Novel Full Chapter 2753 - The Four Great Experts
Chapter 2753 – The Four Great Experts
Were someone to gaze down from the peak of the Mountain of Bitter Rains, it would seem as if the clouds were prostrating beneath their feet.
“Ordinary folk know not the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth, but how many martial artists are any better?” Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan said with a sigh.
He stood by the railing of an observation deck, dressed in long, snow-white robes. He was middle-aged, but he was extraordinarily handsome, and when he stood there, he looked like an immortal out of a legend.
An old man in blue-green brocade robes sat casually on a nearby boulder. His face was thin, and he wore a goatee. He had a calm air about him, and an eye-catching, fiery jade ruler hung from his waist.
This was Yun Zhao’an, the master of Divine Stratagems Manor.
He turned to look at his companion. “Imperial Preceptor, you possess great knowledge of both the heavens and the world of men. When it comes to understanding the Dao, you’re far above us. Might you share your opinion on this matter?”
Lu Yuan let out a self-deprecating laugh. “As an inhabitant of the Huaihuang Empire, I’m just a frog in a well. How could my opinion be worth hearing?”
He paused, then changed tacks. “Over the past few years, we’ve each captured several sky devils. Don’t tell me you really don’t know what it means to ascend, or what it means to cultivate?”
Yun Zhao’an sighed. “It’s because I understand that I find it so unbelievable and so terrifying.”
A young man in black robes leaned against one of the pillars of the observation deck. His long hair was as white as snow, and his brow was furrowed. He had a calm, steady presence.
This was none other than Shen Duqiu, the leader of the Red Lotus Sect.
Shen Duqiu gazed into the distance, seemingly distracted. “It’s true. Who could imagine that the sky devils, who come here too weak to even truss a chicken, are gods and immortals in the outside world? They can effortlessly sever mountains and split rivers, or summon lightning with a shout. They can even pluck the moon and stars right out of the sky and overturn heaven and earth!”
He grimaced. “To tell the truth, even now, I don’t believe that the scrap metal the sky devils carry is actually treasures of unfathomable power. I find it even harder to believe that the legacies and secret tomes they’ve shared with us can let us live as long as heaven and earth, or shine as bright as the sun and moon. It’s absurd! And inconceivable!”
Shen Duqiu rubbed his furrowed brow. “The part I find hardest to believe is all the talk of realms of cultivation. Just stepping onto the path doesn’t make you a god or immortal! You have to break through repeatedly to become an immortal, then do it again to become a god…”
He sighed. “Sometimes, I wonder what the point of striving to become a true god or immortal even is. Why not just live a life of leisure here in the mundane world? At the very least, here, we can survey the entire world and only find a handful of people capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us.”
Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan shook his sleeve and laughed. “Ah, but our lifespans will quickly run out. Can you truly accept that?”
Shen Duqiu shook his head. “I cannot! That’s why I accepted your invitation and broke my usual rules to come here to assist you.”
“Rest assured. That expert of the Black Cliff Sword Sect promised to give us four places in the Black Cliff Sword Sect,” said Lu Yuan. “And one of them will surely be yours, Shen Duqiu!”
A proud look arose on his face. “If you’ll forgive my shameless boasting, the fact that we reached the peak of the Martial Dao in a mundane territory proves that we’re first-rate talents for cultivation!
“If not for our surroundings fettering us, there’d naturally be a place for us in the world of cultivation!”
Yun Zhao’an nodded. “I agree. The mundane world is home to millions of martial artists, but only we have reached the pinnacle. Should we step onto the true path of cultivation, with our wisdom, abilities, and foundations, we have no need to fear failing to establish ourselves!”
Shen Duqiu fell briefly silent. “But all of that is in the future. For now, all I want to know is when we can shatter the skies and ascend.”
He looked at Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan, who didn’t even miss a beat. “The day the good fortune of the Mountain of Bitter Rains appears is the day we’ll leave the mundane behind and ascend into the outside world!”
“And what about him?” Shen Duqiu suddenly pointed to a distant cliffside.
A swordsman stood there. He was dressed in long, coarse robes, and his sword was thoroughly wrapped in bloodstained cloth. The hilt was completely black and shaped like a lotus in bloom.
He was clutching a jug of wine and drinking by the cliffside. His skin was deathly pale, and he looked feeble, to the point that it seemed that a passing wind might well sweep him away.
This was Xiao Zhixuan, the man rumored to be capable of overturning seas with his sword, and the greatest swordsman in the Jianghu of the Huaihuang Empire.
His presence meant that all four of the nation’s top experts had gathered here on the peak of the Mountain of Bitter Rains.
In truth, they’d gathered here a month prior, and they’d been waiting here ever since.
“I’m different from you, and I’m after something else entirely. No need to include me,” said Xiao Zhixuan, facing away from them. He threw back his head and took a big gulp of wine. His frail frame swayed, and it seemed he might well topple over the cliff at any moment.
“Then why are you here?” asked Shen Duqiu.
Of them, Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan understood the outside world best, and his strength was deep and unfathomable. The commonfolk thought he was the mightiest expert in the empire, like its pillar of support.
Yun Zhao’an of Divine Stratagems Manor was the most meticulous of the four of them, and he controlled the flow of information throughout the empire. His subordinates were as numerous as the clouds.
