Chapter 249: Sword Dao

Rain pattered softly outside, droplets spilling from the eaves like a curtain of silver.

The atmosphere inside the main hall had grown indescribably strange.

Xu Yuan had no idea why everyone had suddenly fallen silent. He understood even less why all three men were staring at him without saying a word.

They simply stared at one another.

Xu Yuan glanced at Xu Yinhe in the main seat, then at Feng Jiuxuan standing by the entrance. Finally, he turned an inquisitive gaze toward Xu Changge across from him.

Xu Changge ignored him completely.

When Feng Jiuxuan’s sword had let out that nearly imperceptible tremor, Xu Changge had sensed faint fluctuations from it, but they had been too indistinct for him to make anything of them.

He cultivated the sword as well, but his path was no longer a pure one. And when it came to cultivation and attainment, he was still a little short of his father and maternal uncle. He could not draw any definite conclusions.

SHING! With the soft ring of steel, Feng Jiuxuan calmly drew the sword at his waist.

Xu Yinhe watched him but said nothing. That amounted to tacit permission.

The corner of Xu Yuan’s eye twitched. The sight of his uncle approaching him step by step with a sword in hand was far more oppressive than that giant block of ice had ever been.

Tap… Tap… Tap… The man wore robes white as snow. His boots clicked softly against the stone floor, mingling with the rain outside to form a scene of quiet, almost poetic beauty.

Amid the silent curtain of rain, Feng Jiuxuan stopped in front of Xu Yuan.

Deep Verdant, its blade gleaming with a razor-sharp light, was held in a reverse grip. Presumably, he was worried the spirit sword was too sharp and might accidentally injure a sixth rank weakling like Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered. He slowly rose to his feet. “Uncle.”

Feng Jiuxuan looked at him. He had no intention of being mysterious and simply raised the hand holding Deep Verdant. “Take it.”

Xu Yuan stared at the hilt Feng Jiuxuan was offering him but did not immediately reach for it. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “Uncle, haven’t you always forbidden us from touching Deep Verdant?”

Deep Verdant was a peerless sword forged a century ago by the famed master craftsman Qiansheng as a gift for the Feng Family patriarch’s hundredth birthday.

Later, when Feng Jiuxuan first began cultivating, Xu Yuan’s maternal grandfather had bestowed the sword upon him. After accompanying him for several decades, the sword had gradually developed a spiritual nature of its own.

Spirit swords recognized their masters. To put it plainly, If anyone besides Feng Jiuxuan dared touch it, the sword would try to cut them down all by itself.

Feng Jiuxuan was not one for riddles. He answered directly. “It seems very happy to see you. Take it and see what happens.”

At that, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Xu Yinhe in the main seat.

Xu Yinhe gave him a slight nod.

Xu Yuan steeled himself and reached out. With two Sages standing right beside him, surely they would not let the spirit sword chop him to pieces.

With that thought, Xu Yuan casually took Deep Verdant from Feng Jiuxuan. The instant his fingers touched the hilt, he felt the sword trembling. Yet once his hand had closed fully around it, the glasslike blade suddenly shimmered with a faint glow. Then it settled down completely, showing no sign whatsoever of wanting to leap up and hack him apart.

Seeing this, a thoughtful look entered Xu Yuan’s eyes.

In the silence, Xu Yinhe asked, “How does it feel?”

Feng Jiuxuan glanced back at Xu Yinhe. “Changtian has Sword Essence within him. Deep Verdant does not reject him.”

“Is it harmless?”

“Harmless.”

With that, Feng Jiuxuan turned back to Xu Yuan, who was still holding Deep Verdant. “Changtian, swing it with everything you have.”

Xu Yuan now understood what the two elders were discussing. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Should I use a sword skill”

“Mhm.” Feng Jiuxuan nodded. “Use your strongest one.”

Xu Yuan quietly glanced at Xu Changge, then asked another question. “Which way should I swing?”

Outsiders were forbidden from entering the inner residence, which meant that if he damaged anything, they would have to repair it themselves. So naturally, the only sensible option was to cut down a person instead.

“Anywhere you like,” Feng Jiuxuan reassured him. “Nothing will happen.”

Xu Yuan said no more. He drew a deep breath and silently began circulating the Blood Origin Heartfall Art.

As his source qi moved, a bloody radiance gradually spread across Deep Verdant’s glasslike blade.

Blood Ink Jade, Waltz.

A deep crimson ink suddenly bloomed, forming a sweeping ring in the air.

Without the slightest warning, Xu Yuan slashed at Xu Changge beside him.

Xu Changge’s eyes twitched.

BUZZ! Empowered by the sword skill and Deep Verdant’s peerless sharpness, the strike seemed capable of cleaving through anything in its path.

A sudden gale swept through the hall, sending long hair billowing as the blood-black ink scattered in an instant.

Two fingers clamped down on the blade.

Deep Verdant stopped dead in Xu Yuan’s hands, unable to advance another inch.

Their eyes met for a breath.

Xu Changge gave Xu Yuan a long, meaningful look. “Changtian. You’ve certainly grown up.”

Xu Yuan frowned and quietly retreated behind Feng Jiuxuan.

