[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-cursed-blade-s-walk":3,"chapter-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-728":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Cursed Blade's Walk",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263033,4415,"Chapter 728","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-728",728,"\u003Cp>Mount Wudang, Zixiao Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning bell rang solemnly, the usual time for morning rituals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet at this moment, the Daoist instructors and their disciples stared in stunned silence at the front of the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The incense and candles throughout the hall burned fiercely, thick plumes of blue smoke spinning rapidly to form a tornado before the statue of Zhenwu Dadi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An invisible pressure weighed upon every heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether elder or newly initiated Daoist child, all felt a trembling deep within their souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, could some evil spirit have entered the hall?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense! How could that be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what is this…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a Celestial Decree!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, an ancient voice sounded outside the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A stout Daoist with a full white beard appeared at the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His skin was slightly yellow, even tinged with gold—a sign of extreme mastery in some Xuan sect technique—but countless age spots revealed he was exceedingly old, well over a hundred years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrival was Wang Daozong, the Golden Toad Patriarch of Zixiao Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Wang Jing’s father and the most venerable elder on Mount Wudang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the days of Zhang Sanfeng, his famous disciples included Qiu Yuanjing, Sun Biyun, Li Xuanzong, Wang Daozong…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Iron Toad Daoist of Wulong Palace had transcended, this old man was the last surviving first-generation elder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pay homage to the Patriarch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All present knelt and bowed their heads, hearts filled with shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Toad Patriarch had secluded himself in the back courtyard, rarely showing his face—yet even he had been stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Daoist instructor inside the hall was even more stunned by the Golden Toad Patriarch’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Celestial Decree… how could that be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing is impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Toad Patriarch’s expression remained calm as he gazed at the swirling blue smoke before the statue and spoke gravely: “It is a Heavenly Edict. Ring the bell—go fetch the Abbot immediately!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Patriarch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his command, the bronze bell within Zixiao Palace erupted in thunderous resonance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bell signaled a momentous event; all disciples on Mount Wudang hastened toward Zixiao Palace upon hearing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Abbot, Yu Chanzi, who had been in seclusion, swiftly arrived in the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Heavenly Edict?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, he immediately frowned. “The last Celestial Decree was during the late Song, when the Ghost Sect of Great Song tormented the people, forcing all sects to unite and giving rise to new powers like the Tai Xuan Orthodox Church. Since then, though we’ve felt signs, the Heavenly Codes are strict—Grand Luo’s divine realm rarely interferes directly in mortal affairs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What great matter could this be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Toad Patriarch glanced at the statue of Zhenwu and murmured: “Let’s see first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Elder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Chanzi suppressed the storm within his heart and forced calm as he spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring the [Tongjia Secret Disc], and use [Qimen Dunjia] to deduce the true meaning of Heaven’s will!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One reason the Orthodox Xuan sects were powerful was their complete, unbroken lineage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Codes were strict—even when the Celestial Court issued an edict, it would not state its meaning plainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Yan were here, he would recognize this as a way to circumvent the rules, just as the Five Dao Generals, though speaking face-to-face with his soul, had never uttered a word, only drawn images for him to guess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Er Lang Zhenjun, too, in the Grand Luo divine realm, had let him see through a Nuo mask without speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To decipher a Heavenly Edict, one must use divination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was among the most profound methods in the Xuan sects—easy to learn, hard to master, with few who could truly wield it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wudang was not famed for divination, a few among them mastered this art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several elderly Daoists with white hair, experts in numerology, stepped forward at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Together, they retrieved a nine-palace eight-trigram disc carved from thousand-year-old yin-sunken wood, its interior embedded with a Hun Tian Yi pointer, its exterior inscribed with intricate Lu Shu and He Tu diagrams and the Three Oddities and Six Instruments, arranged according to the hour into four plates (year, month, day, hour).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, they sat cross-legged, forming hand seals and pouring their spiritual awareness into the disc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive nine-palace eight-trigram disc spun violently, its inner and outer directions rotating oppositely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heavenly Plate Yi Qi enters Zhen Palace! The Value Symbol lands in Li Nine! This is the sign of ‘Divine Light at the Gate, New Opportunity Awakens’!