Darkness enveloped the wilderness, and the peach blossoms in the courtyard on the mountaintop bloomed brilliantly. Qin Beast stood under the tree, dressed in white, and gently hung a bright moon on a branch, then hid a soul and a spirit within it.
"What are you doing?" Song Ningsheng asked upon seeing this.
"I plan to go down the mountain," Qin Shou replied. "Just in case, I've left a part of my soul and a part of my spirit on the mountaintop."
"???" Song Ningsheng rolled his eyes and said, "With your current cultivation level, there's probably nothing in this world that can harm you. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you the number one person below the Immortal Path. Do you need to be so afraid of death?"
"Hey—hey—how can this be considered being afraid of death?" Qin Shou retorted, unconvinced. "This is clearly being meticulous, after all, better safer is always better."
"......All right. "
Song Ningsheng couldn't refute, "You want to go to the Central Plains of China?"
Yes!
"But before that, I should go and see my disciple down the mountain."
As Qin Shou spoke, he used magic to conceal himself, transforming into a bold and rugged middle-aged man. He rolled up his sleeves, looked around, examined his reflection in the bright moonlight, thought for a moment, and then conjured a black mask from his system space.
The Heavenly Secret Mask can conceal secrets and is an essential item for hiding one's identity when traveling the martial arts world.
"Let me think... something's missing..."
Qin Shou stroked his chin and pondered. He checked himself over again, counting that he carried more than thirty treasures in total. The lowest quality treasures were all top-grade spiritual treasures, and there was also armor of semi-immortal soldier level.
He had made over a dozen layers of talismans, totaling more than a thousand.
"It should be about time, right?"
Qin Shou thought to himself.
"Sigh... I still have to be careful when I'm out and about. I think I'll put up some more talismans."
So he peeled off the spirit treasures one by one, then pasted several more talismans close to his body, and then put the spirit treasures back on one by one.
"Hmm? No, the souls shouldn't be hidden together; they should be hidden separately."
Suddenly, Qin Shou had a flash of inspiration and retrieved a soul from the bright moon, hiding it in the Lotus Blessed Land.
There was a restriction outside the Lotus Blessed Land, which could only be opened by the owner of the blessed land. After hiding a piece of his soul, Qin Shou indeed closed the restriction.
Song Ningsheng: ...Are you guarding against me...?
I've seen people who are afraid of death, but I've never seen anyone so afraid of death.
If you're so afraid of dying, why did you even go down the mountain?
"Old Song, can you take a look and see if there's anything wrong? I'm feeling a bit uneasy, like I've overlooked something important."
"Qin Beast called out."
Song Ningsheng chose to go directly into the lotus flower.
"Why don't you take the big black pot from the kitchen with you?"
"A big black pot?"
Qin Shou was taken aback.
He explained in a serious tone, "That's just an ordinary pot; the real big black pot was taken by Yi Cheng."
Song Ningsheng: ...........
Immediately afterward, Qin Shou sat cross-legged on the hilltop and pondered for a while. Finding that his preparations were complete, he shouted towards the back of the mountain, "Chang Sheng, I'm going down the mountain. Take good care of things on the mountain."
Then, his figure disappeared over the mountaintop.
On the back mountain, Changsheng, who was sleeping, groggily opened his eyes, thought for a moment, and then closed them again and went back to sleep.
Now that there's almost no one left on the mountain, who will he need to take care of?
Sigh... I'm so bored. I'll write a letter to Siwu tomorrow and ask him to come back and have a little sparring session with me.
At that point, should I give him one hand, or one hand and one foot...?
"Ha, this guy's terrified!"
Beside the sacred pool on the mountaintop, the Holy Buddha opened his eyes and said disdainfully.
Song Ningsheng glanced at him. "Why didn't you say that just now? Should I pass it on for you?"
Holy Disciple: "...Amitabha, this humble monk dreamt again that the Bodhisattva started talking nonsense."
......
Jianzhou.
