I'm Not An Immortal (The Adventure of Jian Chou) - Chapter 34
Chapter 34
“Foundation Establishment in thirteen days, and possessing a Heaven Disk?”
At Kunwu, by the banks of the Nine-Headed River..
The river flowed as it always had, a long and boundless stretch of water.
Wearing a familiar Daoist robe and sporting a head of white hair, Perfected Hengxu walked slowly along the embankment toward Kunwu.
Following beside him was the third disciple he had taken in his early years, named Wu Duan.
Today, Wu Duan was already a cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage.
Hearing Hengxu’s doubt, Wu Duan nodded.
“It is the female disciple named Jian Chou who was recently recruited by Yashan. Some say her Foundation Establishment period might have been even shorter. Her innate Battle Disk spanned ten feet, and though its current size is unknown, someone witnessed it with their own eyes and claims it is a Heaven Disk.”
“A Heaven Disk…”
And someone saw it personally?
Hengxu smiled faintly.
“Someone? Who is this ‘someone’?”
Wu Duan froze. “Master, do you mean…”
“It means nothing. Just a chaotic dance of demons.”
He was truly curious about what the Jianzhu Sect had obtained to suddenly become so arrogant.
First, they attacked Yashan and fought its disciples, and now they dared to spread such rumors.
What was their ultimate goal?
Not long ago, Kunwu produced a genius who achieved Foundation Establishment in ten days and reached the second level of the Ninefold Heaven Monument in thirteen days.
Immediately after, rumors surfaced that Yashan had a female disciple who reached Foundation Establishment in thirteen days with a Heaven Disk.
The intent behind this was malicious.
However, none of it mattered much to him.
Hengxu smiled and continued up the mountain path toward Kunwu.
Behind him, Wu Duan pondered over the riddle for a long time.
He did not follow Hengxu immediately but gazed out over the broad river.
The setting sun cast a bloody hue across the water.
Xie Buchen sat cross-legged amidst the turbulent currents in the center of the river, wearing a green robe.
He gave off no light or aura, looking like an ordinary man.
Wu Duan did not know if that Yashan female cultivator truly reached Foundation Establishment in thirteen days, but he knew for certain that the man before him had done it in ten.
How long had it been since he joined the sect?
Yet he shone so brightly that he overshadowed every other cultivator in Kunwu.
In the past, people knew of Zhao Zhuo of Kunwu, Yue He of Kunwu, or Wu Duan of Kunwu.
Now, no one cared about them anymore.
Everyone’s eyes and conversations were filled only with Kunwu’s Xie Buchen!
A genius?
In that moment, an indescribable restlessness stirred within Wu Duan.
He stepped forward, walking across the surging river water toward the center.
Xie Buchen’s eyelids slowly lifted.
The first thing he saw was the Nine-Headed River.
From the center of the river, the view was far more magnificent and grand than from the shore.
After a moment, he turned to look at Wu Duan, who had reached him.
Xie Buchen did not stand.
He simply said, “Senior Brother Wu.”
His expression was indifferent.
His eyes held no emotion, as if he lacked a heart.
Master never spoke of Xie Buchen’s origins, so none of them knew anything about this new junior brother.
They did not know where he came from, what he had experienced, or who he used to be.
He was too mysterious.
And too brilliant.
Only the mediocre are never envied, and Xie Buchen was a genius among geniuses.
Even in a place like Kunwu, which was filled with talent, he stood at the very peak.
“Junior Brother has been practicing in the river for a long time. It seems you haven’t returned to Kunwu in a while.”
Wu Duan started a casual conversation, smiling at him.
“The Central Domain has been very lively lately. Several major events have occurred. Have you heard?”
If he had not returned to Kunwu, he naturally wouldn’t know.
Xie Buchen was uninterested in news.
He said calmly, “I have not.”
Wu Duan sneered inwardly and said, “I heard Yashan has a new female disciple who reached Foundation Establishment in thirteen days. All her Kun lines were lit, marking a rare Heaven Disk! Speaking of which, though your ten day feat is known by everyone, I have never seen your Battle Disk. I wonder… is a talent like yours also a Heaven Disk?”
A gifted talent…
That much was true.
As for whether it was a Heaven Disk…
Xie Buchen looked down at the flowing river.
“Does Senior Brother wish to see it?”
His tone was gentle, yet it carried a chill like crushed ice that made one feel extremely uncomfortable.
Wu Duan felt insulted for no reason.
He knew that the disciple Master cared about most was this genius.
Unfortunately, aside from Master, few in Kunwu liked him.
Since he had already spoken, Wu Duan was not afraid.
“I not only want to see your Battle Disk, I also want to see your skills.”
That meant a fight.
