Chương 52: Pavilion of the Sword

The Divine Palace's exact location was an absolute secret within the Immortal Realm. There were those who speculated that it was located within a distant, secluded region within the vast void.

Others believed that the Divine Palace was at the direct center of the Immortal Realm, and an only an extreme few denied the possibility of such a physical territory even existing.

The truth was that the Divine Realm was indeed within a secluded region of the Immortal Realm, near the western frontiers. Even after securing the relative coordinates of the continent, it still took roughly a week for Jun Meng Chen to finally arrive.

Combined with the accumulated stress of constant and vigilant surveillance of the Elysia's Tear which had yet to be ameliorated, Jun Meng Chen's body immediately swayed the moment his foot touched the ground.

"You there, are you alright?"

A nearby immortal holding a utilitarian plow approached Jun Meng Chen, his eyes radiating a simple curiosity. Seeing that the immortal had no ill intent, Jun Meng Chen waved his hand, motioning that he was fine.

"Can I rest for a bit here? I'll depart within an hour."

"Sure thing, fellow immortal! I'll be nearby if you need anything."

Hearing Jun Meng Chen's request, the immortal youth vigorously nodded, before cheerfully returning to his plot of land to tend to his crops. Upon discovering that the youth had departed, Jun Meng Chen leaned against a tree, closing his eyes and relaxing his body.

Circulating divine essence throughout his entire body, he slowly eased out the accumulated fatigue within and permitted his spiritual core to rest.

An hour later, Jun Meng Chen opened his eyes and stretched his slightly refreshed body. Within moments, he was nowhere to be found, having departed as he had promised.

Staring at the resplendent bulwark of the Divine Palace, Jun Meng Chen could not help but nurse the onrush of tender sentiment. A home that he had bitterly left five thousand years ago to embark on a tempering trial, he was returning to in a similar bitter mood.

Shaking his head wistfully, Jun Meng Chen quickly strode into the Divine Palace, heading directly towards the Pavilion of Swords.

Another wave of nostalgia hit him as he gazed at the entrance of the Pavilion of Swords, with its simple cobbled pathway of riverbed stones, stubby willow trees, and winding rivers that formed an indistinct outline of the 'Sword' character in the Divine Script. Dragging his feet after what seemed like an eternity, Jun Meng Chen finally stepped past the gates, his sudden entry alerting many of the adepts and trainees practicing nearby. Glaring at the intruder, the immortals quickly took a guarded stance, before gaping in astonishment.

"Second Young Master!"

"…It's truly been a while. How have you been?"

Hearing the disciples and adepts call his name with the same enthusiasm and vigor as five thousand years ago, Jun Meng Chen could not help but break into a smile. Walking towards the group with his arms spread out, he gave everyone present a warm hug, before engaging in warm banter as they walked down the pathway towards the inner regions of the Pavilion.

"Second Young Master, how is the World Tree Domain? I get it that additional venues of observation and introspection is highly beneficial towards improving the domain, but isn't it rather slow and fragile?"

"Hm, I guess you could see it as that. It is quite the new experience from all avenues of perspectives."

"Second Young Master, Second Young Master, did you ever break your oath of abstaining from relationships while you were away?"

"Second Young Master is noble and honorable, he would never do such a shameful act of reneging on his oath!"

"Who knows, maybe Second Young Master possess quite the naughty disposition? Just look at that Pavilion of Grace's Holy Son Chun Ming, a manifestation of an angel with a gilded heart!"

"Why are you even comparing Second Young Master with that avaricious and libidinous man!?

Comparing Second Young Master with that amalgamation of riverbed stone, I say, did you eat the wrong thing today?"

Without Jun Meng Chen's awareness, the conversation had drifted onto his departure oath, to abstain from corruptive relationships before returning. As the disciples and adepts' heated argument reminded him of Hong Meiyun and the Pavilion of Life's 'gift', his expression immediately blackened, startling them.

After gazing speechlessly at Jun Meng Chen's warped countenance, they instantly broke out into a chorus of voices, startling those nearby.

"S-S-Second Young Master, yo-you actually got yourself a wo-woman!?"

"Scram!"

"Ah! Second Young Master got himself an owner!"

Jun Meng Chen exploded, channeling divine essence to form a blunt sword. Brandishing it at the disciples and adepts, he fiercely shooed them away, their mocking gestures infuriating him even further. Just as he was about to unleash a wide-ranged attack on these annoying immortals, a smooth voice dammed his anger, causing it to ebb rapidly.

"Meng Chen."

Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe standing behind him. Possessing average looks, the stalwart man radiated both a compassionate but imposing aura that forced others to submit.

A pristine sword hung without its sheath at his hip, connected with a thin string of silk.

He was Jun Dong Min, Jun Meng Chen's father and Head of the Pavilion of Swords.

"Father."

Jun Meng Chen spoke softly, gazing at his father with respect and reverence. For his father, Jun Meng Chen knew it was impossible for Jun Dong Min to fully possess familial affection. He could exhibit the traits of familial bonds, but not embody them; only his wife could obtain his unreserved love.

Such a price was common among immortals. To become an eternal existence, some things had to be cast away as forever unreachable.

Other than the occasional pangs of sadness, what else could Jun Meng Chen do? He was the same, capable of only displaying familial affection among his siblings. Towards his father and mother, only reverence and respect attributed to a senior remained. Once those bursts of emotion remained, he would return to his ice-cold state.

