refining the mountains and rivers
The old swordsman turned away dejectedly.
Qin Yu walked towards the man and woman. In a calm voice, he said, “Three people.” After handing over the immortal money, he obtained the tokens to enter Swallow Mountain. Qin Yu turned around.
Very soon, he saw the old swordsman again. He walked briskly to the man and tapped on his shoulder.
“Old sir, you dropped something.”
As Qin Yu said this, he pointed towards a token on the ground. Then, Qin Yu turned and left.
The old swordsman’s eyes bulged wide open and his hands trembled as he picked up the token. He suddenly jumped in realization, but when he looked up again, he could no longer find that man.
His vision blurred from his tears and he sniffled. Then he turned towards the entrance.
When the male and female swordsmen at the entrance saw the old man return with a token in his hand, they were surprised.
The rules of Swallow Mountain stated that people could enter it if they had a token. They did not hold any records.
Rourou glanced at the token that Qin Yu handed to her and she scoffed coldly, “A kind person does not live long. Don’t you know this logic?”
Qin Yu smiled, “It isn’t too troublesome. If it added more trouble for me, I would have pretended not to see him in his predicament.”
Rourou scoffed with a ‘hmph’ and then continued, “I hope you remember your words.”
Qin Yu nodded with a smile.
The two held their tokens and entered the mountain. When the female swordsman at the entrance saw Qin Yu, her eyes brightened.
She reached an arm forward to check the token in his hands and she returned his smile. She spoke gently, “There is a map in the token you have. The green dot represents your current location. If you two do not have a set target location, you can head to the remains of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect.”
Qin Yu put the tokens away and cupped his hands together to thank her.
Beside him, Rourou looked on coldly. When they left the entrance, she finally let out a cold scoff, “I truly thought that you were being kind. I see now that you acted only because that swordswoman was beautiful.”
Qin Yu smiled bitterly and rubbed his nose unconsciously. By now, he could not be bothered to correct Rourou’s nonsensical thoughts. Besides, he also did not know how to change her mind.
His silence made it seem like he chose to ignore her words. Rourou laughed coldly; she could not help but be resentful when Qin Yu acted like he was deaf.
However, she had placed that swordswoman on her blacklist. She wouldn’t have a chance to meet Qin Yu alone again in the future.
Hehe, man…like to flirt and attract bees and butterflies!
The old swordsman entered Swallow Mountain. He was so excited that his entire body was shaking. Greed told him to explore every single place, tree, mountain and every river.
He was the only swordsman from his sect who managed to go to Swallow Mountain in the last thousand years. Of course he had to remember everything here clearly so that he could let future disciples of his sect know about how their own senior came to these sacred grounds before.
This was an invisible motivation for him!
The old swordsman walked for many days and carried on without eating or sleeping. As he observed numerous sword flashes in the distance, it made him more resolute.
One afternoon in an isolated mountain range, the old swordsman crossed a river. Suddenly, his expression changed and he lifted his head to look in the direction of a group of mountains. There was a feeling stirring in his chest.
It felt like there was something there that was calling him.
The old swordsman’s eyes could not help widening in disbelief. Although this was his first visit to Swallow Mountain, he had heard many stories about it on the ferry. The one story that made many people jealous was that some swordsmen would develop a feeling towards a particular legendary sword skill artifact left in the mountain. They would be directed over to obtain fortunes.
His face turned red and his breathing grew harder. He was in complete disbelief as he did not think that he would be qualified enough to be chosen.
At the start!he chose to ignore it, but as time passed, not only did this feeling not disappear, it became stronger. Finally, the old swordsman sighed deeply and looked at a mountain in a particular direction. He began to quicken his steps.
I will take one look, only one look, and I will not do anything dumb.
As he walked, he gave stern warnings to himself. The old swordsman traveled over land and water and almost lost his life several times.
After all, Swallow Mountain was not pure land. Although the majority of the sword sects in the Central Desolate were here, they did not drive the demons here to extinction.
