48. Nagatomo (Part Six)
◎We sword cultivators value fairness above all else. ◎
Just then, Lou Guan entered the lecture hall from behind them. She glanced at the hairpin a few more times, then stopped and smiled.
“My teaching is not here. Since you have already studied the basic sword cultivation techniques yesterday, you may go and put them into practice.”
None of the five people below answered, seemingly because they had some complaints about her regarding the previous incident with the Mirror Domain. After all, if they were not careful, the Mirror Domain could have trapped them firmly.
Lou Guan was not annoyed and continued to smile: "Among the five sects in the realm, Qingxiao is the leader of the sword cultivators. Therefore, I will go to Qingxiao with you all to familiarize myself with the sword cultivator's mental techniques."
"There are many deep valleys at the foot of Qingxiao Mountain. Recently, for some unknown reason, cracks suddenly appeared in the earth. Qingxiao has already sent a letter to the Discipline Hall, requesting that the Discipline Hall send cultivators to investigate. I have accepted the letter on behalf of everyone."
She waved her hand, displaying five wooden swords. "In this trial, all other spells are forbidden. Only these wooden swords are your weapons." Judging by their appearance alone, these wooden swords were truly unremarkable.
Hua Jin asked first, "May I ask if the elder means that, apart from swordsmanship, all other spells such as talismanic arts and beast taming are forbidden, is that right?"
Lou Guan replied, "Yes."
Ran Qinghe raised an eyebrow: "Second Elder, are you saying that the disciples can only use this wooden sword that you gave us, which breaks easily, to go to the unknown deep valley crevices in Qingxiao for training?"
Lou Guan replied gently, "Yes."
Of the five people present, apart from Mingyu, who came from Qingxiao and specialized in swordsmanship, the rest of them only had a limited understanding of swordsmanship, which was only covered by the sword cultivation mental techniques taught by Louzhen yesterday.
Lou Guan casually walked to the middle of the five people's seats, and casually picked up Miao Miao, who had been lying on Hua Jin's shoulder, and put her in her arms. Miao Miao was stiff in her arms, and did not even dare to resist.
She smiled brightly: "By the way, spirit beasts are not allowed to enter either, especially... Heavenly-rank spirit beasts."
Mingyu turned his head and stared wide-eyed at Huajin; he knew it.
At this moment, Fu Ji, who had been silent in the corner, stood up, bowed respectfully, and said, "This disciple is willing to go to the Rift Trial, but I'm afraid my younger sister, Shui Rong'er, cannot go."
Medical practitioners are not skilled in offensive techniques, and participating in the trial with an ordinary wooden sword is tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.
Even if we knew what was causing the cracks, we would still be running around frantically with just a wooden sword.
Lou Guan paused slightly as he stroked Miao Miao's back. The movement was gentle yet carried an undeniable force, forcing Miao Miao to swallow back the purring sound that was about to escape her throat.
She looked up at Fu Ji, a faint smile playing on her lips:
"Oh? So a healer can't wield a sword?"
Her voice remained gentle, yet it was like a spring stream, flowing with warmth on the surface but still containing unmelted ice within.
"The laws of the world are not clearly defined. Medicine can heal or harm, and a sword can kill or protect. Besides, how could you possibly know Shui Rong'er's thoughts?"
Shui Rong'er didn't even glance at Fu Ji, seemingly unappreciative, and simply said, "Since the Second Elder has arranged for fellow disciples to undergo trials, we should naturally advance and retreat together. How can there be any reason to back down in the face of battle?"
She glanced at Mingyu with a half-smile: "Besides, what if someone gets their throat slit if I don't go?"
Mingyu: ...
Lou Guan remained noncommittal about the reactions of the crowd. She finally let go of her hand, and Miao Miao, as if granted a pardon, darted back to Hua Jin's shoulder, her fluffy head pressed tightly against his neck, leaving only a trembling, round back view.
Lou Guan turned to face the door, the morning light outlining her slender and upright figure: "Meet at the Immortal Boat at Chenshi tomorrow." Her steps did not stop, and her voice came clearly, "Remember, apart from this wooden sword, don't bring anything else that you shouldn't carry."
*
At dawn the next day, before the morning mist had fully dissipated, Lou Guan was already waiting there. Behind her was an incomparably luxurious cloud boat, its hull engraved with runes and containing fluctuating spiritual energy.
"Board the boat." Lou Guan said succinctly, taking the lead on boarding the cloud boat.
The five followed one by one. Once the cloud boat was flying steadily, Lou Guan's usual faint, unpredictable smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression.
“Now that everyone is here, there are some things I need to tell you in advance.” Her gaze swept over the five faces with different expressions. “The rift in Qingxiao Valley appeared very suddenly, about half a month ago. And demonic energy keeps seeping out, and this demonic energy has the effect of disturbing spiritual consciousness.”
She paused and continued, "So far, Qingxiao has sent two groups of disciples to investigate, but they have all returned empty-handed. Only one of the talisman cultivators was thrown out as soon as he entered the rift. The remaining Qingxiao sword cultivators are still silent."
Ran Qinghe said sarcastically, "I didn't expect the Second Elder to think so highly of us, believing that we can take on ten people with wooden swords."
Lou Guan also said, "If you don't use your swords, you will be repelled by this demonic energy. This demonic energy is strange; if a cultivator who doesn't use a sword will be thrown out by the demonic energy in an instant."
