The Birth of Sword God-Chapter 262 - 229: That Ninth Realm Madman

Regarding the three characters "Nan Liujing," the only impression Chu Huaixu has is from a poem by Cao Zhi.

—— "Wishing to be the Nan Liujing, shining swiftly to see my lord."

Later on, some began to consider these three characters as one of the elegant names for the sun.

However, many disciples of the Junzi Temple, because they are granted the Two-Character Dao Seal, can use it as a Daoist title, and it doesn't sound awkward or strange at all.

But the Nan Liujing Daoist, now that's a bit strange.

"And Nan Liujing refers to the sun."

"In other words, doesn't that make me now... the Sun Daoist?"

He joked to himself, looking at the three golden characters in his palm, still quite satisfied in his heart.

As for why the Dao Ancestor gave him Nan Liujing and gave Han Shuangjiang Returning True Essence, perhaps there was a deeper meaning behind it.

—— "Understanding right and wrong allows one to hold what's right, harboring kindness can control killing."

"So, is the final trial of this Daoist Ancestor Inheritance Secret Realm actually a psychological test?" Chu Huaixu was a bit uncertain.

He turned back to glance and recalled every previous trial.

The first trial seemed to test one's disposition, torturing one's will and consciousness.

The second trial had so many mechanical puppets, Han Shuangjiang was even injured, torturing the body and muscles, and even the meridians while soaking in medicinal liquid.

The third trial involved Sword Enlightenment but was not just about talent; it also involved hunger and thirst, a sense of urgency, and the threat of death.

The fourth trial, after entering the illusion, turned him into an ordinary Daoist disciple, with all magical treasures, powers, and divine techniques gone, using demon elimination to test disposition and style of handling affairs.

Linking all these together, Chu Huaixu suddenly paused.

"Is it a coincidence?" he thought to himself.

Because these four trials combined reminded him of a passage.

"[First must the heart and will be made to suffer, the muscles and bones wearied, the body starved, and deprivation experienced, doing contradictory things to vex one's actions!]"

And Han Shuangjiang is the main character of the world, her identity perfectly fits the preceding sentence of that passage.

—— "[Thus Heaven will impose great tasks on such a person]!"

Chu Huaixu's eyes slightly narrowed, thoughts wandering.

To be precise, including the subsequent Dao Seal rewards, it is somewhat a complementary model.

It's not a path of playing to one's strengths while avoiding weaknesses, but granting the Dao Seal to make up for the shortcomings.

This inexplicably aligned with the latter part of the passage.

—— "[Therefore, one must stir one's heart and toughen one's nature, constantly enriching what one can't do.]"

"What are you thinking about?" The Big Ice Cube saw that he seemed to be contemplating something, so he asked.

"Nothing, maybe I'm overthinking it." Chu Huaixu waved his hand and said.

...

...

Qingming Mountain, separated by thousands of miles from the Daoist Sect.

Still dressed like a scholar, Cheng Yuyan was sitting with someone and sipping tea.

As the leader of "Deviation," a dignified Ninth Realm Great Cultivator, yet he was actively pouring tea for the person beside him.

That person was an old man, very thin, to the point of being a bit shriveled.

This made the skin on his body look somewhat wrinkled.

Furthermore, he seemed to be blind.

In the Profound Yellow Realm, when cultivation reaches a certain level, eye ailments are not particularly tricky.

Some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures can even replace the function of eyes; even lacking eyeballs is not a big problem.

But this old man happened to be blind.

A blind man with cultivation at the Eighth Realm Great Perfection.

After taking a sip of tea that Cheng Yuyan poured, the old man spoke, "Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang should be coming out of the Daoist Ancestor Secret Realm soon."

The scholar, known as Cheng the Scholar, was a bit surprised upon hearing this: "Chu Huaixu?"

"Elder Ming, do you mean that Chu Huaixu also entered the Daoist Ancestor Secret Realm?"

"But didn't you earlier say that Han Shuangjiang entered the Secret Realm alone?"

The old man named Ming Xuanji waved his hand, then calculated with his fingers again, and said, "I just calculated, there's one more person in the Secret Realm, and fate has changed again."

"I don't know how Chu Huaixu got in, but that's how the result came out when I calculated it, fate changed once more because of him."

Cheng Yuyan looked at him and said, "Elder Ming, it's already like this, but you still insist on your view, thinking that everything is predetermined, that everyone has their own fate, destined by heaven?"

Ming Xuanji nodded and replied, "Although variables keep appearing, changing the predestined paths of many, once the path changes, it will still lead to the destined end, it's just that the current end is different from the past end."

"Then what is the so-called predestination?" Cheng Yuyan asked.

If fate has changed, can it still be called destiny?

But Ming Xuanji shook his head and said, "If I can calculate it, it means there is a destined conclusion."

"Only when I can't calculate it will the variable truly have changed the destiny."

Cheng Yuyan mulled over these words for a while and roughly understood the old man's meaning.

He felt there was indeed some reason in it.

The old man continued to calculate with his fingers, and then exclaimed in surprise.

"This Chu Huaixu will also receive the Daoist Ancestor's Seal?"

"Hmm? What characters did the Dao Ancestor bestow?" Cheng Yuyan immediately became curious.

Ming Xuanji waved his old hand, and a paper and pen appeared on the table.

He picked up the brush, paused for a moment, calculated with his left hand, and first wrote down "Returning True Essence."

"These are the characters Han Shuangjiang will receive, these three characters have not changed."

"Whether Chu Huaixu entered the Secret Realm or not, she would ultimately receive these three characters."

