Chapter 602: Tianjue Sword Sect
"Lu Shan."
In the haze, Lu Shan heard a vague voice lingering in his ears, as if calling him.
He wanted to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't.
The voice sounded familiar, but Lu Shan couldn't remember it clearly.
The aging of the human body has made him forget many things in the past two years, but he shouldn't have forgotten this voice.
"Lu Shan! Get up!"
A cold feeling suddenly hit his cheek, and the boy opened his eyes suddenly.
Standing in front of me was a woman in her twenties, dressed simply, with long black hair casually draped over her shoulders and a hint of seriousness on her plain face.
She was wearing a green gown with a gray robe on the outside, looking very simple.
When he saw the woman, Lu Shan suddenly had an urge to cry.
"Sister Shen?"
Lu Shan looked at the woman and blurted out, but was immediately pinched on the cheek by the woman.
"Who is your eldest sister! I've told you so many times, call me Master! At the very least, you should call me Sister Shen!"
"It hurts! Big sister! Big sister, I was wrong!"
"Still screaming! Still screaming!"
The woman's name is Shen Xueyao. She is Lu Shan's master and also the head of the Tianjue Sword Sect.
However, the title of leader seems to be somewhat unworthy of the current situation.
The Tianjue Sword Sect, a sect that was once famous in the martial arts world, once had its glorious moments.
They are famous for their Nine Swords that Break the Sky, and their sword formation is even more difficult to break. Their master even fought against tens of thousands of demons with his mortal body and became famous in one battle.
Many heroes came here hoping to join this famous sect and learn their mysterious sword techniques.
However, in recent years, the Tianjue Sword Sect has been doing worse than before.
Several elders passed away one after another, and the sect was short of successors, with each generation being worse than the previous one.
The original Nine Swords Secret Art has been passed down until now, but even two swords cannot be performed.
The current leader, Shen Xueyao, is even more of a half-baked person. Her father, the previous leader, was beaten to death in the street by two strong men in a street brawl when she was twelve years old.
This incident caused the reputation of the Tianjue Sword Sect to plummet, and some of the less experienced disciples left one after another, either to go down the mountain to gain experience or to seek other ways out.
Gradually, the entire sect became deserted and even the daily expenses could not be sustained.
At the same time, some worldly troubles also followed.
The houses in the valley have fallen into disrepair, with collapsed walls and broken rubble everywhere.
The training ground once used for martial arts competitions has become overgrown with weeds and is almost unrecognizable.
Various signs indicate that this once famous and upright sect is now on the decline and is in danger.
It’s not that Shen Xueyao didn’t try hard, but because her martial arts skills were mediocre, sometimes she couldn’t even compare to her disciples, so she could only helplessly watch as the number of people in the sect decreased day by day.
"Sister." Lu Shan followed Shen Xueyao while wringing out the water stains on his clothes.
"I just had a dream. I dreamed that I went to a strange world. There were many tin houses and moving tin boxes there."
"Read less storybooks and practice more swordsmanship."
Shen Xueyao bent down, picked up a bundle of firewood and walked towards the woodshed.
"Hehe, big sister, if I continue practicing with my sword, I'm afraid you won't last a single round in my hands... Ouch!"
The woman turned around and kicked Lu Shan in the thigh, making him scream.
"How can you talk to your master like that? You have no respect for your elders. I shouldn't have brought you, a little wanderer, home in the first place, and provided you with food and shelter, and even taught you swordsmanship. All you do is piss me off every day!"
In fact, Shen Xueyao is not very good-looking and is a bit short. In addition, she has been doing rough labor for many years, so her hands are very rough and covered with calluses. Therefore, she is still unmarried at the age of 27.
Lu Shan rubbed his thigh and watched Shen Xueyao holding the firewood with difficulty. He walked over and snatched the firewood from the woman's hand.
"Yes, yes, my dear sister, I'll help you. Oh, that's not right. Isn't chopping wood my senior brother's job? Is he lazy too?"
After hearing what Lu Shan said, a trace of sadness flashed across Shen Xueyao's brows.
