Twelve Swords
After scattering the twelve swords, Chao Du continued to meditate and cultivate. The spiritual energy she had recovered in the past two days hadn't even warmed up yet, as most of it had been dispersed into the twelve swords.
The good news is that after she released those twelve swords, she clearly felt that the suppression of Heaven's Dao on her had lessened.
This Heavenly Dao is truly interesting...
One of the Chaodu practitioners meditated to recover his spiritual power, while the other diligently continued practicing his swordsmanship. The two of them didn't rest all night, yet they were both more energetic the next morning.
The two exchanged a smile, a tacit understanding unspoken.
As the sun rose, another person opened the window to let in fresh air, and golden rays eagerly poured into the room, while the refreshing morning breeze squeezed into every corner of the room.
This is the third day since Asawa arrived here.
She appeared to be meditating with her eyes closed, but in reality, she was observing the world through these twelve swords.
These twelve swords are her messengers, and also her eyes.
…………
Swordlight City, also known as Sword Maniac City, is home to many sword-wielding sects. It is famous for its many experts, but also for its many fools and lack of romantic understanding.
Yao Lingjian concealed himself and entered the city, then quickly followed his intuition to find the most bustling place in the city: the Sword Testing Arena.
This platform is located in the center of the city. Every day, sword cultivators from various sects line up to spar, while many more disciples watch and discuss among themselves.
The Yaoling Sword had lost its unique concealment technique created by its new master, and before it could even get close to the dueling arena, it was almost instantly surrounded by nearby sword cultivators.
Several sword cultivators looked at her and whispered among themselves:
"Clad in light armor, with hair as white as snow and eyes as red as gold... how come she looks so much like the spirit of the Yaoling Sword recorded in the sword manual?"
"It really feels like the Yaoling Sword. The surroundings have suddenly become much hotter, which is one of the characteristics of the Yaoling Sword! After all, Yaoling is the sun!"
One of them mustered up his courage and approached her excitedly, asking, "Excuse me, are you the sword spirit of the Yaoling Sword?"
“Exactly.” The spirit of the Yaoling Sword nodded, summoned the Yaoling Sword, and drew it from its sheath. A wave of heat swept over them, making them feel as if they were at noon in the height of summer—and this was even after she had suppressed her sword energy.
"Ah! My sword is suddenly so hot!" a sword cultivator watching from the front row suddenly exclaimed.
"My sword too! What's going on?"
"Look at the sword in that person's hand! A white jade scabbard, a crimson gold sword... Could it be the Yaoling Sword?!"
With a whoosh, almost instantly, all the sword cultivators in the city center surged forward. Even the two people who were competing on the dueling platform jumped off the stage and excitedly rushed towards the Yaoling Sword.
These sword cultivators surrounded Yaoling Sword, their burning gazes making the surrounding area even hotter.
But none of them reached out or got too close—as sword cultivators, they naturally loved and respected swords, especially since the sword spirit was right there, and they had to leave a good impression! They absolutely could not act rashly!
Moreover, Yao Lingjian's aura was terrifyingly strong, and no one wanted to try and see what the consequences would be if they angered her.
Amidst the bustling crowd, someone eagerly asked, "Why has Yao Lingjian suddenly graced us with his presence? Would you like to visit our Chengfeng Sect?"
The others immediately protested: "Hey, how long has it been since your Wind Riding Sect was the Sword Master of Sword Light City? If the Radiant Spirit Sword is going to come, it should come to our Meteor Sect!"
"You Meteor Sect think you're worthy? Why don't you have a spar with our Shadow Strike Sect!"
Before long, a group of people started clamoring to have a competition.
"Let Yaoling Sword see who is the strongest sword-cultivation sect in Swordlight City!"
"Hey, what brings your senior sister here? I need to get our senior brother to come over!"
"Damn it, our senior sister has gone out to train. Senior brother, wouldn't it be a bit bullying to call our elder over?"
Yao Lingjian: "..." A group of energetic juniors, but none of them hit the nail on the head.
"Greetings, Yaoling Sword! May I ask, according to the sword manual, you were previously kept on the ninth floor of the Waiting Immortal Tower, but the Alliance Leader brought you out a couple of days ago? Is there something important that brings you here today?"
Finally, a sword cultivator asked the crucial question. Yao Ling Sword smiled slightly at her and replied, "The one who brought me out of the tower was not the alliance leader. The heavenly thunder and the cries of ten thousand swords were all directed at my sect leader."
A moment of silence fell, followed by a chorus of gasps:
"Not the alliance leader?"
