The moon fell behind the crevice of the mountains, leaving only a ray of moonlight to emerge quietly in the night.

Leaves the color of blazing flames enveloped the maple forest before Ye Que. Following a sweeping autumn wind, the firey-red maple leaves appeared even more coquettish. Coupled with the tall piles of dead leaves on the ground, the world seemed integrated as a whole. He felt as if he had stepped into a fairyland.

The bonfire built on a pile of maple wood had long ceased burning, leaving behind star-like sparks and a wisp of smoke. By now, the forest was shrouded by a thin layer of frosty mist. It was as if it was putting on a thin layer of clothing on the maple leaves that covered the entire mountain.

The cold wind emerged from the crevices of the canyon.

It swept a wide-awake Ye Que, the mist shrouding the forest, as well as the frosted maple forest.

The wind carried a fiery-red maple leaf to him.

The leaf trembled when it was three feet away from him. Then, it was sliced squarely in half as if by a sharp blade. One leaf turned into two.

The intangible Spiritual Force seemed to have formed a protective shield around him, blocking the cold wind and other miscellaneous objects from invading.

The cold wind gradually picked up, carrying even more maple leaves toward him. Some were tossed away before they could come close to him while others were instantly shredded by that intangible force before floating to the ground.

Ye Que only finished his usual meditative cultivation when the sky brightened. He stared at the countless shreds of leaves in front of him and knew that he had thoroughly stabilized his Psychic Realm. He was beginning to crawl toward the Starburst Realm.

Those in the Pre-celestial and Post-celestial Realms were restricted to imbuing objects with their Spiritual Force. They could only fully utilize their Spiritual Force through the use of objects. It wasn’t until after reaching the Physic Realm that they could link their True Energy with the Spiritual Force in the world and display that power.

The fragments of maple leaves piled on the ground in front of Ye Que had came for this reason. Of course, he wasn’t using True Energy but Divine Energy.

He extinguished the bonfire that was still emitting smoke and purified his body of dust. After finding his direction, he breathed in the morning air and set forth for the maple forest.

Amid the swirling maple leaves in the air, he moved steadily through the forest.

He pondered the abstrusity of the Psychic Realm while walking.

The Divine Energy in his body continued to connect with the ubiquitous Spiritual Force around him. Then, he controlled the Spiritual Force to crush the maple leaves falling near him into smithereens.

The further he traveled, the more maple trees he saw and the denser the leaves became. His command of the Spiritual Force also became increasingly precise.

Subconsciously, he grew tired of merely crushing maple leaves.

He began manipulating the Spiritual Force to slowly but precisely slice the midrib and veins of the leaves. Since the midrib and veins of every maple leaf were different, he had to adjust his strength and angle when slicing them.

He had only a limited time before each leaf fell to the ground. In the beginning, he could only cut the petioles. Later on, however, he began to successfully cut the veins.

Ye Que was like a skilled artisan brandishing an ink-dipped brush across the maple leaves.

Gradually, he entered a deeply mysterious realm. He used the Spiritual Force to slice maple leaves while walking for an entire day and night. He didn’t stop and not even a single maple leaf came close to him throughout the journey.

It wasn’t until noon the next day that he finally stopped walking. It was because he had walked out of the maple forest and there were no longer any leaves for him to slice.

In front of him was a seven-feet-tall waterfall with a rapid current. Under the waterfall was a semi-circular lake and the water closer to the bank was beginning to freeze. The water closer to the waterfall remained in liquid form, though it was filled with frosted fragments that fell last night. It seemed like a mass of hairy white grass that was somewhat adorable in the way it dazzled.

Ye Que opened his hands in the direction of the waterfall and felt his mind unload.

“It’s already my second day in the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum but I have not encountered any danger or cultivator. Am I walking in the wrong direction?” Even though he was fine being alone, it was nevertheless a little boring.

“Boom!”

While mulling over that question, he heard a sudden smothered noise coming from the waterfall. He instantly recognized it to be the sound of clashing swords. Then, he spotted a silhouette falling from the sky and straight into the lake. A loud splash resounded.

Soon, blood began dyeing the limpid lake water red. The figure that fell into the lake floated to the surface. The person wore a short garment of crisscrossing white and green colors. His cuffs were partially rolled up, revealing a tattoo of the word “sword” on his left arm. The calligraphy was both bold and powerful.

Ye Que was stunned after seeing the person’s tattoo and clothes. “Qingqiu Sword Sect!”

“It’s a Qingqiu Sword Sect disciple who fell into the water!”

His cultivation journey had begun in the Qingqiu Sword Sect. He wouldn’t mistake that tattoo and attire.

He jumped into the water without hesitation and dragged the person to the shore. However, the moment he placed his hand on the person’s stomach, he could tell that the latter’s arteries and veins were shattered. There was no cure for him!

When he raised his head to look in the direction of where the person fell, a few faint silhouettes appeared in his vision. He poured Divine Energy into the arteries and veins in his ear and perked up to listen. The sound of a dispute gradually became distinct.

“We’re the one who found and hunted this Three-eyed Spirit Deer first! It’s unreasonable of you to snatch this deer. To make things worse, you even ambushed Senior Brother Xia and threw Senior Brother Lin down the waterfall! Is this how a member of the Chamber of the Rainy Duel acts?”

“What a joke! You said you hunted this Three-eyed Spirit Deer? Why didn’t I see anything? Obviously, there are two arrows in this deer and one of them is a Rainy Duel Arrow!”

“You stabbed the deer with the arrow just minutes ago!”

“Who can prove it?”

“We’re all members of famed orthodox sects. Reason and rules should dictate everything we do.”

“Reason? Are you kidding me? In the past 800 years, since when did your Qingqiu Sword Sect and my Chamber of the Rainy Duel reason with one another? Whoever is stronger, whoever is the reason!”

Having said that, there was no reason for the argument to continue. Their voices quietened. Under the waterfall, Ye Que grasped a basic understanding of what was going on. If the person falling into the water was the work of a Chamber of the Rainy Duel disciple, then it was no accident.

That person was right. Ever since the Qingqiu Sword Sect and the Chamber of the Rainy Duel branched out of a single sect 800 years ago, there was never any reason to be had whenever their disciples met. That was because reason did no longer matter at all.

What they fought for was Sword Qi.

What was at stake was their belief.

Both originated from the same sword sect, which was considered the strongest sect in the Cultivation World then. It had no rival. The sect, with its countless masters, was a formidable power that deserved its title as the head of the Cultivation World. Perhaps it was lonely at the top; the experts in the sect began to differ in their interpretation of cultivation.

The Qingqiu Sword Sect believed that when one cultivated swordsmanship, one must wield the sword to manipulate Qi. The sword was the principal factor while Qi was secondary. However, the Chamber of the Rainy Duel believed that one should manipulate Qi to wield the sword. Qi was the principal factor while the sword played second fiddle. The disputes between the two factions were endless until a big fight eventually took place. It worsened to the point that the factions divided the sect and formed two separate ones.

Ever since then, disciples from the Qingqiu Sword Sect and the Chamber of the Rainy Duel would inevitably fight upon meeting and strive to kill. Such was their endless enmity. In the past 800 years, there had been tens of wars between the two sects. They could be considered a pair of nemeses in the Cultivation World.

“Is that a bratty child from the Chamber of the Rainy Duel? They’re getting more and more unbridled these days!” Ye Que muttered, his eyes revealing a boundless fighting desire. It was as if his blood was boiling just from hearing that name.