The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 444 Kumārajīva's Little Secrets.
The sky was clear and blue, with white clouds drifting lazily by.

Surrounded by lakes and reed beds, Canhezhuang boasts deep courtyards, intricately carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and terraces connected by corridors, artificial hills, ponds, and small bridges.

There is a courtyard surrounded by flowing water on all sides, with a small bridge spanning it. In the center stands a two-story pavilion, which looks no different from other buildings.

This place is actually the Murong family's collection of martial arts techniques: Huanshi Water Pavilion!

This place is guarded day and night by loyal and highly skilled family guards. No one except members of the Murong family is allowed to enter or leave at will.

In this world, only one member of the Murong family is still alive, and that is their young master, Murong Fu.

However, Murong Fu went out on business and has not returned for more than half a year.

No one has been going in or out of Huanshi Water Pavilion since.

However, the Murong family's retainers were unaware that a guest had quietly arrived at the Shishui Pavilion in the past few days.

Wearing a yellow monk's robe, with a round, jade-like face and bright, piercing eyes, Kumārajīva slowly walked among the rows of tall bookshelves, holding a book that he had only half-read.

The frames of those tall bookshelves were covered with bookmarks listing various martial arts sects and their secret manuals.

half year ago.

Kumārajīva went to Tianlong Temple in Dali to seek the Six Meridians Divine Sword, but failed and stayed in the territory of Dali Kingdom.

Subsequently, I visited Tenryu-ji Temple several times.

However, the group including Master Ku Rong, who were already prepared and had mastered one of the six divine sword techniques more and more thoroughly, were able to force him to retreat each time, leaving him empty-handed.

Kumārajīva had considered going to Suzhou City to find the owner of Xiaoyao Manor and obtain the Six Meridians Divine Sword from him.

But the man was somewhat mysterious, which made Kumārajīva hesitate.

First of all, given that person's internal strength was no less than his, he should have already condensed the talisman of extraordinary techniques and mastered one extraordinary technique after another; however, the other party just happened not to have mastered any extraordinary techniques.

Secondly, the man's physical strength was unbelievably powerful. The force that could split rocks and shatter stone could not cause any damage to him. Even when he used his special techniques, he could only cause minor injuries.

Finally, the man's movements were incredibly skillful and profound; he effortlessly dodged his attacks time and time again; as a result, he was not confident that he could capture him.

These three concerns left Kumārajīva with some doubts.

However, he eventually found another opportunity.

Duan Yu, the heir of the Prince of Zhennan in the Dali Kingdom, caused a series of troubles in the Dali Kingdom. Later, for some unknown reason, he was taken to Tianlong Temple by Emperor Duan Zhengming of the Dali Kingdom.

Because that kid was a descendant of the Duan family, he wasn't asked to leave when Zen Master Kurong and the others were practicing the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

And so, without realizing it, the boy had learned the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

Kumārajīva, who had been lurking around Tenryū-ji Temple, devised a plan.

After Duan Yu resolved his problems and was strolling around the temple, the other party suddenly appeared, intending to capture him.

To Kumārajīva's utter surprise, Duan Yu, who was only eighteen or nineteen years old, possessed an astonishingly profound inner strength.

Moreover, with the support of that profound and unparalleled internal energy, he was able to use the Six Meridians Divine Sword technique, which he had just learned, intermittently!
For a time, Kumārajīva was forced into a rather disheveled state.

The cunning Kumārajīva used another trick to finally defeat Duan Yu, who had extremely little combat experience.

Then, before Zen Master Kurong and the others arrived, he left Tianlong Temple with Duan Yu.

Unexpectedly, not long after he left Tianlong Temple, a strange man with crippled legs, disfigured face, and who could only speak using ventriloquism came to his door.

Using two slender iron staffs, he unleashed the Duan family's One-Finger Divine Skill, attempting to rescue Duan Yu from his grasp.

That strange disabled man from the Duan family was highly skilled in martial arts, no less so than Emperor Duan Zhengming of the Dali Kingdom.

However, he is still far inferior to Kumārajīva, who was able to fight five opponents at once in Tenryū-ji Temple.

Therefore, after injuring and forcing the man to retreat, in order to prevent the Dali Duan family from coming to their door again, they took Duan Yu and headed north, then turned east, and finally arrived at Suzhou City.

For Kumārajīva, the Six Meridians Divine Sword of Tianlong Temple in Dali was indeed miraculous, and was praised by Murong Bo as the number one sword technique in the world.

After a duel with several eminent monks at Tianlong Temple, he realized that the internal energy required to master the Six Meridians Divine Sword was incredibly profound; so he gave up the idea of ​​practicing it.

He planned to follow his original plan, force Duan Yu to write a handwritten copy of the Six Meridians Divine Sword, and then use the excuse of going to the Murong family to burn it in front of Murong Bo's grave; and on this basis, he would ask to enter the Murong family's Huanshi Water Pavilion to see the martial arts manuals of various schools and sects.

Even if the Murong family refuses him entry to Huanshi Water Pavilion, he will have already ascertained their address.

In the future, you can infiltrate on your own!
Kumārajīva was a greedy and cunning man, and he had his own logically consistent way of doing things.

In his opinion
The Six Meridians Divine Sword of Tianlong Temple in Dali is merely a martial arts manual that is difficult to master.

