Username: Password: Remember
background color:font color:font:[12PX15PX16PX20PX28PX]
Chapter Twenty Three: Relief
writer:无罪      update:2022-07-21 15:26
  Most of the channels in his body had been burned up, and all his cultivation was gone. He was no different from a cripple. And yet he was still feeling the true essence of the sword stroke he had just performed. His understanding had grown closer to his master’s sword essence back then.

  His vision grew blurry. In the rising steam, the sunlight shone from behind him, and his shadow fell in front of him. Dazedly, he seemed to return to the time when he had been learning the sword at the Zhao Sword Furnace, when he followed his beloved master.

  Back then, Master had been like a mountain that he could not see the peak of, shrouded in mist. There was an unknown distance between them. He could not even see how high his master was. But now, his figure seemed to gradually merge with the master in his memories.

  He seemed to have met his master again. This feeling was so perfect that he did not even realize the situation of his body.

  “Was it worth it? Is there not still us?”


  At this time, a voice of concern passed into his ears, and a pair of strong hands supported his wavering body.

  This pair of hands belonged to Tang Zhefeng. He was standing to his side, frowning deeply, and his gaze was very worried.

  The usually cold Zhao Ce saw his expression and laughed. He let his body press against Tang Zhefeng. Then he softly said with pride, “This is the reputation of the Zhao Sword Furnace, of course it is worth it. Also, even if I can no longer use the sword, I finally have tried out the two swords of my master. The Zhao Sword Furnace still has Zhao Yi and Zhao Si. As long as I tell what I have learned to them, it is worth it.”


  Tang Zhefeng was stunned, then he shook his head and sighed. “The Zhao Sword Furnace is terrifying.”


  Zhao Ce did not respond to the words, and struggled to look up. Shi Changluo’s figure appeared in his blurred sight.

  Shi Changluo was standing with difficulty. His body was slightly hunched, his skin burned and cracked like scorched earth. But there was new flesh growing out of the cracks, as strange as a snake shedding its skin. Even more strange was that the flesh inside the skin was black.

  This seemed to be a strange healing method. But everyone could sense that this healing was very difficult. His powerful and cold presence had disappeared.

  “I think that Wang Jingmeng is not as good as my master.” Zhao Ce looked at Shi Changluo. He did not talk about the win and loss of the battle, just saying, “My master was not just strong alone, he taught a group of disciples like me.”


  Shi Changluo was silent for a moment. He nodded and showed his agreement.

  **

  Na Jiayu looked in the direction of Tianqi City.

  An enormous cloud appeared above Tianqi City, like a city was pressing down on it.

  Nan Jiayu was a cultivator from the Zhuo Mountain Sword School. They were one of the cultivation places that qualified to attend the Min Mountain Sword Trials. But for many years, they did not get good results. Before being sent by the Warden’s Office to the front lines, he had only cultivated for three years in the Zhuo Mountain Sword School. As such he was a very young cultivator, and a very young soldier. In this great war that was one of the greatest in the dynasty, most of the time, he was like a secret sentry.

  At this time, he was standing on a nameless hill, just half a day away from the Tianqi battlefield. He barely could make out of changes in the sky over there, and the shapes of the many troops moving around like snakes.

  On the main path below his nameless hill, there was a train of carriages slowly passing by.

  This train appeared northerly, but just based on the experience that he had gained during this time, he was able to judge that among these carriages, one of them would have the commander of the Yin Mountains, Sima Cuo. This train had to reach Tianqi City before dark.

  Could the marquises in this train be able to lead the Qin army to victory?

  Looking at the clouds in the distance, the winding troops of soldiers, Nan Jiayu felt small and helpless. Also at this time, he sensed a strange presence.

  Inexplicably, three figures had appeared out of nowhere, but they came into his sight without any dodging. They appeared on the hill in front of him and were walking down the hill towards the carriages!

  Such a sudden appearance meant that he had not sensed their existence. He felt his hairs stand on end. If this were a normal time, even though the others were cultivators who were much stronger than him, what he would do first was immediately send a warning. But his horrible feeling was so strong, his body felt very cold and stiff. He was unable to even move a finger. He even felt that his energies and blood would freeze in the next moment, and then he would soundlessly die.

  This was an old man, a woman, and a young man.

  The old man was an old monk holding a staff, so old that his skin had become weathered tree bark. The woman was beautiful, and even her profile was stunning. That young person had a black cloth masking his face and seemed very quiet.

  When he was frozen to his spot, that young person seemed to turn to glance at him and nod. Because the movement was so small, he was not sure.

  But this movement caused the coldness in his body to turn to code sweat that flowed out wantonly.

  When the trio disappeared into the woods below and then reappeared on the mountain path below, he did not make a movement. For he knew that anything he did in the face of these three was meaningless. The terror that filled his body seemed to be like that of an infant deer fighting a tiger.

