Upon the slightly protruding platform of the sheer cliff face, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun stood side by side. The biting mountain wind swept past, causing Li Jun’s body to sway, forcing her to take a backward step, her face paling slightly.
“Haha…” Teng Qingshan turned to glance at Li Jun and laughed, “Xiao Jun, you almost tumbled off just now.”
“It’s so high. If one falls, with no one to save you, you’ll definitely lose your life.” Li Jun felt a lingering fear. “Brother Teng, don’t stand so close to the edge either.” Despite having been with Teng Qingshan for so long, Li Jun was completely unaware of the methods an expert in Internal Martial Arts possessed to preserve their life, even if they plummeted from a cliff.
“Me?”
Teng Qingshan smiled. “Let’s go, back into the cave!” Wielding his Reincarnation Spear, Teng Qingshan returned to the natural cavern, looking up at the sheer jade-green stone wall.
“Brother Teng, when are we leaving?” Li Jun asked.
“Leave? No rush yet.” Teng Qingshan shook his head.
“We have nothing to do here, so why not leave?” Li Jun was somewhat surprised. “Didn't you say that this Immortal Jade Wall contains the sword intent of the Poetic Sword Immortal, ‘Li Taibai’? Didn’t you say you didn't want to learn his sword path? Why are you still here?”
Teng Qingshan looked up calmly at the four characters written in bold, sweeping calligraphy.
“Xiao Jun, I told you before, I am going to the North Sea Continent to find Divine Axe Mountain, to witness Emperor Yu’s Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting! This Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting is an incredibly potent axe technique, and I won’t be learning axe techniques or walking the old path of Emperor Yu. Why do I go, knowing this?”
“It is precisely because the myriad laws are interconnected! Whether it’s the way of calligraphy, the way of painting, or the way of music… reaching the extreme in anything leads to the Heavenly Dao! That’s why I must go observe the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting! I hope to draw inspiration and achieve some sudden enlightenment from it.”
Teng Qingshan’s eyes shone brightly in the dark cave. “And these four lines on the Immortal Jade Wall, although they embody the sword path of the Poetic Sword Immortal Li Taibai, they still carry significant inspirational meaning.”
“Taking heaven and earth as one’s teacher can indeed lead to enlightenment of the Heavenly Dao! However, the difficulty is immense!”
“And the four lines on the Immortal Jade Wall all contain Senior Li Taibai’s sword intent! Moreover, Emperor Yu himself told me that using the Divine Axe of Mountain Splitting allows one to perceive the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting more clearly, making it easier to observe and draw lessons from,” Teng Qingshan smiled. “By drawing inspiration from them, the perception of the Heavenly Dao will naturally quicken!”
“So that’s how it is!” Li Jun began to understand.
The Heavenly Dao was ineffable!
It simply could not be described accurately with precise language; it required ‘Enlightenment.’ The insights into the intent of these four supreme experts were profoundly precious.
“No wonder the swordsmanship in this Sword Tower has reached such a level!”
Teng Qingshan exclaimed in admiration, “Senior Li was truly formidable; at the very least, his mastery of calligraphy was exceedingly high! Merely four lines of text manage to fully encapsulate his sword path!” For instance, if you asked the Patriarch Shakyamuni of the Buddhist Sect to similarly infuse the ‘Dao’ he comprehended into poetry and calligraphy, it would be difficult for him.
It would also be difficult for Teng Qingshan to infuse his Dao into calligraphy, as he possessed no knowledge of the art.
“Brother Teng, have you gained any insights?” Li Jun asked expectantly.
“Senior Li’s sword path is unfathomable,” a smile touched Teng Qingshan’s face. “However, based on my deep previous perception, Senior Li’s sword path must have initially entered the Dao through the Water element!”
Legend states that the Poetic Sword Immortal Li Taibai loved wine the most.
His residences were typically near water.
“Entered the Dao through the Water element?” Li Jun was astonished.
