Chapter 77

Meanwhile, inside Yan Zhengming’s mind, the heart demons that haunt him are all warded off by Cheng Qian’s awkward instruction. All they can do is to float away from Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit. However, the raging sword energy in his mind won’t calm down. It keeps gathering in one place, pulled by the invisible force of its owner’s spirit, but just a moment later, its binding will break and the energy will disperse messily.

Only Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit sits unmoving in an upright posture inside of his mind, ignoring the many blades that pierce him time and time again.

The backlashing sword energy and the owner of the mind struggle in silence for a long time. The expression of Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit is completely calm, as if nothing in this world could shake him anymore.

Afterall, a sword cultivator is someone who uses their own being as a weapon. Wouldn’t they have to be forged with countless pains and trials, even if that means they have to find a way back to life in the realm of death?

However, the struggle is disturbed by a bout of coughing. The person who coughs sounds like he would lose his breath. From that, it is clear that he is in trouble. In the past days, Cheng Qian doesn’t make a sound. Had it not been for the faint sword will that lingers around, Yan Zhengming would think that he is no longer there.

Hearing a sudden sound from Cheng Qian, Yan Zhengming is shaken. His mind, which has been utterly serene for a long while, is disturbed by worry. As the calmness is broken, the seemingly subdued demon of the heart stirs up trouble again.

Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit springs up and forms a sword in hand. In the beginning, he only pushes aside the miasma of the heart demon. Eventually, he even recklessly confronts the increasingly chaotic sword energy. During the calm period, the backlashing sword energy is already aggressive. In this moment, it is like a boiling cauldron.

Yan Zhengming’s mind undergoes a great tremor. The cracks caused by the Dragon Binding Locks are disturbed. However, he simply cannot suppress the intense desire of his heart, which is to get out of his inner mind to wake up and have a look at Cheng Qian at all cost. He knows too well what Cheng Qian is like. This one refuses to bend to any force. He doesn’t know what slowing down and taking a detour is either. Whenever there is an obstacle, he would definitely take the most drastic life-or-death measure.

At that moment, two chilly fingers touch his eyebrows, as if to open the way for a gust of frosty spiritual energy. Within seconds, the cracks caused by the Dragon Binding Locks are frozen over. Cheng Qian’s voice, which is slightly hoarse, flies into his ears.

“Focus.”

Yan Zhengming grinds his teeth. “What have you been up to?”

Cheng Qian replies blandly. “Done with the sword. Got too excited and choked a bit.”

It doesn’t sound like a recent excitement at all.

Right after that, as if to complain that Yan Zhengming talks too much, that icy awareness floods his mind without any warning. Cheng Qian, who has only one mode that is reckless brute force, isn’t really good at healing other people. Yan Zhengming fears he will get hurt, so he dares not obstruct the process. Additionally, he has to do his best to take on himself all of the backlashing sword energy. Thus, he learns for once in his life what ‘being ripped apart by countless blades’ truly is like.

Then, a sphere of gentle sword energy, which is a total contrast to the frosty aura from Cheng Qian’s awareness, cautiously enters Yan Zhengming’s inner mind. Within seconds, the sword will soundlessly separates from Cheng Qian’s awareness and spreads across the entirely of Yan Zhengming’s inner mind. The raging sword energy immediately ignores Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit. It transforms into countless blades and charges at the intruder.

Yan Zhengming is startled, but Cheng Qian calmly says, “No problem. You should stand aside.”

As soon as he says it, a ray of sword will that is identical to the intruder appears in Yan Zhengming’s inner mind. It is very delicate but unpredictable and totally different from ordinary blades. In addition, its presence is everywhere.

That is none other than the primordial sword he saw when he entered the Tao!

No matter if it’s a great fire or frost, nothing can eliminate the tiny grass and the gentle breeze that comes and goes in the prairie, as long as the first seed brought by the wind lands on the ground.

That wooden sword invokes every mindset conveyed by the Fuyao Wooden Sword. Yan Zhengming instinctively follows every movement of the wooden sword, which has no blade but contains everything. He freezes for the moment, as the reflections of centuries flash in front of his eyes.

In that blink of an eye, the primordial sword will meets the wooden sword. A strong light shines on the heavily injured primordial spirit of Yan Zhengming.

All of natural energy in Fuyao Estate floods into the new Qing An Abode in the middle of the bamboo grove like water from rivers gathering in the sea. The building and furniture shake, as the trembling yellow bamboo leaves are once more full of life.

