Chapter 225: A Pond of Lotus Flowers

From the clear sky, a hand reached out and first caught Tang Zhao.

It was an extremely large hand, palm facing upward, cradling Tang Zhao in its center.

The palm glowed with a faint luster and was nearly transparent; the entire hand seemed to be condensed from illusory light.

Yet somehow, no one doubted that this was an illusory hand, or that it was a shape formed by some phantom, martial energy, or Spirit Image. Almost immediately, everyone concluded that a powerful existence, tens of zhang tall and of unknown whereabouts, had reached across the Void to Jianzhou Island, tens of thousands of miles away, to catch Tang Zhao.

There was no basis for it, but everyone had only this one thought.

Could such an existence truly exist in this world?!

Caught by this hand, Tang Zhao felt as if he had landed in... a hand. Being closer, he could see fair skin, slender fingers, and strong knuckles; it was indeed a human hand.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he said loudly, "Senior, I return your Kun Sword as it was."

Everyone below heard his words, but felt almost no shock; instead, they felt it was only natural. In truth, not everyone had realized beforehand that this was the Sword Immortal of the Kun Sword, but once Tang Zhao said it, they were suddenly enlightened and nodded one after another.

So it was the Sword Immortal?

It really was the Sword Immortal!

Indeed, Jianzhou was in such chaos that the Sword Immortal Senior could not stand by and took action.

However... wasn't it said that the Sword Immortal had already fallen?

Some thought of this, but the doubt only surfaced briefly before vanishing without a trace.

What "said to be"? Have you not heard that hearing is false, but seeing is believing?

The Sword Immortal is clearly here; could it be fake?

Whatever falling, whatever lost sword—it was all just hearsay!

Whether they were doubtful or enlightened, everyone could only stare blankly. Tang Zhao, however, was in that hand, in the palm of a person, not daring to breathe too heavily for fear of causing offense.

Hearing Tang Zhao's words, that hand curled a finger and poked at Tang Zhao.

This movement was neither fast nor sharp; rather than an attack, it seemed more like a gesture of greeting. Tang Zhao instinctively wanted to dodge, but he truly could not. Seeing the finger coming, a thought suddenly arose:

"I should have taken off my Glasses."

The Glasses, which no one could see, were Tang Zhao's greatest secret. Previously, he had no qualms about wearing them in front of anyone. But this Sword Immortal, who had reached a hand from the other side of the Void to grab him, was the strongest existence he had ever seen, and he could not be certain that the secret of the Glasses would not be exposed.

No, not a Sword Immortal...

Only Tang Zhao knew that this person was not a Sword Immortal, but an existence above the Sword Immortal, an existence that even the Glasses could not display.

When the finger landed on his head, Tang Zhao's vision blurred, and he appeared in the middle of a field.

Blue sky, white clouds, the sunlight was perfect. In the boundless fields, wheat seedlings were lush and green, paths crisscrossed—a scene of pastoral beauty.

A person wearing a bamboo hat sat on a ridge, barefoot, holding a large tea mug, looking like an old farmer who had just finished hoeing the fields.

The world had shifted. Tang Zhao clicked his tongue lightly, but he was well-traveled and did not lose his composure. He bowed slightly and said, "Junior Tang Zhao pays respects to... Senior."

He truly did not know how to address him.

The old farmer blew the tea stalks floating on the tea, took a sip of the hot water, and pushed up his bamboo hat, revealing a face that was quite young.

His appearance was unexpectedly gentle, with curved brows and drooping eyes, a slightly round chin, and no air of sharpness. He smiled and said, "Tang Zhao, you are still very young! Truly a spirited, good child."

Tang Zhao hurriedly said, "I dare not accept such praise." He had not heard the term "child" in a long time, but this person was likely much older than Ping Jiangqiu, so calling him a child was fine.

The man sighed, "After my great battle back then, I returned to Tianwaitian to recuperate. I could have taken the sword with me, but I felt that since I was leaving, I should leave something for the descendants, so I placed it in the Human World. I did not expect it to be so twisted and repetitive. If not for you, good intentions would have turned into bad ones. Since that is the case, I will take the sword back first."

Tang Zhao said, "That is only right. You are a Sword Guest, so the sword should naturally go with you."

The man smiled slightly, "You are quite good, sincere, gentle, and virtuous—to my taste. However, your temperament also has a heroic and impassioned side, unlike my own muddled nature. Others will appreciate you too. If you were also a Sword Guest, I would invite you to sit with me, have a cup of tea, and you could tell me stories of the Human World. Unfortunately, you are not yet one."

Tang Zhao said with regret, "Junior had also hoped to see the residence of an immortal; what a pity to have missed the chance."

The man said, "Fate exists, it just hasn't arrived yet. I am a timid person who fears trouble and can only act according to the Momentum. If it were someone else, perhaps I would have forced a connection of kindness with you."

He propped up his chin and said, "Let me give you a small gift."

Tang Zhao was about to be polite, but the man said, "How about I give you Jianzhou?"

Tang Zhao was startled and hurriedly said, "No, no—Jianzhou is a treasure of the city, the focus of all eyes. Junior is not even a Sword Guest, how could I bear such a heavy gift?"

The man nodded thoughtfully and said, "That is true, and there is nothing fun in Jianzhou anyway. In that case, there is scenery left by the sword on Kungang for many years; is there anything you like?"

Tang Zhao did not decline again. He thought for a moment and said, "When I arrived, I saw a lotus pond outside White City. Although it was early Spring, the pond was full of lotus flowers..."

