Wandering Swordsman |

He then looked at Situ Dengfeng and Murong Liang: "The Martial Alliance has invited heroes from all over the world to gather here to celebrate the 'Sword God'! This is not merely a wedding, but also a symbol of the Central Plains martial arts world's unity in resisting external evils!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

A glint flashed in Situ Dengfeng's eyes, and he clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Valley Master's insight is brilliant! In this way, the wishes of heroes across the land are fulfilled, and the grandeur of our martial arts alliance is also demonstrated!"

Murong Liang pondered for a moment, then finally smiled: "What the Valley Master said is indeed a win-win solution. In that case—" He turned to Situ Dengfeng, his tone solemn, "All expenses for the wedding will be borne by my Murong family!"

Situ Dengfeng laughed heartily: "The Murong family head is so generous! Since the Murong family is paying, then Jingtian Pavilion should naturally provide the services—the venue, security, protocol, and banquet will all be coordinated by Jingtian Pavilion!"

The two exchanged a smile. The tense standoff they had just been in had melted away like thin ice meeting the sun with just a few words from Guiguzi. The sandalwood incense began to rise again, as if even the air itself had relaxed.

Shen Mo let out a long sigh of relief, the heavy weight in his chest finally lifted, but he was not truly at ease.

He looked up at Murong Qing and Situ Meng—Murong Qing's fingertips were still lightly resting on the edge of the teacup, her lips slightly upturned, as if a thousand words were hidden in her eyes; Situ Meng, on the other hand, turned her head slightly, her earrings swaying gently in the rosy light, reflecting a blush of shyness.

Their eyes met briefly in the air before quickly looking away. Their gazes held a sense of relief mixed with a hint of shyness and secret anticipation, like two twin lotus blossoms whispering to each other before a storm.

Just then, Guiguzi suddenly stopped smiling, his gaze as still as a deep well, and fell on Shen Mo: "Shen Mo, actually I came here to talk to you about something."

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned and walked outside, his blue robe fluttering like a fallen leaf in the twilight.

Shen Mo was taken aback. He didn't have time to say goodbye to the four people in the hall, so he could only give a hurried bow and quickly follow.

The two walked through the corridor, where moss-covered bluestone slabs reflected the afterglow of the setting sun, like an unfolding scroll of yellowed history.

As they passed the training ground, disciples were still practicing their swords, the wind howling as they passed by, but it quietly stopped when Guiguzi passed by, as if even the wind knew to respect this highly respected senior in the Central Plains martial arts world.

Before long, a magnificent pavilion stood before us—the Martial Arts Alliance Library.

Although this pavilion cannot match the vast collection of books and exquisite secret texts found deep within Ghost Valley, it is still the foremost repository of classic texts in the Central Plains martial arts world.

The three-tiered eaves resemble a soaring roc, with copper bells hanging from the corners that ring when the wind blows, as if reciting the martial arts of the Central Plains for thousands of years.

The pavilion houses over ten thousand volumes of books, though it lacks the most treasured secrets and core teachings of various schools.

However, almost all the open or semi-open martial arts classics, move diagrams, internal energy outlines, and weapon insights from various schools are gathered here.

Swordsmanship, knife skills, fist techniques, lightness skills, pressure point techniques... a dazzling array, vast as the ocean. People in the martial arts world often say, "A day spent in the Martial Alliance's library is better than ten years of reading martial arts books." This shows its exalted status.

However, in Guiguzi's eyes, this place was ultimately just the "surface" rather than the "inner self"—the true principles of martial arts, rare and incomplete scrolls, the unique skills of various schools, and even unofficial histories of the martial arts world were all gathered in Guiguzi.

Stepping into the pavilion, the scent of sandalwood mingled with the aged aroma of paper and ink wafted towards you. The bookshelves towered to the ceiling, with bamboo slips, silk scrolls, and paper rolls stacked upon each other. Sunlight streamed in obliquely through the high windows, and dust particles floated slowly in the beams of light, like countless slumbering martial spirits whispering.

Guiguzi led Shen Mo slowly to the sandalwood table in the center of the third floor. With a gentle flick of his sleeve, he placed three ancient scrolls on the table one after another. His movements were gentle, yet they seemed to carry a thousand pounds of weight.

