Chapter Fifty-Five: Question
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
The place where Zheng Jingcheng and Pan Ruoye fought was far from Changling, but some cultivators were still able to feel it. Because of the similar cultivation method, and powerful cultivation, the yellow-robed man traveling in a carriage in Changling sensed the result of the battle. He could not sense what had happened, but he could sense Zheng Jingcheng’s energies fade in the end.
Jiaodong Commandery paid attention to all famous cultivators, especially the ones of the Changling cultivation places, including the ones who just started cultivation but performed well. It had many warehouses that contained the detailed information on the cultivators that they paid attention to along with a detailed evaluation of all realm seven grandmasters……
The Jiaodong Commandery’s information was likely the most authoritative assessment in the cultivation world. Because many years ago, when Zheng Xiu entered Changling, they had made detailed assessments of all the talents during that time. Later, most of the development of these people agreed with these assessments.
In those assessments, Zheng Bainiao would have a foolproof time killing Shen Xuan, and Zheng Jingcheng, Pan Ruoye. No matter how this was looked at, Shen Xuan and Pan Ruoye were not on the same level as the two from the Zheng Family.
Jiaodong Commandery put Shen Xuan as the first target to kill mostly in exchange for the silence of the Changling powers. This was a balance between powers.
Shen Xuan was a new power, and harmed the interests of many people in Changling. But he was the empress’s hand. Other than the people of Jiaodong, no other power in Changling dared to touch the man. Jiaodong Commandery did not want Empress Zheng Xiu to be very strong. Killing him would benefit both Jiaodong Commandery and the Changling powers.
Pan Ruoye was set as the second target to kill because she had once been a confidant of the empress, and knew too many secrets of Jiaodong Commandery. After leaving the empress, she became an unrooted duckweed. Even Mo Shoucheng, who had some connection to her, had passed away. Killing her would not cause any displeasure from any side.
From a certain point of view, Shen Xuan and Pan Ruoye had to die. But now, the two were still alive, and Zheng Bainiao and Zheng Jingcheng were dead.
In the secret talk between Bureau Chief Chen and Ye Celeng, the former mentioned that three people had come from Jiaodong Commandery. Yet there were more than three from Jiaodong Commandery who stepped onto the stage of Changling. Of course, there were more than three. He had only mentioned three because only these three could affect the situation of Changling.
Now, there was only the yellow-robed man in the carriage.
The battle between Pan Ruoye and Zheng Jingcheng was just a simple battle between cultivators. Jiaodong Commandery had absolute confidence in Zheng Jingcheng, but to kill Shen Xuan in Changling, Jiaodong Commandery had made countless arrangements. No one knew how much power had been secretly exerted to ruin the situation.
Because much of Zheng Xiu’s power overlapped with Jiaodong Commandery, her movements could not be concealed from Jiaodong Commandery. So the person who had secretly ruined the situation was not Zheng Xiu, but a power that Jiaodong Commandery did not know of.
When did Changling have such a strong power that Jiaodong Commandery did not know of?
This was a very scary thing on a strategic level. But this yellow-robed man did not panic at this. He was thinking calmly. The contents of his thoughts were still killing. He was thinking now, whether and who he should kill in order to reverse the situation. Only the people of Jiaodong Commandery? Zheng Xiu could understand his thoughts right now.
He was not just the oldest of the three, he was also the most terrifying of the three, and even of Jiaodong Commandery. He had a powerful and domineering name, Zheng Husha.
Jiaodong Commandery was by the ocean and lived by the ocean. In the ocean, the vicious tiger sharks were the overlords, and a term that meant killing.
It was a question who to kill.
The carriage moved slowly through the drizzle of rain. Zheng Husha silently considered this question. Yet then, in his sharp perception, a noise appeared.
For cultivators like him, even if he was focused on pondering something with all his attention, he could still sense the changes within hundreds of meters around him. They could sense the change in shape of any raindrop falling on the ground, the movement of each insect, and even how the grass roots in the ground were absorbing water, and how the water flowed in the roots.
When the noise occurred, he already “saw” the source of the noise.
This was a swordsman leaning by the window of a tea house several hundred feet away. A thin hiltless flying sword fell from the sleeve of the swordsman into the water gully below the window. Then the sword, like a fast fish, moved through the window and targeted the carriage he was in.