Xie Buchen’s hands had been resting lightly on his knees.
Now they moved slightly, his relaxed fingers suddenly becoming tense and powerful.
He pressed his fingers against his knees and finally stood up from the river.
He did not look at Wu Duan, who was now tense and wary.
Xie Buchen leaned down and reached his hand into the river.
The deep, silent currents suddenly became noisy.
Wu Duan did not know what he was doing, but he immediately performed a hand seal.
A long sword made of white bone floated high behind him.
The river water flowed past the five fingers of Xie Buchen’s left hand.
His fingers were long like jade with smooth nails, looking elegant and refined.
He slowly stood up, withdrawing his palm.
At that moment, the entire river seemed to stand still.
A sense of alarm spiked in Wu Duan’s heart, making his hair stand on end.
After that split second of stillness, the river erupted into waves!
As Xie Buchen pulled his hand back, the rolling water rose with him, as if a waterfall was being pulled upward from the center of the river.
A surge!
Xie Buchen closed his fingers, as if grasping that current of water, lifting it higher and higher.
The sound of crashing water filled his ears.
That single stream was finally pulled from the river.
The surrounding water rushed in to fill the gap the moment the stream left.
Bang!
Water splashed, wetting the hem of Xie Buchen’s robe.
He kept his right hand behind his back and flicked his left hand.
The stream he held shook out like a sword flicking away raindrops.
Under the setting sun, the crystal droplets looked as if they were stained with blood.
When the spray cleared, Xie Buchen held a sword forged from river water.
Ripples moved along its surface as if it were still flowing.
Drawing the river to forge a sword!
Wu Duan felt a chill far greater than the day he saw Xie Buchen fly through the air.
Xie Buchen stood with the sword, the river flowing beneath his feet.
He said calmly, “I heard Senior Brother is in the late Nascent Soul stage with high cultivation. My cultivation is shallow, and I would like to ask for your guidance.”
***
“Master, do you mean someone is intentionally trying to frame Yashan?”
The sun had sunk into the western mountains.
The sky was completely dark.
Jian Chou and the others had already departed.
Fudao Shanren pulled his foot out of the Guihe pond and stood on the edge, looking back at the entirety of Yashan.
“I already gave orders regarding Jian Chou’s thirteen day Foundation Establishment. No one is allowed to speak of it. That group of fools at Yashan usually act unreliable and joke around, but in times like these, I trust them.”
It was Yashan, after all.
Still…
What did he mean by “fools”?
Shen Jiu, who had come to deliver the news, supported himself by his knees as he kept pace with Fudao Shanren.
“So, you are saying the news definitely didn’t leak from Yashan?”
“The probability is extremely low.”
Fudao Shanren pressed both hands atop his thin bamboo pole.
“On the day Jian Chou broke through to Foundation Establishment and ended her seclusion, people from the Jianzhu Sect just happened to arrive. Those malicious fellows might have been harboring some hidden agenda. Think about it. Kunwu just produced a Xie Buchen, and now our Yashan immediately brings out a Senior Sister Jian Chou. If I were that old monster Hengxu, I would be thinking right now: Does your Yashan have some ulterior motive?”
As he spoke, he even made a show of stroking his chin as if he possessed a very long beard.
Shen Jiu was speechless.
The analysis made sense, but just how much did his master hate Perfected Hengxu to make the imitation look so hideous?
“Master, should we go and give the Jianzhu Sect a warning?”
“A warning?”
Fudao Shanren showed a look of disdain.
“Since they dared to do it, they must have something to rely on, even if we don’t know what it is yet. Just wait and see. I am going to find that little brat Zheng Yao to investigate.”
With that, he directly left the side of Guihe pond.
Tapping his broken bamboo pole, he vanished from sight in a few moments.
Zheng Yao was currently inside Lanyue Hall, staring at a massive pile of bamboo scrolls until his head throbbed.
“I can’t do this anymore. With so many matters to handle, I should just pack my bags and run away one of these days. How can being a Sect Leader be this troublesome?”
Many members of the Yashan Sect were martial idiots.
He would rather spend every day in secluded cultivation than stay here processing affairs.
It was too difficult, far too difficult!
He let out a long sigh.
Fudao Shanren entered and, upon hearing that sigh, felt like giving him a slap.
“Sigh, sigh, sigh. What are you sighing for? Even I am not sighing anymore, so what right do you have?”
Suddenly sprayed with such a lecture, Zheng Yao looked up in a bit of a daze.
He simply pushed the pile of scrolls away and walked over.
“I sigh for my reasons, and you sigh for yours, Uncle. We have nothing to do with each other. Wait, that’s not right. You aren’t sighing anymore?”