"This is the 'Great Art of Exorcising Power' that you took back from the tomb of the God of War from Oda that day." He lightly tapped the first book with his fingertip. The cover was bluish, and the edges of the pages were slightly curled, as if it had been through the ravages of war.

"This is your master Luo Wangchen. After the Martial Alliance was re-established, he personally went to the Martial Alliance and solemnly handed this book to the Alliance Leader." He stroked the second book, the four characters "Heavenly Void True Qi" were ancient and vigorous, the ink was deep and steady.

"And this book..." Guiguzi paused, his gaze as deep as the night, "is the 'Formless Sutra' that you personally handed to me the other day."

Shen Mo's heart jolted, and his gaze was drawn to the three secret manuals as if by a magnet. How could he not remember them?

When he was reading "Tianxu Zhenqi" back then, he felt more and more that "Tianxu Zhenqi" and "Wuxiang Jing" were written by the same person. In the turns and twists of the pen, they both had the same calm and aloof charm.

After defeating the Divine Emperor and reclaiming the "Great Method of Eliminating Power," before handing it over to Guiguzi, he also quickly glanced through it and discovered that its handwriting was exactly the same as that of the "Heavenly Void True Qi" and the "Formless Scripture."

But he still couldn't understand why Guiguzi had placed these three secret manuals back in front of him specifically to find him.

He looked up at Guiguzi, his eyes full of doubt: "Senior Valley Master...you summoned me here just to show me these three secret manuals?"

Guiguzi did not answer immediately.

His gaze was like the moon reflected in an ancient pool, unfathomable yet seemingly with sparks quietly igniting within.

"Shen Mo," he finally spoke, his voice not loud, yet resonating like a bell striking an empty valley, "the cultivation methods recorded in these three manuals... are like three streams, all originating from the same source!"

The moment the words fell, it seemed as if an invisible force within the library suddenly froze.

His gaze was intense as he looked directly into Shen Mo's eyes: "This makes me even more certain—what your master Luo Wangchen said when he entrusted the teachings to the Martial Arts Alliance was true: 'These three martial arts manuals were originally derived from a single, peerless divine skill!'"

Shen Mo was shocked upon hearing this.

He slowly lowered his head, picked up the secret manual with both hands, and ran his fingertips over the yellowed pages as if touching the warmth of that nameless sage from a thousand years ago.

In an instant, a scene unfolded in his mind—

On a dark and windy night, a solitary grave stands silently. An old man in white robes stands atop the desolate tomb, three scrolls in his hands like three runes of destiny.

His gaze was filled with compassion, as if he had already foreseen the conflicts to come.

To prevent this supreme martial art from falling into the hands of ambitious individuals and wreaking havoc on the world, he resolutely divided it into three parts and hid them in three cenotaphs. The epitaphs served as the guides, and the diaries as the keys, waiting for a destined person to collect all three books to glimpse the ultimate realm of martial arts.

And now—all three books are gathered together, and they are actually in Shen Mo's hands!

The "Exorcising Technique" was retrieved from Oda by myself; the "Heavenly Void True Qi" was obtained by myself from the Black Wind Gang, and then handed over to my master Luo Wangchen, who then handed it over to the Martial Alliance; as for the "Formless Scripture," I retrieved it from the cave that I had buried years ago and personally handed it over to Guiguzi.

It was as if an invisible hand was guiding these three secret manuals to the same point of convergence.

"Then what were these three martial arts... originally?" Shen Mo suppressed the turmoil in his heart and tried to keep his voice steady, but there was still a slight, almost imperceptible tremor, like the wind brushing across the strings of a zither.

Upon hearing this, Guiguzi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze seemingly reflecting a swirling river of stars, or perhaps a deep abyss concealing secrets.

He slowly walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and spoke in a deep voice like the echo of an ancient bell: "According to the intelligence that Guigu obtained from the Righteous Alliance... this peerless divine skill that was split up is called - 'The Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique'."

The Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique!!!

Shen Mo thought to himself, remaining outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

In an instant, memories flooded back—when I was absorbing the Heavenly Demon Qi at Demon Refining Mountain, that figure in black flames had mentioned the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique".

At that time, he did not know what the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique" was. But now, he has three manuals derived from the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique" in his hands.