She sighed and said, "Lu Shan, from today on, there may be only the two of us at this mountain gate."
This sentence has been made very clear, and the senior brother left.
In other words, Lu Shan is now the last successor of the Tianjue Sword Sect.
Lu Shan was shocked when he heard Shen Xueyao's words. He looked up at his master and saw that her eyes were slightly red and her expression was sad, obviously trying to suppress her sadness.
A complex emotion suddenly surged in the boy's heart.
He thought about when he was young and living on the streets, and it was Shen Xueyao who brought him back to the Tianjue Sword Sect and gave him a place to settle down.
Over the years, although the mountain gate has become increasingly dilapidated and crumbling, it has always been his home that protects him from the wind and rain.
"Don't worry, big sister."
Lu Shan took a step forward holding the firewood and spoke in a firm tone.
"No matter what happens, I will guard the mountain gate with you. Even if we are at our wit's end, I will never leave."
When Shen Xueyao heard her disciple's words, her heart couldn't help but warm.
She knew that although Lu Shan was unruly in his daily life, he was a man who valued friendship and loyalty at heart.
But I didn't expect that when the mountain gate was in danger, he could say such responsible words.
But Shen Xueyao did not respond, she just slowly closed her eyes and nodded.
Lu Shan remembered that the woman came to the mountain gate that night.
She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, had a stunning appearance, and her every move had a charm that captivated everyone.
The woman knocked on the mountain gate, and it was Lu Shan who opened it.
"Little friend, I'm looking for Shen Kuo."
The woman looked at Lu Shan with a smile, and that smile captured the boy's heart almost instantly.
He opened the door for the woman tremblingly. Although he didn't know who Shen Kuo was, he knew that such a beautiful woman could not be a bad person.
Soon Shen Xueyao also came out of the main house after hearing the sound. She didn't know the woman, but she was also impressed by her beauty.
"...Sorry, I only have some coarse tea." After bringing the woman into the inner room, Shen Xueyao took out her father's best tea, but still felt that it was not worthy of this woman.
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness." The woman nodded with a smile, then looked at Shen Xueyao and asked.
"Who are you to Shen Kuo? Why do you look so much like him?"
At this moment, Lu Shan was standing at the door like a doorman.
He saw his master was slightly stunned, and then he said cautiously: "My... my name is Shen Xueyao, the 79th generation leader of the Tianjue Sword Sect... Shen, Shen Kuo is, my great-grandfather."
The woman's long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her skin look even whiter and more translucent.
On her delicate face, a pair of lively and affectionate almond-shaped eyes and charming red lips make people want to surrender to her charm involuntarily.
Lu Shan looked at the beauty from afar and couldn't help feeling a little flustered.
He had never seen such a beautiful woman. She was like a fairy who had descended to earth, and people dared not look at her directly.
"Little brother, can you pour me some tea?"
Just at this moment, the woman turned her head slightly and looked at Lu Shan with a smile.
Lu Shan quickly lowered his head to cover up his loss of composure, walked cautiously to the woman, and poured tea for her with trembling fingers.
The woman's gaze lingered on Lu Shan for a moment, and then she seemed to have discovered something interesting.
"Where is Shen Kuo now?"
Then, the woman looked at Shen Xueyao and asked.
"Grandpa...? He's been dead for a long time..."
After hearing Shen Xueyao's words, the woman's smile slowly froze, and then her expression became gloomy.
"Excuse me... who are you...?"
At this moment, Shen Xueyao asked the question that had been on her mind.
The woman did not answer immediately.
She picked up the teacup and took a sip elegantly, with a hint of gloom between her brows.
"I am your great-grandfather's old friend."
Shen Xueyao was slightly surprised, and then asked: "...but you look so young and beautiful..."
After hearing Shen Xueyao's words, the woman smiled foolishly, then put down the teacup and gently waved her sleeves to cover half of her face, looking at the woman in front of her with an extremely seductive look.
"That's because I'm a demon."
Clang——
The teacup in Shen Xueyao's hand fell to the ground.
She stood up tremblingly and tried to get the sword while shouting to Lu Shan.
