Chapter 812 Returning the Sword
“Does that mean what I saw on the scrolls in the sky when I was in the Heavenly Fox Secret Realm was a continuation of the fake stories?”
Li Mu rubbed his temples.
“Something’s not right.”
What he saw on the scrolls in the sky was not necessarily untrue.
The images displayed on the scrolls were from the perspective of the six major clans. According to what the old faker said, the people of the six major clans were just peripheral members instead of the main force on the battlefield back then. Therefore, the images displayed on the scrolls were records of the incidents that happened on the periphery of the battlefield from their point of view. For the old faker, what he saw might not be worth mentioning, but it was still very shocking for Li Mu at that time.
A different perspective could make a big difference.
Different people had different opinions and perceptions about the same thing.
“Now, the six major clans are gathering their troops and planning to invade Earth. The Gate of the Ancestors in Qinling should be an instrument the ancestors of the six major clans want to use.” Li Mu told the old faker everything he knew.
What he meant was very clear. “Old man, now that you’re in the Great Way Realm, it’s time for you to show your power and crush all those people who you think are just mobs.”
However, the old faker didn’t continue with the topic. Still pretending to be cool, he said, “The ancestors of the six major clans are just mobs in my eyes. They are nothing to worry about. What we need to worry about now is that those traitors who caused such chaos to the overall situation back then might show up after the seal of the chaotic battlefield is loosened. That’s the key problem.”
Li Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
“Indeed.
“According to the old faker’s words, the betrayal of the six major clans is nothing worth mentioning and the real threat comes from within the Dark Yellow Army. If the descendants of the traitors or those traitors who haven’t died yet came to Earth, they would cause fatal damage.”
At the thought of that, Li Mu did not believe that the ancestors of the six major clans could pose any great threat.
In every matter, there was always the fear of comparison.
That was applicable to both people and things.
“Who on earth are those traitors?” Li Mu asked.
“They’re the people on the same side.”
“People on the same side?”
“Of course. The betrayal of the people from the same side is a real betrayal. The betrayal of another clan is called parting company. That won’t cause any great losses.”
Li Mu rubbed his forehead and tried to be patient. “Can you be more specific? Who are you referring to?”
The old faker said matter-of-factly, “How would I know? I’m not a member of the Dark Yellow Army.”
“I...” Li Mu had an incredible urge to beat up the old faker.
The old faker said, “I’m not joking with you. I knew something about this matter at that time. The most terrible thing is that the people of the Dark Yellow Army were stabbed in the back by the people from the same side, but they could not find the culprits who did it. Otherwise, they would have eliminated the traitors first and then sealed the Extraterritorial Demons instead of directly sealing all their main forces in the battlefield.”
Li Mu was speechless.
He initially thought that the G.o.ds of the Dark Yellow Army sealed the battlefield to protect the Earth and this Star Region against the Extraterritorial Demons.
Now, when he thought carefully about it, he found that the old faker’s words made sense.
“If the G.o.ds of the Dark Yellow Army were able to seal the Extraterritorial Demons by working together, they could definitely evacuate their own people from the battlefield before sealing the Extraterritorial Demons. In this way, they could at least preserve the seeds of their civilization. Sealing the Extraterritorial Demons and the people from their side at the same time was a practice that would result in mutual destruction.
“n.o.body would want to die with the enemy unless the battle was fierce enough.”
“So, young man, you should figure things out carefully first whenever you encounter problems in the future. Don’t be led by the nose.” Seeing the look on Li Mu’s face, the old faker took the opportunity to teach Li Mu.
Li Mu said, “Even the Dark Yellow Army couldn’t figure out who the traitors were. That’s a bit ridiculous. Now that the seal of the battlefield is loose, the descendants of the traitors would throw the whole world into chaos if they were to come out of the battlefield. Am I right?”
The old faker nodded and said, “Yes. That’s why things are very troublesome.”
Li Mu said, “It seems that you still have a long way to go.”
The old faker looked surprised. “What does it have to do with me? You have a long way to go.”
“What are you talking about?” Li Mu was also surprised. “I’m just a junior at the early stage of the King Realm who can only defeat a few kings with my refined body. How can you ask me to fight with the descendants of the G.o.ds in the Deity Realm and the Great Way Realm? Under such circ.u.mstances, I think that as an invincible, peerless senior master in the Great Way Realm, you should be the one to deal with them, right?”
