Chapter 91: Observing the Rites, Crossing the Primordial Calamity (Part 1)

  For four consecutive days, the entire Sunset City was under martial law and curfew, with an atmosphere even heavier than during the Beast Ruins riot. However, what puzzled Gu Jianfeng and others was that the disappearance of the Zongmin, which had been happening every two or three days, did not occur this time.

  Lu Qing certainly knew the reason, but he wouldn't say it out loud. The things involved were too complicated, and one unclear explanation would bring about huge trouble. So even if he solved this time's culprit, he didn't plan to take credit for it.

  Until ten days later, the time of the beast ruins riot arrived. Although Zong Zhuo and others left a clear message that the riot would not happen again, Gu Jianfeng still ordered the whole city to be on guard. This thing, don't fear ten thousand, just fear one in ten thousand, as the master of the city, he had to consider the lives of all the clan members, this was a matter of life and death, and couldn't be taken lightly.

  Five days passed, the city gates were tightly closed, and outside the city gates was also calm, on a large plain connecting the mountains of the beast ruins, there were only some grass birds taking off, not even the shadow of ordinary wild beasts could be seen.

  "It seems that the sect master was right," On the city wall, Gu Jianfeng wore a suit of dark iron armor, his hair tied back, and cloud boots on his feet, exuding an aura of majesty and killing intent.

  Next to him, the black iron was also standing, wearing a soft armor made of unknown green beast skin. "Yes, the hundred-year riot, since I took over as the master of the temple seventeen years ago, it has happened twice already. Although it's only twice, but I really don't want to experience a third time. The blood flowing like rivers makes me feel heartache, but I'm unable to stop it. This feeling has been haunting me for these seventeen years."

  "Yes," Gujian sighed, "it's precisely because of this that you don't dare to easily cross the Yuan Jie, fearing being taken advantage of by heart demons, and I too have made no progress in entering the Sword Master's Small Heavenly Realm for these past ten years."

  Looking up at the distant sunset, Wu Tie said: "Sometimes, status can also be a burden, it will block our pursuit of the road."

  "The way of the sword is a single path, requiring a single-minded focus. Although it's not necessary to cut off emotions and desires entirely, one must eliminate distractions in order to proceed, Wu Xiong..." At this point, Gu Jianfeng raised his head and exchanged a glance with Wu Tie.

  "We are both homeless, let's travel together." As if they had sensed each other's intentions, the two spoke simultaneously.

  At this moment, Lu Qing, who was standing on one side, heard the words and his eyes lit up. He knew what the two had planned to do and couldn't help but smile in admiration. He knew that the two had finally put down all their worries and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the endless pursuit of the sword path.

  At this moment, the thick bloody and murderous aura that originally surrounded the two of them completely disappeared, replaced by a kind of peaceful tranquility, as if at this moment, everything had nothing to do with them anymore.

  The changes on the two of them, of course, did not escape the notice of others. At this time, Luoyun and others who were also standing on the wall simultaneously bowed slightly: "Congratulations to the two adults for untying their bonds and cleansing their hearts."

  A faint smile, at this moment, Gujian Feng's expression was still bold and unrestrained, but in the eyes of the crowd, it had an added rare tranquility and warmth. At the same time, Wu Tie beside him also had a warm gaze. In this instant, including Lu Qing, all the swordsmen discovered that the heavenly energy around Wu Tie began to fluctuate unstably, as if something was stirring beside him.

  This is the sword master's pre-ascension fluctuation of yuanqi before crossing the Yuanqi Tribulation.

  Lu Qing clearly remembered that the fifth layer of the Rising Sun Heart Sutra had such a description. Looking at Wu Tie's current state, he was afraid that it would not take half a month for him to truly calm down and pass the first tribulation on this long road of sword cultivation.

  It was night, and Lu Qing sat quietly in the guest room of the city master's mansion, constantly thinking about the changes in Gujianfeng and Wutie on the city wall today, with a faint wrinkle between his eyebrows.

  "Are you worried that you're tied down by too many things, and the path of swordsmanship will be difficult to walk far in the future?" At this time, as if sensing Lu Qing's thoughts, Ye Lao's voice echoed in his mind.

  Lu Qing nodded silently, indeed he was thinking about this point. In the Sword God Continent, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, a world where strong swordsmen emerged in large numbers, no one wasn't dreaming of becoming a powerful swordsman since childhood, even Lu Qing, born into the sword-forging family, had such thoughts deep down inside. Only now, whether it was his father Lu Yun's legacy or the family business of the Lu household, they were all burdens he couldn't let go of.

  Although he is now constantly striving to become stronger under such a burden, in order to protect the Lu family's thousand-year-old ancestral business and the townspeople of Chaoyang Town who have been living and multiplying for generations, there is no doubt that his heart has already had such a great bond. Although Lu Qing's cultivation has advanced rapidly now, he knows that many of these are obtained through some opportunities or even gambling, and if he really relies on his own hard work, his current cultivation may not be stronger than before the breakthrough of Duan Qingyun.

