The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 474 Xu Xingchen said: I don't want to join the Free and Unfettered Sect!
"The Intricate Chess Game is broken!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

Once the knot in his heart that had been tied for so many years was untied, Su Xinghe laughed heartily, his joy and exhilaration beyond anything outsiders could imagine.

Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu watched quietly as Mr. Congbian was so happy he was about to cry, without disturbing his outpouring of joy.

After a long while, Su Xinghe slowly stopped laughing, his gaze fell on the two people opposite him, he stood up, cupped his hands and bowed and said, "Thank you both for fulfilling my long-cherished wish. Please wait a moment, I will be right back."

After saying this, without waiting for Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu to reply, Su Xinghe hurriedly headed towards the three wooden houses not far away.

As Xu Xingchen watched the other person's departing figure, she recalled the plot of the book.

Although the Su Xinghe in the book also had a bad temper and died right after his master, his composure and calmness surpassed that of the real Su Xinghe in front of us.

In Xu Xingchen's view, although Su Xinghe's emotional changes were quite volatile, they were far more realistic than the Su Xinghe in the book.

After all, once a long-cherished wish is fulfilled, even the most composed and calm person will inevitably lose some composure.

Even now, Xu Xingchen still finds the story of Wu Yazi using the Zhenlong Chess Game as a test to invite heroes and talents from all over the world to solve the puzzle, thereby selecting disciples, passing on his skills, and becoming the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect. He finds it incomprehensible.

Even if Wu Yazi's health is deteriorating and he can no longer wait, this approach is too hasty, too absurd, and completely illogical and contrary to common sense.

Utterly absurd and reckless.

Since you're so impatient, why didn't you secretly find one or more young disciples with exceptional martial arts talent during the years you've been hiding from Ding Chunqiu? You could then put them through years or even decades of rigorous training to build their character and establish a solid foundation in martial arts. Afterward, you could pass on your profound internal energy to one of them, sending him to find Ding Chunqiu and avenge you.
Isn't this much more reasonable than your approach of blindly searching for a disciple in the martial arts world to inherit your mantle?

I can't understand the reasoning behind this.

Xu Xingchen could only attribute it to Mr. Jin's sudden inspiration when he wrote the book, resulting in such an absurd and wonderful plot.

Or perhaps it was because Mr. Jin arranged this scene based on the temperament and personality of this carefree sect disciple.

Or is it the work of a reclusive master, a "following fate" approach beyond the imagination of ordinary people?

While Xu Xingchen was lost in thought.

Su Xinghe pushed open the door of the wooden house, walked through the hall and rooms, and came to the wall of the innermost room.

Based on the distance, the rocky cliff should be located behind this wooden wall.

Su Xinghe clasped his hands and bowed towards the wall, saying in a deep voice, "Master, the Zhenlong Chess Game has been broken, and the Beiming Divine Skill has also been learned!"

After saying those two sentences, he stood there, bent over, motionless, waiting for a response from behind the wall.

A long time passed.

A gentle, refined voice came from behind the wall: "Recently, I've been thinking about having you send out invitations to heroes from all over the world to come to Leigu Mountain and use the Zhenlong Chess Game as a test to select a disciple to inherit my mantle."

Unexpectedly, before I could even take any action, a young talent came to me on his own initiative.

Could this be the will of Heaven?
"Fine! Fine! Bring those two in!"

"Yes, Master." Su Xinghe responded, straightened up, and turned to leave the wooden cabin.

Returning to the pavilion, Xu Xingchen cupped his hands to Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu and said, "Please follow me, gentlemen."

Duan Yu was somewhat confused.

Xu Xingchen, however, knew what was going on.

The two followed Su Xinghe into the wooden cabin.

We walked through the halls and houses until we reached the innermost room, closest to the mountain wall.

Then, Su Xinghe quietly left, leaving the two of them inside.

Immediately afterwards, a gentle and refined voice came from behind the wall: "Young friends, have you ever been to the Sword Lake Palace of Wuliang Mountain?"

Duan Yu was startled by the sudden sound and turned to look for its source.

Although Xu Xingchen guessed who was behind the wall, he still pretended not to know and asked with his hands clasped, "We two have indeed been to the Sword Lake Palace in Wuliang Mountain, Dali. May I ask who you are, senior, and how you know about that place?"

A gentle voice responded from behind the wall: "Since you have been to that place and know that Su Xinghe and Ding Chunqiu are disciples of my Xiaoyao Sect, and thus came to seek me out, it shows that you two have a great affinity with my Xiaoyao Sect; I am Wuyazi, the head of the Xiaoyao Sect."

Duan Yu exclaimed "Ah!" and quickly bowed, saying, "So you are Wu Yazi, the husband of the Fairy Sister."

The gentle voice from behind the wall sounded slightly surprised: "Young Master Duan, why do you address my junior sister like that?"

Clearly, Wuyazi, who was behind the wall, had heard everything that had happened in the valley outside, and that's why he asked this question now.

Duan Yu's face flushed red as he stammered out the whole story of his embarrassing incident that had occurred at the bottom of the Sword Lake Palace in Wuliang Mountain.

As he recounted the story, Duan Yu was filled with shame.