“Yes, first, it’s my own feeling, and second…” Teng Qingshan chuckled, “Before, when I battled the Sword Tower Master Huangfu Yuji, his Bright Moon Sword Canon embodied the Dao of Water. Water, in its softness, can subdue all things; in its rigidity, it breaks everything. The Third Generation Ancestor of this Sword Tower, like me, must have initially grasped Senior Li’s sword path! And thus created the Bright Moon Sword Canon.”
The sword path of Li Taibai, one of the Four Supremes, began with the Water element in its most nascent form.
“Previously, I was unconsciously influenced by that intent and learned his sword techniques,” Teng Qingshan shook his head, smiling. “If I had allowed myself to be completely subsumed by his Dao, I likely wouldn't have been able to advance my Spear Path later on—the consequences would have been disastrous. Fortunately… at the critical moment, I bit my tongue to forcibly pull myself free from his influence.”
Li Jun was secretly alarmed by this.
Teng Qingshan spoke of it so easily. But Li Jun could not forget the sight of Teng Qingshan covered in sweat, blood trickling from his mouth.
Clearly, wrenching free from that influence was incredibly difficult!
“However, enduring this tribulation has only solidified my state of mind. And the greater benefit is that my comprehension of the Water element has deepened!” Teng Qingshan smiled gently. “Xiao Jun, starting today, I plan to remain here for long-term secluded cultivation, meditating on Senior Li’s sword techniques. At the same time, I will strive to improve my Water Element Fist.”
“Cultivating here long-term?” Li Jun was greatly taken aback.
“Yes, I need to enter seclusion to focus my cultivation.” Teng Qingshan nodded.
Teng Qingshan understood clearly what an immense opportunity the Immortal Jade Wall, left by one of the Four Supremes, presented him. Cultivating here on Bright Moon Island would yield results far surpassing his previous training on the Nine Provinces Continent! Of course, when he eventually journeyed to the North Sea Continent to cultivate at Divine Axe Mountain, with the aid of the Divine Axe of Mountain Splitting, his cultivation efficiency would be even greater.
However—
Emperor Yu and Li Taibai likely achieved their entry into the Dao differently. Since Teng Qingshan was cultivating the Water Element Fist, drawing lessons from Li Taibai’s sword path was naturally the most judicious choice.
“Then…” Li Jun immediately interjected, “The people from the Sword Tower will likely bring food tomorrow. If those four guarding elders don't appear, the people of the Sword Tower will certainly become suspicious. They might even dispatch a large number of experts. If we remain here—”
“Rest assured!”
Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. “With me here, even if two Huangfu Yujis arrived, I would send them away in disgrace!”
“Xiao Jun,” Teng Qingshan looked at Li Jun, “Starting tomorrow, have the Gale Eagle take you to eat on the Tungwood ship or somewhere else for your meals. As for me… during this secluded cultivation, eating once every ten days to half a month will suffice.”
Hearing this, Li Jun nodded. “Brother Teng, food is a minor matter; you don't need to worry.” At the same time, Li Jun looked at the Teng Qingshan before her—long-term hardship had left him with loose, flowing hair and a full beard. He was completely different from the handsome young man she first met years ago.
Li Jun sighed softly in her heart…
From that once renowned, handsome youth, Teng Qingshan had grown step by step. Now, set loose upon the Nine Provinces Continent, few below the Void Realm could defeat him.
And now he was entering seclusion.
“Perhaps in a few years, Brother Teng will be a Void Realm expert, a god-like existence, one of the apex powerhouses on the Nine Provinces Continent!” Li Jun felt a sense of anticipation.
“Xiao Jun, I have one more request for you.” Teng Qingshan continued.
“Hm?” Li Jun looked at Teng Qingshan.
“I estimate the people from the Sword Tower will come tomorrow. That will surely cause some commotion! After this matter is resolved, I will settle down here for secluded cultivation. I hope that every day around noon, if I am still deeply immersed in Senior Li’s sword path, you absolutely must interrupt me. The method is simple: just hit me with a stone,” Teng Qingshan instructed as a precaution.
“Okay, I understand.” Li Jun nodded.
