Chapter 625: Behind the Mountain
Chapter 625: Behind the Mountain
Within the Great Void Sword Tomb, the elderly man's eyes flickered with a complex mix of emotions.
"Since tens of thousands of years ago..." he murmured, "the heavens have been tainted, and the spiritual connection of the people has weakened. There couldn't possibly be any divine beasts left..."
"Just what happened?" A mist of confusion clouded his mind.
The old man's spirit transformed into a sword, seeking to unravel the root of the evil that had caused the disappearance of the demons. His consciousness, sharp as a sword, pierced through the mist, and the scene before him changed. He now beheld a blood-red landscape.
At the horizon, a hideous yet majestic king among the corpses slowly opened its eyes. Its body was bound in chains, and its eyes were filled with rage, bloodlust, and a twisted understanding of the Dao.
"A sin against the Dao!" The old man exclaimed in horror.
In the next instant, a chill wind blew, and countless walking corpses and iron corpses surged like a tide, invading his sea of consciousness. They fearlessly bit and tore at his spiritual sense.
The old man paused for a moment, and then a proud aura emanated from his wizened face.
His consciousness condensed into a formidable sword intent, like the chaos of the two extremes, flowing through the Great Void. Mystical sword light burst forth, twisting and killing the encroaching horde.
All the walking corpses and iron corpses that came into contact with the sword light were crushed to pieces, annihilated in an instant.
As the king of the corpses witnessed its army being eradicated by the sword light, it roared in fury, causing the chains of causality that bound it to tremble.
In the blink of an eye, it traced the subtle chains of causality and approached the old man. It opened its bloody maw and bit down on the old man's arm.
With a determined look on his face, the old man transformed his consciousness into a sword and struck out with a sword strike.
This sword strike landed on the corpse king.
However, it felt as if the sword had struck empty air.
The corpse king was enveloped in the chains of causality, existing in another layer of illusory realm.
The old man frowned and struck out with another sword.
This time, the sword cut through causality itself.
The Great Void Sword Intent surged forth like the Milky Way, severing the chains of causality and eradicating the blood-soaked sin against the Dao embodied by the corpse king.
The mountain of corpses and sea of blood instantly vanished.
Behind the mountain, the sword tomb was silent and desolate, littered with broken swords.
It was as if nothing had happened.
But the old man knew that his spiritual sense now bore a bite mark.
The injury was not severe, but a strand of bloodthirsty evil thought had seeped into his sea of consciousness, corroding his heart of the Dao and filling him with icy killing intent.
At the same time, within the elders' residence, Elder Xu, who had been reading a book on array formations by candlelight, suddenly changed his expression.
"Killing intent ripples, spirit transformed into a sword!"
Elder Xu's face turned solemn, and with a sweeping gesture, he tore open a pitch-black rift in the air and stepped into it. When he reappeared, he found himself in the forbidden area behind the mountain, within the sword tomb.
The sword tomb that covered the mountain did not seem to be in any disorder.
Only the old man in the middle seemed to have an unstable heart of the Dao, his spiritual sense overflowing. A formidable sword intent, containing a shocking killing intent, was being restrained, causing those who sensed it to shudder in fear.
However, this killing intent emanating from the sword Dao was something that ordinary cultivators would not be able to perceive.
The elders and disciples of Tai Xu Mountain were still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the events that had transpired in the forbidden area.
But Elder Xu knew.
He looked at the old man in the sword tomb, his eyes revealing a complex mix of emotions, and then sighed, "Senior brother, you've drawn your sword again..."
The old man with the long white beard and hair had a pale face, as if he was suppressing something. His face was crisscrossed with sword qi, and killing intent swirled around him.
After a long while, he finally managed to stabilize his heart of the Dao and suppress the killing intent with his profound cultivation. His expression returned to normal, but his spiritual sense had been tainted by the "corpse poison" of causality.
Threads of twisted, blood-red Dao understanding entwined within him.
Elder Xu's expression turned grim as he saw this, and he sucked in a cold breath.
"What is this?!"