Forest of Ten Thousand Demons.
The earth was pitch black, the mountains stretched endlessly, and amidst the crumbling ruins and the vast, open plain, blood-red sandstorms raged under the moonlight, brushing against broken swords...
In the central area, on a badly damaged ancient black stone platform, sat a beautiful figure. She wore a pale yellow dress, had her hair tied in a ponytail, and carried a sword box on her back. She sat there motionless as if she had fallen into a deep silence, with sword energy emanating from her body, enveloping the entire black stone platform.
A small yellow dog was lying by her skirt, barking incessantly at the darkness not far away.
Rumble!
A major earthquake occurred.
On this day, a beast tide broke out in the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons, with countless ferocious beasts surging towards this place, and even more enormous demonic avatars charging in with earth-shaking force.
Splash—
The sword energy surrounding Luo Yunyan suddenly expanded, growing dozens of times larger.
The horde of beasts surged forward, but all were blocked by the inexhaustible sword energy. Some of the beasts' bodies were even torn apart by the sword energy, spraying blood everywhere.
"The Forest of Ten Thousand Demons, a forbidden zone for humans!"
"You dare covet the sword intent that I, the Emperor, have set my sights on? You're courting death!"
"Roar—!!!"
Several great demon emperors led ten thousand demons, their enormous bodies manifesting above the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, blocking out the bright moonlight and bringing utter darkness and intense pressure to the entire forest.
"Pfft~"
Blood trickled from the corner of Luo Yunyan's mouth, but the girl seemed completely unconcerned, and suddenly opened her eyes in the silence.
In an instant, the world seemed to fall into silence, losing its sound and color. Then, beneath these ruins, an ancient sword intent slowly rose.
Gray began to spread throughout the forest.
Buzz!
A long sword flew out from Luo Yunyan's body.
The sword was as red as blood, exuding an extremely eerie aura.
Immediately afterwards, Luo Yunyan stood up, reached out and grasped the gray sword energy, and slowly said, "My master once recited a poem to me, one line of which goes: 'The waters of the great river—come from the heavens!'"
Rumble!
The earth and sky shook.
The sky seemed to have been torn open, and endless white sword energy came from beyond the heavens, like a sudden enlightenment, instantly clearing away the space within a hundred miles around him.
"Hmph, a mere sword cultivator at the initial stage of the Void Realm, today I, the Emperor, will extract your sword bone and use it for my own purposes."
A total of six great demon emperors attacked.
Seeing this, Luo Yunyan slung her sword box over her shoulder, took a step forward, and the sword energy beneath her feet instantly extended out like a snow-white river, transforming into a road leading to the heavens. On both sides of the road, countless demons were torn apart by the endless streams of fierce sword energy, like moths drawn to a flame.
"My natal magical power - the bird in the cage!"
With a flick of Luo Yunyan's finger, the blood-red flying sword instantly transformed into a hellish landscape, trapping the six great demons within its confines and swiftly slaying them.
"Ugh..."
"How is this possible?!"
"You mere human sword cultivator, you've only just entered the Void Realm, while I, the Emperor, have cultivated the sword for over six thousand years!!!"
"No! I'm not reconciled! Roar ...
One by one, the great demons died amidst their roars.
Rumble!
The earth trembled violently, and the demons fled in terror, only to be trapped within the 'Caged Bird,' which mercilessly reaped their lives.
An hour or so passed.
The world gradually returned to peace.
The bright moon overhead remained unchanged, while below, the mountains and forests were stained with blood. Luo Yunyan, dressed in a pale yellow dress and carrying a sword box on her back, stood quietly in the void. Floating in front of her was a blood-red longsword, constantly absorbing the blood from all directions. The sword gradually became more and more dazzling, eerie, and profound.
"This is your destined flying sword!"
Qin Beast appeared behind Luo Yunyan and spoke.
Luo Yunyan instantly became alert, and all twelve flying swords in the box came out at once, ready for battle.
"I am your master."
