Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 137 - 112: Sword Washing Pond

Chapter 137: Chapter 112: Sword Washing Pond

"Ever since Broken Sword Mountain seized the title of ’first among swordsmen’, the Buddhist, Taoist, and Demon Three Swords, although not being desolate, had no one particularly exerting great effort to cultivate the top swordsman in competition for Qi Fortune."

"The external world, unlike this place with a unified dynasty, spans billions of miles in the Cultivation World, with countless Grotto Heavens suspended like stars; it is impossible for a single power to dominate all under heaven."

"The Human Race essentially takes the form of cities as the most basic unit, local cultivating families as administrative units, immortal sects as the highest governing bodies, and great powers as the rulers, thus forming a society revolving around cultivation."

"The Three Religions is akin to recruiting students, and swordsmanship is the most well-known among the Human Race. If you start a sect, the whole world may not know, but if you are the world’s number one sword cultivator, everyone will know."

"From influencing how many young people join one of the Buddhist, Taoist, and Demon sects to how many great powers emerge from these people after a thousand years, everything converges into the two words: Qi Fortune."

"The candidate for the Taoist Sword this generation is undecided because the Three Pure Daoist does not cultivate swordsmanship, and no other prodigies have taken up the mantle."

"Chi Yu Zi and Lan Yongning both belong to the Daoist sects, but each possesses their own Sword Dao lineage."

"At present, the only one practicing the Taoist Sword Skill is one person, Gu Wen."

"An image of an ordinary face flashes through everyone’s minds, a figure that is sometimes slick and other times blatantly arrogant."

"Gu Wen is very famous, not only as the first to dare kill a senior predecessor but also as the only prodigy who, among his peers, would address a senior and ask for guidance without feeling ashamed."

"Has he achieved the Sword Dao dharma form?" Chi Yu Zi found it somewhat unbelievable, for she remembered clearly the cultivation level of the other party, the realm of the sword deity in the Yuqing Sword Skill."

"Although only one step away from the dharma form, this one step is one that most will not be able to cross in their entire lives."

"Swordsmanship is easy, Sword Intent is hard, the sword deity even harder, Sword Dao dharma like ascending to the heavens, and swordsmanship Divine Skills are rarely seen in the world."

"Is there now, in Luodu—or even within the entire Daoist community—anyone else who cultivates the Yuqing Sword Skill to the Sixth Level?" Jun Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. Although he was also surprised, the only intelligence he had indicated it could only be Gu Wen."

"Unless some hidden Daoist prodigy has emerged, he could not think of anyone else who would have the Sword Dao dharma form."

Lan Yongning said directly, "Now in the Daoist community, aside from Gu Wen, there is not a single person who has reached the Fifth Level of the Yuqing Sword Skill. Everyone thinks that the Daoist community is moderate, with cultivation techniques that are stable and easy to practice, but they do not know that it’s easy to begin but difficult to perceive the Dao, especially so with the Taoist Sword."

"The sword is a weapon of slaughter and is acceptable if it harmonizes strength with softness or if it carries momentum with a compassionate heart, but it cannot stand not to fight."

"The Taoist Sword, with its light merging with its dust, is most non-contentious."

"Lan Yongning, as an ’exchange student,’ had studied at the Sanqing Taoist Sect. He gave up after just seeing the sect disciples practicing the first three levels of the Taoist Sword because this technique was too contrary to the principles of swordsmanship, putting too much emphasis on temperament. And temperament or Daoist heart, sometimes are not innate, incapable of being cultivated in a lifetime."

"He even doubted that the reason the Three Pure Daoist did not practice was because of this."

"Yet that guy does not seem like one to merge light with dust; he’s even more arrogant than I am," Chi Yu Zi commented sarcastically. Upon uttering this, almost everyone unanimously agreed."

"Recently, he dared to shout at a group of True Monarchs, ’Those three levels higher than me, step forward.’ At any stage, such words would be considered outrageously bold, let alone directed at a group of True Monarchs."

"Although certainly no one would dare to stand up—since coming forward, win or lose, would be an embarrassment—but even fewer would have the guts to shout such a challenge."

Suddenly, a clear and ethereal voice sounded.

