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Chapter Three hundred and Sixty One – The Childhood Wish
Yi Zheng cut a sorry figure.
His blue monk robe was in tatters as he staggered forward, lacking any of the usual grace that the sect taught him. However, who would care about grace at this time?
He had never ever thought that the most normal sect mission would take him to such a ghastly place. Many times, he had thought that he had come to the Avici h.e.l.l that only appeared on the records. Fortunately, he had worked hard on his cultivation these years, and with Eldest s.h.i.+xiong’s focused teaching, while his combat abilities were not strong, his body of steel tendons and metal bones was unrivalled.
By relying on his great defensive abilities, he had managed to survive in this endless mist until now.
Before, he had not understood why Eldest s.h.i.+xiong made him cultivate [Wisdom Dhyana Body], but now he felt the wonders of this dhyana technique. A circle of Buddhist script whirled around his body without rest. This was why the corrosive fiendish mist did not infect his body.
“Impervious to all evils … … impervious to all evils … …”
Yi Zheng continuously chanted. Beads of sweat could be clearly seen on his s.h.i.+ny and clean head. He had entered this mist for just three days, but in these three days, his heart jumped around, and he was very afraid. He was a dhyana xiu, and most sensitive to corrupt, yin and fiendish beings. But this fiendish mist in front of him was endless, and it was so dense it was almost unimaginable.
Other than h.e.l.l, Yi Zheng really could not think of a place that would have such vicious fiends.
Fortunately, his Wisdom Dhyana Body could naturally subdue these corrupt beings. Even though he had struggled on his way, but he was not wounded. However, his heart did not dare relax. Even the records of the sect had never mentioned such a vicious place. The vicious beings it formed would definitely be terrifying.
Exterminate evil?
Don’t joke. Yi Zheng was very clearly how much he was worth. He believed it was a miracle that he had not been wounded up until now. Right now, he could only hope that the news of his disappearance would quickly arrive to the sect, and the sect would send people to rescue him. Actually, at the bottom of his heart, he also knew that chances were very small.
He was only a person at the borders of the sect. He did know how long it would take for the sect to respond after his disappearance.
He thought about Eldest s.h.i.+xiong, thought about how Eldest s.h.i.+xiong would be further neglected now that he was not in the sect. His mood instantly became slightly low.
He aimlessly travelled through the fiendish mist.
After walking for a short while, sounds of fierce combat could be heard from up ahead. Yi Zheng was startled awake. After pausing, he was overjoyed, and ran with bare feet towards the sound.
The sound of battle became clearer.
He quickly saw a man fighting fiercely with a fiend soul scorpion.
He carefully walked closer. When he saw the scorpion closely, he couldn’t help but inhale sharply. More than three zhang tall and two pincers, each the size of a door. Yi Zheng felt his scalp become numb. If he was grazed by those enormous pincers, even his Wisdom Dhyana Body definitely would be unable to tolerate it.
My dear Buddha!
Yi Zheng swallowed with difficulty. His gaze seemed to be glued and unable to be moved away. It was not due to the great strength of the scorpion, but how strange the scene was.
The scorpion’s opponent was a sword xiu. Even though the black sword looked more like a horse chopping sabre, but Yi Zheng recognized that the other was a sword xiu at first glance, and a very traditional sword xiu.
Such a strong sword xiu!
Yi Zheng was greatly alarmed. He recognized the origins of this scorpion. Fiend soul beast, this was a fiend soul beast, a vicious being born from the fiendish mist! He had previously been worried that the corrupt grounds would produce something extraordinary, but upon seeing this fiend soul scorpion, he finally realized just how powerful these vicious beings created were!
If Yi Zheng’s mind was clear now, his face would be pale and alarmed, but at this moment, his gaze was completely attracted by this odd looking battle.
The expression of the sword xiu was dull, as though he was ill, his movements were slow and his gaze wooden … …
Every time the enormous pincers of the fiend soul scorpion were about to tear the sword xiu in half, his slow movements would suddenly become nimble, and stop the giant pincer by a hair. The confused expression on the sword xiu’s face, the dull and slow responses, and the sudden nimbleness formed a strong contrast and was very weird.
After watching for a few moments, Yi Zheng felt his ling power roil and showed signs of losing control. He paled greatly. In terms of the peacefulness of ling power, dhyana xiu were blessed by the heavens. His ling power was going wild just because he was watching someone else fight?
Yi Zheng started his core scripture before he dared to look back at the battle.
The signs of his ling power escaping his control instantly disappeared.
Yi Zheng exhaled. His eyes returned to the person and scorpion that were fighting. The amazement on his face increased. He looked at the sword xiu as though he was looking at a ghost. Before, he had thought that the sword xiu was in danger, and would be killed at anytime. Now that he saw it clearly, he found to his shock that there seemed to be an invisible stickiness to the sword xiu’s black sword. The vicious fiend soul scorpion was like a puppet manipulated by many strings and was struggling in this invisible force.
A terrifying sword essence!
Yi Zheng could not detect the sword xiu’s sword essence at all. At this moment, he admired this sword xiu’s strength greatly. It wasn’t that he had not encountered sword xiu before, but it was the first time he had seen one so powerful. Also, the other seemed close in age to him. So young and possessing such power, it definitely was an accomplished disciple of a large sword cultivating sect.
