Although the influence of the Nether Sword Mound in Eastern State was far less than that of the Nine State Forum, the rumors regarding the Nether Sword Mound increased as time went by. Moreover, there were even whispers that the Chess Saint did not sit for a peaceful death, but was imprisoned in the Forbidden Land of Nether Sword Mound instead.
There were even claims that the Nether Sword Mound was the where the Nether Swordsman, who was named by the Lord of Nine States— the Xia Emperor—as the Champion Sword, buried his sword.
Presently, there was once again excitement in the air.
At the end of the Divine Prefecture Calendar Year 10011, the area bordering the four states of Eastern State, Summer State, Qi State, and Feng State was a vast and abandoned area, mountainous and rarely inhabited.