The Sword Boat of Aoyama on Bihu Peak had been anchored at the West Ocean for many days. Chen Youtian was a cautious and meticulous person, so he wouldn't miss anything. He had indeed found many magic treasures of the Western Sea Sword School, but he hadn't found the First Child Sword. It was evident that something was wrong.
"I don't know how many days you have been hiding on that island, and I don't know what method you used to deceive Qing 'er; but I know it's in your hands."
Jing Jiu continued, "If Bai Zhenren doesn't investigate it for a while, he will remember it sooner or later. Will you give it to him or not? So you simply ran away. "
This was a provocative statement, and a malicious conjecture.
Tong Yan pulled back her gaze and resumed playing chess, saying nothing.
"That sword is mine. It has always been mine," said Jing Jiu.
Many years ago, the Immortal Daoyuan brought Jing Jiu to Aoyama from Zhaoge City.
A few years later, the Immortal Daoyuan was killed by Nan Qü's sneak-attack. Before his death, he cut down Nan Qü's Dao Tree and snatched the First Child Sword, and gave it to Jing Jiu.
Three hundred years ago, Jing Jiu gave it to the new Emperor, who had just lost his father, as a consolation to celebrate his ascension to the throne a few years ago.
Jing Jiu was right. The First Child Sword had always been his. Now that Nan Qü was dead, it should be his even more. If it were before, when the First Child Sword still had a mark on it, Jing Jiu wouldn't have to ask Tong Yan. However, the First Child Sword had been tempered once when Pei Baifa killed Xiwang Sun, and the mark had disappeared.
Tong Yan lifted her head and asked Jing Jiu, perhaps because she had sensed the attitude in Jing Jiu's calm tone. "What's in it for me?"
Jing Jiu said, "You can choose any of the secret swords of the nine peaks."
"I'm cultivating the magic methods," said Tong Yan.
The best magic methods in the world were all in the Zhongzhou School, which the Aoyama Sect admitted as well.
Tong Yan continued, "… Now that I'm a disciple of Aoyama, shouldn't I get the treatment I deserve?"
…
…
Haizhou City was extremely desolate at the moment. There were few pedestrians on the streets, and the hotpot restaurant where Yin San and the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect had been closed.
Although the war between the Cultivation sects took place in the sky, the aftermath was enough to change many things in the human world.
Chen Youtian sat on the city tower and frowned slightly when he saw the box that his disciple had sent over.
There was a huge Ocean Pearl in the box, and it was extremely precious. However, he still could not understand why the Faction valued it so much that they wanted him to personally send it back to Aoyama.
It was found in the ruins of the Western Sea Sword School by the disciples of Bihu Peak. After it was numbered, it was placed in the Sword Boat, and it was not taken out until now.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. Chen Youtian rode on his sword and flew up.
This time, the Ocean Pearl did not need to travel thousands of miles, nor did it need to be hidden in the belly of a fish, and then sent into Aoyama by the Gu Clan.
A few days later, the box containing the Ocean Pearl returned to Aoyama. It was brought back to Shenmo Peak by Yuan Qu after a turn at the Shanghai Peak.
Jing Jiu sat by the cliff's edge and took over the box. He opened it under the curious gazes of Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka.
Looking at the large ocean pearl emitting a gloomy and cold glow in the box and sensing the energy of heaven and earth contained in it, Ping Yongjia couldn't help but feel moved. Looking at the amulets carved on the box, Ping Yongjia remarked sentimentally, "Fortunately, there is a formation on this box; otherwise, the demons and the heretical sects would fight for it if the energy of heaven and earth leaked out."
Yuan Qu glanced at him mockingly and said, "It was sent back by Senior Master Chen Youtian in person. Who would dare to have any wild thoughts about it?"
The white cat glanced at him mockingly, thinking, "What do you know?"
Jing Jiu took out the Ocean Pearl and tossed it to the white cat to play with. He exerted some force with his left hand, and the sword wills burst out, breaking the formation attached to the box.
Crack!!! The wooden box broke into pieces, exposing a flying sword hidden inside.
Jing Jiu picked up the flying sword and sensed the chilly sensation coming from the sword, saying, "Tong Yan's skill in the formation is quite good."
