Embers of Sword

Chapter 521 Master
Amidst the roar, the mountain wall slowly opened a crack.

Xie Xuanyi stepped into the cave, and countless sword energies transformed into fireflies that flew out, swirling around Xie Xuanyi's black robes.

Above the dry mountain.

A ray of inspiration shone down.

Zhao Chunyang sat cross-legged at the end of the cave, bathed in soft light and swayed by a gentle breeze, which made him appear like a saint.

In a sense.

He truly deserves to be called a "sage of our time".

In fact, once one has cultivated to the pinnacle of Yang Shen, the passage of time can no longer leave its mark on a cultivator at this level.

If Zhao Chunyang wished, he could regain his youthful appearance and voice.

only……

Zhao Chunyang did not do that.

Through all these years of trials and tribulations, he has single-handedly protected the Great Eagle Sword Palace, remaining steadfast and unwavering.

Let the wind and frost smear across my cheeks, I will not use any supernatural powers to make any changes.

Zhao Chunyang did many things that defied the will of Heaven, but when it came to the matter of age, he chose to go with the flow and let nature take its course.

"You came."

Looking at the young disciple who stepped into the cave.

Zhao Chunyang smiled and spoke gently, showing no anger at Xie Xuanyi's intrusion that disturbed his seclusion.

Xie Xuanyi slowly walked to the lotus seat and looked up at the figure of the old man bathed in holy light.

He tilted his head slightly, his voice puzzled: "You knew I was coming?"

"This was originally meant for you."

Zhao Chunyang smiled and said, "If you don't come, who will?"

This was not the reaction Xie Xuanyi had expected.

He opened the secret formation on the back of Lotus Peak with ease... Logically speaking, his master should have been puzzled.

However, the old man remained calm, as if he was not surprised at all.

“But I opened the secret array of Lotus Peak,” Xie Xuanyi said.

"so what?"

Zhao Chunyang smiled gently as always: "The method to activate this secret formation was originally only passed down to the disciples of Lotus Peak."

"No no no..."

Xie Xuanyi rubbed his temples.

not like this.

This wasn't the "meeting" he had envisioned. His master wasn't surprised that he had activated the formation... Did this mean he was tacitly acknowledging that he could open Lotus Peak? But at this time, he was only fourteen years old...

and many more.

Xie Xuanyi suddenly froze.

He looked at the old man on the lotus throne, his gaze meeting his again.

At that moment, a very strange feeling arose in his heart.

This meeting is quite similar to my meeting with the "Zen Master" not long ago in the Great River of Life.

Mysterious and profound, beyond words.

Legend has it that a great cultivator who reaches the pinnacle of cultivation can transcend even a wisp of their divine consciousness…

It transcends the Five Elements and is not within the Three Realms.

Xie Xuanyi knew that this was just a legend... Even a figure like a "Zen Master" only sent his divine sense into the Great Dao River and stopped there. Only those who cultivate the Great Dao related to "cause and effect" can use such supernatural powers. To put it bluntly, the act of divine sense traveling is within the scope permitted by the Great Dao River.

"Master?"

Xie Xuanyi's voice was a little hoarse.

For a moment... he couldn't distinguish between fantasy and reality.

He had thought that stepping into the back of Lotus Peak would allow him to see his master from thirty years ago. Before the illusion shattered, he could catch up with his master from back then and have a good chat, thus making up for the regrets he hadn't achieved back then. But unexpectedly... what he saw in the "illusion" was his master from thirty years in the future.

Is this truly a dream conjured up by Bai Ze's secret mausoleum?
The old man beckoned Xie Xuanyi to sit down beside the lotus seat: "You've finally 'come back,' you should spend more time with your junior sister. Why come to the back of Lotus Peak, why come here to see me?"

"I……"

Xie Xuanyi felt a lump in his throat and couldn't speak.

He obediently went to the lotus seat.

The sunlight was warm beside the lotus throne, and countless fireflies fell into the grotto. This was a secret place that only the sect leaders of each generation were qualified to enter. The Xuan Shui Grotto had two entrances, one of which was here... All the Daoist scriptures of Lotus Peak originated from here. Xie Xuanyi had been studying the Daoist scriptures in Lotus Peak since childhood, but he had never set foot in this place where the sect leader secluded himself.

At that time, he was not qualified.

Now he sat beside his master, looking at the Daoist inscriptions carved on the mountain wall... The illusion created by Bai Ze's secret tomb was more real than he had ever imagined.

However, Xie Xuanyi was in a complicated mood and had no time to look at or memorize these Daoist texts.

"Tell your master about what happened after you left Lotus Peak."

Zhao Chunyang spoke in a gentle voice.

Xie Xuanyi sat on the lotus throne, watching the headmaster, whose robes fluttered in the gentle breeze. At this moment, his heart was inexplicably calm and peaceful.