"Since she received the inheritance of Yan Shen and comprehended the Reincarnation Sword Intent, then perhaps these three characters were originally left for her by the Dao Ancestor thousands of years ago," Ming Xuanji said.

Cheng Yuyan marveled, "Returning True Essence and Reincarnation Sword Intent? Indeed, they match well."

"But as far as I know, the Three-Character Dao Seal is a seal only given to the Masters of each generation of the Junzi Temple."

"Yan Shen, as the Second Generation Observatory Master, the creator of the path of reincarnation, her bestowed seal back then was not Returning True Essence."

"It's said to be Water Cloud Body."

The elder's hollow eyes gazed forward as he said faintly, "Yan Shen doesn't need a seal like Returning True Essence."

"In truth, the Dao Ancestor's seal is always leading others toward their destined end," Ming Xuanji suddenly said.

Cheng Yuyan opened his mouth as if to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he finally refrained.

At this moment, the elder picked up a brush again, furrowed his brows slightly, and began to marvel.

"Was he really given those three characters?"

He began to write Nan Liujing on the paper.

Cheng Yuyan, having been well-read since childhood, was truly a scholarly man recognized for his academic achievements, though he started his cultivation journey later.

Therefore, he naturally understood that Nan Liujing referred to the sun in the sky.

He was slightly taken aback, not expecting the Dao Ancestor to have such high regard for Chu Huaixu.

But....

Cheng Yuyan looked at Ming Xuanji and said, "Elder Ming, you always talk about the grand scheme of the world, and how the Dao Ancestor calculated everything a thousand years ago, while you have calculated half."

"But since this Chu Huaixu is the variable you speak of, how could the Dao Ancestor have left words for him in advance?"

Ming Xuanji waved his hand, "No, no. The Dao Ancestor seized the power of all things and left behind three thousand Dao Seals."

"No one knows exactly which three thousand powers there are."

"He just happened to match those three characters, allowing him to obtain them."

"The people the Dao Ancestor divined were only Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing, and those related to them. As for the rest, it's all about fate, for Dao follows nature," the elder said.

Cheng Yuyan understood.

Nan Liujing was among the three thousand Dao Seals, but it was not specifically left for Chu Huaixu a thousand years later.

Because he was the variable.

Ming Xuanji hadn't calculated him, and he believed the Dao Ancestor hadn't either.

Otherwise, why would so many of the Dao Ancestor's arrangements always be disrupted by this person?

The elder picked up a teacup and took a light sip of the hot tea.

His hollow eyes looked forward, and he said, "If given the chance, I would still choose to correct the chaos."

The chaos he spoke of naturally referred to Chu Huaixu.

Clearly, the end itself is good, so why change it?

Given that it is inherently a good ending, the variable seems somewhat redundant, even troublesome.

His existence will continually alter the direction of the outcome.

Hearing this, Cheng Yuyan prepared tea for himself and said with a smile, "If I don't encounter him, it's fine, but if by chance I do, I will protect this child, Chu Huaixu."

"Elder Ming, you should know that I, Cheng Yuyan, owe the Daoist Sect a favor."

Ming Xuanji turned his head, his hollow eyes facing him. Hearing these familiar words, a faint smile appeared on his face.

...

...

At the Daoist Sect, outside Medicine Mountain's Cold Pool.

Xiang Yan and the others all flew here, waiting for Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang to come out of the Secret Realm.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, this pair emerged from the Secret Realm.

Their harvests on this trip were immensely great, gaining significant improvements both externally and internally.

The rewards from every level were rich; these four levels combined brought a substantial leap in their overall strength.

All the upper echelons of the Daoist Sect immediately surrounded them, sizing up the young Taoist couple.

The lively Chu Yinyin immediately said, "Chu Huaixu, Han Shuangjiang, quickly let me see your Dao Ancestor's Seals!"

She was too curious about what kind of power these two Three-Character Seals contained.

Han Shuangjiang's Returning True Essence wasn't very surprising to people.

Instead, Chu Huaixu's Nan Liujing left everyone slightly stunned.

Listening to his description, everyone felt that this Dao Seal was indeed something remarkable.

Immediately, Jiang Zhi's hands, which were behind his back, began to tremble slightly, sometimes twitching abruptly.

Everyone looked at each other, and their gaze finally fell on Jiang Zhi.

"Chu Huaixu, it's uncertain how much power this Dao Seal can exhibit with your current cultivation," Jiang Zhi said to him, his voice carrying a slight tremor.

"Later, come with me to a place; I will take you to meet someone."

Dao Seal Nan Liujing: It banishes evil and cures karmic obstacles, transforms heart demons. Its light nurtures all beings, can revive the dead, and regrow flesh and bones.

No one present knew how far Chu Huaixu could go now.

Nor did they know if this Three-Character Dao Seal left by the Dao Ancestor also had its limits.

But, if perhaps.... perhaps....

Everyone thought it should be tried.

The world all thought the Daoist Sect had only Jiang Zhi as a Ninth Realm Great Cultivator; after his Fallen Realm decline, the sect had no Ninth Realm cultivators left.

But in truth?

Inside the Junzi Temple, there's still a Ninth Realm madman locked up!

....

(ps: Fever, severe cough, coughing incessantly through the night, unable to sleep, only fell asleep at six for three consecutive days. Don't know what new strain this is, it's so unbearable...

Originally wanted to take a leave, but considering I haven't taken any since the beginning of the book, I don't want to break that streak, so I'll just update once today.)