Embers of Sword

Chapter 176 Sea of ​​Suffering
Xuanshui Cave, above the blue sea.

The bells are ringing and the lotus flowers are blooming.

Xie Xuanyi sat in the center of the lotus bud, cross-legged with his illness across his knees. Layers of waves rolled over, covering his clothes and soaking his black robe.

This lotus turned into a small boat and crossed to the end of the blue sea.

Lines of sword intent gushed out from the Xuanshui Cave.

This was a scene several times more grand than the one when Xu Nianning had his epiphany.

Throughout the generations in Xuanshui Cave Heaven, almost every sword immortal predecessor who left behind his sword intent, manifested his divine consciousness at this moment and came to the sky above this lotus boat.

"I am the Blazing Spike Sword Master, practicing the Way of Yang Fire. My dear friend, are you willing to watch me develop my sword intent?"

"My friend, my name is Cang Lin. All my life's learning has been condensed into the Dragonborn Body Refining Technique..."

"Little friend——"

The shouts reached Xie Xuanyi's heart.

He looked at these familiar faces, and his heart was slightly disturbed...

The periphery of the Thirty-Three Caves is filled with sword-intent stone tablets.

Xie Xuanyi had practiced there for a long time in the past. In other words, he had dealt with these Sword Palace sages a long time ago.

But at that time.

The sword intent left behind by these Sword Palace sages was indiscriminate and would directly attack him.

As long as the divine consciousness penetrates the stone tablet, the war is imminent.

And now.

These sages became "teachers of the way", and all wanted to teach their own swordsmanship and cultivation techniques.

Xie Xuanyi, on the other hand, was a little uncomfortable with it.

He stood up, bowed to the Sword Palace elders one by one, and politely declined: "Seniors, I'm sorry... I came here without any doubts."

Not long ago, Xu Nian Ning met the Li Xin Sword Immortal in the Lotus Sea and observed the evolution of the sword intent of the "Yin Fire Avenue"... For those young geniuses in the Cave Heaven Realm, this is indeed an opportunity with only benefits and no harm. The Lotus Sea is vast and boundless. As long as the qualifications are good enough, there is a high probability that they will be able to see a sword intent avenue that is "similar" to their own.

But for Xie Xuanyi.

He doesn't need to watch anyone else's swordsmanship evolution.

He has his own way.

This sword path is called "Destruction".

At that time, Xie Xuanyi's combat power was ranked first among his peers, without any dispute.

Especially after reaching the Yin Shen realm, his cave heaven was completely formed, and the embryo of "Sword Dao" also took root and sprouted. As long as the flying sword of Chen Yan was sacrificed, it could split mountains and seas.

The sword energy slashed through, breaking the grass and trees, and cutting off all life.

This is the sword art that pursues the ultimate killing.

Once the sword is drawn, it will kill!
Looking at the entire lotus sea, there are not many venerable swordsmen whose sword skills can compete with Xie Xuanyi's "Way of Destruction".

After Xie Xuanyi paid his respects.

The phantoms of the sword immortals surrounding the lotus boat suddenly felt disappointed.

Waves of sighs sounded above the blue sea.

Although these Sword Palace sages can speak with their divine bodies... in essence, they are just a wisp of ethereal spirit.

The original owner had died a long time ago, and the thought he left behind was nothing more than following the sword's will and looking for a new master to inherit the legacy... Once rejected, it would naturally dissipate.

Of course, this also has to do with the realm.

The divine consciousness of the Yin God cannot be compared with that of the Yang God.

The lotus boat continued to move forward in the blue sea. Xie Xuanyi sat quietly. Not long after, he felt an extremely powerful thought, far more powerful than the previous Venerable's... The original sky was no longer clear. Lightning and thunder flashed, and the wind was whistling. A huge throne could be vaguely seen, suspended in the air.

The throne was filled with densely packed swords.

The owner of this divine consciousness is obviously at the Yang God level.

Thunder flashed, and a figure in black sat on the top of the throne. The figure was shrouded in darkness, and when the lightning passed, a pair of bright and captivating eyes were revealed.

He just looked at Xie Xuanyi coldly.

Xie Xuanyi, who was sitting on the lotus boat, also looked at the huge throne.

"...Xuanlei Sword Immortal."

Xie Xuanyi spoke softly.

He recognized at a glance who the divine body on the huge sword throne was.

Seven hundred years ago.

There is no headmaster in Dasui Sword Palace. The headmaster of Jin'ao Peak has been in charge of the palace for sixty years. Xuanlei Sword Immortal was one of the strongest men of that era, but he eventually died when he tried to reach a higher realm... The swordsmanship of this great swordsman is extremely domineering and tough.

Many years ago, when Xie Xuanyi was training in the mountains behind Yuping Peak, he suffered a great deal at the hands of Xuan Lei Sword Immortal.

Among the stone tablets in the thirty-three caves, the killing power of Xuan Lei Sword Immortal's sword intent is ranked among the top three!

This is an extremely arrogant person.