“That’s enough. Let go.” Xu Yinhe cut their exchange short and looked toward Feng Jiuxuan. “It seems Changtian being carried off by that Ran girl turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Was it Heaven’s Gate Peak?”

After Xu Changge released the blade, Feng Jiuxuan casually summoned Deep Verdant back from Xu Yuan’s hand and sheathed it. “It was indeed the Sword Essence from Heaven’s Gate Peak.”

Heaven’s Gate Peak? Xu Yuan paused when he heard the name. After a moment of thought, he asked, “Father, was the Heavenly Gate on Heaven’s Gate Peak truly carved out by a person?”

By now, he had witnessed a battle between top-tier experts, the one inside the Splendorbloom Secret Realm.

Although Tian Yan and Wang Yuchu had only been at the Origin Awakener and Transcendent Realms, they still counted among the strongest combatants in the world. Yet the destruction caused by their battle was on an entirely different scale from the Heavenly Gate on Heaven's Gate Peak, which stretched hundreds of zhang across.

Xu Yinhe glanced sideways at him. “Why do you ask?”

Xu Yuan answered directly. “I’m curious just how powerful a single person can become in this world.”

“A military formation cannot leave behind Sword Essence.” Xu Yinhe gave a simple reply. He stopped there, but his meaning was unmistakable.

A military formation might have been capable of causing destruction on that scale, but it could not have left Sword Essence behind.

The Heavenly Gate really had been carved open by a single sword strike.

Xu Yuan realized that his breathing had quickened. He looked at the two Sages before him. “Then could you or Uncle do it?”

Xu Yinhe did not answer.

Feng Jiuxuan gently shook his head. “Practically impossible. That unknown Sword Dao expert most likely staked his life on that single strike. That is also why Sword Essence remained upon the Heavenly Gate.”

Practically impossible… That meant there was still the faintest sliver of possibility. However, his uncle’s words raised another question in Xu Yuan’s mind.

Since both elders knew that one could comprehend Sword Essence from the Heavenly Gate on Heaven's Gate Peak, why had they simply left it alone?

Xu Yuan still did not know exactly what Sword Essence was, but it was probably related to Dao Essence.

By that logic, the Heavenly Gate should have been a treasure on the same level as the Beguiling Divine Sakura. Even if it lay deep within the Myriad Ascents Mountain Range, it was strange that no one had tried to claim it.

Xu Yinhe seemed to see through his thoughts and chuckled softly. “The Heavenly Gate has existed for roughly 10,000 years. Aside from those born with constitutions such as an Innate Sword Bone, your uncle is the only person capable of sensing the Sword Essence upon it.”

Then he offered his assessment of the Heavenly Gate’s Sword Essence. “Useless to the strong. Fatal to the weak.”

Xu Yuan understood at once.

People like Feng Jiuxuan and Xu Changge would never abandon the paths they had cultivated merely for the sake of that Sword Essence. As for young sword cultivators with special constitutions, plenty had probably already died on Heaven's Gate Peak over the years. Now that the cultivation system had matured, who would willingly send their family’s genius to gamble their life on a mere possibility?

While Xu Yuan was still thinking, Feng Jiuxuan suddenly spoke from beside him. “Since Changtian has comprehended Sword Essence, once I return from this journey, he will study the sword under me.”

The question was not directed at Xu Yuan, but at Xu Yinhe.

Xu Yinhe answered without hesitation. “Ask Changtian himself.”

Feng Jiuxuan turned his gaze toward Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan did not answer immediately. Compared to his chancellor father, his uncle had nothing but time on his hands. The personal instruction of a Sword Saint, without holding anything back, was an extremely tempting offer.

Still, Xu Yuan answered honestly. “But I already have a cultivation art.”

“Studying the sword does not mean changing your cultivation art.” Feng Jiuxuan smiled faintly and explained in a quiet voice, “A cultivation art merely determines your cultivation. That is not what I intend to teach you.”

Xu Yuan frowned. “Then what will you teach me?”

Feng Jiuxuan glanced toward Xu Changge before asking, “Changtian, do you know why Changge can so easily cut down opponents at the same rank?”

Xu Yuan considered the question. “Because of his talent?”

Xu Changge let out an ambiguous chuckle from the side.

Feng Jiuxuan smiled. “Talent and the ability to adapt during battle are indeed important, but they are not the most important things. The skills and secret arts of this age have essentially reached their limits, yet the vast majority of so-called geniuses do nothing more than follow the paths laid down for them. Take the sword skill you just used. Its power is certainly impressive, but do you know why it is so powerful?”

BUZZ! Deep Verdant slid from its sheath.

Feng Jiuxuan casually swept the blade through the air. Then a white, ink-wash waltz appeared out of thin air!

“What!?” Xu Yuan’s mouth fell open at the sight.

His uncle had reproduced Blood Ink Jade, Waltz after seeing it only once?

Feng Jiuxuan looked at Xu Yuan’s astonished expression, amusement coloring his voice. “When I return, I will teach you the Sword Dao.”

With that, he returned Deep Verdant to its sheath, turned in his snow-white robes, and walked out of the main hall.

A moment later, his figure vanished into the curtain of rain.