Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 157 - 124 Heavenly Spring Mountain Ends, The Beginning of the Great Battle_2

Chapter 157: Chapter 124 Heavenly Spring Mountain Ends, The Beginning of the Great Battle_2

Inheriting the sect does not mean becoming its head, only the Venerable is entitled to enjoy everything.

Xu Liyan, the first genius to sponsor Gu Wen’s Sword Spirit, finally spoke up, "Yesterday our ancestor sent a message, asking us to return the treasures. Brother Red Dust, please return them; we have no other choice."

As these words came out, it seemed as though everyone had found a breakthrough, and they all started to express their agreement.

"I feel ashamed, Brother Red Dust, but we have no choice; we must obey our ancestor."

"Alas, it’s not easy for us either; I hope Brother Red Dust can understand."

I’m not borrowing things from you; I exchanged the treasures for the True Sword Dao and goodwill. Now that you’ve already seen the True Sword Dao, how can you demand it back?

Asking the stock market to recover losses?

Gu Wen tugged at the corner of his mouth; he knew Cultivators were mortals too, but he did not expect these geniuses to be just as mundane.

Indeed, as long as the loss is big enough, even the richest man in the world would jump up and down. For these geniuses, the Sword Spirit might be worth half their lives.

But it’s somewhat poor sportsmanship to only allow yourself to benefit from goodwill and then want to recoup losses when the situation turns sour.

Before he could speak, Chi Yu Zi on the side declared, "Not giving."

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Chi Yu Zi, and behind her the Sword Box slowly opened as she coldly spoke again, "Choose: your life or the treasures?"

"Don’t push it too far!"

In an instant, the original shame turned into fury, and anger, wrapped in Sword Intent, bore down on them, with talents in the Sword Dao, starting from at least the Fifth Level.

Eight people acted together, as if there had been a premeditated plan.

At this moment, a black aura rushed down from the eighth level, and Jun Yan appeared beside Gu Wen.

Two top geniuses stood with Gu Wen, instantly making the momentum seem balanced, and Xiao Yunyi above also walked down with his sword drawn. Although he did not state it outright, his Sword Intent was already pressing down on them.

The scales were tipping in Gu Wen’s favor, prompting some to start considering retreat.

Gu Wen suddenly suggested, "How about exchanging with spiritual swords?"

Everyone present was stunned, Xiao Yunyi halted in his steps, the murderous intent in the eyes of Jun Yan and Chi Yu Zi paused, and the many geniuses demanding the treasures were also somewhat taken aback.

They had not expected Gu Wen to actually be willing to return them.

Acting as a representative, Xu Liyan nodded slightly and said, "Naturally, that would be acceptable, Brother Red Dust."

Spiritual swords might not be equivalent to the Sword Spirit, but recouping some of the treasures was still good.

Gu Wen turned to Chi Yu Zi and said, "Chi Yu Zi, help me make the exchange."

"You..."

"Consider it a debt I owe you; this was meant to be borrowed in the first place."

"What kind of brain do you have?"

Chi Yu Zi scratched her head in irritation, but still pulled out many spiritual swords, one hundred low-quality ones for each person, resulting in eight hundred less in the Sword Box in an instant.

This was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, for she had scraped together only a thousand from the sect previously. Now, after fattening up on Heavenly Spring Mountain, she possessed three thousand spiritual swords, though it was unclear how they had been squandered.

After returning the spiritual swords, Gu Wen told the crowd, "With this, we are even, with no further obligations. You need not worry about me using underhanded methods against you, as a loan should be repaid."

His words made those who had demanded the spiritual swords visibly ashamed, while those surrounding who had not asked, and those standing behind Gu Wen like Chi Yu Zi, showed a slight change in expression.

Their gazes towards Gu Wen shifted, some surprised, some perplexed, and some like Chi Yu Zi, rolling their eyes.

He could have chosen not to return them, yet he opted for honesty. Even if he kept those items, no one would think there was anything wrong with it.

This was exactly the credit foundation Gu Wen desired; reputation is like a gemstone in a previous life. Gemstones themselves are not valuable – marketing is the means to drive up the price, but what truly maintains the price is a guaranteed buyback.

Specialist groups that dealt in hype would buy back all gemstones on the market at high prices to ensure their value.

This is the so-called preservation of value.

Reputation works in the same way, but Gu Wen was not showing his reliability to those who flip-flopped, but to people like Chi Yu Zi.