This box had been hidden in the treasure room on Shaoming Island the entire time. As it could evade Yin San's perception, the formation attached to it was not only good, but also very good.
It wasn't until now that Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka realized what was going on. Looking at the obviously extraordinary flying sword, they were stunned, asking, "What kind of sword is this?"
"The First Child Sword," replied Jing Jiu.
Hearing this answer, Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka were even more shocked.
The white cat placed the Ocean Pearl in a crack by the cliff's edge and put Cold Cicada on it.
The surface of the Ocean Pearl was very smooth, so Cold Cicada had a hard time standing on it; it kept sliding down.
Every time it was about to fall to the bottom, the white cat would reach out his paw to push it back.
"Whom are you going to give this sword to?" asked Zhao Layue.
Back in Guiyun City, she had used this flying sword to pierce through Lo Huainan's body, so she had a deep impression of it.
Hearing this, the white cat turned his head to look at Cold Cicada.
Pah!!! Cold Cicada fell to the ground, its belly facing up.
This was the answer that everybody was curious about.
The Thoughtless Sword was given to Zhao Layue.
The Lone Sword was on Liu Shisui's side, and the West Ocean's side had made it clear.
The Sword of the Universe was left for Gu Qing.
A cat didn't use a sword.
Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka were the only two people left on the Shenmo Peak.
Thinking of a possibility, the two of them eyed each other and saw the ecstasy in each other's eyes.
Soon, a bucket of cold water was poured on them.
"It's not for you," said Jing Jiu.
Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka uttered "Oh" honestly, not feeling disappointed.
Jing Jiu waved his hand to signal for them to leave.
Yuan Qu and Ping Yong-Ka walked toward the Daoist Hall, talking to each other in a low voice.
Sitting by the cliff's edge, Jing Jiu looked at the distant horizon, swinging his feet.
However, his legs weren't long enough, so he couldn't touch the ocean of clouds.
"At least you have a better eye for choosing disciples than Taiping Zhenren. There's nothing to be unhappy about."
The white cat comforted Jing Jiu through his spiritual awareness.
Jing Jiu didn't pay any attention to the cat. He was still looking at the horizon in Silence.
It was quiet by the cliff's edge.
Silence usually meant depression.
Cold Cicada rubbed its limbs gingerly, making a faint sound, reminding the others that it was still facing up.
It could turn itself over, but it wasn't sure if it should show its belly to make Jing Jiu happy, so it asked for permission.
The white cat turned it over with his paw, wondering why it was acting like this since it was not a cat.
Everybody could tell that Jing Jiu was in a bad mood, and they knew the reason; but they couldn't comfort him.
"Don't feel bad."
Looking at the part of Jing Jiu's earlobe that had been cut off by Nan Qü, the white cat said, "You have a pair of protruding ears anyway. It's better to cut off a part of that ear to make it symmetrical."
The cat thought that it was impossible for him to cut it off, unless Jing Jiu did it himself, or asked Zhao Layue to pull it off every day.
As the cat was thinking of this, Zhao Layue raised her hand and rubbed Jing Jiu's damaged earlobe gently. Her black and white eyes were not as cold as usual, but full of heartache.
What she felt heartache for was not the earlobe, but something else.
The expression on Jing Jiu's face grew softer, probably because he felt comfortable being rubbed.
Jing Jiu reached out his hand and rubbed the white cat's head.
The white cat felt comfortable as well. He reached out his paw and pulled Cold Cicada into his bosom.
The gentle wind blew over the cliff. The ocean of clouds rippled even though no feet could reach into the cliff.
"I'm going to stay behind closed doors," said Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue knew why Jing Jiu wanted to stay behind closed doors, saying, "Me too."
…
…
Fang Jingtian had already started to stay behind closed doors before the people of Shenmo Peak started to stay behind closed doors.
He was already in the upper limit of the Broken Sea State, and had a chance to enter the Heavenly Arrival State. If he stayed behind closed doors to break through the Heavenly Arrival State, nobody could tell when he would come out.
The disciples of Xilai Peak were quite expectant, but the elders of Xilai Peak who knew the inside story remained silent.
