Chapter 472: 447 Mission

Amidst the radiance, various implements, medicinal pills, sundries, and scrolls were dazzling to the eyes, as if it were a treasure pavilion. Even if one did not recognize many of the items, one could tell from their appearance that their grade was not low.

Tang Zhao was extremely astonished and said, "Besides mine, why are there so many things here? Does the Zhugong not return the items it confiscates from others?"

He heard Xiangyangzi say from behind, "What kind of talk is that? Would the Zhugong covet such petty gains? Do not speak nonsense."

He turned his head and saw Xiangyangzi wiggling over again, stopping outside the cave entrance, and saying, "These are all offerings. Do you think Dongjun embezzled them? It is a long-standing tradition; every Sword Guest who comes to pay respects leaves behind a little something for Dongjun. Regardless of size, and no one is forced, but everyone does it this way. Anyway, those who come here are wealthy, so who would miss one or two items? Slowly, so many have accumulated. I knew long ago there were offerings, but I did not expect them to be stored here."

It smiled meaningfully and said, "As for now, they are all ownerless objects."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood and pondered, "Then what should I leave behind?"

Xiangyangzi froze for a moment and said, "What are you thinking? I said these were left by those who came to pay respects. Who were those people? At the very least, they were Sword Immortals. Moreover, the treasures are ownerless, you are now in control of the Zhugong, and these things are placed right in front of you, yet you say you want to add something?"

Tang Zhao pondered, "Indeed, this place is full of Sword Immortals, yet I am but a Sword Guest; it seems I should not be ranked alongside the seniors. But they only came to pay respects, while I have received the seniors' grace, so this is not a sacrificial rite, but a thank-you gift. A thank-you gift should prioritize sincerity; I trust the seniors will not mind if it is a bit meager. Let me think..."

As he pondered and considered, Xiangyangzi tilted its head and looked at him as if looking at a very rare object, finally saying, "Are you... having reservations because I am here? It does not matter to me; these are ownerless objects. If you are truly concerned, I will go back and sleep again."

Tang Zhao found it somewhat amusing and said, "Does it make any difference whether you are here or not?"

He thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I am not stupid; of course I understand the senior's meaning. But as you said, these are offerings for Dongjun. I first received the seniors' legacy, and then I would take their offerings privately—there is no such logic in the world. Perhaps I would not be punished after taking them, but one cannot do what one should not do just because no one is holding them accountable, right?"

Xiangyangzi was silent, finally saying, "You... are very much like the Dongjun lineage. Your appearance, your talent, your character. Why did they not choose you to wield the Jinwu Sword? You make me not even want to see the New Dongjun. If he were stronger than you, that would be one thing, but if he is inferior to you, I will surely feel greatly unbalanced in my heart. No matter how I think about it, it feels like a loss, so it would be better not to meet him at all."

Tang Zhao laughed, "Is this a compliment? But the senior can rest assured, no one will be able to see the New Dongjun for a while."

Because there is simply no one who can be the New Dongjun.

Looking at how unreliable Cai Yungui is, who knows when she will find a new Jinwu Sword?

Xiangyangzi said, "These things are less for Dongjun and more like a contribution for the New Dongjun. Actually, you can be considered one of Dongjun's successors; even if someone takes the Jinwu Sword, they would at most inherit two-thirds, and you would at least count for one-third. So there is no problem with you taking one-third of these things." Seeing Tang Zhao just smile, it said, "Fine, you do not consider yourself Dongjun, but I consider myself the steward of Dongjun. I can take the initiative to give you two good things, but if you want to thank Dongjun, do not give gifts; do two things instead."

Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he inexplicably thought of the story of the "golden axe and silver axe," feeling a sense of: "You are an honest child, so both the golden axe and silver axe are yours." He found it a bit funny, and since Xiangyangzi was serious about giving them, he naturally did not refuse and asked, "What are your instructions?"

