Borrowing a sword

Chapter 120 His Fate, Also His Fate

Medicine Mountain, Bamboo House.

Han Shuangjiang is preparing the dishes.

She planned to prepare a more elaborate meal today as a way of celebrating for her junior brother Xu.

Ascending Mount Cangling and obtaining one's natal magic weapon is a major event in the life of any Taoist disciple.

She didn't actually know what kind of spiritual artifact Junior Brother Xu would eventually obtain, or whether it would be of high or low grade.

But no matter what, as long as there are gains, it's worth celebrating.

We can't have gone to Cangling Mountain and ended up with more trouble than good, can we?
"Junior Brother Xu loves braised pork, let's make some for him today."

"That dead fox loves to eat fish."

"Hmm? It's not his happy occasion today, why make his favorite food?"

"Oh well, I've already bought it," Han Shuangjiang thought to herself.

As a result, two people descended from the sky. It was Chu Yinyin who brought Chu Huaixu home, but today's protagonist, Xiao Xu, did not return home.

After the two landed, Chu Yinyin was also eager to go back, afraid that she would miss something.

But before flying away, the old maid patted her flat chest and assured her future apprentice:

"Chu Huaixu, don't worry, I will take good care of your junior brother."

Chu Huaixu thanked him verbally, but in his heart he thought, "Maybe I shouldn't."

Anyone with eyes can see that everyone else is obviously more reliable than you.

"Oh no, except for the charitable gambling king." He added in his mind, having stumbled into the Taoist path by accident.

After the little girl elder flew away, Han Shuangjiang immediately came over.

She overheard their conversation and asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Has something happened to Junior Brother Xu?"

Chu Huaixu glanced at the large ice block and told her everything he could.

As Han Shuangjiang processed this information, her emotions were like a rollercoaster, constantly rising and falling.

She never expected that Xu Ziqing would actually make it all the way to the top of the mountain.

She never expected that it was that sword that was drawing him in.

In the end, Junior Brother Xu was also injured.

This reminded the large ice block of the scene when Chu Huaixu climbed the mountain.

He was also seriously injured, bleeding from all seven orifices, by the sword on the mountaintop.

"The sword left behind by the Dao Ancestor is so sinister," she thought to herself.

As a result, she doesn't have a very good impression of this bronze sword now.

"Xiao Xu probably won't be back for a while, let's eat first," Chu Huaixu said.

"Okay." Han Shuangjiang nodded.

When all the dishes were served, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this is quite a feast!"

"I didn't expect Junior Brother Xu to not be coming home for dinner," Big Ice Cube replied.

Without realizing it, the three of them had gotten used to using the word "go home".

"It's alright, I'm a big eater, I can finish it all." Chu Huaixu smiled smugly.

Han Shuangjiang: "."

Unlike the other person who ate like a starving ghost, the girl ate her food in small bites.

She raised her eyes, swallowed the food in her mouth, and then said, "You don't seem worried at all?"

Her tone was exactly like that of a wife complaining that her husband doesn't care about the children.

"Hmm? You think I'm so heartless?" Chu Huaixu continued to wolf down his food, appearing completely unconvincing.

While eating braised pork, he said, "With the sect leader and elders taking care of him, there shouldn't be any major problems. If he's lucky, he might even get another Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill."

Xiao Xu is currently a third-grade low-level spiritual embryo, and the Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill can still play its final role.

Once you reach the intermediate level, you can no longer advance using it.

Han Shuangjiang nodded and said, "If Junior Brother Xu takes that Dao Ancestor Sword, won't he become the number one sword cultivator in the world in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu raised his head, his right cheek bulging, and said with displeasure, "Nonsense! Isn't there still me, a formidable competitor?"

After swallowing his food forcefully, he said with a smug look on his face, "Even if you gave him the guts, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me!"

"If he becomes invincible in the world in the future, then theoretically I will be the best in the world."

Han Shuangjiang ignored him, knowing he was just spouting nonsense again, telling what he thought were funny but ultimately rubbish jokes.

Chu Huaixu put down his chopsticks and resumed his serious demeanor, saying, "That bronze sword has a restriction left by the Dao Ancestor, and its power is always sealed."

"Now, Xiao Xu is hard to beat if he is at the same level, and he can easily kill enemies even if he is at a higher level."

"However, it's still a long way from being the so-called number one swordsman in the world. Just because someone wields this sword doesn't mean they'll instantly become invincible," he said.

There was something he didn't say aloud.

Sword cultivators, by definition, wield swords. But if a sword is wielded by a person, can one truly be considered a sword cultivator?

At this thought, Chu Huaixu suddenly realized, "Oh no!"

"Xiao Xu clearly saw the sentence I carved on the Gentleman's Stele, and he even roared it several times on the mountain."

"Wouldn't he have discovered my ugly handwriting, which looks like chicken claws?"

"Speechless, speechless, this is so embarrassing."

On the other side, Xu Ziqing, who was still unconscious, had been taken to the Purple Bamboo Grove of the inner sect.

The reason I came here is simply because after my junior uncle went down the mountain, that slender Taoist nun became the strongest in terms of sword comprehension; she understood swords the best.

"The child's spiritual embryo has suffered some minor damage," Nangong Yue said to everyone after a careful examination.

“Then go to the sect’s treasury and retrieve a Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill,” Xiang Yan said.

Nangong Yue looked at everyone and said, "I just discovered something else. This child's spiritual embryo looks like it had taken the Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill before, and its grade may have been forcibly upgraded." "Hmm?" Everyone was somewhat surprised.

Upon her return, Chu Yinyin immediately remembered something and exclaimed, "No way! The Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill I gave Chu Huaixu, could he have eaten it?"

