“Sixty years?”

In this instant, Jian Chou was completely stunned.

She didn’t even hear the latter half of Zhou Jun’s words, only feeling completely unable to react, as if someone had suddenly punched her, immediately leaving her dazed.

“You’re saying sixty years have already passed?”

Zhou Jun was organizing the major and minor events of these years in his mind, preparing to tell her.

Unexpectedly, before he could even begin speaking, he heard Jian Chou’s voice filled with shock, as if she had completely never expected so much time had already passed outside.

This…

Don’t old monsters often go into seclusion?

Why did this senior before him seem very surprised by the speed of time’s passage?

“It, it has indeed been sixty years, if you haven’t misremembered that major event from before your seclusion.” Zhou Jun carefully replied, but was very puzzled in his heart.

But how could he know?

Though Jian Chou’s current cultivation was high, the time she had walked this cultivation path was barely several years. Suddenly being told that sixty years had passed in the blink of an eye—what kind of shock was this?

Jian Chou clearly remembered that when she had just gone to Qingfeng Nunnery’s hidden realm with everyone, Qu Zhengfeng had only recently betrayed. Even counting the time in the hidden realm and Extreme Realm together, it felt like only a few months had passed.

How had she become a “Rip Van Winkle” upon emerging from the Extreme Realm?

Zhou Jun was a complete stranger to her, and matters concerning years could be easily verified by finding any person or place.

He had no need to fabricate stories about such things.

Sixty years.

Waking from one dream, time had secretly changed.

Jian Chou’s brow furrowed tighter, thinking of the Qingfeng Nunnery hidden realm and Extreme Realm tournament that seemed like yesterday, she felt a sense of confusion.

A cultivator’s lifespan was countless times longer than a mortal’s.

Without encountering accidents, an ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivator could basically possess over a thousand years of life. So entering seclusion for decades was commonplace to cultivators.

Only Jian Chou, since embarking on cultivation, though she had periods of seclusion, they were all very short-term.

Her cultivation mostly grew rapidly through battles and adventures, so she had never experienced particularly long seclusion, which was why she now felt this sense of “sixty years suddenly passed” bewilderment.

In fact, to cultivators, what did sixty years amount to?

The mortal realm might have already changed dynasties, but the Nineteen Continents would at most have added a few new people. Cultivators’ lives were truly very long.

Jian Chou couldn’t quite describe what this complex feeling in her heart was.

She only looked back toward her “origin,” where under the vast sea mist, the sky-covering Eastern Sea peach tree remained as a blurred, pink shadow.

One trip to the Extreme Realm, and suddenly sixty years had passed in the world.

Was the flow of time inside different from the Nineteen Continents? Or was something else affecting it…

Jian Chou temporarily couldn’t think of any clues or leads. After quite a while, she finally gathered her thoughts and turned to look.

Perhaps because he didn’t know what she was thinking during her silence, Zhou Jun was inevitably somewhat anxious, but without the senior speaking, he didn’t dare turn and leave, so he stood there stiffly, observing her.

Jian Chou only explained: “In the past when I went into seclusion, it was rarely for such a long time. This time I only thought three to five years had passed. I didn’t expect my own perception was wrong.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jun’s heart was immediately filled with envy.

When others emerged from seclusion, even if their cultivation had improved, they all found seclusion difficult and the days too harsh. But this old monster before him was good—sixty years of seclusion was like having no feeling at all!

Comparing people to people was infuriating!

Sigh.

He sighed inwardly, but Zhou Jun didn’t dare say anything about this matter, only changing the topic to ask where Jian Chou was heading now.

After brief consideration, Jian Chou said: “The nearest is Mingri Xinghai, so naturally I’ll go to the Star Sea to see the situation.”

Zhou Jun then said: “That’s really perfect. This junior serves Saochen Studio and just led several Foundation Establishment disciples to gather herbs in the eastern mountains. Only because I saw that large patch of tribulation clouds in the sky midway did I come look out of curiosity. If you’re going to the Star Sea, this junior shares the same route for this section. Shall this junior walk and talk with you?”

Jian Chou naturally had no objection.

