Chapter 23: Sword Palace, don’t worry, don’t worry…
Gui Xuan was not afraid of the spiritual insects driven by the jade doll.
Honestly speaking, as a medical practitioner, especially as the young master of a large sect like Liangyi Valley, Gui Xuan has already seen all kinds of tragic scenes such as blood and flesh, flying bones, and shattered internal organs.
Compared with those restricted scenes, the few scattered spirit insects in the jade doll's hands have almost zero lethality to him.
What's more, he was born with the blessing of the Avenue of Vitality. As a living being, the three-eyed white spider has its own flowing vitality. Gui Xuan felt it when the jade doll began to control the insect to crawl onto him.
The reason why Chu Sheng was able to reach out and grab one directly from above his head was simply because she saw what she was thinking and therefore cooperated a little.
But Guixuan was concerned about something else.
The Young Master of Liangyi Valley frowned and said to the newly appointed Senior Sister of Hehuan Sect, "Chu Sheng, I have a big question."
"What do you say?" Chu Sheng, who was doing good deeds every day, dealt with Fang Yuan who was restless because of the spring flowers, knocked out the bad-tempered Chen Duoer, and finally coaxed the little silly Yuwawa. Finally, he felt the acceleration of his mental method increasing a little bit, and looked at his good friend in a good mood.
"How on earth have you, the Hehuan Sect, managed to survive until now without being divided up by other sects?" Gui Xuan asked as she prepared the special Huiling Pill with super double the properties according to Chu Sheng's special request.
"If this configuration and the style of the disciples were put on the battlefield, it would seem that your sect is completely disorganized and cannot defeat the others at all!"
Sword cultivators would form sword arrays, talisman cultivators would draw talisman arrays, and medical cultivators would form elixir arrays. Although cultivators always strive for the highest realm of being able to form an array by themselves and resist thousands of enemies, the path of cultivation is so difficult and dangerous. How can one achieve their goal with the efforts of one person?
Moreover, the thresholds to entry to the Sword Palace and Dao Sect were extremely high. How could ordinary people enter? Even a super large sect could not single-handedly support the pillars of an entire Daoist school.
Most sects have been able to survive in the world to this day because they all have their own special features, from the sect's secret techniques to the multi-person spellcasting through alliances, each sect must have its own strengths in order to be able to pass on some of its heritage.
But this characteristic is not applicable to the Hehuan Sect.
Most of the ordinary disciples of the Hehuan Sect relied on others to improve themselves. Occasionally, there were gifted people who only wanted to get closer to more powerful people. The disciples were independent and acted independently. It was never heard that they worked together, let alone...
Gui Xuan looked at Fang Yuan and Chen Duoer who were trying to attack in sync but failed and were pulling each other's hair, as well as Yuwawa who turned a deaf ear to the noisy fight and just lay on the ground wriggling with the spirit insect, and agreed with Chu Sheng's statement.
"You're right, you Hehuan Sect have no sense of teamwork at all!"
"It's not a big problem. I didn't expect them to perform well in this regard." Chu Sheng looked very open-minded.
"After all, the basic principle within the sect is not to compete with each other for a chosen dual cultivation partner... Wait, don't look at me like that. I've already said that I'm a ruthless cultivator, and my situation is different from theirs. I won't practice dual cultivation or form a Taoist partner!"
"You're surprisingly principled in this regard." Gui Xuan regretfully withdrew his gaze, once again suppressing the urge to act. He lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace in front of him, sniffed the medicinal aroma, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face: "It's done."
Chu Sheng looked at the special Huiling Pill that Gui Xuan brought to him for a moment. The color, size and even taste were exactly the same as the ordinary Huiling Pill. However, after seeing with his own eyes what ingredients Gui Xuan used, Chu Sheng would never treat it as an ordinary pill.
"Ordinary Soul-Returning Pills can help someone in the early stages of Foundation Establishment recover all their spiritual energy, but this Soul-Returning Pill is even more potent. If I were to take it, the explosive spiritual energy would cause me to break through the realm directly, forcing me to attract the heavenly thunder of the Golden Core Stage."
After Guixuan explained, she asked Chusheng again, somewhat worriedly, "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
"No problem. Others may not be able to control it, but it's just right for me... With it, I am more confident now." Chu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and put away this special soul-restoring pill carefully.
"I wonder how Ling Fengzhi is doing now." She looked up at the gloomy sky and suddenly spoke.
The news that the Sword Palace's current sword-wielding elder, Buwang Jianzun, accidentally died while undergoing a tribulation was intentionally concealed by the Sword Palace for a while, and now it has become a tacit secret hidden by everyone.
As a disciple of Buwang Jianzun, Ling Fengzhi's identity was no secret to Chu Sheng and Gui Xuan. Even Gui Xuan, who didn't want to worry about anything, frowned when Chu Sheng mentioned another friend whose situation was unknown.
The Sword Palace is not a one-man show like the Liangyi Valley Master Guizhi Fuling, nor is it the alienated state of non-interference of the Hehuan Sect. It is also far from the situation of the Zhongnan Dao Sect where the sect leader holds the final say.
Complex historical reasons, chaotic personnel composition, and the sudden death of the sword-wielding elder Buwang Jianzun... After losing his master, in such a fiercely competitive Sword Palace, can Ling Fengzhi, who is a bit stubborn and dull, still keep his original position as a core disciple?
