Chapter 129: Secret Garden Transmission, Broken Sword Has Spirit

In the northwest corner of the Imperial City, there is a remote and cold garden called "Quiet Thinking Garden." This place was originally the residence of a prince who liked quiet in the previous dynasty. The buildings are simple, the trees are deep, and few people come here. After the demonic disaster, this place was slightly repaired by Emperor Chengping Huangfu Hao because of its light damage and remote location, and it was used to house some people with special identities or who needed to recuperate.

Zhao Yuan was placed in the "Listening to Bamboo Pavilion" in the deepest part of this garden.

Outside the pavilion, a few clusters of green bamboo made a rustling light sound in the night wind, and the moonlight passed through the sparse bamboo leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the stone steps. Inside the pavilion, a lamp like a bean illuminated Zhao Yuan's pale and haggard face. He sat by the window, unconsciously rubbing a cold black iron token—this was the identity token of the core disciples of the Zhao Clan, but now it had become a stinging witness to the destruction of the clan and the death of his relatives.

Since he was awakened from the Star Fall Lake Mystical Realm by Lin Xuan that day and sent to this deep part of the Imperial City by secret method, several months had passed. His cultivation seal had been lifted by the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets in a gentle way, but the trauma of his Dao heart was far more difficult to heal than the physical restraint.

Every day, silent eunuchs sent food and daily necessities, and there were also cultivators arranged by the imperial family who were good at guiding the state of mind, either telling stories of Daoist classics or guiding breathing and meditation. Emperor Chengping even came once, without reprimand, without pity, just telling him calmly: "The crimes of the Zhao Clan have their own public opinion. Your stay or leave is up to your own heart. The imperial dynasty is in need of people, if you can distinguish right from wrong and cut off the past, it may not be impossible to make some achievements."

However, he understood the truth, but it was difficult to remove the inner demon. Whenever it was deep in the night, his father Zhao Song's final ferocious and distorted face, the countless innocent lives who died miserably in the demonic disaster in the imperial capital, the contrast between the past prosperity of the clan and the current withering... various pictures flooded in like a tide, tearing at his soul. Guilt, pain, confusion, unwillingness, and a trace of hatred for the "source" (whether it was a demon or a person) that caused all this, which was forcibly suppressed, were woven into an invisible net, trapping him in it, his cultivation not advancing but retreating, always hovering in the late Golden Core stage, and cracks appeared in his Dao foundation.

He knew that if this continued, he would be completely abolished sooner or later, or even deeply planted with inner demons, falling into the demonic path. But he couldn't find a way out. The sins of the clan were like original sin branded deep in his soul, making him unable to calmly accept the "charity" and "guidance" of the imperial dynasty, and even more unable to easily say the words "cut off the past." That meant a complete betrayal of his father and ancestors, and meant admitting that the blood flowing in his veins was full of sin.

"I... what should I do?" Zhao Yuan looked at the swaying bamboo shadows outside the window and muttered to himself, his eyes full of inseparable despair.

Just then, an extremely subtle, old voice that seemed to ring directly in the depths of his soul came without warning:

"Boy, indulging in the past and feeling sorry for yourself is the most useless act of a coward."

Zhao Yuan shook violently, looked up sharply, and his divine sense swept through the entire Listening to Bamboo Pavilion and even the Quiet Thinking Garden, but found nothing! This voice was not transmitted through the air, nor was it an ordinary sound transmission, but a more profound and mysterious way of communication that acted directly on the mind! Moreover, this voice gave him a sense of inexplicable familiarity, it seemed... where had he heard it before?

"Who?! Who is talking?" He suppressed the horror in his heart and asked in a low voice, his hand already on the storage bag at his waist.

"Heh, your vigilance is not bad." The old voice carried a trace of teasing, "Don't be nervous, if I wanted to be unfavorable to you, with your Golden Core cultivation, plus those little guys outside who are not even Soul Formation, can you stop me?"

Zhao Yuan felt a chill in his heart. Indeed, the other party could transmit the voice into the deepest part of his mind without a sound, and his cultivation was definitely far above him. Moreover, the other party seemed to know the guards of the Quiet Thinking Garden like the back of his hand.

