Many years ago, the Inherited Heaven Sword came back from overseas, and Liu Ci turned into the spring rain. As a result, the position of the sect master of Aoyama Sect was vacant. Jing Jiu said that he would take over. Unexpectedly, Fang Jingtian went to the Heavenly Arrival Realm among the wild flowers on the mountain. Taiping Zhenren asked Apiao to write a letter, forcing him out of Aoyama.
Jing Jiu lived in Scenery Garden outside Cloudy Town for a while. Many Cultivation practitioners in the world came to visit him, but only two people could enter Scenery Garden and see him. They were Zhou Yunmu and Lu Jin of the Mysterious Heaven Sect. People thought that they must have obtained some great benefits, whether it was magic methods or magic pills.
It was a sin to possess a jade pendant. After they left Scenery Garden, they were hunted down by those jealous people. Fortunately, they were protected by the disciples of Liangwang Peak and Su Ziye. In the following one hundred years, the deviant sects were on the decline, and the situation in the Cultivation circle gradually calmed down. Those who had been watching the Mysterious Heaven Sect didn't find anything special about this pair of master and disciple, so they gradually relaxed and forgot about it. In fact, they did take something away from Scenery Garden.
Even Zhao Layue didn't know about it.
That black board was neither the token of the sect master of Aoyama Sect nor the emerald green life board of the Dark Phoenix. It was unclear what it was used for.
Lu Jin took the black board and felt it was quite heavy, asking, "Shall we go now?"
Zhou Yunmu said, "If this board is really an extraordinary treasure, it will probably cause a great disturbance. You stay in the sect, and I'll go there."
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One early morning, the morning glow dyed the sky red.
Clouds suddenly appeared in the eastern sky, redder than the morning glow. However, they didn't have the bloody intent of the Thoughtless Sword; instead, they had a tranquil Zen aura.
The sword chime broke out in the sky outside the Three-Thousand Nunnery. The morning glow was brightened by the sword light. It seemed that the swordsmen of Aoyama Sect were on their way here.
The lotus cloud illuminated the newly bloomed flowers in the lotus pond, and also illuminated the small bridge. With a light thud, a pair of pure white lotus feet landed on the bridge.
Zhao Layue, Zhuo Rusui, Yuan Qu and Que Niang bowed to the monk who still looked like a child on the bridge, "Greetings, Zen Master."
Zen Master took a detour to Dayuan City on his way back from the Huge Maelstrom. His monastic robe was full of cuts made by the sea breeze and salt flakes.
Liu Shisui asked, "Is everything okay over there?"
"Your teacher is finishing up over there."
The Zen Master walked down the wooden bridge and entered the meditation room. The fingers of his right hand spread slightly, forming a mirror of light.
The morning light from the sky seeped in through the door and window. Through the condensation of the light mirror, hundreds of slowly rotating scriptures were reflected and fell on Jing Jiu's body.
Seeing the scene, Zhao Layue and the others didn't say anything to disturb him, and they didn't have too much hope either. After a long while, the Zen Master retrieved the mirror of light and said while shaking his head, "His sword source is completely gone, like his spirit blood has run out. Normally, he should be dead by now."
This was the same as Jian Xilai's initial judgment.
The Zen Master continued, "However, the Immortal has the ability to change heaven and earth, and he also has the ability to cut through life and death. I'm not sure what method he used to retain a sliver of sword will in the deepest part of his body."
"If the sliver of sword will was prepared by the Sect Master a long time ago, why hasn't he woken up yet?" asked Zhuo Rusui in bafflement.
"It's because he was wounded too severely. In other words, he fought harder than he imagined in this battle to save the world." Looking at Jing Jiu's face and his eyelashes ruffled by the morning wind, Zen Master couldn't figure out why Jing Jiu would do so. "His spiritual soul is in a deep sleep right now, so he can't enter the Green Sky Mirror."
The pleasant chirping of birds could be heard outside the window, which was the approval of the Blue Bird on the tree branch.
