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墨書 Inktalez
On Mount Huashan, the largest event in the cultivation world, the Discussion Conference, has officially begun.
At this moment, the first round of competitions has concluded, and it is now evening.
In a certain grove at the foot of the mountain, a young man is practicing swordsmanship.
The sword light resembles a shooting star and a roaming dragon. With a single swing of his sword, dozens of delicate blue lotus flowers bloom around the sword body in an instant.
After he finishes his set of sword techniques, the White-Browed Elder nods: "Not bad, you've made progress. It seems that after observing for a day, you've gained some insights. Bringing you here was indeed the right decision."
The young man holds his sword and, still feeling unsatisfied, sweeps it left and right in mid-air. Watching as the sword energy slices through three large trees in succession, he says: "Master, I have indeed seen many techniques from different sects today and have gained some understanding. However, based on what I observed today, those disciples from other sects participating in the competition are nothing special. Only that Han Yue from the Xiaoyao Sect truly has some real skills! I really want to compete with him, but unfortunately..."
He shakes his head, revealing his dissatisfaction: "If it weren't for the sect leader's favoritism, I should have been the one to take the stage!"
"Zhen'er," the elder sighs, "you must learn to accept defeat; you cannot think like this. During the selection within the sect, you indeed lost to Li Yuanshan by one move."
"If he weren't relying on the divine weapon granted by the sect leader, how could I have lost to him?" Ye Yunzhen still feels unconvinced. "Master, you know very well that in terms of sword techniques, he is not my match at all!"
The White-Browed Elder—Mo Chen, an elder of the Shattered Star Sect—sees that his disciple has become overly proud recently and douses him with cold water: "Zhen'er, your talent is indeed good, but if you truly believe you are unparalleled, you are mistaken. I have seen someone with even greater talent than yours. Even when he was cultivating, he was very humble."
"Who is it?" Ye Yunzhen cannot help but ask.
"It is..." Mo Chen sighs deeply and hesitates to continue.
Ye Yunzhen quickly realizes: "It's my senior brother who abandoned our sect, right?" He looks down at the icy-clear sword edge and bites his lip in frustration. "Is he really as formidable as rumored?"
Two figures land not far from this master and disciple.
One has a pale face and is so thin that bones are visible; his black robe billows in the wind but carries an invisible aura of authority with every gesture. The other is a dapper young man dressed in fine clothes with eyes like peach blossoms.
Shen Jinglan suddenly says: "Shaoyuan, didn't you always want to act? Now there's a performance for you to put on."
"What kind of performance?" Shaoyuan's eyes light up.
Shen Jinglan smiled, and a sword appeared in his hand. He casually flicked it against Ming Ru Qiu Shui's sword, causing the blade to vibrate and emit a clear sound: "You run, I chase. You are to act as the one being hunted by me—put in some effort to escape; I will indeed make a serious move."
As he spoke, his appearance changed into that of an ordinary-looking middle-aged cultivator.
"Huh?" Shaoyuan had yet to comprehend the situation when he saw the cultivator transformed from Shen Jinglan forming a sword gesture, and with a flash of sword light, a strike came down.
Countless blue lotuses bloomed in the sword light.
This was merely the beginning move, yet its momentum was already astonishing.
Shaoyuan immediately activated Spatial Technique and fled swiftly.
"Who is it?" Ye Yunzhen asked warily.
He was still practicing swordplay in this forest when suddenly someone rushed past like a gust of wind from not far away.
Someone was chasing behind.
The pursuer shouted, "Thief, where do you think you're going!"
The master and disciple exchanged glances, contemplating whether to step forward to help, when suddenly a bright sword light illuminated the entire forest.
The pursuer had made their move; it turned out to be a Sword Cultivator.
Ye Yunzhen immediately focused his attention and gazed over. He always paid special attention to the moves of other Sword Cultivators.
He couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
This unfamiliar Sword Cultivator… the sword technique they were using seemed remarkably familiar, perhaps too familiar!
Wasn't that the Azure Lotus Sword Song taught to him by his master Mo Chen? Why would this person know it too?
"He peeked at me practicing my sword techniques?" Ye Yunzhen said. This was his first thought.
It was one thing to secretly learn someone else's sword moves, but to steal the techniques and demonstrate them in front of the original practitioner was just too arrogant.
"Zhen," Mo Chen said in a low voice, "be quiet and watch closely!"
Drawn in by the swordplay, they also activated the Spatial Technique and followed along.
Although the person fleeing was fast, the pursuer's sword moves were even quicker, flowing like clouds and water. In an instant, they transitioned from the first move of the Azure Lotus Sword Song to the seventeenth move.