Qin Shou then remembered that he had changed his appearance and voice, so he changed back to his original form.
"Master!"
Luo Yunyan breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression immediately changed. She unleashed her innate divine power, the Caged Bird, and at the same time, decisively sent out twelve flying swords. Each of the twelve flying swords had different characteristics, and they worked together seamlessly to instantly seal off all the space around Qin Beast. In just a moment, Qin Beast felt dozens of killing intents coming towards him.
"I truly am your master."
Qin Shou laughed.
bite!
With a flick of a finger.
The caged bird shattered.
The twelve flying swords flew backwards.
Buzz!
Immediately afterwards, Qin Shou reached out and grasped the flying sword that had absorbed the blood of ten thousand demons, examining it closely.
"Master!"
Luo Yunyan was greatly surprised. She recognized the sword strike her master had just made with a flick of his finger as the first sword technique her master had taught her, the "Tai Xu Huan Ling Jian Jue".
What she didn't expect was that her master, who always cultivated in seclusion and never went down the mountain, would suddenly come down this time and find her. That's why she was instantly alert just now, fearing that she had fallen under some kind of illusion.
"Good, good alertness."
Qin Shou glanced at the increasingly mature little girl and praised her with a smile.
"Your flying sword seems rather peculiar."
"Master, this is one of my natal flying swords—the Demon of Destiny. It requires the essence and blood of all demons in the world to be tempered, and the true name of a great demon to be engraved on it. It can summon the true spirits of all the great demons in the heavens to fight for me."
"Hiss~! There's such an extraordinary natal flying sword!"
Qin Shou was surprised and also a little confused. Some brilliant sword cultivators would comprehend their own natal flying sword and supernatural power after reaching a certain stage. Some could comprehend one sword, and some could comprehend three swords, but he had never comprehended his own natal flying sword and supernatural power.
However, he possessed the Four Swords of Zhuxian, which he considered to be among the pinnacle of famous swords in the world. Qin Beast was also quite interested in these strange sword techniques.
"You're referring to one of your natal flying swords. How many natal flying swords have you forged?"
"Reporting to Master, I have only just mastered six natal flying swords."
"How many!!??? "
Qin Shou almost lost his voice.
"Six swords." Luo Yunyan answered with wide eyes, thinking to herself why her master was so surprised. Although she was very powerful to comprehend six natal flying swords, her master was unfathomable and shouldn't be so surprised.
Could it be because I have an innate sword physique that my master feels I haven't grasped enough?
"Oh, only six?" Qin Shou said casually, his hands behind his back. "That's a bit disappointing, but we can always try harder."
"Yes, Master, I will try my best."
Luo Yunyan said earnestly, "Master, I plan to walk a path that no sword cultivator in the world has ever walked before. I plan to first comprehend ten natal flying swords, each containing one sword within my soul, and refine them all to the level of Sword Immortal. Then I will try to conceal one sword within one thought... until finally, wherever my thoughts reach, the universe, the galaxy, the eternal spacetime, the past and the future are all my sword intent... At that time, will I have achieved a kind of immortality?"
Luo Yunyan looked up and asked, "Master, do you think this path is feasible?"
"I'm a little unsure, so I wanted to ask you."
"???"
Qin Shou was stunned.
Ten natal flying swords, one sword hidden in one's soul... and then she also needs to hide one sword in one's thought... Didn't Song Ningsheng say that a person can only comprehend a maximum of three natal flying swords in their lifetime?
What is this supposed to mean?
"Ahem... My disciple, the path to enlightenment is long and arduous; I will persevere in my pursuit."
"???" Luo Yunyan paused for a moment, then said, "Master, you mean: the path to enlightenment is long and arduous, and I will seek it out slowly on my own, right?"
"Yes, that makes sense."
Qin Shou, with his hands behind his back and a steady demeanor, said, "If you ask me, there are no roads in this world that cannot be traversed, only people who cannot traverse them. If a person is exceptionally talented enough, even a narrow, winding path can be transformed into a mighty road."
