu Xiu said, his voice rhythmic with the strikes. “Beings beyond the Five Elements and Six Realms, looking down on mortals without fear.”

BOOM!

“But recently, I discovered I was wrong.”

BOOM!

“They use underhanded methods. They block paths. Does that not prove that these so-called Immortals of the Upper Realm also feel fear? That they are wary of the future?”

BOOM!

“If they fear, do they still deserve the title of ‘Immortal’?”

Gu Xiu paused, his Dantian Qi Sea and Five-Layered Dao Platform roaring as he channeled every ounce of his power into the hammer. It glowed with a blinding brilliance.

“If that is the case,” Gu Xiu declared, his voice ringing like steel, “then becoming such an Immortal is useless!”

CRACK!

The hammer fell with apocalyptic force. The tool itself could not withstand the power and shattered into dust.

And beneath it, the Shadow Chasing Sword—an artifact that should have been indestructible—shattered with it.

The physical blade had reached its mortal limit. Denied entry to the Immortal Rank, it had nowhere else to go but destruction.

The blade crumbled into fragments.

“It’s destroyed…” Star Shattering gasped.

But in that split second of destruction, Gu Xiu’s left hand stabbed toward the void.

“SOLDIER!”

HUMMMM—

The Heavenly Dao Rhyme shook violently. A mysterious, ancient Dao Rhyme, bursting with golden light, tore through the void and descended upon the anvil.

Simultaneously, Gu Xiu’s empty right hand clenched as if holding a ghost.

A phantom hammer appeared—the Dust Shattering Hammer.

Gu Xiu did not hesitate.

He struck the empty air.

CLANG!

The sound was not of metal on metal, but like a great bell tolling at the end of an era.

The fragments of the Shadow Chasing Sword dissolved into green smoke, vanishing completely. Not a speck of dust remained.

The Little Black Monkey and Jade Pendant slumped in despair.

But Star Shattering suddenly shrieked, “The Spirit! The little sword spirit is still there!”

What?

The monkey and pendant looked up. They couldn’t see the sword, but they could sense the presence of their sibling, stronger than ever, hovering before Gu Xiu.

To anyone possessing the Dust Observation Technique, the scene would have been blinding.

Countless motes of “Dust Light”—the essence of the world that was neither spiritual nor material—were converging. They swirled around the golden “Soldier” Dao Rhyme, knitting together to form a blade that existed between realities.

“Decree!” Gu Xiu commanded.

The golden Dao Rhyme slammed into the formless blade. The infinite Dust of the world rushed in to fill the mold.

Star Shattering, though blind to the Dust, sensed the terrifying nature of the object forming.

“This isn’t Immortal-grade,” the platform stammered. “This is… Dust-grade!”

“You forged a Dust-grade Artifact!”

“You possess the lost method of the Dust!”

Star Shattering burst into manic laughter. “Hahaha! I found the right Master! I truly found the right Master!”

“The world knows the ranks of Yellow, Mystic, Earth, and Heaven, followed by Immortal. But legends speak of a special grade. It belongs neither to the Mortal Realm nor the Immortal Realm. It stands alone.”

“It is called Dust!”

“Such artifacts do not beg the Upper Realm for rank. They do not kneel for Immortal Qi. They rely solely on themselves to achieve perfection.”

“This artifact is not Immortal.”

“But it is not weaker than an Immortal!”

As he spoke, the convergence ended.

A sword shadow appeared in the empty air, emitting a faint, ethereal glow. The blade was translucent, almost illusory, visible only by the light it refracted.

Rumble…

Above the Cloud Firmament City, dark clouds gathered. Thunder growled.

“The Life Spirit Tribulation!” Star Shattering shouted. “The spirit was unstable, but if it passes this tribulation, its form will be solidified forever! Quick, Master! Bestow a name!”

“Granting a name during the Tribulation aids its passage!”

The translucent sword bowed toward Gu Xiu, vibrating with anticipation.

Please, Master. Name me.

Its body had been Shadow Chasing. Its heart was Unfailing.

But now, it had shed its Immortal ancestry and been reborn from the Dust. It was a new existence.

Gu Xiu looked up at the gathering storm, his expression cold.

“Today is your life-and-death tribulation. The Immortals of the Upper Realm should have ferried you across the divide, but they closed the gate, forcing you to walk the path of Dust. Though we succeeded, their refusal was an act of suppression.”

“Since that is so, you shall be called…”

“The Crossing Immortal Sword.”

Crossing Immortal. Du Xian.

The spirit let out a cry of pure, unadulterated joy. It shot into the sky, charging straight into the heart of the thunderclouds.

It understood the name. It loved the name.

Today, the Immortals do not ferry me.

Tomorrow, I shall ferry the Immortals to their graves!

The sword carried an aura of unparalleled defiance as it met the lightning.

However…

Zap.

A weak bolt of lightning struck the sword.

“Strange,” Star Shattering muttered, watching the sky. “The Life Spirit Tribulation is usually a terrifying ordeal for a new spirit. Why is this thunder so… pathetic?”

“It feels like it’s just going through the motions. A superficial show. It isn’t coming at us seriously at all?”

Gu Xiu sensed it too. The thunder tribulation lazily struck the Crossing Immortal Sword a few times, lacking any killing intent.

Then, abruptly, the clouds dissolved into pure Great Dao Qi, pouring into the sword like a bucket of water.

It was over in seconds.

The Crossing Immortal Sword hovered in the sky, absorbing the gift. A special, ancient aura now coated its blade—the aura of the Great Dao.

Its spirituality soared. It was no longer the weakest of the Four Saints.

But after absorbing the power, the sword did not return to Gu Xiu’s hand.

Instead, a fierce thought projected into Gu Xiu’s mind.

Master! Crossing Immortal wishes to achieve merit!

Before Gu Xiu could react, the sword turned and streaked across the sky, flying toward a specific distant location.

Gu Xiu’s eyelids twitched as he recognized the direction.

That place… was the Forbidden Realm.