344: The Realm of Heavenly Sword

Inside an elegant and quiet room behind Number One Tower Under Heaven.

The sandalwood incense had changed to a more refreshing scent, which had the effect of calming the mind and spirit.

Nameless sat cross-legged on a futon, his face still pale, but the gray, sickly aura caused by the poison's erosion had faded considerably from his brows.

Xu Fu stood before him, his right hand hovering over Nameless's Baihui acupoint on his head. In his palm, a gentle yet immensely vital light, pale gold in color, emanated. This was precisely the True Qi of the “Sacred Heart Art,” condensed from Emperor Shi Tian's thousand years of cultivation.

The True Qi, like a warm current, slowly poured into Nameless's body, circulating through his extraordinary Meridians and eight channels. Wherever it passed, the insidious and vicious “Soul-Corroding Powder” and the scorching, Evil “Blood Extinction” poisons melted away like ice and snow meeting the sun.

Even more astonishing was that the Dantian and Meridians, which Absolute Heart had ruthlessly destroyed, also began to show signs of life under the nourishment of the Sacred Heart Art's True Qi, which contained the power of life's Origin. Although a full recovery of his Internal Energy was a long way off, at least his injuries had stabilized and were no longer worsening.

Lu Jiuyuan sat to the side, holding a cup of clear tea, silently watching this scene. His red hair shimmered with a dark red luster under the lamplight, and his expression was calm, revealing no joy or anger.

After a long while, Xu Fu slowly withdrew his Internal Energy, having exerted himself so much that sweat beaded on his forehead, giving the impression of considerable difficulty.

“Alright, the poison has been cleared, and the damage to your Foundation is temporarily stabilized. Your life is no longer in danger.”

Xu Fu let out a turbid breath and wiped his forehead with his sleeve: “However, your astonishing Internal Energy is completely gone.

To return to the Peak, unless you obtain the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin Secret Manual, it will be difficult.”

Nameless slowly opened his eyes, feeling the long-lost lightness in his body. Although he was weak, there was no longer the bone-gnawing, heart-corroding pain.

He struggled to get up and bow: “Thank you… Senior, for saving my life.”

Xu Fu waved his hand dismissively: “No need, no need. Don't call me Senior anymore. If you keep calling me that, you’ll be calling me too young.

To give you some seniority, just call me Grandpa.”

“Ah?” Nameless was a little stunned, looking at Xu Fu's face, which appeared to be only forty or fifty years old, and his cynical demeanor. The word “Grandpa” was truly difficult to utter.

“Don't make that face,”

Xu Fu chuckled, sat down beside them, and took a sip of the tea Lu Jiuyuan had poured for him.

“You have my Bloodline, my great-great-grandson, there's no mistake! I've lived for so long, how could I get something like this wrong?”

“Nameless, don't be surprised. He is indeed your ancestor, an old fellow who has lived for seventeen hundred years,” Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile.

“The poison you were afflicted with was beyond my capabilities, but in his hands, it was nothing.”

“And as for the recovery of your Internal Energy, if he says Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin can do it, then Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin definitely can.”

“Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin is the Sword Sect's foremost sword art, but I was not taught it by Master,” Nameless shook his head.

“With Senior in the Jianghu, and Mr. Lu, whether Nameless is here or not doesn't matter. This martial art was never very useful anyway, so it's fine if it's gone.”

Regarding this martial art, Nameless seemed to have a clearer understanding than others.

“Those are profound words, I like hearing them,”

Xu Fu waved his hand: “There's one thing Lad Lu has been talking about for a long time, saying your erhu playing is unmatched under heaven. You play the erhu at full health, and you wander the entire map at low health.

Today, I just recognized a relative, and I'm happy. I also healed your injuries, so you, young man, should show some appreciation. Play a song for Grandpa and Lad Lu to listen to, just as… well, filial piety!”

Nameless looked at Xu Fu, then at Lu Jiuyuan, who was watching the show, knowing he couldn't refuse.

These two old fellows were clearly trying to make fun of him.

He took a deep breath and slowly said: “Since… Grandpa and Mr. Lu wish to hear, Nameless will make a fool of himself.”

He glanced around the quiet room, seeing no erhu: “It’s just that there is no huqin here. We can do it next time…”

Lu Jiuyuan seemed to have prepared in advance, clapping his hands. Frost of the Qin entered from outside, carrying an erhu cloth bag, a smile on his face: “Senior Nameless, the instrument is here! Please!”

