Volume Two: Weapon Directory Chapter 146: Vast Qi Derives the Way of the Sword

Having sealed its mountain gates for thousands of years, the Yan Sword Sect had left behind a method for unsealing them. By employing special techniques, they had imprisoned the vital energy and spirit of all their disciples within stone statues, solely to await the arrival of this present day.

As the sword intent condensed in the sky, the stone statues shattered inch by inch from the top of their heads, revealing their original appearances. Familiar yet unfamiliar faces finally met again after a thousand years. The lecturer looked out over the multitude of disciples, his eyes moistening as the depths of his memory slowly recalled the events of the past.

So much time had passed that many memories had blurred to the point where he could no longer distinguish whether they were dreams or occurrences of the recent past. He only remembered the moment the sect leader transformed into a stream of flowing light to seal the mountain gates, wearing a serene smile carrying a trace of liberation.

Now that he, too, was about to follow in the sect leader's footsteps, he felt a genuine sense of pride. Without the protection of their stone shells, this rootless, duckweed-like essence and spirit would rapidly dissipate between heaven and earth and could not endure for long.

The fleeting moment of brilliant glory magnified rapidly in Liu Xiaoyi's eyes. The sword intent, capable of destroying cities and overturning mountains and seas, shattered the great lock hanging overhead. Everyone heard the sound of shattering in their hearts, and immediately afterward, the disciples who had taken human form aged rapidly, withering into dried corpses scattered across the ground.

Only the lecturer possessed the highest cultivation, still clinging to a single breath. He reached out and pointed a finger toward the ninety-nine stone steps behind Liu Xiaoyi, saying, "The treasure prepared by the Yan Sword Sect for the Grandmaster is over there. I hope you can continue to protect our human race."

With the same serene smile, just like the last sect leader of the Yan Sword Sect, the lecturer quietly passed away while sitting on his futon. His bones were as crystal-clear as jade, his back held straight. Staring directly into his eyes caused a stinging sensation, making it difficult even for these swordsmen to look upon him squarely.

Such was a swordsman: in life, wielding a sword to hack away all injustices in the world; in death, standing firm to ward off wandering ghosts and malevolent spirits. Liu Xiaoyi bowed respectfully to the lecturer before turning his steps upward.

Xiahou Ming stood in place, unmoved as he gazed at the vast open ground, and said thoughtfully, "Everyone, what follows next is Young Friend Liu's fortuitous encounter. Let us look around the perimeter, shall we?"

The intent behind his words was obvious: he was helping Liu Xiaoyi avoid trouble. After experiencing several unprovoked disasters, the rest of them were somewhat red-eyed with killing intent. Should there be treasures further in, a bloody battle would undoubtedly break out.

As a righteous figure of the Great Wilderness, the Pure Wind Swordsman harbored no such factional divisions. He perceived that Liu Xiaoyi's changes within the tomb were vastly different from the outside world. Moreover, the so-called disciples of the Yan Sword Sect had repeatedly referred to him as the Grandmaster, even paying any price to break the mountain gate seal just to reveal these ninety-nine steps for Liu Xiaoyi to ascend.

This carried profound significance. Under no circumstances should they follow him in, lest they ruin another's rules and prevent their own cultivation from making the slightest progress for a lifetime.

Ye Gudeng offered no reply, turning around with his disciple to depart in another direction. With paths branching out in all directions here, the one they had taken was merely the main path; no one could say what fortuitous encounters might lie elsewhere.

The Pine-Caressing Swordsman had always been reticent, and the disciple he trained shared his disposition. Remaining utterly silent along the way, the disciple merely observed his master's actions to know what must be done next.

This left Zhu Changqing somewhat displeased, and he grumbled gloomily, "That old piece of wood still looks like a corpse, and his disciple didn't even let out a fart before leaving. He has no respect for us two old folks in his eyes!"