"Disciple understands, disciple will remember Master's teachings."
Luo Yunyan bowed respectfully.
Qin Shou looked at her and said, "My disciple, why don't you go find another master who can instruct you in the ways of the world?"
I feel like I'm about to be unable to teach you anymore.
"No," Luo Yunyan shook her head. "Master, with you here, why should I seek a master elsewhere? Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
“…Alright.” Qin Shou nodded. “By the way, you were just trying to comprehend the sword intent of this place, weren’t you?”
"Yes, Master. This place is where a senior swordsman passed away tens of thousands of years ago. Legend has it that this place contains a primordial sword intent, so I came here."
"Yes, just remember to be careful next time. Comprehending sword intent requires absolute quiet. What you did just now without any preparation was very dangerous. You were just lucky this time, managing to comprehend that wisp of sword intent at the crucial moment."
"Master, I did it on purpose."
"What...? "
"Disciple deliberately provoked the beast tide. Firstly, to put pressure on myself and force myself to survive in dire straits, as this would accelerate my growth. Secondly, it was to temper my natal flying sword with the blood of ten thousand demons and to inscribe the true names of those great demons on it."
“.............”
Qin Shou was almost dumbfounded; she was astonished by her disciple's 'spirit'.
He hid in the mountains for hundreds of years, afraid to descend. Even when he did come down, he kept a low profile, avoiding even brothels, lest he get into a fight while chasing women, and then the other person would go home and send a constant stream of people to his aid...
Even though I'm very capable now, what if...?
"Uh... cough cough, I think that cultivation should be a natural process, and there's no need to take such risks..."
"Master."
Luo Yunyan suddenly called out.
Qin Shou stopped in his tracks, turned around, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Yunyan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Because I wasn't strong enough, I didn't even have the right to participate when my senior sister died."
“............”
Luo Yunyan's words instantly silenced Qin Shou.
Wenqing's death, how could he not bear some responsibility?
"Alright, it's all in the past."
Qin Shou patted the little girl's head, only then noticing that her eyes were red-rimmed.
It should be noted that Luo Yunyan is known in the cultivation world as cold and indifferent. She has no friends, no relatives, and no one knows where she came from. She has never smiled or shown any other expression. Her only companions are her sword and her enemies, which is why she is also known as the "Heartless Fairy".
To be honest, Qin Shou had been teaching this girl for decades, and this was the first time he had ever seen her with such an expression. In the past, she had always been indifferent to everything.
Perhaps it's because I've been suppressing it in my heart for too long.
In a sense, warmth replaced her mother's image in her heart.
She had spent many years with Wen Qing, and when she went down the mountain alone to train years ago, Wen Qing found out and specially sent someone to secretly watch over her, which she later found out about.
"By the way, I've come to give you something."
"What is that, Master?"
"Sword Diagram."
Qin Shou opened his palm, revealing a scroll.
Luo Yunyan took it and slowly opened it, and saw an endless sword intent rushing towards her. The profundity of the sword intent greatly shocked her.
"I have recently gained some insights into the way of the sword, and I have specially drawn them in this picture to give you my understanding."
"Master, your painting skills are divine, and your swordsmanship is unparalleled. I admire you greatly."
"Ha... Haha... It's nothing, just a quick sketch."
Qin Shou waved his hand dismissively, but inwardly he was puzzled.
Strange, this girl's learned to flatter now. Did Yi Cheng teach her...?
"Disciple thanks Master."
Luo Yunyan carefully put away the scroll.
She could sense that the level of sword intent within it had probably surpassed the level of sword intent manifesting.
That overwhelming sword intent from years ago... could it have been Master?!
"Alright, Master is leaving now. Be careful, and come back to visit often when you have time..."
"Your disciple respectfully sees you off, Master."
Luo Yunyan bowed in greeting.
Qin Shou stood tall, glanced at the moonlight, and then his figure slowly disappeared from the spot.
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