Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 208 The Fisherman's Dream
"Twenty or thirty years ago, the villagers of Shutang and Zhengjiagou lived on the mountain. Wushan was very big and was more than enough to support our two villages."

The old man speaking is Shu Yang, one of the two current village chiefs of Changfeng Village.

"But I don't know when it started, some young men who went up the mountain to chop wood and hunt said that they encountered something on the mountain... uh, being trapped in a ghost wall."

"Ugh……"

“At first, we thought they were just drunk and talking nonsense. But then more and more people started saying the same thing. Back then, Zhengjiagou was in charge of the village. I talked to them and we sent two men from the village with their tools to go up the mountain and take a look.”

Song Yan listened to the old man's words as if he were listening to some strange folk tale.

"As a result, a young man died on the mountain in both Shutang and Zhengjiagou."

“Those who came back all said that there really were ghosts. They could never get out of Wuzhiping and Hehuafen. They were always going around in circles.”

Some say this is a warning from the mountain spirit.

"There was no other way. We've been ordinary people for generations, and we can't withstand this kind of upheaval. So we had to discuss with Changfeng Village at the foot of the mountain and relocate the entire village of Changfeng and Zhengjiagou to the foot of the mountain."

"The original village has been abandoned."

The old village chief looked on with a nostalgic expression: "Later, General Xiao was stationed here. Hearing about the mountain spirits and demons, he went up the mountain to investigate..."

Next comes the storyteller's tale of General Xiao's unparalleled bravery in slaying the tiger demon.

"Although the tiger demon has been eliminated, by then, the people from both villages had already settled down at the foot of the mountain and did not move back up the mountain."

Song Yan nodded. For ordinary people, such a large-scale relocation of villages was too exhausting.

Besides, people and demons have died on the mountain.

The old village chief, leaning on his cane, pointed shakily to the dilapidated thatched hut: "That's where the traveling doctor stayed back then. It's been over twenty years, weathered by wind and rain, but it's not about to collapse."

"Fortunately, the people in our village are lazy, and nobody cares about tearing down this dilapidated house, haha."

Song Yan stepped forward. The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, and one could vaguely see traces of where people had once lived.

Is this the place where Grandpa used to live?

He looked around, but really couldn't figure out what was so special about this place.

Similar to Qingshan Caolu, it is far from the village at the foot of the mountain, and basically no one comes here.

Why does he live here, and why does he lie to himself?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the old village chief left.

Seeing Song Yan staring intently at the thatched hut, Xiao Ju quietly made a hand seal, and a glimmer of light appeared at her fingertips.

With a slight turn of the wrist, the withered leaves and cobwebs accumulated over the years inside the shed were instantly rolled out and piled up in the distance.

The decaying beams and pillars were reinforced by spiritual power, and could barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.

For some reason, Song Yan felt extremely tired ever since he came up the mountain.

"Strange thing."

Before this, he thought it was an illusion, but now he only felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing on them.

Nothing special has happened these past few days.

Could it be that the tiger demon's blood essence was used to refine his body and the sword spirit, which is why he is showing signs of fatigue now?
He barely managed to walk into the thatched hut, took some cushions from his storage bag, laid them out haphazardly in a corner, and lay down fully clothed.

He mumbled to Xiao Ju, "Xiao Ju, I..."

Before he finished speaking, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Xiao Ju quietly retreated to the doorway.

She looked at Song Yan's furrowed brows and assumed he was just feeling down.

Holding his sword pouch, he sat down on the threshold, thinking, "Senior Song must be extremely sad to have found the ancestral land with such high expectations, only to be disappointed."

As dusk settled, the mountain wind whistled through the gaps in the thatched hut.

……

"..."

"Boom."

There were some faint sounds in my ears, like the sound of small pebbles falling into a pond.

A warm breeze carrying a faint, sweet floral scent brushed past his nose.

Isn't it winter now...?

It's so warm.

Song Yan opened her eyes.

"..."

Where is this?

Song Yan found himself by a huge pond, bathed in bright sunlight, with lotus flowers in various shapes and colors, and lotus leaves standing tall and graceful.

A man in a straw raincoat sat by the lotus pond, with a fishing rod in front of him, seemingly fishing.

But he placed his hands on his knees and did not touch the fishing rod, letting the fish in the pond shake the rod without making a move.

Suddenly, the man in the straw raincoat spoke.

Where did you come from?

"Me... me?"

Song Yan was stunned, but the inexplicable daze still made him honestly answer the other party's question.

"I come from Qizhou..."

"Where did you get that bead?"

bead?!
A sense of unease crept into Song Yan's heart. Could it be referring to the Yin-Yang Pearl?!

I instinctively took a step back, only to find that I was standing still!
He looked at the man in the straw raincoat with a wary expression.