Shangguan Baozi had always found the thin swordsman interesting, so she stepped forward to chime in, "If Senior wants to chat, I can accompany you! Big Brother brought me here driving a carriage from Central Province, and we saw so many interesting things along the way!"

Hearing this, Zhu Changqing's expression shifted slightly, and he asked, "Little girl, are you from Central Province?"

Before Shangguan Baozi could reply, Cai Wu rubbed the back of his head with a silly grin and answered for her, "She's been wandering around with Big Brother. We heard that spiritual weapons had appeared over there, so we hurried over to join the excitement."

As he spoke, he tapped Shangguan Baozi with the tip of the heavy door-panel broadsword strapped to his back. Only then did she react, her face turning crimson red in an instant.

The knights of the Great Wilderness and the people of the Nine Provinces were like fire and water. For a knight of the Nine Provinces to walk openly on the streets here without concealing their identity would invite a great deal of trouble.

Zhu Changqing knew her identity as a Spirit-Bound Master from the Weapon Crypt, so he did not dwell on it; that bunch from the Weapon Crypt loved stirring up trouble everywhere.

Waiting in this place littered with dried corpses made one's skin crawl. Seeing a pavilion not far away, Xiahou Ming spoke up, "Let's go to the pavilion over there; the Yin energy here is far too heavy."

Since these individuals refused to leave, they all wanted to wait and see what would happen next with the Yan Sword Sect. They couldn't make a trip here and gain nothing at all, running errands for nothing.

The ninety-nine stone steps bore the millennium-long accumulation of the Yan Sword Sect, with different sword techniques and moves carved onto every single step. By the time Liu Xiaoyi reached the tenth tier, he already needed true Qi to protect his body in order to advance.

At the end of the stone steps lay a courtyard, its appearance and decoration indistinguishable from the home of ordinary commoners. A young man lying on a bed suddenly twitched his nose, let out a heavy yawn, and sat up from the bed.

"Ah, that was a comfortable sleep. Master, Master, I'm awake! Is the food ready yet?" The young man shouted for a long time, but the outside remained utterly silent, with no one responding to him.

He felt somewhat depressed. Logically speaking, having slept for so long, his master should have prepared the food and waited for him to come out long ago.

He rolled off the bed, stretched his back vigorously, and was just about to push open the window for some fresh air when he spotted a note placed on the windowsill: "Defend the human race on behalf of my Yan Sword Sect."

The young man felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The note slipped from his hand as scene after scene rapidly replayed before his eyes. He recalled how, before falling into slumber, his martial brothers had been filled with hope, their chaotic and disorderly words causing him to swallow hard. A heavy, oppressive feeling made it difficult for him to breathe. He buried his head in his hands, squatted on the ground, and let out a painful roar.

He was the sect leader's final closed-door disciple, a rare peerless genius born with natural sword bones, enjoying immense privileges within the Yan Sword Sect.

Yet things went contrary to his wishes. He was only twenty years old and had not yet matured when a great calamity struck. With no other choice, they sealed the mountain gates, and utilizing the power of this seal, he was completely imprisoned within this courtyard.

When he finally calmed down, he raised his head and looked at the incense burner placed on the bedside table. The incense burning inside had burned through and sunk completely into the ash.

"The millennium incense has burned down entirely; can it really have been a thousand years? Master and senior brothers, please don't blame me—if I stay cooped up in this room any longer, I'm going to starve to death."

Walking on tiptoe, the young man gently pushed the door open. With a squeak, the wooden door swung wide. He failed to notice the bronze lock dropped outside the door, which was identical to the lock the stone statues had shattered with their sword intent.

Natural sword bones meant that he was born a grandmaster, merely lacking mastery over this miraculous power. The Yan Sword Sect had been willing to wager the fate of the entire sect on him, demonstrating just how formidable a grandmaster could be.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, let the ancestors manifest! Is there anything to eat at all? I'm starving!"