Even Ye Yunzhen realized how arrogant and ignorant his earlier guess had been.
Every move of this Sword Cultivator was far more skilled and exquisite than his own. His indignation felt like a firefly resenting the moon for borrowing its light.
The Azure Lotus Sword Song consisted of nineteen moves, each stronger than the last.
By the last three moves, the sword's momentum changed, becoming more grand, more magnificent, and more breathtaking, like adding the finishing touch to a dragon painting; the first sixteen moves were merely a prelude to these final three.
Ye Yunzhen was stunned, his escape technique's incantation faltering, nearly causing him to fall from the clouds before Mo Chen caught him.
He suddenly thought... he had also learned the last three moves of the Azure Lotus Sword Song from his master Mo Chen and practiced them quite skillfully. Even if someone demonstrated them in reverse, he would definitely recognize them.
But what he had just seen in those three moves was different from what he had learned!
There were similarities, but the gap between them was like comparing earth to clouds, mud to rivers, or ponds to seas. The version he learned was earth, mud, a pitifully shallow puddle.
A fleeting thought that could not see the light crossed his mind... Ye Yunzhen wondered if his master had hidden something from him? What he had witnessed with his own eyes was the true power of this Azure Lotus Sword Song!
With those last three astonishing moves executed, of course, the fleeing person could not withstand them. A flash of purple light appeared, and their figure vanished, captured by the pursuing Sword Cultivator into a Spirit Tool Gourd.
The Sword Cultivator did not even glance back at the master and disciple who had followed closely behind; it seemed he intended to leave without a word.
"Daoist friend, please wait!" Mo Chen suddenly shouted.
From this set of Azure Lotus Sword Song, he saw many things... far more than Ye Yunzhen had.
His eyes shone brightly, and his hand hidden in his robe trembled uncontrollably, clearly extremely excited.
After years of cultivation, he was reserved by nature, and it was hard for anything to make him this excited.
The Sword Cultivator actually stopped and turned to look at him.
"You... it's you..." Mo Chen forced himself to calm down for a moment before continuing, "Did you come specifically to demonstrate this for me? Good, good, good! Back then, I knew that only you could bring back the last three moves of the Azure Lotus Sword Song that had been lost to the world. I truly did not see wrong! I have studied my whole life without achievement, and now that I can see it with my own eyes, I have no regrets even in death."
The Sword Cultivator remained silent.
Mo Chen solemnly cupped his hands in a bow: "I, Mo Chen, swear that I will not hand over these three moves to the sect, nor will I use them against you... If I go against this oath, I shall die and lose my path. I will only pass them on to my disciples, but before teaching them, I will require my disciples to make the same deadly vow."
"Master, what is going on?" Ye Yunzhen asked in confusion.
The mysterious Sword Cultivator smiled lightly and said, "There’s no need for such an oath. These three moves were not created by me; they have always been hidden within the first sixteen moves. It's like a blue monkey hidden within an ink wash landscape; I merely brought it out. The landscape painting is yours, so the blue monkey naturally belongs to you. Whether you teach it to others or use it in battle is your own business; it has nothing to do with me."
"You..." Mo Chen naturally understood that this person had used transformation techniques. Although he had transformed into an inconspicuous middle-aged man, Mo Chen could still see the calm demeanor of a master about him.
"It seems you have made great progress not only in swordsmanship but also in your state of mind. As your teacher... I am truly very pleased," Mo Chen inadvertently let slip his feelings.
From the moment this mysterious Sword Cultivator executed the first sword move, he recognized who it was.
—It was his most proud disciple!
There was no "once upon a time."
As an elder of the Righteous Path sect, he naturally had to distance himself from Shen Jinglan, the leader of the demonic sect. But how could years of teacher-student affection be easily severed?
Back then, who wasn't a particularly likable disciple and junior in front of Shen Jinglan? Even if occasionally willful, they were obedient in his presence.
He had devoted his life to the sword, and seeing Shen Jinglan finally live up to his expectations by completing the incomplete Azure Lotus Sword Song filled him with indescribable gratitude.
It's just a pity...
Many years ago, everyone knew that Shen Jinglan of the Shattered Star Sect, despite being a prodigy, was afflicted with a stubborn illness and was destined to fall early.
The Sword Cultivator still did not respond, his expression calm, making it impossible for anyone to discern what he was thinking.
As he turned to leave, Mo Chen anxiously said, "Take this!"
Without a second thought, he took out a Jade Box from his Cosmic Bag. With a thought, the Jade Box shot out like lightning.
That person must have heard his words but did not stop, disappearing in an instant.
