Chapter 315: Gold and Stone Open

At this moment, the two were in the Dead Silence Forest, beside a stream. They had not truly left the main base where the Turtle Bandits nested. Although this place was remote and devoid of people, one could still faintly see the scorching flames in the distance and the Vermilion Bird with most of its body submerged in the treetops.

This was the temporary safe zone Tang Zhao had chosen. He had no way to choose a place further away; for one, the forest was man-made and as orderly as a military formation, so it was not easy for him to find a relatively open patch of ground washed out by a stream.

Secondly, the light that brought Chi Deputy Envoy out had a limited shuttle distance.

After all, it was a new Sword Art just developed.

Tang Zhao was about to ask about the situation on the battlefield over there when he saw Chi Deputy Envoy glare at him first, pressing him for details about the Sword Guest, then looked down at the unsheathed sword and felt a sudden realization in his heart.

If one is not a Sword Smith, the sword everyone sees is always in its sheath. The Buddha Sword came out of the Sword Furnace attached to its sheath, just as an egg comes with an eggshell. Whether one can match with a sword depends on whether one can pull the sword from the sheath. A Sword Student who has just matched can pull the sword out partially; only when one reaches the level of Sword Guest can one make the sword leave the sheath entirely, with a single flash of sword light chilling the Nine Provinces.

Regardless of any problems with this line of thought, drawing the sword—that is a Sword Guest; carrying the sword—that is a Sword Student; holding the sword—that might be nothing at all. This was a universally accepted truth, and it would not be wrong ninety-nine percent of the time.

This time, it was not wrong either.

"Mm, I already am."

Tang Zhao replied.

"..."

Chi Deputy Envoy could not help but say: "What is 'Mm, I already am'? You say it as if you're eating cabbage. Isn't this the sword you just cast? Isn't it the one that came out of the furnace only yesterday?"

Tang Zhao said: "That's right. It is the sword I cast for myself."

Chi Deputy Envoy said repeatedly: "Wait—let me think. You mean to say that after you cast the sword, the moment it came out of the furnace, before it had even cooled, sizzling and steaming, you grabbed it, matched with it, became a Sword Student, and then in the blink of an eye, you realized the Sword Heart, clarified the Sword Intent, stepped out the door, the Sword Image descended, and you became a Sword Guest?"

Although Tang Zhao felt his description was more like flipping a pancake, it didn't seem entirely wrong, so he said: "It certainly didn't take just the blink of an eye. It couldn't have been that fast; it definitely took some time to achieve enlightenment. Of course, it's possible this sword is naturally matched to me, so the time to become a Sword Guest was a bit shorter."

Chi Deputy Envoy said thoughtfully: "Mm, put that way it's still... Bullshit!" He pointed at Tang Zhao's sword blade, somewhat incoherently: "Do you think I haven't been a Sword Guest, or that I wasn't watching outside when you were casting the sword? It was clearly only that short a time. One moment the Sword Hut was pierced by light, the next you two came out. Where did the 'time spent' you speak of go? Realizing the Sword Heart, clarifying the Sword Intent, the descent of the Sword Image—don't these all take time? Even if you had an instant epiphany, the descent of the Sword Image alone couldn't be that fast. It would take at least a few hours. And... and... and what about the Sword Image? When a Sword Guest realizes the sword for the first time, the Sword Image descends grandly; why didn't I see your Sword Image?"

Tang Zhao looked at him with some helplessness. It was truly a bit hard to explain, because he couldn't just say: Actually, I did have an instant epiphany, but I did consider that you were all watching outside and it wouldn't be good to keep everyone waiting, so I used Canning Time to speed it up.

In fact, including the Canning Time, it did take several hours to become a Sword Guest.

To tell the truth, at first, he hadn't expected to realize the sword and become a Sword Guest so quickly. He also had no need to pursue this kind of extreme speed; the path of a Sword Guest is not a competition of who realizes the sword faster or becomes a Sword Guest earlier, but a comparison of who walks further in the end. Accumulating strength during the realization of the sword and letting things take their natural course is not necessarily a bad thing.

