Chapter 30 Obscure (Part Two) "Please enter Jingchuan"...
For cultivators, breaking through a realm is neither difficult nor difficult. As long as their spiritual energy is abundant and their mind is clear, they can leap forward.
Although Lin Feiran's spiritual veins are not fully healed, he already has a method to remove the curse, so it is not a problem. The rest is like most cultivators, seeking a state of mental clarity.
But the matter of one's state of mind, as the ancient sages said, is "profound and mysterious, the gateway to all wonders," and many people spend their entire lives without ever being able to explore even a fraction of it.
Therefore, humans prefer to sit and discuss the Dao in order to discern the mind and understand the principles, while demons prefer to fight and gain enlightenment on the brink of life and death.
As for Lin Feiran, she wasn't bound by any particular method; she would use whichever was more useful, and if necessary, she would use both.
The night the golden butterfly was released, the words "human envoy" spread throughout the demon realm overnight; everyone knew them, yet no one truly understood them.
What is known is that the demon realm has finally produced its sixth envoy; what is unknown is that this human race has sprung up from who-knows-where.
For a mere human to serve as an envoy of the demon realm is utterly ridiculous.
No one dared to speak ill of him behind his back, fearing that if he heard it, they would be hunted down for miles. There had been precedents for this. So everyone focused their attention on the human and accused him of having wolfish ambitions.
Some even speculate that this human was a "honey trap" brought from the human realm by Princess Mingyue, which bewitched the Demon Lord, causing him to make such a foolish move in order to harm the demon realm!
But then I thought, what kind of stunning beauty could be able to bewitch the Demon Lord? Does such a beauty truly exist in the world?
Amidst the various opinions, a touch of romance has emerged.
In a short time, more and more people came to Lancheng, the city of demons, to challenge Lin Feiran.
The demons have rules: fighting is forbidden within the city. If they want to fight, they must exchange challenges and agree to meet at the Jingchuan Dojo outside the city.
Therefore, this restless group of people had no choice but to keep buying challenge posts every day, writing passionately in an attempt to force out the person who had been missing for several days, but there was no response.
...
As Lin Feiran was breathing in the air at the rooftop, several messenger birds flew in through the dawn light. They were already familiar with this place and knew that this envoy was here every day without fail to perform his rituals.
The messenger birds circled overhead, tapped their heads, and the bundles draped around their necks crashed down, piling up to weigh four or five pounds and crushing half a green tile.
Lin Feiran is indeed bold, but such a provocation tactic is indeed ineffective.
Before preparing to fight and break through to a higher realm, she still wanted to clear her thoughts.
So she stayed in the palace for five days, practiced for five days, and thought for five days. More and more challenges came her way, and the accompanying messages changed from provocative to angry and ashamed, cursing her as a coward who dared not go to Jingchuan to accept the challenge.
After quickly glancing at them, Lin Feiran packed all the challenge letters into a bundle, placing it bulging on the corner of the table, making it look like a bag full of gold and jewels.
After the funeral procession was completed, she skillfully tidied up the "treasure"—the half-shattered green tile—and put it into her bundle. She then picked up the wooden sword by the door and went to the courtyard to practice.
Practicing swordsmanship is the best time to think.
She understood what Ru Xian meant; he wanted her to achieve enlightenment and break through to a higher realm amidst life and death, and she agreed, so she chose to let Jin Die go.
But this doesn't mean she should put all her hopes on the magical duel.
She had reached the Zhaohai Realm, and the next step was to break through to the Wenxin Realm, but she still had no clue. Because of this, she had a knot in her heart, a knot that she could not unravel.
Isn't her heart set on becoming a chivalrous hero?
The wooden sword in his hand, Agarwood, was blunt and without a sharp edge. When it slashed through the air, it couldn't even cut through a thin, tough leaf. This was the way of Qingyu and his ilk. They cultivated the way to become stronger, so that they could freely cut through millions of such floating leaves.
After becoming stronger, after cutting off countless withered leaves, what will happen then?
There is always someone stronger than the strong, and the line between the strong and the weak is endless. Therefore, when comparing people, one can only be either strong or weak, and one has to choose and waver between strength and weakness throughout one's life, endlessly.
This is certainly a path, but it is not the one she wants to take. Just because people are different in strength, do they make distinctions?
The strong should discipline themselves, and the weak should maintain their integrity; this is how it should be.