The long-bearded old man raised his head to glance at Elder Xu and bitterly smiled, "Who would have thought that it was a sin against the Dao."
Upon hearing this, Elder Xu's expression turned grave. "Just what happened?"
The long-bearded old man shook his head. "I wanted to trace the causality of the demons that intruded into our Tai Xu Mountain. I drew my sword to slay them, but somehow, I ended up slaying a sin against the Dao..."
"If not for the fact that this sin against the Dao had a low realm and was only at the half-step stage, not yet fully formed..."
"Otherwise, with my depleted spiritual sense and incomplete heart of the Dao, I might have already been corrupted and become a puppet of the sin against the Dao, my physical body remaining human while my heart of the Dao turned into a corpse..."
The long-bearded old man took a deep breath and shuddered inwardly.
Elder Xu's eyes narrowed, "Someone is plotting something and nurturing a sin against the Dao?"
The old man pondered for a moment and then shook his head. "It doesn't seem like that. It's not like they deliberately raised a sin against the Dao. It's more like..."
"When I slashed through causality with my sword, I unintentionally touched something I shouldn't have, violating a taboo and provoking this vile creature..."
Elder Xu furrowed his brow, puzzled. "A sin against the Dao of causality?"
The long-bearded old man nodded. "This half-step sin against the Dao seems to have already 'died', but its resentment lingers. It's taking refuge in some 'thing'..."
"The sin against the Dao... is already dead?" Elder Xu's brow furrowed even deeper. "Under the rules of the Great Dao, how could a sin against the Dao die so easily within a realm?"
"Who has such power to circumvent the laws of heaven and slay a sin against the Dao?"
The long-bearded old man closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again, his expression solemn. "In this world, all things that are born will eventually die."
"A sin against the Dao is merely a twisted product of the Great Dao. Under the laws of heaven, it may be invincible within a realm, but that does not mean it is truly immortal..."
"If it can be born, then it can also die."
"That person is dead. The celestial funeral of Gui Xu has appeared in the world, and the heavenly secrets are quietly turning. Unfathomable events are becoming more and more frequent..."
Xun Laoxian furrowed his brows.
In the Qian Xuezhou realm, the noble families prospered, and peace had lasted for a long time. Indeed, it had been a very long time since he had last heard the words "sin against the Dao."
Now that he heard them again, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Xun Laoxian calculated with his fingers, his heart skipping a beat. He silently lowered his hand and asked, "What kind of sin against the Dao was it?"
"A Corpse King from the mountain of corpses and sea of blood..."
Corpse King...
Xun Laoxian quietly noted this and then looked up at the old man with the long beard, his eyes filled with deep worry. "Are you... alright, brother?"
The old man coughed a few times, his voice hoarse as he replied, "I'll be fine after some rest... Although times have changed, a single sin of causality won't be enough to severely damage my spiritual sense..."
After he finished speaking, the old man couldn't help but cough a few more times.
His breath grew weaker, indicating that his original injury had worsened.
Xun Laoxian felt a twinge of pain in his heart and sighed, "Brother, please refrain from transforming your spiritual sense into a sword."
"I know my limits..."
"Brother!"
The long-bearded old man remained expressionless.
Xun Laoxian sighed, his eyes solemn as he said, "You cultivate the Sword of Spiritual Sense, so you should know better than me that although the Sword Intent is supreme and can cut through tangible objects and intangible spirits, there is also a risk."
"What makes the Sword Intent powerful can also be its downfall."
"This Sword Intent is not an external sword, but your own spiritual sense."
"Once the Sword Intent is released, it can either harm others or harm yourself, and when harming others, it also consumes your own spiritual sense."
"Ordinary sword cultivators use external swords to strike their enemies. If the sword is damaged, it can be repaired, and if it breaks, it can be reforged. If the sword is destroyed, one can simply forge another..."
"But spiritual sense is different..."
"When spiritual sense is transformed into a sword, if the sword is damaged, the spirit is harmed. If the sword breaks, the spirit is silenced. If the sword is destroyed, the spirit perishes..."
"That's not even the most terrifying part..."
"The most terrifying thing is..."