For the past two years, Tang Zhao had been preparing for Sword Casting. Although he was also preparing for the realization of the sword, the order was slightly secondary. He was also prepared for the difficulty of realizing the sword. Although realizing the sword doesn't have much to do with intelligence, even a genius like Zhang Rong, who surpassed ordinary people in everything, needed a year, and it was common for others to struggle for several years. There were even children of noble families who slept with their swords from a young age, staying with them day and night, only to spend ten or even decades in vain.

He had already made preparations: if he could not succeed in realizing the sword for a long time, he would carry the sword and travel ten thousand miles, going to Beijiang, the great seas, and the deserts of Liangzhou to take a look. He would look at the vast world and nature, broaden his horizons, temper his soul, seek out experts for duels, and go to dangerous Demon Caves to slay Heavenly Demons, forcing out his own limits in life-and-death situations.

He had even prepared—in case this Sword Casting was not to his satisfaction and the sword he cast did not match him, he would have to take the sword to exchange with others and spend time searching for his own sword.

But when the Sword Casting furnace went out and the sword appeared, Tang Zhao suddenly had an epiphany:

Those backup plans would likely not be needed.

The first time he saw the sword, Tang Zhao already realized that this was his sword.

It was a very wonderful feeling that Tang Zhao could not describe in words. In fact, he had had this feeling before. When he first saw someone take out a Lihuo Sword Dharma Artifact at the mountain temple, he had a feeling—that sword, I can also hold it.

But that was just a faint premonition, one could call it a guess, but this time was different. He had a strong feeling, one could even say an intense emotion: this is my sword!

That feeling... how to put it? Even using the word "fate" would be too shallow; it was more like parents seeing their newborn child for the first time, blood connecting hearts, nothing fake about it.

Although the newborn sword was gray and dusty, just like a newborn baby who is a wrinkled, ugly little child, in the eyes of the parents, it was incomparably cute and unique.

Tang Zhao had never been a parent, but he had already understood this feeling.

At that time, he could not suppress the impulse. Even though he knew the guests outside had already arrived and he should have gone out to greet them directly, he still reached out to take that sword at that moment.

The feeling of holding the sword—it was very warm.

He had held power swords, Art Tools, and Dharma Artifacts that suited him, and in every instance, he had felt powerful strength, which even caused a strong impact on his body and mind.

Yet this sword did not; everything was so warm, so gentle, just like soaking in a hot spring—no, even lighter than spring water, just like a sunbath in winter.

Gradually, he could no longer feel the sword, nor could he feel the light outside; the light had merged into his body, and the radiance was also a part of his body. They merged, without a trace of discomfort.

From the perspective of Xue Xianyun, who was watching from the side, the newly forged sword had quietly unsheathed itself.

Unsheathing three inches is the mark of a Sword Student.

Under normal circumstances, the first meeting between a sword and a Sword Guest should end here. A Sword Student must close the sword sheath, and on the long road of realizing the sword, one seeks that one moment when the blade slips out of the sheath, as if splitting mountains and rocks.

The first layer of the Sword Heart—Gold and Stone Open.

Where there is sincerity, gold and stone will open.

Nothing else, just sincerity.

No matter if you have the ambition of the blue clouds, the thoughts of a sage, or world-shaking talent, you cannot knock open the door to realizing the sword. The first step of the Sword Heart is sincerity.

Sincerity toward the sword, sincerity toward oneself, pointing directly to the original heart.

When you hold the sword, what is in the depths of your heart?

Everyone forces themselves to desperately think about things related to the sword, but in truth, one cannot decide what one is thinking about when realizing the sword.

Tang Zhao was the same. He read many books, and his mind was filled with various thoughts at every moment. Moreover, under the bathing of the sword, his heart was clear. He should have thought of something, should have realized something, but he did not expect that at this moment, he would think of his own name.

Zhao.

From "sun," from "summon."

"Youth receives thanks, the white sun is bright."

Initially, this name was just "borrowed" by his father from Mr. Zhaoming, in the hope that he would one day become a top scholar like that God of Literature, bringing glory to his ancestors.

