Medicine Mountain, bamboo house.
This book was first published on 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
Han Shuangjiang was preparing food.
She planned to make the meal more sumptuous today, as a way to celebrate for Junior Brother Xu.
Ascending Hidden Spirit Mountain and obtaining a life-bound artifact was a major event in the life of any Dao Gate disciple.
She did not actually know what kind of spiritual artifact Junior Brother Xu would eventually obtain, whether its grade would be high or low.
But regardless, as long as there was a harvest, it was worth celebrating.
Surely it would not be that he climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain, only to bring disaster instead of fortune, right?
"Junior Brother Xu loves braised pork. I’ll make him a dish of it today. "
"That dead fox loves fish. ""Hm? Today isn’t his celebration. Why bother making what he likes to eat?"
"Forget it, forget it, I already bought it. "Han Shuangjiang thought.
As it turned out, two people descended from the sky. Chu Yinyin had escorted Chu Huaixu home, but today’s protagonist, Little Xu, had yet to return.
After landing, Chu Yinyin hurried off again, afraid of missing something.
But before flying away, this “old young girl” patted her flat chest and assured her future disciple:
"Chu Huaixu, rest assured. I will help take care of your junior brother. "
Chu Huaixu voiced thanks, but inwardly thought: "Better not."
Anyone with eyes could see clearly enough that others were far more reliable than her.
"Oh wait, except for the Benevolent Gambling King. "he amended silently, he who had stumbled into Dao Gate by accident.
Once this loli elder flew off, Han Shuangjiang immediately came over.
Having overheard their conversation, she asked worriedly: "What happened? Did something happen to Junior Brother Xu?"
Chu Huaixu glanced at Big Ice Block and told her all that could be said.
Han Shuangjiang digested the content, her mood like riding a rollercoaster, rising and plunging repeatedly.
She had not expected Xu Ziqing to climb all the way to the mountain’s peak.
She had even less expected that it was that sword guiding him.
In the end, Junior Brother Xu had even been injured.
This made Big Ice Block recall the scene when Chu Huaixu climbed the mountain.
He too had been caused to bleed from all seven orifices by the sword atop the mountain, grievously wounded.
"The sword left by the Dao Ancestor is truly so sinister. "she thought.
As a result, her impression of that Bronze Sword was not particularly good.
"Little Xu won’t be coming back anytime soon. Let’s eat first. "Chu Huaixu said.
"Alright. "Han Shuangjiang nodded.
When all the dishes were served, he could not help but say: "So lavish?"
"Didn’t expect Junior Brother Xu wouldn’t be home for dinner. "Big Ice Block answered.
Unknowingly, the three had already grown accustomed to using the word “home.”
"No worries, I’m a big eater. I can finish it all. "Chu Huaixu grinned proudly.
Han Shuangjiang:
Unlike the other’s ravenous, starved-ghost reincarnation way of eating, the young girl ate in small, delicate bites.
She lifted her gaze, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said: "You don’t seem worried at all?"
Her tone was exactly like that of a wife reproaching a husband for not caring about their child.
"Hm? You actually take me to be so heartless and carefree?"Chu Huaixu continued wolfing down food, utterly unconvincing.
While chewing braised pork in big mouthfuls, he said: "The Sect Master and all the elders are watching over him. Surely nothing major will happen. If he’s lucky, he might even get another Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill."
Little Xu was currently a Third-grade Lower-grade Spirit Embryo. The Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill could still take effect for him one last time.
Once he reached Mid-grade, it could no longer advance him.
Han Shuangjiang nodded and added: "Since Junior Brother Xu has taken the Dao Ancestor’s sword, won’t he one day become the number one sword cultivator under heaven?"
Hearing this, Chu Huaixu lifted his head, his right cheek bulging with food, and said unhappily: "Nonsense! Don’t forget he still has me as a strong competitor!"
After forcing down the food, he puffed himself up and said: "Even if you lent him your courage, he wouldn’t dare make a move against me!"