Demons and swordsmen were co-existing in a stable relationship. However, it was obvious that sword cultivators had the upper hand and they would whip any demons who went over the line back to shape.
The token’s use came into effect here. Sometimes, money that was meant to be spent should be spent. Otherwise, what was the use of money if the person was dead?
Half a month later, the old swordsman had suffered and his clothes were disheveled. He was virtually naked. He finally arrived at the place that was the origin of the feeling.
There was a massive stone tablet in the distance. It was obvious that no one bothered to clean it. After much upheaval, the stone tablet was covered in scars. There were layers upon layers of green moss on its surface.
Despite that, it could not hide four words on the stone tablet – Opening Heavens Sword Sect!
Every word had an aura around it, and even today, as he looked at it, he could not help feeling pain. The old swordsman shed tears.
It felt as though a sword had pierced through his chest, causing pangs of pain. His face grew pale and sweat covered his face as his body shivered uncontrollably.
A while later, the old swordsman recovered. He made a silent gasp and then retreated a few steps backward.
His eyes bulged open and he stared at the stone tablet of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect. There was shock and hesitation on his face.
After carefully considering his options, the old swordsman slowly looked at his surroundings. He did not find anything amiss and he gritted his teeth and walked ahead.
Once he passed by the stone tablet of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect, he entered the abandoned ruins of the sect. Walls around him were eroded badly and he could barely make out the structure of most of them.
His figure started to disappear.
It was a pity that although the old swordsman was very cautious, his cultivation realm did not match up to it.
As such, when he entered the ruins of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect, two figures appeared simultaneously before the stone tablet. They exchanged a look and did not hesitate before they stepped forward and gently floated in the air. It seemed like the two were chasing after him.
When the two people left, the space around the stone tablet shifted slightly and another two figures appeared.
Rourou scoffed coldly, “Look, this is the consequence of being a kind person. If he had not entered Swallow Mountain, he might have been able to return home safely. However, now…hehe, it is hard to say what will happen to him.”
Qin Yu rubbed his nose. He had to admit that Rourou was right.
“Cough! I was simply curious what fate that old man had.”
As he said this, he pointed at himself and Rourou, “The two of us, the so called guardian and inheritor of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect, have been here for more than half a month. Nothing has happened, it truly is slightly awkward.
“Furthermore, since we are taking on this identity, we should make it as real as possible. If we mix in with the rest, it would be more believable.”
Rourou scoffed, “Just tell me directly if you want to save him. You went one big round and used such an indirect way to get what you want. Qin Yu, do you think that I won’t be able to see through you?
“Hmph!”
Rourou scoffed coldly. She grabbed Qin Yu and stepped through the entrance of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect decisively.
“Open your eyes, I will teach you how vast this world is!”
The old swordsman walked into the Opening Heavens Sword Sect. The feeling in his chest instantly became purer. It felt like an impatient urge that was spurring him on. He did not stop and continued to advance in the ruins.
Even though his cultivation realm was not good, the old man was still cautious. Yet, he did not show this.
He met a lot of cultivators who were here at the ruins trying to seek out fates. However, none of them sensed his impatience.
As he continued to advance, the number of cultivators decreased. When he was all alone, the old man finally stopped.
There was a collapsed structure in front of him and it had severe scarring left on it. It showed its grandeur and power from the past.
The old swordsman sighed deeply. Now, there was an eager look in his shocked eyes. He reached out in anticipation.
Buzz –
A loud sword hum vibrated beside his ears. In the next moment, the sword shadow pierced through the structure and landed in his hands.
His fingers curled and he gripped the flying sword. The old swordsman’s body shook and tears streamed down his face. At this moment, he felt as though the sword was a part of his body.
It felt like something that he had lost for many years had finally returned to him. This feeling was much more emotional than reuniting with a long lost family member. He could not hold himself up.
All of a sudden, the sword hummed again. The old swordsman was startled and he turned around, “The two of you, come out.”
