I Have A Sword

Chapter 709: Qing Zhi

Ye Guan soon found himself at the large hall that Qing Ling had mentioned. The hall was majestic, towering a hundred meters high. It had four colossal stone pillars at the entrance, each adorned with depictions of bizarre and extraordinary beasts. Three large words were written on a plaque above the entrance—Primordial Spirit Library.

After a moment of contemplation, Ye Guan stepped inside. He was eager to learn about the history of the Primordial Spirit Clan, which was famous for being the strongest clan throughout the vast expanse.

Upon entering the library, Ye Guan was immediately met by an extremely expansive hall lined with ancient-looking floating bookshelves full of crystal scrolls.

He headed toward a bookshelf on the right, but a voice suddenly echoed. "Who are you?"

Ye Guan turned and saw a young lady standing in the corner of a bookshelf about ten meters away on his left.

The young lady was wearing a light blue dress, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders as she leaned against a bookshelf with an ancient-looking book in her hand.

The young lady stared at Ye Guan with calm and unwavering eyes.

Ye Guan presumed that the young lady was Qing Ling’s sister, so he smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Ye Guan, and I'm an outsider."

The young lady furrowed her brows.

Ye Guan added, "I want to learn the history of the Primordial Spirit Clan, and your brother told me to come here."

The young lady glanced at Ye Guan and then lightly flicked her fingers.

A thick golden book flew toward Ye Guan. Six large words were written on the book's cover, "Comprehensive History of the Primordial Spirits."

A deluge of information struck Ye Guan as soon as he opened the book.

Ye Guan read it for a while before he finally had a general understanding of the Primordial Spirit Clan. The history of the Primordial Spirit Clan spanned billions of years, and its heyday was during the era of its founder.

The founder of the Primordial Spirit Clan was apparently a supreme elite with almost a hundred percent divinity.

Unfortunately, no one had been able to reach the same heights as the clan leader. Over the past billions of years, countless geniuses and prodigies from the Primordial Spirit Clan strived to reach a hundred percent divinity.

Unfortunately, none of them managed to reach that goal.

However, many of them reached ninety percent divinity.

Ye Guan suddenly realized that achieving even ninety percent divinity was incredibly difficult. In fact, only about thirty cultivators managed to reach ninety percent divinity despite the Primordial Spirit Clan's long history.

Thirty supreme elites with ninety percent divinity was a mind-boggling number in the outside world.

A great example of this was the fact that the God Clan had produced only one person who had reached ninety percent divinity.

Meanwhile, the Zhen Clan had none despite their long history.

However, the Primordial Spirit Clan had actually managed to produce about thirty such individuals. No wonder the Primordial Spirit Clan was proud; they certainly had the credentials.

Thirty individuals with ninety percent divinity seemed like a lot, but it wasn't that large of a number over the span of a billion years.

Still, Ye Guan realized that he had underestimated the Primordial Spirit Clan.

At first, Ye Guan thought the Primordial Spirit Clan was only slightly stronger than the God Clan and the Zhen Clan.

However, it turned out that the gap was actually incredibly massive. The God Clan and the Zhen Clan couldn't even begin to compare to the Primordial Spirit Clan.

Just then, the young lady nearby asked, “Are you the rumored successor of the First God?”

“Yes, that's me.”

“Has the First God truly passed away?”

Ye Guan nodded.

The young lady shook her head slightly, “What a pity.”

“Did you know the First God?”

“No, but I’ve studied him.”

“Studied him?”

The young lady nodded slightly. She opened her palm, and an ancient book floated over to Ye Guan.

The book's title was The Legend of the First God.

Surprised, Ye Guan asked, “You wrote this?”

“Yes.”

Ye Guan opened the book and found that it had detailed descriptions of the First God’s deeds, including his visit to the Primordial Spirit Clan.

What surprised Ye Guan was how openly the young lady had written about the First God’s victories over her clan’s geniuses and prodigies.

“Did the First God say anything when he left?”

Ye Guan shook his head. “No.”

The young lady frowned.

“I read in that comprehensive history that your clan has produced about thirty individuals with ninety percent divinity…”

The young lady corrected him, “Thirty-six individuals...”

“Thirty-six. How do they compare to the First God?”

The young lady shook her head and replied, “The First God will make quick work of them.”

