Chapter 105 - Arc 8: Wuling Immortal Sect | Chapter 105: Love, Leads The Seven Emotions
Translator: Lynn
Upon hearing this, Xu Ziqing was taken aback.
Ever since he met Yun Shixiong, he had no idea that the technique he was practicing was called the “Ruthless Killing Sword.” Just the name alone evoked a strong sense of killing intent that shook one’s spirit.
Recalling the first time they met when his soul accidentally entered the storage ring and he was desperate and lost, he finally encountered Yun Shixiong. At that time, Yun Shixiong’s presence was indeed as restless as Shifu had described, emanating an aura of killing and sword intent that kept people at a distance.
However, it appeared that the power of the Heavenly Soul’s body was not as potent as that of the main body’s. Maybe it was because of the desperation he felt at the time, but despite Yun Shixiong’s warning about strangers, Xu Ziqing still mustered the courage to approach and speak with him.
But now…
Xu Ziqing frowned slightly, saying, “Shifu, this disciple believes that Yun Shixiong may seem cold and aloof, but he is not a heartless person, even though he practices the way of the sword.” Although Xu Ziqing spoke, he couldn’t help but feel a contradiction due to his recent worship of Master Qiu He. Something did not seem quite right.
However, Qiu He seemed to be gratified and said, “Ziqing, your strong defense of Yun’er is the reason he considers you a friend.”
Xu Ziqing was taken aback and felt a bit embarrassed.
But Qiu He continued, “The notion that practicing the ‘Ruthless Killing Swordsmanship’ leads to heartlessness is both true and a misconception.” He then explained.
The “Sword Technique of Ruthless Killing” had long been stored in the Wuling Immortal Sect’s Library. This technique was only suitable for those who had established a foundation through the Gengjin1Heavenly Metal/Gold.
Do you want me to translate this word for easier reading? method. It focused on killing and was based on the intent to kill, ultimately leading to the realization of the ruthless killing sword.
However, practicing this technique resulted in freezing one’s emotions, making the cultivator’s Dao heart stable and unshakable. The longer one indulged in killing, the stronger the desire to kill became, and the weaker one’s emotions, until they became as unyielding as ice.
They would lose all emotion, aiming to reach enlightenment through killing, and eventually rejecting all relationships, killing indiscriminately. This could lead to being enchanted by one’s Dao heart and losing one’s sanity. Consequently, the practitioner might transform into a ruthless demon, committing atrocities and being shunned by the world.
Though initially, the sect did not restrict sword cultivators who practiced the Ruthless Killing Sword Technique, if there were any signs of demonic tendencies, the hidden peerless experts within the sect would take action and eliminate the threat.
Yun Lie had reached such a critical point in his cultivation, and Qiu He was deeply anxious, with his heart ablaze with concern.
Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but ask, “Is what Shifu says the truth? Then what about the rumors?”
Qiu He sighed and replied, “There have indeed been many ruthless sword cultivators who turned into demons and only displayed heartless thoughts while committing evil acts. Over time, people in the world assumed that those who practiced this method would become heartless individuals and avoided them. However, it is absolutely impossible to completely lose all emotions. Practitioners of this method, whether they become demons or not, will halt their progress before reaching the Golden Core stage.”
“But there are three thousand paths to immortality; all methods can lead to transcendence. How could there be such a fundamental flaw?”
Xu Ziqing listened attentively.
Qiu He firmly stated, “Those who practice this method aren’t heartless, they merely become consumed by their endless killing thoughts.” Initially, Qiu He had the same misconceptions as the world, but after Yun Lie, his apprentice, practiced this method, he explored the Library Pavilion, borrowing the technique for reference and careful examination. Although his attributes didn’t align with this path, and he was not a swordsman, as a Jindan real person, he could still gain some insight from it. After studying it thoroughly, his anxiety lessened.
The Ruthless Killing Sword technique, despite its ruthless name, is actually designed to freeze the practitioner’s seven emotions, including the killing intent, to prevent inner demons from interfering during battles. However, when one has reached a certain level of comprehension in the way of swordsmanship and their cultivation has advanced to the late Huayuan period, they need to infuse a little sentiment from thousands of emotions to progress further.
This sentiment could be any form of affection, whether it be blood relations, master and apprentice bonds, close friendships, or romantic love, as long as it stirs the seven emotions. By using this emotion, the practitioner can gradually improve the flaws in their Dao’s heart and continuously break through various realms to achieve Taoism and become an immortal.
This process doesn’t create emotions out of thin air; instead, it harnesses one emotion to unlock the seven emotions.
However, despite this method, attracting such sentiment is not an easy task, otherwise, why would Taoist practitioners not have seen any progress for thousands of years?
Qiu He, knowing the solution, realized how difficult it was to implement.
When Yun Lie was born on the cliff, the blood relationship was severed, the bond between master and apprentice was shallow due to their initial conflicts, and friendships were hard to maintain due to his reputation and aura of killing intent. Thus, the remaining possibility to seek this sentiment was through romantic love.
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but show a strange expression. The thought of someone with Brother Yun’s temperament being involved in a romantic relationship was unimaginable. Then something occurred to him, making his expression even more peculiar. He asked, “What about those… junior sisters?”