"Why are you so nervous...?"

He remained seated, without turning his head, and said calmly, "I wouldn't harm you."

"If I wanted to harm you, you would have died long ago."

"..."

Song Yan frowned, feeling slightly relieved, but still somewhat wary.

The Yin-Yang Pearl remained completely still and uninfused with spirit; it was unclear how the other party had discovered it.

This person is unfathomable.

"Answer my question: where did you get that bead?"

"..."

A strange feeling welled up in Song Yan's heart, and he subconsciously told the truth.

"Found it in the sect's abandoned area."

The old man was puzzled: "Hmm? How could this beaded charm end up in a place like that..."

He seemed completely unconcerned about the veracity of those words.

"Who is the sect leader?"

"Chen Linyuan".

"Familiar... Oh well, whatever."

He suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Whoever has this bead, I will let them into the sect. Everything else is irrelevant."

"..."

Song Yan didn't understand. He was in a daze and didn't know what the person was saying.

"Tomorrow at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), we will ascend Wushan Valley."

After the man in the straw raincoat finished speaking, before Song Yan could ask any questions, he waved his sleeve.

I suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented.

Suddenly opening his eyes, he found himself still on a few cushions in the thatched hut of Wuzhiping.

"……call."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

The mood is very complicated.

In a dream?

The dream he just had was so vivid; he closed his eyes and could still feel the warm breeze and the delicate fragrance of flowers.

A dream...

In the dream, Song Yan didn't even question the reality of where he was; all his attention was focused on the old man in the straw raincoat.

He recalled what the old man had said.

"Whoever has this bead can enter the sect, and what kind of sect they can enter..."

As Song Yan awoke from her slumber, her mind gradually cleared.

"Sword Sect!?"

He immediately came to his senses.

If we're talking about sects related to the Yin-Yang Pearl, then without a doubt, it's the Sword Sect!
His heart pounded, but he quickly suppressed his emotions.

In the letter left by the sect leader of the Two Elements Pearl, it was stated that if there is an opportunity to advance to the Golden Core realm in the future, one can enter the sect's secret area on one's own and officially become an inner disciple of the sect to rebuild the Sword Sect.

Let alone the Golden Core stage, I haven't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet... Besides, who exactly is this old man in the straw raincoat, and why does he know all this?

A remnant of a sect?
That's unlikely. If he were from the Sword Sect, they would just give him the bead and let him take on disciples himself.

Moreover, judging from the old man in the straw raincoat's tone, he didn't care who or what kind of person this destined person was who would inherit the Sword Sect's lineage.

All they care about is someone coming here and then entering the sect.

We can't guess what it is, but we'll find out when we go up the mountain tomorrow.

Since it concerns the Two Elements Pearl, which is almost the most important treasure to him, Song Yan cannot possibly not go.

"..."

He remained silent, but his mind was preoccupied with another question.

Will Grandpa find out about this?

Who exactly is he...?

Looking at the sky, it was about half past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), and the time was about right.

Xiao Ju was meditating and cultivating not far from me.

Song Yan stood up and walked out of the thatched hut.

"Senior Song?"

Xiao Ju had just finished practicing her internal energy when she noticed the commotion and opened her eyes, just in time to see Song Yan about to walk out of the thatched hut.

She tried to stand up, but Song Yan patted her on the shoulder and made her sit down again.

"You stay here and cultivate diligently. I'm going to Wushan Valley and will be back soon."

"Mmm." Xiao Ju nodded obediently.

She didn't know what Senior Song was going to do, but since he wasn't going to say, she shouldn't ask and just focus on doing her own thing.

"Keep an eye on Xiaohe and don't let her run around."

Although the other party was indeed not hostile, the origin of the old man in the straw raincoat was still unknown, and Xiao Ju's strength was still relatively shallow. For safety's sake, it was best to wait for him to return here.

He originally intended to bring Xiaohe along, but Xiaohe was still unconscious.

He didn't know much about the details of demon cultivation and was worried that interrupting it rashly would affect its cultivation, just like how a human cultivator's qi would flow backward, which would seriously damage their foundation.

After instructing Xiao Ju, Song Yan immediately went up the mountain.

When he went up to the thatched hut, the village chief mentioned to him that the deepest part of this Wushan Mountain was Wushan Valley.

Following the mountain path upwards, Song Yan passed a huge, empty field that looked somewhat familiar.

"This place looks so much like the lotus pond in my dream last night..."

However, the soil in the fields was dry and cracked, and there was no beautiful scenery as I had dreamed of.

He didn't stop, but continued upwards. He didn't explore the forks in the road around him, but instead headed towards the cliffs in the direction of Wushan Valley.

"This is it..."

