Chapter 9 Tianxuan——It is Master who gives me freedom.
[Recommended background music for this chapter: "Gazing"]
Wherever the sword light passed, frost flowers turned into ice.
After testing the three disciples' cultivation through sword intent, Chen Mu said nothing more, but just flew towards the Sword Sect's main hall.
"If you need anything, come find me at the cold spring behind the peak."
After this sentence, everyone lost sight of the Sword Master.
The three Sword Master disciples: "..."
A disciple watching quietly asked, "We've been waiting outside for so long, and Sword Master comes out, strikes us with his sword, and then leaves?"
Another person responded in a low voice: "It was clearly three strikes!"
Someone beside them couldn't stand it any longer: "Shh! Shut up! How dare you talk nonsense about the powerful people in the Spirit Severing Stage!" And in front of his disciples!
Lan Jue sheathed his sword, still with a calm smile on his face.
"Master is as straightforward as ever. I'll be reporting to him later on the internal affairs of Zhuoguang Peak. Would you two junior brothers like to come along?"
Zhong Ming glanced at the silent Gu Congxing and said, "No, Senior Brother, go first."
Gu Congxing also shook his head. He naturally wanted to go find his master, but not now, and he couldn't go with anyone else.
Lan Jue looked around, nodded slightly to the confused disciples watching, and then walked away.
The next day.
Gu Congxing came to the edge of the cold spring and took a deep breath.
Master Shen Mu was born with sword bones, extraordinary roots, and a single-line mutated ice spiritual root.
It is said that he had black hair before he formed the golden elixir, but as his cultivation became more advanced, his appearance became more like ice and snow, unlike that of an ordinary person.
There is a floating black ice palace in the center of the cold spring, where Shen Mu lives when he is not in seclusion.
The lotus-patterned ice steps hang high, and the dome prisms contain sharp sword intent, reflecting the gorgeous sunlight.
"Master." Gu Congxing stepped into the ice palace, his eyes reflecting a figure of deep admiration.
With his silver-white hair floating in the air, Chen Mu turned around and motioned the second disciple to come forward.
"Foundation building is complete, and the progress of cultivation is good."
He knew Gu Congxing's current cultivation level at a glance, and his brows relaxed.
"Are you looking for me this time because you encountered difficulties while practicing your skills?"
"It's not a bottleneck in cultivation."
"...From the stars?"
Gu Congxing didn't realize that his emotions were fluctuating as he looked into his master's eyes. He portrayed the face of the person in front of him without blinking, and tears were brewing in his eyes.
He is still the sword master as bright as the snow on the mountain top.
Untainted by romance, never experienced love, hate, anger or infatuation, he fights alone to capture the demonic dragon and uses his sword to freeze the fourteen continents.
In his previous life, Gu Congxing lived a short life. Although it was brilliant and free, it was also full of regrets. At the end of his life, he was willing to sacrifice everything to atone for his past sins, but he still died with regret at the last step.
At that moment, he suddenly wanted to tell his master and say that he was really sorry.
Tell him, I have done many wrong things in the past in order to resurrect you, Master. Will you forgive me?
Gu Congxing knew clearly that those were all things of the past, but looking at his master who was intact in front of him, he still found it difficult to maintain his rationality.
"Don't cry."
A warm and slender hand reached out and wiped away the hot tears that overflowed from her eyes.
“! Master, I…”
It was not until then that Gu Congxing realized that he had cried so helplessly. He lowered his head in embarrassment, wiping away his tears carelessly, and his ears turned red.
But Chen Mu did not retract his hand. Instead, he stretched out his other hand, held Gu Congxing's face, and stopped him from moving.
His icy blue eyes dropped slightly as he carefully examined the pale face between his hands, which was wet with sweat. His expression remained calm, his eyes cold.
"But have you been wronged? Let me vent your anger for you."
"No, it's not."
Although Master's face was still cold, his hands were warm.
Just by hearing this voice that he hadn't heard for a long time, Gu Congxing felt relieved, as if the turbid air that had accumulated over the years had dissipated a little.
Master is like this. Although he looks cold and lonely, he comes to my side and lends a helping hand when I am most confused and helpless.
After being imprisoned in the Punishment Tower by his brother and fed a Heart-Loss Pill, Gu Congxing was already disheartened. Although he appeared to have forgotten the Phoenix Feather incident and returned to his daily training, something inside him was collapsing and festering.
