Chapter 453: Plucking the Sword and Singing

Xu Jia felt his hands itching for a moment, but he lacked a suitable hammer. Firstly, he feared being "harmonized," and secondly, if he fought with a hammer, he would end up performing the "Chaotic Cloak" style; either way, once involved, it would be impossible to explain clearly.

Thus, he took up the Weiji Immortal Sword and plucked it to sing: "Vast and boundless, the mountains are towering; the sun and moon shine, scattered and intertwined. The silk and bamboo resonate together, the time-keeper sings; clouds drift and water flows, with little effort in the heart. Seeking the Great Dao through Rites and Military, transcending all things to be free; finding a soulmate is truly hard, only Heaven and Earth join in harmony!"

This song is the soundtrack from "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," sung by Song Zuying, and it has a very profound artistic conception.

Moreover, "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" tells the story of the Huashan Sect, and Xu Jia re-establishing the Huashan Sect now also fits this artistic conception.

Forging weapons here, is it not a match made in heaven? Indeed, Creation is the Works Official, Heaven and Earth are the Dantian, Yin and Yang are the charcoal, and all things are the copper...

The sword being forged can be the sword of an Emperor, the sword of a feudal lord, or even the sword of a scholar-official or a knight-errant. For a moment, the Heaven and Earth were filled with power... either grand and rigid, or with True Qi cold and clear, or radiating kindness and compassion...

The sound plucked from the Weiji Immortal Sword is also an "Unfinished Song."

At times desolate, or tragic, or regretful, or unrepentant, or magnificent... at times rising high like a mountain, or low and mournful.

The hammer of the Six Jia also fell in rhythm with the melody, emitting a rhythmic clanging sound.

Not far from Huashan, outside Huayin County, Deng Yin was there with a group of Shushan Sect disciples, scouting for information and settling down to rest, so as to know oneself and the enemy to win every battle. Suddenly hearing the sword hum, a thought stirred, and his Dharma Realm omniscience allowed him to hear the singing without needing to be there in person.

He was suddenly moved: "Such a generous song, I have heard little of it."

Other Shushan disciples, whose practice was not yet sufficient, only said: "Grand Uncle-Master, we have inquired; the Huashan Sect recently cleared the demons, ghosts, and heterodox paths on the mountain, and even the surroundings of Huashan have been purged of evil. However, the Huashan Sect disciples' realms are still quite low; many are even at the Postnatal Martial Artist realm, and Innate Qi Refiners are rare, let alone those who have achieved the Golden Core Earth Immortal realm. It is said only two remain, the two elders of Huashan. They are both heterodox Earth Immortals. Our Shushan Sect has long had a countermeasure; as long as we bring out the Xuanbing Mirror, their Fire Method will all fail."

The Xuanbing Mirror is a treasure refined by Xu Zhangshou, a vessel for holding ice. In ancient times, ice mirrors were used to cool off. Of course, mirrors are also called "mirrors" (jian), which is an extension of the fact that a mirror filled with water can be used to reflect images, such as the "Precious Mirror of Romance" in *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

Ren Changshou's Xuanbing Mirror is a vessel carved from ten-thousand-year Xuanbing from the North Pole. It can gestate Xuanbing Divine Thunder inside, and it can also grow larger to cover people and freeze them stiff. When actively protecting oneself, it can suppress fire with ice.

Even if the Dutian Liehuo Dazhen is fully activated, it would be difficult to melt this ten-thousand-year Xuanbing without forty-nine days.

"Huashan is still three days away from opening its gates. The Five Mountains Sect, Quanzhen Sect, Louguan Sect, Wutai Sect, Jiuhua Shan, and others will all come. Grand Uncle-Master, should we attack in advance?"

Ding Yin shook his head and said: "The Sect Leader once said we must not act rashly, but we cannot lose the face of our Shushan Sect either. When the time comes, soldier against soldier, general against general. If he wants to open the gates, you all just defeat those disciples. Besides, it would be best to redeem our nephew Yuan Renjie."

