Volume One: Tian Nan ? Xuan Qing Chapter 8 Man Lost Sword Lost, Two Unknowns

  Luren thought, is the "Jing Tian Qu Mo" of the Nanhai Sword Sect really that powerful? If so, why didn't he use it tonight during the duel?

  He thought that when the master and his wife commented on the swordsmanship of the world, he had rarely heard the name "Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou", and it was probably just the people of the Nanhai Sword Sect boasting, and he was quite skeptical.

  Just then, he heard his master say, "In those days, I and Lin Shi had the good fortune to befriend Master Zhao and Brother Zhao. Now that I think about it, it's all so wonderful. Master Zhao was a young hero, although he was new to being in charge of the Southern Sea Gate, the 'Pure Heaven Demon-Expelling Mantra' was incredibly mysterious and unparalleled, truly deserving of the title of Number One of the Southern Sea."

  He paused and said: "The 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Sword Guest' came from the south, defeating 17 famous swordsmen in two Guangs along the way, killing the four ghosts of Xiangjiang and the six tigers of Ailao Mountain, and then going to the northwest to kill the three wolves of Liangzhou. He was truly a rising star, unmatched in the world, with unparalleled prestige at that time. How could my 'White Cloud Sword Method' which only had 40% of its potential back then be compared to the 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Sword Guest' who was at his peak?"

  He turned his head and saw that both Lu Shaoxing and Lu Lun had skeptical expressions on their faces. He then said to Lu Shaoxing, "At the time, the leader of our sect was my master, who is your ancestor. After witnessing the 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou' in Emei, I still remember your ancestor personally telling me and my second senior brother, who is now your junior uncle, that the 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou' is extremely potent and mysterious, unparalleled in the world."

  He turned back and said, "Ah, Zhao Xian, my brother, the 'Pure Sky Demon-Slaying Swordsman' was so radiant in his heyday. The memories of him are still vivid in my mind, as if it were just yesterday. But I never thought that people and things would change so much, truly, the world is heartless..."

  Gu Baiyun was a gentle soul, and he knew that his "White Cloud Swordsmanship" had not yet reached its peak back then. His sword skills were indeed inferior to those of the "Sword Saint of the South Sea", who had already become famous at a young age and was now the leader of a sect. He was a great hero of the time, with a broad mind, and it came naturally for him to say so.

  However, his junior brother was only 14 or 15 years old at that time, and he was just practicing the most exquisite and subtle "Slanting Sun Sword" in the nineteen roads of Cangshan swordsmanship. Moreover, it was his first time to go down the mountain with this senior brother, and he had never fought with anyone before.

  So, when Gu Baiyun and Zhao Yangfeng were brothers, his younger brother was just a young boy who had not yet grown up. He did not spar with Nanhai, and now he is the famous leader of the Diancang Sect. For twenty years, more and more people in the Jianghu have called him "Slanting Sun God Sword". His martial arts skills are naturally incomparable, so Gu Baiyun didn't mention his younger brother's past skills for comparison.

  Zhao Yunfeng's face had already turned pale, but upon hearing the four words "Jing Tian Qu Mo Sword Guest", a hint of spirit suddenly floated onto his cheeks, as if he had recalled past events and his senior brother's extraordinary demeanor from back then.

  He let out a low sigh and continued to reminisce: "But I didn't expect that the next day, my senior brother would suddenly leave without saying goodbye, leaving behind only a letter for me. The letter is still in my arms now, and no matter how many times I look at it, I just can't make sense of it. Han'er, take it over to show Master Gu."

  Zhao Yun panted and gasped for breath nonstop, knowing he still had a lot to say, so he instructed his disciple Luo Zhihan thus, also taking the opportunity to catch his breath.

  Luozhi Han cried and took out a letter from his master's arms, which his master often read, and he and his senior fellow-disciple had also read. He handed it over to Gu Baiyun, then turned back with tears in his eyes to look at his master, and tears gushed out again.

  Gu Baiyun took over the envelope and saw that on it was written in bold, cursive script: "Fourth Younger Brother Zhao Yin Feng personally opens!"

  He pulled out a letter from the envelope, the paper had already turned yellow, folded neatly, it was clear that Zhao Yingfeng often read this letter.

  Gu Baiyun unfolded the letter paper, but it was a beautiful regular script font. From this, it can be seen that when Nanhai Zhongmen "Jing Tian Quemo Sword Guest" wrote this letter at that time, his mentality was calm and peaceful, and he wrote it down in a leisurely and unhurried manner, not impulsively.

