Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain

The Sword Tomb of Spirit Sword Sect had not been opened for many years. This isolated mountain peak was like an illusion that did not exist in reality, looming in the mists of the mountain. In the past hundred years, neither the disciple of Spirit Sword Sect nor the Elders of Heavenly Sword Hall had ever entered the Sword Tomb.

However, there were many legends about the Sword Tomb, especially among the Outer Court disciples. For example, there was a disciple who accidentally took the wrong path while flying on the mountains and entered the Sword Tomb. There, in that lifeless place, he saw a white-haired ghost. The white-haired ghost had the outline of human beings, but his whole body was filled with death aura, which caused that Xudan Stage disciple to immediately faint on the spot. When he woke up, he was already on Carefree Peak. Although there was no scar on his body, there seemed to be something missing in his mind. What happened before was only vaguely remembered by him, even the course of events was fuzzy to him. When he found Hua Yun and asked her about it, he was locked in a small dark room for a month in the name of violating the sect rule of trespassing on the forbidden area.

However, the legend of the white-haired ghost gradually spread. Hence, people had been talking about the identity of the white-haired ghost. Some people said that he was the former leader who was imprisoned by the Elders of Heavenly Sword Hall. Everything was confidential about the coup, and anyone who made a rash inquiry was bound to be killed. It was also said that it was the remnant souls of the thousand of the sword spirits in the Sword Tomb. Although it was scattered every day when the sun rose and the Yang energy pervaded, it gathered Yin energy at night. Of course, the most mainstream view was that this person was the Tenth Elder of Heavenly Sword Hall, who had existed for more than a hundred years in name, but no one had ever seen him in person.

The legend of the Tenth Elder of Spirit Sword Sect was one of the so-called ten wonders of Spirit Sword Sect. The other legends, for example, were the new dishes in the cafeteria of Misty Peak, the white-haired ghost in the Sword Tomb, and what was left of the moral of the Non-Phase Peak. The more experienced cultivator had tried to carefully calculate the possible identity of the Tenth Elder. For example, he was ranked the tenth amongst the Elders, so he should be behind Hua Yun. However, according to historical records, Hua Yun was the youngest cultivator of that generation, so much so that she didn’t even participate in that management trainee program. Those who entered the sect later were grouped as the next generation disciples and not included in the sequence of Heavenly Sword Hall members. So, where did the Tenth Elder come from then?

Some people said that the Tenth Elder was just a fictional character and the significance of his existence was that he could reasonably withdraw a certain amount of expense from the Sixth Elder Lu Li who acted as the treasury. However, it was too ridiculous to weave such an identity just to obtain sect funds… Some people said that the Tenth Elder was a vacant position and that the best of the next generation disciple would be selected to fill it. However, this explanation became moot after Wang Lu gained fame. Wang Lu’s authority was already high enough, but he wasn’t selected as the Tenth Elder. Instead, he still acted like a disciple.

The legend about the Sword Tomb and the Tenth Elder was so popular that when the Elders of Heavenly Sword Hall appeared outside the Sword Tomb, there were many disciples who came to look.

“The Sect Leader is going to enter the Sword Tomb to catch the demon!”

“Has the finance of the Spirit Sword Sect collapsed and you want to sell those things inside the Sword Tomb?”

“Did Fifth Aunt hide inside the Sword Tomb after getting into trouble? Is this the new encirclement and suppression campaign launched by Heavenly Sword Hall?”

Listening to the murmuring voices, Fang He was livid, trembling with anger. But, Liu Xian hurriedly persuaded him to restrain himself. However, as a selfless Elder in charge of punishment, he had to record all these daring cubs and calculate the ledger in the future.

Feng Yin himself sighed and said, “No need to raise the issue with these children, for them to be able to laugh freely at this time, isn’t it worth admiring for?”

In the face of the Fallen Immortal crisis, the vast majority of the cultivators were gloomy. Even if the Golden King’s victory has just been ushered in not long ago, they still could not change the overall situation. Thus, it was a wonder that the disciples of Spirit Sword Sect were still alive and kicking.

However, what the Elders were about to do was inconvenient to watch. Thus, after dispersing those good disciples, Feng Yin, with a trace of exhaustion, chanted the formula and opened the seal outside the Sword Tomb–Since the disciple entered this place by mistake decades ago, a threshold was put in place. The seal of the Sword Tomb burst open with a distorted sharp sound.

Feng Yin was a bit confused and said, “Hey, this seal seems to be a bit different.”

Liu Xian said, “It’s not surprising that some changes have taken place after so many years of being influenced by the lifelessness of the Sword Tomb… Let’s go in and talk inside.”

When they entered the Sword Tomb, they soon felt the cold temperature. Outside on Spirit Sword Mountain, it was still scorching hot summer. However, the inside of the Sword Tomb was like a late autumn. This was the place where the Spirit Sword Sect buried their swords for thousands of years. The dead swords naturally gathered the surrounding Yin element, and over the years, it became quite abundant.

“But, compared to last time, it seems to have eased a lot.”

Zhou Ming nodded his head and said, “Yes, although the Yin energy is heavy, the lifelessness aura has subsided by a lot.”

Hua Yun asked, “Could it be that Martial Brother Zhang Sheng has untied the knot in his heart in the past few years?”

