“When Confucius traveled the states, his three thousand Disciples all carried swords.” Qing Feng blinked, shedding his playful expression. “Without decisive action, benevolent teachings are ultimately castles in the air.”
The Dao Lord finally shook his head and chuckled, watching Qing Feng's figure break through the restriction, he murmured, “What a fight without fighting. This Beast Taming Sect will likely never be peaceful again.”
The setting sun cast long shadows on the Sword Field. Dao Lord Zisu lightly tapped the stone table with her fingertips: “From this moment, you will enter seclusion for ten years. If you fail to form your Golden Core…” Before she finished speaking, the jade ruler already gleamed with a cold light.
Qing Feng rubbed his sleepy eyes and replied, “I will respectfully obey Shibo's teachings.” Secretly, however, he was planning how to use his self-created “Nine Drunken Dream Forms” to muddle through.
After Qing Feng's figure disappeared around the corner of the Sword Pavilion, the purple-robed Venerable picked up the cooled teacup and mused to himself, “The so-called Way of the Benevolent should first use the sword's edge to establish order, and then hold the jade slip to discuss right and wrong.”
Ripples suddenly appeared in the cup, reflecting his enlightened smile. It turned out that the scriptures of the Sages were actually connected to the Way of the Sword.
As the first frost descended, Qin Yue boarded the cloud boat, carrying a profound ice sword case. Zi Yun stood at the ferry crossing, clutching a shark silk handkerchief, and the twelve hidden guards of the Sword Hall had already quietly formed their formation to accompany her.
Qin Heng's scolding could be heard from the main peak's training ground. The Disciples were complaining bitterly from the training, and Yuan Feng True Lord's figure, holding an account book and demanding compensation, appeared particularly desolate amidst the sky full of sword light.
When late autumn's withered leaves piled high around the thatched hut, Qing Feng, wrapped in a brocade quilt, turned over.
Yan Yi, who occasionally visited, after receiving the Samadhi True Fire incantation, was also nowhere to be seen again.
Only the Black Dog guarding the gate absorbed moonlight under the locust tree every day; its fur, gradually forming a golden body, shimmered with a golden luster in the night.
On the day of the awakening of insects and thunder, Dao Lord Zisu shattered the ice prisms on the eaves and arrived gracefully.
Seeing Qing Feng curled up like a silkworm cocoon on the bamboo couch, and then looking at the spiritual dog in the courtyard that could already breathe out alchemical fire, she heavily tapped the bronze cauldron with her horsetail whisk: “Get up quickly! The Profound Heaven Sword Mound is about to appear, you should go and see the world.”
Qing Feng poked his messy, fluffy head out from the brocade quilt, a cunning glint in his eyes: “Are we to disguise ourselves as Xu Yanwu?” The hidden chess piece planted three months ago had finally reached the time for its move.
Dao Lord Zisu lightly tapped her teacup and said, “It's still about the establishment of the Bixi Inspection Team. According to the new regulations, the seven lineages will each send out secret agents to form an enforcement and supervision network. Their true identities will only be known to me, the Sect Leader, Yuan Qing, and Yuan Feng. On the surface, the Ziyan Lineage will oversee it.”
“Isn't that all arranged properly then?” Qing Feng fiddled with his sword tassel.
“But the candidates recommended by Purple Rock need to be reviewed by us. Currently, some people on the list have deep ties with Han Ming Peak.” Zisu tapped a rhythm on the table with her fingertips. “For example, Qi Lin from Hu Ji Peak…”
“I think he's perfectly suitable.” Qing Feng cut her off, his knuckles suddenly tightening around his scabbard. “The inspection team should only promote based on merit. In the face of Sect interests, what do personal grudges amount to? Does Shibo think joining the inspection team is for personal gain?”
Zisu raised an eyebrow, sizing up the young man before her: “'Public tools without private interests,' coming from your mouth, it's as if you've become a different person.”
“A Disciple of the Beast Taming Sect should naturally wield public-mindedness as their sword.” Qing Feng's entire body suddenly glowed with a clear light, as if bathed in moonlight.
Secretly, however, he was calculating: If Qi Lin is truly impartial, then the secret agents from Hu Ji Peak will naturally clash with him. If he acts with favoritism, heh, then I'll seize the opportunity to uproot him completely.
“Stop pretending.” Zisu snapped, flicking her sleeve, but her eyes showed satisfaction. “However, this demeanor does suit the spirit of a sword cultivator. Remember, fellow disciples are both whetstones for your sword and protective armor.”
Qing Feng bowed his head in agreement, secretly chuckling to himself. He had long ago anticipated Qi Lin's dilemma after joining the team. How could the Young Master of Hu Ji Peak lack resources? The truly interesting part would be watching this prodigy caught between law and human sentiment.
