Chapter 46

Cheng Qian can’t resist and says bluntly, “I have low cultivation. Before I can destroy your three shades with one sword move, forget going to collect my disciple brothers’ corpses, I’ll die from starvation here first. Senior Wen, please be reasonable.”

Wen Ya isn’t moved. His gaze sweeps Cheng Qian from head to toe. When a youth is angry, impatient, greedy, or sorrowful, his heart will be unsteady because of those sentiments, which will show up on his face. In this respect, Cheng Qian is far better than the average.

Wen Ya verbally attacks him without holding back. “What, you can’t destroy even my shades, then why are you being so delusional that you think you can fight Zhou Hanzheng? Based on what? Dreams?”

As Cheng Qian is about argue back, Wen Ya waves his arm and cuts him off again. “About restoring your sect, if you really mean to do it, what you should do now is to find a hiding place and cultivate diligently three or four hundred years. In my opinion, you dare not bear that burden, so you damn everything and charge ahead!”

Cheng Qian’s eye twitches. He picks up Shuang Ren and says blandly, “What you said makes sense, but I won’t fall for your provocation”

Wen Ya thinks, This kid is both stubborn and annoying like a rock in the gutter. He needs a lesson.

Thus the three shades react to his mind and fly up, surrounding Cheng Qian.

To hit first against a junior, it is obvious that this establishment owner Wen has neither courtesy nor shame.

Shuang Ren in Cheng Qian’s hand charges at the three shades like the sea tide; the sword energy stirs up the calm water around the rock. Under the aggressive pressure, the sea water shakes the rock under their feet. Yet Wen Ya’s three shades combine with each other and form a giant sphere of light in the air, which falls down on Cheng Qian like a fishing net.

The sword energy and the big net clash with each other in the air loudly, causing pebbles to fly from the rock and nearly crushing it.

Staying put, Wen Ya hastily makes the hand sign and protects the rock he has been sitting on, to avoid having to sleep with the fishes.

The three shades have no technique. They use pure strength to suppress Cheng Qian’s sword energy. The net formed from the sphere of light tightens and surrounds Cheng Qian inside.

Cheng Qian cannot immediately fight against it. He doesn’t have enough energy to continue either. Therefore he has to temporarily run away on his sword, panting.

“Sea Tide Sword,” Wen Ya casually snorts. “With that heart of yours, you dare to claim that you have learnt Sea Tide Sword?”

He suddenly makes a long shout. The shades over their heads suddenly become a ring of illusion. Then the shades keep multiplying into a mob, each of them holding a sword that comes from nowhere. They all charge at Cheng Qiang.

What is more, these shades each use a different sword move. They are like a cloud of flies; it’s dizzying just to look at them.

The mixed up sword flashes give Cheng Qian vertigo. He is immediately pressured into a tight spot by his opponents.

Wen Ya shouts, “Look at the sea tide under your feet!”

Cheng Qian shudders with fear.

At that moment, looking at the endless sea that is calm as the autumn moon, one can only imagine what it is like when strong waves crash into the shore by putting oneself in the position of this rock.

The undercurrents aren’t any gentler than the weapons in this world, because their power source is endless. The sea absorbs hundred of rivers. It can tear apart the cloud and winds, yet at the same time can fill narrow cracks and leave behind soft sands. Its energy never runs out.

Everywhere is a dead end. Everywhere gives a chance to survive.

However, Wen Ya Zhenren doesn’t give him the time to muse. The sword flash of those hundred shades surrounds and charges at him. With his newfound understanding, Cheng Qian raises his sword to stop them again. However, his move isn’t very steady, and his sword will misses mid-way, because he feels that something is lacking.

One more time, he can’t evade Wen Ya’s sword. Wobbly standing on the rock, he dares not stop for a moment, but only touches the tips of his feet on the ground. Immediately, seven or eight sword flashes pursue from behind. Burnt streaks appear on the spot he passed by.

This fearful flight smashes the spark of understanding that doesn’t easily appear in Cheng Qian’s heart. It is seemingly suppressed in his heart, unable to either stay in or get out, making him feel very unpleasant.

At this point, Wen Ya Zhenren shouts, “Now look at yourself!”

There is a loud clang in Cheng Qian’s ears, making his hand that is holding the sword loosen. He nearly drops Shuang Ren, which he wouldn’t let go even when he nearly drowned.

