A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 138 Divine Weapon

Sword Casting Manor covers a large area. Entering from the main gate, there is a hard stone square paved with white marble bricks. After passing through the hall and courtyard, and crossing the long corridor on the left, you will find the guest accommodations.

That area is filled with artificial hills and strange rocks, bamboo groves and plum trees. Every year in March and April, the air is filled with fragrance. The winding paths meander among the grass and trees, connecting the guest rooms and courtyards.

In one of the courtyards, Guan Luoyang sat idly by a round stone table, holding the scroll of the Holy Fist in his hands. Swarms of light butterflies flew from the other side of the courtyard. When they touched Guan Luoyang's body, they faintly turned into tiny points of light, flowing under his robes, converging and engulfing his eyes.

The young Taoist priest next to them was practicing his skills.

Of the three secret manuals left by Xue Longzi, there is only one set of unarmed combat techniques—"The Thirteen Hands of Flying Snow and White Rainbow." However, this set of skills mainly focuses on the release and collection of hidden weapons. If used as a palm technique, it would be too agile and lack stability. Even against an enemy with comparable internal strength, it would be difficult to defeat them after landing one or two palm strikes.

However, the fist and palm techniques that the young Taoist is now practicing involve reaching out with his hands, grabbing downwards with his hands, his body flipping and falling, his arms grabbing and tearing, and his wide and sweeping palm techniques are interspersed with continuous and swift grappling techniques.

Even the rise and fall of his steps carried the sharpness of attacking the opponent's lower body and breaking bones and joints.

This was clearly modified by Guan Luoyang.

It's still morning, and now that the young Taoist has memorized the kung fu, he's practicing it with the most enthusiasm.

He had only practiced halfway through when Guan Luoyang, who was sitting at the table, twitched his ears slightly and suddenly said, "Switch to practicing the basics."

Once this was said, the golden butterflies that had been flying in in an endless stream became sparse, and soon only two or three remained, clinging to the hem of Guan Luoyang's clothes and dissipating into his body and mind.

The young Taoist priest was used to such strange sights and knew that the butterflies were all caused by his eldest brother, who was lying in the courtyard taking a nap. His eldest brother would go out to chat with people for a long time, and when he came back, he would take a nap, and butterflies would fly out when he took a nap.

He gave an "oh," stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, relaxed his shoulders and elbows, and stood not far from an old plum tree, facing the wall, about five feet away. He slowly exhaled and released a palm strike.

A gust of cold wind swept by, causing a soft crackling sound as it clung to the wall. A patch of frost, about the size of a bowl, spread out, its white color standing out starkly against the bluish-gray stone bricks.

Xia Qing hooked back with her left hand and slapped out with her right palm. Another gust of wind rushed out and hit the wall with a thud, hitting the area where the frost was spreading.

The frost was broken open, and most of it fell off, revealing the slightly damp color of the frozen bricks underneath.

This fundamental skill was also taught by Guan Luoyang.

Xia Qing was instructed to exert all his icy power with each left palm strike, ensuring that frost would condense where the palm strike landed. However, when striking with his right hand, he was to restrain his icy aura and rely solely on the pure internal force to knock off all the frost.

Practice this alternating between your left and right hands until, when you finally strike out with your right palm, there shouldn't be a single trace of frost left on the wall. Only then will you pass the test.

Unfortunately, Xia Qing's control over his strength wasn't quite precise enough, and he couldn't guarantee that each palm strike would completely remove all the frost from the previous strike, causing the frost marks on the wall to accumulate and thicken.

When the large, interwoven white ice flowers, stretching to a diameter of nearly half a foot, appeared, someone standing outside the courtyard laughed and asked, "Are your junior disciples living inside?"

Guan Luoyang put away the scroll, stood up, and said, "Master Wu?"

Wu Pingqiang stepped across the courtyard gate: "It is indeed this old man."

He glanced over and saw Xia Qing practicing his palm strikes. The wind howled, and frost marks accumulated on his palms, proving that it was indeed the most authentic internal energy foundation of the Ice Glacier School. Even his three sons, whom he had carefully taught, might not have had such a pure foundation when Xia Qing was the same age.

"After parting ways decades ago, my old friends from the Ice River drifted apart and never met again until their deaths, which is truly regrettable. But seeing him with disciples like you today makes me envious."

As Wu Pingqiang spoke, he sized up Guan Luoyang.

This man had bright eyes and a radiant spirit. He was tall and strong, and the white robe with ink patterns draped over him did not show much leisure or elegance, but rather a vigorous and ready-to-take-off temperament.

Just observing like this was fine, but when Wu Pingqiang silently channeled his inner energy into his eyes, wanting to see more clearly, he suddenly felt a sharp aura emanating from the other party, which made his brows and eyelashes twitch slightly.

Guan Luoyang smiled and asked, "Master Wu, what brings you here?"

Wu Pingqiang was stunned for a moment. After actually meeting him, those vague and unrealistic thoughts in his mind suddenly seemed rather boring.

Such a young and outstanding person inexplicably reminded him of a handful of fresh snow or a sword just washed clean by a red flame.

