“This is the incomplete formula!” Ning Zhixi’s cold and moving voice sounded: “You can hand it over to Miss Zhao, but… remember you must wait until the hour of You (late afternoon)!”

“The hour of You?” Nie Yuan was somewhat surprised.

There were time restrictions as well?

However, Ning Zhixi had instructed him so, there must be a reason. He nodded in agreement right away.

When he saw Ning Zhixi was about to leave, Nie Yuan couldn’t help but speak again: “Elder Ning, how is the research on the pill that the ancestor requested?”

Speaking, Nie Yuan’s expression showed a touch of embarrassment.

The pill was his responsibility to refine, but now, he could only place his hope in Ning Zhixi.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take too long!”

Ning Zhixi paused her steps and left a message.

Nie Yuan watched Ning Zhixi’s departing figure and let out a sigh of relief, then his gaze returned to the formula in his hand. After examining it, he turned and went inside.

Sword Xiao.

One of Yun Jian Sect’s important places.

Jiang Xiaobai stood at the base of Sword Xiao, looking up at it, feeling slightly dizzy.

It looked tall even from a distance.

From a close range, he was deeply shocked.

Retracting his gaze, Jiang Xiaobai looked towards the entrance and coughed a few times before walking over.

At the entrance, there were two people on duty.

They frowned simultaneously when they saw Jiang Xiaobai covering his chest, half of his hair white, looking sickly.

Just as they were about to stop him, Jiang Xiaobai proactively mobilized his spiritual power, revealing a white sword mark between his eyebrows.

The two on duty showed a surprised expression when they saw the sword mark on Jiang Xiaobai’s forehead.

Clearly, they did not expect this sickly man to be a formal disciple!

However, they did not hurry to make way. One of the men looked at Jiang Xiaobai and said, “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes, the first time!” Jiang Xiaobai nodded.

“If it’s your first time, we need to remind you that you can go to the sect mission hall first to get a sect mission token,” the man said.

“Why?” Jiang Xiaobai was puzzled.

He did not understand the use of this mission token.

“At your current stage, you can only stay in Sword Xiao for four hours. After four hours, you will be repelled by the sword stele!”

The man said, “If you complete some specific tasks, you can use the task imprint to extend the expulsion time of the sword stele. How long this extension lasts depends on the difficulty of the task!”

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“So that’s it!” Jiang Xiaobai suddenly had a realization: “Then… can I go in and take a look first?”

“Of course, but remember to find Elder Ye first to authenticate your sword mark after you go in!”

The man said, “If it’s not authenticated, you won’t be able to enter the comprehension zone!”

As they finished speaking, the two made way.

“Thank you!” Jiang Xiaobai walked towards the inside with a smile on his pale face.

He curiously looked around after entering for the first time.

The space here was circular and wider than he had imagined.

In the central area, a stone stele stood.

The height of this stele made it seem as tall as Sword Xiao itself, piercing right into its top.

Moreover, the stele was covered with mysterious patterns, dividing the entire sword stele into ten segments.

The top five segments were blank, while the bottom five had names.

From lowest to highest they were: Sword Intent, Sword Heart, Sword Momentum, Sword Gang, and Sword Rhythm.

Under each name, one could see some tiny names.

The most were under Sword Intent, certainly no less than one hundred, and the fewest under the fifth layer, Sword Rhythm, were just a few.

Additionally, these names were very peculiar, with names like Evil Moon, Heaven Si, and Sword Inheritance.

These didn’t look like normal names at all.

Feeling puzzled, Jiang Xiaobai looked away and then towards the outer area of the stele.

He noticed that at regular intervals there were circles of meditation cushions laid out, expanding in rings, perfectly encircling the stele.

He could see many sect disciples sitting cross-legged on them, practicing.

After a look around, he began to search for the ‘Elder Ye’ mentioned by the guards outside.

Soon, his gaze landed directly below the stele.

There, a very thin old man was sitting cross-legged, unmoving, so still he hardly seemed to breathe, almost like a corpse.

Jiang Xiaobai hesitated for a moment before approaching the old man.

“Excuse me…”

As soon as Jiang Xiaobai began to speak, the gaunt old man opened his eyes.

In that moment of eye contact, Jiang Xiaobai felt his heartbeat slow down by half a beat.

“New here?” The old man’s aged voice sounded as he scrutinized Jiang Xiaobai: “Which elder’s disciple are you?”

It was the first time he asked such a question.

The reason was that Jiang Xiaobai just felt not quite right to him.

So young, yet with half-white hair – obviously there was a sickness.

He was curious which elder in the sect would take such a person as a disciple.

“From the Spirit Nourishing Place, Huang Linyuan!” Jiang Xiaobai replied respectfully.

“Huang Linyuan?” The gaunt old man’s surprise deepened.

In his understanding, Huang Linyuan was someone with high aspirations; he never expected him to take a student with an illness.

It was rare, indeed!

After another scrutinizing look at Jiang Xiaobai, the old man said, “Come on, show me your sword mark.”

Jiang Xiaobai nodded and revealed his sword mark.

As the gaunt old man saw the sword mark right between Jiang Xiaobai’s eyebrows, he couldn’t help laughing out loud, but his eyes were full of admiration as he laughed.

Having the sword mark branded in such an obvious place also indirectly proved Jiang Xiaobai’s strong sense of belonging to the sect.

“Not bad, not bad!” The old man nodded approvingly: “Have you decided on a name to be authenticated with?”

“A name?” Jiang Xiaobai said, suddenly thinking of something, and his gaze went back to the sword stele.

Could it be that those names below were actually titles?

“Those are all the titles that our sect’s disciples have chosen for themselves!” The gaunt old man noticed Jiang Xiaobai’s gaze and smiled as he explained.

“Isn’t it okay to call by one’s own name?” Jiang Xiaobai asked, puzzled.

“It’s possible, but… I wouldn’t recommend it,” the old man said, seeing the perplexity in Jiang Xiaobai and explained: “This sword stele encompasses a space of its own, both real and illusory. After authentication, in addition to comprehending here on the outside, you can also enter the space within the sword stele and spar with other sect disciples.”

“Since it’s sparring, conflicts are unavoidable. We do not want conflicts from inside the sword stele to be carried outside.”

“So, it’s best to use a title for your name. This way, the other person won’t know it’s you, and you… won’t know who the other person is.”

“Oh…” Jiang Xiaobai understood a bit more in his hint of realization, and after pondering for a moment, his eyes slightly brightened and he said: “Then, I’ll be called ‘Taibai’!”

There was a Poet Immortal called Taibai in his previous life, and with his name Jiang Xiaobai, taking the title Taibai was not excessive.

One small, one large, and even a bit more!

How perfect!

Due to his excitement, Jiang Xiaobai couldn’t help but cough a few times…