Chapter 96 Peony: Peonies symbolize longing, red beans convey yearning.
It was clear that a vicious demon had just been killed, yet the sword was not stained with a drop of blood. Instead, it vibrated continuously as if it had drunk blood, as if it were feeling very excited about it.
The Sword God is also known as the "God of Slaughter." His murderous aura is almost tangible, and even the sword in his hand carries the ferocity cultivated from drinking countless blood, making him awe-inspiring.
As the Sword God gazed upon those from the realms of magic and weapon cultivation, he formed a sword finger with his other hand and slowly stroked the blade, causing the sword in his hand to gradually emit a chilling light.
Those disciples from the weapon-cultivating realm were the first to kneel before the Sword God. Since everyone from the weapon-cultivating realm knelt, even those from the magic-cultivating realm who didn't want to kneel had no choice but to kneel when they saw the Sword God's gaze fall upon them.
Afterwards, the people kneeling on the ground hurriedly explained why they had invited her. With the people from the Zen meditation community vouching for her, proving that they did not intend to set a trap to harm the Sword God, the Sword God did not mind being forcibly summoned and turned to look at the evil dragon that was still circling above the sea.
As expected of the Sword God, he didn't even need anyone else's cooperation. He simply had the people from the Dharma Cultivation Realm and the Weapon Cultivation Realm rescue the Body Cultivation Realm disciples ashore, and then in an instant, he flew to the skies above the Western Sea to confront the evil dragon.
The evil dragon was so large that when it stood up and looked down at the sword god, the sword god was no bigger than its pupil. But when the evil dragon opened its blood-red maw at the sword god, the sword god did not flinch in the slightest. Instantly, a dazzling white light emanated from its body, and it held a long sword and began to fight the evil dragon.
It's not entirely accurate to call it a grueling battle, because the evil dragon was almost powerless to fight back. After the sword god cut off its tail with a single sword strike, it was flung directly onto the shore. If the people on the shore hadn't reacted in time, they would have been crushed into a pulp by the evil dragon's body.
The evil dragon was already injured by the previous heavenly lightning, and its strength was further depleted by the cultivators who had come earlier. At this moment, it was no match for the Sword God. It could only quickly coil up its body, like a snake standing up to intimidate an enemy, and roar at the Sword God.
But the Sword God didn't take that move at all. He flew out a sword that pierced its throat and emerged from its back.
The sword had been with the Sword God for many years and had developed its own spirit. With just a wave of his hand, the sword flew back to the Sword God's hand and vibrated continuously, emitting bursts of sword cries, as if mocking the evil dragon's incompetence.
After the evil dragon struggled in agony for a long time before finally dying, the Sword God severed its head. Then, carrying the enormous dragon head, he flew all the way back to the Sword Cultivation World and gave the head to his senior brother as a gift.
At this point, one person couldn't help but sigh, "The Sword God and his senior brother were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love. One was aloof, the other gentle; they were truly a perfect match, a match made in heaven!"
"Yes! I heard that when the Sword God brought that evil dragon's head back to the sword cultivator world, it terrified many people. When he threw it on the ground, it even damaged the Wan Shan Sect's mountain gate. But the Sword God's senior brother, now Sect Leader Zeng, not only didn't blame the Sword God at all, but was also worried about whether the Sword God was injured, his eyes even turning red with anxiety. I thought the two of them were about to get married, but unexpectedly... alas..."
"Speaking of which, the rumors outside are all unreliable. They say that the Sword God was harmed by Sect Leader Zeng, but who doesn't know that when the Sword God was initially going to succeed as the leader of the Wanshan Sect, many of the elders of the Wanshan Sect opposed it? It was Sect Leader Zeng, who was the son of the former leader at the time, who overruled the objections and personally sent the Sword God to the position of leader. How could such a person harm the Sword God?!"
"Exactly! Sect Leader Zeng's cultivation is not weak either, it's just that compared to the Sword God, his progress is not as rapid. But cultivation level is not the standard for judging a person. If you ask me, the Sword God and Sect Leader Zeng are a match made in heaven. Their personalities are one cold and one warm, aren't they just perfect?!"
"Alas... If someone were to travel thousands of miles to bring me the head of a vicious dragon as a birthday gift, I would never look at anyone else in my life but that person..."
"Speaking of which, the Sword God seems to be only aloof to outsiders, but very gentle and warm to his own people. Especially when it comes to Sect Leader Zeng, I heard that the reason Sect Leader Zeng and the Sword God were initially engaged was because the Sword God was always around Sect Leader Zeng, sending him gifts every day for four whole years. He won over Sect Leader Zeng, no, he won him over..."
"Moreover, after the Sword God succeeded to the position of sect leader, no matter how busy he was, he would still send a congratulatory gift to the former sect leader on his birthday. One year, on the former sect leader's birthday, the Sword God used some method to make the entire sword cultivation world bloom with peonies, especially the Wanshan Sect, which turned into a sea of peonies."
"I've heard about this too! I heard that the Sword God appeared in a sea of flowers that day, and performed a set of self-created sword techniques called 'Endless Longing' for Sect Leader Zeng. The seventy-two moves were exquisite and unrestrained to the extreme! When he finished the move, a perfectly intact peony flower was still on the tip of his sword. As soon as Sect Leader Zeng took the peony, the Sword God sheathed his sword and walked up to him. He opened his palm and gave Sect Leader Zeng a string of red bean beads!"
"That bracelet... I heard it was hand-woven by the Sword God himself. Even now, Sect Leader Zeng still wears it on his wrist. Sigh... they were a pair of lovers who couldn't be together..."