Even though he knew it was just a dream, he still chose to "believe".

"After leaving Lotus Peak, I went to the Imperial City..."

Xie Xuanyi said softly, "I want to find out what happened in the 'Moon Concealment Realm'..."

Word by word.

Here, time seems to slow down.

He took this dreamlike master as a real master.

After the Xuan Shui Grand Competition ended, he went on a northern hunt, then an eastern journey, and then south to participate in the Demon Extermination Campaign, and entered the Bai Ze Secret Tomb... Xie Xuanyi slowly recounted these stories. He felt as if time in the cave had frozen. He spoke very slowly, and his master listened very slowly as well.

He went to the country and met the Zen master Can Nian.

Upon returning to the Sword Palace, I met Miaoyin.

He was falsely accused in southern Xinjiang of being the murderer of Wu Zetian.

Upon entering the secret mausoleum, Xie Zhisui, who had just personally killed the Prince of Jiangning, entered.

Regret, injustice, resentment, anger...

For Xie Xuanyi, there was nothing in this world that he couldn't tell his master.

Xie Xuanyi thought he had long been accustomed to acting alone, keeping all his worries buried deep within his heart. He thought he didn't care about anything, but only after telling all these stories in one go did he realize... that wasn't the case. It turned out that the things he had experienced over this period of time had accumulated over a long period of time, turning into a deep-seated resentment in his chest.

The story is over.

This pent-up frustration gradually dissipated.

"In the end... that's how it is. I stepped into the second level of the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum, and then came to the back mountain when I was fourteen years old, and finally... I saw you."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes and smiled gently: "I know this is a dream, but... being able to meet you, this dream is really wonderful."

"Is it?"

Zhao Chunyang slowly said, "What if this isn't a dream?"

"What do you mean?"

Xie Xuanyi stared blankly at the old man.

He stared at Zhao Chunyang's clothes. After decades of seclusion, the old man was as withered as a stone, and his clothes were covered with dust. However, above his head, wisps of lotus sword energy swirled and roared, turning into lotus petals. These were his master's "Lotus Holy Image".

Logically speaking, this holy image should be perfect and without any flaws.

But at this moment...

The lotus flower on Zhao Chunyang's head was missing a small petal.

This lotus flower should be incomplete after thirty years!

"What if all of this... wasn't a dream?"

Xie Xuanyi's breathing suddenly became rapid. "Life is but a dream, all phenomena arise from the heart..."

Zhao Chunyang said gently, "My dear disciple, sometimes, why must we distinguish between dreams and reality so clearly?"

He slowly rose from the lotus seat and came to Xie Xuanyi's side.

He reached out and gently stroked Xie Xuanyi's head...

Xie Xuanyi became alert.

however.

There was no murderous intent whatsoever; this dream was gentle from beginning to end, as warm and comforting as a spring breeze.

"I am very happy to meet you today."

Zhao Chunyang paused.

He lowered his eyes.

"Actually, I have always regretted it."

"That night when you were fourteen, you prematurely comprehended the 'Principle of Annihilation'."

The old man's voice carried a hint of regret: "Perhaps entering the Dao in a different way would have been better for you... If I had stepped forward that night and prevented you from achieving enlightenment, you would probably have lived a happier life afterward?"

Xie Xuanyi raised his head.

He was somewhat bewildered and didn't understand.

At the age of fourteen, he comprehended the Dao of Annihilation. What was wrong with that?

At that moment, Xie Xuanyi suddenly noticed that his master seemed to be injured... The lotus robe that had appeared incomparably holy under the bright light had been cut with hundreds of fine rips.

The robes were marked with traces of sword energy.

After leaving the lotus seat and losing the sunlight, Master's face appeared slightly pale.

"Are you injured?"

Xie Xuanyi's eyes were filled with disbelief.

"No problem."

Zhao Chunyang shook his head, looking tenderly at his disciple before him, and said with heartache, "Xuanyi, do you still remember what I told you?"

Xie Xuanyi was pale and his consciousness was in a state of chaos.

"Having finally been given a second chance at life, I'll slow down and see more of the scenery."

Zhao Chunyang paused, forcing a slightly somber smile: "In your previous life, you left too hastily, without even having a chance to taste 'loss' and 'regret' before your end... You were indeed a rare genius in this world, but everyone in this world is actually the same. Only after experiencing 'loss' will you know how to 'cherish'."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi's mind was completely blank.

He was confused and didn't quite understand what his master meant by those words.

"Every encounter in this world will eventually lead to parting."

Zhao Chunyang crouched down, gazing tenderly at the fourteen-year-old boy in front of him, Xuan Yi: "If that day truly comes, don't... be too sad..."

The robes fluttered in the wind, and the figure became dim, appearing almost ethereal in the flickering light.

"Master?!"

