Chapter 2: The World Turned Upside Down

  Yao Guang was unconscious for a shorter period this time, but she had many, many fragmented dreams in a row.

  At the age of five, Qingxu Zi Yu Ru, one of the Five Sons of Pure Yang, passed through Chenliu while traveling outside and discovered a young girl from a farming family with an extraordinary bone structure, extremely suitable for cultivating Taoism. As Pure Yang was the national religion, her family would not have refused, so they immediately handed over the young girl to Yu Ru, and from then on, this girl was named "Yao Guang" - taking the meaning from one of the seven stars of the Big Dipper, Yao Guang, which is also known as the Star of Yao Guang's fate.

  Po Jun, belonging to water, the seventh star of the Big Dipper, transforms energy into consumption, in charge of war and destruction, revealing killing energy, harming both enemies and oneself. Therefore, there is a saying that "Po Jun's nature is evil". However, good and evil are not judged by this alone. Punishing evil is promoting good, eliminating evil is upholding righteousness, Po Jun is like the blade of a sword, whether it is good or evil depends on how it is guided.

  At the age of nine, An Lushan rebelled and Chenliu was bloodbathed. Yao Guang's family in Chenliu did not survive, from then on Yao Guang vowed to take revenge on his enemies to comfort his ancestors.

  At the age of thirteen, Yao Guang followed Chun Yang down the mountain to secretly assist the Tang army, waiting for an opportunity to rescue the Li Tang royal family members. After going through several major battles, Yao Guang's temperament changed greatly, like a jade being polished, shining brightly in all directions.

  At the age of 14, Yao Guang and four fellow sect members lay in ambush in Ye City on New Year's Eve, attempting to assassinate An Qingxu but failing, and took his own life.

  Mount Hua's snow remains unmelted all year round, and in some places it can even reach waist-deep. The Pure Yang Sect disciples who cultivate in this icy and snowy land must first get used to the extreme cold, and then learn how to use their lightness skill. If one's lightness skill is not up to par, there's no need to consider leaving the Taiji Plaza - they'll probably turn into a snowman in some snow pit as soon as they enter the mountain.

  Yao Guang's deepest impression of Mount Hua is the ubiquitous white snow, the clouds and mist that linger among the mountains, and the carefree white cranes.

  When she practiced swordplay on Sword Peak, only a white crane accompanied her.

  The Master said: If you want to achieve something in the way of the sword, you must first cultivate a mind that is not disturbed by anything. The winds and rains do not change his will, power and influence do not move his heart, love and hate do not cloud his spirit. Whatever comes, whether it be fame, wealth, or the entanglements of human emotions, regard them all as clear breezes and bright moons.

  A sword is a sharp tool, often accompanied by killing. Those who wield swords, if they do not have a firm intention, may be controlled by the sword instead.

  To understand what it means to be gentle and warm, one must also experience the coldness of loneliness. It is through the harsh solitude that one can temper their will, giving rise to a sense of determination within, strong enough to grasp the hilt of a sword.

  Not unfeeling, yet not indulging in emotions; understanding principles, but not taking them to extremes.

  Sharpen your sword, sharpen your mind.

  Cultivate one's mind with the sword, cultivate the sword with the mind.

  At six years old, he began practicing swordsmanship and achieved success in eight years. However, the sword was broken with regret during a war, and unexpectedly, it reappeared in another world.

  This is not the Tang Dynasty.

  This is Yao Guang's main conclusion after waking up.

  A few people from the Yao Guang faction were lurking in Ye City, and naturally they wouldn't be wearing the pure Yang Taoist robes. Instead, they wore the Hao Qi Alliance uniforms. The blue clothes had been torn to shreds during the chaotic battle and were almost entirely stained with blood, turning them a dark brown color. When Yao Guang woke up again, she took off the damaged armor and changed back into her Pure Yang Palace Taoist robe. Her entire body was only adorned with shades of blue and white, exuding an air of carefree elegance.

  As a direct disciple of Yu Rui and an elite within the sect, Yao Guang's Taoist robes were naturally more intricate than those of newly initiated disciples. This intricacy ultimately manifested not as gaudy displays of wealth, but rather as a sense of effortless elegance, akin to a clear breeze on a bright moonlit night or the vast expanse of a blue sky with white clouds.