The other party is constantly honing himself. As a swordsmith, if you don't even have this much insight, and you use those vulgar hair threads to wrap it layer by layer, disturbing the refinement of the sword, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

"ha."

Wu Pingqiang shook his head and smiled, decisively abandoning the pretense of probing, and went straight to the point, "Do you have the Jade Snow Dragon Ring on you? May I borrow it for a look?"

"Don't worry, I have a reputation built up over decades. I wouldn't stoop so low as to take something from a junior. If the item is really here, I'll give you two famous swords if you let me take a look. Alternatively, I can take you to see a divine weapon that is about to be completed."

When he finished speaking, his eyebrows shot up and his spirits soared, "Of all the millions of people in the world, in the last hundred years, besides myself, perhaps only you have had the opportunity to witness the scene before a divine weapon is forged."

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of famous swords in the martial arts world. If you include those ancient treasures with various tales and legends, the number becomes even more difficult to calculate.

However, only weapons that can be "disintegrated" can be called divine weapons. The number of such weapons in the Central Plains since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods is probably less than thirty. Excluding those that have been destroyed, the number of divine weapons that still exist in the present day is even smaller.

The term "兵解" (bīng jiě) has a long history. Originally, it referred to those who sought immortality and Taoism using weapons to achieve liberation and enlightenment. It meant destroying the physical body with swords and weapons, discarding the physical form, and allowing the pure and untainted spirit to transcend.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, some people who did not understand martial arts but were obsessed with metaphysics would pursue corpse liberation or military liberation, and go through great lengths to forge a magic sword for themselves and stab it into the top of their heads. Such practices were actually tantamount to suicide.

In martial arts, the "disintegration of weapons" is a proper term that refers to dissolving and integrating divine weapons into the body. It is not about abandoning the physical body, but rather it greatly benefits the refinement of the body.

When a divine weapon is dismantled and integrated into the body, it can cause the blood and qi to become pure and the meridians and bones to undergo a subtle transformation, acquiring the unique properties of the divine weapon itself, almost transcending the mortal realm.

For example, Lao Jun Mountain has two divine weapons, the Wuwei Divine Sword and the Five-Colored Treasure Seal, each with its own unique abilities.

Treasures like the Jade Snow Dragon Ring and the Heavenly Secret Jade Mirror possess unique effects that far surpass those of ordinary weapons. The reason they cannot be called divine weapons is because these two items cannot be disintegrated into the body.

Therefore, the appearance of a truly divine weapon before it is forged is indeed a rare and extraordinary sight.

Guan Luoyang was also very curious. The Reincarnator Base did have weapons that could be integrated into the body. Some, such as the Absolute Twin Blades' "Flame Fang" and the Void Genome of the Sinful Crown, even if they were only two-star, could do similar things.

However, the idea of ​​a martial arts world forging such a divine weapon seemed particularly intriguing to him, and he really wanted to see it if he had the chance.

After a moment's thought, Guan Luoyang took out the Jade Snow Dragon Ring.

After Gu Lanxiang left, Guan Luoyang has been keeping this thing by himself, except for the daily infusion of true energy by Xia Qing.

Upon seeing this long-lost treasure of the Ice Age Sect, Wu Pingqiang couldn't help but show a hint of excitement. After receiving it, he gazed at it with the utmost care, as if it were a part of his own life.

His expression calmed down, a slight sense of melancholy in his eyes, and he became so focused that he forgot everything else.

The Tianshan Mountains are covered with snow-capped peaks, and glaciers stand out.

Back then, the young disciples of the Ice River would climb over the clouds halfway up the mountain to practice their swordsmanship on the cliff top.

At sunrise, gazing into the distance with all your might, hundreds of majestic peaks appear like new bamboo shoots, peeking out their tips amidst the swirling clouds and mist.

When that red sun rises, for a brief moment it will be protected by the highest peak, dyeing the sea of ​​clouds into a rosy glow across the sky.

The icicles and icicles that form on the rocks at the top of the cliff are like jade trees and flowers, shimmering with colorful light.

At that time, the disciples, who call each other brothers and sisters, would wander in silence for a while, looking up at the sun until the sunlight became too dazzling to look at directly.

The clouds and mist have receded, and the glaciers are gone.

In the courtyard where plum blossoms bloomed at the end of March.

Wu Pingqiang raised his head as if sighing, his face showing a mixture of reminiscence and childlike playfulness, as he held up the Jade Snow Dragon Ring to the sun.

He stretched his arms out to the maximum, tilted his head back, and it was unclear whether he was looking at the jade ring or at the sunlight within it.

A top-tier expert's eyes can withstand even the midday sun.

He blinked, and suddenly some characters appeared in his eyes.

That was something that could only be seen at that exact moment, when the sunlight shone directly past the jade ring and then into the eyes—a blurry, ancient light and shadow, concise yet incoherent.

The finest gems are not determined by human rulers. Life and death are taken, and the common people are mocked. The first place is known throughout the world, while the second is unknown. If there were no second or third, how could there be such supreme honor? Fools, fools, so many laughable people...