"It’s Gu Wen."

"Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see a shiny bald head, instantly falling silent; it was the Jade Sword Buddha.

"Rarely do the reticent speak with weight, and the Jade Sword Buddha is such a figure; many might be hearing her speak for the first time."

"Why are you so certain, master?" asked Chi Yu Zi.

"Because the little monk saw it."

As the words ended, two figures appeared in the distance, one black and one white, walking through the light rain.

"The whole place quieted down. Gu Wen wore pure black, his eyes dark but gradually brightening, with a faint glimmer of sword light flickering deep in his pupils. Anyone meeting his gaze felt their heart and lungs contract, their Sword Heart trembling."

"He exhibited the external traits of the Jade Sword dharma, with the inner essence of the True Sword Dao."

"Just a faint breath rolled in, overpowering many prodigies who might not have perceived the True Sword Dao, yet their Sword Hearts definitely felt a more profound level of pressure."

"It was as if Gu Wen’s Sword Dao stood above theirs so that none could react to his extreme boldness."

Clang!

"A sword’s ring suddenly rose, and in a moment, tens of thousands of spiritual sword illusions struggled against the Jade Sword dharma, followed by the Demon Sword dharma, Buddha Sword dharma, and Willow Tree dharma."

"Chi Yu Zi looked at Gu Wen with enthusiasm and asked, ’Did you actually achieve the dharma form?’"

"Jun Yan still smiled, always feeling that there was something off about Gu Wen’s aura."

"As you can see," Gu Wen did not hide it and displayed the Jade Sword dharma, and then said, "It was by sheer luck that I managed it."

"......"

"The crowd fell silent; even Chi Yu Zi did not know how to respond to this. To go from sword deity to dharma form in a month, and to call that luck?"

"Chi Yu Zi scratched her head; her straightforward nature didn’t bother with much else and said, ’It doesn’t matter. I just want the Taoist Sword, and you all are here for the Immortality Pill.’"

"At this moment, the first streak of purple light dawned in the east, shining on Heavenly Spring Mountain, with the entire mountain aglow with golden light."

"Suddenly, anomalies burst forth, streaks of Sword Qi escaping from the mountain body, making the whole Heavenly Spring Mountain seem like a sword, emitting endless Sword Qi."

"To the left and right, for a hundred miles; above and below, a space of ten thousand feet; it’s all a sea of Sword Qi!"

The true sea of swords was even more abundant than the Luo River.

Before heaven and earth had brightened, Sword Mountain illuminated the land.

Gu Wen was so shocked that he was speechless. He could not recall having ever seen such a scene. He then looked at the others, who were also showing shocked expressions, even those proud geniuses from beyond the skies seemed to have never witnessed such a sight.

Jun Yan said to Xiao Yunyi at his side, "Even the main vein of Broken Sword Mountain doesn’t have such prestige. If one could always be within Sword Mountain, their Sword Dao cultivation could forcefully improve by one level."

"Items from Immortal Land surpass the outer world by a thousand times."

Xiao Yunyi couldn’t deny it; he naturally knew the reason why Heavenly Spring Mountain was so mystical.

This place was the Daoist practice ground of the founder of Broken Sword Mountain, and within it was a spiritual sword, which most likely had become Immortal now.

At that moment, the sword Qi filled the sky like a curtain of water, completely enveloping Sword Mountain.

And from outside, numerous auras suddenly appeared. Unknown old monsters stopped hiding and rushed towards them.

Clearly, they didn’t plan to let them monopolize the treasure. If there were enough people, they could contend with these gifted individuals. It might seem shameless, but now that they were down to grasping fortunes, there was no face to be lost.

"Seeking death."

From behind Chi Yu Zi, a sword box flew out emitting countless rays of sword light. A thousand spiritual swords turned into a dragon and pounced on the True Monarchs charging in with three Taoist Swords leading the front and golden mana enveloping the sword Qi.

Boom!

On the spot, three True Monarchs with a cultivation base of not more than the Sixth Level were torn apart, their Primordial Spirits fled, only to be crushed by the overwhelming Qi Fortune and scattered into oblivion.