"Senior... what is your instruction?" Zhao Yuan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Instruction is not worth mentioning. It's just that I see you, a good piece of material, are about to be completely ruined by your own little things, which is a pity." The old voice said lightly, "I have heard a little about the Zhao Clan. Zhao Song colluded with the Demonic Abyss, deserved to die, and implicated the clan, which was also self-inflicted. But what does this have to do with you? You were just a junior tainted by demonic energy and unable to control yourself at that time, and later you were knocked unconscious and taken away, and you did not participate in the core of the rebellion. Emperor Chengping spared your life, and Lin boy brought you here, it is to give you a chance, not to let you commit suicide here."

"Chance?" Zhao Yuan smiled bitterly, "Living in the world with such a sinful bloodline is already a fluke, let alone a chance?"

"Pedantic!" The old voice scolded, "Bloodline is given by parents, but the path is chosen by yourself! Your Zhao Clan ancestors may not all be treacherous villains. Just because there are unworthy descendants in later generations, do you want to completely deny the achievements of your ancestors who worked hard? You possess 'Dark Spiritual Root' and 'Metal Spiritual Root,' both are sharp weapons for killing and protecting the Dao, and your character is not bad in essence, otherwise, you would not have admired that Lin boy at Star Fall Lake that day, and you would not have struggled when demonic energy tainted your body. What traps you now is not the sin of bloodline, but your own heart barrier! You dare not face the past, dare not admit mistakes, and dare not carry this sin and pain to walk a correct path that is completely different from your father and ancestors! You are afraid, afraid of choice, afraid of taking responsibility!"

Every word was like a hammer, hitting Zhao Yuan's heart, making his face turn pale, but it seemed to tear open a layer of fog he had never dared to look directly at.

"I... afraid?" Zhao Yuan repeated blankly.

"That's right. Choosing rebirth means you have to cut off the connection with the past with your own hands, face the unknown future alone, and even perhaps be an enemy of the 'self' of the past. This requires greater courage than self-exile in pain." The old voice's tone eased slightly, "But if you don't even dare to do this, that is the real disappointment. Disappointing your talent, disappointing those who died in the demonic disaster but not because of you, and even more disappointing... those who still have expectations for you."

"Expectations?" Zhao Yuan was confused, "Who else would have expectations for me?"

"If Emperor Chengping had no expectations for you, he would only imprison or secretly execute you, why bother to arrange guidance? If Lin boy thought you were hopeless, he wouldn't have looked at you more that day, let alone bring you out of the Mystical Realm. And... " The old voice paused, "At the bottom of the storage bag at your waist, that broken sword made of 'Millennium Sinking Iron' and 'Dark Shadow Gold' that has never truly recognized you as its master, it... is also waiting for you."

Zhao Yuan was struck by lightning and looked down at his storage bag sharply. That broken sword was obtained by his father Zhao Song by chance at an auction when he was young. It was said to be a broken weapon unearthed from the ruins of an ancient sword cultivator. The material was special, but the spirituality was exhausted and could not be refined. Zhao Song saw that he liked it, so he gave it to him. Over the years, he had always carried it with him, but only as a souvenir, never thinking...

With a movement of his divine sense, the strange long sword, about two feet long, pitch black, with fine cracks on the sword body and a broken tip, appeared in his hand. It was cold and heavy to the touch, no different from usual.

"Senior means... this sword has spirit?" Zhao Yuan couldn't believe it.

"Spirituality is hidden deep, almost extinct, but it is indeed there." The old voice said, "'Dark Shadow Gold' belongs to the dark and gloomy, which naturally fits your dark spiritual root. 'Millennium Sinking Iron' is heavy and simple, and can best carry the sharpness of the metal spiritual root. This sword is broken, not because the material is not good, but because its original owner once used this sword to kill and protect the Dao. The sword spirit carried too much, and finally was damaged and silenced in a fierce battle. It needs, not a master who is immersed in hatred and guilt, but a true sword cultivator who can distinguish right from wrong, has a firm heart, dares to walk with a sword in the dark, stops killing with killing, and defends the Dao with a sword!"

"If you can break your heart barrier, clarify your mind, and nourish it with your own essence blood and Dao thoughts, you might be able to awaken a trace of consciousness of this residual sword spirit. At that time, it will become your most loyal partner, helping you cut off the past and also cut open the future path."