"The Sect Leader brother once said that he could also demote ordinary people to livestock, but an Earth Immortal True Person has already formed a Golden Core. To demote them to livestock, one must first seal their cultivation, and they cannot even resist. Then, transforming them into livestock—he cannot guarantee they won't resist. It is evident that this Dutian Liehuo Zushi, transformed by an extraterrestrial Demon Seed, has a Daoist Practice that is likely not inferior to the Sect Leader brother. Even among the heterodox paths proficient in the Livestock Creation Technique, being able to manipulate our elite Shushan disciples like this, he must be a giant of the demonic path no less than the Tiechengshan Old Demon."

Thinking of the Tiechengshan Old Demon, Deng Yin's eyes flickered for a moment.

The Shushan Sect's base at Cuiping Mountain once had a demon cave. Deng Yin entered it without knowing. Inside was a demon scripture that possessed self-awareness and sealed an old demon. Once one read the demon scripture inside, the old demon would plant a Demon Seed...

Although he later told his brother and master, it was already too late; the demon cave had already disappeared.

Deng Yin was a member of the demonic path in his previous life, and in this life, his Demonic Obstacle is even deeper... But how could there be a demon palace at Cuiping Mountain? With his master, a living Heavenly Immortal, what demon palace could escape to Cuiping Mountain?

The master said it was the Tiechengshan Old Demon...

The moment doubt arose in Deng Yin's heart, the Demonic Obstacle became even heavier.

He took a deep breath and said: "Do not act rashly for now. This time, Emei, Qingcheng Mountain, Lushan, Yandang Mountain, Huangshan, and Qiyun Mountain all have fellow practitioners coming. We are on good terms with these sects and can advance and retreat together."

The Shushan Sect arrived at the foot of Huashan, and Xu Jia knew it with a single thought, but he was currently forging swords. The Weiji Immortal Sword is the Innate Three Talents Killing Sword, the ancestor of ten thousand swords, and it rose from the duckweed. The original intention is that everyone can hold a sword; with a sword in hand, one is fearless, can accomplish great things, break the cycle of reincarnation, jump out of the Heaven and Earth, and not be among the Five Elements.

Xu Jia plucked the sword and sang, like a teacher imparting the Dao to students. The swords in the furnace, though not yet out of the furnace, not yet sharpened, and not yet having seen blood, could still inspire their will, guide their intent, temper their spirit in the midst of fire and hammer, and increase their wisdom and experience in the struggle against the low-level interests of the extraterrestrial Demon Seed.

These swords will all have their own souls, their own spirits, their own intent, and their own gods... Although they may not be the strongest when they are born... but when accompanied by like-minded people, they can possess power comparable to a Peerless Immortal Sword. People achieve their swords, and swords also achieve their people.

This forging may not sublimate the material, but it establishes the Dao heart from the mortal heart. Killing a million people without shame, saving the common people without regret, roaming between Heaven and Earth, sweeping away all monsters and ghosts across the four seas and eight wildernesses, returning a clean and pure world.

Xu Jia plucked the sword and sang, expressing his ambition. The Huo Can'er spat fire to forge the swords, but was attracted by the heroism and ambition within. Vaguely, the sword hum turned into a dragon roar...

"So this is the Pure Yang, the Heaven follows its Dao, self-strengthening without rest, considered rigid and strong, is this the appearance of a true dragon?"

He thought of himself as a Huo Can'er, living in fear, and still being caught and captured. Although a gentleman has the changes of a dragon and a snake, after hibernating for so long, can he really still have the ambition of a true dragon? The silkworm skin on his body was growing old, and a crack appeared on his spine. Vaguely, fine Dragon Scales appeared inside...

This is the unique evolutionary method of insects: "Feathered Ascension."

But after all, he was forging, and the inspiration in his state of mind was fed back to his Daoist Practice, so it could not be achieved immediately.

"Hum!"

Finally, long after Xu Jia stopped plucking the sword, a humming sound came from the Dantian. Swords were suspended in the Dantian, the number neither more nor less, exactly nine.