Tang Zhen is the first to reach the bamboo grove, then come Puddle and Li Yun. Because Puddle runs too fast, she nearly crashes into the bamboo grove. Tang Zhen raises his arm to stop her. “Miss, be careful. We can’t get in there yet.”

Hearing that, Puddle is startled to realise that her strand of hair which flies in front of her has been sliced off.

The place that is full to the brim with the energy of life hides an overwhelming sword wind.

In Yan Zhengming’s inner mind, an ordinary wooden sword pierces through the sea of sword energy and directly enters the center of the inner mind like the divine Sea Calming Needle. A tornado rises and pulls into it the backlashing sword energy. Within seconds, the many blades formed from spiritual energy have been vanquished by the wooden sword and fall down.

In the blazing light of the sword, Yan Zhengming’s primordial spirit takes back control of his inner mind. All disturbances have died down, but he is still immersed in the overwhelming sword will.

All of the razor-like sword energy that spills outside is neatly gathered in his hand. The endless aggression in his heart suddenly transforms into calmness, as a thread of the will from Sea Tide Sword mixes in the Fuyao Wooden Sword.

He feels as if he were under the bottom of the sea, with bottomless abyss surrounding him and waves that reach the sky over his head. Raging storms are in his sleeves, but no sound is heard.

This is what ‘enter the sheath’ feels like.

From the outside, the formidable-looking prison turns out to be only effective for the brutes.

Of course Cheng Qian can sense that Yan Zhengming has advanced to the next level. He decisively withdraws his awareness and lets out a long sigh, in which exhaustion can be heard.

He has been sitting there for eighty one days. A layer of frost covers his features, showing that his internal energy has been pushed to the limit. It is pleasantly warm like spring weather in the new Qing An Abode, but the spot where he sits is frosty. There are bloodstains on his chest.

As his primordial spirit has been damaged, he will really need to spare some time to recover. However, Cheng Qian’s heart is lightened, as if a great weight has been lifted. His mood is accordingly relaxed.

It is a price he willingly pays.

Cheng Qian turns to look at Yan Zhengming. The latter hasn’t woken up yet, but the sickly aura around him has gone away. The cinnabar-coloured mark of the heart demon on his forehead has faded so much that one cannot easily see it anymore. All that is left is the pure sword flare that flashes once then makes way for total serenity. There is no sign of the earlier terrifying power from a sword cultivator that reaches ‘enter the sheath’ level.

It is hard to believe that Cheng Qian’s wild idea of using the wooden sword as the base can become reality. Even if he has absolute confidence in himself, he can’t help the faint smile on his lips.

A second later, the exhaustion due to the damage his primordial spirit suffered washes over him without any warning. Cheng Qian hastily supports himself with his arm and unceremoniously lies down. That tiny smile of pride turns woeful.

Li Yun’s voice flies in from the outside, tinged with worry, “Xiao-Qian, how is it going in there?”

“No problem,” Cheng Qian hastens to take a few deep breaths, and tries his best to steady his voice. He blandly replies as if nothing happened. “Wait a bit. I need to tidy myself.”

As his voice sounds normal, Li Yun finally calms down. He even manages to crack a joke to other people around him.

He tells Puddle, “When those two emerge, I’ll leave everything and go into seclusion. I have to worry about all kinds of trivial stuff all the time. With my low cultivation, I’m about to get wrinkles.”

Tang Zhen keeps a distance from them. As there is still a faint trace of the unusual sword will in the bamboo grove, he catches a small bamboo leaf and wipes away the morning dew on it. Several expressions pass by his face, which then settles on an indescribable note as he says, “To create wonder out of nothing, this is indeed a feat worthy of the person who faces heavenly tribulations without fear.”

Cheng Qian doesn’t feel as comfortable as what he lets appear on his face. Because he can’t make Li Yun and the others wait forever, he forces himself to stand up and quickly changes out of the tattered clothes. Then he signs a spell with some difficulty and destroys all evidence by turning those bloodstained clothes into dust, and cleverly burns some incense to make it look more natural. Having done all that, he finally wipes the cold sweats on his face and heals himself for a few seconds before opening the door to meet the others.

After perfunctorily answering everyone’s questions and interrogations, Cheng Qian truly runs out of energy. He collapses onto the small divan nearby and falls into a death-like sleep before his head meets the pillow.

