Chapter 177 - Shenqing Xuanqi Sword Formation
The Qi Instrument that flew out from Shen Lian was what he picked up by chance in the capital of Yue Tuo. It was from an antique shop called Zhixing Bookshop. The house owner was a middle-aged scholar. Shen Lian had a memorable impression of him. He was elegant and well read. He even tested Shen Lian"s knowledge on the origin of the Qi Instrument. If Shen Lian could answer it correctly, he would give the item to him for free. Shen Lian obtained the item because he could answer him with ease.
The reason Shen Lian was willing to accept the Qi Instrument was that of its properties where "it stays upright when it is half full; it will topple when it is full; it stays as Qi in the void." It was quite mysterious, and could potentially help him to understand Dan Dao, the Dao of Elixir. Without awareness, he could not have understood the secret of Huandan when he was fighting Zhao Xiaoyu. Even if he could achieve Huandan, it would not be a comprehensive one.
He did not expect for someone to play a trick on the instrument, and it went under his nose. The person who had tampered with the instrument was somewhat careful, as he only activated it when the relic appeared in Jingguang Temple.
Shen Lian had been paying attention to Hongzhen. He realized that Hongzhen was mumbling when something odd happened to the Qi Instrument. He noticed an unusual activation of spiritual power and hence connected the two incidents.
He intended to suppress the instrument with his power, but he decided to let it out because the sword will carried the voice of Chen Jianmei.
Chen Jianmei did not become the sword will, but instead, he used some secret techniques to resonate the sword will within his body to transmit the message to him. Something he could do without anyone noticing. That was because Chen Jianmei had spent a long time to understand Grandmaster Yuan Qing"s sword will. That was also why he could use it to transmit a message without anyone"s discovery.
It would be impossible to hide from all the powerful people who were present then, especially people like Mister Sea and even Baoyue the Venerable.
He connected the dots but still could not understand what was wrong with the middle-aged scholar. At the same time, Hongzhen was the one who transmitted the message to him and invited him over to Jingguang Temple. While he was under the order of Huike, and coupled with what happened just then, Hongzhen seemed like a problematic character.
Furthermore, the Qi Instrument flew out from him and took the relic. He could not escape from the responsibilities of its actions, while Hongzhen was able to stay out of it altogether.
Ultimately, he wondered what trick the thief used to steal the relic. He deceived Mister Sea and even stealthily placed the real relic on Hongzhen. However, Chen Jianmei seemed to have predicted all of that as he was ready to ambush the blood ray from the void with his sword ray.
It was impossible to go undetected by Baoyue the Venerable, even though Chen Jianmei"s Shapeless Sword Incantation had reached an incredible height.
The sword ray was from Chen Jianmei, and the blood ray was his opponent, who was likely the middle-aged house owner.
Shen Lian thought that the blood ray resembled the young man dressed in blood-colored clothes who intended to steal his power at the Temple of Killings.
He chased after the rays to clear his doubts and to help Chen Jianmei.
When Shen Lian hesitated about whether to step forward to help the sword ray, someone said, "Please don"t act rashly."
It was the voice of Chen Jianmei. A white-robed Daoist appeared from the right. His robes ruffled in the void. He stared coldly at the blood ray within the sword ray. He flicked his finger, and a hot white ray appeared from the tip of his finger. It then turned into a few thousand Qi swords. The sword ray wrapped around the blood ray dispersed, and the blood ray was trapped by the sword formation. It could not escape.
The sword formation was recorded in the Shapeless Sword Incantation as the ultimate technique. It was known as Shenqing Xuanqi Sword Formation. It used thousands of Qi swords to form a formation. It could destroy a person"s body and spirit. It was extremely powerful, and n.o.body could set that sword formation in the land below Dixian"s realm.
The fact that Chen Jianmei could set the sword formation with his own Qi already exceeded the achievements of Qing Xuan"s swordsmen before they became Dixians. Chen Jianmei was considered the best in his craft among all swordsmen in the realms of heaven and earth.
Chen Jianmei stared at Shen Lian and said, "If it was not because of you, a part of my Primordial Spirit can"t be trapped."
Shen Lian moved to Chen Jianmei"s side, carried by the wind. He stood in the void.
Chen Jianmei did not seem to have activated any spiritual power or his Qi of vitality to float in the void against the gravitational pull.
Shen Lian wondered. "What is happening?"