However, the Jade Box seemed to be caught by an invisible hand in the void, abruptly halting its flight before spinning back and landing right back in Mo Chen's hands.
"Sigh..." Mo Chen sighed.
Not long after, Shaoyuan was poured out from the Purple Sun Gourd.
"Master, that performance was truly not easy!" As soon as he emerged, he exclaimed while patting his chest, still feeling lingering fear. "By Nuwa above, I almost had to meet her!"
Shen Jinglan replied calmly: "I have shown mercy."
Before the last sword light materialized, he had taken Shaoyuan into the gourd to protect him. Otherwise, Shaoyuan would likely have been silenced by now.
Shaoyuan curiously asked again, "What did that old man want to give you at the end? Why didn't you accept it?"
"Scarlet Leaf Seven Star Vine, a good material for Alchemy," Shen Jinglan said. "Why should I accept it from him? He is highly suspected and ostracized in the Shattered Star Sect; obtaining such an item would likely require considerable effort. Teaching him to search for it would be much easier."
Mo Chen's predicament was actually due to him. In the past, he had slaughtered a faction, making it impossible for anyone to tolerate him, and everyone wanted him dead. The Shattered Star Sect, to show their stance, sent the most people to hunt him down. As his master, Mo Chen should have been the one to express his attitude and personally lead the attack. However, Mo Chen declined to do so under the pretext of seclusion within the sect.
Shen Jinglan had not forgotten how others treated him.
"Scarlet Leaf Seven Star Vine?" Shaoyuan said from the side, "Where have I heard of this before?"
"It was brought back by Spirit Sword Destiny."
Shen Jinglan's thoughts then turned to Spirit Sword Destiny.
The Scarlet Leaf Seven Star Vine grew in desolate and frigid places, rarely visited by humans. Spirit Sword Destiny had indeed traveled far north to collect a few for him, allowing an Alchemy master in their sect to refine pills for him. However, over the years, he had consumed quite a bit of medicine, yet there had been little improvement.
Ink... he murmured in his heart.
Spirit Sword Destiny had gone to Miaojiang on business and could not accompany him to this Huashan Conference.
He always had many things to attend to, most of which were for himself. He never wanted to give up hope for healing.
Shen Jinglan did not want to die. In previous years, when his body and energy could still support him, he had sought many methods and searched for various good medicines. In recent years, he had gradually come to terms with it. Just like an elderly person in late life knows they will inevitably die sooner or later, his mindset was similar. He neither hoped for nor feared it; when that time truly arrived, he could face it calmly.
He only hoped that before that time came, Spirit Sword Destiny could spend more time with him.
Unfortunately, no matter how subtly he hinted or how directly he expressed it, Spirit Sword Destiny never seemed to hear him.
"Master, was that person just now...?"
Mo Chen nodded: "Indeed. He is the only talent I mentioned to you earlier."
He seemed to have seen through Ye Yunzhen's thoughts and continued: "Did you see clearly the last three moves he executed? My Azure Lotus Sword Song was obtained through a fortuitous encounter; lacking those last three moves, I exhausted all my efforts just to barely complete it. However, the three moves I supplemented ultimately fell short of excellence. The Azure Lotus Sword Song is far more powerful than what you have learned so far! I never expected... I would actually witness those lost three moves reappear in this world."
His voice was filled with emotion.
If at first he was overflowing with excitement, upon recalling the condition of his long-lost disciple, he fell into a low mood again.
Perhaps, it would be best to meet for the last time.
Ye Yunzhen still had doubts.
He furrowed his brows and said, "Master, since the sword techniques have been lost, how can you be certain that what he used were indeed the true final three moves?"
"As he said," Mo Chen replied, "these three moves are inherently hidden within the preceding techniques. There is absolutely no way they could be anything else."
Even if they were not, these three moves had already reached the pinnacle of Azure Lotus Sword Song; there could be no stronger three moves than these.
Ye Yunzhen pondered for a moment, then knelt before Mo Chen and said, "I ask Master to teach me these three moves!"
Although he had witnessed them with his own eyes, it was utterly impossible for him to replicate them. He could only see the brilliance of these three moves but could not comprehend the profound mysteries within the sword techniques. Mo Chen had studied Azure Lotus Sword Song for far too long, having already deduced countless variations of the sword techniques; all that was lacking was a spark of inspiration. Once that was gently nudged, he would be able to grasp the entire picture.
Mo Chen said, "First, you must swear an oath not to use this against the Demon Sect and not to pass it on privately. Then I will teach you."
"Yes!" Ye Yunzhen replied without hesitation.
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