Chapter 394

【You watch the Second Master, who is like moonlight, destroy his physical body, refine his physical body, and leave only a Primordial Yang Spirit.】

【This Primordial Yang Spirit walks the world, fearless of the scorching sun, the biting gale, the thunderous roar, or the intrusion of the five elements.】

【Within the moonlight-like Primordial Yang Spirit, there are dots of golden light; that golden light is like a rising sun, shining with ten thousand rays of light but not dazzling.】

【The Second Master is a young man of great style, dressed in white, like a pear tree in a courtyard, his hair tied high, his black ponytail lightly raised, a cinnabar red jade dot between his eyebrows, sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, no sharpness revealed in his eyes, only a state of indifference and transcendence.】

【The appearance of the Primordial Yang Spirit is the state fixed at the time of cultivation; looking at the Second Master's appearance, he must have long since stepped into the tenth realm, hence the state of youth.】

【The Demon Master also has a strange look in his eyes; it is not his first time seeing the Second Master, who was already middle-aged, but it is his first time seeing the Second Master with such an appearance.】

【Master Lianchi presses his palms together and sighs, "Donor Feng Yuan, it has been over two Jiazi since we parted in the Buddhist sect."】

【The old monk has a look of recollection on his face, "Back then, Donor, one sword and one person entered the Buddhist sect, and you had this appearance; you used your sword to ring the temple's great bell, and the old monk was just a little novice under the master's seat, hiding behind the master to see."】

【"Donor Feng Yuan, your sword was not yet unsheathed, and the eighteen Buddhist sons of the Saint Sect did not even dare to make a move before being defeated."】

【"Meeting again, the old monk is already the head of the Buddhist hall, and facing the sword in your hand, Donor, I still dare not make a move."】

【Lianchi is telling the truth; he did not even face the pressure of the Second Master when facing the Master.】

【The shadow left in his youth is truly terrifying; on that day, there was no sound of chanting or praying in the East Saint Sect, only the sound of swords ringing.】

【Although Lianchi's Zen heart is clear now, he still has a look of fear in his heart.】

【The battle between such Grandmasters is mainly a confrontation of momentum and state of mind.】

【Having fear in his heart, Lianchi's Diamond Realm, known as the best in the world, and his Glazed Arhat Dharma image also cracked a seam.】

【The cinnabar red jade between the Second Master's eyebrows suddenly lights up, and a little golden light appears in his eyes as he smiles: "So it was you, little monk."】

【The Demon Master and others all know that this Second Master is already at the end of his rope, his yin spirit dissipated, his Primordial Yang Spirit without support, like a lonely boat in the bitter sea, which could capsize at any moment.】

【At this moment, it is just a flash of brilliance before the end; in less than an hour, he will face the five decays of heaven and man and dissipate between heaven and earth.】

【Return!】

【But the Second Master has not the slightest regret or worry on his face, his expression calm and indifferent.】

【The Demon Master also says, "Second Master, we have not seen each other for two Jiazi."】

【"We brushed past each other on the grasslands; although the Second Master did not reveal his name, I have always remembered your style."】

【The Second Master recalls slightly, the cinnabar golden light between his eyebrows lighting up, "Oh, so that little demon cub who fled in a panic back then was you."】

【Xu Jiangxian's face stiffens; that was when he was twenty years old and already an elder of the Demon Sect; seeing a white-clothed swordsman on the grasslands, one sword slashed down the clouds in the sky and brought a spring rain, which indeed gave him a fright, and he immediately fled a hundred miles away.】

【Seeing the Demon Master's expression, Lu Hua cannot help but purse her lips and smile.】

【Although it is her first time seeing this Academy Second Master, she has long heard his name: "Sanzhen Lu Lu Tian Shi Lu Hua pays her respects to the Second Master."】

【The Second Master looks Lu Hua over and praises, "A female Lu Lu Tian Shi, well-deserved."】

【Lu Hua cannot hide her pride; those in the world who can be praised by the Second Master are few and far between.】

【She turns to look at Xie Guan, her eyebrows slightly raised.】

【The Second Master's gaze falls on Xu Xian in the field, and he smiles slightly, "Yu Shixiong, long time no see, your style remains the same."】

【A look of regret appears on the Great Master's face, and he sighs: "Feng Yuan, I never imagined that our reunion today would be our last."】

【"If you had left your physical body behind, you could have lived for a few more years; why be so determined?"】

【"With your shocking talent, there would likely have been a turning point."】

【The Second Master chuckles, a trace of freedom flashing in his eyes: "That appearance had long since made me weary; neither human nor ghost, why bother binding myself?"】

【"Walking the world of martial arts, why should a man hide his true face!"】

【He changes the subject, "Yu Shixiong, are you accustomed to the Great Sui?"】

【Xu Xian replies: "The Great Sui is no different from the Great Qi; how vast is the world—where is it not like this?"】

