Chapter 41 Spring is not spring until the flowers bloom.
3237 Words
It's Not Spring. Chu Weiyang asked this question with a grimace.
Faced with such words, Steward Ma leaned against the basket, grinning. At first, it seemed he was about to curse, then he smiled, finally his lips twitching, his face a complex and ferocious expression.
"You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
Saying this, Steward Ma turned his head to look into the depths of the Lingqiu Mountain forest.
The powerful aura emanating from the lush sea of trees, after briefly illuminating the surroundings, vanished like thunder from the heavens, disappearing in an instant along with the light and flames, along with the torrential rain.
Perhaps it was too intense, for even the continuous spring breeze howling through the forest suddenly disappeared.
An eerie, unsettling silence.
For a moment, Steward Ma's expression changed, filled with fear and terror.
"Let's go! Things are really chaotic now! If it really is a great cultivator in front of us, in the face of such overwhelming power, all schemes, struggles, and resentment are meaningless...
Hurry up and run!
Perhaps... there's still a sliver of hope for us to escape..."
Manager Ma's voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
He hadn't felt this way before, when his cultivation stagnated in the Demon Suppression Cave.
He hadn't felt this way when a mountain collapsed and he was crushed by boulders.
He hadn't felt this way when he was traveling with Chu Weiyang, oblivious to life and death, utterly lost.
But now, before the legendary Golden Core cultivator had even appeared, Manager Ma was already truly desperate.
Chu Weiyang, standing there, also sensed a sense of gravity and urgency.
He should have gotten up immediately; he should have reacted instantly!
But in that instant, Chu Weiyang seemed stunned, sitting there blankly, lost in thought.
"Escape to safety... but where can I escape to truly be safe?"
No one could answer Chu Weiyang.
Steward Ma, struggling to his feet, scrambled into the basket.
Putting away the Taoist book, Chu Weiyang gently patted his cheeks. In the next instant, as if regaining his strength, he stopped speaking. The silence and numbness he had felt in the Demon-Suppressing Cave seemed to return in a flash.
Chu Weiyang leaped off the boulder, slung the basket over his shoulder, picked up his sword, lowered his head, and bent slightly, gazing at the rising sun before heading southeast.
But inexplicably, as his feet touched the muddy ground, Chu Weiyang sighed to himself.
From the Demon-Suppressing Cave to Lingqiu Mountain, from the vast mountains to the boundless forest, he seemed to have traveled a great distance, yet he also seemed to be trapped in some kind of cage.
Only when he occasionally looked down at his feet did he realize he had only been standing still.
A sense of sorrow struck Chu Weiyang's heart in a flash, as if an invisible hand had grasped the pain and hunger that had haunted him from the beginning, and was now trying to extract anger from them.
Almost instinctively, Chu Weiyang gripped his longsword tightly.
He felt as if boundless madness was about to erupt with his fury!
Just as this intensity reached its peak, Chu Weiyang suddenly stopped.
Behind him stretched a vast, lush forest.
Far beyond the sparse woods lay the boundless grasslands of the southwestern wilderness.
And amidst this, beside a tree, a young man held a compass in one hand and leaned against the tree trunk with the other, his face pale and panting heavily.
Meeting him on the other side of the road, the man glanced at Chu Weiyang, then looked down at the compass in his hand.
"My junior brother..."
he muttered, a glint of light appearing between the boy's brows. Then, as if understanding something, he looked up at Chu Weiyang with some surprise.
"You're the escaped prisoner from the Demon-Suppressing Cave? Now it seems my junior brother's life has also ended at your hands... Ha! Killing my Tingchang Mountain disciples, you deserve your fate now. Boy, hand over the spirit object, and I'll leave you a whole corpse!"
Chunyu Huai!
Chu Weiyang had only heard half a sentence when he realized what was happening. The young man before him was strangely eccentric; his every move resembled a playboy, his voice clear and feminine, yet he addressed Chunyu Huai as "Uncle-Master," while referring to Yan Jianming as "Junior Brother"...
As he pondered this, Chu Weiyang was stunned when Chunyu Huai finished speaking.
Almost instinctively, Chu Weiyang replied,
"Spirit object? What spirit object?"
The sparse forest around them fell completely silent in an instant.
Chu Weiyang and Chunyu Huai locked eyes.
They remained silent, yet in that silence, it seemed as if they had spoken a thousand words.