  The train of carriages was slowly moving on the path. The sky had been sunny, but in a moment, it changed color. An enormous black cloud shrouded the sky over here, like a snowstorm was about to arrive. The path was as dark as though it was night.

  Clearly, a powerful grandmaster had arrived with killing intent, but the train of carriages was strangely silent.

  When the darkness came, countless fire lights silently lit up. People all over the train were holding glowing phosphorus stones that gave off pale white like that caused the surroundings to look like a dream.

  Almost all of the curtains to the carriages were quietly lifted up. One of the people came out, and stood at the front.

  The light shone on his body. People could see that he was Sima Cuo.

  The change in energy of such a degree was enough for him to understand how terrifying the cultivators who had cock were, especially when he sensed the old monk.

  His expression did not change at all, however, he had a relief like he had been waiting a long time.

  Volume 2 18 - A Beautiful Feeling

  This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.

  The higher the mountain peak, the stronger the wind that blew away the misty rain.

  There were many peaks in the Wu Mountains, but all of them were only half as tall as the tallest peak.

  This peak was the Goddess Peak.

  Because the mountain was so steep and there were numerous vicious beasts, even the most experienced medicine harvesters would never return after entering. This added a great sense of mystery to this mountain.

  Three figures appeared on a protruding cliff wall halfway up Goddess Peak. Two of them seemed to be exhausted youths, and the other an old man. They were sitting on the cold hard stone.

  These three were naturally Ding Ning, Fu Su and Forefather Zhou.

  The Wu Mountain was unlike other mountain rains; some places were shrouded in mist, some under rain, while others had clear skies. When the trio looked out, the Wu Mountains was completely enshrouded in clouds. The mists settled in the numerous valleys like white bowls among the forest.

  They had not struggled to ascend to such an elevation just to watch the scenery.

  Ding Ning turned to look at Forefather Zhou, waiting for him to speak.

  "When the noon sun falls, the formation door will open," Forefather Zhou looked at the sky and said expressionlessly, "we are just an hour away."

  "We have to wait until noon before there is a phenomenon and we can see where the formation door is?" Fu Su was even more puzzled upon hearing this. "You brought us here because you wanted Ding Ning to help you see where the true formation door is located? If so, have you ever entered the true formation door and know what is inside is what you want?"

  Forefather Zhou glanced at Fu Su and coldly said, "The location of the formation door will change at any moment. Even if one cannot calculate its location, they can gamble with luck. However, I have no time for a lucky guess, and no energy for luck."

  "If you find a possible formation door, you run there and try. If you find it is incorrect, then you run over here and try …… there may be powerful death traps concealed at the location of incorrect formation doors. At the least, you will be injured, and you may even be killed if you are careless."

  Fu Su understood Forefather Zhou’s meaning and said, "This method is very stupid."

  Forefather Zhou sneered, but did not respond.

  Ding Ning, who had until now been silent, looked at him and said, "Relying on this stupid method, you entered the formation door in the past. But there is something inside you could not defeat. So, even though you found something of great use to you, you could not obtain it."

  Forefather Zhou maintained his silence, but Ding Ning continued. "You should have come here before the reformation and your injuries. But for so many years, you stayed in Changling and did not think about this place because what is inside has not matured. So it is about full grown now?"

  Facing Ding Ning’s speculation, Forefather Zhou did not refute it this time. He nodded and said, "Thirty years ago, when I had just entered realm seven, I passed by Wu Mountain and coincidentally found this place. I am about to be paralyzed and what is inside is coincidentally perfect to use. A freak like you with extraordinary comprehension has also appeared. I think this is fate."

  Ding Ning looked at him and shook his head. He said, "It is not possible for all good things to happen to you."

  "Maybe all good things happen to me," Forefather Zhou said expressionlessly.

  There were not so many coincidences of good things in the world. Yet, in life, waiting was perhaps the norm for a person.

  On another high cliff on Goddess Peak was an old man who looked as old as Forefather Zhou. He was also waiting.

  Dressed in light yellow brocade robes made from the softest silk, he wore the most refined jade coronet. There were natural light red patterns in the white jade coronet that looked like blooming peach flowers. His face was covered in black spots and old age marks. But even so, his features were unusually handsome. Any person, at a glance, could see that he must have been an extremely handsome man in his youth.

  At this time, he was also waiting for the hottest noon sunlight to land on Wu Mountain. Unlike Forefather Zhou, he had not waited for thirty years, but longer.

  He also knew that the Deer Mountain Conference and the maturation time of the thing inside the formation was not a coincidence, but due to arrangements. Because he had set the time for the Deer Mountain Conference.

  He was the Chu King rumored to be obsessed with beauty and the inner palace. The longest reigning monarch of the Chu Dynasty.