【A trace of regret flashes in the Second Master's eyes, and he says softly: "It is a pity that although I have traveled all over the world, I have never traveled to the East Sea like Yu Shixiong and the Master, and I have never seen those monstrous waves like black clouds pressing down."】

【Xu Xian's expression is desolate, and he remains silent.】

【The Second Master smiles lightly, his tone carrying a touch of teasing: "Yu Shixiong, why have such an expression? When I read your travelogues back then, my heart was stirred."】

【"A great man should face the blue sea in the morning and the Cangwu in the evening, watch the blue sky and climb the sun and moon."】

【"It was precisely that heroic spirit that made me resolutely leave my hometown and head north, pursuing the sword path and the world of martial arts in my heart."】

【The Second Master's gaze shifts and lands on Xie Guan, his eyes carrying a touch of approval.】

【"I have read your poems; they are written extremely well."】

【"I have also seen your calligraphy; it is better than when I was young."】

【Hearing this, Xie Guan bows respectfully, "This student is unworthy of such praise!"】

【The Second Master smiles slightly, his tone gentle, "You are worthy."】

【The white-clothed young man stands with his hands behind his back, and the long sword condensed by his Primordial Spirit has already dissipated without a trace.】

【The river wind blows, his black hair dances in the wind behind him, and his sleeves flutter.】

【He slowly gathers his wide white sleeves, his expression solemn, and bows deeply to everyone.】

【"Today, thank you all."】

【"If the Master does not die, the world will be in great danger."】

【"I have also luckily escaped this cage."】

【Hearing this, the Great Master shows a look of shame and turns his back to the crowd.】

【The Demon Master straightens his body slightly.】

【Master Lianchi presses his palms together and says in a low voice: "Amitabha!"】

【Lu Hua returns a Daoist salute, her expression solemn.】

【Xie Guan and the Second Master stand opposite each other and bow slowly, their movements meticulous.】

【Seeing this, the white-clothed young man's smile becomes more and more obvious, his figure gradually becomes illusory, his whole body begins to emit a faint golden light, and above his head, the qi of the three talents gathers.】

【The Second Master changes the subject and asks slowly: "Do you know why I cannot ascend to this world like Lu Chen, Huang Dao, and others three thousand years ago?"】

【"Is the Master also trapped in this human world?"】

【An unfathomable question is thrown out.】

【Your eyes move slightly, and you fall into deep thought.】

【Hearing this, the Demon Master and others cast their gazes toward the Second Master; everyone has doubts in their hearts about the matter of ascension.】

【The Second Master has already "opened the Tianmen with a sword," and can be called the person closest to ascension in three thousand years, even more so than the Master.】

【This is also the question they care about most.】

【Lu Hua bows and asks: "Lu Hua is dull, and hopes for the Second Master's guidance."】

【The Second Master's voice drifts lightly with the river wind, carrying a touch of recollection and desolation.】

【"When I was young, I learned a few tricks of swordplay from the guard in my family and used them to run rampant in the village. In just a few days, the master who taught me swordplay could not last a single move under my sword."】

【"After my father and mother died, I left my hometown and began to travel far."】

【"At seventeen, I saw two people fighting with swords, the sword qi like a rainbow, and I felt something, stepping into the seventh realm of martial arts."】

【"After that, one realm per year, and at nineteen, I ascended to the ninth realm of martial arts."】

【"Climbing high mountains, seeing the clouds rise and fall, I realized the first sword—Cloud Watching."】

【"Staying overnight in a deserted temple in the south, seeing the Ghost Kingdom open wide, I realized the second sword—Ghost Slashing."】

【"Entering the Ze Lake, I realized the third sword—Demon Slashing!"】

【"Entering the Buddhist sect, I realized the fourth sword—Extinction."】

【"Stepping into the grasslands of the Eternal Heaven, seeing the vast wind, I realized the seventh sword—Wind Singing."】

【"At twenty-one, my Primordial Spirit stepped into the realm of the Primordial Yang Spirit."】

【The Second Master continues, "At twenty-two, seeing the great drought in the Longxi Road, I slashed a sweet rain with one sword, seeing children and old people laughing heartily, the slanting wind and fine rain entering the sword gate, and I realized the ninth sword."】

【"The Primordial Yang Spirit and martial arts merged, giving birth to my life-bound sword, and I stepped into the realm of the world's Grandmaster."】

【"The nine swords merged into one, slashing down the red dust, which is the method of slashing cause and effect; the Master's corpse-dissolution in the Great Qi can also slash open these thousand threads of cause and effect."】

【The Second Master smiles indifferently, his gaze distant, "So many years have passed, I wonder if that pear tree in front of my hometown has bloomed?"】

【Lianchi and others listen, their hearts full of regret and emotion.】

【A Grandmaster who condensed his life-bound sword at twenty-two—what a shocking talent!】

【Everyone is full of regret for such a heaven-sent talent.】

【The Demon Master's eyes move slightly; it took him a Jiazi to give birth to his life-bound sword, and his heart is also surging at this moment.】

【"It is just a pity that three hundred years have passed, and I am still in the same place."】