Holding onto this idea all along, why is her heart unable to move forward? Does she not actually agree with it?
A flash of sword light streaked across the courtyard, amidst falling leaves. The wooden sword moved faster and faster, leaving only afterimages. As it was swung, a trace of frost condensed, and the sword energy entered the pool, carving out half a thin sheet of ice.
Finally, she stopped, stood quietly by the pool, and gazed at the cold "Dao" character that had condensed in the water.
As the ancient sages said, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."
The Way is difficult to explain; only through personal experience can one perceive it.
Lin Feiran closed her eyes slightly, telling herself not to rush.
She opened her eyes again, drew her sword, and turned around. Since this path was temporarily blocked, she would go to keep her appointment with the challenge.
As he approached the door, he had just put down his wooden sword when he suddenly heard a soft, muffled sound coming from the side hall, like a knock on the door.
She picked up her wooden sword again and silently walked to the side hall, a secret room where Mingyue's dowry was stored. After the dowry was sent to Xingzhi Palace, she had kept everything here, so that she could return it to Mingyue if she ever saw her again.
But it's full of inanimate objects, so how could there be any noise?
Lin Feiran stood in front of the door and listened quietly. The faint, muffled sounds came in a very regular pattern, but they didn't seem to be from anything alive.
Puzzled, she unlocked the door and stepped straight into the room. Without budging, she walked to one of the wooden crates, from which the sound came.
She locked the box and opened it, and saw a sandalwood box about the size of a palm inside, making a soft clattering sound. She opened the box again, and a jade pendant about the size of a palm was revealed inside.
She recognized the token; it was an Echo Jade Token specially made for the royal family by the Canxing Domain. It could transmit messages over thousands of miles without the need for magic, only requiring a coded activation.
After being exposed to light, the jade pendant fell silent, lying in the box like an ordinary piece of mutton-fat jade.
Lin Feiran's gaze was strange. She seemed to remember something and said, "The clear white dew brings peace to my heart."
This was the prayer that Mingyue silently recited when she opened the medicine box to heal her wounds that night.
With a click, the jade talisman lit up, and a line of crimson characters flashed through it extremely quickly. It was not a single sentence that appeared, but rather each character appeared one after another and then disappeared one by one immediately. If one were distracted for even a moment, one would not know what the characters meant.
Fortunately, Lin Feiran has always been focused.
Lin Feiran's eyelids twitched. The Emperor's marriage of his daughter was indeed for a purpose, but he didn't know what they were after.
She pondered for a few moments. If "Bright Moon" didn't reply, they would probably send an "envoy" to investigate. Bright Moon's escape would surely be exposed. If the Emperor was relentless and insisted on finding her whereabouts...
She immediately deduced from Mingyue's tone and replied with the four words "All is well".
A moment later, the jade tablet lit up again.
Lin Feiran lowered his eyes, then wrote with his finger: "I don't know, I'm not familiar with him, he's just an ordinary cultivator. Is there anything unusual about him?"
After waiting for a long time, I received no reply.
She couldn't help but chuckle. She kept addressing him as "Your Highness," yet it turned out she was only the one asking questions.
She returned to her room, placed the jade pendant in her dressing case, picked up the bundle on the table, and leaped onto the wall. At that moment, the sky finally revealed a new sun.
She was invited to go, but before that, she had to keep another appointment.
*
As the morning light shone, Lin Feiran easily found her way to Ruxian's room. Although there was no ginseng boy to guide her, she was able to find her place accurately.
Within a few days, she vaguely discerned a pattern. If she wanted to find Ru Xian, she only needed to observe from the highest point at sunrise; whichever house received the first rays of sunlight that day was where he lived.
She knocked lightly on the door, and a voice answered from inside. She then placed the bundle she was carrying outside the door and pushed it open to enter.
"Your Excellency, I have come to treat you again."
Her appetite seems to have increased dramatically.
People often stumble upon her in the kitchen late at night, such as Xun Feifei, who is having a late-night snack after a long day of work; Xuan Zhen, who forgets to eat during the day and is like a starving ghost in the middle of the night; and the Ginseng Clan members who come to prepare food in the early morning.
The kitchen was bustling with people, but the only constant was Lin Feiran, who was earnestly eating noodles in the corner. She could see three groups of people leave after eating one bowl.
So on that very day, Xun Feifei and the others took her to Ru Xian for examination and observation, and this observation lasted for five days.
For five days, she came here to report every morning.