Thus, Duobao Daoist Zhou Jun led the way in front, flying through the air, while she stepped on the Human Emperor Sword, following behind at an unhurried pace.

Near the Eastern Sea coast, there were actually continuous high mountains, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

Looking down from mid-air, one could see towering ancient trees, dense miasma, and occasionally huge-winged birds darting out from the cloud layers.

Mingri Xinghai was on the other side of this mountain range, in a huge basin.

Jian Chou looked distantly, estimating the distance, then asked: “When I mentioned Qu Zhengfeng earlier, your expression changed dramatically. Has something happened these years?”

Oh my.

She mentioned it again!

Zhou Jun’s courage was actually quite substantial, but hearing her mention this name so casually really made his heart tremble with fear.

Fortunately, this was still wild mountains and wilderness.

He carefully looked around, confirming it was indeed just the two of them with no one else listening, before sighing deeply: “You don’t know—these years, those who dare speak this name so openly, you couldn’t find even a few in all of Mingri Xinghai.”

It really was…

Jian Chou only knew Qu Zhengfeng had betrayed Yashan, calling himself “entering demonhood and departing,” but hadn’t expected that sixty years later he had become so terrifying.

“Tell me in detail.”

Only then did Zhou Jun forcibly suppress the deep wariness and subtle awe in his heart, lowering his voice to tell everything he knew.

When Qu Zhengfeng betrayed Yashan, he not only had his commonly used Sea Light Sword.

What shocked the entire Nineteen Continents most was that he actually pulled away the “Yashan Giant Sword” from atop Yashan’s sword sheath, and used it to slaughter half of Jianzhu Sect, killing until the entire sect was awash in blood.

“The two great powers Yashan and Kunwu, along with half of the Left Three Thousand sects, all sent people to surround and hunt him. But unexpectedly, he and Xue Wujiu, the Purple-Robed Sword Marquis who was once his equal, actually fought their way from Left Three Thousand to Right Three Thousand, arriving unharmed at Mingri Xinghai…”

Those events of the past were terrifying just to think about.

One person with two swords, fighting all the way, unstoppable by gods or demons—what heaven-defying abilities was that? Not to mention, after arriving at Mingri Xinghai, he immediately stirred up a bloody storm in the Star Sea…

“Yesterday it was Qinghan Hermit’s head falling, today it was Baiyun Sword Hero’s bones destroyed, and before long someone heard he would challenge Mad Swordsman Zhou Yun tomorrow…”

“Those two years were truly the most ‘lively’ days this junior has seen in the Star Sea…”

“Plus many people suspected he exterminated Jianzhu Sect for the ‘Nine Curves River Chart’ left by Buyu Shangren in the past. So countless third-rate characters came to Mingri Xinghai.”

Zhou Jun spoke while beginning to sigh.

But Jian Chou’s heart stirred upon hearing this. She naturally knew of the ‘Nine Curves River Chart’s’ existence, but what she recalled at this moment was that sentence seen outside Qingfeng Nunnery’s hidden realm:

Half a lifetime encountering the rising River Chart, Buyu draws sword toward all living beings.

The ‘Nine Curves River Chart’ was initially held by Kunwu’s Eight Extremes Dao Master.

Later when Luye Laozu rose, she directly seized it, with no one able to take it from her hands.

When she ascended to the upper realm, she casually gave this River Chart to Buyu Shangren, thus changing Buyu Shangren’s life trajectory.

Now, this River Chart had changed hands several times and fallen into Qu Zhengfeng’s possession…

One could imagine that countless people who heard the news would inevitably stir up countless winds and clouds in this Mingri Xinghai.

Zhou Jun’s subsequent words indeed matched her expectations.

Some sect elders from Left Three Thousand came to hunt him, powerful guest ministers from several Southwestern aristocratic families, even evil cultivators from Southeastern wilderness demon paths…

But no matter how many came or how powerful their cultivation, they all died miserably under Qu Zhengfeng’s sword.

“During that period, Mingri Xinghai reeked of blood everywhere you went. The water of Luohong Lake never became clear, and the perfectly good Yinxue Pavilion by the lake became ‘Yinxue Pavilion’ (Blood-Drinking Pavilion).”

