The Sword Pavilion Patriarch had been dead for a thousand years.
In such a long span, most people and items connected to her had long since disappeared or changed hands.
Although her corpse looked intact and lifelike, almost everything on her person had been thoroughly damaged and could no longer be used.
Most of the things Gu Fangchen stole were already fragile to the point that a single touch would make their arrays and materials crumble into ash.
Even if those items had once been high grade, a millennium of time had rendered them ineffective.
Only by finding someone to repair and reforge them could they shine again.
Except for a first-grade Eternal Realm being, which could claim true immortality, everything in the world succumbed to the slow erosion of time.
The Sword Pavilion Patriarch had once been immensely glorious, but after death little truly belonged to her anymore; even the Sword Pavilion itself effectively belonged to the current pavilion master Ning Wuzhen.
Yet there was one thing that belonged solely to that Patriarch, unchanged for a thousand years, and none could alter its ownership.
As everyone knew, the Sword Pavilion was now split into two branches, Zhengrong Mountain and Cuiwei Mountain.
The heartland of the Sword Pavilion's lakeheld territory contained seventy-two peaks, each inhabited by disciples of the two branches.
Those seventy-two peaks were not natural formations.
A thousand years ago the Patriarch had split the earth's veins with supreme Sword Intent and refined the entire mystic iron vein into towering sword-pillars.
Yes.
What Gu Fangchen intended to steal from the Patriarch was not a mundane trinket but the very foundation of the Sword Pavilion.
The source of that mystic iron vein was the dragon vein's essence.
The reason Shi Qingguang chose this location to build the Sword Pavilion was precisely because of that dragon vein's terrestrial qi.
Although the Ancient Zhou Dragon Vein had long since quieted, it had once blessed the region and still retained residual terrestrial qi. A place rich in spiritual energy could naturally foster a large sect.
What truly sustained the seventy-two peaks was not the mystic iron vein itself but that dragon vein.
Time had worn on for a thousand years.
Yet those seventy-two peaks had been personally formed by Shi Qingguang using her supreme Sword Intent to condense the dragon vein's qi into form.
They were more than mere peaks; they were each like genuine, valuable swords.
And without doubt, those swords belonged to the Patriarch.
They were also exactly the things Gu Fangchen could steal.
To prove the dragon vein under the Sword Pavilion was undamaged, to prove that there was no such "evil sword" down there, there was no need to drain the lake and inspect the depths.
As the saying went, the mountain will not move for me, so I will make the mountain come to me.
And now, I will make the mountain come to me.
Gu Fangchen smiled arrogantly.
You want the dragon vein, you want a Supreme-grade Sword; I already have them here. Now let's see if you can handle it.
He focused his mind and a dragon's cry sounded through the void. A phantom spiritual dragon appeared, its back bearing towering ranges of mountains.
Seventy-two peaks in total, like a scroll painting of mountain ranges.
The spiritual dragon then transformed into a long sword etched with mountain motifs and rose into the air.
It slowly rotated clockwise and separated into seventy-two long swords, each with different patterns, arrayed behind Gu Fangchen.
Seventy-Two Peaks Sky-Piercing Swords.
Although they had not yet reached the Supreme-grade tier, as embryo blades they were spectacular.
Gu Fangchen grew increasingly pleased.
Although this sword was not yet a Supreme-grade, it only lacked a catalyst.
Because its constituent qi was that of the dragon vein, if the vein could be reawakened, the blade could evolve and ascend into a Supreme-grade.
But Gu Fangchen only looked at them briefly before withdrawing them.
In that instant his spirit energy had been nearly drained.
To exert a sword's true power he would have to be at least second-grade; otherwise forcing it would only let the blade suck him dry.
For now he could only bluff with it.
The illusion trembled again.
Gu Fangchen took a deep breath and pictured the likely scene outside.
Of course he had considered the consequences of removing the Sword Pavilion's foundation.
Wasn't the Martial Saint stationed at the Pavilion enough to stomp and settle any mountain subsidence? Besides, the dragon vein was not a visible structure.
The mystic iron vein was only a small pillar among the seventy-two peaks; over the centuries the peaks had long since been covered with thicker, sturdier rock.
So the Sword Pavilion would not collapse. It would just be psychologically hard to accept.
Gu Fangchen felt some unease and carefully let go of Shi Qingguang's hand, then redressed the Patriarch with the Dust-Avoiding Robe he had taken.
Holding his breath, he restored the last garment and finally relaxed.
Just as he prepared to leave, he halted. A chill ran the hairs up his spine.
Had he just seen the beauty's eyelashes twitch?
No, it must have been an illusion.
He stared for a while longer. The Patriarch's corpse was motionless again.
He exhaled and muttered, perhaps it was the wind.
He snapped the coffin lid shut and, following the known process, exited the illusion.
Outside, the Sword Pavilion and the Seven Sects were at swords' points.
No matter what, the Sword Pavilion would never agree to drain Dragon Hollow Lake, while the Seven Sects accused the pavilion of hiding the evil sword and coveting it.
Ning Songjun watched their indignant faces and frowned in puzzlement.
He could not understand why they dared to come and shout at him so boldly. Did they take his second-grade presence for a showpiece?
It was odd.
Moreover, their expressions no longer showed the old fear but rather an air of certainty.
Certainty of what?
Ning Songjun thought of his missing Linked Stars sword and his gaze turned cold.
They must be the ones behind it.
At that moment Gu Yundao leapt into view between the two sides and declared loudly, "I am Gu Yundao. Please hear me."
He proposed, reasonably enough, that he serve as a neutral third party to mediate.
The Seven Sects exchanged looks and hesitated only briefly before one stepped forward.
"We have heard the Scholar's name and trust you to handle this fairly. Ning Pavilion Master, what do you think?"
Ning Wuzhen hesitated, "Let me consider this…"
Gu Yundao bowed politely, "Maternal grandfather, do you still not trust me?"
"If you do not trust me, do you at least trust the academy?"