  At this time, the king’s eyes flashed with anticipation, and also the light of emotion and nostalgia.

  He thought of himself in bright clothes riding horses in his youth. Back then, he had truly loved beauty. Whenever he heard of a famed beauty somewhere, he would travel thousands of miles. He didn’t know how many love affairs he had left behind in the mountains and rivers. For example, this Goddess Peak …… he had named this peak.

  Time that has passed cannot return. Those jade-boned beauties had turned into earth long ago, but this Goddess Peak was still shrouded in mist at her waist like she would never grow old.

  Ding Ning frowned, and looked seriously at the sight before him.

  He too deeply revered and feared the formations left behind by ancient sects, even after so much time.

  The sun was high up in the sky.

  Forefather Zhou’s squinting eyes widened. Before he could speak, light appeared in Ding Ning’s calm and solemn eyes.

  The strong sunlight landed on the bowl-like valleys. Refracted by the many drops of water, the light did not turn into a rainbow, but golden rays of light.

  Fu Su’s breathing stopped slightly. He couldn’t help but instinctively recall the words that Forefather Zhou had spoken previously. He could sense that some of the pure golden rays of light were different.

  At this moment, Ding Ning could sense what kind of formation this was.

  His gaze landed on one of the bowl-like valleys. The true fire energy in the rays of light landing in that valley was absorbed by the valley. Among the light rays, invisible steam rose. These rays of light became special passages for the steam to flow through.

  In his eyes, these scenes once again became pure lines.

  True fire fell down, while steam crossed among the true fire and rose upwards.

  He could not see the situation at the bottom of the valley with his eyes, but he seemed to know all the paths at the bottom of the valley.

  "Let us go."

  He turned to look at Forefather Zhou and said calmly, "However, this time, you have to carry me and Fu Su down. Otherwise, if I am too tired, I might not be able to comprehend the method to enter the formation door."

  Fu Su was shocked again.

  He looked in disbelief at Ding Ning. "You are already certain of the formation door location?"

  Ding Ning glanced at him and said, "This is similar to the Three Sovereigns Sect’s water and fire blending method of the past. They wanted to disguise the presence of what is sealed as much as possible which means they need many channels to guide the wind and mediate. There is more than one formation door."

  After a pause, Ding Ning said, "It is not hard finding a formation door to enter, it is difficult finding a way to resolve the death traps of the formation door."

  Forefather Zhou’s eyes had originally been filled with disbelief. He hadn’t believed that Ding Ning had managed to discern this quickly. But at these words, he took a deep breath, his heart beat uncontrollably.

  "You know a lot," he said slowly.

  A cold bone-chilling wind rose on the cliff. Three bodies floated up from the granite and down towards that mountain valley through the mist.

  The Goddess Peak was perhaps the only mistake the creators of the formation had made. When they left Goddess Peak and floated into the forest below, even Ding Ning could no longer feel anything abnormal among those golden pillars of light. The formation creator must have been in the mountain back then, and hadn’t sensed that it was possible for this formation to be detected from parts of Goddess Peak at certain times.

  The formation was located in a valley with a flat terrain. Shrubby trees stretched as far as the eye could see in the milky mist. It did not look like dry land, but a deep lake.

  They landed on the perimeter of this mountain valley based on Ding Ning’s memory. Even Fu Su could feel an ancient presence up ahead that gathered in the bright light and spread through the mountain valley. A presence of water and wind sprouted into the sky as though it would pierce the sky.

  An unusual flush appeared on Forefather Zhou’s face. He had used a stupid method to find one of the formation doors. This clear and similar presence allowed him to confirm that Ding Ning’s judgement was correct.

  Ding Ning frowned deeply, his gaze calmly sweeping across every tree and blade of grass nearby.

  The cultivator who had set up this formation far surpassed a realm seven in strength. The setup inside would have many places that could threaten even Forefather Zhou. So at this time, he did not care about Forefather Zhou’s thoughts. He put all of his mind on studying and sensing this formation he had only ever read in short description from ancient books, and never seen before.

  The mist was extremely thick. Wind flowed around, but would suddenly disappear when they reached the spot in front of him. Even the mist inside did not move, and the trees and grass in the mist seemed to be absolutely still in the air.

  In a flash, Ding Ning felt pain.

  The flora in the mist turned into numerous lines, carrying murderous intent that filled his body like twigs of a chaste tree. He felt suffocated.

  A mouthful of blood uncontrollably sprayed out of his mouth.

  Translator Ramblings: I wonder what the level of literacy and learning there was in Warring State China. The aristocrats, and important people were definitely well-educated, but doesn’t Ding Ning’s wealth of knowledge and the education he shows doesn’t match that of a …… common wine shop youth? Or I’m underestimating literacy and the amount of common knowledge available.