Borrowing a sword

Chapter 151 I see how charming the green mountains are

At the drawing of lots, Kui Muquan listened to Han Shuangjiang's words and snorted coldly, looking like he wouldn't bother arguing with a little woman like her.

Before leaving, he simply said, "Then we'll see who's the real deal tomorrow."

Thus, the series of events that occurred at the lottery site quickly spread throughout the Taoist community.

Everyone felt that tomorrow's Eastern Continent Grand Competition would be incredibly exciting.

So many favorites to win the title have collided in this round.

Moreover, they even exchanged words.

"Have you heard? Chu Huaixu drew Geng Tianhe!"

"Is that so? Doesn't this mean it's the ultimate showdown between the sword cultivators of our Daoist sect and the sword cultivators of the Sword Sect?"

"Yes, as long as he eliminates Geng Tianhe, the remaining members of the Sword Sect are no threat at all, and they will have no chance of winning the championship!"

"I hope Junior Brother Chu can win. If he does, let's see how those people from the Sword Sect will dare to rant in the future!"

It must be said that the swordplay dispute between the Taoist sect and the Sword Sect has lasted for a full thousand years.

This historical issue has far-reaching implications, affecting everyone from top to bottom.

This applies to both high-ranking members and ordinary disciples.

Haven't you noticed that the two characters in the so-called "sword way" are actually one character each from the Sword Sect and the Daoist School?

As for Kui Muquan's clamor on the arena that day, it must have aroused the resentment of the Taoist disciples.

"I hope Junior Sister Han can teach him a lesson!"

"I can defeat you too! Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect that she, as a woman, would be so fierce and domineering."

Under such intense public scrutiny, the training ground was packed with people on the second day.

Many senior disciples from the inner sect came specifically to watch.

The home advantage comes into play in these situations.

This group of people are all here to cheer on Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang!
On the high platform, all the great cultivators had already taken their seats.

Teng Lingyi's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Because he knew very well that Luo Tian Valley was likely to be completely wiped out today.

But as a VIP, he had to watch all the competitions here.

The following days were spent simply watching the Taoist sect put on a show and observing their displays of power.

Mei Chuxue and Situ Cheng were not much better off.

None of them expected that this round of the draw would be so dramatic.

Since the two were sitting together, Mei Chuxue, who was still wearing a fiery red dress, asked, "Why don't I see Geng Tianhe?"

“He is still in seclusion, and he will come over when the competition is approaching,” Situ Cheng replied.

"Oh? You're about to comprehend sword intent?" The alluring woman smiled.

"Uncertain." Situ Cheng shook his head.

The Great River Sword Intent is also of a very high rank, belonging to the superior sword intents among sword intents.

This also indicates its difficulty.

Today's competition started quickly, and the first match was quite entertaining.

The two disciples were of similar skill levels, and both used all their trump cards, paying a heavy price to win.

After all, the rewards for this round of the Eastern Continent Competition are incredibly generous; surviving another round will make a world of difference.

In the end, a disciple of the Sword Sect emerged victorious.

This brought a slightly relieved smile to Situ Cheng's face.

He felt that this disciple embodied the perseverance and courage of our generation of sword cultivators.

The next match was between Han Shuangjiang and Kui Muquan.

The Taoist disciples below began to cheer each other on.

"Junior Sister Han! You can do it!"

"Junior Sister Han, let this madman from Spring and Autumn Mountain know the power of our Daoist sect!"

"Our Taoist sect will surely prevail!"

Hearing these words, the big ice block kept a cold face, nodded slightly, and held his breath.

Holding the "Partridge Sky" weapon, she stepped onto the arena.

Chu Huaixu stood below the stage watching, his face showing no sign of worry.

Some of the more outgoing Taoist disciples even started "interviewing" him.

"Junior Brother Chu, you don't seem nervous at all for Junior Sister Han?"

Chu Huaixu smiled and said, "We can definitely win, it just depends on how we win."

"Oh? You have so much confidence in Junior Sister Han."

“It’s all wrapped up,” he replied.

On the other side of the ring, Kui Muquan also stepped onto the stage with a knife.

Before the competition officially began, Han Shuangjiang, as usual, politely cupped her hands and said, "Please enlighten me."

However, the other party stood there without moving.

That sense of arrogance was palpable.

Several curses immediately rang out from below the stage; the hot-tempered Taoist disciples had already started hurling insults.

Han Shuangjiang remained expressionless, instead suspecting that the other party was using underhanded tactics.

"His personality and demeanor are really unsettling," she thought to herself.

