Chapter 907: Welcoming

On the other side of the Great River in the Suiyu, someone was waiting on the bank.

Judging by the turnout, this waiting party was not exactly grand, consisting of only a few dozen people. However, the two men at the very front, who appeared to be unremarkable middle-aged or young men, held identities that could scare many to death.

Xun Sword, Zhen Sword.

Two of the eight top Sword Saints in the Sword Domain were actually waiting together on the riverbank today, acting as welcoming envoys. Furthermore, among those unremarkable-looking people behind them, aside from Sword Immortals, there were several young Sword Heroes with boundless futures. This was a massive turnout, a massive show of respect. I fear that even if a god had come, this would be considered giving them plenty of face.

In fact, they were only waiting for a Heaven-Reaching Priest and a Shengnyu of the Wan Shen Gu. Although these two held high status, they were not the ones in charge of the Lingjie today, and what's more, they were enemies. According to etiquette, one Sword Saint would have been enough; both coming meant showing importance.

It was not that they attached importance to the Tianmo named Hu Tian, but rather to the purpose of this group's visit.

The Tianmo side had taken the initiative to send high-level figures to show goodwill and seek peace. Whether true or false, whether it could succeed or not, it was at least a sign of bowing one's head, and an unprecedented concession. If the Human side had no intention of agreeing, they could just receive them casually and be done with it; if they were interested, they naturally had to give them full consideration.

In fact, the Humans were still debating whether to agree to the peace request. Of course, it was not a broad discussion; just as the Tianmo's intention for peace was limited to a few high-level Tianmo, and revealing it slightly to the delegation members made the situation quite uncontrollable, the Human side was also limited to the Sword Saint level knowing and participating in the decision-making.

Likewise, even with only these few people knowing, the debate was endless, with both pro-war and pro-peace factions. Because much of the information was known only to a few, even the Sword Saint level could not know everything, so the pro-peace faction was actually at a disadvantage—it was obvious that the Tianmo Jie was mired in chaos and civil war had broken out. Not taking advantage of others' precarious position was already saintly; helping them quell external troubles was something even the Buddha would not be so compassionate about.

Because Qian Sword knew more, his heart leaned somewhat toward the news Tang Zhao had provided. However, he did not speak clearly, nor did he blindly trust Tang Zhao. After all, he was still an experienced Sword Saint bearing the heavy burden of both the Human World and the Suiyu. He only said, "Let them come over and talk. If they dare to come and talk at such a critical moment, they must be bringing sincerity. We shall see if that sincerity is enough. If it is enough, it is not impossible to talk. If they are trying to fool us, then we will join the battlefield instead."

Qian Sword's words were steady, so everyone gave him face and stopped speaking. The few pro-war members also had the intention of watching the Tianmo make a fool of themselves—now that Haotian was almost a commander without an army and his home base had been raided, what kind of tempting sincerity could he bring? Could it be selling his own skin? Even if he sold it, we wouldn't want it.

Thus, the pro-peace faction's Zhen Sword and Xun Sword were responsible for receiving the Tianmo group. Since there was a contingency plan for negotiations, the reception was prepared according to etiquette. The Human World was not as arrogant and stupid as the Tianmo, who would look down on you while begging for your help.

However, the group waited at the pier at the agreed time, but never saw a shadow of the delegation from the opposite side. Both Sword Saints had enough composure not to be impatient, but dissatisfaction in their hearts was inevitable. The young people behind them acting as the face of the group were naturally more annoyed, but with the Sword Saints in front, they did not dare to clamor.

At this time, Xun Sword said in a low voice to Zhen Sword, "Zhen Sword, why are you also pro-peace?"

Zhen Sword asked curiously, "Why wouldn't I be pro-peace? Was I pro-war before?"

Xun Sword said, "Not exactly pro-war, but you are a famously pragmatic person. You don't have a stance of war or peace; you support whichever side has the higher probability and more benefits."

Zhen Sword clapped his hands and said, "I didn't expect you to understand me so well, old brother. Whether I can or not, I always try to stand on the right side, and I am indeed determined to do so. Now that I am standing on your side, it shows that our side has the higher probability and a bright future."

Xun Sword asked suspiciously, "Is that so? Why can't I see it?"

This time Zhen Sword was a bit surprised and said, "If you don't think peace has a better chance of winning, why do you support it?"

Xun Sword sighed, "Because I am what you call... a bleeding heart, I suppose. Over these years, because of my wind-riding, I have traveled to almost every corner of the Suiyu and witnessed the disasters that war has brought to the world. I have seen children who lost their parents displaced, white-haired elders sending off their children and grandchildren, and young people falling on the battlefield one after another... If we keep fighting, perhaps one day we will achieve victory, but by then, I fear more than one generation will have died. I just want to stop all this—even if it is only a temporary stop. But I only want to stop the losses, while you should be looking for profit, right? Where is the profit? Tell me so I can have more confidence."

Zhen Sword sighed and said, "It is rare for you, old brother, to have such a heart. You are truly a good person. I am not saying we are bad people, but having been in high positions for so long, we always look up, look far, look at the firmament, and look at the future, but we rarely look down at the weak individuals anymore. You still remember them; that is more precious than real gold. However, you are right, I am indeed doing this for real profit. Someone told me that joining forces with the Tianmo has immense benefits."