  Due to her extensive experience on the battlefield, Yao Guang's eyebrows had long since been honed into sharp, piercing edges. The combination of this cold, sharp aura and the pure blue and white colors evoked an image of icy arrogance, frozen in time for a thousand miles.

  This was the usual attire for Yao Guang, but when a silver-haired woman named Snow Girl pushed open the door and looked at her with a surprised expression, Yao Guang suddenly realized that this outfit might be "unusual" here. Although she had some regrets and reflected on her lack of consideration and caution, the clothes she had already changed into could not be taken back.

  With this understanding, Yao Guang's words and actions became much more cautious. Under the premise of cleverly covering up her sect, she obtained a lot of information from Xue Nu. Although the other party also spoke ambiguously, even if it was just some fragments, it was enough for Yao Guang to guess and ponder.

  In the following days, several people came to "visit" Yao Guang one after another.

  Chunyang and the Li Tang imperial family have a close relationship, originally being the national religion, they are naturally good at dealing with the powerful and noble. The so-called powerful and noble are mostly skilled in dancing and speaking, true and false, with ten traps hidden in one sentence. In order to deal with this kind of person, one must also have the corresponding skills. Yao Guang followed Rui and learned from her experiences, she is quite familiar with this kind of conversation and calculation, but can't use it skillfully yet. However, just hiding the truth and gathering information is not difficult for her at all.

  Perhaps it was because Yao Guang looked really young, and if he deliberately restrained himself, he would look like a slightly cold Daoist child, and people wouldn't associate him with a swordsman who could defeat an army. This harmless appearance successfully deceived some people, and after Yao Guang was seriously injured that day, someone speculated that Yao Guang was a Daoist disciple being pursued by the military, which Yao Guang did not deny, so this speculation quickly became a reason accepted by everyone.

  Yao Guang didn't know what kind of people they were, but after the crowd came to the conclusion above and quickly eliminated their guard, treating her as a simple guest, a pitiful girl, she seemed to have an epiphany.

  Being hunted down by the army - if they are not rebels, the people being hunted down may not be bad people, but they are criminals in the eyes of the court.

  These people would release goodwill towards criminals being hunted down by the army, that is to say, these people are opposing the imperial court.

  Those who oppose the imperial court can be categorized into several types. If they fail to gain victory and change the dynasty, they are rebels; if they ultimately win and change the world, they are righteous armies.

  A secret place, a group of people who are either rebels or righteous army...

  Yao Guang quietly stayed near her residence, watching people come and go with a thoughtful expression.

  Whether it's the layout of the house, the style of architecture, or the materials, dyeing and tailoring of people's clothing here, everything shows a few points of strangeness.

  This is absolutely not the style of the great Tang Dynasty.

  Although she had only lived for fourteen years, she had experienced the prosperous era of Kaiyuan, witnessed the prosperity of Sheng Tang, and gone through the Anshi Rebellion, and had been tempered by the flames of war. As a result, she was quite familiar with what the Great Tang should be like.

  When it prospered, gold and jade shone brightly, songs and dances rose to the heavens; when it declined, starving people filled the fields, broken walls and ruined houses.

  But what she saw after waking up did not conform to the style of any period in the Tang Dynasty.

  If we just look at the architecture, this material selection and construction style is about a thousand years older than the Tang Dynasty - she had seen records of this style in her master's notes, Lü Chunyang.

  The clothes worn by the people here are mainly made of cotton and hemp, unlike the common silk gauze and satin in the Tang Dynasty. The weaving and dyeing technology of the Tang Dynasty was already very mature, and silk could be made extremely thin, even if one wore five layers of silk, the skin color could still be seen through. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, even ordinary families could afford these materials, and as a national religion, the Pure Yang Palace would distribute high-quality fabrics to its disciples, not only were they of excellent quality, but also had bright and dark embroidery patterns. Even the simplest Taoist robes would reveal a sense of elegance in their simplicity.