That throne was the one where Xuan Lei sat in the Dasui Sword Palace and broke hundreds or even thousands of his enemies' swords. On both sides of the throne, there were even the broken horns of a great master from the Demon Kingdom.

"Boom!"

There was thunder in the sky above this sea area.

Xuan Lei Sword Immortal sat on the throne, silently watching Xie Xuanyi.

Xie Xuanyi knew that with Xuan Lei Sword Immortal's arrogant character, he would never take the initiative to teach the sword skills... At this moment, appearing in the form of divine consciousness was already giving "himself" a chance. As long as he opened his mouth, he would be able to see the evolution of Xuan Lei Sword Immortal's swordsmanship.

However, his purpose of experiencing enlightenment after ringing the bell this time was not to become the Xuan Lei Sword Immortal.

then.

Xie Xuanyi stood up again and bowed silently.

No words needed.

it is more than words.

The blue sea returned to calm again, the sword intent hanging high in the sky gradually converged, the dark clouds quickly dissipated, the Sword King's throne disappeared above the sky, and Xie Xuanyi's lotus boat continued to cross forward.

Descendant of Xuan Lei Sword Immortal.

The Yangshen predecessors from the Dashui Sword Palace also gradually appeared.

They revealed their divine bodies to the new master of Xuanshui Cave Heaven.

These divine thoughts were obviously much more powerful than those of the Yin God Venerable. Some of the divine thoughts of the Yang God Great Sword Immortals even chatted with Xie Xuanyi for a long time and asked about the recent situation of the Sword Palace.

Rather, it is a ray of divine thought.

It is better to say that this divine consciousness has merged with the Xuanshui Cave Heaven and turned into a remnant soul.

They inherited the personality of the original owner and had "their own" will.

What they do here is more than just teaching and imparting knowledge.

It is also the silent "protection" of the Dashui Sword Palace's thousand-year-old foundation!
I do not know how long it has been.

Xie Xuanyi finally saw the end of the blue sea.

What Duan Zhao said is all true.

Although this blue sea is very wide, as long as you keep crossing it, you will be able to see the "other side", and after a dozen miles, you can see... an extremely tall figure in a black robe standing on the other side.

The figure was as majestic as a mountain.

The moment the figure was seen, the lotus boat stopped moving forward. No matter how the sword energy moved, the boat was like an anchor, nailed to the center of the blue sea.

"You came."

The towering figure in a black robe spoke softly.

The sound is like that of bells and drums, buzzing.

He did not ask Xie Xuanyi why he did not comprehend the sword intent as he did to Duan Zhao, nor did he ask who Xie Xuanyi's master was.

Three words of understatement.

It was like meeting old friends for the first time.

Even... a little bit of relief.

Xie Xuanyi frowned and looked carefully.

The black robe was blown up by the wind, and no flesh was exposed... It seemed to be just a black robe as heavy and thick as a mountain.

There is no host in the black robe.

His eyes moved upward little by little.

He saw a face shrouded in mist and a pair of eyes as bright as stars.

"who are you?"

Xie Xuanyi was a little confused. Looking at these eyes, he felt familiar for no reason.

These eyes looked like the headmaster, the head of the law, the eldest senior brother, and everyone he had ever met. Until he accidentally lowered his head and caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the blue sea, wearing the "image of all living beings".

Only then did Xie Xuanyi understand who these eyes resembled.

These eyes are most like me.

"I am the sword spirit left by the 'first master' of Xuanshui Cave Heaven."

The black robe spoke softly with a smile: "I can be anyone, or I can be nothing."

"The way of all living beings?"

Xie Xuanyi came back to his senses and muttered to himself.

The history from thousands of years ago is too ancient and has collapsed, so it is impossible to verify it.

This man in black robe claims to be the sword spirit left by the original master of Xuanshui Cave Heaven?
He had never even heard of the term "Chuzhu"... Even the head teacher had never mentioned it to him.

"good."

The black robe said calmly: "The first master observed the various states of life and the ups and downs here, and realized this sword intent... Now I am standing on the 'other side' of the bitter sea of Xuanshui Dongtian, watching one after another latecomers fighting to cross. No matter who it is, as long as they can reach the end of Xuanshui Dongtian, they can meet me."

Xie Xuanyi could feel that the intelligence of this man in black robe seemed to be even higher and clearer than those of the Yangshen Great Sword Immortals!
The original owner died.

The remnants left in Xuanshui Cave inherited the thoughts of the original owner.

They all called themselves by the original owner's name, as if they were the continuation of the original owner's life...

But the man in black robe simply called himself "the First Master of Sword Intent".

It is very clear about its identity and its destiny.

"You just said that this is the Sea of Bitterness?"

Xie Xuanyi keenly captured a key piece of information. He turned around and looked at the endless blue sea behind him.

sea of bitterness……

This word is interesting.

I don’t know how many people would like to visit Xuanshui Dongtian. This blue sea has countless blessings and countless sword intentions.