He numbed himself by practicing sword skills and strengthening his body, otherwise he would fall into fear and confusion once he had free time - if even his closest brother was like this, what else in this world was trustworthy?
Like a bird with chains piercing its bones, he wanted to escape from Gu's shackles, but he had nowhere to go.
Just then, Master appeared.
The world-famous Sword Master Zhuoguang actually praised his Liuyun Sword Skill and extended his hand, asking if he was willing to become his disciple.
The moment he grasped his master's fingertips, Gu Congxing seemed to hear the echo of broken chains in his ears.
——It is Master who gives me freedom.
Gu Congxing blinked, letting a few hot tears slide down, and couldn't help but turn his head and rub his master's hand.
Chen Mu froze slightly, but still let him do it with a calm expression.
Only after absorbing enough warmth through the skin contact did Gu Congxing lower his eyes and say, "Master, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."
As he said this, he left Shen Mu's hands and summoned a spiritual weapon from his storage ring.
A brilliant golden light suddenly appeared, and then condensed into a silver ball of light. When the light faded, a jade ball shaped like a star could be seen in the sky.
"Kunlun Cold Jade... is it the spiritual weapon Tianxuan?" Shen Mu recognized it at a glance.
Tianxuan—one of the seven secret treasures of the Gu family. The Gu family possesses a vast collection of priceless magical instruments and artifacts. Among these, the "Heavenly Secret Treasure" is widely known.
The "Heavenly Secret Treasures" contain seven great spiritual weapons: Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. Only the direct descendants of the Gu family and the powerful elders can possess them. These seven spiritual weapons have different offensive and defensive capabilities, and each one is a rare and supreme product.
Even Gu Congxing, the youngest son, only has one Tianxuan.
"Yes, it is Tianxuan. It is made from thousand-year-old ice souls from the Kunlun Snowfield. It will be of great benefit to the master who has ice spiritual roots." Even for cultivators with other spiritual roots, this thing can be refined into a heavenly-level magic weapon.
Gu Congxing held Tianxuan in both hands and presented it to Chen Mu.
"Master, please accept this and use it as a sword tassel."
Chen Mu did not move. He stared at Gu Congxing with earnest eyes and was speechless for a moment.
After a moment, he frowned slightly and said, "This item is too valuable. It's inappropriate. Besides, you've already given me a magic weapon to use as a sword tassel."
"That's exactly the second thing I wanted to say..." Gu Congxing hesitated a little, but still said, "Master, can you return that feather magic weapon to me?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into dead silence.
"Why?"
His tone was clearly the same calm as usual, but why did he sound a little reluctant?
Gu Congxing shook his head and drove the thought out of his mind. He must be overthinking it.
"Master, when I refined this item before, I thought it was just an ordinary spiritual treasure, but now I know... it carries a curse. It is extremely harmful to the holder and may bring disaster."
Gu Congxing didn't reveal the core of the Phoenix Feather. After all, revealing the whole thing would be like telling Master that the Gu family was involved in the Kong family's massacre. Master, with a righteous heart, would undoubtedly take action upon learning of this.
But now he couldn't be completely sure whether the Gu family was really involved in the family extermination case. In his previous life's investigation, the main suspect pointed to an elder, who was also closely related to the Tianlin Sect.
The Gu family has many branches and factions. If there really is someone with bad intentions, Gu Congxing, as the eldest son, will definitely not let him go.
My brother's attitude is certainly very suspicious, but... is there something else going on?
After all, his temperament has changed drastically since he was designated as the next head of the family and went into seclusion in the forbidden area.
Gu Congxing thought that he couldn't tell his master all these things now. The time was not right.
"I know this was extremely inappropriate, so I gave Master this Tianxuan Spiritual Artifact as an apology."
Chen Mu still didn't say anything.
Gu Congxing's gaze shifted between his master and Tianxuan, and he continued, "It contains an extremely vast amount of ice-type spiritual energy, and its shape resembles a star. It's the perfect way to connect me and my master."
He had said this in a flash of inspiration, thinking of the connection between his name and this spiritual weapon. But thinking back on it, he felt something was a little strange.
It's not a token of love, why do you have to make such nonsense of it?