He searched the entire courtyard without finding a single thing edible, leaving him with no choice but to hang the precious sword left by his master at his waist, strap on a small bundle, and step outside.

"It's already dark outside? Master and the others didn't even leave me any money. Before I can even walk out of the mountain gates, I'm going to starve to death halfway. Huh? Is someone over there?"

Rubbing his stomach, the young man heard intermittent footsteps on the stone steps not far away and went over to take a look. He saw a youth holding a sword, climbing upward and having already reached past the halfway point of the steps.

Yet he appeared to have reached his limit; his right leg tried repeatedly to step down, only to be rebuffed by the sword Qi emanating from the stone steps, rendering him unable to advance further.

In the Yan Sword Sect, this path was used to test cultivation. When the mountain gates were unsealed, there had been other paths to pass through, but now only these stone steps remained.

"Stay right there and don't move! I'll pull you up!"

Liu Xiaoyi was caught in a dilemma, advancing neither forward nor backward, when he suddenly heard a voice that nearly frightened him into tumbling down the stone steps. At that moment, all his strength was pitted against the stone steps, leaving him with no excess energy to deal with anyone else.

A hand reached out and effortlessly pulled Liu Xiaoyi upward. The terrifying resistance vanished instantly into thin air. Looking up, Liu Xiaoyi stared in astonishment at the young man standing before him, dressed in white and exuding an aura of vast righteousness. He asked perplexedly, "Senior, how did you get up here?"

Anyone walking down from above must certainly possess a cultivation higher than his own, so calling him "Senior" was naturally beyond reproach. But the moment the young man heard those two words, his eyes narrowed into slits: "What did you just call me? Quick, quick, say it again!"

"Senior?"

"Ah! That's it! I am Lu Haoran, the final closed-door disciple of the three hundred and sixty-fifth sect leader of the Yan Sword Sect. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you! May I ask if you, brother, are carrying any food on you? I'm starving."

Following that, Liu Xiaoyi wore a dark expression as he watched the closed-door disciple empty his pockets entirely. The dry rations and strips of meat Liu Xiaoyi carried with him were precisely located by the fellow and shoved straight into his mouth.

"Mm-mm, this is seriously delicious! From now on, you're my best brother. I've got you covered; you can walk anywhere you want in this martial world! Do you have any water? A bit of wine works too!" Completely oblivious to the rising flames of fury in the other person, Lu Haoran continued eating with ravenous greed.

After watching this fellow devour six flatbreads and a pound of dried meat, Liu Xiaoyi finally opened his mouth and said, "How could the Yan Sword Sect produce a rice bucket like you? If you've been starving for a thousand years, I certainly can't afford to feed you."

Lu Haoran wiped his mouth, let out a burp, and reassured Liu Xiaoyi, "How did you know I'm from the Yan Sword Sect? Are people from a thousand years later all as smart as you?"

Before the mountain gate seal was lifted, there weren't even roads leading here. Liu Xiaoyi wasn't a fool; how could he not know the fellow's background?

Yet the Yan Sword Sect had gone to such great lengths simply to preserve his life? Judging by his looks, he seemed the part—if only he would just keep his mouth shut.

Seeming to read Liu Xiaoyi's thoughts, Lu Haoran proudly drew his precious sword from his waist to demonstrate his prowess and boasted, "Do you know what kind of sword this is? A genuine Grandmaster sword named Longevity! There are no more than five such swords in the entire Yan Sword Sect. Jealous?"

"Is that rare? I have one too." Seeing the Longevity Sword, Liu Xiaoyi noticed its aura was roughly identical to the sword forged by the weapon smith Lu Ming, except that the Green Brilliance Sword's aura was somewhat more majestic.

"Stop joking around. A Grandmaster sword isn't a head of cabbage; how could they be everywhere... Wait! You actually have one?!"

The Green Brilliance Sword flew out of its scabbard and hovered right before his eyes!