Chapter 774: Intergrating the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The guardian’s cultivation was unfathomable, posing great pressure on Zhang Ruochen. Beads of sweat welled up on his skin, soaking his back entirely.
If his identity was discovered, with his current cultivation, it would be impossible for him to escape from the Sword Pavilion alive.
Who had expected that there was a dread person in the Sword Pavilion?
The old woman in red stared at Zhang Ruochen as she nodded and spoke meaningfully, “There are many secrets in you.”
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint thought that the old woman was referring to the identity of the Thousand-Bone Empress’ disciple, so he did not take her seriously. He said, “Lin Yue is rated the first Genius of Tao of the sword in the Yin and Yang Sect since the Middle Ages. His destiny is extraordinary. He has experienced some adventures.”
“Well, since the Yin and Yang Sect has made the decision, let him have a try. Until now, no one in the the Fish-Dragon Realm has seen the words on the wordless sword manual yet.”
The old woman turned around and walked into the distance.
Her footwork seemed sluggish, but only with four or five steps, she was completely out of sight.
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint bowed to the old woman and said to Zhang Ruochen, “Lin Yue, Grandma Begonia is the guardian of the Sword Pavilion, and her achievement in the Tao of the sword exceeds mine remarkably.” “With her help, I was able to practice Sword Seven successfully, and I was conferred the title of “sword saint.” From now on, you should pay your respects to her whenever you meet her.”
“Thanks for reminding me, sword saint.” Zhang Ruochen said.
The seventh level of the Sword Pavilion was very flat and vast with some low hills. But in the center of this level towered a reddish-brown stone mountain.
Steep, surrounded by cliffs, the mountain stretched 20,000 metres into the clouds, like a tremendous stone sword standing in the middle of the universe.
Beneath the mountain, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint looked up in awe and said, “This is the wordless sword manual, also named ‘Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.’ A monk without adequate training can only feel its mighty Sword Comprehension, but he can’t read any words and pictures on it.”
Zhang Ruochen had sensed a huge aura of Tao of the sword. Looking up, he could observe Sword Qi condensed into a river, which swooshed and flew around the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
He had never imagined that the legendary wordless sword manual was not a scroll but a stone mountain.
The Moon-Burier Sword Saint said, “Time passes differently in the Sword Pavilion’s seventh level than in the external world. If you practice here for 8 days, only one day has passed outside. You have to rely on yourself to learn in the following days. I’ll pick you up after half a year.”
In the Sword Pavilion, the time varied in the different levels. Going up, the time ratio between the pavilion and the outside world became larger.
Because the time in this level elapsed too fast, the Moon-Burier Sword Saint dared not to stay here except when secluding himself for refining. Every moment cost a momenty of his life, which was equal to suicide.
After the Moon-Burier Sword Saint left, Zhang Ruochen walked up to the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain and stretched a hand to carefully touch the hard stone wall.
He released his mighty Spiritual Power, and particles of light came from his palms, ready to probe the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
“Swoosh!”
The moment his Spiritual Power touched the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain, the Power was smashed by the huge strength of the Tao of the sword. It dissipated completely.
With a choked cry, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palms immediately and staggered dozens of steps backwards.
“How formidable! Compared with it, my level forty-five Spiritual Power is as tiny as an ant!”
Zhang Ruochen was in awe of the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
Everyone knew that the origin of all sword techniques and skills in Kunlun’s Field eventually traced back to the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
But it remained a mystery how this sword mountain, with limitless Tao of the sword, had appeared in Kunlun’s Field.
Who had created it?
“It’s said that a monk cannot read the words and pictures on the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain until he reaches the Saint’s realm. Is this true?”
Zhang Ruochen did not accept it. So, sitting cross-legged below the Mountain, he adjusted his mood and motivated the Heart of the Sword, concentrating on observation and perception.
A monk’s comprehension of Tao of the sword relied on his realm of Tao of the sword.
Although Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation was just in the Fish-Dragon Realm, his realm of Tao of the sword had arrived at the Advanced Stage of the Heart Integrated into Sword, higher than some Saints.
Moreover, he had just reached the 45th level in his Spiritual Power, also outpacing many Saints.
Even though his cultivation was relatively low, he still had a chance to read the words on the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
Time flew. One month passed without him noticing.
In the past month, Zhang Ruochen had changed his position seven times in a row, but he still gained nothing.
He could only see the stone mountain, stone wall, and some strange lines. The sword skill words remained invisible.
“Is it due to my low cultivation?”
Zhang Ruochen was unwilling to give up. Instead, he made efforts to repress the restlessness in his mind, ignoring the Sword Technique Conference and the desire to practice to the Completion of Sword Two.