"He's not the alliance leader?!"
"He lied to us?!"
"May I ask who the sect leader mentioned by Yaoling Sword is...?"
Yao Lingjian nodded: "Xianyin Sect, Xi Su."
After Yao Lingjian finished speaking, he disappeared from the spot, and the surrounding scorching heat also dissipated.
The sect leaders and elders who rushed over after receiving the message from their disciples were all heartbroken and sighed repeatedly. None of them managed to see the Yaoling Sword in time.
…………
Zhuotian Sword arrived at Baicao City.
This is a city that gathers many medical practitioners, and there are several well-known medical practice sects such as Huichun Pavilion and Xinglin Garden.
A young man dressed in a blue robe with cloud patterns and wearing a bamboo hat walked along Chun'ang Street, the busiest street in Baicao City, listening to almost every cultivator passing by discussing several important news items from the previous night:
The sect leader of the Star Gazing Sect observed the celestial phenomena at night and deduced that the demonic cultivator Yinghuo would wreak havoc on the cultivation world. Alliance leader Fu Buci was forced to reveal that the heavenly lightning of the previous two days was caused by his own breakthrough in cultivation, and that the sword immortal who passed through the tenth floor of the Waiting Immortal Tower was also him.
Put together, it means: The Alliance Leader's cultivation has improved again, and the mere demonic cultivator Yinghuo is not worth mentioning.
Zhuo Tianjian smiled without saying a word, looked around at a very lively teahouse on the street, and then went inside.
There were no seats left in the teahouse, and several people were even standing, chatting excitedly while holding their teacups. It seemed that the lack of seats did not dampen their enthusiasm for conversation.
The shop assistants were extremely busy, serving the shop's signature nourishing tea to each table while also listening intently for news. They also chatted with the customers from time to time.
One of them finally noticed Zhuo Tianjian and stepped forward apologetically, saying, "I'm sorry, sir, we really have no seats left, we've even used up all the small stools, how about this..."
"It's alright." Zhuotian Sword waved his hand.
"Then we'll serve you a cup of tea! Please wait a moment, there might be a seat soon!" The waiter quickly brought over a cup of tea that exuded a wonderful aroma.
Zhuo Tianjian took the tea, chose the most crowded table, and stood to the side, listening with great interest to the lively discussion among the people at that table:
"I've heard that the demonic cultivator Yinghuo is quite powerful; the cultivation world is likely to be in great chaos!"
"What bad luck, we haven't even had a few years of peace."
"Won't our Hundred Herbs City turn into the Magnificent City of yesteryear? That's terrifying!"
"How about we go find a cave outside and hide there for a while? Consider it a period of seclusion for cultivation."
"Does medical cultivation also require secluded cultivation?"
"But our alliance leader is even more powerful! Did you see the heavenly lightning that day? That spectacle could only be performed by someone about to ascend to immortality!"
"Yes, yes, and the day the sword immortal was born, the radiant light was thousands of feet long! It illuminated the night as bright as day!"
"Tch, you guys really believe it was him? Why didn't he say so that day?"
"You don't believe me? Then tell me, besides the Alliance Leader, who else has the ability to summon such heavenly lightning and pass through the tenth level of the Tower of Ascension in a single day? Do you think you can?"
"I definitely can't do it, but who knows, maybe there's some powerful and reclusive expert among them!"
“This brother is right.” Zhuotian Sword said with a smile, summoning its true form and drawing it out an inch from its sheath.
In an instant, the moonlight filled the room, and all the discussions ceased. Everyone in the room turned to look at the young swordsman in blue and the sword in his hand.
“My sect leader, Xi Su, has indeed lived in seclusion for many years,” Zhuo Tianjian said with a light laugh.
There was a moment of silence, then people gradually came to their senses.
"You mean, both the Heavenly Thunder and the Sword Immortal are related to your sect leader?"
"Who is Xi Su? I've never heard of him before."
"Is he a fraud? But the sword he has is indeed quite good."
"Wait, your sword is..."
"The azure sheath with its cloud-patterned design shines so brightly, could this be the Zhuotian Sword?!"
"The Heaven-Cleansing Sword? The one ranked sixth on the sword manual, hidden on the ninth floor of the Immortal-Waiting Tower?!"
"Indeed." Zhuotian Sword raised his head slightly. "The twelve famous swords hidden on the ninth floor of the Waiting Immortal Tower have all come into the possession of my sect leader. Alliance Leader Fu claims that he has also passed the tenth floor of the Waiting Immortal Tower. Does he have any proof?"
