Chapter 72 The Old Master Who Went Downhill and Several Guys

Li Fuyao had been practicing swordsmanship at the foot of the mountain for several months. Actually, quite some events happened on the mountain. Firstly, an old swordsman stuck in the Dawning Stage for years was dying. He wanted to reach the Revelation Stage while he was still alive, so he tried to break through his current stage forcibly on the sword peak and ended up miserably with dying there. The old master on Sword Mountain put the old swordsman’s sword Hoarse Sparrow back into the Sword Washing Pool, waiting for the next swordsman to take it away. However, given the predicament of Sword Mountain, it would not be an easy thing.

Then another old swordsman who had been staying secluded for years passed away suddenly, whose sword was put into the Sword Washing Pool by the old master too.

In fact, these two swordsmen went to the mountain to practice swordsmanship with the old master at the same time, but they were far less gifted than him in terms of swordsmanship. As a result, they were just left behind while the old master achieved a lot on the way of swordsmanship. Even though they went further, they were even stuck and made little progress. For swordsmen and cultivators, their lifespans were related to the stage. If they couldn’t reach a high enough stage, they wouldn’t be able to live long. Therefore, when the old master was old but vigorous, his two pals who came uphill with him at the same time had come to an end of their lives, which couldn’t be reversed at all.

His other peers also perished in the earlier years. By now all his peers had been dead. He was left alone.

It was common that people died on the road to cultivation, but at the moment, he felt grieved somehow.

The old master on Sword Mountain became much older over one day. He was even seen to grieve before the Sword Immortal Hall by quite some people early one morning. His long hair with flecks of grey went even greyer.

At dusk, the old master went down the mountain alone with his wine, whose back looked so lonely.

When he arrived at the foot of Sword Mountain, Xie Lu was letting Li Fuyao stab her. Upon seeing the old master, Xie Lu just turned around and left immediately. Xian Chunan and Liu Yibai, who were watching them before the temple also returned into the temple, saying nothing.

The old master came to Li Fuyao. He didn’t utter any word or fly into a rage. Instead, he only sat down, watching the foot of Menchen Mountain with a peaceful face. Li Fuyao didn’t hate or like this old swordsman. He didn’t make it to Sword Mountain before dusk so the old swordsman hindered him from reaching the mountaintop according to the rule, which was quite reasonable. However, judging from the three masters’ reaction, they seemed disgruntled about the old swordsman and even didn’t feel like uttering a word.

The old master was holding the wine but he didn’t mean to drink it. After staying silent for a while, he finally spoke, “Why do you practice swordsmanship? Don’t play games with me.”

Looking at this unidentified old man who he supposed must be somebody, Li Fuyao didn’t rush to answer him. He didn’t reach the mountaintop anyway. In fact, why he practiced swordsmanship was none of the old man’s business either. However, he was still at the foot of Sword Mountain. Moreover, this question was not a very private issue, so he didn’t evade it. Instead, he came and sat next to the old man but soon he moved aside just because the sword Qi of the old man was too fierce. Once the old man didn’t conceal it, Li Fuyao might feel his bone prickled by him with a sword.

Li Fuyao said in a soft voice, “Master, at the very beginning, I practiced swordsmanship only to go back to Luoyang City and seek revenge. I didn’t insist on killing those people. I only wanted to make them suffer. It was like returning to one’s hometown in silken robes but it was a bit different. Then I thought if I became adept at swordsmanship, I could go around and do others a favor when they were in need.”

The old man asked, “You are from Yanling City?”

Li Fuyao shook his head. “I’m from Dazhou.”

The answer seemed quite confusing to the old man but he didn’t get to the bottom of it. Presently, he changed the topic.

The old man sneered, “You don’t want to be a sword immortal?”

Li Fuyao nodded with a smile. “Yes, I want to if possible. If I can’t, I will accept it. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

The old man nodded peacefully and said in a low voice, “In terms of your disposition, you are quite suitable to stay on the mountain but pitifully, you missed the opportunity. In fact, cultivating at the foot of the mountain is not bad. These three persons are excellent in sword intent, sword Qi and swordsmanship. It doesn’t matter whether you take up one field or all fields. It will be fine as long as you truly grasp what you learn.”

Li Fuyao didn’t know how to respond, so he directly chose to keep silent and waited for the old man to continue.

