Once everyone had steadied themselves, the Heavenfall Sword lowered its tip toward Elder Shuiyue, just enough for her to step onto it. She cast an affectionate glance at her sword before lightly landing on the tip and giving a soft command, "Go!"
The giant sword instantly accelerated into the sky. The group, still marveling at the sword's apparent sentience, was immediately thrown off balance by the violent wind. The blonde girl, with the weakest physique, nearly fell off.
Though Elder Shuiyue had her back to them, it was as if she had eyes behind her. With a sweep of her sleeve, an invisible barrier formed on both sides of the eight people, and the fierce wind vanished instantly. This godlike method drew another round of astonished gasps.
Lin Feng bowed slightly and immediately said in the common language of the Xuanyuan Realm, "Thank you, Elder Shuiyue."
Finn couldn't help but marvel inwardly: This sense of acceleration is several times stronger than the fastest supercars on Earth.
After stabilizing themselves midair, the group gradually calmed down and began observing this unfamiliar world.
Countless mountains towered into the clouds, each with its own distinct style. Some were thick and ancient, others steep and jagged. Some were lush with vegetation, waterfalls cascading like silver galaxies, while others were completely barren. Yet none of them could compare to the mountain directly ahead.
That mountain rose like a divine sword piercing the heavens. Its towering cliffs emitted a cold, bluish glow, while clouds swirled around its waist like a raging sea. At the summit stood a grand hall roofed with glazed tiles and inlaid with starstones. Sword chimes hung beneath the eaves, ringing softly in the wind like the cries of blades. An invisible sword intent blanketed the entire mountain, sharp enough to cut—so much so that even from a distance, Finn felt his soul tremble.
This had to be the main peak of the Sword Control Sect.
By the time Finn snapped back to his senses, Lin Feng had already begun organizing introductions.
He and Lin Yue were siblings from the Lin family of the Chinese Empire—a super family with global influence and a history spanning over a thousand years. This was also the reason he could understand the ancient language.
The soldier was named Klie, an active-duty colonel from Russia, who had been training his troops when he was taken by the multicolored light.
The blonde girl was Winnie Anissa from the British Empire, a graduate student before her transmigration.
The woman in red was Xia, thirty-eight years old. Klie recognized her as the legendary fencing champion from the last Olympic Games before the mechanical rebellion.
The young man dressed like a white-collar worker was from Japan, named Asai Musashi. He claimed to be an ordinary office worker and had been working on a proposal when he was transported.
The last was a sixty-four-year-old black elder, Thane Kofi, a geologist. More importantly, he had participated in the excavation of the Sword Control Sect ruins on Earth—and he had been present when the multicolored light erupted.
Hearing this, the group instantly became agitated. Asai Musashi grabbed Kofi by the collar and cursed in Japanese, "Damn it, so it was you! Send me back right now, or I'll throw you off!"
Kofi's eyes filled with fear as he struggled desperately, but his frail body was no match for the younger man.
The next moment, a pair of large, rough hands pushed Musashi aside with ease. Klie shot him a glare before turning to Kofi and asking in a steady voice, "Sir, was this situation within your expectations?"
Kofi straightened his collar and gave Klie a grateful look before speaking slowly, "Thank you. To be honest, I had no idea something like this would happen. I was responsible for geological exploration of the ruins. Our team did discover a new type of energy crystal capable of powering the ruins—you may have seen related reports in the news. But as for the ruins' true purpose, none of us knew. We only saw it as humanity's last hope—better than waiting to die in the apocalypse."
His voice grew heavier as he spoke. "If I had known things would turn out like this, no amount of money would have convinced me to come. My granddaughter has only me… without me, how will she survive?" He slumped onto the flying sword, covering his face as he began to sob.
"That's all?" Lin Feng frowned and pressed further.
Kofi sniffed and steadied himself. "There is one detail I noticed. Among the crowd back then, someone was holding a similar energy crystal—only larger and more refined. I don't know if that helps."
Hearing this, Finn instinctively reached toward his pocket. The crystal fragment in his palm seemed quite similar to what Kofi described. But his survival instincts from the apocalypse made him immediately abandon the thought of revealing it. After all, he had known these people for less than half a day—human nature was unpredictable.
Just as everyone fell into their own thoughts, Elder Shuiyue, standing at the sword's tip, suddenly spoke, "We've arrived."
The giant sword plunged downward at high speed, like a missile streaking straight toward the magnificent buildings below.
Even with the protective barrier, the overwhelming sensory impact exceeded their limits. Winnie, Kofi, and Musashi had already covered their heads in despair, while the others fared only slightly better—trembling, drenched in cold sweat, adrenaline surging.
In the blink of an eye, the giant sword came to an abrupt stop just one meter above the ground. Elder Shuiyue drifted down lightly and cupped her hands toward Sect Master Zhang Qing at the center of the hall.
As for Finn and the others, their landing was far less graceful. Finn, Lin Feng, and Klie barely managed to slide off the sword on their own. Winnie and Kofi practically collapsed into a heap, while Musashi fell flat onto his backside.
The sight drew another round of laughter from the surrounding cultivators.
"Tsk, how embarrassing. You've disgraced me completely!" the Sword Stone sneered in Finn's mind.
Finn ignored it. The rapid descent had left his entire body weak.
After they landed, the Heavenfall Sword immediately shrank, spun once in the air, and precisely returned to the sheath at Elder Shuiyue's waist.