  "These are my senior brother's characters, they can't be fake. I've practiced sword and calligraphy with him for over a decade, I'm more familiar with his characters than anyone... " Zhao Yinfeng said intermittently.

  Gu Baiyun nodded and continued reading:

  "Reciting poetry with my younger brother:"

  My brother realized after the Wulin Conference at Mount Emei that there is always a higher level, and that the ultimate realm of swordsmanship has no limits. He thought to himself that because the Southern Sea was peaceful, our school's swordsmanship had not made progress in recent years.

  My foolish brother suddenly woke up, our South Sea sect although is the first in the South China Sea, but should not be satisfied with being forgotten by the Central Plains martial arts world, "Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou" and Fen Guang Cheng Ying She Jian sword should also let the world know.

  A true man should make a big stir for several decades, so I've decided to take the advice of a good friend and fellow from Central Plains, and head back there once more. After this gathering, I'll challenge the newly acknowledged number one swordsman in the land to a duel, and let our Southern Ocean Sect be known throughout the world! Don't worry, brother, for I've brought with me this time our sect's most treasured Splitting Light and Shadow Serpent Sword Technique. I'm sure I'll return triumphant, and on that day when I do, we brothers will drink to our hearts' content, and only then can we consider it the ultimate joy of life!

  Signed "Brother Chao Ya Shang", the date is exactly September 29, Hongwu first year, which is just less than a month after the Wulin Grand Assembly at Emei Absolute Top.

  "The Splitting Light Shadow Serpent Sword is a technique that only the sect leader has the right to use, just like how only the sect leader is qualified to practice the number one sword art of Nanhai, 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou'. Before my senior brother practiced 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou', his martial arts skills were only slightly higher than mine. However, after he practiced it, I surprisingly couldn't withstand more than ten moves under his hands."

  However, I know that it's because of the deep brotherly affection between us as fellow disciples, and also because my senior brother is holding back against me. If we were to truly fight, I wouldn't be able to withstand even three moves under his "Heavenly Demon-Expelling Spell".

  Zhao Yunfeng's face had already turned pale and bloodless, but he still insisted on continuing: "But that Shenguang Chengying Snake Sword, according to the previous generation of masters in our school, can make the use of 'Jing Tian Quemo' twice as effective, increasing its power by a factor of two, making one's martial arts improve immediately by a factor of two. However, I don't know why it is so."

  Because, the rules of Nanhai Gate only allow the gate owner to use the Shenguang Chengying Snake Sword, and when not in use, the Shenguang Chengying Snake Sword is always placed in a rocky cave at the bottom of the "Reversing Heaven Lonely Island" in Nanhai to absorb the earth's energy, which is also a rule passed down by this gate.

  The Frost Moon Sword was forged from the cold iron at the bottom of the sea, and it belongs to the metal element. It is in conflict with human body constitution, so it must be placed under the ground of a deserted island in the South Sea to resist evil energy. The longer it is buried, the more powerful its sword energy will become. This is because earth produces metal, but too much metal can suppress earth; metal produces water, and too much water can sink metal. However, beneath the deserted island lies a volcano, which means that the metal element's converging nature can be tempered by fire energy, preventing it from being overly convergent.

  Tonight, I heard those thieves plotting against the "Rebel Island of Heaven" and its five-colored divine snake. I'm afraid that the "Heavenly Purification Demon-Expelling Spell" and the Shadow-Splitting Serpent Sword are all related to the five-colored divine snake.

  I finished reading the letter and immediately rushed to "Inverted Heaven Island". The sword-guarding Shifu and his disciples told me that the leader had taken his sword and left early in the morning. I saw that it was already impossible to stop him, so I could only wait with several fellow disciples on the island for news from the Central Plains. Because of the extremely strict rules of the South Sea Sect, without the leader's order, no one can leave the island arbitrarily.

  Originally, I thought that Brother Zhao's "Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou" was already famous throughout the land. This time, he brought with him the Shi Guang Cheng Ying Snake Point Sword, which had been dormant for ten years at the bottom of a deserted island in the South Sea, to challenge the top masters of the Central Plains together. It must have caused a great stir in the Central Plains region... Zhao Yunfeng took a deep breath and couldn't continue speaking, so he stopped and gasped for air.