The old man said with a grin, “I keep practicing swordsmanship, on and on. In the end, when I turn around, I find that all my peers have passed away one after another, leaving me alone. Is it sad? I have practiced swordsmanship for hundreds of years. The times of me leaving Sword Mountain are numbered. Is it sad? Other swordsmen practice swordsmanship to express their feelings but I have so many scruples that I can’t draw my sword neatly. Is it sad?”

The old man asked whether it was sad three times, making Li Fuyao a bit dazed and absent-minded.

The old man giggled. Obviously, he didn’t mean to let Li Fuyao respond. He fetched the wine and took a gulp of it. Then he passed the wine to Li Fuyao and sighed, “The bloke who drank with me before has left the mountain, so no one drinks with me now anymore. What about you? How many bowls of wine can you drink?”

Li Fuyao said laughingly, “I’m okay with drinking nonstop.”

The old man said coldly, “Nonsense!”

However, after a while, he burst into laughter. “But I like the boys who talk nonsense once in a while like you.”

Li Fuyao grinned.

After drinking up the pot of wine with Li Fuyao, the old man didn’t stay. Before leaving, he only said, “You can walk on the mountain path more often. When you run into those big birds, you may draw your sword for a few more times, which will be beneficial for you to practice swordsmanship. As for the remaining souls of the two sword immortals, you can fight with them for some advice but you shouldn’t badger.”

Li Fuyao bowed to the old man respectfully and watched him go away.

After the old master on Sword Mountain turned around and went up the mountain, the three in the temple walked out. Xie Lu had mixed feelings in his eyes while Liu Yibai looked indifferent. As for Xian Chunan, he looked gentle as always.

The three disciples’ attitudes to their master were really inexplicable.

Before Li Fuyao trod the mountain path again and confronted the remaining souls of the two sword immortals, it was early autumn after Great Heat. The sword trees on both sides of the mountain path shed their leaves, making the whole path appear golden. The beautiful scenery was actually very eye-catching. However, only the swordsmen dedicated to practicing swordsmanship wholeheartedly were on the mountain. Very few people came to tread the mountain path. Therefore, it was like a beauty going out of the bathroom before the blind, which was meaningless anyway.

Before the Daoist assembly of Liangxi Dao Temple in Chenxie Mountain ended, three persons came over—the gifted Dao cultivator dressed in a white dress, Ye Shengge, the little girl dressed in blue, Qing Huai, and Chen Sheng with the sword White Fish hung at his waist.

Ye Shengge had gone down the hill before Chen Sheng and Qing Huai but she didn’t go far away. She rested outside the town for half a day. Then she saw Chen Sheng and Qing Huai, whose faces were pale. Of these three persons, one was a swordsman liked by no one in the human world, another was a gifted girl from the demonic land and the other was the gifted Dao cultivator that Daoism had high hopes for. As a matter of fact, these three persons could never walk together, but somehow they travelled together.

Chen Sheng had a fight with Zhang Shouqing, the Taoist in yellow and purple on the mountain path. He didn’t get killed on the path but he was still severely injured. Chen Sheng was a swordsman at the Dawning Stage. Although he was not completely outgunned by such a cultivator at the Revelation Stage as Zhang Shouqing, cleverly, the latter didn’t let Chen Sheng approach him. After all, Chen Sheng was a swordsman at the Dawning Stage. A slash from him was too much for a cultivator at the Revelation Stage to bear with. During the last combat, Chen Sheng took the opportunity to strike an attack at Zhang Shouqing, which injured the latter seriously. Therefore, when Chen Sheng went down the mountain, Zhang Shouqing didn’t stop him at all. Otherwise, Chen Sheng would be dead on the mountain.

Ye Shengge went down the mountain and didn’t know where she should go, so she didn’t rush to go anywhere. When she met Qing Huai and Chen Sheng, she intended to go to Sword Mountain and take a look. Then she headed towards the border of Liangxi with Chen Sheng while Qing Huai planned to return to the demonic land. She wanted to see if that man was still on Sword Mountain, so she also headed towards Sword Mountain. As for Chen Sheng, who initially didn’t want to go to Sword Mountain, he really couldn’t figure out why the two girls were heading towards Sword Mountain. In the end, he also decided to go to Sword Mountain and take a look. He didn’t find it difficult to get through Menchen Mountain since he had got through it before. Yet, if the two girls came across the wisp of sword Qi of Chao Qingqiu, perhaps it would be quite difficult for them.