"Lu Shan! Run! Get out of here!"
Lu Shan was stunned and froze in place. When he finally came to his senses and wanted to escape, the woman just waved her hand lightly, and the wooden door and window closed at the same time.
"Monster, monster! I, I, I am not afraid of you! I, I am the leader of the Tianjue Sword Sect!"
Shen Xueyao trembled as she pulled the sword passed down from her ancestors out of its scabbard and spoke to the woman in a trembling voice.
"Why are you so hostile when you hear I'm a demon? Back in the day, your great-grandfather and I drank and talked about everything."
"Lu Shan...quick, come to me."
Shen Xueyao shouted to Lu Shan.
Just as Lu Shan was about to move, the woman gently raised her hand and held Lu Shan's arm. Then her hand quickly moved all over Lu Shan's body. A tingling sensation like an electric shock made Lu Shan's legs go soft all of a sudden.
"Don't lay a hand on my apprentice!"
Shen Xueyao was furious. She drew her sword and stabbed the woman.
But the woman didn't even look at her. She just raised her hand, pinched the sword blade with two fingers, and then gently applied force with her fingers.
The leader's sword broke with a sound.
"Actually, I came here today because I heard some news." The woman turned her head slightly and looked at Shen Xueyao.
"The Tianjue Sword Sect wants to sell off its ancestral property."
The woman's words shocked Lu Shan, who was slumped on the ground. He turned around and looked at his master in a daze.
"...Sister, what nonsense is she talking about? How can we... possibly sell it..."
He originally wanted to see his master tell him that those were all rumors, but now, Lu Shan saw guilt and despair on Shen Xueyao's face.
Tears kept flowing from Shen Xueyao's eyes. She held the broken sword in her hand and slowly knelt on the ground.
"I'm sorry... Lu Shan, but, but I... I really can't hold on any longer... The expenses required to maintain the mountain gate have already put me in debt... If I sell the ancestral home, I can... I can open a small shop at the foot of the mountain... Then you, you can also..."
"It's incredibly stupid."
The woman interrupted Shen Xueyao.
"Let me ask you, Shen Xueyao, why did the Tianjue Sword Sect decline?"
Shen Xueyao raised her head slightly, looking at the woman with red eyes: "...There is no one to take over."
"You have such an innate treasure, but you don't take it seriously at all. This is the reason why your sect is in decline."
The woman slowly stood up, her eyes full of indifference.
"Keep these ancestral properties, and don't let yourself become the sinner of the Shen family's ancestors."
After saying that, the woman raised her hand and waved lightly, and a brocade bag was thrown onto the table. The bag was full of gold ingots, and the drawstring opening could hardly hide the brilliance inside.
Lu Shan and Shen Xueyao were stunned by what they saw.
"As for you, little brother."
The woman turned back to look at Lu Shan. "You are a genius that only appears once in a thousand years. Your physique and talent are both supreme treasures. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fulfill the agreement with Shen Kuo this time."
She smiled and took out an ancient book from her sleeve and threw it to Shen Xueyao.
“This…this is…”
"The manual of the Nine Heavenly Tribulations Swords was something your great-grandfather asked me to keep for safekeeping three hundred years ago. He and I agreed to meet again at the mountain gate three hundred years from now, and I would return the manual then."
The woman laughed self-deprecatingly. "I really was fooled by him, this bastard... It's as if he knew his sect had no successors and was worried that the sword manual would be taken away, so he let me keep it for him for free for over three hundred years..."
Finally, the woman slowly turned and walked towards the door.
“You… who are you…?”
After Shen Xueyao asked this question, the woman slowly stopped, then turned around and smiled, looking straight at Lu Shan.
"You should only be able to use the eighth sword of the Nine Heavenly Tribulations. Of course, if the time is right one day, you might draw out the ninth sword. But remember, little brother, when you draw out the ninth sword, please think clearly about why you are drawing it."
Finally, she gently raised her hand and pushed open the wooden door, leaving only a whisper echoing in the night sky.
"My name is Shuo Bai."
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