"so……"
Hua Jin understood and replied, "Therefore, this demonic energy must have an owner."
It only accepts sword cultivators but rejects other cultivators; this demonic energy is truly strange.
Ran Qinghe gave her a strange look: "So you were afraid we wouldn't succeed before we even got started, so you restricted us to other talismans and magic weapons. If that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Lou Guan said leisurely, "Courage is the first test. If you are deterred by the fact that you can only use a sword, then there is no need to continue this training. We should just head back home."
"Besides, when did I say that this wooden sword was just an ordinary wooden sword? This wooden sword is made of 'Soul-Suppressing Wood', which has the effect of calming the mind and resisting evil spirits, and has a certain restraining effect on demonic energy."
Ran Qinghe played with the wooden sword in her hand, seemingly lost in thought: "So, this isn't making things difficult, but... protection?" Her tone was inquisitive.
Lou Guan glanced at her but did not answer directly. Instead, he said meaningfully, "The trials of the Discipline Hall have never been intended to kill disciples, but whether you can seize the opportunity to live depends on yourselves."
The Discipline Hall is very close to the Qingxiao Sect. In just a short while, the outline of the Qingxiao Sect's territory was revealed by the continuous mountain range below.
Towering peaks rise majestically, their sword-like aura soaring into the sky. Yet, at the edge of this magnificent landscape, one can vaguely discern an ominous area shrouded in a faint black aura.
Before the group even approached the crevice, a chilling, bone-deep aura swept over them. Black energy surged, forming a black barrier at the edge of the crevice. The crevice itself was extremely clean, more like a fissure cleaved by a sword than a natural formation of the valley.
"Remember my words: keep the wooden sword with you at all times, and never use any mental techniques other than those for sword cultivation." Lou Guan stopped at the edge of the rift. "I will stay here to meet you."
Ran Qinghe took a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in her heart, and was the first to jump into the crevice in the earth. Hua Jin and Ming Yu followed closely behind, their steps seemingly casual but unusually steady. Fu Ji tightly gripped Shui Rong'er's hand, whispering some instructions, and finally jumped in as well.
The moment they came into contact with the demonic energy, the five felt a sudden heaviness around them, as if they were sinking into a swamp. Even more unsettling was that the flow of spiritual energy within their bodies instantly became sluggish and obscured, and their connection with the spiritual energy of the outside world was completely severed.
A jumble of chaotic whispers seemed to echo in my ears: "My sword, my path..."
"Concentrate!" Ran Qinghe shouted softly, the wooden sword in her hand trembled slightly, emitting a soft, clear light that dispelled the approaching black energy and lessened the annoying whispers. This Soul-Suppressing Wood was indeed effective.
The others followed suit, using their sword cultivation techniques to resist the invasion of demonic energy. After landing safely, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the scene ahead.
Unlike other fissures that slope downwards and are filled with jagged rocks, this fissure is straight up and down, making it look more like a fissure cleaved by a sword. However, even in the Azure Sky, there are only a handful of cultivators who possess such power to move mountains and fill seas.
Under the pervasive black mist, spiritual sense was greatly suppressed, and could only probe a range of a few feet around him.
The five of them carefully gripped their swords and ventured deeper into the area, where demonic energy permeated the air and chaotic whispers were ever-present.
As Shui Rong'er walked forward, she gripped Ran Qinghe's sleeve tightly. People are often more afraid of the unknown.
Suddenly, Ran Qinghe stopped in her tracks and whispered, "Wait."
She was more sensitive to spiritual energy than the other four. Almost at the same time she spoke, a figure suddenly darted out from the thick demonic energy in front of her.
Ran Qinghe felt herself being lifted up around the waist. From the center of the demonic energy came a hearty laugh, but it became even more terrifying when enveloped by the demonic energy: "Hahaha... Hahaha... Five more young friends have arrived. Today, this old man will definitely have a good match."
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone. After a brief gust of wind, the five of them were thrown to the ground.
Ran Qinghe calmly looked around and realized that they had been led by the strange old man to an open space, and the surrounding mountain walls were covered with thousands of sword marks carved by sword energy.
It seems that the "competition" this strange old man mentioned has happened countless times here.
In the distance, a group of disciples lay scattered about. Judging from the style of their robes, they must be the Qingxiao disciples that Lou Guan had mentioned who had entered the rift earlier. They were pale and exhausted.
Beside them was a pile of broken swords, as big as a small mountain.
Mingyu said, "In Qingxiao, there is an unwritten rule that when sword cultivators compete, they use their swords as stakes, and the loser must destroy their own spiritual sword."
"As you know, the sword is the lifeblood of us sword cultivators. How can it be easily broken? Therefore, a sword duel is the highest respect for our opponent."
The strange old man chuckled twice and said, "Young man, it seems you know a lot about swords. How about we have a match?"
The strange old man was surrounded by a dense demonic aura, as if he had gone mad. In fact, the demonic aura permeating the rift was of the same origin as the demonic aura on his body.
Ran Qinghe suddenly had a guess: "Senior, are you trying to bully the weak? You are so powerful that you were able to carve a crack in this valley. My friend is only at the Golden Core stage, how could he be your match?"
"We sword cultivators value fairness above all else."
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