"He's really generous, isn't he? He's so good to him?"

Elder Lu Pan, the law enforcement elder, frowned and suddenly said, "So, if he hadn't taken any elixirs, he might have been completely suppressed when the sword spirit invaded the spiritual embryo?"

“That’s a possibility,” Nangong Yue replied.

This was somewhat unexpected for everyone.

There's a high probability that this child didn't become a complete sword servant because of a single pill.
As a result, everyone's attention immediately fell on Chu Yinyin, the instigator.

The older woman immediately looked displeased and shouted, "Why are you looking at me like that!"

"You were all secretly observing with your divine senses back then, you knew that when I gave you the pills!"

I'm not taking the blame for this!
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances and readily admitted, "That is indeed the case."

Nangong Yue looked at the unconscious, handsome young man. Her already gentle nature softened, and her gaze became even more tender.

"But in any case, his life was saved because of this. Perhaps this was his destiny?"

Everyone knew perfectly well that this evil sword would definitely bring harm and burden to the sword wielder.

This is a sword that devours its master; the master craftsman who forged it was the first person it devoured.

The swordsmen will pay a heavy price in the future.

Therefore, whether it was when Chu Huaixu, whom they considered the chosen one, went up the mountain, or when Xu Ziqing had the opportunity to take the sword, they did not interfere and respected his personal choice.

It's still the same idea they upheld when Chu Huaixu climbed the mountain: "The lives of all the people under heaven are precious, but his isn't, is it?"

Even when his life was in danger, Elder Lu Pan stated that even if it broke the rules, he would step in to save him and then go to the Enforcement Court to receive his punishment.

In fact, the fact that they never mentioned anything about swords to Chu Huaixu and Xu Ziqing, never put pressure on them, never mentioned the so-called salvation of the world or the great calamity of heaven and earth, never forcibly added burdens to them or forced them to make choices, was already commendable.

In this world, such leaders are actually a minority; the vast majority of people will push their subordinates out.

The Taoist sect is the lineage of the Taoist patriarch, the leader of the righteous path, and a prestigious and orthodox sect.

Xiang Yan and the others always believed that even if the sky were to fall, it should be the tall ones like them who would hold it up first.

Because the problem of the [Original Spirit Realm] has troubled the Xuanhuang Realm for so many years, this is what the high-ranking officials of the Daoist sects have done in successive generations.

The Taoist sect has a profound foundation, so why doesn't it have even one person at the ninth realm now?
Has it never happened before?

Is it because I'm not naturally gifted?

Is it because they can't be trained?
joke!

It's because the Origin Spirit Realm has a fifth level, and unlike the first four levels where only one person can enter, this level has no limit on the number of people!
If given a choice, they wouldn't let a child who's only just started out go on adventures in the first few levels.

If Chu Huaixu or Xu Ziqing had spontaneously embarked on the path of saving the world, even though they were young and inexperienced, they would have possessed the same courage to sacrifice themselves. In that case, we would respect the children's decision.

They will trust them and share some of their heavy burdens.

Now, the matter of retrieving the sword has gone through many twists and turns, and even these cultivation giants experience emotional ups and downs.

Because they had just reached the summit, but then unexpected events kept happening, such ups and downs are only natural.

But since things have come to this point, we can only take a long-term view.

When Chu Huaixu, that young man, inscribed those words on the Monument to the Gentlemen, weren't they also questioning their own conscience?

As the sect leader, Xiang Yan expressed his attitude on the spot.

"But when Junior Uncle returns, I don't know how to explain it to him," Zhao Shuqi said.

This junior master of the Taoist sect may not have the title of abbot of the Gentleman's Temple, but he has the power of one.

Everyone knew that their junior uncle's personality was somewhat different from theirs.

This is a peerless killer, who proves his path through killing.

If sacrificing one person could save the world, he would not hesitate to push that person out.

Of course, if it were him, he wouldn't hesitate either.

Therefore, they couldn't be entirely sure what their junior uncle would do to Xu Ziqing and Chu Huaixu.

Human nature is ultimately complex, and different people will have different perspectives on the same issue.

Unfortunately, some issues cannot be definitively resolved through debate.

The reason why Taoism can achieve this is ultimately because Taoism emphasizes predestined relationships.

Chu Yinyin looked at everyone and once again expressed her opinion, bravely shifting the blame:
“I don’t think Junior Uncle has the right to lose his temper with us.”

"It's his own fault for insisting on wandering down the mountain and not coming back sooner."

“He found Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, so he should know them well and be able to accurately calculate their cultivation progress.”

“He’s just a hands-off manager, he can’t come back and complain about us, can he?”

"Shen Man, tell me, am I right or not!"

She even questioned her junior master's only true disciple.

The slender Taoist nun sat on the boulder, a slight smile appearing on her face, and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, everyone immediately united and exclaimed, "Absolutely right!"

It's alright even if Junior Uncle is back, Junior Sister will speak up for us!

Although, as a mere sixth-realm cultivator, she would not normally have the right to know about this matter.
Everyone chatted for a while, each adding their own comment.

Xiang Yan then remembered that besides having his seventh junior sister thoroughly examine the small sword inside Xu Ziqing's spiritual embryo, he also had another matter to ask when he came to the Purple Bamboo Forest today.

"Seventh Junior Sister, how is your special training of Chu Huaixu progressing?" the sect leader asked.

How could the outer sect members not sense that this Taoist nun was unleashing her sword domain?

To everyone's surprise, her answer took them by surprise.

"I'll have a sword soon. Sword intent." Shen Man answered haltingly.

(End of this chapter)