Xie Xuanyi's pupils contracted.

He instinctively wanted to retrieve the Fountain of Immortality, but this illusion had sealed his physical body back to the age of fourteen. At fourteen, how could he possibly possess the Fountain of Immortality?
He watched helplessly as the lotus-patterned robes withered and fell apart in the strong wind.

For no apparent reason, Zhao Chunyang's clothes were covered in cracks from sword energy.

"Remember... these Taoist scriptures..."

Zhao Chunyang smiled and pointed to the mountain wall behind him.

The heavens and earth began to collapse.

The illusion began to shatter.

The entire world shattered. Lotus Peak collapsed on its own amidst a roar. Xie Xuanyi stood at the bottom of the cave, watching a giant rock suddenly crash down, smashing the lotus seat to pieces. The peaceful and tranquil dream collapsed and shattered without warning at this moment. The once warm daylight turned into sharp blades, piercing through his heart.

The piercing pain roused Xie Xuanyi from his dream.

……

……

The moment Xie Xuanyi opened his eyes, he realized that the piercing pain in his heart was not an illusion.

A hand pierced his flesh.

The palm was covered with purplish-black scales.

The person reaching out tried to pierce his chest and rip out his heart with his five fingers.

I never expected this.

Xie Xuanyi's seemingly frail swordsman's body was actually enveloped by a martial arts divine embryo. As the palm pierced his chest, the divine embryo's domain emerged, forcefully blocking it for a moment—

"The Six Desires True Lord?!"

Xie Xuanyi recognized the person in front of him, his voice was icy, and his killing intent was palpable.

In the blink of an eye, Xie Xuanyi's divine sense swept out and instantly saw the surrounding environment.

The place where he was was a stone chamber less than twenty feet tall... Above the chamber floated a dull, pure white fruit, which was recorded in the Lotus Peak Taoist Canon. It was the legendary "Entering the Tao Fruit," and its fragrant aroma could unconsciously lead people into a state of enlightenment.

So after entering the second level of the secret tomb, he coincidentally came to the location of the "Entry into the Dao Fruit".
The illusion I just experienced was all fabricated by the "Entering the Path" cultivator?
"what?!"

The Six Desires True Lord exclaimed in surprise.

He stepped into the secret tomb and saw Xie Zhen, who was in a deep slumber and entering the Dao. He thought that he could take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack and succeed in one fell swoop, but he did not expect that this kid's physical body was frighteningly strong and his reaction speed was incredibly fast!

This seemingly sure-fire assassination attempt ended in failure!

"court death!"

Xie Xuanyi's expression was gloomy, and his killing intent was almost tangible.

If the "illusion" just now was caused by the attainment of the Dao Fruit, then the attack by the Six Desires True Lord ruined this most important moment of "entering the Dao"!
Instead of retreating, he stepped forward and grabbed the hand that the Six Desires True Lord had inserted into his chest!
A surge of sword intent erupted from between his brows!

Countless sword energies burst forth simultaneously!

"Dang Dang Dang——"

A barrage of sword energy shot out simultaneously!
The Six Desires True Lord let out a sharp cry, his face contorted in pain, and he retreated in a panic.

He stared in disbelief at his retracted arm—

The demonic arm that had previously subdued the Holy Dragon Dharma Image of Qiantian Palace was slashed with dozens of dense, dark, bloody gashes in the instant it was cut by the Dao of Annihilation. Layers of blood mist shrouded the wounds, and even the use of demonic secret techniques for healing could not alleviate the excruciating pain emanating from them... How could this kid surnamed Xie have such a high cultivation level? Wasn't it rumored that he was only seventeen years old?
A seventeen-year-old Yin Spirit in the late stage?
Do not!
Even I, with my perfected Yin Spirit, felt fear from that attack just now!
What terrified the Six Desires True Lord even more was that Xie Zhen's chest, which had clearly been ripped open with a huge wound, was repaired in just a few breaths. A pure white holy light enveloped him, surging several times before completely healing the wound.

"The Dual Paths of Life and Death?"

The Six Desires True Lord felt a chill run down his spine.

Damn!

Is this kid even human?

If one comprehends either of these two Dao realms, one can be considered an "invincible" top-tier existence!

"Take your life!"

Xie Xuanyi suppressed his anger, took a step forward, and shattered the stone chamber.

It turns out that the second level of the Bai Ze Secret Mausoleum is like a maze, with a series of stone chambers nestled within.

All those who stepped into the Thunder Pool were teleported into the stone chamber.

Just as Xie Xuanyi spoke, a rumbling sound rang out not far away—

"...?"

Xie Xuanyi frowned.

Dressed in white, he also shattered the stone chamber, stepped into the secret mausoleum corridor, and stood hundreds of feet away, facing Xie Xuanyi.

It was Emperor Wuzong Zhou.

(End of this chapter)