“I have never seen anyone under the age of ten who has practiced their basic sword fundamentals to such a solid degree.
Even three years ago, I would have felt somewhat inferior to you when it comes to the basics of swordplay.”
Zhan Fei Bai’s starry eyes were full of confusion. “Ningyun, how can you be so hardworking and driven at such a young age?”
The Dao of the sword was different from all other Daoist methods.
In other paths like alchemy, arrays, talismans, artifacts, or beast-taming, as long as one had talent, they could easily surpass the decades of effort put in by others.
But the Dao of the sword was not like that.
For orthodox sword cultivators who truly walked the path of the sword, talent was merely the threshold for entry.
Talent alone was not enough. The Dao of the sword was honed strike by strike.
Without truly settling one's heart and honing the sword over years and months, it was impossible to cultivate sword qi, even with talent.
Even if one were lucky enough to cultivate sword qi, it would only be the weakest kind.
Gu Ningyun was only ten years old and had been cultivating for four years at most.
To have practiced her basic sword fundamentals to such a solid degree—where every strike even carried a sense of returning to simplicity—she must have put in immense effort.
Not expecting Zhan Fei Bai to ask this question, Gu Ningyun fell silent for a moment and sighed softly.
“Senior, if you also had an enemy who was constantly plotting to steal your spirit root, and you couldn't find the evidence to expose her...
I believe you would be just as driven as I am.”
“There is actually a technique to steal spirit roots in this world? I've never even heard of such a thing!”
Zhan Fei Bai’s eyes widened, and she felt a wave of skin-crawling horror.
“I only found out by accident, which allowed me to escape in advance.”
“Evil cultivator methods. Who is trying to harm you?”
“Senior, I don't have any concrete evidence yet, so it's not right for me to say her name.”
Gu Ningyun shook her head.
Although she got along well with Zhan Fei Bai, they had only known each other for less than half a month.
The cultivation world placed extreme importance on lineage. The connection between a master and a progeny disciple was far tighter than the relationship between mortal parents and children.
When a progeny disciple took a master, they had to burn incense and report to heaven and earth in a formal apprenticeship ceremony.
After the ceremony, the relationship was witnessed by heaven and earth, and both parties were linked by heavenly karma.
Records showed that tens of thousands of years ago, a righteous disciple had fallen into evil cultivation and committed horrific slaughters.
Because most of his skills had been taught by his master, and the master had failed to stop him in time after his fall...
The master was burdened by that karma, forever stuck at the peak of the Soul Transformation stage, unable to advance to the Body Integration stage.
First, his inner demons were rampant, preventing his cultivation from progressing.
Second, even if he were to see through the inner demons and force a breakthrough...
During the heavenly tribulation, the Heavens would add an extra layer of the Eight-Nine Lightning Tribulation, striking him into nothingness on the spot, ending his life and his path.
Although Zhan Fei Bai had been framed by Gu Lianxue, the two of them were still fellow progeny disciples under True Venerable Qingxu, and their connection was close.
Zhan Fei Bai and Gu Lianxue were direct martial siblings, whereas Gu Ningyun was merely an outsider.
As an outsider who had only been around for ten days or so, naming Gu Lianxue would inevitably seem like she was trying to smear her reputation.
It would be better to wait until the storybook was released before discussing it further.
“Senior, the person who wants to harm me is only an external factor.”
Gu Ningyun’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “The real reason I work so hard is simply because I want to.”
The Xiaoyao Ancient Precepts stated that only by being strong can one obtain true freedom.
She acted this way only because she hoped to grow strong quickly and obtain true freedom sooner.
Gu Ningyun clearly didn't want to elaborate. Zhan Fei Bai opened her mouth but ultimately didn't press her.
...
Half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
The largest plaza of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect was divided into dozens, even hundreds, of sector-shaped areas of varying sizes.
The largest sectors were occupied by the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect and Xiaoyao, followed by the Star-Moon Sect and other sects.
The sectors fanned out from the very center toward the edge of the plaza. Cultivators were arranged from the center outward according to their cultivation levels: Soul Transformation stage, Soul Emergence stage, Nascent Soul stage, Golden Core stage, Foundation Establishment stage, and Qi Refining stage.
The powerful experts in the innermost three rings were the primary participants of this Dao Discussion Meeting, while those behind them were juniors attending as observers.
Gu Ningyun and her nine Qi Refining companions sat in the very last row of the Xiaoyao area.
In the row ahead, directly in front of her, were Yang Churan, Lu Heyun, and the others.
Wen Xuan poked Yang Churan’s back and whispered, “Martial Aunt Yang, didn't you and Martial Uncle Lu break through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage?
Why are you sitting with the junior martial uncles who are in the early Foundation Establishment stage?”
“Before we set out, I asked a senior sister who had participated in a Dao Discussion Meeting before.
For minor cultivators like us who are just listening, sitting too far forward isn't necessarily a good thing,” Yang Churan whispered back.
The Star-Moon Sect disciples to their left and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect disciples to their right turned their gazes toward them simultaneously.
Gu Ningyun held Jue Sheng and couldn't help but tap on its alms bowl.
With a cultivator’s hearing, your whispering is no different from shouting right into their ears.
Right next to Gu Ningyun sat a Foundation Establishment monk from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect.
Seeing Gu Ningyun tap the bowl, he rolled his prayer beads twice.
“Martial Uncle Jue Sheng, True Venerable Wu Nian instructed me before he left the sect to ensure you properly participate in the Dao Discussion Meeting.
Even if you hide in the back row of Xiaoyao, you are not allowed to slack off.”
Jue Sheng had been leaning against the edge of the bowl, its fish head poked out to listen to Wen Xuan and Yang Churan.
Startled by the sudden voice, it whipped its body around. “Yuan Tong? Why are you sitting next to me?”
Yuan Tong sat beside a group of Qi Refining monks, holding his prayer beads with a faint, silent smile.
Jue Sheng flicked its tail, causing the bowl to hop out of Gu Ningyun’s hands.
It jumped over Wen Xuan, Jun Luo, and Jiang Yao, landing in the hands of Mu Chenze, who was furthest from Yuan Tong.
Yuan Tong looked straight ahead, sitting perfectly upright, his face a picture of expected serenity.
“The Buddha said, ‘The myriad differences of all sentient beings are manifested upon a single hair-tip.’ I have cultivated for hundreds of years...”
A Buddhist expert in the front row threw out the first point of discussion for the meeting.
The outer rings of the plaza fell into absolute silence. All the observing disciples sat cross-legged and upright, listening intently to the experts discuss the Dao.
There seemed to be an array designed to amplify sound in the center; even though Gu Ningyun was in the last row, she could hear everything clearly.
Buddhist disciples stood outside the plaza; perhaps this voice could be heard throughout all of Penglai.
The experts from various sects sitting in the front had already begun their discussion.
Gu Ningyun focused her mind to listen. She felt all sorts of obscure and difficult Daoist and Buddhist scriptures, combined with the insights of the experts from both paths, drilling into her brain.
She tried hard to memorize them, but she couldn't remember a single word.
She tried everything to understand them, but she couldn't grasp a single sentence.
These words were spoken by the experts word by word, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph.
Yet, they seemed to be more than just ordinary words.
It was like a sword cultivator leaving a sword mark on a stone wall with their sword qi.
That mark was not just a mark.
Within the residual sword qi of that mark lay all kinds of insights the cultivator had regarding the Dao of the sword.
It also contained the fierce and sharp attacking aura of the sword qi.
As these experts discussed the Dao, they seemed to be simply talking about Daoist methods and exchanging arguments.
Rate on N.U.
