In the instant that Sword Master Xuanyuan's voice trailed off, Qin Ye was surprised to discover that the statue of Ksitigarbha had opened its eyes. Immediately thereafter, its stone mouth began to move as well, as it said in a gentle voice, "We meet again."

Sword Master Xuanyuan was astonished to see this.

This was one of the four legendary bodhisattvas!

Meanwhile, a faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he replied, "Long time no see. In what form are you speaking to me at the moment?"

The stone statue replied in a calm voice, "The gates of Heaven haven't officially opened yet, so I can only project myself into this statue."

It then turned to Sword Master Xuanyuan and asked, "You must be the guardian for this generation, right?"

Guardian? 

Qin Ye turned to Sword Master Xuanyuan with a perplexed expression, but Sword Master Xuanyuan himself was just as befuddled as he asked, "May I ask what that means, Your Excellency?"

"Have you forgotten?" A smile appeared on the stone statue's face, and in the next instant, it suddenly sprang to life as all of the snow it was buried under began to slowly fall away. "Do you know how the title of sword master came into existence?"

Sword Master Xuanyuan shook his head in response.

The stone statue explained, "Beneath Kunlun Mountain was a vast supply of red gold with color resembling fire. It was said that the Yellow Emperor...