"If one day he truly becomes unmatched under heaven, then by theory, that makes me the number one under heaven. "
Han Shuangjiang ignored him, knowing he was once again spouting nonsense—bad jokes he thought were funny.
Chu Huaixu set down his chopsticks, regained seriousness, and said: "That Bronze Sword bears a restriction left behind by the Dao Ancestor, its power always sealed.
"Now, Little Xu is indeed unrivaled among peers of his realm. He can even kill above his realm with ease.
"But the so-called number one sword cultivator under heaven—that’s still far off. Just because one holds that sword doesn’t mean instant invincibility in the mortal world. "he said.
There was one thing he did not voice aloud.
Sword cultivator, sword cultivator—it should be man wielding the sword. But if it was sword wielding man, could that truly still be called a sword cultivator?
At this thought, Chu Huaixu suddenly exclaimed: "Oh no!"
"Little Xu clearly saw the words I carved on the Gentleman’s Monument, and even shouted them several times on the mountain!"
"Won’t my chicken-scratch ugly handwriting be exposed to him?"
"Speechless, speechless, how utterly shameful. "
Meanwhile, still unconscious, Xu Ziqing had already been brought to the Inner Sect’s Purple Bamboo Forest.
The reason they came here was simply because after Little Martial Uncle descended the mountain, the thin Daoist nun here was the strongest in sword comprehension—she understood the sword the best.
"This child’s Spirit Embryo still suffered some minor damage. "Nangong Yue examined carefully and reported to the others.
"Then fetch a Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill from the sect’s treasury. "Xiang Yan said.
Nangong Yue looked at the group and said: "I also just discovered something—the child’s Spirit Embryo appears to have already consumed such a pill before, perhaps forcibly upgraded in grade."
"Hm?"Everyone was somewhat surprised.
Chu Yinyin, who had already returned, suddenly thought of something and exclaimed: "No way! That Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill I gave Chu Huaixu, did he feed it to this brat?"
"He’s really that generous? Treats him that well?"
Enforcement Elder Lu Pan furrowed his brows and said suddenly: "So, if he had never taken that pill, then when the Sword Spirit invaded his Spirit Embryo, he would’ve been completely suppressed?"
"It is possible. "Nangong Yue replied.
This was something that none of them had expected.
This child did not become a complete Sword Attendant, and the great probability of it was actually because of a single pill?
As a result, everyone’s gazes instantly fell upon Chu Yinyin, the originator of it all.
That old young girl immediately showed displeasure and shouted loudly: "Why are you all looking at me!"
"At that time, all of you were secretly observing with divine sense. When I gave the pill, it’s not like you didn’t know！"
This blame, I’m not taking it!
Hearing this, the others looked at each other and admitted readily: "That’s indeed the case. "
Nangong Yue looked at the unconscious, refined-looking youth. Her temperament was already gentle, and now her gaze softened somewhat:
"But regardless, his life was preserved because of it. Perhaps this is his destined fate？"
Everyone knew well that this evil sword would definitely bring harm and burden to the Sword Attendant.
This was the Sword that Devours Its Master. The artifact-refining grandmaster who forged it was its very first victim.
The price a Sword Attendant would pay in the future would be immense.
Precisely for this reason, whether it was when Chu Huaixu, whom they regarded as Heaven’s Mandated One, ascended the mountain, or when Xu Ziqing had the chance to take the sword, they had not interfered, respecting their personal choice.
It was the same as when Chu Huaixu climbed the mountain: surely the lives of all under heaven counted as lives, and his did not?
Even when life-threatening danger arose, Enforcement Elder Lu Pan had once declared that even if it broke the rules, he would still take action to save, and then submit himself to the Enforcement Court for punishment afterward.
In truth, the fact that they never spoke to Chu Huaixu or Xu Ziqing about the sword, never pressured them, never mentioned so-called salvation or the Great Calamity, never forced extra burdens upon them, compelling them to make choices—that itself was already most commendable.