Soon after, Guangyuan Zhenren started to stay behind closed doors, as did the peak master of Yunxing, and the swordsmen of other peaks. Guo Nanshan and the others of Liangwang Peak had also started to stay behind closed doors. In the end, even Nan Wang and those female disciples of Qingrong Peak had started to stay behind closed doors.
Everyone understood why this was the case.
The current Aoyama Sect could be said to be invincible in the world, but the sky was still covered by a layer of shadow.
The spring rain would fall one day.
Nan Wang stayed behind closed doors, and Qingrong Peak didn't pursue the summer thunder, autumn wind, winter snow, or the spring rain anymore. The Great Formation of Aoyama was fully activated, which was no different from sealing off the mountain.
The peaks were unusually quiet, but they were not like graves, because they were not deathly still. A force was slowly accumulating in the deep end of the silence.
…
…
Two years later, in the middle of summer, Jing Jiu walked out of his manor cave.
According to the habit of staying behind closed doors at Shenmo Peak, Zhao Layue, Yuan Qu, and Ping Yong-Ka should have woken up by now; but Jing Jiu had something to do by himself this time, so he didn't disturb them.
He spread out his Sword Discernment to check the situation in the peaks. The monkeys had welcomed some new lives, and some old people had been sent away; but the horse grazing on the slope was still in high spirits.
The white cat was sleepy by the cliff's edge, and Cold Cicada was dozing off on his head. The large ocean pearl had rolled down to somewhere at the bottom of the cliff.
Yuan Qu was still in the process of breaking through the Free Travel State, and Ping Yong-Ka's Cultivation state was even lower; but he had improved so quickly without a sword; his talent was indeed outstanding.
His Sword Discernment reached the deep end of the manor cave, and he found that Zhao Layue had abundant spiritual energy and restrained sword wills, indicating that she was at the critical moment of breaking through the upper state of the Free Travel. He was a bit surprised.
Back when she was pursuing Taiping Zhenren at the Guocheng Temple, she had broken through the Free Travel State by force. How many years had passed since then?
Zhuo Rusui was probably the only person in the Aoyama Sect who had such a talent.
Zhuo Rusui had fought many battles in the Dao Competition, and his sword wills had become sharper. He was on the verge of crossing the threshold in recent years.
It was unclear whether Liu Shisui would catch up with them after his internal injury was cured in Yimaozhai.
Thinking that these young people were so diligent in their Cultivation and had improved so quickly, Jing Jiu thought he should make use of the time to break through the new state.
He had something to do before breaking through the new state.
Jing Jiu went to the Shangde Peak and landed at the bottom of the well along with the sunlight.
The Dead Dog opened his eyes and looked at him, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.
Jing Jiu nodded to the Dead Dog and walked into the deep end of the Sword Jail.
Jing Jiu and the Snow Girl in the cell stared at each other for a while through the passageway, layers of sword wills, and the door.
Next, he went to the hermit peaks and ascertained that Fang Jingtian was behind closed doors and hadn't been released by the Dead Dog in secret, and nothing unusual had happened to him.
To his surprise, he found that Tong Yan, who was also behind closed doors, also showed a sign of breaking through the new state.
The Aoyama Sect didn't have the help of the magic methods of the Cloud-Dream Mountain, and they didn't have any suitable magic pills; but under the circumstances, Tong Yan's Cultivation speed didn't slow down at all.
Jing Jiu left the hermit peaks and returned the way he had come.
Yuan Qijing was waiting for him by the well.
"Have you recovered from your injury?" asked Jing Jiu.
Yuan Qijing didn't pay any attention to him.
A figure in the Heavenly Arrival State, even if he was severely wounded by Nan Qü sneak-attacked, could be cured after staying behind closed doors for two years as long as his Dao Tree was still standing.
His line of sight fell on Jing Jiu, as he said, "Yes."
"I've always been able to do it," said Jing Jiu.
Yuan Qijing sneered once.
Jing Jiu was aware that he was not in a good mood.
Any Cultivation practitioner would feel a sense of defeat when they saw Jing Jiu's Cultivation speed.
Even someone like Yuan Qijing, who had witnessed it twice, couldn't understand it.
He really couldn't understand it. Cultivation wasn't something that could be done better just because you were familiar with it. How could it be possible to be faster every time?
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