Seeing Xu Ziqing’s curious expression, Qiu He couldn’t help but chuckle, “You must have already guessed it. I did something…” He coughed lightly and explained, “Initially, I only had one direct disciple, but because of Yun’er, I took on eight named disciples.” Qiu He indeed had good intentions.
At that time, Yun Lie was infamous and feared, making it dangerous for anyone to approach him. All the female disciples within the inner sect had exceptional aptitude or were related to high-ranking monks, making them reluctant to take risks.
As a Golden Core Stage Daoist, Qiu He went to the outer sect to find a female disciple for this task. He explained the risks and rewards to them and hoped that those willing to try would accept him as their registered disciple under the name of Xiaozhu Peak, and even become his personal disciple.
This proposition attracted all the female disciples to participate. Qiu He carefully selected from them, excluding those who were unattractive, had ill intentions, or had poor aptitude. Eventually, more than ten female cultivators with three spiritual roots were chosen. However, what happened afterward was quite a story.
Xu Ziqing was intrigued, asking, “What happened with Yun Shixiong?”
Qiu He shook his head, “The first one hadn’t even reached the peak yet, and she was overwhelmed by the sword intent, fainting on the ground… Just this incident scared away several female cultivators.”
Xu Ziqing listened attentively and joked, “So, there must be seven courageous junior sisters left.”
Qiu He nodded and sighed, “The remaining seven were indeed brave. But out of those, three hadn’t reached the peak yet, while the other four with higher cultivation levels attempted to approach the peak but were overwhelmed by Yun’er’s aura and gained nothing. These eight were so frightened that their mental states were almost shattered. As their teacher, I felt responsible and decided to accept them as disciples as I had said.” He found it amusing, “Even now, those eight junior sisters of yours still dare not come within ten feet of Yun’er. Fortunately, over the years, they occasionally dared to call him ‘Shixiong,’ but getting them to get closer is simply impossible.”
Xu Ziqing also found it humorous; he never imagined that there were such interesting things about Yun Shixiong, which genuinely made him laugh.
At this moment, Qiu He chuckled and said, “Later on, Yun’er handled the matter on his own.”
In fact, Yun Lie had a well-thought-out plan. He acquired a low-grade spirit weapon storage ring, extracted his own heavenly soul, and sealed it inside. Then he tossed the ring into the Dragon Gate, allowing it to fall into the small world.
Qiu He initially thought it was just child’s play, but he remarked, “You reap what you sow, and it’s all up to fate.”
After that, there were no developments for many years, until a few years ago when Qiu He saw Yun Lie again. He noticed a change in him and already had an inkling of what had happened, feeling genuinely happy about it.
A few months ago, Yun Lie informed Qiu He that the heavenly soul was about to return to its body, finally putting Qiu He’s mind at ease.
Thus, even though Xu Ziqing wasn’t doing well, Qiu He was willing to treat him as a named disciple due to Yun Lie. However, on top of that, Xu Ziqing was excellent in every way, prompting Qiu He to accept him as a personal disciple, granting him more resources. In the future, when Qiu He’s lifespan comes to an end, Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing can support each other in the immortal realm, preventing him from being alone and lonely.
Xu Ziqing finally understood the intricacies of the situation and couldn’t help but sigh. The meeting between him and Yun Shixiong was a result of many coincidences and mistakes, but unexpectedly, it changed both of their destinies. In the past, he believed that he had benefited from Yun Shixiong, but now he realizes that it was actually the other way around, and he feels deeply comforted.
At this moment, Qiu He asked, “I’m curious, how did you and Yun’er become friends?”
Xu Ziqing smiled warmly, not hiding anything, and recounted their past experiences.
Upon hearing the story, Qiu He became quite emotional. “So that’s how it happened. Back then, when Ziqing encountered Yun’er, Yun’er didn’t kill him immediately because he sensed that Ziqing was just a soul, behaving politely. Both of them cultivated Gengjin, and Ziqing, being a soul of Ethereal Wood, had the ability to contain Gengjin, which is why he got trapped later, and Yun’er helped him. If that’s the case, the matter is clear. However, Ziqing’s pure and kind heart made him approach Yun’er many times out of gratitude, and Yun’er eventually opened up to him. It was all a matter of various opportunities. If Yun Lie’s real body had met Xu Ziqing without any assistance, Xu Ziqing might not have been inclined to forge such a friendship. It was only because he was the heavenly soul of Yun Lie and had a connection to Xu Ziqing that they ultimately became friends and developed a strong bond.”
Reflecting on this, Xu Ziqing’s expression softened, and he smiled tenderly. “Looking back, it all feels like a dream. But I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to cultivate in the same sect as Yun Shixiong in the future.” After sharing so much, the newly recognized master and apprentice have also grown close to each other because of Yun Lie.
Suddenly, Qiu He smacked his forehead playfully and said with a grin, “I almost forgot! I brought you here to introduce you to my junior sisters. I talked too much, but now I’ll call them in, so you can meet your second senior brother.”
I forgot to add footnotes in the last chapter
Shixiong = Senior Brother
Shidi = Junior Brother
Basically, Xu Ziqing is changing the way he addresses Yun Lie from Yun-ge(Brother Yun) to Yun Shixiong(Senior Brother Yun)
Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.
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1Heavenly Metal/Gold.
Do you want me to translate this word for easier reading?