Chapter 139 - The Sword Intent of the Reincarnating Sword
Chapter 139: The Sword Intent of the Reincarnating Sword
The bamboo forest rustled loudly in the Main Path Guild’s forest as if it was billowing in the strong wind.
The night sky was not dark as there was a brilliant light shining on the peak of Mount Tongtian like a blazing sun that chased the darkness away.
A deafening explosion erupted in the Main Path Guild. The Mountain Shield Rune cast by all of the disciples of Main Path Guild was destroyed instantly by a giant hammer!
The explosion was so strong that it sent a shock wave that spanned dozens of miles.
The blade hammer smashed through the Mountain Shield Forbidden Spell Rune.
Even though it was just a protection rune, it was an extremely powerful rune to be considered as a forbidden spell.
While in the air, Huang Zhihe stood on the carriage. The countless blades returned to him after smashing the Mountain Shield Rune, where they gathered and reformed into the hammer-shaped formation above his head.
The blades were like tens of thousands of bees gathered in a swarm.
This was the Hammer Blade Lord’s Blade Hammer!
Zhao Zhenshi stood in the rune on the peak of the misty Mount Tongtian, and his robe billowed in the wind.
“How dare you, Old Huang. Since you’re so stubborn, so be it!” Zhao Zhenshi said coldly.
The Reincarnating Lotus Sword that Fang Lang removed had absorbed a thousand years’ worth of reserve from the Main Path Mausoleum. If he let Fang Lang escape, the Main Path Guild would lose their reputation forever.
More importantly, Zhao Zhenshi felt a sense of anger rising from the deepest end of the inside the Main Path Mausoleum.
Zhao Zhenshi felt a little emotional.
He vaguely recalled his conversation with the sect leader, Zhao Longshi.
In reality, the Main Path Guild was the one who instigated the first prince to probe the Emperor. As the world’s strongest sect that had been around for thousands of years, why should the Main Path Guild bow before the Tang Dynasty?
However, the Tang Dynasty was filled with geniuses, with the Emperor excluded.
Just look at the incredible female blade lord, Xuanyuan Taihua, who emerged two centuries ago after being promoted by the Emperor. She alone was able to outshine all the other sects.
How many cultivators in the Tang Dynasty actually achieved transcendence?
Thus far, there were only two of them—the Emperor and Xuanyuan Taihua.
These two were able to overshadow all the sects.
Therefore, the Sword Guild was able to ascend to be the greatest sect in the Tang Dynasty.
That night, Zhao Longshi and Zhao Zhenshi had mentioned that the five greatest sects in the Tang Dynasty—Main Path guild, Meridian Guild, All-seeing Buddha Sect, Karma Society and Immortal Martial Association had a history of more than a thousand years. These five sects had a hidden ancestor that had attained transcendence.
However, these ancestors would not expose themselves because the Tang Dynasty was ruled by the Emperor and the Code, making them undefeatable.
This was also why the ten great sects had fallen. They even needed to operate under the Imperial Court!
Just moments ago, Zhao Zhenshi felt an ancient sense in the Main Path Mausoleum as though a pair of centuries-old eyes had opened at that moment!
This ancient sense was also the reason Zhao Zhenshi realized what happened in the Main Path Mausoleum.
Zhao Zhenshi was exhilarated. He envisaged something major happening tonight. He must stop Fang Lang from leaving with the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.
Excluding the fact that the Reincarnating Lotus Sword had absorbed a thousand years’ worth of reserve from the Main Path Guild, the sword was not any other ordinary weapon. It could be considered a magical weapon.
If he could control this magical weapon, maybe… he would have a chance to reach transcendence!
Zhao Zhenshi was envious!
“Huang Zhihe, you have no idea what Fang Lang had awakened when he removed the sword!”
Zhao Zhenshi leaped into the sky and traveled on clouds. Under his feet, the rune kept expanding from each point that he stepped on.