“Well, the phrase ‘peerless senior master’ is good.” The old faker first expressed his agreement to Li Mu’s statement and then shrugged and said, “Here is the thing. I have been practicing hand-to-hand meditation recently, so I can’t help you now.”
“Are you trying to fool me?” Li Mu said grumpily, “I’ve heard of silent meditation. There’s no such thing as hand-to-hand meditation. You’re talking nonsense. How can you be so complacent when the situation is so urgent?”
The old faker changed the subject. He said, “Don’t bother too much about those useless big things... Let’s talk about a little thing that is about to happen. A descendant of one of the G.o.ds of the Dark Yellow Army has shown up. A couple of days ago, I met him when he came to Randeng Temple. That young man is very formidable.”
“The descendant of a G.o.d? Why did he come to Randeng Temple?” Li Mu asked.
The old faker said, “I borrowed a sword from his clan many years ago. He came for the sword.”
“Why did you borrow the sword?”
“At that time, I thought the sword was good, so I borrowed it. I planned to return it when I got tired of playing with it, but I didn’t expect that before I could do it, the G.o.ds of the Dark Yellow Army sealed all their people in the battlefield. As a result, I couldn’t send the sword back.”
“Don’t you feel ashamed? Don’t you think what you’ve done is akin to robbery?”
“There’s not much difference anyway. It’s good that you understood what I meant. That young man is in Randeng Temple in Baoji City right now. Go there and fight with him. You can pretend to lose the fight by a couple of moves and then return the sword to him.”
“Why don’t you go yourself?”
“We set some rules back then. We agreed that when their descendant came for the sword, I would have my successor fight with their descendant. Moreover, given my status, it’s inappropriate for me to fight him in person. Otherwise, they would laugh at me for bullying a junior. Do I have no shame?”
“It’s not as if you felt any shame before,” Li Mu muttered, “Where is the sword?”
The old faker picked his teeth with a toothpick and said, “A few years ago, I told you that the meat for fried sauce noodles should be minced well, otherwise, it would get stuck between the teeth... Sword.”
He reached out his hand.
The sound made by a sword came from Mahavira Hall.
The slightly damaged ancient Buddha statue in the hall began to glow with rays of divine light. The notes of Sanskrit chants wafted and spread like tides, gathering instead of dispersing. A pall hung over Randeng Temple. Silence reigned outside the temple.
Silver light swirled.
As the ancient Buddha statue opened its mouth, a beam of sword light shot out of the mouth, ripped through the air, and fell into the old faker’s hand.
It was a one-meter-long sword with a blue edge. The sword was as clear as autumn water, as smooth as the surface of a mirror, and glittered like the stars. It kept bouncing up and down in the old faker’s palm and gave off a cold aura.
“This sword is called the Grand Mountain, a famous sword in ancient times. It is stained with divine blood. It is well known for its ability to kill G.o.ds, immortals, Buddhas, and devils. It has been lying in silence for thousands of years. Today, it finally emerged.” The old faker opened his mouth and blew a mouthful of air. The airflow split at the blue edge of the sword like a water current, which was visible to the naked eye. “The sword has been suppressed and nourished by the benevolent power of the ancient Buddha statue for thousands of years, but only part of its killing intent had been eradicated. The reappearance of the Grand Mountain heralds the arrival of a killing disaster.”
The old faker raised his hand and thrust the ancient sword into Li Mu’s hand.
Li Mu held the handle of the sword. He felt a bone-piercing chill from the sword and half of his arm suddenly felt like it was frozen.
“It must be a killing sword.”
Li Mu was shocked.
“How many living creatures had this sword killed for it to have such a strong murderous aura?”
Moreover, the sword had been purified by the benevolent power inside the ancient Buddha statue for thousands of years. Li Mu had no doubt that if the sword hadn’t been purified for these thousands of years, he would have been torn into pieces by the killing intent in the sword as soon as he grabbed its handle.
“Back then, you took the sword because its owner had committed too many sins by killing, right?” Li Mu asked suspiciously, “Did you want to dissolve the killing intent in the sword or stop its owner from killing again?”
“Oh, to think that I am such a n.o.ble person in your eyes.” The old faker chuckled. “At that time, I took the sword because I suspected that the owner of this sword had something to do with the traitors. Later, I checked several times, but I didn’t find any evidence. After so many years, his descendant has shown up. You’d better go and return the sword.”