Because he actually coveted the beauty of the wife of Wu Yazi, the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, and shamelessly referred to the jade statue carved by Wu Yazi as "Fairy Sister".
Now, he's even revealing his despicable behavior in front of the victims.
After he finished speaking, he turned as red as a crab in a steamer, radiating heat.

Xu Xingchen, who was listening from the side, was somewhat speechless. He thought to himself, "Do you have to be so honest? Just say that we two entered the bottom of the Sword Lake Palace by chance, and then obtained the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Lingbo Steps from the futon at the foot of the jade statue."

Why did you reveal your feelings at the time? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?

Wu Yazi remained silent for a long time afterward before slowly saying, "I never imagined that my departure from Jianhu Palace to handle some business, and my absence for so many years, would provoke such great resentment from my junior sister."

After a moment of sighing, Wu Yazi said again, "Since you two have both learned the Northern Darkness Divine Art and the Lingbo Steps, then you shall be considered disciples of my Free and Unfettered Sect; break down the wall in front of you and come in to see me!"

Xu Xingchen wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, she didn't speak.

Raise your palm and slap it against the wall in front of you.

Click!
Cracks spread across the wooden wall, quickly covering an area of ​​about ten feet in diameter.

next moment.

There was a crash.

The broken wooden planks collapsed and fell, covering the ground and revealing a hole about ten feet in size in front of the two people.

The extent of the cracks and collapses in the wooden wall perfectly matches the entrance to the cave, down to the last detail.

From inside came Wu Yazi's exclamation: "Such exquisite control!"

The cave was pitch black, without a single ray of light.

But hearing the resounding echoes of Wu Yazi's voice between the mountain walls, one knew that the space inside must be quite large.

Xu Xingchen found a torch in the room, and with a gentle touch of her hand, the torch immediately burst into flames.

The two men, carrying torches, entered the cave and wandered around for a long distance, climbing several steps before finally arriving at a cave above.

The cave here covers an extremely large area, and judging from the smooth walls and corners all around, it must have been carved out by man.

On one of the cave walls, a dozen or so white beams of light refracted through some hidden holes, illuminating the dark cave.

It shares a similar ingenious design with the "Langhuan Jade Cave" in the Mantuo Mountain Villa.

Xu Xingchen guessed that the holes that refracted sunlight probably used the principle of a periscope.

In this way, sunlight can be quietly introduced into the cave without leaving a trace outside.

According to Xu Xingchen's deduction, this cave is at least ten zhang above the valley floor. Standing inside this cave, one should be able to see everything in the valley outside.

Since Wu Yazi designed some periscopes to bring in sunlight, Xu Xingchen didn't believe that he wouldn't install a periscope to observe the valley.
Moreover, the fact that Wu Yazi was able to transmit sound from inside this cave to the wooden house below shows that his skill had reached an unbelievable level.

After their eyes adjusted to the light in the cave, the two soon saw a figure hovering motionless in mid-air in the center of the cave.

Xu Xingchen's gaze swept over the several transparent silk threads connecting the four walls, finally landing on the figure.

The man's hair, eyebrows, and three-foot-long beard were all jet black, without a single white hair.

Even his handsome face, which exuded an air of otherworldly elegance, was as smooth as jade, without a single wrinkle.

His eyes were bright and clear, revealing a hint of innocence, carefree spirit, and ease.

The person's age seems somewhat mysterious.

It possesses the innocence of a teenager, the youthfulness of a twenty- or thirty-year-old, the maturity of a forty- or fifty-year-old, and the vicissitudes of a sixty- or seventy-year-old.
This person was dressed in simple coarse linen clothes, but it could not conceal the extraordinary aura of carefree ease and ethereal transcendence emanating from him.

"Greetings, Senior Wuyazi!"

Xu Xingchen and Duan Yu bowed to each other.

Suspended in mid-air by several transparent silk threads, Wu Yazi looked at the two people's appearances and demeanor, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"You two are both handsome and dashing, perfectly matching the principles of my Free and Unfettered Sect in accepting disciples; excellent! excellent!"

Xu Xingchen straightened up and looked at Wu Yazi: "Senior, please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of becoming a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect. Please forgive me. Why don't you give this opportunity to my brother Duan?"

Duan Yu paused, glanced at Xu Xingchen, and said nothing.

"You have learned the highest martial arts of my Xiaoyao Sect, so why are you unwilling to join my Xiaoyao Sect and become my disciple?" Wu Yazi asked calmly.

Xu Xingchen stated frankly, "I mistakenly entered the Sword Lake Palace of Wuliang Mountain and learned the Northern Darkness Divine Art, which was merely a decent stroke of luck; it was of little use in improving my martial arts; therefore, I might as well not join the Free and Unfettered Sect!"

Wu Yazi was genuinely surprised by Xu Xingchen's response.

In his mind, the highest martial art of the Free and Unfettered Sect, the Northern Darkness Divine Art, is absolutely the best martial arts technique in the world.

If the people of the world knew that the Free and Unfettered Sect possessed such an incredible divine skill, they would be filled with fear and dread, and would likely all want to learn it, all desire it, and all want to join the Free and Unfettered Sect as its disciples.
But the young man before him remained indifferent to the wondrous and profound Northern Darkness Divine Art.
Could it be that you really have some kind of trump card?!

(End of this chapter)