Chen Jianmei pointed at the blood ray and said coldly, "Part of the Primordial Spirit of the headmaster"s Junior Apprentice-Brother Yanxu is trapped inside. We should call him our Uncle-Master."
The blood ray remained relatively calm and said, "Mei Er, when I left Qing Xuan, you were not even born yet! Why do you not respect me?"
Chen Jianmei laughed coldly. "You betrayed Qing Xuan. n.o.body from Qing Xuan will have any respect for you."
The blood ray sighed. "Oh really? Caiwei and Sanwen should still be missing me. If I did not go to the far north to collect the elixir for Hong Qianya, I doubt he could even reach Huandan. Without my help, Geyuan is just a skeleton in the graveyard. I may have wronged some people in Qing Xuan, but many had wronged me too."
Chen Jianmei said, "Well, you can tell them this yourself. Speaking of Senior Apprentice-Brother Sanwen, it will be a bit more difficult as he is now in the Nine Underworlds."
"Sanwen had pa.s.sed away. He was a bit too stubborn to be a good material for cultivation. It should be about time that he pa.s.sed."
"Don"t worry about it, even if I don"t destroy this part of your Primordial Spirit, you can hardly escape from Master Ziling."
The blood ray started to change shape, and it turned into a human. He looked just like the middle-aged scholar, dressed in blood-colored clothes. He looked like Asura.
He was covered with a thin film of blood light, which forced the sword Qi to retreat.
He still looked calm and steady. As he peered through the Qi swords at the two, he said, "After Biyun, there"s finally another person who has reached the stage of Huandan in Taixu Strategy. As for the Shapeless Sword Incantation, while there are others who had reached the same level as you, there will be no more in the future. If you can reach Pow.a.n.g, who else can be your opponent?"
The Uncle-Master to both of them, Yanxu spoke as if he was not trapped.
Shen Lian was surprised to note that it was a part of the Primordial Spirit, as only Dixian could have Primordial Spirit. That meant that only those who had reached the stage of Pow.a.n.g could have Primordial Spirit.
With that in mind, it would be difficult for Chen Jianmei to tackle him. He even managed to deceive Shen Lian, though he did not appear to be unreachable.
Chen Jianmei stared at Yanxu coldly and spoke slowly, "Why do you bother with all these advice? If you have successfully mastered the Free Form Incarnation, you won"t be chased by Master Ziling. Even though you took a shortcut to attain Primordial Spirit and divided them into thousands, you are not comparable to those who have reached longevity and can travel ten thousand miles with their mind or have the ability to "burn mountains and boil oceans." If I managed to destroy a part of your Primordial Spirit today, it is my contribution to the headmaster."
Yanxu laughed and looked at Shen Lian, "I know you how insecure you can be. If you help me today, I will give you the Free Form Incarnation. With this, n.o.body can kill you anymore."
He looked calm, but he thought what Yanxu said sounded ridiculous. Even then, Shen Lian could not help but be swayed. He had always been insecure despite being indifferent. It was because he had transcended from another life, and he did not know the origin of the Mastery of Senses. His unknown father and Su"s Being and Non-Being of Sword Aura both made him confuse and felt that he was not the master of his own fate.
As a result, he tried to improve himself with a determined mind, but deep down it was driven by his insecurities.
He buried these thoughts deep within his mind and never expressed them. Even in concentration, these thoughts would not surface, but Yanxu could see through them easily.
That was what so powerful about Free Form Incarnation. Its ultimate form could allow one to travel through the three dimensions. It was a form that could not be destroyed even by Buddha. It was particularly good at detecting someone"s thoughts and made use of them. With just one thought, one could be trapped and could never escape.
Chen Jianmei did not say anything. He had a pure heart, and even if everything in the world was destroyed, he would still head toward his goal. He did not carry any unnecessary thoughts, which was what made him excellent. He was a great swordsman because of that too.
It was different for Shen Lian. He was talented and determined, but he did not have a straight mind.
Without that, one could still achieve great heights, but never to the peak. It was a conclusion drawn by many who had lived before then. Even though Shen Lian had gone through Huandan, it did not mean that he would be able to go through the rest of the barriers.
Chen Jianmei did not rush his regime. From his point of view, Yanxu was particularly good at spotting people"s weaknesses. Under his monitoring, it was better for Shen Lian to learn of his weakness now instead of later when he was alone.