The nine Immortal Swords each had their own shape, not standardized. The Body Gods in the furnace each returned, also bringing back many insights into sword forging. I am afraid that even without going to the Sword Casting Villa, Xu Jia could compare to the top sword-casting masters in this world.

Huo Can'er looked surprised: "Ancestor, these are nine top-tier flying swords. Can these scraps of copper and iron also refine nine top-tier flying swords? It truly is turning decay into magic."

Actually, they were not scraps of copper and iron. For example, the flying swords of the two elders of Huashan were also put into the furnace for re-forging. Their flying swords originally belonged to top-tier flying swords, the Dutian Liehuo Sword. It was just that the flying swords of other heterodox paths were poor, but even the poorest could extract some good materials. Added to other spiritual iron and exotic ores, Five Metal Essence, and the iron shells peeled off from the meteorite iron, being able to forge nine top-tier flying swords, although it was the limit, could not be considered seizing the creation of Heaven and Earth.

Of course, the material is not the best, but that inherent sword intent must be the most unique. "Please, Ancestor, name these nine Immortal Swords."

Xu Jia nodded. He likes naming people the most, and naming swords is also good. Of course, whether the names are good or not is another matter, but they are already more artistic than those named by most novel protagonists.

"This one is the head of the nine swords, containing the meaning of the nine of Qian, so let's call it 'Binding the Azure Dragon'. Huo Can'er, I will give it to you to hold as the token of the Huashan Sect leader."

After Xu Jia finished speaking, that slightly purple sword gained two inscription Talismans, inscribed with "Binding the Azure Dragon."

He ignored Huo Can'er's resentful look: "I am just about to transform into a dragon. This sword is named 'Binding the Azure Dragon'; wouldn't it hinder the master?"

"As for these two fire swords, they were sublimated from the Dutian Liehuo Swords of the two elders of Huashan. They are shaped like twins, but they have already broken away from the meaning of Dutian Fierce Fire. One sword is named 'Star Fire', and one sword is named 'Prairie Fire'."

"The remaining six swords."

"They are called: Silver Snake, Wax Elephant, Eagle Strike, Fish Soaring, Piercing the Heavens, and Binding the Kunpeng."

The swords each revealed Talisman inscriptions, then wanted to drink blood to sharpen themselves, to slaughter demons and defend the Dao. For a moment, around Huashan, in the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, within a thousand miles, all evil Qi and demonic atmosphere felt that disaster was imminent, as if a flying sword was hanging over their necks.

It is exactly "a flying sword cutting off a head from a thousand miles away."

Those who have committed many evils, bullied men and women, and seized by force...

Without seeing the sword come, without seeing blood flow, they already had their eyes wide open and their breath cut off.

It is exactly that their souls were startled by the sword Qi, and their names were sacrificed to the sword.

The nine swords had thousands of phenomena, returning to one place, the precious light converged, and the sword Qi was hidden inside.

Xu Jia then called everyone over and distributed the swords one by one.

He gave Duan Ziyu the Binding the Kunpeng sword, waiting for Huo Can'er to abdicate as the Huashan Sect leader, then it would be a pair with the Binding the Azure Dragon.

He gave Huang Yi the Eagle Strike sword, gave Shan Ren the Fish Soaring sword, and gave Zuigai the Piercing the Heavens sword.

The remaining Silver Snake sword and Wax Elephant sword are to be given to any young talents who come to apprentice for this Huashan gate-opening. Giving it to them, they can also learn from the Shushan Sect and create a few Huashan star teams.

After all, the re-opening of Huashan has spread within a thousand miles of Huashan. Those who want to seek immortal fate and ask for the Dao have long received the news. Those warriors in the secular world, even if they have cultivated to the Innate Realm, not everyone has the opportunity to switch to the Qi Refiner cultivation method. These people can live for two hundred years in the secular world, but they yearn for Longevity even more.

A Qi Refiner who cultivates to an Earth Immortal can stay in this world for five hundred years, but there are three disasters every five hundred years. If they pass them, they can cultivate into a Yang Spirit, or even a Heavenly Immortal, fully reaching the standard for ascension.