Zhuo Rusui said helplessly, "We of course know that he is in a deep sleep. What we want to know is why he can't wake up."
"Have you ever wondered what his spiritual soul is to this body if his body is transformed by the All in One Sword?" the Zen Master turned to Zhao Layue and asked.
Zhao Layue replied, "It's … a guest staying here temporarily."
She had thought of this question a long time ago, which was why she was so wary of Ping Yong-Ka and left the East Ocean for the snowland with Jing Jiu, but she didn't want to go back to Aoyama.
As far as the body transformed by the All in One Sword was concerned, Ping Yong-Ka, who didn't dare leave the Sword Peak, was the true master.
"He doesn't know he is a guest even in the dream …"
The Zen Master said while looking around at the crowd, "The Immortal said that he was the direction of all the karma. Is he still the same Jingyang?"
Jian Xilai had also expressed a similar opinion.
In their eyes, the Immortal Jingyang and the current Jing Jiu were the same person, but they were not exactly the same person.
They were not two identical rivers, but the upper and lower reaches of the same river.
Could the current Jing Jiu discard the karma of Jingyang and become the real Jing Jiu?
If he could, he might be able to wake up.
Having heard the narration of the Zen Master, Liu Shisui thought about it for a long time, and then said honestly, "I don't understand."
He had read innumerable files in the Cloud Platform, listened to the scriptures for many years in the Guocheng Temple, and read many books in Yimaozhai. Though he still looked like a dark-skinned peasant youth, he was in fact the most knowledgeable Cultivation practitioner of this generation. If he couldn't understand what the Zen Master was saying, neither could Zhuo Rusui and the others.
"In fact, I don't quite understand it myself. This is something that happened to him. Perhaps … he is the only one who understands it."
Zen Master looked at the sleeping Jing Jiu again, and continued, "But I'm not worried that he won't wake up. No matter whether he is Jingyang or Jing Jiu, he will of course have a backup plan."
Zhuo Rusui asked, "Didn't you say that the Immortal Sect Master didn't expect that he would suffer such a severe injury, so he couldn't wake up because of the sword energy?"
Zen Master shot him a glance like he was looking at an idiot, and said, "How could a person as afraid of death as he is have only one backup plan?"
"Did you infer that I didn't know who I am until today?"
Jian Xilai's voice suddenly broke out outside the round window.
"Though I really don't understand it, it's probably what you meant."
Having said that, Zen Master lifted the hem of his monk robe and stepped over the round window. He arrived by the lake and sat on the stone bench by Jian Xilai's side.
His bare feet, which looked like white lotus flowers, dipped into the slightly cold lake water and waved about, attracting many fish to play with him.
Jian Xilai asked, "It's rumored that you were the esteemed and solemn Master Linxi of the Guocheng Temple in your previous life, but you are as playful as a child after reincarnation. What's so special about it?"
Zen Master said, "I've discussed this with the Immortal Jingyang. After the death of my adoptive father, I've gradually remembered some of the memories of my previous life; but is it enough to prove that I am me?"
"It's indeed hard to prove," Jian Xilai said. "Like him, who is he? Is he Jingyang or Jing Jiu? Or who is he willing to be? "
"I really don't understand it. But what you said is correct. I'm indeed a playful person in this life."
Zen Master took out a handful of thin wooden sticks from his sleeve and threw them onto the stone bench between the two of them.
Those thin wooden sticks were placed on the bench carelessly, some of them scattered on the ground. However, if one looked closely, they would find that their structure was extremely complicated, and it would be very difficult to dismantle them.
This was the most common and simplest game played by the children. Jian Xilai knew how to play this game even though he had no interest in worldly affairs and devoted himself to the sword work.
Glancing at Zen Master, he found that the expression in his eyes was very clear and earnest.
After some thought, Jian Xilai reached out his hand and pulled out one of the wooden sticks.
It was neither the one on the top nor the one in the most difficult position; it was just a random one.
The morning wind ruffled the surface of the lake and disturbed the morning sunlight. Two sword lights arrived.