Zheng Husha frowned. An ambush from a cultivator of such power could not arouse much of his interest. He reached out a hand from the dim carriage cabin. He made a simple movement–he tightened his hand into a fist.
A whirlpool suddenly appeared in the air in front of the swordsman several hundred feet away. The rain spun in the whirlpool, and so it was clearly visible.
The swordsman controlling the swords saw the whirlpool, and felt like the power of the whirlpool had permeated into his heart. His face did not even have time to change when his heart was twisted into a ball by a great power. He powerlessly hung his head and died. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, falling down the wall of the tea house into the gully below.
The flying sword was still dozens of feet away from the carriage. It lost its support, floated for a while like a leaf in the water, and then silently sank into the mud of the gully. Before an assassination’s attempt could even take form, he was killed. But Zheng Husha did not feel any pride. He slowly pulled his hand back and looked up.
He was thinking of killing others, but now, someone wanted to kill him. This seemed laughable, but it was not laughable at all.
Many gasps sounded. The carriage that had been moving at a sedate pace suddenly stopped.
There was a large man in cloth robes standing on the street ahead. He held an iron pillar that was so wide that several people were needed to circle it. With a thunderous shout, he threw the iron pillar at the carriage!
Translator Ramblings: I really hope that Zheng Husha (tiger shark) is more of a nickname because it’s a weird thing to name your child.
Volume 2 75 - The Zhao Lands Have Many Widows
"I want to see what kind of sword he will choose, " After saying this, her expression grew icy like the hard winter ice on the surface of the river.
Ding Ning looked calmly at this sea of swords, the grave of ten thousand swords in silence. There were countless good swords here, and many of them could be described as "peerless" in quality. they definitely were not any less than the swords in Min Mountain Sword Sect’s own hoard. However, because of their origins, they were put here.
Ding Ning looked silently at this sea of sword corpses as he heard these words in his ears. It was like these tens of thousands of swords were speaking to him. The voices were filled with fury and disdain. They grew more noise as though the masters of these swords had come alive and were laughing at him.
"One person’s thoughts cannot represent the thoughts of all people in the world. War under the pretext of stopping war is never correct." Ding Ning took a deep breath and said softly to these swords. Then he bowed shallowly and turned to walk away.
In the green jade hall, the young woman immediately froze.
"What does he mean? He doesn’t want even one sword?" The man next to her also froze.
The young woman looked at Ding Ning who had walked out of the Sword Valley. She started to feel that her speculation had been incorrect.
"I want to see them more closely," she took a deep breath and said to the young man.
**
The tens of thousands of swords formed a sea in the valley. The sharp killing energies and sword energies turned the ground lifeless. When one looked from the outside, however, there were rampant weeds and the green hall stopped in the mountain valley without any figures to be seen.
The green weeds at the perimeter of the formation swayed slightly. A footprint appeared, and then Ding Ning appeared out of thin air. He had not picked any sword, only went in to look. So he was still the first to come out of the sword selection event, and he was still the first.
He used his Last Flower remnant sword to write on the ground next to him. Then he sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes and started to cultivate.
Many breaths later, another footstep appeared on the green weeds near him. A tall female figure appeared out of the air. It was Xie Rou. Xie Rou’s eyes were filled with disbelieving shock. When she saw Ding Ning sitting on the ground, she was slightly reassured, and her gaze moved instinctively to her right hand.
She was holding a pure black sword in hand. From the appearance, the style, and the weight, this sword was almost the same as the commonly seen black swords in Changling. If someone had walked into the Sword Valley and seen the sword she held, they would have felt she picked the most ordinary sword.
But there was a row of thin holes at the tip of this black sword. Just like Ding Ning had said, if one was not looking directly at the sword tip, they would not have been able to see it. She did not know what kind of sword this was, but this sword was one of the two that Ding Ning had specifically mentioned to her.
In a sea of extraordinary swords, a pure black ordinary sword was one of the easiest to recognize. So she saw the sword at a glance. There was the row of holes that Ding Ning had spoken of at the tip, and she did not hesitate in choosing this sword. So she had not taken long and was the second to come out of the sword sea.
She sat down next to Ding Ning to rest. A while later, a hot presence suddenly appeared in the air. Zhang Yi, holding a sword from the Sword Furnace, appeared in front of her. Zhang Yi’s disbelief also had not faded but he was the most polite. He first bowed to Xie Rou who had stood up before he looked closely around Ding Ning.