Teng Qingshan smiled. “Of course, if nothing unexpected happens, I will stop myself before noon every day.” Teng Qingshan knew clearly that he could not sink too deeply into this sword path. Only by enhancing his own ‘Dao’ could he comprehend it at deeper levels without being affected.
“Now, I must meditate properly.” After saying this, Teng Qingshan sat down cross-legged, placing the Reincarnation Spear across his knees to begin his secluded cultivation.
In his mind, the partial sword intent he had comprehended surfaced, and he began to gradually separate it, integrating the Water element intent into his Water Element Fist.
...
The next day, the sun rose, and it was already noon.
Everything unfolded exactly as Teng Qingshan had predicted. The young man assigned to deliver food shouted at the entrance of the Forbidden Ground Cave for a long time without seeing any of the four guarding elders appear. He immediately guessed… something major had happened. Terrified, he rushed off to report it. Major incidents had not occurred in the Forbidden Ground Cave for a very long time.
The four guarding elders had vanished without a trace.
It was highly likely they were dead!
This sent a shockwave through the upper echelons of the Sword Tower. The Forbidden Ground Cave was not overly important in one sense—the carved sword techniques lacked accompanying mental cultivation methods or incantations. The most crucial sword techniques were not located there. Yet, in another sense, it was supremely important. That ‘Immortal Jade Wall’ was essential to the entirety of the Sword Tower.
With the Immortal Jade Wall, the Sword Tower’s prosperity would never cease.
The sun hung high in the sky, its cold light pleasantly warming the skin.
Yet, none of the experts from the Sword Tower felt any comfort.
Shhh~~~
Along the winding mountain path of the Forbidden Ground, large contingents of Sword Tower experts were rapidly converging toward the Forbidden Ground Cave. Leading this group was the Sword Tower Master, ‘Huangfu Yuji,’ and beside him walked an elder whose hair was completely white. This elder was the previous Sword Tower Master.
It was Huangfu Yuji’s master, ‘Tian Hong’!
Once Huangfu Yuji’s strength surpassed that of his master, ‘Tian Hong,’ Tian Hong automatically abdicated, and Huangfu Yuji became the new Master! The rule of the Sword Tower was that the strongest assumes the position of Master!
“In over a thousand years, no one has breached the Forbidden Ground Cave,” Tian Hong remarked with deep worry as they hurried along. “In this Forbidden Ground Cave, ordinary Inner Strength experts simply cannot force their way in. As for Innate experts… there are only six or seven Innate experts on the entire Bright Moon Island, and they all belong to our Sword Tower! If they wished to view the Immortal Jade Wall, they could enter directly; there would be no need to fight their way in and kill people. This… this…”
They could not comprehend…
Who would dare break in!
“My greatest concern right now is that the intruder might destroy the Immortal Jade Wall!” Huangfu Yuji’s face was ashen.
As they spoke, the group rushed swiftly to the entrance of the Forbidden Ground Cave.
“The scent of blood!”
Huangfu Yuji and his master, Tian Hong, the only two Golden Core Innate experts in the entire Sword Tower, simultaneously detected the chambers where the four guarding elders had died.
“They were likely killed simultaneously! There was no time to inform those outside,” Tian Hong frowned.
“It was a spear! The weapon that killed them was a spear!” Huangfu Yuji noticed the bloody holes in the necks of the four elders; the bloodstains had long dried. “It really is him!” Huangfu Yuji had already suspected that terrifying opponent who wielded a spear.
“Master…” The other Sword Tower experts surged in.
“The Immortal Jade Wall!” Huangfu Yuji’s expression shifted slightly.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Huangfu Yuji and Tian Hong charged rapidly, one after the other, toward the location of the Immortal Jade Wall.
In the grand hall where numerous sword techniques were inscribed, Huangfu Yuji and Tian Hong involuntarily halted, and the large crowd behind them stood to one side. Their gazes fell upon a single figure already present in the hall.
A figure in a blue robe, a face covered in stubble, and an array of gleaming silver long spears!
“Teng Qingshan!” Huangfu Yuji’s gaze was like a blade, spitting out those three words from between clenched teeth.