"Twelve handles?!"
"Heavens! That's a peerless sword ranked among the top in the sword manual!"
A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.
Several of them looked at each other in confusion: "That's right, we really haven't heard that the alliance leader had any sword. Could it be that he's really not the alliance leader?"
One person said uncertainly, "No way, would the alliance leader lie to people?"
"Can I take a look at the Zhuotian Sword?" Several people approached the Zhuotian Sword, their eyes shining as they stared at the sword in his hand.
I want to see it too!
"Let me see too!"
As they talked, they reached out towards the Zhuotian Sword.
Zhuotian Sword raised an eyebrow, completely sheathed its body, placed the full teacup on the table, lowered its bamboo hat slightly, and then disappeared instantly.
After being stunned, the group of people looked around in surprise:
Where are the others?
"Where did they go?!"
"It disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
"I didn't even blink! He vanished without a trace in an instant!"
Some people went up to the second floor of the teahouse to look for him, while others went to the street outside the teahouse, but they couldn't find the figure of the swordsman in green anywhere.
The remaining people in the teahouse were discussing among themselves:
"How could it disappear without a trace in an instant?"
"He didn't leave a trace at all. What kind of secret technique is this?"
"It's all your fault for insisting on seeing the Heavenly Sword; you scared it away!"
Didn't you see it?
"But you don't just look, you want to touch!"
"That's the famous Heaven-Cleansing Sword! Touching it once will make me never need to wash my hands again!"
"No need..."
"It's all that kid's fault for being so stingy!"
…………
Twelve swords, twelve cities.
News about Heavenly Thunder, Sword Immortal, Immortal Hidden Sect, and Xi Su spread like wildfire, reaching the entire cultivation world within half a day.
By the time the message was hastily relayed to Fu Buci by his subordinates, it was already too late to stop it.
Moreover, he had just received a request for an audience from the demon envoy, and the news had probably reached the demon envoy's ears by now. Whether or not he would meet with the envoy, and how he would meet him, was also a question.
What infuriated him even more was that there was someone in front of him who didn't know any better:
"Please allow me to return to seclusion, Alliance Leader!" Cen Ling pleaded resolutely.
Fu Buci sneered, "If you leave now, you don't need to come back! There's no place for you among the Six Immortal Attendants!"
Cen Ling remained silent for a moment, then firmly said again, "Please allow me to return to seclusion, Alliance Leader!"
"Good, excellent!" Fu Buci nodded, sneering, "Get out of Qingyun Immortal Palace! Don't let me see you again!"
Cen Ling turned and left with his back straight, seemingly without the slightest hint of reluctance or regret, and even his steps appeared somewhat light.
"Truly useless!" Fu Buci frowned in annoyance, then ordered, "Send You Zang, Ning Changkang, and Su Rourui over here! Immediately!"
...
A moment later, three of the Six Immortal Attendants gathered in Fu Buci's study.
Fu Buci slapped the jade desk in annoyance. On it were secret letters from his subordinates regarding the Immortal Hidden Sect and the Evening Hidden Sect, as well as a visiting card from the demon envoy.
"See for yourself. Also, Cen Ling is gone, and there's a vacancy for one of the Six Immortal Attendants. Do you have any recommendations?" Fu Buci took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Cen Ling's sword was very sharp and easy to use. He had excellent swordsmanship and came from a prestigious family, which would greatly enhance his reputation. It wouldn't be easy to get a better sword.
You Zang first read the message and the visiting card, then handed them to Ning Changkang, who looked sickly. While waiting, Su Rourui asked in surprise, "Why is Cen Ling suddenly leaving?"
Fu Buci sneered: "He said he wanted to go back to seclusion to cultivate, but he was probably scared out of his wits by Yinghuo yesterday. He's a stupid thing that can't be trusted."
"But now we finally know Yinghuo's real name." Ning Changkang clicked his tongue after reading the message. "Xianyin Sect, Xisu, they've kept it well hidden. Cough cough cough, I've never heard of it before. Vice Alliance Leader You, you are the most knowledgeable, have you heard of it? Cough cough."
After a moment's thought, You Cang slowly shook his head, a hint of doubt in his eyes: "This sect has not left a single record in any of the books I've read, nor have I ever heard anyone mention it. If they live in seclusion like this, then why have they suddenly emerged from the mountains at this time?"
“Even Vice Alliance Leader You hasn’t heard of it, which makes it even more interesting. Cough cough cough—” Ning Changkang coughed as he squinted his eyes. “It’s so secluded from the world that it’s as if it never existed.”
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