During his stay on Azure Dragon Island in recent years, he only focused on building his energy reserve and practicing swordplay. Day and night, he only thought about how to crush the likes of Zhou Hanzheng, or how to restore his sect. He very rarely sat down and inspected himself.

He wore his pride like an armour to support his weak body, fearing that if he progressed just a little too slowly, his disciple brothers would be bullied again.

Cheng Qian detests turns of phrase like “the soul disperses”. He feels like his master only fades into the world, not dead. His master is everywhere and always watching him. Under the gaze of those clear eyes, he always feels anxious.

Wen Ya shouts. “Take this!”

Cheng Qian stays where he is. He smoothly uses Shuang Ren in his head to take on the attack over his head. In that moment, he feels that the sword doesn’t just connect with himself, but also heaven and earth.

For a person who cultivates all their life, there are three thousand paths to the Great Way. However, don’t all of them come down to “look at the world, then look at yourself?”

All impulsivity vanishes from Cheng Qian’s sword will. However, his sword isn’t truly calm. Instead it’s nearly sorrowful, containing a lasting power inside. This time, he no longer has the anger that spurs him to blow up the rock. The chilly sword energy of Shuang Ren gets inside the sphere of light.

The sword will and the light fight each other. Part of Wen Ya’s shades are destroyed.

Cheng Qian suddenly keeps Shuang Ren down, moving forward by taking a step back. In just a second later, he charges forward again, in a resemblance of ‘before the previous wave dissipates, the new wave emerges’. The cracking sound like wood in an oven spreads everywhere. The last shades of Wen Ya disappear one by one. The sphere of light fades under the frost-like sword energy. Silence falls on the rock, as Cheng Qian, who has just been enlightened, and Wen Ya sit cross-legged opposite each other.

It isn’t until that moment that Cheng Qian feels that he understands the nature of “Sea Tide Sword” for the first time.

After all these years, he instinctively falls into a meditative trance because of his enlightenment again. The natural energy that bears the chilly sea wind around him falls into his meridians, allowing no resistance. Thanks to the patient and constant exercise throughout the years, his meridians are reinforced enough to accept all that energy without falling into stagnation. His spiritual energy circulates in his body. In a short while, more than half of his injuries, even the hidden ones are healed.

When Cheng Qian comes to from this meditative trance, the eastern sky has already turned pink. Despite the long delay, Cheng Qian still bows to Wen Ya with a complicated expression, saying, “Thank you, senior.”

Closing his eyes slightly, Wen Ya says, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you Fu Yao Sect. The one with no determination and a constantly wavering heart is guided to the Tao by the sword. The one that is stubborn to the point of being extremist, whose sword is utterly ruthless, yet enters the Tao via the heart. Kid, you have talent, but you’ve been walking into the dead end these recent years. Aren’t you afraid of going on the wrong path?”

Cheng Qian hangs his head in silence, unable to say anything.

What was taught in Lecture Hall was only recitations for cultivating the energy. His sect leader and senior brother has no control over him. No senior has ever guided him to the way out. Even if someone wanted to, with his excessive pride, he wouldn’t have necessarily listened to them.

“All you ever know is crude violence. Waving your claws about at the slightest disturbance. What do you think you are, a crab?” Wen Ya angrily says, “What use is that flat-shelled thing, besides food to go with alcohol?”

As Cheng Qian hangs his head, he hears Wen Ya swallow his drool as he reaches this point. This experienced senior who practices inedia just gave himself a craving!

Cheng Qian: “…”

Seeing Cheng Qian’s weirded-out gaze, Wen Ya’s embarrassment turns into anger. “What are you looking at? Because of you, I have no place to return to. You useless bastard!”

Cheng Qian hastily bows his head and respectfully says, “I know.”

A moment later, he can’t resist looking up and asking, “Senior, can I leave now?”

Wen Ya is stunned speechless. He finally fully understands how stubborn Cheng Qian is. Whether it’s cultivation level or enlightenment, this brat all considers it irrelevant to him. Nothing is worth as much as a hair of his disciple brothers.