A moment later, an extremely complex expression appeared on Chunyu Huai's face, revealing almost every emotion within it.
The boy forced a smile, still unwilling to accept it, and asked,
"Are you lying to me?"
Chu Weiyang's smile became even more strained.
"You...you came to Lingqiu Mountain for this? You came for this?
You wanted to take my life? And that's how all this happened?
A spirit creature? I only have a hundred pounds of flesh on my body. Take a close look, which bone—looks like—a spirit creature!"
By the end, Chu Weiyang was almost furious, each word squeezed out from between his teeth.
Even now, he still didn't understand what a spirit creature was.
He just found it all absurd.
Back then, trapped in the Demon-Suppressing Cave, there was a saying that good and evil could not coexist. Now, all these predicaments were caused by an object he had never heard of or seen before…
The fingers gripping the sword hilt turned pale from the force, and boundless resentment and anger almost overwhelmed Chu Weiyang's mind.
Chunyu Huai's face was also ashen. He seemed to have figured everything out, but perhaps precisely because of this, he too was brewing with anger.
"Hmph! I'll kill you, and I'll find out which bone is a spiritual object myself!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chunyu Huai flipped her hands, and the compass disappeared without a trace. Her sleeves fluttered, and in an instant, two talismans were thrown out, wrapped in bright yellow flames, like two fire dragons flying!
However, before that instant, Chu Weiyang had already taken several steps forward. When the flames swirled, what greeted the talisman fire dragons were two competing sword lights!
Two swords!
Chu Weiyang took the lead, his longsword carrying a bloody wind. The Qingming Sword, with its edge hidden in its sheath, unleashed Chu Weiyang's boundless rage, which transformed into thunder and fire!
As Chu Weiyang rushed towards Chunyu Huai, Steward Ma, with one hand supporting Chu Weiyang's shoulder and the other holding a short sword, leaped halfway into the air. His posture was a sword stance, unlike Chu Weiyang's boisterous and violent aura. Steward Ma's thrust was almost entirely contained within the blade's edge, appearing almost imperceptible, like a cloud hidden in the sea or a wave scattered across the sky.
Seeing the two swords attacking from above and below, Chunyu Huai's face softened into a smile.
"Heh, Springtime Sword..."
After the initial disdain, Chunyu Huai seemed to regain some seriousness.
"Sword and palm strike in unison, heaven and sea in harmony, whose disciple are you from the Chengqian lineage of the Sword Sect? Never mind... it doesn't matter!"
As his words fell, Chunyu Huai's hands shot out like lightning, stretching straight forward. In a flash, each hand formed a different hand seal, a dazzling display of power. When things cleared, it seemed Chunyu Huai's hands had grasped the tails of two fire dragons.
The next instant, the two fire dragons transformed into two long whips!
With a flick of Chunyu Huai's wrists, a whistling, buzzing sound filled the air as the two fire dragons transformed into a rain of fire, about to crash down upon the two!
Upon closer inspection, those sparks were not ordinary flames! Within them shimmering light were clearly talismans!
This sword strike, a fusion of the Clear Mind Sword Intent and the Awakening Insect Sword Intent, had lost its momentum and power amidst this rain of talismans and fire.
The opponent had already undergone such a transformation.
Left with no other choice, Chu Weiyang retreated a step, his wrist flicking to unleash the sword intent of Lichun (the beginning of spring), then the sword intent
of Yushui (rain). He combined the elements of mutual generation and restraint, and the continuous flow of spring rain, achieving a balance in momentum. This allowed him to wield his longsword with impenetrable force, slicing through flame talismans one after another in a matter of breaths.
However, the tide of attack had turned, and Chunyu Huai was not about to give Chu Weiyang a chance to breathe!
With one hand, he flapped his sleeves, constantly flicking his wrist, throwing out a torrential downpour of talismans!
Meanwhile, Chunyu Huai's other hand held a jade ball carved with cloud patterns. Upon closer inspection, the jade ball was actually a series of nested jade intricate pieces. As each layer rotated, the cloud patterns carved on it pieced together to form entirely different talisman shapes.
In a short while, with a flick of Chunyu Huai's wrist, the jade ball, radiating various talismanic lights, hurtled towards Steward Ma, who was suspended in mid-air, like lightning.
This was indeed the palm-sword combined attack that Chunyu Huai had mentioned.
Steward Ma's attack focused most of his power on his sword, with the remainder concentrated in his palm!