Walk with a sword... stop killing with killing... defend the Dao with a sword...

Zhao Yuan held the cold and broken long sword tightly, his fingertips trembling slightly. An inexplicable palpitation passed from the sword body to his palm, although it was so weak that it was almost impossible to perceive, it was real! That was not spirituality, more like a... resonance... waiting for something for countless years?

"Senior... who are you? Why tell me this?" Zhao Yuan looked up at the void, his eyes still confused, but with a trace of weak light.

"Who I am, you will know in the future." The old voice seemed to smile, "As for why I help you... maybe I think you are pleasing to the eye, maybe I don't want a good piece of material to be wasted, or maybe... I feel that this pool of water is not muddy enough, and I want to throw another stone in to see. Boy, the road is under your feet, and the sword is in your hand. Whether to continue to pity yourself in this Listening to Bamboo Pavilion, waiting for the inner demon to completely swallow you; or pick up the sword, walk out of this world, face it, take responsibility, and walk your own 'Dao', you choose."

The voice gradually faded and finally disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared.

The Quiet Thinking Garden returned to silence, only the bamboo leaves rustled, and the moonlight was cold.

Zhao Yuan stood blankly in place, holding the broken sword, and did not move for a long time. In his mind, the words of the old voice, Emperor Chengping's calm gaze, Lin Xuan's profound eyes, his father's final madness, the miserable scene in the demonic disaster... constantly intertwined and collided.

"My own... Dao..." he repeated in a low voice, the struggle in his eyes becoming stronger.

He remembered the figure of Lin Xuan resisting the demons with Soul Formation cultivation and protecting the crowd at Star Fall Lake; he remembered the figure of Lin Xuan holding up the sky with one hand and shaking the demonic shadow at the imperial capital; he also remembered his father's ugly state of sinking into power and demonic thoughts.

For a long time, the thick gloom and confusion in his eyes were finally pierced by an extremely weak yet unusually firm sharpness.

He slowly raised the broken sword in his hand, looking at the cold moonlight outside the window, as if examining his own heart.

"Father, your path was wrong. I cannot erase the sins of the Zhao Clan, but I will use my own way to repay and make up for it." His voice was hoarse, but every word was clear, "From today on, I am not a remnant of the Zhao Clan, nor a prisoner of the imperial dynasty. I am just... Zhao Yuan."

He placed the broken sword across his knees, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, no longer avoiding the messy thoughts and pain, but actively guided his own pure gold and dark dual-attribute spiritual power, slowly injecting it into the sword body, and at the same time, tried to integrate a trace of weak yet pure "protection" and "discernment" intention into it.

That night, in the Listening to Bamboo Pavilion, the lamp was not extinguished. An extremely weak, almost impossible to be perceived by the outside world, strange fluctuation, from the depths of that broken sword that had been silent for countless years, quietly awakened.

At the same time, in a secret room in the Imperial City that was heavily guarded.

The Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets' blurred figure was staring at the blurred scene in the Listening to Bamboo Pavilion in the Quiet Thinking Garden (disturbed by some power, unable to see the details) shown in the water mirror. He shook his head slightly and let out a silent sigh:

"Dark Shadow Gold, Sinking Iron Sword... actually in the hands of the Zhao Clan boy. Old guy, you really know how to pick the time. This 'Silent Shadow' broken sword reappearing in the world, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. However, this boy's character is indeed malleable. If he can be led to the right path, he may become a great help in the future. It's just... getting involved with that sword, his path is destined not to be peaceful."

He pointed his finger, and the scene in the water mirror changed, showing the traces of the polluted starlight above the Star Observatory, and the more distant and profound starry sky background where an invisible vortex seemed to be forming.

"Star Palace deduction, it really attracted unnecessary attention. That thing... seems to care about the combination of 'Chaos' and 'Dragon Energy', and... Star Essence Gold? It seems that I have to urge that boy and Huangfu Hao. Time, I'm afraid, is tighter than expected."

His figure slowly faded, merging into the shadow of the secret room, leaving only an inaudible whisper, drifting in the air:

"The wind of the Hanhai is about to blow over. The mountain rain is coming..." ===== CHAPTER 130 =====