What's most infuriating is that the other party has entered the Dao through madness, and the more so, the more they accumulate their own power!
But if you are affected by it and your mind is in turmoil, you might make some mistakes in your anger.

"If he wants to act high and mighty, then let him act high and mighty."

"As long as I win in the end, then everything else is a joke!" Han Shuangjiang thought to herself, calming her aura.

She held the spirit sword horizontally in front of her and drew it from its sheath.

The moment Partridge Sky Sword was unsheathed, those around it felt as if the temperature had dropped a few degrees, bringing a chill.

Kui Muquan raised an eyebrow and drew his long sword.

The moment the long sword was drawn, a murderous aura filled the air!
Those who seek enlightenment through killing will not regard this place as a contest.

His only goal is to kill you!

However, with a group of great cultivators protecting them here, nothing should go wrong.

He charged forward with his knife, but Han Shuangjiang didn't dodge; she stepped forward as well, choosing the simplest form of direct confrontation.

Sword and saber energy crisscrossed, filling the arena with the glint of blades and the shadows of swords.

"Use your sword intent now!" Kui Muquan shouted.

Han Shuangjiang glanced at him, then unleashed a sword strike without paying him any attention.

Chu Huaixu watched this scene and could read her inner thoughts.

"You haven't activated your secret technique or gone into berserk mode yet, have you?"

Seeing her cold demeanor, Kui Muquan began to activate the Gengjin spiritual veins within his body.

Golden energy began to swirl around him, and a fierce, murderous aura began to spread outwards.

It's autumn now, and this somber feeling is quite fitting for the current weather.

His swordplay became increasingly fierce, and the killing intent emanating from him grew stronger.

Han Shuangjiang remained calm and methodical, using her movement technique [Flying Profound] and defensive spells, creating ice lotus petals around her to protect herself.

Unlike Kui Muquan, who had a sinister grin on his face, she truly looked like a female sword immortal descended to earth.

Even though every sword strike was incredibly sharp, it was still a feast for the eyes.

She turned and swung her sword, her long, jet-black hair fluttering in the wind.

When a person reaches the pinnacle of beauty, it's as if every strand of their hair exudes charm. With each sword strike, countless ice crystals fall from the air.

Kui Muquan even activated the Geng Metal Spirit Vein, but still couldn't gain the upper hand.

Left with no other choice, he could only raise his finger, wipe it over his eyes, and begin to activate the secret technique of Spring and Autumn Mountain.

His eyes instantly turned dark red, a deeper shade than in the previous match.

A golden mark appeared between his brows, and his aura began to grow increasingly frenzied.

Waves of scalding heat radiated outwards, and veins bulged on his forehead.

Kui Muquan let out an angry roar, and golden patterns began to appear on his right hand, spreading all the way up his arm.

The long sword in his hand emitted a series of clanging sounds, and the weapon spirit, which was in sync with his will, seemed to have entered a rather frenzied state as well.

Han Shuangjiang's expression became more serious, and the young girl's face was ashen.

She could sense that Kui Muquan at this moment was at his peak, leaving no room for retreat.

Therefore, she dared not be overconfident.

"Han Shuangjiang, if you don't unleash your sword intent now, you'll miss your chance!"

He swung his sword forward and even started shouting at Chu Huaixu in the audience.

"Chu Huaixu, if I seriously injure your woman later, don't blame me for being ruthless!" He sneered.

The young man in the black robe looked at him, puzzled.

"How can you have such a high opinion of yourself?" Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

"You simply don't understand just how terrifying her Reincarnation Sword Intent truly is!"

On the arena, Han Shuangjiang began to unleash her Reincarnation Sword Intent for the first time.

Throughout the entire vast Daoist sect, she had only entered that mysterious state once, during a sparring session with Chu Huaixu.

Her aura changed instantly.

Her long, jet-black hair turned silver-white at that moment.

This scene was strikingly similar to the reflections of her and Chu Huaixu beneath the ice in the Secret Realm of the Year Rings.

The scene of youthful exuberance turning gray seems incredibly contradictory, presenting a stark contrast.

It's as if on one side there's vibrant life, and on the other, fading death.

Han Shuangjiang's aura was drastically different from before, and even her expression and eyes had changed.

If the previous cold-faced girl exuded a cool and aloof aura, then the current girl appears to be extremely indifferent.

—Neither joy nor sorrow.

When Chu Huaixu saw this scene, he inexplicably thought of a line from the Tao Te Ching.

— [Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs.]

The meaning of this statement was misunderstood by many people in the past, who thought it meant that heaven and earth were not benevolent and only treated living beings as offerings.