The man laughed, "Is that so? Let me think, the lotus pond does not seem to be a separate Sword Technique..." He paused and said, "But it doesn't matter, it is one now." After speaking, he grabbed lightly, and in his palm, he held a pool of emerald water, which he handed to Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao received it with pleasant surprise. The emerald water rested in his palm, rippling slightly without spilling a drop. Looking closely, the lotus leaves in the water were lush and the lotus flowers were delicate, all only the size of soybeans; it was truly a world in the palm.

He looked carefully and saw that there seemed to be fish playing in the pond, which made him pleasantly surprised. The lotus pond in White City before had real flowers, but the Spirit Fish were fake, not as good as this. Thinking back, there were no fish in the sea of Jianzhou either, and he had guessed that the Kun Sword did not involve life. Now that there was such true vitality, he could not help but say, "You have advanced even further."

The man was startled, then laughed heartily, saying, "You have spirit! It seems the future is something to look forward to for the descendants."

Amidst the loud laughter, the fields receded, and Tang Zhao returned to reality.

He was feeling wistful when he saw that the Kun Sword in his hand had disappeared, leaving only a pool of emerald water.

In the eyes of the crowd, Tang Zhao was just standing there. That curled finger had brushed against his head, as if ruffling his hair, and then disappeared. They were even more confused, only vaguely feeling that the gesture was friendly, even somewhat intimate.

Immediately after, the surrounding land began to dissipate. The yellow soil that had filled the sea and land suddenly vanished. Layers of soil were wiped from the world, at a speed faster than when they were created. After the covering soil disappeared, it did not reveal the buried seabed, but instead vanished layer by layer, just like floating dust blown away by wind and rain. Beneath the soil, the five-colored rocks of Kungang were revealed. Finally, even the island and the mountains on it dissipated.

In the blink of an eye, the crowd felt a flicker in their vision and discovered that they were standing on an unremarkable mountain peak on Kungang.

Only Kungang was worthy of being the ancestor of ten thousand mountains; the top of one mountain was wide enough to hold so many people.

It was just that there were many factions, and standing together was not that spacious. Two people who had been a hundred zhang apart on Jianzhou Island were now face-to-face, pressed against each other. It was as if the previous clash of land and sea had just been a performance on a stage. Several hundred people stood on the mountain top, rubbing shoulders.

Jianzhou had vanished like smoke, so what more was there to say about the Rune Formula that had cost ten thousand gold?

However, the battlefield was gone, but hatred and hostility would not vanish out of thin air; the battle was actually going to continue.

After Tang Zhao was gifted a pool of Spring water, the ripples swayed slightly, and his physical strength gradually recovered, as if the ripples in his palm could nourish his body and mind. Although he had no sword, he could borrow the Momentum to float. He saw the Longyuan below starting to surround and attack the remaining enemies.

It really was... an endless, death-defying struggle.

At this moment, the battle was no longer worth watching. The remnants of the Turtle Bandits, after repeated blows, had been forced into a corner, while Beichen was completely liberated from the shackles of not being able to disturb the sword of Jianzhou, showing the strength of a peak Sword Hero and the style of a general who had commanded Longyuan for a hundred years.

Tang Zhao could not be bothered to watch them clean up the mess. His gaze shifted, he found his target of concern, and drove the Rune Formula to descend in one direction.

A crocodile was carrying Jiang Shenyi and running wildly, its four short, thick legs dragging its massive body, and even with a person on its back, it was moving as fast as flying, having already climbed down half a mountain.

Tang Zhao landed before it and said, "Wait a moment, Your Excellency. I have come to save my senior brother."

The crocodile opened its mouth, revealing interlocking, jagged teeth, and Tang Zhao patiently explained, "If his Spirit Image is not returned, he may not wake up. Would that not fail the final instructions of your Master?"

Although Tang Zhao had a grudge against Zhu Yang, since the man was already dead, Tang Zhao naturally had no need to bicker with a crocodile; the crocodile appeared to have no ill intent, so Tang Zhao did not need to shout about killing it.

The crocodile indeed seemed to have spiritual intelligence and eventually retreated to the side; Tang Zhao returned Jiang Shenyi's Spirit Image and placed a protective barrier over him, then returned to the mountain to treat the others.

Despite the successive Chaos, the arrangements made by Longyuan were quite thorough, with Ju Tianxuan leading several Disciples to protect the Talisman Sword Masters who had lost their Spirit Images. Tang Zhao rushed over to return them to their respective owners, and no major disaster occurred.

Only at this moment did Tang Zhao heave a sigh of relief, finally setting down the heavy burden of responsibility; feeling a sense of liberation, he returned to the foot of the mountain to find the crocodile, and the crocodile was indeed guarding Jiang Shenyi well. Although Jiang Shenyi had not yet woken, his expression had become peaceful and vivid, and his brows twitched slightly, clearly indicating he could wake up at any moment.

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally settling, and he sat down on the ground beside his senior brother to wait quietly for him to wake. Although water waves could replenish lost strength and even Spirit, the feeling of mental exhaustion could not be compensated for. At this moment, he only wanted to relax and have a good sleep.

He glanced at the lotus pond in his hand, and the Glasses indeed displayed an annotation:

"Dharma Artifact: First Layer. Sword Technique: A Pool of Lotus Flowers."

Worthy of a Sword Saint. In the blink of an eye, he had comprehended such a Sword Technique.

Yes, a Sword Saint.

Tang Zhao adjusted his Glasses; although they had only met in passing and the other party had not left a name, the display on the Glasses had quietly changed.

At this very moment, all the data on the Kun Sword was finally opened to him.

"Sword: Kun Sword

Sword Guest: Guiyuanshi (Sword Saint)."