Then Chen Sheng sadly thought of his disciple Li Fuyao. It looked like the disciple couldn’t get through either. If Li Fuyao went up Sword Mountain and mentioned the name of Chen Sheng, whether the latter’s master was still mad about his going down the mountain, he would definitely teach Li Fuyao everything. Since his master was the patriarch on Sword Mountain, his strength was surely strong. It must be better for Li Fuyao to learn from him than to learn from Chen Sheng. However, since a wisp of sword Qi of Chao Qingqiu was on the path of Menchen Mountain, Li Fuyao should have been stopped.

The three persons walked together from Chenxie Mountain to the border of Liangxi. Nothing uncommon happened. After all, it was the secular dynasty under the reign of Daoism. Even if the other cultivators wanted to go after the gifted Dao cultivator Ye Shengge, they should consider the power of Chenxie Mountain and the temple owner who was said to be half a step away from being a saint.

When they arrived at the border of Yanling and Dayu, the first batch of challengers showed up. A middle-aged cultivator who proclaimed himself a self-taught cultivator at the Fundamental Stage appeared by a river, declaring that he had cultivated himself for shorter than 60 years and wanted to challenge the gifted Dao cultivator Ye Shengge. From the perspective of Chen Sheng, this man must cultivate himself for at least 70 years, but he was at the Fundamental Stage indeed. Ye Shengge paid no attention to the middle-aged cultivator but he still insisted on competing against her unswervingly.

Then by the river, the unknown cultivator was dead.

Ye Shengge didn’t strike any technical attack. She only took out a magic tool, which was a painting. Then she drew the cultivator and some river water into the painting. The cultivator was directly drowned to death then.

Such a way of fighting made Chen Sheng roll his eyes. Qing Huai, who didn’t talk much, even twitched the corner of her mouth. Who knew how many magic tools this gifted Dao cultivator of Daoism had on her? Such a cultivator at the Fundamental Stage just died for no clear reason whatever.

However, shortly after this challenger died, the second one arrived then.

That day, they three were sailing downward with the current on a ferry when the second cultivator came from nowhere. However, the moment he landed at the front of the ferry, he was trapped into a bell by Ye Shengge. Tied with the rope, he was dragged out of the bell and thrown into the river directly. It was lucky for him that he was alive at least. The two cultivators at the Fundamental Stage didn’t cause any trouble for Ye Shengge, which made the ringleaders very unhappy and surprised. They all knew that this gifted Dao cultivator was out of the ordinary, who must have a lot of awesome stuff, but they didn’t expect that the people of Chenxie Mountain would be so generous.

After the two assassination attempts failed, they three spent a quiet time. Those people of the sects with an ulterior motive must feel that the cultivators at the Fundamental Stage wouldn’t work, so they were contemplating what to do next. For the time being, Chen Sheng gradually got better. Yet, even though he didn’t attack Ye Shengge, he had no reason to protect her from trouble. They travelled together along the way but Chen Sheng was more eager to see how many magic tools Ye Shengge had. Even if he drew the sword, he wouldn’t do it for Ye Shengge but for Qing Huai at most.

As for this little demon who was somewhat related to his disciple, if he didn’t lend a hand and just watched Qing Huai got killed before him, he was not sure whether Li Fuyao would chase after him with his sword around the human world when he achieved success in swordsmanship. After all, this disciple dared to make trouble for him with a stick even before he started to cultivate. And he got so mad simply for this very little demon.

They went southward on the ferry. Time flew. Out of boredom, Chen Sheng stood at the front of the ferry and caught several big fishes. Then he borrowed pots and pans from the boatman and cooked the fish soup at the front of the ferry alone. Ye Shengge didn’t regard herself as an outsider. After Chen Sheng finished cooking the fish soup, she took a bowl and walked to him, asking whether she could have some. Chen Sheng was not a stingy man. He only nodded his head and said nothing much. However, when he saw clearly Ye Shengge’s bowl and couldn’t help sighing. It was a magic tool of not a low class. How could she use it for the fish soup?

Qing Huai didn’t pay attention to what was happening here. Sitting alone at the stern of the ferry, she gazed somewhere with an indifferent look.

She was feeling depressed at the scenery?

