Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 204: The Might of the Sword Immortal, Unfathomable as Ghosts and Gods!

“Rogue Cultivator. Gu Xiu.”

Four simple words.

Yet, as they echoed through the ruined main hall of Awakening Spirit Valley, the world seemed to freeze. A deathly silence descended, heavy and suffocating.

Then, the dam broke.

“Gu Xiu? It really is Gu Xiu! The Qingxuan Sword Immortal who left behind countless legends!”

“He actually came? At a time like this?”

“Rumors said he returned three years ago. Our Sect Leader visited the Azure Mystic Sacred Land multiple times begging for an audience, but was always turned away. If he knew Gu Xiu was standing right here, he’d go mad with excitement!”

“Wait, he called himself a Rogue Cultivator… Does that mean he really abandoned the sect? Heavens, the rumors are true! The Sword Immortal no longer belongs to the Azure Mystic Sacred Land!”

The shock was absolute.

A person’s reputation is like the shadow of a great tree. Even if someone uses the ‘Annals of Time’ to erase his deeds, even if a Holy Land tries to gloss over their mistakes and bury his name, the legends written in blood and glory 500 years ago cannot be so easily covered up.

Gu Xiu merely walked forward, his steps slow and rhythmic, yet his presence alone sent waves of awe through the crowd.

However, if the various sect experts were shocked, the group from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion looked like they had seen a ghost.

Their expressions were a mix of stupor, confusion, and disbelief.

To them, this man was clearly Elder Feng Bugui. He was their mysterious, powerful enforcer. Yet now, right before their eyes, he had shed that skin to reveal the face of the legendary Qingxuan Sword Immortal.

How could they not be stunned?

instinctively, everyone from the Pavilion turned to look at their leader, Wan Xiaobei. They all knew how much she worshipped the Sword Immortal. Seeing him in the flesh, knowing his true identity—she must be losing her mind.

But when they looked, they were surprised again.

Wan Xiaobei’s eyes were locked on Gu Xiu, shining with a brilliant, fanatical light. But there was no shock.

Did… did the Pavilion Master already know?

As if answering their thoughts, Wan Xiaobei’s voice rang in their minds via secret transmission.

“Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu is Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu. Elder Feng is Elder Feng. Everyone, remember this well: You must NEVER reveal that Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu is an Elder of our Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.”

The staff blinked, then understood instantly. They nodded imperceptibly.

This secret was too big. Keeping his connection to the Pavilion hidden protected him, and it protected the Pavilion.

Yi Zhiyin, of course, was oblivious to this internal communication. He stared fixedly at the white-haired figure walking toward him.

“Fellow Daoist Gu,” Yi Zhiyin said, his voice dripping with false courtesy. “You must know this is a trap laid specifically for you.”

“I can see that,” Gu Xiu replied calmly.

“Then why did you come?”

“To save people.”

Yi Zhiyin scoffed. “But your cultivation is lost. Even if you’ve started rebuilding it, you are nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot. A futile effort.”

“I still have to try.”

“Aren’t you afraid this ‘try’ will be your funeral? That you will be buried here today?”

Gu Xiu finally stopped. He swept a flat, indifferent gaze over Yi Zhiyin and the elites surrounding him.

“Just you people?” Gu Xiu asked. “You aren’t enough to bury me.”

Inside the defensive circle, Wan Xiaobei’s eyes widened. She clenched her small fists, her face flushing with excitement.

He’s back!

The man who trod upon the bones of prodigies 500 years ago… he is truly back!

However, not everyone shared her reverence. The experts standing beside Yi Zhiyin felt only insult.

“Utterly arrogant!”

One of the cultivators stepped forward, his face twisted in a sneer. “A piece of trash who was crippled for three years thinks he’s still invincible just because he cultivated some Spiritual Energy again?”

“Let me test you! Let’s see if you can still carry that title of ‘Sword Immortal’!”

This man was a Golden Core powerhouse from Awakening Spirit Valley.

Boom!

He kicked off the ground, soaring through the air. In the blink of an eye, he arrived above Gu Xiu. He didn’t bother with a weapon or a spell. Instead, he lifted his foot and stomped directly toward Gu Xiu’s head.

It was a move of pure disrespect.

His eyes were full of mockery. Qingxuan Sword Immortal? Invincible? If I step on your head like a bug, that myth dies today!

The trapped crowd roared in anger at the sight.

“This is too much!”

“That is the Sword Immortal! How dare he humiliate him like that!”

“Damn it! Let me out! I’ll kill that bastard myself!”

Gu Xiu had made enemies in the past, but his grace and heroism had also won him countless admirers. Seeing a legend treated like dirt ignited a fire in their bellies.

