Chapter 360: Chapter 232: Su Mou has a sword named Cangqiong too! He reaches Dao Integration in the midst of a casual conversation. _3
On this day, all the people of the Twenty-One Provinces witnessed the strike of a sword.
It encapsulated the rise and fall of the Sword Sect, bearing the spiritual essence of the Underworld Sword Sect.
Sword Immortals laughed throughout the realm. They laughed at the heavens and the firmament!
The sword strike from Su Bei was executed with insufficient Spiritual Energy within his body to support it; theoretically, it could only be considered half a sword strike.
"I must not fail the Sword Sect," Su Bei whispered to himself.
In a dream, he had once seen an old man lying under a tree in the Southern Border, singing folk songs. He had asked himself what he had seen. The him in the dream replied that he saw a Sword Immortal.
Why did the Sword Sect have the prefix "Underworld" a thousand years ago? Because with a three-foot Qingfeng sword in hand, they reached the pinnacle!
One strike could traverse three thousand miles, one strike could hold off millions of troops, one strike’s chill could cover the Twenty-One Provinces.
Sword Qi surged tumultuously.
BOOM—
The world went silent.
The willow trees, which had been shaking incessantly, suddenly stilled. Strands of willow catkins hung suspended in mid-air.
A thousand years ago, when any Great Sword Immortal of the Sword Sect executed this strike, it would span the heavens, leaving no one standing before them.
After slaying The Wilderness Emperor, the old Sect Master of the Dao Sect had once appraised this sword strike as: worthy of the heavens.
Su Bei’s strike was merely half a sword, but Tong Xiu was not The Wilderness Emperor of old.
There were no sounds in Su Bei’s ears. He simply continued to hold that forward-leaning stance.
The sword strike forced Tong Xiu back hundreds of yards. The dust that filled the sky eventually settled, and calm returned.
Tong Xiu braced himself with his right hand on the ground, veins bulging on his entire arm. He then violently spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled, unable to steady himself.
The handsome young man opposite him was dressed in resplendent begonia garments, now stained with blood, but still mostly intact. His black hair flowed loose, obscuring most of his face. He stood motionless, like a statue.
The onlookers were silent, not uttering a word for a long time. They gazed blankly at the scene before them.
Wenren Pingxin, on the high platform of the Sword Sect, felt her heart sink. She suddenly remembered when she first arrived at the Sacred Land, how she had grabbed his ear, her face flushed with anger.
A myriad of her own words echoed in her mind.
Especially you, Su Bei, don’t just rush in headlong.
Su Bei, do you even dare to tease your Eldest Senior Sister? Tired of living?
How old are you to still be studying children’s stuff? What unreliable teacher did you learn divination from?
Su Bei, what mess are you causing here? Get back!
And then—
Yes, the Sword Sect has won a great victory today; that old gentleman is truly reliable...
Su Bei, the world has never understood you.
He closed his eyes, whispering softly, "Senior Sister’s palm once said the Sword Sect will be victorious."
He opened his eyes, smiling brightly, "Junior Brother will make the Sword Sect better, definitely!"
"..."
Did he ascend the Ascension Platform in a way that was so unnecessary, all for a so-called promise? And perhaps... for her?
At this moment, Su Bei’s vision was blurry, his consciousness extremely groggy. Yet, for some unknown reason, as if prompted by a thought, his eyes instinctively turned towards the Sword Sect.
In a daze, he saw a throng of figures. He wanted to speak but suddenly discovered he was unable to utter the slightest sound.
In just a brief time, Su Bei repeatedly executed Sovereign Sword’s Sword Two to the final Sword Seven, surpassing his own limits.
Even after being soaked in Linglong Immortal Qi, his meridians couldn’t withstand the recoil from Sword Seven. Not only did they completely rupture, but his Dantian also felt like it was on the verge of collapse.
A gust of wind blew past, lifting his disheveled, shoulder-length black hair. It revealed a horrifying face, blood seeping from all seven orifices. The blood dripped down.
Although one couldn’t hear his voice, it seemed that through the movement of his lips, one could still make out what he wanted to say.
Underworld.
Wenren Pingxin actually didn’t know; she had never been quite clear why all this was happening. The man who once only wanted to muddle through life... now he desired strength more than anyone. He had grown into a vigorous young tree, capable of sheltering the Sword Sect.
Wenren Pingxin didn’t know if she preferred the him of the past or the him of the present more. But she was certain that her feelings for him—feelings she dared not acknowledge, even wanted to avoid—were now tangled with distracting thoughts. —Uncontrollable, distracting thoughts.
Tong Xiu looked at Su Bei, who lay motionless before him, completely unconscious. Suppressing his own injuries, Tong Xiu sighed and said,
"I am not as good as you..."
"However, this is the Ascension Platform."
"And I, after all, belong to the Dao Sect."
"..."
Though gravely injured, he had not fainted and could still move slightly. However, the shock in his heart from Su Bei managing to resist his world-encompassing power with sheer human strength lingered long.
He didn’t know how Shangguan Wendao had fared a thousand years ago. But he guessed that even if Shangguan Wendao were at the Late Stage Refining Void, no matter how heaven-defying, he probably couldn’t have done much more than this.
"Speaking of which, I have occupied the position of Half-Step into Dao Integration for far too long..."
"..."
Tong Xiu glanced at the platform where the elders of the Sacred Land were seated. Then he gently sat down cross-legged.
He closed his eyes.
He had never overcome his Heart Demon Tribulation. One reason for attending the Ascension Platform was to claim the title of the foremost sect for the Dao Sect. Another was that he wasn’t entirely confident he could overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation on his own.
They say the grand trend of heaven and earth, when acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao, becomes destiny itself.
The cultivation techniques of the Dao Sect attribute everything to the firmament, borrowing the power of heaven and earth. Thus, it was once said that heaven and earth are inviolable.
Yet, since ancient times, cultivation has been about contending with heaven and earth. If one were to completely submit to them, how could there ever be a chance for Ascension?
One cannot generalize. Just because the Dao Sect cultivates in accordance with heaven and earth doesn’t mean everyone under heaven should do so, nor that they should all preach that heaven and earth are inviolable. That is the fallacy of imposing one’s own views on others, and it is not right.
"..."
Su Bei’s sword strike seemed to have brought him true enlightenment. An insight bloomed in his heart—a completely new understanding for his future cultivation path.
A faint smile touched his lips. Though the wounds all over his body still throbbed with pain, he paid them no heed.
He closed his eyes.
The heavenly thunder tribulation quietly receded.
If the heavens were always dark, then one must grope through the darkness, adapt to it, and survive within it.
If making a sound was dangerous, then one must be silent, remain wordless, and live in the silence.
But one must not grow accustomed to the darkness and make excuses for it.
One must not be complacent about one’s own compromises.
A cultivator can be humble as dust, but must never be twisted as a maggot.
—The Heart Demon Tribulation quietly passed.
Spiritual Energy furiously surged into Tong Xiu’s body.
On this day, Tong Xiu, in a moment of realization, stepped into Dao Integration.
He rose, looked towards the high platform of the Sacred Land, and announced softly,
"Tong Xiu has entered Dao Integration."
"..."
On the Elder’s Platform, Second Elder Wei Nan was stunned speechless. Why had he broken the rules?!