  If in the Great Tang, even ordinary people would know what a fine blue and white Taoist robe means, but Xue Nu didn't reveal Yáo Guāng's sect, instead showing surprise at this Taoist robe. Looking around at the clothes of the people here, Yáo Guāng easily discovered that either the weaving and dyeing techniques in this place were not up to par, or the people here were not extremely wealthy.

  A place full of secrets...

  Yao Guang leaned against the railing with a calm expression, watching people come and go in the distance.

  She was very clear that there were already people secretly monitoring her, and if she made any inappropriate moves, she would likely face sword lights and shadows. At this moment, she had lost the Jade Clear Sword, and the only thing on her body that could be used as a weapon was the duster given by Master Yu Rui. She was skilled in swordsmanship, so if she held a sword, she still had confidence to rush out of here, but if she used the duster, there would be no chance at all. Since there was no chance and no danger for the time being, she absolutely wouldn't make any rash moves, waiting until her injuries were fully recovered before making plans again.

  As Yao Guang had expected, a few people gathered in the distance, intentionally or unintentionally looking towards Yao Guang's direction and whispering to each other.

  "Snow Girl, where did you find this person? Looking at her demeanor, I'm afraid she's not some unknown wandering cultivator's disciple. Could it be that she's from the Fang Valley... Daoist sect?"

  "...I found this little girl on the mountain cliff outside the city, at that time she was lying in a pool of blood, her breath was weak... I saw that she had an upright and righteous aura, didn't seem to be a treacherous person, so I saved her back."

  "This young man has a sword aura about him, he must be a swordsman."

  The Snow Maiden fell silent for a moment, sighed, and took out several things from her sleeve and placed them in front of the few people.

  That was a long sword broken into three pieces.

  The sword body is snow-bright, without staining fresh blood, although it has been broken, the blade is still sharp, with no signs of rust or curling.

  "This was found beside her at the time... I originally wanted to ask Master Xu to repair it, he told me... this sword is dead and cannot be repaired. I thought... this child had just walked through life and death, if she saw her beloved sword become like this, perhaps even more... so..."

  Gao Jianli furrowed his brow fiercely, wanting to glare at Xue Nu but couldn't bear to. In the end, he only hummed a low sound and carefully picked up the broken sword to examine it. After a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, put the broken sword back on the stone pedestal, drew out Shui Han Sword and struck down with one slash.

  The Snow Maiden couldn't help but exclaim out loud.

  Contrary to everyone's expectations, after a "ding" sound, the broken sword only shook slightly and was not damaged by Shui Han Jian's slash.

  Gao Jianli sheathed his sword and said in a cold voice, "Indeed, it's true. The sharpness of this sword is rarely seen in the world, and it's not something that ordinary people can possess. There's no record of it in the Sword Scripture. If it's not newly created, then it must have been hidden for many years without being revealed."

  A young man with short hair bent down and walked over, staring at the broken swords on the stage for a while, scratching his head.

  "Even if it's sharp enough to cut off, what can cut off this sword? Ah? You see, there seems to be a pattern on the hilt of the sword, this is..."

  "It's Tai Chi." Master Ban said in a low voice, "This is the pattern of Tai Chi Bagua. That girl, I'm afraid she really is a Taoist disciple, and not just an ordinary one."

  "Daoist... when did you also come out?"

  "You'd have to ask the girl about that."

  The broken Yuqing sword on the stone pedestal reflected a dazzling sunlight, and coincidentally or not, it shone directly into Yao Guang's eyes.

  Yao Guang turned her head towards the direction of the reflected light and glanced at it with a cold, icy gaze that met a dark, hostile stare from afar. She didn't back down or avoid it, but instead smiled slightly and withdrew her gaze, continuing to lean against the railing in a leisurely manner.

  That serene and composed demeanor, as if she wasn't a guest who had just arrived here, but the host of this place, without a hint of tension or a speck of worry, clear and natural, like a white crane standing still in the mountains, or a white cloud motionless in the clear sky.

  This stunning scene left several people staring in amazement for a moment.

  "Alas, Taoist..."

  This chapter is Chapter 2 Heaven and Earth Turned Upside Down. If you think this chapter is not bad, please don't forget to recommend it to your friends on QQ group and Weibo!