Strictly speaking, Li Haowen was not a true swordsman.

Among the Three Mountains and Four Peaks of the Kongshan Sect, only Yibai Peak had the greatest number of swordsmen.

After all, Yibai Peak itself was renowned throughout the world for its sword arts.

And in the generation of Li Haowen and Bai Jinye, the most outstanding swordsman of the Kongshan Sect was Jiang Ling of Yibai Peak.

However, that female swordsman had not been able to achieve sufficiently outstanding results in the first Du Cang Mountain Dao Discussion to earn the qualification to go cultivate on Du Cang Mountain.

It was not until the second Du Cang Mountain Dao Discussion, five years later, that Jiang Ling finally earned the qualification to ascend Du Cang Mountain and become one of its Guardians of the Dao.

Jiang Ling's cultivation talent had always had a certain gap when compared with Chu Xiyao, Li Haowen, and the other most outstanding disciples of the Kongshan Sect of this generation.

And now, that gap had clearly grown wider and wider.

Currently, Jiang Ling's cultivation was at the peak of the Passable God Realm, while Li Haowen and the others were all at the late-stage Myriad Transformations Realm.

They had already pulled ahead by nearly an entire major realm.

In fact, Jiang Ling had already lost the qualification to even be compared with Li Haowen and the others.

Of course, compared with the gap between Jiang Ling and Li Haowen, the gap between Qin Qingyu and the heaven-chosen talents who had once been mentioned in the same breath as her was clearly much larger.

At present, Qin Qingyu was already a Dao Union Realm cultivator, the ninth realm of the Nine Realms Below Immortality.

She had left Li Haowen, Bai Jinye, Chu Xiyao, and the others, who were still at the Sixth Realm, behind by a gap of three entire major realms.

However, even among the Guardians of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain, Qin Qingyu had already reached a level beyond comparison.

She would basically no longer be mentioned alongside the contemporary prodigies of the Chenping Continent.

Her name would often appear together with the several Dao Union Realm cultivators currently on the Chenping Continent, or even with the five Ascended Stewards.

As for who was currently the strongest swordsman on Du Cang Mountain...

It was indeed Li Haowen.

Although Li Haowen was not a pure swordsman, among the current Guardians of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain, it was Li Haowen who had walked the farthest on the path of the sword.

This caused many swordsmen to feel a sense of shame.

These swordsmen of today, they cannot even compare with Li Dog!

This kind of mocking rumor was indeed circulating throughout the cultivation world of the Chenping Continent.

"So, Elder Li specifically came here to call me over, the thing you wanted to talk about is..."

Bai Jinye no longer dwelled on that somewhat awkward topic from just now.

Instead, he directly changed the subject, pointing toward the true purpose of Li Haowen's visit to find him today.

"During the Great Chaos of the Immortals in the past, the snow and ice that had accumulated on Heavenly Summit Mountain for hundreds of thousands of years all melted, triggering a tsunami, and as a result, within a radius of ten thousand li around the current Du Cang Mountain, hundreds of large and small lakes emerged, along with countless marshes."

Li Haowen slowly narrated.

This was a fact well known throughout the cultivation world of the Chenping Continent. Originally, there had been many secular dynasties and cultivation sects around Heavenly Summit Mountain, and they had all received no small amount of blessings under the influence of Heavenly Summit Mountain's status as the sacred land of cultivation on the Chenping Continent.

But after the Great Chaos of the Immortals ended, all those scenes of prosperity turned to nothing.

In the beginning, within a radius of ten thousand li around Heavenly Summit Mountain, it was almost a vast ocean, with only Heavenly Summit Mountain being the lone solitary mountain in the midst of that ocean.

It was not until Heavenly Summit Mountain was renamed Du Cang Mountain that, under the long-term governance of cultivators, this so-called "ocean" gradually receded, becoming the several hundred lakes and countless marshes of today.

"And then?"

Bai Jinye continued to press.

"A while ago, at a location over two thousand seven hundred li to the west of Du Cang Mountain, a lake named 'South Yu Lake' disappeared without a trace within the span of several days."

South Yu Lake had been named as such because it was located on the territory of a secular dynasty called South Yu that had once existed around Heavenly Summit Mountain.

"The lake disappeared without a trace?"

Bai Jinye was also hearing about such a thing for the first time.

"Yes. This matter was discovered by a Passable God Realm cultivator of the Kongshan Sect currently stationed on Du Cang Mountain. He immediately organized two Qi Sea Realm cultivators, led several Martial Spring Realm cultivators and over ten Qi Circulation Realm disciples from the outer court of the Kongshan Sect, and they went to South Yu Lake to conduct an investigation."

Li Haowen said.

"And then what?"

Bai Jinye asked.

"They discovered at the bottom of South Yu Lake a massive cave, dozens of feet in diameter, with a depth that was impossible to fathom."

Li Haowen said:

"They believe this massive cave is the reason for South Yu Lake's disappearance."

"All the lake water fell into that massive cave, causing the lake to disappear..."

As he spoke, Bai Jinye nodded:

"Indeed, that is quite possible."

"Then those cultivators who went to investigate immediately organized a team of six people, led by a Qi Sea Realm cultivator, and went into that massive cave to find out what was inside..."

As Li Haowen said this, he paused for a moment.

And Bai Jinye clearly understood something from Li Haowen's pause:

"They didn't come back up?"

"Up until now, they still haven't."

Li Haowen shook his head.

"So, the reason Elder Li came to find me is because you hope I will go with you to that unfathomable massive cave, is that it?"

Bai Jinye said.

"This is also the intention of Realman Lingxuan."

Li Haowen replied.

"Realman Lingxuan?"

The sudden appearance of this name caused Bai Jinye to feel somewhat surprised.

The Eighth-Generation Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, Realman Lingxuan, Gu Jing.

Currently on Du Cang Mountain, Gu Jing could be said to hold a position of great importance. Unlike the three Ascending to Immortality Realm Stewards who came from the three great sects and needed to handle the internal affairs of their respective sects, Gu Jing and Qiu Siruo were the two who remained on Du Cang Mountain at all times during ordinary days.

After all, Heavenly Summit Mountain had long since been destroyed, and the era in which it had flourished was far too distant from the present.

And Realman Lingxuan, Gu Jing, had been entrusted by Chen Yan with the important responsibility of handling all sorts of affairs on Du Cang Mountain.

During the Great Chaos of the Immortals, the person who suffered the most severe dao resonance erosion from the backlash of the collapse of the laws of heaven and earth was undoubtedly True Person Caiyun, Kong Yang, who had already fallen.

After him, it was Gu Jing and Qiu Siruo.

In fact, the backlash and erosion Qiu Siruo had suffered were even more severe, but her special constitution allowed her to handle the backlash caused by the collapse of the laws of heaven and earth with greater ease.

As for Gu Jing, he had already suffered no small amount of injury when he destroyed the Mirage Palace.

And during the Great Chaos of the Immortals, he had fought one against three, and had even entertained the thought of forcibly activating the Heavenly Summit Palace.

But judging by Gu Jing's current condition, this Eighth-Generation Ascended Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain should have no problem living for a few more thousand years.

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