  His mouth was bleeding slightly, and he was only holding on with the nostalgia in his eyes for his senior brother from back then, but in reality, he had already reached the end of his rope!

  Lu Shao Hang saw Zhao Yin Feng divide the light and shadow of the snake-pointing sword with "Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou" so wonderfully, and he nodded frequently in agreement with his master's previous words. However, Lu Lun thought: "Is it really that magical?"

  He looked bewildered and gazed at Master Bo.

  Gu Baiyun also nodded, vaguely remembering that the young Zhao Chaoyan's rise to fame as the "Sword Saint of Nanhua" was due to his wielding of that very same sword, using only thirteen moves to behead the notorious Ba Shangchou, the most evil man in Jiangnan at the time.

  Ba Shang Chou was originally a member of the Qinghai Sect, with an inherently cruel and murderous nature. He secretly learned the forbidden "Ku Gu Zhang" (Bone Withering Palm) from the Qinghai Sect, which made his temperament even more violent. With this palm technique, he could kill people as easily as crushing dry bones. Those who were hit by this palm would wither away like dry bones within three days, and even the great immortal Dali couldn't save them. Ba Shang Chou continued to wreak havoc in the northwest, bringing harm to the martial arts world.

  Qinghai Sect wanted to abolish his martial arts and expel him from the sect, but he turned around and killed four great protectors of the sect, injured the then powerful Qinghai Sect leader, and escaped to Jiangnan to continue harming the martial world. The Qinghai Sect joined forces with several major sects in Central Plains and the Beggars' Gang several times to try to eliminate him, but he managed to escape each time, and many skilled martial artists were killed or injured in each battle.

  The ferocity of Ba Shangchou's "Ku Gu Zhang" was also known to Gu Baiyun, and even his master was worried. At that time, his master seemed to be preparing to accept the invitation of Qingtian Daozhang, the head of Wudang, to go to Jiangnan together to deal with Ba Shangchou. He said to himself: "Yun'er, your White Cloud Swordsmanship is not yet fully developed and you are no match for Ba Shangchou. When traveling with fellow disciples, be sure to avoid him as soon as possible."

  However, before Master could set out, news came from the Jianghu that Overlord Qiu was defeated by a young man at West Lake: his eyes were stabbed blind in eleven moves, his palms were cut off in twelve moves, and his head was taken in thirteen moves.

  Moreover, according to the onlookers from the martial arts world at that time: "The young man's first three moves were just letting Ba Shangchou's 'Ku Gu Zhang' attack freely, and in an instant, it was extremely dangerous. However, when the young man drew his sword in the fourth move, the entire situation was completely turned around by the fifth move."

  The sword in the young man's hand was entirely black, emitting a cold aura that caused the onlookers to retreat three zhang away. Yet, the sword was as flexible as a willow branch and as nimble as a white bamboo leaf, completely different from the weapons of the Central Plains. This made the young man's sword moves seem like those of an otherworldly visitor, with no one able to discern their origins or trajectory.

  That young man was aided by the precious sword, and by the tenth move he had already forced his opponent into a desperate situation, leaving him no room to counterattack. By the thirteenth move, he had taken his opponent's head.

  This young man was none other than Zhao Chaoyan, the "Heavenly Devil-Expelling Swordsman" who had just taken over as the leader of the South Sea Sword Sect!

  But in just a few days, the name of "Jing Tian Qu Mo Sword Guest" Zhao Chao Ya spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and the strange "Jing Tian Qu Mo Curse" and the Fang Guang Cheng Ying She Zhī Jiàn sword were also quickly passed down by people in Jianghu.

  After that, the Shadow Splitting Sword of Guangzhao never easily left its scabbard again. For these twenty-odd years, there has been no news about the Shadow Splitting Sword of Guangzhao in the Southern Ocean Sword Sect or in Jianghu either.

  It turned out that more than thirty years ago, the Shadow Splitting Sword and "Heavenly Demon-Driving Swordsman" Zhao Chaoxia had disappeared together.

