A single sentence, just six words long, yet containing an astounding amount of information.
Lu Qingshan's previously joyful expression suddenly tightened.
"Who are you?" He frowned, scrutinizing the woman on the stage and asked.
"Don't you already know my na?" The Lord Qin Princess showed a playful deanor that her subjects would never see, blinking at Lu Qingshan and saying with a smile, "Qin Yitian."
This cheerful and playful manner was exactly like his Sword Spirit girl.
However, Lu Qingshan was already clear in understanding that the Qin Yitian before him, though still Qin Yitian, was not the sa Qin Yitian he knew.
Although the statent was convoluted, the aning was just that.
But where did the problem lie?
Lu Qingshan almost guessed it already.
After ti reversed like a river, the Qin Yitian he encountered now was no longer from his tiline, not the Qin Yitian who was the Dragon Sparrow Sword Spirit.
In this world, at this ti, Qin Yitian's identity was as the Lord Qin Princess.
Since that's the case, how did Qin Yitian eventually transform from the Qin Princess of the Dao Source Realm into the Dragon Sparrow Sword Spirit of Sky Do Heaven? And how did she appear in the Southern Territory sea?
Also, how could he return to his own ti and space now?
Many questions were laid before Lu Qingshan, requiring him to solve them one by one.
"Does the Lord Princess know ?" Lu Qingshan looked at Qin Yitian and asked again.
"Of course I know," Qin Yitian responded with a smile: "Aren't you the renowned Lu Qingshan?"
"So the Lord didn't know before this." Lu Qingshan stated calmly.
"Isn't it enough that you know ?" Qin Yitian added: "As for , I can start to know you now."
Her deanor was very composed, as if she was stating sothing self-evident.
"Given the court's reaction just now, that so-called Sword of the Nation is extrely important, holding a very high position.
The Lord didn't know before, yet you intended to give such an important Sword of the Nation. Isn't that too much of a jest?" Lu Qingshan raised a brow, directly inquiring.
He asked directly and candidly.
Because Qin Yitian was always the person Lu Qingshan trusted the most in his heart.
Thus, even though the Qin Yitian before him was not his Sword Spirit girl, Lu Qingshan couldn't harbor any suspicion or hostility toward her.
"Not a jest," the atmosphere turned solemn, and Qin Yitian also put away her playful deanor, answering seriously: "Because I know you are the most suitable Sword Master for the Sword of the Nation."
"Why so certain?"
"You will understand shortly," Qin Yitian said, then pulled out a long case from a compartnt beside her throne.
The case was made of ancient wood, with intricate dragon and phoenix patterns carved on its surface, exuding an indescribable aura of wealth.
Without saying a word, Qin Yitian gently opened the lid of the case, revealing its contents to Lu Qingshan.
Inside, there was only one item.
An ancient long sword.
Entirely crimson, glowing brightly.
It lay quietly in the case.
Upon seeing the long sword, Lu Qingshan's heart almost leaped out of his throat.
"Dragon Sparrow," he blurted out.
Dragon Sparrow!
The sword in the case was indeed the Dragon Sparrow.
"Sure enough, you recognize it too," Qin Yitian pointed at the Dragon Sparrow and said:
"It is the Sword of the Nation of my State of Qin, yet the world only knows it as the Sword of the Nation, never knowing its true na is Dragon Sparrow."
"In the entire State of Qin, besides , you are the second person to know the true na of the Sword of the Nation."
Qin Yitian paused, then continued: "Without having to tell you."
Lu Qingshan gazed at the Dragon Sparrow in the case. After a mont of silence, he looked up at Qin Yitian holding the case, explaining little but slowly saying, "You're right, I am indeed the most suitable Sword Master for the Sword of the Nation."
Because the Dragon Sparrow was his Life-bound Sword.
"See, I told you so." Qin Yitian blinked, a hint of unrestrained pride flashing in her eyes.
"In that case, from now on, the Dragon Sparrow is your sword."
Qin Yitian took the Dragon Sparrow out of the case, placed the long case beside, caressed the sword's body sowhat reluctantly, and finally descended from the stage, handing the Dragon Sparrow to Lu Qingshan.
Lu Qingshan solemnly accepted the Dragon Sparrow, then held its hilt and tentatively swung the sword.
Even across the long years, Lu Qingshan could distinctly feel the sense of compatibility between himself and the Dragon Sparrow.
A harmony ignoring ti and space.
This was the indivisible bond between the sword and its Sword Master.
But at that mont, Lu Qingshan also felt a bit puzzled.
Ti reversed into a river.
In other words, the current tiline was before the Tianyuan Year.
So what exactly did this an for him now?
Did he "replace" himself by going back?
More importantly, would what he did now change the entire future?
Would the butterfly effect prevent his future self from obtaining the Dragon Sparrow?
Lu Qingshan pondered for a mont, then silently shook his head.
Reversing ti was sothing even the Ancestral Taoist couldn't do—if it were possible, what would the war between Dao and Demon even matter?
From this inference, there shouldn't truly be any real resetting of tilines.
Because the Ancestral Taoist was the strongest power in the world.
Therefore, his current situation should be within a particular historical tiline that truly occurred, being a witness to the river of ti. Whatever he did would be harmless to the future.
That is, ti for him always moved forward.
Lu Qingshan was traveling to a past world on a forward tiline.
In ga terms, it's akin to entering a dungeon.
And in terms of understanding this as a dungeon, Lu Qingshan seed to have an answer on how to leave here and return to his world and his tiline.
— By completing this dungeon, naturally, everything would end.
Lu Qingshan thought it over again and was basically certain of this idea.
As for how to complete this "dungeon"...
Lu Qingshan withdrew his gaze from the Dragon Sparrow and settled it on Qin Yitian's face.