What should have been a bloody conflict settled down under Gu Wen’s ’gentle persuasions.’

When the crowd had mostly dispersed and no outsiders were around,

Chi Yu Zi stamped hard on the ground with her right foot and frowned, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Gu Wen replied, "A promise made must be kept, what’s the use of talking about reliability?"

"Blockhead, remember you owe me a favor."

This was the first time Chi Yu Zi actively mentioned the favor, while beside him, Jun Yan suggested, "I can create a special demonic qi to mask divine thought and sight. Shall we sneak attack and kill them one by one?"

Trust is the foundation of whether a team can last, and actively making suggestions is the beginning of integrating into the team.

Gu Wen knew the goal had been achieved and shook his head, "No need, I’ve said before I won’t resort to foul play."

-----------------

Five days later.

Heavenly Spring Mountain trembled slightly, all within the nine level Grotto Heaven mysteriously felt a sense of rejection, as if the entire Heavenly Spring Mountain was repelling them.

As the sealed stone doors opened again, Gu Wen and his companions walked out.

They were not greeted by the bright sunshine, but by a continuous sea of dark clouds, figures standing in the air, who knows how long they had been waiting.

Although one could not perform Flying Escape in Immortal Land, flying and stepping through the air were two different concepts. The former used spells for rapid movement, which generally involved space, and thus could result in being crushed to death by the geostress.

The latter was merely a way to stay afloat, something that cultivators at the Seventh Level of their foundation and above could generally accomplish.

Upon their exit, dharma forms all revealed themselves, the Buddhist Sect’s Vajras, the Daoist Sect’s storms and lightning, the Demon Sect’s ashen flames reaching the skies.

Among them, the Venerable’s dharma forms towered hundreds of feet high; the tallest was a six hundred-feet-tall dharma form of the Goddess, her light scarf fluttering and covering half the sky, clouds and rain swirling within, her kind and merciful eyes watching over them.

For a moment, it was as if celestial generals and soldiers had arrived.

Ethereal and mysterious sounds descended.

"Heavenly Girl, hand over the Immortality Pill."

Even though they were prepared, Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan still felt a chill on their scalps. One or two in the Mahayana Realm weren’t a concern, but dozens of them in the Mahayana Realm and seven or eight Venerables standing together were frightening.

Chi Yu Zi whispered, "Red Dust, later you follow me, I’ll protect you as we break through."

Jun Yan said, "I will try my best to shield you."

Both were ready to dash out at the risk of their lives, but Gu Wen was calm because Yu Hua had said she could handle it.

Yu Hua spoke with a gentle voice, "There is much controversy within the Daoist Sect over you taking the Immortality Pill, they think it would be better given to the Three Pure Daoist rather than you."

"What do you think?" Gu Wen asked in return as footsteps came from behind and the other Sword Dao prodigies began to leave Heavenly Spring Mountain.

"I think he is not as good as you, I will let you take any root essence that can’t be sent out in the future."

Yu Hua glanced to the side, her gaze landing for the first time on those Sword Dao prodigies; aside from Lan Yongning and Xiao Yunyi, the one with the highest cultivation was only at the Fourth Level fulfilled.

They were two levels of foundation higher than him, but that only made it necessary.

Her gaze returned to Gu Wen, studying his unassuming face.

"True peerlessness isn’t determined by realm, but by a talent that inspires awe even at the lowest ebb. If you feel insecure about showing your strength, then wait for me to kill these people."

Yu Hua’s form floated up, tearing apart the sword array like a mist with a sweep of her hand, facing the celestial gods and Buddhas in her solitary white.

All fell silent, not even the wind made a sound.

Hum!

The continuous sea of dark clouds in the sky split open, just like parted waters, the figures among them like fish out of water.

An unexplainable dread surged in their hearts; they knew Yu Hua was strong, but it was the first time they faced the might of an Immortal directly.

With a flick of her fingers, the skies split, and the gods and Buddhas were terror-stricken.

Gu Wen turned around and swung his sword, leaving a mark a step before the several Sword Dao prodigies, the boundless Sword Intent pressing down on them, the might of the True Sword Dao causing their swords along their waists to tremble.

"Offspring of the sects laying siege to this place, step forward."

"Those with a foundation one level higher than mine, step forward."

"Those with a foundation two levels higher than mine, step forward twice."

"Those whose foundation is on par with mine, kneel and beg for life."