Xiangyangzi said, "The first thing, of course, is to find Dongjun's successor, the Sword Guest of the Jinwu Sword. The Ruyi Sword has not been found for so many years, and it even got itself trapped; it seems hopeless, and now I do not trust her. You go find it; your powers are similar, perhaps you can sense each other, making it easier to find."

What? I have become Cai Yungui?

Tang Zhao had a headache. If it were any other sword, it might be fine, but the Jinwu Sword is extremely difficult to find. Cai Yungui has been struggling for so many years and still has no leads, only constantly tossing people around on the front lines. If such a large force as theirs cannot find it, how can he?

"After finding it... should I bring it here?"

Xiangyangzi said, "Bringing it... is fine. Not bringing it is also fine, as long as I know the news that the Jinwu Sword has a successor. Actually, we originally agreed with the Ruyi Sword to bring the Jinwu Sword here so that he could inherit the Sword Intent here and obtain a complete Jinwu Sword, but now that the Sword Intent has been taken by you, it does not matter if he comes or not. As for paying respects to the Jinwu Sword, it is also unnecessary; it is just an empty ritual, and Dongjun will not care. Of course, if he is willing to come and take a look, there are still some legacies here that he can inherit, which can be considered a gift from the previous generation."

It mentioned that the Sword Intent was gone, and Tang Zhao felt a slight sense of apology in his heart. He felt he could not shirk this matter; since he had taken the Sword Intent, he also carried the responsibility. However, he could not take on everything, so he nodded and said, "I will do my best."

Xiangyangzi said, "Very good, this is the matter closest to my heart. If the Jinwu Sword has a destination, then there will be no regrets. The second thing... since Baiyujing has been defiled by the Wangliang, the Zhugong is no longer suitable to remain here. Either drive out the Wangliang and return cleanliness to Baiyujing, or move the entire Zhugong away and find a pure place in the Human World to settle it."

"Relatively speaking, it is better to drive out the Wangliang."

Who doesn't think so?

Tang Zhao also thinks so. He is determined to do something for Baiyujing, but so far he is only taking it one step at a time, and there is no talk of any prospects.

Even if Ling Baoyu and Aqin both harbor the intention of perishing together with the enemy, there is no truly feasible plan.

Currently, their only plan is to enter Yutang, find the Ruyi Thread left by Hua Yaoshi, and then control all the Cloud Silk in the city through this Ruyi Thread, which possesses the highest command.

Once the Cloud Silk is controlled, the entire city's buildings, furnishings, and vegetation are controlled, which is basically controlling Baiyujing. One can do many things, but only... how to drive out the Wangliang remains unknown.

If controlling Baiyujing could drive out the Wangliang, the Ruyi Sword was originally the master of Baiyujing and could command the Five Cities and Twelve Towers at will, so why couldn't it eliminate the Wangliang?

Tang Zhao and the others know this logic. Now it is nothing more than a gamble that the current Wangliang is not as good as the original, and that the main body of the Wangliang is at Wangliang Mountain, while what remains now is merely an unconscious clone. Perhaps mobilizing the power of Baiyujing, combined with Tang Zhao's light, can create a miracle?

Actually, Tang Zhao has another idea: if he truly masters Baiyujing and cannot eliminate the Wangliang on the spot, he might as well dismantle Baiyujing into pieces and transport it out.

Judging from the Hongyao Ting he picked up earlier, small fragments can break through the encirclement of the Wangliang. Then one could follow the same pattern, dismantle Baiyujing into hundreds or thousands of pieces, and transport them out separately.

Once outside, use the sun to dry and disinfect them, and use nemesis items like the Lamp of Cloud Silk for deep cleaning in the details, so that it can be cleaned thoroughly from the inside out. Then transport the next one, until everything is cleaned up, and then reassemble it like building blocks.

Anyway, it is all Cloud Silk; isn't dismantling and sewing standard operation? By then, looking at it, there won't even be any seams, and it will still be a good Baiyujing.