He either deflected the jade ball or used the momentum to strike the jade pendant, adjusting his posture accordingly.
However, once the jade pendant landed, it seemed to possess a clever trick, obediently settling into Chunyu Huai's palm, its inner layers swirling and emitting a pleasant whistling sound, before being thrown out again by Chunyu Huai.
In just a few breaths, it was hard to say whether Steward Ma was like a hawk circling in mid-air, or whether Chunyu Huai was maliciously determined to prevent Steward Ma from escaping!
Just yesterday, Chu Weiyang had swiftly and decisively killed Yan Jianming, a peak Qi Refining cultivator, with a few well-placed sword strikes. Yet now, facing Chunyu Huai, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, Chu Weiyang felt as if he were facing a raging storm, unable to breathe.
The rapid attacks were almost suffocating!
Having received guidance from Steward Ma, Chu Weiyang understood that in the early stages of cultivation, sword cultivators were always capable of deciding life and death in an instant, at most two or three sword strikes. If they were to truly engage in prolonged combat, they would only sink deeper into the mire, their strength waning with each breath.
The current situation seemed to confirm this.
Utterly miserable! Utterly miserable!
He only regretted that his sword was not sharp enough!
He only regretted that the Spring Sword was not a killing sword!
Just then, suddenly, Steward Ma's hoarse roar fell from mid-air!
"No, something's wrong with him! Use the Purple Toad Technique! Use the Purple Toad Technique!"
Perhaps because of Steward Ma's shrill shout, Chunyu Huai, who had already exhausted much of his energy and spirit, was finally distracted and slowed down by half a beat.
And it was precisely this half-beat—!
On the spot, Chu Weiyang didn't think twice. His sword continued its impenetrable dance, while his other hand reached into his Qiankun pouch at his waist. With four porcelain bottles between his fingers, he used his magic to wrap them and smashed them straight onto the ground in front of Chunyu Huai!
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
The bottles contained a handful of dried pine needles, now powdered medicinal mud. After passing through the Lingqiu Mountain market, Chu Weiyang had sealed each bottle with a small Five Thunderbolts talisman.
These talismans were primarily for creating a powerful effect; they might not be able to injure people, but shattering the bottles and scattering dust was easy!
This was the Purple Toad Technique!
This was originally a backup plan that Chu Weiyang and Steward Ma had discussed, intended to use against Yan Jianming, but unexpectedly, it came to fruition here.
In an instant, smoke billowed everywhere!
When he saw the smoke, the medicinal mud in the Purple Toad Furnace had already seeped into his mind with poisonous energy.
Even though he was prepared, Chu Weiyang's hand, wielding his sword, still faltered, missing several talismans that narrowly escaped him, wrapped in flames, and grazed past his side.
It was as if he had returned to his experience before the underground palace, but before Chu Weiyang could be stunned again, a jade snake emerged from his wrist and bit the young man's tiger's mouth, instantly bringing Chu Weiyang back to his senses.
Looking up, he saw out of the corner of his eye Steward Ma throwing a short sword in mid-air, only to be struck by the jade pendant, his body spinning and falling, crashing into a tree in mid-air, then deflecting and falling even further away.
In the smoke and dust, Chunyu Huai stood motionless, the short sword piercing his abdomen.
A mere sliver of spiritual light, like a torrent, uncontrollably dissipated from between Chunyu Huai's brows, coalescing above the young man into a hazy, illusory female figure.
That soul-like figure also hung suspended, seemingly corroded by the poisonous energy, dazed and motionless.
Chu Weiyang took another step forward!
It was the Springtime Sword!
A killing sword!
When this sword was drawn, all spring's beauty vanished!
Pain, hunger, rage!
In that instant, as Chu Weiyang struggled out of that suffocating feeling, all transformed into a torrent of pure killing intent!
Nourishing the body? What use is nourishing the body!
Grain Rain! Grain Rain!
With a flick of Chu Weiyang's wrist—
bang—!
The sound of metal rubbing against metal rang out continuously!
With a single swing of his sword, Chu Weiyang channeled all his immense magical power into the longsword. Instantly, the blade shattered, unleashing thirty-six sharp points, each carrying the murderous intent of a storm at the end of spring, engulfing Chunyu Huai's vital points!