“How about your founder? The book said that he almost reached a hundred percent divinity.”

After a moment of silence, the young lady replied, “But the First God has already made contact with humanity.”

“Beyond divinity is humanity. Am I right, Miss?”

“Yes.”

Ye Guan fell silent. He had suspected it, but now, it was confirmed. Beyond divinity was indeed humanity.

The young lady added, “Cultivation is basically conquering oneself.”

Ye Guan's curiosity was piqued. “What about your saintess?”

“She rarely appears since then.”

“I wonder if she still has feelings for the First God...”

The young lady stared at Ye Guan and said, “You are a bit naive.”

Ye Guan was puzzled.

The young lady calmly explained, “Those at the peak of their generation have always been solely focused on the Dao. Romantic feelings are insignificant compared to the pursuit of the Dao.”

“True, but there are exceptions,” Ye Guan said. In the face of the Dao, romantic feelings truly seem insignificant. Can you really love someone for tens of thousands or even billions of years? Any emotion can fade over time. Of course, there are exceptions. Like my plain-skirt aunt!

The young lady looked at Ye Guan, “Exceptions?”

“I know someone who thinks that family is the important thing in existence. The Dao is insignificant compared to family in her eyes.”

“That sounds like she's deeply obsessed with something.”

Ye Guan was surprised.

“There are two reasons behind why a top-tier supreme elite still cares for someone like they've been doing in the past. First of all, it could be their nature. However, they're still not immune to the natural deterioration of feelings over the ruthless passage of time. The second reason is that they are deeply obsessed with that person, which is the reason they are able to remain unchanged." The young lady closed the book in her hand and added, “Those who cultivate obsession will see their obsession becoming their Dao.”

Ye Guan was deeply impressed. “Miss, your insight is surprising.”

“You've surprised me, too.”

“How so?”

“You're extremely confident, and it's not a mere act; you are truly confident. There are two reasons behind such confidence as well—either you are very strong, or your family is very strong…

“If it’s the latter, then you need to be cautious. Confidence that isn’t based on your own strength is false confidence.”

“What if it’s both?”

“Both?”

“You’re right; my confidence mainly comes from my family. With them behind me, I am not afraid of the Primordial Spirit Clan. As for myself... I am confident in myself, even though I'm a mere ant compared to the entire Primordial Spirit Clan.”

"Are you worried about that affecting your state of mind?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not that complicated.”

Ye Guan was puzzled.

“Your worry is actually a good sign. It shows that you’re aware of the issue, but you haven’t understood it yet. As you said, you're a mere ant compared to the entire Primordial Spirit Clan, which has existed for billions of years. However, it hasn't been that long since you were born, so wouldn't it be strange if you felt the opposite and felt superior to the entire Primordial Spirit Clan?"

“Think about it from another perspective. If a young member of the Primordial Spirit Clan is standing before you, would you still feel insignificant before them?”

Ye Guan was taken aback.

“Cultivators often get stuck in pointless struggles and dilemmas.”

“That’s true," Ye Guan nodded. He'd often find himself in such struggles, so she agreed with the young lady's words.

The young lady glanced outside and said, “It’s getting late, Young Master Ye. I need to get back to work. You can read any of the ancient books here, but you can’t take them outside.”

“Understood.”

The young lady turned around to leave with the ancient book in her hand.

Ye Guan suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”

“Qing Zhi.”

“Lady Qing Zhi, have you ever been outside or perhaps studied the history of the civilizations outside?”

“No.”

“You should go out and see the world. The vast expanse isn’t just about the Primordial Spirit Clan; there are many other fascinating civilizations out there.”

“I'm planning on doing that.”

“Why not visit the Guanxuan Universe?”

“Guanxuan Universe?”

“Yes, it’s a very interesting universe. Many powerful powerhouses call it their hometown.”

Qing Zhi stared at Ye Guan and asked, “How powerful are they?”

Ye Guan thought for a moment before saying, “Lady Qing Zhi, come with me.”

With that, he brought Qing Zhi into the tiny pagoda.

Qing Zhi was immediately stunned upon entering the tiny pagoda.

“The spacetime here…” Qing Zhi muttered.

“This spacetime was created by a relative of mine. Can anyone from the Primordial Spirit Clan create something like this?”

Qing Zhi nodded. “Yes.”

Ye Guan froze and had no idea what to say.