"How is the World Tree Domain? Is that pupil of Yggdrasil treating you well?"

"The World Tree Domain is adaptive and well organized. Tempering my domain there has been going smoothly, albeit a bit slower than I thought."

Jun Meng Chen replied. Taking a deep breath, he casually summarized his experiences at the World Tree Domain, omitting any mentions of Hong Meiyun and her pranks.

"No matter how fast your domain evolves, it will be unstable without the necessary foundation of knowledge. Even if it is a tad slower than you want it to be, observing how the World Tree Domain functions and exists will be beneficial in initiating the periodic rebirth of your domain."

"Understood. I'll try to form my Heaven Domain in such regard."

Father and son slowly strolled past numerous disciples practicing their techniques while appreciating the modest plants grown near the pathway. Casually responding to the disciples' fervent greetings, they stood before a small rotunda with a sword piercing the dome.

Flickering in and out of existence, the rotunda was frozen in between the state of destruction and existence. Seeing the spectacle, Jun Dong Min let out a wistful sigh, shaking his head.

"Go greet your mother." He simply said.

Speaking no more, he turned around and left to instruct the adepts. Staring at the granite double doors, Jun Meng Chen rested his palms on the smooth surface for a while. Mustering his courage, he pressed with all of his might, slowly forcing the doors to open.

Swish!

As the doors were halfway parted, a projectile suddenly rushed at Jun Meng Chen with an immense killing intent, forcing him to stand back and evade. As he dodged, the projectile embedded itself deep into the ground without any resistance.

Noticing that what had sped towards him was a slender sword of glass, Jun Meng Chen failed to realize that the door had sealed itself shut. His eyes unable to ignore the killing intent emanating from the clear blade, his attention was fully riveted on the sword, incapable of contemplating other things.

Shua! Whoosh!

Disengaging itself from the ground, the sword hovered in the air for a short moment before rushing at Jun Meng Chen once more. As the blade flew towards him with a speed far too fast for his eyes, he could only barely dodge the sword due to his instincts. Even then, with each rush, the sword tore off a strip of his robe, leaving him in tatters within minutes.

Backpedaling, he quickly attempted to analyze the techniques wielded by the sword as he narrowly dodged each strike. In an effort to buy time, he roughly stamped onto the ground, manipulating the ensued dust cloud with divine essence. Forming a wide circular shield before his right hand, he threw it towards the incoming sword.

Without a single sound, the glass sword tore through the shield as if it weren't there. However the slight delay caused by the impeding cloud of dust that expanded following the shield's destruction gave Jun Meng Chen enough time to draw the sword hanging at his waist.

Closing his eyes and relying on his instincts to predict the trajectory of the glass sword, he stood firmly on the ground. His eyebrows twitching, the steel sword in his hand flew out towards his right.

Clang!

Ting! Ting!

The steel sword swiftly intercepted the glass sword, striking onto the flat surface of the clear blade. Striking the glass sword twice more and sweeping it far away, Jun Meng Chen decided to remain standing in place rather than giving chase.

If he had blindly given chase, he would create more weaknesses in his defense rather than seizing the gap.

As if confirming his point, the glass sword quickly stabilized its position before climbing in the sky. Hovering among the clouds, the sword paused for the slightest moment as it descended towards Jun Meng Chen. Flashing open his eyes, all Jun Meng Chen could see was a long streak of light falling towards him. He was simply too slow to react.

Boom!

The sword effectively ignored all of his attempts to defend himself, plunging the entirety of the blade into the soft ground. The sheer force from the impact threw Jun Meng Chen off balance, rendering him completely defenseless from the ensuing shockwave.

Hurled into the air, Jun Meng Chen was completely unable to regain control of his body as he slammed heavily onto the ground, surprising the nearby adepts.

Shooing the surrounding immortals away, Jun Meng Chen struggled to his feet, his elegant demeanor completely stripped and revealing only a haggard appearance. As he gripped the steel sword, he discovered that only a few centimeters of the blade remained, the rest having been severed from the final attack.

"You dare lose your heirloom, and still have the face to return? Not to mention that you can't even block such a flimsy little sword, you're an absolute disgrace to our Pavilion! Get lost! I don't have a trash son like you!"

While Jun Meng Chen stared dumbly at his broken sword, a woman's voice rang out from within the rotunda. Hearing the cold voice devoid of any affection, possessing only harsh disdain and contempt, Jun Meng Chen gripped the sword tighter, crushing the weakened steel.

The spiritual core residing within throbbed with the desire to erupt, to deny her words. However, Jun Meng Chen fiercely forced the boiling rage to ebb, silently striding away from the rotunda.

Entering his own courtyard, Jun Meng Chen took a moment to calm himself, completely withdrawing his indignation. Forcing the spiritual core to regain its calmness, he walked inside to cleanse himself, acting as if nothing had happened.

In a distant courtyard, a middle-aged man gazed at an image of Jun Meng Chen's unwilling expression reflected in a pool of water. With a light sigh, the man waved his hand, erasing the image. Gazing in the distance, the man's figure distorted before silently vanishing, a soft voice echoing in the lonely courtyard.

"No spiritual core, and without exceptional talent in the sword. Residing in the Pavilion of Swords, just how more useless can you be? When you were cast out to temper the self, how could you not realize that the Pavilion was abandoning you. And you still dare to return at a mere summons?"