Chapter 76 There Is a Sword at the Foot of the Mountain

Perhaps that gifted Dao cultivator had known from experience if the world under the mountain was dangerous or whether the people were evil or if the life in the world was difficult, but Li Fuyao didn’t have the deep feelings. Contrary to Ye Shengge, Li Fuyao probably thought the life at the foot of the mountain was the toughest.

In late spring, he climbed Sword Mountain but didn’t reach the top on time, so he started to practice swordsmanship at the foot of the mountain. Time passed quickly and it was already late winter. After several heavy snowfalls, they would welcome the spring next year. He learnt swordsmanship from Chen Sheng in late autumn last year, and he officially started to practice swordsmanship then. After more than one year, he still hadn’t entered the third stage of swordsmen. He was still at the second stage. Although the road of swordsmanship was much more difficult to walk on than the other ways, anyway, cultivating was a process from shallow to deep, and it was easier to finish the first several stages. Of course, there were weird people in the world who were stuck in the first several stages for decades, but later they made progress without difficulty and entered a higher stage every year or even every half a year. However, there were few people. Most of people would promote the stage at first much more quickly than later. The genius Cheng Sheng was the same and entered the third stage just in one year. Then it took him seven or eight years before he entered the fourth stage. And he spent even more time before entering the next stages later.

However, Li Fuyao’s talent was inferior to Chen Sheng’s, so the three people at the foot of Sword Mountain didn’t think it was surprising that he made progress slowly. Xie Lu just let him stab her regardless of anything else, and Liu Yibai didn’t even care about his own stage, so he wouldn’t care about Li Fuyao’s stage. Xian Chunan was unconcerned about everything in the world, so he didn’t worry when Li Fuyao didn’t break through quickly. But it made Li Fuyao feel ashamed. So after the first snowfall in late winter, he got up four hours earlier every day and practiced swordsmanship alone in the open space in front of the shabby temple, and he walked on the path to the mountaintop by himself after sitting in meditation with Xian Chunan in the evening. In the next days, he didn’t promote his stage, but he looked haggard.

Xian Chunan didn’t care in the beginning, but after seeing that this little guy was more haggard, he advised him in all earnestness that on the road of swordsmanship, he just needed to walk ahead step by step and didn’t need to care if he walked quickly or slowly, and there were many people who would succeed late in life, so he didn’t have to fight for it for now. He said that, and the little guy nodded then and thought so, but after the conversation, he continued to practice swordsmanship so hard, which made Xian Chunan feel helpless.

However, Liu Yibai came to comfort his senior fellow apprentice, saying that if this guy was fed up with practicing swordsmanship, he would stop. No matter how much others said, he would understand after experiencing tribulations. After Liu Yibai said that, Xian Chunan made a new opinion towards his junior fellow apprentice. He thought that his junior fellow apprentice was careless and casual at ordinary times, which was fine, but when he was serious, he could say something reasonable. But Xian Chunan’s opinion didn’t last for a while, and Liu Yibai mentioned that in the past, he gave up the carpenter’s job and started to practice swordsmanship, fighting in society with his sword. He said that those pretty girls didn’t look foolish, but they wanted to commit suicide because of those dissolute scholars, and nobody could persuade them, but at last, they would understand after they suffered. In the end, Liu Yibai was in high spirits. “If those girls love me, I would never hurt them. Maybe I wouldn’t practice swordsmanship now but live a happy life like the gods with many children and grandchildren.”

Xian Chunan who planned to nod suddenly got angry and almost unsheathed his sword to stab Liu Yibai, which scared the latter. Later, he didn’t dare to brag about his stories in front of his senior fellow apprentice for many days.

Xie Lu unsheathed her sword every day in a great mood, and nobody could see her tiredness.

Li Fuyao practiced swordsmanship frequently, so he had broken many wooden swords. Liu Yibai who was tired of doing a carpenter’s job felt a headache every time he saw that guy bring a sword tree from the path to the mountaintop. He wanted to hide several times, but Xie Lu and Xian Chunan stopped him. At last, he had no choice. He threw the wooden plane away and expressed resentfully, “We can’t let it go on like this. We should find a sword for that guy.”

Xie Lu looked at him coldly and asked with sarcasm, “We can’t go to the Sword Washing Pool on the mountain. How can we find one?”