Xun Laoxian looked at the long-bearded old man, "When the spiritual sense transforms into a sword and the Sword Intent leaves the body, it is very susceptible to corruption by evil spirits. Once corrupted, the heart of the Dao is tainted, and it becomes extremely difficult to reach the pinnacle of the Dao. It may even..."
Xun Laoxian's heart ached, and he couldn't continue.
The long-bearded old man let out a bitter laugh, self-mockingly saying, "It may even end up like me, neither human nor ghost, trapped within my mortal shell, drawing my own prison..."
"Brother..."
"I know..."
The long-bearded old man sighed, "I know. I can no longer cultivate this sword manual..."
"I am the last person to cultivate this sword manual..."
"From now on, none of the future generations of Tai Xu Sect shall cultivate the 'Spiritual Sense Transforming Sword True Manual,' nor shall they be informed of its existence..."
"This lineage ends with me."
"It shall be buried and wither away with me in this Great Void Sword Tomb."
"But I'm not dead yet..."
The long-bearded old man's face was weathered, but his eyes shone with a sharp light.
"I am still the heir of the Great Void Sword Manual..."
"Those who dare to offend my Tai Xu, whether they are evil spirits, causality, or dangers arising from the heavenly secrets, I must use my sword to slay them..."
"Even if it consumes my spiritual sense, even if my spirit perishes and my Dao vanishes..."
"This is the last thing I can do."
Xun Laoxian felt both admiration and sadness, and he couldn't help but sigh and comfort the old man. "In the Qian Xuezhou realm, the noble families stand tall, the sects prosper, and all is flourishing. Some demons and evil creatures dare not offend the Eight Great Sects..."
"Brother, you don't have to..."
The long-bearded old man's expression turned cold, and he smiled faintly. "Do you even believe those words yourself?"
Xun Laoxian was taken aback.
The long-bearded old man looked at him and sighed, "Brother, you are a master of formations. Who could be clearer than you about these things?"
"Our Tai Xu Sect does not have a lineage of heavenly secret calculations."
"Tai Xu Sect has never relied on calculations, but on sword techniques..."
"If there are demonic invasions, we use the Great Void Spiritual Sense Transforming Sword to slay the demons, sever causality, and isolate the dangers within the heavenly secrets..."
"All we can do is kill..."
"We cannot learn or master the true heavenly secret calculations, so there are some things we simply cannot see..."
Xun Laoxian fell silent.
In his heart, he knew that what his senior brother was saying was true.
Heavenly secret calculations were far superior to formation path calculations.
His own deductions were based on formation path calculations and not true heavenly secret calculations, so he could only glimpse some causality but not the root cause...
The long-bearded old man continued, "Since we cannot calculate it, how can you be sure that this so-called prosperity and flourishing is the truth when you only observe it with your eyes?"
Xun Laoxian frowned, "While Tai Xu Sect may not be proficient in calculations, there are other sects..."
The long-bearded old man shook his head, "In the entire Qian Xuezhou realm, whether it's formation path calculations or heavenly secret calculations, they have all declined..."
"In the past, the Qian Xuezhou realm thrived with formations, and cultivators had firm hearts of the Dao and broad minds that embraced all under heaven. Thus, many cultivators of heavenly secrets emerged..."
"But now..."
"...while the calculations remain, the noble families and sects only calculate for their own benefit, not for the sake of the people or the will of heaven."
"Once heaven's gaze is obscured, extradimensional demons and savage fiendish gods will surely stir, using the human heart as their breeding ground, proliferating without restraint..."
The elderly man with the long beard remained impassive as he spoke:
"Those people only see the superficial splendor and fail to recognize the decay beneath."
"More alarmingly, they are oblivious to the corruption within the workings of causality, the putridness of those sinister demons..."
"One day, these demons will bring ruin to the orthodoxy of the Tai Xu Sect."
"As long as I live, I can still use my sword to slay them."
"But what will happen after I'm gone...?"
The long-bearded elder's expression was one of calm resignation, yet it also carried a hint of melancholy.