The concern is, first, that this will be a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and energy-consuming major project, and the time spent will definitely be calculated in years. Tang Zhao still has his own work and plans, so he definitely cannot afford to waste time on it, but he can let Ling Baoyu and Aqin do it.

This is their hometown; surely they will do their best? The two of them are a Sword Hero and a Sword Guest; wouldn't one being worth a hundred not be too much? If that is still not enough, and it doesn't necessarily have to be kept secret, Tang Zhao can produce more Lamps of Cloud Silk and hire people from the Human World to do it. Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men; it is nothing more than a matter of grinding work.

Furthermore, Ling Baoyu and the others might be somewhat reluctant. Although Baiyujing is currently shrouded by the Wangliang, the buildings inside were all cast by the Highness herself at the time, and there are many small landscapes—every brick, every tile, every blade of grass, and every tree—that were woven by their partners with their own hands, full of memories from back then.

Now, if Baiyujing is to be dismantled and then reassembled like building blocks, even if it can be assembled exactly the same, it will no longer be the original hometown.

Currently, this idea of Tang Zhao's is just a thought, and he has not told anyone else. Unless he is at his wit's end in the end and Ling Baoyu and the others can make up their minds, it probably won't be realized.

At this moment, Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he sincerely asked Xiangyangzi for advice: "Senior, if I want to eliminate a clone of a Sword Deity like the Wangliang... what must I do?"

Xiangyangzi tilted its flower disk and said, "To eliminate a Middle-rank Sword Deity, you certainly cannot do it; even Sword Immortals find it difficult. To eliminate a clone of a Sword Deity, it depends on whether it is a true clone or the remains of a clone. Does the Wangliang outside have consciousness?"

Tang Zhao said, "If you mean wisdom like yours, then it probably does not. We have done quite a few things in the shadows, setting up lamps and teleporting, which counts as undermining its foundation, and it has no subjective reaction."

Xiangyangzi tilted its flower disk back and said, "That is natural. Wisdom like mine is not easy to come by. So what if it is a Middle-rank Sword Deity? Many Sword Deities are stupid enough to be played around by just anyone, having lived their lives in vain. If there is no consciousness, then it is the remains of a clone, right? The clone of a Middle-rank Sword Deity is what is called a domain; its essence is a Sword Momentum without anyone manipulating it. I ask you, if you want to eliminate the Sword Momentum of a Sword Immortal, what do you do?"

Tang Zhao answered honestly: "I cannot eliminate Sword Momentum."

Xiangyangzi waved with its green leaves and said, "Can you have some ambition? It is not asking you to eliminate the Sword Momentum that a Sword Guest is currently releasing. It is just the remains of a Sword Momentum, lying there waiting to be beaten, getting less with every strike. You have at least received the Sword Intent of a Sword Immortal; can you not think about it?"

Think about it?

Tang Zhao really felt it was a bit absurd. What is called the ruins of a Sword Immortal?

Back then, that Jianzhou, which appeared and disappeared unpredictably at Kungang, was once considered the ruins of a Sword Immortal.

Although facts proved that it was actually the territory of a living Sword Saint, those Sword Guests who performed archaeological verification back then were not fools; they must have had various bases for their judgment.

The ruins of a Sword Immortal would at least not be much worse than Jianzhou in terms of scale and momentum.

So many Sword Heroes and major Sword Casting forces were hosts back then, and at most they could only scavenge some benefits from the ruins; there was no talk of grinding the ruins to nothing.

Things they dared not think about, they want Tang Zhao to think about?

Tang Zhao really thought about it and said, "Use Sword Momentum to deal with Sword Momentum?"

Xiangyangzi spread its leaves and said, "Do you still need to say that? Isn't the collision of Sword Momentum just a hard clash? You are truly stubborn. Listen well. There are two ways to deal with this water without a source: one is to drain it, and the other is to make it collapse."