The others looked at each other, and then they all shook their heads helplessly. Only these old people knew what was the knot in Zhang Sheng’s heart. It was a strong obsession that could turn the Yin energy of the Sword Tomb into intense lifelessness. With his temperament, wanting to get out of the shadow and untie the knot was easier said than done.

“Senior Brother Zhang Sheng is so hard-headed, it’s clearly not his fault.” Hua Yun pursed her lips, somewhat feeling otherwise.

“There are some things that you don’t know. Zhang Sheng is just blaming himself?” Recalling the past, the several Elders were full of sadness. Zhang Sheng was consumed by the heart demon, the most important reason was that woman… Because he was trapped by love, no one could really do anything about it. After that cataclysm event, no one came to Spirit Sword Mountain without losing anything. Zhang Sheng sealed himself in the Sword Tomb, claiming that his sin was inexcusable and he was ashamed to see others. But who really blamed him? It just didn’t make sense. Later, when the Heavenly Sword Hall was organized, and Feng Yin invited Zhang Sheng out of seclusion, he only promised that he would take action when Spirit Sword Sect was in a critical situation. However, when the order of the Elders was made, he strongly asked to rank himself at the last. In a sense, Zhang Sheng was really a very awkward person.

“But, looking at the surrounding atmosphere, maybe he really wants to open up a little?”

With doubts, several of them kept going deep into the Sword Tomb. Soon, they saw a hut. A white-haired cultivator at the door looked at the crowd with a smile and then cupped his hands.

“Greetings, Senior Brothers and Sister.”

Feng Yin and the others were a bit in disbelief. After a moment, they exclaimed, “Zhang Sheng, it’s really you!”

The person in front of them was quite different than the one they visited decades ago! At that time, Zhang Sheng had been depressed for a long time and it was manifested in his appearance. His handsome face was distorted, making him unlike a human being… At that time, the disciple was not joking about seeing a white-haired ghost. However, at this time, Zhang Sheng, except for his white hair, still has the same handsome face from more than a hundred years ago. Where did his depression go? On the contrary, he looked much younger than the overworked Elders like Feng Yin and Liu Xian!

So, was it really true that during his seclusion in the Sword Tomb, he had managed to untie the knot in his heart? If this was true, then this was splendid!

However, before they could exchange greetings with him—Zhang Sheng nodded to the side and said, “Come on, Lu, meet some of my Senior Brothers and Sister.”

When they heard these words, the several people were startled. How could there be someone beside Zhang Sheng?

“Senior Brothers, Senior Sister, this is Lu, my beloved daoist partner. Do you guys recognize her?”

Feng Yin and the others were dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. Of course, they still had an impression of that poison removal doctor. Even after two hundred years, she was still fresh in their memories. However… The Lu that they remembered was not invisible and transparent!

“Ah, silly me.” Zhang Sheng shook his head with a smile and said, “I forget that you guys can’t see her.”

“Can’t see her?” Feng Yin became more confused. Even after he scanned the surrounding area with his Stellar Divine Eyes, he didn’t see any other existence.

Zhang Sheng patted his chest and said, “My wife has been living in my heart.”

“… What?”

“Well, how should I say it?” Zhang Sheng raised his head, somewhat embarrassed, “In the words you guys can understand, my wife only exists in my imagination. It is my imagination that gave her life… Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy. You don’t need to pity me, because I’ve got what I want. For me, she is right in front of my eyes and every smile is the same as hers at that time. Being with her is the greatest happiness of my life.”

Then he stretched out his arm and gently held a mass of air.

Hua Yun was tongue-tied, “B-but others…”

Zhang Sheng looked at the air in his arms with pity and love and said, “Well, no one in the world can see her except me, but why do I need other people’s opinions? My life with her is enough as long as we are satisfied.”

Those remarks from Zhang Sheng were probably not the first time he said it. They were spoken so fluently and smoothly that people couldn’t refute them. Of course, Feng Yin and others didn’t refute them either.

Being able to cut off the knot in the heart was really more important than anything else. Even if it was self-deception… They really didn’t want to see him looking like a ghost.

But at this time, Zhou Ming suddenly remembered something and asked, “Zhang Sheng, did you think of this method yourself?”

Hearing this, Zhang Sheng said with a smile, “Senior Brother knows me really well. How could I come up with such a wonderful idea when I was basically living like a dead man? At that time, I was too overwhelmed with sadness and my thought for Lu was distorted. In fact, I couldn’t remember her true appearance. It was only with the help of someone that I could extricate myself.”

“Someone helped you?”

Everyone was shocked again. For decades, no one came in and out of the Sword Tomb. So, who sneaked into the Sword Tomb and helped him come up with this idea?

Feng Yin said, “… If we think about it carefully, there won’t be anyone else. It must be Wang Lu.”

Zhang Sheng was slightly stunned, “Wang Lu? Who is he?”

“Wait, you don’t know Wang Lu?”

“Should I know him?” Zhang Sheng was curious, and then asked the air beside him, “Is he your acquaintance? No?”

Turning his head again, Zhang Sheng said, “Anyway… It’s the Fifth Senior Sister who helped the two of us be together.”

“How could it be?”