After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

[Perfect completion condition: Complete this dungeon in one life without using anchor points or save points.]

The moment Xu Ze saw Ding Wan.

The progress of clearing the dungeon increased dramatically.

And at this very moment.

The prerequisites for a perfect clear have been revealed.

"This second dungeon actually requires one life to complete?!"

Chapter 96 Filial Piety Turns to Darkness

The zombie horde retreated, and the icy plains gradually quieted down.

The tribulation clouds surrounding Xu Ze's breakthrough to Nascent Soul stage slowly dissipated after Ding Wan annihilated ten Void Refinement Corpse Kings.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the devastated battlefield.

The 'Perfect Completion' achievement will not be possible after using an anchor point or restarting this instance.

"I can't die even once."

Xu Ze looked at the light screen in front of him and was somewhat surprised.

Compared to the first dungeon, [Biyang Sect], the difficulty of this second dungeon, [Beiju Luzhou], has increased dramatically!

Fortunately, I never used anchor point saving.

He had a vague feeling that he had to perfectly complete all the dungeons.

Otherwise, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

This is not a guess, but an almost instinctive intuition.

It's like someone whispering in your ear in the dark, telling you that there's a treasure ahead that you must obtain, and if you miss it, it's gone forever.

"Hey kid, why are you spacing out again?"

A cool, languid voice pulled Xu Ze back to reality.

He looked up and saw Ding Wan looking at him.

Her moon-white dress was stained with a few specks of ice dust, and the fur collar of her snow fox fur trembled slightly in the wind. Her exquisite face carried a smile that Xu Ze recognized, tinged with a hint of teasing.

Xu Ze recalled the days he spent cultivating on the nameless peak.

When he occasionally immersed himself in exploring the system, to others it looked as if he was spacing out.

Whenever this happened, Ding Wan would gently tap his head with the scabbard.

"Sword cultivators must be focused when practicing swordsmanship."

She always said that, but she knocked very lightly, more like a urging.

Now, she simply looked at him quietly, her eyes filled with no reproach, but rather with an emotion that Xu Ze couldn't quite define.

It's like gentleness, and it's also like cherishing.

It also hides a deep sense of sorrow.

"It's nothing, teacher." Xu Ze composed himself and smiled. "I was just a little surprised to see you kill ten Void Refinement Corpse Kings with a single sword strike."

This is the truth.

The magnificence of that sword strike was deeply imprinted in his mind.

"You're surprised?" Ding Wan smiled gently, mimicking his usual carefree manner: "Don't you know... that I'm very strong?"

Before she finished speaking, the Qingyun Sword beside her suddenly emitted a clear and melodious sword cry.

"Om-"

The longsword automatically unsheathed itself half an inch, its blade shimmering with a blue light, and slowly circled Xu Ze once.

Its posture was not like that of a sword, but rather like that of a spirit beast seeing its former master, exuding intimacy and nostalgia.

Xu Ze stretched out his hand, and the Qingyun Sword obediently stopped three inches above his palm, its blade trembling slightly as if expressing the joy of their reunion.

Unlike Ding Wan, Qingyun Sword possesses all of Xu Ze's memories from multiple save/load attempts.

To it, Xu Ze was not only Ding Wan's student, but also a partner who had fought alongside it and was trustworthy.

The longsword circled Xu Ze twice before finally hovering beside him.

Just then, the sword suddenly trembled violently, emitting a rapid buzzing sound.

"Chong-"

The sound was like an alarm bell, and the tip of the sword pointed directly at the black sword blank in Xu Ze's hand.

Ding Wan's gaze also fell on the "old sword strip".

She hadn't paid any attention at first, but upon closer inspection, her pupils suddenly contracted.

What are you holding in your hand?

Her voice trembled slightly, a rare occurrence.

Xu Ze held up the sword prototype in his hand. "You mean this?"

"I obtained this in the Mysterious Spirit Realm when I passed the second trial, 'Climbing the Mountain.' I saw it while digging a cave and immediately felt it was extraordinary..."

He briefly described the trial process, and Ding Wan listened quietly. This kid has been doing things unpredictably for quite some time now.

After Xu Ze finished speaking, she reached out her hand:

"show me."

