Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 124: Keep on Bamboozling

Seeing Wan Xuegui’s expression, and using his Soul Talent to perceive the other man’s thoughts, Ye Tianling’s mind reeled. He was utterly speechless.

"To treat a sword merely as a weapon is the way of a Lower-class Cultivator. To treat it as a part of your body is the way of a Middle-class Cultivator. But to treat a sword as not a sword, and yet still a sword—that is the way of an Upper-class Cultivator."

Ye Tianling said, bullshitting him.

The theory sounded profound when he said it, but in reality, it was just bullshit.

But Wan Xuegui had never heard such a novel, nonsensical theory before. Upon hearing it, he looked utterly dumbfounded.

"Grandfather, what’s the difference between the lower-class and the upper-class then?"

Wan Xuegui was a little confused—and how could he not be? If he had met Ye Tianling any sooner, he would have been confused long ago.

A look of appreciation appeared in Ye Tianling’s eyes. "Not bad. You’re thinking. That’s very good."

Ye Tianling continued, not wanting to drive Wan Xuegui mad with impatience. This time, he had a vague idea himself, so he casually offered some guidance. "The difference lies in this: Sword in hand, sword in heart. Sword in hand, no sword in heart. No sword in hand, sword in heart. And no sword in hand, no sword in heart. A sword is a sword, and yet it is not a sword. It is the Dao.

"When a sword has a heart, it is a Sword Heart. The Sword Heart is not a physical heart, but the Dao condensed from one’s will for slaughter. What is called the Sword Heart is, in reality, a Strong Heart.

"When a sword has a spirit, it is a Sword Spirit. The Sword Spirit is not an external spirit, but the spirit condensed from one’s will for slaughter. What is called the Sword Spirit is, in reality, the spirit of the strong.

"When a sword has a soul, it is a Sword Soul. The Sword Soul is not a literal soul, but the soul condensed from one’s will for slaughter. What is called the Sword Soul is, in reality, the soul of the strong."

Although Ye Tianling was spouting complete nonsense, his understanding of the Sword Dao stood on the foundation laid by Dugu Qiubai—that Unparalleled Sword Demon, that Grandmaster who had shattered the void with his Sword Dao. Even his ravings contained incredibly powerful Dao Marks.

And Wan Xuegui truly took this guidance to heart.

Ye Tianling’s voice, like a Dao Sound, echoed endlessly in his blood and soul.

As if struck by an epiphany, he became completely immersed in the words.

In fact, the Asura Killing Dao within him began to faintly awaken, stirred by the ’Sound of Slaughter’ embedded in those words.

After a good while, Wan Xuegui had gained some insight, but he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. Nevertheless, his admiration for his ’Grandfather’ was so immense he could only prostrate himself. Even kneeling and kowtowing wouldn’t be enough to express a ten-thousandth of his reverence.

"Grandfather, you are truly worthy of the title of Sword Ancestor! Every word you speak is so thought-provoking, so staggering. I see now how narrow my own perspective has been. My admiration for you, Grandfather, is like an endless, raging flood, like the Celestial River overflowing its banks—utterly unstoppable!"

Wan Xuegui was respectful to the extreme.

Ye Tianling chuckled and nodded. "My good grandson, it’s quite remarkable that you can understand even a little. Now, regarding the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique*, my understanding is this: Abandonment! But this abandonment is not true abandonment; it is merely named ’abandonment.’ The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

"One Heart, Many Thoughts, and at the same time, many thoughts in one heart. You must abandon your attachments, shatter your attachments, and annihilate your attachments. Only then can a single thought become eternal, and eternity be condensed into a single thought.

"In a single thought, a flower blooms; in a single thought, it withers. In a single thought, there is Heaven; in a single thought, there is Hell. In a single thought, a sword is formed; in a single thought, there is life and death."

"A Divine Spirit of the Sword Dao willed, ’Let there be light,’ and so there was light between Heaven and Earth."

"First, there is a single thought. From that one, two is born. From two, three is born. And from three, all things are born."

"All things undergo the Transformation Dao and return to one, which is to return to a single thought. It is an endless cycle. Now, you must sever your many thoughts to condense a single one—a single, transformative ’intention’—and you will achieve a breakthrough. Only then can the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique* truly undergo a metamorphosis."