Thousands of the Main Path Guild disciples were seated on the wide plains of Mount Tongtian cross-legged as they cast the rune.
Inside the carriage, Huang Zhihe’s expression darkened slightly.
Zhao Zhenshi raised both his palms and ferocious dragons suddenly surrounded him.
“Where are you, elders of the Main Path Guild?”
Shortly after, a massive wave of energy emerged above Mount Tongtian. All the elders of the Main Path Guild flew across the sky, and their robes billowed in the winds.
The Main Path Guild had decided to go on full force shamelessly without any reservations! Nevertheless, anyone would do the same since the Reincarnating Lotus Sword Fang Lang removed had robbed the Main Path Mausoleum from a thousand years of cultivation.
“Go!” Huang Zhihe did not want to continue fighting.
Xuanyuan Taihua could fight the entire sect by herself, but this was out of his caliber.
Huang Zhihe tapped gently with his finger blade and the night sky lit up instantly.
The 10,000 small blades from the blade hammer charged towards Zhao Zhenshi and several ninth-grade elders like a tornado.
Zhao Wuji whipped the horse and sped up the carriage towards the exit to escape from the Main Path Guild.
The horses neighed loudly and a rune appeared under their hooves. They then stepped on it and rode into the air.
Zhao Zhenshi rose in the air like a deity. He aimed all five fingers towards the carriage and said, “How dare you cast runes in my Main Path Guild.”
Then, he clenched all five fingers into a fist.
An invisible spiritual sense shot at them like an arrow and shattered the rune under the hooves of the horses!
The coach started plummeting rapidly. Zhao Wuji immediately leaped out and used his vital energy to hoist the carriage up before setting it on the ground gently.
However, all movements stopped after that.
Five elders of the Main Path Guild had surrounded the carriage.
Huang Zhihe stood on top of the carriage with a serious expression. With the Mountain Shield Forbidden Spell Rune, it was as if Zhao Zhenshi had a magical weapon in hand that was no less than him.
“This is going to be tough. Why is Chao Xiaojian not here yet?” Huang Zhihe’s face twitched.
In this situation, he might not be able to withstand the attacks alone.
If he had to… he would definitely be asking for a raise!
…
Ni Wen looked slightly worried in the carriage. She glanced at Fang Lang but he had his eyes shut as if he was in deep thought. The Reincarnating Lotus Sword was lying flat on his thigh.
The situation out there was extremely dangerous.
However, Fang Lang did not seem to be affected by the surroundings. It was as though his soul had been sucked into the sword.
There was a hazy world inside the sword.
Fang Lang saw a graceful yet familiar figure standing on top of a bloomed lotus. She was holding a blade skill in her hand like a flower-picking Buddha.
A sea of blade energy surrounded the lotus, massive waves of blade energy swept across the sea occasionally, making others feel insignificant.
“Master?” Fang Lang asked.
His voice echoed through the sea of blade energy.
“Disciple Lang,” the beautiful figure on the lotus answered. Fang Lang was thrilled when he heard her reply.
He was right. The lotus held a thread of Xuanyuan Taihua’s consciousness. Fang Lang had expected this since he had encountered it inside the Blooming Lotus Sword. It only made sense if the Reincarnating Lotus Sword had it too.
Perhaps, the remaining Withering Lotus Sword and Circling Lotus Sword also hold the consciousness of Xuanyuan Taihua!
Huang Zhihe told Fang Lang that the three swords in the Main Path Guild, All-Seeing Buddha Sect and Meridian Guild might be a tool to test the presence of a cultivator in the transcendental realm.
Their mission was to expose the hidden beings in the dark.
However, Fang Lang thought there might be a bigger purpose for the Withering Lotus, Circling Lotus and Reincarnating Lotus. Ever since the Blooming Lotus Sword sliced through the Code, Fang Lang thought that maybe they were all part of the preparation for the Code as well.
Exposing hidden transcended beings was just a coincidence.