Speaking thus, Zhou Jun couldn’t help shaking his head, but his next sentence took a complete turn.

“But who could have imagined that he later actually…”

“Actually what?”

Jian Chou became curious.

Zhou Jun looked at the undulating mountain range below, but his mind recalled that battle which had almost shocked all of Mingri Xinghai…

Anyone with some understanding of Mingri Xinghai knew.

The various major forces within the Star Sea were intricately mixed, the boundaries between good and evil were never clear, not to mention the gathering of all sorts of characters with never any talk of “rules,” making it extremely chaotic.

But no matter how earth-shaking the Star Sea’s turmoil, there were always three people who forever stood at the Star Sea’s peak.

These three were the three great leaders of Mingri Xinghai.

Saochen Medicine King Dr. Yiming, Seven-Tribulation Scattered Immortal Cangji Sanren, and Youya Sword Emperor Sikong Yuanhua!

Dr. Yiming was a master of alchemy, so naturally no one in the Star Sea dared offend him, his position stable, needless to say more.

Seven-Tribulation Scattered Immortal Cangji Sanren was a great power who had already cultivated to Heaven-Reaching realm a thousand years ago.

Only he had failed tribulation at that time, unable to ascend, so he preserved his divine soul and specialized in scattered immortal cultivation. If a scattered immortal could withstand nine scattered immortal tribulations, they could also achieve the Dao and ascend.

Now he had reached the seventh tribulation, just two tribulations away from ascension, considered nearly unmatched throughout the Nineteen Continents.

The last one, Youya Sword Emperor Sikong Yuanhua, had an even more significant background.

He was originally an ordinary cultivator from Heroes’ Tomb, one of the three demon paths in Southwestern wilderness, with minimal cultivation, only fit for menial tasks in the sect, yet he was infatuated with the then Heroes’ Tomb sect master Yong Lanhua.

That year the three demon paths had internal strife, with Shanyin Sect and Puppet Sect joining forces to attack.

Even though Yong Lanhua was extraordinarily talented, she couldn’t turn the tide, her fragrant soul ultimately buried among desolate graves. Only before her death, harboring resentment toward the other two paths, she used secret methods to transfer her lifetime’s cultivation to Sikong Yuanhua who wholeheartedly adored her, making him swear to avenge Heroes’ Tomb.

An originally mediocre person, losing his beloved overnight yet gaining powerful strength…

What Sikong Yuanhua’s mood was then, no one could know.

Everyone only knew that thirty years later when he reappeared, alone with one sword, he first entered Puppet Sect, then advanced to Shanyin Sect, killing until the sky darkened and blood flowed like rivers!

The heads of hundreds of chief culprits from that year were all severed by him and brought back to Heroes’ Tomb…

The entire Southeastern wilderness was all awed by his bloody methods!

Everyone thought the three demon paths would be unified after such a person appeared. But unexpectedly, he only sat for a long time at the place where the incident occurred years ago, then left on a misty morning.

From then on, Mingri Xinghai had one more “Youya Sword Emperor.”

“Legend says he already has peak worldly realm cultivation, no one can resist his Youya Sword. Even great cultivators who have entered Void Return stage have been slain under his sword…”

Zhou Jun spoke with his face full of sighs.

“In the entire Star Sea, everyone—who could have imagined that this Sword Emperor title would actually change hands one day!”

…

Still in mid-air, Jian Chou heard this complex-meaning sentence and suddenly felt her scalp explode!

She turned back abruptly to look at Zhou Jun, even somewhat not daring to believe what she had heard, nor daring to believe the speculation and thoughts that flashed through her mind in that instant!

But Zhou Jun smiled bitterly: “This matter, told to those who don’t know, probably wouldn’t be believed.”

“Solitary city’s peak, Yashan’s one sword, Sword Emperor changes hands!”

“At that time and place, Sikong Yuanhua was about to enter Void Return, but that person had advanced to Soul Separation for less than a year…”

That was the most terrifying cross-level killing in Mingri Xinghai’s history!

*Originally wanted to write about Senior Sister’s legend in the martial world (especially the “Nine Heavenly Tablets”) and the appearance of an old friend, but there wasn’t enough time today. So this is…