He widened his eyes at Fudao Shanren.
“Senior Sister is awake?”
“She’s awake.”
Fudao Shanren rolled his eyes and gave a dry laugh.
“No conscience at all. I worried about her for so long, but as soon as she woke up, she ran off with that black hearted Second Disciple! Once she heard she could go to the Armory to choose a magic tool, she smiled so wide her eyes disappeared. You should have seen it.”
“…”
Wasn’t that perfectly normal?
Zheng Yao thought to himself that when he first went to the Armory, he had practically jumped three feet in the air.
Just a smile? Senior Sister Jian Chou was far too reserved!
Zheng Yao said, “But is it suitable for Senior Sister Jian Chou to go to the Armory at a time like this?”
“Why?”
Fudao Shanren looked up.
Zheng Yao’s expression became strange.
“Senior Sister’s soul is incomplete. Among the famous artifacts in the Yashan Armory, none are ordinary, especially the swords. I fear that not many swords will choose her.”
“Eh…”
Hearing this, Fudao Shanren suddenly slapped his own forehead and wore a blank expression.
“That’s right! That girl seemed to want a sword! It’s over…”
This time it was truly over.
Which sword in the Armory would be blind enough to take a fancy to the bright and shining Senior Sister of Yashan?
This was a very serious problem!
Zheng Yao could only wipe away cold sweat.
He leaned closer to Fudao Shanren and asked, “Regarding the Armory, at worst she returns empty handed. But what do we do about her incomplete soul?”
“I have already thought it through.”
Fudao Shanren retracted his thoughts from the Armory.
His tone was much more relaxed as he spoke.
“This girl Jian Chou is someone who has experienced life and death. She is far from being as fragile as we imagine. Back then, I asked her what she would do if she met her former husband. Do you know what she said? Back then she was just a mortal, yet she said she would just kill him. My disciple is hardly someone with a weak mind. So, I will tell her about this matter as soon as she returns.”
That seemed to make sense.
Zheng Yao actually felt the same way.
If she continued her cultivation in a muddled state, she wouldn’t even know how she died if a Heart Inquiry Tribulation arrived one day.
If Jian Chou knew her current situation, she could better choose her future path. Whether to continue cultivating, to what realm she should reach, or whether to control her speed, these were not things they could decide for her.
Zheng Yao nodded in agreement with Fudao Shanren.
However, a sudden realization flashed in his mind.
“Uncle, what did you just say? Former husband?”
“Did I not mention it?”
It seemed he hadn’t.
Fudao Shanren slapped his forehead again and said, “Her husband is a ruthless person. For the sake of seeking the path to immortality, he actually killed her. That is how I came to save her.”
“Killing his wife to prove his Dao?”
Zheng Yao felt a chill.
“Then her husband, or rather, her former husband, must be somewhere in the Nineteen Continents if he came here seeking the Dao. I am curious who he is. Does he have a name?”
“…”
Fudao Shanren was stumped by the question.
He blinked and then shook his head.
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. I never asked.”
“…”
Zheng Yao immediately looked at him with disdain.
Fudao Shanren waved his hand dismissively.
“When the girl returns with her magic tool, we will tell her and ask her everything together. If the timing is right, we will just catch that damned former husband and kill him right in front of her!”
Now he knew how to act like a master and support his disciple?
Zheng Yao shook his head and remained silent.
What had he been doing earlier?
Whatever, he would just wait.
Looking at the time, the Armory was likely about to open.
One wonders what kind of magic tool Senior Sister Jian Chou, who departs at a moment’s notice, will bring back.
Outside Yashan, a tributary of the Nine-Headed River flowed through the gradually darkening night.
Jian Chou followed Qu Zhengfeng and his group out of Yashan.
They traveled downstream along the river, flying on their magical tools for about an hour.
All around them, the faint glows of various artifacts illuminated the darkness.
Jian Chou looked up and saw the vast, dark silhouettes of the mountains against the night sky.
After crossing a high peak, a massive basin finally appeared before her eyes.
Qu Zhengfeng, treading upon his Haiguang Sword, was not far from Jian Chou.
Seeing they had reached their destination, he spoke.
“This place is where the Armory resides. I ask my fellow disciples to land and wait a moment.”
Halfway up a high mountain, there was a platform that seemed specifically designed for people to land upon.
Hearing this, Jian Chou followed his lead and controlled her Liwai Mirror (inside-out mirror), which she had already bound with a drop of blood, to descend.
Standing on this platform, one could look down upon the entire plain below.
Curiosity filled her heart: The Armory, the Armory, where exactly was the Armory? Would it be as wondrous as the Scripture Pavilion of Yashan?
Qu Zhengfeng was a senior disciple of Yashan.