Liu Yibai spat saliva and stated determinedly, “Why can’t we go? We can ask Xian to go to the mountain sneakily at night and find a useful ancient sword. How can that junior fellow apprentice Wang, who guards the Sword Washing Pool, be Xian’s opponent? Xian can easily take out a sword. The old master on the mountain personally instructed Li Fuyao and allowed him to practice at the foot of the mountain, so I think it won’t be difficult to steal a sword. The old guy is likely to turn a blind eye. Xian, you go to the mountaintop tonight and will surely gain something.”

Liu Yibai spoke in excitement, but Xian Chunan merely responded, “You go there if you want to.” Then he ignored Liu Yibai. Xie Lu said that she wouldn’t go to the mountaintop, so this job was left to Liu Yibai.

Liu Yibai was really unwilling to make wooden swords for that bloke, so he gritted his teeth and went to the mountaintop that night. But after he came to the Sword Washing Pool, their junior fellow apprentice Wang “at a low stage” didn’t find him. However, before he approached those swords, Liu Yibai was attacked by the old master’s sword. The sword’s power was nothing less than all strength of a swordsman at the Dawning Stage. Liu Yibai drew his sword and the fierce sword Qi resisted the old master’s sword for a short while. Then he was distracted by the overwhelming sword Qi. The acupoints all over his body were intruded by the sword Qi, which flowed in his meridians and made him suffer unspeakably.

In fact, Liu Yibai thought that his sword Qi was almost on par with the old man’s and he believed that he was defeated this time because the old master had practiced swordsmanship for a longer time than him. If he lived so long, he would make the old man suffer.

But Liu Yibai didn’t dare to say that to the old man. After he went down the mountain, when Xie Lu helped him deal with the sword Qi left by the old master, she asked casually, “Did the old man make more progress in swordsmanship?”

Liu Yibai shook his head. “I am not sure. If he put forth thirty percent of his strength this time, he is the same as before. If he put forth only twenty percent, he certainly has made some progress. But it would be more difficult for the old man to go farther than for Chao Qingqiu to enter the Ocean Stage and become a Sword Immortal.”

Xie Lu stated softly, “Maybe the old man has the chance. After all, even the two Sword Immortals on the path to the mountaintop praised his talent as the best they had seen, and it is better than Chao Qingqiu’s.”

Liu Yibai still shook his head. “That year he forcibly took actions and his foundation of swordsmanship was injured, so he is unable to save the desperate situation. If he has a chance, I think he won’t make no progress these years.”

Xie Lu stayed silent.

She always thought that her master must have greater talent in swordsmanship than Chao Qingqiu. If he hadn’t risked his life to protect Sword Mountain’s dignity, how would he have become like this? Perhaps he would have entered the Ocean Stage long ago and become the second Sword Immortal in the past six thousand years or probably even before Chao Qingqiu.

Xie Lu didn’t admire the swordsmen who had become Sword Immortals, but she admired this old man from the bottom of her heart. She just couldn’t say that and didn’t want to say.

Perhaps even the old man didn’t want to mention those old stories.

Liu Yibai sighed. If he had to choose one between the road of swordsmanship and Sword Mountain’s dignity, he might not choose Sword Mountain directly as the old man did. Even if he chose Sword Mountain later, he wouldn’t be as carefree as the old man. After all, all the swordsmen in the world wanted to become the unrestrained Sword Immortals to attract worldwide attention.

But somebody went in the opposite direction?

Xian Chunan walked out of the shabby temple and came to Liu Yibai and Xie Lu, suddenly saying, “Something occurs to me.”

Liu Yibai who was stabbed by the old man asked crossly, “Xian, what’s up again?”

Xian Chunan replied peacefully, “I remember that there is a sword at the foot of the mountain.”

Liu Yibai’s eyes lit up all of a sudden and he seemed to think of something. Then he shook his head soon. “You want to tell Fuyao to get it. Aren’t you afraid that he would be stabbed to death at one blow?”

Xian Chunan laughed. “Since he wants to be a real swordsman, how can he realize it if he doesn’t get a sword in person?”

Liu Yibai furrowed his brows. “Even if he can see that sword, it’s uncertain if it is suitable for him.”

Xian Chunan asked in reply, “Can you say that there is a sword in the Sword Washing Pool on the mountain suitable for Fuyao?”

“But it’s not so dangerous. Fuyao is kind of the only new comer on Sword Mountain these years. You want him to be in danger before he goes down the mountain. Be careful that Chen would stab you with his sword. He is so bold now as to bring his sword to provoke Chenxie Mountain.” Liu Yibai tilted his head and spoke playfully.

They were in a stalemate.

Xie Lu who kept silent suddenly stated, “Let him have a try, and maybe it would be helpful for him to promote his stage.”