He even closed his eyes and stopped his observation of the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen’s mood became more and more pure. He cleaned up his mind, retaining only his pursuit for Tao of the sword.
He maintained this meditation for three months.
When Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark, empty universe with no boundary in sight.
“Where…am I?”
He looked in the distance, only to find a colorful nebula appearing ahead. It took the shape of a sword, beautiful and magnificent.
The starry cloud was the convergence of millions upon millions of stars.
With some bodily movements, Zhang Ruochen dashed into the sky. But he was too distant from the nebula to get close to it. No matter how fast he flew, he never gained on it.
Then, three huge starry rivers rushed out from between Zhang Ruochen’s eyebrows, entangling and swirling together. They stormed out swiftly to connect with the sword-shaped nebula.
On the seventh level of the Sword Pavilion, Zhang Ruochen was still sitting cross-legged below the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain when the Three Patriarchs’ Sword Comprehension flew from the center of his eyebrows and transformed into three long rivers of Sword Comprehension. They completely surrounded the entire Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
“Swoosh!”
Something unusual took place on the mountain. Many gold characters emerged on its surface, covering the whole mountain and glowing splendidly.
Each character was transformed into a palm-sized, golden person. They each held the hilt of a sword, ready to wield it swiftly.
When each golden person had completed one sword skill, he would turn into a golden light spot which rushed along the Sword Comprehension rivers into the center of Zhang Ruochen’s eyebrows.
Each light spot represented a mysterious sword technique.
Thousands of light spots, like stars in the universe, were rushing into Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
The old woman could naturally sense the tremedous changes on the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain.
She fixed her aged eyes on Zhang Ruochen and said to herself, “The Sword Comprehension was left behind by three of them, and yet they all condensed on the same person. Interesting.”
In a flash, the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions returned from the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain and circled around Zhang Ruochen. They poured back into his body, forming a huge vortex.
Not until the vortex had disappeared completely did Zhang Ruochen open his eyes slowly and let out a long breath.
He scanned the surroundings and found everything was quite unfamiliar to him. It took him 15 minutes to recognize that he was still in the seventh level of the Sword Pavilion.
“Why do I feel like I have been pacticing in space for 20 years and have learned 3,000 sword techniques?”
No wonder Zhang Ruochen responded slowly. Influenced by the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions and the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain, he thought that he had been practicing sword techniques in space for 20 years.
Besides, he had practiced all 3,000 sword techniques successfully, including the Human Stage, Spiritual Stage, and Ghost Level sword techniques.
If a monk practiced for 20 years without a rest, it would take him a long time to adapt to the world again.
“What?”
Zhang Ruochen was surprised to discover that the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions had disappeared completely in his Qi Sea.
Furthermore, the Heart of the Sword disappeared as well.
“How could it be?” Zhang Ruochen wondered.
Footsteps rang out.
The old woman lurched from the distance and said hoarsely, “Young man, don’t panic. Your Tao of the sword has reached the realm of ‘Human Sword.’ And the Heart of the Sword didn’t disappear. It just integrated with your body, Spiritual Power, and Martial Soul.”
“The Human Sword? In the legends, only a sword saint could reach it.”
Zhang Ruochen remembered clearly that he had just been in the Advanced Stage of the Heart Integrated into Sword, still far from the peak. How could he have leapt to the Human Sword so quickly?
Zhang Ruochen could not keep calm.
How could a monk in the Fish-Dragon Realm practice to the level that only a saint could reach? Perhaps…had he really been practicing in the Sword Pavilion for 20 years?
Zhang Ruochen stood up quickly and bowed to the old woman. He said, “Grandma Begonia, how long have I practiced in the Sword Pavilion?”
“Are you confused?” the old woman asked.
“Yes, I am,” Zhang Ruochen answered frankly.
The old woman said, “As the Time and Space Descendant, if you are unable to have a clear understanding of time, you can never master it. You will end up losing yourself.”
“Well…Grandma has seen right through me,” Zhang Ruochen said. He took a deep breath, feeling lightheaded and dizzy.
The old woman responded indifferently. She said, “Who you are means little to me. But since you could get the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions of the Yin and Yang Sect, you and I have some connection. I can give you a hand, anyway.”
“First of all, you have been practicing in the Sword Pavilion for less than half a year. The reason why you had the illusion of practicing for decades is that you were influenced by the Inscriptionless Sword Mountain while you were integrating the Three Patriarch’s Sword Comprehensions. Let’s take a seat and talk.”
The old woman coughed and sat on the ground first.