This part of Immortal Land seemed to contain some sort of monster. For those below the Daoist foundation, their cultivation was merely nutrients; even those with damaged Daoist foundations were nutrients after the fact.

The other talented individuals also made their moves. Various sword lights and Daoist skills clashed, turning the mountainside into scorched earth within minutes, countless trees were chopped in half, and residual Spiritual Fires ignited larger flames.

"Amitabha Buddha."

The Jade Sword Buddha suddenly moved, wielding a single sword that brought about a roaring wind, instantly suppressing the mountain fire.

As Sword Dao geniuses and old geezers exchanged fierce blows, Jade Sword Buddha put out fires on the side while Gu Wen was on the sidelines, eating melons.

It wasn’t that he wanted to slink away from the battle, but at present, he was one with high attack but low mana. Others had Golden Cores, whereas he only possessed a Qi Sea, his mana reserves a mere tenth of theirs.

He simply couldn’t afford the consumption.

Suddenly, a clear and tranquil voice came through.

"Let them in."

In an instant, it was as though the first cold breath of autumn entering winter swept through, and everyone stopped their fighting without any agreement.

The multitude of talented individuals looked at Yu Hua, who usually hardly ever spoke, and even at the previous grand assembly, she had not made a sound. But no one dared to ignore this Taoist Heavenly Girl.

The True Monarchs who wished to enter also stopped their steps, exchanging unsure glances with each other.

They had heard that when the Taoist Heavenly Girl took action, it would shorten her lifespan. Was she really about to do something against such insignificant characters as them?

The Sword Array was unaffected and slowly closing.

Since ancient times, the Sword Array of Heavenly Spring Mountain only had two options: open and close, and once closed, not even Broken Sword Mountain could reopen it mid-way; it had to wait until the Sword Pond’s fortune concluded.

These were the rules set by the first Sword Master.

Only those with Sword Dao Dharma could enter the mountain; whoever was the strongest in the current Swordsmanship could reach the summit, but it had never been stated that it must be someone from Broken Sword Mountain.

The sword curtain fell to about thirty feet. Half of the True Monarchs silently withdrew, at ten feet only a dozen or so remained hesitant, and with a boom, it completely closed, leaving only one person.

Carrying a spiritual sword and emitting the aura of a Heavenly Person nearing the end of their lifespan, the True Monarch trembled, his mouth slightly open as if to say something, but in the next moment, he violently exploded.

His body turned into a mist of blood, his three souls and seven spirits scattered like twinkling starlight.

No one knew exactly what had happened, or what spell had caused it.

Among those present, there were seven or eight capable of killing a True Monarch. If they were just Sixth Level Daoist foundations without fulfillment, everyone could kill them.

But they couldn’t tell how Yu Hua had acted. Unknown and unpredictable power was sheer terror.

Yu Hua looked at the many True Monarchs who had left the isolation range of the Sword Array. They were just bit players; the real old monsters were still hiding further behind.

Those who came out wanted the opportunity of Heavenly Spring Mountain, while those who stayed behind wanted the Immortality Pill.

"Let’s go."

Yu Hua took the first step towards the Ten Thousand Sword Path, Gu Wen closely followed, and only then did the rest of the group snap back to reality and catch up.

Dozens of people strode grandly into Heavenly Spring Mountain as if they were out for a spring outing, reaching the mountain gate, proud individuals like Chi Yu Zi conceded without taking the first step.

Strength wasn’t something you could just shout into existence; now, Yu Hua was the strongest.

Yu Hua stood still and did not ascend. If she stepped straight up, she would have to contend with the entire Sword Mountain, with the Immortal Sword within it.

She turned to look at Gu Wen who, realizing what was expected, stepped forward and extended his hand.

Yu Hua naturally took Gu Wen’s hand and finally took the first step; thus, the two of them began ascending together, step by step.

Those who were still somewhat puzzled had their eyes visibly widen.

What are you doing? What are you doing?!

About half a two-hour period later, Gu Wen and Yu Hua stepped onto the platform. At the far end, the cave door was already open, revealing countless standing spiritual swords, wandering Taoist Swords, and Sword Spirits that were barely visible.

Spiritual Treasures that used to be rare now lay about as common as dirt.