Gu Congxing was secretly annoyed and was about to explain again when he heard Shen Mu's response.
"Since you say so, I will keep it safe."
Chen Mu took over the Tianxuan, summoned the Zhuoguang Sword, and with a slight thought, he took off the Fengling sword tassel and replaced it with the Tianxuan.
He even poured spiritual power into it, condensing another layer of black ice outside Tianxuan, making it look even more delicate and translucent.
The phoenix feather floated into Gu Congxing's arms. He took it and felt like he had picked up a hot potato.
It was this thing that triggered a series of tragedies in the previous life!
Should we destroy it directly? Or keep it for other uses?
Gu Congxing pondered in his heart and looked at Chen Mu again, only to see that his master was raising his hand to play with the Tianxuan in his hand, and seemed to be very satisfied with this new sword tassel.
Seeing this scene, Gu Congxing felt a warm feeling in his heart. But a thought suddenly emerged, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
Three years had passed since he had given away the Phoenix Feather. If Master had already met Xiao Wangyou, wouldn't he still be unable to escape his fate?!
"Master, have you ever met a young man named Xiao Wangyou before?"
Gu Congxing asked this question abruptly, but Shen Mu answered without hesitation.
"No. Who is this?"
Gu Congxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is empty..."
[Ding! Host! Do not reveal the identity of the protagonist of this article!]
The system's voice suddenly came out, and at the same time, the stone slab that had been hidden for a long time also appeared in front of Gu Congxing, with silver light flashing on it.
Gu Congxing's intuition told him that if he forcibly disobeyed the system's orders, he would probably experience the same loss of power as he did in the beginning.
"...a cultivator with only good looks. In reality, he's ruthless and merciless. I have quite a grudge against him." Gu Congxing changed the subject and continued, "The curse on this feather seems to be related to him as well."
Seeing that the master did not seem to be suspicious, Gu Congxing asked again with a cautious attitude:
"Master, have you come across a young man with black hair and black eyes in the past three years, with superior aptitude and cultivation? He should be about the same age as me."
Shen Mu was silent for a moment, as if thinking, and then shook his head.
At this point, the stone in Gu Congxing's heart finally fell to the ground.
"Why do you ask this?" Sure enough, this inexplicable question made Shen Mu suspicious.
"Oh, it seems that guy also admires you. I'm worried that he will come to steal my master."
This was half true and half false, but when he said it he sounded like a child vying for favor. When Gu Congxing came to his senses, he smiled first.
Seeing his master blinking in surprise, Gu Congxing was afraid that he would say something shocking again, so he quickly bowed and said goodbye.
Getting the Phoenix Feather back would really solve a big problem for me!
Chen Mu looked at Gu Congxing's receding figure without saying a word, with a hint of sky blue reflected in his blue pupils.
Until his back completely disappeared, Shen Mu lowered his eyes, clenched his right hand lightly, and rubbed it secretly.
In his palms, there were still the clear tears left by Gu Congxing.
"A curse..."
A whisper dissipated in the empty ice palace and soon disappeared without a trace.
***
After retrieving the Phoenix Feather, Gu Congxing wanted to destroy it, but he found that this item was indeed the secret treasure of the Kong family. It was invulnerable to swords and guns, and was immune to water and fire.
Of course, it may also be because it has undergone refining and has been contaminated with the master's protective spiritual power.
In short, you can put this thing into the storage ring first.
Gu Congxing placed several seals beneath the Phoenix Feather, ensuring it would not experience any spiritual fluctuations before storing it. He then summoned the Three Purities Bell, stroking the smooth white sound and smiling...
Sorry for the long wait, Junior Brother.
Seven days later, Gu Congxing looked a little tired, but walked towards his junior brother's residence with shining eyes.
But at this moment a familiar voice sounded.
[Ding! Host, main quest 2 begins!]
[Host, please participate in the mission to eliminate the Nightmare Tapir and protect your fellow disciples from death.]
Gu Congxing's expression changed.
die……? !
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Lan Jue now: I got it.
The following Lan Jue: No physical contact between men (pull the two apprentice brothers apart)
Shen Mu: You'd better do what you say.
Gu Congxing: I just left the Novice Village, so I shouldn’t encounter a high-level boss.
Scum Author: (eyes shifted) (whistles) Well, finally, the first big dungeon is about to begin~
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