Looking up at the northwest clouds, a long sword is needed to reach ten thousand miles into the sky. People say that here, in the deep of night, the flames of the Dipper and the Ox are often seen. I feel the mountains are high, the pools are empty and cold, the moon and stars are pale. Waiting to burn the rhinoceros horn to look down, I lean on the railing, fearing the raging wind and thunder, the tragic fish and dragons.
The gorge constricts the vast river, passing the perilous tower, wanting to fly but then retreating. Yuanlong is old! Why not lie down, with a cool mat and an ice-cold vessel? A thousand years of rise and fall, a hundred years of joy and sorrow, all viewed in a single moment. Who has unloaded the lone sail on the sandy shore, moored to the setting sun?
In an instant, Chu Weiyang's grip loosened, and the empty sword hilt fell to the ground.
Chunyu Huai's handsome head flew off along with crimson blood!
Chu Weiyang, his face blank and seemingly exhausted, staggered through the blood-soaked mud towards the spot where Steward Ma had fallen. In
the lush grass, Steward Ma lay on his back, most of his chest collapsed, blood continuously spilling from his mouth.
He seemed to want to grin, but the intense pain caused his lips to twitch uncontrollably.
Seeing Chu Weiyang approach, Steward Ma finally managed a weak smile.
"The man is dead?"
Chu Weiyang didn't speak, only nodded.
Steward Ma's smile widened.
"I'm free, I'm finally free!
Sometimes when I look at you, I hate you, I wish you were as miserable as I am.
But sometimes when I look at you, I feel that even if I die, the thought that I passed on my swordsmanship to you, that my swordsmanship is passed down in your body, is like I'm still alive...
You must live well. From Panwang Sect to Zhenmo Cave, and then to me, you carry the hatred of many dead people.
You must live well!
Go to the southwest, go to Zhenhai Dao City! Before you achieve something, don't try to come back! Don't try to turn back!
Also, use poison with caution. The key is to cultivate the evil qi internally, not to kill by trickery. Don't let the lives of these two people harm you instead..."
As he spoke, he spat out several mouthfuls of black blood, and Steward Ma could hardly speak.
"My time has come...
That day in the underground palace, you recited half a line of poetry, which I liked very much. Recite it for me again..."
In the same spot, Chu Weiyang nodded calmly, and then, his hoarse voice seemed to come from another world.
"A grain of rice adrift on the vast ocean, where can one inquire about the past? Only
upon waking does one realize the illusion of a dream; flowers blooming do not
truly mark spring. Having seen through the fleeting clouds, one pities the world's flavors;
born with a frail frame, one reveals innocence. Drifting aimlessly in the swaying east wind, letting the weeping willows mock one's fate."
Hearing this, Manager Ma merely nodded, his eyes growing increasingly numb and empty.
"Good, excellent, truly excellent..."
he murmured softly. Suddenly, with an unknown strength, Manager Ma abruptly reached out and grasped Chu Weiyang's wrist. His empty eyes, in that instant, burst forth with unprecedented brilliance!
"Back then—"
Manager Ma's words abruptly stopped.
Chu Weiyang withdrew his hand and then closed Manager Ma's eyes.
He stared intently at Manager Ma, as if trying to imprint that face deeply into his heart.
The next instant, Chu Weiyang abruptly stood up and turned to look.
Seemingly startled by the sword energy, the female spirit hovering in mid-air suddenly awoke. She placed one hand on Chunyu Huai's corpse, and then a swirling beam of spiritual light, like a clear spring or a shimmering galaxy, materialized and floated, descending towards the female spirit.
On the other side, the spiritual light, enveloping the thirty-six shattered fragments of Chu Weiyang's longsword, hovered and began to piece them together.
Simultaneously, Chunyu Huai's Qiankun pouch was opened by divine sense, and square pieces of alchemical metal flew out, then were engulfed in flames, turning the alchemical stones into mud-like liquid, which was about to flow towards the thirty-six fragments.
Just then, Chu Weiyang flicked his wrist, and a porcelain bottle appeared in his hand.
“This… young lady.
The sword is mine.
The person I killed is mine.
You took it without asking!
Moreover, you chased us like pigs running in the wind earlier, and today you harmed my brothers and friends!
Young lady, I have too many debts, too many things to say, to make clear to you, to get to the bottom of things!”
With that, ignoring the woman's drastically changed expression, Chu Weiyang, holding the porcelain bottle in his hand, walked forward step by step.
“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine too. My friend here once taught me many methods for interrogation. If there’s no rush, we can take our time…”
- Writer