  "...But we waited for three whole months, and there was no news from my senior brother in Zhongyuan. To be exact, my senior brother had no news since he left Nanhai to enter Zhongyuan. The Nanhai sect has pigeon communication connections all over Zhongyuan, but no one knows the whereabouts of my senior brother. My senior brother suddenly disappeared like this, and our Nanhai 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou' and 'Fen Guang Cheng Ying She Jian' were also lost... So now, our Nanhai swordsmanship is being bullied by everyone, even the 'Liangzhou Five Wolves' have come to bully us..." Zhao Yin Feng had not finished speaking when another mouthful of blood spurted out, his vital energy was even more scattered, and he kept panting. In fact, his martial arts skills were far above those of the "Liangzhou Five Wolves", but he was suddenly ambushed, and with the help of two mysterious masked swordsmen, he ended up in such a sorry state."

  Gu Baiyun let out a sigh, and no longer hesitated. She took out two pellets of the precious "Lotus Flower Twin Swallow Dan" from her horse's saddle bag and fed them to Zhao Yin Feng.

  "Lotus Double Eagle Dan" is made from the stamens of lotus flowers on "Lianhua Peak", the fourth peak of Qingcheng Mountain, and the water from "Shuangying Creek" in Qingcheng Mountain, as well as the powder of dried black carp, combined with various precious Chinese medicines such as Codonopsis pilosula, Fritillaria cirrhosa, and Lindera aggregata, which are stir-fried and refrigerated after drying.

  This medicine is extremely bitter at first, but it's a great tonic that gathers energy and restores physical strength with remarkable effect. However, the earlier you take the medicine, the stronger your spirit will be forced to gather, and the sooner your life expectancy will come.

  So, Gu Baiyun had been holding back all along, and only now was forced to take it out for Zhao Yinfeng to drink.

  After taking the medicinal pill, Zhao Yunfeng's spirit was lifted, and he knew that his time was limited. He hurriedly continued: "Some people say that my master died at the hands of Leng Xilou, the leader of the Demon Sect, while others claim that my master is hiding overseas and has never set foot in the Central Plains again."

  But I know my senior brother will definitely come to Zhongyuan, because my senior brother is a man of his word and would never go back on his promise. Moreover, it's absolutely impossible for the Devil Cult leader Leng Xilou to have killed my senior brother. Gu brother also knows that since the battle at Emei Absolute Top, Leng Xilou was severely injured and fell off a cliff of ten thousand feet. Although his body wasn't found, he must have been smashed to pieces!

  For decades, there has been no news of the Demon Sect's new leader, who has held the position for nearly twenty years. Eighteen years ago, he came to Zhongyuan with great fanfare, but I think most people were searching for the remains of Leng Xilou. The bloody battles that took place eighteen years ago shook the world, yet there was no news of Leng Xilou's whereabouts. Therefore, it is certain that Leng Xilou died soon after the battle at Emei, and even if he didn't die, he must have been severely injured, so how could he have defeated my Shixiong?

  Zhao Yunfeng swallowed another mouthful of blood that had surged up and continued, "After waiting on the island for a year without any news, according to the rules of the South Sea Gate, if the gate master is missing for a year, a new gate master will be established. Several fellow disciples quarreled over the matter of the gate master, and some disciples and masters supported me as the gate master. I thought that even if I became the gate master without possessing the 'Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou' and the 'Fen Guang Cheng Ying She Jian', it would still be in vain."

  Then I left the island to find my senior brother in China. The sect has no leader, and I am also one of those qualified to be the leader. When I wanted to leave the island, several of my fellow disciples were so happy that they didn't even have time to send me off, how could they make things difficult for me? They just let me leave.

  Zhao Yunfeng's eyes were filled with a bitter sadness as he continued, "So I started searching for my senior brother, but there was never any news. Not even the friends and acquaintances in Central Plains that my senior brother mentioned in his letter could be found. I know that those who can discuss deep feelings with my senior brother must have a high generation and seniority, so I investigated the leaders of various sects, but couldn't find anyone who had a close relationship with my senior brother. However, I believe in my senior brother's character, so I believe this friend is definitely not an ordinary person. It's just that he and my senior brother interacted secretly, perhaps stealthily, making it impossible for me to investigate, and others may not know either."

  It's possible that this person deceived my senior brother and lured him to the Central Plains, using sinister plots or even poison to control him, stealing the "Jing Tian Qu Mo Zhou" and the Fen Guang Cheng Ying She Jian sword, harming our South Sea Sect. My senior brother was originally a broad-minded and upright person, but suddenly thinking of competing for the number one in the Central Plains is probably also instigated by this person.

  So I must find out, but thirty years passed in the blink of an eye, alas, I still haven't found... "Two frames of hot tears were already welling up in his eyes.