"Anyway, I hope he can pull through." Chu Sheng thought of many things in his mind in an instant, but he couldn't say anything. In the end, he could only sigh silently.
It is indeed a turbulent time for the Sword Palace.
"Okay, everyone, pay attention." Chu Sheng collected his thoughts, clapped his hands, and awakened the attention of the three people who were dancing wildly.
"Tomorrow we will officially begin participating in the Dharma Cultivation Competition. Today I have a few things to note that I need to explain to you..."
On the other side, the Sword Palace.
Just as Chu Sheng and Gui Xuan had imagined, Ling Fengzhi's life after returning to the sect was not very good.
The Sword-wielding Elder is a special existence in the Sword Palace that is independent of the Three Mountains, Six Veins, and Nine-Layer Sword Dao.
After the sword-wielding elder of this generation, Buwang Jianzun, died unexpectedly, according to the sect's rules, the first person to be chosen as his successor should be from among his disciples, but this is where the problem lies.
The time that Sword Master Buwang took over as the Sword-wielding Elder was not long, and he had only a handful of disciples. Apart from Ling Fengzhi, a small sword cultivator in the late stage of foundation building, he only had one senior disciple who was said to have disappeared after going out for training.
This unknown eldest disciple had been accepted into the sect before Lord Buwang Jianzun ascended to the position of Sword-wielding Elder, and he had left the sect before Ling Fengzhi joined. Now his location cannot be contacted and no news can be obtained from divination. Only the sect's soul lamp is still flickering, proving that he is still alive in some corner of this world.
But in this unexpected situation, it was obvious that there was no way this missing eldest disciple could suddenly appear from some corner and clamor to accept the position of Sword-wielding Elder.
And Ling Fengzhi... facing the heavy position of the Sword-wielding Elder who had to shoulder the heavy responsibility for the entire Sword Palace at this critical moment, he was only in the late stage of foundation building and was not taken seriously by anyone.
——Even if he might be the former master of the Frost Sword, it won’t work.
"What does Qi An say about this?" Sword Palace Master Changfeng Duji pondered, stroking his beard. "What is the likelihood that the Frost Flower Sword has already recognized Ling Fengzhi as its master?"
"The reply letter stated that within the secret realm, Shuanghua Sword was indeed more receptive to Ling Fengzhi's approach, and in the end, she truly willingly allowed herself to be taken away by Ling Fengzhi. This is something not only Qi An, but also the other disciples who accompanied them can attest to."
"Is it really not him...?"
That would be troublesome. The Bliss Sect has been eyeing the Frost Sword for many years. If they had learned of this news, who knows what kind of trouble would have arisen.
Having already thought of the troubles that were visible in the future, Changfeng Duji stared intently, trying to see Qi An's emotions when he wrote Feiluan's reply, but after staring for a while, he chose to give up.
"Palace Master, do we need to summon Qi An back to the palace as soon as possible?" the person in charge asked in a low voice.
"That's fine. Now that Ling Fengzhi has returned to the palace, we have plenty of time to explore his relationship with the Frost Flower Sword. As for Qi An, since Yuan Qi has extended such a cordial invitation, we at the Sword Palace naturally can't let this young master down for such a small matter."
Changfeng Duji rejected it. The death of the cultivator in the Tribulation Crossing Stage had become a "small matter" that was not worth mentioning in his mouth.
"Zongzi Yuan Qi... Although Qi An is on good terms with him, there's an innate disparity in their talents. Qi An will sooner or later be left far behind by Yuan Qi. Zhongnan Dao Sect may have a Zongzi to step forward, but my Sword Palace will definitely need a young palace to rival them."
He raised his eyes and asked, "What is the attitude of the people from the Three Mountains and Six Veins?"
"Sword masters from two different sects have already expressed their interest in accepting Ling Fengzhi as their disciple," the headmaster replied. "The others may still be waiting and watching, awaiting your response."
"The position of Sword-wielding Elder is indeed a good one," Changfeng Duji made his decision. "It's not surprising... a sword cultivator at the Tribulation Crossing stage fell in such a disgraceful state. At this point, the Sword Palace doesn't owe him anything. All the resources on the mountain under his name should be reclaimed."
The Sword Palace Master said lightly.
"Tell Ling Fengzhi that since he is self-disciplined, respectful of his teachers, and sincere in heart, heaven and earth can bear witness to his sincerity, the palace has decided to allow him to not become a disciple of another, but to establish his own sect and inherit the sword art of his master."
Without a master, without resources, and without access to various unique cultivation methods...
If one can carve out a path with one sword even in such a desperate situation, what does it matter even if one admits that Ling Fengzhi is the Master of the Frost Sword?
The Sword Palace can fully afford the risk of another confrontation with the Bliss Sect.
But if Ling Fengzhi remained nameless and forgotten, it would mean that the Master of the Frost Flower Sword had yet to emerge. A famous sword possesses a spirit, so it's not uncommon for it to obscure its edge and be hidden among the myriad graves, right?
Changfeng Duji put his hands into his sleeves. This action was a little funny for a man with only one arm, but the person in charge beside him did not dare to look away at all, but just lowered his head and listened.
"As for the selection of the next Sword-wielding Elder of the Sword Palace... there's no need to be impatient. When the time is right, everything will be clear."
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