Nameless untied the cloth bag, revealing an erhu of ancient material and deep color.

Nameless placed the erhu on his lap, his fingertips gently stroking the body and strings, his movements soft, as if caressing an old friend.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and gradually calmed down. All the previous turmoil seemed to have been smoothed away.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his gaze clear as a deep autumn pool.

His left hand pressed the strings, his right hand held the bow, and he gently drew it.

“Buzz—”

A deep and desolate string sound, as if from ancient times, slowly reverberated in the quiet room.

Initially, the music was hesitant, carrying a hint of confusion and struggle, as if groping in the dark, or questioning the connection between his own Bloodline and Dao. It subtly revealed a tragic sense of a hero at the end of his road.

This was a true reflection of his current state of mind: his Internal Energy completely lost, his background suddenly changed, and his path ahead seemed to be Chaos.

Xu Fu raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly finding the opening a bit “depressing.”

However, as the bow moved back and forth, the hesitant feeling gradually dissipated. The music began to become ethereal and distant, no longer confined to personal gains and losses or the confusion of his Origins.

As the melody flowed, it seemed to transform into an invisible sword, outlining the trajectories of mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and stars in the Void Realm.

There was no murderous intent, no desire to win, only a grand, inclusive rhythm that resonated with heaven and earth.

Gradually, the music became even purer, as if stripped of all external form and substance, pointing directly to the Origin.

Between the movements of the strings, it was no longer just sound, but a flowing “Concept,” another way of presenting Sword Intent.

At times, it was like a gentle breeze sweeping over a mountain, invisible yet omnipresent; at times, like fine rain nourishing all things, silent yet full of vitality; at times, like thunder hidden in the nine heavens, unreleased yet with inherent power.

Even more profound was that as the music deepened, invisible Sword Qi seemed to arise within the quiet room, following the melody.

This Sword Qi was not sharp and oppressive, but gently filled every inch of space, blending with the clear sandalwood incense and the ethereal tea Qi.

The teacups on the table trembled slightly, emitting a delicate chime, as if echoing the music.

Nameless seemed to merge with the erhu. He was no longer the crippled man who had lost all his Internal Energy; he was that heaven, that earth, the flowing Sword Intent itself.

A Realm that transcended Moves, Internal Energy, and Concepts—the “Heavenly Sword” Realm—was vividly displayed through these seemingly ordinary string sounds.

Xu Fu's cynical expression had long since vanished. He squinted his eyes, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knees, as if savoring this profound Realm that transcended the boundaries of martial arts.

Lu Jiuyuan sat motionless, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes beneath his red hair.

What he saw was not Nameless's erhu skill, but the ultimate Dao of the Sword behind the music, which was not bound by external things and pointed directly to the heart.

The vast aura around him, like a sea of stars, also seemed to achieve a harmonious unity with this invisible Heavenly Sword Concept.

When the song ended, the lingering sound lingered, swirling in the quiet room for a long time. Only then did the invisible Sword Intent that filled the space slowly recede like a tide, but that vast, ethereal Concept seemed to be imprinted in this space.

Nameless slowly put down the erhu, his face still pale, but his eyes were much brighter than before, as if through this song, he had expressed much of the pent-up emotion in his heart.

“Marvelous! Simply marvelous!”

Xu Fu was the first to clap, his eyes sparkling with brilliance. “Using the instrument to carry the Dao, and sound to transform into a sword! My good grandson, what you played on this erhu wasn't just a song; it was clearly your immaculate Sword Heart!

The Heavenly Sword Realm, where ten thousand swords reside in the heart. Such a Realm, throughout history, has had no equal!

It's just that you are still young, and your Internal Energy is too weak to match your Realm, so you cannot unleash the true power of the Heavenly Sword.”

Xu Fu spoke truthfully; Nameless's Realm was too high, and his Internal Energy too shallow.

If Nameless possessed Xu Fu's Internal Energy, with the enhancement of the Heavenly Sword Realm, he could easily kill a hundred Emperor Shi Tians without injury.

The Great Demon God, the Great Leader, and Laugh Three Times would only be like chickens and dogs in the hands of such a Nameless.