Fang Lang stepped onto the lotus. The graceful figure raised a finger to tap on Fang Lang’s forehead between his brows.
“Disciple Lang, focus on the sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. This is the only way you can wield this sword. If you could understand the sword intent, you would overcome this crisis unharmed,” the figure said smilingly.
Fang Lang was speechless. Was this the master’s way of teaching him?
He felt a little unsettling.
At the same time, Fang Lang remembered a mission given by the System that sent him to remove the sword. If he succeeded in withdrawing the sword, he would receive a Silver Reward Egg.
If he managed to remove all three swords and help Xuanyuan Taihua return, he might be able to get a Gold Reward Egg!
However, Fang Lang still had yet to receive any Silver Reward Egg after removing the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.
What does this mean?
It meant that Fang Lang had not completely removed the sword. By removing the sword, it did not mean pulling the sword out of the broken tablet. Instead, he needed to understand the sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus sword and earn the right to control it.
When Fang Lang thought of this, he had no choice but to focus on understanding the sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. This might be their only way out.
“System, activate Enlightenment Card!” Fang Lang said seriously.
This was the last Enlightenment Card in his inventory.
He decided to use it without any hesitation under such circumstances.
He sat crossed-legged in the lotus. After Xuanyuan Taihua’s tip, Fang Lang’s consciousness started spinning.
…
When Fang Lang opened his eyes, he found himself in a shabby shed.
The Reincarnating Sword was still on his thighs.
Fang Lang looked around his surroundings. This place seemed to be isolated from the rest of the world. There was only a shed, surrounded by bamboo forests, where the bamboo leaves rustled in the breeze like waves.
There was a stream in front of the shed.
The whole world was silent.
Fang Lang remained quiet as he held onto the sword. He was trying to understand the sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword, but he did not know how.
Even after activating the System’s Enlightenment Card, Fang Lang had no clue or direction to start with. How should he be enlightened?
He sat cross-legged inside the shed as he listened to the sounds from the bamboo forests, flowing streams and the gentle breeze. It was all so serene that Fang Lang hoped to stay in that moment forever.
‘A shed built in the human world, yet isolated from the hustle and bustle.’
Time stopped as Fang Lang narrowed his eyes…
An image appeared in his mind. This was the same flashback he experienced when he reached out to grab the Reincarnating Lotus Sword inside the Main Path Mausoleum.
Back then, he saw countless stone tablets cracked the moment he removed the sword.
However, a massive surge of energy poured out of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword like an invisible hand that swept across those tablets that sealed the cracks.
“Back in time… travelling back in time…”
Was this the Reincarnating Lotus Sword’s sword intent?
Time…
The eternal cycle of life, death, rebirth… Perhaps each sword had its own sword intent?
With the Enlightenment Card’s effect, Fang Lang fell into deep thought. However, he had not experienced any sword intent from the Blooming Lotus Sword.
The sword intent of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword is time.
How should he conceptualize the sword intent of time?
Fang Lang stood up with his hand on the handle of the Reincarnating Lotus Sword as he pondered for a long time.
The gentle breeze made the stream ripple.
The moment Fang Lang reopened his eyes, a ferocious blade force shot out from his body and he pulled out the Reincarnating Sword that was planted in the ground in one swift motion!
Fang Lang frowned.
In order to understand the sword intent of time, he needed to capture time itself. But, how was he going to do that?
Fang Lang scanned around. He tried to walk out of the shed to look for more clues.
However, Fang Lang found himself walking back to the shed as if he was imprisoned here.
He could not leave this place. After exiting the shed, no matter how long he traveled, he would always return to the front of the shed as it was an endless cycle.
Fang Lang sat down worriedly.
After pondering for a long time, he stood up.
He started practicing sword fighting, revising all the techniques that he learned from his cultivation.
Sword Draw Technique, Spirit Step, Finger Flick Energy Wave…
These techniques brought Fang Lang to the top, allowing him to excel in the Imperial examination.