It seems like just some words casually carved by an old man grumbling, but even such grumbling is hidden in the dragon ring, which the world regards as a treasure, with extremely exquisite techniques.

Wu Pingqiang stared intently at the jade ring for a while, then put it down and said, "Come with me."

He then strode out of the courtyard, his feet barely touching the ground as he stepped over the tips of the grass blades, and sped away like the wind.

Guan Luoyang pulled Xia Qing up and followed behind without much effort.

The disciples guarding the back mountain of Sword Forging Manor were somewhat at a loss when they saw their old manor master hurrying over using his lightness skill, followed by two unfamiliar faces.

Just as a guard was about to step forward to ask Guan Luoyang and the others a few questions, Wu Pingqiang, without turning his head, suddenly flicked a soft force and pushed the guard away.

Everyone immediately understood his meaning and made way for him, watching in surprise as Guan Luoyang and his group stepped into the important grounds of the Sword Casting Manor.

Strangely, the guards on the road from the Sword Forging Manor to the back mountain were scattered everywhere. At first, the guards were quite strict, but the further you went into the back mountain, the fewer guards there were.

Moreover, the locations where they were guarding the area had become strange. They weren't on any important roads, but rather seemed to be patrolling the mountains and fields at random, making it difficult to tell which path led directly to the real place where the swords were forged.

Of course, with Wu Pingqiang leading the way, Guan Luoyang and his group didn't need to worry about this at all.

After crossing the hillside, instead of going uphill, they took a detour and plunged straight down to the foot of the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain lies a deep pool, with huge rocks lying across its surface, their cliffs as sharp as if carved by a knife.

Without stopping, Wu Pingqiang leaped into the pool.

Guan Luoyang paused slightly and followed him inside.

Because he had a young Taoist priest with him, he used his internal energy to push aside the water around him and create a dry, spherical space underwater. He then used methods that affected gravity to make the sphere sink, thus chasing after Wu Pingqiang's whereabouts.

The pool appears faintly blue underwater, yet its water is exceptionally clear, seemingly devoid of any fish, shrimp, or crabs.

Wu Pingqiang descended steadily, skillfully selecting his target and swimming towards the crevice in the boulder.

Although it's called a crevice, its size is actually like a deep tunnel; if one were to explore inside, it could easily accommodate one or two people.

Guan Luoyang followed closely behind, his eyes gleaming as he surveyed the passageway.

There is no trace of human excavation here; it is purely a creation of nature.

Over the course of millennia, the flowing water eroded the rock formations, even dissolving and peeling away parts of the rock, creating these hidden passages at the bottom of the pool. Generally, at the other end of such passages, there must be a magnificent cave.

Sure enough, after passing through this passage, Wu Pingqiang began to rise in the water.

With a splash, the three people emerged from the water and stepped onto the wet rocks.

Inside this spacious cave is a huge iron furnace, half of which is sunken under the rocks, with one side pressed against the rock wall for stability. Even the part of the furnace that is exposed on the rock surface is still nearly as tall as a person.

It's hard to imagine how such a furnace was transported in.

There was no spare firewood to be seen, nor could the sound of burning be heard, but a scorching red light emanated from the stove.

Wu Pingqiang stared at the stove, not immediately walking forward. His body trembled slightly, and a cloud of water vapor rose from his clothes.

Guan Luoyang could see clearly that it wasn't fog at all, but rather the moisture inside the clothes condensing into extremely tiny ice particles, which were then shaken out from the gaps in the fabric.

By drying the clothes using this method, before they even froze to pieces, Wu Pingqiang had already mastered the Ice Glacier Heart Technique to the level of "profound cold source energy, reaching a state of divine transformation" in the secret manual left by Xue Longzi, and was about to reach the point of Yin Yin giving rise to Yang.

Judging from the annotations Xue Longzi left in the manual, he himself did not reach this level even at the peak of his life.

Wu Pingqiang handed over the Jade Snow Dragon Ring: "Use your internal energy to protect your face, and get close to that crystal piece, and you'll be able to see the scene inside the furnace."

"You should all go and admire it now, for I will complete this divine weapon today!"

Guan Luoyang took the Jade Snow Dragon Ring and approached the furnace.

The surface of the furnace has an octagonal crystal piece, which is crystal clear and resistant to high temperatures.

As he approached, his gaze pierced through the crystal, and he finally understood where the red light came from. It turned out that on the side of the furnace that connected to the rock wall, there were many tiny, densely packed holes, like a honeycomb.

The high temperature was all surging into the furnace from that hole. It was unclear whether someone was burning a fire on the other side of the rock wall or if this mountain treasure had some strange feature that could attract the temperature of the subterranean fire.

The internal structure of the furnace is very ingenious. Around each of the tiny holes are some pipes that guide the flames, which surround the entire furnace wall and spray out from the other side.

In this way, the flames in the furnace are almost vortex-shaped, and the temperature is almost uniform everywhere.

A blunt, blunt sword, about four feet long, was placed diagonally in the furnace.

(End of this chapter)