At this moment, Ruxian was sitting at the table, looking surprised: "Did one of the pilgrims inform you that the deity resides here?"
“Your Excellency is overthinking things. You did not receive the message from the boy.” She performed a Taoist bow, sat down at the table, and extended her left wrist. “It was just a coincidence that you guessed correctly.”
As Xue had been considering changing her residence these past few days, she still knocked on the door on time every day. Guessing what was going on, he pulled a gold thread and placed it on her pulse, changing the subject: "How are you feeling today?"
"Xingling went to the kitchen for a meal and is feeling alright now."
After five days of examination, Ru Xian confirmed her previous deduction and said, "You are not sick, nor are you cursed or poisoned. You are simply hungry. When you are hungry, you should eat. It is only natural."
Lin Feiran was startled by his words: "I wasn't like this when I was hungry before!"
Ru Xian gathered the golden threads and looked up at her: "Because your sword bones were hindered before, making it difficult to break through your realm, and you dragged around a tattered body, you could just breathe in some spiritual energy to survive, but it's different now."
Your sword bones no longer dissipate, but they need spiritual energy to nourish them and regrow. Moreover, your spiritual veins are different from ordinary people, requiring a lot of spiritual energy. However, the curse is not fully lifted, making it difficult to circulate spiritual energy. The spiritual energy you breathe in every day is just a drop in the ocean, not to mention that you have already broken through to the Sea of Illumination realm.
Compared to ordinary people, no amount of spiritual energy is enough for you; your breathing is insufficient, so you need to supplement your diet with food.
In short, she has now undergone a dramatic change, and the spiritual energy she needs has changed from a porcelain bowl to a large vat, but the amount of water she can pour in has only increased from one cup to two cups. Due to the severe lack of spiritual energy, she will be forced to replenish it from various sources.
The reason became clear, and Ru Xian handed her several porcelain bottles: "These are all elixirs for replenishing spiritual energy, but medicine should not be taken for a long time, while dietary supplements will not have any effect on you."
The implication is that the pills are for emergencies, and can be taken whenever one wants.
Lin Feiran felt relieved upon hearing this and stopped worrying about it. As long as it didn't affect his breakthrough, it didn't matter how much he ate.
She accepted the pills, thanked him, and as she was leaving, she casually picked up the mountain-like bundle on her back. Just as she was about to depart, Ru Xian called out to her, stopping her in her tracks.
Are you going to Jingchuan today?
Seeing Lin Feiran nod, he suddenly raised the corners of his lips and kicked the little fox beside him with his crossed leg, "Let it go with you, you won't suffer any loss."
This is a small pet that resembles hailstones, named Hanghuo. Although its cry is peculiar, it can devour gold and jade, transform into all things, and when it transforms into weapons, it is incredibly hard.
Upon hearing this, the hooligan, wanting to show off, leaped up and transformed into a bird, meowing at Lin Feiran.
...
Birds don't seem to make that sound.
Lin Feiran remained silent for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement. She did not have a sword at the moment, but since the dagger could be transformed into the spear in Ru Xian's hand, it could probably be transformed into a sharp sword for her to use in the future.
Standing atop the fence, a person and a bird leaped down and headed towards Jingchuan.
*
As the sun rose, there were still few pedestrians in the demon capital of Lancheng. Passersby couldn't help but glance at the girl with a white bird on her shoulder and a bundle on her back.
Tall and slender with a beautiful face and clear eyes, she wore a black outfit that exuded a calm and serene aura, like a deep river or a vertical shadow.
You might overlook it at first, but once you notice it, it's hard to look away.
However, what attracted the most attention at this moment was not her, nor the white bird on her shoulder, but that she was standing outside the shop, eating steamed buns for almost half an hour, chewing slowly and without stopping for a moment.
The owner even started kneading and rolling out the dough again, starting from scratch.
After a long while, everyone's initial surprise turned into eagerness to try it. Are these buns really that delicious?
Two onlookers, their mouths watering, stepped forward to buy some. Lin Feiran immediately moved aside slightly to avoid blocking their way.
Do you think the new envoy will come today?
Lin Feiran paused upon hearing this, then glanced at him discreetly.
"Who knows? Maybe they're trying to outlast us so they can have one all to themselves. If it weren't for the city's ban on fighting, I would definitely drag her out of her shell!"