Chen Sheng couldn’t be bothered to cope with this kind of trouble. There were so many things in the world. Even if he wanted to deal with whatever trouble he encountered in the world, he couldn’t draw his sword so many times.

Before getting off the ferry, the boatman asked Chen Sheng carefully whether the rest of the fishes could be left to them. Chen Sheng turned around and glanced at the two pale and thin kids waiting by the bank. Then he burst into laughter, saying that they didn’t look pretty. Instantly, his sword at the waist was unsheathed.

The sword was slashed away.

The surging sword Qi swept across the river and drew it apart. Then Chen Sheng slashed again in a less imposing manner, and then tens of big fishes were forced out of the river by the sword Qi and landed on the ferry.

Chen Sheng withdrew the sword and put it back into the sheath, asking with a smile the boatman whether the fishes were enough. The dumbfounded boatman could only nod his head heavily.

Laughing loudly, Chen Sheng turned around and left.

Ye Shengge said goodbye to the other two persons at the port, saying that she didn’t want to go to Sword Mountain and planned to go somewhere else.

Of course, Chen Sheng didn’t stop her. Qing Huai was not interested in havering. They parted here and yet, after walking a few steps away, Qing Huai turned around and said, “Ye Shengge, keep it in mind that my follower will exceed you in the future.”

Ye Shengge dressed in a white dress only said okay with a peaceful nod. Then she nodded at Chen Sheng and went north.

Qing Huai who went across the border and arrived at Dayu with Chen Sheng appeared a bit downhearted. She seemed to have something on her mind but she didn’t voice it out. When she was about to reach the border, Qing Huai finally asked, “Do you think that guy really didn’t reach the top of Sword Mountain?”

Chen Sheng said with a peaceful smile, “Chao Qingqiu left a wisp of sword Qi, which makes it even more difficult, but I think that guy is not weak. Even if he didn’t arrive at the peak, it won’t matter. When I find him and guide him for some time, he will be led to the threshold of the Sword Qi Stage anyway.”

Qing Huai rolled her eyes. “The guy is so stupid. How can he stand a chance?”

Unexpectedly, Chen Sheng rebuked her seriously, “Is my disciple so weak?”

Now Qing Huai didn’t feel like saying anything more.

When they were reaching the foot of Sword Mountain, Qing Huai declared that she didn’t want to go to Sword Mountain. According to her, if that guy failed to reach Sword Mountain and then insisted on staying at the foot of the mountain, wouldn’t it be a shame for him? Therefore, she decided not to go there in case he would feel ashamed upon seeing her.

With a smile, Chen Sheng asked her where she was going. Qing Huai didn’t answer him directly. She only mentioned that she would go around, uncertain about where to go specifically. Hence, starting off at the border of Dayu, Qing Huai headed towards Yanling alone. Judging from the direction, she seemed to go to Dazhou. She told herself that she only wanted to take a look at the scenery there. In fact, she just wanted to see whether he had gone back after failing to reach the top of Sword Mountain.

If she happened to meet this guy in Zhou, should she be nice to him and comfort him?

Qing Huai nodded with a smile and found it a good idea. After all, this guy was not a thin-skinned man. She just needed to comfort him a bit.

As for Chen Sheng, he didn’t want to go to Sword Mountain either, so he wouldn’t continue walking there. By now, none of the three persons who planned to go to Sword Mountain really arrived at the scheduled destination.

Meanwhile, the background of the middle-aged cultivator who launched the attack at the border of Dayu was dug out by the people of Chenxie Mountain. A few days later, a Taoist at a high stage directly smashed the gate of the temple where the middle-aged cultivator resided. The middle-aged Taoist priest who took the order of the mountain walked nonchalantly into the temple that was not big. Of course it was only regarded not big compared with Chenxie Mountain. After going into the Taoist temple, with a grin, the middle-aged Taoist priest asked the cultivators who were horrified whether it was great to kill Ye Shengge.

Before they got to answer, the whole Taoist temple was razed to the ground.

Even an idiot would know that the Taoist temple must be incited to assassinate Ye Shengge, but Chenxie Mountain didn’t want to pursue the matter. Therefore, these people must take the blame.

However, it was them who attempted to assassinate Ye Shengge.

It made perfect sense.

If anyone found it unreasonable, they could come to reason with Chenxie Mountain.

All the Taoists on the mountain could reason with him. Even the temple owner was available.