His cultivation had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, a level that was respected throughout the Nineteen Continents.
This time, he was leading the newly established Foundation disciples and several Golden Core disciples who had lost their tools to the Armory to select new magic artifacts.
While everyone else landed, Qu Zhengfeng did not.
Instead, he remained suspended in the void, treading his Haiguang Sword.
Many turned their heads to watch him.
Qu Zhengfeng gazed into the void of the heavy night.
Within the vast basin, the forest was thick, the birds had long since returned to their nests, and all was quiet except for the occasional sound of a small animal scurrying through the brush.
He reached out his hand, and the Haiguang Sword flew into his palm.
Soaring through the air, Qu Zhengfeng stood with his sword outside the mountain platform at the edge of the basin.
From behind, Jian Chou could only see his tall, sturdy back.
The edges of his dark gray robes featured exquisite embroidery that seemed to shimmer with a faint, flowing light.
The sword was raised.
Qu Zhengfeng focused his gaze upon the basin below.
A ten foot Battle Disk suddenly whirled open beneath his feet.
A beam of spiritual light shone from his forehead, and then the wind began to howl.
Countless wisps of spiritual energy wandering between heaven and earth seemed to sense an attraction at that moment, surging frantically toward Qu Zhengfeng!
Jian Chou widened her eyes, feeling as though this scene was somewhat familiar.
The summoned spiritual energy condensed entirely upon that dark blue Haiguang Sword! With every bit of energy that struck it, the light of the sword grew.
The originally dark blue color gradually became clear after the accumulation of countless spiritual energies, looking like a pure blue sky after rain!
Accompanying this was a tremendous pressure generated by the gathered spiritual energy!
However, Qu Zhengfeng did not let this pressure last for long.
Standing in the air, he simply held his sword and slashed!
The azure sword light finally erupted, rushing toward the massive basin like a crescent of moonlight! The silent night was illuminated by this brilliant blade! The thick forest in the basin, the shadows of the surrounding mountains, and even the streams at the edge of the basin—everything seemed to have nowhere to hide under this blazing sword light!
Jian Chou tried her best to keep her eyes wide, yet she still could not clearly see Qu Zhengfeng’s figure hidden behind the radiance!
Boom!
The sword light fell!
The basin surrounded by mountains was split down the middle by this single stroke.
It actually receded toward both sides as the earth shook and the mountains swayed!
The Yashan disciples standing on the high platform watched this scene in shock.
As the ground cracked open and moved aside, the sword light had not yet dissipated, but from within the fissure, massive stone pillars began to rise slowly! The two closest pillars were exactly on either side of the high platform, standing as tall as the mountains!
Qu Zhengfeng had seen this scene many times before.
Holding his Haiguang Sword, he looked back to see faces, both familiar and strange, filled with unconcealable shock.
Even the Golden Core disciples who were not visiting for the first time were still full of admiration.
Standing at the very front, Jian Chou watched the fading sword light with bright eyes.
Her eyes were dark and clear, yet a tiny flame seemed to light up within them.
Was it merely the reflection of the sword light in her eyes?
Qu Zhengfeng had seen that expression in the eyes of others before; it was somewhat like Shen Jiu.
It was a gaze of longing, of resilience, of a love for battle, and a desire to win.
It was hidden very deep, perhaps so deep she hadn’t even noticed it herself.
Slowly descending, Qu Zhengfeng landed right beside Jian Chou, likewise gazing at the basin in the midst of its great transformation.
Countless rocks were pushed aside as a platform rose slowly from deep underground.
Surrounded by countless towering stone pillars that reached the mountains, that platform was held in their embrace.
“Every Nascent Soul cultivator has the power to open the Armory. One sword strike opens all manifestations.”
Hearing this, Jian Chou snapped out of her shocked state and turned her head to look at Qu Zhengfeng.
“Junior Brother Qu?”
What did he mean?
Qu Zhengfeng also slowly turned his head to look at her, only to find that the faint light in her eyes had vanished.
At this moment, Jian Chou stood before him with a calm face, carrying just a hint of wonder and curiosity, which made her appearance soften.
The corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
“I mean that if Senior Sister Jian Chou reaches the Nascent Soul stage one day, you too can bring a sword to the Armory to enjoy such a thrill.”
Bring a sword to the Armory to enjoy such a thrill?
Jian Chou was slightly stunned upon hearing this, but then she couldn’t help but laugh.
She looked again at the basin, which was beginning to return to calm, and recalled that heart shaking scene from just a moment ago.
She knew she was still very far away.
However…
If such a day truly came, and she stood here to split open the Armory for the newly established Foundation disciples of Yashan with a single sword, wouldn’t that be magnificent?