Guangyuan Zhenren and Nan Wang landed by the lake. Zhao Layue and the others also came to the field, their gazes fixed on the stone bench.
They knew that this pile of wooden sticks represented the fight between Zen Master and Jian Xilai.
Zen Master reached out his hand and pulled out a wooden stick.
Jian Xilai suddenly pulled out two sticks at the same time.
Zen Master shot a glance at Jian Xilai.
It was exceedingly quiet by the lake. The morning wind would stop when it came to the stone bench, and nobody would disturb them.
It was a simple game for the children, so it was not difficult for people like Jian Xilai and Zen Master.
It didn't take long for Nan Wang and the others to figure out the real intention of this game.
Every time Zen Master and Jian Xilai drew the wooden sticks, it seemed to be a random choice, but it was actually not the case. They chose the wooden sticks not only to draw out one stick, but also to make the pile of wooden sticks more complicated and more fragile, increasing the difficulty for their opponents. It was more like playing Go than a game of drawing out wooden sticks. And it was not a regular Go game. It was similar to the three-dimensional Go game demonstrated by Jing Jiu on the Chess Board Mountain in Zhaoge City.
It was evident that Que Niang had recalled the scene back then. Her eyes grew exceedingly bright, her expression extremely focused.
… …
… …
As time elapsed, the morning wind was still gentle, and the morning sunlight grew brighter and redder.
It was still quiet by the lake. The two of them drew out the wooden sticks more and more slowly. The expression on Zen Master's face was grave, and Jian Xilai changed his sitting posture. In terms of Cultivation state, Zen Master was a bit inferior to Jian Xilai. However, he had been studying this pile of wooden sticks since he went to Aoyama to seek the Dao from the Immortal Jingyang for one hundred days. As such, he had no idea who would win in the end.
In the end, most of the wooden sticks had been drawn out, either falling to the ground or floating on the surface of the lake.
There were only three lonely and thin wooden sticks on the stone bench, resting on each other, displaying a sense of stability and balance in an indescribable manner.
They looked like the racks of a bonfire, burning slowly in the morning sunlight.
As long as one more wooden stick was drawn out, the remaining two would fall to the ground, unless they used the magic to keep them afloat; but it would be meaningless.
Next, it was Zen Master's turn to play.
Looking at the three wooden sticks on the stone bench, he fell silent for a long time. His bare feet, which looked like a white lotus flower, patted on the surface of the lake lightly, driving away those annoying fish.
"I've lost."
Zen Master said this with a faint smile, like a highly achieved chess player who had given up his chess pieces.
The key to the outcome of this match did not lie in their techniques or choices. Judging from the final result, it was only in the number and sequence of the wooden sticks.
Zen Master put down the pile of wooden sticks. They could count the number of wooden sticks stacked on top of each other, except for the scattered ones.
"Your calculating ability is not inferior to his. Even if he wakes up, he won't be able to defeat you. "
Having said this, Zen Master walked to the surface of the lake. A lotus cloud came out as the lake water moved slightly.
Nan Wang asked while looking at him, "Are you going to leave like this?"
Zen Master said, "I can't defeat him. What else can I do if I don't leave? Let's go back to White Town. "
The morning wind carried the lotus cloud to the sky, heading toward the snowland amidst the morning sunlight.
The crowd pulled back their gazes and looked at Jian Xilai sitting on the stone bench like a statue, feeling a strong sense of defeat.
It was then that the Blue Bird left the tree branch and flew over.
He grabbed a thin wooden stick with each of his claws, lowered his head and pulled out the other stick with his mouth, throwing it aside.
He lifted his head and looked at Jian Xilai, saying proudly, "I've won, right? Shouldn't you leave now? "
Jian Xilai didn't know what to say.
"Don't embarrass yourself."
Zhuo Rusui said seriously, "You are walking on stilts."
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(I wrote some words, but I deleted them after some thought. I wish you all a happy day. I will write more happy words like the one I wrote today. Do your best.)
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