Wen Ya says with a stony face, “A cultivator has to undergo countless tribulations, bearing lightning from the sky, to be able to find a path for survival from a crack of the heavenly laws. Such a person has to consider family and friends like water under the bridge, living with thirst day in and day out, to achieve complete serenity. Your heart being full of distractions like that, how can you reach the Great Way?”

Cheng Qian replies without thinking, “What’s the point of pursuing immortality if life is so miserable? To prolong the suffering? Senior, my Master said that wasn’t the case.”

“You’re trying to preach to me?” Wen Ya stares at him incredulously. “You, a little brat, want to preach to me. Fine, what did your Master say?”

To tell the truth, Muchun Zhenren very rarely intentionally preached. As soon as Cheng Qian says such words, he immediately regrets it, as he feels he has been shamelessly making things up. However, pressured by Wen Ya’s question, his mind races. Then a spark of realisation comes to him, and he instinctively says, “My Master’s principle for cultivation is ‘according to one’s heart’ and ‘at ease with one’s self’. Senior, I’m an ignorant child, but I’ve been wondering. Is suffering loneliness for the sake of immortality indeed ‘according to one’s heart?”

Wen Ya has no answer for that.

Having only Yan Zhengming and the others in his heart, Cheng Qian doesn’t want to prolong the debate. He immediately clasps his hands, preparing to leave on his sword.

However, Wen Ya calls him back once more. “Wait!”

Then, Wen Ya stares at Cheng Qian with a complicated expression for a moment, and speaks slowly. “Even if you practiced swordplay the whole night, you’ve only made a little progress. Are you hoping to reach the sky in just one step? You’re not a match for Zhou Hanzheng. Come back here. Let me give you something.”

At a loss, Cheng Qian watches Wen Ya point at his own forehead and mutters something with a painful expression. A sphere of green light slowly emerges from his forehead.

As the sphere of light gets larger, Wen Ya’s health looks visibly worse, a vague aura of death surrounding him.

Cheng Qian has a reserved personality. He doesn’t like befriending anyone. When encountering troubles, he doesn’t like negotiating with other people either. He has never expected anyone to help him, much less when the help obviously hurts that person like this.

Although he doesn’t know what that sphere of green light contains, he is aware that Wen Ya Zhenren isn’t well at all. He hastily tries to stop him. “Senior Wen, there is no need…”

Before he can finish, Wen Ya makes a small shout, then grasps at that sphere of light. The light flares up then fades away. A piece of jade as big as a goose egg lies in Wen Ya’s palm, giving off a gentle shine.

Wen Ya looks at the jade in his palm with a complicated expression. He suddenly smiles. “Back then I had so much trouble beginning my cultivation. My aptitude was so bad that Azure Dragon Island didn’t admit me. Fortunately, a friend gifted me this thing. It is “Spirit Collection Jade”. When grafted in a mortal’s body, it can help that person skip the tedious process that leads to qi absorption, and directly enter the proper cultivation process. However, relying on an external object to enter the Tao is just like using medicines; the cultivation level just floats around instead of progressing. Coincidentally, it has some use in fighting against Zhou Hanzheng. You may as well keep it.”

Having said that, he suddenly raises his hand. Cheng Qian doesn’t avoid in time the sphere of green light that charges at his chest. In a blink of the eye, it enters his body.

Cheng Qian feels as if cold water were poured over his head. A current of cool air flows in his body from head to toe. The energy stores in his abdomen is stirred up, making him unable to speak for a moment.

Seeing Cheng Qian’s grimace, Wen Ya Zhenren can’t help losing his control and bursts out laughing. “Don’t worry. It won’t harm you. Just that it may not be effective yet in such a short time. This Spirit Collecting Jade has been refined by me throughout the years. When used the right way, it can temporarily decrease Zhou Hanzheng’s cultivation level. Didn’t you say that even if you weren’t a match for him, you’d attack him from behind? If you can’t raise your cultivation, decreasing your opponent’s power would work just the same.”

As he said that, a yellow piece of spell appears from his hand and flies into Cheng Qian’s forehead. “This is how you use it. Remember that well.”

Cheng Qian is completely at a loss for words for a long while. Seeing that the cloud of energy on his forehead gradually fades, Wen Ya knows that the Spirit Collection Jade has been fully accepted by his body. He nods. “It’s done. Now scram. You’d better not die.”