Xun Sword said, "Immense? How immense? Who could tell you that? And why do you believe it?"

Zhen Sword said, "I dare not say I believe it completely; I even think I should not believe it. But I cannot help that my own heart wants to believe it, and he reminded me of a person worth trusting, so I believed it without realizing it. As for the immense benefits, there are two, I think. The first is to mend the Suiyu."

Xun Sword was stunned and said, "Mending means..."

Zhen Sword said, "Yes, it means restoring the current Suiyu to the one it was in the beginning."

Xun Sword could not help but say, "How is that possible?"

For any object, it is simple to break but difficult to put back together. Like a mirror, it is easy to shatter into hundreds of pieces with one drop, but it is difficult to glue those fragments back together, let alone not just gluing them, but restoring them completely as if they had never been broken.

If a mirror is like this, what about the Suiyu, which spans millions of miles and has hundreds of millions of people? What means could be used to achieve this?

Reversing time and space?

Speaking of which, reversing time and space is the most likely method; returning to before it was broken would naturally make it complete and flawless. However, the Suiyu has been broken for nearly a hundred years. Who could make the world's time flow backward for a hundred years? Wouldn't that be a hundred times more powerful than a Sovereign? If one had that ability, wouldn't it be better to solve the Tianmo Jie once and for all?

Zhen Sword said, "I also find it incredible, but he is not a person who speaks recklessly. He said he could do it, so I will wait and see. If he succeeds this time, I will believe the next big promise he paints—completely solving the world's crisis."

Xun Sword was just listening to a story at this point and said, "What kind of person is he? He really dares to talk. If he isn't the number one powerhouse in history, he must be the number one liar in heaven and earth."

Zhen Sword laughed, "I heard that truly capable liars make people knowingly believe them even when it's unbelievable, making them willing or even eager to be deceived. In that sense, he does look a bit like a liar. But I will still gamble once. Hmm..."

He looked up at the sun in the sky, calculated the time, and asked curiously, "What is going on? Why haven't they come yet? I hope it's not that the liar hasn't been exposed, and another liar has come. It wouldn't be strange for a Tianmo to be a liar."

Xun Sword said, "They wouldn't lie about this from the start. Could something have happened on the way? Isn't it said that the Evil God is very powerful? So many gods have been killed, so killing a priest shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Zhen Sword shook his head in confusion. He always felt it shouldn't be—wasn't it said that the Evil God was already under control? Tang Zhao shouldn't let the Evil God take action halfway, right? Sending his own people to intercept and kill them—isn't that like taking off one's pants to fart?

However, just as he was thinking this, he suddenly saw a shadow in the distance.

It was not the shadow of a boat on the river, but in the sky.

There was something flying over in the sky!

"That is..."

The eyesight of Sword Saints is outstanding, and they soon saw clearly.

The two people flying over were their old friend Hu Tian and what should be the Shengnyu.

Just the two of them, nothing more.

No... what happened to the promised delegation?

If they were only going to send two or three people to come over quietly to make contact, then why take a boat? They could have just used a teleportation array to come over and talk. Wasn't the point of sending a delegation with great fanfare to announce it to the world? And they even made everyone come to the pier to welcome them, just for this?

Zhen Sword felt annoyed, stopped Xun Sword who was about to fly up to welcome them, and just stood on the pier, looking at them sideways without moving.

As Priest Hu Tian's figure became clearer, the two discovered that an accident might have truly occurred. Hu Tian's clothes were tattered, he had lost nearly half of his hair, and the Shengnyu's expression was also very dejected; she seemed to have suffered some kind of shock and was in a trance.

Only when Zhen Sword saw them like this did he realize that something had really happened, and in his heart, he only felt:

Funny.

The Tianmo suffered a disaster; isn't it natural for the Human side to gloat? As for allies helping each other... they are not allies yet. Even if they were allies, are we not allowed to laugh in our hearts even if it's not polite on the surface?

"Yo, Priest Hu Tian, what happened? Why is it just the two of you? Where are the others?"

Zhen Sword did not wait for Xun Sword to say polite words of comfort, and spoke first with a laugh.

Priest Hu Tian caught his breath and said, "To hurry, just the two of us came first; the others have all gone home."

Zhen Sword gave an "Oh" and said, "The others have all gone back to their old homes?"

Hu Tian sensed his malicious mockery and simply said, "That's right, a little change occurred on the way, so we had to come first. Will the two of you take us to see Qian Sword and the other Sword Saints?"

Zhen Sword said, "There is no rush; according to etiquette, we have a ceremony..."

Hu Tian said, "The ceremony can be omitted. Let's go talk about serious matters."

Zhen Sword said, "Eh, if we were talking about private matters, we naturally wouldn't need flowery formalities, but isn't the arrival of a delegation for outsiders to see? Our ceremony is also for people to see; it is precisely because of these rituals that it shows our cooperation has sincerity and a future."

Hu Tian was trying to endure and deal with a few sentences when the Shengnyu suddenly said, "Hurry up and go, otherwise everyone will be in danger!"

Xun Sword was startled and said, "Are there pursuers behind you?"

Hu Tian could not help but nod, saying, "I have already shaken off the Evil God's lackeys, but it is not certain that they will not follow."

Zhen Jian and Xun Jian exchanged a glance, then suddenly laughed and said, "If some monsters come to liven things up, then our welcome ceremony will have to change its content."