"How does it feel?" Qin Yitian asked with great interest when she saw Lu Qingshan stop testing the sword.
"It is the best sword," Lu Qingshan replied.
"Of course," Qin Yitian nodded, stating confidently, "it's not just the best sword in the State of Qin but also the strongest weapon in the Dao Source Realm."
"Why is Your Highness so certain?" Lu Qingshan's eyes flickered.
He said the Dragon Sparrow is the best sword because it was his sword,
but why did Qin Yitian say the sa?
For ordinary people, the Dao Source Realm is vast, and to claim to have the strongest weapon is quite the boast.
"You can just call Yitian," Qin Yitian said with a smile.
After a pause, she suddenly asked, "Do you know why our State of Qin is one of the Nine Great Nations?"
"A strong national power naturally leads to being called a Great Nation," Lu Qingshan responded.
"Correct," Qin Yitian nodded, "but that's not entirely it."
"The Nine Great Nations, besides having strong national power, also because they hold the strongest nine Taoist secrets in the world."
"Nine Taoist secrets?" Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.
"There are three thousand paths of Taoist practices, but eventually, there are distinctions between them," Qin Yitian solemnly said.
"The Nine Great Nations are the State of Qin, Wilderness Country, Han Country, Zhao Country, ng Country, Yan Country, Qi Country, Chu Country, and Wei Country."
"The ng Country holds the Sealing Heaven Taoist Spell, master of sealing."
"The Zhao Country holds the Ancient Divine Taoist Spell, communicating with divinity."
"The Han Country possesses the Five Elents Taoist Spell, ever-changing."
"The Yan Country practices the Carefree Taoist Spell, able to tread the world as if on flat ground."
"The Qi Country has the Life and Death Taoist Spell, capable of stealing life and death."
"The Chu Country wields the Heaven's Mandate Taoist Spell, turning the restraints of heaven and earth to its own use."
"The Wei Country holds the Elental Spirit Taoist Spell, turning decay into magic."
"You've only ntioned seven countries." Lu Qingshan reminded Qin Yitian, noticing she hadn't finished introducing all nine countries.
"The Wilderness Country... is a bit special," Qin Yitian hesitated for a mont, then finally spoke up.
"The Wilderness Country, holding the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell, can return all things to ruins. In terms of combat power enhancent, the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell is the first." She spoke again with a complex expression.
Lu Qingshan was moved.
Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell, returning all things to ruins... if he still didn't understand, it would be too foolish.
However, he could see Qin Yitian wasn't finished speaking, so he remained silent, waiting for the continuation.
"It's just that, the current Wilderness Country... no longer holds the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell," Qin Yitian said softly.
"Hmm?"
"The Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell is powerful, but its strength cos at the cost of destroying mountains and seas, making it an evil art," Qin Yitian continued, "As stone can be worn by water drops, you can imagine that with such an art in existence, one day the Dao Source Realm would inevitably fall into desolation."
"No one wanted to see this happen."
"So thirty years ago, the other Eight Great Nations, besides the Wilderness Country, united to conduct a 'assassination action.'"
Lu Qingshan's eyes flickered... Thirty years ago, wasn't that when the Otherworldly Ghosts revived?
"At that ti, the Eight Great Nations gathered top talents from each country, combining the forces of various Taoist practices, infiltrated the royal palace of the Wilderness Country, and assassinated the entire imperial clan who mastered the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell."
"Taoist practices are based on bloodline, so after the assassination, the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell was also lost."
"The next step should have been the Eight Great Nations dividing up the Wilderness Country's territory, and you can guess what happened next," Qin Yitian noted Lu Qingshan's expression and knew his guess was mostly correct.
"The revival of the Otherworldly Ghosts disrupted the plans of the Eight Nations."
"Although the imperial clan of the Wilderness Country who held the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell perished, their army remained, and it was not an easy task to destroy the Wilderness Country."
"Now, with the Otherworldly Ghosts posing as external enemies, internal conflicts are unwise, so the Eight Great Nations can only abandon this idea."
"And on the Wilderness Country's side, a new king soon ascended, and their national strength remains strong, just without the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell."
Lu Qingshan listened silently, his doubts only growing.
Qin Yitian said the Taoist practices are based on bloodline and naturally complete.
His Power of the Mountains and Seas being the Mountain and Sea Taoist Spell is sothing he can be sure of.
However, the Power of the Mountains and Seas clearly cos from cultivating the "Returning Ruins Scripture," unrelated to bloodlines…
"What about the State of Qin?" Lu Qingshan asked again, "What is the Taoist practice of the State of Qin?"
"The Taoist practice of the State of Qin is in your hand," Qin Yitian said with a smile.
Lu Qingshan's heart skipped a beat, and he realized, "You an... the Dragon Sparrow?"
"Yes," Qin Yitian nodded her head slightly, "The State of Qin is the only one among the Nine Great Nations that does not hold a Taoist practice, but we have the Dragon Sparrow Sword."
"It possesses an unimaginable divine power for a earthly weapon, absolutely not sothing crafted by worldly artisans. The First Emperor relied on this sword to elevate the State of Qin to one of the Nine Great Nations."
"Thus, the First Emperor once said, the Dragon Sparrow itself is the Taoist practice of the State of Qin, calling it the Sword of the Nation."
"A weapon that can rival top Taoist practices, what's wrong with calling it the strongest in the Dao Source Realm?" Qin Yitian countered.
Indeed.
Lu Qingshan nodded silently in agreent.
After thinking for a mont, he curiously asked, "Since there are distinctions among Taoist practices, what is the first Taoist practice in the Dao Source Realm?"
Among the three thousand Taoist practices, which is the sovereign?
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