"Peony symbolizes longing, red beans convey yearning. With this action by the Sword God, who in the world does not know the depth of his feelings for Sect Leader Zeng?"
Li Chen listened to their conversation, her expression growing increasingly grim. She tried to interrupt them several times, but they were engrossed in their chatter and paid no attention to her, continuing their lively conversation.
Especially when the topic turned to peonies and red beans, she couldn't help but swallow hard. She subconsciously turned to look at Shen Zhengyuan and saw him staring intently in her direction. His beautiful eyes were filled with a gloomy expression, revealing no emotion. But just by looking at his somber expression, one could tell what he was feeling...
It's definitely not very good.
Damn it, how did the conversation suddenly turn to those things?
And these were things that made her increasingly embarrassed and ashamed the more she listened...
She turned around, but felt uneasy, as if something was sticking to her back, crawling over every inch of her body from top to bottom and then from bottom to top. The sticky, cold discomfort made her shiver involuntarily.
The feeling of being spied on, which she hadn't experienced in a long time, reappeared, like a spider web that she couldn't throw away or tear off, enveloping her entire body. Moreover, it seemed to be constantly seeping into her body, making her feel cold all over and causing her heart to skip a beat.
Shen Zhengyuan has seemed much more normal lately, which has made her almost forget that he's actually not quite normal...
well……
Old monk Mingcun really knows how to cause her trouble...
She coughed lightly, then raised her voice slightly and exclaimed, "Hey everyone! I don't think that Sword God meant that at all. You see... think about it, neither the Sword God nor that Sect Leader Zeng ever said they had that kind of relationship. Maybe they're just fellow disciples?"
"Besides, the Sword God has never left the world of sword cultivators before, so he may not even know the meaning of peonies and red beans. When he gave them as a gift on the birthday of the former sect leader, he might just have thought they were pretty."
Before she could finish speaking, someone immediately retorted, "Alas! Hermit Chenjin, you have always cultivated in the Zen world, so naturally you do not understand the affairs of the secular world. The Sword God and Sect Leader Zeng must have had feelings for each other, otherwise why would Sect Leader Zeng search for treasures everywhere every year on the Sword God's birthday and give them to him? And why did he declare after the Sword God's fall that he would never seek a Daoist partner again?"
"Exactly. Moreover, the Sword God must know the meaning behind the peony. I heard that before they were engaged, the Sword God planted a whole courtyard of peonies for Sect Leader Zeng and personally went to the South Sea to find a precious pearl worth a thousand gold pieces as a gift. Afterwards, he even took the initiative to express his feelings to Sect Leader Zeng, and when Sect Leader Zeng agreed, the Sword God generously rewarded the entire cultivation world with wedding candy. Everyone in the cultivation world knows about this!"
"Oh……"
"Yeah?"
Shen Zhengyuan's voice suddenly rang in her ears, startling her. She turned her head and found that the person who was originally more than ten steps away had somehow walked up to her side, looking very interested in what was happening. She silently closed her eyes.
This is bad...
This is really bad...
She had completely forgotten the arrogant and unrestrained personality of that sword god when he was alive, and she had also forgotten what he had done in a moment of impulsiveness...
Although Li Chenjin's expression was extremely unpleasant, those people from the body cultivation world were completely oblivious to his feelings. They even echoed Shen Zhengyuan's voice and asked, "Yes! Who doesn't know the Sword God's feelings for Sect Leader Zeng? Moreover, the Sword God will extend his affections to those who resemble Sect Leader Zeng. Although the Sword God is usually cold and aloof to outsiders, he becomes very gentle if he sees someone who looks even slightly like Sect Leader Zeng. Alas... it's just a pity that we are all rough people, unlike Sect Leader Zeng who looks gentle and refined. Otherwise, we might have been able to chat with the Sword God for a while."
"Speaking of which, brother, you're also a cultivator, right? You haven't seen the Sword God either? If you haven't, that's a real pity. Your features are quite similar to Sect Leader Zeng's. If the Sword God saw you..."
"How could that be!" Li Chenjin immediately interrupted, "Everyone has two eyes, one nose, and one mouth. I think you, cultivator, look more like Sect Leader Zeng."
The man immediately wiped his face, and said thoughtfully, "Really? Am I as handsome as Sect Leader Zeng?"
Li Chenjin: "..."
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Although that person fell silent, touching his face in deep thought, the others continued talking, "Speaking of which, Sect Leader Zeng also has some dealings with the Zen cultivation world. I heard that the Sword God was once seriously injured and on the verge of death. Sect Leader Zeng invited the sect leader of the alchemy cultivation world overnight, but they could only barely prolong the Sword God's life and could not revive him. In the end, it was only after Sect Leader Zeng begged Zen Master Mingcun to intervene that the Sword God's life was saved."
Li Chen was racking his brains trying to figure out how to change the subject when he heard their words and forgot about changing the subject for a moment. He asked, "Shujin... Sect Leader Zeng once went to the Zen world to ask Zen Master Mingcun for help in order to save the Sword God?"
As soon as Li Chen uttered these words, the discussions among those people abruptly ceased. The leader of the Body Cultivation Sect looked at her strangely and asked, "Laywoman, you have always been in the Zen Cultivation Sect, yet you were unaware of this matter?"
Li Chenjin regained his senses and said seriously, "Oh, is that so? As you all know, Zen Master Mingcun often sent me out on business, so at that time, I happened to be out of the Zen community. In addition, the fellow practitioners in the Zen community do not like to discuss other people's affairs, so I knew nothing about this matter."
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