"You have time to wait. I received a letter from my mother this morning. She said to give me three more days. If there is still no news after three days, then go home and refine the elixir. Don't even think about it anymore."
Another person asked suspiciously, "What kind of elixir could possibly make you relinquish your position as envoy?"
"What was her name again, Jin? I've forgotten for a moment. As you know, Princess Qingping has been ill for a long time. Not long ago, she found a rare medicine that was quite effective. However, this medicine came from one of the four major sects. They had the medicine but no formula, so they couldn't refine or supplement it. Therefore, they sent out invitations, saying that any demon who could make a similar medicine could take any treasure of the fox clan."
"Don't human sects always despise demons? How did they get the medicine?"
"Little girl, your steamed buns are ready!"
The shop owner lifted the lid of the steamer and hurriedly packed the buns into a paper bag, placing it in Lin Feiran's hands.
Thank you.
She took the steamed bun, stopped listening to the two men's idle chatter, and headed towards Jingchuan.
In the demon capital of Lancheng, there is a Taoist temple called Jingchuan, established by Ruxian, located outside the city.
A temple is not something that can be built simply by craftsmanship.
Either like a major sect like Daohe Palace, which uses human labor to create a space, carefully drawing runes on every brick and stone before building it, which is time-consuming but not laborious, or like Ruxian, who, after cultivating to a certain level, can draw arrays as boundaries, cast stones with qi, and use the power of the flow of heaven and earth to create an endless Dao field.
Apart from the far north, the only place in the entire demon realm with this feature is Lan City, the demon capital. If you want to enter Jingchuan to fight, you must first register at the temple and then obtain a talisman to enter the realm.
Even though it was still early, the hall was already crowded with young people, both men and women, standing or sitting. Most of them looked irritable and kept glancing at the city gate. The hall master, who had a mustache, was organizing talismans behind the counter, looking completely unfazed.
Ever since news of the human envoy spread throughout the demon realm, this has been the scene at the hall every day.
They had been waiting for the envoy for five days, and their anger had long been building up to the breaking point. They might just lose their temper one day and rush into the city to drag the envoy out and beat him up.
Under the bright sunshine, a figure in black suddenly emerged from the city gate, moving unhurriedly. The people inside the hall immediately craned their necks to look, only to see the newcomer carrying a huge bundle on her back, walking steadily and calmly. Even after she entered the inner hall, everyone still looked on with suspicion.
Could this unfamiliar face be another person vying for the position of envoy?
Under intense scrutiny, she pulled a string of white jade bells from her pouch and hung them around her waist. Her movements were unhurried, yet they delivered a shocking blow to everyone present.
Only envoys are allowed to carry the white jade bell, and she is the sixth envoy. She actually dared to come!
Amidst everyone's surprise and doubt, they saw Lin Feiran walk straight to the hall master without looking to the side, thank him softly, accept the talisman, and then turn to look at them.
Five days of waiting, coupled with numerous rumors, were enough to make people imagine the sixth envoy as a peerless beauty, either with unparalleled looks or aloof from the world, rather than a quiet, reserved, and unassuming swordsman who seemed like a fleeting shadow.
The next moment, the honest swordswoman in everyone's eyes put down the huge bundle, stirring up a little dust. She pulled out several gold-embossed challenge letters from it, her voice calm and composed.
"West wind, Chenyang, Hengcao..."
She rattled off dozens of names like a Khan reviewing his troops, then raised her head amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd and calmly said...
"These gentlemen who called me a coward, please come into Jingchuan."
Author's Note: I've changed the title to "Sword Rises Over Golden Waves," which seems more fitting since this isn't a meme-based story and it's difficult to summarize it directly with a single word. If it doesn't work, I'll change it back TT
-
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-07-24 22:37:37 and 2024-07-26 01:10:44!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 Coffee Fish;
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Cuihua-Niu 46 bottles; Paipaibushiπ 23 bottles; 68816980 16 bottles; Chunhejingming 10 bottles; Yaojingjiantuidouhaotongya, Wanjidingshizaoshang 8 bottles; Mond7 7 bottles; Prchtig 6 bottles; Jiamaowozhunmeiguo, poet, Xingmanmanman 5 bottles; S1eeepy, Feisheng. 3 bottles; 64609196 2 bottles; Labulala, Haiyanheqing, Yuexiachizhaji, Liliyou, Xu., Duanxiaobai, Zhijuyuchu, parallel, Zhuiguangzhe, 56688515 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