Sword Thunder, Lotus Blade…
Fang Lang whirled the sword and practiced in front of the shed.
Time continued to move around Fang Lang. He practiced during the day and rested at night.
Fang Lang continued to practice his sword, and slowly…
Fang Lang could sense the taste of time.
He started to age and his skin wrinkled as he lost energy and vitality.
He used his body to bear the elapsed time.
He managed to capture time using his body as a vessel.
The aging of his body was the realistic reflection of time.
Fang Lang had gotten older, but he noticed that his sword seemed to be more matured after he captured time and stored it in his body.
He tried to weld time into the sword intent.
He was still practicing sword fighting. Sword Draw Technique, Spirit Step, Finger Flick Energy Wave…
His sword techniques were getting better after repeating them day by day, year after year.
20 years, 50 years, 70 years, 100 years…
Until one day, he could no longer wield the sword anymore.
He had absorbed too much time.
Fang Lang’s eyes turned murky. He stabbed the Reincarnating Lotus Sword back into the ground.
Fang Lang sat cross-legged and his head lowered beside the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. The sounds of the wind, rain and bamboo forests seemed to fade gradually.
Fang Lang was about to hibernate in time.
All of a sudden, Fang Lang opened his eyes in the middle of the silent world. He noticed a ray of light and struggled to stand on his feet. He grabbed onto the Reincarnating Lotus Sword and gathered all of his remaining energy and hurled his sword one last time in the tug-of-war with time.
After wielding the sword, the wrinkles on his face started to disappear.
It was as if time-traveled backward, returning the strength to his body. Fang Lang struck the sword once more…
It was as if he sliced through the body that acted as the vessel of time.
He was no longer old, and his hunchback reverted to its usual upright position.
Another strike.
His younger self was wielding the sword under the brilliant sun as if he had never left.
…
‘Ding! Congratulations host for retrieving the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. Silver Reward Egg awarded into the inventory. Please check.’
The notification rang inside Fang Lang’s mind.
Fang Lang was still sitting cross-legged where he ignored the notification.
His eyes remained shut. The sword intent seed in his energy center cyclone started to sprout and bloom into a flower—Sword Intent Flower.
In the sea of blade energy, a gorgeous white figure on the serene lotus smiled proudly.
…
Huang Zhihe’s robe billowed in the air as countless small blades flew his body into the sky, where he battled with Zhao Zhenshi within the layer of clouds.
On the other side, the five elders of the Main Path Guild surrounded the carriage on the path at the base of the mountain.
Zhao Wuji stood above the carriage with a serious expression. His vital energy as a fifth-class martial arts master was on full force like a ring of fire burning brightly in the night sky.
However, the energy hit on the five elders was like a gentle breeze.
The five elders lifted their hands and rune discs appeared between their palms. A ray of light shot out from the rune discs and intertwined together. The five-colored mana channeled into the rune and formed a five-sided cage that trapped the carriage inside.
Zhao Wuji roared furiously.
As a fifth-class martial arts master in the god-tier energy refinement realm, he roared like a vicious tiger.
The intimidating sound wave slammed onto the cage formed by the rune but it remained unharmed!
The cage started to shrink, thickening the atmosphere inside it.
The pressure was so intense as though it was about to crush the coach and trap Fang Lang, Ni Wen and Zhao Wuji in it!
When everyone thought that the three of them had nowhere else to escape, a gentle breeze flipped open the curtains of the carriage, revealing Fang Lang, who was sitting quietly inside.
They saw the Reincarnating Lotus Sword hovering above Fang Lang thighs.
When Fang Lang opened his eyes, the tip of the sword turned around and aimed towards the cage!
Outside the carriage, the five elders frowned.
They watched as Fang Lang raised his hand and flicked on the Reincarnating Lotus Sword.
Instantly, the Reincarnating Lotus Sword vibrated slightly before it shot out with thousand years worth of Main Path Guild’s reserve contained inside and slammed onto the cage made by the runes cast by the five elders.