Chapter 247: All Means Are Justified in War

It is said that fourteen dynasties ago, the ruler of Wu was without the Way, so the Heavenly Emperor sent the Profound Heaven Maiden to descend to the mortal realm to assist Yue in destroying Wu.

At that time, south of Kuaiji Mountain, there was a woman of Yue who was proficient in swordsmanship. The ruler of Yue heard of her name and ordered the Grand Physician to personally travel to Nanshan to hire her as a military instructor.

The Profound Heaven Maiden taught the art of battle formations and the Gentleman's Sword Art within the army, finally forging six thousand Gentleman Soldiers.

After this, the ruler of Yue's confidence surged greatly, so he ordered the six thousand Gentleman Soldiers to march straight into Wu. At that time, Wu possessed three thousand Fish-Belly Swords, which were unmatched, yet before the Gentleman Soldiers they were like paper-mache and clay figures, unable to withstand a single blow.

The ruler of Yue destroyed the state of Wu, only then completely believing in the fame of the Woman of Yue. However, when the King of Yue sent people again to Nanshan to seek her out, they could no longer find any trace of the Woman of Yue.

The story splits into two threads. Let us speak of several years ago when King Gong of Chu hunted in Jing Mountain. A white ape with long arms that had cultivated the Dao for many years endured eighteen arrows from King Gong of Chu without suffering the slightest injury.

The King was therefore greatly enraged and ordered Yang Youji, the first divine archer of Chu, to search the mountain and shoot the ape. The white ape, having long heard of Yang Youji's divine archery fame, fled overnight to Bai Yun Cave on Yunmeng Mountain to cultivate the Dao in seclusion.

Later, King Gong of Chu ordered soldiers to set fire to the mountain, hoping to force the white ape to reveal itself, but to no avail. Thus to this day, legends still exist throughout the world of the lost ape of Chu, whose calamity extends to the forests.

And that white ape was Yuan Gong, who later followed the Woman of Yue to learn the Woman of Yue Sword Art, guessed the true identity of the Woman of Yue, bowed to the Nine Heavens Profound Heaven Maiden as his master, and ascended to immortality to attain the Dao.

Now, Yuan Gong has passed this set of sword techniques, combined with the method of refining sword pills, to Xuan Yu.

Xuan Yu naturally loves round things like balls of yarn. When it saw those round and smooth sword pills, seemingly made of bright pearls and precious stones, the entire cat was about to reveal its true form!

This thing looks like it's begging to be polished!

Yuan Gong still thought the cat had perceived the power of the sword pills and felt quite proud in his heart. After all, this was once the supreme art for establishing oneself that the Nine Heavens Profound Heaven Maiden taught him; it was only natural for a small cat with no experience of the world to feel surprised.

But when Xuan Yu caught the two sword pills, what Yuan Gong saw was a little girl treating the sword pills in her hand like walnuts, polishing them with flying skill!

That posture was no different from a seasoned troublemaker in the Flower and Bird Market. If placed among the circle of troublemakers, everyone would have to praise them as an insider!

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"What are you doing?!" Even Yuan Gong, who had a fairly good temper, revealed a look of anger.

This is a product condensed from a wisp of sword intent left behind by the Profound Heaven Maiden when she descended to the mortal realm. How can it be treated like a walnut and polished recklessly?

Xuan Yu did not understand. Isn't a ball meant to be polished?

"These are the Yin and Yang Twin Swords, not toys for playing with!"

Xuan Yu's appearance reminded Yuan Gong of his former self.

At that time, when the Profound Heaven Maiden first took out the sword pills, he also felt that the object was not very glorious.

Two round spheres, even if made of silver, weighed only a few taels and were not worth market profit. If they were two pellets, they would be useless without a slingshot.

Initially, Yuan Gong looked down on that object, thinking the Profound Heaven Maiden was fooling him into playing, until

"Just watch closely!"

Yuan Gong gathered his thoughts, opened his mouth, and blew a breath onto the sword pills. With a "Hoo" sound, he shouted the word "Haste." In the next moment, the two round sword pills erupted with sword light. Yuan Gong controlled the swords from a distance; the two glowing sword pills spun left and right, stretching their forms like two agile golden snakes. In the blink of an eye, ten thousand rays of cold light burst forth!

Xuan Yu's fur stood on end. It felt as if there were sounds of thousands of weapons clashing and colliding all around. Although it was clearly within an illusion, it felt as if it were in an ice cellar or a cold cave, surrounded by chilling, bone-piercing sword winds and sword qi.

The cat was utterly shocked. So walnuts could even be polished to produce sword intent? It seems only the immortals in the heavens know how to play!

"I want to learn this! I want to learn this!" The little girl's excited face turned red.