Cheng Qian can already concentrate his mind and ride the sword. Even if he gains the Spirit Collection Jade, it’s just a normal treasure. However, it’s different for Wen Ya Zhenren. Even if Cheng Qian doesn’t know the full story, he understands that the jade helped Wen Ya Zhenren to enter the Tao. It’s the entire base of his cultivation.

After taking out the Spirit Collection Jade, half of Wen Ya Zhenren’s hair and beard has turned grey in a blink of the eye.

Cultivators don’t age. This is obviously a sign of a steep deterioration of cultivation level.

“I…” Cheng Qian really doesn’t know what to say. “I can’t take it. Senior, this is…”

“Shut up. Do you think I’m proud that I used an external object to enter the Tao?” Wen Ya shouts. “If I weren’t pursued and injured by those mongrels, I would kill that bastard myself. Take what I gave you. Get lost!”

Having said that, he waves his sleeve, stirring up the sand and pebbles and making them fly into Cheng Qian’s face. Then Wen Ya jumps into the water. Cheng Qian rushes after him, but only sees a back flash like a big fish on the sea and disappear in a blink of the eye.

Cheng Qian hurriedly flies into the sky on his sword. Whether because of the progress he made in the night or the Spirit Collection Jade in his body, he can ride the sword much more smoothly.

However, he can’t see Wen Ya Zhenren anywhere.

Having looked around with no result, Cheng Qian has no other choice than to sigh and take note in his heart of this chance encounter and regard for this senior. Then he turns and goes look for Yan Zhengming and the others.

On this trip, Yan Zhengming and his fellow disciples undergo one mishap after another.

After they got separated on the way by the great wave. Yan Zhengming nearly jumped after Cheng Qian. Luckily Li Yun and Han Yuan managed to sit on him. These unlucky travellers flew on for a while. As its owner Tang Wanqiu said, the piece of fabric under their feet couldn’t last for long. As it said farewell to the world, they had to stop at a wild island.

Yan Zhengming looks a little scary in his panic, as if he is about to go mad. Li Yun has to soothe him. “Xiao-Qian can already ride the sword. How can he get drown? Let’s make a campfire and wait for him here. He’ll see the smoke and come find us.”

Yan Zhengming ignores him. When they lose Cheng Qian, he can’t sit still for a second.

Looking at the horizon, he suddenly stands up and says, “The sea has calmed down. You guys stay here. I’ll go look for him.”

Li Yun panics and hastens to stop him. However, before he can think up his objection, someone else has stopped Yan Zhengming for him. When they fell onto the ground, Li Yun released a bunch of toads created from his magic liquid around the island. The toad liquid has been much improved throughout the years. The toads last longer and can send information now. Li Yun set these up to wait for Cheng Qian. Unexpectedly, they detect Zhou Hanzheng first.

Different from their miserable escape, Zhou Hanzheng seems satisfied, despite being on the run too. Looking at his gleeful face, it’s impossible to know what he thinks about losing half of his subordinates on Azure Dragon Island.

However, even if Zhou Hanzheng were alone instead of being accompanied by two or three masked figures, their group, which consists of only the injured and the young, are no match for him.

Even more unfortunate for them, Zhou Hanzheng is very cautious. As soon as he arrives on the island, he immediately discovers what Li Yun released on the beach.

“Shit,” Han Yuan carefully observes from the proxy’s eyes, and says in a low voice, “Looks like he has discovered that someone else is on the island.”

“No big deal,” Yan Zhengming has to suppress his desire to look for Cheng Qian in the face of this threat. “Bad people are all cowardly. He is in the light while we are in the shadows. He must be more afraid than us. We have to make him unable to find us. Li Yun, continue making the array! Don’t stop!”

Li Yun grits his teeth and concentrates on the task at hand. Taking the idea from a book of cultivational tricks, he uses rocks and tree branches, in addition to the corresponding spells, to create an illusory array. There is no way to tell how long it can trap Zhou Hanzheng, but they’ll take whatever they can have.

The island is unfortunately not very big. Zhou Hanzheng can use his mind to sweep across it. However, as Yan Zhengming said, he is too cautious and dares not act without thinking carefully. Thus he lets himself be taken in by Li Yun’s illusory array, which is only good for scaring people. The two sides thus test each other back and forth the whole night on this tiny island.