This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable-Chapter 1616 - 61: A Toast of Spring Blossoms (End of Volume)

——That was nothing more than a temporary victory achieved by the three Peak Masters using their ultimate skills.

If arranged properly, the ultimate skills of the three Peak Masters targeted only one, it'd have been highly likely to directly kill a Demon Lord.

Now, the three used their ultimate skills in separate battles. Although it helped them achieve victory, it didn't result in the killing of even one Demon Lord. Ultimately, it can only be considered a pyrrhic victory.

Because the wounded three Lords can make a comeback after decades of recovery, while the three Peak Masters can no longer use their ultimate skills.

In the absence of special means, throughout Yumen Pass, besides Lu Qingshan himself, only Yu Canghai, Xue Wujian, and Cang Xiu can barely engage in battle with the three Lords.

And just for one battle; if they were truly to differentiate between victory and defeat, it would undoubtedly be a loss.

With the loss of Xie Qingyun among the top combatants, Yumen Pass is in a bit of a pinch.

Yet this happens to be the most crucial part.

——The wars between cultivators are different from those between mortals.

Mortals' wars value military strength – the more, the better.

In cultivators' wars, while numbers are not insignificant, what's most important are the top cultivators, who can truly deliver decisive results.

"The good news is, the combat power of Yumen Pass is steadily improving. Occasionally, new cultivators emerge, and within just ten years, they've equaled the numbers that might appear once every thousand years in ordinary times." Lu Qingshan smiled.

Since he returned to Yumen Pass, ten years have swiftly passed.

The era name moved from Tianyuan Year Seventeen to Tianyuan Year Twenty-seven.

Ten years, for most cultivators, is merely a fleeting moment.

But whether it's for Li Shiyi in his fourth re-cultivation or for Lu Qingshan, ten years have been enough for many, many changes.

Even Yumen Pass has seen quite a transformation in these ten years.

"This can't be considered good news..." Li Shiyi shook his head. The new emerging cultivators, compared to the gap between the Human and Demon races, are merely a drop in the ocean.

He spoke unhurriedly: "However, the people brought by the Sect Master are indeed extraordinary."

Li Shiyi wasn't referring to Cang Xiu, but to Zang Xiaojian and Qin Yitian.

Yes, among the new emerging cultivators at Yumen Pass during this period, the most notable are Zang Xiaojian and Qin Yitian.

Honestly, Lu Qingshan was quite surprised.

Setting aside Zang Xiaojian's perpetual naïveté, Qin Yitian's temperament has always been gentle.

Who would've thought, once on the battlefield, these two would shine so brilliantly.

Ever since arriving at Yumen Pass, Zang Xiaojian has actively gone out to patrol and defeat enemies—achieving outstanding results and killing many demonic cultivators, gaining recognition from Yumen Pass's cultivators.

Especially when everyone initially saw her petite and exquisite figure, thinking she looked like a sword cultivator and instinctively assumed she must be very weak.

But in reality, once facing demonic cultivators in battle, Zang Xiaojian was even more fierce than a body cultivator, choosing an absolutely hand-to-hand combat route, clashing head-on with those Demon Race cultivators who practice Divine Demon Body, landing punch after punch, leaving everyone in stunned disbelief.

As for Qin Yitian, she's renowned for her extraordinary swordsmanship, even vaguely becoming known as the second female Sword Cultivator under Xia Daoyun.

Xia Daoyun....

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan's eyes drooped.

Xia Daoyun has already been away from Yumen Pass for a full decade.

"How much do you still lack?" Li Shiyi's eyesight was excellent. Even though his cultivation hadn't recovered, he could still discern that Lu Qingshan, while overseeing Yumen Pass these past ten years, was also gathering the Eastern Domain's power.

However, in his eyes, Lu Qingshan must be preparing for future efforts by preemptively gathering energy, yet little did he know Lu Qingshan was focused on the so-called "advancement task."

"I don't know either." Lu Qingshan shook his head, rather helplessly.

Gathering power follows natural laws and is unlike cultivation where one can cheat.

As the highest-ranking cultivator at Yumen Pass, representing the convergence point of Eastern Domain power, Lu Qingshan, barring any special circumstances, can only accumulate sufficient Eastern Domain power over time.

Ten years have swiftly passed, and his Seventh Tribulation Realm advancement task remains in a gray, unfinished state.

But fortunately, despite the uncertainty in progress, Lu Qingshan can sense the remaining deficiency shouldn't be much, likely needing just another ten to twenty years.

At this moment, Lu Qingshan seemed to sense something, his hand holding the wine cup freezing, his pupils expanding abruptly as he gazed outside the window.

"What is it? Did something happen?" Li Shiyi, with his cultivation unrecovered, had far inferior senses compared to Lu Qingshan and didn't notice anything unusual. However, seeing the normally composed Lu Qingshan's look, he knew that something major must have happened, his expression becoming solemn.

Lu Qingshan withdrew his gaze from the window, raised his wine cup, and took a light sip.

"If the Peak Master isn't fond of the previous good news, then here's another good news for you." Lu Qingshan's lips curled slightly, seemingly smiling yet not, his expression peculiar.

"Hmm?" Li Shiyi hadn't reacted yet when, suddenly, two people appeared—a man and a woman.

The man wore a blue garment, adorned with a familiar mild and gentle smile, looking at him with slightly red eyes.

Li Shiyi was stupefied, watching as the man led the woman beside him, step by step towards him, lowering their heads respectfully.

"Master...."

The air seemed grasped tightly.

Momentarily, Li Shiyi couldn't help but laugh aloud, raising his wine cup suddenly and draining it in one go.

"It's good to be back!" he said.

Twenty-some years of void vanished with a single word, no questions or probes.

Clouds and air lay in the sky, leaves swayed in the gentle breeze, the patter of rain knocked against the window pane as the man could no longer hold back, loudly proclaiming:

"Unworthy disciple Ji Chuan with wife Qiu Shiyin, respectfully greets Master!"