He even carefully sensed Ding Ning’s sleeves first and then he looked in disbelief at Xie Rou. He asked, "He did not choose a sword?"
"Apparently not." Xie Rou shook her head and whispered, "He was already meditating when I came out."
Zhang Yi grimaced. He was a person who liked to use his mind, but when he was with Ding Ning, there were too many things he did not understand.
"There really was a sword from the Zhao Sword Furnace," Xie Rou couldn’t help but say when she saw that half of Zhang Yi’s body was dyed red by the burning sword light.
Zhang Yi’s expression suddenly grew grave. He whispered, "Most of the famed swords from the Han, Zhao and Wei dynasties are in there."
At this time, a strange sound came from the grass next to him. Someone else walked out of the formation. Zhang Yi turned around. He saw the incomer was He Zhaoxi. He Zhaoxi held a broad sword in his hand. It was so broad it was more like a horse-chopping sabre.
Zhang Yi thought of what Ding Ning had said and asked curiously, "This is a mother-son sword?"
The Qin Dynasty swords were rarely made in strange shapes and he had never seen a mother-son sword before.
He Zhaoxi took a deep breath, and nodded. He presented this sword horizontally in front of Zhang Yi and Xie Rou.
"What is the use of this small sword?" Zhang Yi looked closely. Then he realized that the spine of this sword was a slender long sword, and what appeared to be two seal scripts were actually two grooves. This caused him to feel that this smaller sword could separate from the larger sword along the grooves. But this smaller sword did not have a hilt, and could not be gripped in hand.
Then was the use of this small sword to fly out and injure the enemy at one moment? But if so, then this sword was too ordinary.
Before He Zhaoxi could respond, a depressed voice sounded behind him, "What kind of damned formation is this. You can’t even test the sword in there, how can I pick!"
With a fierce expression, Xie Changsheng appeared in their sights.
"Quiet!" Fearing that Xie Changsheng would disturb Ding Ning, Xie Rou immediately scolded in a low voice. Then she asked with a cold expression, "What do you mean test?"
Xie Changsheng saw that Ding Ning was cultivating again and visibly stilled. He instinctively lowered his voice, looked at Xie Rou and the others, and said in puzzlement, "Did you not want to test the swords you picked in there?"
Xie Rou shook her head and then looked at Zhang Yi and He Zhaoxi.
Zhang Yi shook his head and then He Zhaoxi shook his head.
"Even if you do not doubt Ding Ning …… you aren’t curious at all?" Xie Changsheng shook his head helplessly and said, "In there, you can channel vital energy into these swords, but the energies cannot come out. It isn’t possible to test them inside."
Xie Changsheng paused and then said in discontent, "I originally wanted to take out both of them. But thinking of how the sword nucleus said you can only pick one, I feared that I would be disqualified if I took out two, just like if I broke the rules of a casino by cheating. In the end, I gave up on my idea."
"You found the two swords Ding Ning told you about?" Xie Rou heard Xie Changsheng’s words and her gaze focused on Xie Changsheng’s sword.
This was a standard-shaped sword but made from a special crystal. The entire blade was crystal and transparent, but there were natural golden threads inside. The golden threads of the hilt seemed to be on the surface and formed the diagram of a three-legged toad.
"The two swords are not far, and I found them almost at the same time," Xie Changsheng nodded and answered.
"So you had a hard time choosing between the two swords?" Zhang Yi looked in shock at the sword in Xie Changsheng’s hand. He asked. "Why did you choose this one?"
"You did not see that short sword. At any other time, if I put that short sword and this one in front of you, you will definitely pick the short sword. That short sword is so sharp even the sword energy can wound. In comparison, this sword looks too fragile as though it can be cut off by that sword." Xie Changsheng spread his left hand towards Zhang Yi and then said, "If Ding Ning had not mentioned this sword to me first, I would definitely have not picked this sword."
There was a bloody mark on Xie Changsheng’s left palm that was still beading with blood.
"The sword energy can wound?" Zhang Yi, He Zhaoxi, and Xie Rou all inhaled in shock.
Xie Changsheng sneered and said, "When my palm was still an inch from the sword blade, I was cut."
