Xuan Ji and Xuan Qingniao, father and daughter, looked at each other with disbelief.
Immediately, they unleashed their soul power.
The scene within the forbidden grounds also appeared before their eyes.
Inside the cave.
Chen Nan's expression was solemn, his face etched with fine cracks.
These were wounds inflicted by the blade intent of the Cold Blade.
However.
The moment the cracks appeared, they rapidly healed.
"This fellow's physical body is terrifying!"
"Not only is his body terrifying, but his recovery ability is also beyond that of ordinary people!" Xuan Ji's eyes were filled with shock.
Xuan Ming grinned, "The old madman from Nan Yuan tribe once said that he was a chosen one, bearing the heavy responsibility of saving the three realms."
He held high hopes for Chen Nan.
Xuan Qingniao was dismissive, "Can the words of an old madman be trusted?"
Xuan Ming shook his head slightly, "Although that old fellow is eccentric, who can truly distinguish between a prophet and a madman?"
Xuan Ji said softly, "If Chen Nan can truly approach the Cold Blade, perhaps he can pull it out. If the Ascension Path can be restarted, Qingniao will be saved."
Xuan Qingniao retorted, "Not necessarily. He only has the cultivation of the Divine Venerable realm. Even if he appears within a hundred meters of the Cold Blade, it's still unknown if he can reach its side."
------
Inside the cave.
Chen Nan gritted his teeth, enduring the blade intent released by the Cold Blade.
The terrifying blade intent made his breathing heavy.
Fortunately, he had endured the pain of soul separation.
Otherwise.
The torment he was experiencing would surely have made him cry out.
He endured the pain and continued to advance.
When he was ninety meters away from the Cold Blade.
He stopped.
His clothes instantly burst open, revealing skin as smooth and lustrous as solidified fat.
His well-built physique was exposed.
His muscles were not explosively developed.
But they appeared very well-proportioned.
Seeing this scene.
Xuan Qingniao quickly withdrew her soul power.
A blush appeared on her face.
In all her years,
She had never seen a man's body.
"This fellow truly possesses extraordinary qualities!" Xuan Ming did not hide his admiration for Chen Nan.
Xuan Ji lowered his head, remaining silent.
He appeared to have been struck by a blow.
After a moment, he spoke, "Father, I feel that ninety meters is Chen Nan's limit."
They all knew.
For every ten meters closer to the Cold Blade, the pain would double.
Chen Nan's ability to approach within ninety meters of the Cold Blade had already broken the record.
Even though he hoped Chen Nan could pull out the Cold Blade.
He did not blindly trust Chen Nan like his father.
Xuan Ming said softly, "However, he has not stopped advancing!"
"Fearless of hardship, forging ahead!"
"Perhaps..."
"We were all wrong."
"The Cold Blade is not a sacred artifact of our clan."
"We are merely its guardians!"
"Our purpose in existence is to await a fated person, to await a person of great perseverance to pull out the Cold Blade."
Xuan Ji's pupils trembled violently.
All along.
All members of the Cold Blade tribe regarded the Cold Blade as a sacred artifact of their clan.
All members of the Cold Blade tribe would come to the vicinity of the Cold Blade in their youth to comprehend sword techniques.
In the very bones of all of them.
In the soul imprints of all of them.
The Cold Blade had become an inseparable part of their lives.
But his father's words just now.
Had completely overturned his worldview.
"Moreover!"
"Was our Ancestor truly a foolish and ignorant pedant?"
Xuan Ming shook his head, "Before today, I kept wondering why our Ancestor suppressed the incomplete painting of the Ascension Path."
"I always found excuses to convince myself."
"Only now do I understand his profound wisdom."
"He had not given up on the first and second heavens."
"He was waiting for a perfect opportunity!"
"Waiting for a fated person with great perseverance."
"Because when that person can pull out the Cold Blade."
"He will possess the ability to face the异魔 of the third heaven head-on!"
"At that time, what does it matter to restart the Ascension Path?"
"Our Ancestor did not want us to open the Ascension Path!"
"He did not want us to open the Ascension Path recklessly before we had the ability!"
Xuan Ji's heart trembled violently.
Was this truly the Ancestor's intention?
He then sensed Chen Nan's abnormality and exclaimed, "Not good, Chen Nan's physical body is starting to crack! He cannot withstand the invasion of the blade intent at all."
Xuan Qingniao released her soul power again, seeing Chen Nan covered in blood, an expression of disbelief on her face. "Is he crazy? Why isn't he using his divine power to resist?"
"Is he truly mad?" Xuan Ming's eyes were full of admiration. "He wants to temper his body with this blade intent!"
The father and daughter exchanged glances.
Both saw deep shock in each other's eyes.
They had never imagined.
That there could be such a person in the world who was unafraid of death.
Actually tempering his body at the critical juncture of life and death.
"Fortunately!"
"Although the blade intent is terrifying!"
"It is still within my body's capacity to endure!"
Chen Nan felt his body being cut by the blade intent, but his mind was as calm as still water.
Because he had previously consumed a large amount of Immortal Peaches, his recovery ability was astonishing.
He took another step.
Closing the distance by another ten meters.
He was now only eighty meters away from the Cold Blade.
Ahead, a mass of cold air could be seen.
This destructive blade intent was spreading from within the cold air.
Upon approaching within eighty meters of the Cold Blade.
Chen Nan could clearly feel that the blade intent here was even more violent.
And it was intangible.
It was like a domain.
Anyone who strayed into it would be torn to shreds by the blade intent.
He stood there quietly.
After his body adapted to this violent blade intent, he resolutely continued forward.
Until he stopped within seventy meters of the Cold Blade.
"I get it now. The blade intent here is divided into ten levels, and it becomes stronger every ten meters," Chen Nan said, his face covered in blood, but he had figured out the pattern of the Cold Blade.
However.
The blade intent ahead made his scalp tingle.
Because not only was there a destructive blade intent.
There was also an inexplicable coldness mixed within the blade intent.
This coldness made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
But.
There was no turning back.
He had to pull out the Cold Blade and obtain the incomplete painting of the Ascension Path.
Taking a deep breath.
He strode forward, instantly covering ten meters.
After he stopped.
He felt the tearing sensation of being cut into a thousand pieces.
The burning pain from his original wounds instantly turned ice-cold.
It was as if sharp, cold blades were piercing into his body along the wounds.
Chen Nan's eyes turned crimson, and he said wildly, "This feels a bit like the dual sensation of ice and fire!"
The sight of him made the three generations of the Xuan family shudder and feel a chill down their spines.
They had never heard of such a ruthless person.
Much less witnessed it firsthand.
It was as if Chen Nan's physical body was not his own.
He had no regard for his own body.
Chen Nan looked at the hazy long blade within the cold mist, his gaze gradually becoming serious. "Another sixty meters. These sixty meters seem close at hand, yet as far as the ends of the earth!"
"With my current strength, I fear I cannot get any closer to the Cold Blade."
"Is this thing truly just a divine artifact and nothing more?"