  "Hmph, what kind of nonsense are you thinking about? And what kind of absurd sword theories is the Sword God Continent spreading these days? Bonds, bonds, who says that having bonds will ultimately hinder one's progress in swordsmanship and become a demon that haunts them through their tribulations? Truly, six apertures open, but one aperture remains closed!" Ye Lao's words were astonishing, his tone clearly filled with deep disdain and irritation.

  "What?" Lu Qing was stunned. As for Ye Lao's words, he had never heard of them before. From the first day he came into contact with swordsmanship, he was told that to practice swordsmanship, one must have a unified heart and sword, single-mindedly focused, without any distraction. And after reaching his current level, he also gained some deeper understanding from some annotations in the Xuanyi Heart Sutra, which stated that only by single-mindedly pursuing the way of the sword could one truly touch the true essence of the sword.

  "What? I said you're all wrong," At this moment, Ye Lao's voice became low again. "Whether it's a bond or a burden, in fact, when you really take on this responsibility, you will also understand the true meaning of swordsmanship pursuit, that is, to protect."

  "Protect," Lu Qing murmured.

  "Not bad, it's just a guardian, when you truly have the ability to inherit and comprehend it, you will have the potential to become a sword saint!"

  "Saint of the Sword!" Lu Qing couldn't believe his eyes. In his opinion, even in the current Sword God Continent, the Saint of the Sword was a legend that had been extinguished for over 50,000 years, only existing in some ancient records from over 50,000 years ago. Nowadays, there were only five Purple Emperor-level sword holy lands on the entire continent, and it was said that the Ancestor of Swords, such an extraordinary swordsman, still existed. As for the Saint of the Sword, he had truly become a legend.

  "It's not right, I shouldn't have brought this up with you so early. On the contrary, if you were to realize these things on your own later, it would be more effective and leave a deeper impression on your heart. But those two young ones today completely disrupted your state of mind, and I'm afraid that if I don't guide you now, you might end up walking into a dead end." Ye Lao sighed and explained.

  From Ye Lao's words, Lu Qing heard a sincerity, the gathered brow opened up, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Guarding, I think I've understood some things now, Ye Lao, you can rest assured, I will hold on to my original heart."

  "It's settled then, you must remember that those two kids may seem to have let go now, but in fact they've only let go of the small me and only achieved the small me. Their future achievements won't be too great. Of course, since they've already made their choice, they can only follow their own path from now on. And since you've cultivated my Purple Emperor Sword Body Technique, I'm half your master now. You must achieve greatness for me in the future, can you promise me that?" A hint of hope suddenly appeared in Ye Lao's voice.

  Although it was well-controlled, since it was in Lu Qing's mind, Lu Qing still felt a slight tremble in the voice. His heart warmed up and he immediately knelt down on the bed, respectfully kowtowing three times, saying: "Master..."

  "Good, good!" Ye Lao's trembling voice echoed in Lu Qing's mind. "I didn't expect that I would be able to collect such a fine disciple after struggling for so many years. It's truly delightful, truly delightful!" The wild and unrestrained laughter continued for half a stick of incense before finally stopping.

  "You can rest assured, as long as you listen to my teachings and stick to your heart, walking the path of greatness. Once you truly let go of your ego, that's when you'll achieve true self-realization. At that time, with my help, achieving sword sage is almost a certainty, even if it's just a slight chance." Ye Lao's words were astonishing, but the unparalleled confidence and momentum in his tone made Lu Qing believe without hesitation.

  Nothing else, he didn't have anything worth the old man's envy and prying eyes, and the old man's straightforward personality also made the two quite close-minded. Although the old man had been hiding his identity and refused to say it out loud, Lu Qing still wanted to believe him.

  Later, under Ye Lao's guidance, Lu Qing slowly absorbed the sealed Blood Slasher Sword Yuan liquid in his body to consolidate the physical body of the Purple Emperor Sword. It has to be said that the effect of this Blood Slasher Sword Yuan liquid is really powerful. According to Ye Lao's words, Lu Qing's current first layer effect is far stronger than the 8,000-year-old Earth Heart Stone Milk he used when building his foundation. At least it exceeded three layers, and the foundation can be said to be extremely solid.

  Half a month passed, and during this time, the curfew in Luoshan City was also lifted. After announcing that the riot had subsided, the whole city of Luoshan boiled over with excitement. All the people held colorful lanterns, danced around bonfires, and performed dragon dances on the streets to celebrate, with the lights burning continuously for several days.

  Half a month later, at the invitation of Wū Tiě, including Lù Qīng and other famous swordsmen from Luò Rì Chéng, will become the witnesses of his crossing the Yuanqi tribulation. The location is set at Wàng Yuè Shān, five miles outside the city's outer beast ruins, at noon sharp.