A double affirmation, showing just how much Xuan Yu liked this sword technique.

"These two sword pills are the Yin and Yang Twin Swords refined by those cultivating the Immortal Dao. They secretly conform to Yin and Yang. If cultivated to the highest perfection, the sword light can be so fine it enters the minutest details, or so vast it forces back the sun and moon. When the light is retracted, they resemble ordinary lead pellets. But if the light is released..."

Yuan Gong chuckled and said, "If the light is released, one can shuttle freely amidst thousands of soldiers and ten thousand horses. One can also cross a thousand li of land, fly the sword to slay demons, with absolutely no miss!"

Having spoken, Yuan Gong retracted the sword pills as usual, handing only the wisp of sword intent left by the Profound Heaven Maiden to Xuan Yu, letting it carefully ponder and realize it.

This is inheritance.

However, the wisp of sword intent left by the Profound Heaven Maiden here is only enough for one use. Once Xuan Yu comprehends the sword intent and refines its own sword pills, the Profound Heaven Maiden Sword Art may be completely lost in the mortal realm.

Yuan Gong did not feel regret. This sword came from beyond the heavens and originally did not belong to the world. Now that this sword technique has found a suitable person to pass it on, he has already fulfilled his lifelong wish.

Yuan Gong let out a low sigh.

Thinking back now, how naive was the vision he once established to spread the Dao to the world, so that everyone in the world would have a method to cultivate and a path to walk.

Opportunities in the world are naturally limited. Just like the Profound Heaven Maiden Sword Art, without the sword intent inheritance left by the Profound Heaven Maiden, who else could learn it and penetrate its depths?

Cultivating trees into a forest has already become impossible. Now Yuan Gong has only one wish: that one day, the limited seeds he once sown can grow into towering trees, with a single tree shading a hundred forests.

Cultivation knows no years. Xu Qing and Xuan Yu pondered and practiced day and night in Bright Moon Ravine. At this time, Xuan Yu had already condensed its demon core, no longer needing food or drink; moonlight and morning dew could fill its stomach.

Only Xu Qing, every few days, would burn two sticks of incense. Sitting side by side with the stone statue of Yuan Gong by the ravine water, he would smoke the spiritual incense while chatting idly now and then.

Xu Qing told many worldly anecdotes about the era of the Great Calamity, while Yuan Gong told him of the scenery and features of the Upper Realm. Although the places and people they spoke of were completely different, the rebellion revealed in their words was surprisingly consistent.

"That dog Emperor is licentious and indulgent, doing nothing proper. Ruyi Temple is only so bold and unafraid because it has the Emperor's backing."

No trade means no killing. Xu Qing, a man who holds grudges, had gotten his revenge on the Taoists of Ruyi Temple and the foxes of Bai Yun Cave, but the dog Emperor behind them who sought the Elixir of Immortality was still alive and well.

If Xu Qing said this to others, he would mostly get no response, but by sheer coincidence, the Yuan Gong he met was exactly the kind of person who was restless at his very core!

Yuan Gong said, seemingly intentionally and seemingly not, "Human emperors are naturally protected by the fortune of their nation. Even if dynasties change, it is in accordance with the Heavenly Fate. If his fate is not yet to end, even if immortals and gods descend, they cannot harm him.

If one insists on acting, it will not only be futile, but one will instead suffer Heavenly Retribution."

Just as Xu Qing thought Yuan Gong was advising him to give up his hatred and open his mind, Yuan Gong suddenly said this sentence:

"However, times change and the world shifts; one cannot speak of them as the same. Currently, the Path to Heaven is severed. What is blocked is not only the heavens and the earth; the fortune of human emperors is also blocked. If the protective national fortune is broken, I imagine that even a human emperor could not withstand the erosion of the Five Turbid Evil Worlds. By then, I fear even an old woman could behead a dragon."

"Sigh, why am I saying all this? I am now like a mud Bodhisattva crossing a river; how can I possibly manage affairs in this mortal world?"

"."

Xu Qing fell into thought.

Coincidentally, within the constructed Bai Yun Cave Heaven Illusion, Yuan Gong also found Xuan Yu and started chatting idly.

"This old man learned from the young Xu that the demon fox of Bai Yun Cave once entered his dream, and he used incense to obliterate one of her divided spirits."

"That wild fox has always been vindictive. Since the young Xu provoked her, things may not end well in the future!"

They say that when a man grows old, he becomes cunning; when a horse grows old, it becomes slippery. When an immortal grows old, he truly becomes both cunning and slippery.

Yuan Gong could see that the little girl before him cared greatly for Xu Qing. If he wanted to hook this little girl, he had to use Xu Qing as bait and cast it down.

As expected, upon hearing these words, Xuan Yu's entire cat became tense.

"Is that demon fox very powerful?"