Li Mu ran his power, forcefully suppressed the cold killing intent in the sword, and put it away. He said, “Aren’t you afraid that after the sword is returned to that person, he will start killing again?”
“There are wave riders in each era. That person used to be almost invincible, but he is no longer a wave rider now. After all, the decisive factor is the person, not the sword.” The old faker said a few “golden words” with emotion.
“You can tell me in a straightforward manner if you want me to lure the snake out of its den.” Li Mu said disdainfully, “Back then, you dug a hole at the door of the meditation room and tricked me into jumping into it. You’re becoming even more insidious now.”
The old faker said angrily, “Get out of here. Give the Cultivation Method back to me. I want to have a change of successor now.”
Li Mu chuckled, saying, “According to what you said just now, I need to go to Jintai Temple, have a fight with that young man, return the sword to him if I lose the fight, and bring the sword back if I win... Your rules put me in a dilemma. I’m afraid I can’t return the sword.”
The old faker burst into laughter.
“You’re really a frog at the bottom of a well. Do you think that you, an Invincible master in the King Realm, are powerful enough? I’m afraid that you might be beaten up by that brat in Jintai Temple. Why would I drag him to have a game of cards and lose one million to him on purpose? That’s a necessary diplomatic move intended to make him show mercy to you and refrain from beating you to death.”
“You lost the card game because of your poor luck and skills.” Li Mu complained.
The old faker stood up and said, “Don’t go. I’m going to beat you to death.”
Li Mu immediately grew serious. “I’m going to return the sword. You should go to Qinling and solve the problem of the Gate of the Ancestors. Although the ancestors of the six major clans do not pose a big threat, things would become very troublesome if they were to invade the Earth.”
The old faker said, “Are you kidding me? How can you ask me to deal with such a trivial matter? Why have I trained you for so many years? If I took action in person, I would destroy the whole world... I am really practicing hand-to-hand meditation. That’s why I have to leave everything to you, including dealing with the descendants of the G.o.ds coming out of the sealed battlefield.”
Li Mu said, “I’m not kidding. Let’s get down to business.”
“I’m not joking either. I really can’t take any action.”
“You are making up all sorts of excuses. Have you been disabled? After all, you have stayed on Earth for so long in the Power-ending Age. Could it be that your foundation has been damaged?”
“Get lost!”
Li Mu walked out of Randeng Temple helplessly.
The old men outside the temple were waiting eagerly for him. They immediately laughed as soon as they saw him.
“Come to my house for some noodles with hot chili oil,” Old Zhang said hospitably.
Just when Li Mu was about to say “yes”, the old faker’s voice rang out in the temple. “It’s time to practice card playing. One player is ready, and three more players are needed. Those who want to play must hurry. I’m not going to wait for too long...”
“I’m coming.” Old Zhang rushed into the temple like a bolt of lightning.
Li Mu was a little dumbfounded.
“Didn’t you invite me to your home for some noodles with hot chili oil?”
The other old men also rushed into the temple.
Li Mu was left alone standing in the wind.
“As the saying goes, ‘He who’s near cinnabar becomes red, and he who’s near ink turns black.’ Back then, Old Zhang was so simple and kind, but now, he has become like this because of the old faker... Fortunately, I’ve had some fried sauce noodles made by myself.”
Li Mu stood at the gate of Randeng Temple.
Over the low peaks, he could see the valley below, the buildings in the valley, and the Wei River below the buildings... He looked along the Wei River valley and saw Jintai Temple located on a steep mountain range in the northwest, which was ablaze with lights. It was one of Baoji City’s famous landmarks.
In contrast, Randeng Temple looked a little shabby in the light emitted by several incandescent light bulbs.
Jintai Temple was located in the northwest, while Randeng Temple was in the southeast.
The two temples faced each other from a distance.
Li Mu knew very well that the old faker meant it when he said that he would not intervene.
The sword, the Gate of the Ancestors, the descendants of the G.o.ds....
It seemed that Li Mu had to deal with all these chaos on his own.
“d.a.m.n it. Why should I do this all alone?”
Li Mu felt wronged.
When he decided to go down the mountain, he suddenly thought of something very strange. He turned around and asked, “I’ve always been curious about why you, a Taoist priest, chose to live in a Buddhist Temple and consecrated an ancient Buddha instead of the Sanqing Ancestor in Mahavira Hall.”