Xu Ze handed over the sword blank.

Ding Wan took it and gently stroked the black blade with her fingers.

Her movements were extremely careful, as if she were touching a fragile sacred object.

When her fingertips touched the almost invisible fine mark in the center of the sword, she froze.

"As expected..." she murmured, her voice filled with amazement, "The origin of Qingyun... is actually true."

"Teacher, what does that mean?" Xu Ze asked impatiently.

Ding Wan raised her head, her eyes flashing with a complex light.

She glanced at the jet-black sword blank in her hand, then at the trembling Azure Cloud Sword beside her, took a deep breath, and slowly spoke:

"Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, in the ancient times, the founder of the Xuanling Sect, the 'Hunyuan Tianzun,' was the strongest sword cultivator in the world."

"He holds a sword called 'Lord of Ten Thousand Swords,' and I am the master of the sword, above and below heaven."

She paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts:

"After Hunyuan Tianzun ascended to heaven, the sword disappeared without a trace."

"Later generations of sword-making masters, based on ancient records, saw countless sword cultivators attempt to imitate the form and sword intent of the 'Lord of Ten Thousand Swords,' and thus created a batch of sword blanks."

"And among these sword prototypes, the most successful one is..." she said, looking at the silver-white sword beside her: "that is the prototype of the Azure Cloud Sword."

Xu Ze looked at the sword embryo in his hand in shock.

The Azure Cloud Sword is actually a replica of the Old Sword?

No wonder I had a vague sense of familiarity when I got it underground.

“Twenty years ago, I received the inheritance of the last sect master of Qingyun Sect in the Xuanling Secret Realm,” Ding Wan continued. “That inheritance included this unfinished Qingyun Sword embryo.”

"Later, I searched the world and found a reclusive master swordsmith. It took me ten years and countless rare and precious materials to reforge it into its current form."

She held the sword blank up to her eyes and examined it carefully:

"But this is ultimately a 'fake.' The true 'Lord of Ten Thousand Swords' is said to have caused the heavens and earth to resound and ten thousand swords to pay homage on the day it was forged. Its power is beyond the comprehension of ordinary weapons."

Ding Wan handed the sword blank back to Xu Ze, her eyes filled with utmost seriousness:

"If the sword blank in your hand is truly the original form of the 'Lord of Ten Thousand Swords'... if you can reforge it, it will probably be a divine weapon that will shake the entire Tianyuan Continent."

Xu Ze gripped the sword embryo tightly.

He could feel the sword blade getting slightly hot.

It's not about physical temperature, but a spiritual resonance.

This resonance is even stronger when the Azure Cloud Sword gets close.

“I think it is,” Xu Ze said.

I have the systematic ability to verify this, and I have already confirmed it.

The sword embryo seemed to understand his words, emitting a low hum.

The voice was soft, yet as heavy as a mountain, completely different from the clear and melodious sound of the Azure Cloud Sword.

Qingyun Sword, like a "simp," excitedly circled around the sword blank, trying to get close and "stick" to it from time to time.

But each time it gets close, it is gently pushed away by the invisible sword energy emanating from the sword embryo.

The scene was quite comical.

A magical ancient sword, as eager as a puppy to please its owner, is always pushed away in disgust by its "owner".

Xu Ze couldn't help but laugh.

"Why is this Qingyun Sword acting like a simp? Is it even a sword anymore?"

Ding Wan smiled gently.

“A sword possesses a spirit, and thus a temperament. Qingyun’s temperament is indeed a bit lively.”

She changed the subject, her expression turning serious:

"However, it will be quite difficult for you to reforge this sword."

"First of all, the materials must be the main ingredients, which must also be spiritual objects from ancient times, in order to awaken the sword spirit sleeping in the sword embryo. The auxiliary materials must also be from the same era, with different properties, and each one is probably extremely rare."

"Secondly, there are weapon refiners. In the Tianyuan Continent today, there are probably no more than three weapon refiners capable of reforging this sword."

"The one most likely to succeed is the Hundred Refinements Hall Master, 'Thousand Refinements True Monarch,' who is in the Tribulation Transcending stage within the Demon Slaying Alliance."