Was he a disciple of Kun Lun?
Once he saw the state of the situation clearly, Yi Zheng was not in a hurry anymore, and thought about how he would exchange greetings with the person later. He was slightly stuck. This was his first time off the mountain, and he had no experience to speak of.
However, being able to encounter a xiuzhe in such a dangerous place, Yi Zheng felt his luck was already pretty good.
After a while, the battle still had not finished. Now Yi Zheng saw that something was wrong.
The sword xiu’s expression was confused and showed no signs of waking up.
Was he … …
Yi Zheng was daring but paid attention to details. His mind moved. After waiting another moment and seeing the situation did not turn for the better, he thought for an instant and then started to chant in a low voice.
———
Countless scenes flashed across Wei Sheng’s eyes. They were mirages and shadows, but they were also so clear.
The resolution he made as a child, the pursuit of it without fear through dangers, through hards.h.i.+ps, sustaining wounds, comprehending the sword at the waterfall, becoming the Eldest Disciple, drinking alcohol with Zuo s.h.i.+di under the stars, the order from the sect … …
Countless scenes merged together and suddenly formed an enormous net that swept over him.
There was no place to escape or dodge.
The net grew tighter and restrained him. He felt he could not breathe. The feeling of suffocation filled his entire body. He was like a fish in the net. The more he struggled, the tighter the net was.
Why?
Why was it like this?
I only wanted to cultivate the sword … …
A burst of anger suddenly came from deep in his heart. He was like a beast trapped in a net that struggled fruitlessly.
Why … … why … …
It was like a silent shout, a furious bellow.
Why … … why … ..
He shouted at the top of his lungs, he wailed sorrowfully.
In a daze, he dreamed of a patch of stars. In the dark night, the stars in the sky were numerous. A light wind brushed across an empty wilderness. The faint Blue Sparrow-Tailed gra.s.ses swayed in the wind.
A child about seven or eight years old was sleeping amongst the gra.s.s. Raising his head to look at the lights streaking across the sky, the tender child voice carried deep amazement. “So beautiful!”
The child jumped up from the gra.s.s. The wind brushed across his face and revealed his glittering eyes.
A seed was silently planted in the heart of the child.
The dream was so real, as though he could touch it, but distant like how the moon reflected in the water’s surface. At this moment, Wei Sheng was like a statue. He looked dazedly at the child.
Suddenly, something seemed to burst in his heart, and something came forth.
The distance and unfamiliar childhood memory suddenly floated into his mind. Some reasons he had forgotten, those simple thoughts, they were like the Blue Sparrow Tailed gra.s.s seeds bursting from their sh.e.l.ls, germination, and then growing.
Yes, my dream is to cultivate the sword.
A pure dream, a pure pursuit, a wish that a child made under the stars.
A strange relaxation came into his mind. The feeling of suffocation disappeared without a trace. Wei Sheng looked entranced at the child underneath the stars. A slightly smile came onto his face, and warmth was shoved into his chest.
Yes, it all came from this affection.
The complex and common mortal matters that made him feel helpless seemed so small, so insignificant.
He opened his eyes, his gaze was clear without any impurity.
Ling power suddenly flooded from his dry channels like water sprouting from a spring. When this new ling power pa.s.sed, the parts of his channels that had been wounded instantly became filled with life like a tree welcoming spring.
The ling power that followed out was endless. In a short period of time, his ling power had reached his best state. However, the ling power showed no signs of stopping. They continued to rush into Wei Sheng’s channels, and filled every bit of the channels.
When all of Wei Sheng’s channels were filled with ling power, the new ling power started to progress towards his dantian.
Wei Sheng did not stop it. He did not do a thing. But that pair of eyes became even bright in the fiendish mist. It was filled with joy, joy from the heart.
A faint light covered the black sword in his hand.
The fiendish mist around him seemed to suddenly be pushed by an enormous force, pushed far from Wei Sheng and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Yi Zheng gaped as he looked at what was happening and even forgot to continue chanting.
Crack.
The fiend soul beast shattered into dozens of pieces without warning and dropped to the ground. The cuts were peerlessly smooth. Even that pair of unbreakable pincers were dismembered into several sections.
A sword shadow appeared behind Wei Sheng.
The shadow of the sword went from blurry to clear, and continued to grow. In a few dozen breaths, the sword figure was dozens of zhang tall.
The tip of the sword pointed at the sky. It showed no signs of stopping. It broke through the fiendish mist as though it was going to pierce the sky.
Under the colossal sword shadow, Wei Sheng stood majestically.
Thunder rolled through the fiendish mist, tens of thousands of fiend soul beasts howled simultaneously. The blood red sky seemed to boil.
A worldly apparition!
Translator Ramblings: I think the likelihood of chance encounters are pretty low for Yi Zheng to find Wei Sheng but Fang Xiang has written it this way. Wei Sheng’s reason to pursue the sword has been showcased and this almost seems a “higher” motivation than wanting to make money … … it seems a much more “heroic” reason.
Second day of rationed internet … … a week or so to go.