Later, after Chen Zong came here, he told Tang Zhao the meaning of his name: Zhao, meaning the brightness of the sun. He said: "This name is well chosen and suits you. You should be a child like the sunlight."

Perhaps it was from that time on that he always felt he had some strange connection with the sun in the sky. Of course, this was only his unilateral feeling. The sun treated him no differently than it treated all living things.

Although it was ridiculous, he did indeed demand of himself to be like bright sunlight.

Sunlight: bright itself, and illuminating others.

Perhaps it was fate; he obtained the "Great Sun Divine Carriage Scripture" from the water pool, the Gang Qi he cultivated was Great Sun Gang Qi, even his Internal Energy was changed to the "Bing Fire Mental Method," which is known as the fire of the sun. The direction of his Inspiration was also fire, and even his Sword Seed matched him. The material used for the sword body was primarily "gold," which is also the color of sunlight.

Everything, could it not be destined?

Today, holding the sword, he also felt the sword's vital energy, which was like sunlight. Is it Heaven's will?

In fact, he had felt this way for a long time, but he always felt that identifying himself as a "Sun Child" was inevitably cringe-worthy and ridiculous; even thinking about it in his heart made him feel ashamed. Only when all the miscellaneous thoughts of the world disappeared, and he no longer had worldly desires, could he think so quietly and meticulously, and trace back such a long time. Only at this moment, holding this sword that was connected to his heart and blood, did the thoughts in his heart bubble up one by one like bubbles in a hot spring.

This was truly a wonderful state.

Some say that before a person dies, their life's experiences will flash by like a revolving lantern. Then, before a person is born, is there also such a moment? Counting the past life in the halo, longing for the present life.

It is just that no one remembers what happened before they were born.

And now, a young man has found his own sword and will accompany it for a long time to come, opening up an infinite future; is this not a rebirth?

Or perhaps it is not his rebirth, but the sword that is being reborn. This was, after all, a newborn sword to begin with.

Just like that, he reminisced, pondered, and felt.

His train of thought was sometimes incomparably clear, sometimes inexplicably chaotic, and sometimes like a flying immortal from beyond the heavens; in the end, countless thoughts were wound together like a ball of yarn, and the end of the thread could no longer be found.

He also returned from his daze, turned his head, and looked toward the horizon.

The window of the Sword Hut was already open; it was early morning, and a Great Ship appeared out of thin air above the swamp, its hull draped in a layer of faint golden light, as if it had just returned from the sun.

This caused a stir in his heart.

This stir was like a breach opening in a dammed glacier, with floodwaters pouring down from it, surging for a thousand miles.

"I have wanted to become Sunlight since I was small; I have grown until now without ever changing, and I will not change in the future."

My path is just like this.

"Let it begin from this very moment."

As his countless thoughts finally converged into this one sentence—which was perhaps not a particularly profound philosophy—it moved the sword in his hand.

The starting point of a Sword Heart is, after all, a sincere heart, a realization, and a vow.

When sincerity reaches its peak, Gold and Stone Open!

Boom—

Rays of light unfolded from behind him, almost soaring into the sky.

Xue Xianyun was by his side, already dumbstruck, and seeing this situation, he was so shocked that his jaw nearly dropped.

He himself was a Sword Guest, so how could he not know that this was the sign of a Sword Heart awakening?

However... the sword right now is not right. The birth of a Sword Guest also takes time; the Great Ship outside has already arrived, and those guests with their various hidden agendas are about to gather. Regardless of whether it would be rude to make them spend time watching the whole process, if someone with ill intent were to cause trouble and interrupt this hard-won opportunity, it would be a disaster.

"I really can't do anything with you." Xue Xianyun reached out and pulled over a Time Jar.

This was the Time Jar they had prepared early on. It was originally for just in case. In the event that something went wrong with the timing of the Sword Casting and the guests arrived right before their eyes, they could still buy a little time to adjust, so as to avoid losing face in front of everyone.

There was not much time, only three hours.

Finally...

——

The scene from that time flashed by, and Tang Zhao asked Chi Deputy Envoy in return, "Deputy Envoy, how could you not have a Sword Image? Did you not see that light soaring into the sky?"