Two figures appeared. They looked at the flying sword in the old swordsman’s hand with burning eyes.
One of them snickered, “This old man truly encountered a good fate. Many people have searched this place over a thousand times. The fact that a divine immortal sword was hidden here would truly make many jealous.”
The old swordsman sighed deeply; he restrained himself and forced a smile, “No no, this is just an ordinary long sword. It isn’t anything good…”
He was interrupted before he could finish, “Since the immortal sword is not good, why don’t you sell it to us. We will definitely give you a high price.”
The person opposite him smiled brightly but the other one next to him remained silent.
The two were together.
The old swordsman shuddered and he knew there was no way out. He stiffened and there was panic on his face. Although he had obtained the immortal sword, his cultivation realm was too poor.
“It is not a trap, come on.” The other person spoke in a cold voice.
The smiling cultivator heaved a sigh of relief, “That’s good.” His smile turned sinister and he maintained a warm attitude, “Old man, don’t worry, we will personally send you off. It will be fast and calm.”
Buzz –
The flying sword in the old swordsman’s hand suddenly burst out with dazzling light. It struggled in his grasp and flew out.
Shoosh –
Shoosh –
There were two sharp sounds and before the two cultivators could do anything, they were beheaded cleanly!
Woosh –
The flying sword landed in Rorou’s hands. It was incredibly agitated and it continued to buzz and shake.
She glanced at Qin Yu beside her and lifted her brows. Her silent intentions were clear – have your eyes bulged big enough?
Qin Yu sighed and with a serious look. He uttered, “Holy Rourou is unmatchable in this world!”
Rourou rolled her eyes!
Opposite him, the old swordsman regained his senses. He looked at the flying sword in Rourou’s hands and suddenly felt as though his heart was empty. However, he quickly suppressed his feelings and bowed quickly, “Thank you for your assistance…ah…it is you…”
The old swordsman recognized Qin Yu and he immediately felt relieved. He was definitely bitter that he lost the immortal sword. However, it was much better than losing his life.
Qin Yu smiled and nodded, “Old sir, we meet again.”
Rourou casually threw something forward and the old swordsman reached out. When the immortal sword landed in his hands again, it felt like he was gripping a soldering iron. His face turned bright red and he quickly waved his hands, “No no no. I did not intend for this. Seniors, please do not misunderstand me.”
Although he said this, his hands were wrapped tightly around the immortal sword. He wanted to hand it back but he could not bring himself to do so either. This reluctance brought tears to his eyes.
Qin Yu looked at Rourou and smiled, “Old sir, don’t worry. This sword has recognized you as its master and it is naturally yours…cough. Furthermore, we can be considered family in the future.”
The old swordsman listened in a daze. The only thing that registered was that Qin Yu said the sword was his. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Qin Yu was at a loss for words.
He did not know how to describe his current emotions.
Rourou’s lips twisted and she looked at the immortal sword in the old swordsman’s hands, “Why don’t I kill him and give this sword a new master.”
It was embarrassing for it to stoop down to his level.
Qin Yu quickly stopped her, “Don’t. This is the first person in the Opening Heavens Sword Sect. It isn’t right to kill him; we should hurry with our business.”
Rourou thought about it and she probably felt that it would be unlucky too. She scoffed and dismissed her thoughts.
A few moments later, a sword hum shrieked in the ruins of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect. A sword shadow that was as massive as a mountain appeared. It shot towards the sky.
The dense and sinister sword aura was as vicious as a river. It swept out in all directions and carried a cold aura.
“From today onwards, the Opening Heavens Sword Sect opens its doors again. Everyone who is trespassing must leave within three days or suffer the consequences!”
The booming voice enveloped the entire ruins of the sword sect and it continued to echo. In the end, it covered the entire Swallow Mountain Range.
Numerous sword sects were staring in the direction of the ruins with their eyes bulging wide open. Their eyes were glowing from their shock!