If they cannot pass, they can also avoid them, and if they avoid them, they can extend their life by another five hundred years.

It is just that after fifteen hundred years, when the three calamities descend again, their power will be even greater; Heaven detests them, and Earth abandons them, much like a tumor in a human body that only absorbs nutrients without differentiating into functional cells, and the final outcome is also incomparably miserable; no one can escape the nine calamities.

Those like the two elders of Huashan find it very difficult to cultivate into a Yang Spirit on their own, remaining only at the Earth Immortal realm, and their own Daoist Practice makes resisting the three calamities fraught with difficulties, so they can only find ways to refine treasures for crossing the tribulations.

Those who cross the lightning tribulation, those who cross the Fire Tribulation, and those who cross the wind tribulation—if one truly has a way to cross these three calamities, even a heterodox Earth Immortal can cultivate into a heterodox Heavenly Immortal.

The disciples took the swords and bowed to thank the Ancestor one after another; this was truly sincere, for instance, Zuigai, Duan Ziyu, and even Shan Ren all possessed flying swords obtained through their own fortuitous encounters, but compared to the new flying swords, they were not even fit to be mentioned in the same breath, much like a Santana 2000 encountering a Porsche 911, completely eclipsed.

Xu Jia said: "These swords each have their own temperaments and personalities; you must treat them well. Although you do not need to become sword slaves, it is best to treat them as sword companions—that is, friends with shared aspirations—so that they may accompany you for a long time, and on the path of the Dao, even if you are alone, you will not be lonely, having one pure confidant."

"If one day you commit acts that go against your original heart, commit acts that harm Heaven and reason, or commit acts where the Dao is different and you cannot plan together, these swords will surely leave you. Even if you force them to stay, it will be of no use. All these swords have fierce personalities and would rather break than bend; if the swords are destroyed in the future, you will no longer need to consider yourselves disciples of the Huashan Sect."

"Ancestor, the swords have such character; are we not even as good as the swords?" Duan Ziyu said: "It must be that while the sword exists, the person exists, and if the sword is destroyed, the person dies."

Xu Jia nodded: "It is not that you must fight to the death and press forward without looking back; when it is time to save your life, you must still save your life. It is just that during major decisions, you must never fail to distinguish right from wrong."

Zuigai said: "Is the Ancestor speaking of me and Shushan? I have long since drawn a clear line with Shushan. Shushan only used me, wanting to obtain the Huashan Lineage and the Ancestor's inheritance. Now that I have abandoned darkness for light, received the true Great Dao taught by the Ancestor, and listened to the Ancestor's teachings, it is a hundred times, a thousand times better than being under their Shushan sect, relying on their breath, watching their expressions, being cautious, and still being looked down upon. If Shushan comes to cause trouble during this opening of the sect, I will be the first to disagree. These days, I have familiarized myself with and practiced the Wine Sword Formula taught by the Ancestor; although I cannot say I have entered the inner sanctum, I have already achieved a small success, and within the Innate Qi Refinement Realm, I am confident I am invincible."

"I have had contact with the disciples of Shushan; they are all arrogant and self-opinionated characters. They only rely on the sharpness of the Shushan sword techniques and their large number of disciples, always fighting in groups and acting together to run rampant. Plus, the Ancestor, True Person Xu Zhangshou, is still here and has not ascended, so they are not afraid that if they beat the small ones, the old ones will come, and among the old ones, there is no one who can beat True Person Xu..."

"It is simply no different from a street gang."

Seeing Zuigai jumping and thinking Xu Jia was pointing at him, he hurriedly clarified his position and distanced himself from the relationship, but Xu Jia only smiled.

"Shushan is not necessarily wrong, and I am not necessarily right, but in a struggle of the Dao, there is life and death; one cannot muddle through or try to please both sides."

"Do you understand?"

"Go. Ring the bell forty-nine times to announce to the world that the Huashan Sect is officially re-establishing its gates, opening the sect, and accepting disciples."

(End of this chapter)