At that moment, because he is also a cultivator of the sword, You Liang, who is staying at a small town about thirty miles away from Fuyao Estate, feels keenly an indescribably powerful sword will that stays above Fuyao Estate.

As You Liang has just formed his primordial spirit, he can’t yet recognise how powerful someone who has reached ‘divine realm’ level is. All he feels, keenly, is that he is shaking, from the desire to fight.

When it comes to sword cultivators, ninety nine out of one hundred are warlike. The more powerful and experienced their opponent is, the more eager they are to fight. Weapons in hand, they bet their lives against the most impossible odds, as improvement only comes from the most deadly situations. Naturally, there is always an exception. Yan Zhengming, who has managed the thousand-year rare feat of reaching the ‘divine realm’ level, is that odd one out. He wasn’t born with a love for fighting. From the day he was guided into the Tao by the sword, all of his cultivation effort is simply to do what he has to do.

You Liang jumps on the roof of the inn and fixes his gaze on the aura of ‘divine realm’ power. The impatient desire to test himself fills his youthful eyes. However, there is a light cough behind his back. He reluctantly turns and sees Wu Changtian slowly approach him. He annoyedly says, “Senior brother.”

Wu Changtian wordlessly looks in the direction of Fuyao Estate.

You Liang says, full of feelings, “I hope someday I’ll have the chance to battle against someone like that.”

Wu Changtian glances at him. After a beat, he sighs, “Xiao-Liang, after we are done with the demonic dragon, you should request to go into seclusion for three hundred years then leave the Celestial Divination Bureau.”

There are too many secrets held in the Celestial Divination Bureau. If a member wishes to leave, they must go into seclusion for three hundred years so that the secrets expire, before they are free to go.

You Liang is at a loss. “Senior Brother…”

Wu Changtian says in a low voice, “Besides you, Celestial Divination Bureau has no other sword cultivator. The path of the sword is very thorny. You need a firmer heart and desire to progress than practitioners of other paths. There are too many distractions in Celestial Divination Bureau. It isn’t a good place for you to cultivate. The Heavens granted you a rare gift. You must not waste it.”

You Liang frowns and argues, “It can’t be that serious. Look at Yan Zhengming. He is the sect leader of Fuyao Sect, but he still manages to enter the ‘divine realm’ despite all the daily affairs he has to deal with!”

“You only see his glory on the surface, but not the hardship underneath,” Wu Changtian shakes his head. His junior brother has been cultivating for barely a hundred years. His willingness to seek improvement in his path is firm, but he is still naive to the ways of the world. Wu Changtian turns and fixes his gaze at the endless darkness. As no sound can be heard around them, he says concisely, “For a ground snake to become a dragon, even if it’s via the demonic path, he still needs Heavens’ Will to succeed. For a realm to have two ‘true dragons’, what do you think that Will is?”

You Liang is terrified. “S-senior brother, you… you should watch your words.”

“There are many sects in this world, but when it comes to history, no one can match our Celestial Divination Bureau,” Wu Changtian smiles coldly, “Everyone thinks the ‘Celestial Divination Bureau’ was established by the Founder of the current Dynasty. They don’t know that the Celestial Divination sect had been passed down for hundreds of generations. We enter the Tao not for immortality but to prevent the powerful cultivators from doing harm to mortals. Even if the rulers of this realm change, our purpose remains the same. However, the Founder of the current Dynasty used our name and pushed us to the frontlines, then recruited many rogue cultivators with unclear history. Back then, I already disagreed with that, but our sect leader stubbornly stuck with that plan. He said that an official position would be better for our work, and that we shouldn’t think ourselves above mortals just because we had some cultivation. Then he put his trust in the likes of Zhou Hanzheng, who had neither ethics nor morals. Hah, now we end up as goons for the Emperor!”

You Liang confusedly asks, “Senior Brother, if changes of dynasty aren’t your business, then why do we have to do everything to stop that demonic dragon?”

“Have you thrown everything you learned to the dogs? Don’t you know that ‘Strong wind can’t last a whole morning, heavy rain can’t pour a whole day’?” Wu Changtian sighs, “Throughout history, have you ever seen a demonic cult that lasts a long time? They are of course powerful, but their fall comes as fast as their rise. In any case, those demonic cultivators obviously don’t care about the collateral damage of what they do. They don’t necessarily want the realm, they just want to cause trouble. Of course we can’t let them get away with that.”