【The Second Master's voice continues to come, "I once thought that there was no chance for ascension in this world. If I had been born three thousand years ago, I would definitely have been able to break through the void like Lu Chen and Lu Yu."】

【"My path in life disdains borrowing the methods of heaven and earth like the Master, swallowing the destiny of the masses, and lingering in the human world."】

【"It is just that I was born at the wrong time; neither the time nor the place was with me. The sword in my hand rings on the wall every night."】

【"This trace of regret and confusion has been lingering in my heart until today."】

【The Second Master suddenly smiles, and pear blossoms seem to spin open on his handsome face; although his figure is becoming more and more ethereal and illusory, the golden light in his body is becoming more and more brilliant.】

【His eyes are bright, his tone is clear, as if he has unloaded a thousand-jin burden.】

【"Until today, I finally understand that I just... lack the talent!"】

【Hearing this, everyone's expression freezes, their eyes full of doubt, "Lack the talent?"】

【Seemingly unable to believe it!】

【This answer makes it impossible for everyone to understand; the Great Master and Lu Hua show the same confused expression.】

【The Second Master who ran rampant in the world with one sword and opened the Tianmen with a sword!】

【What do you mean by lacking talent?!】

【The Second Master smiles, his tone calm but carrying a touch of self-mockery, "I used to wonder if Lu Yu and the others had exhausted the great destiny of the human world for three thousand years."】

【"Or if I could not complete the great cause like Lu Chen and leave behind a lineage."】

【"But I never thought, was it my own talent... that was not enough?"】

【In the last sentence, everyone hears a faint desolation and unwillingness in the Second Master's tone.】

【Lu Hua cannot help but speak, her tone firm: "If even your talent, Second Master, is not enough, who else in the world can ascend!"】

【The Second Master looks up at the sky, his gaze piercing through the Tianmen that is already so weak it is almost invisible.】

【He raises his slender fingers, as if gently grasping the towering portal.】

【"This tenth sword was originally a conception in my heart; today I slashed it out and broke open the Tianmen."】

【"In my heart, I only said, I pass through the Tianmen and do not enter!"】

【"I was extremely happy in my heart, and all shackles were unraveled. After the siege of the Master, the sword heart that had originally disappeared returned."】

【"It seems that I am just at the end of my rope, and fate is not with me."】

【He sighs leisurely, his tone carrying a touch of relief and helplessness.】

【"However!"】

【"The 'one line' I spoke of, I saw it after the Tianmen—deep, boundless, vast, and all-encompassing Dao."】

【"The body is like a mayfly, seeing the vast blue sky."】

【"What I thought was a difference of one thread was actually a difference of vast thousands of miles. It turns out that I have never truly stepped into the realm of ascension in my life; I have always been outside the threshold."】

【"My Dao could not be imprinted on this heaven and earth at all, so the Tianmen was only for an instant."】

【"It turns out that my talent was not enough."】

【The Second Master says the last sentence decisively, without any hesitation.】

【Hearing this, everyone is desolate and silent.】

【Even a figure as shocking as the Second Master could not ascend, thinking that slashing open the Tianmen was only a thread away.】

【Could it be that there has never been a true ascension in this world?】

【The Demon Master's eyes are dim; his realm has long since stagnated. If not for this, he would not have traveled to the Northern Plains to see the endless glaciers, trying to find a glimmer of breakthrough.】

【Lu Hua also has a desolate expression; the chance for ascension that the Sanzhen Sect has been painstakingly seeking for generations, the ultimate goal sought by a hundred generations of ancestors, now seems to have become an unreachable phantom dream.】

【The Great Master sighs gently, seemingly feeling the same, nodding silently, a deep helplessness flowing in his eyes.】

【At this moment!】

【A clear young voice sounds, breaking the silence.】

【"Time is a passing guest of a hundred generations; heaven and earth are the lodging place of all things."】

【Xie Guan speaks slowly, his tone firm, "The Dao is boundless, and life is limited. To pursue the boundless with the limited—even if there are ten million people, I will go."】

【Hearing this, the Demon Master's eyes gradually become calm.】

【Lu Hua also speaks slowly, her tone firm: "The predecessors plant the trees, and the descendants enjoy the shade."】

【"If my Sanzhen generation does not succeed, then wait for a hundred generations; if a hundred generations do not succeed, there are even a thousand generations."】

【"One day, our generation will definitely be able to ascend from this world and meet the ancestors."】

【The Second Master nods gently, his gaze landing on Xie Guan, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile, and he says softly: "If I had met you in my early years, that would have been so good."】

【"It is just a pity that my time is likely running out."】

【"Fortunately!"】

【A smile appears on the Second Master's face, and the originally melancholy and lonely mood is swept away.】

【The originally illusory figure begins to solidify, and the body actually turns cyan and purple.】

【Wisps of purple qi shine down.】

【Above his head, the three golden lotuses bloom slowly, the golden light brilliant, illuminating all directions, as if the Dao were manifesting.】

(End of chapter)