“I'll give you five hundred years.” Zisu suddenly raised a jade finger. “If by then you still cannot debate the Dao as my equal.” Before she finished speaking, sword intent had already bloomed like winter plums on the tea table.
Qing Feng chuckled, touching the tip of his nose. “Returning to Void in a hundred years?” He stared at the gradually melting ice crystal plum blossoms on the table, already calculating how to break through the realm in seventy years. The sword at his waist sensed its master's fighting intent and let out a faint dragon's cry.
“Focus on your cultivation. Next year, during the Seven Lineages Sword Debate, the Yixian Palace, the world's foremost sound cultivation Sect, will send envoys to play the zither and lend support.”
Dao Lord Zisu lightly tapped the jade table with her fingertips, “At that time, you will attend the Dao lecture as Xu Yanwu, which will allow you to advance your cultivation and also announce to the world that the Xu family's direct lineage still exists.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Shibo. It's just…” The white-robed young man rubbed the jade pendant at his waist, “The Beast Taming Sect and Yixian Palace have always had a superficial relationship. How could they accept the invitation this time?”
“The Immortal Alliance Leader is about to change, and all families are planning their strategies.” The Dao Lord lightly flicked his sleeve, and a wisp of white mist rose from the teacup on the table. “However, you don't need to worry about these worldly affairs. Only a clear sword heart is the true path.”
“I wonder who the visitor is? Is it Elder Yingzhou?” A sharp glint flashed in the young man's eyes.
If he could arrange the marriage contract with his future Dao companion's Master in advance, it would save a lot of trouble.
“This time, it's Luo Shen Yun Qingrao leading the team.” Before Dao Lord Zisu finished speaking, the teacup in the young man's hand suddenly trembled slightly, and the spiritual spring within the cup rippled faintly.
“It's actually that Immortal Yun, whose beauty is unparalleled across the Nine Provinces.” Qing Feng's eyebrows subtly arched, and the candlelight on the table flickered accordingly.
The Dao Lord's gaze swept over the young man's suddenly bright eyes: “You've lived on Sword Inquiring Cliff for so long, yet you know stories of the mortal world like the back of your hand.”
“The trials and tribulations of the martial world are all knowledge, you see.”
The young man smiled and flicked his finger, extinguishing the flickering candlewick, but saw the Dao Lord relight the lamp with a sweep of his wide sleeve. “I've heard that this Immortal Yun once inherited the divine charm of the ancient Fuxi's daughter in the Langhuan Mystic Realm, and, being in the Nascent Soul Realm, she managed to slay a Spirit Transformation cultivator. Is this true?”
“Although the Luo Shen's zither music is wonderful…” The Dao Lord gazed at the re-lit candlewick, “in the eyes of the world, it ultimately cannot compare to the unparalleled grace of the musician.”
The young man lightly tapped his scabbard with his knuckles; the clear sound of metal striking stone rang out: “This Disciple is merely curious, what kind of beauty could truly be unparalleled in the Immortal Alliance? Although the Great Dao is emotionless, one should at least appreciate a beautiful jade when it's present.”
“External appearances are but dust after three thousand kalpas.” The Dao Lord swept his horsetail whisk over the fallen lamp ash on the table. “However, that sword soul within your body…”
Suddenly, a crane's cry pierced through the clouds, and the faint clamor of Disciples drifted from outside the Sect gate:
“Yixian Palace's cloud boat has crossed the Heavenly River!”
Sword light poured down like a waterfall, and the eyes of the Disciples on the training ground burned with a scorching light. The young cultivators from the Purple Rock and Dragon Yang lineages stretched their necks even longer.
They had only ascended a few zhang when several stern shouts came from deep within the clouds. The executive elders from various peaks hung in mid-air with darkened faces, startling the sneaking juniors, who scurried back behind the window frames like quails, yet couldn't resist secretly peeking at the sky with itching hearts. That was the rumored Jade Cloud Immortal Maiden with skin like ice and bones like jade.
“It'll be good to have something to talk about at the wine table later.” A few bolder ones huddled at the eaves, whispering.
Who in the cultivation world didn't know that the Young Master of Qionghua Palace had astonished the Nine Provinces three years ago with a single performance of the “Rainbow Skirt Battle Array,” and had remained at the top of the Beauty Rankings ever since?
Inside the main hall of Ziyan Peak, Yuan Feng True Lord's knuckles heavily rapped on the profound jade table: “A clear sword heart is the true path. Beautiful faces are but withered bones in an instant.” The sound wave, carrying the Spirit Transformation pressure, swept over all the cultivators in the hall.