Ye Tianling said, making it all up as he went.

Of course, he had mixed in a few ’grand principles’ here and there. But after he finished speaking, even Ye Tianling himself felt that... it actually fucking made sense.

He thought about it, carefully pondering it in the context of the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique*. ’Holy shit,’ Ye Tianling realized, ’this is actually how you’re supposed to cultivate the *Ten thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique*!’

"Did you get all that?"

’I was just talking out of my ass,’ Ye Tianling thought, feeling a little strange. ’But it’s entirely possible I’ve actually cracked the core Cultivation Technique for the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique*.’

’Ah, whatever. If he gets it, it’s his good fortune. After all, I’ve scammed so many treasures from him. For my bullshit to actually break the cultivation shackles of the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique*... this can only mean one thing—I’m too much of a genius. It can’t be helped. Life at the top is truly lonely. I’m like a blazing sun in the dead of night; so dazzling and brilliant wherever I go that it’s impossible to be low-key even if I tried.’

Ye Tianling’s expression was a sight to behold.

’Fortune favors fools,’ Ye Tianling could only conclude. ’But that’s only if Wan Xuegui can actually understand any of it.’

"I... I get it! Grandfather, I feel like my future is a path of brilliant light! Grandfather, I can’t wait any longer! I’m going to break through right now!"

This time, Wan Xuegui wasn’t just pumped up on adrenaline; he was acting like he’d been injected with the blood of dogs and countless Fierce Beasts. He was beyond excited.

"...Alright then. You’re pretty good. An epiphany, just like that."

The corner of Ye Tianling’s mouth twitched, his expression unreadable as he offered his praise.

"Go on and cultivate. I’ll act as your guardian. If that little bitch Fang Qingxue dares to show her face again, I’ll kill her myself."

Ye Tianling chuckled slyly.

His smile was a little unnatural. ’It’s a good thing for Wan Xuegui to have this transformation, but if he sees through my deception, won’t that make things even worse for me?’

’Still, even if he does see through it, I can probably just use another trick on him. It shouldn’t be a problem. The idiot is so easy to fool. Right now, he’s completely devoted to me. Besides, I just imparted the supreme Cultivation Technique for the *Ten Thousand Thoughts in One Heart Sword Technique* to him. That’s not something an ordinary person could do. He shouldn’t suspect a thing.’

An inexplicable sense of crisis welled up in Ye Tianling’s heart, but he comforted himself and suppressed the feeling.

Wan Xuegui didn’t have time to reply to Ye Tianling. He immediately sat down cross-legged, and the qi and blood of his entire body began to manifest visibly around him.

He had truly achieved an epiphany.

A person’s perspective is very important. Some views are so deeply ingrained they form an extremely rigid mindset that is very difficult to shatter.

But once shattered, it is like Breaking the Cocoon into a Butterfly—a true metamorphosis.

If anyone else had said these things, a man with the intelligence to scheme against Fang Qingxue like Wan Xuegui would never have believed them.

But alas, Ye Tianling was playing the role of ’Wan Tianshu’—Wan Xuegui’s own ancestor, the ’Sword Ancestor’.

Wan Xuegui hung on Ye Tianling’s every word without a shred of doubt. As a result, that incomparably difficult-to-break ’rigid mindset’ of his was shattered in an instant.

This was true "destruction before rebirth"!

And regardless of whether it was Ye Tianling’s theory of ’sword and no sword’ or the theory of ’the Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao,’ they were all, in fact, incredibly shocking and unorthodox concepts.

Although it was only a few sentences, when a fateful opportunity arrives, an epiphany is an epiphany. You couldn’t chase it away even if you tried.

Furthermore, the Asura Killing Dao was the true Path of Slaughter, and what Ye Tianling had mentioned was precisely the ’heart of slaughter.’ The fit was so perfect that Wan Xuegui’s epiphany was only natural.

After a moment of analysis, Ye Tianling immediately understood the reason.

He sighed internally. ’This Wan Xuegui really does have some good fortune and luck. His intelligence, Talent, and comprehension abilities are clearly not low. In fact, they could even be considered excellent.’

Otherwise, he never would have been able to achieve this epiphany.