"What kind of sword is that?" Xie Rou couldn’t help but suspect if what Xie Changsheng said was true.
"The sword name isn’t important." Xie Changsheng shook his head, looked at Ding Ning and said, "Right now, what I do not understand is why Ding Ning felt that these swords would be in there. Had he known there was a sword sea inside?"
A female voice sounded from the rear. "The sword is the Horned Lion Sword, and made from the single horn of the horned lion. It came from the former Zhao. I also do not understand why he would know that a sword like this would exist in there and how he knew that a sword sea like this would exist. So he must give me an explanation."
Everyone immediately knew this was not Nangong Caishu. Nangong Caishu’s voice would not be so cold and authoritative.
Zhang Yi shuddered, turned around, and saw a young woman in green robes appear in his sight. Then his eyes felt a stinging pain.
Because at this time, a young man whose hair seemed to give off sword energy appeared behind the young woman.
Translator Ramblings: And now the time comes when questions have to be answered.
Volume 4 76 - Seal The Camp
“The legend is just a legend, I want to hear the complete and true story.” Ding Ning looked at Zhan Moke who was laughing emotionally. He glanced at the enormous purple that was still unharmed and said, “I want to know what is really inside.”
Zhan Moke’s smile faded and he looked oddly at Ding Ning. He said with slight mockery, “Since what you are is not important, why should I tell you the true story?”
“There is a need.” Ding Ning smiled. He did not look at Zhan Moke but at Wu Lianzi who was sitting on the ground, saying, “We may not be a match against you, but we should be able to kill him before you kill us.”
Zhan Moke followed Ding Ning’s gaze to Wu Lianzi and said sarcastically, “Kill him.”
Ding Ning looked at him and said calmly, “While I do not know why you had to bring him here, since you did bring him all the way here and let him live, you must have a reason.”
Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing stilled and could not help but exchange a look.
Wu Lianzi was also stunned. Before this, no one had realized this. Only when Ding Ning had said so did everyone realized Wu Lianzi seemed to be useless in this situation, and a complete outsider.
But secretly working together with the mistress of the Qin Dynasty and opening the ancestral lands was not something that had to be witnessed. Zhan Moke would not be so bored as to bring someone unrelated here. Also, Wu Lianzi was a prince of Wuzhi. Before being completely sure that he could get what was inside the ancestral lands, bringing along someone of Wu Lian’s status was extraneous. There must be a reason for this.
“How old are you?” Zhan Moke coldly shook his head after a moment of silence and then said to Ding Ning, “If I let you live a few more decades, who in the world can win against you?”
Ding Ning’s expression did not change and he said, “You are too complimentary.”
Shen Xuan suddenly became nervous and coughed up blood. He sensed the changes in the primal energies of the universe around Zhan Moke, but then Ding Ning turned and glanced at him. He saw the meaning in Ding Ning’s eyes and stopped.
There was a splitting sound.
There was only one sound, but the odd middle aged man connected with the purple tree by flesh tentacles was suddenly cut up into countless pieces. The purple red blood and pieces of flesh fell to the ground and he was no longer human shaped.
Before the sound had occurred, a flying sword with fine white flowers had silently retreated out of this middle aged man’s body and flown to Ding Ning’s side.
The giant purple tree trembled like it was in pain.
Zhan Moke did not look at the pieces flowing with sticky purple liquid or that giant tree, but expressionlessly at Ding Ning’s flying sword.
Then he spoke: “This person was once the best swordsman of the past Tianliang, the general Tuoba Wuqiu. The Peerless Wind and Rain Sword was once invincible. While you defeated his Peerless Wind and Rain Sword, he is only about seven tenths of what he was at his peak. He has also lost the ability to respond, and cannot compare to the past.”
Ding Ning nodded sincerely. “If he was at his best …… this person would have been invincible for a while.”
“During Tianliang’s peak, the city may not have been as large as Changling but would have just as many cultivators. At least, it would not have any fewer cultivators than Changling during the peak of Ba Mountain Sword Field,” Zhan Moke was not in a hurry, and spoke slowly.
Thinking of the stone beasts that were carved with sword manuals, Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing felt that Zhan Moke spoke the truth.
Ding Ning did not speak. He just looked at Zhan Moke and waited for him to continue.