But the man in black robe called it the Sea of Bitterness?
"All living things suffer. Since we need to struggle to cross to reach the other shore... then this sea must naturally be a sea of suffering."

The black-robed man chuckled softly and said, "Among millions of people, only one can reach the Mysterious Water Cave Heaven and see a ray of good fortune. Among millions of people, only one can reach the other shore... Isn't this sea of lotuses bitter?"

Xie Xuanyi was speechless.

He looked at the black robe and thought of the monks in Nanli Fanyin Temple who liked to argue about the truth. He sighed with a headache and asked curiously, "Is the first master a man or a woman? Is she related to Fanyin Temple?"

This question, of course, is not serious.

Xie Xuanyi didn't hope that the man in black robe would give an answer.

"..."

Sure enough, the man in black robe just shook his head and said nothing.

Those bright eyes looked at Xie Xuanyi, full of compassion and mercy.

"Have I reached the other side now?"

Xie Xuanyi stood at the bow of the lotus boat. There were more than ten miles between him and the towering black robe. During the conversation, Xie Xuanyi tried many methods, but he could not make the boat move any further.

The crossing was originally going extremely smoothly and without any problems.

But at this moment, its advance came to an abrupt halt, and it seemed impossible to move forward even a millimeter.

"certainly……"

The man in black robe smiled and shook his head, his voice full of tenderness.

The next moment, he gave an extremely calm answer: "Not really."

It's just seeing the other side, not reaching it...

So what happens if we take one step further?
This thought came to Xie Xuanyi's mind, and then he took a small step forward tentatively.

He wanted to imitate Duan Zhao and run on the lotus sea with his mortal body, but he only completed half of the action and stopped in mid-air.

Xie Xuanyi could feel it.

This sea doesn't seem to accept me.

After I sent out those sword energies and divine thoughts and they sank into the sea, there was no response at all.

Judging from this trend...as long as I leave this lotus, this "enlightenment" will end.

"interesting."

Xie Xuanyi retracted his steps. He looked at the majestic sword spirit left by the First Master and smiled softly: "How can I be considered to have reached the 'other shore'? How many people have reached the 'other shore'?"

"How do we reach the 'other shore'..."

The man in black robe also laughed, as if this question was very interesting to him as well.

He thought for a moment and said slowly: "I don't know how to answer this question. I can only say that those who reach the other side will know it."

"As for how many people have reached the 'other shore'..."

“After setting foot on this sea of suffering, not many people can reach the other side.”

The First Master Sword Intent said softly, "Whether you can reach the other shore has nothing to do with your cultivation level, but everything to do with your state of mind. As long as your heart is perfect, you can still reach the other shore even if your realm is low... According to the progress, the young man who came here not long ago has gone further than you."

"But after a while, when he really starts practicing swordsmanship..."

"He probably wouldn't be able to get to where he was before."

"Perhaps he can only walk a short distance, and he can't even compare to the little girl a while ago."

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath.

He sat down on the lotus boat and asked softly, "So, what is beyond the other shore?"

He looked at the black robe that was as tall as a mountain.

Behind the black robe, there was a chaos and it was difficult to see clearly.

"..."

The man in black robe shook his head again, indicating that he would not answer this question.

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath and made a decision.

When he rang the bell this time, he wanted to see more than just this mysterious person standing on the other side.

"Did a 'Lotus Venerable' come to the other shore sixty years ago?"

Xie Xuanyi asked directly: "How can I see her?"

"Venerable Lian? She has been to the other side and is one of the few people who have landed there."

The First Master Sword Intent answered this question and said meaningfully: "The one who wants to see her... is it you? If the Divine Will of 'Lotus Venerable' only leaves a trace of Qi, which is only enough to support a meeting, will you still want to see her?"

This question made Xie Xuanyi fall silent.

He came to see Venerable Lian...naturally for the Tongtian Palm Law.

But if everything is as the original master sword intention said.

Only one thought remains of Venerable Lian.

Then this side should be left to the lawyer.

"I understand."

Xie Xuanyi sighed, stood up, bowed, and then prepared to jump off the bow of the lotus boat.

"and many more."

At this moment.

It was extremely rare for Chu Zhu Jian Yi to speak.

A soft breeze blew over from the other side of the Sea of Bitterness, blowing the lotus flowers back and forth. Xie Xuanyi looked at the towering robe with some surprise, and his bright eyes were full of pity.

"Thank you Xuanyi."

The first master of sword intent actually called out Xie Xuanyi's name directly.

Its cry gave Xie Xuanyi a chill.

Xuanshui Cave has been sealed for sixty years.

The first master of sword intent stood on the other side and paused. Could it be that he had been watching the Dasui Sword Palace like this for a whole sixty years?

“All things in the world are born from the chaos of yin and yang.”

The man in black robe said meaningfully: "Everything has yin before it has yang. All living things have birth and death. Do you... understand what I mean?"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the towering mountains silently and fell into deep thought.

The man in black robe flicked his sleeves.

The lotus shatters and the sea of suffering overturns.

(End of this chapter)