The sword will above Fuyao Estate gradually fades. It must be gradually withdrawn by that extraordinary sword cultivator. Something stirs in Wu Changtian’s eyes. It is awhile before he speaks again in a low voice, “Back then, the slayer of demons fell into the demonic path. In the present, the defenders of the Way have lost their way. Celestial Divination sect and Fuyao Sect, both sides have fallen. It is indeed… Well, I think their sect leader will come out of seclusion in just a few days. Let’s pay them another visit then.”

Yan Zhengming has to meditate in the realm of ‘enter the sheath’ for one day and one night, in order for him to calm the backlashing sword energy. The injuries caused by the Dragon Binding Locks in his inner mind become negligible. As his energy base is free again, he recovers in just a short while. He examines himself and sees that even the heart demon has been significantly subdued.

The problem is, once it has emerged, the demon of the heart is hard to get rid of. The more he pays attention to it, the more it haunts his heart. Perhaps it’s better to just go with the flow.

Yan Zhengming finally opens his eyes. Rubbing his forehead, he feels that as he advances to the next level, he can take things more easily. He thinks that with his personal qualities, he may not become the most powerful sword cultivator in history, but it isn’t bad to be the most easy-going one.

There is still the matter of the sword Cheng Qian brought into his inner mind. Although their swordplay all has the same origin that is the Fuyao Wooden Sword, they understand it differently because of their different personalities. Even the same person may have different perspectives on it when their circumstances change.

In Cheng Qian’s case, although he entered the cultivation path with Fuyao Wooden Sword, he has come to lean more on Sea Tide Sword. The two styles are completely different, each has its own unique philosophy and strengths. However, the more advanced they are, the more they find that the two styles can complement each other very well. When Yan Zhengming sheathed his sword, he worked along with the sword will of the great sea tide. Had it not been for it, he couldn’t withdraw the sword energy so quickly.

There is also...

Perhaps it’s Yan Zhengming’s delusion, but he keeps having the feeling that there is a part of Cheng Qian inside the wooden sword. Although the sword will is purely of Fuyao Wooden Sword, it is surrounded by an indescribable frost-like aura. It is not a part of the surrounding sword energy, but at the same time, it is not a hostile alien. The wooden sword stands upright in Yan Zhengming’s inner mind like a faithful guard. It doesn’t go anywhere, but doesn’t integrate with the surrounding either.

Yan Zhengming takes a deep breath and detects a trace of pleasant mind-calming incense. The incense has been burnt through without being replaced. As the windows of the room are wide open, the scent that remains in the room is very faint. He stretches himself and stands up with the intention to burn more incense. It isn’t until then that he sees Cheng Qian sleeping on the nearby divan.

Yan Zhengming: “…”

As if scared, he immediately withdraws the leg he has just stretched out. He stands there for a while before cautiously tiptoeing in that direction like a burglar, where he finds out that Cheng Qian is sleeping.

It must have been tough to forge that Fuyao wooden sword. Otherwise, Yan Zhengming can’t imagine what can make someone with Cheng Qian’s cultivation so exhausted to the point of sleeping so deeply.

Cheng Qian’s body was forged from the Spirit Collection Jade. When he sleeps, he doesn’t make any sound, as if he were just furniture in the room. At first, Yan Zhengming tiptoes near him. After a couple of steps, he straightens his back, feeling that this kind of shady behaviour like a rat stealing food isn’t something appropriate for a sect leader like him.

Yan Zhengming intentionally causes a few small noises, as he walks directly in front of Cheng Qian. However, Cheng Qian doesn’t even stir.

Yan Zhengming bends down and looks closely at Cheng Qian’s sleeping face. As the distance between them shortens, the overwhelming desire to kiss Cheng Qian’s forehead suddenly rises in his heart.

In the end, he manages to control himself and steps back.

Yan Zhengming feels that he can’t do the deed, because there is an indescribable innocence on the sleeping Cheng Qian’s face.

Yan Zhengming smiles ruefully and lightly touches Cheng Qian’s head. “‘No matter if it’s to the Heavens or the Underworld’. How could you say that so carelessly? Do you even understand what that means? Watch your words a little, don’t you?”

Perhaps in all Three Realms, only someone so extraordinarily unobservant like Sect Leader Yan can find Cheng Qian ‘innocent’.