It's deep winter now, and the mountains are bare except for some snow-covered pines and plum blossoms.

Beyond Wushan Valley lie even higher mountains, but those are places the villagers of Changfeng Village cannot reach.

This place originally seemed to be a mountain stream valley, but due to the freezing weather, the stream was covered with frost and snow.

There is a waterfall not far away.

He slowly climbed up the valley and soon reached a low hill.

Looking up suddenly, he saw a boy sitting cross-legged at the foot of the flat-topped cliff, dressed similarly to himself. Upon closer inspection, the boy's appearance also bore a resemblance to his own.

Song Yan thought to himself, "Could this be some kind of perverse sense of humor from the senior?"

There is no doubt that he is no ordinary person, and I cannot even tell his cultivation level.

“I told you to go up the mountain at 3 AM last night, and you really came at the right time.”

The boy's voice was similar to his own, only his tone carried a condescending air.

"Are you the senior from last night?"

He thought it was an elderly person with white hair.

But then I thought about it again, and realized that this was probably just a transformation technique used by the senior. The old immortal probably just wanted to look like me because he hadn't seen anyone in a long time.

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking." The boy retorted.

Song Yan asked with some confusion, "Senior, who exactly are you...?"

Who I am is none of your business.

He casually tossed over a small jade seal, which Song Yan carefully caught.

"Place this jade seal with the patterns on that stone platform, and a teleportation array will automatically send you into the sect."

"Once you join the sect, my agreement with that person will be fulfilled, and I won't have to stay in this wretched place anymore."

"Yes."

Teleportation array...

Song Yan had never tried this before.

But this senior didn't seem to have much patience, so he had to suppress his curiosity.

Following the direction the man pointed, I saw the stone platform in that corner.

He dared not delay and quickly stepped forward.

On the stone platform, there was indeed a groove, and the pattern inside was exactly the same as the pattern on the small jade seal.

Song Yan held the jade seal in his hand, aligned it with the patterns on the stone platform, and gently tapped it.

Perfect fit.

However, nothing happened.

"Ok?"

The boy frowned, then realized what was happening.

"How can your cultivation level be so low?!"

To the old man in the straw raincoat, whether it's Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining, they're all just ants.

They didn't pay any attention to this person's cultivation level.

This Sword Sect Jade Seal is similar to a disciple's token, but to activate the sect entry formation, one must at least reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Now the sect is deserted, the formation has been neglected for a thousand years, and the entry requirements have fallen to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

But the cultivation level of this kid in front of me is still not high enough.

"Tsk..."

Just as Song Yan was about to ask the reason, he saw the young man suddenly raise his hand and wave his sleeve.

A wave of weariness, just like yesterday, washed over me.

In an instant, the world spun around, and the scene before my eyes was distorted and shattered like a reflection in water, while the sound of a babbling brook reached my ears.

When his vision cleared again, Song Yan found himself standing in a valley he had never seen before.

Ancient trees tower all around, and in the distance, a waterfall cascades into a deep pool, its spray billowing.

"This is……"

Song Yan looked into the distance with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

The boy had somehow transformed into an old man in a straw raincoat, sitting cross-legged on a rock by the pool, just like the lotus pond in my dream.

"This is the true face of Wushan Valley." The old man cast his fishing rod into the pool, creating ripples. "Your cultivation is too low; you are not qualified to enter the Sword Sect."

"Hmph, I can only lend you a hand by exerting some effort."

Upon hearing this, the last remaining doubts in Song Yan's mind vanished.

It really is the Sword Sect...

Before he could ask for the reason, the old man suddenly rolled up his sleeves, and the entire valley was instantly shrouded in mist.

Song Yan was utterly shocked.

Upon closer inspection, these clouds and mists were found to be extremely dense, condensed into tangible spiritual energy!
"A hundred or a thousand years in a dream is but a fleeting moment in the outside world."

As the fog rolled in, Song Yan felt his soul waver.

"And so, cultivate diligently within this dream!"

Dream?

I was still filled with astonishment, but now was not the time to explore the mystery.

Song Yan sat cross-legged amidst the mist formed by spiritual energy, attempting to circulate the Qi Condensation Technique.

Each time he exhaled and refined his spiritual energy, the surrounding airflow would gather the flowing clouds on his clothes.

At first, he was amazed by the wonder of this dream cultivation and wondered why this senior would help him.

Occasionally, he would be distracted, pondering whether the cultivation he possessed between the illusory and the real could be preserved.

But then he thought again that such methods were beyond his imagination and comprehension, and such a serendipitous encounter was something he could only hope to have once in a lifetime.

The old man in the straw raincoat's words, "The outside world is but a fleeting moment," put him at ease.

After that, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to spiritual practice.

(End of this chapter)