But of the four of them, Xiao Zhixuan was the only one Shen Duqiu couldn’t see through.
He was like a drunken vagrant. He wandered amidst the Jianghu, but no matter where he went, he was never seen without a jug of wine in hand.
Several years ago, numerous others in the Jianghu questioned whether he was really one of the four strongest experts in the empire. Some chose to test his abilities for themselves.
In the end, Xiao Zhixuan killed them all instantly, no exceptions.
Ever since, the people of the Jianghu had said that in front of Xiao Zhixuan, a single slash was enough to determine life and death!
But if you treated him to a drink, he might well break his usual rules and spare your life.
“What else? I’m here for a spectacle, of course,” said Xiao Zhixuan, wiping the wine from his lips. “I heard that the good fortune available on the Mountain of Bitter Rains is a sword of unfathomable origins and unfathomable power. As a sword cultivator, I’m naturally curious to see it!”
Shen Duqiu wanted to ask further questions, only for the imperial preceptor to laugh and shake his head. “I trust that you’re telling the truth. I know you’re only interested in wine and swords.”
He sighed. “Of course, if you’re interested in ascending to the outside world with us, given your powers of comprehension and attainments in the Dao of the Sword, I’m sure you’d one day become a true sword immortal!”
Xiao Zhixuan just drank, ignoring him so completely that it seemed he was deaf.
Suddenly, Yun Zhao’an said, “Imperial Preceptor, you still haven’t told us why the Black Cliff Sword Sect is after those two people. Might you take this opportunity to explain the situation to us?”
Shen Duqiu looked over, too.
A little over a month ago, Yun Zhao’an and Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan issued a joint bounty for two outsiders. At the time, Shen Duqiu found it hard to understand. It just didn’t seem worth it.
But Shen Duqiu no longer felt that way.
Because over a month had passed, and the two outsiders had not yet been captured!
And according to Ma Yu, the general of Southern Currents City, the two outsiders were quite strange. He said they were true immortals, capable of immortal magic. They could summon the wind and control the lightning!
Had Ma Yu been the only one to say that, no one would have cared, but all of his soldiers said the same thing. That made it impossible to disregard.
“According to the disciples of the Black Cliff Sword Sect that expert sent into the empire, those two are different from other cultivators. They’re from True Martial Sword Court, a faction that the Black Cliff Sword Sect is at odds with,” said Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan. “Killing them would naturally be an act of great merit. Furthermore, their treasures are far beyond those of other treasures. That expert from the Black Cliff Sword Sect commanded that we absolutely must deliver him their treasures!”
Shen Duqiu and Yun Zhao’an both looked enlightened.
Shen Duqiu said, “In that case, do you think they can really use immortal magic here in this mundane territory?”
The imperial preceptor shrugged. “It’s hard to say. According to the experts outside, any cultivator who enters the Huaihuang Empire will be reduced to a mortal. There are no exceptions, as it’s the very Will of the Heavens that suppresses them.”
He paused, then said, “But according to Ma Yu and his soldiers, those two had unbelievable abilities. They’re obviously the real deal. It’s unquestionably strange.”
“Strange?” Yun Zhao’an stretched out his hand, and the distant sea of clouds tore, creating a massive, fist-shaped rift.
He lowered his head, then said slowly, “In the eyes of the ordinary folk, how was that attack any different from immortal magic? In other words, it isn’t strange at all. Those two outsiders might be a bit unusual, but I’m sure they’ve been reduced to mortals, too!”
“I agree,” Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan said with a nod.
But then, Xiao Zhixuan burped and murmured, “I just know that nothing in this world is absolute. That’s why they say that the heavens create forty-nine paths, but man always manages to find a fiftieth. Isn’t that true for everything else in this world, too?”
Shen Duqiu smiled and teased, “So, Brother Xiao, you think those two outsiders haven’t become mortals?”
Xiao Zhixuan just drank in silence.
Yun Zhao’an suddenly rose from his boulder and pointed into the distance. “Look! Are those two perhaps the outsiders wanted by the Black Cliff Sword Sect?”
Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan and Sect Master Shen Duqiu looked over, and indeed, they saw two figures traversing the plains and heading straight toward them.
They were still quite a distance away, but that meant little to experts at the pinnacle of the Martial Dao. They could clearly see that the new arrivals were a young man in blue with a sheathed sword on his back and an elegant man in white.
These were indeed the two depicted on the wanted posters!
“The Tiger Warriors of the Huaihuang Empire are camped at the foot of the mountain. They’re one hundred thousand strong. Them aside, over one thousand elite experts of Divine Stratagems Manor are stationed nearby. This place is truly a dragon’s den; anyone who comes here is destined never to return. Also, where did they get the guts to just walk up to our camp openly?” exclaimed Shen Duqiu.
The two of them weren’t making even the slightest effort to disguise themselves. They were just walking right up to the mountain.
It was such a jarring sight that it would have been impossible not to discover them.
“They’ve noticed us,” Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan said gravely. “Those outsiders really aren’t simple!”
When they looked over, Lu Yuan noticed that the young man in blue looked up at them, too!
It was a little detail, but it was enough for Lu Yuan to confirm that although most outsiders were reduced to ordinary mortals, the young man in blue was different.
There was obviously something strange about him!