Nowadays, almost everyone understands that this sentence means: Heaven and Earth treat all things without favoritism, letting them live and die on their own.

Heaven and earth do not act on emotion; they treat everyone with utmost impartiality.

Therefore, there is another half to the sentence: "The sage is not benevolent; he treats the people like straw dogs."

The Han Shuangjiang before me has a similar feeling.

Birth and death constitute the cycle of reincarnation.

Two streams of air, one black and one white, began to appear on the blade of the sword 【鹪鸪天】.

They are intertwined, yet completely opposite.

Kui Muquan was stunned for a moment when he saw the scene before him.

For onlookers, the scene on the ring now presents a stark contrast.

Extremely arrogant on one hand, extremely indifferent on the other!
Han Shuangjiang's eyes seemed devoid of any emotion.

Her entire heart was as calm as a still lake, without a single ripple.

On the high platform, Situ Cheng and the others' eyes narrowed.

They had only read about Yan Shen's Reincarnation Sword Intent in ancient books and had only heard of it.

This is the first time I've ever seen this before!
Therefore, not only were the juniors by the arena shocked, but the great cultivators also watched with utmost care, afraid of missing any detail.

"This is the legacy of the second abbot!"

"An existence second only to the Dao Ancestor!"

Han Shuangjiang looked at Kui Muquan and casually waved her hand.

It was the Geng Metal Spiritual Vein again, and Kui Muquan was in a berserk state. He tried his best to resist, but was directly knocked away by this incredibly simple sword strike.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, broke several ribs in succession, and couldn't even hold the long sword in his hand, falling directly off the stage.

In the previous match, he also caused that Taoist disciple to fall off the stage.

After such humiliation, he became incredibly arrogant that day and started calling out names, asking if anyone dared to fight him.

The outcome is now decided.

Han Shuangjiang recreated that scene from that day, only the person who fell down had changed.

If I say I'll beat you, then I'll beat you!
With her long, silver-white hair, she sheathed her sword.

There was still no emotion in her eyes.

It seemed that even this great victory would not bring her the slightest joy.

A mountain breeze blew by, and her long, silvery-white hair danced in the wind.

The feeling she gave off began to become increasingly ethereal.

On stage, Mei Chuxue exclaimed, "The way we enter the Dao in Chunqiu Mountain is different from other sects. Although we enter the Dao in a way similar to the seven emotions and six desires, the ultimate limit we reach is actually this almost emotionless [Celestial Realm]!"

"Unexpectedly, the Reincarnation Sword Intent of the Second Abbot Yan Shen is also somewhat similar!"

"Kui Muquan, you did not lose unjustly."

Even cultivators at the eighth level felt they had broadened their horizons.

Situ Cheng and Teng Lingyi exchanged a glance, also realizing that the Samsara Sword Intent was even stronger than they had imagined.

Teng Lingyi even suspected: "If what Mei Chuxue said is true, and this is similar to entering the [Celestial Realm], then wouldn't divine sense techniques be almost completely ineffective against her?"

As one of the Four Divine Swords, Situ Cheng's perspective is different.

He had already started imagining what it would be like if this turned into the Samsara Sword Heart, or even the Samsara Sword Domain.
He now understood why, a thousand years ago, the second-generation abbot Yan Shen was able to become the number one person after the Dao Ancestor, and why, when she was alive, she could suppress the Sword Sect so much that it could not raise its head at all.

"If Han Shuangjiang could grow to this level, Situ Cheng could hardly believe it!"

At this moment, there was a deathly silence below the arena.

The great cultivators were shocked, let alone these low-level cultivators.

Even someone as strong as Kui Muquan, the top seed from Chunqiu Mountain, was defeated so thoroughly!

What kind of sword intent is this?!
In the midst of the deathly silence, one person began to clap loudly and cheer.

With her head full of white hair, Han Shuangjiang turned around and looked at the incredibly energetic Chu Huaixu.

She looked at the man who had walked with her through the Secret Realm of Ages and sat with her on the frozen lake in the end.

In her eyes, the whole world at this moment seemed to consist only of black and white, just like the two streams of air swirling around the sword's edge.

He was the only one cheering in the crowd, leading the applause, and he remained as vibrant as ever.

He seems different from everyone else.

—I see all living beings as grass and trees, but you are the green mountain.

Han Shuangjiang's heart, which was like a stagnant lake, was suddenly rippled.

(P.S.: First update, a long chapter of 4,000 words, please vote with monthly tickets!)

　I quite like the chapter title and ending of this chapter.
　　I recommend a friend's new book, "Fangxian Waidao".

(End of this chapter)