Chapter 473: Chapter 246: Eradicating Treachery and Evil, Aiding the Distressed and Vulnerable
It is said that fourteen dynasties ago, south of Mount Kuaiji, there was a Yue maid, said to be the Profound Lady descended from the Ninth Heaven, skilled in swordsmanship.
The Monarch of Yue heard her name and thus ordered the high official to personally go to the Southern Mountain, inviting her to be the military instructor.
The Profound Lady taught the art of battle formations, the Gentleman Sword techniques in the army, eventually training six thousand Gentleman Army.
Thereafter, the Monarch of Yue’s confidence soared, and he ordered the Gentleman Army of six thousand to march straight into Wu kingdom. At that time, Wu kingdom possessed three thousand Fish Gut swords, which were unparalleled, yet before the Gentleman Army, they were like paper mache, easily defeated.
The Monarch of Yue conquered the Wu kingdom and finally believed the reputation of the Yue maid. However, when the Monarch of Yue sent envoys again to visit the Southern Mountain, they couldn’t find any trace of the Yue maid.
Turning to another tale, several years ago, King Gong of Chu while hunting at Jing Mountain had an incident with a white ape who had practiced cultivation for many years, taking eighteen arrows from King Gong without injury.
The king was thus enraged and commanded Yong Zhi, Chu’s first divine archer, to scour the mountain and shoot the ape. The white ape, having heard of Yong Zhi’s divine archery fame for long, fled overnight to Baigong Cave on Yunmeng Mountain, immersing in cultivation.
Later, King Gong of Chu ordered the soldiers to set fire to the mountain, intending to force the white ape to appear, yet to no avail. To this day, there remains the legend of the white ape of Chu lost, causing havoc in the woods.
And that white ape later followed the Yue maid to learn Yue maid swordsmanship, and even guessed her true identity, worshipping the Profound Lady as his teacher, ascending to immortality as Yuan Gong.
Now, Yuan Gong has passed this sword technique, along with the method of cultivating with the Sword Pill, to Xuan Yu.
Xuan Yu naturally loved round objects like yarn balls, and upon seeing those round and smooth Sword Pills that appeared like dough made glutinous rice balls, the entire cat almost revealed its true form!
This thing looks so perfect for playing with!
Yuan Gong thought the cat had recognized the power of the Sword Pill, feeling quite proud. After all, these were the foundational skills taught by the Profound Lady; the little cat before him being amazed was only natural.
But when Xuan Yu caught the two Sword Pills, Yuan Gong saw the girl treating them just like seasoned gamers at the Flower and Bird Market, playing with them like walnuts!
"..."
"What are you doing?!" Even with a good temper, Yuan Gong showed some anger.
These were creations formed by the sword intent left by the Profound Lady when she descended to the earthly realm; how could they be played with like walnuts?
Xuan Yu didn’t understand, wasn’t a ball meant for playing?
"These are the male and female swords, not devices for amusement."
Xuan Yu’s demeanor reminded Yuan Gong of his former self.
When the Profound Lady first took out the Sword Pills, he also thought they were not very impressive.
Two round balls, even though made of silver, weighed only a few ounces, not worth anything. If they were two shots, without a slingshot, they were of no use.
At first, Yuan Gong looked down upon the objects, thinking the Profound Lady was teasing him for fun, until...
"Watch carefully!"
Yuan Gong gathered his thoughts, opened his mouth and blew a breath onto the Sword Pills, shouting ’swift’, the next moment, the Sword Pills erupted with brilliant light, Yuan Gong manipulating them in the air, they danced like agile golden snakes, in the blink of an eye bursting forth with ten thousand beams!
Xuan Yu’s fur stood on end, feeling as if surrounded by the sound of thousands of blades clashing and colliding, though in an illusion, she felt as if in a frigid cavern, enveloped by fierce, biting sword winds and sword qi.
The cat was utterly shocked; who knew walnuts could be played into sword intent, truly only heavenly immortals knew how to play!
"I want to learn this! I want to learn this!"
With these words, it was clear how much Xuan Yu liked this sword technique.
"These two Sword Pills are male and female swords cultivated by immortals, secretly aligned with yin and yang. If mastered to great perfection, the sword light can shrink to minute levels, and expand to challenge the sun and moon. Once the light is collected, they resemble ordinary lead balls, but when unleashed..."
Yuan Gong chuckled and said, "One can thread through thousands of troops effortlessly. Also, can traverse thousands of miles, fly swords to strike demons, without missing!"
After saying that, Yuan Gong routinely put away the Sword Pills, leaving only a wisp of sword intent left by Profound Lady to Xuan Yu, letting her carefully understand and comprehend it.
This is the legacy.
However, the sword intent Profound Lady left in this realm is only enough for one consumption. When Xuan Yu comprehends the sword intent and refines her own Sword Pill, the Yue maid sword technique might completely disappear in the earthly realm.
Yuan Gong doesn’t feel regretful; this sword comes from beyond the heavens, essentially not belonging to the world. Now that he has found suitable persons to pass this sword technique, he has fulfilled his long-held wish.
Looking back now, the vision he once set to pass the teachings to thousands, letting everyone have methods to cultivate and paths to walk, was quite naive.
The opportunities of the world are finite, like this Yue maid sword technique, without the legacy of sword intent left by Profound Lady, who could master and fathom it?
Growing a forest from mere trees already seems impossible; now Yuan Gong has only one wish—that one day the seeds he has sown, limited as they were, will grow into towering trees, shading a hundred forests...
In cultivation, years pass like a breath; Xu Qing and Xuan Yu ponder and exercise spells at Moonlight Stream day and night, with Xuan Yu having condensed the Demon Core, needing no food, replenishing herself with moonlight and morning dew.
Only Xu Qing occasionally would burn two sticks of incense, sitting alongside Yuan Gong’s stone statue by the stream, while smoking Spirit Incense, casually chatting idly.
Xu Qing told many worldly tales of the era of calamities, while Yuan Gong talked to him about the landscapes and sceneries of the upper realm. Though the lands and characters they spoke of were completely different, the rebellion implied in their words was curiously the same.
"The dog Emperor is debauched and neglects duties, as long as the Emperor endorses it, the As-You-Wish Temple is unstoppable..."