But…

Just as their fury peaked, the scene took a bizarre turn.

The Golden Core cultivator who was mid-stomp suddenly froze.

It was as if an invisible hand had pressed the pause button on his existence. His body hung in the air, his foot hovering inches above Gu Xiu’s head, trembling but unable to descend a single millimeter.

What… what is happening?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The soft sound of footsteps continued.

The crowd watched in breathless silence as Gu Xiu walked forward. He didn’t dodge. He didn’t block. He didn’t even look up.

He walked directly beneath the suspended cultivator, passing him as if he were nothing more than a statue. As if he wasn’t worthy of a single glance.

The Golden Core cultivator remained frozen, eyes wide, staring at nothing, waiting for Gu Xiu to pass.

“Look at his forehead!” someone with sharp eyes screamed.

The crowd focused.

There, right in the center of the arrogant cultivator’s brow, a thin red line had appeared. It was so fine it was almost invisible.

As they watched, a single drop of blood seeped out from the line.

Then…

Thud.

The body collapsed.

Dead.

A Golden Core powerhouse. Instantly killed.

He had wanted to trample a legend, to crush Gu Xiu beneath his heel. But the legend hadn’t even looked at him. Gu Xiu hadn’t seemingly moved a finger, yet he had effortlessly pierced the man’s skull, shattered his soul, and severed his life force.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Then, the hall exploded.

“What happened?”

“How did he do that?”

“I didn’t see a sword! I didn’t see a spell! Why did he just die?”

“Is this… is this the power of a Sword Immortal?”

“Who can block a sword like that?”

Fear began to spread. No one had seen the attack. They only saw the result: instant death for anyone who dared to attack Gu Xiu.

Yi Zhiyin’s face darkened. The experts beside him felt a chill run down their spines.

Too fast.

They hadn’t seen it either.

“He’s relying on sneak attacks and playing tricks! Don’t let him fool you!”

Another cultivator gritted his teeth and stepped out. This one was stronger—a mid-stage Golden Core expert.

“Die!”

He flew at Gu Xiu, closing the distance instantly. He didn’t make the mistake of arrogance; he didn’t waste breath on words. The moment he was in range, he swung a massive long saber down at Gu Xiu’s head, putting his full power into a lethal strike.

He intended to overwhelm Gu Xiu with brute force and speed.

But…

Just as the saber began its descent, the man froze.

The crowd’s hearts skipped a beat. They instinctively looked at his forehead.

There it was.

An identical red line. An identical drop of blood.

Mid-stage Golden Core.

Dead.

Gu Xiu kept walking. His pace hadn’t changed. His rhythm hadn’t faltered. He passed the second corpse just as he had the first.

“Roaming Dragon… that’s his Roaming Dragon Sword!”

“Unfathomable as Ghosts and Gods! Elusive! Impossible to track! Unless your cultivation far exceeds his, you cannot block it!”

An older cultivator shouted the name, recognizing the signature technique.

The Roaming Dragon Sword.

Years ago, before the gates of Falling Rain Valley, Gu Xiu had used this very technique to cripple a group of Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection prodigies. One sword for each man.

But this time, he wasn’t crippling anyone.

After seeing the horrors of Awakening Spirit Valley, Gu Xiu had only one thought in his mind.

Destroy this place.

Unleash a great slaughter.

“Damn it! They said he was crippled! Why can he still use such a bizarre sword art?”

“His cultivation is clearly only Foundation Establishment! How is this possible?”

“A Golden Core can’t even block one hit? What kind of Foundation Establishment is this?”

“Stop him! Don’t try to duel him one-on-one! Attack together!”

The remaining experts from Awakening Spirit Valley were panicking. Five of them exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and roared.

“Kill!”

They lunged at once.

Gu Xiu might be strange, his sword might be fast, but he was just one man. No matter how sharp his blade, he couldn’t block five directions at once!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five Golden Core cultivators descended like a net of death, surrounding Gu Xiu, their artifacts glowing with lethal energy.

However…

The outcome did not change.

The moment the encirclement closed, the moment they prepared to unleash their killing moves…

All five froze.

Gu Xiu’s footsteps did not stop.

Tap. Tap.

He walked through the gap between their frozen bodies.

As he stepped clear of the encirclement, five red flowers bloomed on five foreheads.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Five bodies hit the floor in unison.

Dead.

With their lives, they proved a terrifying truth to everyone present: Whether it was one person or an army, in the face of the man once called the Sword Immortal… numbers meant nothing.

The Roaming Dragon Sword. Unfathomable as Ghosts and Gods.