Xun Laoxian sighed deeply upon hearing this:
"Senior brother, you speak too harshly of yourself..."
"In the Qian Xuezhou realm, there are countless powerful beings. There will always be a solution, so you need not worry yourself so. Focus on recuperating instead..."
The long-bearded elder fell silent, choosing not to respond.
Xun Laoxian didn't say anything further, but his eyes reflected his lingering concerns.
The unknown is always the most frightening...
He let out a sigh and turned to leave.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, the long-bearded elder slowly opened his eyes once more, stroking a broken sword by his side as he murmured softly:
"I'm sorry..."
"I have to let you accompany me..."
"...in 'dying' here in this Sword Tomb..."
The ancient broken sword remained silent, its stillness permeating the air.
The entire back mountain was desolate and empty.
Within the pitch-black Sword Tomb, the old man sat motionless, surrounded by fallen swords and ancient chains, as if he had imprisoned himself within a sword formation in the forbidden grounds of the Great Void, destined to remain trapped forever.
...
Meanwhile, the "little magical beast" named Ink Painting had "eaten" the demon, digested it, and then rested for a while.
The next morning, it went to class as if nothing had happened.
The workings of heaven were veiled, and causality lurked in the shadows.
Ink Painting had no idea that one of the sect's elders, bitten by the Corpse King he had nurtured, was now affected.
He continued his cultivation and attended classes as usual.
However, during his free time, he added one more task to his routine:
Accepting second-rank formation tasks to earn merit!
Xun Laoxian had altered his permissions, and although he hadn't been officially ranked yet, within the Tai Xu Sect, at least within the Tai Xu Token, he was now recognized as a "Second-Rank Formation Master."
During the biweekly break, he took on tasks to apprehend rogue cultivators, earning a substantial amount of merit.
Nevertheless, in terms of efficiency, accepting second-rank formation tasks was undoubtedly a more lucrative option.
After all, the biweekly break only lasted for two days, allowing for the completion of a single task.
On the other hand, classes at the sect lasted for eight days, and as long as he had free time, he could take on a new task every day, drawing formations.
Moreover, the two activities didn't conflict with each other.
He could draw formations during class to earn merit and then go "relax" during the biweekly break.
He could capture a few bad guys, continue experimenting with and improving the "Iron Plate," and also confiscate a few magical techniques, all while earning more merit.
By tackling both fronts simultaneously, he would be able to accumulate merit at a much faster rate...
For second-rank formation tasks, he no longer needed to seek out Murong, and Ink Painting could accept them himself.
He focused on the Tai Xu Token, searching for suitable tasks.
However, after applying for an entire morning, it came as no surprise that no one was willing to assign a task to him...
Within the Tai Xu Token, under the names of the disciples, there were sections with additional information.
Under Ink Painting's name, a new section had been added:
Second-Rank Primary Formation Master.
This section included details such as the number of formations Ink Painting had drawn, the tasks he had accepted, and the quality of his work.
It served as a record of merit.
It was also a form of credential.
However, under Ink Painting's "Second-Rank Primary Formation Master" section, it was completely empty.
Since he had not yet accepted any second-rank formation tasks within the Tai Xu Token and had not drawn a single second-rank formation, this section naturally remained vacant.
In other words, he was a complete "newbie."
Hence, others rarely chose him for their formations.
Ink Painting had no choice but to lower his expectations further, from second-rank thirteen-pattern formations to twelve-pattern, and then to eleven-pattern formations...
But due to his lack of "experience," no one agreed to assign him a task.
Determined, Ink Painting persevered and continued to apply relentlessly...
Finally, after nearly thirty attempts, he successfully secured his first task:
A second-rank ten-pattern formation, the Fireworks Formation.
Ink Painting sighed.
A second-rank ten-pattern formation was truly low-level! However, there was no other choice—all journeys began with a single step.
Without taking these small steps, he wouldn't be able to accumulate "experience," and others wouldn't entrust him with more advanced formations.
Ink Painting calmed himself and began to focus, preparing to complete his first second-rank formation task within the Tai Xu Sect...
(End of Chapter)
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