How can it compare to the Murong family's Huanshi Water Pavilion, which collects martial arts manuals from all schools and sects in the world?

Therefore, his goal from the very beginning was the Huanshi Water Pavilion of the Murong family.

The Six Meridians Divine Sword of the Dali Duan family was merely a stepping stone.

When Kumārajīva brought Duan Yu to Suzhou, they inquired about the location of the Murong family.

Surprisingly, no one knew about it.

Moreover, he discovered that he wasn't the only one inquiring about the Murong family's address; many martial arts practitioners from all over the country were also gathering in Suzhou, asking around for news about the Murong family. After some careful investigation, he learned that in the Central Plains martial arts world, more than a dozen renowned figures had recently died from their signature martial arts techniques.

Everyone suspected that the person who killed them was Murong Fu from the Murong family.

Only members of the Murong family would use the enemy's own methods against them when killing, employing their signature techniques to kill them.
More and more martial arts practitioners, seeking revenge, inquiring about news, or just watching the spectacle, gathered in Suzhou.

But no matter how much they inquired, they only got one piece of information.

The local gangs and martial arts figures in Suzhou all knew that the Murong family had indeed lived in Suzhou for generations, but no one knew the exact address of their home.

This left those seeking information completely bewildered and helpless.

Thus, over the course of more than half a year, the martial arts figures gathered in Suzhou came and went, changing countless times.

Kumārajīva led Duan Yu and lingered in Suzhou for more than a month, thinking that he would also return empty-handed.

Unexpectedly, he discovered a clue while boating on the lake.

He saw a young girl dressed in emerald green, riding a small boat, singing songs, occasionally appearing among the lotus flowers and reeds, and she also possessed considerable martial arts skills.
While marveling at the sight, a sudden flash of inspiration struck me.

"Could the Murong family be hiding in the reeds of Taihu Lake?"

Taihu Lake, located outside Suzhou, covers a vast area and is filled with dense reed beds and islands of varying sizes.

The waterways in the reed marshes are intricate and complex, making it difficult for outsiders to enter without the guidance of someone familiar with the area.

But Kumārajīva was different; his martial arts had reached the highest realm of martial arts, the Heavenly Realm, and he could fly by controlling his qi.

On a bright moonlit night, he left Duan Yu at an inn in the city and went alone to the shore of Taihu Lake.

Seeing that no one was around, he leaped up and flew several feet into the air, shooting towards the distant reeds.

Although Kumārajīva's martial arts had reached the supreme realm of harmony between man and nature, and his internal energy recovery speed was extremely astonishing, if he flew by air for a long time, the recovery speed would still not be able to keep up with the consumption speed.

Therefore, he needed to land on the reeds to catch his breath every few miles.

When he leaped out of the waterway and looked down at the reeds from the air, he immediately took in everything around him.

An hour later.

Finally, we saw several islands of varying sizes that had been developed into estates.

They lay in wait all night.

The next day, they quietly made their way through the estates on several islands.

From the servants, the specific details of the islands were easily learned.

They also learned that the Murong family's manor was called Canhe Manor.

He originally intended to sneak directly into the Huanshi Water Pavilion in Canhe Manor, but after considering his identity, he decided to pay a formal visit instead.

So, that very evening, he quietly returned to Suzhou.

On the morning of the third day, he took Duan Yu to the lakeside, rented a small boat, and glided away following the waterway route he remembered.

As they approached Canhe Village, they encountered the girl again, dressed in emerald green and piloting a small boat.

The girl was extremely surprised to see Kumārajīva and Duan Yu nearby, and quickly went forward to ask them questions.

After learning that Kumārajīva was a friend of the late Murong Bo and that he had come to pay his respects at the grave of the old master Murong Bo.
The girl's eyes lingered on Kumārajīva and Duan Yu for a long while before she said that she was Abi, a maid from Murong Manor, and that she could take the two of them to Canhe Manor to pay respects at the tomb of the previous head of the Murong clan.

Kumārajīva murmured, "Amitabha!" and rowed his boat to follow.

Inside the Sanhe Village
Kumārajīva was tricked by another maid who was extremely skilled in disguise, and she actually managed to rescue Duan Yu, who was being held captive by him.

Kumārajīva didn't take it to heart. After paying his respects at Murong Bo's tomb, he immediately asked to visit Huanshi Water Pavilion.

He then falsely claimed that this was an agreement he made with the old man Murong Bo back then!

During this period, Murong Fu was not at home, and neither Abi, Azhu, nor the four great generals of Deng Baichuan were qualified to allow outsiders to enter Huanshi Water Pavilion.

Therefore, they refused on the spot.

Kumārajīva was not angry, and turned to leave the Sanhe Manor.

That evening, he visited the Murong family's Canhe Manor again and secretly sneaked into Huanshi Water Pavilion.

With no one to disturb him in the Huanshi Water Pavilion, Kumārajīva settled down.

Every day, whether it's day or night, he is engrossed in studying the martial arts manuals on the shelf.

After a few days, we gained a lot.

This day.
He was looking at a martial arts manual about palm techniques in the Huanshi Water Pavilion.

Just as I was engrossed in watching, I suddenly heard a loud, intense burst of energy outside.

(End of this chapter)