There was a moment of silence, Zhan Moke did not speak and just looked silently at the giant purple tree.
“This —?”
Hu Jingjing gasped.
This was no change in energy but the giant purple tree not far from her, Ding Ning and the others were quickly withering. The purple was fading. The sticky liquid oozed out of the tree.
As the purple fluid came out, the crystal wood became gray and dry, no different from ordinary rotten wood.
“You may assume that it is this strange tree giving him life.” Zhan Moke started. He looked at the giant tree that was quickly becoming rotten wood and shook his head coldly. “But this truth is the opposite. It is he who gives this tree life.”
When everyone else was still shocked and confused, Ding Ning seemed to have guessed the answer already. He looked at the rapidly rotting tree and said, “So to him, this tree is like a prison which keeps him here?”
“If he leaves the tree, both he and the tree will truly die.” A hint of cruelty appeared on Zhan Moke’s lips. He said in a cold voice, “His purpose here is to kill all those who attempt to reach here and gain the final truth.”
Ding Ning naturally followed. “Then what is the truth of Tianliang which goes against the legends?”
Zhan Moke sneered and said, “It was not a rescue from the plague but a slaughter caused by choice.”
Ding Ning looked calmly at him and said, “I would like to hear more.”
Zhan Moke’s face turned down. “Tianliang started from the ancestral mountain. The ancestral mountain had many spirit veins. Naturally, Tianliang slowly rose from the plains and became the top country outside the plains. But it did not prosper for more than a century. One day, a meteor fell from the sky and landed in the ancestral mountain.”
Ding Ning nodded. “Right here?”
Zhan Moke nodded coldly and continued. “The meteors frequently found on the plains contain celestial ore and other treasures. Those are only used for making weapons. But this meteor contained power to heal, reviving bone and growing flesh. When it crashed into the spirit veins, it formed into a Fountain of Eternal Life. But even more shocking was that something strange was born from within this meteor. It can make cultivators advance greatly and increase their longevity like they are immortal.”
“Increase their longevity like they are immortal?”
Hearing these words, even Shen Xuan was shocked speechless, much less Li Xixing, Hu Jingjing and Wu Lianzi.
The Elixir of Life only existed in legends. If a cultivator was truly immortal, then what endless cultivation and accumulated experience would they have, and what would they become?
Yet then, Ding Ning spoke, “So they would become like Tuoba Wuqiu, the master of the Peerless Wind and Rain Sword, and turn into a plant?”
Zhan Moke looked away from the completely rotten giant tree and said, “Similar.”
Ding Ning thought seriously and said, “So some people in Tianliang back then wanted to use what came from the meteor to become immortal but others thought this went against the heavens. Because of their different choices, this created a rebellion and slaughter in the end?”
Even though his opinion of Ding Ning was extremely high already, his shock still grew as he heard Ding Ning easily think through things.
He nodded and said coldly, “Back when the meteor fell and formed the Fountain of Eternal Life, it was a heavenly blessing for Tianliang, but also a great change. The Tianliang king naturally blocked it and did not let just anyone get close. So when something came out of the meteor, the first to be unable to resist and use it was the Tianliang royal family.”
“If there is an elixir of life, even if the body becomes not of flesh and blood, for cultivators, that is not very scary.” Ding Ning looked at Zhan Moke and said, “The king used it and the lower class rebelled. This must be because this elixir was not as wonderful. Is there something wrong with it?”
Zhan Moke looked deeply at Ding Ning. He did not deny it and slowly said, “But that thing seemed to be alive. While by using it, one could live longer, and quickly heal if seriously wounded, some of their own consciousness would disappear and there would be a different consciousness …… Simply put, one’s personality will change greatly, like they have become someone different.”
Hu Jingjing sucked in a breath and felt cold all over. She unconsciously drew closer to Li Xixing.
“Becoming a different person, like one’s past completely changed. Their views of their friends, family, and even their feelings towards their lover will change. A familiar person will become a stranger, even an enemy …… This really is scary. Of course, most people cannot accept,” Ding Ning took a deep breath and slowly said.
Zhan Moke sneered coldly and said, “But the key is, some people can accept.”
Translator Ramblings: Let me spoil the plot a bit here, there are no aliens, there is no invasion of the body snatchers. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to a story that does mix “historical” cultivators with “real sci-fi” aliens.
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