In this world, such leaders were rare. The vast majority would simply push those beneath them forward.
Dao Gate was the Dao Ancestor’s inheritance, the righteous leader, a prestigious orthodox sect.
Xiang Yan and the others always believed that even if the sky fell, it should be them, the tall ones, holding it up first.
Because the problem of the Origin Spirit Realm had troubled the Xuanhuang Realm for so many years, and through generations, the Dao Gate leadership had always acted in this way.
Dao Gate possessed profound heritage, so why now did it not even have a single Ninth Realm cultivator?
Had there never been one?
Were their talents too poor?
Was it that they could not cultivate one?
A joke!
It was because the Origin Spirit Realm had a fifth layer, and unlike the first four layers, this one had no limit on how many could enter!
If they had a choice, they would never send children who had only just entered the sect to risk themselves in the earlier layers.
If Chu Huaixu or Xu Ziqing chose to tread the path of salvation on their own, though they were newborn calves, yet possessing the courage to sacrifice, then they would also respect the children’s decision.
They would trust them and share part of the heavy burden upon their own shoulders.
Now, the matter of taking the sword had undergone many twists and turns. These cultivation powerhouses also followed with emotional highs and lows.
For they had watched them reach the mountain peak, only for accidents to occur repeatedly at the end. Such fluctuations were only natural.
But with matters having reached this point, all that could be done was to deliberate slowly.
When Chu Huaixu carved that line upon the Gentleman’s Monument, were they not also questioning their own hearts?
As Sect Master, Xiang Yan had even expressed his attitude then and there.
"It’s just that once Little Martial Uncle returns, I wonder how we should explain it to him. "Zhao Shuqin said.
This Dao Gate Little Martial Uncle, though not titled Temple Master of the Gentleman Temple, was Temple Master in truth.
Everyone knew Little Martial Uncle’s temperament was somewhat different from theirs.
He was a peerless killing embryo, attaining Dao through killing.
If the sacrifice of one could save all under heaven, he would not hesitate to push that person forward.
Of course, if that person was himself, he would not hesitate either.
Therefore, they could not be entirely certain what Little Martial Uncle would do to Xu Ziqing and Chu Huaixu.
Human nature was, in the end, complex. Different people viewed the same problem differently.
And some questions could never be entirely argued into right or wrong.
That Dao Gate could act as it did was ultimately because Dao Gate prized destined fate.
Chu Yinyin looked at everyone, once again voicing her opinion, eager to shift blame:
"I think Little Martial Uncle has no right to throw a tantrum at us. "
"Who told him to insist on roaming under the mountain instead of returning earlier？"
"Clearly Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang were both found by him. He knew them, so he should have been able to calculate their cultivation progress accurately. "
"He acts like a hands-off manager. Surely he can’t come back now and blame us. "
"Shen Man, don’t you think I’m right！"
She even questioned Little Martial Uncle’s only true disciple.
The thin Daoist nun sat atop a giant rock, a faint smile appearing on her face, and she actually nodded slightly.
Seeing this, the crowd immediately united and chimed in one after another: "Exactly, exactly！"
Even if Little Martial Uncle came back, it didn’t matter—Little Junior Sister would speak for us!
Though originally, as someone only in the Sixth Realm, she should have had no right to know of this matter…
Everyone chattered on for quite some time.
Only then did Xiang Yan remember that today, when they came to the Purple Bamboo Forest, besides having Seventh Junior Sister carefully inspect the little sword within Xu Ziqing’s Spirit Embryo, there was another matter to ask.
"Seventh Junior Sister, how goes Chu Huaixu’s special training？"the Sect Master asked.
When this Daoist nun unleashed her Sword Domain at the Outer Gate, how could they possibly not sense it?
Yet, her answer made them all startle together.
"He’s… he’s about to… to have Sword… Sword Intent. "Shen Man stammered in reply.