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Heavenly Gate opens in Qian (northwest), signifying a new sacred entity of exalted rank!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Rest Gate meets Ding Qi… this divine position is closely tied to ‘tools,’ ‘fire,’ and ‘rotating mechanism’…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the incantation was complex, the Golden Toad Patriarch understood clearly; he stroked his beard thoughtfully: “Divine Light at the Gate, exalted rank—that is the sign of the Daoist realm bestowing a new deity. Last time this happened on such a scale was with the Queen Mother of the West… What stirrings have occurred in the northwest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A new deity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Chanzi also looked puzzled and turned to his rear: “Has anything major happened in the northwest recently?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ling Yunzi, who had just returned from a mission, suddenly stirred and spoke: “Abbot, I am close to Brother Li and have been monitoring news from the capital. He went there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Recently, the Qiankun Academy opened in the capital, and it is said the Emperor has bestowed the title ‘Sui Lun Zhenjun’.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sui Lun… rotating mechanism—this must be that deity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Toad Patriarch fell into thought; the others exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A newly bestowed mortal deity—why would the Celestial Court make such a commotion?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wudang Abbot Yu Chanzi gazed toward the northwest, stroking his beard and frowning: “It is said the Qiankun Academy’s divine artifact has appeared, stirring great upheaval in the capital during this era of human transformation—likely because of this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems I must journey to the capital…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mount Longhu, Si Han Tian Shi Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the ancestral statue of Zhang Daoling, enshrined in the Ten Thousand Methods Altar where generations of Tian Shi had presided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A purple-robed Daoist held the “Three-Five Duke Power Jade Seal,” his eyes flickering with hidden lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was slender, his face ancient and stern, his hair entirely silver, radiating solemn authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was the forty-eighth Tian Shi, Zhang Siyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To hold such a position was no small feat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though aged, his Dao was profound—he needed no one else; he could deduce the will of Heaven alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He formed the Five Thunder Finger Seal, chanted the Jade Pivot Treasure Scripture, activated the Five Thunder Heart Orthodox Method—suddenly, lightning crackled around him, and the “Three-Five Duke Power Jade Seal” floated midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the lightning faded; Tian Shi rose slowly and spoke in a hoarse voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prepare the carriage! To the capital!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mount Qingcheng, Mount Emei, Mount Taibai’s Doumu Courtyard, Mount Zhongnan’s Quanzhen…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless sects had used divination to glimpse the Heavenly Will—the entire realm was in uproar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaders of the Orthodox Xuan sects hurriedly descended their mountains, racing toward the capital…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The capital, Qiankun Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>New students, of course, knew nothing of the storm the academy had stirred among the Xuan sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of Yin Hour (5 a.m.), dawn broke; all students rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steam billowed from the dining hall’s steamer baskets; the bland scent of millet porridge, mixed-grain steamed buns, and pickled vegetables filled the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apprentices from craft sects across the land were accustomed to plain fare, gulping their rice from clay bowls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But sons of nobility grimaced in discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some hid in corners, secretly pulling out beef jerky and pretending to soak it in their rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After breakfast came physical training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Led by instructors hired by the academy, they practiced the “Bone Strengthening Fist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was passed down by Master Huo Yin, designed to toughen the body and sinews, laying the foundation for future arduous labor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had snuck food now regretted it, feeling bloated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fist form required an empty stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dining hall had already prepared stewed meat; after training, when their stomachs growled, they would eat again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the students of the Divine Engineering Department, their scene was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They scattered across the square, sitting cross-legged according to their schools, facing the rising sun, inhaling purple qi, calming their spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the start of Chen Hour (7 a.m.), the Lecture Hall was already packed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the regulations set by Yan Jiuling and others, these students spent their first two years primarily studying knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>",1417,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5af62416b65392bb7b58249173c7ab0f10f392ea387d9a47625cad576afb16a0","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-729","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-727",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]